Almost a week went by while they hid. No one really looked for them, either. Crow found that suspect but didn’t mention it to the coven. While he recovered, the witches kept performing rituals that supposedly helped erase their existence. It wouldn’t work on those with strong connections to them—at least the ones with any decent amount of willpower.
One day, Zoe entered his room while he was cultivating and waited for him to acknowledge her. She made mistakes and was going to address them. Once he opened his eyes, she rushed forward and kissed him. Tears leaked out of her eyes, and Crow stroked her hair gently.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Crow asked.
“Not trusting you. No, I trusted you. I’m sorry for not relying on you.”
“I don’t expect you to rely on me—well, not totally. I’m okay with you being independent and doing things your way. I’m okay with you being strong and assertive. You have a family you are looking out for. However, let me know what is happening. If you don’t want me to interfere, that is fine, but you can’t hide things from me.”
“I won’t. I-I’m just not u-used to having someone I can trust, except my sisters. Most men want…err, that,” Zoe blushed, realizing how strong Crow’s appetite was, but she didn’t seem to mind when it was him. So her argument made things a little awkward. Crow chuckled and hugged her.
“Now that is out of the way. Tell me what is happening.”
“My mom had an onyx ring that seemed ordinary by all standards. I always thought my father gave it to her. It didn’t have anything special about it, so when she died, I put it into a box to be interred with her ashes. They only open the crypt when a High Priestess dies, so there is usually no way to enter. Kafe was going to kill a High Priestess, but when he agreed, his payment was me. I’d become his wife. This was before I met you, so I agreed.”
“Why? What is the ring?”
“I didn’t know it at the time she died, not even my grandma knew, but I saw it in a vision. I saw how she acquired it and even told her sisters that it was to be a legacy she passed down to her—to me. I’m not sure what is special about it, but I know I need it before I leave this place.”
“Just a crypt?” Crow asked.
“Yes, but now…” Zoe looked away.
“Isn’t it simple?” Crow turned her head toward him. “I’ll just go invade it.”
“Y-you can’t!”
“I can. Did you forget? Sione isn’t the only person I’ve killed here. I can take any of their faces. More than that, do you think a crypt will stop the infamous Vault Phantom?”
“Vault Phantom?”
“The sect gave the thief—me—that name,” Crow grinned.
“Pfft, that’s a horrible name,” Zoe laughed, and her downcast face lit up with mirth. “That aside, invading the crypt isn’t that simple. They didn’t use Mana Stone, and there are guardians inside. Not to mention all the formations to stop crypt raiders.”
“Relax. While I’m not fully confident, I’m confident enough to get away if things go sideways. Do you have a map of the place?”
Zoe nodded and quickly pulled out a parchment and unrolled it onto the nearby table. Crow stood up and approached, looking over the underground crypt with curious eyes. Like their ritual circles, they placed twelve main chambers in a rough loop around the central tomb or the thirteenth chamber. There were other smaller chambers, but they were unimportant. The central section was to be avoided because he didn’t like the angry red script placed on it. He couldn’t read it but instinctively knew they should avoid it no matter what happened.
“Where is the box?”
The passage underground was one giant, irregularly shaped loop. Based on the map, the tomb should be on the north side, not that far from the eastern entrance. Although it looked that way, Crow had his doubts. The map didn’t show depth, and he was sure it wasn’t as simple as it seemed.
“What are these triangles?”
“Guardians. I’m not sure what they are, but they animate if you cross into their area. Maybe a formation?”
Several possibilities passed through Crow’s mind, but he ruled out most of them. Chances were those things were puppets of some sort, but he didn’t rule out formations.
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“I’ll go tonight.”
“I’ll go with you,” Zoe said. Seeing the look in her eye, he was sure she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“I have one request.”
“What is it?”
“All of your sisters, enter my Soulscape world.”
“What!?” Zoe wasn’t shocked by the request but by the secret. “Is that where you were stashing the loot?”
“Yes. I’m fairly certain you know about Lily at this point.”
“The fae?”
“Yes. Lily is always with me and sort of manages the place. Umm, there are some other surprises in there, but nothing dangerous… I think.”
“You have a fully functioning Soulscape? As in, it can produce life?”
“Yes… and no. It can produce plant life like a garden or farm isn’t out of the question. Animals and people can live there indefinitely, but the mana leans heavily toward fire and wood. No animal has yet been conceived in that place, but giving birth isn’t an issue.”
“You want us to enter because you are going to enter that temple, aren’t you?”
“I’m left with little option. My Soulscape has a lot to do, and you can even create a Covenstead inside, but do it away from the main area where the cave home is. I’ll let you leave anytime you want, but after I finish that trial and escape Unhulde.”
“I agree. That is a much better option than I imagined. Sec, I’ll bring them all over.”
“One more thing, there is a deactivated Fairy Ring. If I can find a good place to link it to, a place we can secure, I’ll do that, and then you can come and go as you please.”
“How the hell did you manage that? I’ve never heard of a Fairy Ring forming inside a Soulscape.”
“Came with my Soulscape’s awakening,” Crow explained but avoided talking about Yggdrasil because that was too big of a secret for now. They might figure it out if they realize he didn’t have a Soulscape but a Soulverse.
Not long after, everyone crowded into his room, and he explained what would happen. Most were shocked when Lily made an appearance and even more shocked hearing about the wood nymphs and the unique trees they’d all seen on Crow’s Shield.
“Let’s go!” Minnie practically shouted. “Wait! Can I bring my little sister?”
“Where is she?”
Minnie looked a little sheepish, and the rest of the coven wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“She’s in the other room,” Minnie finally said. “My aunt cared for her, but when we fled, I couldn’t stand the thought of that old hag raising her. So I kidnapped her.”
“It’s fine,” Lily told Crow, wasting precious mana to speak. “The wood nymphs might be mischievous, but they’ll protect the little girl with their lives. They’ll let no harm come to a child—they might even spoil her rotten. She can stay there until she’s of age for her Shield trial.”
“Fae nannies? Yes!” Minnie pumped her fist and ran off to grab May. “Send us first.”
“I can only do one of you at a time. It’s very taxing on my mana.”
“Send me first,” Minnie said, handing May to Leila. “I’ll head into the cave home you were talking about and set up a nursery for her. I took all the stuff from my aunt.”
Crow chuckled and grabbed Minnie before sending her across the void and into his Soulverse. She saw the enormous tree standing majestically and couldn’t help but feel awed by it. Thankfully, she didn’t ask him about it because he didn’t want to lie. Instead, he rushed toward one of the fruits, his original Soulscape. His voice was heard through the space as he commanded the Soul Butlers to heed Minnie’s words.
“I told Zoe you can create a Covenstead if you wish, but if you do, build it by the cave home over there.” Crow pointed toward a nearby mountain. “Or you can place it on the other side of the nymph’s forest. You can organize the butlers to build a town where we currently are, but please plan it out first. I’d like this spot to be an impressive paved plaza. I don’t even mind if you use the stone plaza for your ritual circles. Just clean up after yourselves.”
“Ohhh, my little ghostly servants, come to me! I’m in love with this place already,” Minnie cried out happily.
Crow moved his face close to her ear before whispering. “Beware the wood nymphs. They love their pranks.”
Afterward, he exited and checked his Source. Moving Minnie inside wasn’t so bad. In retrospect, the nymphs required him to move their entire tree. So the mass was enormous in comparison. Looking at Leila, he judged his remaining mana against the size of her and the baby and decided it was more than enough.
“Both of you can go next.”
“You sure?” Leila asked.
“Yup. My Source is larger than I thought.”
Leila nodded and stepped up close to him while holding onto May. Crow hugged them to his body and transitioned over. As they appeared, they could already hear Minnie bossing the Soul Butlers. Wood nymphs also appeared nearby, and Crow spoke to them.
“Hey, this little one is under your care. I don’t mind the pranks, but do not let this baby come to any harm.”
“Ohhh,” Rain cried out. “She’s adorable. Let me hold her?”
Leila looked toward Crow as if askance, and he nodded his head.
Rain’s warm body comforted the baby, who started gurgling happily.
“That is Minnie’s little sister—she’s the exuberant one over there,” Crow said, pointing to the girl bossing the Soul Butlers around.
“Are you bringing us more friends?”
“I’ll be sending in ten more women. This is a witch coven, but they can tell you their story.”
“Alright,” Rain agreed, but her eyes were still on the baby in her arms. “Crow, stay safe. We probably give you more headaches than not, but we are grateful to you for saving our lives. We would grieve a long time if anything happened to you.”
“Just keep being the pranksters you are. The laughter you provide is a balm for many of my aches. Take care of these women. They’ve suffered a lot and are only starting to heal emotionally. Especially these two,” Crow said, pointing toward Leila and Minnie, who were laughing and playing around.
“One more thing before you go. We’ve been sensing strange disturbances under that mountain you call Trash Hill.”
“What kind of disturbance?”
“Mana fluctuations. We didn’t dare go down there because we weren’t sure what you had stored there. But whatever it is, it feels dangerous.”
Crow nodded and made a mental note to check it in the future. The next few hours he spent transporting all the women into his Soulverse. Zoe wanted to visit too, so Crow sent her in for a few hours while he cultivated. With them safely stowed away, he felt like a massive amount of pressure was taken off his shoulders.