Gene releases her grip on Roxi as her lifeless body drops. An empty thud falls silent in Gene's shadow realm. My breathing sounds unnaturally loud. Our home is just in its infancy. Have we already destroyed it? Wait, what happens if the island gets destroyed? Do I finally die a final death? Will I no longer be tormented by a life I don't know how to live?

Strangely, I find myself at peace with my end. The dungeon will be less secure, with me no longer being the host of some sort, but it should be strong enough to stand on its own.

"Jim! What are you doing? Put your arms down," says Bones. "Stop trying to hug the shadow. It's weird." To my ignorant surprise, the boss is right. My arms are spread wide open. How they got to this position is beyond me. Even Cru is giving me a side-eye look.

"Just trying to be open to change." Nothing has changed in Gene's shadow. The world around us isn't crumbling. No ambiance of dramatic destruction noises. Just the four of us standing next to a dead tree person. I lower my arms a little, not allowing them to rest entirely at my side.

"You will find," says Gene, interrupting my moment of rapture. “Cultivators at the sage rank and beyond don't die a simple death." As if on cue, terrifying wails from the soul leaving Roxi's body embrace the mantle of world-ending screamer.

"You shits killed me!" Screams the angry dead girl.

"You're not dead yet," says Bones. Boss has a satisfied grin on his face. He rubs his hand down the edge of a long, sharp-bone sword. All that is missing from the 'predator preparing to feast' look Bones is going for is a lick of the lips. Luckily, Bones has no tongue or lips, and we are spared the theatrics.

"Go ahead and kill me. I take pleasure in knowing your world dies with me."

"What a waste of life," Bones says with a tsk.

"Are you ready to die for a grudge that should have been buried centuries ago?" Gene asks. Her threatening presence is softened, and her tone is more peaceful than one would expect from someone confronting an enemy of her people.

"You took everything from me," Roxi says with a pained smile. "My own family disowned me when I fell from grace. They called me a waste and left me to survive on my own. You did not even love him."

I feel so out of place. Our world-ending conflict has taken an unexpected turn, and I have no clue how to escape this disaster. I lengthen my breath in an attempt to calm the panic that's building.

"Of course I loved him. At least for a time," says Gene. Luckily, my inner turmoil is contained. I don't draw her intense attention to myself. "You know better than most that Draxxonicus only loves one person. Before long, I realized I was only his latest fling and was in a one-way relationship. He used me, so I used him. Even then, it was not easy. It took all of my strength to leave."

I glance at Bones and Cru, confirming I'm not alone in disbelief. Bones is unsuccessfully hiding the most satisfied grin I've seen. Thankfully, Cru looks as out of place as I feel. No one is going to believe this. Even by dream standards, this is wild.

"Bitch."

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"Sap tart."

"I am ready to die. Absorb my soul and let your world fall apart." Roxi lifts her wispy head. As she stands, she shreds her withered husk and replaces it with confidence. "Call it poetic justice." She closes her eyes and opens her arms. "Perhaps you were a fool like me and loved him too."

"Such a waste," Bones says again. "I want to meet this Draxxo guy so I can punch him. If you don't want to die for nothing, darling, you can join us. We can all punch Draxxo together." Death mana conjures around Bones, and a construct begins forming in the pale mist of his energy.

"And not destroy your home?" Roxi opens her eyes with a venomous glare. "I'll choose death."

"It's funny you say that. Our boy Cru has three Golden Mana Tree seeds, one of which he's already planted. Our mana might be reduced, but our home will stand." Cru pulls two golden seeds from his pocket and casually tosses them in the air.

Possessed by desperation, Roxi's soul lunges toward Cru, a violent snarl escaping her as she flies. Cutting off her path is a skeleton that emerges from Bones' energy cloud. Infused and empowered by death, the skeleton stops Roxi immediately. Pointed at her chest is a hungry pale sword held firmly in the skeleton's hand.

"You have two choices. You can throw away your last chance at life or join us," says Gene. Roxi eyes her skeptically, and so do I. Recruiting enemies is a page out of my own book, but I didn't expect the invite to come from Gene. "We were both played by the shadow prince. I can put aside our grievances. Life is too precious to destroy." Gene eyes me as she says the last words.

Gene, you don’t have to go through with this. We don’t need her. I reach out to the shaman through our bond. I know she’s been talking to Bones a lot about his powers and has even made some suggestions on how to shape his class. Creating a warlock contract with Roxi was her idea. Gene even went so far as orchestrating the trap on the Golden Mana Tree.

Roxi is a tremendous commander. The invasions are evidence of her ability to lead. Bones and her will be a perfect pair.

We can find him another commander. We don’t know her. We don’t have to trust her.

The irony is, I know Roxi better than I know anyone that has joined us besides Fury. We were friends once… even if we both seemed to forget that. I am putting my trust in strangers. It will be nice to have someone I know here as well. Besides, I feel she will have a part to play when you Travel to the Greater Shadow Realm.

Are you sure? My question lingers unanswered until Roxi voices her doubt.

"You will never trust me."

"No,” says Gene. “Nor will we have to."

"I will not be shackled."

"How about a contract?" Roxi's eyes dart to Bones, who motions to the skeleton, holding her soul in check. "I want you to meet your new host. Of course, you can adapt it as you see fit. I'm of the opinion that trees and bones have a beautiful haunting allure to them." Bones somehow winks without eyelids. It isn't possible, but it happens. I swear I see it happen, and I can't get the bony image out of my mind. The choice of life and power is too great for Roxi to refuse, and the dryad agrees.

Two voices break out in harmonious laughter. Cru and I share a glance of disbelief as the laughing duo completes the warlock contract, and Roxi takes control of the skeleton husk. Unlike when Gene formed a bond with Shade, Roxi's process for taking over the skeleton is almost immediate. My guess is that there is no competing intelligence for control.

Once the contract is complete, we exit Gene’s shadow. No longer blocked by the nearly rotted-away Golden Mana Tree, Roxi and the tree unite in a cacophony of merging mana. Nature, death, and golden life mix together. Roxi's skeleton morphs into violent gray, green, and gold swirls.

Standing close to the side, Bones' eyes feast on the display of power. His fist pumps rapidly, cheering on the transformation. Thumping sounds resume, and a dull tone assists in the enchantment. Roxi's new form emerges when the mana fusion subsides and the music quiets.