Daffodil gawps momentarily, “What is this? Are you secretly Hidden Heart, or Sisters? There’s rumors about their magics.”

Luni, wringing out the hood of her outfit, asks, “Sisters? Te and I think of each other as sisters.”

Daffodil shakes her head, regaining her senses, “I suppose not, Sisters of the Mists, and you are all definitely foreign to Rayileklia. I’m sorry to have momentarily doubted you. Still, this, how did it come about so quickly?”

Teuila starts to explain for me but I cut her off with the cut-throat gesture. I’m still not certain how much I’ll be able to use any of my skills or magics, or how necessary it will be that they remain secret. It has saved our lives on several occasions that others didn’t realize, know, or remember that I had inventory magic.

I try to sidestep the question, “Just a little something, it’s less about this, and more about what it can do. Do you think it functions like normal Lu? Can you feel it?”

Luni, as chipper as I’ve seen her this entire time, replies, “Yep! It really is working. It’s, it’s so cool that you brought this. Thank you. Thank you, my hero.”

I blush as her eyes wet slightly with happy tears. This was far more impactful than I thought it would be. I was about to think I couldn’t figure out a reason why, but I just remembered that Luni once mumbled something about macroeconomics and market theory, or something like that. Words that would have had no meaning on our world. Words I’d expect to hear from a college student on Earth. One that was studying to perhaps be able to manage or open a business, like a shop. I peer intently at Lu, but I can’t help letting it slide. Her joy is so innocent. I’m not sure which is more confusing. Luni having those little secrets, or me having the knowledge that puts context to them. Neither of the two things make sense on the world we’re from, nor even this world either! Both worlds we’ve been on have been about magic, not technology.

The voice from earlier seems to speak to me, "This may sound cryptic, but you need to know. Over half a century ago, rumors of magic began to arise, and over the next two decades people began to change. Magic became inexorably attached to every facet of life in Rayileklia. People began to remember lives as if they had always been filled with magic, history books began to exist detailing the long history of Rayileklia, one that never existed, and its fantastical origins. People began to remember grandparents that never existed, and their tales of times of old, which also never existed. This all seemed to start in the early thirties, as close as I can remember it.”

I glance around, the voice is clear as a bell to me, well, the speaker sounds as if they’re straining, but no one else appears to be hearing an expository monologue that continues, "Before then, Rayileklia didn't actually have much history. In fact, it's as if everyone sprung into existence in the year we call eleven eleven. But, in the thirties, rumors of magic arose as I said. In the twenty or so years between the two points, life was dreary and uninteresting. Political farces, mundane wars, commoners barely scraping by, the usual fare. But there absolutely was no magic, I can guarantee it, though most others you meet will remember differently. It seems very few of us were spared magic's insistence on its existence in our history and memories. So far as I can tell, the Sisters of the Mist may be the only ones who might remember the mundane history. The history before a history existed. Their oracular powers were fabled before magics existence. Hopefully magic hasn’t blinded them to the truth."

I accidentally theorize aloud, "I wonder which is the real, or well, primary timeline, or history."

After several glances my way, I apologize as I ask Daffodil for a moment of privacy while I gather Lu, Lil, and Te to the side for a moment. I whisper to my inner circle the gist of what I’d heard, and then ask, “Guys, doesn't this sort of sound like what happened with the stars? When I first started out, before meeting Lil, I could swear there was no sun, and were no stars, the sky was just vaguely lighter or darker in an approximate day night cycle."

Lil’s response is more chipper than expected after their recent exclamation of anger for me, "I remember buddy!"

Teuila’s is as expected though, "Me too, you were sweet on me in the air the first time we saw them together spooterdink."

Even Lucky seems to bark in understanding, but Luni suddenly rants, "Hmf, well, it took you a long time to make that one up to me. You gave Teuila credit for all the stars, and gave me credit for moons. Moons! There's something like, millions, billions of times difference in volume alone, not to mention moons are basically just orbital debris, while stars are the source of life and light and. Oh, uh, I mean. Yeah I remember too."

My facial expression contorts at Luni's tirade, with one brow up, the other furrowed, and my nose half wrinkled. I don't know what's more shocking, her apparent jealousy, or her scientific expertise in things that didn't even exist while we were living in Can'Z'aas. Everyone assembled just glances around momentarily, avoiding the elephants in the room entirely while Luni twiddles her index fingers. She pokes her index fingers together while looking meek as she sways one leg side to side while her toes remain at one point on the ground. She rotates her hips and shoulders ever so slightly, basically oscillating shyly.

I rattle my skull a moment, trying to center myself and focus on the present moment. I won’t be able to fish any more out of Luni on that topic. I give Daffodil a handful of coins, because I want to test something. Luni shyly returns to her position behind the counter, knowing what I’m going to want to test. The way our shops and world worked continued to change near the end of our lives. Originally only critterkin with inventories could use the magic of the shops, and very few critterkin had inventories, only me, Lil, and those of us that were able to score extremely rare magical bags from the Cragbeast Warren before it was destroyed. Others however began to spontaneously earn inventory magic, and later even those without it could use the shops. I think at the very end, even the humans began to be able to use the shops. They don’t have inventory magic, or even access to the interface to know what the shop has, but if a paper catalog, or inventory, was handed to them, they could read it and make choices.

I start, “Daffodil, this might seem odd, but I’d like you to ask Luni for an apple, to purchase an apple, in a moment.”

Lu quietly shrieks with glee before beginning, “Hello valued customer, welcome to my humble shop, how may I help you today?”

Daffodil squints at me, but fishes out what are probably the lowest value of coin that could pass as currency here on Rayileklia. She then sets several pieces on the counter and asks, “My dear wahine, Luni is it? I’d like an apple please.”

It takes a few moments, but a wireframe begins to form, and an apple pixelates into existence as the coinage disappears. The whole process takes several minutes here, rather than the near instantaneousness of it all back on Can’z’aas. Luni claps excitedly, leaps over the countertop and throws herself bodily at me, wrapping her legs around my waist, peppering my face with kisses as she hugs me tightly. I barely manage to maintain standing. Teuila actually props me up so that Lu and I don’t fall over into the stinging, slightly-acidic mud.

Daffodil’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she picks up the apple to take a bite out of it. The crispness of the apple is evident in the sound of her bite, and its juiciness surprises her such that she has to wipe her cheek. She lets out an audible noise of appreciation, mumbling something like, “Ono” then growling, or maybe she said “Ono grinds.” I’m not quite sure. Daffodil ambles around the stall, checking under it and around it for secret compartments I suppose. She thoroughly inspects it, yet seems to remain baffled as she continues to eat the apple, all the more surprised that it doesn’t have a core. She flicks what’s left of the stem into her cornfield to decompose.

Daffodil starts, “What a sweet treat, thank you for that. I assume this isn’t a one-off trick? You can make more, or other things?”

I adopt a wry smile while nodding around the shoulder of Luni who happens to be still glommed onto my torso.

Our hostess strokes her chin, “Maybe dinner can get more words out of you, my mysterious guests. We can trade questions perhaps. I’m happy to answer what I can, and more curious than you can imagine. Well, perhaps you can imagine it.”

The three of us, Lu, Te, and myself, exchange glances and purse our lips to hide our laughter. It’s pretty easy to imagine what sort of curiosities someone might have about our little group dynamic and its mysterious powers. Daffodil trundles back into her home while Teuila holds Lu and me from behind. Lu finally sets her feet back on the ground, feet that I just now noticed are wearing her boots from her feraform evolution’s outfit. How did she manage that? I raise an eyebrow at Lu after glancing at her boots, and she just pretends to whistle innocently. Riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma indeed.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Lil starts to grumble, then sees how happy Luni is about the development, and smiles instead. Lil then gazes at me, and their smile changes to a half forlorn expression. They’re still upset. They love me, but they’re hurt, and don’t know how to feel right now.

I raise my hand and open my mouth to speak towards Lil, but the lines of communication are still closed. They turn away and leap into a glide to test out their wings here on Rayileklia. They don’t dare take wing too high, because the clouds seem quite nasty, with their constant crackle of lightning, and the fact that they’re made up of an intense density of the acid rain they constantly pour down. I’m tempted to focus for eight minutes to shapeshift into my draconic form just to be able to chase after my buddy to talk to them. I don’t want to leave things sit like this.

I ask Luni and Teuila to keep Daffodil occupied for a bit as I try to find Lil, thankfully they oblige. I start walking in the direction I saw Lil launch towards, while focusing on the transformation up and down my evolutionary line to adopt my draconic form. It’s exceedingly difficult to keep in mind the initiation of the process, its continuation, when to cut it short, and the actualization that has to happen between times, for eight minutes straight. On top of the difficulty mentally, it feels like my guts are yanked rearward at the speed of a cannon shot. Finally though, I manage to transform, but instead of being able to take to the skies to find Lil, I find myself falling forward, unable to maintain consciousness.

I've been riding hell for leather since the Imperious Temple in the jungles of the Celestial Imperium, and I'm barely clinging to life. I couldn't even endure the Celestial Emperor's presence, much less slay him. The light that surrounded him burnt like fire, deep to my core, my muscles ache where my skin cracked and peeled away. When I realized what he was, what he truly was, and what he was doing, it was all I could do to return to Navica, ascend the tower, and halt its progress temporarily. Amidst all that radiant glow, that living heat, the only features I could make out were a stark crimson glow where his eyes should be.

Being in his presence, I felt something struggling free from my being, my essence was being torn away, my very soul. It was being tugged in the direction of Navica, and I barely maintained my wits as I chased along with the ethereal tug to the Babylonian tower they call the Spire of Heavens within that devout city. I don’t know which myths, legends, mythologies, or religion he comes from, but I’m certain that he is pure evil, bent on burning away all the souls in that tower for some purpose.

That tower's where the candle was being formed, and that's where I found my own soul finally stopped tugging away from me. Once I ascended the tower, I gained some new vision, an insight into the aether around me. I could see souls, and somehow I knew that’s what they were. There were so many of these beautiful perfect spheres with their wispy tails. When I finally spied my own, unlike others which tended to be perfect, mine was lumpy, misshapen. It seemed almost covered in cancerous growths, like miniature souls latched onto it, four little lumpy protrusions. Each lump seemed to cast a red string off into the distance, some literal thread of fate. To what those threads bound me I know not. The vision of souls, especially near the candle burned hotly, now my eyes barely see anything at all.

I took the supports out at several key points in the tower, a strong breeze should blow it over at this point, but they’ll likely repair my handiwork before it collapses. It’s all I could do as an effort to slow down whatever he’s planning. At least their efforts have to be on repairs rather than completion, for some time yet.

Now I've got to get to Autumn Brook, word is the Aasimovians and their church of post-life know how to truly die and pass on. I'm hoping I can get to them while my soul is still my own. I'll take my chances on an afterlife.

I’m roughly nudged awake as someone says, “Hey, buddy? I guess I forgive you. Kind of. I mean, what I really guess is that I shouldn’t have to. I mean, because you don’t need it. Not because I’m being a jerk. It looks like taking that form hurt. Come on, wake up buddy, please? You were mumbling, but now that you went all quiet, you’re starting to scare me. Reggie? Pal?”

I bawl tears of relief as I struggle into the waking world, slowly reaching my arms upwards to embrace Lil’s snout that’s nudging me roughly. Laughingly, through tears, I ask, “Was I telling you stories buddy?”

Lil nods, “Yup! I think you were probably telling me another story about Aces! It sounded real scary, mega mega mega scary. Burning souls, meeting the emperor, running away. Do you think that’s what really happened? Are you having visions of Aces’ memories?”

I scratch the back of my head as the dreams slowly materialize into my short term memories in a way that I can try to parse at least parts of them. I know I can’t recall every detail. Heck, Lil might be able to recall more than me, just from reciting what they heard. Lil’s description is rather vague, and my own memories of the dream moreso, even still, it could be true. Those could be Aces’ memories. Or I could be, what’s the word, projecting? Giving myself confirmation bias? I had those suspicions, but maybe my subconscious is just trying to convince me that I’m right, to boost my ego or something. Plus, Luni said not to think too much about some connections between our world and Rayileklia yet, for some reason. Something had to do with Teuila and me not being ready. Seemingly more on Te’s side, I think.

I chuckle as I kiss Lil’s snout, “I don’t know much about all that buddy, but I do know that I love you so much, and I’ve been so unbelievably sorry and worried. Also, if any of the dreams about Aces are true, we need to ask Daffodil about Taylynn over dinner, or um. Selunie, or Jarvis. Crap, I don’t know if I know Taylynn’s last name. I think Selunie’s was Tavner, daughter of Jarvis Tavner. I think it’s one of those occupational names, as in, they took a family name because they owned a tavern. Most commoners don’t even get family names.”

Lil shrugs, “Sounds good buddy, sort of. Well, no, it doesn’t. I’m still, grr. I’m still working through some stuff. I don’t know. I guess I’m kind of done with searching and quests and working and just, grr. I died Rej. My It’s-a-secret died. My Gal-pal died! Don’t we, you know, deserve a break? I’ve been alone for months, only able to sneak out and see Dehlia a few times because I could let my dupes do the work, and Lucky didn’t seem to mind. Other than TQ, and let me tell you, TQ aint the best company. Or, um, wasn’t. I guess they’re dead now too. I just, I just want to be done. Sorry.”

My heart aches for Lil, they do deserve a time of peace and rest, I can’t fault them that. I also missed them dearly, but they were the most isolated of all of us, I at least got to reunite with nearly everyone else much earlier, and even Luni a fair deal earlier. Yet I still feel a sense of urgency. Taylynn and Selunie may not have seen Aces for a long time, and might not know about their death. Plus, there’s the whole threat of the Celestial Emperor stealing souls, and I don’t know where Aces’ soul went, with our world on it. There’s also the fact that the discombobulation of resurrection or otherworldly travel left me with a nagging feeling that Aces body and soul are somehow mine, and that those four lumps are Lu, Te, Lucky, and Mat. Luni was incredibly insistent that I’m not ready for that revelation though, or something that comes after it. I suppose it could just be my own confusion, and Luni is trying to prevent me from getting too jumbled up in thinking these visions belong to me. I guess it could be pretty harmful to convince myself that I was an assassin living on Rayileklia. Maybe Lu’s just trying to save me from that.

I realize I haven’t replied to Lil, “Oh Lil buddy, I’m so sorry. Here I am, getting caught up in my own head again, and we can’t hear each other’s thoughts anymore. I guess I’d better change back. What do you think, authoritative Reggie, burly femme Reggie, or cherubic Reggie?”

Lil hems and haws for only a moment, “Hm, hrm, oh, definitely little you, the shortest, softest one. The best for cuddles. Plus, maybe with a smaller body, you won’t need as much supper, leaving more for me. Heeeee.”

I burst into laughter at Lil’s minor gluttony and their jocular admittance of it. Still, I’m happy to indulge Lil right now. I can’t make up for months of loneliness, or the hurt that I caused by being the wielder of the timeline that resulted in so many Naga deaths. Though, this version of the timeline? It may have saved the majority of the peaceful faction of the Nagas’ population. Still, it’s the least I can do for my oldest pal.

I focus again for eight minutes as we walk back to Daffodil’s home, struggling harder each passing moment. Eventually I’m left panting, clutching my chest, doubled over against Lil’s haunch, my eyes swimming in their sockets. The ground itself spins below me. I loose up some sick along the path as my transformation starts, which breaks my concentration, and I have to start over. It’s even more painful the next time around, but Lil carries me between their wings so that I can fully focus on it. As we’re about to enter Daffodil’s home, I finally manage the self actualization evolution transformation.

Then, as if to show me up, Lil effortlessly takes a smaller shape, similar to their spheriform stage, using their natural draconic shapeshifting. It takes a few seconds, and the process is visible physical transformation, but, since it’s not a Can’Z’aasian energy spell related effect, they can just do it. I jokingly grunt, “Show off.”

Lil’s response is a gleeful, “Heeee.”

Lil hops into my arms and I happily hold them as we enter Daffodil’s home while laughing. Teuila is busy examining Daffodil’s scythe and her onyx or obsidian knife. Luni is sloppily pounding some dough out into a flat circle with glee, earning laughter from Daffodil. There appears to be some adobe flatware or cookware that was stored in Daffodil’s inu, her oven. Teuila seems to be trying to flatten an old hard bean beneath the flat of the blade that she’s inspecting, instead of crushing it though, she manages to launch it my way, aimed right between my eyes.

Teuila appears to mouth, “Oops,” in slow motion. My danger wraps guide my left hand in snatching the speeding projectile out of the air while my right arm continues to hold Lil against my torso. Te looks morbidly apologetic, but Luni and Daffodil look impressed since the flying object drew their attention. Moreover, Daffodil is a bit confused by the spherical presence in my arms, noting its coloration and scaly similarity to Lil.

As I begin to ask if there’s anything I can do to help, Lil gleefully blurts out, “When’s supper? If it’s not soon, I could go hunt something. I’m starving!”