Mason kind of expected to ‘warp’ back to Nassau, the system deciding now that he was finished it would end the side-track. But apparently Cerebus had actually disrupted the teleport.

He had to make his way back through the Fey, hoping the different ‘time’ speed of the nature plane would mean he didn’t show up a few hours late.

Fortunately, with his Blessing of the Stag, and his growing familiarly with the Fey, it was getting kind of…easy.

As he rounded a set of trees and avoided a ‘ley line’ without thought, hardly thinking about the many voices calling to him, he stopped and narrowed his eyes.

“Has bonding you made this easier, even over the blessing?” he said, looking back at the Stag still following behind.

The creature snorted, and Mason was starting to gather this meant basically: obviously, you idiot.

“No need to be rude,” he muttered, taking the last few ‘steps’ to the Great Tree of Nassau. “Don’t know what happens when I bond an immortal stag, do I? Bunch of made up nonsense. ‘There are rules’,” he mimicked Cerebus with a mocking voice. “Nobody tells me the stupid rules.”

The voice of Nassau’s tree was stronger all the time, and Mason smiled as he approached. He’d hardly recognized it. It wasn’t like a frightened child calling for him anymore—more like a happy toddler humming to itself, contentedly playing with its toys.

Calypsa’s presence was obviously doing it wonders. He reminded himself to pay the nymph a visit soon, but then he hadn’t actually been ‘gone’. As far as the nymph was concerned, the last week had probably been about two seconds.

Mason stopped at the last step and glanced at the stag again. Another rather pressing problem occurred to him…

“We have a menagerie. A kind of…uh, place for animals. And you can stay there, if you want. It’s just…” Mason shrugged, not sure how to put this gently. “I’m bonded to a very large, hungry wolf. And he and his whole pack might…OK, definitely will consider…ah, eating you. I can stop them. When I’m there. But…”

The creature didn’t look terribly concerned. Then it started shimmering, its white fur glowing with a subtle light before vanishing entirely. Mason felt his Dismiss Beast power activate, just as he felt the Stag return to somewhere else in the Fey, presumably until called.

That was at least one problem solved.

Mason vanished into the great tree with his final step, vision darkening then returning with a dull view of the huge trunk. Whether it was just practice or the new bond, he could even decide exactly how he exited the Fey, coming out anywhere physically along the tree, or inside its hollow sanctuary.

As he stood there trying to decide, he also realized he could ‘see’ as if from the tree itself, like he had a hundred cameras all looking out from the thing’s bark. Everything looked frozen in time, so it was only a snapshot and not a method of watching. But it was still pretty damn cool.

He stepped out near his new house, and the ‘real’ world returned with an almost quaint sense of silence and normalcy. Mason closed his eyes and breathed, smelling the moisture and life of the forest and the settlement.

He didn’t hate the Fey. But it was still like being conscious in a dream. The sights, sounds and smells weren’t quite right. There was a disquieting stillness that was closer to to the forced trappings of a prison, rather than a peaceful place.

But this. This was home.

For a few seconds the world felt like it came back in a rush. The silence shattered with excited voices and laughter, life returning to Nassau in a blink. Mason smiled and walked to his house, feeling the awful Neutral Zone and everything that happened already easing from his mind.

The fight with Blake wouldn’t go away anytime soon, but Mason wasn’t sure yet how to handle that. In the past his instinct would have been to yell and explain to Blake what he’d done wrong, and make him apologize. But this time…he just didn’t have the urge. He wasn’t angry, he wasn’t anything except maybe hurt, and tired. Like it was some kind of burden he was slowly putting down, and giving up.

He thought of God asking Cain where his brother was, and the killer’s answer:

Am I my brother’s keeper?

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

All his girls were inside the house. Rosa and Lexi had flopped onto the couch and were hugging it like an old friend. Becky was on a nearby chair, holding the remote to the system entertainment, her boots up on a stool. Haley had clearly been watching the door, and she came running from the kitchen and threw her arms around Mason’s chest. He smiled and hugged her back.

“Are you alright?” she said, pulling back to search his eyes.

“I’m fine,” he said, mostly honestly. “Glad to be home.”

Haley smiled but it didn’t last long.

“Do you remember…the fight? All the details?”

“You mean cutting off a giant snake with your head?” he asked, and she shuddered. At the time he’d kind of thought it was all in his head. But when he’d ‘regained’ his mind he realized it was a special construct Blake made just for him. Which meant he’d pre-planned the fucking thing.

“How would a person even…come up with that?” Haley said, her voice low and filled with disgust. Mason sighed.

“I’ve always known Blake’s capable of anything. He was just…trying to win.” He could tell from Haley’s expression she wasn’t taking it as lightly. He shrugged, maybe trying to convince himself. “He’s good, deep down. I mean he wants to do good. He just needs…a little help sometimes. Some re-alignment.”

“So you’re Blake’s moral chiropractor?

Mason laughed, kissing Haley’s hair and breathing her in with closed eyes.

“Something like that.”

“He doesn’t deserve you,” she said flatly.

“We don’t all get what we deserve.”

“No,” she agreed, pressing herself against him. “But tonight you will. When we’re all back in our bed.”

“Is that right?” Mason grinned, trying to keep his body from reacting. The idea was definitely appealing, though he wasn’t sure why or if he was going to be waiting…

“Husband!” Naya came running down the stairs from the upper floor. She was wearing what for her were practically rags—a white, too-small, system t-shirt she must have found in Haley’s things, and kind of puffy, colorful shorts.

It showed too much skin and curve for Mason’s rousing brain in that moment. And as he looked at his elven bride’s beautiful smile and maybe exasperated confusion, he’d missed her more than he realized.

Unlike Haley, she stopped short of contact, bowing slightly as she put her fingers to her forehead.

“It was so strange,” she said, looking at the floor. “It was like I blinked and then…” she shook her head. “Then everyone was gone. And I wandered the house and I couldn’t find anyone. Then suddenly you were back. And Haley said everything was fine. But I don’t understand.”

Apparently the system hadn’t made the transition seamless. But then who was surprised. Mason stepped forward and lifted her chin.

Despite the fact that she’d been with him basically in an orgy with all his girls, she was still shy about affection in front of them. She also didn’t understand the ‘system’, or what the world really was.

Whatever roboGod had done, he’d created a completely fictional world for Naya and probably everything else that wasn’t human. It had left it up to the humans how or if to try and tell them, seemingly not that concerned either way.

But he had no idea what would happen if he tried to tell her everything she knew was a lie. Or else created as part of the ‘game’ designed for humans. He’d decided to earn her complete trust and love before he ever tried, and even then it was probably risky. He kissed her forehead and nodded.

“You’re not crazy. We have a…human god. It summoned us. Time moved there like the Fey. It was a week for us.”

It sounded ridiculous, of course. But Mason knew enough now about the planes and about the world’s magic it likely made sense to an elf who grew up in Shariss. He was relieved when Naya smiled.

“I understand, husband. Thank you for telling me.” She gave a subtle side-eye to Haley. “It wasn’t explained to me before.”

Mason decided to ignore that bit of feminine tension. His ‘wives’ were mostly getting along, but of course he knew there’d be…the occasional hiccup. He figured the best way to keep the peace was to let them solve their own problems (unless it got really bad), and never allow them to catch him in the drama.

And, for the moment, Mason’s mind was following his eyes up and down Naya’s lithe body. His never-ending libido had very nearly been sated in the Neutral Zone. But now that he looked at Naya, it was like he’d been neglecting dessert, and suddenly he had a sweet tooth…

“I was thinking,” Haley said, a pointed tone in her voice.

Mason blinked and glanced her way with a very ‘make it quick’ kind of stare. She raised a fearless, plucked brow.

“Since we’ve all had…so much time with you. It would be nice for Naya to get some. Maybe some kind of human date. We’ll even clear out to another part of the house.”

Naya looked torn between trying to figure out exactly what ‘so much time’ meant, and being thankful for the suggestion. She reached out for Mason before just playing with her hands, shrugging demurely.

“I would like that, sister, thank you. If our husband can spare the time.”

Mason smiled, fighting the thing in his brain reminding him about the emperor and the eastern players, and all the work he had to do to get strong enough to fight them all…

“I’ll make the time,” he said, taking Naya’s hand. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to do? I’m happy with anything.”

Naya rubbed her thumb over Mason’s, obviously fighting her excitement. It was pretty clear she had a lot of ideas, or at least one or two waiting for the right moment. She spoke with hardly any pause to breathe.

“Well, I don’t know anything about human ‘dates’, but I’ve wanted you to know me better. And to do that you must know my people. We are kin, and I have grown up with them for a hundred years. Perhaps we could prepare a feast for you? Though…” she looked a bit shy. “It won’t have much meat.”

Mason smiled, fighting his natural dislike of parties and socializing. She was absolutely right—he needed to get to know the elves better. Especially if he was ever going to try and tell them about the ‘game’.

“I’d be honored,” he said. As Naya gave him her radiant smile, he decided it was worth a few hours of making nice with a bunch of beautiful women.