Dennis looked up at John standing on Kerchak’s shoulder as if he were speaking Greek. “You… want me to let the connection break right here? What if he hurts us?”

“Well, we should probably move further away first. But if you think I’m losing to a lone demon at this point…”

“... Okay, that’s fair… It does sound better than just ending it. I have no idea what’s going to happen, though.”

“That’s fine. Whatever happens, we’ll be prepared. Bring us over there,” John said, pointing to a spot between the mist and the jungle about a hundred meters away.

Dennis nodded and commanded Kerchak to walk. They would be his final steps under his command.

“Kerchak, no fight!” Rain yelled after them, hoping the monkey would leave on his own. She seemed anxious, but she accepted the circumstances for what they were.

After reaching the spot, Kerchak stopped and turned around while John jumped on the ground before him. He stood between the demon and the others, making it easier to protect them if he had to.

Kerchak put his hand up, fingers outstretched, and started counting down. Dennis probably didn’t want to yell too loudly next to the jungle.

‘Clever!’ John thought, summoning Larang from his core. He did so more to seem intimidating than to get ready, hoping Kerchak would decide against a fight. ‘If he has any memories from our journey, he will probably avoid a fight, right?’

The final finger fell, and then the arms followed. Kerchak’s eyes suddenly seemed to come to life again, and he looked at his surroundings in confusion. Then he looked at John, and his eyebrows lowered.

‘What will you choose, big boy?’

A deep growling came from Kerchak’s throat, repeating with each breath he took. Then he turned away from John and started walking towards the jungle, shaking the ground with heavy steps.

John breathed out in relief. He preferred this outcome, having come to appreciate the race of monkeys on this planet. Unlike nearly every other beast they faced, they seemed reasonably intelligent.

A dense armor of bones rapidly formed on Kerchak’s body, covering him completely. It was night and day from when Dennis had tried to control it, showing the importance of the intuitive understanding that came with one's own aspect.

“See you later, I guess,” John said, too quietly to be heard. He put Larang back in his core and returned to the others as he watched Karchak disappear into the jungle. He seemed to struggle with the trees in his way, bending them to the sides as he walked through.

“Kerchak left!” Rain cheered, doing a little dance in joy. She seemed to have been more invested in his fate than she let on.

Dennis also looked happy, smiling at John as he returned. “Thanks, John.”

“Don’t mention it,” John replied, waving a hand in the air. “He might end up causing us trouble in the future, but probably not too much.”

Rain ran over to hug John once he was close. “Now fly?” she asked, looking up at him.

“No, I think it’s time for me to fuse with this necklace,” John replied, looking down at his chest. It was hanging harmlessly from his neck, hiding the deadly power within.

Rain released her hug and suddenly tried to skewer John with her antlers. With her meager strength, it was akin to a pounce from a tiny kitten, but it still surprised him.

He pinched two of the points on her horns between his fingers. “You don’t approve?”

“... Rain don’t like black essence. Dangerous.” She was still leaning against him, not letting up her harmless attack.

“The sage said it was fine, though. You don’t think it was true?”

“No good comes from black essence. Only dead. And kill.”

“But I need to kill sometimes, Rain. We’re fighting beasts of all sorts, protecting our home.”

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She sighed and leaned back, letting John release her antlers. Without looking at him, she gently said, “John do what John want to do.” Then she sat down on the ground next to him.

John looked at her, suddenly unsure about his plan to fuse with the necklace. She had saved his life from it once, so it was understandable that she was against it. But she also might know more about it than he did.

‘... Can I afford not to take advantage of the tools I get? I feel like Sage Full Blue is trustworthy, but he didn’t know what function it would have… Hmm…’

He looked down at the necklace, weighing his options. He had considered it a gift from the Aasvedans, for him to carry their will forward, even if only a vestige. And from what he had seen in their memories, they wouldn’t mean him any harm.

“I’m doing it,” he decided, looking down at Rain.

She turned her head away from him and sighed, not responding beyond that. But it was enough to show she didn’t approve.

Dennis didn’t side with either of them and stayed out of the argument, looking out at the jungle. Or perhaps he was looking after Kerchak.

John sat down and removed the necklace from his neck, holding it in his hand. By now, he was well-versed in the process of fusing with equipment. But there was a final piece of hesitation left.

‘... No, let’s do it. I can still choose not to use it.’

His essence flowed into the silvery necklace, starting the process of fusion. Unlike in previous fusions, this time the essence almost felt like it was drained into it. No force was necessary at all.

The process finished in seconds, letting John pull it into his core. Immediately, the information was revealed to him.

The necklace contained a pitch-black enchantment called tether, which chained his soul to his body as long as it still contained black essence.

‘... What? Does that make me immortal for a while, then? It doesn’t say anything about healing wounds, but I guess I can do that with my usual essence. So it’s… temporary undeath? How long will the essence last? And how rare is a black enchantment?’

Additionally, it told him about a process of producing the black essence, but he wanted to avoid that for as long as possible.

‘That sounds like actual hell. Using the vestige to relive the most painful moments of the Aasvedans’ lives, making me feel enough rage and grief to turn my essence black… That would make me go insane before long. There has to be other ways.’

Rain turned back to him again with cautious eyes. “... John good?”

“Yeah, I’m good. The necklace can keep me alive if I get badly wounded, but it doesn’t have any offensive functions. So I don’t see any downsides to it,” he added, trying to convince her it was a good idea to fuse it.

But her reaction didn’t change. “More reckless. More jump to danger. Less caution. All bad.”

He didn’t have much of a counter for that. He had indeed planned to take more risks in the future if it meant saving those he cared for. Now, he had an excuse—a way to justify following his heart.

“... I promise to take care of myself, okay? But if the choice is between leaving you behind to save myself or staying behind to let you escape…” He let the implication speak for itself, ending his sentence.

The hazel-brown eyes stared at him silently, conveying a frustrated "I told you so", but John felt justified in his stance. The question of self-sacrifice would never be fully resolved, so he was happy to have a winning argument.

Rain looked away in the end, staring into the jungle instead. “... Fly now?”

John understood the conversation was finished without either of them reaching an agreement. “Sure, now we can fly. With Larang’s new weight, we could probably all fly on it, but balance would be an issue,” John said, looking at Dennis.

“Don’t worry, I’ll run after you. I can be quick—probably even more so with the new essence. But I will need breaks.”

John nodded, looking into the jungle. It would be simple enough to traverse on foot, but there were endless spots for beasts to hide in an ambush. Dennis would be in more danger than the two of them.

“I should be able to block attacks with the shield as long as you stay in my radius, so make sure to stick close enough. And if we meet anything big, I’ll leave Rain with you.”

“I’ll find us a nice hiding spot, don’t worry. But demons shouldn’t take you long, right?”

“That’s true, but I can still be caught off guard by special aspects or hidden enemies. Don’t underestimate the jungle, either.”

John summoned Larang under his feet and gestured for Rain to get on. They hadn’t traveled like this since the fight with the desert horror, but Rain didn’t seem bothered at all. She had seemed quite insistent on never flying again at the time.

“Okay, let’s get going!”

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John and Rain flew between the trees, weaving their way straight ahead. Their speed was lower than what they were used to, but the turning made it uncomfortable for Rain to travel faster.

Dennis was also right behind them, jumping from tree to tree. John was surprised by the agility he showcased, and suspected it had something to do with his breakthrough to aspecter only having used gaseous essence.

‘If that’s the case, won’t I be less agile than almost everyone else? My muscles should be much stronger, but I guess my weight increased slightly…’

Rain leaned forward near John’s ear and pointed past him. “Something.”

John paused, surprised by the sudden action. Rain hadn’t pointed at anything other than their goal since they found the remains of the Aasvedans, at least during her travels with John.

“What thing, Rain?”

“Don’t know, but something. Big.”