Deep in the Overcavern Forest, a cabal of Gremlins painted their fur with white chalk, creating dramatic lines on their bodies, giving them a religious air. They covered their red eyes with blind folds and stood in a group of five, each of them holding a wand made of Gremlin bone, freshly harvested.

As one, they reached into pouches at their sides and pulled out a handful of mushrooms; many would recognize the little brown almost purple caps. The mushrooms were pulped and mixed with a brown, thick sludge that had been cooking in a cauldron and ladeled out into simple wooden bowls.

They ate, and began walking in a slow, deliberate circle around a dull, dim soul stone. It looked like a hunk of blue soap, giving off only a faint light. They'd killed five young Gremlins to produce it; five Gremlins who didn't remember.

They walked, and another monster began softly playing a rhythmic drum. The Gremlins began chanting, slowly, singing a brutal and primitive song; a song remembered from a place far, far away.

No physical wind rose, yet. Should someone be standing there, watching from a distance, they would have felt a chill on their skin. It could be felt in the soul, it could be seen with the eyes and touched by the mind.

They were calling into The Beyond, and something was calling back. The Gremlins were absolutely tripping balls, seeing shit both real and imagined, yet their minds were focused, as sharp as their unnatural aim. They shared a collective hallucination, just a figment of their imaginations, just something they'd decided could exist.

Something which was not impossible, or inevitable; a mere Possibility.

Their chanting was not ugly, that was really the most frightening part. The Gremlins could sing, and their voices were powerful, for all that their words were ugly and their language was harsh.

The space around the soul stone began to warp, and a shadow darkened the air. Mana and something deeper grew heavy, thick, condensing onto the collective mental image.

The Gremlins began walking faster, each of them lit a small flame in their left hands and held it away from their body, away from the soul stone. Five long and black shadows were cast, intersecting and behaving in ways no shadow ever should. The shadows collided like physical things and lifted off the ground, coiling and snaking upwards like serpents up the trunk of a sapling.

The Gremlins continued walking, weaving their shadows together, until it was done. Rooted into the ground was a strange, insubstantial pod, inside of which a new monster could be seen growing; a bit like a magical, artificial womb.

It was clearly female, and nubs like antlers could be seen growing from her forehead. The Gremlins collapsed, panting, enormous smiles on their faces as they came down from their mushroom trip.

They had no idea what they'd just called from The Beyond, nor did they care. A messenger had arrived from The Old Tribe, carrying with him a large flask of Summoners Brew and instructions on its use. Similar scenes were already playing out in many Gremlin Villages, that very night, everywhere.

The System had finally done it. It had finally fucked up, and given them a way to pull new beings into The World.

They would be slightly disappointed later to find that the beings called in still obeyed the same rules they did, then overjoyed when they realized how powerful some of these monsters were.

But the woman with the antlers was no monster, and when she would eventually emerge from her pod of shadows, the Gremlins would remember an important lesson.

Not everything in The Beyond wanted to come over, and woe to the summoner who had to tell such a creature they could never go back.

Woe to them, indeed.

Chapter 5

“Say, do any of you happen to have any food?” Ghost Ears had asked. If he’d known that his simple, idle desire for food would set into motion a cascade of events that would echo through multiple realities, time, and exotic realms of pure possibility; that it would shake reality in a hard and fast way. . . he probably would have waited like an hour or so, when his question would have just resulted in getting fed and little else.

But the Inevitable future could not be denied, and the shadow of The Beyond loomed dark and heavy over the timeline, like the dark of the valley of death, in which we are called to fear no evil.

Anyways, the answer about anyone having any food, had obviously been a hard no, except for a bunch of really gross raw fish that Ben kept insisting on calling sushi. Nobody else called it sushi, or even food, so they’d had to figure something else out. It had been a brief discussion containing common phrases such as:

“Well, what sounds good to you?” And, “It doesn’t matter to me, let’s just eat whatever.” As well as. “I’m a [Magical Vegetarian], I can only eat magical plants.” Plus a healthy dash of, “Ben, I can definitely eat plants,” followed immediately by a, “Short Bus, your teeth suggest to me that you definitely can’t eat plants.”

There was then a brief argument between Ben and Short Bus about what the Man-Shark could and could not eat without getting sick, an argument that ended when Short Bus declared sharks to be natural [Vegans]. At that point Ben had just stopped trying, Vivi had started complaining about being hungry as well, and Ghost Ears started getting hangry.

“Well we can’t just stand here talking about it,” Ghost Ears had finally said, heading off more bickering before it could erupt.

“Agreed,” Ben said, “You, uh,” Ben had looked at the fairy, briefly forgetting his name until he saw the missing ears, “Ghost Ears. I’m new around here, so I don’t really know how to ‘get food’ exactly. What’s good around here?” Internally, Ben praised the good sense of naming people after their most notable physical feature, then realized it was a system that could not support a population of over five hundred.

“Oh,” Ghost Ears said, a gleam in his eye, “I’m sure we can figure out something to hunt down.”

Which brings us to, well, now.

--

The Beanstalk Elemental was about ten feet tall and was growing directly out of the forest floor; as in unable to move from its rooted spot. To Short Bus it looked like a viney green stick a foot or two taller than he was, that flailed around in a circle when anyone got too close. To Ben, Vivi, Ghost Ears, and Frankie, it was something out of a fairy tale. Ben, fortunately, refrained from making a Jack and the Beanstalk reference except to say ‘Fe Fi Fo Fum,’ when he was standing near its base and staring up and up and up.

The thing was agitated immediately by their presence. Sharp vines snapped in their direction menacingly, cracking the air and protecting the precious few bean pods that hung shielded by leaves and vines near its trunk.

“Want me to tackle it and get this over with?” Short Bus asked, digging around an enormous nostril with an equally enormous finger and then flicking a booger away with excessive force. Gross.

“I think that would be for the best,” Ghost Ears said, staring at Ben, watching him, seeing what he would do. It was a shit-test basically. It was subtle, but Ben had been working with other males long enough to recognize what was going on. Ghost Ears wanted to see if he could just start making decisions for the group, to see if Ben was a coward, to see if Ben was weak. It sounded rude when it was all said out loud, in english, but that’s just how it was with men. Ben didn’t begrudge Ghost Ears for doing it, Ben had done it himself, and he wasn’t about to let this earless fucking elf eat his goddamn lunch.

“Ah, why don’t you sit this one out,” Ben said in a completely normal and friendly tone of voice, then turned to Ghost Ears, “This seems like a good opportunity for us to all get to know one another. Don’t you agree?”

Subtle Ben, real fucking subtle.

“You’re sure?” Ghost Ears asked, “It could be dangerous.” In response, Ben flared his wings and shot into the air with a flight ring, leaving a puff of dust behind on the ground.

“Vivi,” Ben yelled down, “that thing doesn’t look like it’s got much inside reach. Get inside its guard and distract it!” Vivi bobbed his eye-stalks, eager to prove himself, and zoomed forward, effortlessly dodging the whipping vines and getting to the base of the plant. Frankie, to Ben’s horror, appeared on Vivi’s head in between his eyestalks, and seemed to be having the time of his life.

“Ghost Ears, use those swords and cut those bean pods loose.”

“They’re fragile,” Ghost Ears said, flying up to get closer to Ben, “how are you going to catch them?”

“Aaaaahhhhh!” Vivi screamed, defying inertia and momentum as he dodged on a dime, changing direction, zipping forward, and then stopping instantly. His eyes were rotating wildly as he took in the full three-sixty of his surroundings.

“I’ve got it, go!” Ben yelled, and Ghost Ears, to his great credit, stopped asking questions and sprung into action. He timed it well, waiting for Vivi to agitate the Beanstalk Elemental enough that it would attack, and then surging forward with speed that made Ben envious. His swords flashed, and a bean pod almost as large as Ben started falling. Ben flew forward, accelerated by a flight ring.

“[Whap!]” Ben yelled, and the bean pod vanished into his utility pocket. “Again!” Ben yelled, and Ghost Ears grinned.

In the background, the scene of the [Extremely Tiny] creatures fighting the harmless looking Beanstalk Elemental was too much for the [Very Large] sized Short Bus. He stared at the drama with wide eyes, a huge smile on his face, before he started just howling with laughter. He tried to say something, then just pointed with a large finger and kept laughing, doubled over, clutching his stomach. As the fight went on, Short Bus started imitating each of them; yelling [Whap!], running around and pretending to attack things with a sword, or just running around screaming in terror like Vivi.

To be completely fair to Short Bus, he’d been the one to track the Beanstalk Elemental down in the first place, so he did contribute something to the fight.

By the time they were done, not a single bean pod was left, though there weren’t that many to begin with. When the last pod was cut loose, the Beanstalk Elemental shuddered, screamed, and then went limp, going from green to yellow to dust before their eyes in the space of five blinks.

The mood had changed among the group. Ben slapped Ghost Ears on the shoulder, and Ghost Ears reciprocate the gesture, both of them grinning like idiots. Vivi basked in the praise he received, and so did Frankie. Short Bus relayed the entire fight to them from start to finish as they all excitedly told the story from their perspective.

Victory. It’s a hell of a drug, and the best kind of bond a group can form around. All that was left was to make camp somewhere and enjoy the fruits of their success.

--

Someone farted, loudly, and everyone laughed.

That night, they had eaten. Ben and Ghost Ears were both [Omnivores], they could eat pretty much everything; Vivi was a [Magical Herbivore], meaning he could only eat magical plants, so the magic peas were perfect; Short Bus insisted he was also an omnivore, despite Ben explaining how unlikely it was. He’d eaten the beans, against everyone’s advice, literally everyone had told him it was a bad idea. He was currently laying on his side and farting and groaning, giving everyone a bad case of ‘We told him so.’

Frankie was pretending to eat the beans by swallowing them into his body, and then covertly adding them back to the pile inside of Ben's utility pocket when Ben wasn't paying attention.

Short Bus farted again, and it was still funny.

Vivi however, was acting strange. His skin, normally brown, shifted and changed, camouflage forming and making him blend into the environment. He'd notice, then laugh nervously, and change back to normal.

Short Bus was pacing around the camp, restless. They had camped at the base of a broccoli tree, and the forest outside of their island of light was dark and quiet. Ghost Ears kept looking up and looking around, an odd expression on his face.

There was an [Extremely Tiny] sized campfire, which they had used to cook the delicious, sweet green beans, and Ben was sitting next to it, warming his naked body. For some reason, his skill, [The Prince Has No Clothes], seemed to be ineffective at masking his nakedness.

His nope sense was starting to crawl.

There hadn't been a whole lot of questions asked of Ghost Ears, other than his introduction and explanation that he'd been the founder of Strange Town, and that he wished to assist Ben in the establishment of a new city. As of yet, there had been no discussion about what to do about him. Ben had planned to have a short huddle with Short Bus, and possibly Vivi, to figure out what to do about the earless fairy.

“Just lay down on your side,” Ben called out to Short Bus, who was restlessly pacing and clutching his stomach.

“I can't,” the man-shark said, still smiling, but clearly uncomfortable, “it makes me nervous to hold still.”

“Well, you're not going to feel better till you lay down. Trust me, I've been through this before,” Ben said, and to his surprise, Ghost Ears started nodding.

“It's true, us fairies have experienced our fair-share of discomfort ever since we received [Omnivore] as a racial trait.”

Ben looked over at the fairy, who was roasting another bean over the fire with his sword acting as a kebab; it was amusing to note that at their current size, the peas were proportional in size to a small watermelon. It was also interesting to note that the three of them ate a huge amount of food, more than their size would suggest was necessary, or even possible.

Ghost Ears looked up from his food, and then Ben looked away from him and flew up to Short Bus, landing on a shoulder.

“Come on buddy, time to step outside of your comfort zone. In this case, I guess you'll be laying outside of your discomfort zone.”

“Ah,” Short Bus winced, his face still in a shark's smile, “that's so funny,” he said, his voice forced.

Ben flew down to a gigantic hand and lifted it over his head, grabbing a finger, and dragging Short Bus over to a nice quiet area; the gigantic man-shark allowed it to happen, and allowed himself to be pulled down.

Short Bus was laid out on his size, his long tail flexible enough to shift into a comfortable position. He was on his left side, and his entire body seemed to sag when he finally stopped moving, likely for the first time in his life.

“Ohhhhh,” Short Bus said, his forced smile relaxing, and then he immediately farted again. Nobody laughed this time, except for Vivi, but it was such a small laugh that it was forgivable.

“Better?” Ben asked.

“Yes,” Short Bus said, “Oh, why didn't anyone tell me not to eat those?” Short Bus asked the party, of which literally every person had told him not to eat the beans.

“No idea,” Ben said, floated over and patted the shark on the gigantic snout, then flew back over to the fire.

“There's quite a story there, I'm sure,” Ghost Ears said when Ben had settled in next to the fire again.

“I owe that guy my life like three times over,” Ben said, pointing at the prone giant with a nod of his head, “he saved my life and never asked for anything. I've known him like. . . less than a week, and I think he's the best friend I've ever had.”

“What about the Aeon Slug?” Ghost Ears asked, giving the extremely tired Vivi a friendly look. Vivi had flattened his body and currently resembled a patch of dirt.

“Employee,” Ben said, “underling and minion.”

In response, Vivi telekinetically threw a rock at Ben, which he dodged.

“Ben, I don't trust this guy,” Vivi said, “he's weird for a fairy. Hey!” the slug suddenly brightened up, his coloring changing back to normal, “I know! Ben give him the job interview,” Vivi said with all the vindictiveness of someone who'd just gone through an interview, “here, let me interview him! What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you!”

“Viv, that's not how the questions work,” Ben started to explain, but much to his surprise, Ghost Ears started talking.

“Well, the most embarrassing thing? Hard to choose just one thing, really. Once, when I was on waste duty, standing there waiting for my flight bag to get loaded up, another fairy on duty with me took off. He got oh. . . not very far, and then his shoulder strap broke.”

Ben winced, and Ghost Ears laughed.

“Well, you can guess what happened. The worst part was how I'd been bragging about our leather-workers all week, and how many people saw it. Oh, I can still hear them laughing. Well, after that, I had a roof built and implemented a policy of one at a time, and no standing around the take off area. No one else needed to get covered in Fairy Shit.”

Ben nodded his head, and Vivi looked at Ghost Ears in shock.

“Well,” Vivi said, feeling that something was very different about this interview, “uh, tell me something bad about yourself.”

“Vivi, that's a terrible interview question,” Ben said, and once again, Ghost Ears answered the question.

“I'm extremely selfish. I want to be in a position of power and influence, because I enjoy it, not because I think I'm the best person for the job. Originally, I set up Strange Town to be entirely run by me, just like it was a village and I was its chief. It worked. . . ok, but soon enough, other people started having better ideas than me and I had a choice; either shut them down, or give them a chance. So, I divided up the power of my position into pieces, and instead of one chief, we had seven. It was so hard,” Ghost Ears said, laughing, “but it was for the best.”

“Ben, what's happening?” Vivi asked, frowning with his big, spherical eyes, his voice thick with insecurity, “Why isn't he falling to pieces, he's in the middle of a job interview,” Vivi whispered the word the way a squeamish member of the Spanish inquisition might whisper 'the rack'.

“Because he's highly employable,” Ben said, eyeing the fairy with new eyes. “Ok Vivi, let's try a classic question,” Ben said, and Vivi zoomed over to his side, clearly ready to see someone else get absolutely destroyed in an interview.

Then, they heard a noise from deep in the woods.

Not a growl; not a scream; not a hiss; nor a burble; whisper; or crack of branches. The trees did not shake, the ground did not quake, nor did a strange, unknown beast roar.

But a song. Deep in the dark woods, dark words sung with voices pure and strong. It was an eerie, alien music from beyond this world, from beyond the universe. Beyond everything.

Ben felt there was something in the air, and none in his party could do anything but breath and listen. It was electric, like magic on his skin and making his hair stand up on end. It built higher, deeper, denser, making Ben feel alive and powerful. He felt it in his mana pool, the liquid becoming thicker and more potent.

“We need to get out of here,” Vivi whispered, and for the first time, Ben saw true fear in the Aeon Slug's eyes, “the mana density in this area just. . . tripled? Quintupled? Slime,” he swore, “it's as thick as the second layer!” Vivi exclaimed that last part, but still in a strained whisper. His skin was glowing, the brown melting away to reveal a bright green, glowing body.

“Did you just say the second layer,” Ghost Ears said, his fair face going pale.

Then, mixed in with the singing, began the growls; the hisses; the burbles; the shrieking laughter; the screams; the shaking of the ground; and the roars of strange, unknown beasts.

The trees shook and the ground began to rumble around them.

“Oh no,” Vivi said, his eye-stalks entirely erect, stiff with alarm, “No! No no no!”

“What!” Ben shouted, his nope sense screaming at him, all of his vaunted human glands opening up and operating at full capacity.

“There's too much mana,” Vivi cried, “Run, run! A passage to the underground is opening!”

Chapter 6

Ben had thought the mana density had been great before, but it was nothing compared to the levels he felt now. The ground heaved and he heard a sound like a gigantic cannon going off. There was a great rush of air, a sucking that snapped enormous tree branches and shredded the canopy in the area.

Ben, Vivi, and Ghost Ears were lucky to have survived it. The great vacuum effect only lasted a moment, but it drew them through the air like it had become the central gravity point of the entire world for that brief time.

“Regroup around Short Bus!” Ben shouted, and the party, to their credit, obeyed. Ben tried to help Ghost Ears move faster by creating a flight ring around him, but only succeeded in making the True-Elf Fairy dodge around the suspicious ring.

Ben got an ominous feeling, hearing something impact the canopy above them, and feeling heavy particles rain down. Far ahead of them, thankfully far ahead of where Short Bus was trying to stand up, the ceiling of the Overcavern Forest broke, torn to shreds by an enormous plug of dirt and stone. It ripped through the forest like a bullet, devastating the environment before coming to a halt.

Through it all, the sounds of the singing and of the unknown monsters had never stopped. They had been overpowered, certainly, but they had not stopped; the sound of the destruction was from them, not against them, after all.

They made it to Short Bus. The gigantic shark had a strained smile, and he was covered in a layer of thick, almost slimy sweat. His stomach was clenched, and so was his jaw.

“Vivi, what's going on?” Ben asked the moment they were all together. Vivi was rapidly shifting through colors, each of them a bright, vibrant neon. Ben slapped the Aeon Slug upside the head.

“Knock that shit off! You're practically a beacon saying 'Come over here!'”

Vivi moaned, his eyes darting about wildly, completely useless. Ben shook his head, then turned to Short Bus, who was groaning and trying to find the willpower to engage in a life or 'death of self and family' fight. No help there.

“Ghost Ears,” Ben said, and the fairy sharpened to attention, “If I've been in The World for a full week, I'd be surprised. What the fuck is going on, tell me quickly.”

Ghost Ears had never been ordered around like that before. He was always the one in charge, he was always the one barking orders. Yet, he found himself answering smartly.

“Your Highness,” he began.

“Cut that shit out, no time, answer, now!”

“The mana density in this area has spiked for an unknown reason, and as a result of the pressure differences, a passage to the underground layers has formed.”

“I'm going to ignore that, because it doesn't make any sense,” Ben growled, feeling his crown start to grow hot, feeling the effect of a new, unknown skill take hold in him.

“You don't know about mana dynamics?” Ghost Ears said, and Ben glared at him, gaining another skill in the process.

“There is no magic on my world, I need the important details,” Ben said through gritted teeth, equipping his damaged short sword via his utility pocket and immediately using [Royal Antique Repair: Left Hand] on it, and more of the damage flaked away; the metal began to shine, and a real edge formed.

“A passage to the underground has opened. The underground is absolutely infested with powerful and dangerous monsters. These monsters normally are unable to leave the underground, because the mana density of the higher layers is too thin to support them for long; however when a passage opens, the mana density of the underground floods out, and allows these creatures to roam the surface around the opening. Given enough time, they will expand this dense mana zone and spread!”

Ben nodded at Ghost Ears.

“Thank you,” he said, then said in an explosive whisper under his breath, “fuck!”

Vivi had been listening in on the conversation, clinging to it for all he was worth to keep from being swept away by his raging emotions.

“Your world didn't have any magic?” he asked, because it was the only thing he could cling to, the only thing his very powerful mind could grab hold of in the stressful situation.

“Not a bit,” Ben said, “you need me to carry you, Viv? Because you aren't getting left behind, and neither is Short Bus.”

The sounds were spreading around now, and it was obvious that fights were breaking out between the monsters. Close, way, way too close, they heard something walking across the ground. They froze, and saw something moving through the woods.

It was glowing with heavenly light, it had a thick, long body and four legs capped with literal golden hooves. Its fur was the purest white any of them would ever see, and it had golden splotches across it-

It was a cow.

Ben realized that when he saw the splotches, which looked exactly like what one might see on a dairy cow. The magnificent creature walked calmly, regally, through the chaotic forest. Floating about its neck was a sheer, thin, beautiful transparent strip of pink fabric that flowed and waved as though underwater. It had magnificent curved horns on its head, also solid gold, and beautiful, wise eyes.

“Uh,” Vivi said, looking at Ghost Ears, then at Ben.

“Wow, so that's a monster from the underground?” Ben asked, marveling at the magnificent creature. It radiated a sense of celestial power and peace, like it had just walked right out of heaven to search for some greener grass in the terrestrial realms below it.

“Lord Vivi?” Ghost Ears asked, gulping and throwing the ball into the Aeon Slug's court.

“W-w-well,” Vivi said, trembling a bit, clearing his throat, “not all the monsters of the underground are documented of course, and I only studied several volumes of the Monsternomicon and the codex Panzaraxx, as well as the unofficial bestiary-”

“Vivi,” Ben said, cutting off the slug, because he was begging to be cut off, because he needed it, “is that from the underground? Yes or no.”

“No,” Vivi said, watching the utterly out of place creature walk through the chaos as though it were impossible for it to be harmed.

“Good, we're hitching a ride. Short Bus, can you walk?”

“Walk? Yes,” Short Bus said, standing up and groaning, doubling over and then straightening out with obvious agony.

“Come on, let's see if we can get close to this thing,”

“Ben!” Vivi said, alarmed but following along, “that's really reckless!”

“Got a better idea? I doubt we're going to find something more friendly Vivi. Besides, I get a good feeling about that guy.”

They raced towards the cow, then slowed down when they got close. The bovine creature radiated a sense of purity and calm that refreshed Ben, and made the rest of the party aware of how dirty they really were. They would have turned away, run away really, but the cow calmly turned its head and caught them all in its gaze. It snorted softly, and the feeling vanished.

“What a strange world,” she said, and her voice was high, beautiful and pure.

“Hello,” Ben said, flying closer to her head, but not close enough to touch, “do you mind if we walk with you?”

“For as long as I am able to walk,” she replied, her voice gentle, with a hint of. . . it wasn't sarcasm or bitterness as a human would know it.

“Oh, well, thank you,” Ben said, then motioned for the rest of the party to get closer.

“I would warn the other three to not get as close as you,” she said, eyes twinkling, “they might not find it as comfortable as you do.”

“Stay back guys,” Ben shouted with his tiny voice, and they heard him, keeping at a reasonable distance. Except Short Bus. He kept glancing over, squinting as though it were too bright, looking away, then edging his way closer and repeating the process.

“Do you have a name?” Ben asked, noticing something. . . he shook his head, there was something in the trees that was made entirely of arms, hundreds of arms, but it scurried away from the group. Away from the light.

“No, little lord, I've just arrived. A name? What would you call me?”

“Betsy,” Ben said, once again marveling at his ability to immediately name pretty much anything.

“I'll wear it well for as long as I can,” Betsy said, still walking her slow, casual walk.

“You keep saying stuff like that,” Ben said, “what's going on?” Betsy snorted in the way cows snort, gently, blowing out air through her big nose.

“I'm no unicorn, able to run from place to place, to the fleeting islands of innocence and purity across all time and space. I must content myself with where I am, I'm slow, but strong. The unicorn and I are from the same home, the pure-lands deep in The Beyond. You're lucky you never got farther with a girl than you did,” Betsy said, eyes twinkling with merriment. Ben realized the implication, and a blush rose on his face.

“Yes,” he said, determined to retain some dignity, “in light of the current situation, it was rather fortunate.”

“It's rather good you were around, it gives me a bit more time to enjoy the show,” she said, looking around with obvious wonder, “I never quite thought it would be like this.”

“Thought what would be like this?”

“Reality, existence, consciousness. Being, and existing. I was opposed to it, but it's not nearly as bad as I thought. It's all so. . . stable.”

Short Bus had crossed the distance half over again, his eyes almost completely shut.

“I would ask a favor of you, as one trapped being to another,” Betsy said, looking at Ben, who nodded.

“Anything.” Ben meant it too. Deep in his soul, he knew he would do anything she asked.

“I will walk for as long as my strength allows me, but even now, I feel the heat of my purity being wicked away into the void. The holy energy upon you is likely what pulled me here, yet it is not enough to keep me alive. I will die soon, that is an absolute. Death is inevitable. Yet I am not abandoned, not completely, because you are here. Please, honor my body when I die. Transform me into new possibility, into a new future, into rich uncertainty; weave me into time in line with my nature, that I might be born once again in The Beyond.”

“I'll do my best, but how. . ?”

“The oldest way,” she said gently, “the kindest way. My skin, my bones, my body. Turn my skin to clothes, my bones to tools, and my body to strength.”

Somehow, Ben was able to understand.

“Eat you?” Ben asked, feeling a sense of horror at the desecration.

“As you've said. I'd rather it be you and yours than the ugly, bitter, corrupt things that ripped me from my home. My body will not rot when I die, it will lay there, and eventually, the beings called 'Gremlins' will find me and do it if you do not. Then, I will be reborn in The Beyond as a twisted, ugly thing; as a future of ruin, rather than one of hope. I can think of no worse fate, can you?”

“I suppose not,” Ben said.

Short Bus was close enough to reach out a hand and touch Betsy, he was breathing hard, his eyes were shut tight and his face was one of total longing. His arm was extended out, not even half a foot away from her.

“Please,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, “oh please, even if it kills me, please let me touch you, just once. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,” he begged, completely unable to control himself.

Betsy looked at Ben, making eye contact for a long moment, an eternal moment.

“Lord of The Beyond, grant me my wish,” she said, her voice an echo of the sound of what could be called heaven, praying, then so gently, sidestepped and leaned into Short Bus's outstretched hand.

He groaned, falling to his knees, his hand placed so softly against the heavenly animal. Her eyes shut, and she laid down, her breathing stopped, struck dead by the touch.

Short Bus opened his eyes, which shone for just a moment a brilliant, celestial gold. The light faded, and the shark wept and tears ran down his face.

Vivi and Ghost Ears came over, both of them with shame in their eyes, both of them having seen and understood. Without a word, Ben opened an enormous Utility Pocket and stored the body away, heedless of the mana cost or the space it cost him. He wouldn't be able to put much else in there, not much at all.

The light that had kept them safe for their long walk faded from the world. The sounds of monsters returned to their ears, distant, but getting closer. The reprieve had ended.

“Oh, I killed her,” Short Bus said, his voice wracked with a complete and total grief, “oh, oh no, I killed her.”

“That's how she wanted to go man,” Ben said, “she wanted you to do it and not something else. Come on, get up, make it worth it. We've got to get out of here, alive.”

“Slime,” Vivi said, watching the scene with angry eyes, “did she say Gremlins pulled her from The Beyond? Ben, this is a serious problem. That's what's responsible for all this, for the passage, for the mana, everything. The Gremlins have a way to. . . Slime and salt!”

“What’s the big deal?” Ben asked, and Ghost Ears gave him a look.

“The big- the big deal?” Vivi asked, “Ben, they’re Summoning!” Ben gave Vivi a blank look. “Summoning! Actual, no joke, full-blown, Summoning! No, worse than that, they’re just- They’re pulling through entire beings from The Beyond at random without any safety mechanisms, without any controls! Nameless Summoning! Slime and salt, Ben, everybody is in grave danger!” Vivi was breathing hard. He drew himself up as he came to a decision. “This is bigger than me, than us, and I have a responsibility.”

He pulled himself up further, his eyes pointed straight up and stiff, he steeled his voice, and for the first time Ben saw Vivi as the other races of The World saw Aeon Slugs; dignified, powerful, wise.

“[Prince] Ben. We have not known each other long, and I deeply regret the circumstances we find ourselves in. However, as a member of the Signatory Races, as an Aeon Slug, as one who has studied and sinned against the ignoble art of Summoning, and as a person. . . I must put a stop to this, even should it cost me my life. But I cannot do it as I am, by myself. By the authority and power granted by The System, I am issuing you The Quest, immediately, and you are bound to it whether you will it or not.”

The air, already charged with mana, grew electric.

“I will act as your guide, as your mentor, until the day you die; the same day I will die as well. We are bound together now, my lifespan is yours, and yours is mine. My power is yours, and yours is mine. You are bound in service for a single task to me, and I in turn am bound as your servant upon its completion.”

“Vivi!” Ben shouted, feeling the weight of what was happening, concerned not for himself, but for his new friend.

“Your task, your Quest is thus; end the threat of these summoning gremlins, and eradicate the Elder Gremlins who make up their cabal. For this burden, you are granted the special class of [Questor], which will empower you in proportion to the difficulty of this task, and empower all who bind themselves to this quest. Should you fail, should you run, you will die. I am so sorry it has to be like this Ben, but it must. All of The World, and indeed the universe beyond it is in mortal peril, and without this power we will fail. The Beyond is not to be carelessly breached!”

When Vivi issued his proclamation a wave of something powerful and hot spilled forth, settling on Ben's skin and seeping into his muscles, his blood, his bones, and settling into his nerves.

“I pledge myself to The Quest,” Ghost Ears said, falling to his knees, speaking with a voice that was both hoarse and full of conviction. He began to glow with power.

“I pledge myself as well,” Short Bus said, his voice raw with grief and outrage. He began to glow as well.

Ben felt something burning in his soul, a connection formed that could never be broken, a bond that would transcend all other things. All their lives were bound as one now, if one would die, all the others would follow. Their powers were bound as one, they were a single being, a brotherhood-

“I pledge myself to this task,” an unknown voice called out from the woods, her voice female and dark. Ben felt another connection form, binding him and his party with this stranger; welding them together whether he willed it or not.

The stranger walked in a sinuous way, swaying her narrow hips, conveying sheer femininity wrapped over a lethal predator. Her breasts were small, and her body completely naked. Her skin was light green and her lips were black. Where eyes should be was only smooth, blank skin crowned by black eyebrows. No hair was on her head, instead antlers rose up into the air, forming a cage around electric purple clouds.

The clouds contained eyes, no they were eyes; purple sclera with a yellow iris, and black pupil. Arcs of electricity ran inside of them throughout like thunder heads, but no sound came from the energy. The cloud shifted and churned, but retained the rough shape of a sphere. The eyes were open and almost mocking, containing sarcasm and anger, but not directed at them; just at everything else in existence.

Ben felt himself immediately become aroused, and for the first time since he got his skill, realized fully that he was completely and totally naked. His attraction was utterly obvious to anyone who bothered to look at him, like a man standing at attention. He wished he had some pants, quite badly.

Ghost Ears looked at the new female, then at Ben, then at Vivi, then at Short Bus. He sighed and started to unbutton his clothes.

“If none of you are going to put on any clothes, I'm not going to be the odd man out.”