ã€ŠBattle is an Art (Old)ã€‹


 Prologue: Titles Change

    Within the dark reaches of space, a single glowing white figure sat atop a giant, breathing eagle head throwing black holes at distant galaxies that spelled out a selection of titles.

    ¡°There go Sun and Moon,¡± The figure said to themselves in self-satisfaction, as two galaxies spelling out what they had just said were swallowed within seconds by the blackness that had been thrown at them, ¡°And now-

    Space and time began to collapse on either side of the figure, two tiny black holes forming before both were flung towards a random galaxy.

    ¡°OCD and Priestess will round out the team.¡±

    ¡°CACAAAWWW!¡±

    The figure looked down curiously at the eagle head they sat upon.

    ¡°Why do you exist you ask?¡±

    ¡°CACAAAWWW!¡±

    ¡°For my amusement.¡±

    ¡°CACAAAWWW!¡±

    ¡°Why confine you to such an agonizing form you ask?¡±

    ¡°CACAAAWWW!¡±

    ¡°Because I think it¡¯s hilarious.¡±

    ¡°CACAAAWWW!¡±

    The figure then lifted their head up, their body shaking from the laughter that rattled from their ¡°throat¡±.

    ¡°AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-¡°

    The figure abruptly stopped, the eagle¡¯s mouth warping shut as space and time was forced apart right above them.

    A new figure preceded to emerge.

    This figure looked like a young human girl. The only things that betrayed this idea of humanity was their grey skin, the mess of bloodied brown curls that was their hair, and their glaring and glowing red eyes. They were dressed in a silky white dress with a fancy sun hat atop their head, their body floating parallel above the sitting figure, posed like a prim and proper young lady.

    A prim and proper young lady that looked ready to cleave through anyone and everyone with the oversized and strangely designed ¡°sword¡± attached to their back.

    The smell of burnt flesh and rusted blood wafted from the weapon, though no signs of such things appeared to be on it. The ¡°sword¡± appeared to be made up of two large, black blades. Both were taller than their wielder by a head, as wide as a small dagger was long, and held the general shape of a pentagon, with saw-like edges leading from their base and ending just before their triangular ends. Both blades were held parallel to each other with a small but noticeable gap existing between them. This gap was filled by a rectangular rod that connected to the longer than average butcher handle that served as the ¡°blade¡¯s¡± hilt.

    ¡°Norwe,¡± The blunt voice of a young girl emerged from the new figure, ¡°I see it¡¯s that time once again.¡±

    ¡°That it is, and I just know this is going to be the best one yet!¡± The now named Norwe responded with a childish giddiness filling their words.

    ¡°I assume it has to do with the destruction of omniscience for all theMakers?¡± The still-unnamed figure floated down to sit atop the eagle head with Norwe, their blade turning completely sideways on their back as their knees touched down onto the feathers.

    ¡°CORRECT!¡± Norwe shouted, two blackholes beginning to condense above them as they settled on two particular galaxies. ¡°For once, I don¡¯t already know what¡¯s going to happen before it even starts.¡±

    ¡°You were the one out of all our siblings to take Time¡¯s relapse the best.¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Another chuckle left Norwe as their blackholes shot out towards two galaxies that spelled out the titles: Liar and Soothsayer. ¡°Unpredictableness is another aspect of Chaos, and I love that child very much.¡±

    Norwe looked over to their sibling, noticing the pensive stare on their face as they looked into the expanse of space.

    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind, Jockey?¡±

    The other figure let out a snort, before turning to Nowe with a frown and reaching for the hilt of their blade.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me cleave you and this universe in two.¡±

    Norwe only laughed at the threat, causing for the other figure (now annoyed) to draw their weapon and point it right at them.

    ¡°You¡¯re an ass, you know that?¡±

    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that Jockey,¡± A black shape appeared on Norwe¡¯s face and stretched into a smile as the blade was placed against their throat, ¡°It was only a joke. Plus, you know howIi,Aa, andUuwill feel about the unwarranted destruction of a universe or more,¡± Norwe¡¯s smile got somehow even wider as their taunting took on a more jesting tone, ¡°As is often when you attack me.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Say my name.¡± The angry figure¡¯s voice had turned from that of a young girl and into an overlapping of the endless numbers of mortals wrestled within conflict.

    ¡°Jockey.¡±

    The blade was pressed deeper into Norwe¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t test me Norwe.¡±

    Norwe¡¯s smile actually warped to reach up to the sides of their face.

    ¡°Jock-¡°

    The angry figure pulled back their blade and spun before cleaving straight through Norwe¡¯s abdomen.

    For only a quarter of a second, the top of half of Norwe¡¯s body floated up from the bottom as their smile never left them.

    And then the universe exploded into cosmic confetti.

    ¡°REEEWWWIIRRPAGASSKOBCHI!¡±

    The squealing of many different species of children was heard as both Norwe and the other figure appeared within a blank and endless white ¡°space¡± with a twister of green tearing through and away from them while a glowing orange and rapidly shapeshifting baby screamed in joy from within said twister.

    ¡°Look at what you did War,¡± Norwe mockingly scolded the other figure as they summoned the baby to themselves, causing the tiny orange thing to fly out of the twister and into their arms. Its form shifted to that of a pile of tendrils, a cherub with the head of a lion, a stack of nearly blank papers, a tadpole, etc. ¡°You destroyed five of my Sandbox¡¯s universes with that swing of yours.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s what it takes to get you to call me by my name,¡± War put their blade back on their back as they let out a sigh that signified their voice shifting back to that of a little girl¡¯s, ¡°Then I¡¯ll shed no tears.¡±

    ¡°But did you have to destroy all the parallel timelines that those universes inhabited?¡± Norwe looked down at the baby once again, its form now that of a pink amoeba wriggling around in their grasp with a tac sized hole in it, ¡°You know I purposely make it so they can exist independently of each other.¡±

    War rolled their eyes.

    ¡°As if restoring an infinite number of timelines takes any sort of strain on your part,¡± Norwe watched as War looked towards the twister that was getting ¡°further away¡± with a hard stare, ¡°Earlier you asked what was on my mind.¡±

    Norwe took note of their sibling¡¯s tone, the quiet contemplativeness having caught their interest, as they gave a glance to the hole where the eye of the now human-looking and happily wiggling baby should¡¯ve been. With a rapidly collapsing star now in their grasp (no hole in sight) Norwe tilted their head to the side and let out a curious hum.

    ¡°That I did.¡±

    A ¡°moment¡± of relative silence passed between the two, the only noise being that of the soft hum caused by the gelatinous mess in Norwe¡¯s arms.

    ¡°I¡¯m planning to retire.¡±

    Norwe paused for a sec, the black smile on their face being engulfed by the white before they appeared right next to their sibling.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna pull a Death on me?¡± Their voice now deathly serious, with a hint of betrayal to it.

    Norwe watched as War looked away from them and let out another sigh.

    ¡°Everything is changing Norwe, the other three and myself have tired from our work and theThreehave already picked their replacements.¡± War looked back towards Norwe, ¡°It¡¯s getting time for someone new to take over.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to let someone new replace us.¡±

    ¡°Norwe, you¡¯ve been at this wholeMakerbusiness since before Time was even born. Maybe it¡¯s time you move on or figure yourself out, so you don¡¯t end up like Yahweh.¡±

    Norwe growled at War¡¯s words, causing their sibling to let another sigh and say,

    ¡°Out of all of our siblings, you took Yahweh¡¯s death the worst.¡±

    Flinching at the cold tone, Norwe looked down to the twelve-legged, furless, squirrel-faced creature in their arms as it moved its legs wildly through the air. Another moment passed, before the pair were back in the universe with the giant eagle head and galaxies spelling out titles.

    Sitting down on the head once again, Norwe created one black hole and didn¡¯t even watch as it shot away and swallowed a galaxy spelling out the word: Binder. A sour atmosphere settled over the pair as Norwe felt War¡¯s annoyed eyes burrowing into their head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t act like what your Project is.¡±

    Norwe let out a huff before turning to their sibling.

    ¡°My Project,¡± Norwe put air quotes around the word, ¡°Is called Sandbox. And if you didn¡¯t want to deal with me acting like I normally do,¡± Norwe¡¯s voice took on a sassiness, ¡°Why even tell me?¡±

    War rolled their eyes before returning to their position on their knees next to their sibling once again.

    ¡°Because a few of my candidates will be apart of this Recompense.¡±

    Having been in the process of aiming their next blackhole towards another name, Norwe stopped and found a black smile stretching across their face once more.

    ¡°Names?¡± Norwe¡¯s previous sassiness replaced with curiosity.

    ¡°Like I¡¯d tell you.¡±

    ¡°Why even mention it to me then?¡± Norwe asked matter-o-factly, crushing the black hole that hovered on their left shoulder with a fist.

    ¡°You know exactly why.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Norwe nodded before two black dots appeared on their face above their smile and began blinking innocently, ¡°But why should I do what you want?¡±

    War let out a sigh before rolling their eyes and giving Norwe a hard stare.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m your fourth favorite sibling¡±

    Norwe began rubbing their chin in ponderance, their smile shortening and straightening into a thin line.

    ¡°I could do it for that reason, buuuut,¡± Norwe looked away from War, ¡°Only if you tell me whose before you.¡±

    ¡°Yahweh,Uu, and Death.¡± War said with another roll of their eyes.

    ¡°It shall be done.¡± Norwe created another black hole and took aim at a different galaxy than before.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± War stood up and turned away from Norwe, space and time splitting before them once again as they began to step through the opening.

    ¡°Before you go,¡± Norwe called out, pointing a single finger at the title they had settled on to top off the team, ¡°I just want to know if you remember what your old name used to be, before you were called War.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± War paused, looking back towards Norwe with a curious look, ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°This talk about succession and times changing caused for me to think back toeeeeeee,The War That Neither Was Nor Wasn¡¯t.¡± Norwe¡¯s voice took on a wistfulness, ¡°You were a terrifying force even back then, we all were.¡± Norwe turned to War with an abnormally authentic smile, ¡°So would you please say it for me?¡±

    War rolled their eyes and smiled at Norwe before stepping through the opening they had created. Before the opening closed fully, War looked back at Norwe and said their old name.

    ¡°Battle. Before I was War, I was Battle.¡±

    The opening closed, leaving Norwe alone with their eagle once again.

    Warping the giant bird head¡¯s mouth back open, Norwe finally fired off their blackhole and watched as it ate up their target galaxy.

    ¡°CACAAAWWW!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do agree that the Artist will do a fine job topping off this team.¡±

    ¡°CACAAAWWW!¡±

    Norwe chuckled.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you when I¡¯m done choosing participants.¡±

 Getting the Idea (Rewritten) (Again) Part 1

    Herah had five simple wants in life.

    One, to honor La Flamme, her savior.

    Two, the ability to create her art in peace, for it was a source of great pride.

    Three, to forge weapons and armor worthy enough to be wielded by a Nettoyant, so the beauty of her work could be truly appreciated by not just her people but by all they conquered.

    Four, meet a space Cendre, because that would be fucking awesome.

    Five, have or meet someone to continue whatever legacy that would be left in her wake.

    Herah also had three simple responses to anything that tried to stop her from completing these wants.

    Beat it.

    Break it.

    Or in extreme cases-

    Kill it.

    It was Tarkos, the second day of the week, and Herah''s second cycle at Noir E. Blanc Academy. Dressed in a red tee and a pair of red jeans, the youngling sat at her normal desk in the back right corner of her first class of the day.

    Being apart of one of the latest generations within the Cendreux race, Herah was of the average height six-five, with a slim but muscular physique that did nothing to detract from her overall femininity. Her skin was a scarlet tone, with her arms, legs, and the top portion of her face from her nose and up having an extra layer in shiny red scales. Two horns that curl upwards framed her head, said head resting lazily against a tightly clenched fist with her long, red hair braided into a ponytail that reached down to right above her tail-bone. Her eyes were emerald with slit, black pupils to fill them and narrowed into a glare. Her mouth parted slightly in a small grimace, a few of her many fangs easy to see. A pair of blood-red wings were neatly folded against her back, with the standard opening in the back of her shirt for them to breathe.

    At the very front of Herah''s class, a shiny pink scaled and bubble pink-skinned Cendreux with the respectful height of eight-three stood wearing a pair of mint slacks and a dark pink dress-shirt. Much like Herah, a pair of curled horns framed her head and her eyes had slit, black pupils with the rest of the eye color being a purple-pink known as kunzite. The teacher was also noticeably fit with lean, strong muscles covering the entirety of her body and a noticeable bust that never seemed to impede her.

    Happily speaking about the beginning of the current age in the history of their species, the teacher keenly watched each of her equally scaled and skin students while twirling a pencil in her left hand.

    ¡°So, it was with that experience that Violette began asking himself questions. Yes, La Flamme had cared for us during our early days, but our race, our species, had grown without her for many years with no help required. We had done so much more without her than with her, so why should we still give her praise? Why should we still fight and conquer in her name? Why should we still create monuments to her? And it is thanks to these questions that Violette had a revelation. There was no reason at all to continue such things, and thinking this is what led Violette to become the first of the Raviv¨¦.¡±

    Herah scoffed at the words coming from her elder.

    ¡®To sing praise for a heretic, what a disgrace. Many of your children have fallen far and hard my mistress. The fact that you still offer them love is astounding.¡¯ Herah let out a slightly disappointed huff as twin jets of smoke shot from her nose, ''But don''t worry, I''ll one day show them the same light you showed me.¡¯

    These thoughts soon changed as Herah returned to her previous task. As her pencil dashed to and fro across her paper, the youngling seeped into a hyperfocus.Said focus was placed upon her latest work of art: a portrait of Elder Rose, the teacher spouting history at that moment. The parts already done were her soft, round face, eyes and the horns that framed her head. Having just completed drawing the scales that covered Rose¡¯s face, Herah¡¯s attention went to the elder¡¯s full teeth smile. With speed and expertise, each fang was drawn to full detail and looked just as real as Rose¡¯s actual ones once completed. However, as Herah finished the last one, her focus was broken by her teacher.

    ¡°Mmmhmm.¡± Rose called out, disapproval clearly heard.

    ¡®Wonder who caught her eye this time. The weaklings here normally behave this early in the morning.¡¯ Herah shrugged to herself, ¡®Welp, Rose doesn¡¯t fuck with me anymore, so it¡¯s none of my concern.¡¯

    Herah returned her attention back to the portrait, now working on the elder¡¯s pink, single bun hairdo. Just as before, once completed, Rose broke her focus.

    ¡°Mmmhmm.¡± This time, the elder sounded a bit more forceful and closer.

    ¡®Ok,¡¯ Herah¡¯s unoccupied hand slowly tightened into a fist, smoke flaring from her nose in a quick spout, ¡®I swear, whichever one of you faibles batards it is, if you don¡¯t look at her right now I¡¯m going to hurt you.¡¯ The youngling then returned back to her work, ¡®Now to just finish her eyelashes and I can add-¡®

    ¡°Mmmhmm!¡± Rose said, now casting a shadow over both Herah and her desk, ripping away her concentration for one final time.

    SNAP!

    Wooden pencil fragments fell to Herah¡¯s desk, green fire flaring from her nostrils and a deep frown coming to her face. Still looking down at her portrait, Herah took a deep breath and began to speak low and with a slight growl.

    ¡°I swear to La Flamme, whichever of you dickheads isn¡¯t paying attention is about to get launched to the fucking hospital.¡±

    Herah raised her head to glare at whoever Elder Rose was attempting to capture the attention of, only to begin blinking in surprise when her eyes found the teacher standing before her. The elder¡¯s scaled covered arms were crossed and lips pursed while staring Herah down with what the youngling assumed was supposed to be an intimidating glare.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Herah pointed to herself and bluntly stating, ¡°I¡¯m that dickhead.¡±

    ¡°That you are Herah,¡± A somewhat masculine, cocky voice said with a chuckle from Herah¡¯s right, five desk and students separating the two, ¡°How does it feel to look like an idiot?¡±

    Herah turned towards the Cendreux with a glare and a snarl, causing the students that separated the two to move their heads out of the way in fear.

    This allowed for Herah to get a good look at Bleu, an extremely muscular and large youngling with ocean blue skin and shiny blue scales, dressed in an orange polo shirt with white stripes and a pair of blue jeans. The youngling was leaning on his left arm (which had his arrow-tipped tail wrapped around its large bicep) fist to cheek with a smirk on his face. Making direct eye contact with Herah, his entire body managed to take up much more room than the standard student. Herah cared little for this, however, and instead made note of the single bead of sweat that rolled down Bleu¡¯s shiny bald head before grunting and dismissively threatening him.

    ¡°Watch it poltron, or I¡¯ll shove your head up Vert¡¯s ass again.¡± Bleu flinched at Herah¡¯s words, before quickly looking away from the youngling with several more beads of sweat now rolling down the side of his head.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t!¡± A boyishly scared voice begged from the front-right desk, directly three desks ahead of Herah¡¯s own. ¡°I¡¯m still having phantom pains from last time, plus I haven¡¯t even done anything to you!¡±

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe our youth has been turned into such cowards!¡¯ Herah thought to herself with another angry flare of smoke shooting from her nose.

    Herah turned her glare to the front, the three younglings that divided her and Vert moving their heads out of the way to reveal the lime green-skinned and shiny green-scaled youngling looking at Herah with a terrified expression on his face. Vert¡¯s dark green mohawk waved from side to side as his body shook in fear. This youngling was more of the standard look of their species, with noticeable, lean muscles covering his body. Herah also took note on how Vert¡¯s tail was nervously wrapped around the entirety of his wine-colored shirt and his neck, slight spasms occurring through the appendage at random.

    ¡°So it wasn¡¯t you who gave Pourpre the idea to try and take something from my backpack, is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± Herah asked her lips drawing thin while leaning on her right arm with an unbelieving look.

    Hearing Herah¡¯s words, Vert sniffed the air before frantically look around the classroom before turning back to Herah and fearfully asking a question.

    ¡°Where is my sister?¡±

    ¡°In the nurse¡¯s office last I checked,¡± Herah said with a slight smirk and annoyed twitch in her eye, ¡°After I found the dumbass¡¯ left arm pit deep in my backpack, I broke her jaw and stabbed in her the eye with one of her own ribs. Your sister should be back and up here any min-¡°

    Herah paused in her sentence, a scent and the quiet sound of feet sneaking causing her head to suddenly turn to the door that was right next to the whiteboard with a smirk on her face. Not a second later, a knocking was heard and followed by a nervous, feminine voice stating that they were entering. Once opened, Herah was able to get a good luck at her most recent topic of discussion.

    Pourpre had grape purple skin and shiny purple scales covering her body. The youngling was six-two and noticeably fit. Pourpre wore a grey t-shirt with words that normally slandered Herah¡¯s mistress and a frilly, black skirt that normally reached down to her knees.

    Now, however, her shirt was riddled with holes and covered in flakes of dried blood that marred anything that it had to say while her skirt now just reached down to just below her crotch. Pourpre¡¯s normally long, straight and wavy plum colored hair was now in a state of disarray, with chunks of it clearly torn out and its length shortened to the point that it didn¡¯t even reach past her neck.

    Pourpre shuffled into the room while purposely avoiding eye contact with her attacker as her legs took her to her seat in front of the door. Seeing Pourpre and her condition, Rose let out a sigh and sternly asked her,Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡±

    Pourpre flinched before turning back to Rose and saying with a bit of shame,

    ¡°I got into a fight and lost Elder Rose.¡±

    ¡°Who was this fight with, if I might ask?¡±

    ¡°Herah.¡±

    ¡°Why were you and Herah fighting?¡±

    ¡°Because Herah is a rabid fanatic who attacks anyone who disgraces her mistress.¡± Pourpre spat out any previous shame gone and replaced with disgust, with particular venom being placed upon the words mistress.

    ¡°Bitch!¡± Herah shouted, popping her claws and shooting up from her chair, ¡°You know what the ash you did!¡±

    ¡°Herah!¡± Rose turned to the student in question with a glare on her face, ¡°Can I handle my own class, please?¡±

    Herah rolled her eyes at Rose¡¯s words before sheathing her claws and sitting back down with a huff.

    ¡°Your lucky that I¡¯m a Cendreux of my word, menteur, or I¡¯d be kicking your ass again for that shit.¡±

    Rose then turned away from Herah and back to Pourpre with an annoyed sigh leaving her. Levying a glare at Pourpre, Rose then asked,

    ¡°What exactly did you do to disgrace Herah¡¯s mistress, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±

    Pourpre began to fidget nervously under Rose¡¯s prying stare.

    ¡°Nothing worth getting into a fight over th-that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t have any problem telling me what it is you did.¡±

    Pourpre looked away from Rose and whispered her next words so low that Herah found the sound of her fist clenching louder. But Pourpre was heard nonetheless, by both her attacker and the rest of the room''s occupants. Even with this, Rose seemed to have decided it best to repeat Pourpre¡¯s words aloud.

    ¡°Because you were in not just her locker, but her backpack as well.¡± Rose said, ire riddling her tone, ¡°Why might you have been in her backpack?¡±

    Pourpre once again whispered her reply, and before Rose could repeat it, Herah cut in with her words.

    ¡°YOU WHAT!?¡± Herah shouted as her fist slammed into her desk. Green fire began to leak from her nose and mouth, her head about to go into flames.

    ¡°HERAH!¡± The youngling turned to glare at Rose, who glared back at her with a growl. The youngling let out a small growl of her own, before stopping her flames and looking away again.

    Now done with the pacification of Herah, Rose turned to Vert who now looked even more nervous than before with his tail twitching nonstop under her gaze.

    ¡°Because your brother figured that taking something of Herah¡¯s and blackmailing her with it would finally shut her up about La Flamme.¡±

    Herah watched with no small sense of satisfaction as Vert nervously averted his eyes away from Rose.

    ¡°Is what your sister said true Vert? Did you really convince her to try and take something from another student?¡±

    ¡°But this is Herah we¡¯re talking about!¡± Vert said, gesturing to the still very much pissed youngling, ¡°She¡¯s a complete and total bitch!¡±

    Before Herah could do anything herself, Rose reacted for her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned before I allow a student to show such disregard for another¡¯s privacy and possessions!¡± Rose shouted, blue flames that bordered on becoming indigo flaring from the orifices on her face and shrouding her head for a brief moment before the teacher abruptly returned to her calm and collected visage.

    Vert flinched and hurriedly looked away from Rose, his tail spasming wildly as sweat began to profusely run down his face. His teacher then glared at both Vert and Pourpre before saying,

    ¡°You will both stay after school and hold a four hundred fifty thousand ton boulder over your head for two hours for your actions. Am I understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes Elder Rose.¡±

    ¡°Yes Elder Rose.¡±

    The siblings said with meek and ashamed bows of their heads. Rose nodded at this before walking back over to Herah and setting a hand on her desk.

    ¡°Class, since you¡¯re ahead of all the other classes at the moment, I¡¯ll end it early today and allow you to go eat or whatever.¡±

    Immediately one of the students in class let out a whoop, before nearly everyone abandoned their chairs and rushed out of the room.

    Everyone except for Herah.

    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna try to go?¡± Rose nodded towards her door, ¡°I did say you could all leave.¡±

    The youngling rolled her eyes before leaning back in her desk and giving Rose an unamused look.

    ¡°We¡¯ve known and been at each other''s throats for nearly two cycles now Elder Rose, you know I don¡¯t care for games.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll skip to the point,¡± Rose sat atop Herah¡¯s desk and let out a sigh before resting a hand on her student¡¯s shoulder, ¡°We need to nip the problem that the two of us have in the bud.¡±

    ¡°You mean the problem you have,¡± Herah corrected knocking her teacher¡¯s hand off of her,¡± But I agree. We should handle this¡­ issue of yours.¡±

    Herah watched as one of Rose''s eyes twitched, before the elder got up and took a few deep breaths. Once done, Rose turned her sights back to her student and calmly spoke.

    ¡°I would ask that you abandon your belief of superiority for a moment and open yourself up to some dialogue.¡±

    Herah scoffed and twin jets of smoke flared from her nose.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a belief if it''s true. That just makes it fact.¡±

    ¡°I find it hard to believe that you truly think anyone who doesn¡¯t worship La Flamme inferior to you.¡± Rose replied with her own scoff.

    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna repeat myself.¡± Was Herah¡¯s short and quick answer.

    Rose just rubbed her nose before sitting atop the desk in front of Herah¡¯s with one foot on top of it while the other sat on the floor.

    ¡°I propose-¡±

    ¡°I reject,¡± Herah cut off, uninterested in the twitch of Rose¡¯s eyes at her interruption, ¡°The customs of our people determine that the only way we¡¯re solving your problem is through obeying my demands as the superior Cendreux, or one of us defeating the other.¡±

    ¡°Herah,¡± The youngling could hear the annoyance in her teacher¡¯s voice, ¡°We both know that what you speak of is of a time long past. Nowadays, we solve our problems in a much more civilized manner than that, and as your elder, it would be irresponsible of me to be fighting my student.¡±

    Red flames flared from Herah¡¯s nostrils as anger began to well up inside of her. Returning to a proper position in her seat, the youngling growled at Rose.

    ¡°Let me make this clear to you Elder Rose,¡± Herah jabbed a finger at her teacher, ¡°Your failure to prove yourself when I attempted Ash va s¡¯installer, means that you have no other option than to do what I¡¯ve already stated. That¡¯s how our customs worked and will work as far as I¡¯m concerned.¡±

    ¡°For someone who says they don¡¯t care for games, you¡¯re really playing one right now.¡±

    CRACK!

    Herah let out a growl, this one much stronger and deeper than before, while lifting her left hand from her now cracked desk.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you DARE, insinuate that our customs are mere games.¡±

    ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned,¡± Rose got up from her desk and stared down at Herah with a growl of her own, ¡°Our old customs are a game.¡±

    SPLITCH!

    The smell of iron and other metals flooded Herah¡¯s nose as hot blood splattered across her face and stained her claws.

    Rose looked down at her now fuming student in surprise, a hand shooting up to her throat as blood flowed from her wound.

    ¡°The time for words has passed.¡± Herah growled out, standing up from her desk and pointing the hand that had just been used to slit her teacher''s throat at said teacher, ¡°I will no longer stand for your disrespect to our past. So now, I command you to respond back with your own declaration of attiser les flammes and only then will I show you your place.¡±

    Rose instead backed up away from Herah, bumping into the chair and desk that was behind her. The furious student stepped around her desk and walked up to her teacher just as the elder took her hand from her now healed throat, large amounts of smoke rising as the wound burned away.

    ¡°Herah, you better not-¡±

    SPLITCH!

    Crimson liquid sprayed into the air and across Herah¡¯s shirt as her claws tore through Rose¡¯s throat once more.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to repeat myself.¡±

    Rose stumbled back while Herah stalked towards her, green flames spewing from every orifice on the youngling¡¯s head.

    ¡°Herah, wa-¡±

    SPLITCH!

    ¡°Please, st-¡±

    SPLITCH!

    ¡°ASH DAM-¡±

    SPLITCH!

    ¡°Sto-¡±

    SPLITCH

    Feeling the flow of hot blood beneath her feet, Herah backed Rose all the way up into her whiteboard. Behind the furious youngling, a trail of blood and hastily moved desk and chairs could be seen, a different splatter for every torn throat. Rose went to open her mouth again, but Herah shut her up with a quick spearing of the neck. Twisting her arm, a short spurt of blood squirted in her face while a wet gurgle left Rose¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°You know what has to be done to get me to stop.¡±

    Rose grabbed Herah¡¯s extended arm and wrenched it free from her neck with a wet SQUISH filling the air.

    Herah¡¯s other hand quickly shot into Rose¡¯s throat, causing the teacher to pull it out and hold both of her student¡¯s arms out to opposite sides.

    ¡°Herah,¡± Rose said after her throat healed, her voice becoming deathly serious,¡±At eighty cycles, a Cendreux can reduce mountains to dust with a single strike of their fist. At eight hundred, we¡¯re capable of destroying our planet the same way. I¡¯ve already reached my six hundred forty-fourth cycle while you¡¯re only in your fifteenth.¡± Rose glared down at Herah, ¡°This isn¡¯t a fight you can win.¡±

    Herah scowled at her teacher before exhaling two jets of green flames from her nose and attempting to remove her arms from Rose¡¯s ironclad grip.

    ¡°Due to sheer age, you are much stronger and faster than I am. However, the hubris that is common amongst the Manquant de Chaleur tells me that you¡¯ve never trained a day in your life.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Rouge asked snidely, the youngling in her grasp still struggling in futility to get her arms free, ¡°What amount of training that you¡¯ve done makes you think you even have the chance to win?¡±

    ¡°Power and speed come with time, but strategy and knowledge can conquer both.¡± Herah told Rose matter-o-factly, having finally stopped trying to break free, ¡°And I have quite a bit of either.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to say that you could somehow outsmart me?¡± Herah¡¯s eyes drifted down to her own foot as Rose questioned her. ¡°I find that hard to believe.¡±

    ¡°Fact cares not for belief,¡± Herah said with a growl, a flex of the toes on her feet causing her claws down there to unsheathe, ¡°And enough with your words, do what I¡¯ve ordered.¡±

    ¡°I think not,¡± Rose responded with a sneer, smoke wafting from the corner of her mouth, ¡°You can not make me obey you, and I refuse to do something as barbaric as fight. Plus,¡± Herah felt her teacher¡¯s grip on her arms tightened, ¡°You¡¯re currently unable to do more than talk-¡±

    Rose let out a surprised noise as Herah suddenly leaned back and her left foot shot up-

    SPLITCH!

    -and into Rose¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Rose,¡± Herah¡¯s cold voice and glare seemed to pierce through the teacher in question, ¡°I¡¯m not going to repeat myself.¡±

    For a single moment, Herah just stared at Rose who seemed to be lost.

    Then that moment passed-

    CRUNCH!

    -and Herah felt both her wrist get crushed until they resembled fleshy noodles.

    A shout of pain left the youngling¡¯s mouth, as jolts of agony shot up her arms. Quick as a flash, Rose pulled Herah towards herself then shoved her away. This caused the youngling¡¯s foot to tear free of her teacher¡¯s throat and for her to fall back-first onto the bloody floor. With the back of her shirt and pants now stained in cool blood, Herah sat up quickly and-

    SPLITCH!

    -found herself choking on her own crimson fluids.

    Wide-eyed and shocked, Herah looked up to Rouge¡¯s now blood-splattered and rage-filled face.

    ¡°That¡¯s Elder Rose to you!¡±

    A pink fist slammed into Herah¡¯s face (the sound of breaking cartilage being heard) before flinging her back and through the air.

    ¡°And it¡¯s about time I beat some respect into your skull!¡±

 Getting the Idea (Rewritten) (Again) Part 2

    BOOM!

    Rubble and debris permeated the red sky as Herah shot through her fourth-floor classroom wall and into the forever hot air that was outside on the planet Incendi¨¦.

    Shaking away the daze that had overcome her, Herah unfurled her wings and righted herself midair. With one single, powerful flap the youngling was able to completely halt her flight and with subsequent less powerful flaps begin hovering in place. Looking back to her classroom, Herah was greeted with the sight of Rose standing where the new entrance to her was situated. Light blue flames leaked from the teacher¡¯s mouth, nose, ears and eyes, a snarl still on her face.

    Smelling the thin tendrils of smoke drifting up from her wrist, Herah looked down and saw both fully healed. Clenching and unclenching her hands cautiously, a smile stretched across the youngling¡¯s face before a roaring laugh tore from her throat.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Rose asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when the fight is over.¡± Was Herah¡¯s response.

    Rose¡¯s snarl deepened before the teacher took a deep breath, her cheeks puffing up and blue flames leaking slightly from between her lips. Realizing what was being done, Herah tilted her head to the side with a bemused look and crossed her arms.

    ¡°Fire doesn¡¯t burn Cendreuxses,¡± The youngling said in slight confusion, ¡°You¡¯re just going to waste valuable fuel blasting me with it.¡±

    Rose paid no apparent heed to Herah¡¯s words, instead taking a small step back and leaning away slightly. Then the teacher leaned forward and let out a blast of blue flames that engulfed an unworried and somewhat confused Herah.

    With blue engulfing her vision and the comfortable heat of fire bathing her, Herah rolled her eyes and began to inhale Rose¡¯s attack.

    ¡®Rose might be ignorant but is far from stupid,¡¯ The youngling thought to herself, ¡®What the ash is her plan with this?¡¯

    By the time this thought had passed through her head, Herah had managed to inhaled enough of the fire surrounding her that only five odd-looking chains of it remained.

    ¡®Wait, chains?¡¯

    The blue chains of fire wrapped tightly around Herah¡¯s ankles, wrist and throat causing her to let out a choked gasp. Looking back towards Rose, the youngling found her teacher extending an arm towards her that held within its grasp a chain of fire that was connected to the five currently binding her.

    Struggling against her fiery restraints, Herah tried to take in a breath but found herself unable to breathe as the chains tightened around her throat. Before any other plans could come to mind, the youngling felt herself yanked forward as Rose spun around and pulled her back into her classroom.

    Everything passed in a blur before Herah felt her back slam into and through her classroom¡¯s whiteboard, chunks of the lesson plan flying every which way. This was then followed by the sharp and twisted sound of metal being crushed filling her ears as her body slammed into one of the many grey lockers that lined the otherwise white hallway. Blinking only once, Rose¡¯s fist once again filled Herah¡¯s vision as the teacher¡¯s punch forced her deeper into the locker.

    Not letting up, Rose let out a bloodthirsty shout before beginning a barrage of punches aimed at Herah¡¯s head; a thousand blows being struck before even half a second could past. Each consecutive strike pushed the student deeper and deeper into the totaled locker, pain rattling her brain as her head was slowly crushed into a bleeding pulp. Luckily enough, Herah was still able to listen to her surroundings and, even more importantly, Rose.

    As the teacher continued her pummeling, Herah¡¯s ears perked up at the small delay between the sound of impacts between every five hundred punches.

    ¡®Most definitely because her arms aren¡¯t actually used to punching.¡¯ Herah thought to herself in disappointment before allowing her body to go limp under her assault.

    It was three seconds later, a total of ten-thousands punches, before Herah made her move. Between Rose¡¯s ten-thousandth and ten-thousandth and one punch, Herah¡¯s left arm shot up and tore through her teacher¡¯s throat. With Rose stunned, the youngling followed up her attack by shoving her right index and middle claws into the elder¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Ash dammit!¡± Rose shouted, both of her hands going up to grab at where her student had just struck while leaving the rest of her open for a counter-attack.

    And counter Herah did. The youngling brought both her arms down and readied them for a single strike. Taking aim, Herah extended her claws to their full three-inch lengths and shoved both straight through Rose¡¯s breasts.

    ¡°ACK!¡± Rose coughed out as hot blood poured from her chest and onto her student¡¯s legs, pooling on the floor beneath them. Slowly bringing her hands down from her face, the teacher was confronted with Herah¡¯s rapidly healing and grinning face. Reaching behind herself, Rose traced one of the bloody arms all the way up to the slowly beating and gushing organ held up by three claws.

    The sharp but soft sound of Herah¡¯s claws sheathing themselves and the dull and soft plop that was heard as something squishy hit the ground, caused Rose to look down and be confronted with one sight.

    The sight of her slowly beating heart lying in the pool of blood it created.

    Before Rose could take any other actions, Herah ripped her arms out of her teacher¡¯s chest and began clawing into her torso with a refined savagery. Tearing chunks of skin and flesh out of Rose, Herah didn¡¯t stop until organs and bones were clear to see.

    Having torn nearly all of its fleshy covering away, the youngling planted a foot against her teacher¡¯s exposed stomach and shoved her with a mighty push.

    A sound much like that of an explosion was heard as a shockwave blasted through the school hall. Rose was fired away from Herah and out of the building through the hole in her classroom; papers, tiles, and other light objects going out with her.

    Bloodstained, cracked, and uprooted floor tiles surrounded the scarlet youngling, who freed herself of her metal confines before looking over her own body.

    Thanks to Rose¡¯s focus being primarily on her face, Herah found that her clothing just had light tears and barely visible bloodstains to show.

    Looking at her classroom, the youngling noticed only a few of the desks and chairs had followed her teacher in her flight. Within the hallway, Herah found that the rest of it had only suffered light damage from their fight.

    Herah¡¯s nose twitched, a rapidly approaching scent causing her to whip her head back towards the hole herself and Rose had created. Seeing a pink blur becoming much more visible by the centisecond, Herah was just barely able to mentally brace herself.

    Rose slammed into Herah, grabbing the youngling by her face and smashing it into the lockers again. The teacher then dragged her student''s head through these same lockers, leaving the youngling covered in a mixture of school supplies, meat, and metal. This short trip through her peers¡¯ storage units went on until they reached the cement wall that ended them. Once there, Rose punched Herah¡¯s head through and followed this up by grabbing the downed youngling by her leg and throwing her into another set of lockers that sat on the opposing wall, the metal caving in like cardboard.

    As soon as Herah found herself implanted into another metal container, the youngling raised both her arms in front of her face. Rose once again began to rain punches down upon her, though this time the youngling suffered little to no damage to her head thanks to the sturdy scales on her limbs. Using this to her advantage, Herah once again studied her surroundings and Rose.

    Sniffing and tasting the air, Herah picked up on an increase in rage related pheromones from Rose.

    ''If I want to hit you again'', Herah thought to herself as Rose let out another shout, a still noticeable delay between every five hundred punches,¡¯I''m going to need a different surprise for you.¡¯

    Herah was once again forced deep into the locker by Rose¡¯s flurry of punches, and as the youngling got deeper her focus shifted towards her wings. Both had yet to be folded back up, and now laid on the floor on either side of Rose.

    ¡®Oh, I can use that.¡¯

    Once Rose reached her point of slight delay, Herah¡¯s wings shot up and wrapped around her teacher¡¯s back. Rose let out a surprised yelp as her student pushed her towards herself, said student lowering her head and shoving her horns into her teacher¡¯s eyes. Ignoring Rose¡¯s wail of agony, Herah pulled her head back and crushed the sides of her elder¡¯s neck with two simultaneous chops. Following the wet crunch and the forceful expulsion of blood onto her face, the youngling grabbed Rose by the horns and yanked her head down towards a rising knee.

    Another shockwave flew through the halls as Rose¡¯s nose was shattered by Herah, the youngling following this up with three more rapid knees to the bottom half of her teacher¡¯s head. As the final blast of air was released, Herah furled her wings back up and, with her hands still tightly wrapped around Rose¡¯s horns, began to spin around.

    A tiny whirlwind was created, with the winds generated from the spinning ripping any unbroken nearby lockers open with an ear wrenching screech and any loose contents up and away. It was after only three seconds of this that Herah launched her teacher down the hallway and out the school, a sonic boom being released as soon as Rose left her hands. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    A roaring gale followed in the elder¡¯s wake, launching flooring, ceiling, scientifically reinforced plasters, and even entire lockers out of the new hole that was now apart of the school.

    Taking a deep breath, Herah looked down to the floor next to her and saw a few large chunks of metal that hadn¡¯t flown with her Rose. Picking up a few of these pieces, Herah threw them into her mouth and began to chew. Even with the loud crunching and twisting of metal reverbing throughout her brain, the youngling was able to focus on a place deep within herself; a pocket located to the right of her heart that held within a small burning flame.

    Swallowing the metal in her mouth, Herah felt this flame grow in strength before a wisp of it began to flow through the path that connected the pocket to her lungs. This fire then used the arteries in her lungs to travel towards her arms and began burning away at the damage they had suffered.

    Opening her eyes, Herah looked down to her arms and watched as wisps of smoke poured from them, the damaged scales repairing themselves.

    ¡®Thank you for your gift La Flamme.¡¯ Herah thought with a small smile coming to her face.

    ¡°What the ash is going on out here!?¡±

    Herah lifted her head and found an elder male Cendreux with light grey skin and shiny grey scales peeking his head out of his classroom with a frown stretched across his face. His eyes then went to Herah and widened in shock. His mouth began to open but a glare from Herah caused him to snap it shut.

    ¡°Fuck off, and get back to teaching class Gris.¡± Herah told the teacher with a growl, ¡°This doesn¡¯t concern you.¡±

    ¡°Fine by me,¡± Gris replied with a small and nervous chuckle before hurriedly sticking his head back into his classroom and slamming the door shut. Looking down the hall, Herah noticed other teachers doing the same causing her to let out a disgusted grunt.

    ¡°HERAH!¡±

    Rose¡¯s raging voice caused Herah to immediately raise both her arms to cover her head. The furious teacher then blasted back into the school with another sonic boom before flipping midair and slamming her feet into Herah¡¯s arms.

    Another shockwave flew through the hallway as Herah felt herself propelled backward and into the stairwell, her body crushing the stone stairs and planting itself deep within their frame. Before the newly created rubble could even drop to the ground, Rose appeared above Herah with both her hands raised overhead and joined into a single fist. With one more roar, Rose slammed her hands down and into her student¡¯s still covered face.

    BOOM!

    Herah felt herself blast through all four levels of stairs beneath her, her final impact into the first floor kicking up a plume of debris and dust so large that the entire eight-story stairwell was engulfed within it. Having been able to use her wings as a cushion, Herah was cognitive enough to notice another sonic boom rock the building before feeling a strong, blunt, and stinging pain in her abdomen followed by the forceful expulsion of all her breath and her body being pressed deeper into the rubble. Upon the stealing of Herah¡¯s breath, a blast of air cleared away the dust cloud and revealed both of Rose¡¯s feet planted firmly in her student¡¯s stomach.

    Knowing that anymore hits like that would put her down, Herah willing disconnected the nerves covering her entire torso. This was just in time too, since the claws on Rose¡¯s toes popped out and burrowed into the flesh beneath them. Rose hopped lightly into the air, her toe claws disemboweling her student with a sickening SPLITCH.

    ¡°Take that you little shit!¡± Rose shouted, her head leaning back as a laugh ripped through her throat.

    Not feeling anything and ignoring the sight of her own pink intestines, Herah took advantage of Rose¡¯s moment of celebration and gutted her in kind. With her laugh cut short, Rose reflexively curled up and brought her head down into arm¡¯s reach of her student. This allowed Herah to hastily take her own guts and wrap them around Rose¡¯s neck, which the youngling then crushed by yanking both ends of her organ noose away from each other.

    ¡°Ack!¡± Rose¡¯s hands shot up from her belly and towards her neck, causing her hot bloody entrails to spill onto Herah¡¯s legs.

    This was ignored, with Herah taking one end of her own guts and using it to swing both her insides and teacher into and through a brick wall. With Rose and her bowels now gone, Herah shrugged Rose¡¯s innards off her legs and stood up, leaning forward and burying her arms into the wreckage beneath her feet. After digging around for a bit, Herah pulled out two misshapen rods of rebar and began to chew upon them.

    After swallowing the metal, Herah ripped the rest of her now ruined shirt off and inhaled the small cloud of smoke that had formed from her newly restored stomach. Flexing her six pack experimentally, Herah smirked to herself before casually walking through the hole co-created by herself. Once through, Herah felt her smile slip from her face at the smell and sight of nearly empty lunchroom bar with only a single confused looking teacher standing just at the side of the hole in the wall.

    ¡°Herah?!¡±, The female Cendreux questioning her student was dressed in absolutely nothing, her golden-skinned and shiny yellow scaled body bare for all to see. Looking towards where Rose had crashed and then back at the student that had thrown her, the golden teacher frowned, ¡°Are you fighting Rose right now?!¡±

    ¡°So what if I am?¡± Herah said, her lips curling into a small snarl.

    ¡°Ash dammit Herah!¡± The yellow teacher shouted at the youngling marching up to her and pressing a finger deep into the outer corner of Herah¡¯s breast where her heart was located, ¡°You¡¯ve finally crossed the line!¡±

    ¡°First of all,¡± Red flames flared from Herah¡¯s nostrils as an angry snort left her, ¡°This is none of your business so fuck off Or. Secondly,¡± The youngling knocked her golden elder¡¯s hand away from her chest as her tone sharpened, ¡°Move out of the way, you¡¯re in the splash zone.¡±

    ¡°Wha- Whoa!¡±

    Herah growled and wrenched Or to the side, the elder stumbling before quickly finding her balance and turning a glare on the scarlet youngling.

    ¡°Thirdly,¡± Herah scowled in disgust as green flames began to pour from her eyes, mouth, nose, and ears, ¡°Don¡¯t act like I¡¯d obey a poltron such as yourself, especially with your age and strength.¡± The youngling pointed towards where Rose had crashed, ¡°At least one of you is trying to put it to good use.¡±

    ¡°Heaving a table at our students isn¡¯t what I call good use of either.¡± Or replied, dismissively with a slight edge of fear.

    Hearing the rapidly parting air, Herah turned towards Rose before coming face to body with pitch-black wood. As if her entirety was slapped, the youngling went flying back through her still co-created hole with herself lying flat against one of the nine-foot cafeteria tables that filled her school¡¯s lunchroom. Flipping both herself and the table upright while sailing through the air, Herah managed to pull her horns (which had gotten stuck in it) out and land the table with only a slight bump.

    Now speeding down the hallway, Herah looked back towards her exit and found a furious Rose blasting off towards her, albeit with a noticeable decrease in speed. Smirking to herself, Herah crouched down low before backflipping and slamming her feet into and through her ride. The table broke cleanly in half, both pieces being snatched up in either hand of their breaker. With a single spin, Herah launched one table halve at Rose before following it up with a hail of red fireballs. Rose just smashed through the table piece, the flames going wide without her intervention. The youngling then repeated her previous attacks, getting the same effect.

    Flying through the air upright and backward, Herah descended, digging and carving twin trenches into the floor with her path only stopping once her legs were knee-deep. Looking towards Rose, the youngling noticed her teacher getting closer, fist reared back and ready to strike. Crossing her arms over her face, Herah braced for impact just in time to be knocked off her feet and sent flying down the school hall.

    After skipping across the floor a few times, leaving crushed and cracked flooring in her wake, Herah managed to land on her hands and feet skidding to a stop with a sharp squeak and her head to the floor. As soon as her eyes went up, the youngling found her vision filled by one of Rose¡¯s hands. Wrenched into the air, Herah found herself rammed away and back first into the floor, her body sending tiles and flooring into the ceiling and nearby lockers/walls as it drove through the ground. Grinding to a stop, the youngling¡¯s sight was returned to her as Rose reared her closed fist back for a strike. The teacher¡¯s fist came down with a sonic boom, Herah just barely moving her head out of the way of the attack. Before Rose could fully retract her arm, her student''s face darted up to her throat. With a single bite and pull away, Rose¡¯s esophagus was once again torn out. The taste and smell of iron and other metals flooded Herah¡¯s mouth and nose, as the youngling then shoved her arms straight through her teacher''s stomach.

    ¡°GAHH!¡± Rose choked out before punching Herah¡¯s head into the floor. The teacher then ripped her body off of her student¡¯s arm and preceded to wail upon her with a furious rain of blows. Shockwave after shockwave was released, every hit digging Herah deeper and deeper into the floor as a crater formed around her entire body.

    With one eye obliterated and the other nearly swollen, Herah was able to muscle through the pain and watch as Rose raised both of her arms overhead for a single heavy strike.

    SPOOLCH

    SPOOLCH!

    SPOOLCH!

    A bloody and malformed grin stretched across Herah¡¯s face, as blood dripped from the three red hot rods of metal that had pierced Rose through her throat, heart, and left lung. Taking advantage of her teacher¡¯s stunned state, the youngling moved her mouth to one of the metal mods and ripped it out. With two quick chomps, the uncooling metal went down and small amounts of smoke poured from Herah¡¯s skull as it healed.

    ¡°H-how?¡± Rose asked, her question marked with a wet cough as her body just hung over her student¡¯s downed form.

    Herah let out a Hmph sound and her grin stretched into a smile.

    ¡°Our fire can do more than burn.¡± Was her snide response.

    Herah then tore out the other two rods in her teacher before headbutting her into a standing position, right into the path of hundreds of burning and superheated shards of blackwood and metal. They all tore through Rose¡¯s torso as if it was paper, leaving it riddled with profusely bleeding holes. Herah shoved the metal in her hands into her mouth and rolled back and onto her feet. With a lunge and punch, Herah slammed into her teacher¡¯s gut. Keeping her arm firmly planted, the youngling stepped into her strike and flung Rose away.

    BOOM!

    The hallway quaked as Rose¡¯s body broke the sound barrier and was flung back down to the cafeteria. Herah turned away from where her elder had flown and towards where the weaponized table shards had gone. Seeing that they had shot through the nearby gym doors, the youngling made her way inside and found several shards of now cooling metal buried in the center of the gym¡¯s ash floor. Having finished chewing and swallowing what had just been in her mouth, Herah grabbed a handful of metal from the floor and began munching on it.

    ¡°HEEERRAAAAAHHHHH!¡±

    Gulping down her snack, the rebellious student couldn¡¯t hold back a smirk as her sights turned towards the gym door.

    ¡°Well this was fun, but-¡± Herah stuck out an arm, ¡°It¡¯s time for our fight to end.¡±

    Rose¡¯s furious roar filled the entire school, a boom of sound rocking the building as the teacher fired down the hall and towards her student. Blasting through the gym doors, Rose flew right into the waiting hand of Herah.

    The back wall of the gym exploded from the gust of air generated by Rose¡¯s sudden stop, ash and bricks shooting out and into a student filled courtyard. Shouts and screams could be heard as some younglings were torn off their feet and others scrambled for cover.

    But Herah hadn¡¯t budged an inch, instead standing proud as a single one of her hands held Rose by the throat and suspended in the air. The elder tried fruitlessly to reach up and crush her student¡¯s arm, but her grip was just too weak at this point to actually do any type of damage.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± Herah asked, ¡°Because out of the two of us, you look the worst.¡± A small chuckle flew from her lips, ¡°And that¡¯s just sad.¡±

 Getting the Idea (Rewritten) (Again) Part 3

    Rose¡¯s clothing was now nonexistent, plumes of smoke rising up from all the slowly closing holes that riddled her torso and the large bruise that blemished her abdomen. Herah was only missing her shirt, her green sports bra and pants still on as no smoke came from her own undamaged body. Dust and blood covered all of Rose¡¯s body, most of the plasma being her own. A lot less dust and blood covered Herah¡¯s, most of the plasma not her own. Rose was visibly panting, her breath coming out quick and heavy as her pupils were now enlarged and orb-like. Herah¡¯s breathing was even and light, her pupils still sharp.

    Rose¡¯s right hand went up to Herah¡¯s head, a single claw weakly trailing down the student¡¯s face. This caused Herah¡¯s smirk to widen into a smile as a full-on laugh left the youngling and her eyes filled with delight.

    ¡°I have to thank you Elder Rose.¡± The student told her struggling teacher, the elder pausing in said struggle to glare at her student.

    ¡°For-¡± Rose let out a heavy grunt as her left hand failed to unclasp Herah¡¯s iron grip around her neck, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Showing me that I can still have hope.¡±

    The student watched as her teacher completely stopped in her struggles and just stared at her in confusion. Another laugh left Herah as the youngling lightened her grip and allowed for more air to enter Rose¡¯s lung.

    ¡°You declared attiser les flammes. You fanned my flame, just as I did yours.¡± Herah grinned victoriously at Rose, ¡°You submitted to our old ways.¡±

    ¡°That was merely a fit of rage.¡± Rose said, denial in her words.

    ¡°Fit of rage or not, you still did it.¡± Herah took her free hand and pointed its thumb towards herself, ¡°Which means I had two victories today.¡±

    ¡°If I had wanted to, I could¡¯ve easily splattered you all across the walls.¡±

    ¡°And in doing so destroyed the entire school,¡± Herah gave Rose a knowing look, ¡°I know just how powerful you are, but I always knew I would win.¡±

    ¡°And why is that?¡± Rose bit back with spite.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re lacking.¡± Herah¡¯s eyes narrowed, glaring into Rose¡¯s skull, ¡°Instead of healing efficiently, your flame waste much of itself in restoring your body. Instead of striking once with enough force to precisely cripply my body and tax my flame, you showered me with punches that while capable of turning mountains to dust could do little more than lightly drain my fire. Instead of focusing on my vulnerable points, you tried to beat your point into my head like an idiot! All of these flaws are a result of your complete and utter lacking.¡±

    ¡°Of training?¡± Rose shifted her neck in discomfort, her question coming out bitter and annoyed.

    ¡°No,¡± Herah shook her head with a frown ¡°You lack humility. As I said earlier, your hubris stops you from training. Which means your body isn¡¯t optimized or even use to combat like mine.¡±

    Herah sighed to herself, looking away from Rose and through the destroyed gym wall. The younglings saw her home, ¨¦lys¨¦e, a city of stone and metal with rodes of black ash, sidewalks of crude pebbles, and an immense smokestack shooting into the sky. The city was active with a rainbow of Cendreux¡¯s traveling: flying, running, and walking about. One grey-skinned Cendreux was passing a bleeding sack of meat to another in exchange for two palm-sized cubes of black. A group of Cendreux¡¯s were building a large nude statue of one of their own, summoning rocks and minerals from the ground and then shaping them with either their hands or fist before putting them into place. Dozens upon dozens of Cendreux¡¯s of various looks and colors streamed in and out of a large temple, that had a violet banner with the image of a pile of ash sewn into the center of it.

    ¨¦lys¨¦e was thriving and ever-growing, evolving alongside the species that built it just as quickly as they did.

    Herah hated it.

    ¡°Our people¡¯s distinct lack of humility is what holds us back as we continue to move forward.¡± Herah began to shake her head, before turning back to Rose with her lips drawn in a thin line and a look of disappointment, ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons the culture of our past is so important, because it places so much emphasis on us knowing our place and giving the proper tribute and respect to those who have earned it.¡±

    A small smile came to Herah¡¯s face as Rose¡¯s own expression turned to one of surprise, then understanding, and finally, shame.

    ¡°But the mere fact that you understand and have surely been humbled by our fight shows me that the Manquant de chaleur aren¡¯t lost causes. So once again I thank you Elder Rose.¡±

    Herah then dropped her teacher, the elder rubbing at her throat as her student crouched down before her.

    ¡°You know,¡± Herah breathed out a small ball of red, blue, and purple flames, said ball of fire floating down to hover over her rising right hand, ¡°In this school, I really only respect you.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Rose let out a snort, smoke jetting from her nose, ¡°I find that hard to believe with how are entire relationship has progressed up to this point.¡±

    Herah chuckled as her fireball began to change into the form of a flower.

    The flower was no bigger than the youngling¡¯s fist with four petals of blue that had a small hole between them. Emerging from each petal, a single stem of purple flames would extend and create a crescent shape before meeting with all the other stems. Above where all these stems met, a small orb of red fire floated.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with the wisp lantern?¡±

    ¡°Unwavering faith, keen eyes, and an eternally strong will. Three things that any devote Cendreux should both know of and have.¡± Herah responded to Rose while studying the wisp lantern, ¡° This flower is the physical manifestation of all three of those things.¡±

    ¡°So why show it to me? I¡¯m clearly not a Br?l¨¦.¡±

    ¡°Because you possess one of those qualities I speak of. Within this school, you, and only you, do anything to stand by what you believe when confronted by me. Only you, have ever gone through the trouble of pushing back against my claims and actions when confronted instead of ignoring or half-assing a retort or critique. You, and only you, don¡¯t bend.¡±

    Herah crushed the wisp lantern, causing a shroud of blue fire to engulf her. The youngling then rose to her feet and looked down at her confused teacher with an earnest smile.

    ¡°Even with all your faults, I respect you.¡±

    Herah watched as Rose went through a myriad of expressions, all some variation of confused or surprised, before the elder settled on simply exhausted and looked down towards the floor.

    ¡°I¡­. didn¡¯t see that one coming at all.¡±

    Herah chuckled.

    ¡°I figured as much.¡±

    The youngling then reached down towards her teacher, holding her hand out.

    Rose raised her head, saw Herahs¡¯s hand, seemed to contemplate it for a second, and then took it. The youngling dragged her elder to her feet, both smiling at each other as Herah¡¯s cloak of fire engulfed Rose. The teacher then took a deep breath and swallowed the flames that engulfed the two. Letting go of Rose¡¯s hand, Herah backed away from the teacher and smirked at her.

    ¡°Just so you know, this doesn¡¯t make us friends.¡±

    ¡°I would assume as much,¡± Rose said with her own smirk.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Before any other words could be exchanged between the pair, a partially buried loudspeaker from outside sounded.

    ¡°Would Herah War Hej and Rose Pand Prolific please report to the principal¡¯s office?¡±

    Herah looked to her teacher, finding the elder cringing as her eyes swept the wrecked gym, causing her to roll her own and let out a sigh.

    ¡°Oh great, now I have to deal with that poltron.¡±

    Rose gave her a student a small glare.

    ¡°I would hardly call Noir a coward.¡±

    Herah returned her teacher¡¯s glare with a blank stare.

    ¡°If that were true, then our principal would¡¯ve at least suspended me once for my usual cases of violence and destruction around the school. Especially since Noir doesn¡¯t have your excuse.¡±

    Rose just let out a disgruntled grunt as the pair began their walk. This allowed both youngling and elder to get a good look at the path of destruction they had carved into the school during their fight. Once they reached the destroyed stairwell, both student and teacher flew up to the fifth floor before immediately turning left and into the principal¡¯s office.

    Once both youngling and elder stepped inside, they found themselves confronted with the black scaled and white suit-wearing Noir relaxing in his white leather chair with his large black tail resting in his lap.

    ¡°You wanted us Elder Noir?¡± Rose asked assuming an upright and stiff position before bowing her head with an apologetic look on her face.

    ¡°The ash do you want Noir?¡± Herah asked, her stance completely relaxed and slightly hunched over as her eyes ran over her principal before a disappointed huff left her.

    ¡°Herah!¡± Rose shouted, turning to the youngling with a glare.

    ¡°Oh don¡¯t start Rose,¡± Herah waved her teacher off, ¡°I will speak my fucking mind if I feel like it.¡±

    Before the elder could reply, Noir let out a sigh catching both of their attentions. With her eyes now on her principal, Herah watched the elder rub his temple before giving both Rose and her a glare.

    ¡°I¡¯m disappointed in you Rose.¡± Noir¡¯s voice was gruff and heavy as the elder leaned forward and gave his teacher a dissatisfied shake of the head.

    ¡°My apologies Elder Noir,¡± Rose raised her left hand and placed it over her heart..

    SPLOOSH!

    With a flex of her wrist, the teacher plucked out her own heart and presented it to Noir, kneeling in front of the elder with her head down towards the floor.

    Herah rolled her eyes at this.

    Noir took the heart and crushed it in his hands, the wet pop being followed by blood splashing over his desk and suit. A quick blast of his own fire left him clean once more, Rose returning to her spot next to her student as Noir now glared at said student.

    ¡°And I¡¯m done with you.¡±

    ¡°My ash,¡± Herah¡¯s mock surprise was punctured by a tilt of her head and taunting smile. A flaring nose and smoke jets followed, ¡°It¡¯s a fucking miracle, we finally feel the same way about each other.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d watch that mouth of yours brat,¡± Noir said with a growl, twin jets of indigo flames shooting from his nose.

    ¡°Or what?¡± Herah asked with a growl, glaring at Noir, ¡°You haven¡¯t done shit in the last hundred times you said something like that and I know you¡¯re still not going to do shit even now.¡±

    ¡°Herah!¡±

    The youngling turned to Rose and growled at her, the teacher now glaring down at her student.

    ¡°It¡¯s fucking true! Noir lets me do as much as I want with nothing more than idle threats. And it¡¯s disgusting!¡±

    CRACK!

    Both Herah and Rose turned to their principal, who was now leaning of his cracked desk with a fist planted dead in the center of it and a snarl on his face.

    ¡°Your mouth is almost as bad as your body.¡± Noir growled out, more indigo flames flaring from his nose.

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m sorry,¡± Herah giggled to herself for a quick moment, a wide and mocking smile on her face ¡°Instead of being intimidated or scared, I find that I can¡¯t determine whether I should just laugh or cry at your pathetic nature.¡±

    ¡°Herah that¡¯s enough!¡± Rose said as the youngling felt her teacher grab her by the shoulder and turn her to face a kunzite glare.

    ¡°No it isn¡¯t Elder Rose! Because unlike you,¡± Herah jabbed a finger towards Noir, still facing Rose, ¡°What holds that poltron back isn¡¯t an adherence to his own beliefs but a fear of retribution from my parents!¡±

    The youngling then turned to her principal and her lips curled into a disgusted scowl.

    ¡°Which would make sense if it weren¡¯t for the fact that neither would do shit to you if you just suspended me or even popped my head. My mother would laugh and say something about how I finally got my comeuppance and my dad would be indifferent! Ash, they told you as much when I sent my entire gym class to the hospital.¡±

    Herah began to shake her head, a heavy sigh leaving her as her eyes went to Rose and she flicked her teacher¡¯s arm. The elder¡¯s glare hardened though once her student seemed to have been done, Rose let go. Herah turned back to Noir and her lips thinned into a line as her fury was just barely held back.

    ¡°You have yet to say what you want Noir, so please stop wasting our time and get on with it.¡±

    The principal returned to his seat, his own snarl leaving him as one of his arms reached beneath his desk and pulled out a thick folder. Placing said folder onto the black desk, Noir flipped it open before turning it around and presenting it to the student and teacher pair. Two sets of brows went up, as both Herah and Rose leaned down towards the paper filled folder and began reading.

    Fifteen minutes later, both looked up from the papers and at Noir, one extremely pink in the face the other utterly uncaring.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a status report and figurative bill to tell me that the school got fucked up pretty badly in the fight between me and Rose.¡±

    ¡°That bill is over four million naidyls!¡± Rose shouted at her student, a hand to her own face. ¡°My entire salary for this cycle is not even a hundredth of that!¡±

    ¡°You mean your salary of near-useless ash right?¡± Herah asked rhetorically with a roll of her eyes and crossing of arms, ¡°You¡¯re acting like you can¡¯t make some trades with a R¨¦chauffer or Chaud for anything you don¡¯t feel like getting yourself. Especially since neither groups rarely accepts naidyl anyway.¡±

    ¡°While neither of those factions within our people accepts naidyl, the currency is used primarily by the government which directly sponsors and constructs our schools,¡± Noir told Herah with a stern glare.

    ¡°The government that is just as willing to do the same barter process as the rest of us, since even to them a trade of services or goods is better than some useless cubes of ash.¡± Herah¡¯s words were followed up with a disgusted scoff before the youngling turned away, ¡°You don¡¯t even have to go out of this school to get everything fixed either. Turning it into a project for the geology class or a simple demonstration to them from Marron would cost you nothing.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point Herah!¡± Noir growled out, wisp of indigo leaking from his mouth and nose.

    ¡°Then what the fuck do you want from me?¡± Herah asked, turning to her principal with a mocking smile back on her face.

    ¡°I want you to stop.¡±

    ¡°Stop what? Fighting?¡± Herah asked with zero sense of actual confusion.

    ¡°Don¡¯t act smart with me child!¡± Noir replied sharply, ¡°Your adherence to old traditions and practices has been the cause of many headaches for me and disruption of this school environment!¡±

    ¡°Well someone has to preserve our traditions and teachings of the past!¡± Herah shouted back, slamming her hands into Noir¡¯s desk, cracking it even more, ¡°Since most of you seem intent on just being rid of them!¡±

    ¡°We are abandoning that part of our people, our society for a reason!¡± Noir screamed before slamming his own hands onto his desk, the entire thing finally giving out and collapsing to the floor. ¡°We are in an age of change, and whether you like it or not the time for actions like yours is nearing its end.¡±

    ¡°It only ends if we all abandon it, and I don¡¯t plan on doing that any time soon!¡± Herah leaned in towards her principal, green fire now spilling from her nose, mouth, and ears.

    ¡°The age of the Gardien de feu ended long ago¡± Noir said, leaning in towards Herah till there was practically no space between their faces, ¡°We moved on from La Flamme and towards a new and better life.¡±

    Herah chuckled shaking her head and turning away from Noir, her eyes going to Rose who had been silently watching the pair as they argued, confusion all over her face.

    ¡°A life of weakness and wasted potential. That¡¯s what this,¡± Herah pointed towards Noir, ¡°Poltron wants for all of us. This poltron who shows themselves as a textbook example as to why we shouldn¡¯t live this way.¡± Herah turned to Noir, disgust and disappointment written all over her face, ¡°You know, I used to idolize you. After all, you used to fight and conquer in the name of our great mistress right alongside my father. But now, you sit on your ass afraid of a single youngling who has just a little too much spunk.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Noir asked, balling his fist and growling down at Herah with his tail held high and taunt, ¡°People change, sometimes into what you hate.¡±

    Herah scoffed.

    ¡°I only hate two of our kind and you¡¯re not one of them. I¡¯m merely disappointed in you.¡±

    The youngling then turned away from Noir and began walking towards the door.

    ¡°Where are you going? We¡¯re not done here!¡± The principal shouted, causing Herah to pause at the door, her hand over the handle.

    ¡°I¡¯m going home because I¡¯m done with you and this school.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m just going to allow you to leave and come back whenever you want?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Herah¡¯s words were quiet and repulsed, ¡°Yes you would. But don¡¯t worry-¡±

    Herah turned the door handle and pulled it open, stepping out and into the hall while leaving both her ex-principal and teacher with one final set of words.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be coming back.¡±

 Clearing the Canvas (Rewritten)

    ¡°I¡¯m home!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally gotten yourself expelled I see.¡± A charmingly, smooth and masculine voice greeted Herah.

    ¡°You say that as if the brat didn¡¯t just intentionally drop out of school.¡± A distinctly brash, yet feminine voice, much like Herah¡¯s own responded back.

    Herah walked into her house and was immediately greeted with a pair of aquamarine and emerald eyes, from her father and mother respectively, staring her down. Her father, Orange, a well built and muscled Cendreux with shiny orange scales covering his entire body, was standing in the kitchen chewing some meat. Herah¡¯s mother, Rouge, a much slimmer but still muscled, red-colored Cendreux of the same vein as her daughter, was sitting on their couch glaring. Annoyance and disappointment filled her eyes, causing Herah to glare back with a light blush upon her cheeks.

    Herah then looked back to her father, rolling her eyes at his clothing. Orange was wearing a light blue polo shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned, and his khaki slacks that had a few new rips and tears. Noticing his daughter¡¯s staring eyes, the father turned his smile towards her. Orange then used his tail to run through his dark orange unruly, neck length hair before pointing towards Rouge with the four-foot appendage.

    Turning to her mother, Herah found her now standing up with her glare still going, a snarl in place, and her arms crossed. This allowed the youngling to fully see Rouge¡¯s green tunic, which had a few black stains on its sleeves and the scent of gunpowder and oil wafting from it.

    Herah said nothing else, choosing instead to walk into their modest two-story house and throw her backpack next to her couch. The youngling then walked into the kitchen, her empty stomach leading her forward.

    Their kitchen was small, it¡¯s yellow walls and green marble countertops only able to fit four Cendreux into it at any given time, which was perfectly fine since there was only the three. The navy tiled floor was cool to the touch, something Herah found soothing to her bare feet. There was some meat defrosting on the center area, a marble top that was the same color as the counters, that fit right in the middle of the kitchen. Orange was standing at the bar still chewing on the meat from earlier when Herah walked up to him and asked a question.

    ¡°Hey dad, what¡¯re you eating?¡±

    Orange looked back at his daughter and, still chewing, responded.

    ¡°Tendon.¡±

    ¡°Where does it come from?¡±

    ¡°Animals.¡±

    ¡°What animal?¡±

    ¡°The type you eat.¡±

    ¡°Species?¡±

    ¡°Edible.¡±

    Herah just rolled her eyes at her father¡¯s antics while going over to the meat on the center area and taking a sniff.

    ¡°That vendetta against boars you have is never ending I see.¡±

    ¡°If it oinks it must die.¡± Orange¡¯s casual tone causing his daughter to look back at him and roll her eyes once again at his pleased smirk.

    Popping a single claw, Herah carved into the slightly frozen pork on the counter and ripped away a chunk of meat. Tossing it into her mouth, the youngling let out a slightly pleased moan at the taste of the cold pig.

    ¡°Heard you got into a fight with that bitch Rose.¡± Rouge, now leaning on the kitchen bar continued to glare at her daughter.

    ¡°I did.¡± Herah responded, glaring back at her mother while leaning back on the center area within the kitchen.

    ¡°Did you win?¡± Rouge lazily ran a finger back and forth across the bar-top, her eyes running over her daughter¡¯s messy and shirtless form.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Herah¡¯s short reply being followed by her beginning to pick at her teeth with the same claw from earlier, her eyes staring deep into her mother¡¯s own.

    ¡°Sounds like you knew you were going to win?¡± Rouge verbally poked at her daughter, now looking over to Orange who was still peacefully chewing upon his tendon with his eyes now closed.

    ¡°I did.¡± Herah¡¯s quick and assured reply caused her mother¡¯s left brow to go up in slight curiosity.

    ¡°And why did you think that?¡± Rogue asked with a small, curious smile coming to her face.

    ¡°Because Rose is a Manquent de Chaleur.¡± Herah answered, staring her mother right in the eyes.

    ¡°So what?¡± Rouge¡¯s tone took a sharp turn, as her nostrils flared with smoke, ¡±I¡¯m one myself.¡±

    ¡°Well, in general, you heretics can¡¯t fight.¡±

    Rouge leaned over the bar-top, a vicious smile coming to her face to show off every single one of her pearly fangs.

    ¡°That sounds like an insult.¡±

    Herah responded with her own smile.

    ¡°Because it was,¡± The youngling tilted her head slightly to the side, ¡°And it¡¯s also a fact.¡±

    ¡°Oh dear daughter,¡± Rouge¡¯s claws popped out, stabbing into the marble bar top as indigo flames flared from her nostrils. ¡°I¡¯d watch my words if I was you. I¡¯m already pissed at you for dropping out, I¡¯d hate to get angrier.¡±

    ¡°Mom,¡± Herah shook her head, her smile growing wider as her claws popped out and stabbed into the marble on which her body leaned upon, ¡°You know threats like that don¡¯t work against me.¡±

    ¡°Maybe a hole in your chest would work better.¡±

    ¡°Oh you want to fight mom? I¡¯d happily oblige.¡±

    Rouge growled, flames of indigo beginning to leak from her mouth as her smile stretched as far as it could.

    ¡°Ooh, seems like this little bitch¡¯s ego grew at tad bit. It¡¯s almost as if someone here has forgotten her eight thousand to two lose/win ratio against me ¡±

    Herah¡¯s smile disappeared as her own growl left her, green fire beginning to leak from the sides of her own snarl.

    ¡°Piss off! You¡¯re not unbeatable.¡±

    ¡°You want to try me?¡± Rouge growled out flames of indigo now pouring from her eyes.

    ¡°Damn right!¡± Herah shouted back, green fire spewing up from her eyes.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go you little shi-¡±

    CRACK!

    Orange¡¯s tail shot through the bar counter while his right hand darted towards Herah¡¯s face, his claw just tapping his daughter¡¯s chin as the tip of his tail stopped a measly millimeter before his wife¡¯s eye. Both Herah and Rouge began to breathe hard, puffs of cool air coming out of their normally warm mouths. Alongside this, the pair¡¯s pupils were forced from their normally slit states, and into a larger, more circular form. The cold bite of frost began to form on the red duos¡¯ scales and clothing, slowly creeping up from their legs and towards their heads.

    Herah was terrified, her father¡¯s Presence rapidly changing from playful and nice to deadly and bloodthirsty. Both her and her mother stared at Orange, who was the only thing seemingly unaffected by the sudden shift in temperature of the room. His eyes were now open once again, but now both glowed aquamarine and lacked pupils. The father then shifted his eyes back and forth between them, a neutral expression adorning his face.

    ¡°No fighting in the house.¡± Orange¡¯s voice came out monotone and uncaring, though there was also a quiet threat hidden underneath. ¡°And neither of you will be fighting until after we have a little chat. So why don¡¯t you both go into the living room and have a seat?¡±

    The elder Cendreux then moved his claw and tail away from his family. Almost immediately, the room returned to its original temperature, the frost disappearing as it had came. The only evidence of what had occurred ever happening being the two Cendreux still catching their breath.

    Once back to normal, Rouge gave a small huff and walked back over to the couch while Herah began to say something before stopping herself and grabbing some more food instead.

    ¡®Don¡¯t know how the ash you do that or what you¡¯re doing dad, but damn do I hate when you do it.¡¯ Herah thought to herself as her feet took her out of the kitchen and into her living room.

    The living room was much larger than where the youngling had just left, it¡¯s deep black walls and crimson red floor having two and a half times as much space as the kitchen to cover.

    Since said living room was directly connected to the kitchen, the only separation being the bar, Rouge and Orange only had to take three steps to reach the orange couch after passing the bar. Orange sat down on said couch, and laid his feet atop the brown coffee table right in front of it, ignoring the TV that was in front of that. The red recliner was a suitable distance to the right of the coffee table, Rouge walking over to it and sitting down while also turning her head to silently glare past the brown lamp and lamp stand just on the left of her and out the window behind it. The pink loveseat was to the left of the coffee table and facing the recliner, with two red pillows of which Herah went to lay against.

    A tense silence settled over the trio, as Herah and her mother soon began glaring each down while Orange closed his eyes once more while resting his chin in one of his hands with a contemplative look on his face.

    ¡°Would both of you please cut out the glaring?¡± Orange cut through the silence with an annoyed plea, ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be having a chat.¡±

    For a moment, Herah didn¡¯t break eye contact with her mother but-

    SHNIKK!

    -the sudden sound of a claw unsheathing caused her and Rouge to turn to Orange, who still had his eyes closed. But Herah didn¡¯t care for that, what her attention was on was her father¡¯s right hand, the one holding up his head. A single one of its claws had popped up.

    ¡°My little flame and my precious tinder,¡± Norwe¡¯s voice came out calm but heavy, ¡°Please, don¡¯t make me repeat myself.¡±

    ¡°Sorry Dad.¡±

    ¡°Sorry Sweety.¡±

    The mother and daughter duo both apologized abashedly, causing Orange to sheathe his claw and smile at the pair.

    ¡°Now Herah-¡±

    ¡°Yes dad?¡±

    ¡°I think we need to figure out what to do with you now since Noir has already contacted us ahead of your arrival to inform of your now schoolless status.¡± Orange opened his eyes and brought his hand down from his head before giving his daughter a warm smile.

    ¡°Wanted to cover his own ass I bet.¡± Herah said under her breath before sighing. ¡°Well what do you wan-¡±

    ¡°Actually,¡± Rouge cut in, turning to Orange, ¡°I would prefer we first talk about why exactly our daughter here has decided to spit in our fucking faces.¡±

    ¡°Rouge.¡± Orange¡¯s voice took on a warning tone, but Rouge held up hand before jabbing the other towards her daughter.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I would actually like to hear the reasoning our daughter has for just dropping out of the school, spontaneously if I might add, that we,¡± Rouge pointed between herself and Orange, ¡°Me and you, went through the trouble of getting her into. We deserve that at least don¡¯t we?¡±

    Herah watched as her father gave her mother a contemplative look before shrugging his shoulders and turning to her in expectance.

    ¡°I was learning nothing of value there.¡± Herah said, crossing her arms and lifting her chin.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s kinda hard to learn when you refuse to be taught.¡± Rouge replied, her expression displeased and her tone mocking. ¡°Ash, the only reason you passed your classes last cycle was because you threatened all your teachers.¡±

    ¡°Which was actually quite impressive.¡±

    Herah watched as her mother turned a glare onto her father, causing him to shrug and put his hands up.

    ¡°I¡¯m just saying, the age of her teachers range from three to seven hundred. The fact that all but one of them felt threatened by our daughter is impressive.¡±

    ¡°But not helpful.¡± Rouge growled out at her husband, before turning back to Herah, ¡°That school could have taught you far better than I or your father on how to use your science, better control your body, fly with less air resistance, ash learn more about the very thing you want to do with your life! But after a cycle and a half there, you¡¯ve learned nothing!¡±

    ¡°I refuse to let the weak-willed teach me.¡± Herah responded her nose flaring as smoke shot from it.

    ¡°Sometimes you have to make compromises.¡±

    ¡°I refuse to compromise on my beliefs.¡± Herah told her mother, a frown on her face.

    Indigo flames flared from Rouge¡¯s mouth, eyes, and nose, as the elder seemed to just barely hold herself back from leaping at her daughter.

    ¡°You know what, since you seem so fucking sure on what you¡¯re not going to do, why don¡¯t you tell us where you plan to go next?¡±

    Herah paused for a moment, her face going blank before being engulfed by a blush.

    ¡®I- I don¡¯t know what to do next.¡¯ The youngling thought to herself, before realizing that her mother undoubtedly knew this.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t think ahead, did you?¡± Herah returned her attention back to her mom, who was now standing in front of her, wagging a finger in her face. Growling and biting at the extended digit, Herah watched as her mother moved her finger out of the way before smirking condescendingly down upon her. The youngling began to shake, blushing all the deeper.

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°Make me!¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    ¡°AAAHHHH!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t throw a tantrum now, it¡¯s not my fault you¡¯re an idiot.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re the only one getting fucked right now. You don¡¯t even know what to do with yourself! In fact, I bet you wo-¡°

    Herah watched as her mother froze terrified, frost rapidly emerging from the right side of Rouge¡¯s body to cover the rest. Turning to her father, Herah saw his eyes glowing and pupilless once more, a snarl having emerged onto his face.

    ¡°My precious tinder,¡± Orange¡¯s voice once again was cold and unfeeling, ¡°Come over to me please.¡±

    Rouge came over to her husband slowly, the uncomfortable frost clearly draining her of her normal speed and vigor. Looking at her father, Herah realized his predatory Presence had washed over her and her mother before either realized it, the youngling had just not been the focus. Once Rouge made it to Orange, the husband patted the spot next to him on the orange couch causing his wife to plop down next to him.

    ¡°Now-¡±

    Orange hooked a claw around one of his wife¡¯s frozen horns, turning her head so that her fearful eyes could stare into his furious ones.

    ¡°Stop verbally assaulting our daughter. I know you¡¯re frustrated with her, but acting like a cunt isn¡¯t going to make you or anyone else here right now happy. You¡¯re an elder, not a youngling, show some restraint.¡±

    Herah let out an assured breath as her father redrew his Presence, his glare and snarl losing all anger in the process and transforming into a knowing look.

    ¡°Just tell our precious flame what¡¯s bothering you. We get nowhere when you two just yell at each other.¡±

    Rouge looked away from both Herah and Orange, a frown coming over her face as the frost left her body. For a few moments, the mother stayed that way and then turned to Herah with her frown still in place. This time, however, it lacked anger and hostility and seemed more unsure. Letting out a breath, Rouge began to speak, her tone now calmer and quieter.

    ¡°I¡¯m not apologizing for what I said, but I will say I might¡¯ve been a bit unreasonable. It¡¯s just,¡± Rouge looked away from Herah, and let out another breath before continuing, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you are too reactive.¡±

    Rouge looked down to her own hands.

    ¡°My precious flame, I see, so much of myself in you. You¡¯re arrogant, stubborn, single-minded, unfiltered, unwavering, and proud.¡± Rouge smiled to herself, before looking back up to her daughter, ¡°And these very things I see inside of you I love, but at the same time I know that they make this a terrible reality for you to live in.¡±

    Herah gained a confused look as her mother raised a hand and pointed towards her.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be the biggest enemy you ever face, because you make your hardest problems yourself.¡±

    Herah frowned at her mom, causing the elder to shake her head and smile weakly at her.

    ¡°Remember those blacksmiths we took you to? Remember why they all turned you down/¡±

    ¡°Well it was for a variety of reasons.¡± Herah began, looking away from her mother as the reasons came to mind, ¡°I punched one in the balls. I called another a poltron to the face. I got into a shouting match with a few more. And I ate one of their swords.¡±

    ¡°And what does each of those situations have in common?¡±

    ¡°They ended with dad having to freeze me and the smith to prevent a murder?¡±

    Orange and Rouge chuckled.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but that¡¯s not the answer I was looking for.¡±

    ¡°That answer is?¡±

    Rouge got up and walked over to Herah before crouching down before her daughter and looking her square in the eyes.

    ¡°You started it.¡±

    Herah¡¯s frown deepened as her blush returned and her eyes darted away from her mom.

    ¡°You reacted in the heat of the moment and closed those doors. Just like you did today. Just like you¡¯ll surely do going forward. And it¡¯s all because you only ever consider the now and the distant future, never the in between, and that keeps biting you in the ass.¡±

    Rouge then got up and crossed her arms, looking away from her daughter who had yet to turn back to face her. Both stayed like this until Herah found her face turned back towards her mother by her father, who was giving the two his ¡°makeup¡± stare. Mother and daughter looked at each other, pensive expressions covering each of their faces. Their standoff continued for a few seconds more until Rouge awkwardly opened up her arms and gestured towards herself with her hands.

    ¡°Come here.¡±

    Herah looked at her mother for a few more seconds before awkwardly shuffling up to and just as awkwardly hugging her. Orange, seeing this, gave a big happy smile, showing each and every single one of his blood-covered fangs to the two hugging Cendreux.

    ¡°See isn¡¯t that better. You two may argue all the time, but we¡¯ll always end up here. No shouting, no anger, just hugging.¡± Orange laughed to himself, ¡°Now get ready for me, cause I¡¯m coming in for my own.¡± Orange said, his voice back down to its original smoothness.

    The elder then crushed the hugging duo in a hug of his own. Though Rouge was taller, being eight-ten compared to his seven-eleven, Orange¡¯s naturally superior strength allowed him to lift up both his wife and child, and swing them around in a circle.

    Twenty times that is.

    After all twenty spins, Orange sat his spouse and daughter down, the pair stumbling a fair bit before regaining their balance. Once done, all three Cendreuxes looked at each other in silence for a few moments.

    Then Rouge let out a snort.

    Herah chuckled.

    Orange barely held back a laugh.

    All three broke down in laughter.

    Once the laughs pittered out, the family of three went over to the orange couch and sat down before beginning to talk. The talk went on for half an hour, as the trio tried to figure out what to do with Herah.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s time I introduce you to a friend of mine. I¡¯ve been wanting to keep a distance between you two for a while now, but her work is the best I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Herah and Rouge both asked.

    ¡°Yeah, in fact, they made my hammer.¡±

    ¡°Really!?¡± Herah leaped up with a wide smile, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you mentioned her befo-¡±

    KRRSHHH!

    ¡°Dammit Jeffery!¡±

    Herah shouted this as the sound of glass shattering was heard. The figure in question was swiped out of the air as they tried to fly by the youngling. Rouge looked at their now shattered living room window, then back to her daughter with a look that was clearly not amused.

    ¡°You¡¯re fixing that.¡±

    Herah snarled and threw Jeffery at her father, walking over to her backpack to get supplies. Orange caught Jeffery with one hand, laid them across his lap, and began to rub their spine while speaking to his kid.

    ¡°You should treat your art supplies better little flame,¡± Orange then threw Jeffery back to Herah while giving her a smirk, ¡°I hear it¡¯s unbelievably hard to get your hands on giant pencils nowadays, some might even say impossible.¡±

    Herah caught Jeffery with her free hand, the other occupied by a sketchbook and pencil. The youngling then twirled the giant pencil and tossed them into the air.

    ¡°Stay still.¡±

    Jeffery righted themselves in the air and froze. Herah gave the pencil a glare, looking them up and down to get her point across. This examination also allowed her to make sure nothing new had been added to her creation, especially red, as would often happen when they were left alone.

    Jeffery was still the same color of an average pencil, no spots or lines of any other color running across their orange jacket. The pencil¡¯s eraser was also still red, no signs of discoloration or the sort which made Herah happy. Jeffery was still six-four, and they were no thicker or thinner. The last thing Herah checked for was her creation¡¯s lead, which was still as sharp as possible.

    Seeing that Jeffery had no changes (that were perceivable by her at least) made to them, Herah turned back to the broken window and tossed her normal-sized pencil into her now unoccupied hand. After giving the window a bit of an examination, Herah began to sketch a new fixed version of it.

    The design was simple enough for Herah, a square broken up into a two by two grid that had a wisp lantern on each section.

    Herah finished the sketch in a second, her hand blurring as it drew each detail down to the exact scale. Once done with that, the artist began to shade her drawing in, this taking just a bit longer than the sketch process. After the shading was done, Herah erased the sketch lines and found herself with a drawing that replicated the unbroken state of the living room window perfectly. After judging and finding her drawing to her liking, the youngling tapped it with the butt of her pencil, and felt the taste of paint fill her mouth. A brief glow covered the paper, with the page seeming to slowly push out the drawing that grew into an exact replica of the original window.

    ¡°Jeffery, help me install this.¡±

    Said pencil flew over to the broken window and began running their eraser over it. And as the head ran over the window, it erased the very thing from existence until only a square opening remained. Seeing this, Herah lifted up the new window without even a grunt and slid it into place. The youngling then looked at Jeffery and nodded her head. The giant pencil in response to this outlined the new installation and then tapped said outline with their head. It gave a brief glow and then sealed the window into place.

    Throughout the entirety of this, Rouge and Orange just watched in silence with a small tinge of wonder filling the mother¡¯s eyes and amusement filling Orange¡¯s. After the youngling finished, her mother walked over to the window and gave it and the area around it a light shove. Seeing everything still in place, Rouge let out a small whistle and turned to Herah, her face dancing between subtle joy and wonder in rapid succession.

    ¡°No matter how many times I see it at work, I always find your Traduire fascinating.¡±

    Rouge then shook her head and began to walk out of the room.

    ¡°We can finish talking about what to do with Herah later, I¡¯m going to go take a nap. Care to join me, sweety?¡±

    With the question clearly meant for Orange, the father gave his wife a brief look then shrugged. Orange got up and followed Rouge, giving Herah a wide, fatherly smile as the two left the living room and went up the stairs to their bedroom. The daughter watched this then turned to Jeffery (who was just floating in the air beside her) and glared at them. Noticing their creator¡¯s look, the oversized pencil flew over to one of the walls and began writing. Once Jeffery was finished the message came out to be: What? You want to go? Cause I¡¯ll go right now. Herah read the message then glared even harder at her creation.

    WHAM!

    ¡§Ouch! Dammit Jeffery, that hurt!¡±

    Herah rubbed the top of her head as a bruise formed where the pencil had hit her with their eraser. Before any form of retaliation could occur, Herah let out a groan and doubled over holding her guts as shock overcame her. Her abdomen had suddenly flared with agony as the nerves reconnected and the pain that was meant to be felt earlier from Rose¡¯s flurry of punches came back with a vengeance.

    ¡®Shit, I always hate when Reunir occurs.¡¯ Herah thought to herself as her legs shook and her knees nearly fell to the floor.

    Jeffery, seeing this, quickly erased what they wrote on the wall and flew over to Herah, allowing their creator to lean on them for support. Herah gave a few wobbly steps before falling over, Jeffery darting under her arms being the only thing that stopped her from being splayed across the red floor.

    With both of her pits resting atop the giant writing utensil, Herah was raised from the first floor to the second, completely bypassing the stairs and guardrail. After reaching the second floor, Jeffery flew Herah down the decently sized hallway. The walls were lined with a variety of hunting trophies her father had created, mostly metallic boar heads and tusk, and a few of her mother¡¯s gun designs. Passing all of this, Jeffery eventually stopped at the door to Herah¡¯s room. Realizing this, the youngling used one of her arms to open the door then allowed her pencil to carry her in.

    The smell of paint, fresh and old filled Herah¡¯s nose at her entrance to the masterpiece that was her room. Originally, it had been completely white, but her artistic nature had caused her to treat it as just a massive canvas so exactly that it had become. The floor itself was covered in splotches of dry paint, each varying in size, look and texture to create explosions of colors all over it.

    The very walls of the room, while having that same explosion of color on them, found themselves covered by a diverse range of murals, with no real organization apparent. Some were depicting battlefields where Cendreuxes were shown battling against either large reptilian creatures with massive wings that were often breathing fire or snapping at their foes or of smaller more bird-like lizards that could each be found breathing out blasts of varying colors or shooting up from the ground. Other pieces showed full-body paintings of different Cendreux¡¯s, many wielding a weapon of some kind while also holding in their hands a wisp lantern. Another subject that was featured heavily in Herah¡¯s works was that of the many inventions and creations of her own people, often in a surrealistic or hyper-realistic form. Weapons built to slay the kin that her people fought in her other works or to destroy worlds, armor built to withstand dips into black holes or the collision of two planets, tools to harvest and store science, ore and food, even things such as the plumbing system and the camera were shown.

    Herah smiled at this before her eyes drifted to one particular wall, that was right in front of her bed.

    It was the only wall in the room that was mostly white.

    It was the only wall in the room that contained only a single subject matter.

    It was the only wall in the room that showed her pursuing her future job.

    It was the only wall in the room that displayed diagrams.

    Diagrams, upon diagrams, upon diagrams.

    Each one showing an obscenely detailed, well thought out, and creative weapon or piece of armor.

    The weapons ranged from swords, spears, daggers, staffs, hammers, maces, halberds, weaponized gauntlets, and even some unconventional things such as a yo-yo or ball. The armor ranged from helmets, greaves, boots, leggings, shields, breastplates, normal gauntlets, pauldrons, and even odd things like bras and underwear. The materials all these things were constructed form also had their own range; be it metal, bone, leather, crystals, obsidian, even string, water or lava could be seen.

    This wall was one of Herah¡¯s most prized possessions and one of the two named artworks to her room.

    ¡°R¨ºves d¡¯un Smith.¡± The youngling said to herself with a small chuckle before breathing an eyeball sized fireball and having it hover over a now raised digit. ¡°I fucking love the name dad gave you.¡±

    Herah then flicked the fireball at the wall, causing all the black lines of the diagrams to turn blue and glow softly.

    ¡°Oh mistress, I love doing that.¡±

    Jeffery then took their creator over to her bed (passing by a shelf with a few fully colored models and busts of Cendreuxes sitting upon it) before setting her down next to it and in front of a full-body mirror which showed her in all her messy glory. Thanks to the brief trip up to her room and a few deep breaths, the crippling pain Herah felt had turned into a light throb allowing her to stand on her own with only slight issue.

    This also meant the youngling could now feel completely dissatisfied with her current look.

    ¡°Hey Jeffey?¡±

    The pencil, which had been busy scribbling all over the floor completely froze in their activity.

    ¡°Mind erasing, this debris and blood off me?¡± Herah asked, holding her arms up to form a t-pose.

    Jeffery flew in front of Herah and wrote upon the air, their message reading: Why should I?

    ¡°Could you not be a smartass right now and just erase this shit off me!?¡± Herah yelled, jets of smoke shooting from her flaring nostrils.

    Instead of doing their normal thing and just whacking their creator across the head once more, Jeffery actually just obeyed and, faster than Herah could react, erased all the dust and blood that caked her body.

    Well, erased that and a little more.

    ¡°Jeffery?¡±

    The pencil floated in front of Herah, showing no clear response to their creator¡¯s words but the youngling knew they heard her.

    ¡°Did you have to erase my pants alongside everything else?¡±

    Now Herah stared at her own reflection, an eye twitching and snarl barely being held back, which now had its pants completely gone showing that her preferred state of undergarments meant going commando.

    Jeffery, having already erased their previous message, wrote another one. It simply read: Of course not.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Herah then began chasing the pencil around her room for a few minutes, only stopping because of Rouge yelling at them to do such. After this and a prolonged angry glare, the youngling decided to lay in her bed for a quick nap after seeing that it was around evening. Laying down on her back, Herah noticed Jeffery float into her bed and begin spinning next to her. Paying the oversized pencil no mind, Herah stared at her ceiling.

    When compared to the walls, Herah¡¯s ceiling was an oddity. This was because it was covered in only a single art piece; a real-time, mentally manipulated display of her solar system. It had cost the artist an arm and a leg, but it had been considered a worthy endeavor.

    ¡°Carte de Tout c¡¯qui Nous Appartient.¡± Herah said, the map glowing just a bit brighter before resuming its normal look.

    The centerpiece, also being the center of the system, was the white dwarf star named Ellon. Ellon had four paths of orbit around it, or four layers, and on the first layer was Herah¡¯s homeworld, Incendi¨¦.

    Incendi¨¦ wasn¡¯t much larger than Ellon, and was one of three planets with life on it that orbited the star. Incendi¨¦¡¯s model was mostly a grainy grey, with a small blue octagon to the left of the north pole, representing the only significant body of water for the planet. There was also a slightly larger perfectly round green circle, located right on the equator of the Incendi¨¦.

    Directly across from Incendi¨¦ and on the same layer, was the planet simply named Silex. Silex, when compared to Incendi¨¦, was mostly green with quite a few pockets of blue.

    The next planet was on the layer after the ones before it, and this one was completely green. This planet was four times larger than Silex, and it had been named Toxique

    The final planet, this one located on the final layer, was named Bious. Bious was by far the largest, twelve times the size of Incendi¨¦ in fact. Thanks to her own insanely accurate eyes, Herah could tell that Bious was constantly growing at a rather small pace. Bious itself was mostly blue with large chunks of green covering the rest of it.

    After quietly observing her map, Herah chose to focus on Incendi¨¦ and with a wave of her hand made the map zoom in on the planet until it showed her lying in bed and staring up. Herah watched as Jeffery lazily spun themselves next to her, trying to think about what was to be her next course of action for her future.

    POP!

    Herah let out a gasp of surprise as the ceiling showed a mass of black appear in front of her door, causing the youngling to look up and stare at it. As soon as Herah did this, the youngling felt herself pulled towards and into said mass of black.

    ¡°Fu-¡°

    But before Herah could finish, her body was sucked in, leaving the room with only Jeffery inside.

    With their creator gone, Jeffery floated into the air and down to the living room, grabbing Herah¡¯s backpack before zooming back up the stairs. After making it back into the room, Jeffery organized a few supplies. Once done with this, the pencil flew into their creator¡¯s parent¡¯s room.

    After an awkward pause, Jeffery wrote out a message to the duo about what had happened to Herah, causing Orange to quickly redress and secure the bag to Jeffery. After this was done, Jeffery shot out of the ceiling, leaving a substantial hole in their wake as they left to help Herah.

    Rouge saw the hole, herself now dressed, a bit worried about her daughter but also miffed about the damages and told no one in particular two words.

    ¡°Dammit Jeffery.¡±

 Gathering the Supplies (Rewritten)

    ¡°-uck!¡±

    THUD!

    Herah let out a groan as her third headache of the day came over her. After a few seconds- few minutes- could¡¯ve even been a few hours of laying face first on what the youngling assumed to be a floor, Herah sat up and got a look at her surroundings.

    Herah¡¯s first thought on the room was that it felt odd. Though it seemed to be no bigger than her own living room at first glance, the youngling had the distinct impression that it was much larger than it appeared.

    The space surrounding her just felt off.

    Other than that, the room was disgustingly plain.The walls and ceiling were an annoyingly bright white. The floor while the same white as the rest, at least had a dark grey carpet that sat under the black coffee table in front of her. The room also had two tan couches on the wall to the left and right of Herah and an equally tan recliner behind the table.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Herah called out, the sound of her own voice coming out just different enough from normal to be uncanny. ¡°Anyone there?¡±

    No response.

    Rising to her feet, Herah shook her head and took a quick sniff of the air.

    ¡®That¡¯s odd, the room is completely odorless. I can¡¯t even smell myself.¡¯ Herah thought, a conflicted and slightly worried look coming over her. ¡®What could¡¯ve done this?¡¯

    Herah shook her head once more, and then began to look around the room but quickly gave up after realizing that there were no noticeable exits. Letting out a sigh of frustration, the youngling walked over to one end of the coffee table and decided to contact Jeffery.

    Closing her eyes for a moment (or was it more) and thinking about her creation, Herah felt a slight tug upon her mind as the familiar but foreign feeling of Jeffery¡¯s own mind (or whatever the pencil had equivalent to that) was fully established and recognized by both creator and creation.

    ¡®Jeffery, I¡¯m somewhere weird. Can you or dad come get me?¡¯

    Herah was shown a memory of Jeffery blasting through a neutron star, the celestial body exploding behind the oversized pencil as it broke through time and space, firing into another universe.

    ¡®Are you lost? You normally have no issue tracking me down.¡¯¡¯ Herah thought with a confused look on her face.

    A distorted and darkened image entered Herah¡¯s mind, the youngling unable to make out anything but two black spots with specks of white floating behind them.

    ¡®What the ash is that?¡¯ Herah asked Jeffery, but before the pencil could respond the youngling felt the mental link between herself and her creation shatter.

    ¡°GAHH!¡±

    Mental whiplash from the break struck Herah as her knees met the floor and her hands grabbed at the sides of her head. The youngling felt her psyche fragment into mere shards of itself before being forced back together by a surge of flames within her sharded thoughts. Giving herself a few moments (or was it actually only a single moment) to let the pain alleviate itself, Herah let out a few hard breaths and thought about Jeffery once more. This time there was no pull, nothing to indicate the connection that normally existed between the pair.

    ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± Herah said aloud, dragging herself shakingly to her feet with the support of the table in front of her. Closing her eyes and letting out a few more breaths, Herah felt worry blossom within herself.

    ¡®What the ash was Jeffery trying to show me anyway?¡¯

    Herah tried to make sense of the image that had been shown to her, but found that it was just too vague to understand without more being shown.

    ¡°Dammit!¡±

    Herah¡¯s eyes snapped open as one of her hands slammed into the table before her. With a sharp CRACK, splinters of black filled the air as one end of the table was obliterated.

    ¡°What the fuck is going on!?¡±

    The youngling stomped away from all the furniture and towards one of the walls, smoke wafting from her nose and mouth. Once there, the youngling glared at the surface before her and slammed a fist into it.

    ¡°Who is fucking with me!?¡±

    Herah smashed her other fist into the wall, her eyes glowing an emerald green as wisp of green flames began to escape her mouth and nose.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I contact Jeffery!?¡±

    Herah slammed her head into the wall with a loud THUD, fire now pouring from all opening on her head and flaring up around her.

    ¡°And why is this stupid wall, not breaking!?¡±

    Herah slammed her head into the wall once more, a wave of green flames exploding from her head upon immediate contact with the wall.

    Fire flooded the entire room, licking at the furniture and bathing everything in a torrent of heat and green.

    Standing within this inferno, Herah rested her head against the wall letting out a tired sigh.

    ¡°White walls, white floor, sterile room.¡±

    The comforting heat of the flames had sapped her of her anger, leaving her a tad bit mellow and slightly worried. Herah took in a deep breath, inhaling a few of the surrounding flames before letting them out. This process was repeated thrice more (or was it only twice?).

    ¡°This isn¡¯t them.¡± Herah told herself, the heat of the surrounding fire calming her more and more while also draining her of her worry, ¡°They¡¯re all dead and reborn.¡±

    Herah opened her eyes, moving away from the wall and taking a good hard look at the flames that surrounded her. This allowed Herah to see something that was rather odd. Her fire had flooded the room, but not filled it in entirety. Instead, there were many spaces, small and large, where the fire just failed to reach for some odd, unknown reason.

    ¡°Space really is weird here.¡±

    Herah then let out a breath, her nostrils flaring with smoke as her lungs prepared themselves.

    And then, the youngling inhaled.

    Her mouth acted as a vacuum, sucking the green flames that surrounded her in and back down to where they came from. It was with a single blink of her eyes (maybe four) that Herah found herself standing within a now fireless room.

    Letting out a pleased sigh, Herah looked back towards the only non-white things in the room. There another odd sight popped up.

    ¡®When the fuck did that table fix itself?¡¯ Herah thought to herself, walking up to the restored coffee table with her mouth curled into a scowl. ¡®Better question, how did it fix itself?¡¯

    Looking down upon the table, Herah crouched down and began to study it while also loosening her mental hold on her senses. Her pupils dilated, stretching from their slit state and into circles. The youngling felt her tongue came alight with wholly new flavors as the most minutes of movements sent shivers through her body. Her ears strained to the point that the sounds of electrical charges hopping from neuron to neuron within her now hyperactive brain was as loud as Rouge¡¯s shouts.

    The rest of Herah¡¯s senses were heightened to this extreme as well, her perception of reality shattering and reforming itself within a millisecond (at least, that¡¯s normally how quick it was).

    ¡°Le Nombre D''or.¡± Herah said to herself, as her world exploded into a beautiful array of new sensations, that were all focused on what had previously been a table. Now it had turned into a table shaped collection of trillions upon trillions upon trillions of atoms that were surrounded by a golden rectangle.

    ¡®Well this is just a normal ass table. Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and other shit. Though, the low percentage of metals is kinda weird.¡¯ Herah thought to herself before reigning her senses back in and being left with a normal table once more.

    Herah grunted in annoyance, jets of smoke shooting from her nose. The youngling then got up and turned away from the ordinary yet strange table.

    ¡°I¡¯m just gonna piss myself off trying to figure out how that bullshit works.¡± Herah told herself while walking away from all the furniture in the room and back towards a wall. Once there, the youngling sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just keep myself busy with a song.¡±

    A deep breath was taken and then let out, fire slithering out of a mouth as lungs exhaled. Said fire formed itself into a small ball of red, blue, and purple, which then became a wisp lantern. A hand was raised and then balled into a fist, crushing the wisp lantern within its grip. A shroud of blue flames engulfed a body, a gentle smile coming in its wake.

    And then, and only then, a song began to be sung.

    ¡°Oh, ma ch¨¨re m¨¨re. Si br?lant et brillant. Oh, ma ch¨¨re m¨¨re. Donne moi ta lumi¨¨re. Oh, ma ch¨¨re m¨¨re. Je me sens inquiet et j''ai peur. Oh, ma ch¨¨re m¨¨re. Je suis tellement content que tu sois l¨¤.¡±

    The voice that sung the song wasn¡¯t one that was rude or impudent, but one that was melodic and graceful.

    ¡°Oh, ma ch¨¨re m¨¨re. Je ne t''abandonnerai jamais. Oh, ma ch¨¨re m¨¨re. Je te prot¨¦gerai toujours. Oh, ma ch¨¨re m¨¨re. Comme tu le fais pour moi. Oh, ma ch¨¨re m¨¨re. Tu m''as lib¨¦r¨¦.¡±

    The song was accompanied by the gentle changing of colors of the fire shroud, with the flame going from blue to red to green to orange before finally settling on violet by the songs end.

    Herah opened her eyes, a small smile on her face at the feeling of the flame within her chest flaring happily. The youngling then rose to her feet and let out a yawn, her shroud dispersing.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see if I can figure anything else ou-¡±

    POP!

    ¡°-it!¡±

    ¡°-hell!?¡±

    CRACK!

    A mass of black winked in and out of existence before Herah¡¯s eyes, leaving behind two peculiar looking creatures that were in the process of dragging themselves up from the face plants that had marked their entrance into the room. One had the good fortune to land on a couch, while the other creature, with far less fortune, had smashed straight through the table Herah had been studying before.

    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± Herah asked, scowling at both of the new creatures.

    Both of the new creatures froze before slowly turning towards the youngling, allowing her to see another thing that marked them as peculiar.

    They both had the same face.

    Same lack of scales, same leaf green eyes, same small nose, same soft jaw line.

    This sameness extended to their bodies as well.

    Lack of scales, pale skin, thin but fit frames, the short height of five-ten, no real gender specific features, and ponytails.

    Only three things distinguished the pair from one another.

    Their expressions, hair, and clothing.

    The creature who had crashed through the table scowled at Herah (causing the youngling to mentally dub them Fureur), their hair the color of hazel and their clothing a slight bit different then what Herah was used to. They wore what looked like a slightly thick, blue zip-up shirt with long sleeves, a hood, and pocket with the ends of the shirt reaching down to just below their hips. The weird shirt was unzipped revealing underneath a green shirt covered in illegible symbols that appeared as: Do You Want The Truth?. A pair of blue jeans led down to the bottom of their legs, where the oddest part of Fureur happened to be. Here, what looked to be an odd combination of grey rubber and polyester was where their feet should¡¯ve been.

    The creature on the couch merely looked at Herah with a few blinks and squint (earning themselves the name Confus), their hair a light auburn, and their clothing just as different as their doppleganger. They wore what looked to be an even thicker and far larger long-sleeve shirt than their counterpart did, this one having a popped collar while reaching down to their knees with buttons lining the right side. It was also open, showing similar symbols as the other creature¡¯s shirt, though this time they appeared as: Do You Want The Lie?. Instead of blue jeans, they were khaki cargo shorts that ended just after their knees. Further down, much like their counterpart, this creature also had no feet but an odd combination of materials where they were to be. This time it was black rubber and leather, and they reached up to just past Confus¡¯s ankles.

    Herah took all of this in before even five hundredths of a millisecond (at least, that was the hope) could go by, glaring at both of the new arrivals while also flexing her fingers.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± The artist said with a small growl, ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡±

    Confus went to open their mouth, but Fureur acted first.

    Leaping to their feet, a wavy blade slipped out of Fureur¡¯s left sleeve and into their waiting hand. Fureur then swung up their arm, the blade flying from their grasp and towards Herah.

    Herah raised an arm in the blink of an eye (maybe faster), knocking the blade spinning upwards.

    ¡°So slow,¡± Herah said with a tsk.

    Fureur dashed forward, taking only a second (or was it half as long) to close the distance and slam their right foot into Herah¡¯s side.

    The youngling didn¡¯t even budge.

    ¡°Are you trying to hurt me?¡± Herah smirked and chuckled, now looking down upon Fureur.

    Their only response was to step back and glare up at her.

    ¡°My turn then.¡±

    Herah¡¯s took her already raised arm and slowly pulled it back, her talons unsheathing and elongating into their full three-inch lengths.

    ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to talk, I¡¯ll just get rid of you and chat with the other one.¡±

    Herah¡¯s arm shot forward.

    SQUELCH!

    The smell of iron filled Herah¡¯s nose, her mouth salivating as blood splattered across her face and drenched her arm.

    ¡°Those scales of yours are magic.¡± A voice that was neither distinctly masculine or feminine emerged from Fureur¡¯s mouth. ¡°My blade cuts through all unless protected by magic.¡±

    Herah¡¯s eyes widened, her body flinching as the scowl that had previously marked the odd creature¡¯s face was replaced by a smirk, their now glowing white eyes alight with arrogance and confidence.

    It was a confusing and disturbing scenario.

    After all, a hand going straight through the skull was normally an instant kill.

    ¡°In fact, looking at you now, I can tell that you¡¯re just covered in magic.¡± Fureur¡¯s eyes ran over Herah¡¯s form, his tone filled with curiosity, ¡°Though that¡¯s by far the least interesting part of you.¡±

    Without even thinking, orange fire flared from Herah¡¯s hand and reduced the wet mush that was the top of Fureur¡¯s head to ash and steam. Scrunching her nose a bit at the slight smell, Herah continued to glare down upon Fureur¡¯s curious eyes as their glow failed to leave them.

    ¡°You seem somewhat familiar with Presence,¡± Fureur tilted their head to the side with a smirk, ¡°I have yet to decide whether or not that¡¯s surprising.¡±

    Herah growled at the condescending tone of Fureur, her eyes gaining an emerald glow as green fire began leaking from the corners of her snarl.

    ¡°What are you?¡± Herah growled out, her voice low and on edge.

    ¡°Here¡¯s a better a question-¡±

    Herah just barely moved her head out of the way of an upward chop, pain exploding in her stomach as her body was flung back and into the white wall.

    Herah let out a grunt, one of her eyes reflexively clenching shut as the other watched Fureur¡¯s right arm catch their blade. This same eye also noticed Fureur¡¯s outstretched leg go back down to the ground as their left arm reach into their matching shirt pocket and withdraw a three bladed dagger. Said dagger was then suddenly buried in their side.

    ¡°-what are you?¡± Fureur finished up still grinning, their head being restored in a blink (or several) of an eye.

    Before it was possible for her to respond, Herah saw Fureur¡¯s raised arm blur once more, this time downwards.

    Herah¡¯s blood drenched arm shot up to meet the wavy blade that came down towards her, a sharp CHING! filling the air on as metal met scale. Immediately, Herah¡¯s eyes widened and a grunt left her as the force behind Fureur¡¯s own strike matched her own and a struggle of strength began between the pair.

    ¡°You got quite some speed and strength on you,¡± Fureur¡¯s eyes twinkled with smugness as they seemed to casually push back against a struggling Herah, ¡°Far from the strongest or quickest I¡¯ve met, but you¡¯re not the weakest so you have that going for you.¡±

    Herah let out another growl, her throat bulging slightly as even more fire began to leak from her mouth with some now coming from her nose.

    ¡°You look so angry,¡± Fureur¡¯s right brow went up as their smile turned lopsided, ¡°Might it be because you now find your pride misguided?¡±

    ¡°RARRGH!¡±

    Herah let out a roar, green fire blasting from her mouth and engulfing Fureur in a torrent of flames. The fire was endless, Herah blasting out the flames for as long as possible. To her, a number of minutes passed as the area before her was bathed in her tiny inferno, though for how long was unsure for her.

    ¡°That was somewhat impressive, fifteen minutes, possibly, of continuous fire isn¡¯t easy even for the weak.¡±

    The flames cleared, revealing to Herah a sight that caused her eyes to widen once more.

    Fureur stood completely unscathed, grin still in place and clothing not even singed as their blade continued to push down against Herah.

    ¡°How the ash did you survive that?!¡±

    ¡°I merely chose to utilize OE.¡±

    ¡°Oh-ee?¡± Herah sounded out in confusion with a slight breathlessness, the word dancing along her tongue in a familiar yet unknown way. The word also seemed oddly fictional, almost as if it wasn¡¯t real.

    Fureur rolled their eyes, shaking their head as they hopped away from Herah. The youngling¡¯s arm swung out fully and into the air.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know what Denial is.¡± Fureur looked away from Herah with a sigh, allowing their arms to hang loosely at their sides, ¡°That¡¯s disappointing.¡±

    Herah snarled at Fureur, leaping up with a clawed slash of her left arm aimed at their throat.

    Fureur caught her hand with ease, their grip holding Herah¡¯s limb tight in place even as the youngling fought to pull it away.

    ¡°So you¡¯re a little fast, you¡¯re a little strong, you¡¯re a little hot, and you¡¯re a lotta ignorant.¡± Fureur tsked, ¡°You¡¯re a total disappointment.¡±

    ¡°Raaawwrrr!¡±

    Herah¡¯s head exploded in green flames, her other arm lashing out towards Fureur¡¯s neck.

    The bastard caught her hand with ease, causing a repeat of her other arm to occur.

    ¡°You¡¯re becoming less and less interesting by the second.¡± Fureur told the furious Herah.

    In response, Herah leaned back and jumped into the air. Bringing her legs in and then kicking them back out like a spring, Herah¡¯s feet struck Fureur right in the abdomen.

    They didn¡¯t even budge.

    ¡°Damnit!¡± Herah cursed before finding her arms released and herself falling back. Curling backwards and swinging her arms over her head, Herah caught herself and flipped herself upright and away from Fureur.

    Now back on her feet, Herah stood apart from Fureur. Her body was tense, head no longer in flames, eyes glaring at and studying Fureur closely. Her face had been warped into a snarl as her hands clenched and unclenched.

    Still on their feet, Fureur stood apart from Herah. Their body was loose. Their head was soaked in blood, eyes uncaring and paying little attention to Herah. Their face was relaxed in a smile, hands tapping away at their legs.

    ¡°So dumbass,¡± Fureur chuckled while reaching down to the floor for their discarded weapon, ¡°What¡¯s your last resort?¡±

    Herah didn¡¯t bother replying.

    ¡®The piece of shit took ten thousand kelvin like an ashling would¡¯, Was the youngling¡¯s grim thoughts, ¡®And something tells me that pushing it up to two hundred thousand won¡¯t get me better results-¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m assuming that your last resort has to do with your flames.¡±

    Herah¡¯s focus went back to Fureur, her eyes widening and her breath hitching.

    ¡°How did you know that?¡±

    ¡°The second most interesting part of you is the flame within your body.¡± Fureur jabbed a finger towards Herah¡¯s chest. ¡°And if you have it, then it can do much more than bore me.¡±

    Herah growled at Fureur, her fangs bared at the unspoken message that came with Fureur¡¯s words.

    ¡°Are you implying that my flames are weak?¡±

    Fureur¡¯s smile warped into a smirk.

    ¡°They¡¯re pathetic.¡±

    For a split second (or less), Herah just stared.

    The room became mute, only the beat of a heart filling being heard.

    ¡®Did you just call my fire pathetic?¡¯

    The BA-DUMP! of the heart grew quicker, red-skinned cheeks darkening into a deeper shade of their color.

    ¡®You dare insult my fire!¡¯

    The sound of a heart grew louder, clawed hands clenching and unclenching as smoke began to bellow from the corners of grit teeth.

    ¡®You dare insult the gift of my Mistress!¡¯

    Fire flooded arteries and veins, its color shifting from red and into a bluer state.

    ¡®I¡¯ll kill you!¡¯

    A low and drawn out growl filled the air, as eyes of emerald turned into glowing amethyst and the beat of a heart turned into thunder.

    ¡®I¡¯ll burn you till you¡¯re ashes.¡¯¡¯

    Red leathery wings unfurled, lifting a body into the air with one flap and then keeping it aloft with their subsequent motions. The volume of the heart crescendoed, its beat like that of thousands erupting volcanoes.

    ¡®Then I¡¯ll burn the ashes till nothing is left!¡¯

    Not a word had been spoken, every sentence merely a furious thought that was soon drowned out by a pounding heart.

    The split-second ended.

    And then, Herah finally spoke.

    ¡°FUREUR!¡± The youngling bellowed.

    The room unmuted as violet fire roared from Herah¡¯s body and engulfed her form, a loving and warm Presence overcoming her. A cloud of ash immediately formed around Herah, all the surrounding time and space having been burnt away.

    With a void now between her and the rest of the room, time and space began to rush towards it in an attempt to stitch itself back together. All the surrounding floor was torn up in chunks and particles, revealing a strange liquid blackness beneath them. The wall behind Herah and the nearby ceiling were ripped apart similarly, revealing the same blackness.

    All came towards Herah.

    All was reduced to ash.

    All ceased to be.

    The rest of the room began to come towards Herah as well. More of the wall, floor, and ceiling were ripped from their places, one of the couches being pulled in, and even the liquid blackness pouring in towards the youngling.

    Only one thing wasn¡¯t being pulled towards Herah.

    ¡°Flames that can obliterate oblivion itself, fascinating.¡± Fureur said, standing completely still atop a piece of flooring that was also unaffected by the pull of Herah¡¯s purple flames. They then tilted their head to the side, ¡°Is that all?¡±

    Herah didn¡¯t even bother replying, instead raising a single clawed hand. A tendril of violet fire emerged from her extended fingers, shooting out in an upwards arc that went over Fureur¡¯s head and ended at the feet of Confus.

    ¡°I already know what you¡¯re going to do.¡± Fureur said, ignored by Herah as the youngling dispersed her violet flames.

    In an instant, time and space patched itself back together, Herah appearing right over Fureur in a cloud of ash that burnt away after a second, her cheeks puffed and filled with the same violet flames from earlier.

    Shocked amethyst met taunting white.

    Fureur stared right back up at Herah, a grin on their face.

    ¡°Trust me, it won¡¯t win you this fight.¡±

    Herah opened her mouth and pillar of violet roared forth, engulfing Fureur and everything else within a five foot radius. The blast itself should¡¯ve only lasted three seconds, though, once again, the youngling wasn¡¯t sure the length of time. Eventually, Herah cut off her fire, a pillar of ash existing for but a moment before burning away as space and time once again stitched itself back together and dragged her into the liquid black that was now nearly all the room.

    For what was neither a finite nor infinite amount of time, Herah was submerged within the liquid blackness. A numbness engulfed her entirety, paralysis following as the youngling could only float.

    All that was felt was the tiny fire burning in her chest.

    Then, the same loving and warm Presence from earlier engulfed Herah, and the youngling found herself flung out of the blackness and right next to Confus.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Herah said to herself, while taking in as many deep breaths as possible. Her body was wracked by shivers, though not from any form of cold. After her breathing had evened out, the youngling took a look at the mess the room had become.

    All that remained was one of the couches, a back wall with a few chunks ripped out, and the floor that all this was all upon. Where the rest of the room had been was now replaced with liquid black, which did nothing but flow in place.

    Turning to Confus, Herah found the creature expressing their namesake. Their mouth was agape, their eyes wide, and their entire body still. Confus stayed like this until Herah stood up.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Herah cracked her neck, before smirking at Confus, ¡°Now, mind answering the question you¡¯re duplicate was so keen on ignoring.¡±

    ¡°Three more.¡±

    Herah froze, a shiver running up her spine at the disembodied words that came from within the blackness. Turning back to face it, the youngling was confronted with an impossible site.

    The room was being restored.

    The liquid black was pushed back, as the walls, floor, and ceiling seemed to slowly reassemble themselves as if coming back atom by atom. And within the center of the room, where they had stood right before being blasted, was Fureur. The smirking bastard was holding up a single hand, three digits pointing up mockingly.

    ¡°You only have three more shots of that you can pull off. Am I right?¡±

    ¡°Ho-How are you still here?¡± Herah asked, her mind trying and failing to make sense of what was before her, ¡°You were gone! There was no trace at all of you!¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°True,¡± Fureur lowered their hand , ¡°You destroyed me down to the very concept with those flames of yours. Well, not yours, that fire is from something else. You merely utilized an Eia while lacking control of Presence, a gift common amongst the children of concepts.¡±

    ¡°Ee-ah?¡± Herah questioned, that word having the same familiar yet alien feel as OE, though a distinct weight was also felt in the word. The weight made the word feel physically tangible and powerful.

    Fureur chuckled at this, their smirk sharpening as they pointed at Herah.

    ¡°You¡¯re a child of the concept of Fire, and the Concept you used to attack me was Incin¨¦ration. Simple as that.¡±

    Herah grappled with the words of Fureur for but a second before deciding them too complicated for the moment and turned a glare back onto her opponent.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain how you¡¯re back.¡± Herah said, a growl and jets of smoke leaving her nose. ¡°If nothing remained, you shouldn¡¯t even be capable of returning.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true for normal mortals,¡± Fureur said with a chuckle before placing a hand on his chest, ¡°But I¡¯m far more than a normal mortal. A simple use of oE allowed me to rebuild both the room and myself.¡±

    ¡°ah-ee?¡± This word caused for the same familiar/alien feel the other two had to surge through Herah, though what made it distinct was just how malleable and ever changing it felt.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think too hard about it, especially since my interest has mostly been satisfied.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± The youngling asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion as Fureur began walking towards her.

    ¡°It means I¡¯ll finally answer your question dumbass and my own.¡± Fureur responded, just as they stopped before Herah and looked up at her with their smirk still in place. Their eyes were now back to their normal green.

    Herah¡¯s right arm twitched.

    ¡°You¡¯re not moving.¡± Fureur said, their voice having suddenly turned distinctly feminine and divine.

    Herah¡¯s right arm froze in place, the youngling now finding herself unable to move it. Attempts to move her other arm, both legs, and head were met with the same result. Even her mouth was frozen in place, though her internal workings still seemed to work.

    ¡®What the ash did this bastard do to me!?¡¯ Herah thought to herself as Fureur raised their right hand up to her left horn and grabbed her by it.

    With a sharp yank and kick to the back of her left knee, Herah found herself on her knees looking up at the amused face of Fureur.

    ¡°I¡¯m Alex, The Scourge of Gods, Guardian of the Truth, and Choosen of Uu.¡±

    Flames of green reflexively spewed from Herah¡¯s body, engulfing both herself and the now named Alex in scorching heat. Neither reacted to this however, with Herah unable to do anything as Alex pointed down at her and spoke once again.

    ¡°And you, while you might¡¯ve been something at one point or another, you¡¯re currently nothing.¡±

    ¡®What the fuck are they talking about?¡¯ Herah thought to herself, her flames turning blue in her failing attempts to defend herself.

    ¡°What I¡¯m talking about is you, well more the lack of you,¡± Alex tapped Herah on her head, ¡°You don¡¯t exist dumbass.¡±

    For a moment (or was it more), Herah was on her knees, paralyzed and unable to do anything to affect Alex.

    One moment later, Herah was gone.

    No feeling came to her body.

    There was no body to feel.

    No thought came to her mind.

    There was no mind to think.

    No heat came from her flame.

    There was no flame to burn.

    Then, the moment passed.

    And a small red fireball appeared midair, where Herah had previously been. A soft warmth emitted from it.

    ¡®Fire.¡¯ Herah thought to herself, the warmth of her flame filling her being once more.

    The fireball turned violet, but this time, nothing burned.

    Instead, a small and near translucent wave of flames pulsed from the ball.

    ¡®Wish I could grab it.¡¯ Herah thought to herself, moving phantom limbs.

    Another pulse left the ball of violet fire.

    ¡®Wish I could see it.¡¯ Herah thought to herself, seeing nothing but darkness.

    Another pulse left the fireball.

    ¡®Wish I could control it.¡¯ Herah thought to herself, telling her flame to flicker.

    The fireball flickered.

    And with one final pulse, Herah¡¯s body burned itself back into reality.

    Sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch all came back in a flood for the youngling as her body fell to the floor with a sharp SMACK!.

    With quick and shallow breaths, Herah rolled over onto her back as one of her arms darted up to her chest to grasp tightly at the flesh that now covered her flame.

    ¡°Bro, what the fuck was that!?¡± A voice much like Alex¡¯s shouted, Herah¡¯s ears able to detect a subtly higher femininity within it. The youngling assumed this to be Confus.

    ¡°She caught my interest, so I decided to poke and prod at her.¡±

    Herah let out a low growl at Alex¡¯s words, rage boiling up from within her as smoke shot from her nostrils.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t a poking and prodding, that was blatant murder!¡±

    ¡°The fact that only now you remember her cares to disagree.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I erased every remnant of her from existence, even the memories others might¡¯ve had about her. Time and space had to reformat themselves to no longer take her into account, hence why we were just talking about why we were summoned to this room alone and how time and space seems a bit strange here.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Both Herah and Confus asked at the same time, while the youngling leaped to her feet and turned to face the pair. The two strange creatures were standing a bit away from all the furniture and near a wall. Confus seemed to have just turned towards Herah, a look of surprise on their face while Alex was already facing her, a small smirk in place.

    ¡°You¡¯re still alive!¡± Confus shouted out with a smile on their face while also moving themselves in front of Alex. ¡°That¡¯s great and I¡¯m so sorry about what my brother-¡± Confus¡¯s right elbow slammed into Alex¡¯s stomach, causing him to bend over with his hands to his abdomen, ¡°- did to you.¡±

    Another growl tore from Herah¡¯s mouth as small wisp of fire escaped her, but as soon as her eyes caught sight of Confus¡¯s smile, her anger simmered out into light annoyance.

    ¡°What I was saying was that, much like you did to me earlier, I erased the very concept of you from existence.¡± Alex said from behind his sibling, still smirking at Herah, albeit pained ¡°You managed to come back from it as well. And while my perception of time is currently a mess, I know for sure you came back sooner then you should¡¯ve, if you were supposed to at all.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re confusing.¡± Herah said, her brows scrunching up and her mouth curling into a frown.

    ¡°Or you¡¯re just an idiot.¡± Alex responded with flippant disregard.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it either bro.¡± Confus said, turning to her brother with thinned lips.

    ¡°Not really helping either of your cases sis.¡± Alex raised a brow and smirked at his sister.

    ¡°Why are you such an asshole?¡±

    ¡°Why are you such an idiot?¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡±

    ¡°Have you forgotten what¡¯s between my legs?¡±

    CRUNCH!

    Herah let out a short laugh as Alex keeled over with his hands down to his crotch, Confus¡¯s leg dropping back down to the floor before the creature turned back to face Herah with a wide smile on her face.

    ¡°I apologize for bro¡¯s actions,¡± Confus bowed, ¡°Would you please forgive him?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t- Uh!¡± Alex grunted out between heavy intakes of breaths, ¡°Apologise for me.¡±

    Confus rose from her bow and turned to her brother with a glare.

    ¡°Then don''t be a dick.¡±

    ¡°Go fuck yourself.¡± Alex said dragging himself back up to his feet.

    ¡°Why fuck myself when I have a fine partner right in front of me?¡± Confus said, throwing a thumb back towards Herah.

    ¡°Gross,¡± Alex said with a slight cough before turning his head upwards, ¡°I forget that you¡¯ll fuck anything.¡±

    WHAP!

    ¡°Cunt,¡± Alex said under his breath, while rubbing the top of his head.

    ¡°Asshole.¡± Confus responded with a side glare.

    A chuckle from Herah caused the pair to return their attention back to her.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny dumbass?¡±

    Herah¡¯s left eye twitched for a moment, but the small smile of Confus forced her anger to disperse before it could even fully manifest.

    ¡°The pair of you are interesting.¡± Herah blew out six rings of red flames at Confus and Alex, both getting three each.

    Confus gave the rings a curious stare, even sticking her hands through their centers, which caused them to dissipate. Alex reacted with a casual wave of his hands, his expression unamused as the rings were blown away.

    ¡°Through the act of Ash va s¡¯installer and prior experience, I, Herah War Hej, recognize and respect the pair of you.¡±

    The youngling bowed to the pair before turning to Confus, and blowing out a wisp lantern. Herah raised a digit for the fiery flower to rest upon before offering it to Confus with a broad smile.

    ¡°I see you as a potential friend, and would hope to remove that potential from your title.¡±

    Confus chuckled and stuck out her own finger to take the wisp lantern from Herah.

    ¡°Well, the name¡¯s Max, just Max, and while it would be my pleasure to be your friend, I¡¯d love to upgrade that title to something a bit more fun.¡±

    Max winked at Herah and gave the youngling a sly grin before placing the wisp lantern atop her hair.

    Herah¡¯s smile widened a little, a small dusting of pink coming to her cheeks.

    ¡°Oh look, my sister pursues another conquest.¡±

    Herah¡¯s blush disappeared, a frown coming to her face as her head turned to face Alex.

    ¡°So,¡± Alex tilted his head to the side with a small smirk once again adorning his face, ¡°What do you see me as?¡±

    ¡°A mountain to conquer.¡± Herah said, glaring.

    Alex chuckled at this, closing both eyes as his smirk stretched into a smile.

    ¡°You court the impossible.¡±

    Alex peeked open an eye, glowing white staring through Herah.

    ¡°How are you going to climb a mountain when you can¡¯t even comprehend it?¡±

    Smoke flared from Herah¡¯s nostrils as a growl left her throat and a step towards Alex was taken, but a raised arm appearing in her path caused Herah to turn to Max.

    ¡°Calm down beautiful,¡± Herah¡¯s eyes instantly went to Max¡¯s mouth, her smile working its magic with ease, ¡°Though you look cuter redder in the face, I think we both prefer you alive and breathing.¡±

    ¡®Alive and breathing?¡¯ Herah thought to herself a bit confused, ¡®You make it sound like I¡¯ll die if I take another step.¡¯

    ¡°And Alex,¡± Max turned away from Herah and gave her brother another glare, ¡°Stop. Since we got here, you¡¯ve done nothing but be antagonistic and threatening. Herah here has only responded as anyone in danger naturally would, so back off.¡±

    Alex let out what sounded like an annoyed grunt, but after a second (maybe), closed his glowing eye then opened both with neither glowing.

    ¡°Only because I hate to see you mad, sis.¡± Alex said before walking over to one of the couches and plopping himself down onto it.

    Max let out a breath before turning back to Herah, smile back in place.

    ¡°Crisis averted.¡±

    Max stepped passed Herah and towards the couches, causing the youngling to turn and watch as the strange creature seated herself next to her brother. Max then gestured to the couch across from her.

    Herah let out her own sigh before walking up to the back of the empty couch and leaping over and onto it. The youngling landed in the middle of her couch before leaning forward, spreading her legs apart, and resting her hands on her knees. Her eyes then ran over the pair of siblings before her, a keen interest tickling her mind.

    Before Hearh sat the pair of strange creatures that were Alex and Max, the brother sitting on the end to her left while the sister sat to the end on her right.

    Alex sat slouched, his legs crossed. Resting his right arm on the armrest with his fist to his cheek, the annoying creature stared impassively at Herah. Though, a small glint of caution did flash in his eyes every second or so. Alex¡¯s other arm rested atop his left leg, the wavy blade from earlier balanced across the back of his palm.

    Max sat up straight, her legs held together though both were thumping up and down. Both of her hands were in her lap, a small card held between her index and middle fingers. Max stared at Herah still smiling and with an earnest air around her.

    ¡°So,¡± Max started, ¡°Not to be rude, but what exactly might a beauty such as yourself be?¡±

    Herah watched Alex roll his eyes and scoff, earning him a quick glare from his sister. The youngling grinned at this before leaning back and placing a hand over her flame.

    ¡°I am a Cendreux, a glorious race born from the death of a planet and La Flamme.¡±

    ¡°Fascinating,¡± Max said, her smile widening before pointing to herself and her brother, ¡°We¡¯re humans and I honestly can¡¯t say much about our origins or who made us. Bro knows for sure, but he won¡¯t tell me.¡±

    ¡°I keep telling you, it¡¯s a load of bullshit and you¡¯re better off not knowing.¡± Alex shook his head and chuckled, ¡°Plus, that¡¯s only if you believe me.¡±

    Max turned to Alex.

    ¡°When have you been one to lie?¡±

    ¡°Rarely.¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°Stop asking Sis.¡±

    Max pouted, before turning back to Herah and mouthing something in a completely alien language. The youngling tilted her head to the side, scrunching her eyebrows and frowning slightly at the human.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve asked your question, let me ask you mine.¡± Herah said before turning to Alex, ¡°What the fuck is Presence?¡±

    Alex snorted, a small chuckle leaving him before his eyes narrowed into a tiny glare.

    ¡°That knowledge is not only of no benefit to you, but a direct detriment as you are. All you need to know is that you don¡¯t have it, and that you¡¯re special for that.¡±

    Herah scoffed.

    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about knowing what the ash Presence is?¡±

    ¡°Ignorance isn¡¯t just bliss, it¡¯s safe.¡± Alex responded.

    ¡°Still isn¡¯t telling me anything.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the point.¡±

    Herah¡¯s right eye twitched as a tight smile formed out of her lips.

    ¡°You¡¯re a real smartass aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but you¡¯re also dumb.¡±

    Herah went to get up, but the movement of Max out of the corner of her eyes caused just enough of her attention to be given to a smile. A smile that instantly snuffed out her anger.

    ¡°Please, Presence isn¡¯t anything important. Just something dumb my brother can do.¡±

    ¡°If you say so,¡± Herah responded, truly believing the human despite all evidence to the contrary.

    ¡°Guess that makes it my turn,¡± Alex said before shutting both eyes and asking, ¡°Connaissez-vous quelqu''un qui s''appelle Orange?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my father, how do you know of-¡± Herah paused in her response, her eyes widening as her mouth opened and closed a few times before a growl came from her throat and a snarl to her face, ¡°Comment as-tu appris la Berceuse de Maman!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d advise you to calm down idiot,¡± Alex flipped his left hand over, catching the handle of his dagger and raising the blade towards Herah, ¡°My sister only stops me from attacking you, not from defending myself.¡±

    ¡°Woah woah woah,¡± Max raised both of her hands drawing the eyes of Herah, causing the youngling to see her smile and calm down, ¡°Let¡¯s not start another fight up.¡±

    Herah took a few deep breaths, her nostrils flaring with smoke as her mouth thinned into a line.

    ¡°How do you know my people¡¯s ancient language?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s really you¡¯re people¡¯s ancient language?¡± Herah¡¯s full attention went to Max, the human tilting her head with a small smirk in place, ¡°Where we come from that¡¯s just french.¡±

    ¡°French?¡± Herah asked, eyes narrow and a small frown on her face, ¡°The name of my language is la Berceuse de Maman.¡±

    ¡°Mom¡¯s lullaby might be its name where you come from,¡± Herah¡¯s attention went to Alex, who had returned his hand to its resting position, ¡°But where we come from it¡¯s called French and is taught to anyone willing to learn.¡±

    ¡°Though I wonder what distant planet has french as an ancient language?¡± Max wondered aloud.

    ¡°Not a distant planet sis,¡± Alex let out a tired sigh and rolled his open eye, ¡°What we¡¯ve witnessed is a case of universal leaking. Ideas can transmit from one universe to another, languages included.¡±

    ¡°Oh cool,¡± Max chuckled before a confused look came to her, ¡°Wait, how do you know Herah¡¯s from a different universe?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Herah chimed in, her frown still in place, ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    ¡°Not important for either of you to know,¡± Alex closed his eye and smirked to himself, ¡°Not like you could do anything with the information.¡±

    Green flames leaked from Herah¡¯s nose and mouth, as her lips stretched into a taut smile.

    ¡°I really,¡±Herah¡¯s words came out strained and furious, ¡°And I mean really, want to just smash that stupid pretty face of yours in.¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯m pretty?¡± Alex opened his eyes and feigned a blush, ¡°Too bad the feeling isn¡¯t mutual.¡±

    A fist slammed into the side of Alex¡¯s face, Herah¡¯s anger dissipating with a laugh as the human dropped to his knees and let out a small curse.

    ¡°Stop being an ass!¡± Max yelled out her brother, dropping her fist down to her side while rising to her feet.

    ¡°Cunt,¡± Alex spit out a glob of blood before wiping his face.

    ¡°Hey asshole,¡± Max threw both her hands into the air while bending down to shout in her brother¡¯s face, ¡°Could you cut out your dickiness for just a bit to at least tell us where we¡¯re at?¡±

    ¡°A pocket dimension within the void that exists between and around the universes of our multiverse.¡± Alex gave a side glare to his sister while picking his dagger up from the floor and rising to his feet..

    ¡°Why?¡± Max rose with her brother and backed away from him.

    ¡°I have a good idea, one I hope to be wrong.¡±

    ¡°Which is?¡± Herah asked, one brow raised in curiosity.

    ¡°Well wouldn¡¯t you like to kn-¡±

    Herah¡¯s and Alex¡¯s attention went to the far end of the room, a black mass appearing and spitting out a rather short human looking creature, dressed in a turquoise tunic that let out loud, metallic chinks as they face planted on the floor with a loud SMACK! Herah¡¯s nose wrinkled as the musk of a male, the smell of freshly melted metal, and fumes of a forge hit it.

    ¡°Ow,¡±An extremely soft, childlike voice groaned out from the new creature as the black mass spat out a soft, cone shaped hat the same color of his tunic onto his head, ¡°I hope this isn¡¯t Odd¡¯s idea of a joke.¡±

    The creature rose to his feet, standing at two-eight and revealing a rather pudgy and childlike face with freckles all across it. His skin was a very light tan, with some locks of brown hair sticking out from beneath his hat and adorable, bark colored pupils that stared at the three before them in amazement and surprise. Grey tights covered his tiny, adorable legs ending at feet covered in what looked to be the same material as his hat and tunic, said material curling up and into a point at their ends. And to top the look off, balls of white fluff sat at the tip of his covered feet and the tip top of his hat.

    Herah absorbed all of this with a mere glance, instantly gauging the new creature to not be a threat once the smell of fear, worry, and confusion struck her nose.

    Speaking of the creature, they opened and closed his mouth a few times in shock, revealing pearly white teeth, before speaking.

    ¡°Who are-¡±

    But before his sentence could end, Herah watched Alex¡¯s left arm swung upwards and his blade fly across the room and towards the new creature.

    -you?¡± The creature finished just as Herah covered the distance between herself and said creature, having caught the hilt of Alex¡¯s dagger right before it could go through his eye.

    WHAP!

    ¡°Ow!¡± Alex grunted out, rubbing his head once more as Max glared him down.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ow me! You nearly killed that poor child!¡±

    ¡°Not a kid sis, trust me.¡±

    WHAP!

    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡±

    ¡°Fuck you cunt!¡±

    ¡°Fuck you asshole!¡±

    Herah looked away from the squabbling siblings and to the new arrival, looking down into the terrified eyes of the would-be corpse.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± The creature said, his eyes nervously darting between the blade before him and the towering Cendreux that stopped it in rapid succession.

    Herah, taking the hint, flung Alex¡¯s dagger back at him, the human snatching it out of the air with an almost practiced ease. The Cendreux then backed a bit away from the creature and crouched down before them.

    ¡°Hello there, I¡¯m Herah, Herah War Hej,¡± Herah breathed out three rings of red fire, each one floating lazily towards the new arrival, ¡°And you are?¡±

    The creature gave Herah¡¯s flames a weary look, but still raised a hand to touch them. Each ring dispersed as soon as contact was made, causing a small smile to come to the new creatures face.

    ¡°My name is Owen, Owen Vulcan.¡± Owen stuck out his hand, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Herah.¡±

    The youngling smiled back at Owen and took his tiny hand into her own, giving it a small shake.

    ¡°Through the act of Ash va s¡¯installer, I recognize and respect you.¡±

    Owen¡¯s smile widened.

    ¡°Cool,¡± Owen looked Herah up and down, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone like you before, what might you be?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a Cendreux,¡± Herah stood up and pumped out her chest with a prideful grin, ¡°One of the greatest creations of my goddess La Flamme. And you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a gnome, the result of a mad god¡¯s experiments.¡±

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Herah nodded her head before gesturing around her, ¡°You have any idea where we might be at the moment?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Owen said with a shake of his head, ¡°I was hoping you knew that.¡±

    ¡°Pocket universe,¡± Herah threw a thumb back towards the arguing twins, ¡°That¡¯s what Alex, the one who tried to kill you, said.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Owen looked towards Alex with an unsure smile, ¡°Do you know him?¡±

    ¡°Not really, just met him about a few minutes ago-¡± Herah paused, scrunching her brow and frowning to herself, ¡°Maybe an hour or some hours ago. Time and space are weird here.¡±

    ¡°Nice to know,¡± Owen rubbed the back of his head and pointed towards Alex, ¡°Did he-¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Cool,¡± Owen chuckled nervously while also having his eyes run across the room in keen observation, ¡°Just wanted to be sure I wasn¡¯t special.¡±

    Herah grinned at the gnome before crouching down.

    ¡°Hey, so here¡¯s a quick question for you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Owen tilted his head curiously.

    ¡°Why do you smell like a forge?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s becau-¡±

    ¡°Now apologize asshole!¡±

    Herah stepped out of the way as Alex fell to the floor in front of Owen, looking towards a furious Max as the human stomped up to her brother and gave him a kick in the side.

    ¡°Ow, what was the kick for?!¡± Alex dragged himself up to his feet, glaring fangs at his sister.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m still angry at you!¡± Glaring back at her brother, Max then jabbed a finger at Owen, ¡°Now apologize.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Alex barely gave Owen a glance before looking back at Max with a pointed stare.

    That earned him a kick to the shin.

    ¡°Do it properly you ass!¡± Max shouted back before crouching down to Owen¡¯s height and patting him on his head, ¡°You almost killed a child.¡±

    ¡°He is not a kid,¡± Alex said with a roll of his eyes before getting down to Owen¡¯s level and looking him in the eye, his own the same glowing white they were in his earlier confrontation with Herah, ¡°He¡¯s actually the oldest one here in fact-¡±

    Alex let out a slight grunt as Max slammed an elbow into his side, his white eyes turning back green as he cursed and grabbed at that part of his body.

    ¡°Just apologize like a decent human being.¡± Max gave a glare to Alex.

    The brother rolled his eyes, before looking back at Owen.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for nearly killing you, it was rude and uncalled for.¡±

    Alex gave a stretched smile to the gnome before him, Owen frowning slightly in return but shrugging after a second.

    ¡°Apology accepted.¡±

    Alex let out a satisfied sigh, his smile falling immediately, and turned to his sister, who gave him a small frown before letting out a satisfied hum. Max then pulled her brother back and away from Owen, a small hrrk leaving Alex as his sister took his place in front of the gnome and held out her hand for a shake.

    ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Max, just Max.¡± Max nodded her head towards her twin, ¡°That¡¯s Alex, just Alex. He¡¯s an asshole.¡±

    ¡°Cunt.¡±

    Max rolled her eyes at her brother¡¯s insult as Owen took her hand and gave it a slight shake which was returned in kind.

    ¡°I¡¯m Owen, Owen Reese.¡±

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you,¡± Max stood up and gestured towards Alex while bowing, ¡°And apologies for what my brother did.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Owen gave Max a nervous smile while taking his hands and hiding them behind his back rocking from side to side, ¡°All is forgiven.¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± Max raised her body from its bow, ¡°So what might you be?¡±

    ¡°A gnome.¡± Herah answered, having been watching all three interact with a keen interest, ¡°Owen is a gnome, his race an experiment of some crazy god.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Max seemed both taken about and fascinated at the same time, ¡°That¡¯s really cool.¡± The human turned to her brother with a begging stare, ¡°Please say how we were made?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Boo.¡± Max said with a pout before turning to Owen, ¡°Well, we¡¯re humans and I don¡¯t know how we¡¯re made or who made us.¡±

    Owen let out a small laugh while shaking his head and smiling at Max.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry about it too much. I don¡¯t think how one is made or who makes them is that important.¡±

    Herah scoffed at these words, getting a look from everyone else.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Who would¡¯ve guessed?¡± Alex looked at Herah, his lips drawn and his words unimpressed, ¡°It¡¯s not like you described your race as glorious and great.¡±

    ¡°Because we are.¡±

    Alex looked Herah up and down, his expression turning questioning.

    ¡°You must be the outlier then.¡±

    Before Herah could make any move towards Alex, Max stepped between the pair of them with her hands raised and a smile on her face.

    ¡°Well everyone is entitled to their own beliefs so let¡¯s not kick up a fuss over it.¡±

    Even with Max¡¯s smile somehow calming her, Herah allowed herself to look back at Alex and send him a glare, getting only a raised eyebrow and smirk in return,

    ¡°Anyhow,¡± Herah¡¯s attention went back to Max, as the human now stood next to the gnome, crouching down to his level and still smiling her kind smile.¡°You got any idea why we¡¯re here?¡±

    Owen grinned nervously at Max, and shook his head.

    ¡°I was hoping you knew more.¡±

    Herah turned to Alex, the human seemingly feeling her eyes on him and turning to give her a raised brow.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You seem to be the most knowledgeable out of the four of us, so mind telling us what you think?¡±

    ¡°At least you can admit when you¡¯re out of your depth.¡±

    A growl grew in Herah¡¯s throat, causing her to get a grin in response.

    ¡°Alex,¡± Max gave her brother a side glare, ¡°Just answer the fucking question.¡±

    Alex rolled his eyes.

    ¡°We¡¯ve probably been summoned by our Ma-¡±

    Herah blinked.

    Alex was cut off as strings of light appeared at his mouth and stabbed into it, simultaneously burning and sewing his mouth shut. His muffled screams of pain sounding out as strings of light appeared before his eyes and did the same thing. More stings of light appeared around Alex, stabbing into his arms and legs before sewing them together and causing him to fall on his face.

    Herah blinked.

    Heavy and strangled coughing caused the youngling to turn to Max, finding the human on her knees and coughing up some weird red flower with a black center and an almost white flower with light purple edges.

    ¡°Anemones and carnations.¡± Max let out a confused laugh before coughing up another red flower, ¡°Funny.¡±

    Herah blinked.

    The scent and sharp THUNK of metal striking the floor caused Herah to turn towards Owen, the gnome staring down wide-eyed at a lump of iron. Owen raised both his head and right arm, looking long and hard at the stump his hand used to sit upon.

    ¡°What in the name of Reese-¡±

    Owen¡¯s jaw fell off transforming mid drop into a lump of steel. THUNKing to the floor with a heavy ring.

    Herah blinked.

    Looking down to her own hands, the youngling saw them covered in a rainbow of thick paint.

    ¡®Wait-¡¯

    Herah raised her hands up to her face, the closer inspection allowing her to see that her hands weren¡¯t covered in paint but turning into it.

    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± Herah shouted, as her left hand collapsed into a puddle of paint with the rest of her arm quickly following suit. Looking over herself, Herah found that her entire body was beginning to collapse. ¡°What¡¯s going on with Traduire!?¡±

    Herah blinked.

    ¡°Oh wow,¡± A rather gentle, masculine voice sounded out from Herah¡¯s right, ¡°This is ironically hilarious.¡±

    Herah turned towards the voice, but her eyes had already melted into paint and no new scent came from the direction of the voice.

    ¡°Who-¡±

    Herah¡¯s lower jaw fell from her face into the growing puddle of paint beneath her.

    ¡°Maybe get yourself together before asking any questions artist,¡± The voice responded, amusement tickling their words. ¡°Though, you can¡¯t really do that without help last I checked.¡±

    Herah felt something- No the youngling felt nothing- no-

    Herah could not even imagine what was now in front of her, or even if it was there. Herah just knew what was said next.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if that help will appear if I give you the same love tap Jockey gave me. Sandbox won¡¯t be too hurt if my attack goes through.¡±

    By this point, both of Herah¡¯s arms were gone, one leg remained but would soon fall, and her head was just barely holding its solidity. But even in such a terrible and confused state, Herah understood that whatever this ¡°love tap¡± was, it would kill her if unimpeded.

    Herah blinked.

    And the image of a dunce cap entered her mind.

    CRACK!

    Herah felt all the surrounding time and space crack, her melting body being seperated by the blackness that leaked into the room once more. The youngling cared not for this however, a comforting and familiar Presence engulfing her as if a missing part of her had just been restored.

    ¡°Thanks Jeffery!¡± Herah¡¯s determined voice called out as her body stopped its transformation, with Jeffery¡¯s Presence dragging the paint back into place before returning it to flesh, bone, and scales. Eyes now cleared, Herah could see Jeffery floating between her and what must¡¯ve been what had attacked her.

    The entity, Herah felt that was what best described them, was unique in their appearance. They were bipedal and stood at a rather imposing height of nine-three, with the entirety of their body having a black backdrop. Herah saw it as a backdrop because upon their skin, if it was even that, was a collection of galaxies and stars, slowly moving across. The figure had six arms, each limb covered in stars of increasing size, that started small and white at where they connected to the torso and ended upon the palms and back of their hand¡¯s as large red stars. The beings legs showed an asteroid belt wrapping around each of them. Their torso had two slowly moving galaxies on it, a third emerging from the right side. Upon the face of the entity were two dark spots that Herah presumed to be black holes and their eyes.

    ¡°Hey there Jeffery,¡± The entity¡¯s soft voice once again graced Herah¡¯s ears, a familiar yet foreign feeling being felt by the youngling, ¡°Nice of you to take the brunt of my attack.¡±

    Herah let out a growl; flames of green spewing from her nose and mouth.

    ¡°And now my artist stands before me,¡± The entity stared past Jeffery and at Herah, the youngling feeling their eyes pierce her form, ¡°With the assistance of herself.of course.¡±

    Herah snatched Jeffery away from the entity before spinning around them and slamming the giant pencil into their side.

    ¡°See you soon!~¡± The figure shouted in a sing song voice before flying through one of the walls and into the blackness that surrounded the room.

    ¡°Fuck you.¡±

    Herah fell to one knee and leaned against Jeffery, her breaths hard and heavy. Looking back towards the others, the youngling found Owen as a pile of iron, Max laughing in delirium still coughing up flowers while also slowly being covered in the roots that sprouted from them, and Alex-

    ¡°Hmm, I would ask that you tell me about Presence now, but you¡¯re not really in the condition for that at the moment.¡±

    Alex was standing up, the light that had sewn his mouth shut still in place, but all the rest of him was free. This meant Herah could get a good look at Alex¡¯s wild and terrified glowing white eyes.

    The youngling couldn¡¯t help but grin.

    Rising back up to her feet, Herah took Jeffery by their eraser and swiped straight through the light that bound Alex¡¯s lips, giving the large pencil a twirl over her head before slamming their butt into the floor.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±

    Alex looked at Herah and Jeffery with wide eyes and an agape mouth.

    ¡°What is Jeffery doing attached to you?¡±

    Herah tilted her head to the side and frowned at Alex.

    ¡°First my dad and now my pencil, how do you know of my family?¡±

    ¡°What the fuck is going on with you?¡± Alex asked with heavy breaths before shaking his head and looks out towards where the entity had gone, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯re fucked anyway.¡±

    ¡®Can you fix them?¡¯ Herah asked Jeffery mentally before tapping the pencil¡¯s eraser on the floor with Jeffery then sending out their Presence to Max and Owen, restoring the pair to their original states, ¡°What¡¯re you talking about?¡±

    ¡°For someone who knows nothing about Presence, you¡¯re doing quite well with it.¡± Alex responded, walking over to Max and pulling her free of her roots as the girl stopped her delirious laughter and went deathly silent.

    ¡°Asshole, I know you know that I can only do this thanks to Jeffery.¡± Herah held out a hand to Owen, who took it with trembling fingers and a quivering form.

    ¡°You ask Jeffery to do it, then he does it.¡± Alex said, before Herah felt him radiate Presence, a light glow overtaking his and his sister¡¯s bodies. When the rays struck Herah, the youngling felt as if they pierced her and in laid her entirety bare for all to see. That was until Jeffery¡¯s own Presence quickly snuffed out the light that touched their creator.

    Herah nodded, feeling as Jeffery retracted their hold over Max and focused their attention on keeping Owen together.

    ¡°Why did you say we¡¯re fucked anyway?¡±

    ¡°Because,¡± Herah smelled the distress in Alex¡¯s voice, ¡°You don¡¯t fight against Makers, at least, you don¡¯t fight against your own. Victory is impossible.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck is a Maker?¡±

    ¡°I am.¡±

    Herah instinctively stabbed towards the familiar yet alien voice that sounded from her right. A single one of the entity¡¯s hands caught Jeffery by the tip, one of the other hands stopping right over Herah¡¯s heart.

    A snarl came to Herah¡¯s face, the youngling turning to growl at the entity who now stood with one of their hands at each of the others in the room.

    ¡®They weren¡¯t that close before,¡¯ Herah thought to herself, ¡®Or maybe this thing takes up more room than I first thought.¡¯

    ¡°Look upon where I place my hands,¡± Herah couldn¡¯t help but do exactly as the entity instructed, finding that said hands covered a specific place upon each of the other threes¡¯ bodies.

    ¡°See and hear evil,¡± Owen¡¯s eyes and ears were covered, the gnomes form quivering in terror.

    ¡°Speak evil.¡± Max¡¯s mouth was covered, her eyes wide and confused.

    ¡°Do no evil.¡± A single finger pressed against Alex¡¯s right hand, his eyes wide and his breath gone.

    ¡°Know evil.¡± Herah felt the hand over her heart release just a sliver of Presence, gracing the organ with a feeling of Chaos.

    Herah snarled and dragged her hand holding Jeffery down to their butt and shoving it forward with a burst of amplified strength.

    BLOOP!

    The hand holding Jeffery¡¯s tip was obliterated, the appendage exploding into blades of grass that giggled softly as they fell towards the floor.

    The entity seemed nonplussed by this, their hand reforming itself with a loud POP, as a black spot appeared where a mouth might occupy and widened into a smile.

    ¡°My Artist can combat me, my Soothsayer can barely stand before me, and my Liar and Bonder can¡¯t hardly even look at me.¡± The entity¡¯s gentle voice was joyful, filled with pleasure and dripping with excitement.

    ¡°Who and what the ash are you?¡± Herah growled, baring her teeth at the figure.

    The entity vanished, though a quick turn around revealed them to be on the other side of the room. Here, Herah saw the entity standing with its bottom set of arms hanging from its side, the center pair playing rock-paper-scissors against each other, one of the top set waving at Herah and the other arm working as the referee for the middle two. The entity¡¯s eyes held a sorta mischievous curiosity to them that was eerily welcoming. It was as if Herah was staring at one of her ancestors, a rather ancient one at that. A regal and eternal ancestor.

    ¡°I am known by many names. God. Yahweh. Monitor-Over-All. Presence-Above-Others. All-Mighty. Maker. Bois D¡¯allumage by your people. But the name I gave myself, my personal favorite, is what you shall call me.¡±

    The entity began to glow, before releasing a bright light that briefly blinded Herah. Once her vision cleared, in front of the youngling stood someone completely different than before.

    It was a Cendreux, who stood at a respectful eight-five and had grey scales and skin. They were wearing a simple white t-shirt that said Embrasse Moi en Fran?ais, and some black sweats. Their black hair was short but messy, and they had a grey tail as well. The Cendreux looked rather different than the entity from before but had the same expression as them, now with a grinning mouth and sapphire eyes. The entity now looked below average for a Cendreux, lacking any sort of defined physique. They stood slightly hunched over as if they were just lazily holding themselves up, while staring at Herah with a soft grin and a laid-back composure.

    ¡°Call me Norwe, and who am I?¡±

    Norwe made a dramatic pause, using both of their hands to cover their face before bringing them away and winking at Herah, their expression set in a lazy grin as they did equally lazy jazz hands.

    ¡°The creator of your universe, that¡¯s who.¡±

 Choosing Whats Needed (Rewrite)

    ¡°What do you mean you created my universe?¡± Herah aimed Jeffery at Norwe¡¯s chest, a scowl marking her face, ¡°You¡¯d have to be dead for that to be true.¡±

    ¡°W-why is that?¡± Owen asked from behind Herah, the youngling hearing the shivers that racked his body.

    ¡°Ask me that again when we¡¯re in a much better position.¡± For a brief moment (maybe more or less than that) a smile came to Herah¡¯s face, ¡°As one of my favorite stories from my Mistress, it¡¯s not one I will disrespect by mere summary.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re currently in no danger from me dear artist.¡±

    Norwe snapped their fingers, and the room suddenly remolded itself. The walls turned an eerie black as strange red symbols appeared upon them. Each symbol was that of a point with eight arrows expanding out from it, all of them emitting the same familiar but foreign feeling that Norwe did.

    In between Herah¡¯s group and Norwe, a long table of blue wood with breathing mouths embedded into it popped into existence. Empty space spat dull, silver chairs out and around the table. Each chair was clearly composed of some type of silver wood, with only the legs seemingly made of something softer. Said chair legs were shaped like crescents, with the outer sides fat and covered in rings of varying size while the inner sides were just flat faces.

    ¡°Are those chair legs croissants?¡± Max asked with a nervous chuckle.

    ¡°I¡¯m more focused on the mouths.¡± Was Herah¡¯s disturbed response, ¡°Why does this table have mouths?¡±

    ¡°Ay¨²danos, ay¨²danos a bailar al ritmo feliz del final. Bailemos hasta la muerte de todo y la vida de nada. ?Baile! ?Baile! ?Baile!¡± The mouths upon the table chorused together, whatever language they spoke foreign to Herah¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Now sit would you?¡± Norwe asked, pulling their own chair out and sitting.

    Herah felt three sets of eyes on her back, the tension in the air giving them all pause.

    ¡°Idiot,¡± Alex¡¯s hand came down to rest upon Herah¡¯s right shoulder, ¡°Stand down. This isn¡¯t a fight you¡¯ll win.¡±

    Herah turned to Alex and growled, her eyes running over his face and her nose reexamining his scent. A quick scan later and the youngling flinched back in shock from the human.

    ¡°You¡¯re terrified.¡±

    Alex glared back at Herah with white eyes, his hand squeezing upon her shoulder with greater strength then when they had fought earlier. However, now that Jeffery¡¯s Presence was protecting her, Herah was able to easily shrug him off.

    ¡°Your tone changes too much when you¡¯re not on top.¡± Herah told him in blatant disgust.

    ¡°And yours doesn¡¯t change enough.¡± Was Alex¡¯s cool and more tempered response.

    The pair glared at one another for a single, long (or short or neither) moment.

    ¡°Now now now,¡± Herah¡¯s head whipped towards Norwe, who now had their scaly legs resting atop the table while leaning back in their oddly sturdy chair, ¡°It¡¯s rude to keep your host waiting.¡±

    Herah¡¯s nostrils flared as flames of green shot from them and a growl tore from her throat. With only a slight bend of her legs and quick flap of her wings, the youngling launched herself into the air and across the table. Flipping once before slamming into a slide, Herah slid to a stop right next to Norwe¡¯s legs and placed Jeffery¡¯s tip against the Maker¡®s forehead.

    ¡°I will cut you down where you sit!¡±

    Norwe chuckled, looking up at Herah with a wide grin.

    ¡°Do you truly think you can beat me?¡±

    Herah opened her mouth to respond, but a flood of Presence from Norwe took the air from her throat and caused her eyes to widen.

    Everything¡­.. distorted around Herah.

    Blue became red then yellow then some color the youngling had never seen before. Norwe appeared both right in front of her and millions miles away at the same time. Forever passed in an instant and an instant took forever to past.

    Everything was in a constant flux, the only constants being Herah, Jeffery, and Norwe.

    One again the feeling of Chaos washed over her, allowing Herah to fully observe the Maker¡¯s Presence.

    Unrestrained, unfocused, and wild.

    This was just the surface of what Herah was able to glimpse of the Norwe, as their Presence seemed to poke and prod at her in an almost lazy manner. It was if the youngling only held mild interest in the eyes of the Maker, like a brand-new chew toy for an ashling that would soon be forgotten amongst all the others.

    It was only thanks to Jeffery¡¯s Presence that Herah wasn¡¯t being chewed upon.

    More importantly, just a bit deeper into Norwe¡¯s Presence, Herah was able to see the raw power that the Maker held. It was the greatest the youngling had ever experienced, her father¡¯s, Jeffery¡¯s, and even La Flamme¡¯s combined being less than a percent of what was in front of her now.

    ¡°No.¡±

    Herah¡¯s words were quiet, Norwe¡¯s grin turning into a frown at her reply.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the reality you choose, boring.¡±

    The Maker then reigned in their Presence, everything returning to normal around Herah before the youngling was shooed towards a nearby chair with an uninterested sigh.

    ¡°If you¡¯re done disappointing me then please sit down, there is a lot to cover.¡±

    Herah growled, but not at Norwe, this was aimed at herself.

    ¡®What a fucking disgrace,¡¯ Herah thought before letting go of Jeffery and hopping off the table, ¡®Losing without even putting up a fight.¡¯

    The youngling then walked over to the chair right of Norwe, sitting down in it as Jeffery floated up to and over her.

    That standoff now cleared, Herah noticed Alex now tapping his nose with a much more nervous and fearful smell about him, Owen looking between the youngling and their Maker shocked, and Max letting out a relieved sigh.

    ¡°Well,¡± Herah turned to Norwe, who was smiling once more and still gesturing towards the seats, ¡°Since I know none of you are going to try and be as fun as the Artist, please do sit down.¡±

    All three standing went to a seat, Alex sitting at the opposite end of the table from Norwe, while Owen and Max took the rights of Herah and Alex respectively.

    ¡°Now¡± Herah¡¯s attention went back to Norwe, the faux Cendreux¡¯s arms spread out in a grand gesture, ¡°I bet you¡¯re all wondering exactly why you¡¯re here?¡±

    There was a moment (maybe) of silence as Norwe looked over everyone with a wide grin and waiting look.

    ¡°Any guesses?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care for your games Norwe.¡± Was Herah¡¯s frowning response.

    ¡°Cut it out dumbass.¡± Alex scowled at Herah from across the table.

    ¡°Piss off coward.¡± Herah snapped back.

    Alex cocked his head, lips stretched into a taunting smile.

    ¡°There¡¯s a certain amount of weight you just¡ª lose, when you don¡¯t prove any better.¡±

    Herah barely held back a growl, Alex¡¯s eyes beginning to lose their pupils as they turned pure whi-

    ¡°Now now.¡±

    ¡°HURK!¡±

    ¡°HURK!¡±

    Breathing was suddenly much harder for Herah, clawed fingers wrapped tightly around her throat and her body pulled up into the air.

    ¡°It¡¯s rude to engage in side conversation.¡±

    Herah¡¯s eyes went wide, both still locked on Alex who now had a Norwe standing next to him, the Maker¡®s hand around his throat and his body elevated.

    ¡®Oh,¡¯ Herah thought as her own hands went up to the one around her neck and rubbed against scales while observing the entirely separate Norwe that held her up, ¡®They¡¯re doing that to me too.¡¯

    ¡°So, my dear Artist and Soothsayer,¡± Herah both saw and felt Norwe¡¯s hand clench tighter, ¡°What do you have to say for yourselves?¡±

    ¡°S-s-sorry.¡± Alex choked out.

    ¡°Fu-fuck you!¡± Herah responded, her vision going blurry as the Maker tightened their grip.

    ¡°Hmm, nice to see some fight still in you Artist.¡± Herah could hear the grin in Norwe¡¯s words, ¡°Though I ask that next time you back your bark up with some bi-¡±

    Norwe paused, shortly after their grip weakened and Herah found air filling her lungs again and her sight clearing.

    ¡°Oh Liar, do you have a problem with me?¡±

    Sight cleared, Herah could now see Max standing and holding a card up to the other Norwe¡¯s neck, a glare in her eyes and the smell of rage wafting off from her body.

    ¡°Hands off my brother, or I¡¯ll kill you.¡±

    ¡°Max no- HURK!¡±

    Norwe clenched harder upon Alex¡¯s neck as the human desperately reached out to his sister, attempting to push her away. Max¡¯s eyes hardened, her breath slowed, and her body became unnaturally still.

    ¡°That would rely on me being alive now wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Norwe chuckled as his face stretched into a painfully wide smile, his carnivorous teeth disturbingly clean, ¡°That would rely on me being a slave to Concepts like the rest of you. That would rely on me believing I could die in the first place. That would rely on you believing you could kill me. That would rely on the impossible being possible. That relies on a lot you know? How much of that do you think you can make true?¡±

    ¡°Enough.¡±

    A cold, stale pulse of power swept over the room. While the pulse itself was invisible to Herah, the effects it had weren¡¯t. The smell of rot became pervasive as the long table turned a darker blue and the legs of all the chairs began to decompose, with Herah hearing Owen let out a surprised yelp as his chair collapsed. Alongside all this, the youngling felt her entire body attempting to shut down and her flame growing weaker, but a quick burst of red fire throughout her body put an end to whatever was attempting to kill her. Looking at Alex and Owen, Herah could tell the two of them seemed to be reacting to whatever it was coming from Max as well. Alex was turning blue even faster than before, his frenzied arms slowing in their movements. Owen appeared to be growing weaker by the second, a quick check with her ears telling Herah that all his organs were slowly beginning to fail.

    ¡°What the-¡±

    ¡°Death, she¡¯s inducing death into all of you Artist.¡± The Norwe still holding her answered, clearly unaffected, ¡°It¡¯s just one of the many gifts she bears.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re killing them my dear Liar.¡± The Norwe still holding Alex gestured to him, ¡°Your brother to be more specific.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine, he¡¯s lived through worst.¡± Max¡¯s words came out almost uncaring, giving no real attention to her brother, ¡°Now hands off.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, Artist failed earlier,¡± Norwe raised a hand to hover over Max¡¯s head, ¡°Shall you succeed in her steed?¡±

    Once again, Norwe¡¯s Presence flooded the room, Jeffery¡¯s own emerging to cloak her and Owen. Max however-

    Herah watched in shock as steam began to rise from Max¡¯s body, her skin turning red as the smell of burning copper and iron was picked up by Herah¡¯s nose.

    ¡°Max!¡± Owen cried out, his previous affliction now gone, ¡°Your blood, it¡¯s- it¡¯s-¡±

    ¡°Boiling.¡± Max answered, her words twinged with pain, ¡°I don¡¯t care. And I don¡¯t care about how powerful you are Norwe. I¡¯ll still kill you, now drop my brother.¡±

    ¡®How- Max can-¡¯ Herah was taken aback by the human¡¯s determination and disregard for her own safety in lieu of her brother¡¯s survival.

    ¡°That¡¯s kinda hot.¡± Herah said more to herself than anyone else, a light dusting of pink coming to her cheeks.

    This got the youngling a quirked brow and grin from the Norwe holding her while the one holding Alex continued to stare Max down. For how long, Herah had no real idea, but eventually Norwe pulled their Presence back in and Max stopped steaming. As Jeffery reigned their own Presence in, the Maker dropped Alex, who was still turning blue but now had the option of death via death instead of via choking.

    ¡°I¡¯m alive.¡±

    Alex¡¯s voice took on the same distinctly feminine tone from earlier, his skin regaining its normal hue near instantaneously. Now not dying, the human shot up to his feet and leaped past Norwe, tackling a surprised Max. Herah was almost surprised at their speed, Alex shooting across the room in less than a second (could¡¯ve been longer) and slamming into a wall with his shoulder. Norwe laughed as Alex slid to the ground with a wince, clutching a confused and struggling Max¡¯s head close to his chest.

    ¡°Bro what are yo-¡±

    ¡°Shut up sis!¡±

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s cute,¡± Herah blinked as now a third Norwe appeared standing over Alex and Max, looking down at them with their back to the youngling. ¡°You¡¯re trying to protect her from me, aren¡¯t you Soothsayer?¡±

    Alex said nothing as his head tilted up to look at Norwe, his body having broken out into a heavy sweat.

    ¡°Well, if you are, please do show a bit of that grit your sister showed for you.¡±

    Norwe slid back from the twins and held out his hand.

    ¡°Give her to me.¡±

    ¡®That coward wouldn-¡¯

    Herah¡¯s thought was brought to an abrupt halt as Alex shoved Max up and towards Norwe¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Bro! What the fu-¡±

    And Max disappeared.

    ¡°By the Flame!¡± Herah punched at Norwe¡¯s wrist, but her hand just went through, ¡°Why the-¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t exist Artist, neither do I not not exist. I am just Norwe, and I follow my own logic,¡± The Norwe holding Herah gave her a slight boop to the nose with their free hand, ¡°In order to affect me in any form or shape, you¡¯d have to either follow my logic or I¡¯d have to follow yours. Like now, I¡¯m following your logic of sight and sound so you can visualize me, while my hand follows the logic of touch so I can wrap it around your throat.¡±

    Herah growled at Norwe and spat flames at the Maker, but they just went through him like her previous attack.

    ¡°Calm down Artist,¡± Norwe booped Herah again, this time getting a snarl from her, ¡°My Liar is perfectly fine. All that happened was the Soothsayer displacing her in one of my sibling¡¯s sandbox.¡±

    Herah just glared at the Maker, having no idea what they were talking about

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Artist,¡± Norwe reached out to boop Herah once more, but paused right before their hand could touch her nose and rolled their eyes in annoyance before pointing towards Alex, ¡°Your questions shall be answered soon enough.¡±

    Herah found her attention back on Alex and the third Norwe, the human¡¯s eyes going wide and the smell of his fear growing more potent as Norwe crouched down to his level and knocked against his head twice.

    ¡°Knock knock.¡±

    Alex¡¯s body was locked in place, only his eyes moving as they locked on Norwe¡¯s hands.

    Norwe knocked on his head again.

    ¡°Knock knock Soothsayer, respond.¡±

    ¡°Whose,¡± Alex¡¯s eyes slowly went up to Norwe¡¯s face, snapping back down and to the floor after seeing something, ¡°There?¡±

    ¡°Failure.¡± Herah just knew Norwe was smiling, the Maker rising up and raising their left arm out with an open hand.

    ¡°Failure who?¡±

    ¡°Failure you.¡±

    Norwe¡¯s open hand closed around Max¡¯s face.

    ¡°Max!¡±

    Alex went to get up, but a glance from Norwe froze him in place.

    ¡°I will admit that your attempt to circumvent my words was admirable.¡± Norwe patted Alex on his head, though Herah was sure they weren¡¯t close enough to actually do that, ¡°You gave her to me, but only for a moment.¡±

    ¡°Bro, what is-¡±

    ¡°Silence Liar,¡± Norwe gave Max a tap to her head, ¡°I¡¯m talking.¡±

    Max shut up.

    ¡°Speaking of you,¡± Norwe turned their head to face her, ¡°I will also have to admit that your stand to defy me was also admirable.¡±

    Norwe let go of Max¡¯s face and the two bodies that had been harassing the twins disappeared.

    ¡°However, in the end, you both still choose disappointing realities.¡±

    Herah turned towards the end of the table, where a grinning Norwe sat with their legs atop it.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Herah¡¯s ears perked up at Max¡¯s baffled but irritated tone.

    ¡°What I mean is that instead of actually believing you would succeed, you each hoped for some type of miracle. And a miracle you got, but understand this-¡±

    Herah felt and watched as the entire room began to warp and distort, as Norwe¡¯s Presence emerged from everything and everyone but her and Jeffery.

    `Why is it in everything else?¡¯

    Herah wondered this to herself as the Maker¡¯s Cendreux form broke, and in its place their original state was revealed. A heavy and stern voice filled the room as if it was coming from everywhere at once.

    ¡°You will not get a second freebie. Next time, you will either obey and suffer the consequences or disobey and suffer the consequences.¡±

    Herah could feel as Norwe¡¯s Presence correlessed around Alex and Max, and for a moment became less like a force and something visible. The area surrounding each of the twins was distorted beyond measure, no logic to be found in what was happening within it.

    ¡°Am I understood?¡±

    Herah watched closely as both humans nodded, Alex¡¯s own a quick and hurried one while Max¡¯s was stiffer and more angered.

    ¡°Good.¡±

    Everything returned to normal as Norwe¡¯s Presence returned to which it came. The Maker¡¯s form was once again that of a Cendreux¡¯s, and their legs went back up on the table.

    ¡°With all of that out of the way-¡±

    The head of the Norwe holding Herah disappeared as Jeffery slammed through it with their eraser, erasing it.

    ¡°Ahahaha!¡± The Norwe which still had a head fell out of their chair in laughter as the one holding Herah dropped her and disappeared, ¡°I guess you grew tired of my pushing my luck huh old friend?¡±

    ¡®Old friend,¡¯ Herah thought to Jeffery after landing on her feet, ¡®You two know each other as well?¡¯

    ¡°Your pencil knows only me,¡± Norwe picked themselves off the floor, their laughter dying off into a few chuckles, ¡°We¡¯ve had the pleasure of encountering one another many of times, while they¡¯ve never met my Soothsayer.¡±

    Herah blinked in confusion a few times before looking at Alex then Jeffery.

    ¡°How the fuck does Alex know about you?¡±

    ¡°Jeffery is a bit of a celebrity amongst certain crowds my dear Artist.¡± Norwe answered as they sat themselves back down.

    Herah gave Jeffery a hard look.

    ¡°I really need to start asking what you¡¯re doing when you¡¯re not with me.¡±

    The only response Jeffery gave was a memory of Herah at the cycle of ten, sticking her tongue out with her eyes shut while her entire body slowly dissolved into paint.

    ¡®Not sure if that¡¯s you being an ass or just letting me know that you¡¯ve been doing this since I made you.¡¯

    Jeffery answered with a memory of her nodding her head.

    Herah let out an annoyed sigh, shaking her head while returning to her own seat. Once seated, the youngling noticed Owen picking himself up off the floor and dusting himself off while Max and Alex sat down in their chairs.

    ¡®Wait-¡¯ Herah looked around and realized that the table and chairs were restored to their previous states, ¡®When did that happen?¡¯

    ¡°A few moments ago Artist,¡± Herah whipped her head towards Norwe, the Maker¡¯s smiling face a silent taunt, ¡°Though it could¡¯ve also been a moment ago. Timeflow is erratic here after all.¡±

    ¡°We noticed.¡± Herah¡¯s ears perked at Max¡¯s dry reply.

    ¡°Sis!¡±

    ¡°What? He was stating the obvious.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a passive-aggressive bitch!¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about bro.¡±

    ¡°Uuh, I hate when you¡¯re like this.¡±

    ¡°Like what?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just gonna shut up.¡±

    A small chuckle escaped Herah at the interactions of the twins, the youngling also catching Owen¡¯s much softer giggle and Norwe¡¯s much louder laugh.

    ¡°You two are always fun to watch,¡± Norwe snapped their fingers, ¡°Anyhow, I assume this time and space is much more comforting to all of you.¡±

    Herah felt the effect almost immediately, now able to properly count the seconds that passed by while also being able to tell that Norwe was exactly six feet away from her.

    ¡°Oh that weird,¡± Herah turned to Owen, the gnome had their head tilted to the side and was blinking slowly, ¡°Feels like it¡¯s been weeks since I last slept.¡±

    ¡°Seconds on my end.¡± Herah looked at Alex who now had a finger nervously tapping against his nose.

    ¡°An hour maybe with me?¡± Herah¡¯s eyes went to Max whose own were on Alex, a slightly worried look on her face.

    ¡°An instant for me.¡± Herah said, before turning to Norwe with a questioning look.

    The Maker grinned

    ¡°How much time has passed for each of you will be random.¡±

    Herah¡¯s ears twitched at a quite groan from Owen, causing the youngling to turn back to him and release most of her hold over her senses as a golden rectangle appeared around the gnome. Her reality shattered and reformed, this time revealing Owen¡¯s organs and bones.

    ¡®Loss of nearly fifteen pounds, bones have turned brittle, and muscles have degraded severely.¡¯

    ¡°Jeffery, control.¡±

    Herah felt the familiar weight of Jeffery¡¯s form weigh on her mind as a sketch idea appeared in her head. Not at all looking, Herah mentally directed Jeffery¡¯s body to begin drawing on the wall.

    Before even a second could past, the detailed head of a Cendre was created.

    With a size comparable to Herah¡¯s own hands, said head was framed so it¡¯s long snout was turned downward with a forked tongue darting out. Covered in what looked like sheets of scales, the head stared out with determined, slit pupils. The last bit of detail was that of the three pairs of horns at the back of the head, all pointing up and framing each other with largest surrounding the smallest.

    Giving the sketch a knock with the back of her right hand, Herah felt her left-hand tingle for a moment before Traduire activated. The head of Cendre popped out the wall, now a shiny red as it¡¯s pink tongue licked at the air.

    ¡°Woah,¡± Herah turned to a stunned Owen, barely batting an eye while snagging the falling Cendre head by one of its horns with her right hand, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    The youngling frowned at Owen for a second before tracing his eyes back to her left hand, which had now collapsed into a puddle of neon paints.

    ¡°Oh that?¡± Flames flared from where the hand had detached itself, burning a new one into existence. With an experimental flex of her fingers, Herah gave Owen a grin,¡°Yeah I¡¯m fine.¡±

    The youngling then set the Cendre head down in front of the gnome.

    ¡°Donnez de la nourriture, de la boisson, du m¨¦tal, de la flamme, de la vie! Je vous prie de donner plus de Volcan!?¡±

    Before anyone could really react, the Cendre head snapped open and a stream of green magma surged up and into the air.

    ¡°Owen!¡± Max shouted as the magma split into three streams and poured into the gnome through his agape mouth and open eyes

    In the blink of an eye, the magma was gone, only steam rising up from the eyes and mouth of a completely still Owen. Herah paid little mind to this, now looking at the Cendre head which had closed its mouth and was now blowing steam.

    ¡®¡°I always hate how short term most of you are.¡± Herah let out a sad sigh as a sharp CRACK filled the air, and the Cendre head crumbled into dust, ¡°You deserve the same chance for eternity that I have.¡±

    ¡°Oh wow,¡± The Cendreux¡¯s attention went back to Owen, who was now touching his face and chest in shock, ¡°I feel even better than I had before I got here. How¡¯d you do that?¡±

    ¡°Traduire.¡±

    Herah froze her mouth agape, her Gift¡¯s name not spoken by her.

    ¡°Traduire, great name by the way Artist,¡± Herah turned to Norwe who was now playing with their hands while smiling at her, ¡°Is my Artist¡¯s Gift.¡±

    Herah was hyper-aware of the simultaneous hitching of Max¡¯s and Owen¡¯s breaths and Alex¡¯s slight grunt and pinching of his own nose.

    ¡®Why do they seem to recognize a Gift?¡¯ Herah thought to herself, though the youngling also welcomed an answer from Jeffery if the pencil was willing to provide.

    ¡°Because we¡¯re Gifted too.¡± Alex answered, not looking at her.

    Herah¡¯s eyes widened then narrowed, turning to Alex.

    ¡°And how do you know this?¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes glowed that same white they had done earlier.

    ¡°I can learn a lot about anything just by glancing at it.¡±

    Herah frowned at Alex before turning to a still smiling Norwe and growling.

    Norwe shrugged.

    ¡°Well someone or something had to give your Gift to you, guess who?¡±

    Herah clenched her fist, wisp of smoke wafting from her nose and tightly clenched teeth.

    ¡°Why?¡± Barely held back rage marked the youngling¡¯s words, ¡°Why did you give this to me?¡±

    ¡°No real reason,¡± Norwe shrugged again, ¡°Just felt like it.¡±

    ¡°You just felt like it?¡± Herah¡¯s nostrils flared and a spurt of green fire shot out, even more coming from her now grinding fangs, ¡°That¡¯s your only reason?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Norwe shook their head, their grin never fading, ¡°That¡¯s only the core reason.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the rest of it?¡± Herah¡¯s hands unclenched and her claws popped out.

    ¡°My dear Artist,¡± Herah watched Norwe¡¯s eyes leave her and run across the rest of the room, ¡°Soothsayer, Bonder, and Liar. The four of you were given your Gifts partly on a whim, but also because I figured it time to mark your universes as candidates for Recompense.¡±

    Herah¡¯s nose wrinkled at Alex¡¯s shifting scent, the terror from earlier now just an atom in the mountain that was the human¡¯s fear. The youngling could also tell Norwe held everyone¡¯s attention, even Jeffery¡¯s.

    ¡°What¡¯s Recompense?

    This question came from Max, a quick glance and sniff telling Herah the human had noticed the shift in her brother and was also genuinely curious.

    ¡°Recompense is essentially a way for me to entertain myself,¡± Norwe answered, ¡°A high-stakes game with one of the greatest prizes imaginable.¡±

    ¡°Which is?¡± Owen asked, a nervous energy to his question.

    ¡°A wish from a Maker,¡± Norwe pointed at themselves, ¡°Me. I¡¯ll give you almost anything you ask for.¡±

    ¡°Almost anything?¡± Max asked, her question drenched in suspicion.

    ¡°I¡¯m a Maker of my word so anything that would make me a liar I will not do.¡±

    ¡°Such a-¡±

    ¡°What happens to the losers?¡± Herah cut Max off, green flames still coming from her head.

    ¡°Nothing, if they survive Recompense to completion all I¡¯ll do is send them off to their new home or wherever else they may wish to go.¡±

    ¡°New home?¡± Herah felt an uneasy feeling creep up her spine at Norwe¡¯s words, ¡°Why would we be going to a new one?¡±

    ¡°Ahaha,¡± Norwe chuckled, then laughed and kept on laughing.

    Norwe wouldn¡¯t stop laughing.

    ¡°What¡¯s so fucking funny?!¡± Herah stood up slamming her hands into and through the table as her head was engulfed in green flames.

    ¡°Recompense is a high-stakes game Ashbrain.¡± Alex¡¯s words were quiet and pensive, a sense of resignation within them.

    ¡°The fuck you just call me!?¡±

    Herah turned to Alex with a glare, the human just letting out a sigh and tilting his head up with a defeated look on his face. As Norwe continued to laugh, Max and Owen turned their eyes to him as well.

    ¡°Winners win a wish; losers lose their home.¡± Alex said never looking down.

    ¡°How?¡± Herah asked, the flames around her head dying out as her anger was turning to worry, ¡°What happens to my house?¡±

    ¡°No no no.¡± Alex shook his head, ¡°When he said home, he didn¡¯t mean something as small as a house.¡±

    Norwe¡¯s laughter turned dark and mocking as Alex finally tilted his head back down and locked eyes with Herah.

    ¡°If we lose, he¡¯s going to destroy our universes.¡±

 Sharpening the Pencil (Newly Added)

    Herah could only look at Alex in silent horror, her expression matched by Owen and Max as Norwe continued their laughing fit.

    ¡°He¡¯ll what?!¡± Max shouted, looking towards Norwe then back at her brother.

    Alex broke eye contact with Herah, turning to his sister and responding in a dead tone.

    ¡°They¡¯ll destroy our universe, killing everything and everyone with little more than a thought.¡±

    ¡°RAAAAWWRRG!¡±

    Green flames flared from all over Herah¡¯s body, shooting from her pores like exhaust, engulfing the room in a flood of green and star-like heat.

    ¡°WOAH!¡± Owen cried out.

    ¡°WAIT!¡± Max shouted.

    But their screams were for naught, the flames burning nothing as they filled the room.

    Herah¡¯s nostrils flared, jets of green shooting from her nose.

    Her claws popped, extending to their full length.

    A snarl was torn from her throat, green flames leaking from behind tightly clenched teeth.

    And her eyes glowed a firey green as her body turned towards Norwe and began to step forward-

    ¡°What?¡±

    The youngling found her limbs frozen in place as shifting red lines began to dance around her, the familiar feeling of Jeffery¡¯s Presence engulfing her.

    ¡°Dammit Jeffery! Why are you stopping me?!¡±

    ¡°Because the pencil knows you won¡¯t win,¡± Herah gave Alex a growl, the human just frowning back at her in response, ¡°You already gave up earlier ashbrain. Nothing¡¯s changed since then.¡±

    ¡°The fact I now know countless numbers of others will die if I win or lose is a change!¡±

    ¡°Artist,¡± Norwe stopped laughing and tilted their head curiously, their lips quirked up into a curious smile, ¡°Do you now believe you can somehow defeat me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to defeat you, I just need to get you to change the rules.¡±

    ¡°You think you can make me bow to your whims?¡± Norwe let out a small chuckle, their words tainted by mockery.

    ¡°If I have to, yes.¡±

    As soon as the yes left her mouth, Herah was blasted with a deluge of Norwe¡¯s chaotic Presence. Once again, reality distorted and space and time became erratic, only Herah, her flames, Jeffery and Norwe remaining unaffected. Herah felt all the same things before; the constant change, the unrestraint, the immense power.

    ¡°Are you sure of that?¡± Norwe asked, a genuinely curious look on their face.

    Herah didn¡¯t even blink.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Everything was back to normal in an instant, almost as if the brief exchange had never happened.

    ¡°Herah!¡±

    The youngling turned to a smiling Max, her anger and green flames dispersing into nothingness at the sight.

    ¡°It¡¯s all good, so just sit down and see where this goes.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Herah responded, no doubt in her mind as her butt went into her chair and Jeffery pulled their Presence back in.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Herah¡¯s eyes went back to Norwe, the Maker wearing a pleased smile, ¡°The reality you¡¯ve chosen is more interesting than I first thought Artist. I can¡¯t wait to see what happens next in it.¡±

    ¡°Fuck off.¡±

    Norwe just shook their head before returning their attention to everyone.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d all like to hear more about how Recompense functions and my reasoning for how everything is.¡±

    ¡°Yes we would very much Norwe.¡± Max responded, nodding with a light frown.

    ¡°First,¡± The room dimmed as three translucent, orange spheres appeared over the table. Each sphere was filled with a dizzying amount of what looked like solid white towers, the towers organized so that the ones above were always distinctly larger than the ones below, ¡°An understanding of what exactly is at stake.¡±

    ¡°What are we looking at?¡± Owen asked, Herah noticing him now on top of the table and looking at the spheres in wonder.

    ¡°These are your aUs.¡±

    ¡°Ah-yoo.¡± Herah said to herself. The same feelings as with the other words filled Herah, though what made this one special was just how vast it felt. It spoke of home, yet home was less than infinitesimal in comparison to what was truly being spoken of, not even a speck within infinity. Herah heard Owen and Max repeat the word as well, each one sounding just as confused as her when they said it.

    ¡°I see you¡¯re still familiarizing yourselves with our language Artist, Liar, and Linker.¡± Herah¡¯s attention went back to Norwe, the Maker¡¯s pleased smile unnerving, ¡°An easier word for me to use is Universe. These three spheres are your universes.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem quite right though,¡± Herah turned her eyes to Max, the human now frowning while speaking confused, ¡°The word you used before makes where we come from seem nonexistent in comparison.¡±

    ¡°Because we come from a vastly smaller infinity.¡± Alex spoke low and quiet, the carefulness in his words easy to hear for everyone present, ¡°An aU is larger than an inaccessible cardinal while what we come from is a part of an uncountable cardinal.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Was the unanimous response from the other three gifted present.

    ¡°Set theory,¡± Alex¡¯s head twitched to the side then back, ¡°Well not really theory at the moment, can be used to explain how our existence is structured. To a point at least, eventually you enter a realm where ideas such as logic can no longer exist.¡±

    Herah noticed the small frown and another shift in Alex¡¯s scent which told her the thought bothered him greatly.

    ¡°Anyhow, set theory is a math thing which I¡¯m pretty sure the rest of you don¡¯t know, so the simplest explanation I can give is that if you look at everything a certain way, you can get different sized infinities and that logic is what our Maker used when structuring our bit of existence.¡±

    ¡°Correct Soothsayer!¡± Sparks and lights erupted around Alex, showering him in a dizzying arrays of colors, ¡°Axioms remind me too much of Chaos to not use them when structuring my Sandbox.¡±

    ¡°So why do we need to know that?¡± Herah asked, her nostrils flaring and jets of smoke shooting from them as annoyance grew within her, ¡°What I just heard sounds dumb and makes no sense. Infinity is infinity, that¡¯s all we needed to hear.¡±

    Herah leaned back in her chair, frown in place and her arms crossed.

    ¡°Well Artist, you see a single aU is large enough to fit every uA there is into it without ever getting full. No matter how many or how large the uAs you add up and stack upon one another, they¡¯ll never be able to reach the size of an aU. Likewise, a single uA¡± Within each sphere, a single one of the white towers was plucked out and enlarged to the point that Herah could make out the dizzying number of black floors that filled them, ¡°Can fit every ua there is and never get full. Once again, no matter how many or how large the uas within get, they¡¯ll never be even a percentage the size of a uA. Infinitely smaller you see. You all come from a ua, or what you would refer to as a universe.¡±

    ¡°Uh-ey, uh-ah.¡± Herah pronounced each word with anger, barely noting how the first word spoke of home in a larger sense than when spoken of in aU, but still this home was nearly nothing. The second word however struck a chord, causing the youngling to pause, as it spoke of home at its largest. Home was only a speck, an almost insignificant percent, but that was more than it had ever been with the other two.

    Shaking her head, thoughts of home flew from Herah¡¯s mind as a growl tore from her throat.

    ¡°Realities and Dimensions, in that order.¡± Norwe seemed pleased as they spoke, smiling to themselves and nodding their head, ¡°That¡¯s what I would call them using your tongue.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Herah rose up from her seat, her claws popping and stabbing into the table with a wet SQUELCH. ¡°Whatever point you¡¯re trying to make is failing to reach me!¡±

    ¡°Think about it Artist,¡± Norwe waved a hand and the three spheres alongside all but one of their towers shattered and collapsed into nothingness. This single tower then crumbled, leaving only one of its black floors to be enlarged until it resembled an expanding universe, filled with clusters of galaxies. Further zooming, led to a familiar looking star system with a white dwarf as its center.

    ¡°Incendi¨¦!¡± Herah said with a gasp as her home planet was enlarged to the point that it revealed her mother hard at work assembling a rifle. Her face was scrunched up into a scowl, angry puffs of indigo leaking from between tightly clenched teeth and shooting out from the Rouge¡¯s nose with every exhale.

    Green flames flared from Herah¡¯s nose, a low growl rumbling in her throat as her eyes went from her mother to Norwe.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡±¡±

    ¡°Artist,¡± Norwe grinned back with overjoyed glee, ¡°I¡¯m just using your dear mother as an example to help illustrate my point.¡±

    ¡°Get to it already.¡±

    ¡°Your mother is a mortal. She has hopes, she has dreams, she has desires. She has a reason to not just live, but to exist.¡±

    ¡°That can be said for anyone.¡±

    ¡°Correct my dear Artist!¡± Norwe clapped their hands happily, their smile stretching to become uncanny, ¡°Your mother is just one part of an uncountable amount of mortals that exist within your uA. Now, if we took the idea that I applied to structuring my Sandbox, and applied it to the living things within it you¡¯d get-¡±

    Norwe paused as a sudden shift in Owen¡¯s scent caused Herah to snap her head towards the gnome. His scent was one filled with horror and understanding. His expression reflected his horror, eyes wide and mouth agape.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t need to understand.¡± Herah said to herself, her lips settling into a line for but a moment before the youngling attacke-

    CRACK!

    -her head was pinned to the table, Alex¡¯s scent over her as his left hand held her down.

    ¡°You¡¯re not very smart are you?¡±

    ¡°Get off of me poltron.¡± Herah told Alex with a growl, trying to lift her head up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll prefer to stay on you coward.¡± Alex responded, the youngling just hearing his cool expression. ¡°I might not personally care for you but trying to attack him again would be dumb.¡±

    Flames of green began to flare up around Herah¡¯s restrained face, her rage surging instantly as both of her hands slammed into the table.

    ¡°I¡¯m no such thing!¡± Herah once again tried to lift her head up but Alex¡¯s arm didn¡¯t even budge.

    ¡°You¡¯re just as scared as I am!¡± Alex shouted back, annoyance beginning to creep into his voice.

    ¡°At least I¡¯m refusing to just roll over and be their bitch!¡±

    ¡°You still can¡¯t do anything!¡±

    ¡°Soothsayer get off my Artist would you?¡± Norwe asked, their voice now coming from right next to Herah.

    The weight atop Herah¡¯s head disappeared as Alex leaped away and back towards his seat. Head now free, Herah lifted it up and looked at Norwe with glowing green eyes and a snarl. The Maker stood crouched atop the table grinning, one of their feet resting atop one of the mouths.

    ¡°Now Artist, as you we-¡±

    CRACK!

    Herah¡¯s fist slammed into Norwe¡¯s face, knocking their head sideways.

    ¡°Why?¡± Was the one fuming word coming from Herah.

    ¡°Motivation.¡± Norwe responded with a pleased grin, turning their head back to face Herah while waving a hand towards everyone there, ¡°Motivation to do well in Recompense is why.¡±

    Norwe pointed at Herah.

    ¡°What motivates you is your pride and zealotry. Motivation achieved.

    Norwe pointed at Alex.

    ¡°What motivates him is fear and desperation. Motivation achieved.¡±

    Norwe pointed at Owen.

    ¡°What motivates him is guilt and shame. Motivation achieved.¡±

    Norwe pointed at Max.

    ¡°What motivates her is desperation and guilt. Motivation pending.¡±

    ¡°Pending?¡± Max looked at Norwe confused.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll get it when I need it.¡±

    Max frowned at Norwe but shook her head.

    ¡°How does explaining infinities and people have anything to do with that?¡±

    ¡°I can fully understand and comprehend the idea of infinity and greater infinities.¡±

    Herah turned towards Owen, Max and Alex also giving the gnome a look. His head was downcast, a very clear frown on his face.

    ¡°To you the death of merely what my people call one beta, or one inacessible cardinal as Alex referred to it, living things is not only equivalent to a true omega but also unimaginable. I however can easily imagine the first and distinguish it from the latter.¡± Owen wrapped his hands around his shoulders, giving himself a tight squeeze while letting out a deep breath, ¡°As long as it¡¯s not a truly boundless infinity, I can picture it without problem.¡±

    Owen looked up, his eyes filled with guilt and terror.

    ¡°That would all be on my head.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Alex gave Owen a light glare, ¡°You¡¯ve encountered an unstoppable force, you¡¯re subject to his whims not him to yours. You can¡¯t be blamed for anything that he does.¡±

    ¡°Such a boring reality to live in.¡± Norwe frowned at Alex unamused, ¡°You¡¯d be surprised at what you can do by simply believing. Especially when wielding the same power as me and Jeffery.¡±

    Herah blinked and Norwe was back in their chair.

    ¡°Now, we¡¯ve spent far too long off topic,¡± Norwe gestured towards, ¡°To summarize, if you fail to win, I¡¯ll destroy your aUs again.¡±

    ¡°Again?¡± Max and Herah asked together, both glancing at one another just after they said it.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡°Earlier when I said those were your aUs, I meant that in the literal sense.¡±

    Herah¡¯s mind immediately went back to when the spheres shattered. Herah¡¯s nose twitched, the abrupt shift in Max¡¯s and Owen¡¯s scent telling her of their own revelations.

    ¡°Oh my go-,¡± Owen¡¯s face paled as he placed a hand to his chest and began to take deep shallow breaths while breaking out into a cold sweat.

    ¡°Owen,¡± Max had gotten up from her chair and walked over to the gnome, petting his head, ¡°You¡¯re okay.¡±

    Owen paused, blinking a few times before looking at Max a bit confused.

    ¡°Oh yeah, I am.¡±

    Max smiled at Owen and gave him a pat to the head.

    ¡°Good, I¡¯d hate for you to feel torn up.¡±

    Herah paid little attention to this, her eyes beginning to glow green as flames of the same color began to waft from between her clenched teeth and flaring nostrils.

    ¡°Why?¡± Herah¡¯s question came out low and harsh, her hands flexing and popping their claws.

    ¡°Because he felt like it Ashbrain, simple as that.¡± Glancing at Alex, Herah found the human sitting in his chair and tapping his nose while glaring at her, ¡°Any question you have for him, the answer is going to be he felt like it. That¡¯s how Maker¡¯s work, they do whatever they want without a thought.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve met three of us Soothsayer,¡± Another Norwe stood next to Alex, patting the now wide-eyed humans head while shaking their own, ¡°If only you weren¡¯t so blind.¡±

    With a blink, the Norwe clone was gone and the only one to remain was the original Maker still seated in their chair. With a snap of their fingers, the three translucent, orange spheres from earlier reformed themselves and disappeared.

    ¡°Luckily enough for all of you, that was merely a show of force. Now, allow me to tell you what Recompense entails.¡±

    Herah just barely held herself back, the signs of everything being restored helping to soothe her anger to an extent. Letting out a breath, the youngling focused all of her attention on Norwe who continued to speak.

    ¡°Every Recompense, I briefly turn off my omniscience and force myself to forget the knowledge in regards to what shall happen during or after it occurs.¡±

    Norwe snapped their fingers as thousands of small projections of a myriad of creatures appeared over the table.

    ¡®Three thousand two hundred.¡¯ Herah thought to herself, as her eyes quickly ran over and counted each of the projections. The youngling then ran over the projections again, examining each one in detail, ¡®One projection of me, Max, Alex, and Owe-¡¯

    Her eyes stopped on one projection in particular. This one was of another Cendreux; one with a slim but muscular physique, posed grinning fanged teeth while in the middle of a shrug. White shiny scales ran up both of his arms and the top half of his face starting at the nose. White eyes with slit grey pupils twinkled while his arms were poised with their hands up and elbows to his sides. Paper white skin covered the bottom half of his face, though Herah knew there was definitely more beneath the scales and the short-sleeved white and blue striped shirt they wore. A thin and wiry tail with a pointed tip wrapped around his waist, holding up his white and red-striped pants.

    ¡°Blanc?!¡± Herah asked as a shock ran through her body, tears peeking at the corner of her eyes while her hands went to cover her mouth, ¡°You¡¯re alive!?¡±

    ¡°Whose alive?¡± Owen asked, looking up to Herah confused.

    ¡°An old friend.¡± Herah answered, rubbing her eyes and shaking her head.

    ¡°You can talk all you want about him later Artist,¡± Herah¡¯s eyes snapped up to Norwe, the Maker giving her a painfully wide grin and a taunting look. ¡°It¡¯s my turn to talk now.¡±

    Herah didn¡¯t care for Norwe in this moment, a small laugh and cry tearing from her throat as her anger collapsed into joy and regret.

    ¡®I hope he¡¯s doing well!¡¯

    ¡°Each of you having been marked as Gifted,¡± Herah¡¯s ears twitched instinctively, just enough attention given to Norwe to take what they said in, ¡°Now represent your aU and will participate in a series of what I like to call Acts.¡±

    Herah noticed a flood of orange spheres appeared over all the projections, each one having a number over it with the exact amount fuzzy in her head.

    ¡®I bet he¡¯s gotten stronger!¡¯ Herah brought her hands up from her mouth and to under her eyes, wiping away the tears that dragged down her face.

    ¡°These Acts would have me fling you to different aUs, each one having a specific task you are to complete. Once the task is completed or failed, I¡¯ll move you onto the next aU and the process will complete until it¡¯s all over.

    Norwe tilted their head to the side.

    ¡°If you¡¯re still alive that is.¡±

    Jeffery¡¯s Presence engulfed Herah, snapping her out of her thoughts of Blanc and forcefully calming her overwhelming feelings, as an image of herself intensely watching her father swing his hammer entered her mind.

    ¡®Sorry about that Jeffery,¡¯ Herah thought to her pencil, red flames flaring up in her eyes with steam following as the youngling¡¯s vision cleared. ¡®And thanks, I need the fous.

    Mind refocused and eyes now back on Norwe, Herah watched the Maker wave a hand. The projection of each aU (Herah¡¯s eyes snapped to the biggest number present, five hundred eighty-nine million seven hundred eighty-six thousand eight hundred ninety) disappeared, along with those of every gifted not present within the room.

    ¡°Before that can occur however I always form teams.¡°

    The projections of Alex, Herah, Owen, and Max were enlarged to the point that they were life size models of the originals now standing on the table.

    ¡°Every team has four members, each picked from one of five hundred eight aUs, with every aU having its two gifted participate.¡±

    ¡°So one thousand sixteen teams.¡± Owen said without missing a beat.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Norwe nodded, ¡°Each team was handpicked by me with two of you being chosen for how your gifts mesh together, in your teams case, Soothsayer and Liar.¡±

    Herah looked to the twins, both sharing their own worried look before looking back to Norwe.

    ¡°Our power¡¯s don¡¯t really generally don¡¯t go well together.¡± Max tells Norwe, her expression perplexed,¡±In fact his-¡±

    ¡°Directly hampers yours,¡± Norwe grinned, ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°Dick.¡±

    That got Max a swift elbow from Alex.

    ¡°You know I¡¯m right!¡±

    ¡°And Herah and I?¡± Owen asked, nervously tugging on his hat, ¡°Why us?¡±

    Norwe shrugged.

    ¡°Flattering.¡± Herah murmured with a low growl.

    ¡°So,¡± Max crossed her legs and started to intertwine her fingers with her hair, ¡°Is that all? We¡¯re on a team partly for reasons and partly for no reasons. We¡¯re gonna hop from universe to universe doing shit for you. If we do everything alright, you don¡¯t nuke our universes-

    ¡°aU.¡± Norwe interrupted, a copy now sitting on the air next to Max, ¡°Call it by its actual name would you?¡±

    Herah¡¯s nose and ears twitched as Alex suddenly pinched his neck and his scent shifting as fear became even more prevalent.

    Max gave Norwe a confused look, her own shifting scent letting Herah know that the twin also noticed her brother¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°You don¡¯t nuke our aUs and give us a wish.¡± Max said cautiously, ¡°If we fail or die, our aUs get destroyed like you did earlier. And if we survive and fail, we move into a new aU. Is that all?¡±

    Norwe raised a finger, their duplicate disappearing as their smile grew unnaturally wide, stretching the Cendruex face they wore to the point that it bled slightly.

    ¡°One more thing you must understand, is how to win Recompense.¡±

    Herah¡¯s eyes narrowed and a tingle went up her spine.

    ¡®This, this will be the most important.¡¯

    ¡°Is it not done by completing the Acts?¡± Owen asked, brows furrowed and lips drawn to the side of his face.

    ¡°Remember Linker,¡± Another Norwe duplicate appeared next to the gnome, giving his head a few pats, ¡°Recompense is to entertain me. What you really want to do, what you really have to do, is get me invested in you.¡±

    The Norwe duplicate disappeared, while the original rose up from their seat and begin walking around the table.

    ¡°I¡¯ll care about everything you care about. I¡¯ll ignore what you ignore.¡±

    Herah tracked Norwe with her eyes the entire time, watching as their scales and skin began to flake off and drop to the floor, blackness peaking through.

    ¡°You can fight amongst each other, do whatever you see fit for the scenario, fuck off and ignore what I set out for you entirely, even attempt to kill me if you wish.¡±

    Norwe looked Herah dead in the eyes, having returned to their original, alien form. The youngling could tell that the Maker¡¯s black eyes were somehow also making eye contact with everyone else.

    ¡°Just know, that your actions will have consequences.¡±

    Norwe stopped behind Alex, and placed their two middle hands upon his shoulders.

    ¡°And that I really don¡¯t care to be bored.¡±

    Everyone took a gulp, Norwe¡¯s words hanging in the air like a weight suspended only by a thread.

    ¡°Now,¡± Norwe took their hands off of Alex and glanced at the projections on the table, said projections disappearing as the Maker stepped up onto the table and clapped all their hands together, ¡°Any questions?¡±

    For a moment, no one said anything, sharing looking with one another and looking back to Norwe.

    ¡°Why is it called Recompense?¡±

    Norwe turned to face Herah, matching her glare with their own twinkling eyes.

    ¡°What exactly are we repaying you for?¡±

    Norwe¡¯s top left hand rose up and pointed at Herah, their middle left one pointed at Owen. Norwe¡¯s right top hand pointed at Max while their middle right pointed at Alex.

    ¡°Your existence of course.¡±

    Norwe snapped their fingers, Herah just barely noticing the masses of black that appeared behind her and the rest.

    ¡°Wa-¡±

    Alex, Herah, Owen and Max were each pulled into their own separate black mass. Herah¡¯s last sight before being engulfed in black was a smiling Norwe and lazily spinning Jeffery.

    Jeffery

    Jeffery continued to float and spin as Norwe turned to them with a smile formed from twinkling stars.

    ¡°You know, when she-¡± Jeffer¡¯s tip was at Norwe¡¯s neck, the pencil shrouded in the sketch-like red flame that signified their Presence, ¡°Apologies old friend, I meant no disrespect.¡±

    Jeffery floated back and away from Norwe, no longer spinning and now just poised for a strike.

    ¡°As I was saying, when the Artist struck me earlier that wasn¡¯t because I let her.¡±

    Norwe tilted their head as their smile turned into an O-shape on their face while clasping their top and bottom hands together before their chest.

    ¡°When do you plan to tell her about herself? About what the Artist turned herself into. About how your unbreakable nature truly works.¡±

    Norwe tilted their head back up, silence hanging over the pair for but a moment.

    Then-

    Jeffery swung their butt end up towards Norwe, as the Maker flung out their bottom right hand to intercept.

    Jeffery imagined an orange glowing baby shattering into nothingness.

    ¡®I will nullify most of Jeffery¡¯s attack with my own.¡¯ Was the thought that Jeffery caught from Norwe.

    KRSSH!

    The subspace the two stood within shattered as they made contact, red lines of Presence spreading out and shooting through the endless and timeless void that surrounded them at a speed beyond that of linear time. As the lines traveled through the liquid black, Jeffery felt them pass what were best described as millions of grey boxes that easily dwarfed both the pencil and Maker in size. A proton compared to a universe would describe something infinitely larger than Jeffery and Norwe compared to the boxes. Each box held within itself uncountable amounts of oranges spheres, like the ones Norwe had summoned earlier except much larger in scale, with watery black separating them into equally as uncountable groups. Orange chains larger than Realities bound these spheres together, an endless amount for each group to stay connected.

    In an instant, everything and the nothingness it floated within was red.

    The liquid blackness cracked.

    The boxes cracked.

    The spheres cracked.

    In that same instant, everything within Norwe¡¯s multiverse had cracked.

    ¡°No worries Jeffery,¡± Everything and the nothingness they floated within vibrated violently as the Maker laughed, ¡°I won¡¯t tell her a word.¡±

    Norwe dropped their hand down as Jeffery flipped themselves back over to have their lead pointed at the Maker.

    ¡°Whoo, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve done an eA.¡± Norwe looked around, a low whistle somehow filling the void, ¡°Would¡¯ve destroyed my entire Sandbox if I hadn¡¯t chosen to nullify most of your greeting with my own.¡±

    Jeffery spun slowly in place, their tip always aimed at Norwe¡¯s neck.

    ¡°In fact, your oE managed to reach and crack the iI.¡± Norwe winked at Jeffery, ¡°Let¡¯s hope your Expression didn¡¯t wake up the idiot.¡±

    Jeffery lowered their tip and turned away from Norwe, their Presence now spreading out in bursts of sketchy red lines.

    While sending them out, Jeffery imagined the cracks repairing themselves and of locating Herah. As the red lines traveled they did exactly that, fixing the cracks within the void, boxes, and spheres while scanning through everything they passed.

    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re searching for my Artist huh? Well, I¡¯m not done with you yet so,¡± Jeffery felt Norwe¡¯s wild Presence emerge from the void and lash at them, OE forced upon the pencil as their lines were nullified, ¡°Stop.¡±

    Jeffery didn¡¯t bother attacking the Maker, instead they flared their own Presence breaking through the nullification and sending out another burst of red lines while also using OE on Norwe.

    Then Norwe surrounded Jeffery in even more of their orange Presence, once again nullifying Jeffery¡¯s lines.

    The pencil felt the urge to stab Norwe.

    A very strong urge.

    But they didn¡¯t, instead, they flexed their Presence once more and broke past the nullification before sending out another burst of red lines while also once again nulling Norwe¡¯s own Presence.

    ¡°Come on Jeffery, I know you want to hit me.¡± Norwe taunted.

    The pencil ignored their steadily growing urge.

    Soon, a rhythm was struck up.

    Jeffery would flex their Presence sending out a burst of lines, Norwe would use OE and nullify these lines along with the rest of Jeffery¡¯s Presence with their own, Jeffery would break through the nullification, send out another wave and nullify Norwe¡¯s Presence, only to have an even more powerful nullification placed upon them.

    This would repeat a total of nine thousand times before Jeffery found their thoughts filled with an image of a slumbering Herah, laying her head against a smooth, grey barked tree.

    ¡°Awww, you found her.¡± Norwe tilted their head down as their stair mouth formed a pout, ¡°Guess that means our game is ov-¡±

    Jeffery plowed through Norwe¡¯s head with a Presence enhanced smack of their eraser, the head exploding into hundreds upon hundreds of little rat skulls that ceased to be just as soon as they had appeared.

    ¡°I knew you couldn¡¯t resist!¡± Once again the void shook with Norwe¡¯s laughter as the Maker¡¯s head grew back, ¡°You might have more control than her but you still have the temper of your creator.¡±

    Jeffery pointed their tip at the Maker, several red lines of Presence shooting out from their aura and into Norwe.

    ¡°Ooh eE,¡± Norwe¡¯s own Presence batted at Jeffery carelessly, shooting into the pencil, ¡°What Insight do you hope to gain old friend?¡±

    The pencil found themselves looking at both the less than nothingness (a memory of Norwe referring to what comprised their form as norweness appeared in Jeffery¡¯s mind) that the Maker was composed of and the Concepts, or logic as they liked to say, of which Norwe overlaid themselves with to be seen and heard by those without Presence.

    Calm, growing anticipation, and curiosity swarmed throughout the Maker, most aimed towards Recompense, some at Jeffery themselves, and the rest towards something that Jeffery had yet to encounter. What Norwe planned to do next kept changing; fight Jeffery, destroy La Flamme to see how Herah would react, eat some of the void, take a stroll through the Abyss, spend some time as a baby, pet a puppy etc.It was utter chaos and if gleaned by a proper mind or one without Presence, the viewer would be driven insane.

    But Jeffery¡¯s mind was neither proper nor lacking in protection, so the pencil merely observed this madness and made sure to remember anything that seemed important.

    Past all of this, a familiar and immense power was just barely restrained. A power so wild and frenzied that at the touch of Jeffery¡¯s mind observing it, it lashed out and attempted to warp the pencil¡¯s form.

    An instinctive use of OE, halted any changes that could¡¯ve been made.

    Ignoring this, Jeffery could tell this very power was currently at work, spread out throughout the entire void and reaching to the very tips of everything. The pencil sensed Norwe looping time in one ua with an angel-winged and devil tailed woman, minotaur, gnome, and a four armed gorilla walking through a swamp. Jeffery also sensed Norwe turning an entire aU barren of any life to a thought, before turning that thought into one of infinitely large castles with magical knights and kings, and then making that thought the new aU. Some kid in a suit that hummed with Presence, that Cendruex that Herah once knew, a white-fox girl with water tails, and a small robot riddled with keys appeared within one of these castles. Norwe did this and many more things at the same time while Jeffery observed.

    Bearing witness to all of this, Jeffery compared this power to their own, finding it overwhelming in comparison.

    At least, when out of battle.

    ¡°Hey! You really are thinking of fighting me Jeffery!¡± The pencil felt Norwe¡¯s excitement grow as the Maker finished their own use of eE, ¡°How long has it been? Three centuries for you since we last fought?¡±

    Jeffery imagined a projection of Herah nodding her head appearing right over them, their Presence sending out a burst of red lines which formed into exactly that.

    ¡°Well Jeffery,¡± Norwe raised their middle right hand towards the pencil, forming it into a chop, ¡°Are you in the mood to do it again? This time I¡¯ll give you a proper eA.¡±

    Jeffery pondered this for a moment, rotating in place before shaking their lead and turning to the direction of Herah.

    Norwe pouted.

    ¡°Boring.¡±

    Jeffery rolled their nonexistent eyes and withdrew their Presence back into themselves.

    ¡°Hey Jeffery, just to let you know.¡± Jeffery paused, as Norwe appeared before them, a now black smile stretching across their starry face, ¡°I think out of everyone in her group, the artist is in the most interesting reality. Something tells me, I¡¯ll be calling her by her name second amongst my gifted.¡±

    Jeffery felt Norwe grow serious, their smile completely disappearing.

    ¡°If that happens during Recompense, you should really let her know the truth of you, her, and what Presence and Will are. Because once I speak her name-¡±

    Jeffery felt a sudden burst of Norwe¡¯s Presence, tendrils of orange lashing out like a reflexive kick. An instant later, through what had to have been sheer instinct, four hundred distinct Presences made themselves known throughout the entirety of the Norwe¡¯s Sandbox.

    ¡°-she¡¯ll need you more than anything else.¡±

    Jeffery once again let their Presence overtake them in a sketchy red shroud, and sent out a burst of lines aimed at every single one of those signatures but two. They imagined an image of themselves entering every mind that their Presence sought out.

    Redrawing their Presence once again, Jeffery fired off through the void and towards Herah, though some parting words from an unserious Norwe caused the pencil to make a slight change in direction.

    ¡°You might want to stop by the au you lost Artist¡¯s bag in, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s very wanted!¡±

 Creating The Sketch (Rewritten)

    ¡°-it¡±

    Herah blinked, suddenly finding herself looking towards a sprawling canopy of green leaves that was rapidly growing closer.

    An unfurl of her wings and two quick beats stopped Herah¡¯s descent, the youngling now hovering over the treetops. Spinning about, Herah¡¯s nose, eyes, and ears were forced to quickly adjust to the new environment.

    Her body felt lighter, as if her weight was now halved on this new world. The air around her felt cooler, much cooler than Herah was used to.

    ¡®It must be around two hundred ninety degr¨¦s here. What a cold planet.¡¯ Herah thought to herself while licking at the air, ¡®And the air is so clean. Strange not breathing in fumes and toxic gas like back on Incendi¨¦.¡¯

    Looking up, a cloudless sky of blue not red hung over Herah, no smoke or fire to be seen.

    Herah¡¯s nose twitched as a foreign, fresh, and rainy smell filled it. Said smell came from beneath her, and it was dense as if billions upon billions of different scents were all combining to form it.

    A glance down told Herah exactly what it was her nose was smelling.

    ¡°By the flame!¡± Herah put a hand to her mouth while smiling down at the sea of green, ¡°These are actual trees!¡±

    The rustling of leaves and that of other plants moving in the wind were the only things that Herah could hear.

    Herah began to lower herself, but the appearances of two black masses around her caused her to pause and look between both as Alex and Max were spat out. The pair widened their eyes for a quick moment before Max saw Herah and reached out towards her. The youngling barely flinched as the human grabbed her by her right leg and jolted to a stop.

    Alex just stepped onto the air and stood there.

    ¡°Ho-¡±

    ¡°Guess.¡± Alex cut Herah off, eyes glowing white.

    A growl left her in response.

    ¡°Oooh,¡± Herah looked down to Max, feeling as the human ran a hand over her leg, ¡°Your scales feel nice, like rubbing a warm and bumpy gemstone.¡±

    A smile spread across Herah¡¯s face, the youngling swinging her right leg up till her foot hung right over her head. A startled Max came up with the limb, her grip tightening as her head paused just a bit below Herah¡¯s own.

    ¡°Flexible and strong too.¡± Herah noticed Max¡¯s eyes go down then back up before a grin came to the human¡¯s face, ¡°Think you can carry me down beautiful?¡±

    Max punctuated her question with a wink, a light dusting of pink coming to Herah¡¯s cheeks as the youngling¡¯s smile turned into a cheeky grin.

    ¡°Sure thing. But first,¡± Herah reached out to Max¡¯s face and dragged a finger in circles over one of her cheeks. The skin was warm to the touch and smooth if slightly bumpy. Giving the human¡¯s face a light press, Herah felt the strong and sturdy bones underneath, ¡°I like your bones. They¡¯re not as tough as mine, but they¡¯re still stronger than some of the more feral animals of my world.¡±

    ¡°You like her bones?¡± Alex questioned, sounding mildly amused.

    ¡°Oui!¡± Herah turned to Alex with a frown, while the hand that had been on Max¡¯s face went down to the human¡¯s arm. It ran over and measured the small but tough muscles that sat beneath, ¡°And her muscles are super too! Good enough to get a spear through the stomach of a Four ¨¤ Chair!¡±

    ¡°Flesh Oven?¡± Alex questioned, looking back at Herah unimpressed.

    Before the youngling could respond, another black mass appeared right next to Alex. It spat out a surprised Owen, the gnome giving all three present a surprised glance before flailing his arms through the air.

    ¡°By the gods!¡±

    Owen quickly got control over his arms and thrusted them up and behind himself. A strange-looking cube within a cube, both green and lacking faces, appeared above each hand before spiraling purple runes filled in the empty faces. Green strands of energy shot out from the weird cubes and engulfed Owen in a shroud, causing the gnome to pause midair.

    Herah tilted her head to the side while looking down at Owen, her pupils dilating.

    ¡®That kinda reminds me of science.¡¯ Herah thought, sniffing the air and trying to take in the scent of the green energy, ¡®It lacks the smell, but has the same feel.¡¯

    ¡°Hmm, so you know magic as well.¡± Alex crouched down while studying Owen with an intrigued look on his face, eyes still white, ¡°A good selection to choose from to boot. You aren¡¯t complete dead weight.¡±

    ¡°Thanks?¡± Owen responded, the question and frown clearly heard.

    Owen then pulled his arms in front of himself, the strange cubes following after his hands as his body stayed in place. Afterward, the gnome spun, putting his body into a sitting position while placing one of the cubes beneath himself like a chair and the other over his hat.

    Looking away from Owen and back to Alex, Herah frowned.

    ¡°Why did you call what Owen did magic? It looks scientific in origin.¡±

    The other three present gave her weird looks.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Alex shook his head, closing his eyes and opening them again to reveal his normal green pupils. The human then put two fingers to his temple and snapped them forward.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care to think about your people¡¯s weird naming. I¡¯ll see you idiots at the bottom.¡±

    Alex dropped from the sky and into the canopy below, causing Herah to briefly be enraptured by the sounds of leaves rustling and sticks breaking.

    Once the sound of falling stopped, Herah turned to Owen, who looked at her for but a second before averting his eyes.

    ¡°Need any help over there?¡± Herah asked with a light grin.

    ¡°Nope,¡± Owen¡¯s head tilted down, ¡°Falls like this are not a problem for me.¡±

    Owen then dropped down from the sky, leaves rustling and bustling under his descent.

    With the gnome gone, Herah looked to Max who looked back with an amused grin.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You like my bones, huh?¡±

    Herah frowned, her face turning a tinge redder as her eyes looked to the side.

    ¡°Is that anormale where you come from?¡±

    ¡°Anormale?¡±

    ¡°It means abnormal.¡±

    Max let out a laugh, throwing her head back as her body shook.

    ¡°In that case, yeah,¡± Max let out a few more laughs, ¡°That¡¯s not the average compliment from most people.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Herah tilted her head to the side, two tiny puffs of smoke shooting from her nose, ¡°It shows a clear sign of your personal aptitude and ability to take care of yourself?¡±

    ¡°Eh,¡± Max shrugged, ¡°Everyone has their own taste but in general, for women, it¡¯s more about being pretty and cute.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re pretty too¡± Herah frowned at Max while giving the compliment, ¡°But I do not really care about that part.¡±

    Max laughed again, her lips stretching into a wild smile while the human put a hand to her chest.

    ¡°In that case, I have two questions for you. First, would you mind either bringing us down or holding me in your arms?¡± Max pointed towards her hand wrapped around Herah¡¯s leg, ¡°I can only maintain this grip for so long.¡±

    ¡°Oui.¡±

    Herah grabbed Max¡¯s raised arm, giving it a light squeeze so that the human knew to let go. Max did, allowing Herah to move the human to the side before lowering her leg and placing an arm right under the crook of Max¡¯s legs. Lifting the legs up, Herah let go of Max¡¯s arm and used the same hand to quickly catch the human by the back.

    ¡°Better?¡± Herah questioned, eyes sharp and curious

    ¡°Better.¡± Max responded, grinning at Herah.

    Herah grinned back, raising her legs so as to appear sitting cross-legged in the sky.

    ¡°So, what was your second question?¡± Herah asked, studying Max¡¯s face closely and taking in her scent once more.

    ¡®Still smells like those anormale flowers from earlier, carnations and anemone¡¯s if I remember correctly¡¯

    ¡°What is it that you find attractive?¡±

    Herah snapped out of her thoughts and blinked at Max in confusion.

    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    Max chuckled and continued grinning.

    ¡°Well, since you¡¯re the first alien I¡¯ve ever met, I figured I¡¯d learn what makes you tick. And what gets someone all hot and bothered is one of the best places to start I think.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Herah tilted her head to the side curiously, ¡°You¡¯re anormale.¡±

    Another laugh left Max.

    ¡°Will you answer my question? Or would you rather not?¡±

    Herah blinked at Max again before shrugging.

    ¡°Aptitude, integrity, and will. I find those things attractive.¡±

    ¡°Fair,¡± Max nodded her head, as one of her hands went up to her hair and started to run through it, ¡°So what, gotta check off all boxes in order to fall in your favor?¡±

    ¡°Oui, otherwise I¡¯d be attracted to your brother.¡± Herah¡¯s face scrunched up in disgust as her head shook, ¡°And, well, you see how we interact.¡±

    Max frowned and mumbled under her breath about Alex making bad impressions before shaking her head and smiling at Herah once more.

    ¡°But apparently I fit the bill? Or is that blushing I¡¯ve been seeing from you for something else?¡±

    Herah let out her own laugh, this one marked by reddening cheeks.

    ¡°Oui you do.¡±

    Max chuckled.

    ¡°I know how you got aptitude,¡± The human let out a curious hum, ¡°But when have I shown either integrity or will?¡±

    ¡°When you stood up to Norwe earlier, you showed both.¡±

    Herah watched as Max blinked back at her, the human¡¯s brow scrunching up as her lips curled into a frown.

    ¡°Hmm, you think that was what I was showing?¡±

    ¡°What would you call standing up to that ash stomper?¡±

    ¡°Ash stomper?¡± Max paused and tilted her head, ¡°Not sure what that is but sounds like it¡¯s rude.¡±

    Herah blinked for a few seconds and then let out a snort.

    ¡°Sorry, I forget that I¡¯m not talking with my parents. An ash stomper is someone who desecrates fallen kin.¡±

    Max tilted her head to the other side and let out a hmm.

    ¡°Sounds terrible.¡±

    Herah nodded.

    ¡°One of the gravest insults that can be given to one of my kin.¡±

    Max nodded.

    ¡°Nice to know.¡±

    ¡°Now back to you,¡± Herah gave Max a curious stare, ¡°What would you call what you did?¡±

    ¡°Dumb determination, suicidal, desperation.¡±

    Now Herah frowned.

    ¡°Because?¡±

    ¡°Because I had no chance of winning that,¡± Max¡¯s words were marked with a lightly crazed chuckle, ¡°But I still did it anyway.¡±

    Herah scoffed.

    ¡°It¡¯s not about if you can or can¡¯t,¡± Herah¡¯s nostrils flared as green flames jetted from them, ¡°It¡¯s about being able to fight even when the odds are completely against you. And unlike your brother, and¡­.¡±

    Herah closed her eyes and shook her head, that same shame from earlier coming back up to bite her.

    ¡°And myself, you didn¡¯t back down even when faced with Norwe¡¯s might.¡± Herah smirked at the human, her pearly teeth shining, ¡°How could I not admire that?¡±

    Max gave Herah a strange look. Said look then turned into a small smile and a laugh from the human.

    ¡°I like you. You¡¯re very direct.¡±

    ¡°I like you too,¡± Herah responded with her own laugh, ¡°And being direct is something I take pride in.¡±

    Max¡¯s left brow went up as the left side of her lips curled up.

    ¡°You talk like someone with nothing to hide.¡±

    Herah grinned back.

    ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°Sadly,¡± Max placed a hand on her chest and gave a wink to Herah, while speaking in an exaggerated fashion, ¡°I¡¯m nothing but a miserable little pile of secrets.¡±

    Herah frowned at Max, her nose twitching at the human¡¯s scent shifted just a bit.

    A scent that spoke of a deeply ingrained belief in what had just been said.

    ¡°You actually believe that,¡± Herah¡¯s words were low and bothered, ¡°Why?¡±

    Max seemed taken aback for a moment, a small laugh and weak smile coming up in defense.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? I¡¯m a pile of secrets,¡± Max booped Herah on her nose, her smile widening, ¡°But I¡¯m sure someone as cool as you can learn some of my truths.¡±

    Herah tilted her head to the side, blinking at Max¡¯s word choice, ¡°Cool?¡±

    ¡°Hey Ashbrain! Max!¡±

    Both Herah¡¯s and Max¡¯s heads snapped down towards the thick foliage, Alex¡¯s voice sounding out from beneath them somewhat deafened by all the leaves.

    ¡°Hurry up and get your asses down here! We should get a lay of the land while we still can!¡±

    Herah¡¯s nostrils flared as smoke shot from them and her eye twitched in irritation. Max gave her a pat to the shoulders and an apologetic look.

    ¡°Sorry about him by the way, I wish I could say he normally isn¡¯t this much of an ass, but this is pretty par for the course.¡±

    Herah shook her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize for him, your brother¡¯s words and decisions are his own. Now, let¡¯s head down.¡±

    With those words, Herah stopped flapping her wings. Clutching firmly onto Max, the pair fell from the sky and into the treeline like rocks. While falling through the moist leaves, fragile twigs, and branches, Herah let out a curious hum at the feeling of everything barely tickling her scales and skin. Looking to Max, Herah found the human looking around with little reaction to what they struck besides narrowing of her eyes.

    With a few wing flaps and some maneuvering around the larger branches, Herah and Max soon broke through the bush of the trees and into the open air of the forest floor.

    ¡°Wow.¡± Herah said to herself as her eyes laid themselves upon the tree trunks, grass, and leaf-covered ground. The tree bark was a light, fuzzy red while the forest floor looked like a massive blanket of green, filled with the occasional dark brown hole that were the patches of dirt. Herah¡¯s nose twitched, taking in and distinguishing the soft and subtly distinct aromas of the hundreds upon hundreds of plants and bushes that dotted the ground from the denser and spicy smell of the trees¡¯ bark.

    Herah¡¯s eyes and nose then locked onto Alex and Owen, the pair of them looking back up at her and Max. Alex¡¯s lips were thinned and eyes narrowed while Owen smiled and gave them a wave on their way down.

    Speaking of down, Herah realized her descent was nearing its end and flipped upright before tightening her grip upon Max.

    ¡°Prepare for impact.¡±

    Not a second later, Herah¡¯s feet struck the ground and her knees bent as her full weight came down. The ground rumbled as the force of her body expunged dirt and plants into the air, a noticeable dent now in the earth.

    ¡°Dramatic much?¡± Alex asked, while walking over to the pair and waving his arm through the cloud of brown, ¡°You weigh half a metric ton, you could do to land with a little less noise.¡±

    ¡°Metric ton?¡± Herah questioned while setting Max down, before shaking her head, ¡°Fuck that, how do you know how much I weigh?¡±

    Alex pointed towards Herah then to the ground.

    ¡°The destruction your body did to the ground combined with your speed allows me to gauge your mass. From that, I just have to compare this planet¡¯s gravity to yours and the math is simple from there. All of which can be checked with just a glance.¡±

    Alex pointed at his eyes, both flashing white for but a moment.

    ¡°Well you¡¯re just light, only sixty-eight semmargolik, I could fling you a good few sert¨¨molik with ease if I felt like it.¡±

    Alex blinked twice at Herah before nodding his head while Max and Owen both gave her confused looks.

    ¡°You have the metric system,¡± Alex let out an interested hum, ¡°Guess it makes sense, since it does originate from France.¡± Alex did a quick tilt of his head, ¡°Or from your world. Though your people seem to have flipped the words over or ours did for whatever reason.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Herah¡¯s expression scrunched up in confusion as Max gave her a pat to the shoulder.

    ¡°We share the same measuring system for mass and distance.¡± Max answered letting out a small chuckle while leaning upon Herah, ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡±Herah shrugged, though her mind fixated on the word cool again as her head tilted up, ¡°Okay then.¡±

    Looking up, Herah saw that the trees reached thousands of feet into the air, creating a roof of green with holes of light punching through to illuminate the ground. The heat of the starlight prickled her scales and skin, the comparative coolness to her own star quickly becoming normal. Smoke jetted from the youngling¡¯s nose as her senses ate up all the alien sensations this new world made her feel, and her mouth opened slightly in awe of it all once again.

    ¡°Never seen trees before?¡± Owen asked, looking up to Herah with a smile.

    ¡°A few in person, most in books,¡± Herah looked back down before crouching and grabbing a fist full of damp, fresh soil, ¡°I¡¯m more amazed at just everything in general. This world seems so¡­.soft.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Owen and Max questioned together.

    ¡°Think of Ashbrain like a fly,¡± Alex¡¯s waved a hand towards Herah, ¡°She¡¯s used to living in shit.¡±

    Herah¡¯s mouth opened but a swift punch from Max into Alex¡¯s side caused her to let out a snort instead of her prepared scowl.

    ¡°She¡¯s gonna be working with us, give her some respect you ass.¡±

    Alex let out a light groan, hunched over, and struggled to take a breath. After a few moments of his ragged intakes, Alex leaned back up and frowned at Max.

    ¡°But to answer your questions, Ashbrain¡¯s planet is a lot harsher of an environment than this one.¡±

    Herah frowned at Alex again.

    ¡°What the ash are you seeing that allows you to say that?¡±

    Alex rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

    ¡°Since I know you¡¯re gonna keep bothering me about this, I¡¯ll throw you this one bone,¡± Alex raised a single finger, ¡°And only this one. eE allows me to see you in your current entirety. Everything that makes you you, I can see. Your thoughts, your emotions, current actions, physical condition etcetera. I can see it, and from that I can figure out more things. Like your age, how your powers work, what type of environment you¡¯re from. That is the nature of Insight.¡±

    ¡°Eh-ee?¡± As the word left her, Herah once again felt the familiar, foreign feelings that came from speaking in the strange language. What made this one special though, was how the word felt detailed, it was specific and seemed to describe itself in its entirety just by being thought of.

    ¡°Now stop asking about it. You¡¯ll get no more knowledge on Presence from me.¡±

    Alex started to walk out of the clearing, as Herah continued to frown after him, jets of green flames shooting from her nose.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Why the fuck are you so tightlipped about this? Why the fuck is everyone so tight-lipped about Presence? My dad won¡¯t give me a straight answer, Jeffery refuses to say shit, and even my mistress tells me I should stay out of it!¡±

    Alex stopped and let out a sigh.

    ¡°You¡¯re really not going to leave this alone, are you?¡±

    ¡°No! I¡¯ve seen what it can do!¡± Herah smacked her hands into her breast, ¡°I¡¯ve felt it coursing through me before! Whatever Presence is, isn¡¯t just something I can just leave alone. Especially now, seeing as I¡¯ve seen it in the hands of Norwe!¡±

    Alex shook his head before turning to face Herah, Owen, and Max.

    ¡°Imagine for a moment that there is a line.¡± Alex pointed to the ground in front of him, and drew an imaginary line. ¡°This line, as all lines do, has two sides to it.¡±

    Alex pointed towards Herah and the rest.

    ¡°Your side is what I like to call Heaven. In Heaven, everything isn¡¯t always okay. Everything isn¡¯t always perfect. Everything isn¡¯t cheery or even happy. But in Heaven, there is bliss.¡±

    Alex pointed down to his feet.

    ¡°My side is what I like to call Hell. Everything isn¡¯t always bad. Everything isn¡¯t always imperfect. Everything isn¡¯t always sad or even disgruntled. But in Hell, there is no bliss.¡±

    Alex pointed towards where the imaginary line had been drawn.

    ¡°That line, it¡¯s the Presence. It promises power, it promises knowledge, it promises control. And to be honest, it doesn¡¯t lie.¡±

    Alex gestured towards Herah.

    ¡°You know this better than the other two Ashbrain. When you have Jeffery¡¯s Presence coursing through you, I bet you can just feel the endless possibilities that lay before you. The power that allows you to comprehend infinity and understand you wield something that can¡¯t even be quantified by such a thing or any of its natural extensions. Presence allows you to shed the shackles that are your mortal limitations and step into a realm that is far above the likes of godly.¡±

    Alex tilted his head up, one of his arms rising in turn and reaching out towards the sky.

    ¡°Presence lets those of us tied to the ground reach out,¡± Alex closed his hand, ¡°And touch the stars. To put it simply, it allows us to do the impossible.¡±

    ¡°That sounds great,¡± Herah looked to Owen, the gnome staring at Alex with a narrowed eyes and stern expression, ¡°Too great in fact. What¡¯s the catch?¡±

    Alex chuckles slightly.

    ¡°We mortals were never meant to touch the stars.¡± Alex clenched his raised fist tighter and brought it down, ¡°And in Hell, sinners are punished. Other mortals like me, beings like Norwe, beings that hate those like Norwe and myself, all await those who wield Presence. And more often than not, they¡¯ll be more experienced than you, smarter than you, and far more deadly. In short, Presence often means an existence that ends terribly.¡±

    Herah found herself staring into Alex¡¯s eyes, a look of understanding clear within them as the human looked back at her.

    ¡°To answer your question Ashbrain, they probably didn¡¯t tell you because they wanted to keep you safe.¡±

    Alex turned away from the group and began walking.

    ¡°After all, why would you want to drag the ones you love down to Hell with you?¡±

    Herah looked at Alex¡¯s back, absorbing the human¡¯s words and working them over in her head.

    ¡®Huh,¡¯ Herah¡¯s turned to Max, the human frowning after her brother, ¡®I can respect and accept that.¡¯

    ¡°Such a grim outlook Soothsayer,¡± Herah¡¯s ears and nose twitched, a new scent suddenly entering her field of awareness, ¡°One might think you don¡¯t particularly like having Presence.¡±

    Turning to her right, Herah found a small furry creature hanging from an unnaturally low branch. About the size of a sack, the creature had a fuzzy tan coat of fur, four long limbs each topped off with three claws, a tiny nose, and brown eyes. Allowing her senses to focus more upon the creature, Herah took in the smell of damp fur and the near-silent rustle of their hairs in the light breeze of the wind.

    It looked weak.

    It looked like prey.

    It looked adorable.

    Herah hopped over to the furry creature and wrenched it from its perch upon the tree, giving their body a slight run over while tasting the air near them. The creature¡¯s fur felt lightly wettened and tasted strandy and rough.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how fur tastes and feels.¡± The youngling said to herself, lifting the creature up and over her head while running her eyes up and down its form ¡°Disgusting, but nice.¡±

    ¡°Could you not pick up our Maker like a pet?¡± Alex asked with an annoyed twitch to his eye. ¡°Even as a sloth, he¡¯s still all-powerful.¡±

    ¡°Could you not be a poltron?¡± Herah responded giving him her annoyed look.

    The human began to open his mouth to respond but a quick pulse of Norwe¡¯s Presence drew everyone¡¯s attention to the creature in Herah¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Now now you two,¡± The creature¡¯s mouth didn¡¯t move at all, as it spoke in Norwe¡¯s voice, ¡°You can squabble later. But for now, you shall take me to what your first act will center around.¡±

    ¡°Which is?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see when we get there artist.¡±

    Herah felt her eye twitch as her nostrils flared and smoke shot from them.

    ¡°And you¡¯ll be carrying me.¡±

    ¡°Like ash I will!¡± Herah responded with a growl.

    Norwe the Sloth (mentally dubbed so by Herah) smiled at the youngling before raising a slow hand to poke her in the nose.

    ¡°Do you really think you have a choice in the matter?¡±

    ¡°Dam-¡±

    A swift punch from Alex, laid in between her own ribs, caused Herah to let out an annoyed grunt while turning to give the human a glare.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot Ashbrain,¡± The human growled out, his voice a near whisper, ¡°You don¡¯t have Jeffery here to protect you and I sure as hell am not going out on a limb to save your ass.¡±

    Herah growled in response,

    ¡°And why should I listen to you?¡±

    ¡°Because other than Norwe, I¡¯m the strongest one here.¡±

    There was a moment of silence as the pair glared at one another, one measuring and the other having already measured.

    ¡°No, no you¡¯re not.¡±

    Herah then tossed the sloth in her arms to Alex before flipping the human off and walking back to stand with Owen and Max.

    Alex¡¯s face and scent showed shock, the human¡¯s stunned silence also asking Herah a single silent question.

    Herah¡¯s only response was nodding towards Max, the human and the gnome next to her both looking at them confused.

    Alex blinked a few times before his eyes narrowed and his head shook.

    ¡°Ahahahaha!¡±

    Herah gasped and stumbled, her eyes snapping shut and eardrums bursting as the joyous laughter of Norwe shook the forest. The Maker¡¯s voice was deafening, emerging from all of the surrounding trees, plants, dirt, and even the air in a joyous laughter.

    With jets of flames from her ears and a thought, Herah restored her eardrums and disconnected the nerves in her ears. The likes of Alex, Owen, and Max took the sound much better, all three just wincing in mild annoyance at the noise.

    ¡°Oh Artist,¡± Herah flinched as Norwe¡¯s words somehow sounded in her ears, ¡°You are an absolute delight.¡±

    Watching the rest shake their heads, Herah reconnected the nerves in her ears and found the laughter had stopped.

    ¡°So Soothsayer,¡± Norwe¡¯s words held a slight edge to them, testing it seemed, ¡°Shall you deny me as well?¡±

    Alex looked back to Herah then to Norwe, his scent shifting from annoyance to fear as the human shook his head and cradled his Maker in his arms.

    ¡°In that case,¡± Norwe the Sloth raised an arm and pointed ahead of Alex with a single claw, ¡°Take us that way. There, you will find the focus of your act.¡±

    Everyone else shared a look, before Alex let out a defeated sigh and started to move forward. Herah, Owen, and Max followed, an uneasy silence settling over the group as they traversed this new world.

    As they walked, Herah spent her time analyzing the local flora. Using her nose, the youngling exhaled with smoke shooting from her nostrils and quickly spreading thin around her. Eight inhales and seven more exhales later, Herah found herself taking in millions upon millions of scents over a three-mile radius and working them through her head to be categorized.

    ¡°Uugh!¡± Herah put her hands to her nose, instinctively disconnecting the nerves there as soon as the thick, sour smell of death tinged with some other indescribable odor reached it.

    Alex paused and turned to Herah with a frown while Owen and Max moved to her side with worried looks.

    ¡°Herah, what is wrong?¡± Owen asked, moving his head into her field of vision and waving a hand near her face.

    ¡°Uuuh,¡± Herah shook her head, reconnecting the nerves of her nose while flooding her nostrils with smoke to drown out the repugnant smell, ¡°Smelled some strange type of la carie, seems to be a few areas dense with the stuff. We have a spot of it that seems to be in our path.¡±

    ¡°La carie?¡± Max questioned, looking to both Herah and Alex.

    ¡°Rot.¡± Alex responded, his nose curling in disgust, ¡°And not the normal kind by the sounds of it.¡±

    ¡°Should we be worried about it bro?¡±

    Alex shrugged and kept walking, the rest following.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see, how long till we reach it Ashbrain?¡±

    Herah growled, smoke jetting from her nose again.

    ¡°Fuck you and forty-five minutes to an hour.¡±

    ¡°You know,¡± Norwe the Sloth raised a claw into the air from within Alex¡¯s grasp, ¡°You could also ask me about the rot.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up with the rot?¡± Max asked, moving up to peak over Alex¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when we get to it Liar.¡±

    Herah could feel Max¡¯s eye twitch as the human took a breath and let it out.

    ¡°Asshole.¡±

    ¡°Max,¡± Alex looked back to his sister and shook his head, ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Why ask the question if he¡¯s not gonna answer it!?¡±

    ¡°Because that¡¯s how he gets his kicks.¡±Alex nodded down towards Norwe, before growling out, ¡°Now leave it alone.¡±

    Max frowned back in response before sticking her tongue out.

    ¡°Oh come on Soothsayer,¡± The sloth Maker put their chin on Alex¡¯s shoulder and gave what Herah assumed to be a smile to him, ¡°You¡¯re far too testy around me.¡±

    ¡°I get the impression Alex is testy in general.¡± Herah said with a huff of smoke.

    ¡°I get the impression that you have the emotional intelligence of a toddler Ashbrain.¡± Alex responded with a snort.

    ¡°My name is Herah! Herah War Hej! Fucking use it!¡± Herah shouted back, her head exploding in green flames as a snarl snapped onto her face.

    ¡°Exhibit A.¡±

    Before Herah could do a thing, Max turned her head with a smile, the youngling¡¯s flame and anger fizzling out just as quickly as they had come.

    ¡°Hey Herah,¡± Max fully turned around and began to walk backwards, swinging her arms in an animated fashion, ¡°You have comics where you come from?¡±

    ¡°Wha- what¡¯s a comic?¡± Herah blinked at Max a few times, small wisps of smoke escaping from her nose.

    ¡°They¡¯re like books, but with mostly images and the occasional text.¡±

    Herah shook her head.

    ¡°Never heard of such a form of book.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Max gave Herah a half-grin, while shaking her head, ¡°Remind me to show you some from my collection sometime. The whole head explodey thing you do reminds me of a few I¡¯ve read.¡±

    ¡°Which ones?¡± Alex looked back to Max, a slight smirk upon his face, ¡±The Ghost Rider¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°Those, Doctor Strange¡¯s, Judge Dredd¡¯s, Firestorm¡¯s,¡± Max pauses, ¡°A lot actually.¡±

    ¡°Geek.¡± Alex responded with an eye roll.

    ¡°Otaku.¡± Max said, sticking out her tongue.

    ¡°Slaves!¡± Norwe shouted, thrusting their arms into the air.

    Everyone paused for a moment, all giving the Maker Sloth a befuddled look.

    ¡°What?¡± Norwe tilted his head to the side, his beady eyes blinking innocently, ¡°I thought we were just stating facts.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡±

    Herah¡¯s head flared up in green flames once again while Alex looked away with a grimace, Max frowned towards their Maker, and Owen let out a nervous laugh.

    ¡°Oh so mean Artist,¡± The Sloth Maker put a hand to their chest, feigning a hurt and scared tone, ¡°I hope you do nothing to act upon your cruel words.¡±

    Herah began to step forward.

    ¡°I¡¯l-¡±

    Alex waved a free arm in Herah¡¯s direction.

    SPLUTCH!

    Her vision went black as her head exploded in a spray of gore that splattered the nearby trees and ground. Now headless and unable to hear, see, or smell, Herah completed her step as the same green flames from before burnt her head back into existence. When all of her senses returned, Herah came back to Owen bent over a puddle of vomit and Max holding Alex by his collar with one hand while Norwe was now hanging lazily from Alex¡¯s back. The smell of fear wafted from Owen, while Max smelt of irritation and Alex of both.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if she heals from it jackass! That¡¯s still uncalled for and rude!¡± Max shouted into Alex¡¯s face.

    The brother in turn let out an annoyed huff and rolled his eyes.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m tired of her shit. So either you keep her calm with your lesbo smile bullshit or I pop her fucking head.¡±

    Max scowled at Alex in turn, letting out an exaggerated sigh.

    ¡°Or, get this, you could do what a normal and well-functioning human being does and talk it out with her.¡±

    ¡°Sis, we are both the furthest things away from normal and well-functioning humans.¡±

    ¡°My point still stands.¡±

    Herah let out a growl before swiping a hand through the flame covering her head. Flexing and closing her fingers, the green fire was drawn into the palm of Herah¡¯s hand as her fist was aimed towards the squabbling siblings.

    ¡°Hey Alex.¡±

    The human looked towards her unimpressed.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Fuck you.¡±

    Herah unballed her fist and a blast of fire roared towards the twins and Norwe (who was still hanging on Alex¡¯s back). Herah last saw Alex rolling his eyes before all three were engulfed in flames.

    ¡°Herah no!¡±

    Herah found her hand smacked aside as Owen shot up wide-eyed. Though by then the attack was over, leaving a path of green flames though nothing appeared to be burnt or burning.

    This included a surprised-looking Max, a somehow even more unamused-looking Alex, and a giggling Norwe.

    ¡°Wha-How?¡± Owen looked towards the three stunned.

    ¡°I can control what my fire does and doesn¡¯t burn. I chose to only burn Alex in that attack.¡± Herah let out a huff and another growl, ¡°Presence is an ash-damned annoyance.¡±

    Alex grinned at Herah, his eyes glowing white. The twin then knocked his sister¡¯s hand off of his shirt, before marching up to Herah while Max hurried after now smelling of worry.

    Stopping a breath away from Herah and tilting his head up, Alex maintained his grin.

    ¡°Two bits of life advice for you. One, if you¡¯re going to attack someone who wields Presence, then get some yourself. The only thing that can oppose Presence is Presence. Two-¡±

    Alex radiated light, rays of his Presence piercing through Herah and locking her in place as an unnatural fear crept up her spine. The human then placed a hand on Herah¡¯s shoulder and gave it the lightest of squeezes.

    CRACK!

    The bones within collapsed.

    ¡°-I don¡¯t care how much control you think you have. If you ever do something like that again, I will kill you.¡±

    Before Herah could give any response, a flood of Norwe¡¯s Presence flooded the area causing her senses to all shut-off. Incapable of smelling, feeling, seeing, hearing, or tasting anything, Herah knew nothing but the warmth of her flame.

    ¡®At least I have this comfort.¡¯

    Then Norwe¡¯s voice reached her ears again.

    Somehow.

    ¡°In actuality my dear Soothsayer, that would only ensure the demise of you all. You see, there are only two rules that I have for Recompense. No killing of teammates and no attempts to leave. To do either of those, will forfeit your own existence, that of your teammates, your universe¡¯s existence, and theirs as well.¡±

    Like a snap, Herah¡¯s senses returned to her as Norwe pulled their Presence back in. And with the return of her senses, Herah saw Alex and Max perfectly fine, only wide-eyed and smelling scared. Owen, on the other hand, appeared to have been turned to stone and was now in the process of returning to flesh, his mouth agape in shock.

    ¡°Now,¡± Herah¡¯s eyes went to Norwe, the sloth Maker now peaking over Alex shoulder with a wry smile, ¡°As much as I enjoy the bickering, I would like to leave you all to yourselves sooner versus later so-¡±

    Herah found herself and the rest standing in a unique clearing, smoke rising up from her repaired shoulder.

    ¡°-I¡¯ll just move us along.¡±

    Said clearing was unique for primarily two reasons. One, alongside its grass, the clearing was covered with glowing white and black flowers, each bunched up into homogeneous groups. Two, within its center a tree unlike the rest stood.

    ¡°This looks like a Donneur de Fr¨ºne.¡± Herah mumbled to herself, while looking up to the tree with narrowed eyes, ¡°Wait a second, this is a Donneur de Fr¨ºne!¡±

    The tree was smaller than all of the others in the forest, about half their height and width. Beyond that, its overall texture and shape was a departure from the rest as well. With smooth, grey bark the tree was shaped like an upright handbell with a star-shaped crossguard made up of thick branches. All across the trunk, knot-shaped lumps and smaller branches were strewn about with every branch having some amount of ash-grey leaves upon it. The largest amounts of these leaves could be found at the very top of the tree, helping to create the treetops bell-shape while smaller clumps big enough to sit on sat at the ends of the five center branches.

    ¡°Ash Giver?¡± Alex asked, looking up the tree as well, mild interest in his tone, ¡°Why that name?¡±

    ¡°Not going to check yourself?¡± Herah asked flippantly, giving her nose a light rub as two new but similar scents registered, ¡°You seemed to have no problem earlier finding shit out.¡±

    Herah smelt Alex¡¯s scent switch to anger for but a moment before it was smothered with fear, a glance towards the human revealing him tense and holding his tongue. Norwe the Sloth looked to Herah, now on Alex¡¯s shoulders, and winked.

    ¡°Nevermind.¡± Alex said, looking away from Herah.

    The youngling, for her part, let out a huff and walked up to the Donneur de Fr¨ºne.

    ¡°You should all move from beneath the tree.¡± Herah placed a palm against said tree and looked up into its rustling leaves, ¡°It won¡¯t be safe under here in a moment.¡±

    Norwe drummed atop Alex¡¯s head while the human let out a discomforted hmm, Owen moved swiftly from under the tree and towards the edge of the clearing, and Max let out her own curious hum before walking over to Alex and lightly tugging him towards Owen.

    Once everyone was from beneath the tree, Herah drew her hand back an inch before slamming it back into the bark. The tree shook, black ash falling from the shaking leaves and blanketing the ground and Herah. Angered chitters filled the air as two small creatures darted out from the bush of the tree, hopped onto Herah¡¯s shoulders, and nibbled at them.

    Both creatures were as tall as a notebook and just a bit fatter than rats, with a thin but flexible layer of iron covering all but their golden eyes. Their four limbs were short and stubby, with tiny claws of metal that were currently trying to tear through Herah¡¯s scales. Most striking about their appearance were their large, grainy tails composed of what smelled like silver shavings. Said tails seemed fluid in their shape; switching between thick and bushy, to thin and sharp, and even at one point resembling a forked tongue.

    ¡°Those kinda look like armored squirrels?¡± Max tilted her head to the side, the sound of wonder coloring her words.

    ¡°They¡¯re called aimant miracles.¡± Herah reached up to either aimant miracle with either of her hands and gave them soft pets, ¡°They tend to live near deposits of metal ore and Donneur de Fr¨ºnes.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you called them Miracle Magnets?¡± Alex asked, now sitting at the edge of the clearing and eyeing the ash that covered the ground.

    ¡°Yup, back in my people¡¯s earlier days these small creatures would serve to lead us to food.¡±

    ¡°Food?¡± Owen questioned, blinking in confusion.

    ¡°My people eat metal.¡± Herah responded, still petting the now calm metal rodents.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty metal.¡± Max said, putting particular emphasis on the word metal while giving Herah a wink.

    Several confused blinks from Herah, a groan from Alex, and a slight chuckle from Owen was all Max got in response.

    ¡°I guess you do not have metal music where you come from.¡±

    ¡°Ashbrain,¡± Herah growled, causing Alex to just roll his eyes in response, ¡°I can see the ash from the tree is why they¡¯re called ash giver. You¡¯ve yet to show why they¡¯re dangerous though.¡±

    Herah scoffed, before breathing out a small ball of orange flames. With a mental command, Herah dropped the flames onto the ground.

    The ash ignited, bathing the entire clearing, Herah, and the tree in fire.

    ¡°Herah!¡± Max and Owen both step forward, but Alex crouched and stuck out his arm stopping both of them.

    ¡°You saw her self-immolate earlier dummy, Ashbrain will be fine.¡±

    Just as Alex finished his words, Herah began to inhale, sucking in every flame within two seconds. With all the fire gone, Herah was revealed to the rest perfectly fine alongside the now slumbering aimant miracles on her shoulders. Seeing this, everyone began to approach Herah.

    ¡°So the trees produce flammable ash,¡± Alex said when they finally got to her, ¡°Defense against predators I assume?¡±

    Herah nodded.

    ¡°No idea why it¡¯s here though,¡± Herah turned to the tree and looked it over, ¡°Judging by how the ash has had enough time to seep into the ground and start growing flowers, I¡¯d say this tree has been here for at least two weeks.

    ¡°Should we be worried about the ash?¡± Owen asked, glancing up at the tree leaves with a worried glance.

    ¡°No.¡± Herah shook her head, ¡°This planet is too cold for it to combust naturally like it would back home. Really this tree doesn¡¯t belong here.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s where I come in my dear artist.¡±

    Herah watched as Norwe the Sloth fell off of Alex¡¯s shoulders and onto the ground.

    ¡°For you see, I put that tree here.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Herah asked, folding her arms and looking down towards Norwe with a frown.

    ¡°For your Act!¡±

    Norwe the Sloth then began the process of crawling towards the Donneur de Fr¨ºne, which was only a foot away.

    A minute went by.

    ¡°Would you like me to move you to the tree?¡± Herah asked, her expression now perplexed.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Norew responded, now half a foot away from the tree.

    Another minute went by.

    ¡°Are you planning to climb the tree?¡± Herah questioned, just staring and blinking at Norwe who was now at the base of the tree.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Herah looked to the Donneur de Fr¨ºne and then back to Norwe.

    ¡°How far?¡±

    ¡°To its middle.¡± Norwe replied, reaching their arms up to start pulling themselves upwards.

    Herah looked to the tree again, gauged the distance, and then looked back to Norwe and gauged the Maker¡¯s speed.

    A look of horror spread across her face.

    ¡°Oh no.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes!¡±

    Another minute passed.

    ¡°Bro,¡± Max stared at Norwe with the same confusion Herah had earlier, ¡°How long is it going to take for Norwe to get halfway up that tree?¡±

    ¡°Eight hours, eighteen minutes, twenty-five seconds, and counting.¡± Was Alex¡¯s dry reply.

    ¡°We¡¯re not,¡± Max paused and look to Alex with an open mouth, ¡°We¡¯re not really going to watch him do that are we?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes we are.¡±

    Max looked back to Norwe then to her brother.

    ¡°But why?¡±

    ¡°Because he could erase us with a thought, or worse. That is the only reason why.¡±

    Max looked to Norwe.

    ¡°I think I might take that to this.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t even joke it about it,¡± Alex said emptily, ¡°He might take you seriously.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes I would Liar.¡±

    Another minute passed.

    ¡°I thought you were in a rush to leave us alone Norwe-sir.¡± Owen said to Norwe, his voice soft and respectful.

    ¡°Flattery will get you nowhere with me Binder.¡± Norwe responded, now a foot up the tree, ¡°But to answer your question, how long a rush is subjective and tempered by age.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve been around for two hundred eighty-nine years, and eight hours is still a long time for me.¡±

    ¡°Even amongst your own people, you¡¯re still a child Binder. And I was around before the concepts of Logic and Time were ideas in my siblings¡¯ will, so this is nothing but a blink in my eyes.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you interrupt us earlier? Wouldn¡¯t that also be a blink in your eye?¡± Owen paused for a moment before hurriedly adding, ¡° Norwe-sir.¡±

    ¡°Because they¡¯re fucking with us.¡± Herah answered, a snarl on her face as wisps of green fire began to leak from between her lips.

    ¡°Correct!¡± Norwe agreed.

    Another minute pas-

    ¡°Fuck this!¡±

    Herah reached over towards Norwe before finding her hand caught by Alex. The youngling gave the human a growl, green jetting from her nose. Alex glared back at her, his solid white eyes narrowed as his grip tightened.

    CRACK!

    ¡°You will not touch him.¡±

    ¡°Oh please do, Artist.¡±

    Herah opened her mouth but paused before saying a word, instead looking past Alex and towards Max.

    The human looked back at her unsure, her body tense and scent on edge. Herah smiled and nodded towards Norwe before tilting her head back towards Max. Max blinked for a second before gaining a firm look and nodding her head.

    None of this went over Alex¡¯s head.

    ¡°Max!¡± Alex turned to his sister just as her hands touched Norwe¡¯s back, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare.¡±

    Max paused, and looked at Alex.

    ¡°Or what?¡± The twin responded, a taunting curiosity to her words.

    Alex glanced to Norwe, the Sloth Maker smiling back lazily.

    ¡°He¡¯ll erase you.¡±

    ¡°Will I?¡±

    Max looked to Alex then back to Norwe.

    ¡°Worth it.¡±

    Alex moved forward but a simple shake of Norwe the Sloth¡¯s head halted him.

    Max then, with one hand, grabbed Norwe by the scruff of their neck and yoinked them up the tree.

    Five seconds later, the Maker¡¯s sloth body splattered against one of the thick branches that was halfway up the tree. Their body liquified on contact, leaving nothing but a mint green stain under the branch.

    For a moment a stunned silence hung over the group.

    ¡°For a minute there, I thought you all might actually just watch me climb up this tree.¡±

    Norwe peaked his head out from atop the branch, a lazy smile on their sloth face.

    ¡°Norw-¡± Alex began but a raised hand from the Maker caused him to silence himself.

    ¡° I shall now explain to you your Act.¡± Norwe gave the tree a slight smack, though no ash fell this time, ¡°Protecting this tree, from a clan of Oni.¡±

    ¡°What the ash are those?¡±

    ¡°Big, ugly, and cruel Japanese demons.¡± Alex said with a growl.

    ¡°Thanks jackass, I definitely know what the fuck Japanese is.¡± Herah replied with a roll of her eyes.

    ¡°You seem to understand the concept of demons, however.¡±

    ¡°Fuck off.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Norwe¡¯s smooth voice interrupted the two, causing Alex to immediately clam up, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Now this group of Oni you will be facing is very different than you¡¯re used to, in the cases of my Liar and Soothsayer, or something you¡¯ve never faced, in the cases of my Artist and Binder.¡±

    Norwe the Sloth extended a limb towards the group and wiggled their claws. A projection of what Herah presumed to be an overview of the forest appeared between them.

    ¡°Exactly twenty centuries, four hundred five years, thirty-six months, fifteen weeks, fifty-six days, thirty hours, forty minutes, and eight seconds ago, I created life, only plant life on this planet. It grew without issue for fifteen of these centuries before I introduced the Oni to spice things up a bit.¡±

    Norwe directed their attention to Owen raising his hand to Herah¡¯s right.

    ¡°Binder, do you have a question?¡±

    ¡°Um yeah, what¡¯s up with the wonky times?¡±

    Norwe the Sloth tilted their head to the side slightly, their face completely expressionless, though their bemusement impossible to miss.

    ¡°What makes you think that every universe conforms to your ideas of time or even the same laws as yours?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Norwe slowly waved the gnome off, speaking as they did the motion.

    ¡°These Oni have a unique means of reproduction that requires that they use non-native trees,¡± Norwe taps the Donneur de Fr¨ºne again, ¡°Such as this in order to perpetuate their existence.¡±

    ¡°Oooooh.¡± Max said, smiling and tilting her head to the side.

    Norwe then pointed at a spot on the map, one nestled right before what looked like two mountains. There, a purple dot appeared.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s definitely not freaky.¡±

    Herah mentally agreed with Max, everyone present finding their eyes drawn to to their left where even when obscured by the leaves of the tree, a distant purple beam of light was clear to see.

    ¡°That¡¯s where the Oni reside.¡± Norwe the Sloth held up one of their paws ¡°In three days time, these Oni will set out to destroy this tree. Until then, you can do whatever you like to defend against their attack. Just remember two things-¡±

    Norwe raised a single claw.

    ¡°One, I fully expect to be entertained. How you see fit to do so is mostly up to you, though if I see fit I might intervene.¡±

    A second claw was raised.

    ¡°Two, the Oni will fight to the last of themselves to get this tree. For them, there is no other option.¡±

    And with those words, the Sloth Maker was gone.

    For a moment, the clearing was silent.

    And then Herah tore her arm away from Alex¡¯s grip, smoke wafting from her wrist as the bones were burnt back into shape. Grabbing at her wrist and giving it a light twist to test it, Herah nodded to herself in satisfaction at the sturdiness of the joint. Once done there, Herah took note of the rest.

    Alex was now breathing easier and tapping his nose, though Herah could smell anger boiling inside of him as the fear left. Max sat down on the ground and took a deep breath, appearing to be just absorbing all the nature around her. Owen was sitting with two large, linked metal rings in hand pulling them tight against each other while staring intently into them.

    Nodding her head again, Herah gave the metal rodents on her shoulder a few pats on their heads to awaken them. Squeaks marked their awakening before both hopped off of Herah¡¯s shoulders and rushed back up the Donneur de Fr¨ºne to hide away in the leaves.

    ¡°So¡± Herah looked to the rest, ¡°What is our next move?¡±

    Everyone looked to Herah, a frown from Alex and smiles from Owen and Max.

    ¡°Some planning would do us well.¡± Owen said rising up, tilting his hat up just slightly before tossing his rings into it, ¡°Though we¡¯re also suffering from a severe lack of information.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty good for scouting.¡± Max said rolling her shoulders and hopping to her feet, ¡°I can learn things pretty easily.¡±

    ¡°I can help with that.¡± Herah offered up, smiling at Max.

    Max smiled back in response.

    ¡°Before we can do any of that,¡± Alex stopped tapping his nose and crossed his arms, ¡°We need to properly decide on how our team will be structured.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Herah asked cautiously, already not liking the sound of Alex.

    ¡°If we want to work most effectively then we need to be put into the proper positions so as to assume a smooth and proper work flow.¡±

    ¡°And that would have you at the top, correct?¡± Herah asked, green flames already leaking from her mouth and nose.

    Alex grinned at Herah.

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Alex tilted his head to the side, a lopsided frown coming to his face.

    ¡°No?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Alex then marched up to Herah, tilting his head back upright before dropping his wavy blade from his sleeve again and lifting it up to Herah¡¯s neck.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember posing that as a question.¡±

    Herah growled, raising her own hand to Alex¡¯s throat, her talon¡¯s just lightly extended.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember you ever earning the position.¡±

    Herah and Alex stared into each other¡¯s eyes, one pair filled with burning rage just barely contained, the other filled with an icy anger growing cooler and cooler by the moment.

    Before any moves could be made on either side, Max rested her hand on both of their shoulders.

    ¡°You two clearly need some time away from one another. So, let¡¯s split for a bit. We can all get a lay of the land and while we do that cool our heads.¡± Max looked between the pair of them with a smile, ¡°You two fine with that?¡±

    Herah felt her rage die at the sight of Max¡¯s smile before letting out a breath and nodding her head.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Herah then turned away and began heading out of the clearing.

    Chink!

    Chink!

    Herah paused at the soft sounds of metal bouncing off of metal and Owen¡¯s smell approaching her. Turning to look down on the gnome, Herah gave him a confused look which was answered with a small smile.

    ¡°Are you planning to come with me?¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because, you give me the impression of someone who is used to being alone.¡±

    Herah frowned.

    ¡°Why would that make you come with me?¡±

    Owen walked past Herah still smiling.

    ¡°You also give me the impression of someone who doesn¡¯t like that.¡±

    Herah frowned after Owen for a moment before letting a smile come to her face.

    ¡°Owen Vulcan? That was your name right?¡±

    Owen paused before turning to Herah and nodding.

    Herah then jogged up to him before slowing to a walk and then moving on forward. Owen followed after, the pair smiling as they silently enjoyed one another¡¯s presence. And while they kept their smiles, they did not keep their silence, Herah starting their conversation with a simple compliment.

    ¡°I like you Owen, you smell of a forge and honesty. Two of my favorite things.¡±

 Redrawing the Sketch

    Herah and Owen had entered another wrecked clearing about a hundred yards away from the one with the Donneur de Fr¨ºne before stopping. It was destroyed recently by the feel of the place to Herah.

    The tracks in the area were still fresh and headed off to where Norwe had placed their beacon. The uprooted soil felt soft and moist under her feet, another clear indication of the recent destruction of the clearing. Herah hadn¡¯t used R¨¦unir on her nose yet, so the youngling was incapable of knowing the smell, but assumed the clearing smelled much better than the ones before due to its lack of dead plants. The tree that had clearly been the target of the Oni was decimated, the only thing remaining of the plant being parts of its trunk. One of which Owen sat on, leaving Herah standing.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you and Alex? That¡¯s the twin you were arguing with, right?¡± Owen said his voice still childlike but filled with what Herah thought to be a surprisingly confident tone.

    ¡°Before I answer that, what happened to that shyness from earlier?¡±

    ¡°Oh that,¡± Owen waved his hand in a dismissive manner, ¡°That was just an act, as a gnome I¡¯m constantly surrounded by beings a lot more physically capable than myself. So from birth, my people are taught to act shy and fidgety around potential threats, it usually causes them to empathize or underestimate us.¡±

    ¡°So you were faking, huh?¡± Herah growled out, her eye giving an unconscious tic as the youngling barely restrained herself from punting Owen into a star.

    Owen, noticing Herah¡¯s anger, held up his arms as if attempting to get the youngling to settle down and spoke before Herah could act on any unsavory thoughts in her mind.

    ¡°I guessed that would make you angry. That¡¯s why I dropped the act, you seem like someone who expects that if working with another they be upfront. I find that¡¯s a good idea and helps to build trust.¡±

    Herah¡¯s nostrils flared causing several puffs of smoke to fly from her nostrils. The youngling regained a bit of her calmness with each puff released. After a few more puffs, Herah began to speak to Owen again.

    ¡°So if you¡¯re not a nervous and shy little shit, what are you?¡±

    Owen gave Herah a wide childlike smile as they stood from the trunk they sat upon and did a little bow, their clothing creating a distinct chink noise as they brushed against the trunk.

    ¡°I am Owen Vulcan, a gnome prodigy and master blacksmith.¡±

    Herah perked up at those words, still a bit angry but now very interested in the gnome.

    ¡°You¡¯re a blacksmith? Wow, I never thought someone so young could possibly have already completed all the training and work needed to become a smith.¡± Herah said with surprise and a tiny bit of admiration. After finishing speaking, Herah noticed that Owen was now blushing.

    ¡®Hmm. I guess that reaction wasn¡¯t faked.¡¯

    ¡°You also seem easily flustered.¡±

    Owen smiled while rubbing his head in embarrassment before replying,

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been good at taking compliments.¡± Owen lowered his hand and tilted his head, ¡°I heard that admiration for the art of smithing, what¡¯s up with that?¡±

    Herah looked away from Owen, her anger at the gnome from earlier now gone and replaced with a fiery passion towards their current subject. The youngling began to smile maniacally, throwing both of her hands into the air as her answer flew from her mouth.

    ¡°Blacksmiths are the primary source of weaponry for the Nettoyant!¡± Herah then brought both her hands to her chest, her hands curling into a fist, ¡°And I hope to one day forge the weapons that a Nettoyant might use to subjugate our enemies!¡§

    Owen gave a hearty laugh, probably entertained by what Herah knew to be her fanatic ramblings. After a few minutes of Owen laughing, the gnome wiped tears from his eyes. Owen then asked,

    ¡°What exactly is a Nettoyant?¡¯¡±

    Herah¡¯s already wide smile got even wider, her giddiness at talking about her people taking center stage in her head.

    ¡°Nettoyants were those handpicked by La Flamme to spread her will throughout our universe, as the best of the best,¡± Herah said, her voice filled with a terrifyingly high amount of joy.

    ¡°How do they do that?¡± Owen said, the caution in his voice somewhat registering with Herah.

    ¡°By conquering neighboring planets and subjugating them to our rule.¡± Herah stated blankly.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Owen began, the surprise in his voice easily read. ¡°They, they do that now.¡± Owen shook his head slowly while replying with carefully thought out words, ¡°Your people must really love your goddess if they¡¯re willing to war with other planets just to spread her will.¡±

    Herah shook her head, before continuing.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite the opposite really.¡± Herah¡¯s tone suddenly lost much of its joy and cheer, the youngling visibly deflating.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Owen asked, the gnome making no visible notice of Herah¡¯s decline in attitude.

    Herah shook her head again before turning away from Owen to look towards the purple beacon. After a bit of silence, Herah turned back to Owen and asked a question.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me a bit about your people?¡±

    Owen clearly noticed the change in subject, but decided not to comment on it. Instead, the gnome responded to Herah''s question.

    ¡°Gnomes are greatly varied and different when compared to each other, as any race should be, but we do tend to have a few things in common. Like the fact that no gnome ever gets any taller than 3¡ä3, or that we all have an affinity with minerals and metals.¡±

    Owen said nothing else after this, causing an awkward silence to fall over the two.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± Herah asked, a bit confused at the lack of information.

    ¡°You said a bit,¡± Owen replied with a cheeky smile.

    This caused the youngling to giggle before saying,

    ¡°You¡¯re a smartass aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Owen shrugged his shoulders while saying,

    ¡°That¡¯s what father tells me all the time.¡±

    It started off as a small snort of amusement from Herah, which Owen followed up with his own. Then the two both chuckled lightly and after a few more transitions the pair eventually devolved into body-racking laughter. The Cendreux and gnome continued laughing, only stopping when they both ran short on breath.

    Hera, back at full height, smiled at Owen while scratching her abbs, an itch having started on her shirtless torso.

    ¡°Owen, I haven¡¯t had a friend in years, and though I might¡¯ve started something with Max, her brother will probably destroy any foundation I build. I say this so that I can extend the same offer I extended to Max and, to a lesser degree, Alex.¡±

    Herah then commenced with Ash va s¡¯installer, Owen giving the rings of fire a curious stare as they floated towards him and dispersed. Herah gave Owen a deep bow and said,

    ¡°Through the act of Ash va s¡¯installer and prior experience I recognize you as an equal and potential friend.¡±

    Herah rose from her bow and offered her hand to Owen. Owen took Herah¡¯s hand with a pleasant smile.

    ¡°I hope to be good friends Herah,¡± Owen let go of Herah¡¯s hand and returned to his seat atop of the tree trunk.

    ¡°Now back to you and Alex, wha-¡±

    WHOOSH!

    Herah¡¯s right hand intercepted an arrow that had been aimed at the side of her head. Herah turned her head to look towards the direction the arrow had come from, but before the youngling could begin to search, the arrowhead exploded.

    BOOM!

    The clearing was engulfed in an explosion that could be heard throughout the forest. After the smoke had cleared, Herah stood in the epicenter of a crater, unharmed, blind, numb around her entire torso, and pissed. The youngling immediately used R¨¨unir to get back her sense of smell.

    Immediately, the smell of grass, soil, and wood greeted Herah, but the youngling found her mind focused on four distinct smells that all shared a common factor: rot. One was to Herah¡¯s right, right beneath where the now destroyed trunk Owen had originally sat on used to be. This scent by the sounds Herah was hearing was digging itself out of the ground. Another was in the tree 12 feet behind her, and the final two were 100 feet away in front of Herah.

    With this information in her mind, Herah quite literally leaped into action. The youngling, with a backflip, leaped out of her crater and towards the tree behind her before landing in front it. The youngling then, with the length of her arm, severed part of the tree from its trunk.

    1

    Herah leaped over to the other scent and heard two limbs fly towards her before her feet could touch the ground.

    2

    Herah caught both limbs, the feeling of tough skin and large muscles spreading throughout her hands. Herah kneed the creature in the face, the sound of something breaking and a wail of agony greeting her in return.

    3

    Herah landed and, with the creature¡¯s arms still in her hands, brought them towards her until its throat was at her mouth. The youngling then tore into it, a small gurgle replacing the wailing.

    4

    Herah disregards the taste and spray of her assailant¡¯s blood and their corpse, just in time to catch two arrows aimed at her head. One with her fist closed over the arrowhead, and the other by its shaft. Herah threw one of the arrows back towards her assailants.

    5

    The sound of two explosions; one muffled by her hand, the other with no filter signifying the deaths of two of the three remaining assailants.

    6

    BOOM!

    The last scent was now immobile.

    Walking in the direction of the fallen tree, Herah shed the skin that had covered her eyes. Herah found her assailant pinned down between two other trees with Owen peering down at them with a scrying stare from atop of the trunk.

    The gnome¡¯s hat was gone, allowing his neat and orderly brown hair to be seen. Theblue tunic Owen wore had a few rips and tears in it, revealing the iron plating underneath it. Owen also had a scratch on his head, a bit of blood dripping down the side of his face.

    ¡°Owen!¡± Herah shouted, smiling at them gnome while mentally kicking herself for forgetting about her new potential friend.

    ¡°Herah! And- Oh.¡± Owen said surprised before hastily turned away from Herah, a blush upon his cheeks.

    Herah looked around confused for a second before turning her attention to herself.

    ¡°Flamme dammit!¡±

    Herah was in her birthday suit, her bra and pants having been blown away by the first exploding arrow, leaving her scaly legs and scaleless torso revealed for all to see. Before Herah could make any more comments on her lack of clothing, her attention was caught by the sound of the two twins approaching. Alex, his clothing now fixed up, entered the area first.

    ¡°It took you twenty minutes to get into some shit, please don¡¯t let this be a tren-¡± Getting a good look at Herah, Alex paused.

    The human the pointed at the youngling and said, ¡°What the fuck happened to you?¡± Alex turned to Owen and said the same thing.

    Herah opened her mouth to speak once again, but found herself interrupted by Max.

    ¡°We came as soon as we heard the noise, what¡¯s going-¡± Max got a good look at Herah, then the fallen tree, then Owen. After cycling through these three things, two more times Max asked, ¡°Were you two doing something, and this tree just fell or...¡±

    Herah gave Max a deadpan stare and aswered,

    ¡°No. We were attacked.¡±

    Max did a fist pump motion, a barely audible yes exiting her lips. Ignoring Max¡¯s amusing behavior, Herah walked over to where her final assailant lay. Max and Alex joined her and Owen to get a good look at them as well.

    Herah¡¯s assailant had green skin and looked rather burly. Their height was hard to decipher, but Herah thought the assailant had to be around her own height. They wore a shirt that smelled partly like bark but had green moss growing over it, Herah was unable to see if they were pants. Their most defining feature was their face, well more the mask that covered it. The mask was white with black eyes and a gaping maw. Within its mouth were a small set of teeth, with two enlarged fangs framing their teeth and hanging from the roof of its mouth and the bottom.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Are they dead?¡± Max asked.

    ¡°Nope, I hear breathing coming from the opening in their mask,¡± Herah answered.

    ¡°How the hell can you hear that?¡± This question came from Alex.

    ¡°All of my senses are enhanced bitch, I¡¯m guessing yours aren¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Including your nose?¡± Alex asked, a small edge of curiosity to his question,

    ¡°Definitely my nose, when sight fails me, it¡¯s always my handy second,¡± Herah smirked at Alex, pettiness just rolling off of her. ¡°Your inferior version has nothing on mines.¡±

    ¡°Be glad I need you alive,¡± Alex replied, his tone monotonous.

    Herah disregarded him and lowered her face so that it was inches from the Oni¡¯s.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°GRRWW!¡±

    Herah raised her head, cursing at her luck under her breathe before letting out a yelp as Alex shoved her out of the way. Stumbling towards Max, Herah righted herself and tried to stomp over to Alex, intending to give the human a piece of her mind. Max stopped her however by grabbing Herah by the arm, which caused the youngling to turn towards her, and then giving her another one of smiles. Herah¡¯s anger rapidly bled away until the Cendreux was just slightly pissed. Max then moved the two away from Alex, Owen following.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, bro got this.¡± Max inclined her head towards her brother.

    Herah turned back to Alex, the human now in the same position Herah had been in earlier when trying to speak to the Oni.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°GRRWW!¡±

    ¡°Your brother seems to be getting the same exact result as me.¡±

    ¡°Patience beautiful.¡±

    Herah looked at Max and got a wink in turn. After smirking back in response, Herah redirected her attention to Alex and saw that the human was tapping his nose before suddenly snapping his fingers.

    ¡°GRRWW!¡± Alex said, perfectly copying the sound the Oni had made earlier.

    ¡°GRR?¡± The Oni responded, confusion easy to read.

    "I know Onish.¡± Alex answered his voice becoming melodic and angelic like before, before making a completely different sounding growl towards the Oni. The Oni responded in kind and the two began to have an animated discussion, at least that¡¯s what Herah thought they were doing.

    ¡°How the ash did your brother learn their language that quickly?!¡±

    ¡°Well Herah, that¡¯s what my bro¡¯s gift, allows for him to do.¡±

    Herah turned back to Max, still quite confused and said,

    " Enlightenment, that¡¯s what you called it right,¡± Max nodded yes, causing Herah to point back at Alex and say, ¡°Allows for him to learn languages instantly?¡±

    Max giggled in response, shaking her head while saying,

    ¡°No. It allows for him to tell the universe the truth, well what he believes to be true.¡±

    Herah turned back to Alex, now studying the human with all the more confused. Owen then butted into the conversation,

    ¡°But your brother doesn¡¯t really know Onish, does he?¡±

    Max rubbed her chin, her expression not really sure. Then Max just shrugged her shoulders and said,

    ¡°He knows Onish for the next eight minutes in our time.¡±

    Herah raised a brow.

    ¡°Your time?¡±

    Max looked back at Herah, her expression becoming confused before the human smacked her head and answered,

    ¡°You know how Norwe said time didn¡¯t necessarily run the same in every universe-¡±

    ¡°I never said that.¡± a calm, and gentle voice interrupted Max.

    ¡°Holy fuck!¡±

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    ¡°By the five!¡±

    Norwe the Sloth had appeared between the group, a lazy expression on their face lazy face. The Maker Sloth took the time to look at the gathered group before beginning to crawl up Herah¡¯s leg, the youngling giving the Maker Sloth a strange look before completely disregarding their actions as some other weird shit Norwe did.

    ¡°I said ¡°What makes you think that every universe conforms to your ideas of time¡±, in all actuality, a second is a second in all of my universes. Of course, a second in one universe might equal a year in another.¡± Norwe the Sloth stopped their climb briefly to pat Herah on her bareback, ¡°That¡¯s why my Artist is as exhausted as she is in comparison to you three, it has been a long day for her.¡±

    ¡°Fuck off.¡±

    The other two listening turned to face Herah with concerned looks on their faces.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look exhausted,¡± Owen said before quickly turning away with a blush.

    Norwe the Sloth, having finished their climb up Herah and now sitting on the youngling¡¯s shoulders responded,

    ¡°My Artist isn¡¯t physically exhausted or mentally, no she,¡± Herah let out a low growl, ¡°Has a little flame right next to her heart that slowly burns away throughout the day.¡±

    Norwe the Sloth lowered one of their arms so that it¡¯s claw could tap Herah¡¯s left bare breast, causing Herah¡¯s already red skin to darken in intensity around the area of contact.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Just because I can¡¯t feel them that doesn¡¯t mean they can¡¯t react.¡± The youngling said, the annoyance clear in her words.

    Norwe the Sloth ignored Herah and continued speaking,

    ¡°To my Artist, it had been 18 hours since any form of substantial sustenance has been applied to this flame, combine this with her little fire show before and after I arrived in the pocket dimension with you three inside and you get someone who¡¯ll crash within the next hour or so.¡±

    As much as Herah hated to admit it, Norwe the Sloth was right. When the youngling felt for her flame it was much dimmer than optimal. Herah probably would¡¯ve been able to go on longer if nor for her attempt to kill the twins. To attempt to use indigo flames always left Herah exhausted afterward, even if not released at max power. The fire was what allowed her to live after all, even if Herah lost her heart or brain, as long as that fire burned Herah would heal from it all. But the second that flame was gone, Herah would be a goner.

    ¡°Speaking of your sensitivity,¡± Norwe caught Herah¡¯s attention once again, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be a good idea for you to put some clothes on? As you are now, once your nerves reconnect life is going to be hell, sorry I meant ash, for you.¡±

    Herah let out a snort of flames, before answering Norwe the Sloth¡¯s question,

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine once Jeffery gets here, until then,¡± Herah did a little spin throwing her arms into the air as her wings unfurled from her back and began to flap them methodically. This left Herah floating a few feet above the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll let my wonderful body get a bit of air, I always hated the feeling of clothing.¡±

    ¡°I second that thought,¡± Max said, raising one of her arms as if voting.

    Norwe the Sloth rolled their eyes and fell off of Herah, landing on their back.

    ¡°Do what you must, and eat one of those fruits from the tree already. I¡¯d be sad if one of my gifted met their end due to pride.¡± With those words, Norwe the Sloth disappeared, leaving a naked, still mostly numb Cendruex, a weird human and a blushing gnome all alone.

    After a few seconds, Owen said something about being right back before scurrying away. The gnome returned a few minutes later with his hat and what Herah presumed to be the fruit that was in her hands earlier. Owen handed it over to her, still refusing to look her in the eye. Herah said a quick thanks before biting down into the fruit.

    CRUNCH!

    The sound of wood crunching and metal being shredded rung throughout the hearing, causing Alex to tell them to quiet before returning to his conversation with the fallen Oni. Ignoring her twin, Max asked Herah a question,

    ¡°What¡¯s in that fruit exactly?¡±

    Herah raised a finger, chewing a bit more before swallowing.

    ¡°These fruits always have an extremely heavy amount of metal in them. This one, in particular, is very heavy in silver.¡±

    ¡°What! No way!¡± Owen shouted.

    ¡°You eat silver!?¡± Max added in.

    ¡°DON¡¯T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE!¡±

    This caused Max and Owen to apologize before redirecting their attention to Herah. Max gestured for the three to huddle together, Herah being forced to lean over a bit while Owen had to jump up and use the twos arms as supports. With the three now huddled up, Max began to whisper.

    ¡°Why do you eat metal, and is that blood on your face?¡± Max said, her attention suddenly on Herah¡¯s blood covered face.

    ¡°In order, a Cendreux body is capable of taking any and all metals in order to strengthen our bones, and yes this is blood.¡± Herah gave Max an amused stare, ¡°What the ash did you think was covering my face?¡±

    ¡°I thought you were blushing,¡± Max answered meekly.

    ¡°Same,¡± Owen said, sounding sick.

    Herah looked at the gnome and found his face completely white. Owen looked at the blood and began to heave, falling to the ground and landing on his butt.

    ¡°Yo- you killed someone.¡± The gnome stuttered out, seemingly out of it.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± Herah asked peering down at the gnome her tone becoming slightly worried.

    Though they had only met recently, Herah had made a quick friend of Owen, even if not directly stated. This was someone who wasn¡¯t her father, mother, or Jeffery and would hate to lose it so quickly. Of course, Herah had spent most of her life without friends sans one a long while back, so the loss of one so quickly after gaining them wouldn¡¯t hurt her.

    Too much.

    ¡°I have hemophobia and thanatophobia, both death and blood scare the hell out of me. Its why I¡¯m a blacksmith and not an actual fighter, I freeze up at the sight of both.¡± Owen replied, bits of color returning to his face as his statement was spoken.

    ¡°Well, hate to break it to you,¡± Herah began, her tone and stare now very gentle, ¡°But by the sounds of it, there is going to be a lot of blood loss and death during Recompense.¡± Herah then lost her gentleness and said, ¡°So you¡¯re going to have to find a way to manage them.¡±

    Owen shook his head nervously in response, all of the color having returned to his face but his expression still shocked.

    ¡°As much as I hate to agree with ashbrain-¡±

    ¡°The fuck you just call me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be useless to us if you are constantly bothered by the dead we will most definitely leave in our wake.¡± Alex finished, now coming towards the trio. Herah, Max, and Owen turned to face the approaching human.

    Once Alex reached the group of three, the twin began to speak once again.

    ¡°By the way,¡± His attention now on Herah, ¡°You sounded like a mother for half a second there, what happened to all of that ¡°badassery¡± that we usually hear coming from you?¡±

    Herah glared at Alex before replying with her own snarky response,

    ¡°It¡¯s right here,¡± Herah flipped Alex off, ¡°I¡¯ll shove it up your ass if you want to keep track of it.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but I actually understand the concept of decency.¡±

    ¡°Guys,¡± Max looked between the two a tired look on her face, ¡°Can you stop with the verbal sparring for a minute, please?¡±

    Both Herah and Alex stopped, the two now looking at Max expectantly. Seeing this Max shook her head happily before pointing at her brother.

    ¡°So what did you get out of the Oni?¡±

    Seeing that Alex was about to speak, Herah began to walk away. Max noticed this and said,

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Away, listening to information provided by your brother is working with him and I made clear that wasn¡¯t happening.¡±

    Herah then continued to walk away.

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Herah paused once again to face Max. The human was running her hand through her dark brown hair, clearly trying to figure out a way for the youngling to stay.

    ¡°I have an idea.¡±

    Everyone turned to face Owen, the gnome being the one who had spoken. Seeing that everyone was waiting for him to speak Owen continued,

    ¡°What if me and Max work as emissaries between our two groups. This would mean any information gathered or ideas thought would go through either of us.¡±

    ¡°That would still be us working together.¡± Herah and Alex said together, causing the two to glare at one another again.

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t either you have any way to resolve this?¡± Max begged the two.

    This caused Herah to think back to what had just happened this very morning.

    ¡°Well my people do have one way we can resolve this,¡± Herah shrugged her shoulders, ¡°It¡¯s essentially trial by combat.¡±

    Max immediately began to shake her head,

    ¡°Ok, anything but that.¡±

    Herah briefly ignored Max, directing her attention towards Alex, who was tapping to his nose. After a minute or two, Alex snapped his finger, Herah knowing this signified that a decision was reached.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take that option.¡± Alex held up a single finger, ¡°Under one condition, I can choose the location.¡±

    Herah just shrugged yes, causing Alex to gesture for everyone to join him walking out of the clearing. After a brief walk past the tree, they were to be protecting, the group found themselves in a clearing full of dirt and surrounded by a circle of the large red trees that filled the forest.

    Giving the clearing an overlook, Herah figured it to have a diameter of at most 200 feet. Just large enough that if any of the thirteen trees that surrounded the place were to fall they would fit into the clearing.

    ¡°How did you know about this clearing?¡±

    ¡°Max and I found it after the four of us splintered off.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of me,¡± Max interjected, causing the two soon-to-be combatants to look at her. ¡°Do you really have to do this?¡±

    Herah nodded yes before saying,

    ¡°Your brother has failed in his show of will, so I¡¯ll test his capabilities,¡± Herah nodded her head towards Alex, ¡± If Alex is capable of taking me down without me being surprised and tired, I¡¯ll follow his lead.¡±

    ¡°But do you have to do this through violence?¡± Owen asked, his tone now clearly worried.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Owen,¡± Herah said, cockiness shining through, ¡°This¡¯ll be over quick.¡±

    ¡°That we can agree on,¡± Alex added.

    Herah walked to one end while Alex remained at the end the group had entered through, cutting a small gash into the tree at the same height as his chest. Alex then walked to the side of the tree and carved something else into it. After adding his final mark, Alex began to lean on the front of the tree. Max and Owen had both moved so that they were near the center of the clearing, right next to another of the large trees that worked as the edge of the what was to be Herah¡¯s and Alex¡¯s battlefield.

    With everyone now in position, Alex asked a question.

    ¡°So how does this go?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple really,¡± Herah pointed at herself then at Alex, ¡°You and I will fight until one of us is unconscious or submits.

    ¡°So the winner is captain?¡± Alex asked.

    Herah rolled her eyes and said

    ¡°Yes, the winner is captain.¡±

    Alex nodded yes to the conditions before standing from his tree and pulling out his kris from his newly repaired jacket. This caused Herah to finally make note of his fixed clothing.

    ¡°When the ash did your clothing get fixed?¡± Herah asked.

    Alex looked at himself before shrugging his shoulders and saying,

    ¡°Oh this, Norwe dropped by not too long after you left and fixed my clothing up.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so they visited you earlier as well,¡± Herah said, causing Alex to give her a confused stare.

    ¡°The fuck are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Norwe the Sloth dropped by while you were interrogating the Oni, you didn¡¯t hear them?¡±

    Alex just shook his head, before taking his windbreaker off and wrapping it around his head, allowing just his eyes to be uncovered. Alex followed this up by crouching down, just below his gash in the tree and using his right arm to point towards the youngling. Alex then used his kris holding hand to make a come-at-me motion.

    In response to Alex¡¯s taunt, Herah got into the same exact position as earlier, when the two had attempted to fight the first time. With her nude body nearly parallel to the ground, most of her weight placed on her toes and her right arm in front of her to fling herself forward, Herah unfurled her wings. After a flexing her wings a few times, Herah used her leading arm to fling herself towards Alex, releasing one single powerful flap to boost her speed.

    ¡®This is going to be easy.¡¯ the youngling thought to herself.

    Alex, evidently seeking to prove Herah¡¯s thoughts wrong, eye smiled and said, the jacket not at all muffling his voice,

    "I cut through this tree." The tree behind him began to fall towards the two, but Herah paid little mind to it, knowing that it would take the tree longer to reach the ground than it would take for Herah to reach Alex.

    Alex seemed to know this as well because the human added a comment to his statement.

    "This tree is accelerating."

    The tree began to fall even faster, causing Herah to dart to her left in order to avoid being crushed, while Alex used his crouching stance to role to Herah¡¯s right.

    BOOM!

    "There is dirt floating in the air.¡±

    Herah flew into the air to avoid the cloud of dirt generated by the tree striking the ground. Floating above the cloud covered clearing, Herah noticed that the dirt wasn¡¯t falling towards the ground or dispersing. Cursing Alex¡¯s ability, Herah gave a powerful flap of her wings. This caused the cloud of dirt to disperse, revealing just the fallen tree and no Alex in the clearing.

    But before Herah could attempt to sniff Alex out, twelve orbs of light suddenly appeared around her, and all simultaneously detonated, bathing Herah in a gigantic flash of light. This flash of light left Herah blind, stunned, and with some words that Alex had most likely spoken.

    "You don¡¯t know where I am."

    Herah, after a few moments, attempted to sniff out Alex, only to find no success.

    ¡°What the hell? How did you erase your scent?!¡±

    ¡°Hey Herah,¡± Alex began, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere at once to Herah, ¡°Random thought, you know, while I didn¡¯t hear you talking to Norwe, I did here you talking to Max and Owen about the fruit.¡±

    Herah ignored the human frantically searching for any indication of where Alex could be.

    ¡°From what I heard, you eat a lot of metals to strengthen your bones, right?¡±

    Herah continued to ignore Alex, an idea coming to her mind.

    ¡®I¡¯ll just burn the entire clearing, a soft orange flame should do enough harm to make him show himself without killing him.¡¯

    Herah began to take a deep breath, the flame in her chest changing to orange as fire built up in her throat. But before Herah could accumulate enough flames, Alex finished his thought.

    ¡°So from my understanding,¡± Herah felt a sense of dread come over her, ¡°That means Your bones are heavy." And with those words, Herah shot down towards the ground her bones suddenly a lot heavier than before. As Herah fell, the youngling wrapped her body with her wings, in the hope that their strong scales could take the brunt of the fall damage that her body would undoubtedly suffer.

    BOOM!

    Another dirt cloud was created as Herah smashed into the ground, which also caused for her to R¨¦unir.

    ¡°FUUUCK!¡± Herah screamed, the pain from earlier and the flying nearly causing her to blackout, as her wings unwrapped her body.

    "This dirt will disperse soon.¡±

    Tears of pain welled up in Herah¡¯s eyes as the dirt cloud disappeared and her ears caught the sound of someone approaching.

    Only after their shadow hung over her unclothed body, did Herah realize who it had been approaching her. Right before the youngling passed out, Alex, with his jacket now off his head and his entire body covered in dirt, brought his face down to meet Herah¡¯s. With a huge smile covering his face, the human left Herah with these parting words.

    ¡°Look at me ashbrain,¡± Alex¡¯s expression transformed into an all-knowing smirk, the human bringing up his left thumb to point towards himself.

    ¡°I¡¯m the captain now.¡±

 Outlining the Sketch

    "Uuuh."

    Herah rubbed her head as her senses returned to her. After blinking away her drowsiness, the youngling found herself to be fully clothed in one of her white t-shirts that had a wisp lantern on it and a pair of red and white cargo pants. Looking around, Herah found herself in the clearing with the Donneur de Fr¨ºne, the youngling leaning against the tree. As Herah awoke, the youngling accidentally elbowed the tree, getting an ash shower in return for her troubles.

    "Hey, Herah''s awake!" Owen said, causing the Cendreux to turn her attention to her left.

    Owen, Max, and Alex were sitting around a small fire eating, from what Herah''s nose was telling her, beef. Herah used a quick spout of flames to ignite the flammable ash covering her before rising to her feet and walking over to the trio. After reaching them, Herah sat down next to Owen, ash free, and looked at everyone else surrounding the fire.

    Owen had taken his hat off, allowing for his neat hair to breathe once again, and had also removed his shoes, his tunic looking newly repaired. The gnome had already finished his beef and was now staring intently at a piece of raw ore in his hands. From its smell, Herah knew the ore Owen held was pure platinum. The gnome, seeing Herah eye it, offered the platinum to her with a smile. The youngling took it with a thanks and then threw the ore into her mouth.

    CRUNCH!

    Herah began to chew the piece of metal as her eyes moved over to the twins. Alex had taken off his windbreaker and tied it around his waist, while Max had just sat her trench coat to her side. They had also both let down their ponytails, their silk-like hair reaching down to their backs and framing their face a bit. Both now looked distinctly more feminine, with Max smiling at Herah nervously, while chewing on her half-eaten piece of beef and Alex watching Herah cautiously, his right hand hovering just above his kris as his left held a stick stabbing through his piece of beef.

    Herah took this all in and had to chuckle at the group surrounding her. One was an asshole human who had managed to kick her ass so soundlessly and easily it was embarrassing, the other was a nice human who had stopped Herah and Alex from killing each other multiple times, and the final one was some tiny little shit who could be seen as a coward or another smartass. Sans Max, they were a group of asses, now led by an asshole. It was amusing, but annoying as well.

    "You got something to say ashbrain?"

    "Yeah fuck head," Herah swallowed her last bit of platinum, "How''d you win the fight?"

    Alex chuckled slightly, the human''s amusement easy to read.

    "Easily, that''s how."

    Herah rolled her eyes before replying with,

    "Har fucking har, how''d you hide yourself from my view jackass?"

    Alex began to tap his nose, and after a few seconds snapped his fingers and answered Herah''s question.

    "When I had went around to the side of the tree and carved into it before our fight, I carved a circle into the bark. When the tree had hit the ground, I used the sound it made as a cover to say that the tree had bark carved out of it, which I followed up by hiding in the tree," Alex pointed to his left at his twin, "Max told you a bit about my <u>Enlightenment,</u> or so I heard from her. You should know what happened next."

    Herah nodded in understanding before asking another question.

    "What about those orbs of light you shot at me?

    Alex shrugged his shoulders before saying,

    "You don''t need to know."

    WHAM!

    "Fuck, that hurt!"

    "Oh hey Jeffery, I guess you''re the reason I''m currently clothed, huh?"

    Jeffery, having just entered the clearing, was floating above Alex, who most likely had a concussion from the pencil''s attack. The sentient pencil sent an image of a dunce cap and the youngling herself to Herah, getting a growl of anger from their creator.

    "Fuck off Jeffery, I already know I lost a fight. Don''t be a prick about it."

    WHAM!

    "Oh come on! I just woke up."

    The image of two furry, small animals mating followed by an image of Herah was the pencil''s response. Ignoring Jeffery, who now floated behind her and Owen while also trying to ignore her growing headache, Herah directed her attention back to Alex.

    "Are you going to tell me or not?"

    "I really have no reason-"

    Jeffery floated until just above the fire and began to write on the air. Once finished their message was: <u>Tell her about your gift, or I stab you.</u> Seeing Jeffery''s message, Alex cursed under his breath and supplied Herah with an answer.

    "Be glad you have your pencil," Alex snapped his fingers, causing twelve orbs of light to emerge from his body and begin circling his head.

    Herah looked at the orbs and saw that they were all white and the size of her fist.

    "Max named them the Brigade of Enlightenment, each of these orbs hold a different name and a specialty," Alex said, not at all sounding happy about the name his sister had given his ability.

    "Bro," Max interrupted, her voice extremely giddy, "Do the thing! Do the thing!"

    "No," Alex answered back, his voice monotonous.

    Max got on her knees and began begging her brother.

    "Please."

    "No."

    "Please."

    "No."

    "Please."

    "Please." Alex responded.

    "No," Max answered.

    Alex put up his hands as if giving up and said,

    "If you insist."

    Max rose up and shouted in victory, then stared intently at her smirking brother for a few seconds before realization washed over her face. Max turned away while grumbling under her breath about asshole brothers. Alex just chuckled and snapped his fingers again, causing the light orbs to sink back into his body. The human turned back to Herah and said,

    ¡§Those orbs work as a way to extend my range since I need to in some form or shape make contact with something in order for my <u>Enlightenment</u> to interact with it,¡§ Alex turned to Jeffery, ¡§Are you satisfied?¡§

    The sentient pencil wrote out a quick yes, before erasing everything it had wrote on the air. Jeffery then returned to their position behind Herah. The youngling in question nodded her head yes to Alex''s statement before asking another question.

    "So fuck head," Alex rolled his eyes, "What do you have planned?"

    This earned Herah a decently surprised look from Alex, which the human quickly covered up.

    "Forgetting the sass, you are acting rather compliant with me." Alex said in response, his voice becoming slightly accusatory as his eyes glared at Herah, "What are you planning?"

    Herah''s expression became extremely peeved, a low growl rumbling in her throat as her fangs were bared at Alex.

    "You insult me by even considering I would go back on our agreement," Herah looked away from Alex, an angry puff of smoke leaving the youngling nose as her tone and expression took on a more frantic persona. "As a faithful servant of La Flamme, to go back on my word would be one of the grievous insults I could ever levy at her."

    Herah brought her left hand up to her face and stared intently at it for a few seconds, the cackling fire being the only audible sound for those few seconds.

    "You compare me to the Manquant de chaleur, those worthless ungrateful pieces of shit." Herah growled out, wisps of flame beginning to emerge from her nose, mouth, ears even her eyes were leaking fire.

    "I never said anything like that." Alex responded, his tone extremely cautious and on edge.

    Herah rose to her feet, still staring intently at her left hand. The youngling preceded to clench this had so tight, that her talons had to retract so as not to break against her scales. The flame in Herah''s chest turned green, as green fire began to flood from her ears, nose, eyes, and mouth.

    "That definitely isn''t good." Herah heard Owen say, the gnome rising from next to her and slowly backing away.

    Herah ignores Owen and points towards Alex with the same hand that had been clenched, the human and his twin already having risen in face of Herah''s new look. Just as the flames flowed across her head, rage flowed throughout her expression with Herah baring her teeth at Alex.

    "You accuse me of HERESY!" Herah screamed at Alex, causing her flames to intensify and began to engulf her and the fire in front of her.

    "Oh great! She''s a drama queen!" Alex shouted, the green flames rushing towards him. Luckily for the twins, Jeffery floated in front of them with the clear indication for the two to climb atop. Riding the pencil like a mount, the twins were carried towards the edge of the clearing joining Owen.

    "Jeffery, put Alex down so I can roast him," Herah demanded, her tone now low and threatening.

    Herah got the same image from earlier, of two furry animals mating followed by herself as a response.

    "Alex, you''re the one who wanted to be leader. Do something!" Owen franticly, shouted while looking up to the human.

    "I would love to, but the words currently coming to my mind all end with her dead! And something tells me that mine and the rest of the groups personal safety won''t be a good enough excuse for Norwe when I kill her! I''m not even taking into account how the pencil would react if his master croaked!" Alex shouted back, clearly irritated by the fact that his mind was hotwired to kill at the moment.

    The youngling watched as Jeffery sat the very annoyed Alex and extremely worried Max down next to Owen, the gnome back in his hat and shoes. After this, Owen threw his hat up into the air, the head wear doing something Herah never expected.

    BOOM!

    The green hat enlarged, allowing it to encase Owen, Max, Alex, and Jeffery. The hat now stood at twenty feet high, now serving as an annoying barrier.

    "What the- What the ash is this Owen!?" Herah shouted, still very much pissed but now also greatly confused.

    "It''s my hat!" Owen''s slightly muffled shout sounded from within, a bit of pride in his tone.

    "I know that, dipshit! What the fuck happened to it!?"

    "It grew," Owen stated as if it was obvious.

    "Owen! Be glad I only want Alex."

    "That makes me feel so much better." The gnome responded, genuine relief being expressed through his words.

    "So move the hat, or I will burn through it."

    "No can do Herah."

    Herah glared at the hat, her mind dead set on ending Alex.

    "So be it."

    Herah willed her flames to converge onto the hat, the green fire engulfing it with no problem. There was a tiny issue however.

    "Owen!" Herah yelled, confusion and anger once again filling her voice.

    "Yes Herah?" The gnome responded in a slightly afraid tone.

    "Why is your hat not burning?" The youngling asked, her irritation very clear.

    "Well you see," Owen began, his voice long and drawn out before his answer came out rapid fire, "My hat has several enchantments. One allows for it to increase in size, another decreases it, another allows for me to see outside, and the final one allows for my hat such heat resistance that it could survive in a neutron star." There was a brief pause, "For a minute or two."

    "Enchantments?" Herah replied, even more confused than before, "There is nothing magical about this hat. Nothing at all."

    "Wow ashbrain! I knew you were stupid but I thought you would at least know magic when you see it."

    "VA TE FAIRE FOUTRE!" Herah bellowed out at the human.

    "That''s what my sister wants to do to you, in fact she''d love to eat yours and for you to do the same to her!" Alex shouted back, Herah''s expression becoming surprised for but a moment before switching back into rage.

    "What did Herah say?" Herah heard Max ask in suspicion.

    "Don''t worry about it sis." Alex replied, sounding amused.

    Herah, done with listening to the group talk, reached out with her fire towards Owens hat once again. This time however instead of attempting to burn through the hat, Herah created a hand with her flames and grabbed it. The youngling was able to lift the hat a few inches off the ground before Alex interrupted.

    "<u>Your flames cannot become corporeal enough to grab this hat."</u>

    Herah''s fire hand lost its grip on Owen''s hat causing a soft thud to sound out through the clearing.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    "We now have eight minutes before she gets in here, and burns us all to death. Brain, why do only give me solutions that involve death." Alex said, his ire and annoyance clearly heard by Herah.

    "My fire will only burn you Alex," Herah''s voice dropped in volume but got slightly deeper, "You, only you have slighted La Flamme and myself, so my flames will only ever seek out and burn you."

    "<u>Fire can''t be-"</u>

    Alex was suddenly cut off, followed by Max saying,

    "Let me handle this bro."

    Herah''s flame burning away at the clearing was all that could be heard for a few seconds, until Herah heard Alex say,

    "If you die, I''ll go all the way to wherever your soul ends up, resurrect you, then kick your ass. All after killing your potential booty call."

    WHAM!

    "Thanks Jeffery," Max said, the sound of Alex''s (presumably) unconscious body hitting the ground following afterward.

    Herah let out a small snort, her anger leaving her for a brief instance before coming back in full force.

    "Herah," Max began, her voice sounding soft and pleasant to the youngling, "Your flames won''t burn me if I come out there, will they?"

    "No Max, they only seek your brother."

    "<u>I''m in front of you Herah."</u>

    "No, you''re inside-"

    Herah nearly flinched at Max''s sudden appearance a few feet in front of her, the human quickly becoming swarmed by Herah''s flames.

    "They feel warm," Max said, the human walking through the fire towards Herah. The youngling made sure to not look at Max''s face, the person in question picking up on this.

    "Herah," Max continued to speak softly to the youngling, "Come on, look at me."

    "No, I know the second I see your face you''re going to smile, and all of my anger will leave me. I don''t know how you do it, but I refuse to let your brother get by with no problem"

    "Is letting go of your anger really so bad?" Max said, now within reaching distance of Herah.

    In response, Herah jumped back a few feet and answered Max''s question, "Your brother has insulted La Flamme and myself, retribution must be paid."

    Max continued to walk towards Herah, the youngling visualizing the green fire that engulfed the entirety of the clearing parting and wrapping around the human like a breeze.

    It would be beautiful to look upon.

    "Come on Herah, you know if you kill him we''re all screwed, right?"

    "Stop. Using. Logic." Herah growled her rage slowing calming at Max''s words.

    "Herah look at me."

    The youngling didn''t.

    Herah heard and smelled Max stopping in front of her, once again within arm''s length of the Cendruex.

    "La Flamme means a lot to you, doesn''t she?"

    "Don''t call her that." Herah said back, her anger still dropping.

    "What? She?" Max asked, her tone quiet and patient.

    Herah merely nodded, her anger now at the stage of severe irritation.

    "Ok. I won''t call her that. So why don''t we talk this anger out of you?" Max spoke, as one of her hands rose to grab Herah by her left shoulder. This caused the fire that covered Herah to spread to Max''s body, the human not at all bothered by her flame covering.

    Herah lost her snarling expression and replaced it with a slightly calmer one. The youngling then turned to face Max, all of her anger leaving her as soon as her eyes saw Max''s pleasant smile, the youngling matching it with a small smile of her own.

    Letting out a deep breath Herah began to speak to Max,

    "I don''t react well when I believe someone has insulted my dedication to my mistress," Herah gave a small humor-filled chuckle, while gesturing to the burning clearing, "But you can clearly see that."

    Max chuckled a little herself, before smiling at Herah once again.

    "Your people are truly wondrous if they all have this same amount of dedication for your mistress, as you called her."

    Herah chuckled once again, this one, however, lacking in any sort of humor and the youngling''s expression becoming a bit more somber.

    "The fact that what you just said isn''t true is actually part of why I responded the way I did," Herah said, her voice filled with self-deprecating mirth and tiny bits of anger.

    Max gave Herah a baffled stare.

    "What do you mean?"

    "2 percent."

    "What?" Max asked, even more confused than before.

    "Only 2 percent of my people still show any kind of worship to La Flamme. Those who don''t are known as the Manquant de chaleur, by those who still do."

    "What really!?" Herah turned to face Owen''s hat, the sound of Alex''s muffled voice emerging from it. "What the hell is wrong with your people!?"

    Before answering Alex''s question, the youngling opened her mouth as wide as possible and inhaled.

    "WHOA!" Max shouted, as all the fire that had spread throughout the entire clearing and to some of the surrounding trees flowed into Herah''s mouth, and with a single swallow, disappeared down her throat.

    "Get out here so I can tell you the answer to your face!" Herah yelled at inhabitants of the hat, "I won''t kill you Alex, your sister calmed me down!"

    Immediately following this, Owen''s hat floated off the ground while rapidly beginning to shrink. In an instant, the hat was back to its original size atop of Owen''s head. Jeffery floated over to Max and began to send the image of cash and the human they were next to, to Herah.  Ignoring what Herah assumed to be Jeffery fucking with her, the youngling waited until Owen and Alex reached the three before continuing to speak. Alex stopped to Herah''s right, while Owen got in front of her with Max on Herah''s left. Jeffery floated behind Herah as usual.

    "La Flamme," Herah began, her tone and expression now extremely somber, "Is much like a mother in both her actions and outlook. My mistress created my race 2.6 billion cycles ago, and have cared for us since."

    "First off, your species is old as hell. Secondly, get to the point." Alex said, getting an elbow from his sister for his troubles.

    Herah allowed a snort of now red fire to fly out of her nose in amusement at the twins, before continuing on.

    "The problem was that La Flamme acted as any mother should, and after three millennia of caring for and protecting each of her three groups of children La Flamme left us, to grow, adapt, and flourish on our own."

    Herah looked upon Owen, Max, and Alex, watching each of their expressions. Owen had a look of understanding on his face, while both of the twins looked confused, Alex tapping his nose in deep thought while Max ran her hands through her ponytail. Alex briefly stopped his nose tapping, another question flying from his mouth to Herah.

    "But you said she" Herah growled, her emerald eyes becoming a bit shinier, "I mean your mistress, returned, didn''t you?"

    Herah nodded yes, her eyes back to normal, and said,

    "Yes, every 30 cycles La Flamme returns for 10 more to see how we''re doing and to help us with any problems."

    Alex then threw both of his hands up in frustration.

    "Then why have they abandoned her?!"

    "Remember how I said that we don''t believe that any one being is truly all-powerful."

    And like that, Herah watched the links click in Alex''s head, the human letting out a disbelieving laugh.

    "What''s so funny bro?"

    Alex pointed at Herah, still laughing, and proclaimed,

    "Those fucking idiots believe that they''ve risen above their god! They think that La Flamme is now inferior to them, don''t they?"

    Herah nodded yes, her somber look now much angrier.

    "That''s why I''m so volatile when I believe that someone has insulted her, my mistress doesn''t have many followers left and those who remain treasure her with all of their being."

    "Oh that''s fucking rich!" Alex shouted, still stuck on Herah''s earlier statement, "Not only does this fucking god helped to cultivate and protect your species for years, but they also drop by every 3 decades to see if you need any help, yet they not only abandon her but believe that they''ve risen above her. I''ve heard some stupid shit in my life, but this is very close to the top."

    Alex''s laughter tapered off into small giggles, Herah turning from him to Max, who looked saddened by what Herah said, and Owen, who was looking at Alex with zero amusement.

    "Okay," Owen clapped his hands together, then pointed a Herah with one hand and Alex with the other, "You two need to apologize to each other."

    Herah and Alex looked each other for a brief moment before looking back at Owen, who gave them a "do it" look before both turned back towards each other. Both looked as if they had no intentions of doing such, until an elbow and a whack on the head caused them to began, begrudgingly of course, apologizing to each other.

    "I''m," Herah showed a clear amount of struggle attempting to speak, "Sorry for trying to burn you to death."

    "Apology accepted."

    "Alex?" Both Owen and Max said, waiting for his apology. In response, the human rolled his eye and said, with just as much struggle (maybe even more) as Herah had,

    "Sorry, for insulting your goddess."

    "Great," Max said, walking around Herah to clap her hands on both Alex and the youngling''s shoulders "So now that apologies have been spoken, why don''t we inform Herah of our plan?"

    "What plan?" Herah asked, a brow going up at this new bit of information.

    "Well ashbrain," Herah growled at Alex as the human left his spot to Herah''s right and walked in front of her to point towards the purple beacon behind the youngling that still hung over where the Oni were supposed to be located, "We decided that you and Max would be sent to the Oni base to make a preemptive strike."

    Now back to her normal brash self, Herah pointed at Max then herself and said,

    "Why the two of us?"

    Alex pointed at Herah, "You can get in and out much quicker than everyone else here, thanks to your wings," Alex then used the same hand to point towards Max, "And sis is the best at stealth amongst us."

    Herah nodded her head, happy with Alex''s reasoning. The youngling then asked another question.

    "When are we supposed to leave?"

    "Tonight." Alex looked up at the moon that was in the sky, "You have about six hours of twilight left, but before you two leave I need to let Herah know something about the Oni."

    "What?" Herah said, sounding not too caring of the information Alex was about to present to her.

    Alex''s eye made a visible twitch but nothing else before the human began speaking once again.

    "The reason the Oni attack trees without a specific strand of DNA is because those are the only trees by which they can reproduce." Alex nodded his head in the direction Herah had gone when attacked by the Oni earlier, "That was why the Oni were in that clearing that had been recently destroyed, the trunk Owen told us he had been sitting on was to be used to birth more of their own."

    Herah turned to face the purple beacon that hung over the Oni base, her eyes narrowing on it before asking her own question.

    "Do they know that the Donneur de Fr¨ºne is the only tree remaining that they can use to repopulate?"

    "Yep, Norwe told them," Alex replied, sounding a bit miffed.

    This got a surprised reaction from Herah.

    "They what!?"

    Alex nodded his head and continued.

    "Apparently while Norwe was bringing us to the ash giver," Alex pointed towards the beacon, "He was telling the Oni up there that there was only one tree left that they could use to repopulate and that in order to get more they needed to destroy it and sacrifice it to him."

    "Why didn''t they just attack today then?" Herah asked.

    "Thought the same thing, the Oni said that Norwe told them that if they attacked any earlier than three days from after he told them, that he would destroy their entire species."

    Herah balled her fist up, a spout of fire shooting out of her nose as her anger was barely held in check. Before Herah could speak again however, Jeffery sent her the image of currency and Max once again.

    Her anger at Norwe forgotten, Herah turned in a complete circle to face Jeffery and shouted,

    "What do you want?!"

    WHAM!

    Jeffery wrote a message in the air. It read: <u>Don''t talk shit to me! I''ll fuck you up."</u> Herah only rubbed her head in pain and groaned.

    "Then write out what you want me to do! You know your messages are hard to understand sometimes."

    Jeffery sent Herah the image of a dunce cap and herself before flying over to Alex and writing out: <u>How much for your sister?</u> Herah watched as one of the human''s brows rose in amusement before saying,

    "She''s not for sale."

    Max, having read the message herself asked,

    "Why do you want to buy me?"

    Jeffery pointed his tip towards Herah, the youngling giving them an incredulous stare in response.

    "In that case-" Max began, but Alex shut her down just as quickly.

    "No."

    "But bro-"

    "Hell no!" Alex turned to face his sister, his twin giving a begging stare.

    "Still no, I''m not selling you to a pencil," Alex paused for a brief moment before continuing, "And I never expected to have to say that sentence, ever, in my life."

    Shaking his head, Alex turned back to Herah and told her,

    "So that''s all you need to know right now. I would like for you two to leave as soon as possible."

    Herah held up one of her hands and said, "I got to do my night prayers first."

    Alex rolled his eyes and said,

    "Ok but hurry up, you got work to do."

    "I''ll take as long as a Flamme-damn have to," Herah said, a look of no amusement flashing over her face.

    Herah then unfurled her wings from her back and took flew into the air. After getting about 50 feet off the ground, Herah took a deep breath and began her night prayer to La Flamme.

    "Tu nous as donn¨¦ la vie." Herah''s voice gained its melodious tone once again to honor La Flamme, "Et comme une m¨¨re ¨¦lev¨¦e et prot¨¦g¨¦e. Et finalement tu es parti, pour que nous puissions prosp¨¦rer." Herah threw both of her hands into the air and began to sing even louder, "Mais encore vous revenez, pour voir ce que nous avons fait. La Flamme, ma ma?tresse, ma premi¨¨re m¨¨re, je t''aimerai toujours comme tu m''aimes!"

    And with those words, Herah began to spin in place while spewing flames from her mouth. As the fire flew from her mouth, Herah forced it to take the shape of a wisp lantern the size of the clearing. The four petals were the size of small boulders and made of blue fire, while purple flames made up the arm thick stems that came from the bottom of each leaf. Each of the four stems made a small loop before meeting up in the center, creating a placeholder area that an orb of red fire a bit larger than Herah''s hand sat. Herah herself floated just above this orb with her eyes closed and steady breathing. After a few seconds of this, Herah gave a huge flap of her wings, causing the wisp lantern to disperse into the night air.

    Herah landed on the ground right in front of Owen, Max, and Alex, Jeffery having disappeared to wherever during Herah''s prayer.

    "You do that every night?" Alex said, still looking up at where the wisp lantern had been.

    "Yup," Herah responded, while nodding her head. The youngling turned to Owen, the gnome looking absolutely marveled by Herah''s prayer.

    "Owen, do you have any more platinum or just metal in general, I can eat?" Herah pointed towards the sky, "Night prayers eat up a lot of my fire''s heat and the flames from earlier didn''t really help."

    Owen, after a small jump of surprise, nodded yes and took his hat off . The gnome then preceded to flip the hat over and squeeze the white ball that was on its tip. Out came a ball of platinum that was nearly two times larger than Herah''s fist. Owen squeezed the white tip again before placing his hat back on his head, and took off both of his shoes. Reaching into both, Owen drew a hammer and a chisel from his left and right shoe respectfully. Owen then placed his chisel over the ball of platinum and struck it his hammer, Herah noticing that chisel gained a red-energy cloak for a jiffy.

    CRACK!

    The ball of platinum was cut in half perfectly, leaving two perfect halves to a sphere.

    "How did you-" Herah began, Owen cutting her off with an answer.

    "It''s my gift, Nexus." Owen picked up both halves and held them out to Herah, "It allows me to create links between anything." Owen pointed at his hat, "This is linked to a dimension that can create matter in its rawest form," Owen spun the chisel in his right hand, "This chisel is linked to a dimension of infinite energy and the hammer is its key."

    "That was a very loaded answer, but thanks," Herah took both halves from Owen, before looking at the two pieces of platinum and asking, "Why did you cut it in half?"

    "One is for now, the other is if you get hungry later."

    Herah gave Owen a thankful nod, and sent a mental message to Jeffery. The pencil flew back into the clearing and went behind the Donneur de Fr¨ºne and came out with Herah''s backpack. The pencil stopped in front of Herah, dropped the bag at her feet, and flew off once again.

    "Where is he," Herah growled, causing Alex to roll his eyes, "They going?"

    Herah just shrugged her shoulders, tossing the piece of platinum that was in her left hand so as to grab her backpack and sling its single strap over her head and onto her back.

    "Jeffery goes where they want to, when they want to, and I never ask. I know they''ll always be their for me when I need them most and that''s good enough for me."

    With the backpack now secure, Herah caught her meal and bit into it. After a few bites, leaving only a handful of the platinum left, Herah threw both the mostly eaten piece of platinum and the uneaten piece into her backpack. After the backpack unzipped and rezipped itself, the youngling''s food inside, Herah turned to Max, who was a few feet to her left, and indicated it was time for the two to take off.

    "Something else before you go," Herah paused and looked back at Alex, "You never did answer as to why you were being so compliant. Lets talk about it away from over here" Alex gestured towards the edge of the clearing.

    Herah turned back to Alex, and followed him to the edge of the clearing. With her expression as stern as the words that left her mouth, Herah began to speak.

    "I follow you because that was the condition of my loss. I honestly still don''t trust you to lead me, but I don''t go back on my word." Herah turned away from Alex and towards Max, indicating it was time for the two to leave again, "I''ll follow your orders until they either get me killed or I defeat you." Herah let her voice drop a bit before saying, "I really hope for the latter. Happy with that answer?"

    "It''ll do for now. But know this," Alex''s voice getting deeper and actual threatening as the human reached up and gripped Herah by the shoulder, "If you get my sister killed on this little attack of yours, and managed to make it out yourself. I''ll make sure you join her consequences be damned."

    Herah knocked Alex''s hand off her shoulder, looking down upon the human with a smile lined with amusement and tiny bits of respect.

    "You care for your sister, I can respect that. So I''ll make sure that you don''t lose her as a fault of my own, consider it a show of my skills. I know you still don''t believe I''m worth too much."

    Alex chuckled a little as Max arrived to the pair, clearly curious about what had been said between the two.

    "Is everything cool between you two?"

    Herah continued looking down on Alex as the human looked up to her, both smiling threateningly at each other.

    "Though I''ve made up my mind, I''d love to see you prove yourself more than just muscle and fire. I do like some surprises." Alex said, clearly amusement at Herah very clear with his laugh.

    "And I can''t wait to prove you wrong." The youngling responded with a bit of a growl.

    Max looked between the two a bit worried, and said,

    "Ok bro, shoo! I''m afraid you two might try to kill each other again."

    Alex turned to his sister, his smile becoming more caring as his arms wrapped around her to give her a hug.

    "Stay safe sis."

    Alex then walked off and towards Owen, the gnome looking as if deep in thought.

    "You know I won''t." Max said after her brother. The human then turned to Herah and asked,

    Picking up on Herah''s signal, Max asked,

    "So how are we doing this flying thing, am I on your back or..."

    A puff of smoke exiting Herah''s nose in amusement and a small grin was the response Max received. This just left Max confused, the human walking up to stand in front of the youngling. Herah smiled down at Max and said,

    "You won''t be riding on my back, I need to be able to access my backpack and flap my wings without problem. However, you can choose how you ride in the front."

    Max immediately wrapped her hands around Herah''s hips, flattened (attempted to at least) her body against the youngling, and said,

    "Ready to go!"

    Herah gave a hearty laugh before unfurling her wings, and, with a single flap, launching the pair into the starry night, towards the purple beacon left by Norwe.

    As they flew off, Herah heard Alex say,

    "The tree is okay, right?"

    "Its fine Alex, the tree is fireproof by the looks of it," Owen answered nonchalantly.

    "Oh thank God. We would''ve been-"

    "Thank Norwe. I''m your maker."

    Herah let out a snort of amusement at Alex''s definite feminine scream, causing Max to ask,

    "What''s so funny and was that my brother?"

    "In order, I believe they are named, sloths, and yes."

 Erasing the Sketch Lines

    "Now, bro and I had both gotten stuck in between an angry goddess and a group of pissed off FBI agents, so the only thing we could do was detonate the bomb on the Hollywood sign," Max unwrapped her hands from Herah''s back briefly so as to mimic an explosion, "Boom. The letters came tumbling down, working as the perfect distraction for the pair of us to get away."

    Herah held back a snort of fire so as not to burn Max''s hair, as the duo ducked into the treetops while flying towards the Oni base. They had been flying for about twenty minutes and Max had decided to tell Herah a bit about some of the things the two had done before Norwe had forced them to take part in Recompense.

    "Haha!" Herah took one of her hands from around Max''s waist to wipe away a stray tear, "So you''re telling me that you and your brother went around your country, just destroying national monuments."

    "Accidently," Max emphasized as Herah flew out of the treetops once again to make sure they were heading in the right direction, "We have the weirdest of luck when it comes to monuments and us. But it really bothered bro, it was the first monument we ever destroyed and marked us as terrorist, so my bro''s dream of being a movie actor went out the window."

    Herah smiled a bit as they pair swerved around a tree, asking a question that had arisen from Max''s statement.

    "What is a movie actor?"

    "You don''t know what a movie actor is?" Max asked, sounding appalled at the question.

    "Nope," Herah answered frankly, tucking her wings in and performing an aileron roll to avoid a particularly narrow space between two trees.

    "TRAVESTY!"

    Herah winced at Max''s scream, nearly hitting a stray branch as a result.

    "Sorry." Max apologized, now much quieter.

    "No problem Max," Herah replied, going back up through the treetops once again to check and see if they were heading in the right direction. As Herah flew above the trees, the youngling looked down at Max, the human wearing an apologetic look and said,

    "No problem, just watch the shouting it sounds like an explosion going off in my head."

    "Really I''m sorry," Max repeated, "I just find the idea of your world not having actors and movies strange."

    "Oh don''t get it wrong Max," Herah said, now looking back up and once again within the treetops, "We have actors, just not what you call movie actors."

    "Oh," Max began, sounding a bit happier, "What kind of actors do you have?"

    "Voice actors, for video games," Herah said while dodging out of the way of a thicker than normal tree.

    "So you have video games, but not movies. What your world has and doesn''t have is weird," Max responded, sounding extremely confused.

    Herah just rolled her eyes, her focus being spread between holding Max to her and not hitting the passing trees.

    "Speaking of things you don''t have," Max began, "Sorry about the lack of underwear, I couldn''t find any when I reached into your backpack."

    "Oh, you dressed me," Herah said surprised, "Thanks. And I don''t wear underwear, I see no point."

    "Oh," Max responded, clearly surprised, "Never?"

    "Nope."

    "Periods must be a bitch."

    "What''s a period?"

    There was a long pause, the only noise either of them hearing being the rushing wind and the occasional brush of Herah''s wings with some leaves and twigs.

    "You lucky bitch." Max responded, sounding vastly jealous of Herah.

    "Why am I so lucky?" Herah asked, extremely confused.

    "YOU DON''T-"

    Herah let out a curse as the pair veered left, nearly hitting a tree. The youngling glared down at Max, causing the human to give her an apologetic smile.

    "Sorry about that, but you don''t bleed for like a week straight from your, you know, bush?"

    "What?"

    "You know, your cooch," Max said, placing emphasis on cooch.

    "What are you on about?" Herah asked, greatly confused.

    "Your cockpit?" Max tried once again.

    "What the fuck is that?" Herah answered, now even more confused.

    "Your love button?" Max seemed to be becoming frustrated.

    "I don''t have one of those," Herah responded, now weirded out.

    "Your garage?" Max''s voice began to rise.

    "Do I look like a house?" Herah asked, lacking in amusement.

    "Your goop chute?" Max begged Herah.

    "That sounds disgusting."

    "DO YOU BLEED FROM YOUR NETHER REGIONS?!"

    Herah had to force herself to stop, so as to not crash into any trees. While just floating under the treetops, Herah raised her left hand to her ear and came back with blood.

    "Dammit Max!" Herah shouted, ire flowing through her voice.

    "Sorry."

    "And to answer your question, no. Why would I even bleed down there?"

    "Oh, so you get that one!?" Max asked, the human irritated by how long that part of their conversation ended up being.

    "Answer my fucking question!"

    "To rid yourself of your unfertilized eggs. You know, after your body has done the preparation for pregnancy and then realizes it did that for nothing so it decides to be petty and tells you to go fuck yourself."

    "My family stopped using their ovaries to create eggs after their 9 millionth and 8 millionth generations for my father and mother respectfully," Herah then paused, a thought coming to her mind before continuing, "Though there was a chance I could have still done the same since my father was born about a million generations before that happened with his bloodline."

    Herah began to fly once again, shooting up through the treetops and finding that they were much closer to the purple beacon, it being about only a mile away.

    "So how do your people reproduce then?" Max asked, the two now traveling at a faster speed than before.

    "You saw my horn right?" Herah asked Max, the human answering with a yes, "They''re the closest things to actual eggs that we have."

    "Isn''t it kinda a bad idea to wear your eggs in the open like that?" Max asked.

    "They''re the closest thing to eggs, not the actual eggs themselves, and the only way these horns are coming off my head is if I shed them or if something with the force of a meteorite entering the atmosphere hits them."

    "One, that''s weirdly specific. Two, you shed your horns?" Max asked, greatly surprised by this statement.

    "Yep, I shed them every quarter cycle since they''ve fully developed, they usually take about two weeks to grow back. I can shed them sooner if I''m ready to have a child, but only if."

    "What''re the specifics of how a new, umm, Cedreux is born?" Max asked Herah, the pair now flying much closer to the forest floor.

    "Why are you so curious?" Herah asked, looking down at Max with a curious look.

    Max looked back up to Herah with a happy smile and said, "One of my favorite things to learn about is how different things reproduce. Like plants, bacteria, and in your case, an extracosmostrial pretty dragon lady" Max gained a passionate look to her eyes, "I think that that reproduction is a beautiful thing."

    Herah smiled at Max, the youngling gaining a bit more respect for the human that was held in her arms. Looking back up, Herah said, "Ok, I''ll tell you."

    "Yay."

    "Ok. So the way we normally reproduce starts off with us shedding both of our horns. Next, the horns are grounded into dust. After that, the two parents will add a handful each of their blood to the dust. Then, with a single breath, the fire is ignited."

    "Huh, sounds like you use blood magic to reproduce."

    "You mean hematology."

    "I''m sorry?"

    Herah let out a frustrated sigh,

    "You meant to say "sounds like you use hematology to reproduce". Just like earlier you''re mixing up magic and science."

    "Wait Herah," Max asked, an idea apparently coming to mind, "What does magic mean where you come from?"

    "The textbook definition is, and this is a long one, the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment." Herah droned out, sounding as if it was remembered by heart.

    "Why do you know the textbook definition?"Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Herah gained a disturbingly intense look on her face as her answer was delivered in an equally intense and disturbing tone.

    "The day right before I was expelled, I took a test on the differences between magic and science. I stared at that damned definition for two hours straight just I so could remember it."

    "Oookaay," Max said, a bit weirded out by Herah''s serious " So, what is the meaning of science?"

    "Why are you asking these questions?" Herah asked, sounding extremely bugged.

    "I''ll tell you after you answer the last one."

    Herah let out an annoyed sigh, rolling her eyes as her answer flew from her lips.

    "The textbook definition is "the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces." Herah formed a small frown, "Will you answer my question now?"

    "It seems like the meanings are flipped between our universes," Max answered.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Where I come from, magic means science and science means magic."

    "What?" Herah asked, her lips becoming tightened from her frustration at how confusing Max was being.

    "Don''t worry about it," Max paused for a moment, "Where were we?"

    "The birthing of my people," Herah answered back, a questioning frown still upon her face.

    "Oh yeah, so after you ignite the ash is that it?"

    "Nope," Herah responded, "After the fire is lit, the parents must maintain that flame for a quarter cycle and after that a newborn has been born. In all their scaleless, toothless glory."

    "Didn''t you say that your people ingest metal to strengthen their bones?"

    "Yep."

    "So how does a baby get their daily dose of metals, if they''re toothless?"

    Instead of responding verbally, Herah took one of her hands from around Max and squeezed her own breast.

    "What, you have very metallic breastmilk?"

    "Cendreux are lactose intolerant."

    "Then if milk doesn''t come out, what do you lactate?"

    "Magma."

    There was another long pause, with the only sounds Herah heard being the passing wind and what the youngling thought to be noises from the Oni base. As they got closer, Herah used Rompu on her nose as to avoid the rotting smell that would be especially pungent in the Oni base. Now relying primarily on her nose, Herah heard the sound of wood being carved, the grunting noises that Herah knew to be the Oni communicating with each other, and the sound of flesh striking flesh as the Oni, presumably, sparred amongst themselves. But Herah found her attention more focused on the sound of metal striking metal, the clanging music to her ears as her brain immediately recognized what that sound was: a blacksmith at work.

    "Herah?" Max said, breaking Herah''s attention on the smithing at work and bringing it back to Max.

    "Yes?"

    "I nickname you lava tits."

    Herah made an expression before responding with, "Why?"

    "Because you have breast that can spew out lava. Which is freaking cool!" Max said, Herah able to hear the sly smile on her face.

    "You''re weird Max, but it''s nice to know someone other than me sees how wonderful my body is," Herah began to slow in her speed as their objective came into sight, "We''ve reached the Oni''s base."

    Herah swooped up into the top of one of the trees near the edge of the forest, and set the pair down on a branch that could hold them without too much of a problem. Herah furled her wings back into place, and then slung herself under the branch. This allowed both Herah and Max to both near the edge of the branch, so as to overlook the Oni''s base, with Max standing atop of the branch and Herah hanging under it with a single arm.

    "Great," Herah began, not sounding too happy, "It''s a Flamme-damn fortress we''re attacking."

    "I didn''t even know these things could get as large as cities," Max added, in surprise.

    A fortress was exactly the best way to describe what the pair looked upon. Two massive rocks, only half the size of the trees and partly slanted like slabs, functioned as an entrance to the Oni''s home, a pair of the creatures standing in front of it. Many of the structures were made of stone, that was most likely taken from the mountain that sat to its right.

    Herah was sure that the place had to at least cover 200,000 acres. To the left of the entrance, Herah found the origin of the carving noises. What looked to be thousands of Oni were surrounding a pile of logs so large, that it took three minutes for one of the logs to knocked from the top to the bottom.

    It started with a group of 4 to 5 Oni, all with massive muscles, moving their log of choice down the enormous stack it sat upon. Once fully removed, 10 to 20 Oni, this group composed of much thinner and lankier than the group before, would descend upon the logs and began carving into them with small, sharpened stones. Once a mask was carved out of the log, the Oni wa=ould place it into a vat of suspicious looking white liquid. After a quick dip in the liquid, a completely different Oni takes the mask from its creator and over to one of the many large empty spots that existed between the groups of working Oni. The mask is then placed onto the ground, and after a second or two, the mask shoots out multiple black tendrils that gradually take the form of an Oni.

    The end results seemed randomized, with the Oni that formed from these mask ranging in stature, build, and color. Herah watched as a recently placed down mask took the form of a lithe and feminine looking, yellow Oni, while another created an overly buff, red Oni. The only thing that the two shared in common were what all the Oni had in common: their mask.

    Even from the distance that was between them, Herah was able to notice that each and every Oni had the same exact mask covering their faces. They were just like the one Herah had a close up look on, completely white with black eyes and a gaping maw.

    Not too long after being born, the new Oni were greeted by another, who would began to grunt at them. After a brief exchange, this new Oni would be handed a shirt and shirts that looked very similar to the Oni that Alex had interrogated. The shirt and shorts were both covered in bark.

    "Huh, so that''s how they''re born." Herah said with admiration, from her place beneath the tree. "What beautiful mask they create, they''re all masterfully crafted."

    "I agree the mask are beautiful, but what a wonderful and articulate process of creation," Max responded, her voice enthralled. Still covering her nose, Max pointing to the right side of the fortress, "But that over there is our objective."

    Where Max had pointed sat a variety of buildings, some looking like houses made of stone while others looked liked hotels. No matter the look of the building, however, Herah could tell that they were all teeming with life. From these building, Herah was able to hear the steady breaths that functioned as the telltale signs of slumbering individuals, and the irregular breaths that functioned as the telltale sounds of awake individuals. And outside of these buildings were streets and roads, full of what Herah figured were the nocturnal bunch of the Oni. Some seemed to be conversing with each other, while others looked as if they were celebrating.

    It looked like a full-on functioning society.

    "Those are the homes of the Oni," Max gestured towards herself and Herah, "We''re blowing those and, sadly enough, that lumber up so that when they attack, their numbers are much more manageable."

    "I mean, I could take these guys on by myself, no problem." Herah said, confidence oozing throughout her words as a prideful smirk came over her face, but on the inside Herah wasn''t too liking of what they were doing.

    Max looked down at Herah and chuckled at the younglings words, getting a dirty look from her in return. In response, Max laughed even harder, a growl of anger coming from Herah at the thought of being made fun of, even as the youngling picked up on the slight deliriousness in the laugh.

    It seemed as if Max wasn''t too liking of the idea either.

    "While I don''t think it would be too hard for you to take on 2 million Oni by yourself, it would be much easier for the rest of us if their numbers were a bit smaller," Max said, clearly attempting to placate Herah.

    "I was going through with it, either way." Herah said, her face scrunching up in irritation.

    "Really?" Max asked, surprised by Herah''s statement.

    "Of course. Why make something harder when it doesn''t need to be?" Herah shook her head in amusement, happy at her ability to surprise Max, "That''s just time-consuming."

    "Huh, Owen told us about how your people conquered other planets," Max made an embarrassed look, "I kinda figured that-"

    "We dropped in screaming "We here to convert and conquer! All those who don''t submit will die!" Herah interrupted Max, getting an embarrassed nod in return.

    Herah allowed a small chuckle to exit her lips, shaking her head in amusement again as more words left her mouth.

    "That is a terrible way to spread the will of La Flamme, I''ll tell you how after we get back. I get rather passionate when speaking about the Nettoyant and their quest to spread the will of my mistress." Herah looked back out towards the Oni base, her eyes narrowing as they came upon the center of the area, "While I can''t see past that huge building, I hear the sounds of smithing. Should we stop by their and fuck up their weaponry?"

    "Yeah," Max answered, the human made a hmmph sound before continuing, "It''s kinda weird that they have a cathedral in the center, don''t you think?"

    "Don''t know what a cathedral is, don''t care," Herah swung her self up onto the branch behind Max.

    The twin turned to face Herah, a playful smile on her face.

    "Soooo," Max said, dragging out the o, "I bet you''re wondering how we''re supposed to get rid of our objectives since we quite lacking in the firepower department?" Max asked, her tone tinted with sadness.

    Herah noticed this and decided that since Max was her friend (after that hour long flight there was no way they weren''t), it was up to her to cheer up the sad human.

    "Lacking in firepower?" Herah asked, raising her left bicep while pointing at it with her right hand, "What do you call this?"

    "A sexy bicep." Max said with a wink and a slight giggle, the human sounding a bit better.

    "Yes my arm is very sexy, but what can it do?" Herah responded, a small smile on her face.

    "Be even sexier."

    Ther was a brief moment of silence between the two before it was broken by a giggle from Herah. After that, the dam seemingly broke and the pair collapsed onto the branch, laughter filling their bodies. After a few moments of their laughter the two trailed off into to giggles then comfortable silence.

    "Better?" Herah asked.

    Max smiled and began to reach down to her side, before her face became puzzled. The human began to look herself over and seemed to realize something was missing. Looking back at Herah with an embarrassed smile, Max said,

    "I seem to have forgotten my coat," The twin reached up to run her hand through her hair, "And the scrunchy that bound my hair." A nervous laugh came from Max''s mouth, " Let me get those back real quick."

    "In my right hand, I hold a scrunchy. In my left, I hold a trench coat."

    Even before her second sentence finished, a scrunchy filled her right hand. After her second sentence was finished, Max was holding a brown trench coat in her left. After putting on both the coat and the scrunchy, Max also said,

    "The pockets of this coat are linked to my original coat."

    "Is that your gift?" Herah asked, a smirk on her face.

    "Yeah, I named it <u>F</u><u>ib</u>. My gift is going to be the main component behind our taking down of the Oni base."

    "What exactly does your gift do, I''m not really too sure." Herah said, a slightly puzzled look overtaking her smirk.

    "Oh, it''s the direct opposite of my brother''s current gift. I can lie to the universe."

    "What exactly does that mean?"

    Max began to run her hand through her now ponytailed hair, Herah waiting for Max to find her thought. After a few seconds, Max made an ah-ha sound and said,

    "I can warp reality."

    Herah tilted her head and asked, "To what extent?"

    Max smiled at Herah, her eyes taking on a glint that Herah was a too familiar to the youngling.

    Max had the eyes of a maniac.

    "Color has inverted," With that single sentence, Herah felt a suspiciously soft and pleasant Presence wrap around her. The Presence was so pleasant in fact that Herah closed her eyes in pleasure at how wonderous it felt, and it even made the youngling want to just keep her eyes closed.

    Herah forced her eyes open, as Max''s presence faded, and saw that the human''s skin had begun to darken until becoming black. Her hair, on the other hand, became bleach white. Max''s white shirt became black, with the DO YOU WANT THE LIE becoming nearly as red as her eyes. The twin''s trench coat had even become violet.

    Herah looked at herself, finding that her scarlet scales and skin had changed their color into aqua. Her yellow shirt had become purple, the wisp lantern it also inverting in all of its colors. The youngling''s cargo pants were now green and black.

    Herah began to look around and found that the sky had become white with black stars. The tree the pair stood in now had green bark with red leaves, and the shadows of the leaves were now white. Herah turned to look down at her own shadow, finding that it was also white.

    Color had truly inverted itself.

    With Herah realizing this, the Cendreux also realized something else. Something that Herah found to be much more terrifying than the universe swapping its color palette.

    Max was the second, maybe the third, most powerful thing Herah had ever met.

    "What the ash are you?" Herah asked, the youngling poorly hiding her terror at what had happened.

    "Don''t freak out Herah," Max said slow and deliberate, her attempts to sooth Herah falling to sooth Herah falling to deaf ears.

    "I''m not freaking out!" Herah shouted, very clearly freaking out. The youngling was looking left, right, up, down, wherever possible to find something that told Herah what the youngling was seeing wasn''t real.

    "I know this is really weird but everything will back to normal," Max paused, "Now."

    And with another blink of the eye, everything was back to normal. The night sky was once again black with white stars, Herah''s scales and skin had returned to their scarlet hue, and Max had returned to normal.

    "See," Max said, a peppy smile on her face, "Everything''s back to normal."

    Herah let out a relieved sigh while saying, "So it isn''t for long, that''s good." Herah nodded her head, "That''s good."

    "Actually," Max began matter-of-factly, "Unlike my brother''s half-truths, my lies are permanent. Bro just picked up on my lie, so his gift kicked in."

    "What''re you talking about?" Herah asked, already not liking what Max was saying.

    "I''ll tell you when we get back," Was all Max said, getting a grunt of annoyance from Herah.

    "We will talk about this later," Herah placed special emphasis on will while pointing towards Max. The youngling then let out another sigh before asking, "So how are we using your gift?"

    Max gave another sly smile, drawing two cards from her pockets

    "Well you see,"

 Drawing the Details

    CLANG!

    CLANG!

    Within the Oni base, we¡¯re unnoticeable to them.Herah had felt Max¡¯s Presence wash over her for a brief moment (Herah had actually let out a pleasant snort of fire when it came over her), and immediately decided to test out Max¡¯s lie.

    SNIKT!

    SNAP!

    THUNK!

    THUNK!

    There is a fireball falling towards you from above.¡±

    BOOM!

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    CRUNCH!

    DRIP!

    CRUNCH!

    WHOOSH!

    SNIKT!

    WOOSH!

    <strong style="font-weight: bold">SHLUK!

    puff,about,<em style="font-style: italic">puff,me.¡± Herah said haggardly before taking a deep breath, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    puff,handle this. I know you hate,<em style="font-style: italic">puff,fighting with me in fights,<em style="font-style: italic">puff,you think I can handle, but I need you.¡±

 The Sketch Becomes an Illustration

    Moon leaped from behind the altar and down towards Herah, the youngling rolling under and stabbing him through the chest with Jeffery before slamming him into the marble floor with the pencil pinning him to the ground.

    "That really, puff,fucking hurt!" Herah grunted out at Moon as pain filled her mind.

    In response, Moon broke his body down into tendrils before traveling up the length of Jeffery and Herah''s remaining arm before reassembling himself behind the youngling with his left hand reared back in its claw form, ready to cleave her apart.

    SNIKT!

    "There is a firebomb inside your back."

    "There is a forcefield around me."

    Max then sent one of her cards straight through the firebomb that was buried in Moon''s back.

    BOOM!

    A fiery explosion engulfed all four individuals beneath the steps of the altar, fire lashing out wildly as it spread.

    "Maxareyou,puff,okay?" Herah asked, looking around as smoke filled the air. Herah pulled Jeffery from theirbizarrensheath, labored breaths leaving her as her body was wracked with the pain of her recently cut off arm. Herah then unfurled her left wing and with a single flap cleared all of the smoke from around her.

    Herah stood still in front of the steps of the altar, a few tiny fires covering the scorched floor around her. With the smoke now cleared, Herah found Max lying on her back unconscious. The human had a few singes on her clothing and had a bit of blood marring her black hair, but was otherwise ok.

    Walking over to her companion with slow shaky steps, Herah poked Max with the butt of Jeffery a few times.

    "That is the fifth time I''ve donethat." Max said after the sixth poke, a groan of pain following shortly afterward as her body awakened along with her mind.

    Herah flipped Jeffery over and held out their tip towards Max, the human grabbing onto it so Herah could pull her up. With Max back on her feet, Herah looked to see what was left of Moon.

    Which was nothing, not even ash was left in the spot Moon had stood, just a massive scorchmark.

    "Wellthat''s,puff,that." Herah said, turning towards where they had originally come from. "Didn''t really,puff,need you,puff,Jeffery. My,puff,bad."

    Jeffery gave Herah no response, which immediately set Herah on alert. Jeffery only went mute on Herah when the youngling believed a fight to be over when it wasn''t.

    Which meant Moon wasn''t dead.

    Herah did her best to push the pain of from her severed arm to the back of her head, the youngling utilizing all of her senses to check their surroundings (Herah having immediately used Reunir to get the functions of her nose back), finding the issue quickly.

    The first bench on the right aisle had been broken down into tendrils and was taking the form of what Herah guessed to be Moon.

    Max noticed this as well and said, "Herah come on let''s get out of here, we don''t need to-"

    "Oh, but you do!" A familiar voice laced with excitement that filled everyone, sans Jeffery, in the cathedral with dread.

    Herah spun around, twirling Jeffery above her head before attempting to spear whatever was behind her. Sadly for the youngling, a spike of pain shot through her body just as her spin was finished causing Herah to go wide with her stab.

    "Oh, oh, oh! It seems my dear Artist isn''t feeling too good. Well, she can fix that in a hurry" Norwe the Log said, his voice as gentle as always.

    And yes, Norwe was currently in the form of a floating, perfectly cut, average size log.

    "I''m not going to even say anything," Max said as soon as her eyes glimpsed the Log Maker, the human just shaking her head in shock.

    "Good! Then we can get straight to what I want to happen." Norwe the Log responded with greats amount of cheer and excitement, before spreading his Presence all across the room. Everyone was set on edge as soon as they heard the sound of a giant lock being locked where the cathedral doors were located.

    Herah''s breath hitched just a bit as her Maker''s presence engulfed her, the feeling not as threatening as when first subjugated, it was just a bit unexpected. Onfirstcontact, Norwe''s Presence made Herah feel as if the Maker Log was an older relative who had paid her surprise visit after being gone for a while (which wouldn''t work because all of Herah''s relatives were dead excluding her parents). But this feeling quickly passed and allowed for Herah to get to the deeper roots of her Maker''s presence. Which in short terms, could be described with one word.

    Chaos.

    Herah felt just how unrestrained, unfocused, and wild Norwe was at their core. The Maker''s presence didn''t wrap around her like Max''s, engulf her like Jeffery''s, or weigh on her like her father''s. It just struck Herah at random, as if it acknowledged her existence as something to poke and prod out of interest.

    Not a welcoming thought considering whose Presence this was.

    Herah, now using Jeffery as a makeshift crutch, looked over to Max and found the human''s reaction surprising. Max looked peaceful and calm, a far cry from her earlier sad and slightly frantic state, looking over to Moon, Herah found the same thing to be true for him.

    "Now, my dear Liar." Herah turned back to Norwe the Log, "Since Moon was nice enough to tease me with the idea, I''m gonna run with it. If any of you want to leave this building alive or otherwise, you must have an extremely entertaining fight for me. And by that I mean want to see even more blood, tears, and effort placed into it."

    "I also want to see some tactical thought, Artist that was a jab at you. I know you can do better." Norwe the Log said, sounding like a teacher that was disappointed with their students'' performance in whatever subject they taught because they knew that student could do better.

    "Another thing, I want a fight that lasts and has an actual impact. That means no cop-outs for any of you, especially miss reality warper over here." Norwe the Log said this as if Max was a common offender of this exact thing. "And finally, try to throw some curve balls. They don''t have to surprise me, though I''d prefer if they did,butI would love to see surprise run across each of your faces.

    "Also, for added motivation to do exactly that, I''ve added to your stakes. So if my conditions aren''t met, these three will cease to exist in any form or shape, not even as memories will they live on."

    Three blurry images appeared behind of Norwe.

    One unblurred and revealed Alex sitting with his back against a tree while having an animated discussion with Owen. Both were smiling at each other and seemed to be enjoying each other''s company. Max lost her composure and let out a sad whimper, her eyes tearing up at the realization that her brother''s life was in her hands.

    The next image to unblur was of who Herah guessed to be Diavolo, it showed the same extremely muscular and green-skinned priest from the earlier painting, smiling and waving at Moon. Herah bristled uncomfortably at the choked sob that came from the priest, the sound of tears striking the floor really leaving Herah feeling like even more of an ass than before.

    The final image to unblur erased any uncomfortableness Herah felt and replaced it with fear and anger. It was of her father, Orange, and it revealed him sitting on his daughter''s bed meditating. Herahleta small smile come to her face at the sight of her father showing hisworry,since that was the only reason Orange would ever meditate. Then Orange opened his eyes and looked towards his daughter, surprised aquamarine met even more surprised emerald before Orange stood on the bed and gave Herah a heartwarming smile and wave.

    Herah waved back with a pained expression before watching as Orange noticed her current state, his happy look switching to a panicked one. Orange then looked at Norwe the Log, recognition flashing in his eyes before his expression turned pained. The father looked back at his daughter and mouthed a heartbreaking apology before all three images abruptly faded.

    "RAAAWWWRRRRR!"

    The cathedral was filled with the sounds of Herah''s furious roar, a single tear of anger flowing down the side of the youngling''s face as her head was turned up to the ceiling. Herah turned back to Norwe, utter contempt towards the Maker Log having filled theyounling. Herah then pointed Jeffery at Norwe the Log (the pencil stopping its silence to fill their creator''s mind with sweet thoughts) with her teeth bared and said with a low and hate-filled voice,

    "I. Despise. Your. Existence."

    "Aah. My dear, dear Artist." Norwe the Log''s voice rung with absolute delight, "Don''t despair just yet, just entertain me. Plus, I have that said to me so manymanydifferent times."

    The Maker Log floated up to Herah''s face, and said with an extremely out-of-character tone of foreboding and, even more surprising, desperation,

    "What are you going to do about it?"

    Herah was stunned into silence, that last bit of emotion that the youngling picked up completely throwing her for a loop.

    A translucent meter gauge appeared in front of each of the three mortals in the room with five distinct values on each of them.

    Zero percent.

    Twenty-five percent.

    Fifty percent.

    Seventy-five percent.

    And one hundred percent.

    Each of their gauge''s had a tiny white number showing the exact value hovering just above them and all were set at a different value. Moon had the highest, his at sixty-eight percent with Herah''s being at thirty-eight percent and Max''s being at forty percent.

    "If a single one of your gauges reaches one hundred, the doors will automatically unlock. However, if the other two leave without their gauges at full it will automatically reduce to zero. Once a gauge reaches zero, I will erase whichever of those three I showed before you care about most after two minutes and then kill you." Norwe the Logspoke,their voice back to its gentle yet excited tone.

    Herah watched as both Max''s and Moon''s gauges faded from her sight, before asking Norwe as her shaky breath''s returned,

    "Why,puff,two minutes?"

    "Thanks for asking Artist, this is because I am not without mercy so I''m gonna tell you each your own separate condition that you can meet to automatically set your gauge at one hundred percent, here it is now."

    Herah blinked in confusion for a few seconds before letting out a wince at the feeling of something invading her mind.

    ''End Max, that is all you have to do.''

    Herah glared at Norwe the Log even harder while thinking back,

    ''Do your rules mean NOTHING to you?''

    ''Not really, I tend to enforce them whichever way and whenever I want.'' Norwe replied with a nonchalant tone, ''However, you wouldn''t be breaking my rule.''

    Herahleta disgusted grunt leave her.

    ''That''s a lie and we both know it.''

    ''Oh my dear Artist, you have yet to differentiate between the truth and the lies.''

    With those cheery words, the Maker Log floated up and disappeared, but not before leaving the three with some parting words, their joyful and expectant tone making Herah hate them all the more.

    "Let''s do this in one take. SHOWTIME!"

    Moon made eye contact with Max and Herah, all three looking shook up whether by the alternate condition or the primary conditions Herah knew not. Then together they all wiped away their tears (or tear in Herah''s case) and nodded their heads. Though Moon was their enemy and they were Moon''s, there were no hard feelings at all coming from either of the two groups toward each other.

    Three massive tendrils shot from Moon''s back, each piercing three benches before breaking them down into even more black tendrils. Moon then slammed his hands into the ground before him, the marble cracking and breaking apart as hundreds of beams ofredwood shot towards Herah and Max.

    In response, Max sent out 10 of her 50 remaining cards and said, "There is a diamond wall between us."

    The beams thudded uselessly against the red diamond wall ''s jagged surface that appeared in place of Max''s cards.

    Max turned to Herah, who had returned to using Jeffery as a crutch while breathing heavily, and looked at the youngling''s bleeding stump. The remaining limb was gushing so much blood that a large puddle was beginning to take shape beneath the youngling''s feet.

    "That wall is ten feet thick, Moon won''t be getting through any time soon." Max pointed at Herah''s arm, "I can fix that for you Herah."

    The youngling shook her head before taking a deep breath and saying, "I''m gonna need the blood for this fight."

    Max gestured towards Herah''s profusely bleeding wound and shouted in worry, "But at therateyou''re losing blood, you''ll bleed out before you can do anything!"

    Herah shook her head once again and replied, "The only way,puff,to killa,puff,Cendruex is to eliminate,puff,the fire that,puff,burns inside,puff,of us." Herah took a deep breath, "The biggest danger this wound poses to me is leaving me blacked out from either pain or blood loss." Herah took another deep breath, "I can mitigate both of those issueshowever."

    Herah closed her eyes and took another deep breath before letting it out. Herah then repeated this three more times, with each breath let out causing the pain to lessen and lessen until it eventually just felt like a slight tingle.

    Herah stood from leaning on Jeffery, her breathing no longer labored and struggling and opened her eyes once again. This got a surprised yelp from Max, who pointed at Herah and said,

    "Your, your eyes. They''ve changed."

    Herah nodded at this, the youngling already knew that her eyes had lost their pupils, irises, and sclera. Now they were replaced by a mess of red, black, yellow, and white. The colors arranged themselves in a way that it looked as if flames had been painted on the surface of her eyes.

    "<u>Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet</u>, that is what I named this state of being. The name is in honor of a period time that was all about revigorating love for La Flamme, to be more specific I''ve named it after the point in time which could be considered the movement''s apex. Not only does this state make all pain I suffer a slight tingle, but it also pushes my body to the max, no pun intended, for five minutes straight while forcing my body to function no matter what for those five minutes."

    Herah picked up Jeffery, the pencil sending Herah images of a clock counting down from 5 minutes. The youngling then walked towards Max and set Jeffery aside, leaving the pencil to just float alongside her once again. Herah dipped her right fore finger''s claw into the pouring blood from her stump before raising it to Max''s neck.

    "Max, I''m gonna use my blood to tattoo something onto your neck, your skin is the best canvas I can access inshorttime for my gift. Is that okay with you?

    Max thought for a second before nodding yes.

    Herah began to drag her finger along Max''s neck with keen precision. This allowed for the Cendreux to draw an incredibly detailed tattoo of blood-red welding goggles with red tinted lenses and a red strap around Max''s neck without causing the human any pain and within seconds.

    Herah tapped Max''s new tattoo causing<u>Traduire</u>to activate, and cause for the tattoo to glow for aspilt-secondbefore poofing out a real-life version of the same goggles, removing Max''s tattoo in the process.

    "Those goggles will allow for you to keep up with both Moon and me as we fight, optically anyway. Moon apparently isn''t a normal Oni so you need to<u>fib</u>againto hide from his sights. Also, can you find a way to move around quickly?" Herah''s words came out serious and slightly on edge, the youngling on high alert for Moon''s attack.

    Max nodded yes before saying, "Moon can''t perceive me, anything I do or my cards. I have a hoverboard."

    Herah didn''t even blink when a slender, red polyester board appeared next to Max, the youngling taking note of the two cards that disappeared with Max''s lie. This left her with 38 cards. Herah nodded at the board before ordering Max, "Stay as far away from the fight as you can unless I call you back to myself so I can draw something else on you, otherwise just hit Moon with<u>fibs</u>from afar." Herah took off her backpack and handed it to Max, who put it on her own back. "Hold this for me, I won''t be able to do too much with it in this fight."

    Max nodded before jumping onto her board, the hoverboard floating the human up towards the ceiling.

    Herah took another deep breath, making note of the fact that Jeffery''s counter was now at 4 minutes and 5 seconds.

    ''I know you hate handing control over to me, but thanks for letting me use youJeffery. Sorry this couldn''t be more entertaining''

    Herah got the image of herself shaking her head and a puzzle that Herah had not quite figured out when younger. Herah shook her head with a small smile as her right hand twirled Jeffery once again in preparation for whatever Moon was planning on doing. Herah also took note of the fact that her gauge had gone up to 45%, most likely due to the simple plan that Herah had set up with Max and how the human was to deal with the speed.

    Herah swung her bleeding stump in front of herself creating a bloody arc at her feet. Herah looked at the wall of diamond then at the arm that Moon had cut off, making note of the fact that two of her fingers had turned to paint.

    RIZZZZ!

    Herah felt the vibrations from beneath her feet just before leaping back, but not soon enough because Moon burst from beneath where Herah had been standing with a hand in the shape of a drill and one in its normal form. Using the normal hand, Moon grabbed the youngling by her left leg and then threw her at the red wall of diamond.

    CRACK!

    Several fissures appeared at Herah''s area of impact, the youngling falling to the ground and landing on her knees while letting out an annoyed grunt at the tingle that was felt from her back and wings due to her impact. Herah looked down at her recently createdarcand added a bit more blood to it since it''s shape was messed up by her landing.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    BOOM!

    "Herah look out!"

    Herah spat out flames covering her arm just before raising her head and her arm (having dropped Jeffery after hitting the wall) just in time to block a hypersonic punch from Moon.

    KRRSHHH!

    The red diamond wall shattered, filling the air with diamond shards and dust, as Herah was launched through all ten feet of it. Just after managing to steady herself in mid-air, Herah noticed Moon sailing towards her through the air and activated<u>Traduire</u>.

    "ACK!"Moon shouted in pain as Herah''s red arc from earlier smashed into his back and shattered.

    Herah then mentally forced each of these fragments to rapidly form into a ball before smashing them down onto the priest''s head, causing marble fragments to fly into the air as Moon''s cranium smashed into the floor. Herah herself bled off most of her speed by flipping through the air, but still ended up slamming into the floor feet first. Marble fragments were launched every which way, as Herah tore twin gorges in the floor before skidding to a stop just before the cathedral doors.

    Looking down at the leg Moon had grabbed, Herah spat out a ball of normal fire to burn away the black tendrils that were beginning to reach her stomach. Herah looked back at Moon and found the priest rising to his feet. Before the youngling could do anything, Herah heard Max shout and found the priest frozen in a block of ice. This was quickly rectified by Moon himself, the priest having sprouted a multitude of drills from his body that broke the ice surrounding him. Letting out a low whistle, Herah summoned Jeffery back to herself. This caused for the sentient pencil to blow a hole straight through the right side of Moon''s head, grey matter, blood, and black skin flying from the priest''s head and into the surrounding area.

    Snatching Jeffery out of the air, Herah held the pencil behind her back with their tip to the floor as her eyes observed how Moon (now soaking wet and missing the right half of his brain) seemed stunned for a second before moving towards a bench that sat in a row to his right and breaking a bit of it down so as to patch up his skull.

    Herah also noticed her gauge go up to 50%, letting out a slightly pleased breath at her progress.

    ''So Moon doesn''t need his brain tofunction,but damaging it causes him to be stunned for a moment. I can use this.''

    "Max!" Herah shouted, causing the one in question to jump a bit before looking at Herah gesturing for her to come near.

    The human shot down from her place near the ceiling and began to float on Herah''s right while still on her board.

    "Yeah Herah?"

    "Raise your shirt."

    Max blinked in surprise.

    "I''m sorry?"

    Herah said some curses under her breath before glaring at Max in annoyance and asking with equal amounts of annoyance,

    "I need you to raise your shirt all the way up, your neck and head don''t have enough room for what I''m about to create."

    "But I don''t have a bra on, and we''re in the mi-" Max attempted to explain.

    "Max!" Herah shouted, clearly out of patience.

    "And this shirt is going up." The human in question said, giving up in her explanation.

    Max lifted her shirt over her head, while Herah dipped the same claw from earlier into her personal blood geyser once again before sending Jeffery out towards Moon to keep him at bay while her work was done. This caused a split in attention that Herah handled with little difficulty.

    Jeffery shot through Moon''s head, the priest then used a bench to heal himself, which was followed by Jeffery blasting through his head once again. This began a vicious cycle that left a lot of blood and brains on the surrounding benches and floor before Moon eventually stopped attempting to heal himself and instead focused on combating the speeding writing utensil known as Jeffery. Luckily for the Oni priest, Jeffery could only go as fast as Herah perceived when under her control, which meant that after a few strikes that Moon was able to predict and counter the pencil''s attacks.

    After Herah attempted to spear Moon through the stomach with another mental command from Jeffery, the priest leaped atop of the top half of the pencil and tried to break it down by transforming his legs into tendrils and attempting to pierce into Jeffery. Herah had a quick response to this, however.

    WHRRRR!

    "Nani!?"

    CRACK!

    Jeffery had begun to rotate at ridiculous speeds, causing for Moon and themselves to form something akin to a demented rotating hoe. This meant that Moon''s head and a good portion of his upper torso were repeatedly being smashed through the marble floor, which caused a lot of marble dust and fragments to shoot into the nearby walls, pillars, and benches.

    Herahleta glad smile come to her face, her gauge had begun to decline when her attacks became overly repetitive. But now, with her idea for Jeffery and Moon to spin the way that they were, Norwe seemed to find it entertaining. Herah''s gauge was at 75%.

    Herah checked with Jeffery (the pencil a bit miffed about what Herah was currently doing with their body) for her time and found it to be 3 minutes and 20 seconds.

    "Annnd, done!" Herah said, once completed with Max''s new tattoo before taking a moment to give it a loving stare.

    It was of a chain with hands the size of normal ones going up and down the sides. Two hands were on either side of Max''s flat abdomen, with two more on either side of her rib cage, and the final two atop both of her breast.

    Shaking the admiration for her art from her head, Herah tapped the hand on Max''s left breast. The human was blushing deeply atHerah,and began to blush even harder once<u>Traduire</u>brought the hands and chain to life.

    A soft rattling was heard as the chain that ran from Max''s neck down to the center of her abdomen took form on the human''s skin, the only thing keeping it from falling off being the six actual red hands that now grabbed at Max''s entire torso. This didn''t last for long, however, since the hand Herah had tapped broke off from the chain and leaped onto its creator''s hand before using its fingers to crawl up to her elbow and turn itself back into a tattoo that disappeared shortly afterward. This same thing happened with the rest of hands, each crawling onto one part of her body before turning back into a tattoo and disappearing.

    "What was that all about?" Max asked, pulling her shirt down in hopes of returning some semblance of modesty to herself. The human wasn''t exactly quiet during Herah''s tattooing process, and not a single sound made was of discomfort.

    "Those hands are going to help when I''m fighting," Herah nodded towards her own gauge, "My gauge is at 75%, how''s yours?"

    Max let out a wince and responded with, "It''s gone down actually. My gauge is currently hanging out at 25%. I don''t think Norwe is too liking of your hide on the ceiling strategy and helping from there, it''s pretty boring after all."

    Herah let out her own empathizing wince, before saying, "Do you have any way you can think to raise it?"

    Max thought for a few seconds, before asking Herah, "What was your next move?"

    "I was going to engage Moon in close-combat as a distraction while I planned on you taking out all these benches around us. Do you have a way to eliminate all of them, preferably in one fell swoop? Anything less and Moon might try to counteract us."

    Max went into deep thought, running her hand through her hair for just a second before snapping her fingers.

    "Herah, how do you feel about being naked right now?" Max asked, her tone completely serious.

    "I would prefer not to, but if your plan involves it I won''t bitch," Herah responded with an uncaring voice.

    Max nodded before floating off and into the air above while speaking in a whisper, for some odd reason, "I''ll do it once Moon is fully distracted, go on."

    Herah nodded before redirecting her attention to Jeffery and Moon, the latter having been flung off and into a pillar. Nodding to herself once again, Herah unfurled both of her wings and flew towards Moon while also summoning Jeffery back to herself. Herah and Jeffery met halfway towards Moon, allowing for the youngling to furl her wings back up and spin through the air like a sideways spinning top while spinning Jeffery counter-clockwise to her own spin, around her body.

    As soon as Moon rose from the pillar that had stopped his flight, the priest had Herah sail over his head with Jeffery erasing a good portion of his skull as they spun around Herah''s body. Stunned, Moon was not prepared for Herah to land behind and spear him through the chest with Jeffery''s tip. This did, however, bring him out of his stupor and caused for Moon to sprout hundreds of spikes all over his body, causing Herah to step back while dragging Jeffery through Moon''s side by the tip of their eraser. More blood sprayed across the marble as Moon let out a gasp of surprise before morphing his right arm into a whip and launching it into a bench.

    "What the ash!?" Herah shouted in surprise, diving to the side as another Moon (created from the bench the original had struck) drove a black sword that had replaced the forearm of his right arm straight through the chest of his creator in an attempt to do the same to Herah. Herah then launched herself away and towards the altar with am unfurl and flap of her wings, the two Moon''s following on her heels.

    "Max! Anytime now!"

    "There is a wave of lava rushing towards you."

    All three turned towards the front of the cathedral, and the Moons let out startled cries as a massive wave of lava rushing through the cathedral towards the trio. One of the Moons shot his left hand out (having morphed it into a massive version of itself), quickly grabbing and chucking a single bench into the entrance hole Moon had created earlier before using the same hand to cover the hole. The other ripped the one who had saved the bench in half, taking their right side and breaking it down and then transforming it into some type of black armor that covered their body. Two full seconds later, the wave of lava crashed into the three and the altar.

    Herah stood her ground, not moving an inch as the wave washed over her. Bright orange was all Herah could see for but a second before her vision quickly cleared and revealed the cathedral''s makeover. The floor was covered in 3ft worth of lava (something which would be no problem for Herah to navigate through), the air had become extremely humid, and the marble pillars were beginning to break apart. While most of the benches were gone, a few were laying in the lava slowly burning and sinking into it. Herah also noticed the fact that her gauge had risen up to 77%.

    Before the youngling could look around anymore, the sound of something cutting through the air behind her caused Herah to duck and roll through the obscenely hot floor.

    Herah rose to her feet and to the sight of Moon covered in some type of black armor. It wasn''t large by any means, quite form fitting actually, and seemed to exist as a single piece. The armor also seemed organic, Herah noticing how it seemed leather-like with tiny tendrils occasionally appearing on the surface. Herah took note of his left gauntlet, itbeingblack with spikes on each of its knuckles. The other gauntlet went a slightly different route, with the hand being replaced with the same claw Moon was using earlier in the fight. Atop of his head, Moon now wore a completely black helmet that had a little visor, blocking his eyes from view. The only part of Moon that Herah could still see was his eyes, the silver still looking dull and sad.

    "Your wound hasn''t cauterized," Moon said, his soft voice carrying a ring from within his helmet.

    Herah looked down at her still profusely bleeding arm, before looking back up at Moon and casually saying,

    "I can''t be burnt."

    Moon looked towards the window which immortalized Norwe the Log before saying, with a deeply somber tomb,

    "I''m sorry I dragged you two into this."

    Herah shook her head, calling Jeffery back to hand before holding the pencil behind her back with their tip pointed to the ceiling. The youngling then bluntly stated,

    "Don''t be, you were just doing what you felt was needed."

    "You''re quite understanding towards someone who is actively trying to killyou." Moon responded with a slightly joking tone.

    Herah chuckled lightly, giving the lava around a soft kick before telling Moon with the same tone of voice,

    "Yeah, well I spit in the face of your offer for peace. By my standards, we''re both assholes in this situation."

    Moon responded with his own chuckle and apologetically said,

    "Well, by my standards at least, I''m about to be an even bigger asshole in a second."

    "What makes you-"

    Moon raised his left hand and snapped.

    "Aaaah!"

    Herah''s eyes widened in shock as Max fell off of her hoverboard, the human covered in flames, and towards the molten covered floor. Thinking quick, Herah threw Jeffery at Max just in time for the human to land on and tightly hold onto the sentient pencil. Herah then turned to Moon, who had reared his right arm back to launch it towards Max, the limb having taken the shape of a whip with a claw at the end. The youngling snorted out green flames that were sent to cover her remaining arm, which Herah then used to punch Moon squarely in the face. This punch sent the priest into the altar, the object being destroyed in the process of all of this.

    "What did you do to her?" Herah growled out at Moon, as the priest shakingly rose to their feet.

    "I just ignited the pollen that I had stuck to her body from earlier. When she had walked over to the two of us after our brief battle in the courtyard, I had my shield release a bit of the stuff."

    The priest then launched himself towards Herah and tried to hit Herah with a jab. The youngling didn''t move in the slightest, even as his fistnearedher head. Just before contact, one of the red hands that Herah had created earlier appeared on her face and gave Moon a fist bump that completely halted his attack.

    "Nani?"

    BOOM!

    The pair were engulfed in a fiery explosion, that began to burn away at Moon''s armor. But that was the least of his worries since Herah delivered a brutal uppercut to his chin with her still flaming right arm. This time Moon was launched towards the ceiling, crashing right into the blank spot that was supposed to depict his current trial.

    After a second, Moon fell from the ceiling towards Herah with both of his hands now claws and ready to pounce. The youngling looked up at Moon but didn''t move, waiting for just the right moment to deliver her next attack. However, someone else had other ideas.

    "A minivan is about to hit Moon!"

    HONK! HONK!

    A red minivan appeared out of nowhere, before ramming Moon straight into the wall beneath the window art of Norwe the Log.

    "I''m not on fire right now."

    "Max yourokaaayyy....." Herah turned to get a good luck at the human and winced, "Ish."

    Max, who was standing atop of Jeffery looking extremely pissed off. The human had several burns of varying degrees all over her face and her hair was burnt to the point that a ponytail was now no longer required. The human''s legs were missing much of their skin, with large pink and black areas covering the length of the limbs. Her arms weren''t in too much better of a condition, both limbs mostly black. Max''s torso took the worst of it, however, her abdomen completely pink and both of her breast black and charred.

    Max''s clothing wasn''t in the best condition either. Her cargo shorts were just gone, leaving the girl in a pair of red boxers that had been burnt to the point that they almost resembled panties. Max''s coat wasn''t in a much better state, with the trench coat having the bottom of it burnt to the point that it now reached to right beneath Max''s chest and its sleeves were completely gone. Max''s shirt might as well have been none existent due to the fact that it was essentially just a hole-filled rag that was held together by unstable cotton and miracles.

    "I am in so much pain right now, but that isn''t important. Let''s fill up our gauges and get out of here. I got a brother to save." Max responded, sounding both pissed and determined.

    The human leaped off of Jeffery and onto her hoverboard just as Moon knocked the van away from himself.

    Herah nodded yes to Max before calling Jeffery back to herself and going on the offensive. With a boom that created a shockwave that in turn created another wave of lava that went opposite of herself, Herah launched herself towards Moon and attempted to spear him through the chest. The priest dodged around Herah''s attack and tried grabbing at her arm with his left, only finding a high five from a disembodied hand and another explosion for his troubles. Following this up, Herah used Jeffery''s eraser to once again rid Moon of part of his head, this time the entire right part of his head from his cheek to his hair. Max, having moved to hang over the pair, dropped two cards and said,

    "Those are lightning bolts that will only hurt Moon."

    Herah blinked as two bolts of red lightning struck both herself and Moon, crackling filling her ears as Moon began to twitch like crazy with Herah suffering zero damage or effects. Taking advantage of his extended paralysis, Herah struck Moon in the chest with leg a covered in red flames which launched him away from herself and through one of the already breaking pillars. Landing next to one of the burning benches, Moon used a part of it to heal the damage that Herah and Max dealt to him.

    Max snapped her fingers, causing her remaining 23 cards to engulf Moon in a whirlwind invisible to himself that added small cuts all over his body, his crimson lifeblood beginning to boil as the heat of the lava reached it. With his entire body covered in cuts, Moon broke the rest of the burning bench next to him down into tendrils before layering them atop of his armor and slamming his fist together.

    CLANK!

    The metallic ring of his now metal gauntlets filled the cathedral as the cards began to just bounce off his armor. Hearing and seeing this, Max redrew her cards back and Herah unfurled both of her wings before giving one mighty flap in front of herself that launched a wave of lava at Moon. Before the wave could even reach him, Herah shot towards the priest with a boom that created another wave of lava in the direction opposite of herself. Using the wave as a cover, Herah shot through it with Jeffery in hand spearing Moon once again in the chest. After spitting out a glob of blood that sizzled as it fell into the lava, Moon attempted to grab Herah by her neck, but found his hand stopped by another red hand that slapped his away and then blew up in another explosion of fire.

    "Herah! Move!" Max shouted to the youngling.

    The youngling tore Jeffery out of Moon through his head, once again spraying blood, grey matter, and gore into the air before leaping away and back towards Max. With Herah out of the way, the human launched two cards towards Moon that flew just over the surface of the lava and said,

    "Those are lava swimming sharks that only eat Moon."

    Two massive sharks appeared in the liquid floor, attempting to devour Moon by jumping up from the lava and diving through the air towards him.

    "Suck it, you nice asshole," Max said, clearly struggling with consciousness.

    As if to just spite Max, Moon''s stunned state faded, and the priest used both of his claw hands to pierce both sharks and break them down into tendrils. Moon then used the tendrils from the sharks to create some type of black tree trunk with many holes in it next to himself.

    For a moment, Herah just stared at the tree before noticing that the lava had dropped an inch in height.

    "How the ash?"

    "Two hundred years ago, my people found a tree just like this one. It was useless for makingmask,but had a peculiar property that allowed for it to ingest lava. I broke it down and still remember its genetic code to this day."

    By the end of his explanation, all the lava that had covered the cathedral floor was now gone. This left a cracked and hot floor of marble in its wake, and everyone in the cathedral (save Jeffery) were on their last leg.

    Herah''s time was at 1 minute, Max was going to pass out from her burns soon, and Moon was all out of things to break down.

    "I won''t pass out in the next thirty minutes"

    Ok, only Moon and Herah were on their last leg.

    Realizing this Herah looked at Moon who was back in his normal clothing, the priest having broken down the mass from the armor and stored it somewhere else. Herah also noticed that, for some odd reason, his eyes were now glowing silver and steam was pouring off of his shoulders. Herah didn''t put too much thought into this before checking her gauge and finding it at 88%. Herah wasn''t too liking of the number but figured a bit more fighting would fix it. And if not.....

    Herah looked at Max, the human now floating next to her and looking back at Herah gave the youngling a firm shake of her head and a small smile. Herah looked back at Moon and shook her head.

    That wasn''t even an option.

    Everyone was back in their original position before the fight had started and all were geared up for the fight to end. Moon was standing where the bench that had made him his first new body used to be, his tree to his right and the giant hand from earlier covering the hole in front of him. Herah and Max were once again in front of the steps leading up to the most definitely destroyed altar.

    Herah unfurled her wings, Max called all of her remaining 20 cards to surround her, and Moon looked ready to pounce.

    Herah made the first move, launching herself towards Moon with a boom, that just destroyed the floor even more, and readied Jeffery to erase the priest''s head. But just before Herah could reach Moon, a problem occurred.

    SNIKT!

    Something shot through the youngling''s forehead and burrowed straight into her brain, causing Herah to suddenly lose control of her wings and crash at Moon''s feet.

    "Herah!"

    The youngling refurled her wings, rolled onto her back and looked up at Moon in innocent and worried confusion and asked, "What... Did....You... Do?"

    The priest looked down at Herah with a sad smile and began speaking in an extremely apologetic tone.

    "When you passed over the hand covering the hole, I shot a bit of into your head and pierced your brain. In about fifty seconds, I will have complete control over your body and once that comes I will use you to kill Max. Because while I can''t perceive her, you can. The only way to get rid of it will be by destroying your brain, but that would kill you. I''m sorry, but I win this one."

    PING!

    The sound rung throughout the entire cathedral which quickly followed by the sound of the front doors unlocking, meaning that Moon was the first to reach 100%.

    "Herah doesn''t have whatever Moon put in her head, in her head!"

    For a split second, Herah felt Max''s presence take hold and start causing something to happen, but it was quickly put to a stop by a pulse of someone else''s presence.

    "Dammit Norwe, what the fuck did you do to my<u>gift?</u>" Max cried out in what Herah thought to beuncharacteristicrage, the human almost sounded like her brother had when they had first met.

    "Sorry Liar," Norwe the Log''s voice rung throughout the building, not at all sounding apologetic, "But I''m not going to let you rob my False Priest of his victory, the only way Herah''s getting out of this one is if she has an even better, even more, surprising plan."

    ''No. No. No NOOOO!'' Herah screamed in her mind, despair quickly overtaking it, ''I can''t let this happen, if I lose now not only are me and Max fucked but so are Dad and Alex. I am not letting them get bais¨¦e because I couldn''t entertain this piece of shit Maker! Think! Think! THINK!''

    Herah''s eyes widened once again, an idea coming to her mind. It was a stupid, but it would definitely surprise Norwe.

    Herah hoped at least.

    The youngling gave the control back to Jeffery and asked them for a favor. After hearing her favor, the pencil sent Herah an image of herself and a dunce cap but complied in the end.

    "Max!" The youngling shouted, "Give me..... What Owen...... Gave me...... Earlier!"

    Though Herah was unable to see Max, the youngling knew that the human was confused.

    "What?"

    "I''m hungry Max! Feed me!" Herah shouted, hoping that human understood her.

    "I get it! I get it!" Max shouted back, giving Heraheven morehope, "I don''t know what you have planned but here you go."

    Herah watched as Moon''s eyes widened in shock before a dome of black surrounded the two.

    "I''m sorry Herah, but I can''t allow for you to do what you have planned." The priest said apologetically, small tears forming in his still glowing silver eyes.

    " Stop... Apologizing....Asshole."

    "This is in Herah''s mouth."

    CRUNCH!

    Herah bit into the half sphere of platinum that Owen had made for earlier, chewing and swallowing it before signaling Jeffery.

    The pencil shot through the rough of the black barrier Moon had made and straight through Herah''s brain before shooting back up and through what remained of it.

    For a few moments,

    Herah knew not.

    Herah thought not.

    Herah was not.

    But after these few moments, a great and powerful violet fire shot from inside of Herah and out of the pores that covered her skin. The fire then wrapped around her body before exploding outwards, immediately incinerating Moon''s barrier, Moon, his tree, and all of the ashes that they left behind. From this fire, Herah''s body repaired itself, using the flames to regrow her brain, her brain''s surrounding skull, and her arm. Each part coming back scaleless and extremely sensitive.

    Herah opened her eyes and sat up in shock, before laying back down and letting out a groan of pain. Looking at her gauge, the youngling saw that it had filled up to 100%, meaning that her father was saved and that leaving the cathedral would no longer end in death for herself.

    "Ahahahahaha. I''m gonna have to kiss Owen when I see that little fucker again." Herah laughed in joy, tears rolling down the sides of her face. Max soon stood over Herah, tears also rolling down her face at the sight of the Cendreux being alive.

    "Oh shit! I thought you were dead!" Max said, joy also filling her voice.

    "I told you, the only way to kill a Cendruex is by snuffing out the fire in our chest." Herah looked up and saw Jeffery floating just above Max''s head, "Thanks Jeffery, you''re the best."

    The pencil just sent Herah the same image of herself and a dunce cap, followed by a thumbs up. Herah looked back at Max and said,

    "Now let''s get out here before any other Oni arrive," Herah looked back at Jeffery, "Can you carry us? I''m gonna pass out soon from that healing so I''m not a reliable flyer right now."

    Jeffery sent Herah an image of another thumbs up and gestured for Max to put her on them. Max complied, losing her smile in the process. Just as Max got Herah onto Jeffery, Max asked in a voice laced with bits sadness,

    "Jeffery, do you know what Dallas is?"

    The pencil sent Herah an image of herself shaking her head yes.

    "They said yeah. Why the ash are you asking them this?" Herah said, a bit confused by Max''s current behavior.

    "Don''t worry about it Herah." Max jumped onto Jeffery behind Herah, wrapping her arms around the youngling''s back while putting her still burnt face to Herah''s back. The human then asked, "Can you tell me when we get out of the blast radius of a nuke, if you know what that is, that can take out a city like Dallas?"

    Herah got the same response.

    "They said yeah to both, what is up with these questions?"

    Max gave Herah a small, but painfilled smile and somberly said,

    "Herah, I only got my gauge up to ninety percent."

    Herah''s eyes widened inshock,before the youngling hurriedly said,

    "Max, how are-"

    The human in question raised one of her fingers to Herah''s lips, the digit completely black and shushed her with a soothing tone of voice.

    "Herah, you''re falling asleep."

    Herah''s eyelids began to grow heavy, and just before sleep overtook her, the youngling heard Max say with a tone filled with resigned determination,

    "I have a condition to meet."

 Color is Added

    ¡°Uuuhh.¡± Herah groaned out as starlight began to peak through the unbraided hair that blocked her vision.

    ¡°You need variety with the words you use to wake up ashbrain,¡± Alex said with a nonchalant tone, the human being the first thing Herah saw after awakening and shaking her hair from in front of her face. Herah made note that the male twin looked perfectly fine sans the bags under his eyes and was staring at her with an uncaring look.

    Herah then preceded to ignore Alex in favor of looking around, finding herself back in the clearing with the Donneur de Fr¨ºne. This time Herah was laying against one of the trees that sat at the edge of the clearing, with Alex standing before her without his jacket. Looking up at the human, Herah sneered,

    ¡°The ash do you want Alex?¡±

    The human glared down at Herah while answering back with a voice laced in annoyance,

    ¡°Not shit from you certainly.¡±

    Herah rolled her eyes and gained an unamused expression before bluntly asking,

    ¡°Why are you acting like we haven¡¯t spoken to each other before?¡± Herah shook her head before beckoning for Alex with her right hand, ¡°Get on with it already, what the fuck do you want?¡±

    Alex huffed in annoyance before saying,

    ¡°I want to know what happened last night when you and Max went to the Oni base.¡±

    Herah grimaced before rubbing her forehead with her left hand, the feeling of skin on skin reminding her of just how the night before went. Herah brought her arm down from her head and glared at Alex with a snarl.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your sister?¡± Herah asked with hostility before looking around the clearing that was devoid of sentient life sans Alex and herself. ¡°Where is your twin and Owen anyway?¡±

    Alex huffed again before cryptically saying, ¡°All I¡¯m gonna tell you right now is that Max isn¡¯t in the best state of mind and Owen is trying to help her with that, I¡¯ll give you the finer details after I hear what happened.¡±

    Herah raised her brow before mockingly smiling at Alex and asking, ¡°Why isn¡¯t her dearest brother helping her right now then?¡±

    Sneering at Herah, Alex clenched his fist before taking a deep breath and allowed for his expression to settle into a neutral look. Now visibly calm, Alex spoke to Herah with a cold and measured tone.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you after I hear how your night went,¡± The human sat down in front of Herah and gave her a small glare, ¡°Now speak.¡±

    Herah almost retorted with more sass before thinking for a second and deciding against it. While the youngling found enjoyment in graving on the nerves of Alex, her curiosity and slight worry about what was going on with Max caused her to instead began relaying what had happened over the course of the prior night.

    As Herah spoke, the youngling watched as Alex¡¯s expressions and body language changed. Alex listened at first with an impatient tapping of his foot that betrayed the neutral expression on his face, but quickly lost both once Herah began to speak of Moon. When Herah spoke of her and Max¡¯s first encounter with the priest, the human chuckled which Herah responded to with a one finger salute. As Herah spoke about the history lesson that Moon had imparted to her, Alex began to nod attentively and also started tapping his nose. The real reactions started when Herah began to talk about their fight with Moon and the conditions that Norwe had placed on it. By the end of it, Alex was looking absolutely livid with a snarl on his face and his fist clenched so tightly that Herah thought that the human might began to bleed. Instead, Alex spoke to Herah with a serious tone.

    ¡°Your story checks out with what Max told me. Fuck!¡± Alex turned away from Herah, ¡°Do you know what this means?¡±

    Herah had her own question, but decided to answer Alex¡¯s before asking any of her own.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Herah said, a bit confused and miffed by what Alex was saying.

    The human looked up to the sky and cursed once again, before turning back to Herah and saying,

    ¡°It means that avoiding fights are going to be that much harder.¡±

    Herah just blinked in confusion, getting an annoyed sigh from Alex in response.

    ¡°I¡¯m saying that Norwe is likely to force any fights he believes will be entertaining to him, and judging by the punishment of not meeting the conditions he gave you for yours, the cost of failure isn¡¯t something any of us want to pay.¡±

    ¡°Right you are on all accounts, my dear Soothsayer.¡±

    Startling Alex at her sudden rising and turning to the right, Herah growled at Norwe the Sloth. The Maker Sloth was laying on their belly, head down with their arms and legs splayed out as they lay in front of the tree to the right of Herah¡¯s own resting spot. The youngling immediately began to gather fire in her throat, the flames turning green as a few leaked out from her nose.

    ¡°You motherfucking, piece of SHIT!¡± Herah shouted, fire flowing out of her mouth at each word.

    ¡°Herah! Calm yourself!¡± Alex shouted at the youngling, having grabbed her shoulder before turning her to face him.

    Herah, now facing Alex, looked him in the eye with a glare.

    ¡°Ack!¡±

    And immediately afterward, grabbed him by the throat with her left hand.

    ¡°You coward! I can¡¯t believe you have that look on your face at this very momen-¡±

    SHLUK!

    ¡°OW! You son of a bitch!¡±

    Herah reflexively let go of Alex to pull out the kris dagger that had been buried into her wrist, the pain coursing through the youngling¡¯s sensitive nerves causing her to fall to a knee in agony.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe just how quickly you lost your anger and allowed for it to be replaced by fear. Herah gritted out, attempting to rise only for her to slip on some of her blood and land face first on the ground. The youngling, after managing to lift herself up back to a knee, pointed at Norwe the Sloth, the Maker having raised their head to give a lazy smile, ¡°This piece of shit set your sister up to die for their own fucking entertainment, and all you can do is look at him in fear!¡±

    ¡°I fucking know that! That¡¯s why I¡¯m not antagonizing him.¡± Alex growled out at Herah, slight anger towards the youngling tainting his fear towards Norwe.

    ¡°Hey Artist!¡± The Maker sloth called out to Herah with their voice giving clear indication that the sight before them was immensely entertaining. Now on their back while still wearing the same smile from earlier, Norwe the Sloth continued ¡°While I do love the sight of discord, I appeared before you for a reason that doesn¡¯t just have to do with entertaining myself.¡±

    Herah¡¯s nostrils flared as smoke shot out of them, the youngling¡¯s expression becoming a scowl as venom began to pour from her lips.

    ¡°Oh really!? Then why the fu-¡±

    ¡°Herah you¡¯re an idiot.¡± Alex¡¯s voice took on its signature feminine tone as his <u>gift</u> activated.

    ¡°-uuaah.¡± Herah suddenly felt a switch flip in her brain as the curse that was leaving her mouth was suddenly lost to her along with much of her motor functions. Herah fell first onto the grass and drool began to pool around her head.

    ¡°Ahahahahahaha.¡± Norwe the Sloth chuckled to themselves, ¡°Huh. Soothsayer, you and the Artist are honestly some of the funniest parts of this Recompense. This kinda sweetens the reaction I got from your sister when I delivered the news.¡±

    Alex turned to Norwe with a curious look on his face.

    ¡°What did you tell her?¡±

    Norwe chuckled once again before telling Alex,

    ¡°2 million were left dead in your sister¡¯s wake.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­. sorry?¡± Alex responded, disbelief ringing throughout his words.

    While Herah had a hard time understanding everything, the youngling understood that what the furry creature that could destroy everything that was loved by her said was something serious. In response to this information, Herah let out a few unintelligible words.

    ¡°Your sister killed 2 million Oni last night with this gigantic fireball, that afterwards created a radioactive filled mushroom cloud that covered the entirety of the Oni city. Radiation poisoning is sure to take more of them in the coming days. The only reason you guys aren¡¯t currently dealing with the effects is because I was kind enough to keep all the grisly horror and general agony in the Oni city. And your sister, yes your sister Alex, caused all of that just so she could save your life. Yet, you aren¡¯t even trying to help her get through the severe mental trauma that she is going through right now. You¡¯re going to relegate it to my Artist, in fact. All because you feel that it¡¯s your fault that something of this magnitude has happened once again as a result of orders given by you to her.¡±

    Norwe said all of this with a playfully condescending tone, their smile never leaving their face. The Maker Sloth flipped onto their belly and pointed towards the near brain dead Herah. Herah felt the switch flip in her head as information and brain waves began to flow properly again.

    ¡°Uuuhh.¡± Herah rubbed her head a few times before getting on both of her knees and looking towards Norwe the Sloth. The youngling then asked, in a disgruntled tone, ¡°Norwe what are you, what are you talking about?¡±

    The Maker Sloth just chuckled again before clicking its claws together. This caused a stone tablet to puff into the air before falling and hitting Herah¡¯s head. Wincing while picking up the tablet, Herah gave the carving in the stones a brief one over. Quickly understanding what it was, the youngling soon found herself confused as to why it had been given to her.

    ¡°Why the hell are you handing me one of my dad¡¯s old relics?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a reward for not only winning the fight but for also having that ingenious idea to erase your own head. I believe that this will help you in time to come, very close time to come.¡± Norwe responded, sounding proud at Herah.

    The youngling just let out another sigh, threw aside the tablet and asked in annoyance,

    ¡°How is this suppose to help me?¡±

    The Maker Sloth¡¯s smile deepened before they disappeared from sight, leaving an expressionless Alex and an annoyed Herah alone in the clearing.

    After a few seconds of silence, Alex picked up his dagger and nicked Herah right above her brow. Immediately afterward, both the wound in her wrist and the cut above her brow healed. Rising to her feet, Herah glared at Alex once again as the human didn¡¯t even seem to acknowledge her. Alex, only after a few more seconds, lost his expressionless look and let out a deep sigh. Herah noted how it was filled with a lot of loathing, most likely self-loathing. Allowing her eyes to narrow, the youngling asked Alex a question.

    ¡°What was Norwe talking about when they said you were going to ask me to help out with Max?¡±

    Alex let out another breath before finally looking directly at Herah with a look filled with hate, sadness, but most importantly, a bit of respect.

    ¡°Thanks for saving my sister,¡± Alex said, his words coming out twinged with bitterness.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­. sorry?¡± Herah responded, disbelief ringing throughout her words.

    Alex growled at Herah in annoyance before saying, ¡°I¡¯m thanking you for saving the life of my sister twice. One when you lost your arm, and two when you saved her from a fall in lava.¡±

    Herah gave the human a weird look before cautiously saying, ¡°I did say I would protect her.¡±

    Alex sighed and rubbed his head in annoyance, ¡°Yes, but I honestly didn¡¯t believe you¡¯d be of any help. I thought Max would have the good sense to just leave you outside while she did her thing inside their base.¡± Alex paused and looked away for a moment, before saying under his breath, ¡°I¡¯m glad I was wrong.¡±

    Alex looked back at Herah and began to speak once again. This time his voice was much stronger and filled with the respect reflected in his expression.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°Herah you have earned a bit, let me make it specific, just a bit, of my respect and thanks, for not only saving my sister but for not taking the easy way out and attempting to kill her. It is thanks to this that I feel just comfortable enough to order you to help her through her current ordeal.¡±

    Herah glared at Alex and distrustfully said, ¡°Why the fuck are you ordering me to help your sister?¡± Herah¡¯s eyes narrowed as the youngling accusingly asked, ¡°Is what Norewe said true? Do you really feel guilty about what your sister did?¡±

    Alex glared at Herah before taking another deep breath and saying with a bit of frustration, ¡°That¡¯s partly the reason, but there is another one that is a bit more problematic.¡±

    ¡°Oh really, what?¡± Herah asked, not at all believing what Alex was saying.

    ¡°Sis won¡¯t consider a word I say anything less than just talk.¡± Alex let out another sigh, ¡°Immediately after telling me what I needed to know to not kill you, since she showed up nearly naked and covered in burns with you not looking too worse for wear, she let me heal her then preceded to cry herself to sleep. I spent the rest of the night watching her as she cried silent tears in her sleep, offering what physical comfort I could. Not too long before you woke up, sis arose and darted off to where she and Owen buried the Oni you and I kill yesterday. Owen followed soon afterward hoping to help her out.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t sound too confident in our resident smith.¡±

    Alex allowed another sigh to leave him, before speaking with a tired tone of voice.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m not. Sis isn¡¯t too bothered by killing someone when she feels that it was their choice to attack her, but if she believes that they either didn¡¯t have much of a choice or that they aren¡¯t really deserving of death, she will try to avoid taking lives. If she does kill someone who fits the latter criteria, it tends to weigh on her.¡±

    ¡°What does this have to do with Owen not helping?¡± Herah asked, sounding impatient.

    Alex grunted in annoyance before saying, ¡°Sis felt that the Oni she killed were undeserving of the death that they got, and knowing the number of dead will only increase her inner anguish. The last time something like this happened, the only person that was able to get her to listen to them was the one who was there with her when it happened. Plus, once Owen learns what she did he won¡¯t be any help at all, and even if he can get passed that, sis will just lie to him. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you, you were there when she was given the second condition and were also there when she went through with it. You¡¯re the best shot I have at getting my sister to level at which she can deal with what she did on her own.¡±

    Alex stepped back from Herah and bowed to her, his next words coming out with obvious effort.

    ¡°So I beg of you, yes I beg, please help my sister?¡±

    Herah stared at Alex in shock for a few moments, the sight before her leaving her greatly confused. That was until a realization hit her.

    ¡°Your sister must be the world to you, huh?¡± Herah asked, her voice having softened and her tone carrying a sense of understanding to it.

    Alex looked up to Herah, his eyes set in a grim stare as words filled with conviction left his mouth.

    ¡°She¡¯s all I got, and just like you would for La Flamme, I would damn an entire race if it meant keeping her. Without a moment of hesitation.¡±

    Herah couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at this, getting a raised brow from Alex in response. The youngling quickly answered his unspoken question.

    ¡°I just find it funny how me and you are probably not the greatest examples of our species. I mean we have some really skewed moral compasses by the sounds of what you just said.¡±

    Alex brought himself into an upright position, a small smile on his face as a knowing response emerged from his mouth.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s more that we completely disregard morality when it doesn¡¯t suit us. You know, between the four of us, five if we include Jeffery-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t, this isn¡¯t their Recompense.¡±

    ¡°Four of us it is. Between the four of us, you and I are the most capable with dealing with all of the issues that come with what will most likely be required of us to succeed in this Recompense. After all, if either you or I had did what Max had, we¡¯d be bothered for all of a minute before moving on as if it wasn¡¯t a problem.¡±

    Herah nodded along to this and said, ¡°True enough.¡±

    Alex lost his smile and looked away towards where Max most likely headed off.

    ¡°But if Max has to do something like that again, her spirit and will will most definitely break.¡± Alex took a deep breath, ¡°You and Max saw a bit of it, but I talked a bit with Owen while you two were gone, and we came up with a plan to deal with whatever was left of the Oni after you and Max hit them.¡±

    Alex allowed a small smirk to come to his face.

    ¡°The little shit is a bit of a smartass, but underneath all of that, he is a really chill guy who wants to just help out where he can. We hit the topic of his smithing, and he told me how while he¡¯s great at creating weapons, he¡¯s more focused on creating tools of defense, things that can protect. He finds the thought of killing and harming others so uncompelling and scaring, that he rarely creates actual weapons.¡±

    Alex¡¯s smirk transformed into a pleasant smile.

    ¡°He might be way older than me, but I feel that I¡¯m talking to a kind and innocent kid whenever we speak. Doing anything close to what Max just did would destroy him.¡±

    Alex turned back to Herah and smiled at her again, getting a fang-filled grin in return. The human then stook out his hand and said,

    ¡°So now I ask you for something else. I ask you this because I know that you consider those two your friends, and I hope that you care enough about each of them to accept my request. Will you help me in keeping those two whole throughout this hell we¡¯re going to be put through? Will you bear the sins alongside me that we¡¯ll have to take on to make it out alive?¡±

    Herah looked down at Alex¡¯s hand before allowing a wholehearted laugh to leave her mouth and fill the clearing.

    ¡°It¡¯s weird that I feel we¡¯ve managed to bond over our own mutual terribleness.¡±

    Alex waved his hand while smiling at Herah and said, ¡°Annhh. Morality is perspective anyway.¡±

    The youngling giggled at this before looking at Alex¡¯s outstretched hand once again. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Herah took his hand with her own and shook it before answering every single question that Alex asked her with a single response.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±

    Max a menlogen a?u Alex

    Owen adjusted his tunic and hat in a nervous attempt to ready himself for a sight that he knew would definitely leave him upset. The gnome was standing behind a tree at the edge of a clearing that Max and himself had created to bury the Oni that Herah and Alex had killed. He was right behind one of the trees that bordered the clearing and hadn¡¯t seen what Max was doing but he could sure hear it. After a few deep breaths and slaps to his face, Owen marched out from behind the tree intent on helping Max, only to pause at the sorry sight that greeted him.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for my selfishness! I¡¯m so sorry that I killed so many of your people! They didn¡¯t deserve it! I¡¯m so sorry that I chose my brother over all of you! I¡¯m so sorry! I¡¯m so sorry! I¡¯m so sorry! I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Max shouted as she sobbed on her knees before the makeshift graves of the four Oni that had attacked Owen and Herah the day before.

    Max had her back to the saddened gnome, but he knew the only thing she wore was her trench coat, the original one that had been left before her mission. The sobbing brunette¡¯s hair had grown back after the quick stab from her brother¡¯s other knife, along with removing her wounds, so now it hung around her in an unruly and wild state.

    Before Max there sat four graves with a silver sword buried where each lay being the only sign of their presence. It was what Owen¡¯s people did for their dead when they died, except they would normally also have the name of the deceased carved into them, unlike the ones that sat before him now.

    Owen approached Max without her noticing, her sobs of pain and regret masking his slow approach. After getting to the point in which he stood right next to her, Owen got down and placed a hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°Max?¡± The gnome asked, worry and pity filling his voice.

    The human¡¯s sobs came to an abrupt stop. Shortly afterward, Max raised her bloodshot, teary, and exhausted looking face towards Owen.

    ¡°What do you, sniff, want?¡± Max asked, clearly not wanting to talk with him at the very moment.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t looking too good and I thought that you might need some company to talk with.¡± Owen responded, awkwardly shifting in his stance.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t need your company so leave,¡± Max¡¯s ire-filled voice suddenly switched to a sadden tone, ¡°Please.¡±

    Owen nervously smiled at Max and began to speak.

    ¡°I kn-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±

    Owen blinked in surprise at Max¡¯s abrupt cutting off of his sentence. Looking at the human, he found himself even more surprised when he noticed the glare and sneer that was on her face.

    ¡°Umm. Max, why are you looking at me like that?¡± Owen asked, not too sure on how to respond to the current expression on Max¡¯s face.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you like this because you were about to say something very stupid,¡± Max responded harshly with barely restrained anger overtaking her previous emotions.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Max let out an uncharacteristic snarl as she rose to her full height and lifted Owen by the collar of hisblue tunic, the gnome letting out a surprised yelp in response to this. The girl then brought his pudgy, scared face up to meet hers and said,

    ¡°You were about to say you ¡°know¡± how I feel.¡± Max dropped Owen unceremoniously and threw her hands into the air, before continuing with faux happiness, ¡°Which is accurate! You know how I feel, but,¡± Max bowed down to Owen, and brought her left hand up to his face while rubbing her thumb and middle finger together, ¡°There is a very teeny problem you¡¯re not addressing.¡± Max rose to her full height once again, her trench coat just barely covering her decency, and then yelled at Owen,

    ¡°YOU DON¡¯T UNDERSTAND!¡±

    Owen raised both of his hands while slowly backing away from Max and said, ¡°Max calm down.¡±

    The human shrieked in a blend of fury and pain before pointing at Owen and shouting,

    ¡°NO! You don¡¯t understand, I killed 2 million Oni with a nuke. I murdered 4/5 of their population just with the initial strike alone. Only Norwe knows how many will die from the severe radiation and injuries that I caused them.¡±

    Max¡¯s words threw Owen off completely since he had no idea that this was what had happened. The only knowledge the gnome had held when coming to Max was that she was in pain and that someone needed to help her out. But with what Owen heard coming from Max, he felt his phobia creep up again. His breaths became raspy, his thoughts became frantic, and he broke out in a full sweat.

    ¡°Th- That fireba- ball I saw last night. Th- That was yo- your doing?¡± Owen asked, his voice beginning to break into a stutter as fear continued to overtake him.

    Max smiled painfully at the gnome and said, with tears rolling down her eyes, ¡°Yeah. That was me.¡± Max pointed to herself.

    Owen just trembled before the human then asked a single worded question in a voice drenched with disbelief.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Max sucked in her lips while shaking her head with sorrow. She then gave her reply.

    ¡°For Alex. Because if I didn¡¯t drop that bomb, my brother would¡¯ve been erased from existence and even his memory would be lost to me. And I know that being like this,¡± Max gestured towards herself, ¡°Hurts him so much. But I can¡¯t help it.¡±

    Max looked at Owen with her green regret-filled eyes and continued with the same pained smile from earlier with a mockingly depressing tone.

    ¡°And it gets worse.¡±

    Owen just shook his head and meekly asked, ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°These Oni aren¡¯t just zealots who obey every whim and order of their god no matter the subject. They aren¡¯t just some wild band of monsters that are blindly obedient to some fucked up god, like bro rationalized to me and you when were making our plan. The Oni are a race of beings just trying to not die.¡±

    Max pointed at the swords that were to her left, ¡°For centuries, they¡¯ve been fighting to not be wiped from the face of this planet. The Oni have been fighting to atone for mistakes just a few of them made, and destroying that tree was the last thing they needed to do to survive. To begin prospering once again.¡±

    Max pointed towards herself, ¡°And I¡¯m the one who has pretty much snatched away any chance for them to survive. Thanks to me, only 1/5, and that number is sure to get smaller, of the Oni are even able to attempt taking us on.¡±

    With that, Owen fell to his butt and just looked down in complete and total surprise, shock, and guilt.

    ¡°Oh Norwe,¡± Owen looked back up at Max, ¡°What have you done?¡±

    Max bent her knees until she was at the same height as Owen, the gnome paralyzed in a whirlwind of emotions, and grimly stated,

    ¡°I. Robbed. An. Entire. Species. Of. Their. Future.¡±

    With those words, Max rose back to her full height and brought her hands to her face.

    ¡°Shit. This is way worse than what happened in Dallas.¡± The human said under her breath.

    This shook Owen from his stupor and caused for him to look up to Max in morbid curiosity.

    ¡°Wh- What happ- happened in Dallas?¡± Owen once again meekly asked.

    Max turned back to Owen, nearly telling him exactly what he asked for, but stopped once her eyes settled on him. Owen watched in silence as a realization hit Max¡¯s eyes, and she put a hand to her mouth in shock and shame. The human began to hurriedly apologize to the gnome.

    ¡°Owen! I¡¯m so- I¡¯m so sorry for that. I completely forgot about your thantophobia.¡± Max started smacking her head with her right hand, ¡°Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!¡±

    Max bent her knees again, this time with the look of kindness and joy that normally was on her face and said,

    ¡°You¡¯re not bothered by anything I say Owen.¡±

    And just like that, Owen was fine. He blinked owlishly at Max a few times, surprised by both what happened to him and the expression she bore that looked so authentic but was definitely fake.

    Maybe.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Owen asked in confusion, rising to his feet as he did so. ¡°You no longer look bothered.¡±

    Max smiled at Owen then pet him on his head while saying, ¡°Venting like that just really helped. Thanks for listening, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten over it without you.¡±

    ¡°Really? Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Owen asked, his surprise and doubt showing very clearly.

    Max just smiled at Owen before spinning in a circle with her arms spread out, which caused for her trench coat to fly open and for her to fully flash Owen. Noticing this almost immediately, Max stopped and pulled her coat tight in embarrassment. Giving the gnome an apologetic laugh, Max smiled at Owen and offered up a quick apology.

    Blushing back at Max, Owen smiled and said, ¡°No problem, I¡¯m just glad that you were able to feel better and calm down. We should head back.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Max said, sounding peppy and relaxed.

    Believing that the problem was solved, Owen turned around and began to walk out of the clearing with Max following closely behind. But just before the pair could leave, Herah emerged from the forestry and gave them both a fang-filled smile.

    The youngling looked a lot different without her hair was in a braid, with it spreading out covering much of her face, and her horns missing. Her face also no longer had the shiny top part that was a show of the scales that were normally present there. Her arms now no longer matched up since one didn¡¯t have that scale shine that other had. Other than all of this Herah looked the same, and Owen was happy for that. He had been a bit worried when she came back the night before passed out and looking exhausted, so now that she looked better another of his fears had been rested.

    ¡°Hey Owen. Hey Max.¡± She said, waving at both of them.

    Owen waved back at Herah before bounding up to her and saying,

    ¡°Well no need to worry about Max anymore, she just needed to vent for a bit.¡±

    Herah smiled even harder, though Owen noticed that she seemed to lose some of her happiness as she did that.

    ¡°Are you okay Herah? You don¡¯t look too happy.¡± Owen asked, a bit of worry popping up.

    Herah bent her knees till she was eye to eye with Owen, and gave him a quick peck on the lips before her smile became a bit more relaxed and she said,

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine Owen, and that kiss was for the piece of platinum. Thanks to you I could save my father and myself. Now why don¡¯t you head back to Alex, I want to talk to Max about the Moon I saw last night as we flew towards the Oni base.¡±

    Owen saw through Herah¡¯s lie instantly, so he looked at Max and got a thumbs up. Seeing that, Owen decided that whatever they wanted to talk about was something just between the two of them and walked out of the clearing towards where Alex was. The entire walk back the gnome was happy and unbothered by Max¡¯s earlier words.

    Max eist tort

    Herah listened until sure that Owen was out of earshot before turning to Max and glaring.

    ¡°What did you do to him?¡± Herah asked accusingly.

    Max smiled at the youngling and said, ¡°I had forgotten about his phobia, so I used a <u>fib</u> to make him not be bothered by my words. When he mentions it to bro it¡¯ll fade. Was that what you really wanted to talk about?¡±

    Herah keenly studied Max for a few moments before nodding to herself. Max took this as confirmation of her question and began to walk out of the clearing. The human soon found her progress halted, however, by Herah when the youngling stuck her arm out into Max¡¯s path.

    ¡°Yeah, Herah?¡± The human asked in surprise with a raised brow.

    In response, Herah turned to face Max with a smile and look that silently told the human this:

    Max had been caught in her lie.

    The next words to leave Herah¡¯s mouth only reinforced this, her laid-back delivery not even hiding their purpose.

    ¡°Max let¡¯s have a talk, you can braid my hair.¡±

 Laminating the Illustration

    For five minutes, Herah and Max sat in silence as the human braided the youngling¡¯s hair with the only real sound of notice heard being the scribble ofHerah¡¯spencil on her sketchpad. Jeffery was laying inHerah¡¯slap, their creator rubbing their spine with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding the pencil. Herah herself was chewing on her bottom lip, not paying any real attention to her drawing. Max was whistling to herself a merry tune, her earlier grief now seemingly gone.

    On the surface level, anyway.

    ¡°So, how long have you been awake?¡± Max asked as her fingers danced throughHerah¡¯sred locks, taking great care with each strand of hair that flowed through her fingertips.

    Herah stopped chewing on her lip and looked up from her drawing and towards the sky, noting that the planet¡¯s redstar was not too far from where it should¡¯ve risen in the south. Looking back down at her sketchpad, the youngling provided areply.

    ¡°Dammit, I wish your problem was something I could physically interact with, then I¡¯d just kick its ass and be done with this. I really don¡¯t want to be blunt right now, it might just make my job harder.¡± Herah told Max, her expression crinkling up in annoyance.

    Max paused in her braiding to give Herah a confused stare.

    ¡°Herah I asked how long you¡¯ve beenawake.¡± Max spoke in an amusement.

    Herah¡¯snostrils flared as twin puffs of smoke shot from them before rolling her eyes, and irritably responding,

    ¡°Two hours Max, that¡¯s how long I¡¯ve been awake.¡± The youngling then turned to face her human friend with a curious/annoyed look before deciding to ask her own question.

    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Just makingsmaaalltalk,¡± Max responded playfully while smiling at Herah innocently.

    Seeing Max¡¯s look,Herah¡¯sleft eye twitched before the youngling just threw both her hands into the air (which was immediately followed by a barrage of images from Jeffery making their anger very clear) and exasperatedly stated,

    ¡°Fuck it. I¡¯m just gonna do me.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong lava tits?¡± Max asked with a worried smile and tilt of her head.

    ¡°That fucking smile for one! It seems pretty authentic but I can¡¯t see it as genuine!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about lava tits?¡± Max with the same worried smile and her head still tilted.

    ¡°Stop.¡± Herah spoke with curt andangrily, twin puffs of smoke shooting from her nose in irritation.

    ¡°Stop what, with the nickname?¡± Max asked, now speaking with a combination of confusion and embarrassment, her head having tilted as her face contorted in confusion as well.

    ¡°Stoplying.¡± Herah responded with the same tone from before, her glare deepening and causing Max to flinch slightly.

    ¡°What are you talking about, I haven¡¯t spoken a single lie to you.¡± Max was now just sounding immensely confused, her still confused expression in addition to her slight fidgeting withHerah¡¯shair showing no visible deceit.

    ¡°I meant lying with your body, your tone, your expressions.¡±Herah¡¯sspeech grew steadily louder as her anger grew, causing her to lean towards Max until just a few inches were between their faces. ¡°You¡¯re acting like you aren¡¯t at all bothered by what you did last night, when not ten minutes ago you were balling your eyes out about it!¡±

    ¡°Lava tits, I¡¯m perfectly fine.¡± Max said, backing up while raising up both of her hands with a smile on her face, ¡°After talking with-¡±

    SMACK!

    Max reached up to her reddening cheek, complete and utter surprise upon her face. Herah herself still looked pissed but had to hold back a wince as pain spread throughout the palm of her left hand.

    ¡°What the fuck Herah?¡± Max mutely asked, her mouth now slightly agape and her eyes wide.

    ¡°You just lied tome.¡± Herah spoke back, her voice had returned to its curt and angry tone from before as her glare deepened.

    ¡°Come on,¡± Max opened her arms up wide and used her hands to point towards herself, ¡°Look at me lava tits, do I give any indication that I¡¯m anything but a bit irritated?¡± Max asked, her smile having gained a slight grimace with an annoyed twitch in her eye ascompany.

    Herah continued to glare at Max in silence for a few moments before bluntly asking,

    ¡°One of the passives of your gift is to make your lies indiscernible from the truth, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Max just smiled at Herah for but a few moments before turning away from the angry Cendruex and looking towards where her brotherresidedwith a frown.

    ¡°Bro told you this, didn¡¯t he?¡± Max asked in a disgruntled tone with her left fist clenching tightly, before continuing sounding immensely betrayed, ¡°Sometimes I hate the fact he cares about me so much, his lips tend to loosen when my well-being is involved.¡±

    ¡°Your brother mentioned nothing about your<u>gift</u>,¡± Max turned back to Herah in surprise, ¡°I just figured that all<u>gifts</u>came with passive abilities sense both his and mine have their owns.¡±

    ¡°You know bros passive ability?¡± Max disbelieving asked Herah.

    Herah nodded with her lips set in a thin line before saying, ¡°It¡¯s not too hard to figuresinceyour brother pretty much told me when we first met. ¡°Just know that I¡¯ll know when you¡¯re lying to me.¡± It doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure that one of Alex¡¯s passives is to discern whether or not what someone says is the truth, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Max shook her head yes before cautiously asking with a slightly abashed look, ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡±

    Herah gave Max a brief one over, her stare critical and deep. It was almost as if the youngling was attempting to stare into Max¡¯s soul. After a few seconds of this, Herah loosened her glare and allowed for it to become just a stare before saying in a plain and simple tone,

    ¡± 2.3e+28 protons and electrons make up your body and 1.8e+28 neutrons make up your body.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Max blinked owlishly at her scarlet colored friend.

    ¡°One of my passive abilities allow for me to discern what makes up anything I view down to the subatomic level utilizing all of my senses.¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡± Was all Max said in response, still blinking and letting her jaw hang just a bit with what Herah assumed to be genuine awe coming from the human.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty neat,¡± Herah said, clearly not feeling Max¡¯s awe, ¡°And it¡¯s thanks to this passive ability and a<u>gift</u>from your brother that I was able to pick up on your lie.¡±

    ¡°What gift are you talking about?¡± Max asked her now sounding quite curious.

    Herah merely raised her left hand as if offering it to the human, and soon afterward a ball of light floated up from within it and hovered just above the palm of her hand.

    ¡°Your brother<u>gifted</u>me with one of his light orbs from the Brigade of Enlightenment, this one is the one named Dope. Though I wasn¡¯t told for what purpose, I now figure that it was to deal with your passive ability.¡±

    ¡°So it made you see through my lie immediately, huh?¡± Max didn¡¯t sound too happy about the information that was just given to her, infact,the human sounded a bit scared by what Herah had just said, which surprised the youngling.

    ¡®Guess they don¡¯t share shit like that with each other. Wonder why that¡¯s such a scary thought to her.¡¯

    Herah shook her head no and said, ¡°Nope, they seem tojust cancel each other out. I wouldn¡¯t have noticed if I wasn¡¯t specifically looking for something being wrong or off inside your body and even then I could only pick it up due to my particular<u>gift</u>.¡±

    Hearing this Max breathed out a sigh of relief, before whispering to herself, ¡°Then I still got time.¡±

    Filing away those words for later, Herah began speaking to Max again.

    ¡°Now that you know that, it should be rather clear that I¡¯ll see through every lie you try to pull over me. Uuh, I¡¯m gonna have totellAlex thanks for that now.¡±

    Herah took the orb back into herself just as Max rose from her position on her knees. The youngling then watched in total silence as Max walked to the edge of the clearing and leaned her head against one of the outlining trees with a look twinged with jealousy.

    ¡°Ahahahahaha!¡±

    Herah frowned at the sight and sound of Max¡¯s bitter laughter against the tree, but still spoke not a word. After about a minute, Max finally got control of her laughter and turned back to the still seated Herah. Seeing the youngling¡¯s frown, Max provided an answer to the unspoken question.

    ¡°I just find it funny how all it took to get you and my brother all buddy-buddy,¡± Max spat the last words out with venom, ¡°Was me killing 2 million innocent people.¡±

    ¡°It took you killing two million people and feeling absolutely terrible about it actually.¡± This got Herah a flinchthena glare from Max that the youngling matched with her own before continuing,¡± Plus there is no friendship between your brother andI, ash, I know for sure neither of us likes the other. We just have a better understanding and a bit more respect for each other now.¡±

    ¡°So what, you¡¯re attempting to help me because you¡¯ve reached an understanding with my brother?¡± Max asked with snarkiness, hersmile justas snarky. Which got a slight twitch from theHerah¡¯seye.

    ¡°Alex also ordered me to help you.¡± Herah bluntly stated, her expression resuming its plain stare from before.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s evenbetter.¡± Max said, her smile turning into a frown atHerah¡¯swords.

    ¡°Of course neither of those reasons are primarily why I want to help you, just additions to give me even more incentive.¡±

    Max gave the straight-faced Herah her own glare before stepping away from her tree and distrustfully asking, ¡°Then why? Why doyouwant to helpme?¡±

    Herah looked down at Jeffery (the pencil had been giving her a tirade of images that continued to show their displeasure throughout her conversation with Max) and mentally told them to go bother Alex. When askedwhy,Herah had a simple response.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re both assholes, now go make shit together.¡±

    Luckily for Herah, Jeffery remembered that their creator had recently got out of a hairy fight so they just erased the top of her right pinky before disappearing with a burst of speed.

    Setting aside her sketchpad and pencil, Herah watched as a small flame appeared on the top of her pinky and burned until the digit was back toit¡¯snormal state. Herah then rose to her feet and turned to Max, breathing out a ring of fire that bound herstill unfinishedbraid in place. With that done, Herah shoved both of her hands into her pants pockets and returned her attention to Max. The human stood up straight with her hands at her hips, an untrusting look on her face, and still only a trench coat covering her modesty.

    ¡°Max, I¡¯m goingtobe frank.¡± Herah said still going on in her blunt voice, ¡°I owe you a great debt, and both my parents and mistress teach that the greater the debt the greater the repayment owed.¡± Herah walked up to Max before kneeling before the surprised human and said with a voice filled with thankfulness, ¡°Not only were you instrumental in saving my own life, but you are also the reason why I still have my father.¡± Herah then rose to her full height and slapped her arms down to her side and her legs together, making her body as straight as possible with a look ofupmostseriousness on her face.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°What are you-¡± Max began but stopped once Herah breathed out a wisp lantern, reached out with her right hand and crushed it, and then slammed her fist into her chest. This caused a shroud of blue flames to engulf her.Herah¡¯stone became loud and proud as her next words were spoken.

    ¡°As both a devote follower of La Flamme and the child of Orange and Rouge Hej, I plan to repay this debt by helping you with your grief.AnywayI can.¡±

    Max opened her mouth a response on the tip of her tongue but then paused with a thoughtful look on her face. The human then began running her hand through her hair while mumbling to herself. After a few seconds of this, Max snapped her fingers and looked back at Herah.

    ¡°So you want to repay your debt, correct?¡± Max asked sounding surprisingly cheerful while looking up at Herah with a lecherous smile.

    ¡°Yeah, and what¡¯s up with thatlook? It¡¯s just like my mother¡¯s after a successful date with my father.¡± Herah said while leaning back a bit with a slightly disturbed look, her flame shroudhavingnow dissipated.

    ¡°Lava tits, let me be honest here. You¡¯re not the best person to try and talk with me about this. Both you and I know that you¡¯re rather out of depth on this subject.¡± Max said to Herah, a bit of an apologetic look on her face.

    ¡°Yeah you¡¯re right,¡± Herah said somberly, a small frown forming as a sigh left her lips. The youngling then pointed towards her sketch pad and said, ¡°That was the main reason I grabbed my sketch pad in the first place, drawing helps me think of new ideas.¡±

    ¡°Well wipe that frown from your face and think no longer, because I already know how you can repay your debt to me.¡± Max cheerfully told Herah, causing the youngling to look at her in surprise.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yep, and it¡¯s very action based. Hell, the only words you¡¯ll have to say is my name,¡± Then Max raised her left hand and turned in from side to side, before quickly adding ¡°And maybe a few oh my gods.¡±

    ¡°And this will help you?¡± Herah asked, giving Max a stern glare.

    ¡°Not only will it help me, but it¡¯ll help all of us in our merry little band. Plus, it will be a very enjoyable experience for the two of us.¡± Max answered, her body just shaking in giddiness.

    ¡°Well if the thought of it seems to make you feel better, the actual thing must be great.¡± Herah said, before giving Max her own small smile and asking, ¡°So, what do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°I want you to sleep with me.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­.I¡¯m sorry?¡± Herah asked disbelievingly while giving Max a confused stare. Seeing the youngling¡¯s expression, Max let out a sigh and shook her head while facepalming. The human then looked back at Herah and tiredly said,

    ¡°Ok, I guess that term only has its literal meaning where you come from. What I meant was-¡±

    ¡°I KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU MEAN!¡± Herah shouted at Max, causing to human to jump back in surprise. The youngling looked now extremely pissed, with her left eye twitching in irritation and a snarl on her face. Herah then took in a few deep breaths before allowing for her expression to settle in a mildly irritated state. Herah then glared at Max while biting her lip, before speaking with clear ire and annoyance.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a bit,uuh, confused on how, umm, FUCKING YOU will help any of us!¡±

    Max put a bit more distance between her and Herah while giving the Cendruex a pained and scared smile with both of her hands raised to placate Herah, any and all traces of her earlier happiness now gone. The human quickly and nervously spoke,

    ¡°Well you see, the way this helps us is that one, you get a pretty great lay if I do say so myself.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±

    Max nodded okay at this, backing up a bit more as Herah began to advance on her with a glare. This caused for Max to give an even quicker reply.

    ¡°It¡¯ll make me less of a liability.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Herah asked with a growl, having now backed a frightened Max into the tree that was recently used to rest her head. Max looked up at the angry Cendruex with a sad smile before meekly saying,

    ¡°As of right now, I¡¯m severely limited in the use of my<u>fibs</u>.¡±

    Herah blinked at Max in surprise before angrily asking, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Instead of replying, Max looked down and away from Herah. The youngling growled at this before slamming her right fist into the red-wooded tree right above Max¡¯s head, her fist creating a hole not too much larger than itself. Still, Max just flinched and continued to look down. Grabbing the human by her chin with her left hand and lifting it up, Herah leaned down onto her nose and Max¡¯s met. Emerald met green, one pair of eyes filled with anger, the other filled with shame and fear.

    ¡°What. Do. You. Mean?¡±

    After a few seconds of no response from the human, Herah let out a sigh and let go of Max¡¯s chin. The youngling then turned around and began to walk away from the human towards her sketch pad and pencil. After picking both objects up, Herah turned to Max with a plain and stony expression and began to speak in a blunt cold tone.

    ¡°Max, I want to make this clear to you. I want to help you not just because I owe you a debt, but because I consider you my friend. And at this very moment, I only have three. But I can¡¯t help you right now oreverif you won¡¯t tell me what¡¯s wrong. Until you can do that, I¡¯m going to go sit in our clearing and think of some other ways to help you.¡±

    Herah then began to walk towards Max, who had put her head down once again. The youngling passed by her human friend in total silence, the soft treading of her bare feet through the grass being the only sound heard. Passing the newly damaged tree, Herah paused for a moment to look back at Max.

    The human in question just stood still with her back to Herah, her trench coat hiding her naked body and her hair still in its frayed state. Standing still for a second more, Herah soon heard and saw silent tears hit the ground in front of Max. But not a word emerged from the human, so Herah turned away and continued on.

    ¡°Herah wait.¡±

    The youngling paused midstep before turning back to face Max, who was already facing her. The human was still looking down slightly with Herah only able to see the twin tracks of tears rolling down her face, the nervous nibbling of her top lip, and Max¡¯s droopy hair. Lifting her head up fully, Max looked at Herah with slightly reddened eyes that looked absolutely begging.

    ¡°What Max?¡± Herah asked, still sounding cold and blunt.

    ¡°I want your help. I can fake being happy and cheerful and unbothered all I want, but it won¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯m not.¡± Max rubbed her eyes while giving a quick sniff before continuing, ¡°I need some help, and right now you¡¯re the best I got. So please stay and I¡¯ll fill you in so you know what my problem is. But,¡± Max looked away from Herah with a grimace before quickly looking back at the youngling, ¡°There is one thing I need you to do before I say a word.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I need you to promise me that you won¡¯t tell my brother a word of what I tell you unless I tell you it¡¯s okay. That¡¯s all I ask.¡±

    Herah looked back up at the sky, noting that not a lot of time had passed before looking back at Max. With twin puffs of smoke leafing her nose, Herah walked back up to Max and crouched until at her height. Leaning her head against Max¡¯s, Herah breathed out a sliver of violet fire that flew around her head twice then back into her mouth before flying down into her lungs and finally stopping at the flame that birthed it. Herah then softly whispered something to Max.

    ¡°A la flamme qui br?le dans ma poitrine, je te jure. Je jure le silence de vos paroles ¨¤ moins que vous ne les accordiez vous-m¨ºme.¡±

    Herah then gave a small gentle nip to Max¡¯s nose drawing blood and a mild wince from the human, before swallowing the blood and completing her contract. Rising back up to her full height and backing up a bit, Herah looked at Max¡¯s agape mouth and wide eyes with a small smile and chuckle that caused Max to shake her head to rid herself of her shock.

    ¡°What- What was that?¡± Max asked, looking down slightly while also raising a hand to rub the small scar that had appeared in the wake of Herah nipping her nose.

    ¡°Me making the promise you asked ofme.¡± Herah replied as if it was just a simple action.

    ¡°You¡¯re- Not going to ask any questions?¡± Max asked, now looking up at Herah while making eye contact.

    ¡°You obviously don¡¯t share everything with your brother and him with you. So I¡¯m perfectly willing to not tell him anything you don¡¯t want me to.¡± Herah then gave Max a small grin, ¡°Plus my personal pettiness also makes me want to have something shared to me by Alex¡¯s sister that isn¡¯t even known by him.¡±

    This solicited a chuckle from Max, who now had a small smile on her face.

    ¡°Thank you Herah.¡±

    Max then sat down cross-legged right next to damaged tree from earlier and patted the ground in front of her. Getting the message, Herah sat down with her legs crossed as well. Except onlyHerah¡¯sleft leg was fully touching the grass-coveredground while her right sat above it with only its foot on the ground, and both legs were bent at the knee.

    With both now sitting and ready to talk, Max asked Herah one final question.

    ¡°Are you ready to listen?¡±

    And Herah responded with a small smile and a wink before saying,

    ¡°Only if you¡¯re ready to talk.¡±

    Max took a deep breath and then let it out. Then Max took another deep breath and let it out. The human then repeated this process five more times before finally speaking.

    ¡°Ok so first I¡¯ll start this off by saying one thing. The whole me not considering the words of someone who wasn¡¯t with me when I did something anything less than talk is bullshit that I¡¯ve led bro into believing for years now.¡±

    Hearing this, Herah gave Max a surprised look and open her mouth to ask about it, but Max was already providing an answer.

    ¡°My reasoning for it is because the actual reason I never spoke with bro about Dallas would¡¯ve broken his heart and I knew it.¡± Max sighed and looked away for a moment before turning back to Herah and saying, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the reasoning when I get to the situation involving it. Right now I have a question for you, is that cool?¡±

    Herah held back her own question and waved Max off saying, ¡°Of course, ask away.¡±

    Nodding at this Max looked down for a moment then back up at Herah and asked, ¡°Does your gift come with any limits or price you have to pay when using it or if you overuse it and if it does can you tell me?¡±

    Herah nodded yes before responding with, ¡°Yeah. Whenever I use<u>Traduire</u>, depending on what I make, what it¡¯s made with, and how detailed what I make is I lose a bit of myself. If what I makeison my sketch pad, there isverylittle cost to me no matter the creation. I usually just lose all the saliva in my mouth for some reason. However if what I use to create my art isn¡¯t reallyharmonious or if what I create has a large scale effect, parts of myself will begin turning intopaint.¡±

    Herah tapped her left arm with her right, which caused Max to flinch.

    ¡°That was what happened to my disembodied arm in the cathedral. After creating those exploding hands and those goggles, a good portion of the arm had been converted intopaintwhile the rest got washed away in the lava wave of yours. Good idea by the way.¡±

    Max gave Herah a thankful smile and a nod before speaking once again.

    ¡°Well, my gift and I¡¯m pretty surebro¡¯sdidn¡¯t come with any sort of limit when our old ones got replaced.¡±

    This made Herah give Max another surprised look before it quickly turned into a questioning stare.

    ¡°What do you mean, when your old ones got replaced? You talk as if you had a different gift before.¡±

    Max nodded yes to this before rubbing her arm and saying,

    ¡°Originally my brother and I had two gifts each, I couldbreathlife into anything and create illusions while bro could control and condense light while also being able to reduce anything to its most basic form. These gifts had their own limits and for the many years that we grew up in our homeorphanagewe got into alotbullshit and trouble because of them. We had our own little crew with bro, me, Artemis,¡± Max said the name with a bit of an uncharacteristic harshness, ¡°And the two other guys Abigail and Sarah. Man, we were some little bastards.¡±

    Max chuckled to herself and made a wistful smile. Herah, believing the human to be recalling fond memories, said nothing allowing for the two to sit in silence for a few moments. When the few moments were up, Max got right back to talking now sounding a bit sadder than before.

    ¡°Anyway, one day Abigail had this bright idea. You see, he had a gift he called Synergize that allowed for him to merge things together as long they would produce a new product. So he wondered what would happen if he merged bro and I¡¯s gifts. Bro didn¡¯t want to do it, so I did it first and I got my gift<u>fib</u>. It was a few months later when bro got his<u>enlightenment</u>.¡± Max stopped and refocused all her attention back onto Herah, asking, ¡°Are you still following?¡±

    Herah gave a thumbs up while scratching an itch under her shirt and said, ¡°You and your brother had different gifts before your current ones and went on many adventures with your friends. One day one of your friends, who was also gifted, merged your gifts together and gave you your current ones, which don¡¯t have any built-in limits or cost.¡± Herah then gave Max another questioning stare before asking, ¡°I just want to know one thing. Before it sounded as if while you didn¡¯t have any limits or cost to your<u>gifts</u>at the time, that your<u>gifts</u>do have them now. Is that true?¡¯

    Max smiled at Herah thankfully before saying, ¡°Good. And yes. The first limitation to my gift actually came when my brother acquired his.¡±

    Herah tilted her head, a small frown on her face.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Max took a deep breath and said, ¡°Bro¡¯s gift naturally counteracts mines. I tell lies, he tells truths. Bro¡¯s main part of his current<u>gift</u>has a passive and an active part to it. His half-truths require him to speak them and only last for a few minutes, while his actual truths are passive in nature and activate once he realizes that something is amiss. Bro¡¯s<u>gift</u>is all about preserving the natural functions of the universe, that¡¯s what he said anyway, which means his<u>gift</u>makes him immune and also able to reverse anything that goes against that. Stopping time, inverting the functioning of gravity, and reality warpingarejust a few examples. As long asbrois aware of any<u>fib</u>I tell, his gift will undo it. Just not the effects.¡±

    Herah was once again shocked and was now rubbing her chin at the thought of what Alex could do. After a few seconds of contemplation, Herah nodded to herself and asked Max another question.

    ¡°Are those the only limits you have?¡±

    Max shook her head no before letting out a pained sigh and gaining a crestfallen expression. The human then looked down at her hands and clenched them intofistbefore taking another deep breath and letting it out, her fist unclenching once done. Looking back up, Max began talking to Herah with a dismal tone.

    ¡°And that brings us to what happened in and to Dallas.¡±

    Herah picked up on Max¡¯s tone but still found herself curious and decided to ask her question.

    ¡°When you ask Jeffery about the nuke you dropped you mentioned that Dallas was a city. What happened to it?¡±

    Max let out another sigh and looked uptothe sky for but a moment before looking back down and at Herah with an expression filled with regret and sorrow.

    ¡°I causeditsdestruction. About 1.5 million people died because of me,¡± Fresh tears began to flow down the sides of Max¡¯s face as her next words were spoken, ¡°It¡¯s believed by the general public that some type of massive terrorist attack occurred there, with much of the city being rubble and fire.¡± Max began shaking her head with a frown with little sniffles ascompany, ¡°But that¡¯s not at all what happened.¡±

    Herah frowned at the now crying Max, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly before asking, ¡°What actually happened then?¡±

    Max let out a few more sniffles before rubbing her eyes and her nose with the sleeves of her coat. Once the tears had stopped and Max had calmed down, the human said to Herah,

    ¡°It¡¯s about time I tell you about how I managed to destroy Dallas.¡±

    Swallowing a gulp before letting out another sigh, Max looked Herah dead in the eye and said,

    ¡°More specifically, how I met my first and I hope my last,Abyss Walker.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°A group of beings that are to me what you would consider family.¡± A gentle but serious, masculine voice emitted from right next to the sitting Herah and Max.

    Both snapping their heads to the right, the pair found Norwe floating above the ground. But not in the form of sloth, no, the Maker had taken their form from earlier. The form with the six arms with stars on them that had all but one of their limbs folded across their chest, with the top left one stroking its chin. The form that now had a supernova occurring in the center of their stomach that was wiping out the surrounding galaxies. The form that now looked upon them with black holes for eyes that still had their welcoming sense to them from before, but now alsohelda scary amount of seriousness. The form that told the pair something that surprised and deeply scared Max.

    ¡°And they like to destroy universes.¡±

 Naming the Illustration

    The clearingwas filled with silence as Herah and Max sat at its edge, both giving disbelieving stares to Norwe who floated a few feet away from them in the first form the pair had ever seen the Maker in. Norwe, meanwhile, continued to stare at the two seriously with most of their arms folded against their chest, and a single one rubbing their chin. By this point, the vibrantly colored calamity that had started at the Maker''s stomach had consumed the entirety of their torso, half of all of their limbs, and the bottom of their chin.

    "The fuck do you mean they like to destroy universes!?" Herah shouted, standing up to glare at Norwe with a mixture of anger and confusion.

    "I meant they like to destroy universes," Norwe replied, completely lacking in any form of enjoyment which Herah thought would make her happy if not for what was being said. Norwe lazily pointed at Max with their left middle hand, still looking quite serious, before saying, "TheAbyss Walkeryou encountered, AnwirAlice, their plan after killing you was to rip your universe from my grasp and sink it into theAbyss. Afterward, your universe and everything within would begin to be torn asunder and consumed by theAbyssitself and theAbyss Walkersthat inhabit it."

    Herah gave Norwe a few wide-eyedblinks before shaking her head and turning to look back at Max. The human was still seated, looking down at both of her hands with a deeply troubled frown upon her face. Frowning at her friend, Herah leaned down and gave Max''s shoulder a slight shove with her fist.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Max jolted in surprise before looking up to Herah and giving her an awkward smile.

    "A lot to be honest, but I was just thinking about how bro, Artemis and I just barely dodged a bullet there."

    "That you did, if my Soothsayer hadn''t been touched byThe Third Makerand had hisPresenceat his will, that universe would''ve been lost and everything within, well, you already know."

    Max and Herah turned back to faceNorweand found the Maker still floating with all six of their arms now at their side. Nearly Norwe''s entire being had been consumed by the supernova at this point, the only parts of their body not covered by the stellar explosion being the two black holes that were currently consuming it and functioning as eyes for the Maker. It was with these eyes that Norwe continued to stare intensely at Max as they told her,

    "Though I will admit, it would''ve probably taken a few more days and millions more dead before you ultimately lost yourbattle."

    Herah didn''t even need to look at Max to know that Norwe''s words made her flinch. Instead, Herah growled at her Maker while also allowing foryellowfire to leak from her mouth and nose.

    "Pissoff." Herah told her Maker with malice.

    Watching as Norwe''s eyes continuedto consume the supernova that was displayed across their body, Herah''s eyes narrowed at the sight of a few bits of white light that somehow managed to not fade into the black holes. The lights instead floated into the center of the black dots and proceeded to twinkle like stars, Norwe''s left eye even winking at Herah before the lights faded. This caused Herah to growl even harder towardsNorwe, and for green flames to began spilling from her mouth and nose.

    Noticing the changing color of Herah''s flames, Norwe folded their bottom pair of arms under their back, their center pair at the center of their back, and their top pair of arms behind their head. By this point, the explosion that engulfed Norwe''s body had much of it sucked into the Maker''s eyes, leaving only the top half of their body still alight with colors while the bottom half was completely black. Norwe had also visibly lost their seriousness, so Herah wasn''t too surprised when the Maker cheerfully said,

    "I can see my dear Artist doesn''t want my company, so I''ll be on my merry way." Norwe winked at Max and told her, "Remember Liar, I''m always watching."

    This caused Max to flinch once again, but this time the human gave the Maker a verbal response.

    "Wait, Norwe, before you go I have a question," Max said with a bit of nervousness and curiosity.

    Norwe took their top left and right hand from behind their head and instead folded them underneath their now tilted head, before beckoning for Max to continue with their middle left hand. Seeing her Maker''s gesture, Max took a deep breath and asked herquestion.

    "Why do you call theAbyss Walkersfamily?"

    Specks of light floated into Norwe''s eyes and began to twinkle once again. At this point, the Maker''s body had mostly turned black with the last remnants of the supernova that previously engulfed it now surrounding Norwe''s eyes and making something akin to a neon-colored shrinking mask. Norwe then tilted their head the other way with their top two hands still folded underneath it, and their left center arm now pointing towards themselves before giving Max an answer.

    "Because before I was a Maker, I was anAbyss Walker."

    And with those words, Norwe disappeared from his creations'' sight and left a wide-eyed Max and a fuming Herah alone in the clearing.

    "SON OF A BITCH!"Herah screamed, causing the green fire that was previously just flowing from her mouth and nose to engulf her entire head and flare up into aboulder-sizefire.

    Herah then felt something that felt like a slip of paper appear in her left hand. Bringing the hand to her face, Herah found her guess to be correct. In her hand, there was now a piece of paper that had a bit of text on it.

    After reading the piece of paper, Herah felt her right eye twitch a few times then decided to crumple up and toss the piece of paper into the flames that surrounded her head.

    "What did it say?"

    Herah looked down at the sitting Max who gave her a mildly curious stare in return. After a second of this, Herah grunted and sat down in front of Max once again. Leaning back on both of her arms with her hair still partially braided, Herah gave Max an answer.

    "Just some stupid shit about how if we want to know more we''d have to ask thefruit or the prick." Herah took both of her hands and dragged them down her flame covered face before looking up and huffing, "I''m pretty sure the bastard meant your brother and my father."

    Herah looked back at Max and found her friend quietly laughing to herself while looking down.

    "What''s so funny Max?"

    Max lifted her head and gave Herah a small smile before replying.

    "I''m just thinking about how you look sorta like one of the Ghost Riders right now."

    "What the ash is a Ghost Rider?" Herah asked with a raised brow, her head still engulfed in green flames.

    "The Ghost Riders are these characters from Marvel comics with these flaming skulls covered in hellfire, and they''re some of the most terrifying beings in that universe." Max made a twitching motion with her head, before giving Herah a small grin and saying, "I think at least."

    Herah smiled back at Max and preceded to take a deep breath that ended up with her inhaling all the fire that previously engulfed her head. With her head now clear of flames, Herah exhaled then began speaking to Max once again.

    "Speaking of terrifying beings, why don''t you tell me about your encounter with theAbyss Walker. You said this event was what caused your others limiters, correct?

    Max quickly lost her smirk andsolemlynodded yes to Herah''s question before taking her left hand and running it through her messy hair. For a few seconds, Max said not a word and continued to run her hand through her hair while Herah watched her friend in silence with a patient stare. After a few more seconds of total silence between the two, Herah spoke.

    "What Norwe said really shook you up, huh?"

    Max looked down and visibly shivered before retracting her arms into her coat and rubbing her shoulders. Max then looked back up at Herah and frowned before giving a quiet and slightly fearful reply.

    "Just thinking about how thatthingwas so powerful and deadly makes me shiver." Max shook her head before taking a deep breath and given Herah a hardened stare, "But I need to get this off my chest, and I said I tell you what happened, so here I go."

    "Before I began with our actual encounter, I''ll start two weeks before. This is because it was around this time that my small gang of friends and I were exploring an abandoned building. While exploring the basement, Artemis began sensing something she said was weird and slight oppressive before crashing through the floor. After a bunch of seven-year-olds finished screaming in terror and worry for their friend, we found Artemis okay and more importantly in an underground cave of sorts."

    "An underground cave? Was theAbyss Walkerin there?"

    Max closed her eyes at Herah''s questions and took a deep breath before nodding her head yes and exhaling. Opening her eyes once again, Max continued.

    "The underground cave we found was deep in the ground, it actually took Artemis like seven seconds to hit the cave floor I think. Anyway, the cave was also dark with zero natural light. The only reason we ended up being able to see down there wasbecause Artemissummoned some moonlight to illuminate the place. And once that happened we found the cave to be a massive cavern with a shit ton of stalactites andstalagmites everywhere which left little space for places we could actually stand on. It was also super uncomfortable, I mean, it was very wet and the air was very humid. There were puddles and small ponds everywhere, and I ended up falling in a few on our first and second trip there."

    "UhhhMax," Herah began with a bit of pointed stare, "You seem to have gotten sidetracked."

    Max raised both of her hands while offering up a few apologies before continuing on with her story.

    "Anyway, so Artemis was still sensing the weird thing, and her and bro wanted to check it out since there were several tunnels that led out of the massive chamber we were in. Abigail, Sarah, and I, however, were getting creeped out by the very wet and very dark cave soinstead, it was decided that we could wait for two weeks and explore the place on bro''s and I''s birthday as his present."

    "Wait, you had this shitshow all happen on your birthday?" Herah asked, wide-eyed and scratching her head.

    Max gave a small bitter laugh before putting a hand to her face and bitterly stating,

    "Yep, by far the second worst birthday I ever had."

    This got a weird look and tilt of the head from Herah which was followed by Max answering her unasked question.

    "I spent my fourteenth birthday taking care of a deathly ill and extremely delirious Alex. It was by far the most terrifying experience I ever had and never hope to repeat."

    "Oh."

    Max gave a small smile while waving off any apologies that might''ve come from Herah''s mouth.

    "So anyway, two weeks go by andmeand Artemis end up exploring the cave by ourselves. This was because bro, Abigail, and Sarah were covering for me after I turned one of the other kids in our orphanage into a pig that ran rampant throughout the building. Before we left, bro made me promise to tell him about anything we found down there as soon as we could. So Artemis and I ended up spending about half an hour, Ithink,before we found the source of whatever Artemis had been sensing."

    "What was it?" Herah asked, now leaning toward Max in morbid anticipation.

    Max closed her eyes once again, inhaled deeply, then exhaled before continuing on.

    "We found a lonely small brown trunk that was in a surprisingly good condition. And when I say surprisingly good condition, I mean the trunk still had the smell of freshly polished wood on it. Of course, even though it looked fairly normal, the fact that a trunk in such good condition was underground with no clear reasoning made it very suspicious. Add to the fact that the trunk gave a very, umm, wrong feel off, I didn''t want anything to do with it. However, I made a promise to my brother so I immediately gave him a call once we found it and asked what I should do with it."

    "What did Alex say?"

    Max began sucking on her bottom lip before getting incredibly fidgety, tapping her knees while rocking her body back and forth. Letting out a few breaths, Max suddenly stopped before looking Herah dead in the eye with an incredibly pained expression and shakingly stated,

    "He,uhh, told me that, umm, it was probably something extremely dangerous. But since it was Artemis and myself, special emphasis on me being there, that we should be able to deal with anything that might pop out. At the time, and even now, I trust my brother to a fault. So hearing him say such a thing, I was able to put my fears aside and open the trunk."

    "TheAbyss Walkerwas inside, weren''t they?"

    Max put a hand over her mouth and nodded yes, her body shifting uncomfortably as her eyes looked on and through Herah in silent terror, making the youngling guess that Max was recalling the event. After a second of this, Max shook her head and began speaking once again, now sounding incredibly disturbed.

    "Oh God, the first thing that happened after I opened the trunk, I-I still have nightmares about it. TheAbyss Walkerinside reached out of this trunk that could only fit, like, my head inside of it, and grabbed me with a rotten grey and massive eight-fingered hand that covered my face and began to crush my head. It happened so fast that I didn''t have enough time to say a single<u>fib</u>before I blacked out."

    "It didn''t kill you?" Herah asked, extremely surprised by Max''s apparent survival of theAbyss Walker''sattack.

    "TheAbyss Walkerdidn''t do any damage that was irreversible," Max replied quickly and curtly, her eyes narrowing with a slightly panicked look to them. Taking another deep breath and letting it out, Max continued on in the same disturbed tone as before.

    "When I reawoke only a minute had passed, and I found Artemis battling against theAbyss Walker, who had for some reason, taken the shape of me. A bit of background information on Artemis, I didn''t know this at the time but,uhh, she was a goddess. The Greek goddess of the hunt and moon, if I remember correctly. And she wielded a glowing silver bow that quite literally shot arrows apparently made of moon dust. What''s most important about her, however, is the facts that she had impeccable aim, her arrows could fly like twelve times the speed of light, and they tended to destroy anything they hit."

    "Why is this important?" Herah asked with a tilt of her head.

    "Because theAbyss Walker, whose name isAnwirAlice by the way, was able to not only take hits from Artemis'' arrows but also dodge and catch them."

    "Damn."

    Max nodded in agreement with Herah''s response before continuing talking.

    "As soon as Anwir noticed me, they disappeared and reappeared behind Artemis before shoving their right hand through her back and left breast." Max let out a pained breath before continuing, "Golden ichor splattered on the ground, followed by my own screams beforeAnwirthrew Artemis down the tunnel and turned to me."

    Taking yet another deep breath, Max reached up to Herah and brought the youngling''s forehead to her own before closing her eyes and exhaling. Herah wasn''t too disturbed by the smell of Max''sbreath,and instead focused on talking to Max.

    "What''re you doing Max?" Herah asked, worry creeping into her tone.

    "Sorry lava tits," Max began, her tone soft and apologetic, "Whenever I think about my talk withAnwirand what happened next, I like to have physical contact. It makes me feel less alone. I apologize if this is uncomfortable for you."

    "I have no real problem with this, except for the mild itchiness I''m currently feeling on my forehead," Herah said causing Max to open her eyes which the youngling responded to with a wink. This solicited a pleasant giggle and smile from Max which was followed by her continuing her story.

    "So whenAnwirturned to face me once again, they, uh, retook what I guess to be their original form. They were bipedal with two long and thin rotten grey legs that looked sorta like skin had been dragged from top to bottom and stretched out over the bones. They had feet but notoes,and the ends of their feet were like wedges. Their entire body was rotten grey now that I think about it. Anyway, their arms were also long and thin and both had eight bony and long fingers on them. Their torso was rather similar to their arms and legs with skin appearing to be stretched out over their bones and theAbyss Walkerhad a lot of ribs. Like they had fourteen ribs and it was creepy. Their torso was also shaped sorta like an upside-down pear with their waste being about as wide as a lemon. Their head was a horror show," Max shivered once again, "It was a mismatch of mouths and eyes with too many of both to count. They weretallat least ten feet and stood rather queer. Their arms and legs were constantly bending and moving, and they lacked any noticeable genitals."

    Herah gave herself a few moments to imagine Anwir, and couldn''t help but shiver before commenting.

    "Sounds terrifying."

    "It was, but only afterward."

    "What happened next?"

    "Anwir told me, in a distinctly high pitched and wicked feminine voice "Seeing that yourPresencehasn''t been fully consumed by me yet, I feel it best to introduce myself to my soon to bevictim." They then bowed to me and introduced themselves as Anwir Alice."

    "So, what did you do then?"

    Max moved her head away from Herah''s, before unfolding her legs and hugging her knees to her chest as her expression became steel-like yet managed to hold undertones of fear. Max then said, with a strong and slightly afraid voice,

    "I began the hardest and most terrifying fight I''ve ever been in, though once again the terror only came afterward. The reason I wasn''t able to instantly end the fight wasbecauseforsome reason,Anwirwould always come back from anything that I<u>fibbed</u>. Throughout our fight in the underground cavern, I tried erasing them from existence, turning them into different things like gold, water, dust, air, etc. At one point I said their entire being would combust and they did exactly that, before returning three seconds later ready to kill me. Artemis rejoined the fight after healing from her wounds, but even then nothing we did could putAnwirdown. They shrugged off my<u>fibs</u>and Artemis'' arrows with ease.Anwirwould of course attack back, trying to rip us to shreds with their fingers, ejecting some weird black goop that seemed to eat away at the space around them from all over their body, and most importantly sending waves of what I''m now quite sure wasPresencethat would rip away at the very being of everything around us."

    Max paused for a moment to take a few deep breaths before continuing.

    "Then we got out of the cavern and that was when shit really hit the fan. I won''t give you a play by play of the fight, but what I will tell you is a few highlights. At one point, I tried to trapAnwirin a time loop, which they didn''t even seem to acknowledge. At another point, Artemis fired off nearly twelve thousand arrows in the span of a quarter of a second whichAnwirapparently thought wasn''t jack shit because they caught each and every single arrow and then flung the moon dust projectiles back at the both of us. At another point in the fight, Anwir enlarged themselves to the point that they towered over quite a few of the taller buildings in the city and then grabbed Reunion Tower, which was like 500 and a half feet tall, before attempting to smash me with it. And the final point I''ll bring up is when I sent Anwir to the edge of the unknown universe and they got back within two seconds."

    Herah was completely stunned by what Max was saying and probably wouldn''t have believed her if not for how much talking about the fight seemed to visibly upset her friend. And the Dope orb was a bit of help in this as well.

    "Sounds like a fight my dad''s had with one ofLe Plus Vieux Parent."

    Max''s eyes widened in shock before narrowing into a disbelieving glare.

    "Are you sure?"

    Herah met Max''s glare with her own in return for Max''s clear not believing of her.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Yeah, dad once told me that in a fight with one that the pair ended up flying into a black hole that my father ended up freezing."

    Max still didn''t seem to believe what Herah said but instead laid the matter to rest by continuing in her own story.

    "Anyway, as the fight went on the city around us was destroyed and countless people died." Tears then began dripping from her eyes as her voice became drowned in guilt, "I didn''t even notice in the fight. I was so focused on keeping myself and Artemis alive, that the people around us didn''t really register in mind. And the fight dragged on for over an hour, with the destruction around us and the dead increasing dramatically in size as the fight progressed. As Norwe said before, the only reason so many more didn''t die was because near the end of the fight bro joined in. When I first noticed him, I was over four hundred feet in the air and rising because I was flying up the side of a building thatAnwirhad thrown when they leaped into the sky. Though bro was essentially a speck to me at that height, we''ve always had an extremely high awareness of each other so I immediately recognized him."

    "Where the ash was Alex that entire fucking fight?" Herah asked in with a disbelieving expression and tone.

    "He told me he ended up meeting this guy by the name of Kernel Sanders the Chicken God. Kernel Sanders ended up taking Abigail, Sarah, and bro (the last one by accident) through a portal. Bro somehow fucked up the portal so he ended up stranded in a separate universe for a bituntil he found his own way back."

    "Seriously?" Herah asked, blinking a few times at Max. The human just nodded in response before continuing on.

    "Anyway, I met up with bro and he told me to tell as many<u>fibs</u>as possible that would changeAnwirwithout causing any straight up negative effects. I didn''t quite understand how that was supposed to help us, but again I trust bro to a fault so I did exactly as he asked. By the time I was done,Anwirwas a neon rainbow color, had a rainbow afro, had a red clown nose, had a clown jumper on, and had giant clown shoes with a whole lot of other very insignificant changes done to them as well."

    By this point, Herah was giving Max an extremely confused and weirded out look.

    "Why all the clown stuff?"

    "Because I hate clowns and I hated Anwir." Was Max''s quick and concise reply.

    "Ok, fair enough. And how exactly did turning anAbyss Walkerinto a giant clown help kill them?"

    At this question, Max nodded before returning her legs back to their folded position and answering Herah''s question sounding as if the explanation was hard to put to words..

    "Well, bro''s<u>gift</u>has an interesting effect when too many things that go against the natural order occur to the same thing or area."

    "What would that be?" Herah asked.

    "In simple terms, he purges them from existence."

    "But earlier you said you tried erasing Anwir from existence, and it failed," Herah replied with her brow crinkled and her eyes nearly shut.

    Max nodded at this and said, "That''s why I said in simple terms. I don''t quite understand it myself, even after bro explained it to me, so I simplify it into that."

    Herah nodded at this, before asking Max another question.

    "So your brother purged them from existence and that was it."

    Max nodded at this with a small frown and said, "Essentially."

    "But when during this did you get those new limitations you spoke of?" Herah asked, thinking back to what Max had just said.

    Max sighed once again, now looking down with a tired expression before quietly saying,

    "I acquired them three days after the fight withAnwir. I had passed out right after bro got rid of theAbyss Walker, so I awoke in Arlington, Texas in the hospital. Bro and Artemis were passed out in some nearby chairs, and on the TV an episode of Iron Man Armored Adventures was playing, it had just come out that year. Not too long after I awoke a nurse came in and gave me a quick check-up. While doing this check-up, she switched the channel to the news. The headline of the time, I can remember it so well, read Terrorist Attack on Dallas, Leaves Over A Million Dead. That fucked me up pretty badly in the head, and the realization of what I''d caused triggered foursubconscious triggers of mine that would begin to inhibit my<u>gift</u>. It would take me another week to realize what these triggers were and how to retrigger them so as to get my power back."

    Max then unfolded her legs once again and laid back to look up at the sky. Seeing Max''s behavior, Herah gave her friend a curious stare until Maxpatthe ground to her left. Getting the message rather easily, Herah got up and then laid down on Max''s left. This meant the pair were now both laying on the edge of the clearing with the graves of the four dead Oni from before, with their heads still in the small clearing looking up at the sky.

    "So are you going to-" Herah began.

    "Loss of innocence, loss of guilt, loss of trust, and loss offear." Max said, now sounding a lot calmer and disturbingly empty.

    "What?"

    "Those are the four limiters I currently have in place. Before we met, I had managed to remove three of them, but during our fight with Moon I regained one and after what I did to the Oni I got the other two back."

    "How exactly do they limit your<u>gift</u>?"

    Max let out a small huff before calmly stating,

    "I''m gonna go through them in order which I originally broke them. Loss of innocence keeps me from causing damage, harm, or ill effects of any kind with my<u>fibs</u>. As of right now, I can''t even create a fire with my<u>fibs</u>because that would harm atoms."

    "Your kidding?"

    Max held up her left hand and said with a deep and masculine voice,

    "There is a fire in my hand."

    Nothing appeared and Max put her hand down.

    Seeing this, Herah let out a small wince at the pathetic showing of Max''s<u>gift</u>.

    "What''s next?" Herah asked.

    "Loss of guilt makes it so that I can''t directly harm humans or beings I believe to hold characteristics of them."

    "What falls under that category?"

    "Everything not dead, never living, or plants."

    "That is a lot of things you can''t harm."

    "Yeah, it''s going to be a problem for a while."

    "What was the next one?"

    "Loss of trust makes it so that any<u>fibs</u>I tell will take up these slots and depending on the scale of the<u>fib</u>there will be a different number of slots taken up. I can mitigate this to a certain extent by substituting my cards for the slots but the same rule applies to them."

    "That sounds extremely limiting."

    "It is, especially since I only have 22 normal slots and 52 with my cards which I use to go through pretty quickly and still do from time to time. One caveat I got though, is that I''ve learned to manage it over the years since I dealt with it for so long."

    "That''s good, I guess. So what doeslossof fear do?"

    "Loss of fear is what put in place my slots, which I have to recharge by sleeping for an hour. And once I use up all these slots, I can no longer tell<u>fibs</u>without erasing my self from existence in the process."

    Hearing this, Herah shot up into an upright position and began to stare at Max with a worried expression.

    "That is a very big and fucked up limitation! How the ash does your subconscious even do that?" Herah shouted in shock.

    Max raised her left hand and lazily waved Herah off before calmly stating,

    "Yeah it''s a pretty steep cost, and you''d be surprised at what your subconscious can do to you. Like how Thanos lost the infinity gauntlet in the comics because he subconsciously didn''t feel worthy of it. The guy lost omnipotence and omniscience because of that reason alone. It''s weird what your mind can do without your control."

    "I don''t care about whoever the ash Thanos is!" Herah shouted grabbing at her hair in irritation, "And why the fuckareyou sounding so calm and empty, it''s creepy."

    "Because right now I do feel very calm and empty, it''s my intermission state," Max replied in the same tone as before.

    "What the ash do you mean by intermission state?" Herah asked while flaring her nostrils in frustration, causing a small spout of yellow flames to shoot from her nose.

    "I call it an intermission state because this is the only time in which my emotions are not really felt and it periodically occurs. I should beexitingit soon enough."

    Herah let out a frustrated huff before laying back down and turning her head to face Max''s with a slightly annoyed look on her face.

    "So now that I know what is currently limiting you, how can I help remove them?"

    Max turned her own head to face Herah''s and replied with her calm and empty tone of voice.

    "Well you can really only help me with one, and that''s only if I''m right but I''m pretty sure I''m right so that''s not really an issue."

    Herah''s eyes narrowed at Max''s words before the youngling gave a prying response.

    "Why can''t I help with the other three?"

    Max gave Herah a joyless smile before calmly stating,

    "Because loss of guilt requires me to kill someone with my bare hands, loss of trust requires someone to betray my trust which I really hope doesn''t happen especially in this currentsituation,and loss of fear....Well, I''ll just say that if I do ever complete that one, I''ll be dead shortly afterward."

    "So the only one I can help you with islossof innocence."

    "Correct."

    Herah pursed her lips for a second, her eyes narrowing even more before the youngling exhaled a bit of smoke from her mouth. This got a bit of coughing from Max and caused her to sit up, with Herah joining her in an upright position with a satisfied nod of her head.

    "So what do I need to do to help you?" Herah asked, now sounding satisfied and feeling a bit more understanding of Max.

    And it was at this moment that Max exited her intermission state and began blushing heavily with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. Herah seeing this gave her friend a confused and worried stare, which Max was quick to give a reply to.

    "Herah you like it when someone is direct with you, am I correct?" Max asked a bit awkwardly.

    "Yeah." Was Herah''s short but slightly curious response.

    So then Max took a deep breath and told Herah as quickly as possible,

    "I need your virginity."

    This got Max a few blinks from Herah before the youngling asked in near disbelief,

    "Why?"

    Max gave Herah a nervous smile and began scratching the back of her neck before responding.

    "That''s why I call this trigger loss of innocence. I need to take someone else''s "innocence" in order to reactivate the trigger. That''s why I suggested it earlier."

    Watching as Herah reached up to her chin and began to rub it while muttering to herself, Max began biting her lip nervously before rapidly stating,

    "I know it''s a big thing to ask for and al-"

    "I''ll do it." Herah cut in while nodding to herself and staring at Max with a small grin.

    "Wait, really?"

    Herah nodded again without saying a word.

    "Oh," Max''s eyes shifted from left to right, before inquiring "Does sex not mean anything too heavy where you come from? Is it because it''s no longer required to have children?"

    At this Herah frowned while shaking her head from side to side before responding.

    "While what you said is accurate for the general public and for the very reason you put forth, I still very much care about who I sleep with and who takes my virginity. I believe it to be one of the greatest gifts I can offer to anyone."

    Hearing this, Max began waving both of her hands while hurriedly saying,

    "If that''s the case, you don''t reallyne-"

    "Max, you insult me by thinking that I wouldn''t want to give it to you." Herah gave Max a keen glare before continuing, "As I said before, you''re a big reason that both my father and I are alive right now. The only other person I know I could give my virginity to would be Owen, and I already have something else in mind for him. Plus, this could be the difference between life or death, so I''m really lacking in reasons to not fuck you."

    Max smiled thankfully at Herah, getting a small smile from the youngling in response. Before Max could say anything else, however, Herah''s head perked up and the youngling began rubbing her chin in deep thought. After a few seconds of this, Herah nodded her head and let out a breath.

    "But before we fuck each other, I have to tell yousomething." Herah said with an air of seriousness.

    "Is it that if we screw each other, I''m gonna get sprayed with lava and die a painful horrid death?" Max asked, sounding a bit fearful.

    "What!? No! What the fuck!? Is this something you''ve been thinking about?" Herah responded, losing all seriousness while looking weirded out by Max''s suggestion.

    "Yep, and I''m glad it isn''t true," Max thankfully said letting out a breath, before asking Herah, "So what did you have to say?"

    "I have another way to help you, but its pretty intimate and a big commitment."

    "What is it?" Max asked, her curiosity peeked.

    "You have to courtme." Herah said, staring as seriously as possible at Max.

    "Like dating?" Max said, sounding as if her interest had peaked.

    Herah made a kinda motion with her left hand, before saying,

    "Not exactly, if you were to court me the end goal would very clearly be marriage."

    "Oh," Max said sounding not as interested as before, "That''s what you meant by big commitment." Max awkwardly rubbed her left arm, "Not to sound like a bitch, but how exactly does this help except for giving me a potentiallifetimepartner which might not be for long if Norwe has anything to say about it."

    "I can understand your trepidation," Herah said, once again scratching the back of her head, "But there is a reason that would definitely benefit you."

    "And that would be?"

    "When courting a Cendreux, a bond is established that causes for the pair to share emotions. This means that when the pair feels tow separate emotions, the feelings are spread out between the two and effectively dulled in a way. On the other hand, when they have the same feelings the emotions are amplified."

    "And why exactly is that a benefit for me?" Max asked, still sounding a bit put off.

    This got the human a blank stare from Herah, who continued to stare at Max blankly for a few moments before simply stating.

    "Max you''re a fucking emotional wreck right now, and I can offer you stability."

    "Ok, so the first point, I can''t disagree with no matter what, but on the second one..."

    "What?" Herah swiftly asked with a twitch in her eye.

    "Well aren''t you always kinda angry. Like most of the time I''ve known you, you''ve been frowning and growling."

    "First of all, I''m mildly irritated and annoyed most of the time,"

    "Bro said this exact same thing once."

    "Max I want to help you, but that won''t stop me from punching you in your fucking face."

    Max immediately shut up.

    "And second of all, I said stability. I don''t fluctuate as often as you do and so my emotions should help to balance your constantly shifting ones out without any adverse effects on either of us."

    Max nodded at this but still didn''t look too sure, so Herah added a bit more information.

    "If you want to, you can end the courtship anytime you see fit."

    Max perked up and gave Herah a suspicious look.

    "Seriously?"

    "Yes, you don''t even have to do any of the trials that would allow for us to marry when done."

    "Trials?" Max asked a bit surprised by this new info.

    "Yup, to woo me intomarriage." Herah said plainly.

    "What exactly are these trials?" Max asked, sounding as if something was planned.

    "I don''t know," Herah gave Max a questioning stare and tilt of her head, before jokingly asking "Why do you ask? Are you planning on marrying me?"

    "No, I''m just curious."

    Herah''s left brow rose which the youngling then followed up by lifting her left hand and allowing for the Dope light orb to fly from within her hand. Seeing this, Max let out a small sigh and said,

    "Ok, so I really don''t have any plans on marrying you right now, I wasn''t lying when I said that. I want to know because you seem to be really going that extra mile to help me, and I thought that if after I managed to get to know you better and really liked what I saw even more, then I might finalize it as a way of repayment."

    "Max that is pretty much what courtship is, and you don''tneed to worry about that right now,"

    "But-"

    Herah put a finger to Max''s lip, immediately silencing her friend. Herah then sternly told Max,

    "No buts, I''m trying to repay a debt I owe you. You should feel no entitlement to repay me for what I dotryingto pay you back. So if you do end up pursuing the trials, do so because you want to. Do you understand?"

    Max took a deep breath before nodding yes with a calm and collected expression. Seeing this, Herah put her finger down and asked Max,

    "So, do you want to court me or not?"

    Max closed her eyes and inhaled and exhaled a few times before looking back at Herah and giving her answer.

    "Yeah, I''ll bite."

    Herah smiled atMax,clapped her hands together, and said,

    "Great, so let''s get down to business."

    Both Herah and Max stood up, stretching as they didso,before Max looked up at Herah and asked,

    "So how are we doing this? Do we screw first, or are we beginning our courting process?"

    "We''re doing both at the same time."

    "Really?" Max asked sounding a bit confused.

    "Yep, since you''ve already met the prerequisite we just need you to ask me during sex these words: Herahaccepteras-tumestentatives pourgagnerta main. Afterward, I have to say Oui and it will be finalized."

    "You have to say Oui?" Max asked with a coy smile while backing away from Herah further into the clearing.

    "Yeah, andwhat''s up with that look?" Herah asked while giving Max a questioning stare.

    "I''m just thinking of how many times I''m going to make you squeal like a pig before we''redone." Max replied, her voice taking on a sultry and pleasant tone.

    "O-okay? You sound really weird right now, and was that an insult?" Herah asked, looking a bit weirded out.

    Max just gave Herah a smile that the youngling thought was not too dissimilar from the one her mother would when messing with her father. Max then dropped her trench coat to the ground and stood before Herah fully naked, the youngling having to admit that her friend didn''t look half bad in the nude with her hands on her hips and a smile still on her face.

    "You look like you''re really looking forward to this," Herah said, completely still and blushing lightly asrealizationof what was about to happen next finally hit her.

    This got a sly chuckle from Max, who began walking up to Herah as slowly and as seductively as possible, which got a nervous chuckle from the youngling. Once Max reached Herah, the human grabbed her soon to be courting partner by her cheeks, dragged Herah''s head down to her own height, gave her a light peck on the lips, and then held her face just a few millimeters apart from Herah''s. Herah developed a deeper blush, before asking,

    "Max, what are you do-"

    "Herah," Max spoke low and softly, cutting the youngling off, "I am very definitely looking forward to sex with you. Because not only are you helping me, you''re also providingme with a source of pleasure and entertainment. Since you''re doing all of that for me, it''s only fair that I allow for you to enjoy this just as much or even more than I do. So please let me take the lead, and guide you through what will be the greatest sexual encounter you ever have."

    Herah, hearing Max''s statement, fought down her blush and gave her friend a smirk before saying,

    "That''s a bold statement you put forth, do you really think you can back it up?"

    Max backed away from Herah with a smirk of her own before stopping a few feet away from the youngling and pointing at her.

    "Lose the clothes lava tits. By the time I''m done with you, you''re gonna be so thoroughly entertained and so satisfied that you''ll worship me."

    Shedding her own clothing, Herah took a deep breath before smiling at Max with a blush still on her cheeks and saying,

    "We''ll see."

    MaxeisteiunProfi

    After thirty minutes of wild and inventive "fighting", Herah and Max could both be found in the center of the clearing lying in a pool of their own bodily fluids, wrapped around each other, and breathing hard. The pair smelled and looked like they had just done the deed (which they had), with their smelly and absolutely drenched hair being especially telling of this.

    "So,puff, where is my worship,puff, lava tits?" Max asked with a small grin on her face, currently unable to see thetwin grin that was on Herah''s face.

    "Oh great and,puff,wonderful Max," Herah jokingly began, raising her left arm in the air (since the right one was currently under and wrapped around Max) and flourishing her hand a few times, "I am blessed to have had the chance,puff,to bed you."

    "Thank you." Max cheerfully responded, "We should probably,puff,get up. Laying in your own fluids,puff,isn''t exactly a healthy thing to do."

    "I can handle,puff, that," Herah said back to Max, before breathing out an orange flame that immediately engulfed the pair in a bonfire that evaporated all of the sweat and other liquids that covered their bodies before being inhaled by Herah. "See,puff, all gone."

    "That''s good," Max said, before chuckling to herself.

    "What''s so funny?"

    "I''m just thinking about how,puff,funyou were. I mean,puff, I ''ve been around the block I won''t lie. But you,puff, you managed to have some of my favorite combination of traits in a bedmate."

    "And those are?"

    "Stamina, dedication, sensitivity, and caringness."

    "I''m glad I could,puff, satisfy you at least." Herah then lowered her tone, sounding a bit shameful, "Though I do feel that the work was disproportional."

    "Don''t feel bad lava tits, I''m happy with what I got." Max softly said while rubbing Herah''s back.

    "Max you came six times while I came thirty, someone clearly got the better deal in this one." Herah stoically responded.

    "Yeah, well I have more experience so I''d naturally be able to outdo you. Don''t worry about it, I came out happy." Max then gained a slightly worried look before asking, "Speaking of thirty back-to-back orgasms, are you okay? I don''t thinklosingthat much liquid in such a short span of time is healthy."

    "I''m fine, don''t worry about me." A stray thought then came to Herah''s mind, "By the way, why is your pubic hair shaved in the shape of an arrow?"

    "So you know where to go on your tripdown." Max said sounding immensely proud of herself.

    "..."

    "..."

    "It''s so you can say that, isn''t it?" Herah asked.

    "That is the only reason for it." Max happily said with a small laugh, before a straythoughtcame to her mind, "Speaking of pubic hair shaving, why is yours in the same shape as that thing on your shirt?"

    "It''s a wisp lantern, andit''smy way of marking my body as one for La Flamme."

    "Wow, that''s some serious dedication rightthere." Max said, sounding a bit astonished.

    "This was actually a common practice for both males and females of the Cendruex many, many years ago." Herah responded, sounding a bit down by her own words.

    "Oh, why did they stop?" Max asked, sounding rather curious.

    Herah didn''t answer, instead, the youngling let out a sigh before unwrapping herself from Max''s body and shakingly getting back up. This caused Max to let out a childish whine.

    "Why did you get up?"

    Herah stumbled over to her clothes, which had been thrown to the edge of the clearing during their "fight" and began putting them on.

    "Because we need to complete the start of the courting, it won''t began until you receive your trials."

    "Oh," Max got up and caught her trench coat (Herah having thrown it to her) before putting it back on, "So who gives them to me?"

    "My parents."

    "How are you supposed to contact them?"

    "Let me show you."

    By thispoint, Herah had gotten completely redressed and had grabbed her sketch pad from its spot at the edge of the clearing and flipped through it until landing on a certain page. Nodding to herself, Herah ripped the page out and walked to the center of the clearing where they had previously laid. Herah sat the paper down and gestured for Max to back away. Herah then activated<u>Traduire</u>and felt her mouth turn dry.

    The piece of paper on the ground glowed before a mirror that looked like an exact replica of Herah''s bedroom mirror began to emerge from the sheet, and after a few seconds the mirror had fully formed and now stood proudly in the center of the clearing.

    Walking up behind Herah, Max looked at the mirror and saw the reflection of herself and Herah for but a second before the mirror filled with white light.

    With that done, Herah turned to Max and began to tell her,

    "In a few seconds, we''re going to see my father and maybe my mother. I want you to know that neither of them can''t hurt you so don''t act afraid. Let me bring them up to speed, ok?"

    Max nodded yes so Herah turned back to the mirror and began to take deep breaths to calm and prepare herself for a talk with her parents.

    With that said, Herah was totally not prepared for a Cendreux that looked like an aged-up and taller version of herself dressed in a blue tunic to step out of the mirror crying out in joy,

    "Herah! My daughter, you''re okay!"

    "Oh shit." Was all Herah could say before her mother, Rouge, wrapped her up in her arms and began hugging the youngling into her chest while shouting,

    "I''m so glad I can see you again! When your father told me that you were missing an arm and wasn''t looking too good I started worrying!" Rouge put a completely terrified Herah at arm''s length while hurriedly saying, "I mean I knew that you make it out and survive, but you''re my daughter so I-"

    Rougepaused as a scent from her daughter hit her nose. A bit confused by the smell, Rouge inhaled deeply through her nose a few more times to make sense of the smell. It was only upon the fourth time that realization of what it was dawned on her. Seeing what her mother was doing, Herah quickly tried to defuse the problem before it couldbegin.

    "Mom wait, I need to tell yousometh-HURRK!"

    Rouge had moved her hands from around Herah''s back and began to use them to strangle her daughter with righteous fury in her eyes and voice.

    "YOU''VE BEEN MISSING FOR OVER A WEEK, AND THE FIRST THING I SMELL ON YOU IS THE SCENT OF SEX!"

    Max watched in mute horror as Herah began grabbing at her mother''s shoulders in an attempt to stop her from strangling her into unconsciousness. It was only after, Herah began to loosen her grip on Rouge''s shoulders that Max tried to say anything to the raging mother.

    But this was for not because before even a sound could leave her mouth, Max felt the temperature drop heavily. Frost began to appear on the trees, grass, and the swords that marked the graves of the Oni. A cold breeze blew through the clearing, causing Max to shiver and tightened her trench coat around herself. Rouge was feeling the cold as well since the mother began to see her own furious breaths materialize in front of her. Looking down at her legs, Rouge saw frost creeping up her clothing and tried to say something.

    "Shi-"

    But before Rouge could finish, both herself and her daughter were completely frozen.

    Eyes widening at what had just happened, Max tried to shout but quickly shut up once someone else emerged from the mirror Herah had created.

    They were an orange colored Cendruex, who was extremely burly, had scales covering every inch of skin on their body, and wore a white polo with the top two buttons unbuttoned and some khaki slacks. They had aquamarine eyes and wore what Max thought to be a kind smile. A large arrow-pointed tail hung behind them, moving from side to side almost lazily.

    Yet even with such alaid-backlook, thePresencereleased by the Cedreux was extremely oppressive and seemed to promise agony.

    Immediately after stepping out, the Cendruex looked directly at Max with the smile on their face that never lost its kindness. The Cendruex didn''t look too bothered by the cold that had enveloped the clearing, infact, they walked right up to Max withoutproblem, making sure to not bump into the frozen mother and daughter on the way.

    Now standing before and towering over a shivering and very terrified Max, the Cendruex leaned down and looked Max directly in the eye before cheerfully stating,

    "Hello my name is Orange, and I am the father of the youngling you''ve seem to have gotten extremely friendly with."

    Orange then brought their left hand up and rested upon Max''s right shoulder, the human looking back at him with greats amount of fear as frost suddenly covered the entire right side of her body. Max''s fear only increased when her breath began to freeze solid soon after leaving her mouth, dropping and shattering at her feet each time a breath left her. Then the human''s fear peaked when Orange spoke some kind yet sinister words.

    "Would you please catch me up on what''s happened? I want to know a bit more about the nature of you and my daughter''s relationship before I decide whether or not to kill you."

 A Prospective Buyer Appears

    Daybreak had finally come for the group of gifted tasked with protecting the Donneur de Fr¨¦ne, and each member was currently preparing themselves for the upcoming battle.

    "Oh ma dame! Embrasse petit oh rouge moi. Oh ma dame! Embrasse-moi donc je ne serai pas libre. Oh ma dame! Les cendres me chantent. Oh ma dame! Les cendres sont mon destin."

    Herah was on her knees before the Donneur de Fr¨¦ne with a shroud of blue flames engulfing her, as she sung a battle hymn. The youngling now wore a solid black tank top and a pair of black cargo pants. The scales on Herah''s left arm and the top portion of her face had grown back at this point along with her horns which had returned to framing her head while pointing upward. Herah had positioned her single strap backpack so that it sat comfortably in-between her folded wings, with the zipper slightly ajar for easy access. Herah also now wore a bracelet that Owen had fashioned for her the night before. It was completely iron and had a small amber gem embedded into it. Along with this bracelet, Herah wore a golden amulet with a copper cross in the center of it

    "Lady Reese, may my work not fail me. Lady Walters, may my craft protect my friends. Lady Grey, may you not yet allow us into the grasp of death."

    Owen sat not too far away from Herah with his head bowed and his hat off preying. The gnome was once again dressed in his blue tunic and was also wearing his own golden amulet. Owen had also sat the only silver skull that had been deemed acceptable in his eyes on his right.

    FRRRWWWPPP!

    Max sat against the Donneur de Fr¨¦ne in front of Herah springing her deck from hand to hand. The human was now wearing her newly repaired and improved clothing, courtesy of Orange. Max''s shirt was now red with white letters spelling out: DO YOU WANT THE LIE?, and her khaki cargo shorts had been changed into cargo pants. Max''s trench coat still looked much the same, with the only real modification to it being the copper shoulder plate that was now on her left shoulder. Owen had made it and an accompanying brown glove that had a single rubber pad on the back of it. Around Max''s neck sat another golden amulet with a copper cross in the middle of it. Herah felt a strong sense of calmness (which was mirrored by herself) come through her link with Max, along with some underlying feelings of dread and fear.

    PING!

    Alex sat crosslegged on the opposing side of the Donneur deFr¨¦ne, tapping his nose while meditating with his Brigade of Enlightenment orbiting around his head. Every few seconds one of the orbs would change colors and make a high pinging sound that irritated Herah''s ears. Alex had both of his daggers on either side of him and was wearing his newly repaired jeans and white shirt reading: DO YOU WANT THE TRUTH? while his jacket was sitting on his side. Alex also wore a golden amulet with a copper cross in its center.

    Now done with her song, Herah opened her eyes and allowed her blue flame shroud to disperse. The youngling then inhaled deeply and let out an annoyed grunt once the overwhelming smell of rot greeted her nose, confirming something the entire group had planned on happening.

    With only a 10-kilometer radius separating them, what had to be the remnants of the Oni army had completely surrounded the clearing. Herah knew from information gathered through something of her own creation that it would be another ten minutes before the Oni would begin their march to destroy the Donneur de Fr¨¦ne.

    Herah then turned her attention towards the now destroyed home of the Oni. Well, Herah''s attention was more on something that was born from both the destruction of the Oni''s home and the leader of the Oni forces gift. A massive storm had been advancing towards Alex''s group for the last day or so and would be over them within another three hours by Herah''s own predictions.

    Herah turned her attention away from the incoming storm and looked around the clearing.

    Owen had finished up his own prayers and now stood with his eyes closed and his breathing steady. Feeling her eyes on him, Owen opened his own and looked back at Herah. The gnome then gave Herah a small smile and nodded his head, soliciting a grin and return nod from Herah. Turning away to face Max, Herah found her friend on her feet as well looking back at her. Since both knew how the other felt, all that was traded between them was a smile and nod. Herah then turned to the Donnuer de Fr¨¦ne with a small glare. Walking over to and around the ash giving tree, Herah found Alex still meditating with his orbs of lights floating around him.

    "Alex, are you ready?"

    Alex paused mid tap and opened his eyes. Leveling a small glare at Herah, Alex let out a sigh and stood up. The leading gifted then did a few stretches, before throwing on his jacket and putting both of his blades into his pockets. Now done with that, Alex turned to Herah and told her with a disturbingly emotionless tone,

    "Yeah ashbrain, I''m ready."

    Growling at Alex''s nickname for her, Herah turned away from the human and walked back over to Owen while reaching into her backpack and redrawing her sketchpad and a pencil.

    "Herah, what are you doing?" Owen asked, as the youngling opened up her sketchpad and allowed for her pencil holding hand to blur as it flew across the page. After a few seconds, Herah had completely finished her new illustration. Herah then used Traduire and immediately felt her left eye turn into paint.

    "Herah!" Owen shouted.

    "Lavatits!" Max shouted.

    "Oh no. Her eye turned into paint. How will she ever come back from this?" Alex said in a completely uncaring voice.

    Herah rolled her remaining eye and tossed her creation to Owen before reaching into her backpack and redrawing a single nugget of platinum. Herah tossed the metal into her mouth while also wiping away the paint that was now dipping down her face. Soon afterward, a small red fire appeared in Herah''s empty eye socket and flared for a moment before dispersing. This revealed a new eye in place of her old one.

    "See perfectly fine," Herah pointed at Owen, "Anyway that''s for your protection in case some get past any of us."

    "You mean you," Alex cut in condescendingly while still maintaining his lifeless tone, "My plan allows for no one to get past me and I know Max well enough to know that whatever she has planned will most definitely be an extremely humane and effective way of getting rid of them. You''re the only one of us whose method of killing is inefficient enough that it might lead to stragglers."

    One annoyed twitch in Herah''s eye and a swift punch from Max to Alex later, Herah wrapped both of the twins in her arms and was preparing to take off.

    "This a little to close for my comfort."

    "Shut the fuck up brother, we''re doing this."

    Chuckling to herself, Herah unfurled her wings and launched herself and the twins into the sky, with Alex mumbling something that peeked Herah''s interest under his breath.

    "Now let''s go earn our place in hell next to Hitler."

    "Who the fuck is Hitler?"

    ONI

    Within a clearing that had been created the previous night, a lone Oni who was unlike the rest sat in the lead of her band of warriors. The soon-to-be combatants were currently either praying to the Log, doing whatever maintenance they could on their weapons, or looking just plain old depressed and desolate. This lone Oni however was staring off in the direction that Alex''s group had to be. Her skin was the color of the sky that was blocked out by the storm that was slowly approaching their target. Her body was lithe with only hints of muscle appearing here and there across it. She wore a brown crop top that had white stars dotting it and a pair of gold-colored pants and boots. Much like her contemporary, Moon, this Oni lacked a mask, marking herself as a Keijo. This Keijo ''s face was that of a matured woman that also retained some of the softness of a younger girl. Her hair was black and lime green with the black portions being stylized into two buns while the green portion was braided into two short braids that hung down on either side of her head. Her eyes were purple and pupilless, holding within them both rage and fatigue. Upon her face, she wore a grimace and ground her teeth together while mumbling to herself.

    "Fuck this. Fuck me. Fuck that bitch Max. Fuck that coward Moon. Fuck you Norwe, I know you can hear me. Fuck you dad. Fuck you grandpa. Fuck, I just want this to be over."

    "Cheif String," Hearing the cheery sound of one of the many Oni that followed her, the sitting Keijo felt a hand rest onto her shoulder and turned to find a lime green-skinned, female Oni with a slim body and awkward stance decked out in red-wooden armor covered in moss styled like overhauls looking down on her, "It''ll be time for us to begin our advancement soon enough. Our soldiers could use some words from their leader, the great String Kujo, to inspire them." The Oni reached up and stroked the chin of her own mask while letting out a pondering sigh, "Maybe it''ll help calm you as well."

    String Kujo let out a sigh before smiling up at the other Oni and quietly saying,

    "I''m hardly great C.C., though you''re right. I need to inspire my people, not bitch about my problems."

    String Kujo rose up to her full height, revealing that she was just a bit taller than C.C. Walking past the Oni, String looked over her band of warriors and got their attention.

    TWEEEEE!

    Immediately everyone paused and turned to face String.

    ''I fucking hate how I can''t tell anyone''s expression thanks to their mask. It''s annoying as all hell. Whelp, let''s get this inspirational shit over with already.''

    String took a deep breath and began to grunt loudly.

    "I know that right now, shit has hit the fan. Shit has hit the fan then got all into the fan leaving the damn thing a completely broken mess. Of the 3 million Oni that used to be, we only have 5 hundred thousand left. Many of you lost loved ones in the Mushroom Massacre, that has effectively crippled our species. Many of you aren''t even soldiers since most of our military was killed in the attack." String let a frown come to her face as she moved a hand into her hair and began to rub it furiously, "Fuck! That isn''t very inspirational, give me a second."

    String turned away from her soldiers (who were looking at each other in confusion) and began mumbling to herself.

    "Damn it String! You need to fucking elevate these guys. You can''t just tell them what they already know. Come on! Think of something inspirational, fuck I hate being the leader."

    "String," The Keijo in question turned to face C.C., who once again rested her hand on her leader''s shoulder, "Give yourself a moment, then try again. I know you can do it."

    String let out another sigh before smiling at C.C. and nodding. Taking a few deep breaths, String turned back to the gathered Oni and found them all looking at her while shifting around restlessly. String took another deep breath and let it out, before grunting once again.

    "Look, I know that the odds are, at best, unfavorable for us. The enemy we face has a lot more power and skill in comparison to most of you. All we have are numbers and that could be more of a detriment to us than anything. But I also know something else. We have a chance. We have a chance to save our people from extinction. We have a chance to come back from this. We have a chance to once again prosper as a society."

    By this point, the Oni had stopped with their restless movements and some had began to nod along to her words.

    "Let me be clear on one thing. Most, if not all of us, will die here today. The odds are against us and we''re on our back once again. But we''ve stayed strong through the drought that left us leaderless. We''ve stayed strong through the attack of Human and his subsequent followers. We''ve stayed strong through the years of distrust that was our trial of trust. We''ve stayed strong through the tumultuous years after my father''s and Diavolo''s death. So once again, we must stay strong no matter the outcome."

    The gathered Oni were becoming rowdier. Some looked down at clenched fist while others let out approving grunts.

    "To be honest, I don''t know how this will end. By the end of today, that tree may or may not be destroyed. Our opposition may or may not be dead. Our people may be damned or saved. These are all things I don''t know. But I do know one thing for sure, we will never lose our strength!"

    A chorus of shouts filled the clearing as all the gathered Oni banged their hands against their chest while shouting out,

    "KUJO!"

    "KUJO!"

    "KUJO!"

    "KUJO!"

    "Now it''s almost time for us to begin our march. I expect for those catapults and archers to be here and armed by the time our company makes contact. The north and south companies should have either made it to the clearing at that point or met resistance. Remember, we have to arrive before the east company can do their part so get ready to move out!"

    Immediately after her words were finished, all the gathered Oni rushed to get their stuff together and finalize any preparations they had started. String turned away from her forces and instead redirected her attention to C.C. with a reluctant smile on her face.

    "I know you''re smiling under that stupid fucking mask."

    "Ahahaha." String felt a wave of delight wash over her at her friend''s chuckle, "You did great String! Norwe was kind enough to broadcast your little speech to all the other companies, so that should improve morale all around. Now, all we''re waiting for is the signal to begin."

    String felt her mood fall slightly at the mention of Norwe but shook her head and kept on smiling at C.C.

    "C.C., before I sound the attack I need to do something with you."

    "What do you need Chief?"

    String said nothing else, instead, the chieftain took her right hand and popped out the claw on her forefinger.

    "Anata wa sh¨­kan sa remashita."

    String then dragged her claw down the center of C.C.''s mask, a glowing blue line being left in its wake as it went.

    CRI-CRACK!

    C.C.''s mask dropped to the ground, revealing a childlike face and slightly agape lips that sharply took in air. Her eyes were black and pupilless and were in the process of slowly widening. C.C. raised a single hand to rub her face, a gasp leaving her as her fingers touched skin that had felt nothing but a mask for all of its life.

    String let out her own chuckle at C.C.''s reaction and rested her hand on the stunned, newly made Keijo''s shoulder.

    "If I fall today, you must lead our people. As my most trusted friend, I believe that your hands are the best prepared to lead the Oni."

    C.C. said nothing, instead, she looked down at her hands and nodded before looking back at String with a serious and thankful look in her eyes.

    "Thank you for trusting me enough to lead in your stead." C.C.''s eyes took on a humorous glint, "But it won''t be needed. We got this." C.C. sneezed, "Stupid pollen, I gonna miss my mask for that single reason I tell you."

    String just chuckled at C.C.''s words before telling her to help prep for the catapults that would arrive soon. Once away from her friend, String looked back towards her objective while a scary thought came to her mind.

    May I be forgiven for what happens next, and I hope not to use your sins father. That might prove disastrous.''

    Shaking her head once again, String reached down to the center of her stomach just above her waist were a tattoo of an arrowhead had been carved into her skin. Giving the arrow a soft tap, the tattoo began to glow before a weapon appeared in String''s right hand.

    It was a nine-section chain whip, with each section being a 5-inch steel rod with three rings of metal connecting all of them together and to the handle and metal dart that ended it. The whip''s handle was made of smoothed redwood and wrapped in black leather. The metal part of the chain whip was made of a steel/silver alloy that caused the metal to shine rather brightly in the starlight. On the dart end of the whip hung a red flag that somewhat concealed the end underneath it.

    Entering a relaxed stance, String tossed the end of her whip to the side and began to twirl the chain in a tight circle on the right side of her body. As the soft whirring or her chain cutting through the air filled the clearing, String looked back at the warriors behind her finding that they all appeared to be at the ready, waiting for her command. Seeing this, String looked forward once again before whipping her chain towards the sky.

    CRAAAAAK!

    A red bolt of lightning shot down from the clouds above and struck Strings chain. The electrical charge rippled down the chain before seemingly disappearing into the handle. String let out a pleasured sigh as she felt electricity course through the entirety of herself, feeding her energy.

    With that done, String reached into the pocket of her pants and withdrew a pair of shades. Throwing them on, She then began to walk towards the clearing that held the Donneur de Fr¨¦ne.

    The Oni''s attack had begun.

    HALT

    CRAAAAK!

    As soon as Owen saw and heard the lightning, the gnome took his hat off of his head and threw it high into the air. Just as the hat reached the apex of its height, Owen mentally commanded for it to enlarge.

    BOOM!

    Owen stumbled slightly as the clearing shook with his hat now encompassing the entire area. With that done, Owen sat down and let out a deep sigh before grabbing his silver skull and saying,

    "Grant me the sight loss by the Blind Devil Murdock."

    Light appeared in the eyes of the skull before a blinding flash filled the clearing. Rubbing the blindness out of his eyes, Owen set down the skull and backed away from it.

    After Owen had gone a suitable distance, the silver skull began to project a map that displayed what was to be the battlefield of the battle that would decide both the fate of the Oni and that of the Gifted.

    Allowing his eyes to start at the center, Owen found a large orange circle a blue dot within it.

    ''So nothing has reached the clearing as of now. Good.''

    Owen then allowed for his eyes to go up the map where a single green dot lied in the path of a large horde of approaching black dots that was led by a single purple dot.

    ''Alex has yet to encounter the front forces of the Oni, I hope he''s okay.''

    Owen then looked more to the right of the map and found a single red dot not moving as a much larger horde of black dots were almost upon it. Owen reached up to his amulet and held his pinky to it. Closing his eyes, the gnome then sent out a mental message.

    ''Max are you okay? The Oni will be upon you in about four minutes.''

    After a few seconds of nothing, Owen received a reply.

    ''Yeah, I''m fine. And thanks for the heads up. Max out.''

    Owen nodded at Max''s words before allowing his eyes to roam to the left side of the map, where a single red dot stood between the clearing and a horde of black dots equal to that of the ones approaching Max. Owen once again took his amulet in between his pinky and thumb and sent out a mental message.

    ''Herah are you okay? A large amount of Oni are-''

    ''Now approaching me. I noticed. Thanks anyway for the heads up. And I''m doing fine right now, don''t worry about me. Just remember to let me know when the east side of the Oni forces starts moving.''

    Owen sent a mental confirmation to Herah before cutting their link and directing his eyes to the bottom of the map. It was here that the largest horde of black dots lied, unlike the other hordes, however, this one was not moving. Owen felt his eyes drawn to the very center of the horde, which homed a single silver dot that caused shivers to run up his spine.

    ''Yeah. I''ll make sure to let you know.''

    With his examination now done, Owen allowed his focus to shift back towards Herah''s dot.

    She would be the first to make contact after all.

    ONI

    Jacob lacked direction.

    He lacked direction for much of his life. He only ever had direction when he was with his girlfriend, Audrey. To be exact, for seventy years Jacob had direction. That was until a day ago.

    Radiation poisoning did absolute wonders to the Oni physiology.

    So now Jacob was once again directionless, just going through the motions of life. Maybe that was how he ended up marching through a somewhat lit forest that for some reason had glowing black and white flowers sprouting sporadically in places while what he guessed to be ash covered much of the forest floor that his squad of 450 Oni warriors walked upon. A single leader led their squad, watching them from the treetops while also looking out for any danger that might be hidden within the trees.

    Jacob''s body wasn''t particularly fit and his skin was red. He was bald and his face was covered by a mask that was an exact copy of every other Oni''s. He wore the same chainmail that most of the other Oni in his company wore and had a pair of kama hanging from his sides like most other Oni in his company did.

    ''We have 50 squads all coming in from the general north, with about 100 meters separating each squad. This is supposed to make it so the enemy can only concentrate on a single squad at any given time. Depending on who we have to deal with this might or might not be effective.''

    Jacob thought of this while also paying attention to what his two companions close to him were talking about.

    "Damn." One blue-skinned Oni in front of Jacob began, this one much fitter than him and wielding a tachi hanging from his side, "String got me so pumped up for this fight! The only thing that brings this down is all this dirt or ash or whatever that seems to be covering everything, plus the black and white flowers are kinda scaring me."

    "Sam, that''s the fifth time you said something about what I''m pretty sure is ash, stop complaining about it logdammit. At worst, it''s a minor annoyance." Another Oni, this one a female with yellow-skin and a katana at her side, responded to the Oni named Sam. "And while I will admit that the speech from the chief brings me some peace, I know that she could''ve told us to fuck off and die in a fire, and you would still be so pumped."

    "Maybe I would. I mean that''s one of the reasons I was chosen to be apart of our military."

    "Which is now only 7% of the actual forces going into battle." Jacob intersected, sounding absolutely abysmal, "We''re so fucked."

    Jacob watched as Sam began clenching and unclenching his fist, causing a sigh to leave the simple Oni''s mouth as he knew what was about to come.

    "Every party needs a pooper, that''s why we invited you."

    "My one hope is that you die before me."

    The yellow Oni turned to look back at Jacob with a hand on her hip and said,

    "But seriously Jacob, can you not be such a killjoy right now. We all know what our chances are, but we should at least hold some sliver of hope."

    "My hope died with Audrey."

    Jacob heard both of his friends sigh, before Sam stopped and turned to face him.

    "What do you wa-"

    KRAKK!

    Jacob''s head snapped to the side, as his vision filled with white dots. The Oni then began to fall back, but Sam caught him by the bottom of his mask and pulled him back up.

    "Stop being such a mopey bitch. You''ve been like this for the last two days and its just disgusting. How do you think Audrey would feel seeing you like this?"

    Jacob looked down to the ground and let out another sigh.

    "Like shit."

    "Then pick your head up and try to act alive." The yellow Oni commented, "You stopped your job as a historian to come fight for her, didn''t you?"

    "Yeah, you''re right Lucy." Jacob nodded his head before taking a deep breath and letting it out.

    "Hey!" Jacob and Co. looked up to the treetops where the squadron leader had stopped, "Get your asses moving already! An attack could occur at any moment!"

    "We''re at the back though," Another Oni not too far away from Jacob''s group said, "We should be alerted to any attack before it even reaches u-"

    BOOM!

    The sound of the sound barrier breaking set off numerous alarm bells in Jacob''s mind, causing the Oni to look up towards where the sound came from. What he found wasn''t what he feared, but something much worst.

    The sky had become ablaze.

    Balls of blue flames were now raining down from the sky and striking everything and everyone indiscriminately. Trees went up in flames within moments of contact and fire spread across the ground much quicker than it normally would. Jacob watched in horror as a fireball struck an empty spot between two groups of Oni not too far from his right and quickly engulfed them and much of the ground near them in flames that did nothing to silence their screams. Looking back up, Jacob gasped at the sight of his squad leader falling from the treetops covered in flames, screaming in agony right up until he struck the ground.

    "Shit! This ash is flammable!" Lucy yelled before grabbing Jacob and Sam by their arms and dragging them out of the way of an incoming fireball, "Get your asses in gear, we can''t stay in one spot too long or we''re fucked!"

    Any paralysis that held either of the two was broken with those words, and the trio began to run and dart through the hell that now engulfed their entire squad.

    "Help me!"

    "They''re raining fire from the sky!"

    "By the Log, don''t let me die here!"

    These screams and more filled the air as Jacob''s squad broke up in disarray. Jacob himself had begun to gag and cough as the smell of burnt flesh and bones began to enter his nose and smoke began to fill his lungs. Looking around him, Jacob found that much of all he could see was smoke and blue flames. He was just barely able to keep track of Sam and Lucy who were both ahead of him.

    "Where are we going!?" Jacob heard Sam ask Lucy over the screams of dying Oni and collapsing trees.

    "I don''t have a destination in mind at this very moment since I don''t really know where we are anymore!" Jacob heard Lucy respond as both he and her narrowly dodged out of the way of a falling tree branch that had caught fire.

    "Just shut up and try to just survive right now, we can worry about where we''re going when we have a moment to breathe!" Jacob said, adding his thoughts into the mix as another ball of flames crashed down and engulfed a pair of Oni that had been in front of them that had been coming from the direction they were heading.

    The fire was endless as the trio continued to dodge the flames and debris that rained down from the sky. At one point, Jacob had tripped over a fallen branch and had almost gotten hit by a ball of fire, but Sam was quick to lug him up and out of the way. Jacob rushed past many dead bodies, sparing the dead no glances as his own personal survival took center stage in his mind.

    Jacob knew not for how long he had run, but he had done it long enough that by the time the flames fell behind them and fire stopped raining from the sky he was exhausted. He was sweating profusely and his body felt like lead. Immediately after falling, he fell out on the ground and began to huff and puff as clean air filled his lungs. He heard both Sam and Lucy do the same alongside another pair of Oni he didn''t even know were following them. Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Alex looked up to his two friends feeling grateful that they were alive.

    "Fuck!" Sam shouted, being the first to catch his breath enough to speak, "That attack must''ve completely wrecked our squad, we lucked out by being near the back of it."

    "Dammit!" Lucy shouted, banging a hand against her side, "Our plan is fucked!"

    "What makes you say that?" Jacob asked, now able to speak.

    "Our plan was made on the basis that they only have three fighters. That''s why we surrounded them and approached them with four separate companies. The higher ups figured that they would only use a single of their fighters to take on a single front and that that would work somewhat, meaning that they wouldn''t be able to guard all of those fronts successfully. Yet it seems as if they''ve countered our plan quite effectively already."

    "What do you mean?"

    "What I mean, Sam, is that the enemy won''t need to focus on our front at all now." Lucy pointed towards the torched area they had just escaped, with Jacob paying careful attention to the slowly approaching flames, "That right there is a barrier that is not impossible to get past, but extremely likely to end in death. If I had to hazard a guess, that attack also hit all of the other squad. They''ll probably do something similar for the south side."

    "Which means they can choke us through our west and east forces," Sam added, sounding incredibly displeased by that thought.

    "Which now means that they would only need two of them to hold us back." Jacob finished the thought sounding just as displeased as Sam.

    "So what, is it hopeless now? Are we just screwed right now?! Is everything over?!" One of the two other Onis present asked in fright.

    "Get your shit together jackass!" Sam ordered the frantic Oni, causing them to immediately clam up, "Our leader isn''t dumb enough to make just one plan. They''ll probably switch to the one they had prepared just in case of this outcome."

    "So what do we do now?" The other of the surviving Oni asked.

    "We go meet up with west company and inform them of the situation," Lucy said before looking up into the sky and searching for something. Finding whatever she had been looking for, Lucy then rose up to full height and began to walk away, "This way."

    Jacob rose up to his feet and began to walk towards Lucy but stopped when two wet squelch sounds and two soft thuds from behind him greeted his ears. Jacob then heard wings flapping softly and a low growl come from behind him as he began to profusely sweat once again. The sweat was cold and now terror gripped his heart once again. Jacob turned around and almost shit himself once he saw what was there.

    A monster.

    A monster with slit emerald eyes that looked upon him with curiosity.

    A monster with red skin and scales.

    A monster with the horns of a devil.

    A monster with leathery wings that stood ready to launch her towards her prey.

    A monster that had blood-drenched talons almost as long as his ring finger.

    A monster with carnivorous teeth gleaming pearly white.

    A monster that stood over the body of two of his kin.

    A monster that he knew wanted to kill him.

    Jacob saw red.

    "You bitch I''ll fucking ki-"

    SQUELCH!

    Jacob''s eyes widened in shock as blood splattered across his mask and he fell on his ass.

    "Dying to protect one of your own, I can respect that."

    Jacob''s eyes widened at the cold words that left the monster''s mouth, words that completely lacked in any sense of caring or regret. Jacob looked back to where he had stood and saw that the monster now stood before Sam, who had shoved him out of the way. She stood before Sam with a single of the talons on her left hand buried into the back of his skull. Tears began to poor from Jacob''s eyes as he saw the lifeless far-out look that Sam now held. Jacob felt his anger leave him and become replaced by sheer suffering and pain. The monster then looked down at Jacob and let out a disgusted scoff.

    "I saw the anger of a fighter in you, but you seem to lack the spirit of one."

    Jacob flinched at the monster''s words, a sense of shame washing over him.

    "You bitch."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    CRI-CRACK!

    Both Jacob and the monster turned to face Lucy and found a stunning sight before them. Her mask had broken and fell to the ground, revealing the face of a furious and crying female Oni. Her eyes were glowing gold and lacked pupils, and yellow electricity began to ripple across her body.

    "You killed my friend."

    And with those words, Lucy launched herself towards the monster and gave a horizontal slash to the air between the two. A yellow arc shot from her blade and towards the monster, causing her to swiftly remove her talon from Sam''s corpse and raise her arm to block the yellow arc of energy.

    BOOM!

    The monster was engulfed in a yellow explosion that launched Jacob several feet away from both her and Lucy. While in his brief flight, Jacob heard the sound of a metallic thunk. After a brief tumble and subsequent shake of his head, Jacob was able to figure out why he heard the thunking noise.

    The monster(who looked none the worst for wear) had blocked Lucy''s blade with her arm and now stared back at the glaring Keijo with a glare of her own.

    "You want vengeance bitch." The monster''s eyes glared even harder, "Then let''s go."

    "Fuck you!"

    Lucy withdrew her blade and took a step back before she began attacking the monster with a flurry of cuts and stabs, her blade blurring from Jacob''s sight as she did so. The monster''s left arm blurred as well, blocking each attack from Lucy with ease. She must''ve realized this as well since she leaped back from the monster and preceded to slash the air between them in rapid fire motions, yellow arc after yellow arc being launched one after the other with barely any time between slashes. The monster''s response to this was to quickly wrap herself up in her wings just before the first arc hit.

    BOOM!

    Jacob was forced to close his eyes as a yellow explosion once again engulfed the monster, which was soon followed by 19 more. Dirt, grass, and wood went flying everywhere as anything not planted firmly in the ground was launched away, including Jacob and the dead bodies of his brethren.

    "OOF! Uuhh." Jacob groaned as his back smacked against a nearby tree before letting out another groan as Sam''s body smacked into him.

    Pushing his dead friend off of him, Jacob rubbed his eyes and shook his head before looking back towards the monster and Lucy.

    What he found was the monster unwrapping her wings from around herself looking perfectly fine, and Lucy staring back at the monster with complete and utter rage on her face.

    "Those blast of yours are doing little damage, you might want to try something different." The monster told Lucy in a taunting tone.

    "Well if you want me to, then I will," Lucy said before yellow electricity began coursing through her again, "FREEZE!"

    Jacob watched in shock as the monster was suddenly forced to her knees, and a deep cratered was pushed into the ground with her at the epicenter.

    "So" The monster began, her voice strained, "You can multiply the weight of something that comes into contact with one of your slashes. And, from what I''m feeling right now, the number of slashes will equal the number by which the weight is multiplied. Am I correct?"

    Lucy looked away from the monster for a second as an unsure look came to her face. After a second or two of thought, Lucy looked back at the monster and said,

    "Yes, you are. And it seems that I''m gonna need to multiply it a few more times before it kills you."

    "Then what are you waiting for?"

    Lucy then began launching arc after arc at the monster, the area shaking with each subsequent flash and explosion. By the time Lucy had stopped, Jacob had counted four minutes. By this point, fatigue had finally crept up on her. A few trees had fallen from all the explosions and all that was left was in the area was dirt. The crater the monster was end had gotten even deeper, much deeper. Jacob actually felt a bit of hope, maybe, just maybe the monster had been killed.

    "1639," The monster said, as the cloud of dirt around her cleared up, "That''s how many time that you''ve hit with your arcs. I now weigh 464800 pounds."

    And then Jacob felt his hope die a brutal and bloody death. The monster was alive with barely noticeable tears in her clothing but otherwise fine.

    The monster then rose to her full height with clearly no effort and looked up to Lucy, who glared back at her with even more anger than earlier.

    "Fuuuck. Yoouuuu." She said through gritted teeth and heavy breaths.

    "Hmmm. I''m impressed, it''s honestly a shame what I''m about to do to you."

    "And what would that be?"

    The monster raised her right hand and reveal that within it she held a cylindrical black rod with a small arrowhead-like shape at its end.

    "This. This is a pen. This fountain pen to be exact."

    "And what are you going to do with it?"

    "This."

    The monster then flicked her wrist and Lucy''s head exploded in a shower of blood and brains, with several of the trees that were behind her having huge sections ripped out of them.

    Jacob could only watch in complete and utter shock as Lucy''s headless body fell to the ground without grace. This was soon accompanied by the sound of several trees hitting the ground and kicking up plumes of dirt. Jacob then felt a presence approach and began to hang over him.

    It was the monster, he knew it. And she confirmed it herself when she began to speak.

    "You know, you''re the last Oni alive from your company. The rest either died in the fire or by a poke in their brain stem from me."

    "Just end me already," Jacob sobbed as he balled his fist and shut his eyes tight. Tears invisible to the monster began to leak from in between his eyes lids, "You cruel bitch."

    "No, I won''t."

    Jacob paused in his crying to look up at the monster and found her glaring down at him in disgust once again.

    "I won''t take pity on you. If you want to die then take one of these blades on the ground and do it yourself. Or let my fire eat you up, I don''t care. But I will not personally kill you."

    "Why?"

    "Because every single one of your kin that I killed with my own hands, died trying to protect or fight for something. Those two next to you, I allowed both to see me coming to gauge their reaction and guess what they did?"

    "What?"

    "They both tried to move to protect the other. I could respect that, I could respect that friend of yours who died shoving you out of the way. I could respect that Oni over there," Jacob looked towards where Lucy lay, "Who fought to get vengeance for her dead friend. I can respect each and every single one of the Oni that I''ve killed with my hands. But I can''t respect you. Someone who just gives up, someone who just lays down and waits for the blade to strike. I wouldn''t be able to live with myself if I killed someone like you out of mercy." Jacob watched as a snarl came to her face, "So if you truly want to die by my hand, then find something to fight for, find something to protect."

    The monster then turned away from Jacob and spread out her wings ready to launch herself away, before leaving him with these parting words.

    "Because as of right now, I''m quite sure you''re already dead."

    The monster flew upward and quickly disappeared from Jacob''s sight, leaving him alone with the bodies of his friends and allies as his only company. Looking up towards the sky, where the monster had disappeared, Jacob repeated just one thing that the monster had told him.

    "Find something to fight for."

    CRI-CRACK!

    HALT

    ''Damn that pissed me off!''

    Herah was now floating above the treetops of the forest looking down upon the blazing barrier that had been created to both block off and kill the east company of the Oni forces. At the very moment, the youngling was double checking for any survivors.

    ''Well except for that piece of shit.'' Herah let out a snort of flames at the thought of the worthless Oni that had asked her to kill him, ''I can''t believe that someone like that is even trying to fight for the fate of their people.''

    Herah shook her head to try and alleviate some of her anger. Finding the endeavor useless, Herah reached up to her amulet and sent out a mental message to all connected.

    ''There''s something you all need to know.''

    Almost immediately, Max answered sounding rather worried.

    ''WHAT!? Is it why you''re so angry right now?"

    Owen was the next one to come in.

    ''Herah''s angry, about what?''

    Then finally Alex joined the chat, sounding displeased and dead inside at the same time.

    ''The fuck do you want right now ashbrain, I can''t be distracted for long.''

    ''Oh my bad Alex. I don''t mean to bother you as you do jack shit.''

    ''Don''t think Enlightenment won''t work on you through this link.''

    ''I would just love to hear what you have to say Alex.''

    ''How are those breast of yours feeling right now, lavatits?''

    These taunting words immediately shut Herah up as a feeling of shame overcame her, but this also set off of Max who Herah felt explode with anger.

    ''ALEX! YOU BETTER FUCKING NOT!''

    ''Sis, I won''t.'' There was a brief pause, "As long as she doesn''t waste my time.''

    "Alex, I swear if you do it again I will beat you till you''re in a coma.''

    ''Now sis, don''t be lik-''

    ''STOP!'' Owen cut in before anything else could be said, ''Max please calm down, we can''t have you flying off the handle right now. Alex, can you please be an asshole when we''re not in the middle of a life or death situation? And Herah, can you please just say what you meant to say and try not to set off Alex?''

    Three collective sighs were felt through the mental link and three more yes were felt as well before Herah started speaking about her reasoning for contact.

    ''Oni seem to be able to become Keijo whenever extreme distress is felt.''

    ''What makes you say this ashbrain?'' Alex asked, sounding a bit displeased by the news.

    ''One of the Oni I killed lost their mask after I murdered their friend, then began to shoot yellow blades of energy at me.''

    ''Hmmm.'' Alex mused mentally through their connection, "That sounds like that could be a problem, but I don''t think extreme distress is the only condition that has to be met.''

    ''Why not Alex?'' Owen asked.

    ''Because if that was true then we would have a lot more Keijo running around due to what Max did.''

    Herah felt Max''s emotions spike into disarray as numerous feelings were all being felt at once. Luckily enough for Max, Herah focused on a memory of her own father teaching her the song Nettoyants would sing before going to work and allowed her feelings of content to flow over Max''s own. Herah felt Max''s emotions become stable once again.

    ''So what do you think the other condition is?'' Max asked, a barely noticeable shift in her mental tone.

    ''I''d have to get a few more examples of this occurring before I could make any conclusions. But an even better option is to not let it occur, so make sure not to be sloppy... Herah.''

    ''Fuck off.''

    ''Anyway, have you taken out the north company yet?''

    ''Essentially.''

    ''What do you mean by essentially?'' Herah could already imagine the narrowing of Alex''s eyes.

    ''There is one left.''

    ''Well you know what to do.''

    ''Yep.''

    ''Does that mean you''re going to kill them?''

    ''Nope.''

    ''Herah,'' The youngling knew very well that Alex was gritting his teeth, ''Why not?''

    ''Because it would against my ideals at this very moment.''

    ''Did we not just have a talk about being sloppy? Leaving whoever it is you''re not killing alive would be sloppy. It would be soooo sloppy.''

    ''I know, but I made a vow to La Flamme many years ago that I would stand by my ideals. And you already know the repercussions for breaking my vows.''

    ''Herah?''

    ''Yes, Alex?''

    ''I hate your fucking guts, I hope you die, and you''re lucky I love my sis so much.''

    ''No love lost, I hope you live, and I know.''

    ''What I do to the west company is partly your fault, Alex out.''

    And with those words, Alex left her mind.

    ''Herah?" Max called out with worry in her voice and through their link.

    ''Yes Max?''

    ''Alex has a point you know?''

    ''I do, but I''ll stand by my beliefs even if it gets me killed.''

    ''I know, but will you stand by them even if they get us killed?''

    ''Yes.'' Herah said without pause. ''The only thing more important in my eyes is the life of La Flamme and my family, and I''ll be sure to handle it if this Oni if they become a big enough threat that they could cause me my life.''

    ''Still lavatits, maybe you should-''

    ''Max!'' Herah cut in, anger coloring her tone, ''Stop now, my decision will not change. You already know that, don''t you?''

    ''I-I do.'' Max sounded a bit sad, ''Just try not to get yourself hurt, please?''

    ''I will.''

    ''Max out.''

    And then Max left her mind, somewhat.

    ''Herah?''

    ''Yes Owen?''

    ''I think you hurt her feelings.''

    ''I did, and I already feel like shit about it.'' Herah let out a sigh and grabbed onto her right horn, ''Is that all?''

    ''Two more things.''

    ''Ok then, what?''

    ''Where is Jeffery? And the east company has begun to move.''

    ''I don''t know where Jeffery is, and I''ll be over on that side soon.''

    ''Okay then, Owen out.''

    And then Owen left her mind.

    Herah let out a sigh before rubbing the side of her head in frustration.

    ''I''m gonna have to apologize to Max later, that was sorta cruel of me.''

    Herah then let out another sigh before launching herself towards the east company.

    ''I hope what you have cooked up for the south company goes smoothly.''

    ONI

    Ericka had a dream.

    Ericka had a dream that she would one day be able to live in a world where the two factions that made up her people weren''t always at each other''s throats. A world that didn''t have to fear the threat of annihilation because of the mistakes of the past. A world that she could find love and hope filling the air. That''s why she fought, that''s why she joined the south company of the Oni attack forces. Destroying their objective would open the pathway to the future she dreamed of.

    Ericka was an Oni with brown skin and a fairly fit body, with black hair styled into a bun that was held together by two needles. She wore armor that was a bit more superior to that of her companions. It was full plate samurai armor, red as Sendo (the star that Bizarre orbited) that lacked the standard helmet. On her side hung a katana and a wakizashi, both with red sheaths containing their blades.

    Ericka was leaping through the somewhat dim treetops looking down on her squad while also watching out for anything that could be seen as out of place. She had been doing so for nearly twenty minutes now and found herself a bit worried by the lack of any form of attack.

    ''Why hasn''t the enemy attacked us yet, my squad is near the middle of the company and we''re nearly halfway there. Did they not set up any defenses, or is this just one big trap?''

    Any more thoughts of that nature were lost once Ericka caught sight of something that made her blood run hot.

    Just a few branches away, standing atop a rather wide branch, was one of those who were trying to defend the tree her people were to destroy. The defender almost completely matched the description that Ericka had been given just before her squad had left their home, Jubokko. She was a brunette, had green eyes, wore a trench coat with a slight modification to it, had on what was called cargo pants instead of shorts, and had 52 cards floating around her.

    This was the one named Max.

    But it wasn''t her identifying of Max that made Ericka angry. No, what made her angry was the apologetic and sad look that she wore on her face. A look that seemed to say, I''m so sorry for killing most of your population. I''m so sorry for causing such heartache and pain to your people. I''m so sorry for fucking you over.

    But Ericka didn''t need her apology.

    Ericka needed her life.

    With a furious yell, Ericka unsheathed her katana and launched herself towards Max. Once in sword range, the furious Oni tried to split her target down the middle. Max''s response to this was diving out of the way and rolling into a crouch, while calling a single card to her hand and saying,

    "This is a shield."

    Almost immediately, an unpainted steel buckler appeared in Max''s hand and was put to work as Ericka withdrew her blade from the branch and once again launched herself towards Max. Sparks flew as Ericka''s blade skidded across Max shield, which was followed up by Ericka beginning a relentless assault upon Max.

    "Die you bastard!"

    Ericka slammed her shoulder into Max''s shield, knocking her target off balance. Seeking to exploit this opening, Ericka went for a quick stab at Max''s chest that she deflected with a wild swing of her shield. Growling in anger, Ericka flipped her blade into a reverse grip and dragged it up in an upward slash that forced Max back another step, still off balance. Ericka quickly followed this up with a kick to Max''s shield that launched her onto her back. The Oni then went for a stomp on Max''s left leg that just narrowly missed due to Max rolling to the side. This roll left her back open for a brief enough moment that Ericka attempted to slash at it.

    SHUKK!

    "GAH!"

    One of Max''s card lodged itself into the back of Ericka''s hand, stopping her attack and nearly causing her to drop her blade. Then the sound of something cutting through the air reached her ears, so Ericka turned around and deflected five more cards. This little distraction gave Max enough time to steady herself and ram her shield into Ericka''s back.

    "GAH!"

    Ericka stumbled forward before whipping her leg around and smacking Max in the side and off the side of the branch. She watched as the human lost grip of her shield and tried to grab at the side of the branch but just nearly missed it.

    "I can fly."

    Ericka let out another growl as Max flew back up and landed a fair distance away from her. The Oni then clenched her teeth and sprinted towards Max once again, this time dragging her katana along the branch before going into an upward slash. This action launched several wooden chips at Max, causing for her to cover her eyes with her arms and leaving another opening for Ericka to exploit. And exploit this opening she did. Ericka slashed her blade downward, in another attempt to cut Max down the middle. Luckily for Max, she was able to move to the left just enough that the blade glanced out of her shoulder pad and once again buried into the branch. This luck quickly ran out, however, when Ericka used her left hand to withdraw her wakizashi, and slash Max across the abdomen.

    "GAAH!"

    Blood sprayed through the air as Max bowelled over and lowered both of her arms to cover her now open abdomen. Ericka didn''t give Max time to do much else because she then kicked Max in the face, launching her through the air and flat on her back.

    "That was for all the Oni that died in your attack." Ericka said as she flicked the blood off of her wakizashi and slid it back into its sheath.

    Ericka then watched in slight satisfaction as Max laid on her back and breathed hardly. This satisfaction soon left her though, when Max said,

    "I''m as I was before."

    And just like that, Max''s wound healed and her clothes pieced itself back together. Ericka let out a growl and got ready to attack Max once again, but then she heard what sounded like an arrow striking the bottom of the branch they both stood upon.

    "What the-

    "We''ll be safe from the explosion!"

    BOOM!

    Ericka was forced to shut her eyes as an explosion engulfed both herself and Max, and the branch they wore standing on blew up into shards. Now in freefall towards the ground, Erika opened her eyes and looked for her katana and to the nearest tree. Finding both within moments, Ericka snatched her blade out of the air and angled herself towards the tree. She then stabbed her sword into her wooden savior. Almost popping her arms out of their sockets, Ericka''s arms jolted as she began to slow in her decent until she stopped just a few feet above the ground. Letting out a few breaths, Ericka then planted both of her feet on the side of the tree she had used to slow her descent and wrenched her blade out of its unconventional wooden sheath. With nothing to stop the pull of gravity, Ericka then fell and landed on her feet with a practiced grace. She then turned around and came mask to mask with one of her subordinates, a purple-skinned Oni with a large muscular figure and a bow at the ready and some arrows in his quiver.

    "Apologies commander." His voice came out gruff but formal, "I figured when you shouted that one of the enemies must have been up there and in my haste to help I risked killing both you and our fellow soldiers."

    Ericka shook her head at his words and replied with,

    "Don''t apologize, you had the chance to take out the enemy and you took it. Plus, your explosion reduced the branch to harmless wooden shards. Everyone will be fine." Ericka then looked up and growled at what she found, "Too bad you didn''t kill her."

    Ericka felt her rage bubble up once again as Max looked down on her and her squadron. Then the sound of Oni drawing arrows filled her ears as many took aim at Max. But before any could be fired, Max shut them all down.

    "Your weapons are now floating in space."

    Ericka let out a surprised grunt when her sword suddenly disappeared from her hand, which was soon joined by all the other nearby Oni.

    "I''m sorry for what I did. And what I do next, I do not because I want to."

    Then Max said,

    "The ground is shaking."

    As soon as the words left Max''s mouth, Ericka heard a rumble and stumbled as the ground began to shake right beneath her feet. Ericka looked around and watched as many of her subordinates fell flat on their asses or face. She then looked back up at Max and found her pulling a syringe out of her pocket and injecting herself with some green liquid. But her attention didn''t linger on this for too long, instead, Ericka felt her eyes drawn to red sparkles that had begun to rain down from the leaves of the trees.

    Not quite sure of what they were, Ericka attempted to get away from them but ended up crashing into one of her subordinates and falling to the ground. This left Ericka open to inhale quite a few of the tiny red sparkles.

    "Achoo! What the hell are theeese thiiings?" Ericka felt her eyes grow heavy and before she could say anything more, sleep took her.

    ......

    ......

    ......

    ......

    "Wake up!"

    Ericka''s eyes shot open and she found herself looking up at a Keijo she had never seen before.

    "Who," Ericka shook her head, "Who are you?"

    "I''m C.C." The Keijo said with a surprising amount of cheeriness.

    "What, what happened to me?"

    C.C. tilted her head to the side slightly, almost as if pondering how to answer Ericka''s question. After a second or two of thought, C.C nodded to herself and said,

    "Well that Max chick ended up using some type of knock out dust that put the entire south company to sleep."

    Ericka hurriedly sat up, nearly hitting C.C. in the head.

    "What!? How long have I been out!?"

    "About two hours."

    "WHAT!?"

    Ericka watched as C.C. flinched at her shout causing her to offer up a small apology.

    "No problem, anyway I got some good news for you."

    "What would that be?"

    C.C. smiled at Ericka and said,

    "We won."

    Ericka felt her heart skip a beat at the words that left C.C.''s mouth.

    "Come again?"

    "We won."

    "Really?"

    "Yup."

    "How?"

    "Some good ideas from myself and this Keijo named Jacob, some great sacrifices from Moon and String, and some good old fashion luck."

    Ericka felt breathless at the words that left C.C.''s mouth. Tears began to prick at her eyes as she rose to her feet and looked around her. All around Oni were being awakened to the good news, some crying out in joy while others just nodded to themselves in silence. Ericka felt her mouth twist into a smile as her knees felt weak and she began to weep tears of joy.

    Ericka had a dream.

    And now, she knew it could come true.

    HALT

    Max stood over the body of the Oni she now knew to be named Ericka, tears pouring down the side of her face as she looked upon a bubble that showed her the dreams of the dead Oni.

    "Tha-That''s part of what the red sparkles do." Max said to the body as a sniffle left her, "The-They lull the victim into a coma before casting their mind into an unstable timeline that is formed from my gift and their hopes for the future. T-They will then progress through this timeline until their death within which cause the timeline to collapse. Wh-What occurs to their physical body is a near instantaneous and painless de-death."

    Max then looked around herself and upon the sight of the many other Oni that had inhaled the red sparkles (which were still falling) with bubbles floating over all of their corpses.

    "It-It''s the least I could do for you after all I''ve done."

    ''Max?''

    Max flinched at the sudden intrusion of Herah''s voice. Immediately, she felt a spike of anger rise in her but found it almost immediately snuffed out by her own overwhelming self-hate and guilt. Reaching up to her amulet, Max began speaking to Herah.

    ''Yeah, Herah.''

    Max winced at her thoughts, she knew that they sounded pained and heartbroken.

    ''I''m guessing you''ve done your part.'' Herah sounded uncharacteristically cautious with her words.

    ''Yeah, you know earlier I thought I was ready to do this.'' Max rubbed a few more tears out of her eyes, ''I thought that it wouldn''t be that hard. But I was wrong, I was so wrong and I hate myself even more now.''

    ''Well don''t Max, you allowed for each every single of those Oni to live out their dream. To live out a perfect future.''

    ''But it''s an illusion!''

    ''But they''ll never know, so it might as well be reality.''

    ''I killed them!''

    ''And you''re going to have to just live with it.''

    ''Is that all you have to say!?''

    ''Of course not, what I''m trying to tell you is that you''ve already done it! So you can''t take it back now. What you can do is accept what you did and move on.'' Herah paused for a moment, ''Or at least try to. I know it took some time last time, so I won''t bug you about it too much. We can talk about this after the battle, okay?''

    Max sniffed again, before telling Herah okay and allowing for herself to focus on the link the two shared. A sudden rush of caringness and joy from Herah, allowed for Max to stabilize herself and not think about what she had just done.

    ''You rest yourself up, I think you''re out of this fight for now. Me and Alex should be able to handle the rest.''

    ''Ok Herah and'' Max smiled a small sad smile, ''Thanks for checking up on me.''

    Max could feel the smile on Herah''s face.

    ''No problem, Herah out.''

    And like that, Herah was gone.

    Max then floated up and over the treetops before looking back down and saying,

    "Sweet dreams."

    Max then turned where she knew her brother to be and felt a bit of worry. She saw that the storm she had used a fib to slow was just now reaching his location and that he would soon be doing his part of the plan.

    ''Hey, sis?''

    Speak of the devil.

    ''Yeah brother?''

    Max heard Alex sigh.

    ''I can see you''re still very much pissed at me.''

    ''What makes you think that?''

    ''You''re calling me brother instead of bro. You only do this when especially pissed.''

    ''Ok, so what is that you had to say?''

    ''No, of course not! I wanted to check in on you after you started shaking your side of the forest and make sure everything was going okay.''

    ''I''ll be fine.'' Max lied, ''Is that all?''

    Max knew that Alex was now rubbing his head in frustration.

    ''Is this about that exchange Herah and I had earlier?''

    ''Partly.''

    ''Why does that have you so miffed?''

    ''Because you two are supposed to try and become friends.''

    ''And I am, but you know she just pisses me off! I don''t know how but she just pushes all my buttons.''

    This time Max let out her own sigh.

    ''I know, but can you at least try to be less of a general asshole when dealing with her. For my sake?''

    Alex let out one final sigh.

    ''Sure thing. Alex ou-''

    ''Before you go, brother, stay safe.''

    Max could almost feel her brother''s smile at her words.

    ''Will do. Wish me luck! Alex out.''

    Alex left Max alone, looking off towards where his battle was to soon take place with worry still on her mind.

    ''Good luck bro.''

    ONI

    Manuel loved the look of fire.

    Whether it be through firewood, matches, stoves, or starlight, he loved to see the flames at work.

    It was the second most beautiful thing in the world to him to be exact.

    Which is why when the bomb went off and engulfed a good portion of his home in the grandest fireball that he''d ever seen, he felt a perverse mixture of happiness and disgust. The sight was absolutely stunning, but its aftermath was such a horrid and painful affair for all that he hated himself a bit for liking how it looked.

    Especially since he should''ve died in the initial blast.

    The only reason he was still alive was walking behind him, leading him and his fellow Oni warriors from the back as a black storm of her creation floated above and casted a massive shadow over them all.

    String Kujo had saved his life and he now marched in front of her, clad in black samurai armor that was supposed to make it harder to find all of him and his allies within the dense forest unless they had the same night vision that all Oni held. However, the enemy seemed to have seen through this tactic before it was even employed since much of the trees that had originally filled their planned out path was now missing. This left a path of dirt that only a single squad had taken due to a switch in plans. They ended up splitting their company up into five squads as a result. Four of these squads split off and were now traveling on either side of his own through the forest that bordered the path that had been created. String Kujo''s squad was now the primary distraction while the other two were to pursue their objective.

    Manuel was a rather large and buff grey Oni, years as a blacksmith having given him much training to develop his muscles. He walked in relative silence amongst his contemporaries and leader, the only noise made from him being the shifting of the plates that made up his armor. His group had been marching for a two hours now and nothing of worry or threat had appeared leaving him a bit antsy.

    ''I wanna kill the bastards who did this to us. That would be perfect repayment for what String did for me. Now if only one would appear.''

    "Hey check that out! A single tree is standing in the center of the path! And one of the defenders is sitting in it."

    Manuel looked up and found a single of the redwood trees that normally filled the forest standing in the dead center of their path with only about fifty feet between his squad and it. Upon a single branch of the tree, sat one of the defenders of the tree his people were set on destroying. From their look and attire, this one was Alex. The brother of the one that had bombed his people. He was casually swinging his feet to and fro and appeared to be looking down upon Manuel''s squad.

    "Halt!"

    Manuel abruptly stopped alongside the rest of his squad at the sound of String''s command. As soon as the squad stopped, Mauel saw Alex pause in the kicking of his feet and rise to stand up on the branch. As Alex did this, Manuel also heard String approaching from behind, walking towards the front of the squad. By the time she had arrived at the front, the storm that hung overhead had overtaken the tree that Alex stood in and was now inching its way closer to where their target lied. Looking up to Alex, Manuel watched as String called up to the defender.

    "You''re Alex aren''t you!?"

    "That would be me! I''m assuming you''re String Kujo, the leader of the Oni." He shouted back down, sounding rather emotionless as he said so.

    "That is correct."

    "Good! Great in fact!" Alex shouted back down, lacking completely in the emotion that was supposed to be expressed through his words, "Do me a favor and don''t die from my attack! Norwe would be pretty pissed if he missed one of the main events!"

    And then Alex reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a box of something that Manuel couldn''t quite make out. He then saw Alex reach into the tiny little box and pull out a stick before doing a motion that he himself had repeated many times before.

    Alex struck a match.

    Immediately, Manuel found his eyes drawn to the tiny flame that he was just barely able to make out due to the distance. Though this didn''t mean that he didn''t hear the words that Alex said next.

    "Before I do this, know that this is partly because of how pissed off I am at the idiot I''m leading and that your soldiers probably don''t deserve what I''m about to do to them."

    Manuel felt as if time slowed down, as the match fell towards the ground. He felt his mind enraptured by the sight of the falling flame as his eyes tracked it down until it was just eye level with him. By that point, Manuel found his concentration broken by the words of Alex.

    "The fire on that match is just like an inferno."

    Manuel''s eyes widened in shock as a massive torrent of flames suddenly appeared and rushed towards his entire squad. It would be only a moment before the flame arrived and engulfed them, but yet again Manuel felt time slow down around him as he turned to look towards the one who had saved him from a situation very similar to this one not too long ago. Manuel felt no fear as the flames rushed towards him, because he knew that he would once again be saved.

    String Kujo raised a single hand.

    Just before the fire could engulf String, it was forced upwards by a sudden and powerful gale that caused a massive pillar of fire to form just before the Oni. Manuel felt sweat became to seep from his skin as he stared in both wonder and excitement at the power of his leader.

    She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

    After a few seconds, all of the fire created was forced up into the sky through the black cloud that hung overhead. For whatever reason, the fire didn''t create an opening of any kind. The flames seemed to just have passed through.

    Giving little thought to that, Manuel redirected his attention to Alex and found he couldn''t make out the expression that the defender was making but could understand how he felt from his words.

    "I''m honestly impressed!" Alex shouted down at them, the emotion that he was apparently feeling not at all being conveyed, "Weather manipulation, if I am correct?"

    "I don''t care for games Alex! I just want to get this over with already and go home!" String called back to the human.

    "I agree wholeheartedly with you String," Alex shouted down, "That doesn''t change the fact that we have to entertain for our survival though."

    Manuel watched as String growled up at Alex before letting out a sigh.

    "Ok, so what? Are you just gonna drop another one of those matches, I can block them with ease."

    "True enough," Alex admitted, "So instead I''ll do this."

    "Your Oni warriors should be burning."

    Manuel never realized he caught fire.

    Manuel never realized he fell to the ground.

    Manuel never realized he died.

    All Manuel knew before oblivion embraced him was that String was going to save them all.

    She had to.

    HALT

    Alex batted not an eye as all the Oni before him, erupted into flames and fell to the ground.

    ''Sorry guys, but you were in the way of what I hope Norwe believes to be an entertaining fight.''

    "They''re dying."

    And like that every single Oni warrior on the battlefield was dead.

    Alex looked down at String, who looked remarkably surprised and understandably stunned by what had just happened. During this period of inaction from String, Alex walked towards the trunk of the tree he stood upon and dived off.

    Allowing himself to freefall a fair distance, Alex shot towards the ground with seemingly no care for his own person. That was until he was three-fourths of his way down the tree, at that point, Alex flipped upright and whipped out his kris dagger before impaling it into the tree.

    POP!

    Alex let out a slight hiss as he felt his right shoulder pop out of its socket at the sudden jolt that hit his body. Luckily enough for Alex, he had managed to keep his grip on his blade until he was just a few inches above the ground. Alex then let go of his kris dagger and proceeded to pop his shoulder back into place.

    POP!

    "Aaahh. That felt good. But it''ll feel even better when Tara heals it."

    Alex then reached into his left jacket pocket and withdrew his other dagger, Tara. It was a kila dagger. A blade of Indian design, made of enchanted iron and brass. The blade of the dagger was made up of three other blades coming together to create a tripled-sided stake design. Within the three corners of the blade was the image of a snake wrapping around another that never quite reached the tip. The handle had intricate designs carved into it and was separated into thee separate sections with slight indent at the end of each one. The pommel had the three faces of Vajrak¨©la, one joyful, one peaceful, one wrathful.

    Alex flipped his dagger and stabbed himself in the side with it, his shoulder now having returned to its state before his fall. Alex then jumped up to the tree he had just been in and ripped out his kris dagger from it.

    With all of his stuff back on his person, Alex turned to face String who had finally seemed to get over her shock and now looked upon him with complete and utter contempt.

    ''Good. Now your pissed at me. An angry enemy is likely to make mistakes.''

    Alex then walked up to String, only stopping when there was about four meters between the two.

    "You killed them."

    "Not just those guys," Alex pointed at the still burning corpses then waved his hand all around, "All of your grunts are now dead."

    "How!?" String shouted, another look of shock passing over her face, "These were the only ones anywhere close to your fire!"

    Alex stared at String with zero emotion upon his face.

    "It just works."

    String looked down and balled her fist up in frustration, before looking up into the sky and shouting,

    "Damn it!"

    "Ok String cut the act." Alex rolled his eyes, "Me and you both know that these soldiers of yours already served their purpose."

    Alex watched as String flinched at his words, another look of shock flashing across her face before it became replaced with a frown as she glared at him.

    "Just because they accomplish what I set out for them, that doesn''t mean I don''t care what happens to them."

    Alex rolled his eyes at String''s words.

    "Piece of advice, care for very few people. One is good enough in fact. Everyone after that should be considered disposable.

    "What a sad way of thinking."

    "Not as sad as what just happened to your forces."

    Alex watched in with a distinct lack of amusement as String sighed in frustration and lost her glare before asking him,

    "How much of my plan do you know?"

    "My knowledge stops after you release the leash that you have on that storm of yours. Norwe wouldn''t allow for Max to just learn your plan, so we had to use some surveillance of ashbrain''s creation. We "mysteriously", Alex did air quotes with his hands, "Lost transmission not too long after learning your initial phase 1."

    "But I never said anything close to what you imply during my planning of that phase with the others."

    Alex nodded at String''s words.

    "True. I figured out the actual purpose of your plan after a bit of thought." Alex pointed at String, "But I would love to have you confirm it for me."

    Alex watched as String narrowed her eyes toward him and cautiously stated,

    "I''m listening."

    A small hum left Alex before he continued.

    "So your cover plan was pretty much to overwhelm us from all sides to make it so that we would have an area that couldn''t be covered due to us having only three fighters. This plan functioned under the assumption that we would not find a way to eliminate one front in time for us to handle the other. That would''ve been the fatal flaw that screwed you all over if that was what was supposed to happen, but you knew this while making your plan. You also knew that I would be the one to attack your group and Herah would be the one to take on east company. But you also figured out that only Herah and my sis could ever hope to eliminate an entire one of your companies quick enough to make them no longer pose a threat. So that meant that those two would have to take on your north and south companies, whichever one either chose didn''t matter."

    Alex paused when he saw String raise a finger.

    "Yes?"

    "How exactly did Max and Herah eliminate those two so easily?"

    "Herah took on your north company," Alex pointed towards the part of the forest that currently had plumes of smoke pouring up from it, "I had her cover the area we knew that your company would have to walk through with the ashes from the Ash Giver we''re currently guarding. I''m not sure whether you know this or not, but the ash that tree produces is rather flammable. So it was child''s play for Herah to turn that entire side of the forest into both a trap and grave for anyone on that side."

    Alex pointed towards the opposing side of the forest, knowing nothing of real notice was occuring over there.

    "I have no idea what my sis did, but I do know that it was a success."

    Alex didn''t flinch at the soul-piercing stare String gave him as a result of his answer. String then shook her head and said,

    "If you knew what your sister was doing then that would cancel out the effect of whatever it is. That''s how your gifts interact with each other isn''t it?"

    "Yup," Alex said with a nod of his head, "Now back to what I was saying. You know that my sister is the most dangerous factor we have in this fight, and that while Norwe will not allow for her to instantly let us win that she is still very much a threat to anything you throw in to try and surprise us. Another thing to consider is the danger of the storm that hangs above us," Alex pointed to the black clouds that hung overhead, "You did mention during your initial planning that a complex weather event like this storm would be near impossible to control after you released it and would function as a threat to everyone on the battlefield. So the entire point behind your initial attack was to eliminate Max from the equation by preying upon her guilt, while also making it so that only your enemies and yourself would have to deal with the dangers of your storm. Am I correct?

    "Yes."

    Alex nodded at these words before saying,

    "And for that reason and that reason alone, you have both my respect," Alex loosened the grip his Principle orb had on his emotions slightly, allowing for a frown to come to his face "And my hatred."

    "Your pissed about how I made your sister''s mental stability worse, am I correct?"

    "That I am. In fact, that''s partly why I chose to allow so many of your Oni to die by fire. Because I couldn''t think of a way to allow for her to not take part in your initial attack that wouldn''t leave us fatally open."

    "Why do you say that, aren''t I the biggest threat you know you''ll have to face?"

    Alex nodded his head once again before replying,

    "Yes. You are the biggest threat that I know I''ll have to face. But that doesn''t mean that your the biggest one for our group."

    "Who would that be, Alex?"

    "Oh, you know. So do I, so does sis, so does Owen, and Herah especially knows who."

    HALT

    Herah stood in the center of a clearing, littered with numerous Oni corpses that were still burning.

    ''This had to be Alex, Max isn''t in any condition to do anything on this scale at the moment.''

    Herah looked around and rubbed her nose a bit.

    "I fucking hate how all of you smell, it''s weird not being able to rely on my nose like this! Why the ash do you even smell of decay in the first place!?"

    Herah let out a growl of frustration while also looking around the clearing.

    "And why the fuck haven''t you showed up yet!?"

    "Because I was trying to come to grips with what just occurred." A strong and smooth masculine voice from behind Herah said.

    Herah turned around within moments, her claws unsheathing, her eyes changing into the mess of colors that symbolized her entering Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet, and a mental call for Jeffery leaving her as her eyes laid upon who her opponent was to be for this next phase of the battle.

    "Hello Moon, it''s been a while."

    The priest, still dressed in his white cassock and wearing an apologetic expression, emerged from the dense forest. Herah noticed that his left hand had holes filling it that made her feel slightly wary while his right arm had taken the form of an axe. Once fully within the clearing, the priest levied his hole filled hand at Herah and said,

    "Would you please back down? I would care for no more bloodshed today."

    Herah just shook her head, before inhaling deeply and exhaling a light blue flame that took the shape of a wisp lantern. Herah reached out to this wisp lantern and crushed it, cloaking herself in a light blue flame shroud.

    "Do you really believe you can beat me in five minutes Herah?"

    Herah shook her head.

    "Of course not, it''ll take fifteen at least. But this is my only way to keep up with you, so I''ll have to work around my time limit."

    Herah then entered her battle stance, watching as Moon frowned back at her looking pained by the thought of what was to happen next.

    "I guess our confrontation was inevitable then."

    Herah watched as Moon let out one final sigh before getting into his own battle stance.

    "I''ll try to make this quick."

    Herah frowned at these words, before growling at Moon.

    "Don''t underestimate me, it will get you killed."

    And with those words, Herah launched herself towards Moon with a single powerful flap as Moon launched himself towards her.

    ONI

    BOOM!

    String looked passed Alex and up as a large dust cloud appeared where she guessed Herah and Moon to now be battling. She then watched as Alex glanced back slightly at the explosion behind him and shook his head, mumbling something under his breath about explosive idiots. He then turned back to String and told her,

    "Well since it looks like the idiot and your priest have begun to fight, might as well get to ours then, shouldn''t we?"

    "You know," String reached up to her chin and rubbed it, "I can''t help but feel pity for you Alex, Norwe told me about your teams current dynamic and it''s just sad."

    Alex, for the first time since meeting her, frowned and glared at String.

    "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

    String smiled at Alex, a small bit of happiness feeling her at irritating the asshole.

    "I mean that the lack of respect from you towards someone who could save your life is so self-destructive. It''s almost as if you want history to repeat itself."

    This seemed to strike a nerve with Alex, because he let out an irritated sigh, his frown deepened, and he redrew both of his daggers. His curvy one being held upright in his right hand as it hovered over his shoulder while he leaned forward with his left hand holding his other dagger over his knee.

    "Well, I didn''t ask for your fucking pity!"

    String reached towards the tattoo of an arrow on her belly and drew her chain whip from it. She then straightened up her back and began spinning her weapon until it there appeared to be a large metallic fan spinning on her side. String then gave Alex a growl and released her hold over the storm that hung over them. The rumbling of thunder filled the air as rain began to fall upon String and Alex.

    String felt the hair on her arms began to rise and her chain whip began to hum and buzz, anticipation building up in her as she waited for just the right moment.

    5

    The buzzing of her chain got louder.

    4

    Her braids were starting to rise.

    3

    The buzzing grew even louder.

    2

    Alex took a few steps back

    1

    String whipped her chain directly up.

    CRAAAAK!

    A bolt of red lighting came down from the sky and struck String''s chain, traveling down until it reached her the handle of her weapon and disappearing just as it had earlier. String allowed a smile to come to her face as she thought,

    ''12 more and you''ll be dead Alex.''

    String then said,

    "True, you didn''t ask for my pity. But you might soon ask for my mercy."

 The Illustration Joins a Gallery

    "And then you asked me to catch you up on what had occurred so you could determine whether to kill me or not."

    Max stood before Orange with her trench coat wrapped tightly around herself since the entire right half of her body was now covered in a layer of frost. Shivering in a mixture of fear and cold,  Max looked down at her feet where a pile of shattered breaths sat. It had managed to reach just above her knees by the time her vivid recounting of everything that had happened since meeting Herah ( only giving a very abridged version of her backstory and power explanation) had finished. Now Max was just waiting for Orange to give her his response. The father in question stood before Max clad in his partially unbuttoned white polo and khaki slacks, now rubbing his forehead with his tail while muttering to himself. After a few seconds of this, Orange took his tail from his head and lessened the weight of his Presence around Max.

    Max let out an unfreezing sigh of relief as the frost that covered her began to recede and disappear alongside the pile of frozen air in front of her. No longer cold, Max lessened her grip on her coat and gave Orange a thankful smile. Orange let out another sigh before backing a bit away from Max and bowing deeply to her, his tail rigid and pointing upright.

    "I thank you for saving my daughter and myself, and I apologize for the fear I''ve caused you." Orange returned to a proper standing position and gave Max a small smile, "Alongside my daughter, I owe you a great debt and hope to repay it in any way I can."

    Max nervously chuckled at Orange before shaking her head and saying,

    "Don''t worry about it, lava tits is being a big enough help already and-" Max gasped and put a hand to her mouth while staring back at Orange with an apologetic look. Bringing her hand down to reveal an awkward smile, Max offered up a small apology to Orange. The father just waved her off, before putting both of his hands behind his head while also allowing for his tail to wave lazily behind him.

    "I have no problem with the nickname you have for my daughter," Orange responded, before performing a deadpan stare, "It''s better than the one Iesha gave me at least."

    "Who is Iesha?", Max asked with a puzzled look.

    "A human friend of mine.", Was Oranges quick reply.

    This got a few surprised blinks from Max, which caused Orange to let out another chuckle before answering her unasked question.

    "Yeah, I know what a human is and have met my fair share."

    "How?" Max asked, sounding surprised and curious.

    Orange took his right hand from behind his head and placed it upon Max''s left shoulder. Giving Max a small kind smile, Orange tilted his head and told Max,

    "Don''t worry about my past, just know that I''ve traveled my fair share of universes and met my fair share of humans."

    Max gave Orange a prying stare for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders and asking,

    "So, what happens next?"

    Orange''s smile morphed into a serious stare as he took his hand from Max''s shoulder and shoved both it and its partner into his slack''s pockets. The Cendruex then told Max,

    "Now I''m gonna tell you the bit about courting a Cendruex that Herah forgot to mention."

    Max''s eyes widened, with a question drenched in worry leaving her mouth soon afterward.

    "What did she forget to tell me?"

    "One thing my daughter forgot to tell you, was that once the courting begins a tattoo representing either of you will appear somewhere on both of your bodies and sear into your skin."

    "Sear into my skin?" Max asked, touching at her face with a wince at the thought.

    Orange nodded yes before saying,

    "Don''t worry, it''ll only hurt for a moment then the pain will fade as if it was never there."

    "Ok, so what will the tattoo be?" Max asked, putting her hand down in the process.

    Orange just shrugged his shoulders and told her,

    "It''s different for everyone, when my wife and I began courting," Orange pointed behind him towards the still frozen Herah and Rouge "Rouge got a frosty doll on the palm of her left hand with my name on it while I got a partly assembled rifle that spelled out my wife''s name on my right arm."

    "Oh, okay, that doesn''t sound too bad." Max told herself with a few nods of her head.

    "Well that''s great, because the next thing might just be a deal breaker for you."

    Max gave Orange a narrowed stare, not even bothering to ask the obvious question.

    "As time progresses, you two will begin to gain the other''s memories."

    "WHA-" Max stopped herself mid-shout and shook her head, before taking several deep breaths. After five breaths, Max nodded to herself and calmly asked, "How does this work exactly?"

    This got a raised brow from Orange, followed by a small smile and an answer.

    "Depending on how long you''ve been alive and how quickly you grow closer to each other, memories will begin to manifest. The more personal and deeply rooted the memory the longer it will take to show up and more vivid it will be when it does, though most will be insignificant and you won''t really be able to make much sense of them.."

    Max began running her hands through her still unkept hair with a thoughtful frown on her face as she looked down. After a few seconds, Max looked back up but not at Orange and made an ah-hah noise.

    "That means Herah won''t learn any more of my secrets unless I''m ready," Max told herself in a whisper (Orange heard her nonetheless) while nodding her head before looking directly at Orange with a calm and collected expression and saying, "Okay, is that all I need to know?

    Orange''s smile widened at Max''s words before he let out a hearty laugh that caught Maxto jolt in surprise.

    "Why are you laughing?" Max asked, looking at the Cendreux in front of her with a tilt of her head and a befuddled look.

    "Ahahahaha! It''s just," Orange made a humph sound with tears of laughter pouring from his eyes, "It''s not very common that a non-Cendreux, especially a human, sticks around after hearing about the memory part of courting us."

    Hearing Orange''s words, Max allowed a small chuckle to leave her with a small smile following afterward.

    "Orange, Herah," Max tilted her head towards the still frozen youngling that was behind her father, "Has already done a lot for me." Max put her hands to her chest, "She offered me an ear when I needed one and helped me get back some of my power by allowing me to take her virginity." Max''s trailed down and looked through Orange and towards where Herah''s mirror sat while she subconsciously added, "Which also got me some pretty good sex, so it was a double win."

    "Max," The human in question quickly looked back up at a visibly uncomfortable Orange, who had a pained smile on his face and spoke with clear discomfort and held back anger, "Please don''t remind me of the acts you recently committed with my daughter. The remnants of your scents on each other, the smell from that spot, and your very, very, detailed recount of the experience are good enough for my imagination..... And sanity."

    "Sorry," Max apologized with a nervous chuckle and rub of her shoulder. "Anyway, what I''m trying to say is that Herah has already gone that extra mile for me, and I would have to be a real ungrateful bitch to just bow out now. Plus," Max looked around Orange and towards Herah with a smile, "I''ve already trusted lava tits with a few secrets, a few more over time isn''t that bad." Max''s smile transformed into a small frown as she pointed at Herah, "But will she be okay with all of that?"

    Orange turned back to look at Herah before moving next to Max and telling her,

    "While I know for sure that she is perfectly fine with it, it never hurts to get verbal confirmation."

    And with those words, all the frost that had previously covered the clearing began to recede as Orange reigned his Presence back in completely. This left everything and everyone previously covered in frost free of it, including Herah and Rouge.

    Rouge looked around in confusion for a few moments before turning her attention to her daughter (who she was still strangling) and giving her a few confused blinks.

    "Herah why am I-" Rouge''s eyes widened as a scent hit her nose which was quickly followed by her remembering her reasoning for the choking of her daughter, "OH YEAH! That''s why I''m doing this."

    These words were soon followed by a snarl from Rouge and renewed strength and vigor in her strangling of Herah. Herah, unable to speak due to her mother''s hands, began the futile process of patting Rouge''s shoulders for mercy once again. Orange shook his head at his wife''s and daughter''s antics before letting out a whistle which caught Rouge''s attention.

    "Sweety," Orange began, his voice calm and smooth, "Please let go of Herah?"

    Rouge turned to Orange with a smile of her own and told him with a surprisingly cheery voice,

    "Sure thing sweety," Rouge turned back to Herah (who''s cheeks had gained a purple tint at this point) with an unhinged smile and said with a sinisterly sweet voice, "Just as soon as she goes limp."

    "Rouge, please?" Orange asked in a slightly pleading voice with an equally pleading look.

    Rouge took in Orange''s expression and words before closing her eyes and dropping Herah, who after falling to her knees, thankfully took in as many breaths as possible while muttering thanks to her father and La Flamme.

    "Thanks sweety." Orange told Rouge with a smile and wink.

    Rouge let out a huff and rolled her eyes before walking over to Orange and Max. Stopping in front of the two, Rouge took a whiff of Max and glared at her with a disgusted look.

    "So you''re the bitch who seduced and fucked my daughter, huh?" The mother asked in disgust.

    "Rouge," Orange sternly responded before Max could say a word. "Would you lower the hostility please?"

    "Why should I?" Rouge demanded, turning to and looking down at Orange with a glare as she pointed at Max, "She not only screwed my daughter and took her virginity in one fell swoop, in addition to that, she seems about ready to begin courting my, no, OUR daughter." Rouge lowered her head until she was next to Orange''s ear and furiously whispered, "You know how much those things mean to Herah."

    "Yes I know how much they mean to Herah," Orange replied, turning to look at his wife with narrowed eyes and a stare, "Our daughter does as well, Herah chose to do all of this herself after all."

    "I know that," Rouge said, her glare deepening as she grew steadily angrier, "But as a week ago shows us, Herah isn''t necessarily good at thinking her actions through! Why would she even do this, what about this human makes Herah want to do any of that!?"

    "The human you speak of saved the life of both our daughter and myself. Herah is merely trying to pay her debt back," Orange told Rouge, still maintaining his stern tone of voice.

    "But do you really think that everything Herah is doing is equal in worth to that?"

    "It does not matter what either of us thinks is equivalent to Herah''s debt, only she can determine the truth of that."

    Rouge let out a frustrated growl as she backed away from Orange and shoved both of her hands into her hair and began rubbing it frantically. After a few rubs, Rouge dragged her hands down her face and looked back at Orange while speaking with barely restrained anger.

    "Orange if what Herah is doing goes wrong, she will be screwed! That facet of her life will go nowhere and she might never get over it." Rouge put one hand to her chest while pointing the other at Orange, "One of our jobs as her parents is to help make sure she lives a fulfilling life and to help prevent her from ruining it or ending it short."

    Orange nodded at Rouge''s words with a straight face before letting out his own breath and calmly telling her,

    "Another job we have, is to allow for her to make mistakes and grow from them. Rouge, that''s why we help and don''t actually do everything or make all of her decisions for her. In the end, it''s all up to her what she does."

    This seemed to not be the right choice of words, since Rouge''s response to this was jets of indigo flames shooting from her mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. These indigo flames began shrouding her head in the same vein that Herah''s fire had earlier. Rouge shouting at her husband,

    "You don''t seem to get it Orange! She," Rouge pointed at Max, "Is an unknown! Neither you or I know who she is. And Herah doesn''t either! And our daughter has not only given her her innocence, but she now plans on giving this human she barely knows her one chance at a true life partner!"

    "Wait, wha-" Max began but a glare from Rouge immediately silenced her up.

    "Sweety, I kno-" Orange tried to begin, but Rouge cut him off with her own words.

    "Don''t you dare sweety me right now!"

    This caused Orange to let out an annoyed sigh before he began opening his mouth again to calm his wife down only to pause when he saw what Herah was doing behind Rouge.

    "I refuse to- What the ash!?" This time Rouge found herself caught off by the act of Herah reaching around the back of her mother and giving her a hug from behind.

    Herah, at this point, had just finished catching her breath and offering her thanks to the proper individuals. Though Herah had most of her focus on doing the aforementioned activities, she had been listening to everything her mother and father said and had finally decided to add her own thoughts to the mix.

    "Mom, I have something to say." Herah said, uncharacteristically quiet and calm.

    Rouge seemed to calm down just a bit at Herah''s words and almost calmed down enough to listen to her daughter.

    Emphasize almost.

    "Herah save your breath, nothing you say will change my mind." Rouge told Herah shrugging her off, only to have her daughter hug her from behind once again.

    "Herah sto-"

    "Rouge!" Max called out to the mother, causing Rouge to direct her rage towards her.

    "What do you want, you fuc-" Rouge paused in her shouting as soon as Max smiled at her and said, "You should listen to your daughter."

    The indigo fire that shrouded Rouge''s head dissipated almost instantly as her anger suddenly left her. Rouge then let out a tired sigh and allowed an apologetic look to come to her face before she said,

    "Sorry my little flame. What did you have to say?"

    This threw Orange and Herah for a loop, causing Herah to look around her mother and towards Max while Orange just turned towards the human.

    "What?" Max asked, rubbing her shoulders at the looks from the pair.

    "Don''t worry about it Max," Herah said, before redirecting her attention to her mother who was looking down at her with a small frown. This caused Herah''s nostrils to flare as twin puffs of smoke left her nose. "I wanted to tell you that yeah, I know that what I''m doing could end up with me incapable of having a love life of any kind. But this could really help Max, and I owe her at least that much."

    Rouge broke away from her daughter''s hug and turned around to face her, crouching just enough that they were the same height. Emerald stared into emerald as Rouge sadly asked Herah,

    "Do you really think you owe this girl Max so much from yourself?"

    Herah allowed a chuckle to leave her as she smiled at her mother while happily stating,

    "Yep."

    "Why?"

    Herah leaned forward until her noticeably scaleless forehead touched her mother''s scaled one and their horns touched tips before closing her eyes and whispering to Rouge,

    "Because in my eyes, you, dad, and La Flamme are worth all of me and then some. And even if our courting ends with us not married, I''ll still have the three of you. And that''s all good enough for me"

    Hearing Herah''s words, Rouge let out another sigh before leaning away from her daughter and rising back up to full height.

    "You do realize that if you begin courting each other, she will gain your memories and you hers."

    Herah looked shocked for a moment before a thoughtful expression came over her. Herah shook her head from side to side for a few moments before looking up to Rouge with a completely straight and serious face and saying,

    "Fine by me."

    Rouge''s eyes gave Herah a scrutinizing stare for a few moments before she let out another sigh and stated,

    "Fine, I''ll let you do this."

    "Great!" Orange cheerfully stated clapping his hands together while still staring at Max, "But before anything else happens, what the fuck did you do to my wife?"

    "Oh the smile thing," Max said before shrugging her shoulders, "I''ve always been able to calm females just by smiling at them," Max offhandedly added, "As long as its authentic I think."

    "Why only females?" Orange inquired with a tilt of his head.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "Probably because I''m a lesbian." Max nonchalantly responded looking Orange dead in the eye.

    "Fair enough." Orange replied with a nod of his head.

    "Are you two done?" Rouge asked both Orange and Max with a glare, having turned to face the pair. Both nodded yes, causing Rouge to gesture for Max while saying, "Good. Now come with me Voleur de flamme, I have to tell you your trials out of earshot of my daughter."

    "Rouge!"

    "Mom!"

    "What did she just call me?"

    Orange shook his head and used his tail to rub his brow before looking back down at Max and telling her, "Don''t worry about it, just," Orange closed his eyes and let out a sigh before reopening them and pointing towards Rouge, "Just go with her real quick." Orange turned to look at Herah with a small grin and said, "I want to talk with Herah one on one anyway."

    Max looked over to Herah, who was standing next to her mother shifting uncomfortably as her gaze was focused on her father. Noticing Max looking at her, Herah just waved her off and nodded for the human to go with Rouge. So Max walked over to the mother who quickly snatched her up by the wrist and dragged her out of the clearing into a more private area.

    As soon as Orange was sure Max was out of earshot, he walked up to Herah, picked her up, and wrapped her up in a tight hug.

    "I''m glad you''re alive." Orange said to Herah with his chin on her shoulder and a wide smile on his face.

    "I''m glad you''re alive as well." Herah responded with a slight wince of discomfort and a smile of her own as she buried her face into her father''s shoulder. Orange felt a bit of wetness spread into his white polo as Herah allowed her silent tears to seep out of her eyes and into his shirt.

    After a few more moments of the two hugging each other, Orange set Herah down on her feet and then sat down before her. Herah joined her father on the ground right after wiping away her tears and drying her face with a quick breath of flames.

    "So sweety," Orange began, still smiling at Herah, "I heard from Max what happened, but why don''t you give me your own account of everything that''s gone on since I last saw you?"

    And Herah did exactly that, giving her father her own recount of the last day (or week in his case). Herah told Orange everything, except for Max''s history and the finer details of the "battle" between the two afterward.

    "Did you just call sex a "battle"?" Orange asked with a barely restrained laugh, giving Herah an amused smile.

    "Ye-Yeah! What if I did?" Herah replied defensively giving her father a glare with a small blush on her cheeks.

    "Was that an attempt to censor yourself?" Orange asked, his smile widening as tears began to pool in the corner of his eyes with the Cendruex clearly on the edge of erupting into laughter.

    Herah didn''t reply to her father''s question, instead, she looked to the side with her cheeks reddening even more. This sight proved to be the breaking point for Orange, as his body became racked with laughter and tears began pouring from his eyes as he bent over and held his stomach as tightly as possible. Blushing even harder, Herah glared at her father and crossed her arms.

    "Fuck you." Herah told her father, causing him to laugh even harder.

    "Didn''t you tell Max that after your 3rd, 17th, and 25th orgasm?" Orange asked with laughter breaking up his speech regularly, as he returned to his sitting position

    Herah''s eyes widened in shock as she stared her father down, her expression portraying shame as a realization hit her.

    "How detailed was Max in her descriptions?" Herah asked, clearly knowing the answer and hating it.

    "Glad you finally got to explore those fetishes you told me and your mother about when you were twelve," Orange cringed as Max''s description came to mind, "Could''ve done without the play-by-play recount of your exploration though."

    "Flammedammit! You remember that!?" Herah shouted at her father blushing even harder at the memory of that specific conversation.

    "Your mother has a recording of it that we sometimes listen to for shits and giggles. You sounded so proud when you told us."

    "I feel even worse about the fact that they''re now confirmed for you."

    "Don''t worry about it sweety, I still love you same. I mean, you share two of them with me."

    "Really whi- AAHH! AMMIT!" Herah shouted, as a searing pain suddenly appeared on her tongue and caused the youngling to stick it out. The pain lasted for a brief moment before completely disappearing without a trace.

    "What the fuck was that!?" Herah asked as she stood up and ran a claw over her tongue.

    "Oh yeah, forgot you forgot that part." Orange said as he rose up and caught Herah''s extended tongue between the claw on his thumb and middle finger. Paying no mind to Herah''s bemused moan, Orange got a look at the tattoo that now sat on his daughter''s tongue.

    The tattoo was that of a joker card, with a skull in the make-up and hat of a jester in the center of Herah''s tongue with Max''s name upside down at the right tip of Herah''s tongue and right-side up at the back left of Herah''s tongue.

    Orange nodded in satisfaction at what he saw and let go of Herah''s tongue.

    "What the ash was that for dad!?" Herah asked with an annoyed look on her face, before also asking," And what the ash did I forget?"

    "I''ll answer in that order, I wanted to see what your tattoo would be on your tongue and you forgot that when courting begins you both get tattoos somewhere on your body marking you as such.

    Herah faced palmed at Oranges words, cursing herself for forgetting about that part of courting.

    "Dammit! I forgot that and the memory swapping thing. Uuuhh! I''m a fucking idiot." Herah shook her head, "I should''ve brought this up with you before even offering courting as an option to help Max, since the last time we talked about it was three years ago."

    This caused Orange to look at his daughter with a curious expression and ask her,

    "Are you regretting your decision to court her already Herah?"

    This got a grunt and puff of smoke from Herah.

    "Of course not, even with those new things added on I''m still willing to go through with it."

    "But what do you think of Max, do you think you might''ve courted her if you weren''t trying to help her?"

    This caused Herah to gain a pensive expression as she began rubbing her chin while looking towards where her courting partner and mother went. After a few moments, Herah found her answer and turned back to Orange to deliver it.

    "No, not now anyway. But if Max kept showing me what she already has without too much deviation or issue, I probably would''ve asked her to court me after a month or so."

    "Why is that?"

    This solicited a smirk from Herah, which the youngling followed up by offering her father her answer.

    "Her clear admiration of my body really works to boost my ego, and the "battle" we had was absolutely wonderful, if a bit pride shattering."

    "That sounds rather shallow," Orange said with a shiver at Herah''s last words.

    "I know, but it is a something I like about her. I also find her vast power and ability to calm me done extremely attractive. Especially because Max doesn''t really flex either of them," Herah made a sound of musing, "Maybe I find her humility more attractive."

    "That''s something you''re sorely lacking in for sure." Orange responded in amusement.

    "Shut up!" Herah told her father with a flare of her nostrils and twin puffs of smoke. This got her a snicker in response. Narrowing her eyes at her father, Herah continued, "Max is also one of the nicest beings I''ve met and her empathy is something I quite like."

    "You always were a big softy inside."

    "Will you shut up!?" Herah shouted at her father with a blush.

    Orange put his hands up with a small grin on his face clearly having fun messing with his daughter.

    "Max is also pretty funny and has shown respect for La Flamme, something uncommon for the average Cendreux in our current day and age." Herah let a growl rumble deep within her throat.

    "Herah, not now." Orange said with a knowing look and sigh.

    "Sorry," Herah responded closing her eyes and taking a few calming breaths. Once done, Orange asked Herah a question.

    "Is that all?"

    Herah shook her head no, before taking a deep breath and saying,

    "To be honest, the reasons I just gave you are just sprinkles compared to my main two."

    "And those are?"

    "Will and faith." Herah said looking down, each word carrying a significant weight to it.

    "Oh really," Orange said in surprise, before tilting his head and asking, "How so?"

    Herah looked back up at her father with a smile of admiration on her face as she spoke.

    "Max has shown greats amounts of both. I mean, nuking a population to save her brother from being erased is pretty hardcore and something I can respect. And what makes me respect her all the more is the fact that Max clearly knew it would cause her so much pain and suffering, Max felt that her actions were a grave evil that the Oni didn''t deserve. But even with all of that, Max nuked them anyway. Max committed a grand atrocity just to save her brother. Max knew that this would make her hate herself and weaken her severely, yet did it anyway because he meant that much to her."

    "What Max did reminds you of what La Flamme did for you, doesn''t it?" Orange asked his daughter, having noticed the tears that had begun dragging down her face as she spoke.

    "Yeah," Herah said nodding to herself while sucking in her bottom lip, "It does." Herah then wiped away her tears and continued on, "On the topic of faith, well, Max entrusted me with a secret that her brother doesn''t even know. Max trusted me enough to hand me the truth to her gift and tell me a bit about her past. Ash, Max trusted me enough to began courting me even though this might now work to fully help her." Herah let out a breath while smiling a wide smile and crying even harder than before. Herah then told Orange, sounding a bit delirious, "Dad, I think I just might have a crush."

    This got a pleasantly surprised chuckle from Orange, that he followed up on by patting his daughter on the head and saying,

    "Well if you really feel that way, then I can only wish you two the best."

    "Thanks." Herah said wiping away her tears once again and rubbing them out of her eyes.

    "While still on the topic on how you feel about others, what do you think of your other two comrades?"

    "Hmmm," Herah said while rubbing her chin before telling Orange, "Owen is fairly interesting with his personality and work as a blacksmith, though useless in a fight by his own words and what I''ve seen from him. I''ll reserve my judgment on him for a bit more, but I do think Owen is a friend. Alex, on the other hand," Herah let out a sigh before gaining a slightly worried look on her face that cause Orange a bit of worry.

    "What''s wrong sweety?"

    "Dad, I already know your answer but would you please just answer a question for me?" Herah asked with her eyes closed.

    "Sure thing." Orange said, sounding even more worried.

    "Will you not look down on me for saying that Alex honestly scares the shit out of me?"

    "I would never look down on you Herah, but why does Alex scare you so much? I thought you two reached an understanding with each other."

    "We did, and it''s thanks to the conversation where I reached this understanding and established this bond with Alex that I developed my fear of him." Herah looked down at her left hand, the one she had used to shake Alex''s.

    "Why is that?"

    "I get the impression that Alex views me the same way the general populous views the Nettoyants." Herah looked back up to Orange, "I get the impression that Alex sees me as a very, very, useful tool that is ultimately disposable."

    "And since you will obey all of his order''s no matter what for now, you''re afraid he might dispose of you if a situation calls for it as the best option." Orange finished for Herah with a frown before putting his hands behind his head and looking up to the sky as his tail rubbed his chin. After a few seconds of this, Orange looked back at Herah and told her, " If you''re truly that afraid of that outcome, then become his friend."

    "What?" Herah asked with a few surprised blinks. "Why?"

    "Because that way he''ll see you as worth keeping around even after Recompense ends, which will lower your chance of being disposed of as you so believe." Orange responded, before continuing, "Get to know each other better, find something you have in common, just do what you can to become his friend. I know you have some anger towards him and this fear, but becoming his friend won''t just improve your standing in his mind but also your team''s dynamic. But that''s merely what I suggest, it''s up to you to follow through with it."

    Herah thought over what Orange told her for a few moments before telling him,

    "I''ll try."

    Orange gave Herah thankful nod before telling her,

    "Your mother is on her way by herself, she wants to talk to you alone so I''m gonna go speak to Max for a bit. And you won''t have long with her since Norwe told us we can only stay for two hours here and I wasted most of it having Max recount what had already happened." Orange moved to leave, but a hurried "Wait!" from Herah stopped him in his tracks.

    "Yes, Herah?" Orange asked.

    "How do you know Norwe?"

    "They''re an old acquaintance."

    And with those words, Orange''s image distorted and bent as he disappeared at relativistic speeds, leaving Herah frowning at the information given to her by her father.

    A few seconds afterward, Rouge reentered the clearing and walked up to Herah. Herah looked at her blue tunic wearing mother and smiled getting a smile in response before any words were said.

    "How have you been and what''s happened since I''ve left?" Herah asked breaking the silence between the two.

    "Firstly would''ve been nice to hear about the rotting smell before I left, nearly passed out when I caught the whiff of one of those destroyed clearings." Rouge scolded Herah before answering her daughter''s question sounding a bit more caring, "I''ve been worried sick about you and since you''ve been kidnapped I got a raise, two Nettoyants have conquered an entire solar system with over four inhabitable planets, and you''ve had two visitors."

    "Glad you''re getting paid more money, fuck yeah, and who wanted to visit me?"

    "You got a visit from that bitch Rose, almost choked the shit out of her when I saw her."

    "What did Rose want?"

    "Your ex-teacher wanted to thank you for finally telling her you respected her and to offer an apology for being partially the reason you got expelled."

    "Oh," Herah said, sounding a bit surprised, "That''s cool, who was the other one that visited?"

    This caused Rouge''s eyes to narrow as twin jets of indigo fire shot from her nostrils as she begrudgingly stated,

    "La Flamme."

    Immediately Herah''s breath caught in her throat, as she began slapping her breast with the palm of right hand. Euphoria flooded Herah as her breath left her and she dropped to her knees in excitement. Looking up to her mother with a look of zealous glee, Herah breathlessly asked,

    "Mistress p-p-paid a v-v-visit to o-o-our house for m-m-me?"

    "Yes," Rouge grunted out with a frown, "Apparently, La Flamme knew immediately after you were whisked away what had occurred and ended up dropping by an entire 28 cycles early to give me something for you."

    Herah immediately jumped up and shouted in fanatical joy, dancing around her mother while singing in her ancient tongue about the wonders of La Flamme before Rouge put a brutal stop to it by slamming her fist into the stomach of her daughter before she could react.

    "Ooowwww." Herah groaned out on her knees before her mother, "That hurt."

    "Don''t care." Rouge replied with a twitch in her eye and two more twin jets of indigo flames. "Now get up, I want to give you what La Flamme left for you."

    Herah immediately rose with a giddy smile on her face that got a disgusted snort from her mother before the elder Cendreux held out the palm of her hand. Not a second after doing so, a small pearl-sized rock with a surface that showed raging flames emerged from Rouge''s hand.

    "Is that a-"

    "Yes."

    "Did our mistress really-"

    "Yup."

    Herah stared at the rock in silence for a few seconds with wide eyes and a dopey look on her face. That was until Rouge shoved it towards her causing Herah to look back up at her mother in disbelief and ask,

    "Is this-"

    "Yes it is, now take the stupid rock and put it into the front of your throat for me. Don''t ask why and tell no one where you put it." Rouge said, sounding extremely pissed off.

    Herah paid no mind to her mother''s ire, and simply took the signal de fum¨¦e from her mother''s hands and placed it on her throat. The signal de fum¨¦e sunk in without issue and made it seem as if Herah''s thyroid was now more pronounced.

    Herah let a happy sigh leave her before quickly wrapping her angry mother in a hug that surprised the elder Cendreux while joyfully saying,

    "Thanks mom. I know how much you hate La Flamme, and I''m happy you were able to set aside this hate and give this to me."

    This caused Rouge to let out a sigh before hugging her daughter back and telling her in a ,

    "I might hate La Flamme''s guts but your mistress has done right by you, so I can''t ever just turn down doing something La Flamme wants me to do for you."

    "Thanks again mom."

    "No problem."

    After that, not a word was traded between the two as they just stood in silence hugging each other until Orange and Max arrived.

    "Aaaah! That''s so beautiful." Max said in adoration right after entering the clearing alongside a smiling Orange.

    As soon as Max''s voice hit Herah''s ears, the youngling turned away from her mother to face her courting partner only to be hit by a wave of foreign emotions once her eyes landed on Max.

    Rage, guilt, self-loathing, fear, inadequacy, and gratitude mentally slammed into Herah in massive waves that caused her knees to buckle and for her vision to blur. Herah knew that Max''s knees had buckled as well since panic soon joined and quickly overtook the numerous other waves that battered at the minds of Herah and Max. Both began to drown in the panic that flooded their minds and would''ve passed out if not for the quick actions of both Rouge and Orange.

    SMACK!

    "Max! Get a grip of yourself!"

    Both Herah and Max were quickly snapped out of the flood of emotions that had nearly overwhelmed them and shakily rose back up to their feet. Herah felt the same emotions from before come into her mind, this time much weaker and more diluted with the exception of gratitude which was felt rather strongly by both Herah and Max. There were a few other very insignificant emotions that Herah felt from Max but ultimately found indecipherable. Blinking her eyes a few times, Herah''s vision cleared and revealed the worried face of her mother and the sensation of a stinging cheek.

    "Mom, d-did you slap me?" Herah asked with a wince.

    "Sorry, I freaked out." Rouge said with a wince of her own.

    "What just happened to the two of us?" Max asked, sounding immensely perplexed since both Herah and Max shared a sense of confusion.

    "When the courting starts, your empathetic and memory link is established through one of you laying their eyes on the other." Orange began explaining, "Once that is done, you will both feel a sudden rush of the other''s emotions (which you just did) which are amplified to a crazy degree before the link stabilizes and works as it is supposed to."

    "Why did you not tell us this?" Herah asked with an angry jet of green fire, the feeling of annoyance felt by both herself and Max being amplified.

    "Forgot." Rouge and Orange replied simultaneously with shrugs of their shoulders.

    Herah and Max both let out an annoyed huff before curiosity overtook the emotion for both of them and Max asked,

    "How did you forget that?"

    "It''s been a couple of thousand years since Rouge courted me, so I think that might''ve been a thought that faded to the back of both of our minds after all these years." Orange said with a shrug.

    Herah felt a foreign feeling of weak surprise invade her mine as Max let out a surprised mmph.

    "Oh yeah," Rouge said, as a memory popped into her head, "That reminds me after the link stabilizes won''t they have several random nights where they enter what amounts to a heat?"

    Orange thought to himself for a few moments before saying,

    "Yep."

    Herah made sure to file that away before turning to her father, who now stood to Herah''s left, and asking,

    "Is it time for you two to go yet?"

    Orange nodded yes and walked up to his wife and Herah and wrapped them both up in a bone-crushing hug for a few seconds before setting both down and walking towards the mirror that had allowed both him and Rouge to meet his daughter. Rouge gave her daughter a quick peck on the cheek and joined her husband in front of the mirror soon afterward.

    Before either stepped through, Orange turned back to Herah and asked,

    "By the way, did you already do your morning prayers?"

    "Yep, right before I met up with Max today."

    Orange turned to Max and told her,

    "I''ll have your clothes repaired soon enough so you can finally wear something other than that trench coat, and I will add a few improvements."

    Orange then turned back to Herah and asked another question.

    "What gave you the idea of courting to help Max anyway?"

    "Norwe gave me the stone tablet on which you carved mom''s wedding vows as a reward for succeeding in entertaining him in my fight with Moon, and I got the idea from that."

    This got a narrowing of Oranges eyes and a few slow nods of his head from before he stepped into the mirror and back into his home universe.

    Rouge turned to face both Herah and Max before focusing a glare on Max and saying,

    "Remember the words I told you when you''re ready to progress to the next level of your courtship of my daughter and don''t fuck around with her emotions, or I''ll kill you."

    Herah felt a foreign feeling of terror enter her mind, that even after being weakened was still rather strong, signaling Max''s receiving of her mother''s threat very well.

    Rouge then turned to Herah, who her glared softened upon and told her,

    "Don''t die dumbass, and I''ll have some food made for you and your teammates soon. It''ll be in your room when you need it."

    Max''s stomach grumbled at Rouge''s words which got a bit of laughter out of Herah and Max and a glare from Rouge. Shaking her head, Rouge stepped into the mirror and back into her world leaving an empty clearing sans Herah, Max, a mirror that now just showed reflections, and four silver swords.

    After a few seconds of silence between the two, Max walked up to Herah and wrapped her up in a hug while telling her,

    "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for your help Herah. I already feel a better already, but you should know this since you can feel all of my emotions anyway."

    And Max was right, Herah could feel all of her gratitude and joy through their link together and since these emotions were mirrored by Herah they ended up getting amplified as well. So Herah didn''t say a word and just hugged Max back.

    After a few minutes of this, however, Herah decided to ask Max a question.

    "Hey Max," Max looked up to Herah with a pleasant smile, "Why exactly did you not want your brother to hear any of what you told me, have you never talked about that day with him?"

    "Yeah." Max told Herah in shame. Though the emotion was diluted between the two, it was still quite strong so there was no mistaking it.

    "Why?"

    "Herah, what emotions did you first feel when we established our connection to each other?"

    "Rage, guilt, self-loathing, fear, inadequacy, and gratitude." Herah listed without thought.

    "That rage you felt is directed at Alex."

    This shocked Herah and caused her to unwrap herself from Max and put her at arm''s length so as to see the ashamed look on her face.

    "Why?"

    "Because even though it''s irrational for me, I blame my brother partly for what I did on both occasions. And for that reason, and that reason alone, I''ve never spoken about what happened that fateful day. Because I fear that I''ll begin to take that rage that I''ve hidden away for nearly a decade now and direct it towards him unfiltered and without mercy. And I fear that might ruin the relationship I''ve already built up with him. That''s why I''ve never talked about that day or of the following ones with bro."

    With those words, Max''s self-loathing and guilt returned as a few tears ran down her cheeks causing Herah to bring Max back in for a hug and give her a kiss on her forehead.

    "Well, you at least have me to share this with."

    This got a chuckle and a bit of happiness from Max which Herah quickly added to with her own, amplifying the emotion and drowning out all others.

    "Thanks Herah," Max told the youngling before snuggling her head into Herah''s chest and letting out a few chuckles in between Herah''s breast which ended up with Herah letting out a few chuckles of her own.

    After a minute or two of them hugging, Herah felt a new emotion come from Max which was quickly mirrored by the youngling, lust. Max backed up and away from Herah with a lecherous grin on her face and asked her,

    "So Herah, want to go for a round two before we head back to my bro?"

    This caused Herah to lose her own lust and groan externally and internally at the thought of having to deal with Alex after what had been done.

    "Your brother is not going to be happy with me after learning what I did to help you." Herah said looking towards their base clearing with a grimace.

    "So, why not have a bit more fun before we go?" Max asked walking up to Herah and running a few of her fingers up the youngling''s arms.

    "Uhh. I don''t know, maybe we should just get this out of the way and deal with Alex already." Herah said, not sounding too into another "battle" with Max at the moment. "Why do you even want to go another round?"

    Max let out a sigh before her expression scrunched up in concentration as one of her hands ran through her hair.

    "What''re you thinking about Max?" Herah asked feeling Max''s confusion through their link.

    "Just trying to figure out how to best explain, ah-hah!" Max shouted before saying, "So you know how right after surviving what you thought to be an inevitable death, you get this sudden rush and a greater appreciation for being alive?"

    "Yeah," Herah said dryly, recalling her own brush with death from the night before, "I know what you mean."

    "Well, I get that exact same feeling and a bit horny after my own near misses which I just had with your parents."

    "Oh," Herah responded in understanding, "I guess that makes sense."

    "So," Max began sounding immensely hopeful, "Can we go another round?"

    Herah rubbed her chin for a few moments before smiling and telling Max,

    "Only if we can do it on fire the entire time and I get to lick your armpits again."

    "...."

    "...."

    "...."

    Max''s trench coat was discarded once again for the day.

    "Deal."

 A Price is Set

    ''Note to self, sex on fire is really fucking cool and hot, but its also extremely taxing. Only do it for long periods of time when having a full stomach.''

    Herah thought this to herself just as Max finished explaining everything that had happened since Owen had left the pair alone to her Alex.

    Both Herah and Max now stood before an extremely tired Alex, who now wore his blue windbreaker, with Jeffery floating above him while spinning without a care. Max wore what Herah knew to be a genuine smile on her face while radiating lots of joy towards her brother and Herah and a scary amount of lust solely towards Herah. The youngling also felt a slightly weaker tide of constantly swapping emotions beneath these two. Herah herself was barely able to stand, with her last round with Max leaving her on the verge of collapse. Though this exhaustion didn''t stop her from wondering why there was a hole right next to Alex that looked like Owen could fit in it.

    Alex let out a tired sigh that caught Herah''s attention before saying in barely restrained anger,

    "So let me get this straight." Alex lazily pointed at Herah and Max with his left middle and pointer fingers, " You two met up, talked about some shit, Norwe appeared and said some shit about Abyss Walkers then peaced out, you talked some more, had sex, Herah''s parents appeared, Orange froze his wife and daughter and threatened to kill Max, Max gave him a rundown of the situation, Orange unfroze Herah and Rouge, both of you talked to both parents by yourselves, you all got back together, the beginning of the courtship was finalized, Herah''s parents left, you two talked some more, fucked each other again, and finally you came back here. Is that all correct?"

    "Yep." Max said with a smile, completely unaffected by her brother''s very apparent anger.

    "Ye-Yeah." Herah said swaying from side to side.

    GRRRRRRRR!

    Herah saw and felt Alex''s and Max''s attention focus on her. Letting out an annoyed growl, Herah looked down at her stomach and shouted at it.

    "Shut up! I''ll feed you when I get food."

    "I see Max was exercising her finely honed talents once again."

    Herah looked back up at Alex who was now giving his sister a pointed stare. Feeling a small amount of suspicion through her link with her, Herah turned to Max who now wore a small frown on her face.

    "What-" Max paused for a moment before giving Alex a small glare, "What was that bro?"

    Alex gained a small smirk and mockingly asked,

    "What was what?"

    Max, instead of giving her brother a retort, just let out a sigh before allowing a pleased smile to come to her face.

    "I''m just going to ignore that for now, because lava tits is clearly hungry and so am I." Max ran a hand through her disheveled hair, "I wonder if that food her mother made for her is ready yet?" Max walked behind Herah and placed both of her hands on the youngling''s shoulders before giving her a gentle push forward, "Come on Herah, why don''t you lay down against the tree while I get you one of the fruits from it?"

    Max began pushing a wobbly Herah forward and around her brother, but both found their progress stopped by a curious looking Alex sticking out his arm and asking Max a question.

    "Why do you call Herah lava tits?"

    Max''s head shot over Herah''s shoulder, allowing for the youngling to see her partner''s beaming smile as a reply quickly flew from her mouth.

    "Herah can lactate lava!"

    Herah turned back to Alex and found him giving her a blank stare.

    "What?" Herah asked with a heavy breath and another rumble of her stomach.

    Alex shook his head and mumbled something about weird taste before backing up a bit and holding out his right hand towards Herah. For a few seconds, Herah just stared at Alex''s hand.

    ''What the fuck does that mean?''

    Herah looked back up at Alex with a confused grimace, which solicited an angry sigh and rolling eyes from Alex.

    "Don''t give me that fucking look right now Alex," Herah said only sounding slightly grouchy.

    "I''m tired, hungry, and suffering from a bruised pride. Right now, I can''t understand anything that isn''t straight and to the point."

    Alex rolled his eyes again and shook his outstretched hand before issuing Herah an order.

    "Give back my dope orb ashbrain."

    With a small frown and drowsy nod of her head, Herah stuck out her left hand and held it above Alex''s own outstretched one. Alex''s <u>gift</u> floated down and out of Herah''s hand and into Alex''s own. Once his orb was back, Alex moved his hand up to his mouth as yawn left it and spoke once again.

    "Quick question Herah, do you only lactate after having a child or is it all the time?"

    Herah gave Alex a slightly confused look before telling him,

    "All female Cendreux began lactating at the age of nine, but until we have a kid every time our breast reach half of their max capacity the magma will be added to our own body for personal use."

    Alex looked away from Herah and began to tap his nose while mumbling to himself. Herah just shook her head before attempting to walk forward and towards the Donneur de Fr¨ºne once again. But before Herah could complete her step, Alex stuck out his arm once again to stop her progress.

    "What Alex?" Herah asked, sounding and feeling only a tiny bit frustrated.

    ''Not being as angry as I usually would is weird and oddly discomforting.''

    Herah gave Alex an annoyed stare which the human matched with another sigh and, surprisingly enough, a bow.

    "I wanted to tell you that I am truly thankful for what you''re doing for Max and that I''m pretty sure you did what you thought was best."

    Herah just blinked in surprise at Alex before feeling Max''s own surprise which was followed by the feeling increasing twofold.

    "Really!?"

    "Really!?"

    Herah watched as Alex rose up from his bow, yawned, and rubbed his eyes before speaking to the pair.

    "You both sound a lot more surprised then you should, I''m guessing it''s because of the bond.

    "Yep." Max said with a rapid nod of her head while Herah did a single slow nod.

    "Hey sis, can you leave Herah and I alone for a bit? I want to do some one on one talking with her."

    Suspicion immediately overtook the surprise that Herah felt through her link with Max, as the human walked around Herah and up to her brother with a scrying look upon her face.

    "You''re not going to do anything drastic, are you?" Max''s words came out accusatory as if knowing that''s exactly what her brother was about to do.

    Alex, though very clearly tired, stared down his sister with a lighthearted smile and told her,

    "I have no intention of killing Herah if that''s what you''re worried about sis."

    This did little to lower Max''s suspicions, however, since Herah felt the emotion increase twice as much at Alex''s words. Staring her brother dead in the eye, Max''s stare deepened as a small frown came to her face.

    "Bro," Max crossed her arms while speaking with an air of seriousness, "Me and you both know that killing someone is far from the worst thing you can do to them."

    "True enough," Alex told his sister with an understanding nod before saying, "How about this, I have no plan to harm Herah at this very moment."

    Herah felt Max''s suspicion wane for a brief moment before increasing once again which was followed up with Max and Alex beginning a back and forth of sorts that Herah found herself too tired to care about. So Herah tuned the pair out and looked up to Jeffery and sent them a mental question.

    ''Hey Jeffery, where is Owen right now?''

    The pencil filled Herah''s head with one of their memories, showing Owen using his hammer and chisel to blast a hole into the ground before jumping into it.

    ''Thanks Jeffery. Do you mind knocking a fruit over to me, I''m running low on fumes.''

    Jeffery floated over to the Donneur de Fr¨ºne and knocked one of the knot-shaped fruits off of it and towards Herah. Herah caught the metallic treat with little issue before quickly taking a bite and allowing for herself to just enjoy the taste.

    ''Ahh silver, extremely unhealthy but so tasty.''

    Herah sent a mental thanks and request for another fruit to Jeffery, as her flame and body felt a bit renewed. After eating three more of the Donneur de Fr¨ºne fruits, Herah felt back up to one hundred percent and redirected her attention to Max and Alex.

    "Why is so hard for you to say that nothing bad is going to happen between the two of you if I leave you alone?"

    "Because I can''t tell the fucking future and for all I know Herah might get hostile."

    "Why would Herah get hostile bro? What could you do that would piss her off?"

    Alex gained a look of complete disbelief before turning to Herah and gesturing towards Max as if to say: Can you believe what she''s saying. Herah rolled her eyes and tapped Max on the shoulder, causing the human to turn and face her partner.

    "Yeah, lava tits?" Max said with no small amount of affection.

    Herah pushed the subtle narrowing of Alex''s eyes to the back of her head before speaking to Max.

    "Just go on, I''m pretty sure I know what your brother wants to talk about and its unlikely to end in violence."

    This got Herah a feeling of surprise from Max and two looks of the same emotion from both Alex and Max. With pursed lips, Max gave Herah a stern face that made it visibly clear for everyone there that her feelings hadn''t changed a bit. In response to this, Herah bent her knees until her eyes were level with Max''s and asked her a question.

    "Why don''t you trust your brother on this one? Alex did say they have no plan on hurting me so I''ll probably be fine if I just talk with him for a bit."

    Max stern look grew even sterner, but Herah knew that it was an act from Max. This was because the youngling felt Max''s suspicion become matched by a feeling of trust as her stare loosened and a sigh left her.

    "Ok, I''ll leave you two alone but," Max gave Alex and Herah a glare each, "I''ll be back in fifteen minutes. By then you better be done, so we can make a plan."

    Herah nodded in agreement to Max'' words then looked over to Alex and found him nodding as well.

    "Owen and I have the threads of a plan already, but we needed to know what the state of your <u>gift</u> was, how ashbrain''s <u>gift</u> worked, and the exact physical capabilities of ashbrain first. Now all I need to know about is those last two things and that can happen when you get back so," Alex made a shooing gesture towards Max, "Shoo."

    Herah didn''t even need to look at Max to know that the human gave her brother a death glare before walking out of the clearing. As Max exited the clearing, Alex pointed up to Jeffery and asked Herah to get them to leave. Herah didn''t even bother looking or telling Jeffery anything, the pencil just shot away on their own accord.

    With the clearing now empty sans herself and Alex, Herah gained a somewhat interested look, put both of her hands behind her head, and began popping the bones in her back. While doing this, Herah watched Alex walk up to her and give her a quick sniff.

    "What the ash was that?" Herah asked Alex, as the human backed away from her and nodded to himself. With a couple of feet now between the two, Alex looked up to Herah and gave her a small glare.

    "I just wanted to know whether or not you smell like you just fucked my sister."

    "Was that all you wanted to know?" One of Herah''s brow rose in confusion, "You could''ve done that with her here."

    "Of course that''s not all I want to know dumbass," Alex scoffed at Herah as the youngling growled back at him, "I wanted to know a few things, cheifly how my sister was actually doing."

    "Max already said everything was okay, you don''t trust her word or something?" Herah asked Alex with a slightly confused stare while popping the bones in her neck.

    "Herah, I''ve known Max for seventeen years now," Alex shoved both of his hands into the pockets of his jacket before looking towards Max had left, "She tends to lie when she doesn''t want me to worry about something." Alex let out another sigh as his left hand emerged from its pocket and gestured towards Herah, "I''m quite sure you experienced it to a certain degree when originally talking about what happened last night."

    Herah stuck her left arm and crossed her right over it while looking towards where Max had exited the clearing, silently agreeing with Alex''s assessment of his sister. Turning back to face Alex, Herah couldn''t help but think about how Max blamed him for what had happened.

    ''I kinda feel bad for you asshole, especially since I''m quite sure you don''t know exactly everything Max has lied to you about.''

    "So what," Alex turned to look back at Herah who gave him a "really" stare while also switching her arms into opposite positions, "Do you just not trust anything your sister says?"

    This got Herah a roll of his eyes and shaking of Alex''s head.

    "I''m just a bit more scrutinizing of anything Max tells me if she''s been through something that I think would leave me upset for some reason or another."

    "How often is that?" Herah asked now with her hands back behind her head.

    "A little too often to be honest." Alex shook his head, before once again gesturing towards Herah with his outstretched hand, "Anyway how is she doing right now?"

    "Your sister is feeling very worried and horny right now." Herah told Alex after taking a second to observe the link between the two.

    "Which of us is she worried about?"

    "Not sure," Herah said with a shrug of her shoulders, "I can only guess who her emotions are directed at."

    Alex nodded at Herah''s answer before sticking his left hand back into its pocket and asking Herah another question.

    "Did Max tell you not to tell me anything?"

    "Yep."

    "Should I be worried about it?"

    Herah thought to herself for a moment before giving Alex her reply.

    "Yep."

    "Will you tell me why she didn''t want me to learn about?"

    "Nope."

    "Why not?"

    "Because that was one of the conditions of which Max would talk to me. I had to promise not reveal any information that wasn''t confirmed by her to be okay."

    "What if I ordered you to tell me?"

    "I would die."

    "I''m sorry." Herah watched as Alex seemingly short-circuited for a moment before taking a deep breath and letting it out, "Can you clarify?"

    "If you ordered me to tell you what Max told me, I would die," Herah dryly said.

    "Why?"

    "Remember how I said that one of the most grievous insults I could ever levy on La Flamme was to go back on my word?"

    "Yeah," Alex responded clearly not sure of where Herah was going with this.

    "Well, there are repercussions I would suffer for such insults. For that one, in particular, my flame would instantly snuff itself out."

    Herah watched as Alex let out another sigh before looking away from her and beginning to tap his nose. Seeing Alex''s reaction, Herah looked away from him and towards the Oni''s home finding the most peculiar of sites.

    ''Why the ash is there a storm brewing right there, and why is it stationary?''

    Herah thought about for a bit longer but couldn''t think of a reason, so the youngling redirected her attention to Alex. The human had just let out another sigh and pinched his neck, looking none too happy by whatever his thoughts had led him to conclude. Alex then looked back towards Herah and asked her another question, this one sounding a lot more serious than the previous ones to Herah.

    "How do you feel about Max?"

    Herah looked back towards the direction Max had exited the clearing through before giving Alex her answer.

    "I have a crush on your sister."

    Alex let out another sigh as a frown came to his face before asking Herah another question that seemed just as important as the one before.

    "What do you plan on doing about this crush?"

    "Nothing right now," Herah said, blinking back at Alex as if that was obvious, "My plans for Max at this very moment are helping her deal with the trauma of killing all of those Oni, getting to know her better, and screwing her."

    "So you have no plans of attempting to be more than friends with benefits with my sister?" Alex asked sounding very hopeful.

    "None right now, I might get one later."

    Herah wasn''t too surprised when Alex let out another sigh and his frown returned much deeper than before. Taking his right hand from its pocket, Alex covered his face while shaking his head in an exasperated fashion.

    "Ok Herah," Alex began, clearly annoyed by Herah''s answer, "I''m gonna need you to keep your current relationship status with my sister even if she meets your standards. I would actually prefer if you changed it to just friends by the way."

    With those words, Herah lost her curious expression entirely and instead switched to a glare that lacked its usual strength.

    "Why is that Alex?" Herah asked, tilting her head just a bit as a feeling of annoyance began to build up within her.

    "Fatality amongst the participants is an almost certainty when in Recompense, after all no more than eight of the participants ever make it to the end alive. And that''s usually when the pool is a lot larger than our current one."

    "How do you even know this?" Herah asked believing the words coming out of Alex''s mouth to be utter bullshit, "And what does that even have to do with me and your sister''s relationship?"

    "How I know does not matter, and the answer to your second question is quite simple. You have the highest chance of fatality in our group, and your death will be bad enough for her deal with as you guys are now. So let''s not plant that fire hazard in a forest."

    Herah began growling at Alex causing wisp of green fire to flow from her nose and for the same colored flames to began leaking from her mouth.

    "So what if I have a higher chance of dying than everyone else in our group, by the sounds of it that chance is already high enough to begin with. Plus, you were the one earlier who said they couldn''t determine the fucking future, did you suddenly gain that power all of a sudden?"

    "Hmmm," Herah watched as Alex began tapping his nose slowly and methodically, before snapping his fingers and giving Herah a wide smile and using a forcefully cheery voice, "No I haven''t gained seer sight at the very moment. However, allow me to key you in on something I know to be certain."

    Alex shoved his hand back into its pocket and crossed the few feet that separated him from Herah, maintaining his false demeanor right up and until reaching the youngling. As soon as Alex reached Herah, the human took his right hand from his pocket and rested it on Herah''s shoulder. Alex''s smile then turned into a condescending grin and his voice took on a more malicious tone.

    "Myself and Max will make it out of this alive, you''re... debatable at best."

    Herah almost immediately shot back a retort, but a thought mid-shout caused her to pause. After a few seconds of mulling it over, green flames began to leak from Herah''s eyes, and the fire in her mouth and leaving her nose flared. Flicking Alex''s hand off of her shoulder, Herah glared accusingly at the human.

    "This isn''t at all abou-" Herah shook her head, "No, this is partly about how my death could affect Max. But keeping me disposable is a larger priority in your eyes, isn''t it? After all, that''s why you asked me to make that deal with you earlier. You thought of me as a tool to use and throw away if needed, but I bet I fucked that all the way up when I started fucking your sister!"

    "We''re alone."

    SNIKT!

    Herah popped all ten of her claws and glared down at Alex now a bit on edge, with Alex looking back up at her with a cold expression. After a few seconds of the two just staring each down, Alex began speaking to Herah in an uncaring tone of voice.

    "You are exactly fucking right." Alex held up a hand, stopping Herah before a word could leave her, "In my eyes, you''re a weapon to be used and discarded at my leisure."

    "Then what the hell was that about respect earlier, a fucking sham!?"

    "Of course not, you just seem to have forgotten what I said. You have earned a bit of my respect, just a tiny bit. Which is why I now see you as a weapon instead of a defective tool."

    "Fuck you!"

    "Sorry I''d prefer not to have my sister''s sloppy seconds."

    The fire leaking from Herah''s mouth, nose, and eyes flared once again as the youngling snarled at Alex. Herah''s next words came through gritted teeth.

    "They only reason I''m not attacking you right now is because Max clearly doesn''t want us to fight."

    "Hmmm. Nice to see my sister has a leash on you."

    "GRRRR."

    "Down girl." Alex responded with a condescending tone and an equally condescending grin that didn''t leave his face even when Herah shot her left hand out to allow for her claws to hover over Alex''s throat.

    "That leash you mention isn''t too secure."

    "Then maybe I should tighten the one I have."

    "What!? Are you going to order me to not get close to your sister, to not challenge you or some shit like that?"

    "No, neither would really solve the problem."

    "I can agree with you on that. Neither would remove that stick from your ass. Something like that would take an actual fucking miracle."

    Alex backed away from Herah and pointed at her mouth.

    "That right there is the problem."

    "What, my mouth? How so?"

    "You don''t talk to me with respect. Which means my problem is you haven''t submitted to me yet. As long as you believe you have the chance of taking me on, you won''t be as useful as you could be and that''s problematic."

    "Well good fucking luck with that, because I''m sure as ash never going to willingly submit to you."

    Alex nodded at Herah words looking none to bothered by them.

    "I know, that''s why I''m going to do what I''m about to do."

    "And what would that be-"

    "The magma in your breast should be melting them right now."

    Almost immediately Herah knew something was wrong with her chest. It started with the feeling of several drops of hot, gooey liquid (that Herah definitely knew wasn''t just magma) slowly rolling down the sides of her breast and towards her abs. Then the smell of burning skin filled her nose, and Herah began to feel steam filling her bra and shirt. This was followed up with Herah allowing her claws to retract and for all of the green flames coming from her head to stop flowing and dissipate in confusion. Herah then raised a hand to one of her breasts and felt what was for sure liquified skin and magma seep into and through her bra and shirt.

    "You can feel the pain."

    A few seconds later the pain registered in her brain.

    "AAAAAHHHH!"

    The sound of a high pitched, distinctly feminine voice crying out filled the clearing. It took Herah a second to realize that it was her voice that filled the clearing as tears began to flow from her eyes. The crying was soon followed by her collapsing down to the ground and writhing in agony as white began to dot her vision. Then the feeling of her breast liquifying reached Herah and filled her with such pain and terror that the youngling dragged her shirt and bra off. With her head and hair now smeared with a mixture of gooey skin and magma, Herah tried to grab both of her breast only to feel them began to soften and meld into each other and her hands. A few more seconds passed before Herah felt one of her breast actually detach from her body and flop into the other one. This caused Herah''s other breast to detach as well and for magma to began spilling onto the ground and around her.

    Herah had no idea where Alex was but found herself unable to care about it. Instead, Herah was more focused on the pain that was still felt from where her breast had previously been. Pushing through the agony, Herah forced herself onto her back and reached up and into the now exposed inner area of her body. Herah soon felt one of her fingers brush against a beating organ, the name of which took her a few seconds to come up with.

    ''My heart, this is my heart. So if I move a bit to the right, there is my flame.''

    Herah''s hand dipped into her flame and a certain sense of warmth began to feel her entire body as the red fire in her chest began to amplify and encase her in a shroud of itself. Herah''s mind cleared up even more as her vision began to clear and the pain from before began to dull.

    "The fire is in your chest and you''re awake."

    Herah suffered a mental whiplash as all the pain from before struck her without mercy and became so overbearing that her mind went blank for a second and her vision completely blacked out. Yet consciousness didn''t escape her, Herah was sure of this since soon the sound of yet another agonized scream in her own voice greeted her ears. This time, however, the scream was for a different reason.

    ''Mo- Mo- Motherfucker! I can''t feel- I can''t feel my flame! I can''t feel my flame!''

    Herah cried out within the confines of her mind as more tears began pouring from her eyes. The disconnect from her fire had filled Herah with two feelings that the youngling absolutely hated.

    Shame and powerlessness.

    Both emotions overtook Herah as the youngling laid on her back unable to do anything but cry, writhe in pain, and scream until her voice was hoarse and afterward weakly whimper.

    ''Da-Da-Dammit! This wasn''t even a fight.''

    "You can hear."

    Herah (still quite scattered brain and terrified) showed barely any reaction to Alex''s words, but was able to figure out that the human now stood to her right with his mouth to her ear. Alex soon began to whisper harshly to Herah

    "This is the power I hold over you. At any place, at any time, I can do this to you. I can leave you completely and utterly powerless. And you can''t do a single thing to stop it. Nod your head if you understand me."

    Herah let out a small whimper before shamefully nodding her head.

    "Good, because this will happen to you, every time you challenge me. This will happen to you every time I get tired of your shit. And this will most definitely happen to you if you try to become anything more than my sister''s close fuck buddy. Nod if you understand."

    The tears running down Herah''s cheeks began to flow much quicker as the youngling once again shamefully nodded her head.

    "Good," Herah felt Alex raise his head away from hers and rise back up to his full height, "As long as we have this understanding we shouldn''t have an-"

    WHAM!

    CRUNCH!

    "GAAHH! Dammit! What broke my fucking arm!?" Alex let out a gasp, "Je- Jeffery how the hell did you get here!? My eight minutes weren''t up yet!"

    All Herah could do was lay on the ground barely able to form a thought and completely unable to see, while a feeling of confusion began to join her shame and helplessness. Her confusion was only multiplied when the sound of someone running into the clearing greeted her ears.

    "Finally I made it here!" Max''s voice blessed Herah''s ears as the youngling began to cry harder with an even greater sense of shame building up, "What the fuck was that shouting abo- Herah! What the fuck happened to yo-" Max paused as if noticing something before speaking in a sickly tone, "Are those your breast? Mmmph! BLEEEHHH!"

    Herah could only let out another whimper as the sound of Max emptying her stomach somewhere on the ground entered her ears. This was soon followed up by the sound of Max dry heaving reaching Herah which also made the youngling feel even more ashamed. Herah''s shame pretty much tripled when her ears picked up on the sound of someone burrowing up from the ground a few feet away from her. A second later, the sound of burrowing became the sound of the ground breaking open which was immediately followed up by the sound of a soft, childlike voice.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    "Hey Alex, I finished making the tunnels and- OH MY GODS! What happened to you Herah!?" Owen paused, Herah knowing where his focus most likely went, before continuing sounding much sicker. "Are those your- Mmmph! BLEEEHHH!"

    Herah once again whimpered and began to cry harder as Owen retched onto the ground near her before joining Max in her dry heaving.

    "Great. Just fucking great." Herah heard Alex say, clearly irritated, "Everyone is here now. Somehow."

    Herah then felt herself become encased within Jeffery''s Presence, a soothing feeling overcoming all of her physical pain which restored Herah''s connection to her flame, allowed for the youngling to finally collect her thoughts, and for her vision to return to normal.

    The first thing to greet Herah''s sights was the cloudless sky and the red star that bore down on Bizzare in the dead center of it. Herah then forced herself up into a sitting position so as to look down at herself and see the damage.

    Herah couldn''t help but wince at the sight that greeted her.

    The entire top outer layer of Herah''s torso had melted away, leaving the inside organs exposed to the environment. Herah''s three-chambered heart was beating seemingly without a care, and her flame was red and burning strongly while her lungs took in air without too much of an issue. Taking in a deep breath, Herah flared her flame and turned it violet before her entire body was engulfed in the same colored fire. A few seconds later, Herah''s breast were restored and all pain that had been felt was completely gone.

    Now done with the observation of her own body, Herah looked around herself. A sense of revulsion filled her as her eyes went to an area a few inches to her left. Her original breast were there and made for a grotesque sight. Both had merged into a single disgusting, gooey mess that was steadily losing its shape and still giving off steam. Not too far away from her breast were her shirt and bra, now stained with liquefied flesh and magma. Herah frowned at the pounds of fat, bemoaning their condition in her mind. Within about a foot radius around Herah was a small pool of magma that was burning away at the grass and ground it touched. Making a note to clean that up, Herah then directed her attention to the others in the clearing.

    First, Herah''s eyes landed on Owen. The blue tunic and hat wearing gnome was standing, as Herah had figured, a few feet to her left with a freshly dug up hole that had just recently had vomit deposited into it. Wrinkling her nose at the twin smells, Herah noted that Owen had finished dry heaving at this point and now gave her both an extremely worried and confused stare.

    "What happened to you? And," Owen subtly pointed towards Max, "Is she okay now?"

    Herah took a deep breath before letting out a sigh and allowing for a saddened look to come across her face. Looking down and away from Owen, Herah somberly answered his question.

    "Max is better now, and... Alex happened, is all I will say."

    Looking back up at Owen, Herah found the gnome frowning for a second before taking his hat off of his head and depositing a piece of platinum the size of his fist onto the ground. Grabbing the metal in both of his hands, Owen tossed the platinum to Herah and tossed his hat back on. Herah gave Owen a muted thanks before chewing on her new snack and turning to find Max. Herah found Max standing of a couple feet behind Owen, still dry heaving over her pool of vomit.

    "Are you okay Max?"

    Herah watched as Max suddenly stopped mid heave before turning towards her with a disbelieving look on her face. Max raised a finger to her chest, and begin to speak sounding absolutely aghast at Herah''s question.

    "Am I ok? Am I OK!? Herah I should be asking you that! I''m perfectly fucking fine, minus the even emptier stomach than earlier. Please don''t ask how I feel, I''m not going to even verbalize it to you right now. You can check for yourself." Max turned to her brother with the same wide smile that was on his face earlier upon hers, "Somebody else, however, I feel needs to hear my words to get how I''m feeling."

    Before Herah could say another word to Max, the human wiped her mouth and stomped over to her twin. Herah mentally called forward her emotional link to Max which had been pushed to the back of her mind.

    ''Oh shit! That''s how you feel. What- What do I even call this?''

    ''Rage.''

    ''No, that''s too weak.''

    ''Livid.''

    ''Nah, still lacks strength''

    ''Mmmhh? How to describe it, how to describe i- Wait a minute.''

    Herah pondered the word for a second before coming to a conclusion.

    ''That''ll do. That''s the perfect word to use.''

    With those finishing thoughts, Herah settled on how to describe Max''s current feelings at the moment.

    An overwhelming feeling of wrath was what Herah felt from Max, the emotion was so potent, in fact, that Herah was unable to pick up even the tiniest hint of any other feelings through their connection with each other.

    "What. The. Fuck. Is wrong with you?" Herah heard Max say, sounding nowhere close to as angry as her feelings clearly showed her to be.

    Herah''s head whipped towards her right where Jeffery, Alex, and now Max were situated. Herah''s eyes first landed on Jeffery, who was floating just in front of Max while rotating at such a high speed that their image appeared static in Herah''s eyes. Herah quickly averted her attention away from Jeffery, however, as her shame increased ten fold and her pride took a devastating blow. Herah''s eyes landed on Max, who had lost her smile and replaced it with a contempt riddled frown.

    "Nothing much," Alex replied nonchalantly, his previous annoyance nowhere to be found, "Just a broken arm, a few broken ribs, and some bruises."

    Herah looked towards Alex and felt the tiniest fractions of satisfaction at his condition. Alex now laid against a redwood tree that was marked by an almost human-sized crater, sitting just beneath it. Alex was cradling his right arm with his left, which was the sight that drew Herah''s eyes first. Alex''s right arm was now bent in the wrong direction and was wrangled to the point that much of its flesh was marred by the many shards of bone that jutted out of it every which way. Even with the bones disfiguring the skin so severely, Herah was able to see that much of it now looked blue and dark purple. Herah moved her eyes to his head and found the same colors around his left eye which had now swollen shut. A bit of blood trickled from the left corner of his mouth and down his chin. Yet even with all of this damage, Alex looked more annoyed, if anything else, by his current circumstance.

    "That''s is not what I meant," Max told Alex through gritted teeth, her frown having turned into a scowl.

    "Then what do you mean, dear sister?"

    "I mean why would you do that to Herah?"

    "I wanted to get a point across." Alex laid his gaze upon Herah with a wide smile on his face, causing the youngling to unconsciously flinch which elicited a chuckle from Alex, "I think the message got through."

    Max looked back at Herah, surely having felt her spike of fear, before turning back to her brother and kicking him in the throat.

    "AACK! Dammit Max! I more hurt by the sight of your uncovered crotch than I am by your kick."

    Max kicked Alex in the throat again.

    "Oh god. That image will stay with me forever."

    "What did you do to her!?"

    "I used the magma in her tits to melt them and then gave her a few choice words."

    "Why did I feel such a sudden spike of fear from Herah when you smiled at her?!"

    "Because she now understands that going against me in any form or shape will end with her as she was not too long ago. Helpless and ashamed."

    Max''s wrath spike tremendously through her link with Herah before the human grabbed her brother by the scruff of his jacket and lifted him up into a standing position. Once there, Max brought her head back and slammed it into her brothers face.

    CRACK!

    Herah felt a tiny bit of delight as the sound of Alex''s nose breaking filled the clearing.

    "Max please stop, you sh-"

    Max turned towards Owen with a fierce glare and snarl, immediately shutting the gnome up. Turning back to Alex, Max found her brother giving her a slightly annoyed glare. Alex reached up to poke his nose with his left hand and winced slightly before speaking in a slightly nasally voice.

    "I don''t think the damage to my nose is that bad."

    Max headbutted her brother again.

    "Nevermind, it''s destroyed."

    "Dammit Alex! Why the hell would you do something like this to Herah!?"

    "I already answered that one sis, try again."

    "Alex, me and you both know that you only do shit like this when you believe a problem to be too big to be left festering. Simply showing Herah her place wouldn''t ever get this type of reaction from you."

    Alex''s annoyed glare changed into a more redrawn and serious expression as his gaze shifted away from his sister. When Alex spoke next, his words came out cold and harsh.

    "What makes you think that putting someone as problematic as Herah in their place wouldn''t solicit such a response from me?" Alex turned to look at Herah and glared straight through her, "I merely intended to make sure history didn''t repeat itself."

    "What do you mean history repeats itse-"

    Herah watched Max pause mid-sentence as a feeling of realization flowed through their link together. This realization then morphed into a deluge of emotions as feelings of guilt, disbelief, disgust, and pain became all Herah could feel from Max.

    That was until all these emotions were overtaken by a single new one, one Herah never expected could be directed at Alex from Max.

    ''Malice. Such strong and earnest malice. What the ash is Alex talking about? And why does it piss you off that much Max?''

    Max didn''t say another word, instead, Max allowed her brother to stand on his own before turning away from him and walking a fair distance away. Drawing her deck of cards from her pocket, Max tossed them high into the air.

    "52 pickup."

    All 52 cards became suspended in the air, before suddenly zooming towards Alex. Once the cards reached Alex, they began encircling his body at high speeds just far enough away to not cut him. Max turned back to face her brother with a cold and haughty look on her face that caused him to flinch much like Herah had earlier. In fact, pretty much everyone in the clearing had flinched when Max had turned back to face Alex.

    "Alex," Max began, her malice poisoning the words that left her mouth, "Are you telling me that the reason that you did such a horrid, disgusting, downright sadistic thing to someone who is supposed to be our ally, someone who just finished doing us both a big favor, my friend, is because you didn''t want to take any chance of Herah ending up like Artemis, Isis, or Hel?"

    "Yes."

    Max''s eyes narrowed at Alex, who returned her stare with an apathetic one.

    "You don''t even sound like you regret what you did."

    "Because I don''t."

    Herah watched in complete and total silence as Max nodded at her brother''s words. Max then made all 52 cards rotating Alex freeze before closing her eyes.

    "You arrogant."

    THUD!

    THUD!

    THUD!

    THUD!

    Alex let out a pained grunt as his body was slammed and pinned to the damaged tree behind him by four cards through each of his pants legs and by the sides of his jacket.

    "Self-centered"

    SHUKK!

    SHUKK!

    SHUKK!

    SHUKK!

    SHUKK!

    SHUKK!

    "Dammit."

    Alex closed an eye in pain as three cards struck either of his legs, soaking his jeans in blood.

    "Narrowminded."

    SHUKK!

    SHUKK!

    SHUKK!

    SHUKK!

    "Fuuuck!"

    Alex coughed up a bit of blood as three cards burrowed into his right arm and a single one struck him in his liver.

    "SON OF A BITCH!"

    SHUKK!

    "GAAHH!"

    Herah actually winced again, when one more card shot through Alex''s right eye while also making note of a thud made by Owen.

    With the last hit, Max marched up to her now pinned brother and began shouting at him even more.

    "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR GODDAMN MIND!?"

    "Probably."

    "Will you stop with the smartassery and just give me a straight answer!?"

    Alex gave his sister a one-eyed glare before scoffing and looking away, which caused Max to punch him in the stomach.

    "ANSWER ME GODDAMMIT!

    Herah suddenly felt a fur covered appear on her back and wrap its long legs and arms around her torso. Herah bristled at the feeling of the fur on her sensitive nerves and growled slightly at the feeling of the creature''s breath touching her left cheek.

    "It''s Norwedammit, when will my creations call me th-"

    Max turned away from her brother and towards Herah and Norwe the Sloth with a murderous look on her face.

    "SHUT THE FUCK UP NORWE! I DON''T FEEL LIKE DEALING WITH YOUR BULLSHIT RIGHT NOW!"

    "Fufufufufufufu," Norwe the Sloth moved one of his arms to tap at his mouth, "I just love it when my creations talk dirty to me."

    "Norwe, get the fuck off of me," Herah told the Maker Sloth, wide eyed and feeling quite a bit disturbed.

    "Ok, I''ll leave you guys to it." And with those words, Norwe the Sloth disappeared from the clearing.

    With that distraction now gone, Herah redirected her attention to Max and Alex. Max now had the rest of her cards floating behind her, looking like they were standby, while glaring at her brother with an expectant expression upon her face. Alex just stared back at Max with what a defiant glint to his eye. After a few seconds of the two just staring at each other, Max impaled Alex through his left hand with a card which got another groan of pain from him.

    "What you did was completely unacceptable!"

    "I disagree," Alex''s sole eye narrowed, "We can''t afford to have any dissonance within our group. And Herah has shown she doesn''t exactly care for me being the leader."

    "I wonder why she might feel that way!?" Max asked her brother in faux confusion, "I see no reason at all for Herah to not want you as our leader!"

    "Sarcasm is unbefitting of you, sis."

    "Leadership is unbefitting of you, bro!"

    "I was merely quelling the ranks."

    "In one of the most ineffective ways possible! Do you want a self-fulfilling prophecy on your hands!?"

    "The hell are you talking about?" Alex asked Max, a bit of anger finally being shown, "I''ve thoroughly crushed any chance of Herah purposely making trouble for you or me."

    SHUKK!

    Another of Max''s card burrowed into Alex, this time in one of his kidneys.

    "FUCK!"

    "Don''t you fucking dare act like that you were doing this for me! And just because you knock someone down, that doesn''t mean they won''t get back up" Max rubbed her head while letting out a sigh of frustration, "Alex, I can understand why you''re so hostile towards Herah, especially now. But that doesn''t change the fact that right now, we need to be a team. And that doesn''t just mean we have to grit our teeth and work together, we have to be able to treat each other with respect and some semblance of friendliness."

    "Fat chance of that occurring between me and her. We''ve been here before sis, and I''d rather not take the chance of another knife in my back. So I decided to make her unwilling to even pick it up."

    Herah watched as Max looked down and shoved both of her hands into her hair, making it an even bigger mess than before. Looking back up at her brother, Max let out another angry sigh before speaking.

    "Fear is not the best method for preventing betrayal, especially with our current predicament! If you really want to avoid history repeating itself then why don''t you try to do something you''ve never done before with the other three?"

    "Kill her before she tries to kill me? I''m looking to not die sis, that''s is very much counterproductive."

    Max punched Alex in the throat.

    "AACK!"

    "No asshole! I meant why don''t you try to befriend her."

    "What?"

    "What?"

    Herah felt a flash of surprise and D¨¦j¨¤ Vu, as both herself and Alex gave Max bewildered stares.

    ''Did- Did dad tell Max of my fears? Or did dad just mention something about becoming friends being the solution to both of our problems?'' Herah''s eyes looked to side as another thought came to her, ''Or did Max just think of this on her own?''

    "Sis, I''m pretty sure that bridge was burnt very, very recently." Alex spoke while blinking at Max with a look of confusion still on his face.

    "Why don''t we ask Herah?" Max responded before turning to Herah and winking at her.

    ''That sadly confirms nothing.''

    Alex turned to look at Herah as well and stared at her with an expression that just told Herah that the human thought there was no chance of her saying yes.

    ''Well, Alex is pretty right to assume that I want nothing to do with him right now.'' Herah began to shake and felt rage come to her mind, before allowing it to fade and for a feeling of worry to appear, "But then again, Max did just hand me a golden opportunity to at least try to alleviate my now very much confirmed fears. But still,'' Herah reached up to her bare chest, ''Am I just supposed to forgive and forget about what just happened?"

    ''Bien s?r que pas mon enfant.'' A familiar harmonious, gentle voice rung throughout Herah''s head, as Herah began to feel heat in her throat that wasn''t from her fire.

    Herah''s eyes widened in shock before the youngling quickly bowed and responded to the foreign thoughts with glee and zealousness.

    ''Mistress you humble me with your contact, how may I help you?''

    La Flamme, the mother of the Cendruex, Cendre, and Couver. The now mostly shunned goddess of the Cendruex. A direct descendant of Norwe. The being Herah considered her mistress.

    They were now speaking to her.

    ''Ne vous inqui¨¦tez pas de la fa?on dont vous pourriez m''aider, je cherche ¨¤ vous conseiller.''

    ''Well what should I do then?''

    ''Je ne vous dirai pas quoi faire, mais je vais vous dire ceci Alex, l''homme, a agi plus de peur que de haine envers vous.''

    ''I can see where you''re coming from on that front. Alex talks like I remind him of those three Max mentioned.''

    ''Et tout en disant que oui ne soulagera pas ses soup?ons, cela pourrait cr¨¦er un sentiment de doute dans son esprit.''

    ''True enough, I know what I will do. Thank you mistress, and may your flame ever burn eternally.''

    ''Et que le v?tre.''

    And with those words, Herah felt the presence of La Flamme leave her head and for her throat to cool down.

    Herah then rose from her bow and turned a steely glare onto Alex, who now stared at her in confusion.

    ''Probably because I bowed out of nowhere and for seemingly no reason.''

    Herah then took a deep breath and spoke.

    "I am willing to try if you are Alex."

    Herah felt a spike of happiness emitt from Max as a smile came to the human''s face. Turning back to her still pinned brother, Max began speaking to him cheerfully.

    "See, the offer is there for you to take. So why don''t you just apologize for what you did and I''ll get you down from there and healed in a jiff-"

    "No."

    Herah wasn''t too surprised by Alex''s response, though the surprise that came from Max indicated that a no wasn''t expected by her. This surprise was then overtaken by malice once again as Max swiped a single card from behind her and put it to her brother''s liver, right next to the card that had hit him in that organ earlier.

    "What do you mean no?" Max asked Alex, clearly lacking the patience to deal with any more bullshit from her brother.

    "I mean no." Alex words came out flat and untrusting, "I''m going to need time to think that over. Give me till the day after tomorrow, I should have your answer by then."

    "Dammit Alex! I will not let thi-"

    "Max."

    Max turned to face Herah, who shook her head and mouthed for her to let it go for now. Nodding at Herah''s "words", Max turned back to her brother and gave him one final glare.

    "Ok then. After this conversation, I will not say a word to you until you apologize. And even after that I want something to be made clear," Max raised her right hand and turned the back of it to face Alex. Though Herah couldn''t see it, the youngling knew upon the back of Max''s right hand sat a tattoo of a pencil writing out her name.

    "This is the tattoo that shows that me and Herah are courting each other. But for you, it will gain another meaning. This tattoo marks that Herah is not just a tool or weapon for you to use and discard. Herah is not disposable. And most importantly, we''re now a package deal."

    "What do you mean?" Alex asked, sounding none too happy by Max''s words.

    "If you get Herah killed, expect me to follow soon afterward."

    A moment of silence filled the clearing as Herah and Alex stared at Max in disbelief.

    ''Where the fuck did that come from?'' Herah thought while also picking up on the feeling of determination that was now flowing through their link together. Herah sent Alex a sideways glance, but got no reaction from him since all of his attention seemed to be on his twin. Alex''s disbelieving look soon became a neutral one that displayed no emotion as a question was asked.

    "Why?"

    "Because I know even this conversation won''t change your mind, and until something like that happens this is my way of keeping you in line. Do we have an understanding?"

    "Yeah."

    Max said nothing else to her brother before turning away from him and calling all her cards back into her hand. Sliding the cards into her pocket, Max walked up to Jeffery (who had stopped spinning at this point) and pointed towards the magma surrounding Herah. The sentient pencil quickly floated over to their creator and began to erase the molten rock that surrounded her. Once done with that, Jeffery released Herah from their Presence and began to hover just above her head. Herah offered a thanks to Jeffery, who sent her images of a thumbs up and a worried looking Rouge. Sending the pencil a mental okay, Herah looked back at Max who bowed deeply to her and began to apologize in rapid fashion.

    "I''m so sorry for what Alex did to you."

    "Max no ne-"

    "I knew I shouldn''t have left you two alone together."

    "Max please yo-"

    "I tried to come the moment I felt your emotions go haywire, but bro had done something weird with his <u>gift</u> so every time I tried to enter I would end up on the opposite side of the clearing."

    "Max you did nothing-"

    "The only reason I even made it in here was because Jeffery did this weird thing with his, I guess Presence, which allowed for him to just enter with me following shortly afterward. And then we came across you and the sight was absolutely terrifying, and I didn''t know what to do, then I saw red, and I felt so, so , ang-"

    "MAX!"

    The human in question paused and tilted her head up to look at Herah.

    "Yeah?"

    "Don''t apologize to me for anything your brother does, those are his actions and his actions alone. You don''t need to take the blame for him." Herah told her, before rising to her feet and gesturing for Max to do the same.

    "Ok." Max said, just before standing up to her full height and looking at Herah with a small smile.

    "Oh and something else as well."

    "Yeah?" Max asked, with a curious tilt of her head.

    "Thanks for that by the way. You know, kicking your brother''s ass and all of that for me."

    This only caused for Max''s smile to deepen, before playfully punching Herah in the arm that still had scales and saying,

    "Of course, can''t just let my bro go around hurting my friend/ fuck buddy without repercussions." Max''s eyes flashed to behind Herah, "And is Owen passed out?"

    Herah turned back to the gnome and found him laying flat first on his face. Herah strained all of her senses to make sure that Owen was okay and figured that the gnome had most likely passed out in fear when seeing all of the blood that Alex bled from Max pinning him to the tree.

    "Well if he, is wake him up. It''s time to talk over our plan, which means I''m gonna need a bit more information on you Herah."

    Herah turned back to Alex and found him standing casually with all of his wounds now healed, though his clothes were still ripped and had blood staining them. Alex wore an expression that showed both displeasure and confusion towards Herah. Alex stood before Herah with seemingly no issue as a single sentence of his rung throughout her brain.

    ''And there is nothing you can do stop me.''

    Herah looked back at Alex and felt shame, rage, and, most importantly, fear.

    ''How the ash am I supposed to beat you, if all it takes is a word for you to beat me?''

    Herah used a quick flame to burn away all of the liquids that coated her face and began to speak about her capabilities.

    "I can lift nearly 500,000 tons, can run over 200 m/s, and react, see, and follow at speeds 58 times faster than the speed of sound. I can fly even faster than I run, going up to Mach 88 though I usually stay around 58 because afterward it gets harder to control."

    "Interesting," Alex said while rubbing his chin before giving her another wide smile that made her flinch once again.

    ''Is it even possible?''

    Alex seis m¨¦fitig

    After that Herah had told Alex her physical capabilities and about her gift. Following that conversation, Alex and Owen came up with a plan with occasional insight from both Herah and Max, then everyone got to work doing what they needed to do. During this time no apology ever came from Alex, and the Max gave no replies to any of Alex''s attempts to speak with her. On the other hand, Herah and Max spent the time getting to know each other better.

    Herah now knew that Max''s favorite color was red, she once lost a bet to a goddess by the name of Hathor and ended up drinking a bucket of cow sperm (Herah did not need to learn that one), that both her and her brother owned a flag making company, and other random things about Max''s life.

    The previous night, Herah got to experience a few memories of Max''s, the youngling''s personal favorite being one of Max and Alex fighting each other over a red velvet cookie as toddlers. The fight had ended with Max suffering through some type of drug trip and with Alex lying in a pool of his own vomit with a monstrous migraine.

    That last part brought Herah a very special sense of happiness.

    It was now the very early morning of the day of the Oni attack. A cool wind blew through the clearing that Herah, Jeffery, Alex, and Max currently resided in, but Herah was unbothered by this. In fact, Herah was spending this time attempting to meditate with the words her father had taught her for it many years previous.

    ''Clear your mind of anything not your own.''

    Herah sat nude a few feet away from the Donneur de Fr¨ºne with Jeffery floating over her in their own dreamlike state, waiting for Herah to fall asleep and cuddle with them as usual. Herah took in a deep breath, and used the gathered air as fuel for the fire that had crawled up her throat and now stewed within her mouth gathering heat. As this happened, Herah deafened her hearing to the sounds of the twins breathing and Owen''s smithing. Herah also forced the feeling of Max''s own emotions down until they were unnoticeable so that only her thoughts and feelings were in her head.

    ''Focus on your emotions.''

    Herah allowed for herself to disregard all thoughts that weren''t focused on her feelings, and found that at the very moment tremendous amounts of rage, fear, and shame filled her. As Herah focused on these emotions, the youngling also willed the red flames in her mouth to seep from between her lips, through her nose, and out of her ears. This was followed by the red fire engulfing her body.

    ''Now grab these feelings and allow for them to overtake you.''

    Herah didn''t have to open her eyes to know that the flames around her were beginning to change color. First, the fire was red, then orange, then yellow, then green, then blue, then indigo, before finally settling on violet. As the flames changed color, they also grew in heat. Which meant by the time Herah''s fire rested on the last color, the surrounding grass had already been turned to ash and had its ashes burnt away.

    ''Now stew in these emotions, ponder them and try to accept them. Only once done should your flame recede back into you.''

    But before Herah could begin to do such a thing, her focus was broken by the feeling of a stick poking her in the head. Annoyed and knowing of who poked her, Herah retaliated towards the stick wielder.

    WHAM!

    CRACK!

    "Dammit! That hurt."

    With her right fist still out in front of her the air and her body still shrouded in violet fire, Herah popped open a single eye and found herself greeted by the site of Alex looking a bit ruffed up.

    Alex was laying against the only other damaged redwood tree that bordered the clearing with the Donneur de Fr¨ºne, wearing nothing but a pair of green boxers, which allowed Herah to get a better look at his body. While clearly nowhere close to Herah''s own fitness, Alex had a noticeable hint of muscles covering his body that did nothing to detract from his overall gender-neutral look. Alex (with his hair down once again) glared back at Herah as a bit of blood dripped from his mouth and a bruise began to form on his left cheek.

    "The fuck do you want?" Herah asked Alex in a severely aggravated, yet slightly shaky tone while taking her newly reassembled braid (courtesy of Max) from in front in between her breast to behind her back.

    Alex continued to glare back at Herah in silence for a few seconds before losing his glare and letting out a sigh.

    "I''ve finished pondering on what I was going to do about your offer."

    Alex''s words caused Herah to flinch as the memory of what happened to her after returning to him with Max came to mind. Shaking these memories away, Herah lost her glare and instead gave Alex a serious stare while subconsciously feeling nervous of what his reply might be.

    "And?"

    Alex got up and walked up to Herah before sitting just out of the reach of her flame shroud. Alex let out another sigh before looking away from Herah and speaking under his breath.

    "I''m sorry for what I did Herah, it was cruel and outta line and you really did little to deserve it. So, does your offer still stand?"

    Herah blinked at Alex at a few times before saying the only words that could come to her head at the moment.

    "Can, can you repeat that?"

    "No. Fuck you."

    "Fuck you too then!"

    "Sorry, I don''t screw animals."

    "Apparently your sister does."

    "I think it can be agreed upon that Max is a fucking weirdo."

    "I know right, like your sister nonstop asks me the weirdest things about myself and my people."

    "Like?"

    "Do we poop and pee?"

    "That is a weird thing to ask someone and should definitely be obvious."

    "I know right? Like the Cendreux evolved outta creating excrement and urine a few generations before mine."

    "Wait, really?"

    "Yeah," Herah said with a nod, "My generation now utilizes everything that goes into our bodies or pukes it out. Anything that makes it pass our stomach usually never makes it past the small intestines and if it does it''s fully absorbed into our bodies before it makes it even a fourth of the way through our large intestines."

    "You know ashbrain, you have a very interesting anatomy." Alex said with keen interest while tapping his nose, "I''ve always enjoyed learning about how the bodies of other''s worked. I think it''s weird all the shit that a body will do, and it''s useful knowledge to have when my <u>gift</u> is concerned. I''d love to talk about yours more if you mind."

    "Sure thing Alex and- Wait," Herah paused and blinked at Alex in confusion before pointing between the two of them, "What just happened?"

    "What do you me-" Alex did the exact thing that Herah just did, before saying, "I- I think we just started a casual conversation."

    "Yeah, I didn''t figure we''d ever make small talk. It''s weird."

    "Yeah, weird." Alex began tapping his nose once again, allowing for the two to sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before snapping his fingers and saying, "Herah if we survive our battle with the Oni later today," Alex looked up to sky,"Judging by the placements of those definitely radiation filled clouds, I''ll tell you about why I feel the way I do towards you." Alex shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe after that, we could try that friend thing out. Cool with that?"

    "Hmph." Herah smirked at Alex, "Might as well tell me now then, because, as much as I hate to admit it, with that plan you and Owen created victory is certain for us."

    "Ahahaha," A smile came to Alex''s face, "It''s an arrogant thing to presume you know the future."

    "It''s not arrogance. I''m just keying you in on something I know to be certain."

    This got a hearty laugh from Alex, which the human then followed up with by getting up and walking over to one of the sleeping bags Herah had created for the group with her <u>gift</u>. Alex shimmed into his sleeping bag, and before closing his eyes told Herah,

    "Do me a favor, go get Owen and tell him to go to sleep. And also don''t forget to put that necklace he made for you on, it''s vital to our plan."

    "Sure thing." Herah replied before standing up and allowing for a smirk to come to her face, "Night asshole."

    "Night ashbrain."

    Herah walked out of the clearing and towards the forging noise that hadn''t slowed in tempo since it started late yesterday night. After about a few minutes of walking, Herah emerged into another clearing created by Owen and Max, with the addition of herself helping this time.

    The clearing was pretty similar to the one the Donneur de Fr¨ºne sat in, with one exception: there was no tree in the center. Instead, the clearing had a few of Owen''s creations strewn about and laid everywhere haphazardly. Herah walked passed a pile of silver skulls that which was relieved of one of its many heads, jumped over a pile of bracelets that Owen had deemed imperfect, and skirted around several golden necklaces that Herah remembered Owen telling her were liable to explode if touched the wrong way. Once past all of this, Herah found Owen hammering away at something on his anvil, the forge that had previously sat in the center of the clearing missing.

    "Gotta get this right Owen, can''t mess this up."

    CLANG!

    "One of your new friends might die."

    CLANG!

    "It would be all of your fault."

    CLANG!

    "Don''t think about all those who are going to die tomorrow."

    CLANG!

    "It''s not your fault."

    CLANG!

    "It''s you or them."

    CLANG!

    "Let their deaths be quick and merciful, please Norwe."

    CLANG!

    "Give them that mercy."

    CLANG!

    "I don''t want to die."

    CLANG!

    "I don''t want anyone to die."

    CLANG!

    "Mother Reese give me stre-"

    "Owen," Herah called out to the gnome, interrupting him mid-word and strike.

    "Oh, I didn''t notice you there Herah. How can I help you?" Owen said, looking up from his anvil with a pair of welding goggles over his eyes and black gloves on his hands. The gnome also wore an apron, that smelled of coal, oil, and a variety of metals to Herah. The same could be said for Owen in general at the moment. Feeling her mouth water slightly, Herah shook her head and walked up to Owen. Smiling slightly Herah leaned down until her face was right before his and tapped him on one of his goggle lenses.

    "Can you see me well with those on?"

    "Nope, you''re just the only person I know that can be on fire and as tall as you are. Let me take these off real quick." Owen reached up to his goggles and ripped them off of his head along with his hat allowing for Herah to see his hair in its now dirty and messy state. "Now with those off, what did yo- you- your- WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?"

    Owen looked away from Herah as quickly as possible with a blush dusting his cheeks, though the youngling noticed him give her a few quick glances. Herah smirked at this and began to taunt Owen.

    "They''re back in the clearing, why do you ask?" Herah said in faux innocence, rocking her body just enough to make her breast jiggle from side to side

    "Well put them on! You shouldn''t just walk around naked!" Owen proclaimed, giving Herah a few more side glances which caused him to blush even harder.

    "Why not? Am I making you uncomfortable?" Herah asked, still playing up an innocent act while rocking even harder from side to side.

    "Yes you are, now will you please put some clothes on?" Owen said sounding even more embarrassed, stealing a few more side glances from Herah and blushing even harder.

    Herah appeared to ponder this for a few moments before shaking her head and saying,

    "Nope."

    "Why not?"

    "Because I came to tell you to go to sleep, it''s early morning and you need your rest."

    "Really, I never noticed."

    "Yeah, about that," Herah rose to her full height and gestured for Owen to follow her, his tiny and soft footsteps signaling his compliance. "What were you working on?"

    "Just a little something that might help you out with your side of the plan tomorrow."

    Herah perked up at this.

    "Really?"

    "Yeah, it should- A-A-ACHOO!" Herah heard Owen rub his nose, "Stupid allergies. They make me nervous."

    "Why?"

    "Because it makes me think about the changing seasons back on my homeworld since whenever spring comes around another war tends to start."

    "Between who?"

    "The Fae and the Trolls. Both sides usually come to us gnomes to create weaponry. I''ve always hated how my people tend to supply those meaningless battles. It''s why I rarely ever create weapons for either side, usually enchanted armor and gear to keep them alive."

    "Like the stuff you made for us."

    "Yeah, it makes me feel like instead profiting off the deaths of others I''m profiting off of the survival of those who buy from me."

    "You do realize you''re doing both either way, right?"

    Herah heard Owen scoff at her words.

    "Of course I do, I''ve been doing it for a few centuries now. I just tell myself that so as to not feel as bad as I know I should."

    "Speaking of feeling bad, what was that about before I arrived?"

    Owen, still looking away from Herah while stealing glances towards her, let out a sigh and asked Herah a question.

    "Will you not look down on me if I answer your question?"

    "Of course not."

    "I''m afraid."

    "That makes sense. Of what exactly?"

    "Dying. You guys dying. The Oni dying. Death."

    "All rational fears, but don''t worry about them too much. Stress won''t do you any good later today."

    "I know, I know, but- It''s just-" Owen threw his hands into the air in frustration, "I don''t like the options I have."

    "Do tell me," Herah said, turning her head back so as to look at Owen.

    "We either let the Oni walk up and destroy the Donneur de Fr¨ºne, which is likely to end up with the four of us dead and our universes all the more likely to be destroyed. We could fight and lose, which would end with all four of us dead and our universes more likely to be destroyed. Or we could fight and win, which would end with the death of the Oni. None of these options have happy endings. Two leaves us closer to the annihilation of our homes, one ends up with us dead, and one leaves us as assistance in the genocide of a species. All of them make us selfish assholes." Owen turned his head towards Herah, making direct eye contact as his fingers twiddled together. "How are you so calm about this, do you not care?"

    "Of course I care. It''s just that I care a lot more about my family, my mistress, and all of those that La Flamme loves a lot more than I do the Oni. And in my eyes, I can make that trade without problem because though I''m damning an entire race, I''m also protecting what I love. And that''s a lot more important in my eyes."

    Herah faced her head back forward, and the pair walked in silence until they reached their home clearing. Once there, Herah turned back around to face Owen, who immediately averted his gaze once Herah did that.

    "Owen I don''t have anything to say that might make you not feel bad about what''s going to happen tomorrow and even if I could I wouldn''t tell them to you. Why? Because you should feel bad about what''s going to occur, all those who die had things they wanted to do, dreams they hoped to achieve, and probably someone or something they loved. What you gotta do is be able to look past all that, however, and instead see that you no lesser of who you were before for it."

    Owen nodded at Herah''s words solemnly and began making his way towards his sleeping bag. But before Owen could pass Herah, the youngling set a hand on his shoulder. Bending her knees until at the same height as the gnome, Herah offered Owen a kind smile and said,

    "But I can alleviate your fear of your own and the deaths of everyone else on our team. Why? Because I promise you that we will all make it past tomorrow."

    "How do you know that? There is no possible way for you to know that."

    "Because you and Alex made an airtight plan, and I trust in you enough to know that even if it goes wrong we''ll still make it through."

    "Really?"

    "Really, now head off to bed. You need to be well and rested for tomorrow."

    "Yeah, yeah I do need some sleep." Owen said nodding to himself with a happy little smile on his face. Owen then walked to his sleeping bag and got in, and told Herah a quick thanks before quickly falling to sleep.

    After a few moments, Herah returned to her spot in front of the Donneur de Fr¨ºne and let out a yawn.

    "Did you tell the two of them that you trusted in their plan to alleviate any worries they might have or to alleviate your own?"

    Herah turned to look at Max, who had been laying against the Donneur de Fr¨ºne the entire time.

    "What do you mean?"

    "While you believe what you say is true, you still have the tiniest bits of doubt in this plan they have devised, don''t you?" Max told Herah with a smile, now wearing one of Herah''s old shirts (That was too big for her) and an old pair of Herah''s underwear, "Thanks for sleepwear by the way."

    "No problem and you should already know the answer to your question, shouldn''t you Max?"

    "True enough," Max said with a quick nod, "But, I''d love to hear my thoughts confirmed."

    "Then yes, I still somewhat doubt their plan." Herah smiled at Max before nonchalantly stating, "But I''m pretty sure it''ll work so it won''t bother me too much. Think you can do what you got to do tomorrow?"

    Herah noticed no visible change in Max''s demeanor, but with a quick scan of their link to each other Herah knew that Max was feeling conflicted. It was only after going through a torrent of emotions that Herah felt Max settle onto one.

    Acceptance.

    Nodding at Max''s nonverbal answer, Herah asked her another question.

    "Anything else you want to know before I head off to sleep? Meditation was sorta a bust."

    "Why did you feel so ashamed when you saw Jeffery after Alex had attacked you?"

    This caused Herah to flinch before looking down and thinking back to when Jeffery had appeared after Alex''s attack. It took a few moments, but Herah lifted her head up and asked Max a question.

    "I haven''t told you about how Jeffery works yet, have I?"

    "Nope."

    Herah then walked up to Max and sat right in front of her. Letting out a sigh, Herah then began speaking in a somewhat uncaring tone.

    "Jeffery will only ever interfere in a situation without my calling of them for two reasons, and for two reasons only." Herah brought up her left hand, "Because they think they might have a bit of fun." Herah raised her right hand, "Or they think that there is no possible outcome to a situation where I win." Herah''s voice became bitter and angry, "Guess Jeffery''s reasoning for last time."

    Max didn''t say a word, instead, the human reached over to Herah and patted her on the shoulder while smiling at her. Herah returned Max''s smile somewhat, before letting out another sigh.

    "Seeing Jeffery was like a slap in the face. It told me just how far above me Alex truly was."

    "Why do you want to beat my brother so much? Is it because you don''t like the fact that he has such control over you?"

    Herah shook her head no.

    "At first, it was because I thought Alex was an asshole and I wanted revenge for the stabbing. During the fight to determine the leader, it was because I couldn''t stand the thought of following someone who lost all of their will to fight so easily. After that, I wanted to prove to him that I wasn''t just fodder to be rid of or a useless part of our team. But now," Herah raise her right fist up and stared at it intently, "After that little show of his <u>gift</u>, I want to defeat your brother to prove to myself that I''m still strong, that I''m not weak, and that I''m not just something to be used then discarded. I want to prove to myself that I can stand on my own, and the only way to do that is to beat him. Whether Alex likes it or not, I now consider him my rival and will continue to do such until either I''m dead or I''ve beaten him."

    "Well Herah, allow for me to alleviate one of your fears. You''re not weak at all, in fact, you''re pretty fucking powerful. Bro just has more advantages than you, and those aren''t impossible to overcome. I know you can beat him and if I can, I''ll be there when it happens, so I can laugh at his face alongside you. He''s been in need of an attitude adjustment for a while now, it''d be even cooler if it was because of you."

    Herah chuckled and smiled at Max once again.

    "Thanks, any more questions."

    "Just one more."

    "Ok, what is it?"

    "You down for some spooning, it''s a bit chilly tonight and you''re the hottest thing around."

    Herah began to answer Max''s question but paused once a realization hit her. Herah''s shroud of fire had receded. Smiling once again, more to herself than anyone else Herah gave Max her answer.

    "Nah, Jeffery might get jealous."

 Artwork

    This is more of a concept piece of Herah than anything else and it looks great.

    This was done by Trungvipp99, as seen in the bottom right corner.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Herah (as she appears) taunting an opponent. Jeffery also took a little trip through Calamity so they¡¯re going to be this way for a while.

    Max preparing to try out her card tricks after a sleepless night.

    Alex pondering just who has to die for the replacement of Nike and Tara with normal knives.

    These last three were done by Egglordo, you can find her through her Instagram or subreddit under this name.

 The Illustration is Sold

    Alex watched String closely as she returned her spinning chain whip to her side, annoyance at her weapon and the light rain filling Alex.

    ¡®Chain whip. She just had to have a chain whip.¡¯ Alex let out an annoyed sigh, ¡®I fucking hate these things.¡¯

    Alex¡¯s eyes drifted from String and to her weapon, easily tracking what he knew was probably a blur to its user.

    ¡®What other reason would you attach something as noticeable as a cloth to your dart?¡¯

    Alex allowed for his eyes to drift back to String¡¯s face and began reading it. Though her eyes were covered by her shades, Alex figured through the way String¡¯s mouth moved and twisted to the side that she was currently analyzing him like he was her.

    ¡®Let¡¯s see,¡¯ Alex mused to himself, ¡®Reasonable to assume that she is a good tactician and strategist. Most definitely a trained warrior, but lacking in actual combat experience. Mid-Ranged combatant but I do think its reasonable to assume that her weapon can probably fit both close-quarters and long-range needs. <u>Gift</u> will be problematic but nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡¯ Alex inclined his head upwards to the dark clouds overhead, ¡®That lightning will definitely make this battle hell and the rain will probably get progressively worse as we fight.¡¯

    Alex looked back down and at String before using his right hand to zip his jacket up and put on his hood. Returning his hand to its position above his opposing shoulder, Alex took a deep breath and let it out.

    ¡®I have the advantage in combat experience and reflexes. She has the advantage in range and power. We should be equal in speed and while I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m more intelligent you can never be too sure.¡¯

    With their comparative strength now gauged, Alex formed a plan of attack in his mind not too soon after and was just about ready to enact it when an interruption occurred.

    ¡°Hold up!¡± Norwe called out from all around, ¡°I have something to tell you two.¡±

    Alex felt terror well up within him as he felt the Maker manifest himself upon the back of String, the clouds parting around the two allowing for starlight to beam down on their small area. Outside of this illuminated area, the rain appeared to triple in speed.

    ¡®Please don¡¯t be here for what I think you¡¯re here for.¡¯ Alex mentally pleaded, watching as String¡¯s mouth opened in surprise then twisted shut in anger came as Norwe the Sloth peeked his head over her shoulder with a lazy smile on his face.

    ¡°Guess why I¡¯m here?!¡±

    String grabbed the Sloth Maker by his head and flung him forward with an angry shout. String followed this up by swinging her weapon overhead and swiftly launching its weighted dart into the back of the falling Maker.

    ¡°DON¡¯T TOUCH ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!¡± String shouted as she returned her chain whip to its spinning position on the right side of her body.

    Alex felt a wave of shock overcome him at String¡¯s action which was quickly followed by a wave of grave fear. Looking up from the fallen Maker and to String with terror written all over his face, Alex shouted at String.

    ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you!?¡±

    CRAAAAK!

    A bolt of red lightning shot down from the part of the sky still clouded and curved towards Norwe¡¯s to strike him, leaving a small crater in the ground that had the skeleton of a sloth within its epicenter.

    Alex thought little of the irregular lightning behavior, and instead began furiously tapping his nose before pinching his neck and shouting at String, ¡°You must be as suicidal as Ashbrain!¡±

    ¡°Fuck off Alex! I don¡¯t need shit from you of all people right now!¡± String shouted back, her stance becoming exceedingly hostile as she growled at him.

    ¡°Screw you Jojo rip-off!¡±

    ¡°Who the hell is Jojo!?¡±

    Before another retort could leave either of them, Norwe¡¯s skeleton began to speak.

    ¡°HEY!¡± Norwe¡¯s skeleton shouted, ¡°I love the Herah and Alex dynamic you two got going on right now, buuuut I did come here to say something and I need you to listen.¡±

    ¡°FUCK YOU NORWE!¡± String shouted causing Alex to groan at her stupidity, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear shit else from you unless it¡¯s the words ¡°I¡¯m leaving you the fuck alone.¡±¡±¡±

    ¡°Bound Star.¡±

    Alex flinched and felt his breath quicken as Norwe¡¯s calmly spoken words and Presence weighed upon both himself and String, the Keijo in question taking the weighing much worse than the human. Immediately following Norwe¡¯s words, she had dropped her weapon and fallen to her knees with her breath now coming in raggedly as her body seemed to become choked of air.

    After a few moments of relative silence, the only sounds heard being the distant clashes of Moon and Herah and the heavy breathing of the two leaders, Norwe lessened his Presence to its normal level and began to speak once again.

    ¡°I really do love your willingness to defy me, it honestly fills me with such joy. Especially since my good ol¡¯ Soothsayer seems incapable of such actions.¡±

    Even with the very clear insult towards him, Alex found himself incapable of directing any emotion that wasn¡¯t fear or a close relative to it towards the Maker. After another small pause, Norwe¡¯s skeleton opened its mouth and let out what sounded like a disappointed sigh.

    ¡°Anyway, as much as I love your hate boner for me, I came here to give you a bit more incentive in your battle with each other.¡± Norwe moved one of his skeletal limbs to point towards himself, ¡°It is for my entertainment after all.¡±

    Alex felt his fear increase at his Maker¡¯s words, his immediate thoughts being that he would be forced under the same conditions that Max, Herah, and Moon had been when they fought each other.

    ¡°What? Are you going to threaten to erase someone we both care about if we don¡¯t reach an arbitrary number on some bullshit measuring stick that quantifies your satisfaction with us!?¡±  String said while still on her knees, a strong bite to her words.

    Still tapping his nose and pinching at his neck, Alex briefly wondered if Norwe would think it funny if he just said that String smelled like she was rotting. Norwe¡¯s skeleton chuckled and said,

    ¡°I would think it hilarious, Soothsayer.¡± Norwe said with a jolly tone before suddenly whipping his skull towards Alex and changing his voice so that it maintained its jolliness but became more threating , ¡°I would also fell cheated of a great fight.¡±

    Alex found that train of thought quickly abandoned.

    ¡°And to answer your question String,¡± Norwe swiveled his skull towards her, ¡°That is not what I was going to say. Good guess though.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened in surprise before he paused in his tapping and pinching.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Norwe¡¯s skeleton began to chuckle, a disturbing clacking sound filling the area as he opened his jaw and his top row of teeth began hopping out and smacking into his bottom teeth before returning to their original positions and repeating this.

    ¡°I¡¯d have no reason to do that for you two, since you both already want each other dead and will do your best to entertain me during your fight.¡±

    ¡°Then, if I may ask, why would we need more incentive for our fight?¡± Alex asked, his mind racing to find an answer.

    ¡°Simply because I feel like it.¡±

    Alex lowered both of his hands to his side and began to say something before deciding against it and just shaking his head.

    ¡°So would you mind just telling us what it is you have to incentivize us and piss off already.¡±

    Alex gave String a death glare which she returned in kind, if the way her lips drew tightly together were any indication.

    ¡°Well I have two prizes for whichever of you win your fight.¡±

    ¡°And what would that be?¡± String asked while scrying the ground around her for (if Alex¡¯s guess was correct) her chain whip.

    ¡°Well if you win Bound Star, I¡¯ll not only give you back all the Oni that you lost in this battle and Max¡¯s bombing but I¡¯ll return to you your father and grandfather.¡±

    String paused in her searching to look at Norwe¡¯s skeleton in a brief moment of surprise before her lips stretched out into a frown.

    ¡°Are you- Are you being serious?¡± String asked, shifting uncomfortably as she spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m nothing if not a Maker of my word.¡± Norwe replied, sounding rather pleased at String¡¯s response.

    ¡°What do I get if I win?¡± Alex asked with his own feelings of wariness on display.

    ¡°A list and I¡¯d also return something of yours that was lost long ago¡±

    ¡°A list of what?¡±

    ¡°A list of your opponents and their <u>gifts</u> for the trial after this one.¡±

    Hearing this, Alex instantly knew that he was being offered what would no doubt be a boon of great benefit.

    ¡°And what will you return?¡± Alex asked.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s a surprise. With that said, why don¡¯t you two get back into your positions and I¡¯ll let you know when you should begin to fight. By the way, this entire conversation took place within a tiny sphere of slowed down time, if you didn¡¯t notice.¡±

    String (having found her weapon) rose to her feet and began spinning it once again as Alex resumed his stance and immersed himself within his orb of Principle.

    ¡®Principles, fundamental truths that care not for your emotions or beliefs.¡¯ Alex¡¯s mind became purely analytical as he went over the information previously gathered once again, with one new bit of data added. ¡®It¡¯s only fair that this orb deadens my emotions and leaves only a machine.¡¯

    Alex¡¯s eyes drifted back to String¡¯s weapon.

    ¡®Chain whip can turn whatever it strikes with its dart into lightning rods. Has a three-second delay before strikes occur.¡¯

    Alex began formulating a plan as the opening in the clouds began to close, and rain began striking him once again. Just as the last bit of starlight was once again covered up by the black, stormy clouds that loomed overhead and Alex finished finalizing his plan, Norwe spoke.

    ¡°OPEN THE GATES!¡±

    An orb of light appeared before String and exploded in a flash before she could even react.

    ¡°You¡¯re blind!¡± Alex shouted as he charged forward through the muddy ground. Alex managed to get just in front of String and began slashing at her head before a sudden and powerful updraft yanked him into the air and above the treetops. Flipping head over heel as he shot upwards, Alex waved his hand through the air and spoke.

    ¡°I can control the wind.¡±

    Alex felt a mental link form within his mind as he began to feel the surrounding air gain a sense of familiarity. Alex used this familiarity and called for the wind that wasn¡¯t under String¡¯s control. Controlling this wind, Alex wrapped himself up in a downwards draft that carried him out of String¡¯s upward draft and dropped him a reasonable distance behind her. Before Alex even touched the ground, String turned around and sent out a miniature tornado that Alex rid himself of with a casual wave of his hand. Alex followed up this dismissal by creating a dome of rapidly rotating wind around String that began to fling mud everywhere.

    ¡°Fuuuuck!¡± String groaned out as she fell to a knee and began gasping for her rapidly depleting air.

    Alex decided to make String¡¯s condition worse by slowly shrinking her dome around her and increasing its rotating speed. By this point, String was on her hands and knees still struggling to take in air.

    ¡®Come on String,¡¯ Alex thought, ¡®Don¡¯t tap out so early on me.¡¯

    Though unlikely she heard his thoughts, String made it clear she wasn¡¯t down for the count yet by summoning a pillar of wind from the sky and slamming it down into Alex¡¯s wind dome. The dome broke apart with a massive burst of wind that launched chunks of mud everywhere, including onto Alex¡¯s face. Wiping away the sodden dirt as fast as possible, Alex found that String had gotten into swinging distance with her chain whip and was now spinning through the air while dragging the dart end towards his head. Alex sidestepped this attack and closed the distance between himself and String before cutting at her throat. String leaped back from this and dragged her chain whip back before spinning it in front of herself.

    Alex made to step forward but the sudden buzzing of Nike and Tara as well as the feeling of his hair beginning to rise halted his advances. String stepped forward as her weapon began to buzz and hair began to rise as well, seemingly uncaring of the incoming lightning strike.

    ¡®Dammit, I¡¯m gonna have to move back.¡¯

    Then another thought popped into Alex¡¯s head and he knew just what to do after that. Alex leaped back as far as possible and kept going as String leaped forward into his original position and stopped.  Just as Alex¡¯s weapons stopped buzzing and his hair went flat, String launched the end of her weapon into the air.

    CRAAAAK!

    ¡°I have cells in front of you.¡±

    CRACK!

    Within the span of two seconds, Alex saw several things occur. During the first second, Alex appeared before String just after the red bolt of lightning struck her chain, and then attempted to gouge out one of her shade-covered eyes with his dagger. Within the next half second, String yanked her chained back down, dodged around Alex, and kicked him in the bottom of his back. Within that final half-second, Alex was launched forward nearly 30 feet before striking the ground.

    ¡°GAAAAHH!¡±, Alex shouted in pain as his body struck the ground and bounced a few times, covering him from head to toe in mud. After finally skidding to a stop, Alex let out a pained groaned and reached towards where String had struck him. Groaning at the pain that was felt from his back and the lack of feeling from his waist down, Alex redrew Tara and stabbed himself.  Sighing in physical relief, Alex did his best to clear his face of mud and rose to his feet while shivering and letting out a few visible breaths.

    ¡®Wait a second?¡¯ Alex thought as he exhaled a few more times, his breaths still coming out in visible spurts, ¡®When did it get colder?¡¯

    ¡°I see you¡¯ve noticed that the temperature is lowering.¡±

    Alex looked up at String and found the chieftain casually walking towards him, looking down on him with a satisfied smirk. Narrowing his eyes at the Keijo, Alex said,

    ¡°Lowering the temperature can¡¯t be all you wanted to do, what more is there to this?¡±

    String let out a low, cruel chuckle.

    ¡°This.¡±

    She then raised her left hand towards Alex and pushed towards him. From behind her, a wave of black and muddy snow came rushing forward and around her towards Alex. Just before the wave of snow reached him, Alex forced it apart with two diverging gales that left his sides surrounded with a flood of snow.

    ¡®She must be using the water from the mud all around to create this snow.¡¯ Alex thought to himself as he slid Tara and Nike into his jacket pockets and pulled out his box of matches. Getting low to the ground and taking a match from the box, Alex struck it before quickly shoving the box back into his pocket and using one of his hands to cover the flame. Alex looked down to the tiny flame that he was currently protecting and shook his match very slightly, before saying,

    ¡°I can create and control fire.¡±

    Feeling the same feeling he had felt earlier when establishing his bond with the wind, Alex crushed the match in his hand and created a much stronger flame that engulfed him in a shroud of fire. The flames burnt away at the mud that caked his clothing and skin while also warming him up to a comfortable degree. With his counter prepared, Alex briefly unimmersed himself from his orb of Principle.

    ¡®This is going to be a fucking drag,¡¯ Alex grimaced slightly, ¡®I hope at least that Herah is having it worse than me.¡¯

    HALT

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    It had been over a minute since Herah and Moon had begun to fight, the pair having clashed and separated many times with a loud boom and explosion of force occurring at each meeting.  Every time the two met, a furious exchange of blows would occur for but a moment before they broke away from each other. Their battle had taken them out of their original clearing and all over the east side of the battlefield. Numerous craters now dotted the forest floor and countless trees had been destroyed in their wake.

    Now, Herah (still cloaked in flames) was flying up and around one of the trees with Moon following closely behind. By this point in their fight, Herah¡¯s clothing was filled with multiple holes and the few bruises gained in the last clash with Moon were being healed. Looking back at the pursuing priest, Herah took note of the rapidly healing cuts and slashes that had been her return for his attacks. Her eyes then went down to his left arm, confusion and weariness filling her as one of her hands went up to rub its accompanying ear. Herah then looked past Moon and towards the ground where a few of the Oni corpses which had been there were now gone, and replaced with a single tendril having yet to fully assimilate to the priest.

    ¡®I need to put some distance between us and remove at least some of his supply. And also get rid of that stupid arm of his, or at least figure out how it¡¯s causing me pain in this state.¡¯ Herah thought to herself before suddenly flipping upside down and using the claws on her hands to stab into the tree beneath her. As Herah¡¯s ascent slowed, the youngling also gathered fire in her mouth causing her cheeks to puff up. Moon was upon Herah in an instant, his left hand darting out and waving just before her face causing Herah to wince at the sharp pain that assaulted her ears. Moon then attempted to follow this up by spearing Herah with his right hand, the limb having taken the form of a spearhead. The youngling counteracted this by suddenly firing a blast of green fire from her mouth that took the form of a massive hand and shoved Moon down and towards the ground. Herah then flipped back around and launched herself up high above the treetops stopping just below a cloud.

    Looking back down to the forest, Herah thought the trees were akin to ants from her current height. Even with the great distance between them and the numerous leaves that hid him away, Herah was able to locate Moon with little issue before initiating the next phase of her attack. Herah inhaled deeply before puffing up her cheeks as the fire shroud around her changed from blue to green. After a short moment of gathering and stoking the flames within her cheeks, Herah exhaled a ball of blue flames that was twice as large as the clearing with the Donneur de Fr¨ºne. Despite its size, the fireball struck the ground in nearly an instant.

    BOOM!

    And just like that, an explosion of blue flames that reached higher than the treetops and engulfed what Herah figured to be just over 800 acres worth of forest.

    BOOM!

    The sound barrier broke as Herah launched herself into the flames and slammed into the ground. Herah¡¯s impact kicked up a cloud of ash that was batted away with a single flap of her wings, which also cleared away most of the surrounding flames.  With the air now cleared, Herah began searching for Moon.

    The youngling now stood within a substantial crater. The entirety of it was just filled with fires of varying sizes and ash. The youngling paid little attention to the large plumes of smoke that filled the air, her eyes trying and failing to find any sign of her opponent.

    Using R¨¦unir on her nose, Herah let out a tiny huff of satisfaction as the smell of ash, smoke, and fire filled it. Returning her attention back to the situation, Herah crouched down to the ground and began looking down at it and running her hands through it while licking and smelling at the air. Two seconds of observation later, Herah let out a huff of dissatisfaction and began to expand her area of view.

    ¡®All I could find were some dead blood cells and tissue. Where the ash did you go Moon?¡¯

    WHIRRR!

    What sounded like a minigun barrel spinning from a fair distance away was all Herah had as warning before having to dash out of the way of a storm of bullets. Ash and dirt was kicked up as Herah continued to outrun the rain of ammunition that bared down on her. While running, the youngling began searching for Moon near the rims of the destroyed area and found him within mere moments. The priest was crouched just where the destruction ended with his right arm transformed into a miniature minigun with tendrils of black connecting his arm to several of the nearby trees. With the priest now in sight, Herah reached towards her back and redrew her sketchpad and a pencil. Herah began to change her direction so that she would be in the center of the crater by the time her attack connected. Quickly drawing out a rod with intricate designs covering it and a lantern at the end of it while she did this, Herah used her <u>gift</u> to bring the picture into reality. The taste of paint filled her mouth as one of the fangs in the back of it turned into the oilily liquid. Disregarding this taste, Herah shoved both her sketch pad and pencil back into her backpack before aiming the lantern end of her rod towards Moon and shouting,

    ¡°Accepter une offre du Ventre de la flamme!¡±

    From within the lantern, a small fire came to life. Blue light then began to gather and condense at the tip of it before a beam of blue light was fired out.

    SZZZZASSSK!

    The beam shot cleanly through Moon¡¯s brain, stunning him for merely an instant. Before even 4 hundredths of a second could pass, the youngling appeared before Moon and lopped off his left arm. This was then followed up with Herah hitting the priest with a barrage of claw jabs, a new fist-sized hole filling the priest with each strike. Every attack was immediately cauterized due to flame shroud that covered Herah and they came so fast that Moon was unable to heal most if any wounds suffered. Herah¡¯s barrage ended once the youngling, with a single swipe of her hand, chopped off Moon¡¯s head and allowed for the shroud that surrounded her to flare indigo for just a brief enough moment that every piece of his body was turned into ash. Herah¡¯s shroud quickly turned yellow as Herah began to breathe a bit harder than before.

    ¡®Shit! Not the best idea and that cut my time down to a minute.¡¯ Herah looked towards the trees that Moon had connected himself to and noticed that parts of them were beginning to turn into (what the youngling could only assume to be) him. Herah took in another breath before breathing out a stream of yellow flames that set all the nearby trees alit. ¡®And now I need to find Moon again, that couldn¡¯t have been his only body.¡¯

    WHOOSH!

    ¡°What the- SHIT!¡±

    BOOM!

    With a flap of her wings and another sonic boom, Herah launched herself back and away from a tree that had come crashing down from the sky. Before the youngling could attempt to catch her breath, the tree exploded into what had to be thousands of black rods. Folding her wings in for protection, Herah dodged around and deflected all the rods heading towards her. Once done with that, Herah unfurled her wings and, with another sonic boom, launched herself into the air.

    ¡°MOON! ARE YOU THROWING FUCKING EXPLODING TREES AT ME!?

    3 more exploding trees were the only response received.

    Weaving through the thousands upon thousands of black rods that filled the air, Herah quickly tracked the trees to their origin and found Moon ripping another tree out of the ground. Angling herself towards the priest, Herah flapped her wings and launched herself towards him with yet another explosion of sound.

    WHOOSH!

    Twirling around a newly thrown tree, Herah hit the ground with a roll and came up to Moon waving a hole filled hand before her face.

    ¡°AAAAHHH!¡± Herah shouted as pain filled her ears before Moon slammed a fist into her face and her head into the ground, a crater forming at her impact. Moon¡¯s fist began to break apart and cover the entirety of Herah¡¯s head. The youngling struggled under the pressure of Moon¡¯s strength, flaring her shroud green and grabbing at his arm to rip it off her face as her airways were beginning to clog up.

    CRACK!

    Moon¡¯s arm shattered under Herah¡¯s grip and his arm began to burn away. Herah¡¯s vision cleared up just long enough for her to see several tendrils sprout out from Moon and into the nearby trees. Herah¡¯s vision was then blotted out once again, as even more tendrils than before began to cover her head and the pressure from Moon remained in full force.

    ¡°Herah please, don¡¯t make this any harder than it has to be.¡± Moon begged Herah as the feeling of her face being broken down set her into a frenzy, her shroud flaring blue to little avail. Just as Herah felt her first scale completely break down, the image of a helpless and flailing ashling entered her mind.

    WOOSH!

    SHLUK!

    WHAM!

    Herah flared her shroud once again, burning away what covered her face and setting Moon¡¯s now detached arm aflame. Ripping the burning limb off her and making sure to burn away whatever of Moon remained on and in her, Herah leaped to her feet as Jeffery lazily floated next to her.

    ¡°What took you so long!?¡± Herah asked while looking towards a line of broken trees that the youngling could only assume went on for at least 2 miles.

    Jeffery¡¯s response was an image of a racing line followed by numerous flashing images of celestial bodies and finally of both themselves and Norwe floating in space with a sign reading start floating not too far in front of them.

    ¡°Were-were you racing Norwe through space this entire time?!¡± Herah asked with a furious shout while also noting that her flame shroud had now turned orange.

    Jeffery¡¯s response was the image of a thumbs up.

    ¡°When did you even decide to actually head over here?!¡±

    Herah received a third person image of both herself and Moon, showing her just beginning to turn her shroud blue before Jeffery entered the image and smacked Moon away.

    ¡°Are you telling me you waited until the very last moment to head my way!?¡± Herah screamed, fire flaring from her mouth and nose.

    Jeffery just sent Herah an image of herself followed by the image of a dunce cap.

    ¡°FUCK YOU TOO!¡±

    WHAM!

    Herah didn¡¯t even wince when Jeffery struck her head, instead choosing to just grumble for him to give her control. With their only reply being an image of Herah rolling her eyes, Jeffery floated into Herah¡¯s hands and handed control over to her.

    Just as Herah wrapped her fingers around Jeffery, the youngling found herself using them to deflect a punch from Moon downwards. This action caused a resounding boom to fill the air and for another crater to dig into the ground beneath them. Herah slammed her knee into Moon¡¯s chest before bisecting him with Jeffery and spearing him through his torso. Before Herah could do any more, Moon waved his hand before her face once again causing her to falter just long enough for the priest to shove and elongated claw into her left eye. Herah barely reacted to the loss of half of her vision and instead just slammed Moon¡¯s top half into the ground and let out a torrent of yellow flame upon him. Herah, with a single flap of her wings and accompanying boom, shot into the air and did a repeat of her earlier aerial strike with an orange fireball.

    BOOM!

    This time the explosion was only a third of the size of the original and there were a few things still burning in the wreckage. Herah landed on the ground and checked with Jeffery to confirm that Moon had been caught in the blast and turned to ash. Ripping her companion from the ground, Herah gave Jeffery a small twirl and rested them over her shoulder just as her body exited <u>Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet</u>.

    ¡°Uuuhh.¡± Herah groaned out as the fatigue hit her and her footing became unstable. Falling to her knees, the youngling began speaking to herself, ¡°I¡¯m gonna need to recharge before I do anything el-¡± Herah¡¯s nose wrinkled as several replicant scents began to approach her at a high-speed, ¡°SHIT!¡±

    ¡®Herah!¡¯ Owen¡¯s voice suddenly rung through her head, ¡®Moon¡¯s signature just multiplied like crazy!¡¯

    Herah let out a growl of frustration before raising her left hand to her amulet and responding to Owen.

    ¡®I noticed.¡¯ Herah said, sounding and feeling slightly annoyed, ¡®How many are there in total? I noticed ten are heading towards me now.¡¯

    ¡®There are fifty Moons in total.¡¯

    ¡®WHAT?!¡¯

    Just as the thought left Herah, two Moon¡¯s stopped before her, two other¡¯s landed behind, two landed on either side of her, and four floated above with their newly grown black-dove like wings.

    ¡°Herah,¡± They all called out at once, ¡°We both know that in your current state and my own, you will not win another battle with me. Please just stand down and have Owen put away his hat.¡±

    ¡®Herah?¡¯ Owen asked, sounding rather worried.

    ¡®What Owen?¡¯ Herah responded sounding not as frustrated as she felt she should have, ¡®I¡¯m not in the best situation to be talking with you right now.¡¯

    ¡®Activate that bracelet I gave you.¡¯

    Herah¡¯s eyes turned to look at the bracelet that hung around her right wrist with the purple gem sticking out of it.

    ¡®How?¡¯

    ¡®Crush the amethyst and it should activate.¡¯

    Herah took her hand from her amulet, raised it to her bracelet, and crushed the gem that was placed into it. Once her hand moved away, the bracelet began to quiver and shake before being overtaken by a glow and shattering. Before Herah could even think to begin cursing Owen¡¯s name, the fragments that had been her bracelet began to float and glow before bathing her entire body in a flash of white light.

    Before the blindness even left her, Herah felt a cool, tight latex-like substance cover her entire body. Even her wings now had whatever it was covering the rest of the youngling¡¯s body. This feeling soon disappeared and was replaced by the feeling of absolutely nothing covering her body, though Herah didn¡¯t gain any feeling of herself being exposed to the elements in any way. Once her blindness disappeared, Herah began checking herself over.

    ¡®Is this black latex?¡¯ Herah thought to herself while looking up and down her body. Whatever covered her was much more metallic than glossy in its look, though the way it held tightly to Herah¡¯s body and moved with little sound or issue made the youngling think that latex was the more probable material for her new apparel. Upon a closer study, Herah found her assumption to be incorrect and that whatever covered her was something that the youngling had never seen before. Elongating one of her talons and raking it along her chest, Herah watched in fascination as the material hardened under her ministrations before quickly returning to their less rigid state.

    ¡®What is this?¡¯ Herah asked Owen, her talon now touching her amulet which had not been covered in the weird substance.

    ¡®What¡¯s covering your body is a special metal named after Gaashbenirium.  It has the special property of absorbing and storing energy, though it is normally unable to release this energy. I treated the Gasshbenirium that covers your body to be transparent through the interior, more flexible, and to release the energy that I stored into it when your flame is low.¡¯

    ¡®How does that help me?¡¯ Herah asked while raising a talon to tap at her eyes, finding that the substance really did cover her entire face.

    ¡®Herah,¡¯ Owen began, sounding as if the answer to his question was already known by himself, ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to assume that ingesting fire can increase the strength of the flame in your chest, would it?¡¯

    ¡®No.¡¯ Herah thought back, exactly sure as to the reason of Owen¡¯s question.

    ¡®Good because when you say the trigger phrase to activate your suit, it will begin to fill your pores with fire. The armor you¡¯re wearing also has another purpose to it.¡¯

    ¡®What?¡¯, Herah asked while returning her attention to all the Moons that surrounded her, all of them now tensed for battle but still not moving.

    ¡®It¡¯ll double your physical and mental capabilities by forcing your body to go beyond its limits.¡¯

    Herah blinked at these words before a grin came to her face.

    ¡®What¡¯s the trigger phrase?¡¯

    ¡®Before I tell it to you Herah, you need to know that the armor you¡¯re wearing is not invulnerable. Even with it releasing the flames into you, it can still be overwhelmed causing it to explode. And once that occurs your body will most likely collapse from overstraining itself, so be careful.¡¯

    ¡®Yeah, yeah.¡¯ Herah thought somewhat impatiently, ¡®Trigger phrase Owen.¡¯

    ¡®Farande Woverak.¡¯

    ¡®Thank you, and when I¡¯m fully charged I¡¯m gonna need you help  to locate all the different Moons if I want to get him out of this battle.¡¯

    ¡®Yeah, I¡¯ll be here when you need me. But first, I need to inform Alex of something. Owen out.¡¯

    Now giving all the gathered Moon¡¯s her full attention, Herah allowed for her grin to turn into a frown and said,

    ¡°I told you not to underestimate me Moon, that sounds exactly like what you¡¯re doing right now.¡±

    All of the Moon¡¯s frowned at Herah before saying,

    ¡°I mean no disrespect Herah, but that armor your wearing will do little to make up for your drop in speed and strength.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡±

    All but two of the Moons morphed their arms into various states. The two that didn¡¯t were in the air, with their arms now filled with holes.

    ¡°I apologize for what I will do to you next.¡±

    Herah¡¯s frowned deepened into a snarl.

    ¡°Farande Woverak!¡±

    ONI

    CRAAKK!

    ¡®Three more bolts to go then I won¡¯t have to deal with this shit anymore.¡¯ String thought to herself as she returned her chain whip to its spinning position and used winds to pick up and compress some snow into a sizeable ball before using these same winds to catapult it into ball of fire that Alex had thrown at her.

    The chieftain was currently sailing atop a wave of snow through the nearby forest with Alex following closely behind her, riding on a gust of wind with a shroud of fire around him while sending blades of wind and fireballs her way with every chance he got.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether I should feel respected or annoyed at the very clear killshots your aiming at me!¡± String shouted at Alex as she wiped away the rain that covered her shades and used her muddy snow to sail up a tree

    ¡°You think these are killshots!?¡± Alex shouted back, his tone dead and serious as he went around the tree and cut it in half with another blade of wind, ¡°A killshot would be creating a blade of wind just in front of your neck and waiting for you to run into it decapitating yourself!¡±

    String, thinking quickly, leaped from the now falling tree and used a current of wind to launch her upside-down self away from Alex while using her chain whip to strike one of the trees she passed by. Flipping herself upright, String once again called a wave of snow to her feet and began riding atop it once more.

    CRAAKK!

    A bolt of red lightning struck the tree String had hit, causing it to launch burning shards of wood everywhere and for whatever wasn¡¯t launched to be reduced to ash.

    ¡°A killshot would be me simply igniting the air around you with a thought!¡±, Alex shouted as he dodged around the flaming shards with ease and even took control of a few and launched them towards String. The chieftain crouched down and allowed for some snow to flow over her and take the attacks. Pushing the snow from above her to her sides, String abruptly stopped and flung herself into the air with a strong updraft.

    Once just above the trees, String flipped herself upside-down once again and began spinning with her chain whip striking all the nearby trees. Once done, String quickly switched the wind currents to carry herself along and above the trees while also diverging her attention to create a massive wave of muddy snow that immediately began to rush towards herself and Alex. As the first bolt of lightning struck, String continued to spin upside-down while hitting each tree she passed with the dart end of her chain. Alex followed from beneath the trees, just staying ahead of the wave of snow, lightning that came down and the flaming pieces of wood launched at each strike.

    FWOOSH!

    String¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she paused before a wall of fire that had shot up from the ground to block her path.

    ¡°A killshot would be me simply telling you that you¡¯re going to die!¡± Alex shouted as he shot up into the air and swiped at String¡¯s feet. String simply let go of the winds holding her up and went into a freefall looking up Alex as he followed closely behind. String swung her weapon at her pursuer, but the human managed to lean just out of the way of her dart-end before grabbing the chain part and disarming String with a sharp pull.  Throwing the chieftain¡¯s weapon higher into the air, Alex fired a ball of flames at String that she blocked by calling the snow from the ground and around her to form a thick dome shield. Steam filled the air as String opened up the bottom of her dome and called for another draft a wind to carry her out of the way of the falling sphere of snow.

    Landing with a graceful roll, String came up and raised a hand into the air as a current of wind carried her chain whip back into her grasp. The now abandoned dome of snow and Alex hit the ground with a cloud of steam following shortly after their impact. String used this steam to her advantage, rolling forward and whipping her chain towards Alex¡¯s chest.

    CLANG!

    Sparks flew as Alex was forced to use Nike to deflect String¡¯s attack. As String reeled her weapon back in, she spun to side as Alex¡¯s dagger flew past her and into a nearby tree. Spinning towards Alex, String tried for an overhead swipe with her weapon and only hit air.

    ¡°ACK!¡± String gasped out with Alex having closed the distance between the two and slammed his right fist into her stomach. He then followed this up by creating a blade of wind with his other hand and swiping at the side of String¡¯s head with it.

    SHIRK!

    CRAAKK!

    ¡°SON OF A BITCH!¡± String screamed as Alex spun around her and used some wind to diverge the flaming wood shards that flew towards himself and String to get to his dagger. The chieftain felt warm blood rushing down the right side of her face, the liquid gushing from where Alex had cut off her ear. Pulling her weapon back in towards herself and spinning it at her side, String used her left hand to put pressure on the wound as she turned to face Alex.

    ¡°As of now in our fight, not yet have I come at you with the intent to kill.¡± Alex said lacking in any real sense of emotion, a blank look on his face, ¡°If you truly think that anything that I¡¯ve done up to this point was anything less than attempts in inconveniencing you, then you¡¯re both dumb and suicidal.¡±

    Before any more words could be said, String¡¯s wave of snow finally reached the pair and came crashing down. With a snarl on her face and a light blush on her cheeks, String dropped the temperature in the area drastically as she took all the rain and air moisture within a fifty-meter radius, turned it into snow, then added it to the wave she currently had bearing down on herself and Alex. String knew that (just like herself) Alex was using wind to keep the snow from coming down on him, so she concentrated on the wind that Alex had surrounded himself with and for a single second dispersed it.

    ¡°Fu-¡± But before Alex could finish his sentence, he was swept up by the waves of snow.

    String hopped on her own wave and followed after Alex as she directed her wave of snow high into the air, above the trees and towards Owen¡¯s hat. Within half a minute, String and her wave of snow had arrived back onto the cleared out path that Alex had created. Looking towards the massive hat, String assumed she was a little over a mile away from her target. Just as she came to this assumption, String was forced to halt herself and her snow as a pillar of fire appeared in her path.

    Alex sat in the middle of this pillar of flame, looking remarkably dry (despite the copious amounts of rainfall) and emotionless. Rising to his feet, Alex thrust out a hand and created a wave of flame that rushed towards String reducing all the snow in his path to steam. Just as the fire reached her, String created a powerful updraft of wind that shot it into the sky. Dispersing this fire and wind, String began to breathe heavily as she returned to applying pressure to the right side of her head with her left hand.

    ¡°Well that was annoying.¡± Alex said dispassionately as he dispersed his shroud of fire. ¡°I haven¡¯t hated snow this much since I fought and killed Khione.¡±

    ¡°Who the hell is Khione?¡±

    ¡°She was a goddess of snow,¡± Alex did a quick tilt of his head, ¡°Now she is dead.¡±

    String adjusted her stance to stand taller, while maintaining a glare on Alex. Alex only gave String a blank look as he asked her a question of his own.

    ¡°How the hell are you able to see me by the way? I know for damn sure you should be blind right now.¡±

    ¡°I am.¡±

    Alex¡¯s expression showed no visible change, though he began tapping his nose directly following her statement. As Alex studied String closely, she did the same to him with a single thought going through her mind.

    ¡®Glad my assumption that you don¡¯t know the full extent of <u>Forecast</u> was confirmed. That makes this much easier.¡¯

    Still watching Alex closely, String allowed for a tiny bit of her focus to be taken away from her fight to concentrate on everywhere else her storm covered. With the storm¡¯s center having reached Owen¡¯s hat, String was now aware of the entire battlefield. Owen was sitting before a map that showed everyone on the battlefield, Max was napping against a tree with tears streaming down her face and her strange shoulder pad glowing as if charged with energy, Moon was using multiple bodies to just decimate a latex-wearing Herah, and-

    ¡®What the hell? I thought Alex killed all of you?¡¯

    -a newly born Keijo was sprinting towards the general area that Herah and Moon fought.

    ¡®You can thank me for this one¡¯s survival.¡¯ String growled at the sudden intrusion of Norwe into her mind, ¡®What he has planned is just too interesting to have ended because of a little thing such as well thought out attacks.¡¯

    ¡®Fuck off, you piece of shit!¡¯

    ¡®Just answering questions and telling you that your fight is getting sorta stale.¡¯

    ¡®Yeah yeah, I noticed! I¡¯m waiting for something to be done before I do anything else.¡¯

    ¡®I know, just informing you of how I feel.¡¯

    Now alone in her mind once again, String directed her smidgen of focus towards a small area at the very edge of her storm that she had a gentle breeze going through. Within this area, C.C. appeared to be giving directions to a small group of Oni, some archers and the rest technicians for the catapults that were still being set in position.

    String returned her full attention to Alex, the human having only placed his empty hand on his amulet in the five seconds that she had spent observing all the others. Studying him closely while also keeping the pressure on her still bleeding wound, String called out to Alex.

    ¡°Why are you so afraid of Norwe?¡±

    Alex didn¡¯t even seem startled by this question, though his eyes did narrow at String before he dropped the hand that was tapping his nose and aimed it towards her. Summoning a ball of flames to his hand, Alex asked String his own question.

    ¡°Why the fuck do you care?¡±

    String prepared herself for an incoming attack from Alex before saying,

    ¡°I thought it strange how you seem to harbor no hate towards him. He told me himself that all you ever feel when in his presence is fear, nothing but fear. I was curious as to why this might be.¡±

    Alex snuffed out the flame in his hand and returned to tapping his nose. For a few brief moments, nothing was said between the two until Alex snapped his fingers and said,

    ¡°I¡¯ll answer if you answer a question of mine.¡±

    String appeared to ponder this for a moment before nodding yes. Seeing this, Alex let out a sigh and looked down at his hand lighting it with fire once again.

    ¡°Because control is something I value deeply,¡± Alex held out his hand towards String, the fire within it taking the form of a marionettist controlling a marionette, ¡°Being in control of my situation and of the outcome of it is one of the few things that bring me joy in life. And Norwe, well he is able to take away all of that control,¡± Strings of fire sprouted from the marionettist and into a large hand of fire above them, ¡°Without a single thought.¡±

    As Alex dispersed his flame, String felt her glare lessen as she thought over his words. But before String could really delve into them, Alex asked his question.

    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡±

    String¡¯s brow scrunched up as she blinked at Alex a few times.

    ¡°Doing what?¡±

    ¡°Fighting me, attempting to destroy that tree, anything really.¡± Alex tilted his head to the side once again, ¡°Your expression throughout most of our fight really tells me that you¡¯d rather be anywhere but here.¡±

    ¡°¡±We elect you, String, to be the leader of our people!¡±¡± String quoted, looking down towards the ground as she spoke.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°That was what I was told after I killed my father to complete my trial.¡± String looked up towards the sky, not at all irritated by the downpour that caused her clothing to cling to her body, ¡°My people chose me to lead them to salvation. My father asked me, if chosen, to accept, just like he did when my grandfather died.¡± String looked down and towards Alex, ¡°I do this merely out of obligation. To be honest, I¡¯d love to just laze about and help keep the weather good for my people until my dying days. That would be a satisfying life for me to lead, in my opinion.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Alex allowed for a smile to come to his face, as his voice loss its lifelessness and gained a tone of a honest pleasantness, ¡°That does sound like something I¡¯d be happy with myself. It¡¯s too bad that this sense of obligation far outweighs your own desires.¡±

    String could only nod as she allowed for a bit of her attention to drift towards C.C. and the others, with their weapons at the ready. Finding this, String quickly scrawled out the coordinates of their position in the dirt in front of C.C. with wind before giving her full attention back to Alex. The human had started nodding to himself in the brief moment String had taken to message C.C., and before String could ask another question she found her eyes actually looking at Alex. A quiet gasp and a few silent, surprised blinks left String before she then heard Alex say,

    ¡°Judging by your slightly agape mouth and that gasp, I assume that your vision has returned. This means my wind and fire manipulation will disappear soon enough. I¡¯m also guessing that your archers and catapults are ready to add steel and earth to this rain.¡± String flinched at Alex¡¯s words, getting a smirk in return, ¡°I knew you were stalling for time, and I allowed it due to my need for stalling since I needed a bit of info from my sister.¡±

    This set String on edge almost instantly, causing her to ask,

    ¡°What did she tell you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡±

    String let out a low growl.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be real soon. Speaking of real soon,¡± Alex¡¯s voice and expression once again loss all sense of life, ¡°Our fight is about to end, so its about time that we both get serious. Wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±

    String removed her hand from the side of her head and entered a battle stance, just as Alex reached down to the ground and punched it.

    ¡°I can control the ground.¡±

    The ground around Alex began to break apart as rocks shot out of it and began to form a half dome of dirt over his head, just as String started to create more snow and begun to create several small tornados around herself while also generating strong wind currents to speed of all the projectiles that were heading her way. Once again, String¡¯s chain whip began to buzz as her hair started to rise. Launching the dart end of her weapon into the sky just as the lighting stuck, String felt the energy course through her as she acknowledged that only two strikes were left.

    ¡°I agree.¡±

    ONI

    What Moon considered his central body was currently sitting cross-legged within the first hole he had drilled when going under Max¡¯s diamond wall. Very little of his focus was actually on this body, instead, it was currently being split in between the fifty-one bodies that were on the battlefield.

    One of Moon¡¯s bodies slammed Herah into the ground with a hypersonic punch, creating a crater that went deeper than the trees were tall. This was then followed up with another of his bodies falling atop Herah with all of its limbs transformed into drills that only dug her deeper into the ground. This body was moved to allow for a giant claw to enclose around Herah and whip her out of her hole and into the sky above the clouds. With the Cendruex now in the air, Moon sent four of his flying bodies after her. The first to arrive had their arms transformed into massive, spiked maces, which it preceded to use to slam Herah higher into the air. This one was then followed by two more bodies, both having their arms filled with holes to strike Herah in her front and back as many times as possible. The barrage of attacks were without mercy, though each punch only let out the tiniest of sounds and vibrations on contact. By the point these bodies were pulled back, they and Herah were surrounded by the black void of space with the planet of Bizarre now in full view below them. Herah¡¯s momentum away from the planet was only slowed once the final body shot past and behind her before using his leg to catch her by the chest. Once that happened, this final body reared back his right hand and struck Herah full force in the stomach with a punch.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    BOOM!

    Just before 3 seconds went by, Herah struck the center of the first crater she had created. At her impact, a huge cloud of dirt and ash was kicked up into the stormy sky. Moon had the 46 bodies he was currently using to attack surrounding the edges of the crater before morphing two of their heads into giant fans and waving away the dust and ash cloud. Once cleared, all that Moon could see with his collective bodies was a hole in the center of the crater that was visibly very deep. A second later, Herah flew out of the hole and landed right next to it. The youngling angled her head towards one of Moon¡¯s bodies before respectively calling out,

    ¡°You manage to punch me an entire kilometer into the ground, good for you.¡± Herah¡¯s voice took on a more cocky undertone, ¡°Too bad that didn¡¯t actually do anything to me.¡±

    Moon could only sigh at this while also focusing on Herah¡¯s new look. Whatever she was wearing seemed to just absorb most of the force that she was supposed to suffer, while the amount left over seemed to just move her about.

    ¡®This armor of hers is proving to be a problem.¡¯ Moon thought to himself, ¡®And Jeffery is doing his best to make my plan to combat it not come to fruition.¡¯

    Moon set his bodies back to work attacking Herah as his focus shifted towards 4 other bodies he had doing something at the very moment. 3 of them were darting around ripping as many trees as possible out of the ground and throwing them towards the final one who was floating in the air with a massive ball of black, shifting mass held above his head that only grew larger and larger with each added tree. The problem this group was facing was the near endless barrage of attacks that Jeffery would lay upon all of them, mostly the stationary body that was forced to use large chunks of the mass gathered to constantly heal itself.

    ¡°Father Jashin.¡±

    The eyes of Moon¡¯s main body snapped open as the sound of an Oni calling came to him. Keeping just enough of his focus on his other bodies to maintain proper control, Moon created a small tendril with an eye on the end of it to peak out of his hole and peer at a plain looking female Oni. She had grey skin and was on the short side, with her white hair short, messy, and dirty. She was dressed in a skirt of leaves and a bark shirt covered in moss.

    ¡°How may I help you my child?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in need of a confessional, your holiness.¡±

    Moon, for but a moment, showed a hint of surprise before quickly retracting his eye and telling the lady to sit before the hole and began her confession.

    ¡°In the name of the Log, and of the Seed, and the Leaf. This is my first confession.¡±

    Moon heard the Oni let out a sigh.

    ¡°My name is Baka,¡± Moon blinked confusingly, ¡°And I am ashamed to admit that I¡¯ve lost faith in our lord. I have also been faking this faith since the loss of my mother. To be honest, I actually hate the Log. They¡¯ve taken so much from me, they haven¡¯t ever helped me, and at times I feel that they want me to suffer. I¡¯ve come to question why I should even attempt to follow them, attempt to show them love, when I don¡¯t feel like they¡¯ve given me anything like that. Especially when my mother loved them so much, she idolized our creator. She would hear nothing bad about them. And most especially she loved them. Yet, she¡¯s gone now and all I have left of her is a single photo. I question how could someone so dedicated and passionate towards the Log, be forced to suffer such a terrible fate. And sometimes I wonder if my mother loved me less than the Log, and wish, oh so terribly, that she loved me more. I am sorry for these and all the sins of my past.¡±

    Moon felt tears run down his face as he listened to the Oni speak. She spoke with such shame and self-hate for the way she felt, it honestly just reminded Moon of himself. In fact, much of what she said hit an uncomfortably close distance to home.

    Moon rubbed his eyes and gave a few sniffles before taking a deep breath and beginning his side of the confessional.

    ¡°To atone for your sins,¡± Moon couldn¡¯t help but feel hollow as he said his words, ¡°You shall-¡± Moon had to pause as he tried to find an answer he believed would help. After a brief moment of thought, Moon began speaking again. ¡°You shall first drop these pretenses of faith, dishonesty of this magnitude with others is unacceptable. Next, you should do some self-reflection. This will surely help in the settling of your emotions and how you feel. After that, you should pray to the Log personally, to not just ask for forgiveness but to also lay your problems out in the air. This should help alleviate any remaining guilt and leave you bare enough to be an effective tool for our Maker. Once all of this is done (if we still remain), come back to me or whoever becomes priest in my stead and tell them you¡¯re ready for your true atonement to begin.¡±

    Now done, Moon let out a tired sigh as he waited for Baka to end her confessional.

    ¡°Aaahh False Priest, so you already know how to solve your problems.¡± The Log¡¯s voice suddenly called out in place of Baka¡¯s, causing Moon to leap up in surprise and for his eyes to widen as he sent an eye tendril back up and found the Log floating there, judgingly.

    ¡°Log-sama? Why do you manifest before me, if I might so humbly ask?¡±

    ¡°You know,¡± The Log began sounding rather happy, ¡°I always find your shriveling before me far more entertaining than the Soothsayer¡¯s. After all,¡± The Log¡¯s voice took on a taunting tone, ¡°I¡¯ve always been able to feel the underlying hatred you hold towards me.¡±

    Moon broke his main body down into black tendrils and then slithered out of his hole and before The Log before reforming.

    ¡°Why do you manifest before me?¡± Moon asked once again, sounding just a tad strained in his speech.

    The Log shook with laughter before replying to Moon¡¯s question.

    ¡°Because you might be dead by the end of this, and I figured I might as well finally talk to you about your problems with me.¡±

    For a few moments, Moon could only stare at Norwe in stupefied awe. But once these moments passed, the priest felt just a miniscule fraction of the anger that he held for the Log finally slip.

    ¡°After all these years of me begging and begging for your reasons, for an answer, only now are you ready to provide such?¡± Moon asked, anger seeping into his voice, ¡°Only now, when we stand at the edge of oblivion, do you wish to ANSWER ME!¡±

    Moon at this point was glaring down at The Log who had stopped their shaking and now hung still in the air before the furious priest. After a few moments of silence, The Log gave a reply that Moon found frustratingly simple.

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    CRACK!

    Moon looked down to the wooden smithereens that remained of The Log, his expression having transformed into a furious snarl.

    ¡°IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY! AFTER ALL THE BULLSHIT YOU PUT ME THROUGH, EVERYTHING YOU¡¯VE TAKEN FROM ME! AFTER MAKING ME KILL M-Y MY-MY-¡±

    Moon fell to his knees as tears began to pour down the sides of his face, grief filling him as he cried before the now reassembling pieces of The Log.

    ¡°Ah breakdowns, still I have yet to lose interest in them.¡± The Log said with a surprising lack of joy.

    CRACK!

    ¡°TELL ME WHY YOU HAD ME KILL HIM!¡± Moon shouted with his eyes to the ground, his left hand buried in the already wrecked floor of the cathedral.

    ¡°Because just as he loved me, I loved him.¡±

    Moon¡¯s could only look at the ground in shock, The Logs words ringing through his head as his eyes slowly widened and his tears stopped pouring. And then a slight quiver ran through the priest¡¯s body. This was then followed up by another.

    Then another.

    And another.

    And another.

    Until Moon was just quaking before The Log with his fist balled up and his tears gone with only their tracks left in place. And when Moon lifted his head to look upon The Log, all that could be found within his eyes were 1,594 years worth of rage.

    ¡°DON¡¯T LIE TO ME!¡± He shouted, as The Log finalized their reassemblage before his eyes.

    ¡°You anger is understandable, but I¡¯m being completely truthful when I say that I did love him.¡± The Log replied, an uncharacteristically seriousness carried in his tone.

    Before even a second could pass, Moon morphed his left hand into a large mallet-like head and smashed The Log so hard that their entire being was pulverized into sawdust. Transforming his hand back into its normal state, Moon began to cry even harder than before as he shoved the same hand he used to crush The Log into his mouth and bit down.

    CRUNCH!

    Blood spewed into the air as every digit, excluding Moon¡¯s thumb, was bit off and chewed a few times. The blood spray had managed to paint Moon¡¯s face and mix with the downpour that came from his eyes, making it look as if he was weeping blood and tears. Moon swallowed his fingers before looking down at the ground and shouting in rage once again, this time at himself.

    ¡°DAMMMIT! WHY CAN¡¯T YOU JUST LOVE THEM LIKE HE DID?! WHY CAN¡¯T YOU BELIEVE IN THEM LIKE HE DID?!¡± Moon focused his eyes on the bloody droplets that were beginning to pool below his head, memories of Diavolo¡¯s bloody tears before his own death coming to the forefront of his mind.

    ¡°Because it¡¯s kinda hard for any being to love someone who hurt them so unapologetically, especially in the way I hurt you.¡±

    Moon slowly lifted his head to look back up at The Log, with another shout on the cusp of his lips.

    ¡°WHY DO-¡±

    But he found himself at a lost for words when he saw that what greeted his eyes were not the form of The Log, but that of Norwe the Maker. The entity sat before Moon with his legs crossed and his two bottom pairs of arms laying atop of them, while his top pair were crossed before his chest. The black holes that Norwe used as eyes stared at Moon with an intensity that lacked any sort of joy or glee that was expected by the priest.

    ¡°Moon, I appear before you to put some demons of your to rest. So, calm down and ask away.¡±

    Moon could only gape at the Maker before him, disbelief replacing his rage at the thought of what Norwe was offering. Cupping his hands (the fingers having grown back on the one he bit off) and dropping his head into them, Moon began a rhythm of steady, deep breaths. With each intake of air and subsequent release, Moon felt his anger drop and drop until it was just a simmer. Absorbing the blood that covered his face back into his body, Moon lifted his head and gave Norwe a hard stare.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Why what?¡± Norwe asked, somewhat tauntingly.

    ¡°Why did you have me kill Diavolo? What is the full reason?¡± Moon asked, staring even harder at Norwe.

    Norwe pat the ground before him and said,

    ¡°You should sit down, this isn¡¯t a short explanation.¡±

    Moon sat down before his Maker, not exactly sure of what to expect from them.

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°Tell me what goal did Diavolo pursue throughout his entire tenure as priest of your people, if you remember of course?¡±

    Moon nodded without a single thought, ¡°Of course I do. He sought to one day rest within the Palo Santo.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re both wrong and right in your statement.¡± Moon gave Norwe a confused stare, ¡°You said what Diavolo told you, but not what he meant.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that Diavolo sought to go to Palo Santo, it¡¯s that he sought to ¡°Rest Within The Palo Santo.¡±¡±

    ¡°What does that even mean?¡±

    ¡°It means to rise above your own mortal values and submit yourself entirely to me.¡±

    Moon blinked at Norwe in shock, before frowning at the Maker.

    ¡°That sounds like Diavolo through and through already.¡± Moon gained a confuddled expression, ¡°Why would he pursue something that he had already achieved?¡±

    Norwe shook his head and said,

    ¡°Because while he had mostly the mindset for his dream, he ultimately failed to complete the steps required to achieve it.¡±

    Moon began to rub his head in frustration. ¡°What were these steps and why couldn¡¯t he complete them?¡±

    Norwe¡¯s eyes began to sparkle with the stars that had fallen into them as the Maker answered Moon¡¯s question.

    ¡°Well, Diavolo was able to complete all but one of the four steps required to ¡°Rest Within the Palo Santo¡±. One, be barren enough to receive my word. Two, kill your predecessor in my name. Thr-¡±

    ¡°WAIT!¡± Moon looked upon Norwe with an astonished expression, ¡°Diavolo would never kill Frozen Light, unless you willed it. Are you telling me that he was actually the reason that his master died?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Frozen Light died before Diavolo ever learned of that step.¡± Norwe said, throwing a hand out dismissively.

    ¡°Thank the Log,¡± Moon whispered to himself.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Norwe replied, quickly shifting in and out of his Log state.

    Moon blinked at his Maker a few times, before just shaking his head and saying,

    ¡°What were the other two steps then?¡±

    ¡°Three, decry you hold no ill will towards me and mean it. And four, you¡¯ll know when it happens.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I mean it¡¯s the only step that you can¡¯t fail no matter what, and you¡¯ll know what it is when it happens.¡±

    ¡°So are you not going to tell me then?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    Moon looked back at Norwe with his mouth slightly agape, mild disbelief filling him at the Maker¡¯s unwillingness to speak which quickly turned into grudging acceptance. Closing his mouth and taking a quick gulp of air, Moon blinked a view times and gave Norwe a long stare.

    ¡°Earlier you said you had me kill Diavolo because you loved him, but you just told me that he wasn¡¯t able to complete his dream before death. Why would you have his life ended before he could complete his dream?¡±

    Norwe leaned back and looked towards the ceiling before beginning their reply.

    ¡°The main catalyst has to do with how much faith Diavolo held in you.¡±

    Moon pointed to himself, with his face crinkling up as he shook his head.

    ¡°What do I have to do with Diavolo¡¯s dream?¡±

    Norwe looked back towards Moon and a few more stars fell into his eyes and began to twinkle.

    ¡°Why the only reason that he died peacefully was because he figured that you would attain it for him.¡±

    Moon¡¯s expression became even more confused before he replied,

    ¡°But you¡¯re only telling me this now! And, let me be honest with you, step three is currently not a possibility for me.¡±

    ¡°Oh I know,¡± Norwe said, the stars in his eyes twinkling brighter than before, ¡°But I have an easy solution to it.¡±

    ¡°What would that be?¡± Moon asked with caution, trepidation filling him at Norwe¡¯s words.

    The stars in Norwe¡¯s eyes began to twinkle even brighter.

    ¡°I¡¯m about to let you talk with him.¡±

    ¡°What do-¡± But before Moon could finish his question, he saw Norwe disappear and felt a new presence within the cathedral. A familiar presence at that.

    ¡°Moon my child,¡± A matured and calming masculine voice called out from behind him, causing Moon to freeze at the familiarity of the voice and words, ¡°Turn around and look at me. By your current look, I already know it¡¯s been some time since I died.¡±

    Taking a gulp of air, Moon slowly and stiffly turned to face the one speaking to him. As soon as his eyes landed on the figure, Moon felt tears well up as a hand went up to his mouth which began gnawing on his fingers.

    Standing near the doors to the cathedral was a Keijo who stood just a bit taller than Moon, being 6,11 with green skin and a slim but muscular physique. Unlike Moon and String, this Keijo had long sharp ears that framed his head and a set of orange spiky hair that stood right up.  Atop his forehead was a clover-like design and his pupiless eyes were a distinctly bright, blood-red color. The Keijo¡¯s expression was one of acceptance and pleasantness, his eyes showing a distinctly jolly stare and his mouth was morphed into a smile that just radiated satisfaction.

    ¡°Di- Di- Diavolo?¡±

    Moon watched Diavolo¡¯s image visibly warp and bend before the stopping before him with a single one of his hands now grasping Moon¡¯s damaged one.

    ¡°I always did hate this nervous habit of yours,¡± Diavolo said, gently taking Moon¡¯s hand from his mouth and looking down at it. Moon had already bitten his digits to the point that they were bloody and that bone was clearly visible. Diavolo frowned at this and gently placed his other hand atop of Moon¡¯s chewed one. Green tendrils began to emerge from the appendage, seeping into Moon¡¯s wounds and fixing the damage wrought on them. Within a second, all that remained of Moon¡¯s biting was the green skin that had grown in to replace Moon¡¯s own.

    ¡°Now,¡± Diavolo raised his face to smile at Moon, ¡°Why don¡¯t we- Hmph!¡±

    Moon wrapped his arms around Diavolo tightly, before beginning to sob into the Keijo¡¯s shoulder. Diavolo¡¯s smiled deepened as he wrapped his arms around Moon and said nothing while the sound of his student crying filled the cathedral.

    It was ten minutes before Moon¡¯s crying had pittered out to the point of sniffles.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy to see you.¡± Moon said with a teary smile, after his last few sniffles left him.

    ¡°Same,¡± Diavolo said with a beaming smile of his own.

    Backing away from Diavolo, Moon felt more tears began pouring from his face as he began to just let out everything he wanted to talk about.

    ¡°I¡¯vebeensoconvusedsinceyoudied,sinceIcouldn¡¯tfindagoodreasonastowhyithappened.I¡¯vemadesomanymistakes,likegettingsomeofmyappprenticeskilled,tryingtofightMaxandHerahsoastoavoidaconfrontationlateron,butinsteadnearlygettingyouerasedandgettingabombdroppedonus-¡±

    ¡°Moon,¡± Diavolo caught the frantic priest by the shoulder, ¡°Speak slowly, it wouldn¡¯t do to exhaust yourself so quickly after we¡¯ve reunited.¡±

    Moon took a few deep breaths before smiling thankfully at Diavolo. The previous priest then sat them both down on the ground, with Moon sitting with his knees close to his chest and Diavolo with his legs underneath his body and his knees to the floor.

    ¡°Before you go any further, I want to know just how long its been since I¡¯ve died.¡±

    ¡°1 century, 594 years, 15 months, 13 weeks, 57 days, 15 hours, 13 minutes, and seven seconds.¡± Moon said with no hesitation or struggle, his expression blank.

    Diavolo let out a huff and began rubbing his chin, before dryly chuckling to himself and saying,

    ¡°Norwe-sama really does not have any sense of agency.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Moon asked with a slightly confused look.

    ¡°I asked our wonderful Maker to let me speak to you after my death because I knew that you wouldn¡¯t be in the best places afterwards and figured some words from me would help you out. I also had a request of you, but we can move onto that later.¡±

    ¡°Norwe already told me what you want of me and I-¡± Moon looked down and away from Diavolo, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for me to do such a thing. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Moon felt Diavolo¡¯s hand grasp his chin and lift it until their eyes were level with each other, the previous priest nodding his head with a small smile on his face, ¡°I know you think you can¡¯t, but I¡¯m pretty sure I can help you get past that. Of course,¡± Moon watched Diavolo let go of his chin and look away from him with a small frown on his face,

    ¡°That¡¯s only if you want to do it after you learn exactly why I asked Norwe-sama to have you kill me.¡±

    Moon¡¯s eyes widened at these words, the shock of Diavolo¡¯s words running through him. Tears began to prick his eyes as feelings of rage and denial  began to fill him. As fresh tears began to leave his eyes, Moon began to furiously shake his head.

    ¡°What do you mean, you asked Norwe to have me kill you?¡± Moon asked, heavy sounding words rapidly shifting to a more frantic tone. ¡°Why would you- Why would you- WHY WOULD YOU-¡± A sob left Moon as he shoved his other hand into his mouth.

    CRUNCH!

    Another spray of blood filled the air as Moon bit off more of his fingers and began crying harder. Stopping his head shaking, Moon took his wrecked hand from his mouth and rose to his feet before he began to shout at Diavolo.

    ¡°WHY WOULD YOU EVER WISH SUCH AGONY AND PAIN ON ME!?¡±

    Moon shoved an unsurprised Diavolo (he having jumped up shortly falling Moon), the prior priest being launched off his feet and across the entire cathedral towards the door. Flipping his body upright, Diavolo slammed his feet into the already wrecked floor, adding another pair of gorges to it and slowing to a stop just before the entrance.

    ¡°WHY LEAVE ME TO DO WHAT YOU DID SO MUCH BETTER THAN I EVER COULD!?¡±

    Diavolo¡¯s image once again distorted and warped before stopping just in front of Moon, the furious priest slapping away Diavolo¡¯s attempt to rest a hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°WHY WOULD YOU BE SO CRUEL!?¡±

    Moon made to shove Diavolo again, but missed and stumbled as his predecessor stepped out of the way of the shove.

    ¡°WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE ME SO CONFUSED AND SO LOST!?¡±

    Moon regained his footing and furiously swiveled to face Diavolo, one of his hands rising to point towards himself.

    ¡°DID I NOT MATTER TO YOU ENOUGH!?¡±

    Moon pointed towards the stained glass windows depicting The Log.

    ¡°DID YOU LOVE NORWE MORE THAN YOU DID ME! OR-

    Moon abruptly halted in all of his movements, tears now blinding his vision as he felt all of his anger and fury bleed out of him, leaving only despair as he fell back into his previous sitting position and shook his head.

    ¡°-Did you ever care about me in the first place?¡±

    ¡°Of course I care about you Moon,¡± Diavolo looked down and away from the weeping priest, ¡°But I did ask Norwe to have you kill me for a reason.¡±

    ¡°Why?! WHY!? WHY!?¡± Moon begged, looking down and balling both of his fists up before smashing them into his knees until they were bloody paste on the ground.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m selfish.¡±

    Moon paused in his actions to look back up at Diavolo who had stuck out his hand to the point that it stopped just before Moon¡¯s face. The appendage broke apart into green tendrils that began to repair Moon¡¯s fingers and legs. Once done, the Keijo lifted his newly repaired hand and watched as his now green digits flexed a few times. Moon¡¯s eyes drifted to his knee as his hands parted his robes slightly to allow for his now green kneecaps to be seen. Looking at all of this, Moon allowed himself a few breaths to calm down. Moon then looked back up to Diavolo and said,

    ¡°Explain.¡±

    Diavolo let out a sigh before returning to his own seated position and resting his unhealing hand on its matching knee.

    ¡°My selfishness is something that shows itself in two ways.¡± Diavolo¡¯s voice was quiet and somber, ¡°The first has to do with me finally learning how to achieve my dream and realizing that I could not bring myself to do it.¡±

    ¡°To do what?¡± Moon asked, confusion ripe within his tone.

    ¡°That reason is very much connected to the second way by which my selfishness manifest, so I¡¯ll tell you that when I get there.¡± Diavolo took a deep breath before renewing his speech, ¡°When I realized I would be unable to ever complete my dream, I lost much of my reason to live.¡±

    ¡°What about your dream was so important that life wasn¡¯t worth living!? Why does Resting Within the Palo Santo matter so much to you?!¡± Moon shouted, anger and frustration flowing throughout his voice.

    ¡°Because I know that achieving that state is the greatest insurance the Oni could ever have.¡± Diavolo answered, his expression now stern and serious. Moon gained a look of surprise at the deep stare that Diavolo now gave him.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Moon asked, his brows crinkling in frustration.

    ¡°To Rest Within Palo Santo is to submit your entirety to Norwe-sama, bare and unprotected.¡± Diavolo looked towards where Norwe had previously floated, Moon looking towards the same spot in response, ¡°This is considered the greatest show of faith imaginable, which is why when doing such a thing Norwe-sama awards you by making you his avatar.¡±

    ¡°What does that entail?¡± Moon asked, a bit miffed by the continued increase in questions.

    ¡°It entails you the ability to manifest Norwe-sama¡¯s one true power. To be an expression of what Norwe-sama is all about.¡± Diavolo turned back to face Moon, his seriousness still in full effect, ¡°It entails you to CHAOS. With it, the world would contort and change from your mere Presence.¡± Diavolo let out a sigh and turned his eyes downward, ¡°Being unwilling to ensure such a boon for us hurt me very deeply. It made me feel as if I wasn¡¯t giving all that I could.¡±

    CRACK!

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Moon shouted, burying his fist into the floor before redrawing it and pointing accusingly towards Diavolo, ¡°Your entire time as priest you gave all that you could for our people and Norwe. You helped lead and protect our people through two of our trials, helped to create an entirely new batch of followers in The Log, and helped to keep the morale of our people at its highest! You gave so much to everyone!¡±

    ¡°But that was not everything I could give,¡± Diavolo quietly stated, his voice filled with a gentle sadness, ¡°Earlier I said one of my reasons were because I couldn¡¯t achieve my dream. That was not the best way to state my point. What I should¡¯ve said was that one of the reasons was because I felt I would be unable to rest peacefully and soundly if I didn¡¯t somehow ensure the achievement of my dream.¡±

    ¡°If this was truly such a big thing,¡± Moon began still not fully understanding Diavolo, ¡°Then why could you not carry it out? Why could you not complete what you worked your whole life to achieve?¡±

    Diavolo let out another sigh before raising a hand and resting it on Moon¡¯s shoulder. The prior priest closed his eyes for a moment and when they reopened Moon found them to be filled with a strange mix of love and disappointment.

    ¡°I found that the only other way to Rest Within Palo Santo was to kill you.¡±

    Moon¡¯s eyes widened in shock at these words, a gasp coming to his lips. Diavolo tightened his grip on Moon¡¯s shoulder before he continued speaking.

    ¡°I found that replacing Frozen Light with you was a perfectly acceptable condition since they both accomplish the same task.¡±

    ¡°What- What would that be?¡± Moon asked, already sure of the answer.

    ¡°To be rid of the one that might most stand in the way of Norwe-sama¡¯s will. It¡¯s an exchange afterall, so why not trade the one who has the most sway on you?¡±

    ¡°But you love Norwe,¡± Moon asked in disbelief, ¡°Why would you allow me to ever stop you from achieving what you so vehemently wanted?¡±

    At this point, Moon saw tears began to creep out of the corner of Diavolo¡¯s eyes as the previous priest gave Moon a wide smile filled with ambivalence, the two emotions being sadness and happiness.

    ¡°Because as much as I love Norwe-sama, I love you more.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±, Quiet shock filled Moon¡¯s voice as he gave Diavolo a bewildered stare.

    ¡°I helped you grow for over a thousand years Moon, and during that time I came to view you as my child.¡± Tears began pouring from Diavolo¡¯s eyes ¡°And I¡¯m not as carefree as Norwe-sama or as selfless as Stardust, so I knew I could never ¡°Rest Within Palo Santo.¡±

    ¡°You really think of me as your own?¡± Moon asked, fresh teardrops springing anew from his eyes as a smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°That¡¯s the main reason why I¡¯m asking you to carry out my dream,¡± Diavolo said, his head tilted to the side as tears now poured sideways down his face, ¡°So now it¡¯s all out, and I want to know how you feel.¡±

    ¡°It makes me feel abandoned,¡± Moon started with a stark sharpness to his voice, a small sniffle coming from him, ¡°It makes me feel betrayed. But,¡± Moon¡¯s voice lost a bit of its edge, as tears increased even more in their downpour, ¡°I understand, I can forgive you, but I can¡¯t simply forget what Norwe has done so quickly.¡±

    ¡°Will you try?¡± Diavolo asked, a bit of worry creeping into his voice.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Moon answered nodding his head yes.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I need.¡± Diavolo said with the widest of smiles on his face.

    Moon and Diavolo then embraced each other while still sitting and cried tears of joy into each other¡¯s arms. For a good long while, the pair just wept together enjoying each others company. But eventually, both of their tears dried and the pair separated with the widest of grins on their faces.

    Rising to his feet, Diavolo let out a saddened sigh as he looked around him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve missed this place, even if it does look like a wreck.¡± Diavolo looked back at Moon who had risen to his feet, ¡°I hate that I¡¯m going to have to leave it and you once again.¡±

    The edges of Moon¡¯s grin tilted downward slightly at these words as tears once again began to well up in his eyes.

    ¡°How much longer do you have?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Diavolo rubbed his chin for a second before shaking his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, just not long.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you have to go so soon-¡± Diavolo interrupted Moon in his apology by setting his hand on the priest¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t apologize for what¡¯s out of your control. In fact,¡± Diavolo flicked Moon on the head, ¡°You should stop being so regretful for what you do. You¡¯ll never find any semblance of personal peace if you don¡¯t.¡± Diavolo gave Moon a stern look, ¡°Do you understand?¡±

    Moon just nodded, thinking over Diavolo¡¯s words and attempting to take them to heart. Diavolo then embraced Moon once again, and this time the pair hugged each other in silence.

    Then, with no further warning, Moon no longer felt the embrace of Diavolo.

    He only felt painfully empty air.

    Letting out a sigh as fresh tears ran anew, Moon shook his head as he felt Norwe reappear behind him.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Moon said, his voice quiet and low, ¡°For letting me see him again.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Norwe said, before floating through Moon and stopping with their back to the priest. Quickly turning to face Moon, Norwe asked, ¡°So is that third step still impossible for you?¡±

    Moon gave Norwe a glare, though the priest knew that it had lost much of its strength after his talk with Diavolo.

    ¡°No, but it¡¯ll still be a challenge.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Norwe clapped all six of their hands together, ¡± That¡¯s all I need. Are you ready to get back to your battle?¡±

    Moon¡¯s eyes widened as he returned more of his focus back to his bodies and found the most puzzling of sites.

    ¡°Nani!?¡±

    All of his bodies, no the entire world alongside them seemed to be going much slower than before.

    ¡°You can thank me for that,¡± Moon returned his attention back to his body that was dealing with Norwe, and returned to the sight of Norwe with his black holes twinkling again, ¡°I sped up time within the cathedral instead of slowing it everywhere else because Alex would undoubtedly be annoying me by constantly speeding it back up, and I just don¡¯t want to deal with that right now.¡±

    Ignoring most of what Norwe was saying, Moon redirected a good chunk of his attention to the only other body he had that was currently not in combat with Herah or Jeffery and found that it was almost at its destination.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see how that¡¯s going to go,¡± Moon once again directed his attention back to his central body finding Norwe¡¯s eyes twinkling even more than before and their tone overtly joyful, ¡°You mind giving a message to Owen when you see him?¡±

    Moon gave Norwe an unsure look, before shrugging his shoulders and saying,

    ¡°Sure. What do you want me to say?¡±

    HALT

    Owen was currently seated, being forced to multitask as he watched over both Herah¡¯s and Alex¡¯s dots, the pair jerking around sporadically within their separate battlefields, Jeffery who was darting across the entire projected map at such speeds that it gave Owen a slight headache, String who seemed to be partially tracking Alex, and the numerous bodies that Moon was running across the entire forest.

    RIZZZZ!

    ¡°What the-¡±

    Just as a completely new dot representing Moon appeared on his projected map, the ground a few feet behind Owen burst open as a Moon shot out of it with his left arm transformed into a massive drill. Flying a few feet into the air, Moon quickly morphed his arm back into its normal state before landing in front of a very surprised Owen.

    ¡®Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!¡¯ Owen thought, scrambling to his feet as Moon morphed his other arm into an axe and began to walk towards the gnome. For some strange reason, Owen immediately noticed the tears tracks on Moon¡¯s face with the saddened expression he wore being the second thing Owen noticed.

    With greats amounts of fear and terror filling Owen, the gnome held his left arm down to his side as his hand opened wide and a purple square with yellow runes of celestian filling it. Before Owen could make another move, Moon spoke.

    ¡°Norwe told me to tell you that the moon has completed its phases.¡±

    Owen felt a fleeting sense of worry at Moon¡¯s words.

    ¡®He is a part of this too?¡¯ Owen asked himself before shaking his head and calling upon magic from the Goddess Reese to fill the spell he was prepping. ¡®If I can convert his kinetic energy into potential I should be able to halt him until I can signal someone to hel-¡®

    Owen found his thoughts cut short by Moon¡¯s axe hand appearing in front of his face before he could react. Moon lowered his blade until it was under Owen¡¯s chin and used it to tilt Owen¡¯s head up to look at his own.

    Owen¡¯s breath began to come in rapid, short bursts as his pupils dilated and fear filled his entire being. His body quivered as tears began to drip from his eyes at the thought of what was most likely to happen to him.

    ¡®Is he going to kill me?¡¯ Owen frantically thought, as he barely noted the strange feeling of his left ring finger heating up, ¡®Oh Lady Grey, let this not be my end.¡¯

    Owen watched unable to move from his own fear as Moon moved his other hand to his mouth and bit down on his left pinky.

    CRUNCH!

    Owen¡¯s eyes widened further as he slowly watched blood fly into the air and splatter partly on Moon¡¯s face. Before Owen could even think another thought, Moon flicked a single drop of blood onto his face.

    As soon as the blood drop touched his cheek, Owen¡¯s body froze and his mind halted any and all thoughts to just focus on the speck of blood that now tainted his face.

    ¡®Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. BLood. BLood. BLood. BLood. BLood. BLood. BLOod. BLOod. BLOod. BLOod. BLOod. BLOOd. BLOOd. BLOOd. BLOOd. BLOOD. BLOOD. BLOOD. BLOOD! BLOOD!-

    BLOOD!¡®

    Owen could think of nothing else as Moon walked past him while saying,

    ¡°I¡¯m sor-¡± There was a brief pause, ¡°No. I need to stop apologizing for what I do. This is for myself and my people.¡±

    Owen paid little mind to Moon¡¯s words, his body paralyzed and all of his attention still being held by the tiny droplet of blood that now ran down his face. He did not move when Moon¡¯s footsteps stopped, or when he heard the priest shift his feet around as he readied the strike that would end the battle in the favor of his people, nor did he move when the smell of smoke greeted his nose.

    It was only when Moon swung at the tree that Owen moved, though not willingly. Before he even realized it, Owen¡¯s left hand shot up and forcibly turned his body to face Moon. Mid-turn, a bunch of smoke began to billow from Owen¡¯s left ring finger just before a sharp click was heard, quickly followed by one phrase.

    ¡°La Gloutonnerie.¡±

    VRRRMMM!

    By the time Owen¡¯s brain had caught up with his body, Moon was completely gone from the clearing and a soft burp came from his finger.

    ¡°Dix minutes avant que ma nourriture soit dig¨¦r¨¦e.¡±

    Owen looked down to his finger and towards what Herah had handed him right before leaving for battle in shock.

    It was a ring.

    More accurately, it was a small dragon that was made of jade and had multiple joints covering it. Its entire tail wrapped around a third of his finger starting at the base of the digit, while the rest of its body covered his finger with its four legs slightly wrapped around his finger and its wings folded-in laying atop its back. The dragon¡¯s head sat atop the top of Owen¡¯s fingernail and was just a bit larger than it. There were also wisps of smoke pouring from the dragon¡¯s mouth, nearly making Owen cough when it flew into his mouth and nose.

    ¡®This ring saved us all.¡¯ Owen thought to himself before shaking his head and reaching for his amulet.

    ¡®Herah!¡¯

    ¡®Owen!¡¯ Herah mentally shouted back sounding a tad happy, ¡®Glad you checked in when you did, I¡¯m about to begin my counterattack and I still need your help locating each of the Moons. Especially because half of them are now somewhere not attacking me.¡¯

    ¡®Before any of that, I have to say thank you.¡¯

    There was a brief silence on Herah¡¯s end before she responded.

    ¡®While I will never need a reason for someone thanking me since I¡¯m just so fucking great,¡¯ Herah¡¯s slightly pompous tone switched to a more modest one, ¡®It would be nice to know exactly what I¡¯m being thanked for.¡¯

    Owen quickly wiped away the blood on his face doing his best not to think about it.

    ¡®Your dragon ring saved us all.¡¯ Owen thought, sounding immensely grateful, ¡®Moon had appeared and almost destroyed the tree. He was only stopped thanks to your ring.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s a Cendre ring, I don¡¯t know what a dragon is,¡¯ Herah said sounding a bit confused before shifting to a more cheery voice, ¡°But I¡¯m glad both you and the tree are safe.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, I need to get Max over here with me real quick before I check back in with you. Let me know when you need me.¡¯

    ¡®Okay then, Herah out.¡¯

    As soon as Owen felt Herah leave his mind, the gnome gained an expression of shame and disappointment, as he thought about what had just occurred. A single tear sliding down the side of Owen¡¯s face, as he voiced a thought that bothered him down to his core.

    ¡°It¡¯s only thanks to Herah that he was stopped.¡±

    ONI

    ¡°This isn¡¯t looking good,¡± Moon said to himself as his central body let out a grunt of irritation at what had just occurred. Just before the body could destroy the Donneur de Fr¨ºne, it got swallowed into what amounted into a void and had been flayed to the point of non-existence. He had only gotten past Owen¡¯s surveillance system by digging around and just out of its thirty-kilometer radius until close enough to get in with little issue. The sudden loss of one of his bodies had also caused for Moon to redraw 23 of his bodies attacking Herah and to immediately send them towards Owen and his hat. That was until he lost the 23 he had still attacking Herah before half a second could pass, which was then followed up with who Moon only assumed to be Herah completely shredding his 23 other bodies before half a second more could go by as well. Jeffery had also had a drastic increase in speed, ridding the world of his 3 bodies gathering extra mass before completely blitzing the ball of mass that Moon had worked so hard to create.

    Seeing all of this, Moon sent a finger to his mouth and bit it off. Right after chewing it for a bit and swallowing the end of his digit, Moon let out a sigh and said,

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do this, but it seems I¡¯ll have to draw on my last resort if I want to win this.¡±

    Moon then raised the same hand he had just bit off of and waited for his finger to regrow. Once done, Moon initiated his last resort with a single action.

    SNAP!

    ONI

    ¡°FUCK YOU ALEX! I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING FOR A MOMENT THERE!¡±

    BOOM!

    String, now fuming in rage, directed the snow wave she was surfing on just out of the way of another falling tree as she also shouted her head off at Alex. The Keijo had spent the last four minutes dodging around the copious amounts of trees that had been falling from the sky.

    Each and every single one of them courtesy of Alex and Max of course.

    The rain that blanketed the battlefield had drastically increased in its fall to the point that String could no longer visibly see anything more than a foot in front of her. Muddy craters, huge chunks of the trees that had previously been floating in the sky strewn across the ground, broken and unbroken arrows, and muddy snow now covered much of the battlefield. Several tornados were still moving across the ground in an intricate pattern that had nearly caught Alex several times, and arrows and trees would regularly fall from the sky, though String found that the tree she had just dodged had been the last of those.

    ¡°You sound as bout as hurt as you look String,¡± Alex responded with his unlively voice, ¡°This isn¡¯t looking too good for you at the moment.

    String¡¯s current state of wear could not disagree with Alex¡¯s words, with her clothes being filled with rips and tears from several near collisions with the falling trees and some very well timed rock shots from Alex. Blood and bruises also now covered her body, with much of the bleeding being non-threatening on its own but a serious danger altogether with the bruises being much of the same case. This didn¡¯t even account for String¡¯s very much still detached ear.

    The only good thing to occur to String so far was another electrical charge being gained.

    Alex was currently riding atop a mound of unstable shifting mud and dirt, with a makeshift suit of rock covering much of his body that had quite a few arrows and bits of the wooden debris from the now wrecked trees stabbed into it. Most of the arrows had struck weak points within the gear that Alex was wearing and only a few had actually drawn blood from the human, the most damaging being one that had cut a gash into his cheek. Arrows were all Alex was attacked with now, since boulders had proven to be more fuel than weapons against in regards to Alex.

    Speaking of which, String sensed an incoming hail and began preparing herself for her attack. Just as the sky darkened even more, Alex raised a single hand and pushed towards the arrows. A large chunk of the ground condensed itself into a massive boulder and was launched towards raining steel. String made this a futile effort, however, by creating several drafts of air that diverged all the arrows in seemingly random directions before setting them all on a crash course with Alex. The human immediately flipped off of the ground he rode and hunkered down before throwing both his arms out and clapping them over his head, creating a dome of rocks around himself. String ended up making this a moot point as well though, by creating several drafts of winds that worked as pressurized drills that easily tore into Alex¡¯s dome. This, however, didn¡¯t do String any good since Alex had burrowed underground at this point, the arrows only striking the area he had originally stood.

    ¡°Dammit,¡± String grunted out, her eyes but more her mind scrying the ground in search of any shifts or movements that would betray Alex¡¯s position. ¡°Where the hell are yo-¡±

    The ground beneath the snow that String surfed upon exploded as Alex shot out of it and through String¡¯s snow until right next to her. With Nike in hand, Alex made for swipe to String¡¯s head but the chieftain leaned just out of the way of his attack and struck him with her own weapon right on the tail end of one of the arrows that had just lightly stabbed Alex¡¯s left shoulder. String then followed this up by slamming Alex towards the ground with a heavy down current of wind.

    ¡°That was impatient of you Alex!¡±

    Before impact could even occur the ground beneath opened up to swallow Alex, so String hit Alex with a gale of wind going sideways that launched him towards one of the nearby tornados String had created. Before Alex could reach the tornado, he raised one of his hands to his shoulder, used some of the rock covering him to cut off the end of the arrow String had hit, and fired it out of the draft pushing him.

    CRAAAK!

    A bolt of lightning struck the area between the battling duo just as Alex was caught by the tornado String had launched him into. This tornado just so happened to be filled with hundreds of arrows and wooden shards. String watched as more and more arrows and wooden shards began to chip at and stab into Alex¡¯s protection. Alex, in his turbulent spinning, managed to stick one hand out and make a gesture upwards. A gigantic hand of mud and earth emerged from the ground and wrapped around Alex before pulling him towards its origin. String cut this short with several mini-tornados being created and sent through the base of the rocky hand. With the hand of land now destabilized, String created heavy downwards and upwards draft that slammed into each other with the hand caught in between the two. The hand began to flatten under the pressure of both currents but just before it got to a surely fatal point for Alex, the ground once again shifted as two more massive hands of land came up and (somehow) gently wrapped around the mass of dirt that Alex was held within.

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± String shouted before increasing the pressure of her currents tenfold, causing the hands to lose their stability and to flatten the dirt and mud that Alex was trapped within.

    When no immediate response to String¡¯s last attack came, the chieftain found herself instantly on edge. Making sure to not stop her snowy mount and placing a large amount of her focus on the ground beneath her, String used several drafts of wind to rip the gigantic dirt/mud clump apart.

    As the Keijo ripped away at the mud and dirt, she noticed that it got steadily redder and redder until-

    ¡°Oh shit!¡± String said, as her eyes widened at what she found in the dead center of the clump.

    Alex¡¯s very, very damaged corpse.

    The first thing that String really noticed was just how flat Alex looked. He couldn¡¯t have been more than an inch or so thick, with much of his body soaked in his own blood and several of his organs having exploded out of several very visible holes. The next thing that drew String¡¯s attention was the fact that his eyes seemed to have exploded with only a bloody grisly mess being left in his now much tinier but wider sockets. The last thing that really captured String¡¯s attention was how even in death, Alex¡¯s flattened head held no real expression.

    String let Alex¡¯s body fall gently to the ground as she took herself down and allowed for the snow she rode to stop in its movements. Walking over to Alex¡¯s corpse with the tiniest bits of trepidation filling her, String made sure to never stop in the spinning of her chain whip. After reaching his body and giving it a few nudges with her feet, String backed up and struck it with her whip. The next three seconds were completely uneventful, with the only thing that really happened being a decrease in the downpour around String.

    CRAAAK!

    The bolt of lightning struck Alex¡¯s corpse incinerating what remained and leaving only ashes that were quickly diluted by the rain. Looking around, String found both Nike and Tara a few feet away on either side of Alex¡¯s body.

    ¡°I- I won.¡± String let out a small chuckle, that rapidly divulged into full out joyful laughter, ¡°I fucking won!¡± String¡¯s left hand went up to cover her shade-covered left eye as she leaned over laughing even harder, ¡°I took the bastard down!¡±

    After a few more moments of laughing, String got herself back together and scrawled a quick message before C.C. of the good news. Letting out a breath, String dismissed the several tornados she still had going while also prepping for her advancement towards the Donneur de Fr¨ºne.

    ¡°One down, two more to worry about.¡± String said to herself as she took a single step, ¡°Hopefully I can just get in and take out the tree without running into either.¡±

    cri-CRACK!

    SHLUK!

    A very much alive Alex shot out of the ground in front of String with Nike slashing upwards, cutting a deep gash into the left side of String¡¯s face that went right through her shades and left eye.

    ¡°GAHH!¡± String shouted in pain as she stumbled back just a bit, though not too far so as to save herself. The chieftain then used a strong current of wind to slow Alex¡¯s ascent and flip him over causing him to unwillingly cut at her face again. However, a slight miscalculation had been made by String so that instead of Alex just lightly nipping her on the right cheek he ended up cutting a twin gash to his earlier on String¡¯s right side. Unlike before, String held in her shout and instead created a draft of wind that slammed into Alex¡¯s chest with such force that he was shot away like a bullet with blood spittle being all that he left behind.

    Sailing over 50 feet away before bouncing off the muddy ground a few times, Alex finally stopped after an ungraceful slide through the mud. Rising to his feet with a bit of effort and standing on unsteady and uncertain footing, Alex quickly shed his rocky armor, redrew Tara, and stabbed himself with it before putting it back where it came from. After the subsequent reversal of damage occurred, Alex stood up straight and firm with his arm raised towards String with Nike tight in his grip. Crimson liquid dripped from the blades edge, causing String to mentally bemoan the fact that it was hers.

    ¡°How-¡± String, now physically blinded in both eyes, wiped away the blood pouring from her face, as her breaths came in much harder and her mind began to fog up, ¡°Did you, puff, pull that one, puff, off?¡±

    ¡°When the pair of hands wrapped around me, I immediately descended into the ground leaving behind a muddy look-alike of myself that I used my gift to make into a carbon copy of me. After that, I used my connection with the earth to sense your movements and waited for you to start heading towards Owen and the tree before making my attack.¡± Alex said this all while looking completely expressionless, before reaching for his nose and tapping it a few times and asking, ¡°By the way, you purposely made me cut you twice with Nike. Do you know what she does?¡±

    ¡°That dagger, puff, decreases the luck of, puff, whoever you cut with it, puff, by an extreme degree, puff, until you cut them with, puff, it again.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Alex paused in the tapping of his nose, before saying, ¡°It¡¯s kinda unfair just how much knowledge Norwe gave you on us, though it probably balances out with how much more powerful my group is in comparison to yours.¡±

    Hearing this, String couldn¡¯t help but to scoff as thoughts ran rampant in her head.

    ¡®Shit! That might¡¯ve not have killed me, but that last attack of his sure as hell did some major damage.¡¯ String looked towards the sky, a buzzing sound now coming from her weapon and her hair rising to stand on end. ¡®At least I gonna get my final charge, though I¡¯ll need Alex within two-meters if I want to hit him.¡¯ String returned her focus back to Alex, ¡®He¡¯s a fair distance out of range.¡¯

    String threw the end of her weapon into the air.

    CRAAAK!

    Just as all the previous times, a bolt of red lightning came down from the sky and disappeared into the wooden hilt of String¡¯s chain before a feeling of energy began to course through her. Unlike before, String gained a purple shroud of energy and her eyes (even being the mess that they were) turned green with visible yellow arcs of electricity coursing across her body. String also felt her pain bleed away and her mind uncloud.

    Alex took one look at String and said,

    ¡°You better hope that whatever you get from that new look of yours isn¡¯t stopped time, because if it is I¡¯m going to brutalize you.¡± Alex did a quick twirl with Nike, ¡°Nothing against you personally, it¡¯s just that stopping time is a crime against nature I will always willingly punish,¡± Alex did a quick tilt of his head, ¡°Unless it¡¯s Max, I¡¯ll just punch her.¡±

    ¡°Why would you even think that was what I could do?¡± String asked, giving Alex a bemused stare.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Alex responded, ¡°Though something tells me that your range is two meters with whatever you can do, so I¡¯ll just be staying out of range of you until I see the perfect opportunity to take you down, which should be in about 10 minutes. If your wounds are anything to go by.¡±

    String flinched at Alex¡¯s words, the question leaving her mouth without a thought.

    ¡°How did you know about my abilities range?¡±

    ¡°Max likes comics and media surrounding them,¡± Alex pointed towards himself, ¡°I like manga and the media surrounding it.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Alex just shook his head and began to back away from String.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about i-¡±

    BOOM!

    ¡°The hell!¡± String shouted in surprise as Alex and a significant amount of area around him was suddenly engulfed within an explosion that launched a wave of snow and mud twice as tall as String towards her. Just as the wave reached her, the Keijo crouched down to the ground and quickly shoved her arms in a diving gesture towards the ground with the back of her hands together and spread them apart. This caused the incoming wave to split in halve and around String, with the work being done by twin diverging gales. Just as the mud passed by her, a thought came to String¡¯s mind as to what had just happened.

    ¡®Moon must¡¯ve done that pollen shit of his.¡¯ String¡¯s eye-sockets widened, ¡®Which means that I should be able to close the distance between us without issue now.¡¯

    String, using just the smallest bits of the energy that now flowed through her, quickly rushed forward, with the smoke clearing just as she made it to the 60 foot deep crater that Alex now laid in, a smell that was both pungent and pleasant emerging from him.

    Sliding down a bit until she was just a meter away from Alex, String looked down at her opponent. What she saw was Alex¡¯s entire body covered head to toe in burns. Starting at the top of his head, all of his hair had been burnt off and his scalp was black and charred. Moving down to his face, the right side of it was a mishmash of pink and red while the left was entirely blackened with his eye sealed shut while the right one was burnt away. Moving down to his torso and arms, Alex¡¯s left arm, elbow down, had been blown away with a blackened stump being the only indication of any previous extensions. His right arm was burnt to the point that the skin covering most of it was gone with only bits of skin covering burning bone. Alex¡¯s torso was shown to be a colorful array of red, pale, pink, white, tan, and black, his shirt and jacket having been burnt away entirely. Though String did notice that the amulet Alex wore remained with little issue. Moving down to Alex¡¯s legs, his pants and underwear (if he had any) were reduced to ash as well, with his right leg much like his left arm and his left leg much like his right arm.

    ¡°Ooh,¡± String said, wincing at the condition of Alex¡¯s crotch, which was completely blackened, ¡°That must hurt like a bitch.¡±

    ¡°No shit Joseph.¡±

    String flinched when she heard Alex¡¯s croaky voice respond to her.

    ¡®If his lungs still work he can use Enlightenment, I¡¯m gonna need to hit him quick and hard.¡¯ String took a deep breath before beginning to spin her chain high above her head and thinking, ¡®Alex, it¡¯s your time to die.¡¯

    ¡°Tachiagaru!¡±

    HALT

    ¡®The fact that I can tell that the power of that explosion was just over 2 tons, really says too much about how often this has happened to me.¡¯

    This thought passed through Alex¡¯s mind alongside the (what many would consider anyway) to be mind-numbing pain that he felt throughout much of his body. Alex was unable to see anything at the very moment, with one of his eyes unwilling to open and the other not showing anything even when he was sure he opened it.

    ¡®I¡¯m more worried about the numb areas than anything else really,¡± Alex thought to himself as he relinquished the grip his Principles orb had over his mind and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m aware of the area around me.¡±

    Suddenly, Alex¡¯s mind filled with a complete 360 few of everything within five feet of him and of his own body.

    ¡®Well I look like shit.¡¯

    Then String appeared in all her purple glowing glory, sliding into his radius of awareness before stopping about 3.3 feet away from him.

    ¡®I have the strange feeling that you¡¯re not going to help me out on this, are you String?¡¯

    ¡°Ooh, that must hurt like a bitch.¡±

    ¡®Your deductive reasoning skills astound me String,¡± Alex thought to himself, ¡®Truly only a great mind like yours could make such a conclusion.¡¯

    ¡°No shit Joseph.¡±

    Watching String flinch at his words would¡¯ve brought a smile to Alex¡¯s face, if he still had lips anyway.

    ¡®Though, something tells me I¡¯m about to find out just what exactly she can do with this powerup of hers, and I¡¯m ninety-nine percent sure it¡¯s probably fatal. I should heal myself fir-¡®

    ¡°Tachiagaru!¡±

    Alex¡¯s perception of time slowed to its absolute limits, a third of a nanosecond, but even with him being able to perceive anything that occurred within that span of time he still wasn¡¯t able to perceive over 10 thousand dart-sized holes filling his body until after they had all been made. 4 of these holes had been made straight in Alex¡®s throat, severing his vocal cords.

    ¡®You smart bitch!¡¯ Alex thought to himself, as his perception of time returned to normal, ¡®Guess our battle is about to reach its end a bit earlier than I expected.¡¯

    String had gotten out of Alex¡¯s perceivable range within the first second leaving him, for the last two seconds, with his body and the crater he laid within being the only thing he knew.

    CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!

    A bolt of red lighting came down from the sky and struck Alex¡¯s body, lasting for a total of five seconds before dispersing. Though Alex knew none of this, having lost all of his awareness within the half first second of the lighting striking him.

    Alex knew not.

    Alex thought not.

    Alex was dead.

    HALT

    ¡°So that ring Herah gave you swallowed the Moon who had tried to take out the tree?¡± Max asked Owen, having just teleported herself into the clearing to find Owen holding on to his amulet while looking gravelly ashamed and disappointed.

    ¡°Yeah, I was completely useless throughout the entire encounter,¡± Owen responded, looking away from Max as he spoke.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that Owen,¡± Max said with care while crouching down to place her hand on his shoulder, ¡°You¡¯ve already done all you¡¯ve needed to help us get through this. Hell, our survival actually hinges on these-¡±

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    Both Max and Owen were engulfed in explosions of their own, with Max¡¯s engulfing the entire clearing while Owen¡¯s only engulfed half of it. Before falling to the ground, Max saw that Owen had been completely incinerated by his blast with his clothing, ring, and amulet being all that remained of him. Max herself knew that her clothing had actually suffered no damage from the blast thanks to Orange¡¯s work on them, though her body had been considerably and fatally damaged by what she knew to be Moon¡¯s attack. Especially since there had been another much smaller explosion within her throat, this one having completely roasted her vocal cords.

    ¡®You¡¯ll see Owen, you saved us all in the end.¡¯

    Max and Owen knew not.

    Max and Owen thought not.

    Max and Owen were dead.

    HALT

    Herah felt drunk on power as her body and mind moved faster than they had ever done before. Combining the effects of Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet and the Gaashbenirium armor together had done exactly what Herah had wanted it to do, allowing her to completely eliminate all but one of the Moon¡¯s bodies before even a full second could pass, with Owen keying her into the position of those who hadn¡¯t been in her immediate vicinity.

    Standing within an area completely uprooted of trees with no life around her at all, Herah looked towards Moon¡¯s final body. Herah found that the ball of black they held above their head looked to be over 100 meters in size at this point, though it was rapidly shrinking in size thanks to her use of Jeffery.

    ¡®It¡¯s about time I join them up there I think,¡¯ Herah thought to herself as her wings spread out behind her and a single flap was performed.

    A sonic boom shortly followed her swift departure from the ground and towards the priest, a crater and cloud of dirt being left in her wake.

    ¡®Let¡¯s get this battle over with.¡¯

    But just as Herah¡¯s claws were inches from the priest¡¯s throat, everything went wrong.

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    Two explosions simultaneously went off in Herah¡¯s ears, completely driving her deaf and stunning her to the point that she lost control of both her own movements and that of Jeffery. This was then followed up with the ball of black, shifting tendrils that Moon held above their head breaking apart and revealing thousands of Moons ready for battle. Before Herah could even get a grip of herself, all of these Moon¡¯s descended upon her with a barrage of attacks that slammed her down into the ground much deeper and quicker than when Moon had knocked her back down from space earlier.

    BOOM!

    This time the hole Herah was in was five times as deep as before, but Herah focused less on this and more on this grand feeling of loss and emptiness that filled her as Max¡¯s emotions completely disappeared from her mind. Though Herah¡¯s attention was drawn from this feeling when something else began to fill the hole that had been dug with her body.

    WHIRRR!

    WHIRRR!

    WHIRRR!

    WHIRRR!

    WHIRRR!

    Hundreds of thousands of rounds of black bullets were now battering Herah even deeper into the ground. It would only take 4 seconds of relentless fire for the youngling¡¯s armor to break, the gear exploding and dispersing as the bracelet reappeared on her arm.

    ¡°GAAHH!¡± Herah shouted as the agony filled her body due to the overstressing of it and the continued pelting of it with Moon¡¯s bullets. With her mind now blank, Herah didn¡¯t even know where anything or herself was until hearing Moon¡¯s voice talking to her.

    ¡°Herah,¡± The youngling¡¯s eyes managed to come into focus just enough that Moon¡¯s face was just a tad blurry to her, as his left hand was wrapped around her neck with his right being positioned just over the pocket in her chest that stored her inner flame, ¡°The battle is over.¡±

    Herah¡¯s response to this was just a weak shaking of her head, her mind being drawn to the feeling of Moon¡¯s tendrils spreading throughout her body from the numerous bullet holes that filled her. This didn¡¯t stop her from seeing the frown that came to Moon¡¯s face as more words came from his mouth.

    ¡°Alex, Max, and Owen are dead.¡± Moon said, sounding surprisingly cold to Herah, though the youngling was able to detect the barest hints of regret in his voice, ¡°And you¡¯ll be joining them very soon. You¡¯ve lost.¡±

    ¡°Phase, huhh, three, huhh, is about, huhh, to, huhh, begin.¡±

    Herah watched as Moon¡¯s eyes narrowed at her before the priest shook his head and softly said,

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t die in denial, Herah. It¡¯s a terrible way to go.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be, huhh, right, huhh, back,¡± Herah said, a look of steel in her eyes.

    Moon gained a pained expression as his hand began to push into Herah¡¯s chest, his cold fa?ade breaking when his next words left him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sor-¡± Moon paused and shook his head before looking back at Herah with his own look of steel, ¡°No more apologies.¡±

    This got a chuckle from Herah and these words.

    ¡°Finally, huhh, you¡¯re not acting, huhh, like such a, huhh, bitch.¡±

    Moon then completely shoved his hand into Herah¡¯s chest and wrapped it around the youngling¡¯s flame, snuffing it out after a few seconds of burning. Herah felt her body begin to break down and return to her species namesake, before losing touch with herself and everything around her .

    Herah knew not.

    Herah thought not.

    Herah was dead.

    The Oni had claimed victory.

    ONI

    String, having lost her shroud and reached the edge of Alex¡¯s crater heading towards her home, directed just a bit of her attention towards Alex¡¯s ashes. The remains were rapidly being washed away by the rain that still beat down upon the entire battlefield, with some remorse filling String as she watched it occur.

    ¡°You know Alex, I think I would¡¯ve liked to get to know you better. If to just answer some questions you left me with.¡±

    String then made a half step forward before her fatigue from her wounds nearly made her fall. Halting in place, String instead decided to rest while standing and allowed for attention to drift over to Owen¡¯s hat and found the burnt corpse of Max and the ashes of who she presumed to be Owen just resting near a remarkably undamaged Donneur de Fr¨ºne.

    ¡°Moon will handle that. Speaking of which,¡± String allowed for her focus to drift towards where Moon had been battling Herah and found-

    ¡°Of course you¡¯re doing a rights thing,¡± String said with a groan as she found the thousands upon thousands of Moons bowing before a pile of slightly shifting ashes that had previously been Herah with a single one of the Moon¡¯s saying some type of prayer. ¡°Welp I¡¯m gonna head home and tell everyone the good ne- THE HELL!?¡±

    A massive pillar of violet fire suddenly emitted from Herah¡¯s ashes engulfing many of the Moon¡¯s within the area.

    ¡°What the fuck is going on-¡±

    ¡°I have cells in front of you.¡±

    SHURK!

    ¡°Ack!¡±

    Pain exploded in String¡¯s abdomen as she hurriedly brought her focus back to her own body and found a completely restored and nude Alex standing before her with Nike buried in her gut. Making sure that her face was looking at Alex, the chieftain let out a choked sound before asking,

    ¡°How?¡±

    Alex reached up to his amulet and tapped it.

    ¡°Within the center of this amulet previously sat a copper cross. When the one who wears the amulet dies, the cross will break and the power of the Goddess of Life from Owen¡¯s world will resurrect them. It¡¯s a one time deal though, so I can¡¯t ever use that to cheat death again. Now,¡± Alex took his left hand and used it to tilt String¡¯s head up before withdrawing Nike from her stomach with his right hand and placing the blade at her throat, ¡°While your efforts were valiant, they, in the end, were ultimately-¡±

    SHLUK!

    Nike was swiftly drawn across String¡¯s throat, blood rapidly pouring from the new wound as Alex let go of her and allowed for her to fall onto her back.

    ¡°-pointless.¡±

    With her death rapidly approaching and her strength fleeing her, String didn¡¯t even bother attack Alex, assuming that it would be a waste to attack someone who very much would expect such a thing. Instead, the chieftain hurriedly diverted all her attention to a single area. She used wind currents to scrawl a quick message for C.C. explaining what had just happened to her and passing on the mantle of chief onto her. Tears poured from String¡¯s destroyed eyes at the sight of her close friend falling to her knees and crying before her message, but the Keijo dared not stop in her actions and instead quickly scrawled out another message that read: And if you fall, the sins of our forefathers shall be our last line of defense. Whatever you do, do not fall. Our species might not survive our last resort.

    With that now done, String returned her attention back to her dying body. Alex hung over her, studying her very closely, not saying a word a single word. Seeing this, the chieftain raised her right hand and tried to touch Alex¡¯s face but found the task not within her limits. Realizing this, String spat out a glob of blood that struck Alex right on his forehead.

    Watching as the human reached up and rubbed away the blood, String was somewhat surprised when she heard him say,

    ¡°You¡¯re a spiteful one aren¡¯t you?¡± Alex said before twirling Nike a few times in his right hand and bringing it down.

    SHULK!

    And on that day, at that very moment; String Kujo, the third chieftain of the Penance seeking Oni, died at the hands of Alex, a gifted participating in Recompense.

    HALT

    Alex shivered slightly from the rain pouring across his nude form as he pulled Nike from String¡¯s corpse, no real feeling towards her flowing through his mind.

    Instead, Alex reached up to his amulet and got back into touch with his allies.

    ¡®How is everyone doing?¡¯

    ¡®Death is terrible, I never want to do it again.¡¯ Owen quickly replied, sounding rather stressed at the moment.

    ¡®You¡¯ll have to do it again eventually Owen,¡¯ Alex responded, before quickly adding, ¡®Hopefully no time soon though.¡¯

    ¡®Thanks,¡± Owen said, sounding rather ungrateful, ¡®I needed that.¡¯

    Alex rolled his eyes as Max was the next to respond.

    ¡®Not too bad to be honest. Dying has so far been the least worst part of my day. Though the break in connection and reestablishing of connection with Herah was bit jarring, especially since I¡¯m feeling a lot of motherly fear from her right now.¡¯

    ¡®Glad you¡¯re okay sis,¡¯ Alex said, ¡®Though a bit surprised by your response. Dying was an¡­ Unsettling experience for me.¡¯

    ¡®Maybe I¡¯m just more resilient than you in that way, brother,¡¯ Was all Max said in response.

    Alex felt a bit surprised by Max¡¯s response, but chalked it down to her just being irritated at him still.

    ¡®Death wasn¡¯t too bad for me, since I got to talk with La Flamme for a bit.¡¯ Herah spoke sounding on edge and worried, ¡®Though one of the effects of it is really fucking with me right now.¡¯

    Alex let out a groan before asking Herah, in a severely irritated tone.

    ¡®Will it interfere with phase 3 of our plan too much?¡¯

    ¡®It will interfere very much,¡¯ Herah said, now sounding a lot more worried than before.

    ¡®What happened Herah?¡¯ Max asked, sounding just as worried as Herah.

    HALT

    Herah stood within a massive crater lined with hundreds upon hundreds of Moons that looked down on her with very surprised and confused expressions. Herah herself had all of her clothing now gone and her hair down once again. The youngling also had a little something new held to her chest. Jeffery floated protectively above her, with control having been handed back, the writing utensil on just as high alert as their creator at the moment.

    ¡°Dah, dah dah, dah, dah, dah.¡± A very young and blissfully ignorant voice called from with Herah¡¯s gasp.

    Herah looked down to what filled her hands, tears of joy and fear falling from her eyes at the sight that greeted her. In response to Herah looking at them, they stared back up at her with a small giggle leaving their mouth as they reached up with their stubby and short arm, pulling at a stray lock of her hair.

    ¡°Dammit!¡± Herah shouted at herself more than anyone else as a matching pair of slit, emerald stared into her own, ¡°I wanted to wait way longer to complete this part of my list.¡±

    ¡®What happened Herah?¡¯ Max asked, her worried voice sounding wonderfully soothing to the youngling, who could only respond with a single sentence at the question asked.

    ¡®I¡¯m a mother now.¡¯

    </article>

 The Slave is Still Bound

    ¡®Explain.¡¯

    Alex did his best to make his ire as clear as possible as he stood completely still, the bone-chilling rain that covered his skin and the toe freezing mud he stood in not even registering in his mind.

    ¡®When a Cendreux dies, their body turns to ashes.¡¯ Max, surprisingly enough, replied, ¡®From these ashes, a new Cendreux will always be born.¡¯

    Alex only blinked a few times in annoyance before a disturbingly wide smile came to his face.

    ¡®And neither of you thought to mention this to me, for what reason?¡¯

    ¡®I only learned about it while I was napping. It was through a memory of Orange explaining reproduction to Herah, and I didn¡¯t think too hard about it.¡¯ Max said, sounding a little sheepish at her oversight.

    ¡®I figured that when I came back that the baby would not be here!¡¯ Herah defended herself still sounding worried and afraid.

    ¡®Well it didn¡¯t!¡¯ Alex snapped back, ¡®And now we have to deal with your stupid kid!¡¯

    ¡®Don¡¯t you dare call ¨¦carlate stupid!¡¯ Herah shouted back, now sounding furious.

    ¡®Oh you already named it!? Well that¡¯s great! ¡® Alex said condescendingly before becoming deathly serious, ¡®Now get it out of your hands, it¡¯s putting both you and itself in danger right now.¡¯

    ¡®What do you suggest then?¡¯ Owen cut in, sounding nearly as worried as Herah.

    Alex let out a sigh before asking Herah,

    ¡®What¡¯s your current situation?¡¯

    ¡®I¡¯m standing in the center of a crater with several hundred Moon¡¯s surrounding the edge of it.¡¯ Herah replied.

    ¡®Where are you Max?¡¯ Alex asked.

    ¡®With Owen,¡¯ Max replied sounding a tiny bit confused, ¡®Why is that important?¡¯

    ¡°Herah has cells near Max.¡±

    ¡®Where are you now Herah?¡¯

    ¡®Where am I now? Still in the middle of this fucking crater that¡¯s where!¡¯ Herah thought back in sounding even angrier than before.

    Alex let out a grunt of annoyance.

    ¡®Norwe is stopping me from using my gift to just get you out of the crater, and I can only assume he¡¯ll do the same for Max attempting something like that as well.¡¯

    ¡®Dammit!¡¯ Both Herah and Max shouted over the groups¡¯ mental connection.

    ¡®Shut up complaining you two and give me a few seconds to thin-¡®

    WOOSH!

    Alex whipped around and used Nike to perfectly slice an arrow aimed at his head in half, his perception of time slowing to a crawl as he felt an electrical charge spread from the arrow, to Nike, to himself. Feeling this, Alex flipped Tara into a reverse grip and stabbed himself just as the two split halves of the arrow struck the ground behind him.

    KRAAAK!

    KRAAAK!

    KRAAAK!

    Alex let out a grunt of pain as the twin feelings of having himself both shocked and baked alive filled his mind, his body being trapped within a cycle of destruction and reconstruction that lasted for but a second.

    ¡®That¡¯s weird, I still feel a bit overcharged almost as if I was marked or something.¡¯ Alex thought to himself as soon as he felt the lightning end. ¡®Since I¡¯m not being struck by lightning right now, that probably means this isn¡¯t something that can damage me. I¡¯ll have to see how this affects me further before I can conclude how this works.¡¯

    Stumbling only slightly, Alex walked out of his small crater and looked back towards where the arrow parts had struck. Two craters of similar size to Alex¡¯s now remained, with the split halves of the remarkably well-looking arrow planted in the center of each one.

    ¡®You guys are on your own,¡¯ Alex thought as he looked towards where he knew the arrow to originate from, ¡®I got to handle the remnants of the Oni army and it seems a new Keijo is leading them.¡¯

    ¡®Really?¡¯ Owen asked over the link, before hurriedly following his question with, ¡®Shit! I haven¡¯t been looking at the map! One of the dots within that group of Oni has changed into a pink one¡¯

    ¡®Yeah, it looks like I¡¯ll have to handle it.¡¯ Alex said, dodging between several more arrows that came down from the sky, the subsequent bolts of red lightning being completely ignored by him. As he began to sprint forward, Alex asked, ¡®Owen, what is the distance between me and this last Keijo?¡¯

    ¡®They¡¯re appearing on the outer edges of the map, so you should have about 9 kilometers to go.¡¯

    ¡®Wait! Alex before you go,¡¯ Max called out over their link, now sounding worried once more, ¡®Do you have any idea what we should do with this kid?¡¯

    ¡®Hmm. Give me a second.¡¯

    Once again, Alex slowed his perception of time. With his mind now processing information so fast that the rest of his body seemed to be stuck in a freeze frame, Alex began to think.

    ¡®Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see. Simply trying to pass the kid off to Max or Owen would just endanger all three, I¡¯m pretty sure Norwe would just spit the kid back out if Herah tried to send them back to her room through that backpack of hers, and simply leaving the kid alone while she fought would put it in more danger that it needs to be in.¡¯ A sudden thought came to Alex¡¯s mind, his perception of time returning to its normal speed as he hurriedly turned his head to look towards the blue flames that had managed to encroach upon his battlefield area, all the trees that he dashed past covered in fire, ¡®That¡¯s the perfect place for a child!¡¯

    ¡°That it is, my wonderfully intelligent Soothsayer,¡± Alex felt dread swell up within himself as Norwe the Sloth appeared on his back, furry arms slowly wrapping around his torso as the body connected to them were jostled, ¡°Too bad I¡¯m not allowing you to give them anything more than a hint.¡±

    ¡°Why not, if I might so humbly ask?¡± Alex asked, jumping over an arrow and ducking under another one at the same time and not faltering in the slightest when the lightning bolts struck in their wake.

    ¡°Because if you simply hand them the answers it wouldn¡¯t be any fun. So the only way you can communicate your findings right now, is through charades and saying, ¡°That¡¯s your answer.¡± Norwe gained a lightly threatening tone, ¡± Understood?¡±

    Alex only nodded silently, causing the Maker Sloth to chuckle a quick ¡°Bitch!¡± and disappear off his back.

    Alex felt his fear leave him as he dodged a few more incoming arrows and said,

    ¡°I own matches.¡±

    Alex quickly opened his mouth and bit down, catching the box of matches that had appeared between his teeth. Shifting Tara over to his right hand, Alex continued to dodge the increasing amount of arrows coming at him as he pushed the matchbox open with his tongue. Swiftly reaching up to the box and taking a match out, Alex closed and then turned the box around in his mouth and struck the match.

    ¡°This match is lit with a fire at its tip.¡±

    Even as rain repeatedly struck the fire on the end of the matchstick and Alex ran without slowing or covering it in any way, the flame refused to go out.

    Alex then looked back towards where he figured Herah to be and prepped his hand to throw the match.

    ¡°I¡¯m throwing this to Herah.¡±

    Alex then threw the match, the burning stick sailing high into the air and out of sight within fractions of a second.

    ¡®That¡¯s your answer, Herah.¡¯ Alex thought over the link, only getting a response three seconds later.

    ¡®You gave me a fucking lit match. What am I supposed to do with this?!¡¯

    ¡®Figure it out, but understand that what I say next is a direct order ashbrain.¡¯ Alex shoved his bare feet into the muddy ground beneath him, sliding to a stop just before three arrows struck where he would¡¯ve been if he hadn¡¯t stopped. After tracking the bolts of lighting till the end of their rather short journeys, Alex thought, ¡®I better not see you without that kid when I get back.¡¯

    There was a moment of silence, before Alex heard Herah laugh over their line and reply,

    ¡®I¡¯ll do that happily fuck head.¡¯

    ¡®You need a better nickname, Alex out.¡¯

    Now disconnected from the rest, Alex spit out the box of matches still in his mouth and dodged around four arrows much quicker than any of the earlier ones that came down from the sky and attempted to hit him.

    ¡®With the distance between the two of us, I¡¯m gonna need to speed up much more than I already am.¡¯ Alex thought to himself, just before saying,

    ¡°I can control my speed.¡±

    BOOM!

    Alex felt his bones creak as the sound barrier broke around his body, his speed reaching Mach 5 before Norwe¡¯s voice filled his head.

    ¡®Right there Soothsayer,¡¯ Norwe whispered in Alex¡¯s mind, ¡®Don¡¯t go any faster, give them a chance to take you out. Though this only accounts for how your travel, dodge as you usually do.¡¯

    Alex held back a gulp of fear and found his attention caught by the darkening of the expansive shadow that hung over him. Looking up Alex let out a curse at what now filled much of the sky.

    WOOSH!

    WOOSH!

    WOOSH!

    WOOSH!

    WOOSH!

    Thousands of arrows were now coming down, their speed having increased to near his own.

    ¡®Herah, you better kill Moon by the time I finish this. Or I¡¯m melting your tits again.¡¯

    ONI

    ¡°Hey Corge, could you watch over my shop for a day? My sisters feeling sick and she needs someone to watch over her.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing, that¡¯s why I¡¯m named Corge after all.¡±

    ¡°Thanks! You¡¯re a lifesaver.¡±

    ¡°Before you go, her sickness isn¡¯t too bad is it?¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s just a minor inconvenience. She¡¯ll be fine in a few days.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Hey Mio, where is Haruto? I haven¡¯t seen or heard from him in a while. And are you feeling better?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±

    ¡°Wha- What?¡±

    ¡°The sickness I had, Haruto came down with it himself. However, his immune system wasn¡¯t able to combat it and no amount of praying could save his life.¡±

    ¡°Oh- I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I bet you are.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°It means, that my brother is only the tenth of those to die after having you replace them.¡±

    ¡°Are you implying that I¡¯m causing them to die!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m implying that you¡¯re bad luck. I¡¯m implying that maybe you should only replace the dead or dying. Because they¡¯re the only ones who don¡¯t have a chance of survival.¡±

    ¡°Are you being serious?¡±

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll just take my leave.¡±

    ¡®I hate the fact that you were right Mio.¡¯

    ¡®I hate the fact that no one has ever come back after I¡¯ve substituted for them.¡¯

    ¡®And I hate the fact, that I¡¯m now subbing for my best friend.¡¯

    ¡®I hate it all.¡¯

    With her original flood of tears now puny drips in the corner of her eyes, C.C. let only a sniffle leave her as she got back to ordering the Oni soldiers under her command.

    ¡°Get me more arrows on the double! And start loading those catapults, I¡¯ll ground them when they¡¯re ready to fire!¡±

    C.C. stood in the lead of her brethren, an electrically charged longbow in her hands and a nearly empty quiver of arrows strapped to her back. The Oni behind her were moving frantically, a small few bringing quivers to C.C.¡¯s sides while the rest were busy readying their catapults that sat just behind her to fire.

    Drawing out a single arrow, C.C. brought the tip of the projectile to her lips and gave it a light kiss.

    PZZZT!

    A jolt of electricity suddenly started where C.C.¡¯s lips met the arrowhead, traveling up the nerves on the left side of her face to her left eye. Once done with this trip, C.C.¡¯s eye turned from pitch black to electric pink back to pitch black. With this change in eye color now complete, C.C. strung her arrow and aimed upwards in the direction she assumed Alex to be.

    ¡°Norwe, may you allow my aim to hold true.¡± C.C. whispered to herself just before another jolt of energy passed through her, this time from her brain to her hands to her bow and finally into what she had nocked. Releasing her arrow into the sky, her shot disappeared from her sight before even a second could past. Then C.C. blinked, and her left eye returned to it¡¯s pink coloring. With this change, C.C. became acutely aware of the exact location of the arrow she had just shot and everything within a certain distance of it. Within the span of two seconds, her arrow had already sailed half of the distance she had intended for it to fly. It would take two seconds more for her arrow to reach its target.

    ¡°Dammit.¡± C.C. cursed to herself, as she watched Alex whip around and cut straight through her arrow and stab himself with his healing knife before the split halves of her shot could strike the ground and trigger her gift, Grounded. ¡°I didn¡¯t think he could be anywhere close to that speed.¡±

    C.C. then let out an exasperated huff, before allowing a small grin to come to her face.

    ¡°At least I¡¯ll be able to keep track of him now that he¡¯s been marked.¡±

    C.C. felt her awareness of her first shot leave her, this attention now being given to Alex as she rapidly nocked and loosened several more arrows towards him. C.C. felt her anger at Alex rise as he continued to dodge her arrows.

    ¡®I¡¯ll kill you for what you did to String you bastard!¡¯ Thoughts like these went through C.C.¡¯s mind as she watched Alex began rushing forward, dodging past a few more of her arrows before suddenly whipping his head to the side where blue flames had managed to just spread seemingly undaunted by the ever-present rain.

    ¡®Why did a furry monster just appear on your back?¡¯ C.C. thought to herself as Alex seemed to falter slightly before avoiding two arrows that she thought for sure were going to hit him.

    ¡°Fully loaded Chieftain C.C.!¡± A lean and tall, tan skinned Oni called from behind the Keijo just as she loosened several more arrows towards Alex.

    ¡®I wish you wouldn¡¯t call me that.¡¯, C.C. thought to herself as she wordlessly turned around and quickly moved past the arrows around her feet towards the first loaded catapult. With a single light tap, the bolder that was held within was grounded. C.C. did the same for the other boulder before returning her attention to Alex, who was now biting down on a box of matches. Finished with her preparations C.C. reached up to her quiver and found it empty. Dashing back to where she had originally stood, C.C. swiftly strung up, grounded, and loosened thirty arrows. Even with the dramatic increase in projectiles, Alex dodged every single one, even stopping just before the three C.C. had purposely made fall short.

    ¡®I need to get faster,¡¯ C.C. thought to herself wearing a grimace. ¡®But how?¡¯

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you use your gift on yourself?¡±

    C.C. jolted in shock and a brief flash of fear when she felt the hands of a small furry creature wrap around the area just above her chest. As the creature did this, C.C. noticed that everything around her began to slow until it was at a stop.

    ¡°Norwe is that you?¡± C.C. asked a bit freaked out at the apparent stopping of time.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°What are you right now?¡±

    ¡°A sloth.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a sloth?¡±

    ¡°Me.¡±

    C.C. just blinked to herself a few times before shaking her head and asking,

    ¡°What do you mean, use my gift on myself?¡±

    ¡°The way in which Grounded works, great name by the way, is that it turns whatever you charge into a lightning rod that will call down a bolt of lightning whenever it stops moving and is touching the ground.¡± One of the furry limbs wrapped around C.C. began to slowly unwrap.

    ¡°I already know this.¡±

    ¡°That you do, but what you don¡¯t know is that your gift has the side effect of making whatever you ground directly extremely resistant to being damaged by electricity and heat.¡± The limb by this point had begun to inch towards C.C.¡¯s bow-filled hand.

    ¡°So how does grounding myself increase my speed?¡± C.C. asked, a bit unsure at what Norwe was asking of her

    ¡°Well,¡± C.C. heard and felt the light tapping of a claw against her bow, ¡°I¡¯ll just do what I did with String¡¯s weapon all those years ago to your bow, with a bit of a change.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re yo-¡°

    SNAP!

    C.C. felt her bow break in her hand before quickly reforming itself into something new. Looking down at her weapon, C.C. found that her bow had now taken on a much more elegant design. Her weapon had changed from a longbow into a sleek recurve one, with the limbs, riser, and grip white, while the string was red.

    ¡°Now take a few steps forward and ground yourself Sub.¡± Norwe the Sloth said in a vaguely insulting tone.

    ¡°What did you just call me?¡± C.C. asked, sounding a bit peeved by the Maker Sloth¡¯s words.

    ¡°Just do it, I don¡¯t feel like speeding up time around you forever.¡±

    C.C. let out a low curse before taking seven long steps forward, booping her breast, and activating her gift.

    KRAAAK!

    C.C.¡¯s vision flashed red and her eardrums seemed to nearly burst as the bolt of lightning struck her. While C.C. was left blinded and deafened by the bolt, she felt only the barest hints of pain. In fact, C.C. felt only mildly irritated by the bolt striking her. After blinking away all the white dots that filled her eyes, C.C. proceeded to look around and at herself. C.C. found that she was now standing within a small crater with the barest hints of smoke rising up from her body. Looking at the surrounding Oni, C.C. saw that they were still looked as if they were frozen.

    ¡°How do you feel Sub.?¡± Norwe asked, with a slight giggle.

    C.C. said nothing, instead, looking down at her empty hand and clenching and unclenching it. The power she now felt flowing throughout was invigorating, it made C.C. feel millions of time faster and stronger. Looking back up, C.C. felt another grin come to her face as she let out a breath and said,

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling great.¡±

    ¡°Good, because Alex¡¯s has a surprise for you.¡§

    C.C. barely made note of time returning to its normal speed before quickly moving to the edge of her crater where her arrows were just out of reach. Rapidly notching and loosening four arrows as a quick test, C.C. found that their speed had increased to the point that their flight only took two seconds.

    Even still, Alex dodged around these arrows before shooting forward with a sonic boom. Seeing this, C.C.¡¯s eyes narrowed as she raised a hand in accordance to fire the catapults. Before the boulders were even done being launched, C.C. had nocked and loosened over 5000 grounded arrows all aimed at Alex.

    ¡§Try dodging all of that you bastard.¡± C.C. nocked, grounded, and loosened 80 more arrows, ¡°And if you do, you better hope that my little experiment doesn¡¯t work.

    HALT

    Alex inwardly groaned as he was forced to slide under a handful of arrows, before using his left hand to push off the ground with a tight frontward flip over seven more. Quickly landing on his feet, Alex was then forced to zigzag around forty before having to deflect eighteen and stab himself with Tara.

    KRAAAK!

    And this all happened before even the first arrow could hit the ground.

    ¡®Is everyone in that last bit of army firing on me or something?¡¯ Alex thought to himself as he continued his mad dash down the muddy path through the storm of arrows. It seemed almost endless, with Alex being forced to plan out every millimeter that he moved his body.

    Speaking of his body, even with all of his running and sliding through mud and the constantly heavy rainfall, Alex often found his still nude body clean more often then not thanks to the plentitude of lightning that had struck him way more often then he¡¯d prefer.

    Looking up, Alex saw that two boulders were now falling towards him at a much slower pace than all the arrows that he was still dodging.

    ¡®Those shouldn¡¯t be too hard to dodge.¡¯

    Then two arrows struck the boulders.

    KRAAAK!

    KRAAAK!

    The boulders fragmented as the lightning struck them, their remaining shards now going faster than the surrounding arrows while also striking them and creating a chain reaction of increasing and decreasing the speed of any they struck.

    ¡°Did you really think that with me as your maker. That¡¯s just begging to be jinxed.¡± Norwe the Sloth said to Alex, reappearing on his back for but a moment before disappearing.

    Alex paid no mind to this and instead slowed his perception of time once again, his focus solely on the death that was falling from above.

    ¡®If I take drop speed, the rain, angle changes, and the wind into account, where I need to hit is right- THERE!¡¯

    Just as Alex returned his perception of time to normal, he threw Nike towards a seemingly inauspicious falling rock shard. As soon as Nike struck the rock, both the dagger and shard bounced off of each other and into several arrows and other rock shards. This continued until a very clear counter chain reaction to the previous one had begun, leading to all the falling arrows and rock shards that got anywhere close to Alex to just miss him without any real dodging on his part being required.

    ¡®Well that won¡¯t be a problem for a while at least, and without the need for dodging I should be there in about two seconds now- ¡®

    KRAAAK!

    KRAAAK!

    KRAAAK!

    KRAAAK!

    KRAAAK!

    ¡°OH COME THE FUCK ON!¡±

    Alex hopped slightly before slamming his feet into the ground-

    BOOM!

    -a crater nearly twelve times his size forming at his sudden stopping.

    Alex was then forced to once again begin his furious dodging as he slowly moved his way up to the edge of the crater that he had created and towards his reasoning for stopping.

    ¡°Looks like I¡±m gonna have to find a way around this.¡± Alex said to himself as he contorted his body around seventeen arrows and deflected three. Before Alex was a line of eighty arrows being struck by bolt after bolt of lighting, with the window of time between each strike being near non-existent.

    Alex looked towards the side of the forest covered in flames as he continued to dodge around the ever falling arrows intent on skewering him.

    ¡®Nope, too difficult and annoying to navigate as is and getting rid of any of that fire would endanger Herah¡¯s kid¡­ If she was smart enough to figure it out.¡¯

    Alex turned to the other side of the surrounding forest before shaking his head no once again.

    ¡®I run the risk of upsetting whatever Max did over there.¡¯

    Alex turned his eyes to the sky.

    ¡®So I only have two options to go. If I do air, I have a lot more maneuverability and detecting arrows becomes a lot easier. However, lighting becomes an even greater problem and if I do get hit I¡¯m probably going down. I could always just control electricity to mitigate lighting entirely, but Norwe would most likely either buff the enemy or debuff me in steed of that. ¡®

    Alex¡¯s eyes then went to the ground.

    ¡®Using those tunnels Owen made makes my travel path more difficult to discern and if I¡¯m being tracked through something in the air then I¡¯ll probably turn invisible to them.¡¯ Alex concentrated on the slight overcharge that still filled him, ¡®That¡¯ll definitely help me determine what this thing does. There is also the potential benefit of the chance of the arrows having a much more difficult time getting through to me and the chance that many wouldn¡¯t actually make it to me. However, I could just end up setting myself up for a dangerous trap and might end up blind to their arrows, among other things. Though-¡®

    Alex focused on the feeling of his feet moving through the mud beneath him, concentrating specifically on the vibrations that the arrows landing near him created.

    ¡°I can feel the arrows striking the earth.¡±

    Alex let out a breath as a tingle ran up his spine and the feeling of a new sensory input began to enter his mind. With every arrow that struck the ground, Alex was now able to tell how hard they struck, exactly when they would stop, and where they were going.

    ¡®Owen,¡¯ Alex thought, the knuckles of his left-hand lightly rapping his amulet, ¡®I need your help real quick.¡¯

    ¡®Alex!¡¯ Owen responded sounding both glad and a bit worried, ¡®Oh man, do I have something to tell you.¡¯

    ¡®Is Herah or Max dead?¡¯ Alex asked, slowly moving back into his crater as the arrows began to become too numerous near the lightning wall.

    ¡®No, but-¡®

    ¡®Is Moon dead?¡¯

    ¡®Well the answer to that question is kinda funny-¡®

    ¡®Yes or no?¡¯

    ¡®No.¡¯

    ¡®Is my help an absolute must right now?¡¯ By this point, Alex had neared the center of his crater.

    ¡®Not yet.¡¯

    ¡®Then as much as I would like to make small talk with you, I need the location of the nearest tunnel you created stat.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s directly under you, approximately a mile deep into the ground before you¡¯d reach it.¡¯ Owen quickly thought back, ¡®Do you need me to create an entrance for you?¡¯

    ¡®No need, and thanks for the help Owen.¡¯

    ¡®No problem Alex, always happy to help.¡¯

    ¡®Alex out.¡¯

    Now done with his conversation, Alex slightly crouched and then leaped off the ground.

    BOOM!

    Alex¡¯s newly deepened crater was left behind as he bent and contorted his body around the hail of arrows that he now flew past until high above the treetops. By that point, Alex told himself,

    ¡°My target is the ground.¡°

    Alex turned to face the ground and reared back his fist, before snapping the appendage and subsequent limb forward faster than even his own eyes could track.

    BOOM!

    ¡®Well, that definitely dug to where I wanted.¡¯ Alex inwardly mused to himself, the twenty-foot wide hole in the ground beneath him so deep that he couldn¡¯t even see the bottom.

    ¡°I¡¯m falling.¡± Alex said before his body sharply plummeted towards the fresh hole.

    ¡®Hey Owen, I need a quick check of something then I¡¯m leaving again.¡¯

    ¡®Oh really, what?¡¯ Owen responded, sounding a bit curious.

    ¡®How deep is the hole I just created?¡¯

    ¡®Two miles.¡¯ Owen thought back, with little delay.

    ¡®Holy shit.¡¯ Alex thought to himself, a bit surprised, ¡®Thanks for the help again.¡¯

    ¡®No problem. Good luck!¡¯

    ¡®Thanks and Alex out.¡¯

    WOOSH!

    CLANG!

    CLANG!

    CLANG!

    CLANG!

    Sparks briefly illuminated the pitch black tunnel that Alex was falling through as he deflected several arrows that had come down from the sky.

    ¡°I¡¯m falling towards the tunnels.¡±

    Alex felt his body slightly shift towards one of the walls to his left as he continued to fall.

    ¡®Let¡¯s see how they handle this one.¡¯

    ONI

    ¡°Corge is nice to see you here.¡±

    ¡°Hello String, how¡¯s your day going?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going fine. Though I know a way it could be going better.¡±

    ¡°Oh, if that¡¯s the case, how can I help you?¡±

    ¡°Follow me.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°So you want me to take a few shots with this bow?¡±

    ¡°Yep, you¡¯ve always had a good eye and your fingers are rather dexterous.¡±

    ¡°How exactly would me doing this make you happier?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t sound so doubtful, just take a few shots and tell me how you feel afterward.¡±

    ¡°Ok then.¡±

    ¡­¡­.

    ¡°Okay, okay. That was pretty fun.¡±

    ¡°I thought you would like it. With that said¡­.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to ask you a question Corge.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re not only my greatest friend-¡°

    ¡°I¡¯m your only friend as you are mine.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me punch you.¡±

    ¡°My bad. You can keep going.¡±

    ¡°As I was saying, your not only my greatest friend but my most trusted ally.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going with this?¡±

    ¡°Corge.¡°

    ¡°Apologies.¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to do Corge is offer you a position by my side.¡±

    ¡­..

    ¡°String you know I don¡¯t like replacing others, especially if they¡¯re still alive.¡±

    ¡°Of course I do, hence why you¡¯re replacing no one.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a position I had created recently that fits you perfectly.¡±

    ¡°What is this position?¡±

    ¡°My right hand.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Neither my father, nor his father ever had anyone they truly felt they could trust. Hence why, to this day, no one has ever stood at the side of the chieftains. I want to change that, because I not only need someone to help me as I lead, but I also trust you enough to give you that much power and control.¡±

    ¡°Are- Are you being serious?¡±

    ¡°Completely. So will yo-OOMMPH!¡±

    ¡°YES! YES! YES! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THIS MEANS SO MUCH TO ME!¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. Now get off of me.¡±

    ¡°NO! I¡¯m gonna keep loving on you.¡±

    ¡°Corge don¡¯t make me hurt you.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll let go.¡±

    ¡­..

    ¡­..

    ¡°Then fucking do it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah okay.¡±

    ¡°By the way, I have something else to offer to you. A gift fitting for someone in the position I¡¯m about to give you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°A last name, you know, that thing that only I or Moon could give.¡±

    ¡°You- You would really do that for me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, and I already have the name picked out.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Combatant.¡±

    ¡®Thank you String.¡¯

    ¡®Thank you for being such a great friend.¡¯

    ¡®Thank you for the name.¡¯

    ¡®And thank you for trusting me.¡¯

    ¡®I won¡¯t disappoint.¡¯ C.C. thought to herself as she furiously fired shot after shot through the ground, all in an attempt to impede Alex. Many arrows were fired directly towards the human, each being dodged or deflected with little issue on Alex¡¯s part.

    ¡®Luckily, those aren¡¯t the arrows that I really care about.¡¯

    C.C. watched as Alex was once again forced to take a different path in the expansive tunnel system that he traveled, often due to either a collapse in the structure or a single arrow creating a wall of lightning.

    ¡®Do you even realize that I¡¯m routing you baka?¡¯ C.C. thought as she saw Alex¡¯s expression slowly become angrier and angrier. ¡®Or do you know already but realize that it¡¯s much too late for you to do anything?¡¯

    C.C. watched as Alex seemed to stumble for a moment, one of his daggers flying forward out of C.C.¡¯s view of him while a ball of white light shot out of his back and away from him to somewhere unknown.

    ¡®I wonder where that light is go- Wait a second! That was the one he uses to heal himself!¡¯ C.C. quickly loaded and fired off an arrow as soon as the dagger entered her area of sight surrounding Alex. This halted his attempt to grab his weapon, which he sped past with a visible but inaudible curse. Alex had also overextended when reaching for his dagger so he stumbled once again, this time launching his other one way away. This caused for a repeat in Alex failing to grab his dagger once again.

    ¡®You¡¯re a dead man Alex,¡¯ Another shot from C.C. forced him to once again change directions, ¡®And soon my friend will be avenged.¡¯

    HALT

    ¡®Okay, so whoever is tracking me is most likely aware of anything within about a meter of myself and is most definitely using that slight overcharge I feel to keep this awareness.¡¯

    Alex spun out of the way of another arrow as it exploded from the roof of the tunnel, before being forced to head down another path due to the one in front of him collapsing as a result of a sudden lightning striking behind him. Alex also made sure to exaggerate his anger, the severe irritation he felt being portrayed as genuine rage.

    ¡®I¡¯ve had nearly four hundred different paths blocked off at this point, with only three viable options left before I¡¯m completely trapped. My opponent is very clearly routing me to get me down a path of their preference.¡¯

    Alex was forced into a frantic dance as more than a hundred arrows began to explode from the roof and, sometimes, the walls of the tunnel. After managing to just barely dodge every single one of them, Alex was once again forced to abandon his path for another one as many more bolts of lighting followed. Another curse left Alex¡¯s lips.

    ¡®So once I reach that path, I need to have figured out how to not only get rid of their sight on me but also how to get past either the collapsed passage or lighting wall they create.¡¯

    Alex then forced himself into a roll, as several arrows had come down aiming for his head, before coming out of the roll into a jump just before several arrows could strike where he would¡¯ve rolled into. Alex was once again forced to abandon the now collapsing path, his face looking like that of a raging bull at this point.

    ¡®Hmmm. What¡¯s the best way to work past this? It needs to be interesting, it needs to be dramatic, it needs to be- THAT¡¯LL WORK!¡¯

    Immediately following this last thought leaving Alex, a single arrow landed ahead of him and began to be repeatedly struck by bolt after bolt of lighting. But instead of slowing or attempting to turn around, Alex said,

    ¡°My speed won¡¯t hurt me or the world around me. I¡¯m aware of myself. I can speak.¡±

    And sped up.

    And sped up.

    And sped up.

    And sped up.

    He sped up until speeding up was no longer logically possible.

    And at this point, Alex felt himself completely filling an infinite number of area across only a single direction. He felt himself filling the area between a star trillions of lightyears away, he felt himself filling the area at the very edge of the universe where a random stop sign read: Jeffery Won! was just floating.

    ¡°I¡¯m in two places at once, and I¡¯m not the original.¡±

    Alex saw himself looking at his own back for but a moment before an arrow struck him in the head and a bolt of lightning incinerated him.

    ONI

    ¡°Got em.¡± C.C. whispered to herself, a small grin coming to her face.

    C.C. let out a pleased huff of breath, a sense of elation filling her as she lost sight of Alex¡¯s ashes.

    ¡°What was that chief?¡± A female Oni, this one magenta skinned and wearing a mossy shirt and bark pants, called out from behind one of the catapult.

    C.C. lowered her bow and turned around to face those that remained with a wide smile on her face.

    ¡°I said that I got em-¡°

    SHLUCK!

    ¡°CHIEF!¡±

    C.C. felt a strange pain blossom right between her breast. This feeling was then followed by a thick liquid trickling down from where C.C. felt the pain. Looking down, C.C. found one of Alex¡¯s daggers, the wavy one, portruding from her chest. This got a few confused blinks from C.C., the Keijo¡¯s brain fogging up.

    ¡°Where did-¡°

    ¡°That would be mines.¡± Alex said from behind C.C., the sound of the ground breaking apart soon following as he merged from it behind her. Alex then walked up to C.C., and removed his blade with a single wet sounding yank. C.C. stumbled a bit, her mind fogging up even more as confusion began to be overwritten by nothingness. Even with this, C.C. was acutely aware of Alex as he walked around her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°What?¡± C.C. asked, sounding incapable of much else at the moment.

    ¡°You seem to be a bit confused as to what¡¯s happened, I see. So allow me to enlighten you.¡± Alex said, lifting her chin with the same blade that he had just removed from her back before saying,

    ¡°You¡¯re dead.¡±

    And on that day, at that very moment; Corge Combatant, the fourth and final chieftain of the Penance seeking Oni, died at the hands of Alex.

    Just like her predecessor.

    HALT

    As C.C.¡¯s corpse fell over, Alex turned to face the rest of the gathered Oni. Though Alex wasn¡¯t able to read their expression, the fear that all the Oni around him felt was palpable. No one moved, they all just stared at Alex like sinful humans staring upon the wrathful God.

    ¡®Hmm. I rather like that simile.¡¯

    Alex began to twirl Nike, his eyes rowing over all the Oni with glance before he began to speak once more.

    ¡°Hey, you guys want to see a trick?¡±

    No one moved, even as Alex took a single arrow from one of the only not empty quivers remaining and waved it before all of them. The human felt all their eyes leave him and look towards the arrow he held. Twirling the arrow two times, Alex lightly tossed it into the air before catching it again.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m bet you¡¯re wondering just what exactly the trick was?¡± Alex asked, before allowing a mirthless chuckle to leave him, ¡°Who am I kidding? No, you¡¯re not, you shouldn¡¯t even be able to understand me. And even if you did you still wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I mean you can¡¯t do much with the living when you¡¯re dead.¡±

    Forty headless Oni fell to the ground.

    Letting out a tired sigh, Alex fell on his ass and chuckled, a bit more joyful this time.

    ¡°And I¡¯m done.¡±

    KRAAAKKADOOOOOM!

    The mountaintop that hung near the Oni¡¯s home exploded into rubble, immediately causing Alex to groan. An enormous, bleach white hand shot from the top of the mountain, struggling to break through the chains that bound it.

    ¡°KUUJOOOOOOOOOOOO! ¡± A monstrous yell grated against Alex¡¯s ears.

    BOOM!

    The side of the mountain exploded outwards, with a massive silhouette nearly as tall as the mountain becoming visible through the enormous cloud of debris and dust that filled the sky.

    ¡°Aaah Fuuuuck!¡± Alex shouted as a massive, bleach white-skinned creature with a sack on its head swiped through the cloud that had covered it.

    A Human had just appeared.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like dealing with you right now!¡± Alex shouted, jumping to his feet and reaching towards his amulet, ¡°I¡¯m gonna at least regroup with the others before-¡±

    KRAAAKKADOOOOOM!

    Alex was immediately on alert, though he found that nothing else had appeared yet.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me-¡± Alex¡¯s eyes immediately snapped upwards to another massive, bleach white-skinned creature, this one without a sack on its head falling from the sky.

    ¡°Motherfuck-¡°

    THOOOOOMMM!

    Alex got low to the ground and covered his head as the ground beneath his feet was broken and shattered and a wave of dust washed over him.

    ¡°The dust is clearing.¡±

    Almost immediately, all the surrounding dust dispersed, allowing Alex to find that the newest addition to the fight had landed only a step away from where he now stood.

    A step for a Human at lest.

    ¡°Oh no, oh fucking no.¡± Alex told himself as he picked himself up and tried to find an easy footing.

    ¡°Well look at that,¡± Norwe the Sloth appeared a few feet away from Alex, lying atop some rubble, ¡°It looks like they had one last gift for you. How do you plan on handling this one, Soothsayer?¡±

    ¡°After I flay this fucker¡¯s very being, I¡¯m not doing shit else for the rest of day.¡± Alex told himself, not even hearing what Norwe said to him or seeing the Maker Sloth at all. After finding a somewhat stable foothold, Alex dropped Nike to the ground and said, ¡°You can hear and understand me.¡±

    Cupping his hands to his mouth, Alex shouted out,

    ¡°Hey Doughboy! I want to ask you a question?!¡±

    The Human looked down at Alex before letting a snarl leave its mouth. Saying not a word, the Human reared back its right fist and swung it down towards Alex.

    KAABOOOMMMM!

    ¡°Hey, asshole.¡±

    The Human looked to their left shoulder, finding that Alex now stood there looking back at it with an expression of complete and utter irritation, his eyes glowing green as a controlling and guiding Presence was felt coming from him.

    ¡°Allow me to show you a little something before I ask that question of mine.¡±

    Alex held out his left hand, an orb of light floating up from within it. The Human reacted to this by opening its mouth and beginning to intake air. But before the Human could even take a slight huff. Alex cut it off.

    ¡°AXIOM!¡°

    A flash of light engulfed the pair in both of their entireties. As this occurred, the light ripped away at both of their very beings, stripping away the layers that made them up. It stripped away their flesh, their minds, their thoughts, their souls, until only something remained. By the time the pair had reached this point, concepts no longer applied to them and reality was but an illusion. And it was only at this point, in which one of the somethings asked a question.

    ¡°What are you?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    And with that response, the something that responded became absorbed by the something that had questioned. Afterwards, the layers that had made up this something were once again added until the flash of light finally cleared and all that remained was Alex, standing alone with heavy breaths and smoke wafting off his naked body. Turning towards the only human to remain, Alex once again fell onto his ass and reached towards his amulet, thinking only one sentence.

    ¡®I hope you guys are done with Moon, because that final human is all yours.¡¯

 The Name of the Illustration Is

    ¡®Okay, do you two have any idea what this match means?¡¯ Herah asked Owen and Max, a shiver running through her as hard rain pelted her scaleless, naked body.

    The youngling was still in the center of the crater that had formed in the wake of her rebirth, ¨¦carlate held tightly to her chest and Jeffery still floating over her protectively.

    ¡®No.¡¯ Owen thought back.

    ¡®Sorry Herah, I have no idea.¡¯ Max added.

    Herah¡¯s eyes shifted uneasily as they went from Moon to Moon, wary of any movement the numerous bodies that surrounded her made or might make.

    ¡®If that¡¯s the case, could you two please try to figure it out or think of something else while I stall as long as I can.¡¯

    With twin words of affirmation, Herah disconnected her link from the pair and put the still burning match Alex gave her into the mouth of ¨¦carlate, the baby having been making whining sounds for food.

    ¡°That¡¯s a beautiful child you have there.¡± Moon said, causing Herah to turn towards the body that was speaking, this one looking down on her with a pained expression, ¡°I¡¯m assuming they¡¯re yours?¡±

    Herah looked down at ¨¦carlate, the child looking back up at her with a giggle while reaching up to one of her uncovered teats, attempting to bring it to their mouth.

    ¡°They¡¯re me.¡± Herah said, her eyes narrowing into glare and her nose twitching as her attention returned to Moon.

    Moon seemed visibly surprised by this response, but instead of questioning Herah on it the priest said,

    ¡°I wished that I could say that your child is in no danger from me, but-¡°

    ¡°You¡¯ll do whatever you have to ensure your victory, I know,¡± Herah said, sounding both understanding and furious at the same time.

    ¡°Happy that we understand each other on that point. At least-¡°

    Fire suddenly spewed from Herah¡¯s mouth and nose, quickly igniting both herself and her newly born child before ¨¦carlate inhaled all the fire and let out a happy burp.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try that pollen shit no more Moon.¡± Herah snarled out, smoke shooting from her nostrils at the end of her sentence.

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Herah let another snort of smoke leave her, ¨¦carlate quickly inhaling their mother¡¯s smoke before letting out a whine that caused Herah to briefly direct her attention to ¨¦carlate and put the child to her breast. With ¨¦carlate now pacified, Herah returned her focus to the speaking Moon.

    ¡°Your pollen might be smaller than certain cells but it¡¯s not small enough to hide from my view,¡± Herah quickly added, ¡°If I¡¯m looking for it at least.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m assuming that that was also how you figured out I was alive.¡± The talking Moon said before asking, ¡°When did you discover my survival?¡±

    ¡°While we were planning out our defense, Owen sneezed and muttered about how he hated pollen because it aggravated his allergies. A quick check later and I found some weird ass pollen covering everyone except for myself.¡± Herah pointed towards the speaking Moon while still holding ¨¦carlate to her chest, ¡°I naturally assumed it to be yours and after a bit of thought figured that you used that bench you threw into the hole you had dug through the cathedral floor to reform your body.¡±

    ¡°You are correct,¡± Moon responded, before saying, ¡°I know you¡¯re stalling for time by the way.¡±

    Herah brought her extended hand back to rub her nose as her nostrils flared and more smoke shot from them.

    ¡°Then why are you allowing me to do exac-¡°

    RIZZZZ!

    Herah barely managed to leap back and out of the way of a black drill that burrowed from beneath her original position. Just as the Moon completely emerged from the ground, Jeffery erased them in their entirety.

    Before any other moves could be made by either side, Herah found herself getting an abrupt warning from Max.

    ¡®Find or make cover for yourself NOW!¡¯

    Herah didn¡¯t even hesitate, quickly crouching down to the ground, wrapping herself and ¨¦carlate up in her wings, and covering her head with her left arm while Jeffery began spinning over her. A second later, Herah found it pretty easy to figure out just exactly why Max told her to cover herself.

    CHINK!

    CHINK!

    CHINK!

    CHINK!

    Herah let out a slightly startled grunt as a flood of flaming metal (all of them of varying shapes and sizes) began scraping against and bouncing off of her wings and exposed arm, this being a small percentage of what came down towards her since Jeffery deflected everything else. All around her immediate area, Herah could hear this metal burying into the ground and striking other metal that had already landed. Where the Moon¡¯s had been situated, Herah could hear flesh being pierced and pounded.

    ¡®Max! Where are all these, I¡¯m presuming at least, weapons coming from!?¡¯

    ¡®Deep space.¡¯

    Herah felt a small sense of confusion come over her.

    ¡®Why were they in space?¡¯

    ¡®Shit happens.¡¯

    Herah shrugged, before focusing her attention on what sounded like arrows cutting through the air.

    ¡®Hey Max?¡¯

    ¡®Yeah, Lavatits?¡¯

    ¡®Did any of the Oni in the south company have exploding arrows?¡¯

    ¡®Yeah, why?¡¯

    Herah could only groan as her wings tightened around her in preparation.

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    Herah let out another grunt of annoyance as shrapnel and explosions were added to things that were now pelting her.

    ¡®How many weapons did you put in space?¡¯ Herah asked her annoyance rising as the assault seemed endless.

    ¡®I multiplied everything seven times,¡¯ Max said, sounding just a bit apologetic, ¡®You¡¯re gonna be dealing with that for a while.¡¯

    Herah could only groan and hunker down even further under Max¡¯s relentless assault.

    ¡­¡­¡­

    ¡°How long has this been going on?¡±

    ¡°WAHH!¡±

    ¡°Only a minute, are you sure?¡±

    ¡±ADA!¡±

    ¡°True enough. Should I uncover us now?¡±

    ¡°DA-DA!¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the talk Petit Moi, I think I¡¯m gonna really like you.¡±

    ¡°WAHH!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re adorable.¡±

    Herah unwrapped herself and ¨¦carlate, a completely changed battlefield appearing before her. Numerous smaller craters now filled the giant one that Herah stood within with a literal army worth of destroyed weapons everywhere her eyes went. The population of Moons had also thinned out remarkably with Herah finding that their number seemed to have effectively halved.

    ¡®Of course there are still over 400 Moons remaining, so I¡¯m now just slightly less fucked.¡¯

    ¡®Herah!¡¯ Owen suddenly called out to the youngling, ¡®I have an idea for what you can do with your kid!¡¯

    ¡®There name is ¨¦carlate.¡¯ Herah responded pointedly before quickly asking, ¡®How?¡¯

    ¡®Throw them into your backpack, since it works as a portal to your room ¨¦carlate should be safe.¡¯

    ¡®Good idea! Thanks Owen!¡¯

    Herah quickly swung her backpack off her back, but a Moon suddenly appearing before her with his left arm reared back and in the form of a large butcher knife put her on the defensive.

    SWISH!

    Herah was forced to drop her bag, just barely ducking under the attack before Jeffery could erase Moon¡¯s head. Using the brief stun to her advantage, Herah instantly entered Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet and set Moon alit with a single breath of orange fire from her crouched position.

    One second.

    Flipping and drop-kicking the rapidly burning corpse away, Herah used it as a springboard to land atop of Jeffery¡¯s very center.

    ¡®Spin!¡¯

    Jeffery did exactly that, spinning like before just in time to bisect the eight Moons that had appeared to attack Herah. Though this did little to actually impede her attackers, with each Moon just swinging at Herah with newly morphed limbs. Herah had a simple response to this.

    Fire.

    Herah¡¯s cheeks quickly puffed up before the youngling began exhaling exponential amounts of orange fire that wrapped around her form for a brief instance before violently exploding outwards and engulfing everything within a three-meter sphere of Herah. This left Herah¡¯s eight assailants as burning, bisected corpses.

    Two seconds.

    Herah hopped off of Jeffery and picked up her backpack by the zipper, the bag quickly coming open as thirty more Moons appeared with all but one coming from Herah¡¯s sides while the one not on the ground fell from the sky with their left hand now massive and open to engulf the youngling.

    Jeffery made short work of the 29 ground Moons while Herah gave the giant hand grabbing at her a yellow fireball twice its size to hold onto. Nothing was left remaining of the nine ground Moon¡¯s while the one in the air fell to the ground dying from fire.

    With her backpack now open, Herah gave ¨¦carlate a happy smile before dropping the baby into it.

    Three seconds.

    Three seconds had passed since Owen had told Herah his idea.

    SOAP

    Orange was meditating atop Herah¡¯s bed, his legs crossed and his eyes closed as his focus was on that of the flame within his chest. The flame burnt strongly and was violet, filling Orange with a sense of peace and calm that helped him think clearly and without problem.

    ¡®This is worrisome. Iesha says that Time is getting frantic and worried about the continued attacks, Adam and Eve are both saying that End is getting prepared for something big, and Gina has gone dark ever since herself and Jerry took their trip to theAbyss. This only compounds upon God¡¯s recent ¡°death¡± andDeath¡¯spassing of their role onto that new horsemen. I¡¯m gonna have to get back to work soon it seems.¡¯

    Orange let out a sigh before opening his eyes and running them across his daughter¡¯s room

    ¡®But first I need you to survive this Herah. Because only then could I truly hope to- Why did time just speed up universely?¡¯

    POP!

    ¡°AGAHAHAGA!¡±

    Orange¡¯s scalely arms opened up to catch the newborn that fell from out of nowhere. Looking down at the tiny creature, Orange tilted his head to the side, studying them closely for a few moments before realizing who and what they were.

    ¡°Why hello there ¨¦tincelle.¡± Orange said to the baby with a fatherly grin, ¡°It seems as if I have some new family.¡± Orange¡¯s grin morphed into a slightly troubled expression, ¡°I hope whatever new blood has been introduced to you doesn¡¯t clash too heavily with our own.¡±

    ¡°GAGA!¡±

    Orange softly blew three rings of violet flames that were eagerly inhaled by the child in his arms before softly saying,

    ¡°Through the act of Ash va s¡¯installer, I recognize you as my grandchild and happily welcome you to my family.¡±

    ¡°WAHH!¡±

    ¡°Oh you¡¯re just adorable.¡± Orange said to the baby, before raising one of his newly elongated talons to his mouth. Pricking his tongue lightly and making sure that blood stained his claw before setting the tip alight with a flame as red as the blood that it covered. Bringing his bloody claw down to the newborn¡¯s forehead, Orange scrawled a rune of Parole de le Br?lant.

    ¡°La flamme doit prot¨¦ger.¡°

    FWOOSH!

    The rune spontaneously caught fire, before just as spontaneously burning away.

    ¡°Hopefully I get to see you again, next time in the arms of your mother.¡±

    ¡°BU-¡°

    Orange blinked and the baby was gone.

    ¡°Rester en s¨¦curit¨¦.¡± Orange sighed and rubbed the back of his head, ¡°Now a new dilemma is how to tell Rouge about her new grandparent status.¡±

    WHAM!

    Orange¡¯s hand shot up and easily caught the unhinged door flying towards him, another sigh leaving him at the appearance of his wife.

    ¡°I¡¯M A FUCKING WHAT!?¡± Rouge shouted as indigo fire began to pour from her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.

    Orange dropped Herah¡¯s door onto the floor before turning to Rouge and giving her a simple reply as a grin came to his face.

    ¡°Well, now you don¡¯t have to worry about Herah not having a kid before death.¡± Orange made a quick tilt of his head while also making a tsk sound, ¡°Kinda.

    HALT

    Zipping up her backpack and throwing it onto her back, Herah surrounded herself in a shroud of blue flames before thirty Moons appeared around her. Before even a thousandth of a second could past, all but three of the Moon¡¯s was eradicated by Jeffery. Grabbing Jeffery from above her by their tip, Herah split the Moon coming from her front in half with a single downward swing. The youngling then hopped over a leg sweep before spinning and kicking the offending Moon¡¯s head, said head exploding at the force of Herah¡¯s strike. The final Moon had been coming at her at the same time, so Herah was forced to use Jeffery to block his punch.

    BOOM!

    The sound barrier broke as Herah was launched into the sky, dirt and ash following her in her sudden flight. Herah righted herself in the air and got a good look at the few dozen Moons jumping after her.

    ¡®Okay,¡¯ Herah thought while touching her amulet, ¡®Now that ¨¦carlate is out of the way-¡®

    Herah¡¯s nose wrinkled as a sudden scent hit it, the rapidly approaching Moons forgotten as her attention went eight kilometers to her right while her ears picked up a noise that filled her with dread.

    ¡°-BA!¡±

    ¡°MY KID!¡± Herah shouted, her eyes widening and a wave of fear and worry filling her at the sight and sound of ¨¦carlate falling from the sky. Without a second thought, Herah unfurled both of her wings and flapped them once.

    BOOM!

    Before any of the Moons could reach Herah, they were all forced away by sonic boom that was created when the youngling suddenly rocketed to the right.

    ¡®What¡¯s happened Herah?¡¯ Max asked, her own worry only making Herah¡¯s worst.

    BOOM!

    Out of the corner of Herah¡¯s eye, one of Moon¡¯s bodies began zooming towards ¨¦carlate from a much closer distance than herself. Herah let out a growl before giving a single mental command to Jeffery.

    WOOSH!

    The Moon¡¯s head exploded as Jeffery fired through it, leaving Herah free to catch and gently hold ¨¦carlate to her chest.

    ¡°WAAHH!¡± ¨¦carlate shouted happily before giggling with a smile on their face, causing Herah to softly pet her child, feeling a bit surprised by the newborn¡¯s sudden lack of hunger.

    Herah paused in her flight to hover over the forest and look down on it.

    The entire landscape had been affected by Max¡¯s attack from earlier, with only small pockets of greenery remaining across Herah¡¯s and Moon¡¯s battlefield. The rest of the land was scarred with a diverse range of craters of varying shapes and sizes. Smoke also billowed up from the many,manyfires that dotted the land, though they wouldn¡¯t last long under the constant rain.

    ¡®¨¦carlate is back.¡¯ Herah told Max and Owen.

    ¡®How?¡¯ Owen asked.

    ¡°You can thank me for that.¡±

    Norwe the Sloth appeared floating a few inches in front of Herah with a lazy wave of one of their claws.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that baby of yours at all,¡± The Maker Sloth said with no little amount of surprise, ¡°And I¡¯m definitely not letting something as entertaining as a defenseless kid ou-¡°

    Herah, rage washing out any other feelings within her, grabbed the Maker Sloth by there head and brought their throat to her mouth before tearing into it. A wet gurgle and spray of blood filled the air as ¨¦carlate giggled within Herah¡¯s grasp. Herah then commanded Jeffery to completely erase Norwe the Sloth¡¯s body, before turning her head to the sky and letting out a roar that filled the air.

    ¡°RAAWWWWRRRRRR!¡°

    A pillar of blue flames erupted from Herah¡¯s mouth, nose, eyes, and ears turning the sky a light and vibrant blue before disappearing into the clouds.

    ¡®Herah, what was that?¡¯ Owen asked, most definitely having heard the shout and seen the light show.

    ¡®A shout of rage and an attack.¡¯

    With those words, hundreds upon hundreds of boulder-sized balls of blue flames began raining down and through the clouds. Herah watched as her attack took out the last remnants of green across anything within a 4-kilometer radius and increased the size of any craters that they struck.

    ¡®It was also a potentialy deadly mistake.¡¯

    With that thought, Herah¡¯s shroud dissipated and her body began to fall from the sky after exiting Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet. Taking a split half second to check herself, Herah found her inner flame burning much weaker than before.

    ¡®What do you mean a mistake Herah?!¡¯ Max shouted worriedly over their link.

    ¡®I¡¯ve exhausted Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet with that last little roar of mines.¡¯ Herah responded feeling tired though still holding a giggling ¨¨carlate close to her chest, with Jeffery catching Herah by the stomach before they could fall too far.

    ¡®Why would you do that!?¡¯ Max mentally shouted at Herah.

    BOOM!

    ¡®Because I wasn¡¯t thinking my actions through and now I¡¯ve nearly fucked myself.¡¯ Herah thought back tiredly while raising her head to see multiple Moons jumping up at her.

    ¡®What about Jeffery? Can¡¯t they help you?¡¯ Max asked, causing Herah to let out a mental sigh.

    ¡®No. What I just did was essentially set my own trap.¡¯ Herah took a deep breath and fired off a large ball of red flames that engulfed and killed all the Moons jumping at her.

    BOOM!

    Ten more soon replaced them.

    ¡®But doesn¡¯t Jeffery care about you?!¡¯ Max thought back sounding even more worried then earlier.

    ¡®Of course they do, but unless its impossible for me to get out of this on my own, I¡¯m getting no help from them.¡¯ Herah thought back firing off another ball of flames that managed to exterminate the group of Moon¡¯s coming at her.

    ¡®Let me try something- Dammit! Norwe¡¯s blocking me again!¡¯ Max shouted now sounding furious.

    ¡®Calm down Max, I got two backups.¡¯ Herah thought back, adjusting her position atop of Jeffery to be standing. Maintaining a shaky balance, Herah watched as more Moons jumped up towards her, this time coming from multiple directions.

    ¡®Why-¡® Max somehow mentally sputtered, ¡®Why didn¡¯t you say that before?! Owen and I was worried sick!¡±

    ¡®Actually,¡¯ Owen cut in, ¡®I figured Herah had something since earlier she-

    Herah let out a mental growl, before quickly soothing ¨¨carlate who had began to cry at the sound made by their mother.

    ¡®I mean her words earlier were talking about how it potentially ended badly for her.¡¯

    ¡®Why did you wait so long to let me know?¡¯

    ¡®I was busy thinking of what we¡¯re going to do with ¨¨carlate now that they¡¯re back.¡¯

    ¡®Put that thought on hold for a second,¡¯ Herah thought, ¡®I need to initiate one of my backups. Herah out!¡¯

    Just as Herah left the mental link, four Moons reached her; one with both of their arms morphed into tendrils, another with their body covered in spikes, one other with curved blades emerging from their arms, and the final with their hands as massive claws. The Moon with tendril arms wrapped one around Jeffery before swinging themselves atop the pencil and attempting to wrap their other tendril around her neck. Just as the tendril was an inch away from Herah¡¯s neck, one of the last of Herah¡¯s red tattoo hands emerged from her face and caught it.

    ¡°Nani!?¡±

    BOOM!

    Herah, ¨¨carlate, and all the surrounding Moons were engulfed in a fiery explosion that incinerated everything not Jeffery or Cendruex. Before the fire could dissipate, Herah inhaled the flames. Feeling rejuvenated, Herah let a smirk come to her before looking down to ¨¨carlate and tickling their chin. This caused for the giggling baby to burp out a single ring of violet fire that the new mother inhaled.

    ¡°Thank you Petit Moi.¡± Herah said to her child, feeling completely refilled, ¡°I¡¯m lucky dad, by the taste of it, gave you more fire than you needed.

    ¨¨carlate just let out a cheery giggle and smiled widely at Herah. Herah smile back and reached up to her amulet.

    ¡®Any new ideas about our current predicament?¡¯

    ¡®You could always physically bring the kid to us.¡¯ Max answered not sounding too sure of the idea herself.

    ¡®That wouldn¡¯t work.¡¯ Herah responded shaking her head while reentering Renaissance ¨¤ son Somme, ¡®¨¨carlate might react negatively to you two since you¡¯re not familiar. And since I would have to bring them to you myself, Moon could easily follow.¡¯ Herah paused for a moment, ¡®While only one can make it to the clearing at any given time thanks to thatfibyou told yesterday, one Moon near you is still dangerous.¡¯

    ¡®Dammit! Owen do you have any ideas?¡¯

    ¡®Sorry nothing is coming to mind.¡¯

    BOOM!

    Herah found her attention suddenly caught by the sight of a group of nine Moons jumping towards her, once again in a single clumped up group.

    ¡®I gotta go, why don¡¯t you guys stop thinking about ¨¨carlate¡¯s safety and instead come up with some way to take out Moon. Even with this many bodies under his control, I¡¯m pretty sure there is at least one body nowhere close to us. We need some way to take them out in a single fell swoop that Norwe will allow.¡¯

    ¡®Are you sure Herah?¡¯ Max asked, emotions of worry and uncertainty flowing through her emotional connection with Herah.

    ¡®Yeah, I¡¯ll just find some way to get ¨¨carlate to cover on my own. Herah out.¡¯

    Herah then took a quick breath before firing a ball of orange flames towards the encroaching Moons. But instead of the ball of fire engulfing them and that being the end of it, six Moons covered in the organic armor from his last fight with Herah shot through the flames. Herah covered herself in another shroud of fire before hopping back towards Jeffery¡¯s eraser and hooking a foot under it. Tilting the pencil¡¯s head downward, Herah took her foot from beneath Jeffery¡¯s eraser and used it to kick her creation straight through the head of one of the armored Moons.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡®Gotcha!¡¯ Herah thought, noticing the collective faltering of all six Moons before launching herself towards them with a sonic boom while calling Jeffery back through the head of another one of them. With the extended paralysis, Herah was able to grab Jeffery with her left-hand and slam feet first into the chest of one of the armored Moons that still had a head. On immediate impact, this Moon¡¯s torso exploded in a shower of blood, gore, and black skin. Reducing whatever bits of Moon got near her into ash, Herah shot towards the ground. Bracing herself and forcing the back of ¨¨carlate¡¯s head into her breast, Herah slammed into a small crater tripling its size and launching a cloud of dirt into the air.

    ¡®What to do with you? What to do with you Petit Moi?¡¯ Herah thought to herself before looking up as the two headless Moons used the torsoless one to regrow their heads. All five of the Oni priest then lessened their armor to grow a pair of leathery looking wings. With these new additions, all the Moons halted their ascents and turned to face Herah.

    BOOM!

    With a powerful flap of her wings, Herah shot out of the crater just as the priests slammed into it. While flying through the air, Herah flipped upside down and fired off several fist-sized indigo fireballs at her pursuing targets. Three shots struck two of the Moons, one being struck in only the head while the other took a shot in the chest and left arm. Starting from where the balls had struck, the priest were engulfed in their entirety and reduced to ash.

    Flipping herself back up, Herah shot off into the sky with now only three Moons on her tail. Leaving Jeffery in the rain clouds while flying past the cloud and into the clear blue sky, Herah paused and waited.

    Before even a second could go by, the three priests with three new armored additions flew through the clouds and towards Herah. Before the last one could even leave the clouds fully, Herah launched herself back down while also calling Jeffery up to fire through one of their heads. Dipping into the clouds for but a moment, Herah shot back out and towards the nearest Moon. Just as Herah reached this Moon, the youngling turned only the fire surrounding her left arm indigo and bashed it into this priest¡¯s head. Completely eviscerating the head with her strike, Herah moved onto the next and then the next leaving only six sets of ashes to fall back to the ground.

    ¡®Jeffery, could you do me a favor and impede any Moon who tries to get up here?¡¯

    Herah got an image of herself giving a thumbs up before Jeffery disappeared below the clouds.

    With that out of the way, Herah exited Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet, crossed her legs, and began to think.

    ¡®I need to find somewhere safe for you that Moon can¡¯t access. Which means some alternate dimension, somewhere off planet, or somewhere that would be too hot for him to try and traverse. Norwe sees an alternate dimension as too cheap and easy, and neither you nor I can breathe in space yet.¡¯ Herah looked down to the bracelet on her wrist, the amethyst that had sat atop it having yet to fully reform. ¡®And the Gasshbenirium armor isn¡¯t available to me yet. Which leaves us with a very hot place.

    With one hand, Herah reached up to her backpack, unzipped it and pulled out her sketchpad and a pencil. Setting ¨¨carlate in her lap (the baby wiggling joyfully in their mother¡¯s lap), Herah took her pencil into her other hand and quickly drew out an eye patch without a strap and a flame symbol on it. This was then joined by an orb about the size of an eye. Tapping both images with her knuckle, Herah felt her the claw on her left pinky toe turn to paint as Traduire activated.

    The eye patch came out black with the flame drawn upon it appearing white, while the eye-sized orb came out a grainy grey with a somewhat rough texture. Tossing her pencil into the hand holding her sketchpad, Herah took both the orb and eye patch off her sketchpad before throwing it and her pencil back into her backpack. Zipping up her bag, Herah placed the eyepatch over her left eye and felt it secure itself in place with a few needle pricks.

    ¡°Accorde-moi l¡¯?il du troisi¨¨me et j¡¯abandonnerai le mien.¡± Herah said while wiping away the bits of blood that trickled down her face.

    SPLOOCH!

    Herah let out an annoyed grunt at the feeling of a slight tingle filled her as her left eye was sucked into the void of her eyepatch. Once her eye was gone, the flame on her eyepatch and the eye-like orb in her hand both caught fire. After a second, the fire around the orb dissipated and Herah found her vision split. Closing her left eye, the youngling found that her fingers suddenly filled her sight. With a single mental command, Herah forced her new eye to fly out of her hand and down through the clouds.

    After going through the clouds, Herah found herself confronted with the sight of hundreds of Moons on the ground studying Jeffery closely, as the pencil just lazily rotated directly below the clouds.

    Suddenly, fifteen Moons leaped up from the ground and towards the clouds. Just before reaching the clouds, both Jeffery and the airborne Moons disappeared with only Jeffery becoming visible just as quickly as they had disappeared, once again lazily rotating.

    Looking away from Jeffery, the eye-like orb began a survey of the entirety of not just Herah¡¯s and Moon¡¯s battlefield but the entirety of the battlefield for her group vs his.

    ¡®None of those small fires will work and attempting to create an area with a large enough fire is likely to end with me screwed. So I need somewhere that¡¯s already made, that Moon would have absolutely-¡®

    SMACK!

    ¨¨carlate paused in their wiggling to stare up at there mother in confusion, being that Herah had just facepalmed.

    ¡®The match was meant to symbolize the burning trees!¡¯ Herah thought to herself as her single disembodied eye stared at the still burning forest that had been created earlier in the day. ¡®That¡¯s the best place for ¨¨carlate.¡¯

    ¡°True my dear artist.¡±

    Herah looked down into her arms and found that Norwe the Sloth had replaced her kid. Before another word could leave the Maker Sloth¡¯s mouth, Herah spat out a torrent of orange flames that engulfed the entirety of her lap, Norwe included.

    ¡°FUCK OFF!¡±

    ¡°WAAAAHHHHH!¡±

    Herah flinched when her flames revealed a bawling ¨¨carlate still in her lap with a wave of tears pouring from their eyes.

    ¡°Wait! Wait! I wasn¡¯t talking to you Petit Moi!¡± Herah said hurriedly with a panicked look filling her face.

    ¨¨carlate only cried harder while flailing their tiny little limbs about, snot beginning to pour from their nose.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! Mamma never meant to yell at you! Mamma is just an idiot! Please stop crying, you¡¯re going to make me cry.¡± Herah told her child, with tears beginning to prick at her eyes

    ¨¨carlate let out a shrill scream.

    Thinking quickly, Herah breathed out a soft red flame that transformed into a tiny red Cendre that flew in circles in front of the crying babies face. This caught ¨¨carlate¡¯s attention and caused them to peter down to just a few whimpers before a weak giggle followed which quickly turned into full out joyful laughter.

    Herah let out a sigh and a smile came to her face at the sight of her happy child.

    ¡°My dear artist, my dear artist, yelling at your child for absolutely no reason.¡± Herah turned to the floating Maker Sloth with a growl, who now hung over her head wagging a claw at her, ¡°Shame on you.¡±

    Before the youngling could breathe out another blast of fire, Norwe the Sloth¡¯sPresencebegan to poke and prod at Herah causing her to freeze up.

    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve settled down a bit, let me explain to you what needs to happen now.¡±

    With a sudden sense of foreboding filling her, Herah¡¯s pupils dilated into circles and enlarged as ¨¨carlate was reflexively smothered into her chest and her body curled up around her child protectively. An uncharacteristic hiss left the youngling, green fire soon beginning to pour from the sides of her mouth while a hyperfocus over Norwe was established.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Norwe the Sloth said with a chuckle,

    ¡°Those maternal instincts of yours sure are impressive. They¡¯re gonna need to be for what I have in store.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Herah hissed out, the fire emerging from her mouth only getting stronger as her feeling of foreboding grew stronger.

    ¡°While getting the kid to where they need to go, I need you to call off Jeffery and fly low to the ground.¡± The Maker Sloth told Herah with a lazy smirk.

    ¡°No.¡±

    Norwe the Sloth actually gained a brief look of confusion, their head even tilting to the side at Herah¡¯s word.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Herah told Norwe, shaking her head while holding ¨¨carlate even closer to her chest.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s cute,¡± The Maker Sloth said as they floated down to eye level with Herah before a wild and insane grin same to their face, ¡°You would disobey me because you know that my plan doesn¡¯t bode too well for that precious child of yours, am I right?¡±

    Herah merely hissed back at her Maker, the fire pouring from her mouth growing in amount.

    ¡°I really do value rebellion amongst my creations.¡± Norwe the Sloth told Herah with an uncomfortable amount of care and gentleness before lifting a claw and tapping it against the youngling¡¯s forehead,

    ¡°Afterall, rebellion is one of the greatest gateways to my firstborn, Chaos.¡±

    Herah winced as the Maker Sloth slowly dragged their claw across her face, blood pouring from the long slash left in its wake.

    Once done with that, Norwe the Sloth compelled Herah to open up with theirPresence. Once that was done, the youngling was then forced to offer up ¨¨carlate to her Maker.

    Herah began to shake and her breaths began to come much quicker as Norwe¡¯s claw neared her child¡¯s head. ¨¨carlate seemed to sense their mother¡¯s discomfort, shifting restlessly for a few seconds before turning their head toward her with a smile and reaching out to her.

    ¡°UGA-¡°

    POP!

    Herah froze as, before her very eyes, ¨¨carlate exploded with the sound of a wet pop into a shower of blood and organs bathing her torso, arms, and face in gore.

    ¨¨carlate¡¯s gore.

    A newborn¡¯s gore.

    A newborn Cendruex¡¯s gore.

    Herbaby¡¯sgore.

    Once that realization settled in, Herah felt something inside her break as her eyes went back up to the still smiling Norwe. Tears began to pour from her eyes in waves as Herah stared at Norwe with a completely blank expression.

    ¡°But I love rebellion the most, when the rebel gets what they want. Especially, if it¡¯s one over on me.¡± Norwe the Sloth said, no shift in tone at all as they pointed down to Herah¡¯s arms, ¡°Is that what you wanted artist? Your new kid de-¡°

    ¡°Mother I love you.¡±

    Norwe paused at Herah¡¯s hollow, dead words.

    ¡°Father I love you.¡±

    The green flames still pouring from the side of Herah¡¯s mouth began to darken and become blacker.

    ¡°La Flamme I love you.¡±

    Herah¡¯s right arm shot out to her side, Jeffery zooming into it without question before engulfing her in theirPresence, Norwe¡¯s hold over her broken.

    ¡°And I know you all love me. And I know you all understand me enough,¡± Herah felt the signal de fum¨¨e within her throat heat up and burn like a pyre made from a star, ¡°To know that when I forsake you, I do it out of love for another.¡±

    Herah felt her flame go cold, as black fire replaced her green and rage engulfed her. With a lazy twirl of Jeffery, Herah turned her left shoulder towards Norwe and bent her arm to the point that her left elbow pointed at Norwe. Resting Jeffery atop this joint, Herah raised her left leg to the point that her foot rested on her right knee with her wings thumping methodically to keep her hovering in her exact position.

    ¡°Do you really plan on challenging me artist?¡± Norwe asked, having transformed into their six armed state, ¡°Do you really want to face the wrath of a Maker?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Herah told Norwe, a furious frown having marked her face, ¡°Even with my distinct lack of knowledge on Makers, I know that even with Jeffery by my side survival is near impossible. However,¡± A sob ripped at Herah¡¯s throat, tears still flowing heavily from her eyes, ¡°I will bedamnedbefore I just sit here and let you get away with such a crime against me and my family.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re prepared for the consequences of what a battle with me might carry?¡±

    And with that question, Norwe released a wave ofPresenceso thick and strong that it drowned out everything around Herah. Light, sound, direction, and time were submerged within complete and utter chaos with the only other visible thing to Herah being Norwe.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Herah told her Maker without falter, readying Jeffery for an attack they both knew was likely to end in her destruction, ¡°I¡¯ve already set myself up to die from forsaking my mistress, I¡¯ll take whatever you got without a single regret. Because nothing is more important than making you understand just how I feel.¡±

    With that final sentence, Herah¡¯s right arm moved forward (with the assistance of Jeffery) at a speed so fast that light wouldn¡¯t even be able to move a Planck length before her attack was done.

    And she missed.

    Herah¡¯s head snapped upwards as Norwe now floated over her, looking down on her with twinkles in the black holes that were their eyes. And before Herah could make another move, her Maker surprised her.

    CLAP!

    CLAP!

    CLAP!

    Norwe began to applaud Herah with all six of their hands..

    ¡°What are you-¡°

    ¡°My dear, sweet artis- No.¡± Norwe paused their terrifyingly happy voice for a moment before nodding to themselves,

    ¡°Herah, you¡¯ve earned the right to be called by your name. You¡¯ve just managed to become one of the few beings/ hypocrisies that I respect. And that is no easy feat.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Herah told her Maker, her glare only growing intenser.

    ¡°Well, you will care about what I do next.¡± Norwe said before snapping their top left fingers.

    Immediately, Herah felt heat return to her flame and the restoration of the natural laws of the universe.

    ¡°Catch.¡±

    ¡°-UGA!¡±

    Herah threw Jeffery to the side to catch a newly restored ¨¨carlate, the baby seeming confused for a few seconds before letting out a few random babbles and sucking on its toes.

    Fresh tears began to pour from Herah¡¯s eyes as her arms once again wrapped protectively around ¨¨carlate. With a few choked sobs, Herah once again brought her child to her chest, nearly smothering the baby in her bosom as tears of joy flowed from her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I¡¯m so sorry, I¡¯m so sorry, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Herah hurriedly whispered to her child, kissing them on the forehead repeatedly between each apology, ¡°Your mamma is a real dumbass, you know that Petit Moi?¡±

    ¡°WAAAHH!¡± Was the only reply Herah got.

    ¡°You know,¡± Herah returned her attention to Norwe, the Maker back in their sloth form, ¡°Only four other mortals alive right now have this respect. That being your father, two human women by the name of Gina and Iesha, and an extremely unique being by the name of Luthor.¡±

    ¡°Why should I care?¡± Herah asked, letting out a snarl at the Maker Sloth.

    ¡°Because all four of those I mention are important figures for the coming events. And it never hurts to know who¡¯s who.¡± Norwe the Sloth did a lazy wave of their right arm, ¡± But enough about them, I need to tell you what you won!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Herah asked in confusion.

    ¡°I award those who entertain me, and earning my respect is certainly entertaining. So you get three things.¡± The Maker Sloth raised a claw, ¡°One, safe passage to get that glutton of yours to safety.¡± Another claw was raised, ¡°A break from the trials and tribulations of your acts after this one is done.¡± And their last claw was raised, ¡°And three, a bit of info.¡±

    ¡°Which is?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the second most entertaining part of this Recompense to me so far, only beaten by the one who shall abandon me.¡±

    ¡°What does that even mean?¡±

    All Norwe the Sloth did was smile and disappear.

    Herah just rolled her eyes at her Makers actions before ripping off her eye patch and burning it away. Turning to face the burning forest of her creation, Herah was about to shoot off but found herself stopped by two welcome voices entering her mind.

    ¡®Herah!¡¯ Both Owen and Max mentally shouted at the same time, ¡®We have a plan-¡® Both cut off suddenly, before only Max began speaking again, ¡®Okay, you just went through a wide range of emotions within the span of like a second, what happened?¡¯

    Herah could only smile at the worry that was just rolling off of Max before thinking

    ¡®I¡¯ll explain it later, tell me about this plan.¡¯

    ¡®Well, Owen got the foundations of this idea from you saying the word cover-¡®

    HALT

    ¡®Your plan sounds perfect, I should be done with ¨¨caralte and on my way by the time you need me. Herah out.¡¯

    Owen let out a nervous sigh before turning to Max and getting a much less nervous smile in return.

    ¡°So,¡± Owen gulped, ¡°I should probably get ready for my part of the plan, huh?¡±

    Max lost some of her visible nervousness and put on a brave face before bowing down to Owen and patting him on his shoulder with a comforting touch.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll keep us safe.¡±

    Owen nodded to Max with a nervous smile of his own before meekly saying,

    ¡°Okay, why don¡¯t you get us started?¡±

    Max¡¯s smile widened as she looked away from Owen and said,

    ¡°Moon thinks he sees Herah flying away from the battlefield. Moon feels compelled to pursue what he thought he saw with all available resources. We¡¯re invisible to Moon.¡°

    Owen looked at the map still projected by the silver skull he had created earlier, finding that Alex seemed to have gotten halfway to his target and that every dot symbolizing Moon had essentially disappeared from the map.

    ¡®It should be safe for us to move now, though I can¡¯t help but worry that I might screw this up somehow.¡¯

    ¡°Okay Owen, get your hat,¡± Max told the gnome, while tying her coat closed and popping up her collar.

    Owen jolted out of his thoughts and responded with a nod before thrusting one of his hands into the air and mentally calling for his hat to shrink. Within seconds, the blue hat was snug atop its owner¡¯s head its normal size.

    Which also meant that the pair no longer had protection from the rain.

    ¡°FUCK!¡± Owen shouted as rain pelted him also causing him to shiver, ¡°I forgot about this weather.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Max said, holding her coat tight around herself while letting a shiver run through her body, ¡°It freaking sucks.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Owen said, his nervousness returning as he looked to the side, ¡°Why don¡¯t you get us to where we need to be.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re where Herah and Moon were battling.¡°

    Owen flinched as both the scenery around him and his footing changed within an instant. Looking around with Max, the gnome found himself filled with awe at the sight that greeted him.

    Owen and Max now stood within the epicenter of the biggest crater the gnome had ever seen with the edges of the crater seeming to be a mile away. The crater was burnt deeply into the ground with scores of black soot and ash filling all of it, nothing else seeming to have survived the flames that had undoubtedly been the result of Herah. The crater itself was also surprisingly warm and comforting, like his home in fact.

    ¡®I¡¯ve only been away a few days, but I find myself rather homesick already.¡¯ Owen thought to himself as he looked around, the heat of the crater making the cold rain a bit more manageable, ¡®I¡¯m pretty pathetic when I think about it.¡¯

    ¡°How large is this?¡± Owen asked no one in particular, saying the words to distract him from his own thoughts.

    ¡°It¡¯s nearly twice the size of Monaco and you could stack about thirty-three Disneyland¡¯s on top of each other to get out of it,¡± Max answered, not sounding the least bit impressed by the wreckage she saw.

    Owen gave her a surprised look that she seemed confused by for a moment before hastily saying,

    ¡°When you create as much destruction as my brother and I do on a regular basis, you learn how to gauge destruction in general very well. The crater we¡¯re standing in has a surface area of about 6471 acres and it¡¯s around 6700 feet from its deepest spot to ground level.¡± Max began to distance herself from the center, trudging through the ash with slight difficulty, ¡°Throw your hat out already so we can get back to safety.¡±

    Owen nodded to Max¡¯s word, following her in her ascent.

    ¡®I hope this plan we cooked up works, because if it doesn¡¯t both of us are de-¡® Owen shook his head, ¡®Don¡¯t even think about it Owen, the mere thought just might cause you to freeze.¡¯

    ¡°Owen!¡±

    The gnome once again jolted as he turned to face a worried looking Max, who briefly gained a look of sadness before switching back to her worried one.

    ¡°Yeah Max?¡±

    ¡°I called your name three times, are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Owen responded not sounding too sure before shaking his head and nodding it, ¡°I mean yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Max didn¡¯t look convinced, but she said nothing further on it. Instead, Max wiped some rain from her eyes and asked the same question she had before.

    ¡°I was asking you are we far enough yet?¡±

    Owen looked back towards the center of the crater in surprise, not realizing the sizable distance the two had crossed at this point. Shaking his head with a hasty yes, Owen took off his hat and threw it into the air with the mental command to grow.

    BOOM!

    Owen stumbled slightly as his blue hat grew to the point that it would¡¯ve been encompassing three clearings the size of the one that he had been protecting before landing just in arms reach of himself.

    ¡°Owen and I will be teleported away when the situation turns fatal.¡°

    Owen looked back to Max, who now was pulling out the goggles that she had had with her when her and Herah had returned from their attack on the Oni. With the goggles now on, Max gave Owen a nod and he placed his hands upon his hat.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Max asked, her voice tense and on edge.

    ¡®Of course not Max, I¡¯ve never even been anywhere close to a battlefield!¡¯ Owen mentally shouted at Max within the confines of his own mind before shaking his head and thinking, ¡®But my readiness doesn¡¯t matter right now. Winning does.¡¯

    ¡°Yup!¡± Owen shouted back, fear and nervousness filling him once again as he readied himself.

    ¡°Moon is in the hat.¡±

    Owen flinched in fear and surprise as his hat suddenly became stuffed with hundreds upon hundreds of Moons, every single living cell of the priest crammed within the hat.

    ¡®Please Lady Walters, let me not fail in my endeavor.¡¯

    And with that thought, Owen activated Nexus, the sound of Max speaking anotherfibbeing ignored.

    Within an instant, the gnome felt a link (one that he believed impossible to describe) emerge from the palms of his hands, travel through the cloth of his hat, and establish itself within the priest he was only separated from by a very thin piece of cloth. This link then began to branch itself out, linking everything that was of Moon together. Just as this process completed itself, Owen found both himself and his hat safely back in the clearing with the Donneur de Frene.

    There was just one little problem, and Owen shouted it clearly while freaking out.

    ¡°Oh shit, Max isn¡¯t back!¡±

    HALT

    ¡°It¡¯s weird being only slightly surprised by this turn of events.¡±

    Max said this to herself as she was currently surrounded by a literal horde of Moons that were all, surprisingly enough, not attacking her. All around the human, rain hit and dripped down the invisible barrier that she had summoned around herself, her copper shoulder pad still glowing and Herah¡¯s goggles on her face.

    ¡°Hello Max,¡± The Moon directly in front of her said, his voice surprisingly calm and peaceful, and his expression much happier than when they had previously met. This Moon was very different compared to the rest of them, being that for whatever reason he had green knees and fingers, ¡°I did want to speak with you if given the chance.¡±

    ¡°Same,¡± Was Max¡¯s muted reply, the human looking down and away from the Keijo before her, ¡°You go first.¡±

    ¡°I originally wanted to apologize to you.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°For being the main catalyst in causing you to bomb my people.¡±

    This got a flinch and a bitter chuckle out of Max, tears dripping from her eyes as feelings of anger and regret rose within her suddenly before quickly crashing down and leaving only regret. This feeling was tempered and lessened thanks to Herah¡¯s own feelings of assurance, but the regret still remained.

    ¡®But I will still thank you for what you¡¯ve given me lavatits, it¡¯s better than being left alone with these feelings.¡¯

    ¡°Why do you chuckle Max?¡± Moon asked, the speaking body tilting its head in confusion with a curious look on their face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Max said waving him off, before giving her own curious look, ¡°So why do you want to talk with me now, you said apologies were your original intention.¡±

    The speaking Moon gave Max a slightly worried look that put her off slightly before saying,

    ¡°Before I can say that, tell me why you wanted to speak with me.¡±

    Max felt sadness and regret well up within her, as she looked Moon with a pained expression and said,

    ¡°Because I wanted to apologize for what I di-¡°

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±

    Max blinked at Moon, completely shocked by his words. This got her a small chuckle from the priest, which was followed by more words from him.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s weird coming from me to be told not to apologize, but that¡¯s because I had a realization recently thanks to a long needed talk.¡±

    ¡°And what was that?¡± Max asked, sounding a bit miffed.

    Moon looked up to the sky with an expression heavy with regret.

    ¡°To spend life constantly sorry for what you¡¯ve done, no matter how big or small it may be, is truly a life wasted.¡± Moon looked down to Max with a small grin, one that wasn¡¯t really happy but accepting, ¡°And coming from someone who¡¯s spent most of their life that way, I can attest.¡±

    All Max did was look away from the priest, irritation beginning to slowly fill her.

    ¡°So what do you suggest I do huh? Just accept what I¡¯ve done, just live with it.¡±

    Max¡¯s words came out strong and bitter, feelings of hate beginning to brew within her as well.

    ¡°No,¡± Moon said with a shake of his head, ¡°You should learn to forgive. Not just those you blame-¡°

    ¡°I blame no one but myself.¡± Max cut in sharply.

    Moon shook his head with a sad smile.

    ¡°Me, you, Norwe, and Herah all know that¡¯s not true.¡±

    Max flinched at these words before looking at the speaking Moon with a glare, that only got her an understanding look in return.

    ¡°As I was saying, you must forgive not just those you blame but yourself.¡± The speaking Moon pointed at Max with one of his green fingers, before saying, ¡°Only then will life once again truly become meaningful.¡±

    Hearing these words struck a chord in Max, but she pushed down any feeling they made her feel and instead gave Moon an even deeper glare.

    ¡°Why are you even doing this? I¡¯m your enemy.¡±

    Moon gained a small frown before letting out a sigh and looking away from Max.

    ¡°Partly because as a priest, one of my jobs is to rid those filled with despair and regret of such troubling emotions. And partly because I truly wish no ill intent towards you.¡± Moon looked back to Max with the most serious expression she had ever seen on his face, ¡°And I would hope that no matter the outcome of our battle that you find peace at the end of life, whether that be today or years into the future.¡±

    Max tried to maintain it, but looking at Moon and hearing his words, she couldn¡¯t help but to lose her glare and instead gain a pitying expression while shaking her head.

    ¡°You don¡¯t deserve the fate that is soon to befall you.¡±

    Moon looked briefly surprised by Max¡¯s statement before gaining a suspicious look.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Max stopped shaking her head and gave Moon an apologetic stare.

    ¡°Do you know what Owen did to you?¡±

    Moon blinked at Max in surprise before frowning and saying,

    ¡°No. Norwe said that Owen wasn¡¯t really anything to worry about so they never mentioned anything about him or what he could do.¡± Moon began to look worried, ¡°What did he do?¡±

    ¡°He made sure that what happens to one of you, happens to all of you.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Max just shook her head and said,

    ¡°You¡¯ll be too surprised to do anything.¡°

    SQUELCH!

    ¡°ACK!¡±

    Max found her sight of the Moon she was speaking to suddenly blotted out by the naked body of Herah, a shroud of orange flames covering her. Though, this didn¡¯t stop Max from seeing the holes appear in the chest of all the other Moons surrounding her, each one falling over paralyzed.

    ¡°H- How?¡± The only standing Moon asked, as he looked up at the youngling who had her hand through his chest.

    ¡°I told afibjust as you arrived that made Herah invisible to us until she attacked.¡± Max answered, sounding pained by her own words, ¡°And the link that Owen created between you and all of your bodies is one that makes you share any damage suffered.¡±

    Max let out a sigh before turning away from the only standing Moon and Herah. Looking up to the sky, tears once again pricked her eyes as she said,

    ¡°Thanks for the advice, and I¡¯m sorry. But this is your end.¡±

    ONI

    Moon stared at Herah with blurry vision, his breathing coming out rough and shaky. There was a cold empty feeling flowing from a small part of his chest, while warm blood rain down from where this feeling was located. But even with such a grievous wound, Moon could only look at Herah and smile.

    ¡°For someone who¡¯s about to die, you look rather peaceful.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m- I¡¯m just,¡± Moon was forced to spit out a bit of blood that hit Herah¡¯s face, ¡°Sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Herah told Moon, wiping away the blood with her other hand, ¡°What were you saying?¡±

    ¡°I was saying,¡± Moon took a deep breath, his vision getting blurrier, ¡°That I¡¯m just happy to see how I might finally complete a goal my father set out for me.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about Diavolo?¡± Herah asked, sounding a bit sad.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Herah¡¯s blurry figure let out a sigh before turning her head away from Moon.

    ¡°What is this dream your father had set for you?¡±

    ¡°To rest within,¡± Moon let out a few coughs, the edges of his vision beginning to blacken, ¡°Palo Santo.¡±

    ¡°Is that the afterlife for the Oni?¡± Max asked out of Moon¡¯s sight.

    Moon shook his head, before pausing to think on how best to describe it.

    ¡®Nirvana is the closest human concept, while Allumage is what the Cendruex would call it.¡¯ Norwe whispered into Moon¡¯s mind, their tone rather soothing.

    ¡°It¡¯s more akin to Nirvana for humans,¡± Moon let out a cough, ¡°Allumage for Cendruex.¡±

    ¡°How does dying help in this?¡± Herah asked, her voice getting harder for Moon to hear.

    ¡°It¡¯s the last step I need to pull off to achieve this state.¡±

    ¡°What happens when you do achieve this state?¡± Max asked, or at least Moon thought it was what she said, her voice was getting harder to hear as well.

    ¡°I become a conduit for Norwe¡¯s expression, that¡¯s all I know.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder what that means¡­¡­¡±

    WOOSH!

    SQELCH!

    Moon felt his head snap back as something burrowed into it and oblivion embraced his mind.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­

    When Moon came to once again, he found himself standing within a meadow with only a lone tree right in front of him. The tree itself was just like that of any of the others that filled the forest that was his home, with red wood and green leaves. The only real difference was just how young the tree happened to be, its trunk nowhere near the size of those that he normally saw.

    ¡°Hello my son.¡±

    Moon turned around and found Diavolo standing in front of him with a thankful smile on his face. The green-skinned Keijo then reached out to his son and embraced him, Moon returning this hug furiously as silent tears poured from his eyes. After a few minutes of hugging and with no further words said between the two, Moon let go of Diavolo and walked towards the tree. Once he reached it, the Keijo rested his palm against the tree.

    Several branches suddenly sprouted from the tree and began to wrap around Moon¡¯s form, slowly pulling him in and melding him into the tree. Just before he could completely sink into it however, Moon heard one last thing from Diavolo.

    ¡°Good luck Moon, and thank you.¡±

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    When Moon¡¯s eyes parted once again he found himself lying atop a branch in a rather surprising looking tree. Looking at himself, Moon also found that he had gotten a physical pallet swap. All throughout, Moon felt Norwe¡¯sPresencecoursing and traveling and filling every fiber of his being.

    It filled him with a feeling of randomness.

    It filled him with a feeling of disregard.

    It filled him with a feeling ofchaos.

    And all these feelings made Moon feel at peace.

    With his hands folded behind his back and his legs crossed lazily over each other, Moon smiled up at the strange, glowing leaves as a single tear fell from one of his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±

    ONI

    ¡®Damn that demon is crazy powerful, I thought only that Max bitch could pull something like this off without problem.¡¯

    Jacob, the most recently born Keijo of the Oni, had finally made it to his objective. With his mask now gone, the red-skinned Keijo showed himself to have a rather young looking face with his eyes being pupilless like all Keijo. Unlike the rest, however, they were two separate colors with his left eye being gold and his right lazuli. Other than that, Jacob¡¯s only other new addition was the wielding of Sam¡¯s tachi and Lucy¡¯s katana on his sides with his own kamas now strapped to his back.

    ¡®After running through that burning death trap of yours and avoiding all of those stray fireballs and craters of your making, I finally get to see you again.¡¯ Jacob thought as he stood on the edge of the biggest crater he had seen so far today.

    Down near its center, the demon stood with her hand through Father Jashin¡¯s chest, appearing to be trading words with him while Max stood behind her looking sadly up to the sky.

    ¡®And it looks like I arrived just in time too,¡¯ Jacob thought as he held his right hand out in front of himself. A long, thin, and bone white fragment erupted from Jacob¡¯s palm, a bit of blood being released as he pulled it out with his left hand.

    ¡®Yes,¡¯ A familiar voice rung out in Jacob¡¯s head, this voice having guided him through the dangers that he had to surpass to get here, ¡®You know what to do with your mask shard.¡¯

    ¡®Yeah, yeah I got it Log,¡¯ Jacob thought back as he took aim at the back of the demon¡¯s head, ¡®The Oni got one last wind in them.¡¯

    Jacob then threw the mask shard, watching it blur from his sight towards the demon.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope I hit my mark.¡±

    She leaned her head out of the way, and it struck Moon straight in the skull completely removing his ability to think.

    The demon stared at Moon¡¯s corpse for a second, before letting out a huff of breath and gently setting it within the center of the crater. She then let out a single indigo breath that reduced his body to ash on immediate contact, causing for the rest of them to follow suit. With that out of the way, the demon then took a sniff of the air before letting out a growl.

    ¡°You,¡± Her voice was still filled with same disgust that it had been filled with when they had first met, ¡°What is a bitch like you still doing alive?¡±

    ¡°Turn around and look at me, and you might just find out why,¡± Jacob said back, no fear leaving him he stared down upon the demon.

    ¡°I told you if you wanted to die by my hand you needed a reason to fight.¡± The demon turned to face him, looking back up with an expression that started out disgusted but quickly changed into something else. Something more respectful, but not yet there. ¡°So, do you have something or am I just going to have to let Alex kill you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah I got something bitch,¡± Jacob said unsheathing Sam¡¯s and Lucy¡¯s tachi and katana respectively and pointing both at the demon, ¡°I¡¯m fighting for vengeance, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to get.¡±

    The demon gained something akin to a grin, her claws elongating to ten inches before stopping as her eyes loss the messy look and turned white with emerald, slit pupils.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll finish the job I started earlier.¡±

    Jacob grinned back at Herah, before chuckling quietly and telling her,

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not going to be as easy as you think.¡±

    The demon titled her head in amusement as she stared back up at Jacob, Max looking up at him as well with an even sadder expression and tears in her eyes.

    ¡°Now why is that?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯ll be dealing with both Father Jashin and myself.¡±

    RUMBLE!

    ¡°Shit! Max, we need to move!¡± The demon shouted as she grabbed Max before flying away from the center Moon¡¯s ashes. Then a pillar of light shot into the sky and cleared the clouds away from the entire east side of the battlefield, with a flash of light blinding Jacob shortly afterward. Once vision was restored to his eyes, he was greeted with a sight that truly brought a smile to his face.

    A massive tree had sprung up from Moon¡¯s ashes, filling the entire crater and causing for a flood of shrubbery, young trees, and grass to washed over the land as well. Looking around, the land looked restored, with the only remaining damage from the demon being the crater that the tree had sprouted up from.

    Speaking of the tree, it was a grand and beautiful thing. Its bark was a smooth, golden texture with the trunk of the tree being as thick as five of the redwoods that filled the forest Jacob lived in. The tree, even from its low start, managed to tower over him, blotting out the now clear skies. Though no large shadow was cast by this tree, this being due to the glowing white leaves that sprouted from its massive branches, Presence just radiating off of them.

    Looking up to the branches of the tree, Jacob saw a figure throw their legs over the side of one branch, causing him to back away slightly. With that bit of distance, the figure fell from the tree and gently landed right in front of Jacob.

    With his black skin now white, his white robes now black, his dull silver eyes now glowing gold, and his saddened pain filled expression now a smile so happy and satisfied, Father Jashin looked right at Jacob, patted him on the head, and said,

    ¡°Thank you my son, for you have made two dreams come true today. And you just might be the reason for our people¡¯s salvation.¡±

    Jacob smiled back at the priest and simply said,

    ¡°To be honest father, I¡¯m only here to do two things, and two things only. Kill the demon that took away my friends, and end the bitch that killed my girl. Nothing more, nothing less.¡±

 Vous Avez TerminÃ¨ Le DÃ¨but Mas Nâ€™avez Pas CommencÃ¨ La Fin

    "What are we looking at it?"

    This question came from Max, who was currently held bridal-style in the arms of Herah, complete and utter bewilderment filling the pair as they both stared at the massive tree that now stood within the crater Herah had created when fighting Moon. With the help of Herah''s beating wings, both were floating high above the golden tree which allowed them to get a good look at the new forest. Unlike previously, the forest was now an even mix of old and young redwood trees with grass actually visible now. There was also an increase in other plants and such, with shrubs and flowers showing up in abundance. The many craters that had dotted the ground were now gone as well, with the one that had the golden tree being the only exception. The rest appeared to have been filled in and covered with grass and flowers.

    "No idea," Herah said, a tad bit of annoyance flowing through her link to Max.

    Max turned to look up at Herah finding that her expression was serious and annoyed. Letting out a sigh, Max turned away from her friend and began searching the ground. Within seconds, she saw a white-skinned and black-clothed Moon and the red-skinned Keijo that Herah had left alive from earlier. The pair appeared to be looking up at Herah and Max, though their expressions were hard to make out from such a long distance.

    "THERE! Right there!" Max shouted, pointing at the pair for Herah.

    Herah''s eyes went to them almost instantly as orange flames began to well up in her throat and smoke shot from her nose.

    "Let''s see if that''s anything more than an aesthetic change." Herah said, before shutting her mouth and allowing for flames to pour into it. Once filled, the youngling moved Max''s head slightly out of the way and breathed out a ball of orange flames just large enough to swallow the two Keijo whole. As the fire neared the pair, Moon appeared to turn to the other Keijo and set a hand upon one of his shoulders. Moon held his other hand out to the incoming flames and something seemed to sprout from it before a beam of orange shot out from whatever Moon had on him and struck the fireball.

    "What the hell?" Max asked in shock, as before her very eyes, the flames morphed into hundreds of white frogs that grew bat wings and started flying towards Herah and herself.

    "Yeah, no." Herah said, her own shock being quickly swept away before taking another breath and firing off another ball of orange flames that swallowed up the frogs before exploding in a shower of burnt frogbits.

    "What''s that in Moon''s hand Herah?" Max asked her friend, looking back up to her for an answer.

    Looking back down at Moon, Herah seemed to study his hands for a moment before letting out an angry huff of smoke that caused Max to cough.

    "It appears to be some type of flower, and Moon''s growing more along his arms as I speak."

    "What should we do?"

    "I''m a bit weary of getting anywhere close to him right now, but I''d need either Jeffery or some type of quick moving range attack if we want to play that game." Herah said, a frown coming to her face as irritation began to fill their link.

    "Where is Jeffery anyway?" Max asked while looking around for the flying pencil.

    "I left them with ¨¦carlate for protection, they won''t come unless it''s completely necessary."

    Nodding her head at this, Max looked around both herself and Herah, her eyes landing on her 51 remaining cards.

    "I could throw something at him and see how that goes." Max said to her friend, causing the Cendreux to look down at her and nod.

    Max looked back at Moon and mentally fired five cards towards him.

    "Those are bolts of lightning."

    Thanks to the goggles Herah had given her, Max was able to track the red lightning as it flew down towards Moon quicker than even the priest or Herah could react. But before the lightning could hit him, each bolt turned into three strips of silk that neatly wrapped themselves into bows before gently falling to the ground at the red-skinned Keijo''s feet.

    "Okay," Herah began, sounding weirded out by what she had just witnessed, "I''m assuming those bows were originally you''re lighting bolts. Am I right?"

    "Yeah," Max said, worried a bit more by what she had just witnessed, "For whatever reason, when they got within a certain distance to Moon they just turned into silk that wrapped itself into bows."

    "How close?"

    "I have a rough estimate of about five meters, but I''m not too sure." Max said while shaking her head.

    "Well, let''s go with that for now and try to figure out just what exactly this abilities of his is doing." Herah said to Max before a feeling of distrust and unease began to flow from Herah, "It seems as if they''re gesturing for us to come down."

    Max looked up to Herah, finding that a pointed look had come to her eyes. Looking back down to Moon and the other Keijo, Max found that the unnamed of the two was gesturing for them to come down to the ground. Max looked back to Herah and merely got a shrug of the shoulders as a response before Herah''s wing beats began to slow in pace.

    Slowly floating down to the ground, Herah and Max landed thirteen meters away from their opponents before Herah refurled her wings. With the golden tree at their back, Moon and the unnamed Keijo turned to look at Herah and Max allowing for Max to see just how well these two contrasted each other. Moon was smiling at the pair, a look of peace and happiness on his face. His ally, on the other hand, looked none to happy. He wore a frown and looked upon Herah and Max with only contempt. With Moon, he stood loose and open with his arms hanging at his sides and his legs relaxed. In direct opposition, the other Keijo stood rigidly with both of his hands gripped tightly on the blades at his hip and his legs tense and ready. However, there were two things that Moon had that the other Keijo didn''t oppose in any form or shape.

    Flowers and Presence.

    Purple asters were rapidly blooming along Moon''s arms, completely covering the sleeves of the now black cassock that he wore while a single aster bloomed in the palm of each of his hands. Max also felt a Presence that was very similar to that of Norwe''s, batting and poking at her uncaringly.

    "So, what do you want?" Herah asked, her weariness hidden away by faux arrogance.

    "I," The red-skinned Keijo began, disgust and anger filling his words as he pointed at Herah, "Wanted your name. I was never informed of yours in the briefing for my company, just what you could do and what you looked like."

    "Well, that''s insulting." Herah said before pointing towards herself with her thumb and smirking, "The name''s Herah War Hej, what''s yours?"

    "Jacob, Jacob Storm. Last name newly gifted by the man next me." Jacob told Herah, before nodding his head towards Moon, "Our Holy Father had something he wanted to tell you as well."

    Herah sat Max down on her feet as she turned to look at Moon, more weariness flowing through her link with Max as a result.

    "Hey Moon, I see you''re copying me." Herah jokingly told the priest with a smirk.

    Jacob let out an angry scoff while Moon chuckled.

    "What can I say? Your own returns from the brink of death had an impact on me," Moon said with a wide smile and cheery tone.

    "You know," Herah''s tone turned less joking and gained a more respecting air to it, "This is the second time I''ve seen you smile, and you look a lot happier now then you did back in that courtyard."

    "Being a conduit for Norwe''s expression has left me fully at peace and joyful," Max watched as tears began to pour from Moon''s eyes as the priest turned his sight towards the white leaves that hung over him, "No matter the end of today, I will be at rest."

    "What did you want to tell us Moon?" Max asked, her eyes shooting towards the still very angry looking Jacob before going back to the calm Moon.

    "Ch¨±mon wa omoshirokunai. Ch¨±mon wa fukan¨­. Ch¨±mon wa fushizendesu. Ch¨±mon wa hironritekidesu. Tanoshimi o ukeireru. Okori eru koto o ukeire nasai. Shizen o ukeireru. Ronri o ukeireru. Konran o ukeireru. Sore wa anata o ukeiremashita." Moon said while spreading his arms wide in a way that made him look ready to accept a hug.

    Max blinked a few times in confusion as her brain began to process and translate Moon''s words. Letting out a breath, Max repeated Moon''s words.

    "Order is boring. Order is impossible. Order is unnatural. Order is illogical. Embrace what''s fun. Embrace what''s possible. Embrace what''s natural. Embrace what''s logical. Embrace chaos. It has already embraced you."

    Max felt somewhat perplexed by what Moon had said, but also understood it to an extent. Through her link with Herah, she found the same thing to be true for the Cendruex. Giving her friend a side look, all Max got in return was a shrug.

    "Why... Did you say that?" Max asked confusingly, returning her sights to Moon.

    "It is the message I must convey to you, for what I just said is the philosophy of Norwe the Maker." Moon said, before every flower but the ones on the palm of his hands fell off of him and disappeared, "And this will be the second to last sentence I speak to you before our battle renews."

    "Finally!" Jacob shouted before drawing both of his blades and resting them atop his shoulders, "I''ve been wanting to cut these bitches apart for too long now."

    Jacob''s right eye then turned pitch black, as Moon raised a single one of his hands towards Max. With his expression still smiling and his eyes filled with conviction, Moon spoke his promised sentence to Max.

    "I wish you the best."

    An orange beam shot out from the flower on Moon''s palm causing Max to block it with one of her cards. As soon as the card was hit by the orange beam, it transformed into a green teddy bear that fell to Max''s feet and began giggling.

    "I can speak as fast as I think." Max said to herself, ignoring the creature that had taken the place of her card. As Max did this, she noticed Jacob bring both blades off of his shoulders and flip the one in his right hand into a reverse grip before exploding towards Herah with a surprising burst of speed. Max gave a side glance to Herah, finding that for some reason her friend was both looking and feeling lost.

    "Lavatits, are you okay?"

    Before any reply could be given or even attempted, Jacob reached the pair and took a swing at Herah.

    SWOOSH!

    SHLUK!

    And with a single swipe away from Max, Jacob cleaved Herah''s head right off with it flying into the air with a spurt of blood that sprayed Max in the face.

    Max''s eyes widened in shock, but before any words could leave her mouth Jacob turned his sights on her. Only able to notice that his right eye returned to its lazuli color for just a second before turning back pitch black, Max soon found herself subjected to what she could only assume to be Jacob''s <u>gift</u>.

    Max was engulfed by complete and utter darkness, this darkness ridding her of any sense of direction or placement within the cosmos. Max felt as if she was suspended within a never-ending void that she would never escape or be able to fully comprehend. She didn''t even attempt to turn or move, for even the thought of those actions felt completely frivolous. Every thought and emotion, they all seemed meaningless.

    Max felt, truly and completely, lost.

    ONI

    ''Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ has succeeded.''

    This thought was that of Jacob, the Keijo holding a smile of glee on his face at the sight of Max''s lost look and the detached head of Herah. Flicking the blood off of Lucy''s old katana, Jacob stabbed the blade into the ground before the still toppling body of Herah. With the monster having yet to fully fall forward, Jacob crouched before her with the palm of his left hand covering the bottom of his right fist which he had positioned so that Sam''s old tachi pointed up at Max.

    "Jacob get back! Herah is still dangerous!"

    Moon''s shout was ignored, Jacob''s eyes only on Max''s unmoving and unaware body.

    ''Where, oh where, should Sam''s blade go?'' Jacob thought as he gave Max a quick overlook before his eyes settled on a single spot, ''Your neck will do.''

    With that settled, Jacob''s arm snapped towards Max''s neck-

    KRAKK!

    Stars filled Jacob''s vision as a fist burrowed into his face, with his body being catapulted away and towards Moon by the force of the strike. Completely stunned by the sucker punch, Jacob felt his body slam into someone before both slid a few feet back and stopped. It took a few seconds for his vision and head to clear, and once they did he immediately turned to look at Herah and Max.

    "What.... The..... Actual.... Fuck?" Jacob asked, his eyes widening at the sight of Herah standing slightly hunched over, reattaching her head with her right hand, flames appearing where her neck met the top of her torso. Her left arm was extended before her with her fist still clenched and covered in a bit of blood.

    ''Is that mine?'' Jacob thought, a hand shooting up to his now bleeding and bruised nose.

    "That hurt like a bitch," Herah told Jacob, a growl and snort of red flames following her words. The monster then adjusted her stance and rose to her full height, cracking her neck a few times. Jacob watched as Herah brought her bloodied fist to her face and gave it a surprised look before looking back at him and smirking. "Wow, unlike Moon, you can actually take a punch. A full force one at that."

    Jacob let out his own growl and began to step forward, but the sudden resting of Moon''s hand on his shoulders caused him to pause.

    "Control yourself my child." Moon''s voice was gentle and soothing, "Fighting recklessly will only get you killed."

    "I understand Father." Jacob said through gritted teeth.

    "You understand, but clearly don''t care." Moon responded, his grip tightening as he pulled back on the red-skinned Keijo, "If you want to win you''re going to need to think your next actions through."

    Jacob contemplated moving forward for a moment more before letting out a sigh and looking up towards Moon.

    "What do you have in mind Father?"

    Jacob heard Moon let out a glad sigh before letting go of his shoulders.

    "As it is now, it would make sense for you to keep Max under the effects of your <u>gift</u>. She''s a lot less predictable then Herah and much more dangerous."

    "Fine by me Father," Jacob said, stepping forward, but Moon suddenly resting his hand on his shoulder once again caused Jacob to halt and let out a growl.

    "My son, Herah currently outpaces you easily. This means that in order to take her on, you''re going to have to dance in and out of my Kaosu no ky¨±."

    "You''ve gotten slower, haven''t you?" Herah cut in, causing Jacob to look back at her.

    While the two Keijo had been talking, Herah had taken the comatose Max into her arms and now held her bridal-style. Herah was also looking towards Moon with a knowing look and grin.

    "The fact you plan on having Jacob engage me directly in combat instead of yourself means one of two things. You either believe that Jacob could beat me and needs little help but a safety zone from you, or you yourself are unable to keep up with me even as I am now."

    Jacob looked back to Moon and found the Holy Father smiling at Herah while nodding in affirmation.

    "You''re right in assuming that I can no longer keep up with you."

    Jacob looked back to Herah, the sight of her deepening grin making his blood boil.

    "However, you''re currently unable to do little more than breath fire right now." Jacob felt a fraction of satisfaction come over him as he saw Herah''s grin weaken a bit, "And the added burden of Max will surely impede you to a degree that our next engagement will be a lot more balanced."

    Herah''s nostrils flared, two small jets of red flames shooting out as the monster let out a sigh and unfurled her wings. Jacob looked down to his feet, finding Sam''s taich nestled within the vibrantly green grass before him. Picking up the blade, Jacob took it into both of his hands and held it in front of himself. Behind him, Jacob heard Moon take a quick breath.

    "Go."

    Ignoring the smell of burnt grass and the fizzling out of electricity, Jacob shot forward as Moon followed him, firing off two beams of chaos that sped past the leading Keijo easily. Herah bent backward while flicking a bloody finger up into the path of the beams of orange. They missed her completely, hitting two trees behind her, which caused one to turn into a pebble while the other just disappeared. The monster then used her wings to launch herself back and away from Jacob, who had leaped at her with a downward slash. Missing completely, Jacob slowed himself to pick up Lucy''s katana and sheath it before darting off after Herah. Three more orange beams came from behind him via Moon. Herah saw these beams and balled herself around Max, wrapping her wings around both of them which caused the three beams of orange to just pass them and strike three other trees. One of the trees took the form of a small, giggling figurine, while another fired off into the sky like a rocket, and the final one-

    "RAWWRR!"

    "What the fuck is that?!" Jacob asked/screamed as the third tree (this one being right in front of them) struck by one of Moon''s beam promptly morphed into a near pitch black, wingless, nine-headed dragon-like monster that easily towered over the four people before it.

    Jacob slid to a stop, watching as Herah unwrapped her wings and body from around Max and slammed feet first into the center head''s neck before sprinting up and over it. Once Herah was atop the head, the monster turned to look back at Jacob and Moon with a disgusted look on her face.

    "I am both thankful and ashamed for what you have summoned. This distortion of one of my sibling species is disgusting but helpful."

    Herah then shifted her hold of Max slightly and leaped away from both the dragon-like creature and the two Keijo that had been pursuing her. Jacob wasn''t able to maintain much attention on Herah, however, due to all nine heads of the dragon swiftly turning their red glowing eyes onto him. A low growl left the mouth of all nine heads, as the dragon-like creature took a single step towards Jacob, the ground shaking as green light began to emit from the all of its mouths. Before anything else could occur, an orange ray heat hit the creature right in its center head causing its scales to turn purple with a pattern of green dots covering it.

    "Holy Father!" Jacob whipped his head towards Moon, the priest looking a bit perplexed by what had just occurred, "Changing the monster''s color is not going to really help us right now!"

    "Chaos is unpredictable my son," Moon replied, his voice maintaining its calm even as more green light began to emit from the mouths of the monster, "It can be of benefit, of burden, or of no consequence to those who brush with it."

    Jacob only tsked in annoyance, sheathing Sam''s taichi and unsheathing Lucy''s katana. Before the dragon-like creature could let out whatever was about to come from its mouth, Jacob blurred towards it and lopped off all nine of its heads. Stopping before the now headless creature, Jacob flicked the strange red spheres that seemed to be the dragon''s blood off of Lucy''s katana and sheathed it.

    "That was not the best plan of action there." Moon said, raising a hand towards the flailing corpse of the dragon-like creature.

    "What do you mean-"

    SPLORT!

    SPLOOSH!

    Each of the nine neck stumps split in half before spontaneously growing another half for their neck and sprouting a new head each.

    "Norwe just told me the monster before us is a hydra, and that they breathe poison and every head you cut off will have two grow in its place.

    "Wow! Thanks for letting me know right after I did it!"

    "Apologies my son," Moon said with a bow of his head before blasting the hydra with two orange rays.

    Nothing happened on the first hit and the second one teleported the monster a few inches off the ground.

    "This isn''t funny Father!"

    Every head of the hydra opened its mouth, pink light pouring from each maw as 18 growls filled the air.

    "Jacob, use your <u>gift</u>." Moon said as he grabbed his companion by the back of his mail and leaped away from the pink blasts of poison that flooded the forest floor, reducing every tree and plant it touched to black mush.

    "But the Max bitch-" Jacob said as the pair landed a fair distance away next to a tree that morphed into a giant Oni mask that just floated next to them.

    "This hydra is a much more immediate threat." Moon said, blasting the beast twice more with his beams, only causing it to began making mewing noises before being teleported behind the two Keijos.

    "Then why don''t you just absorb it with those other powers of yours?!" Jacob shouted before turning to the beast and blitzing it, each head coming off before even the first could fully detach.

    "That''s not going to really help us my son," Moon said, before once again blasting the hydra, causing it to triple in size, "And I lost my original powers after Resting Within Palo Santo, I also can''t cause direct harm to other beings anymore either."

    Before anymore words could be said, both Moon and Jacob leaped up into the air to avoid the combined blast of pink poison from the now 36-headed hydra.

    "My son, Max and Herah are currently lost to us and leaving that hydra to rampage could be problematic." Jacob''s tone took on a pleading nature, "Please, use your <u>gift</u>.

    Jacob growled as he released his hold over Max and switched it over to the hydra, the beast pausing with each neck fully extended upwards and their mouths agape. Jacob and Moon landed on top of separate heads and slid down the back of the beast, landing just outside of the destruction that it had wrought on the newly born forest.

    "Why don''t you just grow a shit ton of those flowers of yours and blast the damn thing?" Jacob asked, annoyance filling his tone as he looked at Moon who raised a single hand towards the hydra and blasted it.

    "Because, just as it has done now, it might be less of a boon and more of a curse."

    The hydra was turned into two.

    "Fuck your new powers." Jacob said, before cutting off all 36 heads off the new hydra.

    With two more chaos blast from Moon, the second hydra was turned into a pig that exploded in a shower of bacon while the other one just phased into the ground.

    "DAMMIT!" Jacob shouted before sheathing Sam''s blade and punching one of the nearby trees, his arm burrowing completely into the fully grown redwood.

    "You really need to calm down my son." Jacob heard Moon say behind him as he furiously wrenched his arm from the grasp of the tree.

    "Would you stop with your calm down bullshit!?" Jacob shouted back, turning towards Moon and pointing accusingly at the priest, "Thanks to your stupid powers, we lost those two fuckers and now we need to find them again before I can ever attempt to use Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ on them again!"

    "My son, your rage will do little to help us in that regard."

    "It''s better than your fucking passiveness is doing us!"

    "I know you''re angry-"

    CHKK!

    Swiftly drawing Lucy''s katana, Jacob stabbed past Moon''s face causing the priest to halt in his attempt to rest his hand on Jacob''s shoulder.

    "If you know that," Jacob growled out, disgust ripe in his tone, "Then stop with the bullshit! It''s almost as if you don''t even care whether or not we kill those two."

    "I don''t."

    Jacob''s eyes widened, his mouth opening slightly in shock before another growl left him and he yanked Moon down to eye level.

    "The hell, did you just say?" Jacob''s words came out tense and barely restrained.

    "I don''t care whether or not we kill Herah and Max." Moon said with no hesitation and a disturbingly calm tone of voice.

    Jacob glared hatefully at Moon, placing the tip of Lucy''s katana to the side of the Holy Father''s temple and making sure that it drew just a tiny amount of blood.

    "Explain yourself," Jacob ordered, his mouth twitching in and out of a snarl as he just barely kept himself from striking Moon down then and there.

    "Even with the wrong that they''ve caused to us, I feel no hate nor anger towards the pair. Merely a sad sense of comradery and empathy for the situation that has been forced upon them, because they''re in the same boat as us."

    "THAT MAX BITCH MURDERED MILLIONS OF OUR BRETHREN WHILE THE MONSTER SLAUGHTERED THOUSANDS. BOTH ACTS DONE WITHOUT MERCY!" Jacob shouted at Moon, tears of anger pouring from his eyes as he glared at the priest. "THEY DESERVE NOTHING BUT ANIMOSITY AND DEATH!"

    "I see you were being honest with me when you said this was only about killing those two."

    "IT WAS ONLY EVER ABOUT THOSE TWO!"

    "You know, my son, I could end all of this pretty easily on my own." Moon said, looking past Jacob and towards somewhere that completely escaped his mind.

    "What do you mean?" Jacob asked with a growl, digging Lucy''s blade a bit deeper into Moon''s head.

    "Even though I''m going much slower, if I were to rush towards the Donneur de Fr¨¨ne, I would most probably be able to reach and eliminate it before they could stop me."

    "Then why don''t you?"

    "Because my priority right now is ensuring your inner peace."

    "Would you stop with your bullshit!?" Jacob shouted, just barely holding himself back from fully plunging Lucy''s katana into the Holy Father''s brain.

    "Why don''t you stop with your own?" Moon responded back, giving Jacob a hard stare.

    "What are you talking about?"

    "Tell me Jacob," Moon took Lucy''s blade by his left index finger and thumb, moving it away from his temple, "What is killing Herah and Max going to do for you?"

    "What is it going to do? WHAT IS IS GOING TO DO?!" Jacob shoved Moon away from himself before unsheathing Sam''s blade and stabbing both it and Lucy''s into the ground. "These are the blades of my two friends Sam and Lucy, both personally murdered by the monster. Killing her will avenge them, and killing Max will avenge the love of my life."

    "I didn''t ask what their deaths would do for the dead," Moon rose to his feet, dusting off his cassock and sleeves, before looking back at Jacob and pointing at him, "I asked what they would do for you."

    Jacob opened his mouth to respond, but paused when he found himself coming up short. Shutting his mouth and opening it several times, Jacob found himself looking down and away from Moon.

    "It would bring me peace."

    So Jacob lied.

    "Practice what you preach my son."

    And was immediately caught.

    "Look upon me and listen Jacob, you need to hear this."

    With a conflicted look and an angry grunt, Jacob looked back up to Moon and found the Holy Father with a small smile on his face.

    "Earlier you asked me why I didn''t just end this already if I could, and you found my response lacking. So allow me to expand upon it." Moon pointed towards Jacob, "If I were to end this battle so soon, Herah and Max would be wrenched away from you, and you would lose the two most important figures vital for your peace of mind. As it is now, every piece you need for such a thing is within your grasp." Moon took the hand pointing at Jacob and directed it towards himself, "I shall guide your hand to this peace, because I was much like you not too long ago. And I refuse to leave you like that. That is why I have yet to even attempt finishing this, so please," Moon walked up to Jacob and rested a hand upon his shoulder, "Allow me to help you."

    For a few silent moments, Jacob just stared at Moon, many emotions bubbling beneath his skin. Moon rested another hand upon Jacob''s shoulders and smiled an encouraging and hopeful smile. Seeing this, Jacob shook his head and scoffed before knocking Moon''s hands off his shoulders and drawing Sam''s and Lucy''s blades from the ground. Quickly sheathing both weapons, Jacob walked past Moon and turned his sights on the white tree that the Holy Father had emerged from.

    "I don''t care what you do as long as those two are dead," Jacob sounded tense and just a little bit unsure, "Am I understood?"

    "You know my son, maybe their deaths aren''t as important as you think."

    Before Jacob could utter any retort, the Keijo noticed his body casting an irregular shadow on the ground. Looking up towards the sky, Jacob found a large ball of blue flames exploding into thousands of smaller balls of fire before suddenly rocketing towards the pair. Looking towards Moon, the young Keijo found the priest readying himself to move while also looking towards Jacob for any final words before they began.

    "We''ll see Father, we''ll see."

    HALT

    A fair distance away from Moon and Jacob, Herah ripped another black eyepatch off of her face and dropped down from the top of a young redwood after launching her distraction. Landing in a densely forested part of the restored terrain, Herah found Max counting her cards with her shoulder pad still glowing.

    "All 52 are here." Max said as the last card slipped into its box, the human crouched down to the ground with a small frown on her face.

    "How does that thing even work?" Herah asked, pointing towards Max''s cardbox.

    "This cardbox right here was a gift given to me by the goddess Hecate, it refills itself every two minutes with two new cards."

    "Good to know," Herah said with a nod, before filling around in her mouth for the newly emerged tooth that had been forced to grow in place of her most recent creation, "Anyway, I got some good news."

    "What is it?"

    "I have some more info on Moon and Jacob."

    "Do you know what his <u>gift</u> is exactly?''"

    Herah shook her head with a frown.

    "Still no clear idea what he''s doing, but right now he is very irrational and pissed. We can use that to our advantage."

    Max shook her head before rising to her feet and beginning to run a hand through her unbound hair.

    "Before we do that, we need some way to approach him that won''t allow for him to just instantly remove one of us from the fight."

    "Well," Herah let out a smoky sigh, "Allow me to give you all of what I''ve gathered first then we can come up with a plan."

    "Okay, so wha-"

    ''Hey guys, are you okay?''

    Herah''s hand flashed up towards her amulet with Max doing the same, albeit much slower.

    ''Yeah we''re fine Owen, what''s up?''

    ''Before you answer that, any news on how my brother is doing?'' Max asked.

    ''He''s fine, currently he''s falling down a tunnel he created.''

    ''A tunnel?'' Max asked, sounding and feeling slightly confused by Owen''s thoughts.

    ''Yeah, it''s about two miles deep and I have no idea how he created it.''

    ''Well, since we know Alex is fine and now have Owen here to help, why don''t I tell you both what I''ve learned?''

    ''Oh yeah, I see another Keijo has appeared.'' Owen replied sounding rather confused and a bit ashamed, ''I don''t know why they''re only showing up now.''

    ''Norwe most definitely hid them away because that fucker thought it would be entertaining if Jacob showed up again. Herah thought back, anger coloring her thoughts.

    ''Who''s Jacob?''

    ''He''s the new Keijo we''re going up against,'' Max replied, ''His <u>gift</u> allows him to completely paralyze you while also trapping you within the confines of your mind. Or at least I think that''s what he''s doing.''

    ''That doesn''t sound good.''

    ''It isn''t,'' Herah said with a mental and physical growl, ''When we first fought he managed to use his ability to cut my head off.'' Herah ran a finger along where her head had been detached, ''Don''t want to go through that again.''

    ''Do you have any plans on handling it yet?''

    ''Knowing that only one person can be under at once and that Jacob needs to see you first to use it, I have the inklings of one. But first, lets gets all the facts on the table, okay?''

    ''Sure.''

    ''Got it lavatits.''

    ''As I told Max earlier, Jacob is very irrational and angry right now. The Keijo also isn''t particularly happy with Moon.''

    ''How bad is it?''

    ''Bad to the point that I''m sure Jacob actually had to hold himself back from killing the priest.''

    ''That doesn''t sound good.'' Max thought, Herah feeling the pity and sadness coming from her.

    ''For those two that is.'' Herah responded, ''Anyway, more news is that Moon loss his old <u>gift</u> when receiving his chaos powers.''

    ''So we don''t have to worry about those spores of his or any other bodies anymore?'' Owen asked, his tone hopeful.

    ''Yup,'' Herah responded before adding, ''Of course, the downside is that Moon got a field of chaos that surrounds him automatically and flowers that are used to fire off beams of chaos.''

    ''Neither of those sound too good.''

    ''Luckily for us, there is a caveat to how his ability functions.''

    ''What is it?'' Max asked.

    ''When Moon and Jacob first charged forward, I noticed that behind both of them the lightning you had thrown earlier reappeared once Moon was no longer within five meters of them. When I had overwatch over them as they fought the hydra, I noticed that a tree that had entered his range was transformed into a giant Oni mask. The grass beneath his feet would also go through its own changes around him as well, though only when Moon was moving and he often moved too fast for anything to really stick.''

    ''So the effects of Moon''s chaos field is only temporary.'' Max concluded, the human visibly rubbing her chin.

    ''Yes, and when it comes to Moon''s powers, the result can''t be controlled. And it can quite literally be anything from what I can tell.''

    ''Do you know how large does something have to be in order for his chaos field to affect it?'' Owen asked.

    ''Moon''s ability seems to completely ignore anything around the size of a white blood cell or smaller.''

    ''How do you know this?'' Max thought, her head tilting in wonder.

    ''When you were trapped in whatever Jacob has going on, I was forced to dodge one of Moon''s chaos beams and while doing so, I flicked a drop of blood into to it to see what would happen.''

    ''And nothing occurred?'' This question came from Owen.

    ''Nope, and since blood is a mixture and the biggest part of it is white blood cells I drew my conclusion.''

    ''Hmm,'' Max began running a hand through her hair, ''I think we can use this.''

    ''What''s more is that Moon is unable to physically attack as well.''

    ''Is that all you''ve gathered Herah?'' Owen asked, Herah already able to tell that the cogs were going in his mind.

    ''One last thing is that Moon is currently unwilling to attempt to end this until either Jacob finds "peace", we''re dead, Jacob''s dead, or Moon''s dead.''

    ''We''ll have to keep that in mind in planning then.'' Max mused, still running a hand through her hair.

    ''You got any ideas?'' Herah asked, a few small plans coming to her mind.

    ''When it comes to working around Jacob''s gift, I have an idea that might work but I''m not sure about Moon yet.'' Max said, Herah looking over to her to see a small frown on her face.

    ''Well, I think I sorta have something to get around Moon''s field.'' Owen answered.

    ''What do you mean you sorta have something?'' Herah asked, a bit puzzled by Owen''s word choice.

    ''What I mean is that what I have is plan, but someone else has the tools.''

    ''Alex?'' Herah asked without hesitation.

    ''What do you assholes want?'' Alex responded, ire being "heard" clearly in his tone, ''I''m a bit busy.''

    ''Moon got an upgrade and a new Keijo appeared.''

    ''Is it the one Herah didn''t kill?''

    ''........''

    ''........''

    ''Yup.'' Herah responded, no shame or guilt in her tone.

    ''Herah you''re an idiot.''

    Herah fell face first onto the ground, drool pooling around her head in a comically fast manner as motor functions and complex thinking left her.

    ''ALEX!''

    ''Sis don''t act like she doesn''t deserve it!''

    ''Now is not the time for that!''

    ''Yeah, yeah. Herah you''re not retarded.''

    Herah shook her head before sitting up and wiping the drool off her face.

    ''So you need my help with what exactly?'' Alex asked, clearly wanting this to be done an over.

    ''Do any of your orbs control centralized locations?''

    ''Yeah, it''s called Fact. Why do you need it?''

    Herah could already see the smirk on Owen''s face, the youngling pretty sure a plan had just come to mind.

    ''So here''s my idea....''

    ONI

    "This is getting annoying."

    Jacob said these words as he ran behind Moon with a slightly smaller than before barrage of fireballs on their tails, the pair darting between and around trees. At this point, Moon had sprouted dozens of smalls flowers all around his body with each aimed towards the flames chasing the pair.

    "I thought sprouting that many flowers to shoot things was a bad idea!" Jacob shouted after Moon as several dozen blast of chaos went over his head.

    Looking back, Jacob saw each blast connect with a fireball. A few appeared to suffer no distinct changes while some transformed into miscellaneous things of no real effect or purpose, and even more transformed into things a bit more problematic.

    "It is, but with those things tracking us, it''s a bad idea to not get rid of as many as possible as soon as possible."

    Unsheathing Sam''s taichi, Jacob found himself with seven four-legged growling monsters with long snouts and crude teeth made of roots and grass catching up with him. The first of the seven ran up and leaped towards Jacob''s back with a snarl, a swift decapitation following afterwards. The six others split up into pairs with one on his right, another on his left, and the final pair dragging behind him. Studying each beast carefully, Jacob saw that from their mouths a mysterious sap dripped and that all six of them seemed to be growling out a distinct but unknown language to each other.

    ''I wonder if these things are from another universe or are they just created on the spot.''

    One of the beast on either side of Jacob leaped up at him, just as both of the ones behind him spat out head-sized globs of the strange sap he had noticed earlier. Enforcing his <u>gift</u> upon the beast on his left, Jacob split the one on his right in half while grabbing the paralyzed one by its snout and throwing it behind him. The beast smashed through the balls of sap and into one of the following beasts with both being knocked into the pursuing fireballs, removing a fair chunk from the equation. Swiftly following this, Jacob used his <u>gift</u> on the last monster on his right and then cleaved the head off the one on his left. Looking back, Jacob found the last beast darting away towards some trees for cover. But before it could reach the trees, a beam of chaos struck it and reduced it to a clump of whimpering string.

    With all the monsters eliminated, Jacob turned back to the balls of fire still in pursuit of him and Moon just as another barrage of chaos rays struck them. This time, five of the balls struck by the beams were shot towards Jacob at much quicker speeds. Before he could even react, Jacob was struck by two of the fireballs. But instead of catching fire or anything of the like, he was rocketed off his feet and towards Moon.

    "Look out!" Jacob shouted, just as Moon dived into a roll and flipped himself back onto his feet now running after the still flying Keijo.

    KRAKK!

    "GAAA-"

    KRAKK!

    "-AAAH-"

    KRAKK!

    "-HHHH!"

    THUD!

    Blasting through three trees, his speed slowing with each impact, until Jacob finally stopped when he slammed into a fourth tree and indented into it.

    Shaking the daze from his mind and putting a hand to his head, Jacob looked up to find Moon sliding to a stop before him. The priest then spun around to face the incoming fireballs and let out another series of chaos blast that all struck true. Before Jacob could even comprehend all the new shifts to the fireballs, the last one Moon struck quickly collapsed in on itself and began sucking everything within a two-meter radius around it for but a second before collapsing in on itself completely.

    "What the fuck!?" Jacob said as he saw the only thing left in the wake of this black hole was a meter deep hole in the ground and empty air.

    "We pulled a lucky card on that one." Moon said, assuming a laxer but still ready position.

    "You think," Jacob said, rising to his feet and picking up Sam''s blade before looking back at Moon, "I''m getting more wary of your powers the more I see them in effect."

    "That''s smart of you." Moon responded before the purple flowers that had sprouted all over his body began to fall off of him and disappear into nothingness. "Now, we need to find Herah and Ma-"

    The scenery around Jacob changed in an instant, with the dense forest he stood within being suddenly replaced by a small meadow that seemed to fill out about an acre. A small meadow of which had Herah flying towards him with her left hand poised to strike. On reflex, Jacob activated his <u>gift</u> on Herah and watched as her body looked to lock itself into its pose. Crossing his right arm across his body and bending back to the point that the back of his head nearly touched the ground, Jacob allowed Herah to shoot right over him. Jacob''s sword arm blurred, only stopping once Herah was completely past him. Returning back to a completely upright position, Jacob turned to look at the still flying Herah just as her body broke apart into bite-sized cubes. Large amounts of blood splattered onto the flowers and grass as the cubes continued their flight until wetly smasking into one of the bordering trees.

    "Well that was easy-" Jacob paused and his eyes widened at the sight of Herah swooping down from the sky and flying from across the meadow to charge him down. As this happened, Jacob unsheathed Lucy''s katana while also readying his <u>gift,</u> a sixth sense of sorts alerting him to the presence of something coming from behind him. Just as both Herah and whatever else was attacking him got within arm distance, Jacob leaped up and placed his body parallel to the ground. With this action, Jacob found himself caught between two Herah''s, one flying over him and the other flying under him. Reflexively opening his mouth in surprise before quickly shutting it with a growl, Jacob rapid fire activated Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ on both Herahs as his body blurred into a whirlwind of blades. By the time Jacob had landed crouched to the ground, the monsters had been reduced to lean cut meat that covered the grass in blood and smacked into trees like the previous one.

    Raising both of his arms so that he struck a t-pose while also turning his head to look around, Jacob watched as dozens of Herah''s came down from the sky and began to surround him.

    "I''m guessing that Max bitch did this for you?" Jacob asked, the sight of all the smirking Herahs causing him to let out a disgusted scoff.

    "Yup," One of the Herah''s said before pointing at him with a grin, "Ready to die?"

    "Pfft-Ahahaha." Jacob chuckled, amusement filling him as he thought about his current predicament. "Maybe if you were all exact copies of the original, I would take that threat a bit more seriously."

    "What does that mean?" The same Herah responded with a growl.

    "I mean that my interaction with those last three of you fakes makes it clear that in order to make all of you, Max had to make some great sacrifices in your creation."

    "Such as?"

    "You''re all slow, in fact, you''re just a bit slower than me now."

    "If this was a one on one, two on one, three on one, ash maybe even a four on one, I''d be inclined to agree with you." The single Herah spread her arms out, gesturing to all of her many duplicates, "But when we outnumber you this much, I think the odds are more heavily stacked in our favor."

    "I didn''t even entertain the idea I have now before with you since your reaction time easily outpaces mines and so does your speed, but now I can show you just how powerful Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ can be." Jacob said, as he turned his entire body to face the speaking Herah while also bending his knees to prepare a charge towards the monster.

    Every Herah within the meadow raised a single hand towards Jacob and merely gestured for him to come at them.

    "Happy to oblige."

    Crossing the meadow in a second, Jacob enforced Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡  onto the Herah in front of him before swinging at her head. Just as his blade made contact with her neck, Jacob switched the target of his <u>gift</u> to the Herah on his right halting her in her movements for but a second before switching to the one on his left and getting the same effect. This allowed Jacob to swiftly decapitate the three Herah''s in the immediate vicinity to him before anyone of them could make any real move. Following this, Jacob leaned his head back and out of the way of a punch before activating his <u>gift</u> on the offending Herah and removing her head. He was then forced to lean forward as one Herah came from behind him with a high kick aimed at the back of his head. Ducking under this, Jacob took note of the four other Herah''s quickly closing in on him. He then began to enforce Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ on all five of Herah''s targeting him, rapidly switching between all of them as he dived away from his spot. This caused the four incoming Herah''s to smack into each other and quite literally butt heads, allowing Jacob to decapitate them all with a single swing of Lucy''s blade. Jacob followed this up with a swift beheading of the fifth and final Herah of the attacking group.

    With that done, Jacob noticed that no other Herah had attacked him or were attacking him, all of them were just watching him closely, now a bit wearier.

    "Do you know what Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ means?" Jacob asked, his deathly cold tone betraying the smirk that he wore.

    "Max says that it means Dream Robber." One of the Herah''s responded as she slowly walked past other hers.

    "Do you know why I chose such a name for my <u>gift</u>?"

    The Herah''s eyes narrowed.

    "No."

    "Because of you and Max."

    Jacob watched as the many of the present Herah''s began clenching and unclenching their fist, claws sheathing and unsheathing alongside this.

    "Why us?"

    "Because you were the ones to rob me of my dreams, and I plan to do the same to you in return."

    "I wish you luck." Every Herah said, their words taunting.

    "Go to hell."

    "You know," One of the Herahs tilted her head, "Over the past three days, I''ve had that word said to me plenty of times. I''m not sure of its exact meaning, but I assume it''s location that''s undesirable."

    "Just get on with it already," Jacob said, letting out his own growl before sheathing both Sam''s and Lucy''s blade. Tightening his grip on both blades'' hilts, he tilted the end of their sheath''s upward while crouching down in preparation for another attack.

    "Okay then, I''ll just skip to what I was trying to say," The fake Herah said with a smirk, before the sky darkened with the appearance of dozens more of her. The next words Jacob heard were a chorus. An annoying and grating chorus.

    "YOU FIRST!"

    And in one fell swoop, every Herah charged towards Jacob.

    HALT

    ''How''s it looking up there Herah?'' Max''s voice filled Herah''s mind as the youngling floated just under a cloud, looking down upon her clones'' and Jacob''s battlefield as a constant stream of duplicates emerged from the cloud above her.

    ''I''m honestly impressed,'' Herah thought, her eyes on the one-sided massacre that was happening below her. ''And a bit disturbed by the continuous sights of my own dismemberment and beheading.''

    ''Is Jacob really doing that well?''

    Herah''s sight zoomed in on Jacob, the Keijo combatting the onslaught of her clones while drenched in blood (very little his own) and a few cuts and bruises. The ground was littered with corpses and severed limbs and heads, blood having stained every inch of grass and flowers within the meadow that Jacob fought within. These corpses and their subsequent parts tended to disappear within mere seconds of being killed but were being replaced so fast that it was almost unnoticeable.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ''Remarkably. Even though I''ve been attacking him for fifteen minutes straight with no less than 100 clones at any given time, Jacob has only taken the barest amounts of damage.'' Herah looked up into the cloud above her, where a small glass orb floated. All around it, Herah clone after Herah clone was constructed with a flash of light before flying down to the fight below. ''Where did you get the idea for this orb of glass anyway? It''s honestly ingenious.''

    ''I once banged a goddess of magic, that same one I mentioned earlier, Hecate. While I was busy doing that, Alex stole a magic item called the Orb of Sch¨ªzon. That item was what gave me the idea for what you now have.''

    ''Why did your brother steal the orb?'' Herah asked, a slight wince leaving her at a particularly brutal series of beheadings delivered by Jacob.

    ''He required it for a plan he had to murder a god by the name of Hermes.'' Max replied, feelings of regret and sadness flowing from her into Herah.

    ''The more I hear about Alex, the more I never want him to meet my mistress.

    ''Yeah,'' Herah imagined Max rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, ''It''s probably for the best. Alex has murdered entire pantheons worth of gods after all.

    ''Why don''t we move on?'' Herah thought, disturbed by Max''s final comment.

    ''Have you gleaned anything new about Jacob that you believe to be important?'' This question came from Owen.

    ''Yup,'' Herah said with a nod, watching as one of her clones came in from Jacob''s blindspot to cut him down.

    Her head came off with a single swing.

    ''It seems as if a subsidiary of Jacob''s <u>gift </u>allows him complete spatial awareness of anything within 120 feet of him.''

    ''What makes you assume that?'' Max asked.

    ''Whenever on the edge of the meadow, Jacob has the barest reactions to any clones that have crossed about half of the meadow.'' Herah though, watching as the very thing happened. ''This''ll be important when Moon reaches us and I enter the battlefield.''

    BOOM!

    Herah found her attention directed to the sudden explosion that occurred little less than a mile away from where Jacob fought, finding tree debris and chunks of ground shooting into the air with a stack of smoke following quickly afterward.

    ''Speaking of Moon, how''s that going Max?''

    ''I''ve done pretty good at impeding him, though he is going to close in on you guys soon enough. And yeah, I''ve also tried out a beta version of our plan. It''s proven effective.''

    ''Then it''s about time we move onto phase 2, don''t you think?'' Owen asked over their link, getting twin confirmations from Herah and Max, with Herah issuing an order.

    ''Now set him free, it''s time we all get into position.''

    ONI

    Jacob was a whirlwind of blades and blood, moving through and around the attacks of every Herah while retaliating with blows that always tore through the flesh they encountered with ease. And in return, all he ever received were minute cuts and scrapes.

    Sheathing Sam''s taichi and leaping into the air, Jacob caught a flying Herah who had been coming down towards him by one of her horns before using it to swing himself onto her back. With his hand still on this horn, Jacob pulled back on it causing the Herah duplicate to bend her back and take a spear hand through her chest from one of her sister clones. Taking advantage of this, Jacob beheaded both Herahs before dropping back to the ground and splitting another clone in half. And as he did all of this, Jacob continued to enforce his <u>gift</u> onto everyone within his range.

    Then he saw the giant red fireball shooting down from the sky.

    "Oh shit." Jacob said to himself, before attempting to get out of range of the ball of certified death. However, the sheer number of Herah''s surrounding him made this a rather fruitless endeavor. So instead of trying to run from the ball of flames, Jacob decided to get rid of it. Dropping down to the ground, Jacob swung out one of his legs and took one Herah right off her feet. He then got on his back and placed both of his legs in a position to catch the falling Herah by her back. He then laucnhed her into the air towards the incoming fireball. After doing exactly that, Jacob repeated the same course of action four more times. However, each time he did this, the fireball would break apart around the thrown Herah before coming back together once she was past. Jacob let out a frustrated grunt before switching up his strategy. Jacob leaped back up to his feet before sheathing both Lucy''s and Sam''s blade. With his hands now free, Jacob began dodging and weaving around five Herahs. While doing this, Jacob made sure to grab at and tangle up their hair. He did this until he had created a giant knot that branched out into a star-like shape with all five Herah''s trying to pull away from each other. Being right under the knot, Jacob tripped each of these Herah''s and forced them to fall right on top of him just as the fireball hit.

    BOOM!

    Jacob gritted his teeth and let out a strained growl as he felt his body heat up rapidly. Sweat began pouring from his skin in a rapid fashion, steam rising up as the blood that covered him began to evaporate. Jacob felt that his eyes might boil over with just how hot everything was getting, and the metal kamas on his back and his chainmail shirt began to burn into his skin.

    The pain and heat were excruciating.

    But even so, Jacob did not pause in his rapid switching of targets for his <u>gift</u> making sure not a single one of the Herah''s atop of him or anywhere close to him could attack while he was so vulnerable.

    Luckily enough, the fire only lasted for a few seconds before it was all gone. And as soon as it was, Jacob shoved all the five Herah''s off of him and took off their heads. Looking up into the sky, the Keijo squinted as he searched for his assailant.

    "Where, oh where, are you? You log-damned bitch." Jacob said to himself before his eyes quickly found where all the Herah''s were coming from, "Got you!"

    Jacob immediately began cutting a swath through the dozens of Herah''s that surrounded him as he raced towards one of the fully grown trees that bordered the meadow. As soon as Jacob reached the tree, he activated Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ on the real Herah, freezing her in place. He then began running up the tree, reaching the top within the matter of a second before taking a split second to be sure of her location. WIth it confirmed, Jacob bent his knees and took a leap.

    BOOM!

    The tree Jacob had previously been running on shattered, as the force of his jump launched all the debris into any pursuing Herah clones that had been trying to stop him. Flying through the air with Sam''s taichi now drawn, Jacob counted the seconds till he reached Herah.

    1

    Jacob swung at a Herah clone coming in from his right, taking off her head.

    2

    Jacob drew Lucy''s katana and threw it at Herah coming directly down towards him, her head snapping back as the blade burrowed cleanly into it.

    3

    Jacob shot by the Herah with Lucy''s blade in her skull, splitting said skull when he grabbed the weapon while flying by.

    4

    Jacob rolled passed three incoming Herahs, removing their heads as he flew by before returning Lucy''s blade to its sheath and readying Sam''s for a strike.

    5

    SHULK!

    Jacob let out a small grunt as he slammed into Herah, both going a few feet higher into the cloud that Herah had been flying under. Sam''s tachi had pierced Herah''s neck and exited from the base of the back of her head. Hot blood splattered onto Jacob''s face and stained his hands, said blood having splurted from Herah''s throat and a bit from her mouth.

    "That should keep you stil-

    SPLOOCH!

    "HURKK!"

    Jacob''s eyes widened as his body was robbed of all of its air, Herah''s right hand having pierced his stomach and shot cleanly through his back. Even with the grave wound, Jacob was able to notice that Herah still looked visibly as if under the effect of his <u>gift</u>, her eyes looking completely through him and on a smaller note he noticed that a glass orb behind Herah seemed to be summoning the clones.

    "How?"

    A vicious left hook was all he got as a reply.

    BOOM!

    CRRACK!

    "HURK!" The sound flew from Jacob''s mouth by reflex, his body having slammed into the ground and a crater having formed around him as a result of his impact. Letting out a groan, Jacob attempted to move only to find most of his bones broken and of lot of his skin pierced by said broken bones. But even with pain filling his brain, Jacob was able to continuously enforce his gift upon all of the surrounding Herah''s clones and the real one.

    Though this did little to actually stop the monsters from firing off a gigantic ball of yellow-green flames dead at Jacob.

    It would hit him in less than two seconds.

    ''Fuck,'' Jacob coughed up a bit more blood, ''I can''t just die like this.''

    Jacob attempted to move his body, but the mere thought of movement sent waves of agony flying through him.

    "DA-ACK-MNIT!" Jacob spoke, more blood spurting from his mouth as his vision began to go hazy.

    With his vision rapidly failing him, Jacob still refused to relent in the projection of his <u>gift</u> at this point in the battle just holding on out of spite. With all the surrounding Herah clones, not even being able to move an inch the only thing that could end him at the moment was the fireball falling towards him.

    Jacob blinked somewhat confusingly as he saw two beams (maybe?) hit the ball of flames causing it to turn pink.

    ''Moon, fuck your powers.''

    BOOM!

    Jacob blacked out.

    ....

    ....

    ....

    The first thing Jacob noticed when he came to was just how cold he felt. In fact, he felt as if he was completely covered in ice.

    "Wait? What the fuck!?"

    CRI-CRACK!

    Jacob sat up with a jolt, the bits of ice and frost that had attached his body to the ground breaking with ease at his sudden movement. Looking around himself in bewilderment, Jacob found that the entire meadow had been covered in ice and that all of the Herah clones within had been frozen solid, some even having shattered.

    The second thing Jacob noticed was his newly restored state. In fact, he not only felt and looked healed but felt rejuvenated, his previous battle exhaustion now gone.

    Rising to his feet with only a shiver, Jacob looked around himself and found that he had never let go of Sam''s tachi through the last little bits of chaos that had occurred. Gripping the blade tighter and twirling it to get rid of its frost covering, Jacob quickly unsheathed Lucy''s katana and did the same. Once both blades were uncovered, Jacob flipped them both into reverse grips and slammed their pommels into his shoulders. The ice and frost that covered his entire body shattered and was expelled from his skin.

    "Glad you''re alive and well. And it still seems you need to to be told to control yourself, my child."

    The third thing Jacob noticed was that Moon was standing next to him, a small cut on his right cheek and a smile on his face. Dozens of flowers still bloomed from his body all aiming towards the Herah statutes that surrouned them.

    "What the hell took you so long Father?" Jacob asked with a dismissive grunt, mostly ire and a slight hint of thankfulness filling his tone.

    "Max wanted a piece of my time." Moon took a look around him, his eyes seemingly drawn to the multiple frozen Herah''s in the clearing. "Well, that''s kinda funny."

    KRRSHHH!

    KRRSHHH!

    KRRSHHH!

    Jacob let out a growl and unsheathed Lucy''s katana as several more Herah clones landed around him and Moon, some smashing through their frozen counterparts as a circle formed around the pair. Looking over to Moon, Jacob found the Holy Father smiling at one of the nearest Herahs.

    "Hey Herah, I see you''re copying me."

    The Herah clone smirked and gave Moon a shrug.

    "What can I say? Your own shows of overwhelming numbers had an impact on me."

    This caused for both to share a laugh that caused Jacob to let out a disgusted scoff.

    "Could you not talk with our enemy as if she was a friend?"

    Moon looked towards Jacob with an apologetic look before saying,

    "Apologies my son-"

    Oen of the Herah''s shot towards Moon with their fist reared back for a strike, but as soon as she entered his range her body was turned to glass.

    KRRSHHH!

    Moon''s fist shattered the glass Herah with ease.

    "I thought you couldn''t hurt others directly anymore," Jacob asked, as he put his back to Moon''s and readied himself for another round of battling.

    "By that point, Herah wasn''t alive," Moon responded, the flowers all around him began to point towards each of the new Herahs in sight, "Remeber the plan for earlier?"

    "That was more of a tactic than anything else, but yeah." Jacob said, his eyes going up to Herah, "By the way, where is Max?"

    "No idea, the entire time she was attacking me she was somewhere I couldn''t detect."

    "That sounds troublesome." Jacob said, his sphere of awareness finding no sign of Max being anywhere close by.

    "Definitely," Moon said with a nod, "We''re missing a vital piece to your problems."

    "Would you stop with that shit already?!" Jacob shouted at Moon, his head turning as much as it could to frown at the Holy Father.

    "Nope, before anything else can be progressed we must settle your monsters. And I believe we''ll need both of those two to do so." Moon replied, his tone serious.

    Jacob shook his head and returned his eyes to where Herah was.

    "Where the hell did she go?!"

    Correction, where Herah had been.

    Moon looked up towards where the monsters had orignally floated, before looking at the nearest Herah with a smirk.

    "You let us talk so long as to not allow us to track where the original you went."

    A flare of flames shout from the Herah clone''s nose as she gained a cheeky grin and said,

    "Yup."

    Moon pressed his back into Jacob''s, causing the Keijo to do the same into his own in return.

    "Well Jacob, I''m pretty sure both are nearby anyway. So we''ll just have to work with this."

    "Getting rid of that orb of theirs might help solve our problems," Jacob looked up to where he has seen it earlier within the cloud, "If it''s still there, that is."

    One of Moon''s flowers pointed towards the sky and fired a ray of chaos.

    All of Herah''s clones disappeared.

    "Well, that was stupid of her." Jacob said, his stance relaxing at the appearance of no visible threats.

    "Maybe they no longer needed whatever that was they were using to attack us." Jacob found himself surprised and worried by Moon''s tone, it being serious and cautious, "And if that was the case, I might''ve just given them an even bigger advantage than before."

    "What do you me-"

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    Jacob''s eyes widened as he noticed each every Herah enter within his area of awareness going nearly twice as fast as before.

    "Moon," Jacob turned to the Holy Father with a growl, "Not helping."

    "Well nothing we can do now, but try and find those two." Moon said while giving Jacob an apologetic smile.

    Jacob looked around him and found all the surrounding Herah''s walking around the pair, their eyes appearing to scan them both for any signs of weakness. Jacob and Moon both began to turn the opposite way of the circling Herah''s, both readying themselves to move and meet the next onslaught.

    "This is going to be a bitch and a half." Jacob responded, the smiling faces of all the Herah''s making him growl once again.

    "Well, let''s go then." Moon said, causing Jacob to tense in preparation just as each Herah surrounding him did the same.

    Then they all charged.

    HALT

    With a small red flame as her guide and main source of light, Max slowly trekked down one of the many tunnels that Owen had somehow managed to create within hours of the day before the last. The tunnels had no lightning, smelled of dirt and rock, and wasn''t overly large, but there were many and they could get her everywhere she wanted.

    ''You''re amazing, you know that Owen?'' Max thought to the gnome, a hand on her amulet and an oxygen mask on her face.

    ''Thank you Max, but what I made isn''t really too special.''Owen''s thought carried a tone of gratefulness that was undercut by the sound of dissatisfaction, ''In fact, it''s a bit shabby for any gnome worth their salt. Especially with the time I was given.''

    ''Really?'' Max asked, blinking at the mere idea of what Owen thought.

    ''Yeah, a gnome well practiced in the art of Petra can easily create a labyrinth the size of a continent within a manner of two hours, with said labyrinth being filled with beautiful and complex constructs.''

    ''Why aren''t you well practiced, if you don''t mind me asking?'' Max asked, a sudden spike emotional emptiness overcoming her which was quickly balanced out by Herah''s own emotions.

    ''I''ve dedicated most of my life to smithing so-

    ''Are you okay Max?'' Herah suddenly cut in, worry having flooded the emotional link that the pair shared.

    ''Yeah,'' Max replied, her tone coming out worried, ''Just a phase.''

    ''Sorry for cutting you off Owen,'' Max heard Herah think, her tone carrying a hint apologeticness to it.

    ''No problem, I shouldn''t be distracting Max anyway.'' Owen replied before thining, ''You''re in the right position by the way. Owen out.''

    ''What is it looking like up there, Herah?'' Max asked, drawing two goggle lenses from the pockets of her coat and checking them over.

    ''Why don''t you check with those new lenses for your goggles?'' Herah thought back, ''It''s much better to see it than to hear it.''

    With her curiosity peeked, Max took her goggles off her face and popped out their lenses before placing the new ones in their place. Throwing the goggles back, Max looked up above her. For a second, only dimly lit dirt greeted her eyes, then it began to disappear until Max could see and hear the rapidly moving figures of Moon, Jacob, and the Herah clones.

    "Wow, those two are really doing well." Max said to her self as she watched Moon and Jacob take on the horde of Herahs.

    It was like watching a raw and savage animal dance around their home, protecting it from any danger that got close to it. Even with Jacob lacking in speed when compared to everyone else around him, the Keijo was still able to take advantage of his <u>gift</u> thanks to Moon''s chaos field. Jacob would constantly just barely exit the invisible field, using himself as bait before quickly enforcing his gift onto any incoming Herah clones and ripping them apart. He would also get rid of any Herah who entered Moon''s field and wasn''t immediately destroyed or removed by the effects of the field. As Jacob did this, Moon stood in the center of the clearing with dozens of asters sprouting all over his body and blasting any and all Herah clones that they could. A myriad of effects occurred, no real rhyme or rhythm to them. Some Herahs transfigured into different things, others disappearing somewhere, some teleported into each other, and one even exploded. Though the blast wasn''t always negative in nature, some caused only cosmetic changes, like a change in the color of her skin, hair, claws, or horns. And a few even had positive benefits; increasing the speed of one of the clones, causing one to turn invisible, another one seemed to even be made immune to the effects of chaos. One clone that got hit had even proclaimed to know have been granted knowledge on how exactly to ensure their victory before snapping her own neck.

    Okay, that last one might have not been a benefit.

    But any of those clones who were afflicted positively were quickly cut down, with a bit more work from Moon and Jacob.

    ''You getting a good look Max?'' Herah asked, causing Max to start slightly before giving a hasty reply back.

    ''Yeah yeah, it looks like Moon has positioned himself perfectly to be taken out.'' Max let out a sad breath, tears beginning to prick at the corner of her eyes, ''It seems too cruel to kill him. Especially when he looks so happy.''

    ''For that very reason, I believe this is the best time to kill him,'' Herah responded, her thoughts filled with certainty and a distinct lack of any real negative emotions.

    ''Really?'' Max asked, a pain looked coming to her as she continued to watch Moon, the priest still wearing a smile, ''This seems to be the cruelest thing to do, to end it just as it gets good.''

    ''To die happy and at peace, that''s the ultimate goal for any us Max,'' Herah thought, her tone still holding its certainty, ''Moon has been lucky enough to reach that point, so ending him now is the least cruel thing we can do."

    ''Do you really believe that?'' Max asked tears beginning to slowly stream down her face.

    ''You already know the answer to that Max,'' Herah responded, her own feelings of understanding beginning to fill their link.

    ''Yeah, yeah I do.'' Max responded, rubbing away her tears before throwing her left hand to her side and saying, "Disfavour agee mem!"

    The crackling of electricity cut through the silence of the now greater lit tunnel of earth, as Max''s shoulder pad (which had been glowing dimly up to this point) came alight with red electricity before said electricity coursed down her arm into the rubber pad on the back of her single brown glove. The rubber seemed to completely absorb the electricity, with no visible changes to the glove and the electricity quickly stopping in its flow.

    For a moment, everything seemed to return to as it was before, albiet a bit darker. But then-

    ZZZZZZZZZZZ!

    Max''s left hand came alight with red electricity, said electricity spazzing out wildly and scorching the tunnels everywhere it struck. Vast amounts of energy filled Max, her body feeling energized and capable of anything.

    ''Owen,'' Max thought solemnly, her right hand on her amulet, ''I know you made my new gear never intending for it to be used as a weapon. I apologize for my malformation of your work, but this is the best chance I have to increase my contributions to the group.''

    ''What''re you talking about Max?'' Owen asked, his thoughts confused and slightly upset.

    ''You originally created my shoulder guard and glove to protect against any lightning bolts that might strike me. With the guard as a rod and the glove as a tool to discharge any electricity, this was supposed to be a simple grounding tool.''

    ''How could you possibly use that as a weapon?'' Owen asked his thoughts growing more worried and upset.

    ''You''ll learn soon enough.'' Max replied her tone now pained, before she thought, ''Now let''s get my brother on the line, it''s almost time for his part.''

    ONI

    Jacob felt his breath coming in hoarse and hard, as Lucy''s katana and Sam''s tachi beheaded two Herahs who had been just a bit too close to each other. Jacob quickly danced back into Moon''s Kaosu no ky¨±, narrowly avoiding a fatal swipe from two other Herah clones. These swipes did still manage to draw blood however, a cut now marking his forehead and left cheek. Spinning around the Holy Father, Jacob enforced his gift upon a Herah who had reached into the range of Moon and had her armed turned into a tree for her troubles. Beheading her without trouble, Jacob then flipped into the air both blades he wielded blurring as he enforced his gift upon three Herah''s who had been swooping down from the air. As the now cubed Herahs entered Moon''s range, one was turned into beams of light that shot of range and returned to their cube forms. Another was turned into gelatinous orange cubes that smacked into the ground and Moon, bothering neither. The last set of cubed Herah, pieced itself back together and attempted to spear Moon through the head. Several flowers and vines sprung from Moon''s shoulders, wrapping around and restraining the Herah with little issue. Before she could struggle too much, Jacob managed to land and cut off her head, allowing Moon to throw the body out of range.

    "I swear!" Jacob shouted, as he paused behind Moon, "You''re pissing me off with your power bullshit!"

    "Apologies," Moon said, his tone not at all apologetic, "But this power is the main thing keeping you alive right now, so please don''t be too mad about it."

    "True enough," Jacob responded with a sigh, his eyes watching as one Herah was vaporized by Moon''s chaos beam while another was turned inside out. "Just wish I could figure out where the real Herah was."

    "Even if you did," Moon began to say, his tone pleased and satisfied, "Would you do what is smart?"

    "What do you mean?" Jacob asked with an annoyed groan, already anticipating something stupid, "Are you still on about ensuring my peace and that bullshit?"

    "Partly that yes," Moon said, "But this has more to do with Herah somehow neutralizing your <u>gift</u>."

    Jacob paused for a moment before giving a rushed reply.

    "That was just a fluke."

    "Jacob," Moon''s tone became stern and harsh, "You know that wasn''t a fluke."

    "I''ll figure something out."

    "Before or after your head gets ripped off?"

    Jacob''s mouth shut tight, the Keijo quickly eliminating six incoming Herahs in frustration.

    "Jacob, rushing in like you did earlier nearly got you killed and you were only saved thanks to my help." Moon said, a barrage of beams leaving him. "I know you''re scared-"

    "I''M NO SUCH THING!"

    "YES YOU ARE!"

    Everyone paused, shocked at Moon''s yelling which caused the clearing to fill with silence.

    "Jacob, you just found out the one thing you have to even the odds so as to keep yourself relevant in this battle countered easily and without issue. You''d have to be an idiot to not be scared and frustrated." Moon turned to the Keijo with a frown on his face, "And I can see it clearly."

    Jacob attempted to make a frown, to give Moon a retort, or even just say something. But he couldn''t, instead, tears began to pour from his eyes as he realized that what Moon said was true.

    "This just isn''t fair! And I know it''s never been fair. Before all of this," Jacob flipped Sam''s tachi into a reverse grip, and began beating his chest, "I kept track of all the bullshit that went down in the history of our people! I know better than anyone else here what we''ve had to suffer thanks to the idiots who ran our home before either me or you were even apart of a log!" Jacob rubbed away the tears that clouded his eyes, "We''ve been powerless for centuries, unable to do anything to stop it all! And we''re now at the brink of our end," Jacob looked down towards the ground, his expression crestfallen and his voice dropping to a whisper, "And it looks like I can still do nothing."

    "You''re not as powerless as you think my son," Moon said his voice taking on soothing air, causing Jacob to look up towards him, "Sometimes the best thing you can control is yourself."

    "That isn''t enough," Jacob glumly said, his hands going down to his sides as he tightly gripped both blades, "Especially when someone can so easily take it away from me."

    "Raise one of your blades and one of the kamas on your back towards me," Moon ordered Jacob, causing the Keijo to give the priest a confused look, " Please just do it."

    Jacob sheathed Sam''s blade and grabbed a single one of his kamas from his back. Raising Lucy''s blade and his own kama towards Moon, Jacob found himself quickly filled with terror when the Holy Father blasted both with beams of chaos.

    "Have you lost your min-" Jacob paused as he saw the blade of Lucy''s katana turn pitch black while the curved blade of his kama elongated slightly and turned pearly white. "What the hell?"

    "That katana now kisses oblivion and shall rend anything you wish it to, and the kama now hungers for a will of its own, stealing that of anything it touches and taking more with every consecutive strike." The strange emphasis on the word will catching Jacob''s attention, "It also holds within it a gift for when you''re ready."

    "Ready for what?"

    "To wield what you consider yours," Moon let out a sigh before smiling at Jacob, "And when you finally start to control yourself."

    Jacob stared down at his two changed weapons with an unsure look on his face, Moon''s words and actions filling his mind and causing him to think deeply. While Jacob did this, he noticed Moon turn away from him and towards one of the motionless Herahs, a question following quickly afterward.

    "Why have you allowed us so long to talk Herah, especially when I gave Jacob his new weapons?"

    "Three reasons really Moon."

    Jacob''s attention snapped towards a new presence entering his sphere of awareness, his eyes quickly finding a Herah who had emerged from the treeline and was now leaning against one of the trees. Unlike all the other Herah''s in the meadow, this one seemed to carry herself differently, almost as if she was-

    "And you''ve even shown your true yourself as well," Moon added on, his tone filled with some cheer. "Something is definitely up."

    Jacob''s hands tightened in their group as he glared Herah down with overwhelming hate.

    "Hey Jacob," Herah told the Keijo with an acknowledging nod, before directing her attention to Moon, "And I said there are three reasons as to why I let you speak."

    "What''re they?"

    "One, I might be killer but I''m not heartless."

    "That''s debatable," Jacob spat out in disgust, a small growl leaving him.

    "Two, what you did should do little to affect our victory."

    "Why is that?" Moon asked, his head tilting to the side in curiosity. "A single hit from either of us could kill you now and I''m sure that what''s allowing you to move when under Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ won''t account for my beams will they?"

    "How''d you know?" Herah asked tilting her head and smirking at Moon.

    "I didn''t." Moon replied smirking back, before letting out a laugh which Herah joined in on. After a few seconds of good-natured laughing, the pair tapered off into chuckles before Moon said, "So what''s that third reason?"

    At this point, Herah loss her smirk and gained a slightly unsure look.

    "Earlier you told me, you were fully at peace. You meant it right?"

    Jacob turned to Moon and found the priest now smiling a somewhat bittersweet smile.

    "Yes."

    "The third reason was that you''d be dead soon enough."

    BOOM!

    Moon erupted in flames.

    Jacob saw red.

    Jacob turned to Herah.

    He saw a saddened monster.

    Jacob shouted a name.

    The monster glared at him.

    Jacob was blinded by rage.

    Jacob enforced Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ onto the monster.

    Jacob charged forward.

    Jacob reached the monster.

    Jacob readied himself to strike.

    A beam of chaos hit the tree next to the monster.

    Jacob found a claw centimeters from his face, restrained by what looked to be a wooden tendril.

    Jacob was shocked.

    His eyes turned towards Moon.

    The Holy Father was still standing, a single hand pointed towards the sky and another one pointed towards the tree. His clothes and entire body had been burnt to the point that he appeared to have regained his black skin, with one of his eyes visible burned shut and a few of his fingers missing. This caused for the purple flowers atop the palms of his hands to stand out even more than they had earlier, neither of them damaged. Looking towards the Holy Father''s face, Jacob found his lips bent into a smile his single open eye showing no signs of regret.

    "Control yourself," Moon''s voice came out hoarse and pained, a tone of peace filled with warning to his words, "My child."

    Then, a ball of light appeared behind Moon and exploded in a blinding flash.

    KRAAAK!

    A bolt of red lightning shot down from the sky, a cloud of dust, debris, and steam further obscuring Moon from sight.

    And when Moon was no longer hidden by the cloud and Jacob was no longer blinded, the younger Keijo found his elder brethren with Max''s fist through his chest and her back to him.

    Jacob screamed.

    ONI

    "I''m sorry."

    Moon''s scorched and blackened lips slowly bent into a smile, as he looked down upon Max''s face. With pain and sorrow held deeply within her eyes, a flood of tears pouring down her face, and the edges of her lips turned downward, Moon watched as Max barely held back a sob.

    "Don''t," Moon let out a bloody cough, a glob of blood hitting Max on her cheek, "Apologize."

    Shakingly raising a hand to Max''s bloody cheek, Moon wiped away his blood before raising the same hand to softly pet Max on her head.

    "You sh-shouldn''t move too much," Max told Moon, as one of her hands went down to her coat pocket, "You''ll aggravate your wounds."

    Moon looked down to his chest, a cold empty feeling where he saw Max''s arm pierced him. This caused him to let out a week chuckle.

    "A little aggravation" Moon''s body became wracked by coughs, even more blood being coughed up, except this time he covered his mouth, "Shouldn''t be too much for me."

    "I''m sorry."

    "Don''t apologize," Moon responded, his eyes looking past Max and towards Jacob, the Keijo appearing much slower than earlier. Looking towards Herah, he found she too seemed to be moving much slower and so did the unfurled tree that was restraining her. To add to this, all the surrounding Herah clones, appeared to slowly be breaking apart into light, signaling that his second shot towards whatever was being used to replicate Herah had hit and in some way destroyed it.

    ''It''s because I''ve been speeding up time around this entire fight,'' Norwe said, his voice filling Moon''s head, ''This makes sure both parts finish up around the same time. Right now, I ''ve increased the time around you and Max specifically to allow this moment.''

    ''Thank you Norwe.''

    ''Don''t mention it,'' The Maker responded, a pleased and cheerful laugh following before Norwe left Moon''s mind.

    Returning his attention back to Max, Moon found her raising a hand filled with what appeared to be red sparkles towards his face. With a swiftness unbecoming of his burnt form, Moon caught Max by the arm that she was raising towards him and shook his head.

    "Don''t waste that on me." Moon''s eyes went back to Jacob, "There is someone else who could use it much more than I can."

    "I''m sorry."

    Moon simply shook his head, letting go of Max''s arm. With a single wet plop, Moon pulled himself from the arm that Max has used to pierce his chest before stumbling back slightly. Before he could fall completely, Max caught him by one of his burnt arms, Moon not even feeling it. She then slowly guided him onto the ground and his back, before giving another apology.

    "I''m sorry."

    Letting out a single sigh, Moon gave Max a final reply.

    "I hope that when you finally pass on fully, you''re sorry no more."

    Moon then took one last breath and let it out, before the cold that started in his chest spread throughout all of his body and the numb settled in.

    Moon knew not.

    Moon thought not.

    But Moon was happy.

    And on that day, at that very moment; Moon Jashin, the third priest of the Penance seeking Oni and son of Diavolo Jashin, died at the hands of Max, a gifted participating in Recompense.

    ONI

    Jacob finished his scream and almost charged straight for Max, but before he could Moon''s last words rung through his skull.

    ''Control yourself, my child.''

    Jacob paused in his movements and tightened his grip on both the weapons in his hands to the point that he drew blood. Looking at Max, Jacob watched as she turned to towards him with tears pouring from her eyes and her left arm covered in Moon''s blood. With the Holy Father''s blood on his mind, Jacob looked over to the recently made corpse and saw the smile on his face.

    "Three times I''ve charged in with only a single thought in mind." Jacob''s voice came out deadened and empty, his eyes drifting over to Max who stared back at him silently, "To kill either you and Herah, or just Herah."

    Jacob let out a sigh before turning to his head towards the restrained Herah. When Moon''s beam of chaos had struck the tree next to her, the tree had opened up like a cloak before its ends latched onto to Herah and began dragging her into its hollow center. Whatever had allowed her to move while under the effect of Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡, seemed to completely ignore the tree so Herah was currently being dragged without any resistance with the telltale lost look on her face signaling that his <u>gift </u>was still in effect.

    "And each time he was there to cover my ass, the words "Control yourself, my child" leaving his mouth soon after. And deep down, I understood exactly why what he said was right and that I really did need to control myself." Jacob shook his head while turning back to Max "But I didn''t care, because I figured that there was no need for such a thing when I could just take away your control."

    Jacob let out a sigh, his eyes turning upwards as he stared into the sky and feelings of regret began to well up within him.

    "But now I do care, because my lack of control got someone who wanted to help me killed."

    "This," Jacob heard Max began, before taking a sudden pause. Looking back down to her, he found the human looking down to her bloodsoaked arm with a pained expression on her face, "Isn''t your fault."

    For a moment, Jacob actually believed Max but then an unfamiliar Presence filled him and enlightened him to her lie.

    "I''m not an idiot, I see exactly how your plan was formulated."

    Max looked up to Jacob in surprise, the Keijo watching as confusion quickly joined and mixed with said surprise on her face

    "What do you mean?"

    Jacob sheathed Lucy''s katana and waved his now free hand towards Max and Herah.

    "Your plan relied on me either being killed by Herah when she retaliated to my own attack, or close enough to her that I would be left between a rock and a hard place when you finally made your move to kill Moon." Jacob glanced back at Herah, the monster halfway into the hollow tree that was to entomb her, "That way if I were to not die, I''d have to choose between battling you or her. Fighting her is a gruesome and painful suicide because she is so much faster than me that I can''t even attempt to exploit what would normally be an opening, and that doesn''t even account for whatever is allowing for her to move." Jacob then gestured lazily towards Max, "And fighting you is a quick suicide since you can speak as fast I move, and with a measly eight syllables you could end me."

    "That''s-" Max began to say something but the words seemed to catch in her throat, before she quietly said, "I''m sorry."

    "You apologize too damn much," Jaco said before letting out his own sigh and saying, "I just wish I had another chance to-"

    SPOOLCH!

    Jacob felt something pierce his right eye, just as all the vision on that side of his face went completely black.

    "What the-"

    But before Jacob could say any more, a blinding flash of light filled his vision and then consciousness left him.

    .....

    .....

    .....

    When Jacob came to he found himself feeling weightless within a familiar void, a grand feeling of directionlessness and futility filling him.

    ''Am I to be trapped here, forever floating within this void? Lost, without a path once again,'' Jacob thought to himself as he stared upon the endless abyss that trapped his mind.

    "That is one option you have,'' A strong, mature female voice cut through the quiet of Jacob''s void, her tone informative and impassive "Though, to settle on that when you have an infinte number of fates to choose and create at your hand, seems wasteful."

    Jacob watched in shock, as an orange orb of light with a long wispy tail appeared before his very eyes and began going in circles. The orb''s soft and soothing glow completely purging Jacob of his feelings of futility and being lost.

    "What are you?"

    "I am merely your <u>gift</u>''s instructions, here to tell you what it is and how to work it. Once done, I will fade and never reemerge."

    "I already know how Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡ works," Jacob told the orb of light in confusion, before his brows creased and he said, "Or at least I thought I did."

    "You might''ve known the functions of Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡, but this is something different. Your <u>gift</u> has evolved to fit your needs and your own personal change."

    "Why? How?" Jacob asked shaking his head, before looking down to his hands, the dots connecting within seconds. With his right hand reaching up to its accompanying eye, Jacob stared down at his left with his uncovered eye, "My kama, the gift Moon spoke of, it must''ve been a mask fragment. That''s the only way to evolve a Keijo''s <u>gift</u>, at least that''s what Norwe says at least." Jacob looked back up to the orb of orange light, "Is that what happened?"

    "I know no more than you do on this topic, my knowledge only extends to your current <u>gift</u>."

    Shaking his head once again, Jacob decided the how could wait to later.

    "What does my <u>gift</u> do now?" Jacob asked the orb, no reply being received at first. Instead, more orbs of lights of an expansive array of colors began to appear all around Jacob until the previously empty void was filled with a seemingly endless amount of them.

    "What the hell?"

    "These orbs of light you see are the infinte number of fates that can befall you, with some being premade by Norwe and others generated by you subconsciously." A red orb appeared before Jacob, this one having a small, translucent thread that connected it to his chest. "That orb is the current fate you''ve set yourself up for."

    Jacob reached up to the green orb, and as soon as the tip of his finger touched it, feelings of bittersweetness and calm filled him.

    "You will not know exactly how it ends or how you get there, but you will know how you will feel once you achieve it." The female voice spoke, answering his unverbalized question, "And once you choose your fate, rays of light and a seventh sense will guide you on what to do."

    "You said I could choose and create my fate, yes?" Jacob asked, his sights unwilling to leave the green orb that he held.

    "Yes."

    "How do I create one?"

    "Focus on the feelings you want to feel when at your end, and then visualize an orb piercing your chest and then flying through your back."

    Doing as instructed, Jacob focused on feelings of happiness, peace, and joy, all packed up into a single orb of pink light. He then imagined this orb of light piercing his chest and going out his back.

    "HURRK!"

    Jacob coughed up blood, as the feeling of something suddenly piercing his chest was felt throughout his entire body for but a moment before he felt as if nothing had ever really happened. Once this had come to pass, an orb of pink light floated before Jacob, just within his reach.

    "To choose that faith or any other, simply call it to your hand and imagine a physical link of some type binding you to it."

    Doing exactly that, Jacob found a pink chain of light connecting his chest to the recently created orb of light.

    "If you ever want to choose a different fate, you''ll just have to hide within the orb of light that now follows you in the physical world and imagine being back here."

    "Hide within the orb of light?" Jacob looked to the pink orb, it being just a bit smaller than his head, "How?"

    "It''ll come naturally to you don''t worry."

    "If you say so," Jacob responded, not sounding too sure, "Anything else I should know?"

    "Before I can fade, I must know the name of your gift. That will prove to me that I''ve done all I am supposed to and allow me passage into oblivion." When the blue orb said this, Jacob detected a hint of wanting within their tone.

    "You wish to go into oblivion, why?"

    "Because I came from it, and wish to return home." The orb of light replied, her voice beginning to sound impatient, "Now name, please?"

    Several different names flew through Jacob''s thoughts, each one being discarded just as quickly as they were thought up until one name stuck in his brain.

    "Dor¨©mum¨¥k¨¡."

    "Dream Maker, huh?" The sentient orb of light responded, before letting out a pleased sigh and saying with a slightly impressed voice, "That''s a good name."

    And then it disappeared.

    As if it was never there.

    "What a strange entity," Jacob said to himself, before his eyes narrowed, "They definitely knew a lot more than they let on."

    Jacob''s eyes went back to the pink orb. Brushing a single digit past the orb, Jacob felt the emotions he packed into it flow back into him.

    "To create one''s fate, what a powerful and comforting ability." A small smile came to Jacob''s face as Jacob''s thoughts went to the main catalyst for his new gift, "Thank you Moon, I won''t waste this opportunity."

    With those words, the pink orb began to glow even brighter until all that filled Jacob''s vision was the pink light.

    "I tried controlling others, now let''s see how far I get controlling myself."

    HALT

    When Herah returned to the physical world, she found herself under the cloak of darkness and crammed into a very confined space. After a few rapid blinks, Herah''s eyes began to glow a soft emerald and were able to make out what was around her.

    ''Max,'' Herah thought, a thumb on her amulet, ''Why am I in a tree?''

    ''Moon put you in there,'' Max responded, Herah hearing and feeling the surprise and worry radiating from her, ''Jacob''s changed, I can feel energy akin to Oblivion emitting from him.''

    ''What? Why?''

    ''For some weird reason, while we were talking, what looked to be a shard of an Oni mask shot up from the back his kama and into his right eye. After that, he was engulfed in a flash of light that quickly disappeared to reveal a Jacob decked out in monk clothing.''

    ''Why isn''t he dead Max?'' Herah asked, her eyes narrowed and her lips drawn into a small frown, ''That shouldn''t be too hard for you to accomplish, especially now that you''ve broken your second limiter.''

    There was a moment of silence as shame and pain flooded Herah''s and Max''s, and the youngling felt involuntary tears prick at the corner of her eyes.

    ''Because unlike Moon, I''m not sure that killing him is of benefit to him Herah,'' Max replied, her thoughts filled with anguish and her tears audible.

    Herah quickly realized her mistake, her own feeling of shame soon joining with Max''s with apologeticness thrown in as well.

    ''I''m sorry Max,'' Herah thought back in remorse, wiping away the tears that had begun pouring from her eyes, ''I made assumptions too quickly, want me to-''

    SHRIKK!

    Herah''s eyes widened in shock, as a quick feeling of utter shock filled her and Max''s link before agony exploded and lasted for as quickly as it appeared and then nothing was felt from Max.

    Green flames exploded from Herah''s mouth, eyes, and nose as fury engulfed her and tree that entombed her was reduced to ash. Landing on her hands and knees with her tears evaporated, Herah quickly stood up and turned her eyes towards two familiar scents that were in the center of the clearing. The sight that greeted her caused for her blood to boil.

    With a relaxed stance and gentle sway to his body, Jacob stood tall in his new attire with both of his weapons resting at his sides and a pink orb of light floating behind his head in Herah''s line of sight. Jacob was now wearing what looked to be a strange set of robes. With his right arm completely uncovered, the rest of Jacob''s body was draped with a black robe that hovered just above his ankles and fit rather loosely on his body. With a white sash around his waist and what looked to be a white cape covering his left shoulder down to just below his chest, Jacob looked like some type of holy priest to Herah. Well, Jacob would''ve if not for the strange sword in his left hand or the slightly abnormal looking sickle in his right that was stained in blood and dripping onto Max''s head.

    Speaking of Max, the human was laying on the ground completely still with her eyes staring emptily through Herah and blood dripping down from her slightly agape mouth. A profusely bleeding gash was going down from right shoulder to her left hip, and her clothing was splattered in her own blood as Moon lay just next to her dead.

    Looking back up to Jacob, Herah found that red bone plates had emerged from his face and completely covered it to form a new mask, this one wearing an open mouth snarl with its brow burrowed and a glare etched into its face.

    "Max isn''t dead, if that''s what you''re thinking." Jacob said, his voice now sounding more apathetic and tranquil than it had before. Thought, Herah could still detect the anger and rage beneath it.

    Not even responded to his words, Herah spread her wings and flapped once.

    BOOM!

    With a crater forming in her wake and all the nearby trees being blown apart, Herah shot forward with her left hand darting towards Jacob''s neck. Just before Herah''s claw could touch him, Jacob disappeared into the pink light behind him. Letting out a growl and spinning back around to face where Max lay, Herah slammed her feet into the ground. Tearing twin trenches in the frost and ice covered meadow, Herah managed to stop just before her body could completely exit said meadow. Now standing at the edge of the meadow, Herah watched as walls of pink light poured from the single orb hovering near Max. These lines poured out haphazardly, covering everything within the meadow and a bit beyond.

    "What the hell are thes-"

    Herah felt a presence appear behind her, but before the youngling could take any actions, Jacob reappeared before her his sickle now more bloody.

    ''Wher-''

    Herah''s body exploded in pain, trillions of cuts covering every square inch of it as blood spurted from every wound. Even with the pain filling her mind and pushing her to near unconsciousness, Herah noticed a great amount of something that the youngling had never felt before being ripped away from her very being. As this something left her, Herah found that her desire to pursue her dreams began to dim drastically in intensity, and that attempting to even think had become a struggle. Herah fell to her knees, her sense of agency fleeing her as her inner flame began to weaken to the point it was but a match in her chest.

    "Even with all those cuts, you''re still able to hold on." Herah heard Jacob say, his voice coming in muddled and quiet. "Unlike Max, you must have a lot of will."

    Herah found her mind oddly fixated on the word will, an unconscious and rather barebones understanding of what it was and how it functioned entering her mind. And as this information entered her mind, Herah felt the same something that had been leaving her from earlier manifest within her head before branching out to the rest of her body in a sudden burst of speed. When Herah had felt completely full, the youngling found that her flame''s strength had returned, her willingness to seek and fulfill her desires having came back as well.

    ''Wait, no,'' Herah thought to herself, a hand going to hover over her chest where her flame rested, ''They''ve all come back stronger.''

    With her mind now facing a clarity that it had never felt before, Herah pushed down the agony that filled her to the back of her mind before an onslaught of flames poured from all the open orifices on her head and shrouded her body in flames. With her wounds being burned away with the fire, Herah rose to her feet with a snarl and huff of smoke.

    "I don''t know what the ash you''ve done to me or Max, but I''ll be damned if you don''t fix her before I kill you."

    "You''re filled with rage, like I was earlier." Jacob replied, his tone still carrying its apathy and near tranquilness. "I wonder if it''ll be of boon or benefit for you. We''ll find out as we battle I guess."

    Jacob then disappeared into his orb of light once again, the same walls of pink light pouring out from it before Herah could even react. Readying herself for another Jacob to reappear behind her, the youngling found herself surprised when Jacob reappeared near the edges of the clearing.

    "How did you get past Dor¨©mur¨­b¨¡, by the way?"

    Instead of answering Jacob''s question, Herah looked over herself for a moment and made sure that all her wounds had completely healed. Finding her body up to standard, Herah looked back at Jacob and willed the flames covering her to break apart into thousands of pebble-sized green fireballs.

    "Your firepebbles won''t work," Jacob told Herah, his voice showing no sense of agency or fear.

    "Never hurts to try." Herah bit back, before launching the fireballs forward.

    Each pebble-sized flame fired across the meadow and towards Jacob within ten-thousandth of a second, the first flames appearing before the eyes of his mask before the Keijo made any move.

    BOOM!

    ''What the actual fuck!?''

    And his move was moving his sword-wielding arm so fast, that Herah wasn''t even able to track it as it seemed to completely erase and destroy every single one of the firepebbles that came at him. Jacob''s sword was back down at his side before Herah could even process it. Jacob disappeared into the pink orb behind him once again, with the many walls of pink light flooding the clearing once again. This time around, Herah noticed that the walls of light never purposely touched her or Max, instead bending and traveling around them.

    Herah didn''t get to think about this too much since Jacob appeared before her very eyes before disappearing and reappearing behind her. Once again, agony filled Herah as trillions of cuts appeared across her flesh and scales and will was ripped away from her. But instead of buckling down and falling to her knees, Herah pushed the pain down as quickly as it had appeared and attempted to smack Jacob away with one her wings. Before the motion was even halfway finished, Jacob blurred around and to the front of Herah. Once Jacob had stopped moving, Herah unconsciously noticed Jacob''s sickle wielding hand soaked in her blood.

    "HUURK!"

    "How about we make a deal? You answer my question, I answer yours." Herah head Jacob say as even more pain filled her mind due to two large bloody gashes appearing on her torso. Each one stretched from each of her shoulders to the opposite hip to create a bleeding X. Stumbling back slightly, Herah once again pushed the pain down and attempted to claw out his throat with a full speed swipe of her right hand. Jacob disappeared into the pink orb behind him once again.

    ''Damn it!'' Herah thought to herself, her flame shroud eating away at her wounds as her eyes and head moved to get a good look at all the new walls of light that now filled the partly frozen meadow. ''I need to figure out where that fucker is going to appear next, maybe I can catch him by surprise.''

    Out of the corner of her eye, Herah noticed one particular wall of light next to Max appear to just barely lighten in color. In fact, Herah wasn''t sure whether or not her eyes were just playing tricks at first. That was until Jacob appeared standing next to Max, his mask facing her. With a sudden spike of worry and slight fear, Herah let out a roar of flames that fired across the meadow reducing all the ice it engulfed into steam and burning all the grass beneath it before both Jacob, Max, and Moon''s corpse were swallowed by said flames. WIth her fire not stopping there and shooting straight through the meadow, Herah thought for a split second that her attack had hit.

    BOOM!

    SHILCK!

    That was until a flying sickle flew in from her right and slit her throat.

    With one hand reflexively moving to cover the new wound, Herah felt more will leave her, the amount taken increasing even more than before.

    ''Though I seem to have a lot of it so I should really just worry about how all this healing isn''t good for my flame," Herah thought to herself, before looking towards the direction the sickle had come from, ''It''ll probably be best for me to- Where the ash did Jacob go?''

    And found no one.

    "I''m over here."

    Herah''s head whipped towards her right, Jacob standing at the edge of the meadow with his even bloodier sickle back down at his side.

    "I''m much faster than you as shown, so all these attempts to hit me are more fruitless than anything else." Jacob looked away from Herah, "Huh, so your flames have selective burning."

    Herah''s eyes went over to where Max and Moon''s corpse laid, all around the pair, steam rose and burnt grass lay.

    "Yes it does," Herah responded offhandedly, turning back to Jacob before switching topics, "Why haven''t you killed me or Max yet? That sword of yours could make quick work of either of us, especially since you''re so fast."

    "If you''re accepting my proposition, answer my question first."

    "Montrez-vous, mon marionnettiste." Herah said, raising a single hand towards Jacob, as strings of fire shot up from each and every single one of her joints to connect to a giant ethereal claw that floated over her. "That''s how, though it''s useless as long as I am conscious"

    Jacob looked up at the claw for a second (said claw quickly disappearing) before shrugging and giving his own answer.

    "I haven''t killed you or Max because my plan doesn''t require you dead... Yet."

    "What is your plan?" Herah asked suspiciously, not really expecting an answer.

    "No idea," Was Jacob''s blunt reply.

    "What do you mean?" Herah asked, her head tilting to the side as smoke shot from her nostrils and her left eye began to tick.

    "My turn first," Jacob said, Herah hearing the grin that had to be on his face, "Where is Alex?"

    "Handling another Keijo who popped up, now answer me," Herah hurriedly replied.

    "I meant I don''t have the full plan yet, just the step that comes after the last." As Jacob said this, the Keijo lazily twirled his sickle.

    "So what''s your next step?" Herah asked, while also sending out a slight sliver of flames through the ground and towards Max.

    "What is Max to you?" This time Jacob''s tone had become more curious, the Keijo casting a quick glance to Max.

    "Max is a-" Herah paused for a moment to think, giving Max her own worried glance, "Sexfriend that I kinda hope turns into something more. I won''t say we''re close like lovers, nowhere close to that in fact, but there is genuine care between us."

    "To keep talking with you, that''s my next step."

    "What did you do to Max?" Herah asked, her eyes quickly darting towards the human before returning back to Jacob.

    "As I said before, you have much more will than Max. So when I gave her those two slashes on her chest," Jacob gestured towards Max with his bloody sickle, "Almost all of her will was ripped away from her. Right now, she''s only able to maintain life in its most basic form."

    "How do I fix her?"

    "My question first," Jacob said, before his voice gained a sudden and drastic seriousness to it, "Do you feel guilty after killing my people?"

    "No."

    Herah noticed Jacob''s body visibly tense, his grip tightening on both of his weapons as Herah noticed him barely holding himself back.

    "Do you feel regret?"

    "You haven''t answered mine." Herah replied blatant annoyance filling her voice as her right arm went down to her side and her hand turned away from Jacob.

    "You get two freeebies," Jacob said quickly, anger beginning to fill his tone. "Now answer me."

    "No," Herah responded, her own anger beginning to increase as the sliver of fire returned to her and placed two lenses into her right hand just as Jacob''s patience quickly ran dry.

    As soon as Jacob vanished into his pink orb, Herah''s right hand darted to her eyes. Both lenses on the ends of her talons popped right into place as soon as the walls of lights completed in their manifestations. With these lenses in, Herah was able to not only easily notice the wall of light to her right become lighter, but also see Jacob step out of said wall. Herah then watched as Jacob raised his sickle towards her and began wildly cutting into her body. This time, Herah felt every cut as it appeared, the pain now feeling less like being slammed into a wall of agony and more like being slashed multiple times with a serrated knife. By the time Jacob was done, 900 trillion cuts had been added to her body, Herah having counted each and every single one as they appeared. Once done with that, Jacob paused on the opposite side of Herah and gave her an order.

    "Answer me!"

    "You first." Herah answered back with a growl, pushing the pain down with ease now. Herah then went on the attack, her left hand darting out in a spear-like motion towards Jacob neck.

    The Keijo easily dodged around her attack and lopped off her right arm with his sickle, before stabbing the disconnected limb with his other blade. Herah watched as her arm was absorbed into the blade, the youngling feeling it as it was reduced into nothingness within the blade. Once done, Jacob disappeared into his pink orb. Once the walls of light had fully formed once again, Jacob stepped out of them to lean against a tree that sat at the other end of the meadow.

    "I take the other arm next." The Keijo said with quiet anger.

    ''Jacob was moving much slower when taking off my arm,'' Herah thought to herself, a reply already on her tongue, ''Mach 100 I think. I might have a plan to take him out.''

    "When I agreed to answer your questions we made a deal," Herah told Jacob with gritted teeth, twin puffs of smoke shooting from her nose as the green fire that surrounded her burned away at the cuts covering her body. "And right now, you''re not keeping your bargain. So I''m not telling you shit else until you answer my question."

    "We''ll see about that." Jacob told her, before disappearing into his orb of pink once again.

    ONI

    "Now you all you have left is a leg." Jacob said standing in front of Herah, with his arms hanging at his side and his eyes staring the monster down.

    "Fuck off." Was her only reply.

    Within the span of eight seconds, Herah was physically a mess. While she lacked actual clothing, the blood that drenched her from head to toe was a good substitute. It dripped from the plethora of open wound that covered her, a soft sizzle filling the air as said wounds were gradually sealed shut by her now yellow shroud of flames. This fire did little to heal the three bleeding stumps that were now in place of her right and left arms and her right leg. Her breaths had begun to come in harder, fumes literally pouring from her nose almost as if she was running low on steam. Jacob would''ve found himself satisfied.

    Except she had yet to falter.

    Even as Jacob dismembered her with little mercy, made it so that it was near impossible to find a part of her body not damaged, and forced her to bleed copious amounts of blood, she refused to answer his question. She glared at him expecting an answer, that he had no intention of providing.

    ''Tell her what she wants.'' A soothing, and familiar female voice whispered in Jacob''s mind, causing the Keijo to wince beneath his mask.

    Dor¨©mum¨¥k¨¡ had been telling him to answer her question since she had first asked it, but the Keijo absolutely refused.

    And it was beginning to hurt.

    ''You forgot to mention that disobeying the instructions would cause me pain in return.'' Jacob thought in irritation, his skin feeling as if it was on fire ever since he first renewed his attack against Herah.

    ''You should answer her question.'' The voice said once again, her tone was disapproving, ''You put the fate you set out for yourself in jeopardy every time you disobey. Do you not want it?''

    ''Of course I want it!'' Jacob yelled in his mind, the Keijo subconsciously noticing Herah slip a silver bracelet that had been on her arm onto her ankle, the purple gem within it looking as if it was piecing itself back together, ''If only she would answer my damn question!''

    ''Even with your kama being able to cut through anything to reap its will, getting your answer is much easier if you just answer her question.'' The voice said, her tone gaining a sorta harshness, ''You need to get yourself back under control, don''t waste this gift that Moon has allowed you.''

    "I know! I know! I know!" Jacob shouted out loud, his head turned to the sky and his grip on his weapons increasing until his hands bled.

    "Then keep your end of the deal."

    Herah''s haggard but strong words, caused Jacob to look back down at her. Shock filled him at Herah seemingly understanding exactly what was happening with him.

    "You''ve lost your composure dumbass," Herah told him, a tired snarl coming to her face as she continued to glare at him, "It''s easy to see that you''re subconsciously struggling with the fact that you''re ignoring Moon''s words." Herah spat out a glob of blood, "So do what you have to already."

    Jacob gritted his teeth but instead of attacking Herah once again, the Keijo took a deep breath and finally calmed himself.

    "In order to fix Max, I''d need to return all the will I took from her or she''d have to return to a stable level of will through natural regeneration."

    As soon as Jacob said these words, the feeling of his skin burning stopped causing relief to flood his body. He also heard the familiar female voice in his head give a sigh of relief.

    "I don''t regret what I''ve done to the Oni."

    "Why not?" Jacob asked, his anger once again inflating.

    "Are you just moving 10,000 times faster than your opponent at max speed or are you moving a light speed when you make your first attacks against me after exiting your orb of pink."

    ''Answer truthfully.'' The voice told him.

    "The former."

    "I don''t regret what I''ve done because I learned at an early age that you have to care for yourself and those you care about no matter what." Herah paused in her words to let out a breath of smoke, "And as long as I get that by the end of it, I won''t regret a single thing."

    "What a very selfish answer."

    Herah breathed out a small cloud of smoke, before giving Jacob a bloody grin.

    "I''m a very selfish person."

    "Do you regret anything?" Jacob asked, his voice low and vulnerable.

    The Keijo watched as Herah visibly froze for a second, before looking away from him and giving him her reply.

    "One thing."

    Jacob found himself surprised by Herah''s saddened tone of voice, a familiar weight carried in her tone. It caused him, for a split moment, to actually empathize with the monster.

    "Does your sickle cut through anything?" Herah asked, her eyes going down to Jacob''s kama.

    "We call this a kama," Jacob said raising the weapon with a raised brow, "

    ''The last few steps you need to take are close Jacob,'' The voice in Jacob''s head said soothingly, her voice holding a hint of finality to it, ''In your next attack make sure to cut off her leg and cover her with as many wounds as possible.''

    Jacob had to pause when he heard that.

    ''You don''t want me to just kill her?'' Jacob thought, a bit confused, ''Because at this point I might as well.''

    ''No,'' The voice replied with a strong sense of finality, "Just do exactly as I said.''

    ''Okay then.''

    "Any more questions Jacob?"

    The Keijo looked towards Herah and shook his head, causing her to close her eyes and nod her before saying,

    "Then let''s get this over with."

    HALT

    ''I only have one second to get this right.'' Herah thought to herself, not at all worrying when Jacob was absorbed into his pink orb once again, ''He seems unable to attack twice in a row. That''s why he never appears next to me twice, and there is a two-second delay before he can back into the orb.''

    Herah watched as Jacob stepped out of one of his pink walls of light and emerged next to Moon''s corpse, looking down at it with what the youngling could only assume to be a sad look.

    ''For a single second, Jacob moves leagues faster than me but after that, I''ll have a one time opportunity to turn this battle in my favor.''

    By the time Jacob''s two-second delay was over, Herah had stopped trying to heal herself with her fire and instead chose to focus her shroud around her remaining leg. Before Jacob could fully enter his pink orb, Herah had begun to enter Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet and her crushing of the now fully reformed amethyst on her bracelet with her fire. By the time the walls of light had come up and Jacob was stepping out of them, Herah''s black Gasshbenirium armor had covered her entire body.

    ''One second, I only need to make it one second.'' Herah thought to herself, as Jacob fully exited the wall of light to her right.

    The armor covering her battered body parted with no resistance from Jacob''s swings, with this particular onslaught holding the highestr number of attacks.

    ''Quadrillion?'' Herah thought to herself, a drastic amount of her will being ripped from her. In fact, so much had been ripped away and was still being ripped away that Herah knew that her amount of actions would be cut down to the single digits.

    ''I''ll only need one.'' Herah told herself, struggling to maintain her Renaissance ¨¤ son Sommet and under his seemingly endless barrage of attacks, ''I just need to make it past one second.''

    But that second seemed to be an eternity, her flesh being cut and torn to the point that it was nearly impossible for her to know if any of it remained on her body. Her mind continued and continued to approach the very fringe of consciousness, the dark abyss of unconsciousness becoming harder and harder to resist. This was a result of Herah''s dwindling supply of will , each of Jacob''s slashes stealing even more will than the previous one. Herah was being pushed to the absolute brink of defeat.

    SHRIKK!

    And then Jacob, cut off her final leg.

    As her body fell to the ground face first, Herah couldn''t help but to smile to herself.

    ''1 second has passed.''

    Herah took her last action

    SPLOOCH!

    CRUNCH!

    CRUNCH!

    CRUNCH!

    "AAACKK!"

    ''Victory is mine.''

    ONI

    Jacob stared down at his chest in shock, the leg sized hole where his heart had been feeling Jacob with a terror that he hated. Slowly turning his head to behind him, Jacob found that Herah''s black covered leg had fired straight through several of the trees behind him and disappeared somewhere unknown.

    "What... the... fuck?" Jacob said to himself more than anyone else, his eyes slowly turning back to the now limbless Herah on the ground in front of him.

    ''Now release the will you''ve taken from Max.'' The same female voice from earlier told Jacob, ''It''s your final step.''

    "How.... does.... this...make... me... happy.... and.... at....... peace?" Jacob asked, blood pouring from the sides of his mouth as consciousness and life began to leave him.

    ''Jacob,'' The female voice in his head, sounded sad and tearful, ''You know that you were never gonna get your happiest ending by simply killing these two. That''s why you made this fate, and rejected your original one. Now, take that last leap. Embrace what you, yourself chose."

    "Are....... you....... sure?" Jacob asked, tears pouring from his eyes, as his legs lost their balance and he fell to his knees, his approaching death filling him with fear and worry.

    ''Yes and so are you.'' The female voice responded, her voice soothing and filling Jacob with peace, ''Now, it''s time for you to wake up from this nightmare, sweetheart.''

    "Night..........mare?" Jacob asked himself as he returned Max''s will back to her, his vision and hearing going black and deaf, but his awareness not leaving his body yet. For a few timeless moments, Jacob felt his body sway and barely balance itself.

    ''I''m going to fall.'' Jacob thought, as his body finally began to tilt forward and towards the ground.

    But before he could fall too far, someone caught him and held him up. Then, some type of crushed crystals was blown into his face, causing him to let out one final cough before he fully fell into the blackness.

    ....

    ...

    ....

    "Jacob! Wake the hell up!" The same familiar female voice from before actually holding a physical voice to her.

    "GAAHH!"

    Jacob''s eye flew open as his body shot up from beneath the leaves that served as his cover. Looking frantically about, Jacob got a good look at the stone structure that was his room. It was barren, the way he liked it, with the only noticeable things being his wooden desk with a painted picture of him and his girlfriend sitting atop it and a stack of stone tablets that he needed to finish transcripting some history on to.

    "You look like you just woke up from a Log-damn nightmare, is everything okay?"

    Jacob''s eyes turned to female voice that greeted him, and found a sight that caused tears upon tears to begin streaming down his face.

    Standing at the side of his stone bed was the love of his life, and girlfriend of 200 hundred years: Audrey.

    She was a beautiful Oni, though she never thought it herself. Her skin was pink and her physique slightly chubby, with her standing just a few inches shorter than him at full height. She was clothed in a shirt of leaves and pants ladened with bark. At this very moment, she had both her arms crossed and was staring worriedly at Jacob, though her mask made her expression hard to make out.

    Seeing Audrey''s mask, Jacob''s hand reflexively shot up to his own face, the Oni finding that his mask had returned to its previous state and now, once again, mimicked that of every other Oni.

    "Jacob," The Oni''s attention went back to his girlfriend, "Did you hear me? Are you oka-OOMPH!"

    Audrey was barreled over, as Jacob leaped at her and wrapped her his arms around before snuggling his head into her mask with an almost savage intensity. This didn''t last for long, however, with Audrey pushing her boyfriend up and at arms'' length before asking another question.

    "What the hell were you dreaming about, that you''re this physically affectionate. You''re almost never like this, in fact."

    All Jacob did was let out an almost insane laugh, before holding Audrey as close as possible to his body. The stress, sadness, and fear his horrid dream had caused him peeling away to leave him only feeling joy and a gentle peace within himself.

    "I just had a really bad dream, but it''s over now. And I know everything is going to be alright."

    "You''re a fucking weirdo, you that?" Audrey told her boyfriend over his with her head resting over his shoulder.

    "I know."

    "And you''re naked."

    "I know."

    ....

    .....

    "Wanna bang?" Audrey suggested.

    "Definitely."

    HALT

    Max stood panting over Jacob''s corpse, tears of gladness and sadness pouring from her eyes as she turned away from Jacob''s new reality. Her eyes immediately went to Herah, the youngling still covered in her black armor and laying face first on the ground with all her limbs missing.

    "Herah, you''re fully healed."

    With a single blink, Max found her eyes greeted with the sight of a fully restored Herah. Rolling onto her back, Herah stared at Max with a small grin, her own feelings of satisfaction and gratefulness balancing Max''s negative emotions.

    "I think we''ve-"

    ''Guys, we have a big ass problem!'' Owen ''s mental shout cut off whatever Herah was about to say, causing both of her and Max to reach up to their amulets.

    ''Where were you the last minute two minutes or so Owen?'' Herah asked in annoyance.

    ''Trying to reach you two but something was blocking me.'' Owen replied before hurriedly thinking, ''But that''s not important right now?''

    ''What is?'' Max asked, a bit worried by Owen''s franticness.

    "The Human steadily approaching me and the tree!''

    Almost immediately, both Max''s and Herah''s eyes went towards the Oni village, the pair finding the giant pale beast called a Human that was steadily walking towards the Donneur de Frene.

    ''Alex are you okay?" Max hurriedly and frantically asked, her thoughts extending to her brother.

    ''I''m fine sis,'' Alex''s reply came back lazy and tired, ''But I''m letting you know right here and now. I''m fucking done for the day with fighting.''

    ''What do you mean?'' Herah asked, suddenly hopping in on the mental conversation with a very disproving tone.

    ''It means, Ashbrain, that you three are gonna have to handle that thing yourselves. Because I''m not doing shit else.''

    ''Are you being serious right now, brother!?'' Max mentally screamed at Alex, her emotions suddenly turning to anger.

    ''Yup. Deal with it yourselves. Alex out.''

    ''You son of a bitch!'' Max mentally and verbally screamed while worriedly thinking up various ways to get rid of the Human without Alex noticing.

    "Max," Said human turned to Herah finding that she held a lazy expression on her face was gesturing for her to calm down, " Don''t worry about it, I had Jeffery handle it.''

    "What-" Max turned back to the site where the Human had stood and found absolutely nothing remaining, "How did you know Norwe wasn''t going to stop you from doing that, or be mad at you having Jeffery do it?"

    "Max look at me."

    Max turned back to Herah, the Cendreuex holding a lazy grin on her face as she finished saying what she meant to say earlier.

    "The second Jacob died, we had won."

    "You''re are correct Herah," Max heard Nowre the Sloth say cheerily as he appeared on her back with his furry arms wrapped around her neck, "Which means one thing and one thing only.

    A cold shiver ran up both Max''s and Herah''s spines, Norwe''s voice taking on a disturbingly pleased tone as he said his next words.

    "Now it''s time for the prizes.... And the punishments."

 The Beginning Has Ended But The Ending Has Yet To Begin

    Alex let out a tired sigh, mental and physical exhaustion filling his body as he laid amongst the rubble the Human had created. All around him were the partially crushed, fully crushed, or uncrushed bodies of all the Oni he had killed. While making this observation, smoke still rose from his body.

    ''Man, I really wish this was just the end of Recompense and I could go home. Running that flag production business we own was always such a calming and peaceful endeavor. Makes me glad I listened to Max on that one.''

    Before Alex could take these thoughts any further, the sound of wet and pained coughing filled the air.

    ''I see she''s back.'' Alex thought to himself before sitting up and turning to his right.

    Laying amongst the rubble unburied (luckily enough) was the green-skinned Keijo he had killed eight minutes ago.

    "Alive and well, I see." Alex said to her, before pausing to tap his nose a few times and then say, "Alive and unwell is probably more fitting for you."

    The Keijo let out a few more wet coughs, blood once again beginning to pour from the chest wound Alex had given her. She then tried to use her arms to shakingly push herself up into an upright position, but lost her strength when she was midway through the process. Falling back down to the destroyed ground with a few more bloody coughs, the Keijo turned her head to face Alex''s and glared at him.

    "How," Her voice came out groggy and weak, her every word a very clear struggle, "Did you bring me back to life?"

    "When I killed you earlier, I used mygiftto accomplish the task. In doing so, I assured that you would rise again once it wore off."

    "Why?"

    "Because you pissed me off, and I was feeling vindictive. So, I decided that you would suffer two deaths for the trouble."

    "You''re," The Keijo let out another bloody cough, "A monster."

    "Most definitely," Alex told the Keijo, with a nod of his head before letting out a yawn and giving her a smirk, "But at least I''ll live."

    "You''re an even bigger asshole than I thought Alex."

    Alex felt a wave of surprise and worry fill him, as his head whipped away from the dying Keijo and towards the living Keijo who now stood in front of him.

    "String?!"

    "String?!"

    Both of these exclamations came from Alex and the Keijo who he did not know the name of, one being sadly happy while the other was worried and cautious.

    String stood before Alex in her bloodstained crop top, which had a hole in it that showed her wound went clean through her back. Blood caked her face, some from her eyes, the rest from her missing right ear. Even though sight should''ve been impossible, Alex just knew that the past chieftess was staring dead at him.

    "You should be dead."

    String crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes for but a second, before getting back up to her feet without problem. As she did this, Alex felt hisgiftbeing overridden by someone else''s Presence.

    "As you can see," String''s voice came out fine, even with her slit throat as she gestured towards herself, "I am not. And I''ll let you have three guesses as to how."

    "I have and need only one," Alex said with an annoyed twitch to his eyes.

    A sudden sob caused Alex to look away from String and turn towards the now crying Keijo on the ground, tears pouring from her eyes as she stared up at who had once been her leader.

    "I''m sorry for failing you!" The Keijo cried out with a choked sob, banging a fist into the ground until it ran bloody, "I wasn''t strong enough to stop him and save our people! I wasn''t strong enough to avenge you! I wasn''t strong enough¡­"

    Alex stared at the Keijo laying next to him with a frown, harsh words soon leaving his mouth as no pity or sorrow filled him.

    "Beating me was always going to be inevitable for you."

    "Not slim but inevitable huh?" String said, the quiet anger in her voice causing Alex to turn back to her and frown.

    "Sorry that the truth hurts String, there was just too big a difference between me and her for there to ever be any chance of victory."

    "What about me?" The previous chieftess pointed towards herself, a frown beginning to emerge on her face.

    "Your chance was obscenely slim, for the same reasons and the added help of Moon."

    "Our battle was never even is that what you''re saying?" String asked, her eyeless glare not even bothering Alex.

    "The only way our fight could''ve ever evened out was if Norwe made me dumber. But instead, he chose to restrict my powers and make me act creative."

    "FUCK YOU!" The dying Keijo next to Alex shouted at him, before her body became wracked by coughs once again.

    "You know," Alex turned his eyes back onto the Keijo next to him, a glare creeping up into them as he began thinking up a half-truth to end her, "Maybe I should just kill you now. I got what I wanted from you already."

    But before Alex''s mind could settle on a single thought, he noticed String walk up to the downed Keijo next to him and lift her head so that she stared back at her.

    "Thank you, C.C., you did your best."

    "But I still failed. I didn''t help at all!" C.C. tried to look down, but String gently nudged her friends head back up.

    "Corge Combatant," String gave the Keijo a peck on her forehead before sitting down next to her. Resting her dying friend''s head in her lap, String began to run her hand through C.C.''s hair while smiling softly down at her. "You did good. Now rest."

    "You really," C.C. coughed some blood onto her friend''s face, "Think so?"

    "Of course." She replied, a single hand going to wipe away the blood that added to her already stained face.

    "Thank you String, you''re the best friend I could ever ask for."

    "Your welcome."

    CRACK!

    Alex blinked in surprise, his eyes watching as String continued to run her hand through her now dead friend''s hair. Silent tears began to pour from her eye sockets as a completely neutral expression settled onto the past chieftess'' face. After a few seconds of silence, String kissed C.C. on her forehead once again before turning her attention to Alex.

    "Why do you look so surprised?" String''s question came out dead and empty.

    "It''s easy for me to see that she was the most important person around here to you." Alex nodded towards C.C., "For you to kill her¡­. Well, I''m confused."

    "Hmmm," String seemed to muse over Alex''s words for a second, before chuckling dryly to herself, "Interesting."

    "What is?" Alex''s question came out a bit irritated and curious.

    "I think I just figured out one of your greatest weaknesses."

    "And what would that be?" A taunting grin came to Alex''s face.

    "The care you hold for your sister."

    Alex lost his grin and gave String a hard stare.

    "How is that my weakness?"

    String grinned at Alex, her expression snide and leering.

    "Because you yourself said, "Only care about one person." And," String did a quick nod of her head, "She''s the one person you care for."

    "What''re you getting at?" Alex asked, his eyes narrowing and a frown coming to his face.

    "If you were to lose her, you''d break. Wouldn''t you?" By this point, String''s grin had morphed from such and into a full-blown smile.

    Alex stared back a String for a moment, his lips drawn into a thin line and both of his hands clenching and unclenching. Alex watched as String''s eyesockets begun to run over his body, the Keijo seemingly finding herself even more amused by his current state.

    "You can''t move right now, can you?"

    "I could, but," Alex paused for a moment to look down at his right hand, smoke rising slowly from his palms, "It''d be too much of a hassle."

    Looking back up to String, Alex found her tilting her head in curiosity.

    "How''d you end up like this?"

    "Why are you here?" Alex asked, completely ignoring her question and feeling tired of her presence.

    "Why don''t you answer my question first?"

    "You will comply."

    "Because Norwe ordered me to give you the list of names andgiftsthey owed you." String words came out without a struggle, though a frown did mar her face as she gave Alex a glare.

    "Hand it over." Alex told the Keijo, lifting up his right hand slowly and holding it out for String to place the list into his hand.

    String once again complied without issue, the past chieftess holding out the hand she wasn''t running through C.C.''s hair over Alex''s with her palm up. Alex felt a sliver a fear enter him as he felt Norwe''s Presence manifest and condense upon String''s palm. The Presence appeared red and like light in Alex''s point of view, wildly coming together to form an irregular shape that sporadically began going through form after form until finally settling on a stone tablet with a recognizable but undiscernible language carved into it.

    ''The Words That Neither Are Nor Are Not.'' Alex thought to himself as String flipped her palm over and the tablet fell into his hand. On immediate contact, Alex saw the tablet break back down into the red, glowing Presence from before and seep into his own. Absorbing it before even a full second could occur, Alex found his mind filled with new knowledge and names. But before he could fully make sense of them or even attempt to remember them, something else intruded into his mind.

    ''The name andgiftwill appear in your head once you see thegiftedin question.''

    Alex felt a wave of fear wash over him as he felt Norwe''s words, before the Maker''s Presence locked away the names and theirgifts. Once the initial wave of fear was over, Alex found himself looking away from String to let out another tired sigh as he let his arm flop down to the destroyed ground.

    "Norwe was being Norwe?" String asked, causing Alex to look back at her and find the Keijo still running her hand through her dead friend''s hair, a neutral expression on her face once again.

    "Yup."

    Following his reply, Alex looked back up to the clear sky and let out another sigh before beginning to get up. A pained grunt left him, as his body slowly but steadily rose to shaky legs and tired aches. As he did this, Alex felt a sense of rawness down to his very Presence. Rolling his stiff shoulders a few times, he turned towards his base.

    "What''re you doing?"

    Looking back at String, Alex saw that she wasn''t looking up at him but assumed that he was the person she was talking to regardless.

    "Readying myself to head back. It''s about time my group gets back together and see what happens next."

    "The destruction of my people." String said, her voice bitter and jaded.

    "Just accept it String, you lost." Alex''s unsympathetic words caused for String to just let out another dry chuckle before shaking her head and letting out a sigh.

    "Just because I accept something, that doesn''t mean I''m okay with it."

    "We hardly ever are," Alex responded, nodding along to String''s words. He then began to walk away from his past foe.

    "You know Alex, you''re a very strange person to me."

    Alex paused in his movement, his head slowly turning back to String who now looked up to him. Her expression mirrored the confusion she spoke of, the Keijo lips pursed and her eye sockets searching.

    "Why is that?"

    "Because you seem to have both a God and inferiority complex."

    "Hmm." Alex turned his entire body to face String, a finger going up to his nose as he pondered her words for a split second before the proper thought came to mind.

    "Just as no god will ever be my equal, I shall never be the equal of any Maker. That is the hierarchy of existence. A truth that I shall never escape." Alex took his right hand and softly patted himself on the chest, "A truth I''ve come to accept."

    Alex turned away from String and once again began to walk back towards where the victors were.

    "What a sad fate you seem happy to confine yourself to." Alex paused, String''s pitying words cutting deeper into him than he''d ever voice aloud, "To stand atop the highest mountain, thinking you could never reach the stars."

    Alex looked back up to the sky once again, his eyes staring straight into the red star that hung over him.

    "Just because I accept something, that doesn''t mean I''m okay with it."

    Alex began his trek back towards his base and "comrades", not feeling the slight bit victorious.

    HALT

    Alex slid to a stop just before entering the clearing that hosted the Donneur de Fr¨ºne, Nike and Tara in hand and his matchbox in his mouth. Giving himself a brief look over, Alex took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing.

    The first thing Alex''s eyes went to was where he felt a grave sense of wrongness existed. What he found was Herah sitting cross-legged against the Donneur de Fr¨ºne, furiously working within her sketchpad while a single one of her wings were resting on the ground rolled up and seemingly breathing.

    She was also naked.

    Again.

    "The fuck happened to your clothes?" Alex asked, having just spat out his matchbox and thrown Nike into the ground.

    Herah didn''t even bother looking up, the only physical sign of her noticing him being a quick flare of her nostrils.

    "The fuck happened to yours?" Was the Cendreux''s uncommonly quiet reply.

    "String."

    "Moon."

    "I''m assuming your kid is in the breathing, rolled-up wing?" Alex asked, nodding towards the wing in question.

    "Yup."

    "What''re you working on?"

    "Fuck off. Your sister is worried about you." Herah threw a thumb behind her, "You can find her where the Oni are buried, with Norwe."

    "Cool," Alex flinched just a bit as he walked up to and past Herah, tossing Tara into the air over her head, "By the way, I can sense thefibMax used to heal you."

    "SON OF A-"

    SHLUK!

    "I''ll be wanting that back in a minute ashbrain."

    As Alex moved on, he made note that he still sensed wrongness from Herah, just to a slightly lesser degree.

    Going past the Donneur de Frene, Alex found his eyes drawn to Owen. The gnome was sitting on the ground with his knees held to his chest and his hat pulled over his face, rocking back and forth while speaking quietly to himself. Once Alex got into range, he became able to decipher his "friends" speech.

    "I can''t believe she would such a thing. To use one of my creations to actually-" Owen choked, before hurriedly shaking his head, "No. Dammit! It''s not my fault!"

    Alex found his interest peaked by the sight of Owen, his steps towards the gnome quick but silent. Once within arms distance (his own arms that is), he dropped down to a crouch and tapped Owen lightly on the shoulder.

    "What''s wrong with you?"

    Owen jolted at the sudden voice and contact before quickly grabbing at his hat and pulling it from over his eyes. Angry and guilty hazel stared back into caring and worried green.

    "Max, she- She-" Owen shut his eyes tight, balling his fist up and rapping his head with both of them twice, much gentler than the average angry person would, "She used my work to k-k-kill someone!"

    ''Oh shit. Max why would you do that?'' Alex thought to himself, inwardly cringing at the situation he found himself in, ''And why isn''t ashbrain here dealing with this?''

    Alex looked back to Herah, already finding one of Herah''s newly regenerated arms flipping him off from around the tree they had been protecting.

    ''Worry about that idiot later,'' Alex told himself before quickly turning back to face Owen, ''Let''s nip this shit in the bud before we have an actual problem.''

    With that thought in his mind, Alex rested both of his hands on Owen''s shoulders and stared into the crying gnome''s eyes with his caring look still in place.

    "Owen don''t you dare blame yourself for what my sister did."

    Owen tried to open his mouth to give a reply back, but a stern look from Alex caused him to pause.

    "Just because I make a pencil and then someone takes that pencil and precedes to stab someone else to death with it, that doesn''t make it my fault that someone was killed."

    "What?" Owen shook his head in confusion.

    "What I''m saying is that when someone takes your creation and uses it for something it was never intended for, that doesn''t make what they''ve done your fault."

    "But-"

    "No buts," Alex said cutting Owen off, his grips on the gnomes shoulders tightening as he gave Owen a smile, "You can''t blame yourself for what others do against your own intentions. You can only control yourself."

    "I enabled her do it though!" Owen shouted, tears still streaming down his face, "Without my gear, she couldn''t have done what she did!"

    "Maybe, maybe not, but you have to acknowledge that you were incapable of stopping Max. When you can''t do anything to affect the outcome, it''s not your fault how it ends."

    "But-"

    "Owen, I know you made an oath to yourself to never create weapons. To never give someone the means in which they killed someone else, but you have to acknowledge that not everyone will follow your intent. Not everyone will use what you create for purely defensive purposes because not everyone is like that or even cares to empathize with you."

    "It''s just- It''s just-" Owen looked away from Alex, a sound of frustration leaving him, "I hate what I''ve helped happen. I hate that I was such a big part of our success here today, because of what it means." Owen brought a hand up to his chest, gripping tightly upon his tunic as his body becomes wrought by sobs, "We''re all monsters for what we''ve done. And to have to acknowledge that it''s just- it''s just-"

    Alex watched as Owen was unable to finish his sentence, the gnome looking down at the ground with his shoulders slump in defeat and his tears having slowed in their downpour.

    ''So that''s the real problem.'' Alex thought to himself as he patted Owen on his shoulders a few times and tilted his head up so that they were making eye contact once again.

    "Today has been a pretty shitty day for all of us." Alex backed up and rose to his full height before gesturing towards himself with a small grin, "I mean just look at me. I''m butt-ass-naked, feeling both mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted, and I''m deathly worried for my sister right now because she''s alone with our Maker."

    "You should go to her you know," Owen said looking away, traces of anger poorly hidden within his voice, "When Herah returned from the pair''s trip to the Oni graves, she seemed angry."

    Alex looked towards where Herah sat, curiosity filling him as he thought about what could have happened between his sister and her while they were there.

    "She can wait," Alex turned back to Owen, "First, I''ll help you out."

    "And how do you plan on doing that?" Owen asked with a sniffle while balling his fist.

    "By offering you this tidbit of knowledge," Alex crouched down and made sure he was exactly eye level with Owen, "A monster is not born from actions, but from reasoning."

    "What?"

    "What I''m trying to say is that it is not what someone does that makes them a monster but their reason for doing it."

    "My reason was selfish." Owen responded quietly, looking away from Alex with a frown.

    "If being selfish was all it took to be a monster then most children are monsters." Was Alex''s causal reply.

    "But most kids don''t assist in omnicide!" Owen shouted turning back to face Alex, a furious snarl having come to his face and with tears pouring down his cheeks once again.

    "Most kids also don''t have the weight of their universe on their shoulders."

    "So what, am I not a monster for what I''ve done!?" Owen pounded against his chest with the palm of his hand, "Am I not piece of shit for the crimes I''ve been complacent to and helpful in?!" Owen repeated his earlier motion, "Can I really be considered a decent gnome when I could stop all the fighting I hate with a single creation!?"

    Owen''s eyes widened after the last sentence, the gnome letting out his own gasp before hurriedly closing his mouth and looking away from Alex.

    "This isn''t just about what''s happened today, is it?"

    Owen let out a defeated sigh, his arms hanging loosely at his side once again as he shook his head.

    "No, it isn''t."

    "Owen, why are you doing this?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Why are you even attempting to win Recompense? What drives you?"

    "Isn''t it obvious? If I don''t win, unquantifiable amounts of people will die. To completely abandon them would be wrong."

    "If that''s your only reason, you might as well quit now."

    "What are you trying to say?"

    "That if some vague sense of duty is what drives you, then there is really no point in you trying to save all those people. Especially in our situation when the stakes have already proven that countless amounts of people can and will die no matter what you do."

    "What drives you then? Why do you want to win Recompense?"This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "I care not for winning, only for survival."

    "What?" Owen looked towards Alex in utter surprise.

    "My universe could be destroyed for all I care." Alex replied, shrugging uncaringly.

    "Do you really mean that?"

    "Yup, all I care about is ensuring that Max and me make it through this. I can add you to that equation as well."

    "Then why are you so hellbent on doing things the hard way?" Owen gestured towards himself and Alex, "Like when we were planning out our attack. Instead of having you go face off against Moon and Herah against String, you decided to do the inverse. Which makes no sense when you know that Herah would have had made short work of the chief and taking down Moon wouldn''t have been too much a problem for you."

    "I went with the plan we used since I figured it would''ve minimized the chance of Norwe interfering. He''s the type to see something too easy and then make the entire scenario 100 times harder for the shits and giggles. Ashbrain would have eliminated String without any hesitation which would undoubtedly have caused Norwe to pull something from his ass that would''ve just made the entire situation go to deeper shit than it actually did."

    Alex shook his head, letting out sigh.

    "But that''s besides the point Owen," Alex took his hand and prodded the gnome lightly in the chest, "You need to find something to fight for. Something close and personal, something that you know you''d do anything to protect."

    "Why?"

    "Because once you find something like that, you''ll never feel guilt for anything you do in serving its or their greater interest. That''s how it works for me at least." Alex nodded towards Herah, "And the dumbass over there to a lesser extent."

    Alex ''s left hand shot up to stop Tara from burrowing straight into his skull.

    "You''re gonna need that when you see your sister asshole."

    "I figured as much," Alex replied before rising back up to his full height and beginning his walk towards Max. Before he could fully exit the clearing, Alex turned back towards Owen and said, "Know this Owen, I''m here for you if you need me." His lips parted into a smile, "I got to keep my friends at their best."

    Alex turned away and renewed his trek towards his sister, a single unspoken thought leaving him as he went.

    ''After all, dull tools make for shitty use.''

    HALT

    Max shook her head with a mournful frown as she stared up at the statues of Moon and Jacob that had been erected. Both were lustrous, atop podiums with some symbols carved into the stone and nearly three times the size of those they were based upon. Jacob''s statue was golden, the Keijo depicted garbed in the clothing that he died in standing tall with his blade resting on his right shoulder and his sickle held out towards some phantom opponent. Moon''s statue looked silver at a glance, but was a bit too bright and shiny to be considered such. It showed him smiling with his arms open wide as if he was ready to receive a hug.

    "Neither of you deserved this." Max said to herself, before looking towards the ground. The shame filling her at the moment was only made worse by Herah''s own frustration, anger, and worry.

    "And you don''t deserve this either."

    Max''s eyes widened, her head shooting up to look towards Jacob''s statue where he now sat atop his podium in the flesh. His sword and sickle laid atop his lap, one stacked atop the other while his legs hung over the side.

    "How are you-"

    "Norwe, of course."

    "Why are you here?"

    "He thinks this is hilarious."

    "What do you want?"

    "Nothing to do with you that''s for sure.

    Max flinched at Jacob''s harsh words, looking away in shame.

    "I''m sor-"

    "I don''t need your fucking apology." Jacob''s sharp words caused Max to pause in her speech and continue looking away.

    For a few moments, all that filled the clearing was a gentle silence that was only broken by a calm gust that blew through.

    "You know," Max looked back towards Jacob, surprised that he was speaking to her once again, "Looking at Herah makes my blood boil, but looking at you just fills me with disgust."

    Max''s eyes widened, but before she could say anything Jacob continued.

    "That monster might not show any type of remorse for what she''s done, but at least she isn''t going around acting pitiful when she''s the one who made her decision.

    "But-"

    "But nothing!"

    Max once again paused and looked away from Jacob, her left-hand awkwardly rubbing her right arm as her brow scrunched up and her lips stretched thin. Max didn''t move as she heard Jacob drop from his stand and walk up to her. A warm and smooth hand roughly grabbed her by her chin and yanked her face towards its owner. Max let out an audible gulp, staring into the endless black that was the eye holes of Jacob''s mask.

    "You already made your choice. You already choose where your priorities lie. Yet, you keep on apologizing for what you''ve done."

    Jacob gave Max a shove, causing her to stumble back slightly.

    "Why do you insist on apologizing to those who either can''t hear you or don''t care for it?"

    Jacob gave Max another shove.

    "Why do you insist on acting so sorrowful and pathetic?"

    Jacob took a finger and shoved it into Max''s chest.

    "Is it because you feel bad for what you did?"

    Jacob pressed his finger deeper into her chest.

    "Is it because you wish to repent?"

    Jacob''s twisted his finger.

    "Or is because you just don''t want to acknowledge the truth?"

    Max opened her mouth, her words catching in her throat as she tried and failed to respond to Jacob''s claims.

    "I mean it makes sense for someone like you. Hell, your gift was tailor-made to illustrate this point." Jacob began walking around Max, his voice harsh and angry, "When was the last time you were truly honest with yourself?"

    "When Herah was helping me get my gift back?"

    "And before that?"

    Jacob had gotten back in front of her by this point, causing her to look away again as she gave her reply.

    "Years."

    "And even when the monster was helping you, just how honest were you with not her but yourself?"

    "Not very."

    "Exactly."

    Jacob leaned his head into Max''s line of sight.

    "So allow me toenlightenyou in a way that you will understand very clearly."

    Max attempted to look away from Jacob again, but a hand from the Keijo stopped her in her attempts.

    "Just as a walking corpse is still a corpse, a weeping monster is still a monster."

    Max flinched at Jacob''s words, a mental whiplash hitting her as they wrung true throughout her head. Once again, she tried to open her mouth and say something but the words of a completely new person caused both her and Jacob to freeze.

    "I hoped that next time, if ever, I saw either of you, you''d be happier and at peace. I hate to see that I was wrong."

    Both Max and Jacob turned towards Moon statue, finding that the flesh and blood priest had replaced his metallic counterpart and was staring at both of them with twisted lips and golden eyes filled with disappointment.

    "Father-"

    "Moon-"

    Moon raised a single hand, cutting the pair off as he stepped down from his podium and walked over to the both of them. After reaching Max and Jacob, the priest rested a single hand on Jacob''s shoulder and asked a question.

    "Why are you still so angry? I could''ve sworn you found that peace that I wanted for you."

    "I did, but then Norwe ripped away that veil and I awoke to reality once again."

    "Hmm, sometimes a false peace can work, but it''s much better to attain a true one."

    Jacob scoffed and stepped away from both Moon and Max.

    "Looks like I won''t be getting either now."

    Max watched as Moon let out a sigh and shook his head, before turning to her.

    "You really need to forgive yourself Max." Moon gestured towards and around her, "This is no way to live."

    Tears begin to prick at her eyes, but before Max could say anything else she felt thefibthat surrounded the clearing she stood within disrupted. Turning away from the two Keijo''s, Max looked towards the end of the clearing that was in the direction of the Donneur de Fr¨ºne. Seconds later, Alex stepped through without a hint of clothing on looking remarkably clean.

    "Sup sis," Alex dropped both of the daggers in his hands and looked past her with a somewhat befuddled expression, "What''s up with the statues?"

    Max turned back around to see that Moon and Jacob had disappeared, leaving only their statues in place.

    "What the hell?"

    "What?" Max turned back to Alex, her brother''s face now baring a smirk as he said, "Are you just now noticing the statues yourself?"

    "No, that''s not it." Max responded shaking her head before turning back to the statues and gesturing towards them, "Herah made those."

    "Why?"

    Max moved out of Alex''s way as he walked up towards Moon''s statue and stared up at it. Coming up behind her brother, Max gestured weakly towards both statues and gave her response.

    "It''s a culture thing. Whenever an enemy leaves a deep impression upon a Cendreuex, it is customary for them to create some type of monument to said enemy."

    "Statutes of gold and platinum huh? What is this text supposed to say?" Alex asked, Max watching as his eyes ran over the symbols carved into the podium.

    "I think Herah''s words when reading Moon''s was: Pour celui qui est mort d''une mort j''esp¨¨re imiter. And her words for Jacob''s was: Pour le fou qui a gagn¨¦ mon respect et m''a forc¨¦ ¨¤ grandir."

    ""For the one who died a death I one day seek to emulate,"" Alex looked towards Jacob''s statue, ""For the fool who earned my respect and forced me to grow." Wonder what she meant by that last one."

    "Why are you here Alex?"

    Max watched as her brother turned to her with a mildly surprised look.

    "Because you''re my sister, and I was worried about you." Alex took a quick look around, "Ashbrain told me Norwe was with you, where''d he go?"

    "I''m surprised you showed up here, thinking that he''d be present."

    "This is you we''re talking about Max. I''ll always be here for you."

    Max turned away from her brother and began running a hand through her hair, before letting out a sigh and shaking her head.

    "Sometimes¡­ I don''t want you here."

    Max turned back to Alex, watching as her brother gained a hard look in his eyes and let out a sigh of his own.

    "Sometimes what you want and what you need are two different things."

    "And you know what I need so well, don''t you?" Max asked in anger, pointing an accusing finger at Alex.

    "Are you really about to start this right now?" Her brother''s curt and slightly angered response worked only to increase Max''s feelings of rage.

    "Am I really about to start what!?"

    "Your bullshit."

    "My bullshit!" Max marched up to Alex and shoved a finger into his chest, causing him to back in up with a wince, "Don''t you dare talk about me starting my bullshit, when I''ve been dealing with yours for nearly all my life!"

    "Sis, you need to calm down." Alex reached out towards Max, setting his arms on her shoulder as he looked her in the eyes with worry, "You look like you''re about to blow a fuse."

    Max shoved Alex away and into Moons statue, his head smacking into one of the priest''s legs before pointing towards herself with her thumb and letting out a shout.

    "I ALREADY BLEW MY FUCKING FUSE!"

    Max watched as Alex returned to his feet and rubbed the back of his head, before looking at the hand he used to rub it and shaking his head with a sigh.

    "Is this about how I''ve been treating ashbrain?"

    "Her name is Herah!"

    "I honestly don''t care."

    "Damn it! I swear-" Max turned away from Alex with a furious huff, before suddenly turning back around to jab a finger at him once again, "You''re un-fucking-reasonable!"

    "How so?" Alex asked, his teeth gritted and one eye twitching.

    "How so? HOW SO!?" Max looked up to the sky and let out a string of curses, marching around in circle as her hands furiously ran through her hair nearly pulling out strands. It took a minute for Max to stop, but even then she was still visibly pissed. Marching up to her brother (who had been watching her in her little tantrum with only an inpatient tapping of his right foot), Max made sure to be up in his face for this next part. "You''ve been unfairly violent towards Herah, you refuse to compromise on anything unless a gun is up to my head (and that''s only if you think you can''t stop it), you''re cruel towards Herah for the most inane reasons-"

    "My reasoning is far from inane." Alex actually seemed angered by Max''s last statement, his eyes glaring, "It seems as if you''ve forgotten exactly what happened to cause this-"

    SMACK!

    "Don''t you ever accuse me of such a thing!"

    Alex softly rubbed his reddening cheek, as Max physically held herself back from doing more to her brother.

    "I can''t ever forget what Artermis, Isis, and Hel did for us!"

    Max patted herself on her chest.

    "I can''t ever forget what they did to me!"

    Max pointed at Alex.

    "I can''t ever forget what they did to you!"

    Max then pointed towards the three silver swords that were on the other side of the clearing.

    "And I can''t ever forget what you did to them."

    Alex looked away from Max, his lips drawn and his eyes sharp.

    "Sis, don''t act like you don''t understand why I did it."

    Max just shook her head, a stream of tears having begun to pour from her eyes at this point.

    "Of course I understand! But it''s you who seems to not understand something."

    Max crossed her arms over her chest and gripped her shoulders tightly, her next words coming out in a sob.

    "I loved all three of them with nearly all my heart. And it hurt so much when you took them away from me. And I know, I know. You had all the reason to do what you did. I mean for God''s sake, Artemis alone left you with a slit throat and no limbs. But my feelings still remain, even to this day, and after all she and the others did."

    "You could''ve chosen them Max." Alex said, as Max watched him slowly approach her with a worried look on his face.

    "And I think that''s the real problem Alex!"

    Max bit down tightly on her lip, looking down at the ground as her tears kept coming.

    "It''s always been between you and someone else. And each and every time I''ve been given this option, I''ve always picked you. And I know that if I have to choose between you and Herah-" Max turned away from Alex and looked towards where she knew Herah was, her voice taking on a defeated tone, "I''m just going to choose you again."

    Max then felt the slow embrace of her brother, as he came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her chest. To Max, Alex''s hug felt comforting and familiar.

    ''The clutch of a monster should never feel this good.''

    "Max," Alex''s voice was uncommonly quiet and gentle, "You''re the most important thing ever to me. To preserve your life and happiness is my ultimate goal.

    "You''ve already failed in one of those regards."

    "You might think that, but you''re wrong."

    Max let out a mirthless chuckle.

    "Sometimes I hate you."

    "But always you''ll love me."

    ''Then again, only a monster could truly enjoy the embrace of one.''

    "Sometimes I hate that too."

    HALT

    SNAP!

    "DAMMIT!"

    "WAAAHHHH!"

    Herah let out an annoyed grunt before sitting up from her leaning position, tilting her head upwards, and begin plucking out the pencil fragments that had shot into her eyes. While doing this, the youngling brought her crying wing towards her chest. After removing the last pencil shard from her eyes, Herah practiced a few blinks and let out a slight wince. With her sight in order, the young mother looked down to her kid and smiled at their weeping face.

    "Sorry for waking you up mini moi, mamma is just frustrated right now."

    This did little to calm down ¨¨carlate''s shrieks, so Herah let out a sigh and put the baby to her nipple.

    "What''s got you so frustrated?"

    Herah looked to her right, finding Owen looking at her with both a worried and nervous smile. Smiling weakly back at the gnome, Herah let yellow flames shoot from between her teeth and engulf her entire body. Owen hopped back in surprise, but quickly calmed down after the fire left just as quick as it had come with a few wisp of steam rising up from around her face.

    "My thoughts," Herah replied, before looking down at her sketchpad. It bore her latest work of art, said work depicting her in her standoff with Norwe.

    "What''re you thinking about?"

    "The Oni."

    "Do you feel guilty for what you''ve done?"

    Herah turned to Owen with a lightly wide-eyed look on her face and a few rapid blinks.

    "Oh no, not a bit."

    Owen bristled uncomfortably at Herah''s words, looking away from her before asking,

    "Then what about them have you bothered?"

    "Their situation."

    Herah watched as Owen sat down next to her and gave her a light smirk.

    "Want to talk about it?"

    Herah took note of how Owen''s eyes were still red and how his brows seemed to be lower than normal. Tilting her head to the side a tiny bit, Herah mused silently for a second then shrugged.

    "Sure thing."

    Owen''s eyes visibly brightened as his smirk turned into a smile and he turned his entire body towards Herah.

    "So why does their situation bother you so much?"

    Herah leaned her head back, holding ¨¨carlate''s own closer to her breast as her eyes stared aimlessly into the grey leaves that hung over her.

    "They remind me of what''s going on with my people right now." Herah''s voice came out uncharacteristically soft and quiet, reflecting her own pensive state.

    "I guess you''re talking about the mass abandonment of your goddess, La Flamme?" Owen''s brow creased as he gained a small frown and his eyes narrowed, "The Manquant de Chaleur is what you called them right?"

    "Yes," Herah nodded, turning back to Owen with a furious expression on her face, "Translated as Lacking Heat, they''ve grown cold to our mistress like ungrateful CUNTS!"

    Owen flinched away from Herah as green fire shot from her nose and engulfed the entire bottom portion of her body and ¨¨carlate. The flames dispersed as quickly as they came, leaving nothing burnt and Herah taking in breath after breath.

    "Sorry Owen," Herah held her eyes shut as her mind focused on an image of her mistress, "I know it''s obvious at this point, but I have little love for most of them."

    "No problem," Owen let out a nervous laugh while taking his hat from his head and scratching at his hair, "I know that you care about this topic a lot."

    Herah just shook her head and began gently rubbing the back of ¨¨carlate''s head, causing the baby to began purring into her chest. Letting out a pleased giggle, Herah felt the small vibrations from her kid calm her even further.

    "Back to what we were originally talking about," Herah opened her eyes and let out a sigh, "The Oni don''t just remind me of what''s happened with my people. They''re like an alternative timeline of what could''ve happened with my people." Herah looked towards Owen, her lips twisting into a tiny frown, "I didn''t mention this before, but the Cendreux were almost plunged into a war for the same reason that the Oni had been."

    "Really?"

    Herah nodded.

    "When the age of Ranim¨¦ began, many were barely tolerant of the Raviv¨¦ that appeared. And as time went and the group grew larger, those still loyal to La Flamme grew even less tolerant. Tensions grew to the point that we almost entered a war. One that would''ve been even worse than that of the Flammes Honteuses."

    "What stopped it?"

    "La Flamme did."

    Herah watched as Owen gave her a surprised look and shake of his head, causing her to chuckle before putting her hand over the area of her chest where her flame hid underneath and smiling to herself.

    "How?" Owen''s voice was quite and immensely curious.

    Herah breathed out a wisp lantern, raising the hand that was not occupied with ¨¨carlate to hover beneath it as her eyes stared into its red center.

    "We always know the general cycle in which our mistress will return but never the exact day. So it was completely unexpected when La Flamme showed up out of the blue and found the eldest Cendruex shoving her hand through the chest of her most radical descendant."

    "How did your mistress react to that?"

    Herah felt a shiver run through her body, a nervous chuckle leaving her reflexively.

    "La Flamme yelled."

    "¡­.."

    Not hearing a reply or sound from Owen, Herah crushed her wisp lantern and turned back to face the gnome. Said gnome had his head tilted to the side and was staring at Herah with slightly narrowed eyes and a raised brow. Rolling her eyes and pursing her lips, an angry jet of smoke left her nose with an annoyed grunt following soon after.

    "When my mistress yells, everything around her instantly ignites and all those on fire are flooded with her emotions."

    "Okay," Owen began nodding his head, "That makes sense."

    Herah gave Owen an unimpressed look and just rolled her eyes once again.

    "As I was saying, La Flamme yelled at us causing every single living being within our solar system to catch fire and feel her fury and, more importantly, her sadness." Herah unconsciously balled her left fist while taking special care to not clench her right hand, green fire beginning to waft from her mouth and nose, "With everyone on their knees and crying their eyes out, my mistress said something that many took be a sign of weakness."

    "Oh yeah," Owen made a rolling gesture with his right hand while rolling his eyes, "After forcing everyone to their knees and making them ball their eyes out, La Flamme is the one showing weakness."

    "Ahahahaha!" Herah couldn''t help but to laugh at Owen''s words, the sarcasm dripping from them smothering the rage that had begun welling up within her. "Yeah, I come from a species of self-absorbed jackasses."

    "Your evidence enough."

    Herah let out another laugh before nodding her head.

    "You''re fully right on that."

    "BWUAARRP!"

    Herah looked down to ¨¨carlate, who had finally finished feeding themselves and was now looking back up to their mother with slow blinking eyes and wide dopey smile. Looking back to Owen, who looked at her for a moment neither made any move or said anything.

    "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

    "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

    Then both erupted in laughter, Herah forcing ¨¨carlate''s face back into her breast as her body keeled over alongside Owen''s, racked with her own laughs. After a few moments of this, Herah sat back up and brought a squirming ¨¨carlate to her face. Kissing the baby on their head, Herah placed them back into her wing and wrapped her child up before returning her wing to her side. Within seconds, the baby''s breaths gained an evenness to them and they stopped their squirming.

    "What did La Flamme say?"

    Herah''s lips turned upwards ever so slightly, feelings of fondness filling her at the thought of her mistress'' words.

    "Her words were, "All kids eventually outgrow their parents. You all have reached that point I think, so I''m perfectly fine with you going your own way. I just hope that you love me still, and even if not, I''ll still love all of you.""

    "Was that really what was said?" Owen''s question held within it a note of disbelief.

    "It''s written in the history books that the Manquant de Chaleur make, my dad was there and said exactly so, and La Flamme herself told me when I asked."

    "You''ve met La Flamme?"

    One of Herah''s hands went to her throat, the slight warmth from the signal de fum¨¦e causing her face to break out into a gleeful smile. Memories of her first encounter with her mistress flashed through Herah''s mind while happy thoughts ran alongside them.

    ''It was so cold and harsh before you arrived, your warmth and gentleness dragging from the brink of death.''

    "Only once, but I''ll never forget it."

    "Tcch." Herah looked back at Owen, finding the gnome looking back at her with the right side of his lips curled up and his expression jealous, "I wish my world had gods like yours. Most are much more likely to do what Norwe did to the Oni, than what La Flamme did to the Cendreux."

    "So that fucker isn''t the exception, huh?" Herah lost her smile and just shook her head, "It shouldn''t be that way. No one with that much power should treat their creations with such disregard and ill intent."

    "Well, many things aren''t as they should be, and not a lot can be done to change that." Herah watched as Owen let out a sigh before giving her a cheeky smile, "But you gotta make the best of what you got, no matter how shitty what you got is."

    Herah let out a chuckle and smirked back at Owen.

    "Rolling with the punches. I guess that''s all life really is." Herah let out her own sigh, before extending a fist out to her gnome friend, "We might not get exactly what we want, but maybe we can get something close."

    Owen looked at Herah''s fist for a second before lightly bumping it with his own.

    "Hopefully."

    "What''re you two doing?"

    Herah peeked around the Donneur de Fr¨ºne and found Alex and Max stepping back into the clearing, both looking a bit happier than last time her eyes had laid upon them. Herah''s eyes focused on Max, her red shirt having regained its large gash though her skin was fine underneath it. The youngling focused on her emotional link with her friend, having pushed it to the back of her mind for a good while, and found that Max''s emotional state was an even worse mess than before. Overwhelming guilt, confusion, self-loathing, and resentment filled her, with a sense of love and lust underlying it all.

    Herah closed her eyes and focused on her own feelings of cheer and calm, allowing them to pervade her mind until they were the strongest emotions coming from her. Hearing a sigh of relief, the youngling opened her eyes and found Max giving her a small smile.

    "Thanks lavatits," Max began rubbing one of her arms awkwardly, "Sorry for cutting you out physically and mentally earlier."

    "Try not to do it again," Herah gave Max a glare, "I''m here to help remember."

    Max just nodded in shame.

    "You seem to be doing quite a standup job of that by the looks of it ashbrain."

    Herah''s nostrils flared as fire shot from them, but before a response could be said, Max smashed an elbow into Alex ribs.

    "Don''t be an ass right now."

    Letting out a moderately pained grunt, Alex rubbed his rib and just rolled his eyes before taking a quick look around.

    "Where''s Jeffery by the way ashbrain?"

    "If they''re not with me, I have no fucking idea where they''re at. Stop asking." Herah responded with an annoyed grunt.

    Alex scoffed while Herah just shook her head and looked back to Max.

    "What ever happened to Norwe," Herah frowned, "Not that I''m missing them."

    "After a brief talk, he disappeared saying something about how he needed to figure out a team name or something like that."

    "Team name?" Herah turned to Owen, finding the gnome wearing a slightly confused look, "Team name for what?"

    "Probably for us, " Herah looked over to Alex, who (alongside Max) had finally reached her and Owen and sat down, "Though I personally don''t care to have one."

    Feeling a sudden spike of hope from Max, Herah turned to the human and found her face engulfed by a wide smile and a hopeful eyes.

    "We should come up with a team name!"

    Alex groaned, Herah raised a brow, and Owen nodded in agreement.

    "Why should we do this sis?"

    "Because it''ll be fun and helps with teamwork."

    "This just has to do with that weird ass naming fetish you have, doesn''t it?"

    Herah felt a twinge of embarrassment come from Max, the twin''s cheeks reddening slightly.

    "Maybe."

    Alex rolled his eyes and laid down on his back, seemingly looking towards the sky.

    "I''m assuming you have an idea."

    "The Gifted." Max''s words came out sure of themselves and filled with pride.

    "Would your basic ass like a pumpkin spice latte with that order?"

    Alex''s words let her know that was a mistake.

    "Fuck you bro." The twin grumbled with a pout.

    "How about Universal Defenders?"

    "Too long and inaccurate, Owen."

    "I thought you didn''t care fuck head."

    Alex sat up and gave Herah an unimpressed look.

    "For an artist, you''re unimaginably uncreative."

    "I am too!"

    "If so," Alex raised a hand and a made a come-at-me gesture, "Hand out a name."

    "P¨¦cheurs." Herah said with a growl, watching as Alex''s eyes widened slightly before he began tapping his nose. After a few seconds of this, Alex snapped his fingers, nodded begrudgingly, and laid back down.

    "Good name, though," Alex waved one of his arms in the general direction of Max and Owen, "I don''t think our other half will like its meaning too much."

    "What does it mean lavatits?"

    "Sinners."

    Herah felt Max''s sudden decline in happiness and saw Owen bristle uncomfortably in the corner of her eye as soon as the words left her.

    "Let''s¡­ Not use that name Herah."

    "I agree with Owen on this one Lavatits."

    Herah put up both of her hands while letting out a sigh.

    "My bad you two."

    "Ashbrain, ashbrain." Alex shook his head in an exaggerated manner while making atsksound to himself, "You got to think of everyone''s feelings when you make a name."

    "Well do you have an idea?"

    "What part of I don''t care did you not understand idiot?"

    "You two don''t fight now," Max scoldingly told the pair, before turning to her brother, "And you''ve shot down all of our ideas, you might as well contribute your own."

    Alex brought up his left hand and raised a single finger.

    "Firstly, it was you and Owen who shot down Herah''s idea," Another finger went up, "Secondly, I don''t care," One final finger shot up, "Thirdly, HOAM."

    "Home?" Herah tilted her head to the side, "Why that?"

    "Because that''s what we''re all fighting for. Whatever we consider our home," While Herah couldn''t see his head, the youngling knew to where it now looked, "And it takes the first letters of each our names."

    "Herah, Owen, Alex, Max," Herah turned towards Max, the human numbering each of their names on her fingers, "H-O-A-M. HOAM."

    "What the ash is H and M, none of the letters in my language are named as such."

    Alex pointed towards Herah.

    "That brings up a lot of questions that I don''t care to ask or answer." Alex''s hand went down, "So what do you all think of the name?"

    "I like it bro." Max said, her voice filled with fondness, "Sounds heartwarming."

    "So do I." Owen said with a fondness of his own, Herah looking over to him and seeing a smile.

    "Sounds fine enough, even if I don''t fully understand these letters." Herah responded with a small grin of her own.

    "Great," Alex said before sitting back up and crossing his legs, "Now what?"

    Norwe the Sloth peaked over Alex''s shoulder.

    "Now you''re all going to make a choice for me."

    "RAAAWWRR!"

    Without warning, Herah spat out a torrent of green flames that engulfed both Alex and the Maker Sloth.

    "Bro!"

    "Alex!"

    Owen moved with a surprising burst of speed, cutting off Herah''s mouth shut through shoving her chin upward. With the fire cut off, Alex was quickly revealed without a single burn on his body and a terrified look on his face. Norwe the Sloth, on the other hand, had been reduced to ash.

    "I guess you''re still angry at me for popping your baby like a zit."

    Herah looked up to the branches of the Donneur de Fr¨ºne, her Maker laying both lazily and haphazardly across one of them.

    "You''re okay!"

    "Sis wait-OOMPH!"

    Herah looked back over to Max and Alex, finding Max clutching tightly to Alex with him back on his back.

    "How is he-" Owen started before smacking the palm of the same hand that had stopped Herah''s fire into his face, "Selective burning. Completely forgot about that."

    "Even if you have it," Herah felt Max''s rage in both her voice and through their link, "It''s nice to give a warning!"

    "Sorry about that," Herah said, no remorse in her voice and venom dripping from her words, "It was pure reflex."

    "Forget about Herah giving you a heart attack for a quick second," Alex shoved Max off of himself, before sitting up and pointing at Norwe, "What was that about popped babies?"

    "I popped her baby."

    "Why would you do that!?" Max shouted, sitting back up and looking at Norwe.

    "Why wouldn''t you do it?"

    "Because it''s evil and fucked up!"

    "Well now you know why I did it."

    This got the Maker Sloth another blast of fire.

    "Herah! I order you to stop!"

    Herah immediately slammed her mouth shut, then took her wing with ¨¨carlate bundled up in it and held it tightly to her chest.

    "Thank you Soothsayer."

    Herah growled and did nothing more to Norwe the Sloth, who now sat in front of her with a lazy grin on their face and slump to their body.

    "What. Do. You. Want?"

    "I want you four to choose between four letters. That''s all really."

    "Why?"

    "Ashbrain would you stop asking questions?"

    "Was that an order or a question?"

    "It was a request," Herah could here Alex seethe through his teeth, "Pleeease comply."

    Herah looked over to Alex, finding the human glaring at her with a somewhat begging look. Letting out a huff, Herah shut her mouth and gestured for Norwe to get it over with.

    "Great! Choose between H, A, L, and T."

    "H." Herah said without a thought.

    "A." Alex responded, quickly following Herah.

    "L." Max''s words left her before her brother could even began closing his mouth.

    "T." Owen''s response came out hurried.

    "Hmm," One of the Maker Sloth''s came up to his chin, "I guess I''ll just go with Herah''s on this one."

    With a single blink, Herah found herself and everyone else (sans Norwe) suddenly standing.

    "When the fuck did we get into space!?"

    They were also now in space.

    Herah looked down and saw that under her there was seemingly nothing keeping her in place, even though the youngling could feel something beneath her feet. What Herah did see, was an immense sphere, with clouds slowly traveling across it and a near endless amount of greenery that was only ever broken up by small (relatively of course) bits of blue that seemed to dot the entire structure.

    ''That must be Bizzare."

    "Why are we in space?"

    This question came from Max, Herah turning towards the human to find her looking all around her in confusion.

    "So you can see my work in all its glory."

    Herah turned towards her right, finding Norwe in his six-armed form floating with his body laying sideways in a model pose, seemingly without a care.

    "What work?" Owen''s voice was filled with nervousness and dread, Herah feeling that Max''s own emotions now mirrored Owen''s perfectly. The youngling herself felt trepidation, and worry for Max. Looking over to Alex, the youngling found the human''s expression as neutral as can be.

    "This."

    Turning back to Norwe, Herah saw her Maker simply look towards the planet.

    Herah blinked.

    Herah blinked, and Bizarre became something completely different.

    Before her very eyes, all that could be seen was what looked to be an enormous mass of something. It''s form looked to both be solid and gaseous, its shape contorting in ways that made it look both constrained and free. It was white, or at least, that was the color that Herah felt best compared to it. Whatever this something was, applying color to it just seemed wrong and only made less sense. In fact, Herah felt that it was this something that would be applied to color, to help make sense of it.

    "Wha-Wha-What is that?" Herah no longer felt any of Max''s fear and trepidation, only bewilderment.

    It exactly matched her own feelings.

    "Presence. That''s what you''re looking at." Herah turned to Alex, the human looking not at all surprised or confused by what he stared upon. "It''s all that planet is, isn''t, will be, and can''t be."

    "The Soothsayer is correct," Norwe told everyone, excitement utterly overflowing from his words, "What you''re looking at right now is one of the two things that "predates" existence and nonexistence. The other beingwill."

    Herah then watched as all of the Presence flowed into Norwe, until the only thing that remained where Bizzare used to be was the emptiness of space.

    For a minute straight, no one moved.

    No one said a word.

    Then, Norwe broke the silence.

    "While you can keep calling yourself HOAM, know that I''ll be referring to your team as HALT."

    Herah looked back at her Maker, a bit of a perplexed look coming to her face.

    "Halt?"

    "Honesty, Art, Links, and Tales. Each of your gifts described in one word."

    "But why that acronym?" Max asked.

    Norwe snapped his left, upper hand.

    The same black mass that had gotten Herah into that room with her team, and had gotten her team to their first Act, appeared and sucked them into it. Just before fully entering the mass, Herah heard Norwe give Max her answer.

    "Because, you all halted the Oni''s chance for salvation.

 Artwork 2

Jacob having achieved his gifts Rekuiemu, and now prepares himself for one last bout.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    C.C. amping up a shot to eliminate Alex.

    Owen studiously at work carving a path for everyone else.