She stays that way for several minutes as she watches the world turn beneath her. Looking down on the world like this is quite an amazing feeling and a very beautiful sight. I wouldn't mind staying here like this for a while, but the goddesses' time is valuable.

Seronia says "Do you have any other questions before we leave?"

"Not that I can think of at the moment."

Lin says "Tons, but not any that you can answer."

Krenocia says "If you want those answers, have Ash go find the ghosts of some nobles of the First Ones."

"Haha, I will see what I can do."

Seronia says "That doesn't mean you should go and do anything crazy!"

Lin says "Don't worry, I will keep both eyes on him."

Krenocia says "That might not be enough, you should probably keep him on a leash."

Lin blushes and says "I will consider it!"

Her response causes Seronia to giggle, but Krenocia looks a little confused. I wisely keep my mouth shut and stay out of it so I don't get myself into trouble. The goddesses talk with Lin for a few minutes, but they keep a barrier up so that I can't hear them.

From the amount of giggling, I am pretty sure that I am better off not knowing what they are saying. After they finish their chat, the goddesses say their goodbyes and leave. Lin also leaves, so I end the soulscape, but I don't end my meditation just yet.

Instead, I turn my focus to my soul and start working on moving my connection to Bones. For some reason, this time it is much easier to move and it gets easier as I move it. Maybe the closer it is to the edge, the less resistance my soul has to it moving.

Whatever the reason, I am able to finish moving the connection without any problems. That means that I should now be able to grant his wish and give Bones his freedom. I may as well do it now, there is no reason to put it off, so I summon Bones.

Bones says "Master?"

"I have finally removed the connection from my soul. I can now break it and give you your freedom. If that is still what you want?"

Bones says "Yes, master. That is the only thing I want."

"Have you figured out what you are going to do once you are free?"

Bones says "I will return to the east coast, build an army for myself, and then fight against the Maker."

"Why would you want to do that? I have since found out that the maker is an ancient goddess of undeath. She may be much weaker now, but she is still far more powerful than a normal undead."

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Bones says "I'm aware of that, but thanks to you I know how to steal her energy and use it to improve. Besides, I am not a normal undead myself. I also am not planning to go directly after her, I will weaken her first."

"Seems like you have put a lot of thought into this. Alright, I won't try to talk you out of it. Once you are free, I will gate you as far east as I can. I plan to go back and deal with the Maker once I am strong enough. I just hope that when I do, I don't find you under her control."

Bones says "If she does manage to control me, please end me. However, I am not going to give up. Besides, knowing you, you either will forget about her or you will not have the time."

"I won't forget about her, but you are right, time might be an issue. Since I freed her, if at all possible I will end her before I die. I promise, if she controls you, I will take care of you."

Bones says "Thank you. Are you going to free me now?"

"Yes, but I have no idea if it is going to hurt or not."

Bones says "That's fine. Pain doesn't really affect me since I am dead."

"Alright, let's do this."

I close my eyes, enter into meditation, focus on my soul, and take a look at the connection. Now that Bones is nearby, I can actually see the entire connection instead of just part of it. On my end it is the orb that was inside my soul, but it is different on Bones' end.

On his end, it is more like a net that covers his entire body and the two are connected by a single line. My first thought was to cut the line and separate us, but I'm no longer sure. If it was an orb at both ends, then cutting the line would probably work.

However, instead of cutting it, I impulsively start trying to push the orb towards Bones. Surprisingly, it works and the orb starts moving along the ling, absorbing it as it goes. Because it is no longer attached to my soul it doesn't cause me any pain at all.

The orb gets bigger and bigger as it absorbs the line, but I still don't feel anything. Bones also doesn't seem to be in any kind of distress, so I keep pushing the orb. Even though the line isn't that long, it still takes me almost ten minutes to push the orb all the way to Bones.

When the orb finally touches the net that is Bones' end of the connection, it vanishes. Instead of absorbing the net like I was expecting, it is absorbed into the net. The strands of the net get thicker and brighter as it absorbs the energy of the orb.

I quickly open my eyes and look at Bones, his entire body is currently glowing. All of his bones glow for a few minutes and then the glow slowly fades away. Once the glow is gone, his bones have a sheen to them making them look like they are made of diamonds.

"Bones, how do you feel?"

Bones says "I feel, stronger?"

"That's good. Do you still feel compelled to obey me?"

Bones says "No. The most I feel is a reluctance to attack you, nothing more. Does this mean I am free? Didn't you say it was going to hurt?"

"Yes, you are free. No, I said I didn't know if it was going to hurt or not."

Bones says "I am free? Really?"

"Yes, you are. There is no more connection between us. You can do whatever you want now."

Bones says "Do you want me to return the things that you made for me?"

"No need, keep them. Is there anything you need or want before you leave?"

Bones says "No, there is nothing. I am ready to leave now and start building my army."

"Alright, I will open the gate. You will be on the northern half of the east side of the continent. That is as close as I can get you."

Bones says "That is fine. I will find my way."

"Alright. Good luck."

Bones says "Thank you for freeing me, Ash."

"No problem. I owed you at least that much and I'm sorry that it took me so long. Removing the connection from my soul wasn't easy."

Bones says "It's fine, time doesn't mean as much to me."