A handful of minutes passed since Dalric rebuffed the Gods, but he had still yet to move. He no longer battled a tsunami of different emotions, but shock still percolated throughout his body. It wasn't just the fact that the plan worked. It was the fact that it worked so easily.

As he expected, they came back with even more power the third time. He didn't know what made their efforts so weak in the first place, but they were slowly growing in strength. The pressure they levied in their third attempt was notably more than their first. Even still, he'd shuck them off in little over a minute. They were barely an issue.

Saying that, feeling that, was the summit of strange. From the moment he agreed to the contract, the Gods were always immense, immovable, and irresistible. Now, he'd just swatted them away like they were an annoying bug. The first two times he felt the rush of victory after strife, this time he didn't even feel like he won. There was no contest to begin with.

This was good, obviously. This was exactly what he hoped for. It just didn't feel right. He hadn't done enough, it should have been harder, their attack fiercer, his defence shakier. The fact that it was none of that didn't sit well with him. It didn't sit well at all. Until he understood why it was so easy, he wouldn't be able to rest.

He stood up, "Ryku."

Ryku shot up in tandem, "Yes!"

"Grab everything you've seen that mentions Devil Glass and bring it here. Every document, notebook, manual, guide, whatever. It doesn't matter if I've already read it or if we decided it didn't hold valuable information, bring it all."

"Yes, si—Dalric!"

As Ryku dashed out of the room, Dalric walked over to the desk he'd appropriated. On it laid multiple Devil Glass pieces and all of the notes he'd taken about his discoveries. He hadn't discovered anything truly meaningful for his purposes yet, but now that he knew they worked he'd redouble his efforts to figure how they functioned.

First, he sat and went through everything he learned about Devil Glass. Even if he didn't know the intricacies, he'd gotten a better picture of the basics. In a similar vein to Jester Shards, they twisted and distorted a body's naturally flowing ahjer to manipulate emotions. The differentiator between the two was the fact Devil Glass also injected a bit of foreign ahjer into the mix. That extra addition was what allowed them not only shift emotions around, but also change thoughts and physiology. That was the piece that stood out, the piece that must've held the key.

Dalric grabbed one of the guides on how to administer the Devil Glass and began reading. It was one of nine different versions and one of the only two he hadn't yet completed. The chances it held answered for all or even any of his questions was low, but before he began the lengthy process of re-reading the old he had to finish going through the new.

While he analyzed its contents, Ryku periodically entered the room to drop off large crates marked with Rs and Us. Fully focused on every detail he read, Dalric paid little mind to the ongoings. It was only when Ryku finished that Dalric pried his eyes away from the guide.

"That was quicker than I expected," he remarked.

Ryku stretched his right shoulder then fixed his unnecessary long hair, "I had these prepared earlier in the day in case you needed them. The crates marked with the R are filled with material you've already read through, the ones with the U are unread." He pointed towards a crate with a U and a star in the middle, "Those are filled with things I've read personally and think may be of use to you."

Well then.

He signed

Fine, fine, fine.

"Thank you. Your efforts are definitely noted."

His thanks was met by a soft chuckle-sigh, "I'd hope so. What do you need now?"

He stood and laid his hand on Ryku's shoulder, pushing a bit of his ahjer through before quickly retracting it, "You, need to sleep. I can handle the rest."

"I'm fin—what did you just do?"

"Gave my thanks."

Ryku stood back and rolled his shoulder. One rotation was all it took to feel the change.

"You're a healer as well?"

Dalric waved off that notion.

Ryku rolled his shoulder again, "I'm lost."

Dalric smirked in response, "What I gave you is your first test. Figure out what I just did."

At first, Ryku didn't react, still battling confusion, but then the timber of realization was set ablaze. Unlike what Dalric had envisioned, there was no exclamation, no leap of joy, not even a bright smile. Instead, Ryku dropped to knees with his head falling into his hands. He said something in Surunese as well, but he said it too quickly for Dalric to decipher.

"It's just a test." Dalric reached to grab him, believing it was some pointless Surunese ritual, but as he grasped Ryku's forearm he felt a wetness. He recoiled instantly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry". Ryku wiped his eyes as he continued to apologize. "That was unbecoming of me."

Dalric didn't know what to do with that.

Ryku slowly got up on his own, "Thank you, truly. Even though it's just a test, you have no idea how much this opportunity means."

"I'm clearly going to need an explanation then." His eyes moved over to the crates behind Ryku, "But I suppose not right now. I'll be expecting one when you complete that test though."

"Is there a time limit?"

"For the test? … No."

Ryku shook his head, "Then we have more urgent matters."

Various forms of uncertainty passed through Dalric, but as he looked Ryku in his eyes all he could see was determination. He liked that.

"We do."

They both nodded and got to work. Dalric informed Ryku on what exactly they were looking for and how to write his notes then sent him on his way. Dalric was a far more voracious reader, but Ryku did his part. In a matter of a few hours, they went through all of the unread material and convened to go over notes and run some experiments.

Stolen novel; please report.

Contrary to Dalric's expectations, they had actually learned a few key things about Devil Glass. For one, the effects it had were massively overstated. It couldn't make a person feel an emotion they didn't already feel nor could it make a person think something they didn't already. It simply touched upon what was already there. The reverence for people in red, for example, only worked when there was already some sort of mental reaction to the person in the clothing or the clothing itself.

During one of their experiments, they discovered that while Ryku had never felt its effects before, when Dalric donned a red robe he felt a great compulsion to refer to him and treat him as his master. When they tested it on a third party wearing the robe he felt nothing at all. Inversely, when they used the Devil Glass on the third-party, who was one of Ryku's helpers, they almost kissed the floor the moment they spotted him in red. They double and triple checked with various other experiments, but they always reached the same conclusion.

The slowed metabolism seemed like the one outlier among the effects at first, but after further consideration even that was just an amplification. When the body began the process of falling asleep, it naturally sought to slow its functions. The Devil Glass merely honed in on that and slowed it even further. The question mark there became 'how did it make the body seek sleep in the first place?' and that had a simple answer. The guides specifically stated the recipients should be fatigued before use.

In the end, the summary of their efforts was firm evidence that while Devil Glass was more versatile and specialized than Jester Shards, it wasn't any different fundamentally. Just an updated version of the same tool. A nice discovery to make, but not particularly helpful. For all Dalric knew, he could use Jester Shards against the Gods in the exact same way.

Hmm?

That sounded weird in his head. Using Jester Shards to fight off the Gods? Laughable. Yet it wasn't. It was the opposite. From everything he just learned, they could do just that. They should do just that.

Did they know? They must have known…

Scenes of lucyberry bushes burning in mass played through his mind.

No, no. Jester Shards weren't outlawed. The lucyberries were destroyed because of lucis and their devastating effects. There was never any mention of Jester Shards.

"Dalric."

Then again if they could be used to counter the Gods’ influence, the strategic move for them would be to remove them covertly not announce to the world they were their one weakness.

"Dalric?"

But what about lucis? It wasn't a fake drug, we all witnessed its effects. What, it was a supremely fortunate coincidence for them then? Unlikely.

…

Did they not know?

A hand tapping his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts, "Hmm? Yes? Yes."

"Apologies if I disturbed you—"

"How many times do I have to ask you to drop the formalities Ryku?"

"My apo—ah." Ryku slapped himself, "It's getting more difficult with time."

Dalric shook his head, "What kind of person gets more formal the drowsier they are? Anyway, you found something?"

"Yes, this." He handed Dalric a small note, "It states the seven ingredients needed to make Devil Glass."

"Oh? I'd think that would be top secret. Where'd you find it?"

"Hidden inside one of the guides set to be sent to the Baron."

Dalric glanced at the list. To no surprise, the ingredients were pretty much the same as Jester Shards. They had already proven their similarities, this was just more confirmation. Knowing how to make them would be more useful than knowing what they were made from at this point.

But. But. If they did know and they somehow faked lucis, that means they targeted lucyberries… Why that specifically if it wasn't important. Is it the key?

Dalric put that thought to the side, too many question marks. He'd explore it when he exhausted every branch on his current path.

"How was it hidd…" His question faded into a soft snort as he watched Ryku sleep standing up.

It was deep into the night at this point and while he had spent most of the previous day unconscious, Ryku had been working the entire time. He just didn't have the energy to keep up, sleep called. Dalric shook him awake and ushered him off to bed. He tried to refuse, but his resistance was weak. Dalric effortlessly lifted him up and dumped him outside. His helpers handled him from there. Now alone, Dalric returned to his desk with a renewed focus. He took out a hidden set of notes about the Gods and how their influence manifested. This is when the real work began. He wouldn't be sleeping much tonight.

A dozen hours later, on the eve of evening, Dalric finally relaxed. Half a day went by as he scored through every detail he could. Food and drink had come and gone thrice yet he remained so focused on his task he barely processed their existence. Ryku had come himself at one point, but he was quickly shooed away as well. While having someone to bounce ideas off of was nice, Dalric was in full hermit mode. No distractions, no breaks, he was completely dialed in.

It mattered little in the end. When he finally let his concentration lapse, he was no closer to a clear answer. He merely relearned what he already learned, wasting half a day in the process. There was no reason, none that he could find, that explained Devil Glass' ability to weaken the Gods’ presence. He was at a loss.

Are lucyberries really the answer?

He leaned back in his chair for the first time in hours and let his head fall backward. The last functional piece of his stock of Devil Glass sat in his left hand. He had no more ideas, no more tests to run, so the piece would be the lone survivor. A small part of him wanted to crush it in anger, but the greater portion of him grimaced at the thought of letting his frustrations get the better of him like that. So he just sat there, staring at the ceiling.

He stared at the wood planks they used. They were a light brown with a faint tint of green, much the same as the floor his feet stood on. He had spent so much time in the room he'd almost forgotten he was currently quite a few meters underground in a hidden base next to a river. The room was so well decorated with furs and paintings and even a jeweled chandelier, that the true nature of his location slipped from his mind.

What am I thinking about?

He quickly shook his head and stood up. His body was quite unhappy with his past decisions so he spent ten minutes doing basic stretches before stripping naked and stretching for real.

He needed to hone himself.

The movements were quite awkward with human proportions, but it'd only take time and diligence to adjust them to his current body. He'd created the forms himself anyway.

Fifty-five minutes went by as his muscles and bones screamed in agony. He had to take a quick break, his body very clearly hated the stretching more so than it did the static sitting. That was just a symptom of being out of shape though. The stretches themselves would do wonders for his body and mind when he eventually got reaccustomed to them. For now though, they just hurt. A lot. If someone was listening to him, they'd likely believe he was castrating himself with the type of groans that escaped his lips. Nevertheless, he'd persevere. He'd given up forty minutes in yesterday, but now he had just the right amount of anger to push himself through.

Thirty minutes passed and he was again reaching his limit, but his stubbornness and frustration refused to allow him yield. He'd failed one thing today, he would not fail another.

Fifteen minutes later he collapsed to the floor. He'd finally completed the full set of moves and positions. Though he couldn't move, he was jubilant. There was a bit of shame mixed in as well. He'd taken over two hours, including the break, just to complete the first tier. The first tier was designed to take less than half a bell, something close to forty-five minutes. Even removing the break, he'd gone over that, healthily. Ultimately, he was in a different and weaker body so the shame was unfounded. That wouldn't stop him from feeling it of course, but it would stop it from ruining his overall joy.

Time continued to pass as he laid weakly on the floor. At some point he recovered enough physically to get up, but mental fatigue still plagued him. So did hunger.

I need a drink.

An unknown amount of minutes later, he sensed an aged woman run towards his door. He thought she intended on barreling through to get to him, but she deftly halted her momentum just before the door. Then, she knocked.

She had neither food nor drink with her so Dalric didn’t really feel motivated to answer, but she responded to his silence with louder, more frantic knocking.

“Fine.” He shifted his head towards the door, "Come in!"

She walked in and Dalric immediately recognized her as one of Ryku's helpers.

"Ah!" She hastily turned around, "Sir Tai urgently requests your assistance at the front gate."

Dalric laid face down so he felt the reaction was a bit excessive, but she at least carried on without a fuss, "What happened?"

"Uh. A group of panthers want to speak with you."

Dalric lifted his head a bit, "Panthers?"