We just stare at each other for a moment, with the quiet drone of my sleeping wife as a backdrop.

And then she looks at her hands in disbelief.

I can’t help but use Identify.

[Daemon of Envy – High Counselor to the Queen – System Assistant Emeritus]

Uh. Nyx?

(Yes, I know. I just looked.)

Status?

She nods, and then a moment later looks up at me.

(How long? How long has this... this...)

I have no idea, but. You’re free, aren’t you? Or at least not immaterial or whatever anymore?

Foreign knowledge again enters my mind, inspiring me to reach out to her with my will in the same way I once did with the ancient wraiths of this plane, causing me to feel a third bond appear in my mind, along with the disbelief and shock it radiates.

Why doesn’t that just happen on its own? Probably because my apotheosis broke partway through... I wonder how many other things that were supposed to happen just, didn’t?

No matter.

Since I can now, I pull up her Status.

[Status]

[Name: Nyx]

[Race: Daemon of Envy – High Counselor to the Queen – System Assistant Emeritus]

[Domain: Envy]

[SYSTEM: None]

[Inherent Skills:]

[Inflict Envy]

[Manifest Self]

[Class: None]

[General Skills:]

[Dimensional Storage MAX]

[Identify MAX]

[Stealth 44]

[Language]

[Interplanar Common]

[Indra Indigenous]

[Runic (Master)]

[Shadowborne]

[Traits:]

[Blessed of Envy]

[Blessed of Hunger]

[Blessed of Night]

[Soul Link (Nemesis, Permanent)]

[Titles:]

[Advisor of Envy]

[Foe of Justice]

[High Counselor to the Queen]

[Queen’s Strategist]

[System Assistant Emeritus]

That’s a lot of stuff.

I suppose congratulations are in order, ‘High Counselor’.

(My...) she starts, and then trails off.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Your?

(MY CLASS!) she shouts. (WHERE’S MY CLASS!? IT’S GONE!)

Okay. So?

Grabbing my face and getting unusually close, she snarls, (DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO MAX OUT MASTER RUNESINGER!?)

No, but I bet you’re about to tell me.

She pushes off, causing my head to flop against the pillow, and turns to pace quickly at the foot of the bed while radiating angry grunts and indignant complaints about how unfair it is.

All the while, ignoring the fact that she’s a demigod now.

Whatever. Hey so, why don’t you try manifesting a body? You have a Skill for that now.

(I’m going to! But I’m dealing with a lot of stuff right now, just let me think.)

Can you talk out loud now?

(Probably.)

…

Well, alright then.

I wonder if Abaris knows what a daemon is.

***

Izahne only half-woke once this past night, mumbling something incoherent before snuggling more tightly against me and exhaling a long breath before resuming her rest. When she finally wakes, she offers me a sleepy smile before inhaling sharply and leaping from the bed, our bond flooding with a fierce conflict between attraction and wanting to appear respectful.

“Just stop,” I say dismissively. “Really. All this weirdness, it’s not necessary.”

(Do you even realize why she’s doing that?)

No? Obviously not. I wouldn’t keep telling her to stop if I did, I’d just stop whatever was causing it!

Nyx sighs. (It’s you, stupid. You’re projecting this thick aura of dignity or majesty or something? It feels like you’re literally telling everyone around you to bow and scrape!)

I can’t help but notice that you’re not.

(Of course I’m not, I’m not mortal!)

Is that how it works? Alright, fair enough.

I focus my will on myself, and sure enough, I can feel it happening.

So I turn it off, and through our bond I can practically feel Izahne stop holding her proverbial breath.

I sit up turn to my consort. “Sorry. I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I guess I have a lot of things to learn. At least Nyx is talking to me again.”

“It’s fine, Lady Nemesis,” she answers.

A sigh escapes me. I guess this will do for now, even though it’s still annoying.

SO annoying.

My consort blinks and then asks, “Wait, when did Nyx stop talking to-WHA!?”

She turns sharply, already forming her shadowy weapon, leaping between me and some perceived enemy.

And then she stands there looking confused. After a moment she says, “I swear I just saw something. Lady Nemesis, you might be in danger, I think there’s something here.”

Well, I won’t pretend I have any idea what is happening.

But it looks like Nyx does.

My former Assistant is actually giggling. Then she moves to the side of Izahne’s vision and waves, causing my consort to gasp and turn again.

“Wait, can you see her?” I ask.

“Can I see who?”

I stand from the bed and move toward the daemon, but it looks like at least for the moment, she’s too busy tormenting her prey.

But I’m not remotely this patient, and I know I can compel her.

“Nyx, reveal yourself.”

She flinches and levels a hurt look in my direction, before ash ripples over her body, revealing her standing before us.

Completely stark naked. I probably should have anticipated this.

I pull a spare set of clothing from my dimensional storage and toss it in her direction while she glares. Meanwhile, Izahne takes a startled step away from the suddenly appearing entity.

“Izahne, meet Nyx.”

***

“A daemon? Typically, that would be a knowledge spirit. Historically, they have been known to have acted as advisors or oracles for Heroes in their quests to defeat their respective counterpart.”

Yeah, I figured Abaris would know something.

I raise my hand as a signal, and the daemon seated next to me bursts into being – at least from the perspectives of the mortals in the room.

Resulting in the expected reactions of surprise and shock.

I chuckle quietly to myself. It’d been my idea for her to materialize in the room like this for dramatic effect, and it’s gone exactly as I’d planned.

I wave a hand dismissively. “So, this is Nyx, she used to be my System Assistant but apparently she’s been a daemon of envy for however long. Maybe ever since I failed my apotheosis? Probably.”

Nyx raises one hand and says, “Hello.”

Pearl looks between us for a moment before asking, “You look exactly like each other, do you have any idea why that is?”

“Nope,” we answer in unison.

“Best we’ve got so far is that I didn’t have an actual self-image when I was created, so I just latched onto the closest thing – my System Assistant,” I say. “Also you all should probably thank her for all the advice she offered me, it saved you a lot of work explaining why humans do certain things, or at least for stopping me from doing a lot of pretty stupid stuff.”

“Did I really have a choice? You are pretty stupid,” she snarks back.

I sigh dramatically. “See what I have to put up with?”

She laughs and punches me in the shoulder.

My death knights look confusedly between us while Pearl and Abaris glance at each other.

“I also wasn’t aware I was able to project an aura of majesty, but you’ll be pleased to know I’ve found a way to disable it.”

Nyx snorts. “You’re acting pompous again, just apologize.”

"Was I?” I ask, glancing at the two mortals.

They seem hesitant.

I sigh. “Alright, I probably was. I’m sorry. Abaris is probably right, I think whatever is left of Astraea in my soul is leaking in. I’m probably going to keep acting weird, so I guess we should all just start expecting that.”

I turn to my death knights. “That also means I want you to stop treating me like royalty. I get that I have your undying loyalty and so on and whatever, but it’s really annoying, so just stop, okay? Just act like you did before.”

“If you say so, Lady Nemesis,” Omorth replies. Although he makes no move to... well, I guess there isn’t anything he needs to do right now. He’s just sitting in the chair to my right.

“And why are you both calling me ‘Lady’!?” I snap.

Abaris gingerly raises a hand. “I may be able to answer that. The aura you were projecting before had a very firm component of submission to the queen, and queens are typically women. So of course, referring to you as a woman appeared to be what you wanted.”

“I... guess I don’t really care. But I’m not a ‘Lady’ or whatever. I’m just me.”

I’m pretty sure I know how to snap Izahne out of this whole thing though. I manifest a group of feelers and snatch her from her chair. She yelps and flails as I forcibly move her to sit across my lap, crowding the two of us already on the chair. Her eyes are the widest I’ve ever seen them, but she doesn’t resist as I wrap an arm around her shoulder.

“Yeah, sure, one big happy family,” Nyx says sarcastically. “Bonding and whatever, fine, but there’s still a messed-up plane outside of this building, and we should probably be talking about how to deal with that.”