Just shy of two weeks after they'd left, Gi and Poe made it back to Igna. With the urgency of Poe's condition and cutting a bloody swath through the Barrens, Gi had managed to cut out an entire day of travel, but his body was ragged and strained. Even when he wasn't running, it felt like he couldn't catch his breath.

Poe was worse. He barely moved anymore and Gi had to chew up the jerky they'd brought before feeding it to him. He was alive though which meant the Angelic Mice could save him.

He passed the Underbridge on his way into the mountain, but neither Jalx nor Tiria were there so he continued on past the Hive level and into the Bazaar. It didn't take him long to find the Angelic Mice's building.

Unlike most of the Bazaar, this building was made of white marble bricks with gold detailing - their colors. Otherwise, it was a relatively plain building without many decorative flourishes. Gi stumbled inside the overlarge doors, his body not working like he'd want it to.

The inside was even more plain than the outside. It had maybe two dozen cots as well as an enormous floor space in the back that Gi assumed was for oversized monsters.

A single Angelic Mouse was present and the goblin-sized white mouse's ears perked up as they entered. "I hear injuries. Severe ones. Lay down and I'll take care of you."

"Poe, first," Gi said and unswaddled the dragonfly out of the makeshift web strap that they'd made before placing him on a cot.

Without preamble, The Angelic Mouse stepped out and laid his hands over Poe. A soft white glow emanated from his hands as the skill started. Strangely, wraithlike Soul Orbs started to stream out of Poe's body and into the Angelic Mouse's hands.

As it did, the light glowed brighter. It changed from a pure white to a softer grey with streaks of brown. That line shone over Poe and the scorch marks from the Glassborn Sprites' attacks vanished before his eyes. As more and more power flowed into Poe, a crack echoed out in the tall space as his leg straightened itself.

There must have been more damage on the inside than Gi realized as it took another minute before the light finally subsided and Poe opened his eyes. Maybe it was the exhaustion that had held it at bay, but seeing the life return to his eyes made it really hit home that he'd almost lost Poe. The two of them had been together since the beginning.

Gi pulled him into a hug and Poe just settled in. "Oh, hugs are nice! Let's do more hugs!"

"Sure thing, buddy. We can do as many hugs as you want." His eyes had teared up and it made his breathing even worse. Without any words, the Angelic Mouse pushed Gi down onto a cot and started his skill up again.

Angelic Mouse Skill [Services Rendered] has been used.

Itemized List of Services

Health Scan - 1

Severe Wound (Feet) - 100 + 10 Unique Constitution modifier

Moderate Wound (Spine) - 20 + 10 Unique Constitution modifier

Moderate Wound (Lungs) - 20 + 10 Unique Constitution modifier

Severe Mind Damage (Arm) - Inoperable

Total Cost: 171 Soul Orbs

Current Soul Orbs: -15

As Gi's body healed, he felt the normal relief that he'd come to associate with the Angelic Mice's skill, but when the light moved down to his shredded feet, the relief quickly turned to pain. Like the Angelic Mouse had snatched him by the hair, his body bucked as his Aether was sucked out of him and into his feet.

As if a vaccuum had been opened inside his veins, his Aether pathways shrunk down forcefully, drawing every scrap of energy down towards his feet. It drew tighter and tighter until it eventually cracked. That shattering felt like someone had dragged dull barbed wire through his chest and ripped it out his back.

If Gi hadn't already been laying down, he'd have fallen. Without Soul Orbs or Aether to draw on, it started to pull on his very life force, forcibly turning it into Aether and then dragging it through him. He screamed expecting to feel blood blossoming up from his throat, but only the sounds of his scraping throat came out.

In the next instant, the pain in his body ceased, his scream died out, but he wasn't better. The sharp hollowness that remained was almost worse. He didn't even feel real anymore.

Soul Sickness

Your Soul is treated as a step lower than it is.

Aether regeneration halted.

"Not ideal," the Mouse said.

"W-what happened?" Gi wanted to rage and strangle the Mouse, but the motivation was barely there. Instead, he gripped at his chest with a loose fist. "What did you do to me?"

The Angelic Mouse sucked his teeth and started reciting. "Those seeking healing from the Angelic Clan are responsible for ensuring they have the means of payment. If any overdraft should occur, it is not the clan's responsibility for whatever damage may occur."

For some reason, Gi hated what he considered to be corporate bullshit- some borrowed knowledge from Danna, he was sure. It still wasn't enough to turn that muted feeling into action. Nothing he did could push past that hollowness.

"H-how do I fix it?"

The Mouse gave him a discerning look, but once he decided that Gi wasn't going to blame him, he spoke up. "You'll need either an infusion of Aether or to simply kill monsters to restore your deficit. The former will make you good as new, but would require one of the Angelic Mice Classers. It's expensive. The latter is free, but will still require some time for your Soul to mend after remedying your Soul Orb deficit."

Gi struggled to stand, but his legs didn't hold him and he dropped to his knees. His body somehow both felt strong and weak like a steel puppet hanging precariously from worn thread. His body felt... distant.

After a concentrated effort, Gi rose on shaky legs, barely managing to stand. The act of moving was worse than simply standing. Poe, for his part, looked as healthy as he'd ever seen him and the little dragonfly flitted around Gi like a mother teaching a kid to ride a bike.

"I-I'm fine, Poe. Let's just go."

The Angelic Mouse made no move to stop them or speak to them again. When Gi stepped back out into the Bazaar, he realized he was going to have a problem. The sea of monsters that regularly crowded the Bazaar was out in full force- buying, eating, and fighting. Pushing through in his current state would be torture.

But what else could he do?

Even if Poe went and got Tiria, she couldn't carry him out. He had to maintain a strong image as a Progenitor especially since some of these monsters may know him now that they'd become Ground Clan. He couldn't even use [Concealing Light] because the little dribblings of Aether that remained would run out with no way to restore it.

The two of them made their way down the mountain. Every monster that bumped into him or nearby fight they had to avoid felt like as much strain as he'd had running back with Poe. While it didn't get easier, he grew accustomed to the strange faraway weakness of his body as they were approaching Underbridge.

Relief washed over him as the giant rock pillars and steel beams of Underbridge came into view. That relief died in his chest when he saw the dozen or so Iron Ferrets waiting outside. Between the height and the breastplate that marked their Unqiue Constitution, the leader of the group was a Classer and staring Gi dead in the eye as she stomped over.

"You killed Ferra," the Classer said and the remaining jobbies all started yelling curses out at Gi.

He'd grown stronger since his fight with Yom, the other Iron Ferret Classer, but there was no telling whether this one was stronger than he had been. Either way, he wasn't so strong that he had any hope of defeating his enemies with his Soul Sickness.

He'd have to bluff. Poe quivering on his shoulder didn't help, but Gi had one trick up his sleeve that he hadn't tested in a long time.

"And?" Gi said, making the Classer grit her teeth in response.

"You destroyed our clan! We were the best! Nobody around was willing to mess with us until you brought in that merc!"

More cries from the jobbies. They seemed eager to inflict violence on him, but Gi thought he recognized the one he'd taught a "lesson" to earlier in the crowd. Good. That must be what kept them hesitant and less willing to immediately attack him.

He started to churn his Aether, but it moved sluggishly as though he was trying to walk through a swamp. Even worse, it felt like trying to shove his soul through the stem of a reed. He grit his teeth, the gesture turning into a growl as he forced his Aether to fuel [Persuasion]. As soon as the skill was engulfed by Aether, the Classer took a step back.

"She was weak," Gi bit off as he struggled to keep his [Persuasion] fueled. "She grew too fast and promised too much. That was her downfall." That last part was a bit rich coming from him, but [Persuasion] was having the effect he wanted - intimidation.

"S-She wasn't weak!" the classer yelled out and this time the jobbies were a little quieter in jeering.

"Then how did an Adolescent Stage Progenitor bring her down?" Gi spat. "Both her foundations and her faith was lacking." His control slipped on [Persuasion] for a half a second and some of the Classer's backbone returned.

"Don't act like it was you! We all know it was that merc!"

Caught up in his vaudeville act, Gi just laughed, the sensation of which was strange as he felt like he operated his own body at a distance. "Because Elizabeth was the one that ended your Progenitor, you believe that you are going to take me down? Just like Yom tried?"

The mention of the defeated Classer caused the Iron Ferret jobbies to quiet down. A few even looked over their shoulder like there was some escape towards the sea. The Classer herself looked serious though. Gi wasn't sure whether it was [Persuasion], Yom's fate, or both, but she believed him. Despite her firm expression, fear drilled into her eyes. Gi just needed to close the noose.

"I get it. You don't understand. You know I killed your Classer, but how? How does a jobbie take out a Classer?" Gi spread his arm wide, taking in all of Igna. "I have backing from a higher power than you could imagine. Queen Siht is nothing to Her. Someone like Ferra or even worse, Yom? They aren't even ants."

"Who?" With that question, he knew he'd gotten her. He smiled.

"The Goddess of Family and Strength. The one who rules over both light and water. She is both high and low. Queen and peasant. Mother and warrior. She is Danna, the guardian deity of the Underbridge Clan, and all of our success comes through her." His eyes dropped to a murderous glare and he punched as much Aether as he could into [Persuasion]. "And if you stand against us, not even death will be a mercy for you."

Still shoving the dregs of his Aether into [Persuasion], he walked through their group and they just parted, eyes wide. The one he'd crippled before flinched away as he neared. Gi kept up the slow, steady walk of a conqueror until he had walked the entire length of the Underbridge and returned to his house.

Once inside, he dropped to his knees and collapsed onto his back. He took in deep breaths of air despite his body feeling relatively fresh. His Soul felt wrung out as though there had been water covering the cracks before, but now they stood out stark in contrast to his Heart. It made the foreignness of his own body increase tenfold. Poe crawled onto his chest and nestled up against him.

He probably should have told him to go get Tiria, but instead, he slept for the first time fully in two weeks.