Gi wobbled a bit as the last of the demons fell and he let his Domain drop. His Soul had been awakened during his rebirth and the sheer amount of Aether that he could channel seemed to have increased even beyond what he would have expected of that.

His Skills were an innate part of himself, but perhaps, he should have checked his Status before engaging in combat. Frankly, he just wasn't used to the system or his abilities as reduced as they'd been in death.

Using the upgraded version of [Danna's Conduit], he summoned one of the massive golden arms that was the mainstay of his wife's fighting style and picked up the body of the demon leader, JR.

Only the sixth heir of the Demon Empire. He had a lot of work to do.

Rising up into the air, he headed back to Wavecrest and brought up his notifications from his Rebirth.

You've developed a Unique Soul from your Divine Seed!

You've gained: Soul of Rebirth

Aspect: Divinity

If what he could intuit was correct, his awakened Soul was the reason for his ability to sense Aether manipulation. It also had upgraded two of his low level traits into things that might be useful.

Trait: [Rally] has evolved to Skill: [Celestial Inspiration].

Trait: [Expanded Pocket] has evolved to Skill: [Danna's Realm].

The first was very similar to how it was before; however, its target now was just "allies" and it had a better buff. It was probably only the equivalent of a single level in all four stats, but that wasn't insignificant over the course of a war.

The latter felt like he could open a door to a larger pocket dimension. It didn't seem like it would be large enough to supplement an army, but much larger than he personally would require. It was a good buff.

That wasn't all though.

You've realized an aspect of your fate!

Your Quicksilver Body and Soul of Rebirth have connected through your Mind of Forged Destiny.

Combined Aspect: Stream of the Goddess

His awakened Soul might have been able to let him use more than one Skill at a time, but his realized Mind kicked open the door. His Aether use felt much more free without being as tied up as it was with his Domain. His Domain still provided efficient Aether use by comparison, but it was no longer the only Skill that could be used in tandem with another.

Speaking of his Domain...

Domain: [Archbishop] has evolved to [Papal Legion].

[Danna's Conduit] has evolved to [Divine Spouse].

Those had been the heavy hitters in his fight with JR. [Papal Legion] massively increased the number of summons he could have and further increased their ability to act independently. As his Domain skill, the increased efficiency was definitely needed.

[Danna's Conduit], on the other hand, had always been a fairly limited Skill. From speaking with Danna, it should have allowed easier access for her to speak with him, but what little bit of power she had was used by the Skill to keep him alive.

What would have happened if he'd been able to talk with her sooner? Had he been in any position to have that conversation before the Battle of Igna?

He really didn't think so.

[Divine Spouse] gave them a much more firm connection. In fact, it seemed like it reused the path that connected them as soul mates, allowing him to manifest more of her power - or rather use his own Aether to manifest power in her image.

The golden limbs that could be used by his summons were a great boon for combat, but also, the Skill just made him feel close to Danna even though she was so far away.

He was eager to get back to her, but... there was just so much to be done first.

He arrived back at Wavecrest and it looked like the humans had barely moved, none of them quite sure what to do or where to go. Their leader had died, and if Gi could be believed, they were now safe and didn't need to run for their lives.

It was possible that their leader's death they'd lost the will to flee and not Gi's assurances.

To provide proof for his earlier words, he tossed the dead demon from his golden glowing hand onto the ground in the center of the village and addressed the confused humans.

"I have defeated the demon prince and his army as promised. Tonight, you sleep safely if not soundly. My clan has betrayed your trust and you've lost someone dear to you for it. There was no justice in what we've done.

Should you wish it, we will leave never to return, or if you seek recompense for blood spilt, it would be our honor to be the first wall between you and the Demon Empire for as long as we have the strength to do so."

The humans continued to stare, but the faces arrayed against him were all muted from the effect of his aura. Anger, grief, fear - even muted, none of the visible emotions would have been considered happy.

Samba limped out of Mark's destroyed house being supported by another Templar with his wife Tala beside him. She must have heard his short speech as her eyes darted down to JR's body and then back to him.

"Samba, I-"

Tala's sharp glare cut him off. "You don't get to talk to him. Not after... that."

Gi's gaze lingered on Samba, but his Elite refused to meet his eyes. Anger, rage, hate - Gi thought he could have handled any of those, but his despondency broke Gi's heart. Samba might have been a touch naive, but he'd always been the most innocent of his Elites.

He didn't deserve the pain that Gi had inflicted on him.

"All right," Gi said as calmly as he could muster, "then let us talk."

"So talk."

Gi sighed. This was the animosity that he'd expected, but it didn't make it any easier. "The Demon Empire is looking to kill or enslave every person in this world - either human or monster. If their Emperor achieves that, he will complete the last stage and step into godhood.

"I want to stop that. Will you all stand with me as you did before?"

"Not as we did, no," she said, looking like she'd just bit a lemon made of nails, "but I recognize that you're our best hope of keeping everyone safe. If it weren't for that, I'd use every ounce of power that I possess to kill you for what you did today. Tiria too."

None of the humans could understand their conversation nor was Gi interested in letting only his side be translated, but they barely shuffled in place as suppressed as they were by his aura.

Gi sighed again. How could the mortal world be more complicated than the impending doom from the Old Gods? "I suppose that's the best that I can hope for. For now, my only request is that you stay here and help the humans of Wavecrest. If we have any chance to prevent the Demons from solidifying their foothold, I have to leave tonight."

"We can handle it here so leave."

Gi nodded sadly. He'd never expected to come back, but if he had, this wasn't the homecoming that he would have hoped for. "Thank you," he said to Tala before looking to Samba who still wouldn't meet his gaze, "and I'm sorry, Samba. For Mark. For everything. You deserved a better leader."

Samba didn't respond and Tala's continued glare let him know that he'd overstayed his welcome so he took to the air.

Samba, Tala, and the Wavecrest humans would have their own trials in the days to come. How would the humans view the Underbridge after this betrayal? What would happen when their shared army returned?

At this point, he just had to hope things would come together - the first bead of hope on a long flimsy string.

The spring air felt nice against his fur as he flew north, cutting towards the Eldritch forest where his heightened soul senses could feel its corruption even from afar.

With his clan broken and the absence of Danna, sadness permeated his thoughts. It was a soft melancholy though - a wish for a better times for those he cared about. After dying for the second time, he was far beyond the wildly shifting emotions of his first two lives.

In this one, he'd do better. He'd be better.

Gi drifted down from the sky and landed in front of a cave that was carved out of the cliff that led up to the Eldritch Forest. It could have been a bear or monster den at some point in time, but it was a human that walked out of its shadows tonight.

Dark hair framed a serious face with an olive complexion. She wore what appeared to be a simple brown robe, but closer inspection made it seem just a touch too perfect to be anything other than enchanted. A few rings adorned her hands, but otherwise her attire was as minimalist as a monk from Gi's first world.

"Ellen Swamp, legendary adventurer, hero of the Thousand Island Kingdom, and secret worshipper of the First One."

"Random beaver thing that my goddess told me to help."

"Gi might be easier to say. What did she tell you?"

"To trust and support you implicitly and that you were the only hope for the Thousand Islands."

"That's it?" Gi was going to be very irritated with The First One if she made him explain the hard part.

For the second time that night, someone looked like they'd rather chew rocks than talk to him. Was it too much to ask for just one person to be happy to see him?

"No. I know the gist of what comes next and I'm can't say I'm happy about it, but if it's the best move for the Kingdom and for my goddess. I'll do it."

Perhaps nobody was happy to see him, but at least neither Tala nor Ellen was trying to fight him. He'd just have to take that as a win.

Gi summoned an Otter who laid down at Ellen's feet. "Hop on and I can explain more while we're in the air."

"You want me to stand on your clone while he flies?"

"Sitting is probably easier, but whatever you prefer."

She rolled her eyes. "War makes strange bedfellows, I suppose." Sitting on the summon's back, Gi commanded it to take to the air. Its ascent was a little steep at first, forcing her to grab at its coat, but they eventually leveled off.

"What do you know about the Old Gods?" The wind buffeted them as they swam through the air, but he didn't have to raise his voice much for her to hear him.

"If you're talking about some pantheon before the ones of the Thousand Island Kingdom, then nothing. The First One is the oldest and most powerful god I know."

"You hear me say Old Gods and you think 'old gods' as though these are just older peers. Let me reframe it. The Old Gods aren't peers of the gods we know. Even calling them the god's Gods isn't doing them justice.

"Look at it this way. If the Old Gods were as powerful as the gods are to us, we would be less than a drawing of a speck of dust. Does that make sense?"

Ellen chewed her lip as she thought, a strangely mortal expression that was unexpected from her. The gods he'd been around hadn't had such uncalculated mannerisms. When you were made of divine light, everything was intentional.

Despite the divines embodying concepts, mortals were more honest in a way because of that chaos inside them.

"No," she said finally, pulling him from his introspection. "Frankly, I can't really imagine that kind of power. It seems too far beyond even that of someone like me."

"It's far beyond all of us. The best way to think of them is semi-intelligent- or maybe vastly intelligent? Nevermind.- force of nature that is closing in on our slice of reality. They don't just wipe out worlds so much as-"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSS!"

The familiar voice cut through the air to return a missing part of his heart. With the status of his clan and the intense pressure on his shoulders, he was conflicted about returning, but for the little slime-turned-dragonfly?

He couldn't help but smile despite it all.