Lex looks at me, as I sit here and smile. Well, I technically can’t smile, it’s one of the many faults of being a puddle kid. No, I’m definitely not super lucky, what would give you that idea~? The fact that it takes everyone else years to reach a level of strength that only took me months is DEFINITELY fair.

“Vexalan…” He says, as he looks to the side again. “She sure is an enigma, if I could call her anything. She’s the sweetest person I know, but… You’re right, she’s up to something.” He says, as I sit here and perform my best rendition of a bronze statue.

Demi - “You’ve got that right-”

“What are you two saying about me?” The girl in question suddenly says, surprising us- “Oh! Vexalan! We, um-” Lex tries to say, but stumbles on his words.

Demi - “I’m entering a race competition! I was hoping I could invite you and Lex. I get like, a ‘plus however many people Ling says I can take with me’. Vilstrous will be there.”

She raises her eyebrow, then folds her arms. “Well that’s nice. Alright, I’ll join. Come on Lex, let’s go get ready.” She says, as she walks up to him. “Right. See ya’, Demitallis. Make sure to come get us.” He says, before she drags him on.

I guess I should go see if I can find Vilstrous, maybe I can even convince Volarisk to join. Big guy’s probably too busy, but I can’t imagine what Vilstrous might be up to. Anyways, I finally find him, and he instantly refuses. He’s been hanging out with Volarisk in the pilot-room-thing.

Demi - “COME ON~! Think about all the bonding we could do!”

“I’m busy, alright? And so is Volarisk, for that matter. You think we can just up and leave our posts?” He asks, surprising me.

Demi - “Yes?”

He slaps his face, and looks at Volarisk. “Hey, Volarisk. Explain to her WHY we’re busy.” He says, making the tall STILL shirtless man turn around. “And get some damn clothes on, nobody wants to see your ugly scars.” He says, as Volarisk stares down at him.

“Hmph… Demitallis… I’ve captained many ships, and this island serves as a fine vessel… But that’s just it, I still captain many vessels. I still have to deal with them.” He says. “I can’t imagine you’re willing to invite Volarisk’s entire crew.” Vilstrous says, as I sit here…

“Vilstrous, on the other hand, isn’t actually doing ANYTHING.” Volarisk says, shocking him- “What the hell?!” He shouts, as multiple of my siblings look at him. “Hmph. Just go have fun with your new friends.” Volarisk says, as he returns to the controls.

“You’re not my dad, Volarisk…” Vilstrous says, but he continues whatever he was doing before Vilstrous bothered him. “Your point? Your father can’t stop you, Vilstrous. It all starts with you, end the cycle.” He replies, making Vilstrous rush out of the room.

“Go.” Volarisk says, making me rush after Vilstrous after all. I slip through the crevices in the door, and- Oh… He’s sitting right outside the door, sulking.

Demi - “Hey, I’m...”

“FINE!” He snaps- He composes himself, brushing off his suit, and staring down at me. “I guess… I guess I will. Just leave me alone… Alright? Just come get me whenever, I don’t know.” He says, before walking away…

-√G-

I sit next to him as he practically scarfs down my wallet, and stares from multiple people. I guess Everessence was surprisingly accepting towards mutants. I didn’t get stared at like this when I visited.

“So… You full yet, buddy? I don’t know how much more food I can pay for.” I’ve got no idea WHY he eats so much, I mean, it was barely the other day he was gorging himself on half a feast.

He looks up at me, and folds his arms… “Fine…” He says, as I stand up, and open a portal. Slade steps out, dragging multiple large sacks. “Oh dammit- I thought you were going to dispose of them before you got back.” I say, as I open another portal.

“Do you know how long it takes to dig those pits?” He asks, as I look over at Tori. “Hey, Tori, we’re heading back!” He looks at me again, and runs up, only to then follow Slade and I through the portal.

“What’s in those bags?” Tory asks, as he pokes one, and it suddenly wriggles- He and I jump back, and Slade just kicks it- It stops moving again, and he looks Tory dead in the eyes… “You don’t want to know.” He says, as he begins dragging them away.

Tory looks at me, and I shake my head. “Don’t follow him, this is how he deals with his problems.” I say, as one of the contestants arrives behind me. It’s Mistral, he was one of the first people I talked to.

“Welcome.” I greet, as he looks around. He wears a red robe that stretches a little past his knees. Above that he wears a hood with multiple scarf-tails sticking out of it like a dress, his face is obscured by his mask, and even his feet seem to end in points.

I bow with him, and he chimes a soft yet short melody. “Who’s this dude?” Tory suddenly asks, gathering our attention- “Ah, this is Mistral, Tori. Please show him some respect, he’s one of Liberty's champions.” I say, confusing him sadly.

“What’s that do?” Tory asks, as he measures Mistral up. “It allows him to call upon Liberty’s wind. A little demonstration, if you wouldn’t mind?” I ask, and he complies, closing his eyes, and chirping a longer melody.

The wind kicks up and rushes past around us, swirling leaves and anything else not stuck to the ground with them. The wind departs, leaving us with a now clean area. “Thank you, Mistral.” I say, as he and I bow again- “Tori, respect-” I whisper.

He bows similarly, raising his head with us, and waiting for Mistral to walk away. “So is that his power, wind manipulation?” Tory asks, as I look over at him. “No, it’s Liberty who listens to their call, and sends the wind to assist them.” I say, as he nods slowly.

“So what IS his power, then?” He asks, as I walk over to one of the benches to sit down. “Shockwaves, he can create shockwaves wherever he’s looking. It’s pretty neat.” I say, as he nods slowly. “Think I could nullify it?” He asks, as I shrug.

-√A-

Demi - “Veytatasm!!! Will you join me on my next adventure?”

“I dunno’. Will it be fun?” She asks, as she sharpens her sword with her mana, it’s the one that can separate into a weird whip, for whatever reason.

Demi - “Of course! I’m participating in a race competition! What do you think?”

She just thinks to herself for a moment, deeply considering every facet of my invitation. “Sure! Why not?” She asks, as she smiles at me, probably not having considered a thing.

Demi - “Nice! Make sure to go get Glantinazor, we’ll be heading off in a few days.”

She nods. “Yeah, alright, sounds fun. Can’t wait.” She says, as she inspects her sword.

Demi - “Can you really sharpen it with just mana?”

“Yeah, it’s a simple reconstruction skill. I’m still practicing, but you mostly just need to know the structure of your weapon, and that lets me get it so sharp.” She says, picking up the sheath, and doing the same thing. “You should also regularly restructure your sheathes, they can damage the blade, and then you have to restart all over again.”

Demi - “Man, I thought you were always a bit of a dunce. Provin’ me wrong.”

She finishes restructuring the sheath, and opens it, placing the sword gently inside. “Nah, I still am.” She says, as she then gently shuts and waits for a beep. “This is known as lock-sharpening. The sheath was built to stabilize the structure of the blade, just as I have it now, and then I can pull it out like normal.” She adds, as she points at the orange light.

“It’ll take a few hours, but it’ll give me a good few swings out of the sword before the structure is disrupted, and then it starts to dull.” She says, as an idea comes to my mind.

Demi - “What if you just used some sort of spell to keep it all in place? Or just made multiple swords?”

“Actually, it IS quite popular to carry pre-sharpened blades around, but even mana struggles to keep the shape right. Some of the greatest sword masters in the world can probably sharpen their blades between swings, though.” She says, as she pulls out her spear, and begins sharpening it.

Demi - “Wouldn’t you have to do the same thing for the spear?”

“Nah, the whole thing is much smaller, I can stabilize it myself. Think of it like climbing a ladder, while a sword is like climbing a mountain, without using magic.” She says, reminding me how fast I would probably die, if I didn’t have my mana.

Demi - “Well, I better head off, thanks Veyta.”

“Totally. See ya’.” She says, as I extend a thread, and shoot through the air, luckily hitting Vascula- Well I guess not so lucky for her, but I was just about to go looking for her! “D-Demitallis!” She shouts, as we land, and Veyta stares at us.

Demi - “I was lookin’ for you! I was hoping I could invite you to participate in the Wishling Race!”

She stares at me, and considers it. “Yeah, alright. I’ll get a good chance to show off my skills.” She says, as she stretches lightly.

Demi - “What ARE your skills?”

“Crystals! I can make crystals, and detonate them for an electric blast.” She says, as Veyta walks up. “Right, don’t they call that gem-craft?” Veyta asks, as she nods. “Yeah, something like that. I’m specifically a Crystal-Mancer. My skills are heavily attuned to my crystals, so it’s kind of hard to switch.” She says, as she tries to fold her arms, but her wings get in the way again.

Demi - “Well, you two have fun, I’ve gotta’ head off, and find the rest of my team.”

They wave me off as I try again to fly away. Despite what I said though, the only other person I was able to invite was Magnimeld, who I’m not entirely sure IS joining. A lack of words left a lot up to interpretation.

-√C-

“You stupid fuckin’ kid… I told you to leave it be.” Skall says, as I glare at him. “I can watch them for you, they’ll have no idea.” I say, as he places his hand on his forehead. “Kid. You’re not old enough to face Slade. I mean it.” He says…

“And I’m telling you I’ll JUST watch them! Just trust me, you jackass!” I shout, as he sits down, and rubs his boney forehead.

“Fine. But don’t blame me when you get yourself killed. Wastin’ my god damn time.” He says, as I roll my eyes. “Please, I’ll be fine.” I reply, as I walk away, and leave him there. As I step out into the main room, I spot Meta on the couch again, watching movies, as her ants bring her food.

“You know, I was worried you would leave eggs everywhere, but I guess I was wrong.” I say, as she nods slowly. “Yeah. I know how to spin essence sequences, so I can just form the egg in my hand.” She says, demonstrating the construction of the egg, and letting me watch it beat slowly…

“So you can really just MAKE one, huh?...” I ask, as I rest my elbows on the couch. “Yep- Here, go put this away.” She says, as the worker gently picks it up, and takes it away. “And get the nice lady a drink.” She adds, as I jump over and rest on the arm of the couch, since she needs the whole couch for whatever reason.

I watch the movie a little, and gently float the platinum shard Skall gave me. I checked, he wasn’t lying, this thing really is indestructible. I tried everything, not a scratch, and it cleans surprisingly easy too.

-√D-

“So you’re SURE you want to attend the summit? Arigold will be there, and so will Demitrivan, and Solar.” I say, as I help Liyoxis out of his chair. “We’re looking at seventy percent progress, it seems I need a little more practice.” He says, as I stare at him.

“Yes. You know better than to question me, Demistar.” He says, as I then help him onto ANOTHER chair. Forgive him, he forgets to perform any sort of workout. He’ll often lock and hook himself up in his chamber, one time he did it for a year.

Now his muscle density is about nonexistent, and he can barely hold himself up. He can use his magic to do so, of course, but he likes to spend it all on mind magic. To that extent, he and Lian have the fastest recharge rate in the world, so that’s pretty cool.

Well, if you don’t count Demitrivan, as it’s kind of a given that her’s regenerates faster- “Everyone will actually be there for once, and it’s my turn to host it.” He says, surprising me. “Really? Even Luna? I’ve been meaning to hang out with her.” I say, as I follow him slowly.

“Shit, Serif’ll be there too, then… Maybe I can get Helvetica and Baoth, then we’ll be able to convince him it’s a girl’s night out. If I get enough of us together, that should scare off the pervert.” I say, as he continues his work while listening.

“Do you think I could get Sarah to join in too?” He just looks at me… “Do you think she would do that for me?” I ask, as he returns to what he was doing. “No. Sadly, there’s no desirable future where she accepts.” He says, making me fold my arms.

“That’s too bad. I can still get Helvetica and Baoth, right?” He nods. “Yeah. They enjoy your company enough.” He says, making me cheer lightly. “Wew! Maybe Itsya’ll be there too for once.” I say, as he gives me a thumbs up.

“Seriously? I was joking, this thing might actually be packed for once. I better prepare a feast. Will we be holding it in the observatory?” I ask, as he nods, and I begin powering up the Citadel’s inner functions.

“Should I tell the other four to attend?” I ask, just to make sure. “Yeah, it’s mandatory, actually. Even Martial’ll be there, and they’ll feel disrespected if I’m not there in person.” He says, as I start ordering ingredients from our satellite cities.

“Same as usual?” I ask. “Yeah. And keep an eye on Unity, she’s going to try and kill Martial.” He says, surprising me. “Really. I’ll have some equipment ready.” I say, as I begin reconstructing the observatory.

-√G-

“Horonva, welcome! You’re early!” I call out, before she runs up and we kiss each other's cheeks. She wipes a little of my green slime from her lips, and I guide her over to a bench to sit down. “I’ll never get used to that.” She says, as Tory runs up.

“Are you a mutant?” He asks, making her hide her face- “Ah- Don’t worry, he’s also a mutant. Meet Toryvonvascus.” I say, as she peaks behind her fingers at him… “Well, alright… Hello, uh, Tory?” She asks, as he sits next to her, and nods.

“Do you have a psychic power too?” He asks, as she stares at him. “Well, yes. I’m Horonva, my power’s not all that special though.” She says, her light and soft voice building a sense of calm. “Show me!” He shouts, as I stand up. “Don’t you think it’s kind of rude not to demonstrate yours first, Tory?” I ask, as he folds his arms.

“Fine, Nullification, it’s easy.” He says, standing up and demonstrating it. “Oh, that must be very useful. Mine can just let me hear ghosts.” She says, surprising him. “Ghosts are real?” He asks, as she nods. “Of course, most of them move on somewhere else, but there’s still quite a few.” She says.

Horonva, she’s a human mixed with a Ram. Like Tory, she’s mostly covered in fur, but her face could almost be passed off as human, making her look more like a demihuman. “Right, I should mention that Fullbrim is also on his way, he’ll be here in an hour.” She says, as Mistral walks up behind us.

“Well, while we wait, why don’t I introduce you to Mistral?” I ask, as he bows, and she just stares at him… “Please, it’s part of his customs.” I say, as she bows then shares her own customs, just like we did earlier.

“I guess you can’t kiss through the mask, huh?” She asks, as Tory just stares at her. “Why do you kiss everyone?” He asks, surprising her. “Oh, it’s just how I was raised. Usually we only use it as a form of greeting between friends.” She says, as he folds his arms.

“Well, he’s sharing his form of greeting with me, so I thought it was only polite.” She nervously says, as I watch Fullbrim arrive over the horizon. He’s a human, he wears a brown trench coat, and a simple top and pants.

He’s an older friend of mine, and he hasn’t been getting a lot of sleep lately. “Hey, Ling.” He says, raising a single hand, as he walks up to me. “Hey. Thanks for your help back there, ‘couldn’t have done it without you.” I say, as he nods slowly.

He greets Horonva, and does the same for Mistral, then looks at Tory. “Hey.” He says, as Story and him stare at each other. “I’m Fullbrim, I don’t actually have a last name.” He says, kneeling down and holding out his hand.

Tory’s abnormally small for his age, so his hand barely fits in Fullbrim’s palm. “Why don’t you show him your ability, Fullbrim?” Horonva says, as he nervously scratches the back of his head. “N-No… I’d rather not...” He says, as Tory stares at him.

“Well, alright… Just a little.” He says, as he pulls some seeds out of his pocket, and they begin to grow in his hand. “See? I can make things grow…” He crushes them, surprising everyone- “Oh- Jeez… Did they have to die?...” Horonva asks, as he burns away what’s left.

“My powers have been cursed, anything I make will become… Evil, for lack of a better term.” He says, as she grabs his shoulder- “Wait- Evil? How about the flower, is IT okay?” She asks with a sudden intensity-

“No, it was too late before I realized what had happened… I tried to stop it, but I was too late. I’m sorry.” He says, as she sits down and holds her head in her hands. “Is everything okay?” I ask, surprising her again.

“It’s nothing to worry about, Ling. I’m sorry.” She says, nervously smiling, as Fullbrim helps her up. “Tory, your power can disable curses, right?” I ask, surprising Fullbrim- “Really? Can it?!” He asks, picking Tory up-

“Yeah. Some curses are a little strong, though…” He says, as Fullbrim places him on the ground again. “Man, I didn’t think I’d find my cure ALREADY… You WILL help me out, right?” He asks, as Tory steps back.

“Tory, are you alright?” I ask, as we all stare at him, but Fullbrim sits on his knees again. “Listen, buddy, it’s alright, come find me when you’re ready.” He says, as Tory nods, then runs off- “Tory-” He disappears into a bush…

“I’ll go look for him, it might be dangerous-” Horonva says, but I grab her shoulder. “No- It’s okay, Slade’s over there.” I say, surprising them her and Fullbrim. “Shit, I better go make sure Slade doesn’t kill him.” Fullbrim says, running off, as I slap my forehead.

“They already met.” I say, as Fullbrim slams into a tree, then falls out of sight into a bush. “They have?” Horonva asks. “Yeah, come on, let’s go sit at one of the tables.” I say, guiding her, as Mistral walks off again.

“What did Slade think?” She asks, as she rests her face in one of her hands. “They hit it off pretty well. Slade only dragged him against the ground a little.” I say, as she rests her head in her arms. “Yeah, I guess by Slade standards, that’s pretty kind.” Her voice is muffled a little under her thick fur.

-√F-

“So… What’s it like being a knight, Kass?” I ask, as she tries on her cape. “It’s pretty neat.” She says, as she looks at her helmet. “I guess that’s kind of shallow, isn’t it? I have a lot of respect for the role, so I guess I should make a little effort toward learning the sword.”

She takes off the rest of the armor, deciding to only use a bit of chainmail and the gauntlets. “The Gauntlets will be helpful with my martial arts, but the rest kind of make it hard to move.” She says flexing the fingers.

“That sounds fair. I’ve got tons of soldiers who wield all kinds of weapons, feel free to ask around.” I say, and she nods. “So what should we do first, oh Queen of Ryleth?” Kass asks, as I look at the dress they make me wear.

“Maybe get out of this stupid thing. I’m the QUEEN. I shouldn’t have to wear this.” I say, as I fold my arms. “Oh, I figured you were more of a figurehead, while the Queen’s advisory staff kept the kingdom running.” She says, as I roll my eyes.

“Sure. But my word should have SOME sort of sway. I’m not stupid.” I say, as I walk over to the door. “Well, what DO you want to change?” She asks. “The fact that I have to wear this dress.” I answer. “That’s probably it.” She says, nodding her head slowly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” I turn around in disbelief that she would say something like that- “I mean- You really haven’t brought up any major changes, right? I guess the best thing you can do right now IS wear that dress, and be the figurehead. Ya’ know, unless you want to start making a difference elsewhere.” She says, as I am now forced to begrudgingly accept.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

“Besides, you have the word of your god, right?” She says, as I consider that.. “Yeah, you’re right, I’m the only one with the knowledge to lead Ryleth properly! They HAVE to listen to me!” I shout, as I open the door, and we walk down the hall.

I barely make it five feat out the door, before another adviser hails me- “No! Shut it. I’m taking control. The great old one chose ME.” I say, making him a little nervous- “Ma’am… I’m not so sure that’s such a good idea…” He says, as I fold my arms.

“Oh, and how so? I can STILL fire you.” I point at him, as Kass looks away. “PLEASE, Ma’am… I assure you, we are doing our best, and so have your people, while YOU have barely tried to learn ANYTHING about your city...” He says, surprising me.

“Right… Fine. But I’m still the only one fit to guide Ryleth. And I want out of this dress!” I shout, making him nod quickly. “Of course, I’ll talk to the others.” He runs off, and I heave a sigh of relief. “Finally.” I say, as Kass walks up.

“Is that true?” She asks, as I kind of shrug. “I’m just so busy~...” I say, as she folds her arms instead. “Come on, Stallatia… Doesn’t this mean anything to you?” She asks, as I look away and rub my arm… “It does, I just… I’m tired, alright?” I say.

“Well, I guess I have no reason to argue.” She says, as I nod. “Come on, let’s get you out of that dress.” She says, as I groan. “Thank god, let’s go.” I say, before we run off to do just that.

-√A-

Meta arrives at the top of my Tower, surrounded by Ants. “H-Hey…” She says, as her guards begin building walls with their bodies, to protect her with all their might. “Don’t say anything, I’ll just send you the reworked Telepathy.” She says, surprising me, as she connects to our network.

I feel the information flow and automatically decrypt. I activate IDM and recreate it instantly, deactivating it just as quickly…

Demi - “Testing-Testing one-two-three.”

“It works!” She shouts, jumping with joy, then summarily sticking to the floor again- “Too close!” She shouts-

Demi - “You are surrounded by GUARDS. Would you even die if you fell from this height anyways?”

“W-Well- What if a Dragon attacked?” She asks, as she stares at the guards darkening the room.

Demi - “I would save you, if anything happened. I’m sure I can push back a dragon that’s willing to eat someone as small as you.”

She picks herself up, and huffs. “Well, it’s not MY fault I don’t feel safe! Now is it?” She says, as she puffs her cheeks and looks away. This kid…

Demi - “Fair enough. I’m looking at the skill… Where’s the network, and the part we were going to monetize? You didn’t even develop a decrypted mana signature.”

“I was busy with my BROOD. I didn’t have the TIME to make your boujee ass spell!” She says, making me consider chucking her off the side, since it might be funny.

Demi - “Well, I guess I can work on that myself, then. I’ll have to get help from Demistar, since you’re useless.”

“OKAY, jackass! I did a lot more than you think. It can safely connect with anyone, and they can block the information flow, so it’s safe to use now.” She says, surprising me again.

Demi - “Can you expand?”

I activate the tower, and a chair ejects from below and surprises her. “Oh, well thank you.” She says, as she folds her arms and relaxes. “Anyways. Your spell certainly worked, but it was unrefined, thanks to that, you couldn’t really control what did and didn’t go through.” She says, gesturing weirdly, as though the gesturing makes any sense to me.

“Thus it left the user highly susceptible to attacks straight to the mind, if anyone tried hard enough. So yes, it was very dangerous. The fix also helps with making it universally accessible.” She says, as I realize how reckless I was being…

“Thanks to me, it’s so delicate, hiveminds can even use it! So yeah, I think you can show me a little more gratitude.” She says, as I climb out of my nest.

Demi - “Fine, thanks Meta. Sorry about that.”

“Well you’re welcome, now help me down, I swear if I’m up here for even a moment longer, I’ll hurl.” She says, before I grab her like last time, and teleport to the primary pad. “Let me out! I hate you!” She shouts, as I form a donut around her, and reform into an orb a moment after.

I teleport back to my room, since I don’t want to deal with her- Wait, can’t she just do that herself?! Why’s she gotta’ ask ME for help?!

-√C2-

I charge my lightning, and fire a bolt into the target. My aim is good, but the power isn’t enough, I’m just not strong enough… No matter how hard I seem to work, I just can’t keep up with them…

So what’s wrong? What I lack is raw power output. Demitallis can crush almost anything, and Sirius is a kraken. For a human, Vilstrous’s power is monstrous… What did they do to him-

“Lex! What’cha up to?” Veloura suddenly calls out, surprising me. “Hey!” I call back, running up to her, as she walks over to one of the benches. “I’m just practicing, I need to get stronger…” I say, as I sit down and slouch my head into my arms.

“I thought you were pretty strong.” She says, making me look at her. “I guess. I just need RAW physical power. Like Sirius, and Demitallis.” I say, as she folds her arms. “That works, yeah. But what if you had a weapon that could overpower THEM?” She asks… Wait a minute-

“No… Does that seriously work?” I ask. “Why not?” She asks, lightly gesturing, as I sit up. “I guess… Is that how he does it?” I ask, as it begins to click- “Who?” She asks, as the wind brushes against the trees…

“Ah- Oh… Nobody, Veloura. Nobody.” I say, as I stand up, and look away, my head now developing all kinds of abilities. “Dragons, Guardians, Ocean Kings… Monstrously strong creatures of tremendous power that a little feline demihuman such as myself…” I say, as I charge a new bolt of lightning…

“Could never hope to defeat with my own power. You’re right, I have to outsmart, out maneuver, outlast them!...” I say, before firing the bolt, and it instantly strikes all the targets at the same time! “Haha! One strike, and it only took a fraction of the mana, Veloura!” I shout, as she just stares.

“Yes! Still though…” She walks up. “What if they’re TOO strong? What if they’re so strong, we don’t have enough power to damage them?” She asks, as I look at her and think about it. “You’re right… But I doubt even Demitallis, or Sirius could beat them either. We’re all only so strong, Veloura.” She folds her arms and nods.

“Yeah, fair enough. So how are we gonna’ learn to outsmart our enemies?” She asks, and I shrug. “I dunno’. Maybe Demistar knows? She usually has the answer.” I say, and she nods lightly in response. “True. True.”

-√D-

I’ve been guarding Neo Genesis Haven from dragon attacks for a while now, usually Calvinaz and Celscinaga Genesis would be there to defend their treasure, but now I have to do it. Liyoxis told me a dragon on the stronger end would be arriving soon, so I decided to pull one of my mechs.

It’s built for aerial combat, and he told me this one would be a legendary creature who wields the wind, he said it’s a type of dragon… I spotted something- A kirin… It was a Kirin, they’re sort of a mix between a unicorn and a dragon.

I blast off towards it- Some say they’re a more power based form of the unicorn? I don’t really know, but it’s on its way. I arrive and activate my cloak, watching him for a while… He runs, creating small pulses, just strong enough to give him a simple gallop…

I accidentally glide too close, and he stops- He can feel minute changes in the wind. He transforms, and ripples form under his feet, as he looks around. “Show yourself, coward!” He shouts, as I decide to uncloak.

“I am the guardian of this airspace, as you can see. I’d advise you to head back now, Dragon.” I shouted, my energy blade directed toward him. “I chose combat!” He announces, as clouds form above us!

I activate the gliding rings and the segmented energy shields. More specifically, the shields are hard light barriers with no density, they’re edged at a point and regulated to keep up aerodynamics wherever I go.

The rings on the other hand help with momentum, by pulling me in the air, a lot simpler than the shield. The battle commences as I fire laser shots while rain falls from the sky- I dodge a powerful bolt of lightning, allowing him to dodge one of my shots…

Tornados kick up and I glide out of the way, cloaking in and out to keep up disorientation. Lightning rains from the sky as I fire more shots, until the rain suddenly changes to hail, rendering my cloak useless.

I decloak, and the battle really begins, as he rushes and I deflect an energy blade of his own with mine- He’s using his horn to shape the lightning, but that doesn’t really explain how it’s tangible.

The hail is rough, but my mech is too powerful, it automatically repairs and regenerates mana too fast, so it doesn’t have to worry about a battle of attrition. That’s partially why I chose this one.

The tornados slowly become stronger, his magic is certainly powerful, as you would expect from a legendary creature. I deflect another strike and immediately fire more shots, knocking him out of the air before he suddenly catches himself. The wind kicks up, overwhelming the shield adjusters, and forcing me to shut them off.

But that’s the common pitfall these fools fall into… His power is meaningless, it’s unrefined, unhoned. He’s never had to practice, and he’s probably too prideful to learn otherwise. That is why he will fall here.

I eject my body from the cockpit, and eject a missile into the air to disrupt the hailstorm, allowing me to activate my cloak again. He’s stunned for a moment, but he rushes my mech, as I kite him away from the island with it.

I charge up my power, and feel the air heat up against me- I slam my foot into him, sending him into the ocean, and following him quickly!

-√F2-

“Celest, I’m home!” I call out, as I walk into the living room, and look around. “In the bathroom!” She calls out, as I open the curtains to get some light in here for once. She opens the door, and runs over to hug me- “There you are!” She says, as I lift her and smile.

“‘Been looking for you everywhere.” She says, as I set her down. “But you already know that.” She adds, as we sit down. “Anyways, you’ve been slackin’ on that training. I chose you because you guys get strong.” She says, almost hurtfully.

“Also you’re cute, and I like you. Come on, if I wanted a muscle head, I would have chosen one of those dragons.” She says, waving her hand as I nod knowingly. “I know. I just-” I try to say, but she interrupts me…

“Yeah, you don't like fighting…” She pauses for a moment- “Here, let’s just go have some fun. A date, maybe? I bet a crime lord would know some nice places.” She says, as she presses up against my chest…

“Right… Yeah, actually! Come on.” I say, surprising her- “Oh- I should get something nice on.” I say, as she stares at me. “You do the-” She stops me- “No. If any of my family see us, they’ll get the wrong- Well technically right idea. But I don’t want their teasing.” She says, as I look at the door.

“Let’s just go now, then. Apartment spires aren’t too expensive.” I say, as I guide her out the door. “We can get a room, then get dressed there.” I say, as we walk down the surprisingly empty for once street. “What’s this place called?” She asks, as she yanks my hand to remind me to walk at her pace.

“Shiganthia, it’s a floating city, and absolutely beautiful. It even has tons of teleport pads, so we can get there super quickly.” We finally get to the pad, and I place my hand, searching for Shiganthia- I find it, and teleport us right away.

“Here we are.” I say, as she stares, mesmerized by the beautiful landscapes before us. The infrastructure and housing complexes of the city is built upon thin spires that lead into glass orbs, giving great views of the planet itself. “How high up are we?” She asks, as we walk off the pad.

“Last time I checked, I believe the city orbits around a sixty miles above sea level.” I say, making her knees hit the floor. “Jeez... That might actually hurt, if I fell from that high.” She says, chuckling nervously. “Hey, it’s fine. You’re too light anyways, so you’d survive.”

An older man with his wife walks past and looks at us- “Ah, hello. Is your little friend okay there?” He asks, as I help her up. “It’s her first time.” I say, chuckling myself. “Ohoho~ Jolly good. I remember my first time~. Isn’t that right, honey?” He asks, as Celest stabilizes herself.

“Alright, you kids have fun.” His wife says, before guiding him away. “Toodles~.” he says, swinging his cane. “Man, you could have prepared me, Sirius…” She says, wobbling like a newborn deer, until she finally gets it together.

I guide her out of the entrance zone, and show her around the city. After that, we visited a park, and sit down to pick out hotels. “You’re right, this place IS pretty.” Celest says, as we relax. “Yeah, just wait until you see the view.” I say, as I point at the top of one of the tallest spires.

“Let’s see a little more of the park first, then we can go get something to eat.” She says, before walking over and grabbing my arm. “So… How come someone like YOU knows such a pretty place?” She asks, as we walk down the path and past a small lake.

“My mom and dad would bring me here on vacations and holidays.” I say, as we sit next to the lake, and I spot a pile of flat stones. “I used to love skipping the stones here, check it out.” I say, as I grab one, and watch it skip about thirty six times, before the counter pops up over the lake, and the rock appears back in place.

“Impressive, I didn’t even know that was possible. I guess I need to share more memories with you, huh?” She asks, as she presses her forehead against mine… “Yeah, I’ve got a lot of cool places to show you, and I want to surprise you.” I say, as she giggles and picks up a stone.

“Make sure your angle is right, hold it properly.” I say, as I help her into a better stance. “Then use your whole body, and flick with your wrist.” I add, as I let her go, and she manages about seven skips.

And it lights up with a seven, placing the rock back in place. “Not bad. Come on, let’s go get something to eat.” I say, guiding her to my mother’s favorite restaurant. After that, we finally enter our hotel, and sit on the elevator, heading right to the top.

“Finally, this is the best part, ‘been waiting all day to show you this…” I say, as I guide her out of the elevator, and into the large room, showing her the curvature of Orion… “What…” She says, before running over to the huge glass window.

“What do you think? You can see the titans from this high up. It’s one of the most beautiful places on Orion.” I say, as Pangaia shifts a little, gently as possible, as to not disturb the towering continent on its back.

“So we’re really this high up, huh?” She asks, as she rests her hand against the window, and sits down, taking it all in… Just as I did, all those years ago… “Well over sixty miles, we can easily see the curve of Orion…” I say, as a cloud floats under the city, partially obscuring the curve.

“Let’s go enjoy our date, a little further, Sirius.” She says, pressing her head up against my chin- “Y-Yeah. Alright.” I say, as we stand up, and return to the elevator.

-√A-

I’m back in Genesis Haven, not the island, the old place. Months in, and it’s already pretty broken down. Turns out there’s this HUGE maze, got lost in it for a bit. Who thought that was a good idea? I dunno’, but I had a bit of fun.

Anyways, I found Vatty! Pretty neat, huh? I’m planning on getting some more of those flowers, but I first needed to check something… I’m in the room I had awoken in… It’s a box room, there’s no doors, it doesn’t make sense… Did he just carry me in here, and WAIT for me to wake up?... I doubt it, for the very least. Well, I’m not making any progress like this, so I’ll just purify my water, and slip through the walls to see if I can find any mechanisms. I start with the wall on the other side, and predictable I find a door mechanism, slipping past it and finding myself in another room.

I don’t know what to make of this, all I can see is a large ring attached to two cylindrical bearings, it looks like it spins on them. The bearings of course are attached to two supports that hold them in place, large enough to hold some sort of spinner.

“Demitallis, that’s you, right?” Demistar suddenly asks, as I turn around to see the door opened behind me. It was silent, I would have never known if it had opened in the first place…

Demi - “Of course. Who else? Why are you here?”

“Oh, I just… Well…” She stumbles, gesturing as she works something out in her head. “Liyoxis told me to come, he told me you would be here.” She says, walking up next to me, as she looks at the ring.

Demi - “Any idea what that thing is?”

“It looks like Orion’s ring.” She says, surprising me. “It’s like a scaled down version, I guess. No idea what it’s doing here, though.” She says, as I consider the one possibility I can think of… I’d tell her, but I’m just not ready to come out with the fact that I’m from another world, yet.

I assume this at least tells me how I came about, I guess my mind was implanted into the puddle kid body, if not replacing the original mind. It makes sense that they would want something they could reason with… But that begs the question.

Am I real?

Was I ever human, or did they make me? Where does my memories of earth come from, then?... “I’m looking inside of it… It’s been broken down to the molecular level.” Demistar suddenly says, snapping me out of my existential crisis.

Demi - “What do you mean?”

“I’ll show you.” She says, walking up to the ring, and popping a hole to let a dark liquid poor out. “It’s been liquified, so not even I could figure out what it used to look like.” She says, as I stare at the metallic liquid pouring out onto the floor.

Demi - “So there’s no further investigation we can perform? If you can’t, then what can I do? Why DID Liyoxis tell you to come here?”

She shrugs again. “I don’t know. He won’t tell me. ‘Just told me to come here, and check on you.” She says, as I exit the room, and she follows behind me.

Demi - “Well, let’s go. I wanted to get some more flowers.”

“Alright, I can help with that.” She says, as we leave the room. I slip past doors, and she manages to actually do it too, somehow. We drop through the hole in the glass I made, and enter into the incubation chamber.

“Grandelaver.” She says, as she folds her arms, and we stare at the small garden that obscures what’s left of her corpse... “She was born in a satellite city to Neotopia, and was adopted at a young age, being brought to the golden kingdom.” She adds, as I crawl up to one of the flowers, and seep my water through the ground to find the flower’s roots.

“After that, Liyoxis funded her attendance in a boarding school, that also doubled as an academy called Offspring Academy.” She says, as I detach the dirt with the flower in it, and gently lift it with a pulley system I created with string.

“Not bad, kid.” She says, sitting on her feet as she watches it slowly raise. “Anyways. She spent her formative years there, until she graduated and entered the celestial college, where she was trained in many forms of combat.” She continues, as I lower the flower in a nice jar.

“After that, she challenged the Colosseum of Blades, defeating the chrome dragon, and earning herself the title Grandelaver of the metal river. She could swing her rapier so furiously, they said it was like a river of blades.” Demistar says, as I extract the last two flowers.

Demi - “I think that’s enough flowers. A little help transporting them?”

“Just a moment- Alright, got it.” places her hand on them one at a time, teleporting each away to I assume my room.

Demi - “Thanks. So where’s this academy, again? I think I WILL go see it. Have you ever been?”

“It’s supported by three satellite cities under the country of New Horizon. Just ask Helvetica, she’ll tell you. Yeah, I’ve been a couple times, they have a dungeon core who takes care of the place.” She says, before I teleport back to Neo Genesis Haven, and she appears next to me.

Demi - “Ha, knew it.”

“Yeah, real funny, Tallis.” She says, folding her arms, as I look over to see my flowers place nicely next to my nest.

-√F3-

I left the castle, and found Demitallis, or so I thought- “Demitallis?” I asked. “No, her offspring. I’m Arivan. Who are you?” She asked, as I stared at her in surprise…

So she can just MAKE a kid like this? I walk up to her, and stare… I can see my reflection, and the ground beneath her. She doesn’t have that dark space inside of her, like Demitallis does. “I’m Vilstrous, I lost a bet against this little fox girl, and now I kind of work here.” I say, as I walk around her.

“Oh. You must be pretty dumb, then.” She says, making me scream at her- “No I’m not!” I shout, as she sits there… “Alright.” She says, as I stand up and nod. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m NOT dumb.” I say. “Definitely.” She agrees, absolutely meaning it.

“So what’s up with you?” I ask. “Just hanging out, as my mom says.” She says, as I fold my arms. “Right, so she literally just made a kid. Does she even know how to raise you?” I ask, as she eats a bug off the ground.

“No. I’m more of a servant? I wasn’t… Born right. I’m not capable of caring about anything else.” She says, making me kind of nervous… “Seriously? What do you DO all day?...” I ask, worried I might regret that question…

“I get bigger. It helps me better serve her.” She says, giving me questions… “What… Are you? Don’t you mean anything to her?” I ask, as she breaks off tips of the grass, as though she’s consuming as much biomass as she can find…

“A soldier. And no, I doubt it.” She answers, before teleporting away… Is this something my father would have done, if he knew how? I stare at the path of finely cut grass that leads to the spot she teleported away from…

How can she pretend to be a ‘good person’, yet she does something like this?… But who am I to judge, I’d probably do the same if I knew how. A customizable servant, someone who follows my every order? I’m fine with that, personally.

But no, I hurt people. That’s what I do, it’s what my father does, and what I’m supposed to inherit. Who knows, maybe hanging out with these fools for a while, will get me some sort of power. I can kill them when I’m done with them.

Still though, at least I’m not foolish enough to think I’m morally in the right. That’s what I am, the horrible son to an even worse father sculpting me to become something worse than himself- “Hey, are you alright?” Someone suddenly asks-

“Huh?” I ask, as I turn around to see a shark demihuman, he looks to be about as old as I am. “You were standing there, staring at the grass.” He says, looking at it himself. “No, wait.” He suddenly adds in, before I can get a word in…

“I get it. It’s kind of bothering me too, we should definitely get this cut. Come on, I think there should be a tool shed with some scythes nearby.” He says, grabbing my hand, his prickly scales upsetting my skin nerves.

“Who are you?” I ask, surprising him. “Dartingkamble, you can just call me Dart. You?” He asks, as we arrive at a large box building, and the presses a button for the sliding door. “Vilstrous.” I say, as he exits with the scythes, and nods. “Nice to meet you. I’m assuming you’re not one of us.” He says, surprising me. “How did-” I’m annoyingly interrupted again…

“You’re human. Why would mother make extra humans? On the off chance that HUMANS of all species die out? Please.” He says, as I fail to argue. “Well, technically you are, right? I mean, Sirius is now. Pretty nice having a powerpacker in the family with us.” He says, as we arrive at the spot again.

He quickly begins working. “No, I lo- Sure. I’m one of you.” I say, as I help watch him swing the scythe and cleave an acre of grass, levelling it with the original bunch Arivan made. “Well, welcome to the family. Kid makes a few good plans, and everyone wants to put HER in charge.” He says, as I decide that helping is probably a better idea.

I wouldn’t want him to start arguing with and questioning me. “What did she even do?” I ask, as it kind of dawns on me that they gave her- technically -the ONE room in the castle, at the top of it no less. “She dug a tunnel under the Mariejois Castle, and Marigold itself. With help from most of us, of course. But she WAS the one with the idea.” He says, making me stop.

“What?” I ask. “Arigold killed our mother, it sucked. He wanted to turn all twenty thousand of us into soldiers for his weird army.” So he’s literally trying to tell me he escaped from ARIGOLD… “I’m not gullible, Dart.” I say, as he looks at me.

“Did I say you were?” He asks, a serious look on his face. “You’re joking, right? It’s ARIGOLD, the most powerful person in the world?” I say, as he looks away, and presses his fingers against his chin. “Yeah, now that you mention it… It really DOESN’T make sense... Now does it?” He asks, as he folds his arms.

“Well, either way, it happened. I’ll look into it later.” Dart says, as he returns to what he’s doing. “You expect me to believe you?” I ask, as I do the same. “Yeah, kind of. ‘Cause it did. I’ve got twenty thousand other witnesses who will attest, dude.” He says, reminding me that they ALL escaped…

“Bullshit!” I say! “She managed to get TWENTY THOUSAND children out of there?!” I ask, as I make a massive cleave for emphasis. “Well, we were also getting help from Lianlovloragram.” He says, as we continue. “Listen, man, ask around, we STILL did it, believable or not.” He says, making a large cleave for his own show of emphasis.

“Fine. Whatever.” I say, as some of the other children walk up with scythes of their own. “Hey, we saw you guys working, and thought we could help!” One of them says. “Ey~. There’s plenty of grass, start anywhere.” Dart says with a monotone sense of exhaustion.

And after that, we managed to clear out the whole thing, and I still have no idea why I didn’t run off halfway in…

-√G-

I finish calling up the cities supporting the race, they’ll be giving rest stops in between here and the finish line. “Hey, Ling! Altonfield’s here!” Horonva calls out, conveniently moments after I finished with that.

I run over to greet him, finding Tory just staring at him. “Did someone turn Ling yellow?” He asks, as I walk up next to him.

Alton is a honey slime mixed with a naga, making him larger than most honey slimes, allowing him to even support two hives. “Right here, Tory.” I say, as he just continues to stare. “I’m Alton, it’s nice to meet you.” Alton says, his more consistent body leaving a thin layer of honey on the ground.

“You’re literally just made of honey.” Tory says, as bees float out of Alton’s body, collecting from the flowers around us. “Yeah!” He says, giving Tory a thumbs up, nothing more for him to add. “Ayup.” He says, nodding in agreement.

Alton’s about a year older than Tory, but they seem to be getting along well. “So you’re LITERALLY made of honey?” Tory asks, AGAIN, as Slade and Mistral walk up. “Yes!” He says, the same exact response. “Hey Alton, you got any honey?” Slade asks, looking up at him. He’s also pretty tall.

“Right here, man.” He says, pulling out a jar of it, and giving it to Slade. “Good…” Slade says, opening it and eating it all right out of the jar. “Very good… That’s why I keep you alive, Alton…” Slade says, as he pats his back. “That’s what I’m here for!” He says, before Slade nods and leaves.

“C-Can I have some?” Tory asks, as Alton looks at him again. “Sure, I have a ton of these. My bees make so much honey.” He says, while reaching for another jar, and giving it to him. “Nice!” Tory says, holding it over his head like an award.

“New best friend!” Tory says, as everyone else decides to sit down and simply watch. “Heck yeah! Wanna’ watch me eat this frog?!” He asks, making me stand up again! “Woah! Cool!” Tory says, as they run off, and I’m forced to chase, and hopefully stop them!

End of Chapter: 43√AC2DF3G “Ringfield."

Thank you for reading.

“Sorry, I should probably go and stop Alton- Well, alright… Thanks!”

“Thanks? I don’t… I don’t know what this is about.”

“Why, thank you, friend!”

“Absolutely!”

“I put the frog in a bowl, now I’ve got a frog in a bowl!”