Finally, the party arrived at the nexus. In front of them a massive golden pyramid could be seen in the breaks between the trees. Now that he was finally close enough to one, Jaden could tell that it had ridges at periodic intervals. They weren’t quite as pronounced as the tiered look of a mayan pyramid, but were more as if someone had carved designs into the rock. Behind Jaden were a trail of Jeffs that hovered around Aki like bees around a queen. Kyle stood near Aki as well. Jaden had decided that he would summon a better bodyguard with more mana when he had the chance, so he had reassigned Kyle to guarding Aki. The group had two hours left on their timer before being forced off the shard.

“Is it just me, or is this one way smaller than the nexus back on the Earth shard?” Lois observed.

“We have less power to manage here.” Said Erudeo from behind them.

Jaden jumped, and Niko whirled to face the unexpected interjection. Lois remained stoic, though she tensed and released as if suppressing a violent reaction.

Erudeo held up his hands placatingly. “Sorry, I sometimes forget that my visitors don’t have enhanced mana senses. To answer your question, this isn’t a residential world like yours. Almost everything that comes here has less than five hundred mana. There is simply no need to have a large nexus capable of potentially processing the vast mana currents your world should eventually generate.”

Lois nodded. “That’s good to know. I take it we’re in range to ask questions?”

Erudeo nodded. “You can also use the nexus services by placing your hand on the nexus itself. That will unlock the menu for as long as you are touching.”

Lois continued to pepper Erudeo with questions as Jaden wandered to the nexus. Placing his hand on the glowing golden stone of the structure, a menu appeared in front of him.

*************************************

Nexus Resident Service v3.02

Welcome to the Nexus Resident Service. Would you like a tutorial? Yes/No

*************************************

Jaden clicked yes with his mind.

*************************************

The Nexus Resident Service is here to provide those services necessary or convenient to the flourishing of the world shard’s residents. These include but are not limited to:

-Legal services

-Administrative services

-Sale of necessary goods

-Miscellaneous tools to support everyday life

These are separated into tabs which...

*************************************

Jaden skimmed the rest. The details didn’t interest him all that much, and basically boiled down to how to navigate the menu. The legal and administrative tabs were specific to the bureaucracy of the nexus system, and likewise weren’t very interesting; though it amused him that they could request an official marriage certificate from the local administrator. The thought of Clip delivering the marriage sermon made him chuckle.

“What?” Niko asked, walking up behind him.

“Oh, just amused by the fact that the nexus provides marriage as a service.” Jaden said thoughtlessly, still engrossed in sorting through the menu.

Niko turned red, and looked away. “Yes.” she said after a long moment of silence.

Jaden looked up. “Yes what?”

“Yes.” She repeated.

Jaden blinked as his mind caught up with events. “Oh I wasn’t…” He trailed off awkwardly as Niko blushed harder.

“I know. I want you.” She stated with shy certainty.

Jaden looked away uncomfortably as the silence stretched palpably. “I want to have a relationship with you, but let’s start slow ok?” He finally asked.

Niko nodded, and smushed her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him gently.

Jaden frowned, and took the plunge. “Niko, I have something I should tell you. The feelings we have for each other might not be real.”

She looked up in surprise. “What?”

He grimaced, but pressed on. “Chance told me that when we came here we were basically cursed to be super horny. If we have sex, it’s basically guaranteed to get you pregnant.”

Niko was visibly upset now. “What does she know? We choose. I choose you. You choose me.”

Jaden nodded. “I know, I just felt like you deserved to know.”

Niko pondered this for a moment, grabbed his shirt, and pulled him into a kiss; then slapped him before storming off. “Idiot. I choose you.” She called over her shoulder before turning the corner of the pyramid to disappear from sight behind it.

Jaden sighed. “I wish I knew some way to break the curse faster so I knew whether this was real. It definitely feels real.” He muttered.

“Are you speaking of the blessing of conception?” Erudeo asked from right next to him.

“Gah!” Jaden cried out, recoiling before he collected himself.

“Apologies again.” Erudeo told him. Jaden turned to look at him, and was surprised when he found a second copy of Erudeo hovering slightly off the ground while the first copy continued to converse amiably with Lois. “The blessing of conception is actually not that potent. Of course the increase to pregnancy rates is relatively strong, but the increase in hormone levels is only ten to twenty percent. You might find yourself making rash decisions, but only those you already wanted to make.”

Jaden nodded. “So she would have liked me anyway, it just wouldn’t be moving as fast.”

Erudeo shrugged. “That’s up to her. She seems the shy type so perhaps she would have had more trouble communicating her feelings. They likely would have still been present though.”

Jaden grimaced as he realized it must have felt like a rejection to her.

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll be right back. Please don’t pop in my conversation with her until I ask.” Jaden requested.

Erudeo nodded magnanimously as Jaden followed Niko’s path. He found her curled in a ball almost exactly where she had broken line of sight. A single tear dribbled down her face. Jaden plopped down next to her, and placed his arm around her; drawing her in. She let him, turning her face into his chest.

“My mind… it is not mine? I feel different. Different than earth. I thought it was this place. But it is a curse?” She asked finally.

Jaden ran his hand through her hair as he comforted her. “I talked to Erudeo. It’s only a small difference. Maybe he can explain it in French for you?”

Erudeo took that as his cue. As if sensing that this wasn’t the moment to mess with them, he appeared at an appropriate distance away. After a long exchange in French, Niko nodded. Then she shoved Jaden to the ground, and lay on top of him; nestling into his stomach like a cat.

“Idiot. I choose you.” She told him fondly. Jaden smiled, and ran his hands through her hair placatingly.

“I choose you too.” He murmured.