Mash closed the portal behind him. After they had found a secluded location, they went to his world. One reason was to show Luke, but it was also a good way to avoid any eavesdroppers. It wasn’t that he expected a lot of disturbance, but Red had been a little paranoid since returning home. He didn’t blame her considering what she had told him about her family. She would need to tell her story again, and he could see that she was not looking forward to it. He couldn’t even imagine telling it once, let alone several times. Honestly, he didn’t want to hear it either. It was a reminder of the people he had killed in his blind rage.

Before they could get into any of their experiences, Mash wanted to know what had happened with Jill. It had felt like she was about to attack as if she was staring at her prey. He didn’t need to ask the obvious question, as he could tell that Jill was preparing to explain herself. He just waited patiently as she figured it out.

“Luke, are you a god?”

Jill’s question surprised him, though it looked like Red had expected as much. She barely even flinched at Jill’s question. Jill even seemed to suspect it, and Mash felt like he had missed something. Luke looked a little different, having some of that unnatural perfection that he had noticed in those with a lot of charisma. Plus, his arms were weird, and they looked like they were made of stone. Even his eyes were slightly different, though he couldn’t exactly place how. They looked normal, but they seemed to be reflecting a non-existent light.

“A demi-god.”

Mash’s careful analysis of Luke had not gone unnoticed. Luke started explaining what his class was and what it did. Mash listened with some curiosity and was surprised to hear that he had lost some skills with his class. He didn’t think that was possible, but he was more surprised to hear of Luke’s stats. Those were just crazy. Hearing the details of his class and thinking about what that meant in relation to Jill, he understood where the problem was. However, Mash had no idea how to deal with it.

“Do you feel the urge to kill one another?”

Red’s question surprised Mash, and it took a second to process that she had really said it. After hearing Luke’s story, that was the equation she decided to ask? He couldn’t believe it, but he guessed that it was pretty important. Luke immediately shook his head.

“What? No, I didn’t even notice something was wrong till I saw her eye. Also, let me heal that”

Jill took a little bit longer than Luke to respond. She remained silent as Luke moved next to her and placed the palm of his hand against the bandage. There was a faint glow before he removed his hand. Once he finished healing her, she slowly removed the bandage. The bandage came off easily, and she looked relieved to have it off. Although, she was much weaker with a missing eye. It barely did anything to affect her fighting style.

She opened her eye, to reveal a blank eye. Instead of matching her other eye, it was just an empty void. Her right eye looked like it reflected the night sky, dozens of tiny stars spread through it. Her left was empty, not a single star showing within the void of night. The contrast between the two eyes was strange. It wasn’t in a bad way either. In his eyes, the stars in her right eye made the darkness of the left more pronounced. It worked both ways, and he thought that it was beautiful. It was that strange beauty that he couldn’t quite describe.

“Still can’t see. I should’ve expected as much. That damn god wouldn’t bother giving me a wound like that if I could just heal it later. No, it was too cruel for that.”

When she spoke of that being, her true anger leaked into her voice. Her tone was cold and daunting. Her eyes didn’t glow though, and he guessed that meant it was directly related to her weapon. She obviously wanted nothing more than to kill the thing. He wanted to help her get her vengeance too.

“Luke is not like that creature. Do you feel like you need to kill him too?”

Red’s words felt overly harsh considering what had just been revealed, but he understood their importance. They had to know if Jill would go crazy and try and kill Luke. Still, Mash felt like that could have been handled more nicely. Not that he could think of anything though. Jill hesitated for a second, before finding the right words for her response.

“I don’t know. It was like the needle knew, and I could tell that it wanted to be put to use. But it wasn’t anything crazy. It’s not like it was doing anything to me. It felt more like one of my siblings was trying to get me to do something. I could easily refuse, but it got all depressed when I did.”

It sounded like she wasn’t sure, and her explanation didn’t help all that much either. The whole group did relax a little. It sounded like there wouldn’t be any major problems. Mash was grateful for how easy it was to work with Priscilla. He could only imagine how much of a headache it would be to have to deal with a weapon like that. Even his brother had mentioned how his weapon had been almost childlike in its nature. Were all legendary weapons just children?

[I have told you before. We are unified in purpose and mind. Doing such childish acts is beyond our bond. Even now our bond grows stronger. Your recent upgrade has let me speed up the production of more bodies. I will have another done by sun fall.]

Priscilla had been a little subdued since his advancement, but now he knew that it was because she was focusing on something else.

[What happened? You didn’t say anything since my advancement.]

Priscilla sent him a response in a series of images followed by her explanation. he saw what looked like a cocoon, and from it came another version of Priscilla. Her usual scales had deepened in color, becoming almost pitch black to match those of his dragon form. Furthermore, her beak had grown thinner, becoming like an arrowhead.

[Your recent evolution allowed me to do the same. I have only just awoken from the evolution. My evolution was unexpected, but its power is true. Our connection has grown deeper as well.]

He got some more information from Priscilla. Learning of her recent developments. Her mind had improved the most from the evolution, as it had made the most sense. She primarily fought by controlling aspects of his creations and magic. Strengthening her body wouldn’t do much for them. He got an idea of her capabilities and was excited to experiment with her new affinity. In order to help him, she had developed a true anti-magic affinity. It should make it easier for her to remove things like seals, and counter others’ magic in general.

Mash felt something tap against his shoulder, and he turned to see Jill staring at him. He had been too focused on his conversation with Pricilla and had completely missed what was happening.

“Can you at least act like you're listening? We need to talk about our trials and stuff.”

Mash winced at Jill’s tone, though he knew that she was right. He gave her an apologetic look, before refocusing on the matter at hand. Ultimately, it was decided that the change in Jill looked more significant than it was. This did get them to talk about their abilities more, and that conversation naturally drifted to their trials. Now that all four of them were together, they went into a lot more detail as they retold their stories.

Mash compared his opponents with what Luke had done and realized that their trials had been fairly similar. Both of them ultimately faced a strong opponent before leaving the dungeon. The wyvern was probably weaker than the Lich, but not by much. Though maybe the difference was more pronounced than he realized, considering how many stats Luke had gained from his class. Mash considered his own options again and couldn’t help but wonder if he had made the right choice. He had a class related to god and couldn’t help but wonder if it would’ve been a better choice.

Eventually, the conversation got around to Mash, and he explained his own experiences. He told them of everything, even what he had just figured out with Priscilla. The conversation had taken hours, but it hadn’t been boring. Even after hearing Red’s story twice, he was still invested in her story. Her family’s role and actions surprised him, and he couldn’t help but imagine other noble houses doing something similar.

After talking with them about his trial and abilities, he moved to talk about the other world. About Daniel and the sects and how they were in a bad position. The invasion they were facing, and how he had promised to try and help. The others seemed invested, and Luke surprised everyone by speaking first. Normally, he would be the last to add his input, but he had mentioned that his class had made him more confident.

“We should go. I want to help, and I think we can make a difference.”

Mash nodded along, his thoughts replicating what Luke had said. Only Red looked a little hesitant. She had explained her concern wasn’t with their intentions, but with the timeline. Helping the world would be a commitment, and she didn’t know if that would be for the best. Especially if they considered what the king had told Mash. He might cause other more disastrous events to happen if he involved himself too deeply.

“Actually, I wanted to ask about that. What’s up with Mash? It kind of looks like he is pulling on everything.”

Jill’s words caught him off guard. Mash knew that he was different, but he didn’t know what she meant by pulling. He was just sitting on the ground with his back pressed against a stone. She didn’t direct the question at him either, instead, it was obviously pointed towards Red. They looked at one another for a moment, and Red glanced away as she started speaking.

“I don’t have all the answers, but I have an idea. Every so often someone is born that’s like Mash. They are different from the moment they are born. When he told us of his past, I had an idea of what he might be. The stuff with the demons and the king’s words confirmed it. Whenever people like him are born, it usually means something big is coming. If my guess is right, it will be centered around him. Also if they survive they tend to be strong.”

Red’s explanation was insufficient, to say the least. If anything, Mash felt more confused now than he had before. He had known that he somehow caused things to happen with his presence, but he still thought it might just be a coincidence. Learning that it wasn’t just a random coincidence was surprising. He thought back to his past. He could tell that he wasn’t a normal kid, but he didn’t think he was that strange.

The others were looking at him as if they were waiting for him to react. He didn’t know what to do or say. He could barely even understand what Red’s words meant. It wouldn’t really change anything either. Ever since the king’s warning, he knew better than to do things carelessly. Plus, it sounded like he could mitigate the effects by moving regularly. Red had more to say on the matter too. She started explaining things in more detail, once she realized that he wasn’t going to say anything.