Aliza’s voice was as hollow as Soleil felt. "Metis needs help."

Maeve looked over Soleil. "Take care of her for me?"

"That's the plan." Aliza's smile was thin.

Soleil was surprised to find herself placed atop Pyre. Aliza’s Soot Hound was big and warm to the touch, capable of carrying Soleil with ease.

"Don't worry about us.” Aliza assured her. “Soleil and I can handle ourselves."

"Okay." The moment Maeve turned away, Aliza and Pyre began to sprint towards the hill, leaving the rest of the party behind.

"No." Soleil mumbled. "Hope. The others."

"Hope is dead." Aliza cut in. "Coals too. Our best chance now is getting to Malady. So hang tight."

Behind them, Maeve caught onto the deception. Despite every shout being aimed at calling Aliza a traitor, Soleil was the one to wince. She clung tighter to Pyre for support.

Soleil gave the hound a sympathetic hug as the beast let out a whine. Something about the sound tugged at the Sensitivity in her soul. No. There would be time to break down and unpack emotions later.

She had a promise to keep. Hopefully this one would spare anyone else from dying, no matter the cost.

Ahead of her, the trees parted in unison. A thick formation of wood opened up to create a clearing for Malady to meet Soleil and Aliza halfway up the hill. Corrupted bushes closed ranks behind them, focusing instead on barring Maeve and the rest of the party from coming to their aid.

“Soleil! It is so nice of you to join us! And so soon! You even brought everyone you babbled to about getting in the way of my gardening project. Well, short of your tricksy mother. But that is to be expected."

Soleil narrowed her eyes. "I don’t care about any of that. I'm here to stop you from killing anyone else."

Malady was the picture of amusement. She did not even bother to stand from her gnarled perch, content to lounge atop a tree of thorns. “Really? You don’t want to know even a little bit? Not how many stones and trees I had to interrogate to overhear the gossip that your earlier stunt kept between you and Calamity? You would not believe how popular you are in some circles of flowers these days.”

How did things keep circling around to her saving that flower?

Aliza was giving her a look. “Don’t listen to her. Sharing a covenant with her and Rot sounds unpleasant.”

Soleil shook her head. She had to focus. “Leave this to me.”

Soleil willed motes of fire into existence. In the time it took her to conjure a suitable amount, Malady bid dozens of vine wielding combatants to close ranks between them.

"Oh I am going to enjoy breaking the two of you.”

“Fine.” Soleil snarled. “But leave the others out of it.”

Memories burned at the edge of her perception before being smothered when exposed to the corrupted mana coursing through each and every bush that answered to Malady’s focused glare.

“Such fire! And here I thought disassembling your Hope was a bit on the nose.”

Soleil screamed, leaping off of Pyre and reaching for a restorative from her satchel. Before she could unfasten the stopper, vines reached out to knock the glass vial from her hands.

It was everything she could do to [Defend] against the incoming swing of Malady’s tree limb.

Glass shattered on the ground and in her bag.

Suddenly Soleil was on the beach, fighting alongside another adventuring party. She felt herself shouting commands to Pyre as she began to shape a spell.

Recognizing the name of Soot as belonging to a dead hound, Soleil pulled herself out of the memory. She still unleashed the bolt of lightning conjured up by [Lightning Mastery.] Why waste the spell?

Soleil gained a deeper understanding of [Lightning Mastery] The skill can now be raised to Rank 1.

“Oho! That one was a little beyond you!” Malady landed on her feet as her tree beneath her cracked from the single bolt of lightning. “Why fight on behalf of the dead when you can join me?”

Aliza and Pyre did not stand idly by. They began to fight the moment Soleil called out to them from the memory of a dead party member.

Soleil supposed she had offered them revenge. If they could just clear the path, Soleil would incinerate this rotten murderer.

“Oh don’t give me that look. I'm not that omnipresent. Although I’m flattered if you think so. This little party was more for Aliza than you and yours. But I thought to myself, why waste the opportunity to corrupt two little flowers at once?”

“I’m not interested.” Soleil growled as her whole face burned with anger. The next motes of fire mana spread out in an attempt to mix up her attacks.

With the crook of a finger, vines, bushes, and uprooted root systems moved to intercept Soleil’s flames no matter their shape or trajectory. “One wonders how many more of those you have in you.”

Aliza came within spitting distance of Malady. “You’re not worth wasting breath on.”

"Good to know you’re still bitter. Soleil coming to your rescue hasn’t been a complete setback."

As Aliza howled in fury, another root system sprouted from behind her.

There was no time to conjure up more mana and direct it to come to her aid.

Soleil reached out instead for the mana in the root. [Rot Affinity] let her pluck the mana from the plant. It shriveled up and went limp a second later. Soleil elected to break focus on the skill and discard the mana, letting the yellow mana seep back into the ground.

“You are enjoying my gift, I see.” Malady’s laugh was almost sensual.

With a yelp, Pyre was quickly overwhelmed and tied down by dozens of vines that drew Aliza’s attention. Malady used that moment to slip past her guard, lift her by the neck. “Really. I could do this all day. But why struggle?”

Aliza bit clean through the bark of her hands, heedless to the rot mana that filled her mouth. She spat it back into Malady’s face. “You killed my friends. My family. I have nothing to say to you.”

“"You won't find answers that way, children.” Aliza tossed into the waiting clutches of a dozen vines riddled with thorns. After an unpleasant landing, she was quickly restrained. All while Malady watched the plants do her bidding with what looked like mild disappointment.

Soleil found herself running out of Focus. The attributes used to cast spells were running dry. “Because you’re a monster that needs to be stopped.” She would just have to resort to other methods.

“Let’s not resort to name calling now.” Malady willed the grip that the vines had on Aliza and Pyre to tighten.

“I don’t care about you or your gifts.” Soleil drew her sword.

“It really is a shame you spoiled one of them. I’ll just have to make up for lost experience until you become the perfect little vessel.” Malady waved her plants away, creating room for Soleil and her to fight.

Unwilling to turn down a freely offered advantage, Soleil was happy to close the distance. “I don’t understand. What are you getting at?”

Malady sighed. “And I thought this the most obvious bargain of wielding mana’s gifts. You fight. You gain insight, experience, and trauma from all who came before you. In return we let you live to be useful another day.”

Malady seemed content to go without a weapon. Landing a clean swing proved to not be difficult at all.

Soleil’s Soul gained a level.

Getting through the barkskin however, was another matter entirely. Soleil found herself unable to pierce the trunk or retrieve her sword.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“And maybe, just maybe. If you’re both really good girls and display ample affinity, we might be tempted to offer you a place at our side.” Malady casually stepped closer. Not content to wait for Soleil to do it, she shattered her own trunk.

Putrid rot mana spilled out from her wooden shell and threatened to engulf Soleil’s sword.

She swung again and again in an attempt to take advantage of the time Malady spent coalescing into a humanoid shape outside her wooden armor, all to no avail.

Soleil bared her soul, [Piercing] through Malady’s corrupted mana and finding herself passing right through the other side. She came away covered in the dead sap that had touched her blade.

Behind her a pair of bushes exploded. Malady’s body reformed almost effortlessly as more rot mana rushed to replace the gap. The rotten goop in the form of a woman began to laugh in delight at Soleil’s predicament.

The ground burned under every step that Malady took.

Even Soleil’s sword began to sizzle nonstop. It took conjuring a mote of fire mana to prevent her sword from dissolving.

Soleil was going to get nowhere in this fight. Not unless she used mana to cut away at Malady’s corrupted essence.

All around her she counted close to thirty bushes and twenty trees. And those were just the ones she could see. How many corrupted seedlings or spores sat underneath their feet that Malady could draw upon?

If she had a handful of Magitech Armors, maybe even Fusils, she could manage.

As it stood, there was no way she could outlast Malady. Not like this.

Soleil lowered her sword.

“Oh child of mana. I do hope you did not pick this fight thinking yourself special. If it is any comfort, you never stood a chance. Not that I fared any better in your place. I really must recommend that you give in now and join the winning team.”

Soleil blinked. Once, twice. It was getting easier to Focus as the attribute recovered. She might be able to try for a [Mana Detonation.] Would it be worth stalling for time and fishing for answers?

Fine, if Malady wanted to talk, Soleil would let her. “You act like you used to be one of us. How can you be so casual about that?”

“Oh Soleil. If you could only see the world as we do. It would all be so obvious. You can only wield one skill at a time. While I can grow hundreds, thousands of little children at once. You have, what, a total of four factional towns that support maybe a dozen villages each? The most enterprising among you just hop from one little self imposed box to another. Human, Demi-human, Demon. You could be so much more!”

Malady timed the second half of her little gloating session to begin as Maeve and the others cut their way into the clearing. A cursory glance confirmed that they were all in rough shape.

“Unfortunately, Calamity has seen fit to get her claws in you early. There are so few with an open enough mind to display an Affinity for Rot. I can’t just let her take you away. So I thought I’d find a nice little pit of despair to shove you into. Think of this outing as a little microcosm of this foolish struggle of yours. A half dozen of you against hundreds upon hundreds, only for you to reach the end to find your goal was always an impossible one. I’ll just keep feeding my garden the blood of your friends until you give up!”

“Why?” Her voice sounded so small all of a sudden.

“It worked to drag Nadir to xer lowest point. Why not you?”

Soleil has gained a deeper understanding of [Fire Affinity.] The Skill can now be raised to Rank 3.

Soleil felt heated. But what could she say or do? She found herself unconvinced that the addition of her party members would make any difference.

That did not stop them from rushing to her aid.

“I’m not going to stand by and let you corrupt Soleil.” Maeve said defiantly. A tree that moved too slowly to get out of her way lost a pair of branches to an angry swing of her sword.

"Is that so? Because your darling Soleil hasn’t even had the concept of corruption explained to her. So, are you going to tell her, or should I?"

Soleil narrowed her eyes. What was Malady getting at now?

Glancing to the side, Maeve was averting her eyes all of a sudden.

“What’s she talking about?” Soleil asked.

“Go on Maeve. Tell her what I am.”

Maeve grimaced. “A demon.”

“What?” Soleil winced. “I thought she was just some corrupted mana entity.”

“I know. It’s stupid. It’s callous.” Maeve was lowering her guard. Was she doubting herself? “The North as a rule doesn’t make a distinction between their greatest allies in your mothers, you, and entities like Calamity or Malady. You’re… all the same in the eyes of, um, too many.”

“So… what?” Soleil found herself latching onto Maeve’s doubt. Why should any of this matter?

“As a child of mana. You were made, not born. As far as anyone is concerned, that makes you one of us. We could practically be siblings, give or take a few hundred years. But what is that length of time to a Demon?”

Soleil shuddered at that.. Malady was attempting to drive a wedge between her and her party members. She found her mind racing before turning to Maeve. Nevermind what it meant about her or her mothers. “What about Irellia?” A girl who dedicated her life to fighting on the North’s behalf. “She’s your Knight Commander, isn’t she?”

Maeve’s face twisted into a pained expression. “She… is seen as a Demon by most nobility. But Not everyone holds her up as the Angelic Savior that she presents herself as.”

Soleil found herself looking down at the sword and questioned her choice of weapon. “That’s not right.”

Malady began to Chortle. “Where do you think Affinities come from? Mana has laid out roles for us to play. Do you think your precious Northern Thrones would continue to sit empty without the Everqueen putting a sword to the necks of every would-be human lordling who gets carried away? There are far worse Humans and Demons out there than I. If I were your opponent, don’t you think the Everqueen would have offered you true Knighthood by now?”

Soleil has gained a deeper understanding of [Rot Affinity.] The Skill can now be raised to Rank 1.

Soleil relaxed her grip on her weapon. This was starting to feel pointless. Why should she be fighting on humanity’s behalf if…

Why was Malady’s plan working?

“Please.” Maeve rushed to join Soleil’s side. “Tell me you’re not letting her get to you.”

“I-” Soleil chewed on her lip. “I don’t think I have a choice.”

Maeve’s expression remained soft, but her voice hardened. “Soleil. You always have a choice.”

She found herself unable to face Maeve any longer. “And I made it. Alone. You were there when Calamity stopped the Magitech Armors. She was doing that as a favor to Malady. I can’t ask you all to fight something like her.”

“You realize.” Maeve jabbed the words in order to get them through Soleil’s skull. “The only outcome in that plan is getting yourself killed.”

Soleil looked away. If Malady wanted to turn her into some rotten monster, “Would that really be a bad thing?” Maybe that made her a coward. But she was thoroughly convinced they would never be strong enough. “We can’t win this. Not without Hope.”

Maeve closed the distance and reached out to turn Soleil to face her. “Look at me. Of the two, you’re the irreplaceable one. So long as we’re alive, we can figure something out. Make our own hope if we have to.”

Soleil met Maeve’s eyes. “Maybe you made the wrong call.”

Malady chortled. “You two are so cute it is infectious. Your heroic knight is so frustratingly useful. But even you have your limits, Maevis.”

“Don’t call me that.” Maeve snapped.

“Apologies, Maeve. But look at Soleil here. Your Little Sun is so willing to accept the necessity of monsters and detonating mana out of existence. She already belongs more to us than you. I am merely offering to recruit her to the side that can protect her when someone dangerous takes notice of her actions.”

Soleil shrugged. “I’m a demon, Maeve.”

“I don’t care.” Maeve shook her head.

“You should." Soleil confessed. "I knew what [Mana Detonation] would do. And I used it.”

Maeve winced. “To try and save people from Calamity. Me included.”

“But I got scared and angry earlier. I used it on a bunch of low level plants.” Soleil tugged at Maeve’s arm. “What if a Paladin or a Healer is next?”

Maeve took a deep breath before turning to look Soleil in the eye. “I trust you.”

Soleil could see no other way out. “Maybe you shouldn’t?”

“What happened to the girl who spent all night caring for the magitech member of her party that could not take care of itself? Soleil. I know you’re hurting. But right now, you’re the one who can’t take care of herself. It’s why we form parties and units. No one expects you to handle this alone.”

“I kinda did though.” Soleil whispered. “I told Aliza that-”

“I won’t let you.” Maeve said. “Not like this. I swore I would help.”

"It's not your place." Soleil found herself saying the words. She wasn't sure if she meant them. Soleil didn't want to argue. Not with Maeve. "I've made my choice."

A tree falling to the ground interrupted them both. "I don't accept this!" Aster shouted.

Soleil turned to find that Malady’s plants were more focused on isolating her party members than dealing a lasting blow. They would struggle to work together even if they wanted to.

"You have to." Soleil said. "You have someone to go home to."

Aster’s face darkened. "Don't you dare tell me you don't."

Soleil swallowed. "One of my mothers wanted this."

"Soleil." Aster’s tone was heartbroken.

Fia was next to find a break in the fighting. “You stopped Calamity. What’s the hold up? Tell us what you need.”

“It’s not that simple.” Metis cautioned. They looked intensely wary upon catching Malady’s eye.

Fia danced between a pair of trees swinging trunks in her direction. “Nevermind this useless demon label! You can be whatever you want. Through alchemy, makeup, magic. You can discard the rest!”

It was sweet to think that they could talk her out of it. Soleil didn’t have it in her to talk her party out of helping her.

Metis took a different approach. “This is your choice Soleil. No one can make it for you.” Down to their last pair of knives, they attempted to keep to the edge of the fighting. “Just know that you can always find goodwill here in the Grove. No matter what happens.”

Soleil found her gaze wandering towards Aliza. Malady had long since released her in order to send plants after the rest of her party.

But the wolf girl sat still, eyes downcast. Aliza had no fight left in her to resist.

How many deaths would it take for that to be Soleil?

Her gaze fell to the floor. “I can’t do this.”

For once, Maeve’s voice was no comfort at all. “I know.”