The Derillomouf was ready, at least according to the little notification that reached Ishrin’s guild token. It was with a skip in his steps, then, that he went to the guild to fetch it. Since he was there, he also turned in the cores and monster parts he didn’t need from the Dungeon delve, got the quest completion money, and left Lisette’s half with the clerk so that she could pick it up whenever she wanted. They were friends now, at least officially, but he was aware of her peculiar situation and didn’t want to hold onto the money just yet—they needed to build more trust first.

He made some good money, enough to go in the green even after paying for the Derillomouf dew, which put a smile on his face. A smile that did not go unnoticed.

“You are wasting time, wallowing around all day like that.” Goddard told him, “I can sense that you are still Tier 1, and even though your power is strange and you’re much stronger than your tier suggests, you are still a weakling. You don’t want to look like that when things change around here. Especially with, you know…” He pointed at Ishrin’s pocket, from where a defiant chime could be faintly heard. Or perhaps it was just their collective imagination.

Ishrin thanked the man for his concern with a smile, to which Goddard huffed and stormed off. Normally, someone talking down to him like this would have left him with a sour taste in his mouth, but it was evident that Goddard was trying his best to become a better man. He just had to shake off some old ways that were too ingrained into his being. Like calling people weaklings.

Except he is right.

His parting words were not very nice, but at least he was frustrated out of genuine worry.

I see how he’s latched onto me, after his group ostracized him. Probably doesn’t want to see his new ‘protector’ killed. It would make him look even weaker than he already is.

A chuckle shook Ishrin out of his musings, however correct they might have been. Melina was standing behind him, a smug smile on her face, arms crossed and tail lightly swaying. She caught him staring at her autumn colors for a moment too long, and her smile widened and the tips of her canines showed in a predatory expression she skillfully hid as soon as he tore his eyes away from her hips. He didn’t miss the playful glint, however, and realized how bad he had messed up.

It's not how I was supposed to handle this.

Behind the playful glint, however, a sense of tiredness and lack of sleep showed through. There were bags under her eyes, and her clothes weren’t as sharp as they usually were. Still, she nodded in Goddard’s direction.

“He’s a piece of work, isn’t he?” She asked as she led him outside. He had the dew he needed for the ritual, and the two walked slowly towards the field outside the city.

Ishrin shrugged. “I get it. All the urgency of a finite lifespan. You know, I used to think it was behind me, but here I am now.” He smiled. “Feeling it all over again. I think it’s good, in a way. Immortality makes you lazy. It makes everything meaningless because why care? What’s the rush?”

Melina smiled. “You? Lazy?”

“Oh yeah.”

She chuckled. “I can’t imagine. All you’ve done since coming here was run around and do things.”

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“You’re the one talking?” He said with a smile.

Her own smile snuffed his attempt at turning the power dynamic of the conversation like a candle. He hadn’t felt like that since… well, before his wife died.

Melina noticed his mood turning somber before even he did. For a moment, he wondered just how old she really was. At Tier 6, her aging was slowed down to a grind. She looked no older than 30, but she could have easily been a couple of centuries old. That, or she was a prodigy at reading people. And cultivation. Tier 6 was no joke.

“How does one become lazy?” She asked, bringing the conversation back on track.

“I was immortal. Every day I thought: who cares? There’s an infinite amount of time to do what I want to do, might just as well do it tomorrow. After a week I started to say next week. After a year I started to say next year. You see how I can easily spiral out of control, right? I spent a good century not doing anything. In a way, mortality is the only thing that keeps us from becoming empty shells of our former selves because the looming threat of death, no matter how far away in the future, pushes you in those times when you are not motivated to do anything.

Have you ever stopped to look at people, adventurers, cultivators? The lazy ones are always the ones who think themselves above death. Those who think themselves immortal. Smarter or stronger than everyone else. Arrogant, maybe. I think they are shortsighted at the very least but… I can’t blame them.

It takes courage to admit to one’s finiteness, you know. To admit that you are mortal and fallible and will never reach perfection. And yet, once you do, you will find out that a great weight has been lifted off of your chest and you can finally start acting.

I was arrogant. All the way to my death. But now I get it. It took me dying to finally understand, but now I do.”

She took a long breath.

“Wow. I did not expect this. I really appreciate you telling me.” She said with a smile, putting a hand on his back for just a moment.

Ishrin realized that he had never mentioned the fact that he died to her before. He shook his head.

“Plus, I am not safe, and I know it. Being a Tier 1 surrounded by people who can kill you with a finger? Very motivating if you can frame it right.”

“When did it happen? Was it Tier 15 that made you immortal?”

“It happens earlier actually. You saw the Dirac Sea when you reached Tier 5, didn’t you? It’s a bottleneck requirement, after all. This means that you have seen entropy at work. Reality is like an oil slick floating on top of this sea, growing ever wider, but ever thinner. Immortality is trying to hold on as reality fades around you, as entropy does its thing.” He was pensive for a moment. “Tier 9 if you do it well. Tier 10 otherwise.”

“I see.” Melina said. The power dynamic had now changed as she was reminded of the vastness of the person she was talking to, hidden beneath the wreck of his old life.

Then, Ishrin spoke again. “But there is only one true immortal, Melina. Us? We can only try to delay death. It still comes in the end.”

“God?” She asked. “The one piece of your puzzle you refuse to ever talk about.”

Ishrin nodded. He was impressed, but the somber mood dampened his surprise. He nodded.

“I don’t think even he is truly endless.” Melina said, as if she was talking to the air. “What if someone gains enough power to take his place?”

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Ishrin thought about the god Albert, but his mind was restless. Albert was above what flimsy reality Ishrin and Melina and all other beings inhabited. Was there something else up there? Or was he really at the pinnacle of existence? How did he come into being?

Ishrin idly thought about the Technocrat. He believed in the simulation hypothesis, and was trying to find the Master Universe. Had he succeeded? Had he failed? Was his pursuit worth the sacrifice of ten hundred billion souls?

“I think I want to buy this land,” Ishrin said. They had reached the field, and he was admiring the yellow grass swaying in the wind.

“Sure, after you do the ritual, I’ll show you the wonders of bureaucracy.”

***

Ritual successful: Right Hand of Aer’Naari. Dexterity and Speed increased by 80%

Ritual successful: Left hand of Aer’Naari. Strength increased by 80%

Synergy detected: Left and Right hands of Aer’Naari. Bonuses increased to 100%

Ishrin grinned.

“Hey Melina. Want to see a proper Tier up?”