The family reunion was cut a little short as Daniel told his sister of what had happened with Jeral. Although his explanation didn’t really cover the fight. All Daniel knew was that Mash and the others had won, so he wasn’t able to satisfy his sister’s questions. Mash just smiled when she peeked over her brother’s shoulder to look at him. Then she gave Daniel one of those “are you being serious” looks. Mash didn’t think that was very fair considering how she had just screamed in fear because of his appearance.

Mash wasn’t trying to be intimidating, but he knew what he looked like. Especially considering that his forearms and hands were no longer human. He expected a different reaction but just decided to ignore it.

“I’m going to free everyone else.”

Daniel nodded in response to his words, and that was enough for him to leave the siblings alone. He went from cell to cell. Many metal bars had been pulled out of their sockets and were just haphazardly littered across the ground. A tripping hazard for anyone who wasn’t paying attention. The process became repetitive. Daniel left to go and speak with Jeral. He would also use the shackles to stop Jeral from doing anything unexpected. His sister stuck around and helped calm down many of the prisoners. Apparently, the siblings were quite renowned within the sect.

Mash didn’t actually need to free everyone himself. When he was about a quarter done, someone had found the keys for the cells themselves. Well, they figured out what the Ki pattern was to remove the bars. The cells opened by using Ki to operate the cell. Some of the metal bars would slide into the floor when Ki was used in a particular way. Everyone he had freed had been trying to figure out what exactly that was. A young man with large round glasses was the one to figure it out, and Mash didn’t stick around any longer. He immediately left, deciding he would just fly to the top of the tower.

The top of the tower was quiet. His friends were with Daniel. All of them stood around Jeral, their gaze like those of a predator. Daniel must’ve told them about Jeral’s ability. Mash understood their concern too. Jeral probably had hundreds of skills, and he had displayed almost none of them. The only skills he had used were their own. It might have been arrogance or madness, but he was expecting that there was something fishy going on and joined the others in their careful examination.

“Master, please. Let it end, you can still find redemption. Give up on your misguided hatred.”

Daniel’s words were unexpected. No matter what Daniel had said earlier, the fact that Jeral had killed a lot of people was true. Hearing how ready Daniel was to forgive him revealed just how close the two were. The way that they were interacting was like how Mash would be with his siblings or friends. It was that realization that made him realize one of the flaws he was still reinforcing.

Mash would try his hardest not to kill people. Capture was one thing, but to actually kill them was to remove all of their connections. He was not so arrogant or foolish to think that there would never be a situation where he would take another life. It would happen, but it was his attitude that was the bigger issue. Being wishy-washy about most things was fine. He had to deal with each person as exactly that, a person. It wasn’t a matter of race or group; it was always more individual than that.

He hadn’t been fair to the demons and had assumed the worst of every member of their race. In reality, he should’ve given them the same concern as he did with Aifell’s people and the Kishiv. It was hastiness that caused all of his mistakes. While that was fine when the action only affected himself, he needed to be more certain in general. Not bold but certain. The question now was how to recover his confidence. To feel ready to make such decisions. For now, he would capture, instead of kill. Spare those he could, and deal with the consequences of his naivety. It would probably result in creating many enemies, but he decided that sounded good. If anything, he was kind of enthralled by the idea of having powerful people seek him out for a rematch. He might be addicted to fighting. This way he could leave the decision to kill someone more qualified.

[That is you. Or at least it will need to be. You cannot change what you have done, or who you are. You are a world owner and have become the leader of all people within it. Those whom you have taken in are beholden toward you. There will come a time when you need to make the decision.]

Mash did not want to hear that, but, as per usual, Priscilla was right. It was the painful truth of the matter. The reason he couldn’t take the easy way out and just leave the important decisions to others. It was too late for him to change his path. He was responsible for a world, and he knew that there would be others. The more he reviewed his life, the more he understood what fate had in store for him. It was important for him to think about his decisions. Even those that ended up being a good choice. Pushing the important decisions onto others might work now, but what if something happened in his own world.

Mash wished he could talk to his brother. Arthur always seemed so sure of himself, and he usually wound up making the right choice. Wait, why couldn’t he just do that. If Arthur wasn’t busy, then it would only take a minute or two to get in contact with him. Mash considered opening the portal right away but hesitated. He realized why he hadn’t done it yet. When he spoke to Arthur next, it would be admitting to his mistakes. His awful decisions and the consequences of them. It was not something he was looking forward to. A distraction came to save him, as Jeral responded to Daniel’s pleas.

“I will not bend. You should know that. Even if I’m blinded by grief and rage, I do not care.”

His eyes turned hard as his gaze shifted to Mash. The hatred caused his eyes to quiver slightly, almost like he was about to cry from the extreme emotion. Daniel held his hand out, breaking Jeral’s line of sight.

“It is not his fault. You know that!”

Daniel raised his voice, causing everyone to flinch. It wasn’t something any of them had seen before. His sister reacted similarly, and she jumped a little when she saw it.

“It doesn’t matter. There is nothing left, no wisdom I can give to grant you a glimpse into my path.”

Jeral replied easily, completely ignoring the outburst of emotion from Daniel. Mash didn’t really understand what Jeral was saying, but Daniel’s head dropped down. Peria walked over and put a reassuring hand on her brother’s shoulder. Mash didn’t really want to listen anymore. Honestly, he accepted the blame, but he had other things he wanted to do. The sooner he could return to his home world the better. He would be able to speak with his siblings and they could find another dungeon to explore.

“Daniel, is it okay to leave Jeral to you? Is there anything else you want me to do, otherwise I kind of want to head home? I think the others feel the same too.”

Mash saw the others give him encouraging looks and believed that they wanted to leave as well. He would stay if Daniel wanted him to help with something, but he didn’t think that Daniel would want him to stick around. Even if Daniel didn’t blame him, many people wouldn’t share his opinion. Plus, it would only bring more trouble to the sect.

“No, you are free to go. My sister and I will repair the sect and try and help Jeral. Hopefully, we can meet again under better circumstances.”

Daniel spoke without actually turning to face Mash. The gesture made him feel like they wouldn’t see each other anytime soon. That was fine. Even if they were still friends, it was clear that they would both be busy with their own lives. And this world would probably be better off without Mash. They would need a lot of time to rebuild, and Mash didn’t think that Jeral would ever forgive him. Mash’s friends walked over to him, eager to return to their home. Even if they couldn’t literally go home, they wanted to go back. He shared their desire and wanted to speak with his siblings immediately. Mash said one last thing before opening the portal.

“I am sorry.”

The words were for Jeral, but he obviously didn’t care. Mash didn’t know what had happened over the past day, but it had broken the master. All Mash could see in him now was a dark vengeance. It was practically a skill with how it permeated the air around him. The portal began forming behind Mash. He made it slightly bigger than a normal door and watched as the portal filled the wooden frame. The black energy swirled within the frame as it expanded to push against the wood. Their door home was open. Another mistake.

Jeral had been waiting for that moment. As soon as the portal finished, he vanished and Mash was barely able to follow what happened with his domain. Before even Daniel could say anything, Mash shouted.

“He went through the portal! Jill!”

Jill didn’t hesitate in the slightest and teleported into the portal. She replicated Jeral’s movement, and Mash hoped that she would be able to find him. Daniel rose to his feet and ran towards the portal, his sister catching his arm before he could enter. Her words were quick, but she wasn’t trying to dissuade him.

“Don’t hesitate. If you see him, fight to kill. Stay safe.”

The words almost sounded contradictory, but Mash let Daniel step through the portal. Red and Luke had already jumped in, and only Mash was left behind. Mash nodded to Peria.

“Um, I will help him if I can.”

It felt like the right thing to say. He wanted to reassure her, but she didn’t seem to want to hear that. The smile she had worn for her brother, had turned into a frown. She definitely didn’t like him.

“No, I don’t trust you. Just don’t get in his way.”

She brushed back her brown hair so that both of her eyes could glare at him. He felt like he couldn’t say anything to protest her and decided to settle for a nod. One idea popped into his mind before he stepped into the portal himself.

“Here keep this with you. It will make communication easier.”

Mash left one of Priscilla’s bodies. When the body actually appeared in his hand, Peria took a step backward. Mash explained the best way he could. He noticed that he didn’t feel any of his capabilities decrease. That didn’t feel right, but he would ask Priscilla about it later. He needed to get through the portal.

“It’s like a technique. If I’m in this world, then we can communicate through it. Also, if you kill it, I will know. That isn’t a threat, I just mean you can send a signal by doing that.”

As he was speaking the body slithered down his arm and over to Peria. Mash didn’t wait for a response and entered the portal himself. He had been standing just in front of it, so he only had to take a single step to enter. The world shifted, and he was glad to find himself standing on familiar grass.