Erebus helped me slice through the bones of the fish, and I quickly separated the meat. I placed it in a marinade using some local fruit and moved on. The dinner prep took well over an hour, but we managed to set up everything and readied for the farewell party.

I picked up Erebus and started hand-feeding him the fish skeleton piece by piece. A strange purr-like sound came from the skull on his back, so I kept feeding him more. By the time the skeleton was gone, Erebus squished himself down, retracting his legs. I set him on my head and let him rest as an emo hair clip.

Walking over, I sat down next to Teddy and joined him in using Arturous as a cushion.

Teddy glanced over and patted my leg. "You are strangely good at cooking with fish. Did your parents teach you?" Teddy must have realized what he had said and immediately held up his hands in apology. "Sorry, sorry. Bonehead move of me."

I snorted and closed my eyes. "Don't worry about it. And you know the answer to that. Honestly, I don't think I ate fish at all back then. Wasn't a fan of the taste."

"Well, I'm glad you're good at cooking. We can all cook, but it's nice to try different recipes. You can make only so many variations of the same soup."

I smiled and watched him relax in the fading daylight. Everyone else was also resting around the campfire. Celanae was reading, Eodyne was re-fletching some arrows, and Igas and Isaac were debating some book.

All was normal, and it was nice to be back together.

I owe them an explanation. It's shitty of me to hide it.

"Hey, everyone? I have something to share with you. Celanae and Teddy already know, so it's only fair the rest of you do as well."

They all turned their heads. Celanae and Teddy's eyes widened while Isaac stared holes into my forehead.

I didn't regret the secrecy. In fact, it was dumb of me to reveal this much. The more people who knew, the higher the chance things could go wrong.

But I trust these people. And they trust me.

"Cyrus? Are you sure?" Teddy asked.

I nodded. "I am. Can you set up an illusion? Eodyne, can you make a sound barrier around us? I'll send over my status sheet, and you guys can ask me questions afterwards, but I don't want anyone else to know."

Celanae created an amethyst barrier around us, trapping us in. I felt Eodyne channel mana and saw the sand begin to pick up around the barrier's edge. And finally, Teddy's eyes turned gold as he created an illusion over the barrier.

"This better be worth it for all the hype you're setting up," Isaac remarked.

I was ready to quip back, but instead, I pulled up my status sheet and sent it over. I was met with a few stares, mostly from Igas and Eodyne, before I saw their eyes go hazy.

And now there's no turning back.

Silence followed, and I wanted to squirm.

Isaac stood up, his face looking down at me with fury in his eyes.

Ahh.... here we go.

"You!" Isaac began. He pointed a finger and stepped closer. "All this time."

"Isaac. Hold on." Celanae tried to interject.

"No! Aaargh!" He was now standing only a foot away.

I remained unblinking and matched his eyes with mine. "Yeah?"

He growled and then stomped his way back to his chair. "No wonder my brain hurts being around you. Damn, Broken-ass Reborn."

This time, I did blink. And then I sighed and sunk into Arturous' fur. Igas didn't seem to care, but he had a curious look on his face. "What is it?"

"Hmm..." he hummed to himself. "Does this mean every rift you interact with will evolve and pull off crazy shit?"

I shrugged. "No idea. So far, it's a yes, but apparently, the details are pretty vague." I chuckled. "I wouldn't really know. Not really from here, so you tell me."

"I have a lot of questions." Eodyne's voice had an edge to it.

"Okay. We got an hour or so before the others arrive, so fire away."

----------------------------------------

Khrem and Travis came with Groxl and his teammates. I waved hello but had to stop when I saw what Groxl was carrying over his shoulder.

"Groxl. What the fuck is that?"

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"Food." He placed it on the table, the ice squealing under the immense weight.

I poked at the strange pig-looking bird. It was meaty, and the belly jiggled like a water balloon. The feathers were bright, mauve, and fluffy. I almost felt bad, considering how cute the thing looked.

"Groxl, where did you get this?"

"I hunted it in the forest. Whifflegruff taste good. You can cook it for the party."

"Okay.... You know what? Hey, Khrem, come here."

Khrem and Travis came closer while Groxl crossed his arms and stared.

I nudged Erebus gently. "Hey buddy, I got one more thing for you to loot, and then I'll send you back, okay?"

Erebus got up and stared down at the pudgy bird-pig. I lowered him onto the belly, and he dived in. When he activated his skill, I took a deep breath and smirked. The mana strain was much easier to deal with when you had a bigger mana pool.

I grabbed the loot orb from his back and rubbed his carapace before returning him to my soulspace.

I held up the loot orb. "If it's an alchemy ingredient, you guys can have it. If it's an item, you can keep it, Groxl."

I channeled mana and popped the orb. Out came a small pouch made of the same fur as the creature.

An enchanted item?

I opened the pouch but found tiny jello balls inside. They were a strange mix of bright yellow and puke green. I picked one up and handed it to Khrem.

He activated his skill, and I felt his mana this time. It was another change I noticed after the rift. Before, his identification skill was impossible to notice, but this time I could.

He placed the jello ball back into the pouch and lifted it from my hands. "Whifflegruff-snot nutrient pellets exist. You can sometimes find them when the whifflegruff prepares to hibernate for the season. Acquiring them is almost impossible because the beast consumes them when it needs energy to run or fight."

"Ah, useful for anything?"

Travis shrugged. "Stamina potions are one option, but with this much material, we could probably find a better recipe. One ball should be enough to distill into three potions."

I turned to Groxl. "Sorry, big guy, the alchemist won."

"No worries, pay me back with a good dinner."

They left to find a place by the fire and join the conversation. The beach stayed crowded, so we went further away from the village to find a place of peace and quiet. With us so out of the way from the village, we cleared the area for use, and we increased the size of the campfire to accommodate the number of people joining.

Now, to figure out how to cook a weird bird-pig.

I picked up my knife and started removing the thing's coat. The feathers were fur-like due to the sheer density.

Halfway through my preparations, Sereza appeared with Poltor's family in tow. She waved and approached. "Hope you don't mind. They wanted to say goodbye before we left for tomorrow."

"Fine by me," I replied. I handed Sereza a mortar and pestle and directed her to crush the blue equivalent of peppercorn. "Are you sure you want to travel with us? Don't you have somebody waiting for you?"

She set the mortar down and dumped it into the mixing bowl. "It'll be fine. I can't delay my report to my dad for too long, but I can at least enjoy the extra night. I'll leave you guys once we reach Helio."

"Alright. I'm curious to see what other felkins are like."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Nothing like you, I swear. Not even Dalanthys can get into the kind of chaos you put yourself in."

I rolled my eyes and began flouring the meat before dipping it into an egg wash.

For the next several minutes, Sereza helped me put the last of the food onto the various pans and racks we had set up around the fire. As we finished, I found a shadow blocking my view, and I looked up to see Poltor with both hands on Teldren's shoulders as he waited for me to stand up.

The boy looked nervous, exceptionally so.

"Hi, Poltor, Teldren. What's up?"

Poltor remained silent, and eventually, Teldren met my eyes with a determined look on his face. "Cyrus. My awakening day is a year from now. When I awaken, will you take me on as a Brave?"

Huh?

"What?"

Poltor chuckled and squeezed Teldren's shoulder gently. "Teldren came to my wife and me last night and sat us down and talked. It's early, but apparently, he'll have his awakening day on his eleventh birthday. Callen explained it as having something to do with our unique origins."

"Okay," I said slowly. "But why me? No offense, Teldren, but you barely know me. What about Osilla? Mayuma? What do they think?"

Poltor glanced to where his wife was talking with Celanae. "She was more accepting of the idea that I was." He turned back to me. "There's a lot of reasons to trust you, but you are right; we'd be foolish to send off our son with such little information."

"Then?"

"We also recognize that he is allowed to make his own decisions once he gets access to the Weave. And if he had to learn from anybody, I'd rather it be from someone who wouldn't mistreat him. And we are not trying to force you to agree. Teldren wanted to make his wishes known, and if a year passes and he still wants to do it, I hope you will consider it.

I looked to Teldren. "Do you even know what you're asking? I'm not the most experienced adventurer, but even I know that things can get crazy."

He hesitated but dug his foot into the sand. "I'll be eleven. I know it's young, but I'll be ready! And I'll train every day so I can be useful!"

Surely this isn't normal. Nobody takes a preteen and expects them to venture into the wilds, do they?

I turned to Teddy, who was sitting nearby listening to the conversation. "Uh, help me out here?"

"Eleven is young, especially for a Brave, but it's not completely unheard of."

"What exactly does it mean if I took him on as a Brave?"

"You essentially sponsor him. Braves usually take care of camp-related stuff; in return, you offer them payment and sponsorship. If they are new, fresh, and untiered, you help provide them with skillstones. Even if it's a basic Spark, it all depends on the contract you make. Older and established Braves, especially those with some kind of harvesting skill, would negotiate more towards payment and share of the spoils deal. It's a fairly common practice even if the boy is on the younger side of things."

"What are your thoughts then?"

His mouth twitched downward for half a second, but then he shrugged. "You live a more interesting life than most, but simultaneously, you'd be more equipped to sponsor him. A year from now with Erebus? You might be able to hand him the skillstones the moment he joins you- if he joins you. This is a serious commitment, so consider it before accepting."

I turned to face Teldren, who had a hopeful look in his eyes. "Listen, kid, I'm not sure what will happen in a year from now." His head started to lower, and I sighed. "Buuut, and this is a huge but. We'll see. Train hard, and find me when you unlock your system. If you are still willing and I'm in a position where I think I can take you on, then maybe. Don't get your hopes up, though."

His face broke out into the widest grin, and he ran up and quickly hugged me. I frowned but patted him on the back before he ran off, dragging his father along with him. Poltor sent me a sympathetic smile before leaving.

This is ridiculous. At least I don't have to think about this for a whole year. Blegh. Too much stress, time for food.

"Food will be ready in ten minutes!" I called out.

"I call the first plate!"

"Bastard, I call second!

"Guys, show some dignity. You don't need to call -"

"I want some of the Whifflegruff!"

Aahhh yeah, much easier.