Persona waited for the next wall of force to come and go before leading the demoness behind it further into the ravine. The realm of Alirast was sending calming thoughts to it, trying to assure the creature that no harm would come to its young. Persona didn't believe that at all. If the demon behind it grew angry at the state the tiny orc was in, Persona was almost certain the demon wouldn't hesitate to butcher it.

The Geas may have kept it alive for now. But the thing wasn't stupid. It had sapience before Alirast chose it. It just wasn't nearly as powerful as it was now.

Nearly an hour of walking, jumping, and climbing later, the demon finally broke the silence.

"The wall will return soon. I was the one to accept that Geas. If I die and do not return, my tribe will kill your children."

Fucking brutes. All humanoids were like this.

No.

No, that wasn't entirely fair, was it? Persona had been instructed to knock them all out and kidnap the child. If some strange humanoid had taken one of Persona's litter, it would have razed their entire village to the ground. This demon was just doing the same. It probed her mind tentatively. It had never encountered a barrier quite like this one.

To be fair, it only had its psionic telepathy for a few years, but still. It was a shimmering wall of radiant energy. It felt warm and inviting, drawing the mind in close. But once you touched that wall? It tore at your very soul, tried to shred your very existence into the void. What Persona was doing was the equivalent of getting up really, really close to something, then letting out a loud road to startle it.

The demon thankfully accepted the probe. It was terribly painful to force words out of its mouth. Alirast had taught it to do so, but it cost precious health every time it needed to activate the skill. With the mental link established, Persona began communicating.

-=-

Amara felt the probe. She wasn't really worried about the beast betraying her at this point. It cared as much about its young as she did about Trillia. Once more, divine powers above them both forced mortals to be at odds, nothing more.

As the mental bridge was formed, she began receiving images and emotions. The creature seemed to have a few locations that were deep enough to be safe from the wall for creatures like Amara, who were too weak to stand in the raw mana. Thinking about it, Amara was curious and spoke verbally to the creature.

"How do you and your children not die to the wall? Is that Alirast's doing?"

Confusion flooded her mind. It showed her images of Trillia casting spells and using skills. Amara returned the confusion.

The two went back and forth for some time. Amara was forced to hide in one of the warded caves. Persona sat outside on the ledge as the blast came and went. Amara finally understood the concept it was trying to explain to her.

It had mana like Trillia's. Apparently, the mana that was blasting from the bottom of the ravine, or whatever the source was, was Universal Mana. So while Trillia would still be at serious risk of mana sickness, it wouldn't explode her quite as rapidly as it did her Shamans. Amara thought to have a few more questions answered.

"What is causing the explosion of mana? What's your purpose in all of this?"

The creature jerked it's head to the side, trying in vain to resist Alirast's demands and calls.

"Sleep Primordial. Kill Spawn."

It whimpered after it spoke the words to her. Amara realized that the entity that was the realm didn't feel like them taking so long to reach a conclusion. Amara had learned centuries ago that everything had some sort of sentience to it. The universe itself was a 'living' entity, as it were. That's what the system was. The system, rarely if ever, spoke to anything, though. It did its job and ignored the insects. The only reason Amara knew all of this was that the deity she was pact-bonded to would regularly speak to the system and get replies.

Evidently, at a certain level of deific power, even the universe itself would chat with you. Amara wasn't so lucky. The few times she had gleaned Lord Darktone's true 'form', it had nearly killed her. There were some things mortals were not meant to see. Hence, Avatars.

Another twenty minutes passed. Finally, they arrived at another cave entrance. Persona stopped and spun on her. Mentally it warned her of fear and anger and reminded her of happiness and calm. Amara knew she wasn't going to like what she saw. The creature didn't want to be on the receiving end of her ire. Amara assured it that if she had any issues, she'd save her anger for when she was powerful enough to fight a greater deity.

Satisfied, the two ventured further in. The stone and rock, which had veins of mana pulsing through it, gave way to something Amara hoped to never see again. The stone changed slowly to a crystalline substance. Amara had seen it twice before, once when she had been brought to the realm of the [2nd Axle] and once when they had sealed the primordials. It was divinity given solid form.

The stuff was impervious to all damage unless you had a divine spark. A mortal could wail on the stuff for millennia, and it wouldn't even scratch. Amara had seen a great palace made entirely of crystalized divinity. A testament to her deity's power. It also served as a home for tens of thousands of young immortals and lesser deities. Lord Darktone wanted to nurture those under him. Seeing the crystal now, Amara was terrified by what it meant.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Persona sat next to a large door, the wall it was set into was crystal, and the door itself was crystal. All of it hummed with a gentle golden mana. As Amara reached for the handle of the door, she felt fear and terror creep into her mind. If Trillia was lost, it would be on her. She had offered the mission to the child. She had pressured Trillia to be better and do better. Closing her eyes, she grabbed the handle and pulled.

...

...

...

Nothing happened. Her eyes shot to Persona, a confused look on her face.

She didn't think it was possible for the canine-like features to have a revelation, but evidently, it did. It sent apologetic emotions toward her. Using its mana to unlock the door and allow someone without Universal Mana to open it. Once more, she grabbed the handle and pulled.

This time, the door slid open with ease. In the room before her was a large pod it looked as if it was a giant pitcher plant made from crystal. Swirls of a golden and bright blue liquid inside kept her eyes locked on it. As she slowly approached, she saw the small form floating within. Trillia's eyes were closed. Amara placed her hands on the 'lid' of the pod, staring intently at her daughter. Taking in every inch to check her for wounds.

Her heart sank when she came to the girl's left arm. It looked as if it had been ripped off. Splintered bone and muscle twitched and spasmed. Blood didn't flow, unable to push past the mana that covered the child's form. Tears swelled in her eyes. She began to look around for a way to open the pod. Perhaps if Trillia got a strong enough [Potion of Regeneration], they could regrow the arm.

She felt the mental prod again, spinning around the panic was evident in her eyes. Persona sat there on its hind haunches. An almost sympathetic look on its face. Amara was bombarded with images.

She watched through Persona's eyes as it dragged Trillia to the ravine edge. Her brave little fencer was without a tear in her eyes. A small smile defiantly stretched across her lips. She watched as her daughter's body fell into the abyss. Persona jumping in after and keeping it from taking too much damage on the way down. The first time Trillia clipped an edge, her eyes closed, and both of her tiny little fists clenched.

Amara found herself on her knees, a hand holding onto the pod, as her daughter's fate played through her mind.

Trillia landed on the ledge of this cave. By Amara's estimate, only another five or ten seconds of [Orc Tenacity] remained. Persona dragged the child by her feet into this room. It froze in place as if fighting with all its might against a command given to its mind. Its head jerked to and fro. Dragging its face along the ground, whimpering, and covering its head with its paws.

Amara watched as drops of blood formed in its ears. When Persona uncovered its head, it had tears of its own in its many eyes.

Slowly it plodded up to Trillia.

Opening its mouth, its fangs sank into the girl's left arm. Trillia screamed in pain, trying to position her good arm to pound at the creature's face and maw. One of its massive paws was set on the girl's shoulder, the other on her stomach. With a mighty yank, the arm snapped, and flesh and muscle tore. Blood sprayed the area. Trillia screamed and screamed. Her racial skill refused to let her pass out. Refused to let her hide and back down from the fight. Persona dragged the screaming, one-armed girl into the pod.

As it filled with the liquid mana, seemingly of its own accord, Trillia's screams stopped.

Amara couldn't hold it in. The contents of her stomach emptied before her. The mighty Chieftain had fought in a thousand battles and had slain tens of thousands of foes. But to see her daughter have her arm ripped off in such a fashion. It was too much. Especially because Amara knew it was her fault. She turned tearful eyes to Persona. Barely able to get out the whisper.

"Why?"

Persona couldn't help it. Moving up next to Amara, trying to comfort the distraught mother. Its mind reached out to help calm her down. It spoke verbally, and for the first time, it did so willingly.

"Alirast demand it. She lose arm, or life. I chose arm."

Amara pulled her knees up to her chest, something she hadn't done since she was a much younger, much weaker orc. As she sat there, she babbled out apologies to Trillia. She didn't know if her daughter could hear. Amara felt as though her daughter deserved so much more and so much better. Maybe she had been wrong to try and raise Trillia like any other orc.

"Will she live?"

Persona nodded solemnly. And despite the blood beginning to form in its throat. It kept speaking.

"Mana channels expanded. Creating a weapon."

Amara's blood ran cold. There it was again. First, she had been turned into a weapon, just like Cordaos had. Now her daughter was going to be turned into a weapon so that the deities could use them to fight the primordials. Rage bubbled inside of her. At least Lord Darktone had asked them. Had pulled all of them from their own personalized trips to Infernus. She and the other 'great generals' of the beast wars had all been slaves of one form or another.

They had been set free by an agent of Lord Darktone. There, he offered each a choice, live out the remainder of their lives as free creatures, with his blessing, or accept a pact and maybe help save the realm.

Amara stood, fists clenched. Turning to stare down at her daughter's floating form. She couldn't see the girl from the side, only from the top. Amara stood there for a long time, a thousand ideas raging in her mind. She'd find a way to get vengeance for her daughter. But for now, her daughter's well-being came first. Turning to look at Persona now.

"I am sorry. That I threatened to harm your children. I promise they won't come to any harm from my tribe and I. When can I visit her? How long will she be here?"

Persona's head dropped. As did the last of Amara's hope. The creature spat out blood, taking a deep, shaky breath before it spoke again.

"Visit always. Years."

Amara wanted nothing more than to smash the pod. She had a spark of divinity. She could damage the crystal. But she knew damn well that deities weren't stupid. If Alirast wanted Trillia to become a weapon. It was either she does so or dies when she leaves the pod. Persona's mental nudge pulled her from the hatred boiling in her mind.

Its request was simple. Time was of the essence, and it didn't want its children to be killed because of her orders. Amara nodded.

"We move quickly back to the surface. I'll try to find a way to free you as well. I grow weary of the deities."

Persona had no answer to that. Alirast was there. It was everywhere. After all, it was the very cave they stood in, the wind in the skies, and the water of the ocean. Deities rarely took threats seriously. This time was no different. As far as Persona could gauge. Alirast merely viewed both itself and Amara as insects to utilize for its own means. Still, the two turned and made haste back to the surface.