“So uh, maybe the trait doesn’t make me eat souls anymore?” I say.

Izahne gives me a tired look.

Well, hit me with it. What does it say now?

(No idea. The description is literally just garbled text that keeps jumping around like static,) Nyx replies.

Then it’s probably another one that isn’t supposed to be in the System, right? Like one that got forced in or a god messed with like the Skills my Class has?

(That’s… an interesting hypothesis.)

Well, I mean… If they were supposed to be in the System, they wouldn’t be all garbled and unreadable, right? Systems are supposed to be helpful or whatever, so I don’t really see how that kind of thing would be normal. So this clearly has to be abnormal or broken or something from outside the System!

(From what the rabbit said, assuming it’s actually true…)

You think he was lying about that?

Nyx sighs. (Nemesis… really. You need to stop being so trusting. People are going to have ulterior motives. Some might be truthful, sure. I don’t think Izahne is going to be lying to you any time soon, mostly because you’re terrifying and to her your relationship is at least mostly positive.)

I see.

(Anyway,) she continues, (From what the rabbit said, it sounds like you were originally created outside of the Record and completely lacking an actual soul of your own, until you then subsumed at least one creature with a soul. By subsuming it you literally made it a part of yourself and by so doing you forced yourself into the Record, so it would make sense to think that some part of your existing self would have been integrated into it. It would also make sense that if that part of your self wasn’t fully compatible, it would have either been altered to be compatible or simply become a corrupted subentry that’s only partially a Skill or equivalent.)

So then you agree?

(With what?)

…That it isn’t, or wasn’t, supposed to be part of my System.

(Maybe.)

I sigh a small puff of ash. My paladin raises an eyebrow.

“Sorry. Assistant conversation. Anyway, we have no idea what the new one does. It used to be ‘Mana Thirst’, and when I evolved it changed into ‘Soul Thirst.’ But then when master did whatever he did to my System, it turned into ‘Abyssal Hunger’. None of the other ones were actually descriptive of what they meant, but when I didn’t consume vitality or souls for a long time, I lost control until I either consumed enough or someone else broke me out of it like Pearl did. The new one though, Nyx says its description is all just garbled staticky text that doesn’t mean anything. We also think it might have been something from outside the Record, since my past uh, me, was formed independent from the gods and didn’t have a soul.”

“…Until you absorbed the goddess of night,” Izahne quietly answers.

“Yes. Until I absorbed the goddess of night, and took her soul for my own I guess.”

***

The mood was still pretty somber I guess, at least from what I’m reading in our bond. It’s that same gritty low pressure whatever with a negative something.

(You definitely don’t have the words for it.)

Oh shut up.

Anyway, since we’re going back to the mains district to use the transport station anyway, I decide we should stop by the Adventurer’s Guild, since we’re basically retracing my steps.

Or, hmm. I face my paladin, who I’m presently carrying at high speed as usual.

“I feel like we’re retracing my steps since I woke up, in a way. Should we stop at the Adventurer’s Guild? It’s where I went next after meeting Nerin, eating lots of wraiths, and leading Boz and my other henchpets around. We could see if Mimir is in, he’s weird but seems to know a lot of things.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

She feels hesitant.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know you’re… sad? Something? Serious mood something? So I don’t want to make you do things if you don’t want to,” I quickly add.

Izahne sighs through her nose. “We can go if you want to.”

“Well. Do you want to uh, not go?” I ask.

“I don’t really care, I guess,” she answers.

(Maybe seeing something less directly related to you taking human lives or killing gods would take her mind off it,) Nyx suggests.

And I’m inclined to agree.

Since we’re both registered with the Guild, we have no problems entering the district. I float us right up to and through the Guild’s front door.

Ah! That’s the same receptionist as before, right? What was her name, Milly? Maggie?

(Misty.)

Gotcha.

Nyx gives me a rare half smile. (You’re actually recognizing different people. That’s a good sign I guess.)

Hey, I’ve already been doing that for a really long time!

“Hello Misty,” I say in greeting. “This is Izahne. Is Mimir around? Wait, no, I’ll find him.”

Misty starts saying something, but I’m not paying attention since I’m busy scanning the building for Mimir’s mana flavor. Ah, there it is. I give him a poke with Will Surge, and then… wait, does Prophets Voice have a limited range?

Hello Mimir, I project to his mind. I’ve come to visit.

Izahne is prodding me to set her down so I do, and Misty strikes up a conversation with her while flicking an occasional nervous side eye in my direction.

And right on cue, here comes our friendly neighborhood knowledge seeker.

“Ah, Nemesis. Was that a Skill? It’s a pleasure to see you here again,” he says in his usual syrupy tone.

“It’s a pleasure to be here and not killed by my master.” I gesture to my partner and say, “And this is Izahne, Paladin of Themis. Also my wife.”

I quickly manifest a feeler to catch Misty by the shoulders – it seems a common reaction to that is fainting? Is that normal?

(You’re the abnormal one,) my Assistant jabs.

I also notice a spike of positive emotions from the bond with my paladin, so I offer her another caress with Consume to go with it. She likes those, and from her reaction I can tell it had the intended effect.

“And this is – “ I start, only to be interrupted by the… what even is he again?

(Human.)

This one’s actually a human?

(Yes, this one is actually a human.)

Ah, he’s been talking for a minute. Izahne feels… what is that? It’s not positive…

(She’s annoyed that Mimir is doing a gentleman act.)

That’s another human thing, right?

Nyx just sighs and says nothing. Oh well.

I choose now to cut in. “So anyway, we’re kind of retracing my steps from when I started existing, and this was along the way. If you want I can age more of your ‘special potions’ or whatever. I don’t even care if they’re actually whiskey.”

“Would you then!?” he blurts.

(He’s definitely running low already,) my Assistant snarks.

I shrug. “Lead the way.”

The human starts toward his laboratory in the back again, and I loop a feeler around my paladin’s shoulder and pull her a bit closer, enough that she can take my hand if she wants to. She seems to like doing that.

“I’m sorry if he was bothering you. He didn’t bother me before so I didn’t think he would bother you.”

She gives me a half confused glance. “Why do you think he was bothering me?”

“Our bond,” I say. “I didn’t know what you were feeling and Nyx said you were annoyed bc he was acting like a… a… textile?”

(Gentleman.)

“Gentleman! Yeah, that. And that it was annoying you.”

She’s silent for a moment, and then says, “I didn’t know you could read that deep with it. I didn’t even realize that was bothering me.”

I shrug lightly. “It’s been getting easier. Maybe because of how long we’ve had it, or maybe I’m just getting better at reading it. Did you know that Skills get stronger with practice regardless of levels?”

“Yes, that’s a well known and documented phenomenon,” she answers.

By now we’re already in Mimir’s lab, and he’s frantically moving around bottles, beakers, and jugs. After around fifteen or twenty minutes of him fiddling things around, he broadly presents the collection he’s arrayed on the countertop before us.

“And away we go,” I say as I start using The Ravages of Time on them at a low strength. This time I’m more careful of where I’m willing it, since the last time I also dried and curled some of the wood the work surface was made from.

As I’m doing my work, I give Izahne a glance. She feels restless, so I decide to say something. “When I was here the first time, I took an evolution in a room upstairs. It’s when I got my aura, and apparently unless you take precautions to turn off auras when you evolve, they’re on by default? I had no idea.”

She grimaces. “That sounds like terrible courtesy for everyone else here.”

“Probably. Well, like I said, I didn’t know.”

Mimir gives a matter-of-fact nod. “It was quite the event for the staff. A number of them were offered a free change of uniform after using our inn business’ washing facility, as well as free cleaning or replacement of their past attire. I made use of a handful of owed favors to make the narrative of ‘triggering a trap on an unknown artifact’ take root, you know.”

“Yes, I know,” I flatly return.

“Speaking of which!” he begins, clearly beginning to spin up his bluster, “You feel unquestionably more potent than last we met. And so, if I may be so bold, would you allow me the privilege of Identifying you?”

I sigh. “No.”

Mimir immediately deflates. “I see."

After another awkward silence lasting thankfully long enough for me to finish my work – or at least long enough for the human to ask me to stop, we say our farewells and head out. Not before some grandiose statement about ‘my lady’ and ‘charmed by your presence’ or whatever, and another spike of annoyance from my paladin.

We head through the transport station without incident and begin our trek back to the lair when I remember that there was another thing I did here before meeting the party. I’m not sure if Izahne will be interested though…

(Ask her.)

I’m going to!

“So,” I begin, “do you want to meet Nyx’s old friends?”