Back to the space between. Now where's that oxygen mask? Ugh, this damn headache is just as bad as I remember.

Wren looked around as BZ began calculating and discovered the location was just out of visual range. Exercising a weak telekinetic ability with a headache on an object that can't be seen would be practically impossible but with BZ's ranged targeting screen Wren barely managed.

Once the preparation was complete, BZ began, “It is fortunate that you were able to reclaim your breathing device. The space between is the optimal place to process supernatural growth and development, as your spiritual progenitor has told you. It is also the only place where I have the ability to procure delivery services for you and allow you to access Origin's learning protocol without leaving a trail that can be traced.

“Your son and god-daughter mean well but the enabling properties of the substance they used to reawaken your maelstrom born legacy was filled with impurities that time and bond sharing will not filter. Neither did you shed all the ill effects of soul eating. It is also not optimal to wait for the opportunity to acquire soma. The statistical anomaly that allowed you access to it is not probable to occur again so favorably.

“I would advise the delay of our original plan to acquire ambrosia and enlist the aid of a 'sin-eater' to divest your soul of impurities. This will delay your return to Tier V existence status for some time but your foundation will be much more solid. Had I been aware of the 'potency' that existed within your half-domain, I would have advised you to absorb that instead. The benefits of the course you have initiated by 'creating' a second son may offset this deficit but there's too much statistical interference to calculate it. I do not say this to belittle the sentiment of your choice. I am only attempting to re-calibrate the data.

Wren said blandly, “I get you, Buzz. You play the numbers game while I try to maintain the quality of my life as the counter-weight to all this objective based goal setting stuff. Alright, ax the ambrosia and bring on the sin-eater.”

Buzz replied, “Procurement complete. The sin-eater will arrive shortly. After analyzing your current pain tolerance threshold, I would suggest taking three of the opioid tablets you possess. Chew them thoroughly before swallowing. Your metabolism and resistance have already increased markedly. It would be best to put your equipment away lest it be damaged or destroyed. Once they have arrived, remain as silent and still as possible. I would recommend that you close your eyes as well but the affect on your psyche is equal either way. Still, it might be best considering the minor lingering trauma would be lessened towards similarly appearing creatures in the future. Try to keep in mind that what is being done to you is a positive and beneficial thing.”

After following BZ's advice, Wren struggled with the 'face your fears or hide under the covers' concept until he decided to close his eyes. He simply didn't feel ready to face outsiders yet. A minute or two later, Wren suppressed the urge to spasm and scream when the first tentacle like tendril wrapped around his torso. He managed to return his calm as mucosal sleeves stretched around his hands, feet and head. He found he could breathe within the sleeve though the air did not smell or taste pleasant.

***

Despite this, all was well until a smaller sleeve worked around the entirety of his genitalia as a slimy probe made its way through his ass crack to poke at his sphincter.

Wren thought furiously at BZ, “I'm not okay with this... Is this necessary!?... Why aren't you answering me!?”

Wren tried to discourage the offending probe by tightening his butt cheeks and squeezing his sphincter as hard as he could but the probe just thinned down until it inserted itself and slowly began to thicken once inside. Once Wren began feeling the offending probe start to pulsate inside of him, panic overcame reason and he began to thrash and scream. Moments later he could feel multiple stings on his hands and feet and felt two sharp intrusions into the arteries on his neck. He was fully paralyzed within seconds.

Some foreign consciousness began forcefully rummaging through his mind before showing him a dizzying array of embarrassing doctor visits, chakra diagrams and multiple different types of pheresis procedures. As wire thin tendrils worked their way into the most intimate and deep parts of Wren he was jolted by what he could only perceive as something like LE but instead of it producing euphoria it felt like every cell of his being was dissolving in corrosive acid. It was only a metaphorical feeling produced by his intuition but it did little to reduce the sense of panic and instinctual fear he was experiencing.

After a small eternity of white hot pain, Wren's mind began to clear. He could feel many of the wire thin tendrils retracting from his spine, cerebral veins and testicular canals. He felt like a viscous fluid floating weightlessly around the core of his being. The creature would suck up parts of himself like soup before another part would spit it back out lighter and cleaner. He felt like he had been lessened, made incomplete, but that the remaining parts were the healthy and best parts.

Once the creature was nearly done it paused for a moment before rummaging through Wren's mind again. It produced a memory of a kid in Wren's elementary school group who once offered to exchange his applesauce pouch for Wren's pudding cup, then showed Wren the small crystal-like nodules on his astral body. Then it showed a cafeteria poster showing a nutritional comparison between an apple and a slice of cake Wren had once seen and remembered clearly for some odd reason.

Wren, who by this point was absolutely terrified of this creature, quickly agreed. He just wanted it to be done so the pain bringing thing would get its tentacle out of his ass. So the thing got busy slurping at him again but this time it secreted an astral substance to fill in the gaps. The thick tentacle in his lower intestines started pulsating wildly and so did the sleeve around his junk. To Wren's horror and embarrassment he began to respond.

It didn't take long before he shot pink tinged semen into the waiting orifice as the creature discharged a string of obstructions along the internal passageway of his large intestines while it withdrew the offending probe. A last mental flash of a dentist visit, that played the memory of the dentist telling him to close his eyes to receive a present for being brave, danced behind his eyes as the sleeve around Wren's head began to retract. Wren quickly closed his eyes, feeling every bit the opposite of brave.

***

“Apologies for the disconnection, Wren. I had to retract to preserve my integrity while you were undergoing your treatment.” BZ stated calmly.

What about my integrity? It just got compromised to all shit and back!

Wren was silent for a moment as he dressed himself before he said, “I'm pretty sure I was raped, Buzz.”

BZ responded coolly, “Why do you believe that, Wren? Oh, it left eggs in you. That wasn't rape. It was an exchange of resources that you agreed to. Don't worry, this is also a beneficial occurrence.”

As he fitted the oxygen mask back on, Wren said, “Please make this explanation good or I'm going to start requiring you to produce empirical data before I agree to your suggestions in the future.”

BZ responded evenly, “Very well. The nodules that were propagating on your astral shell were a material commonly used in high tier soul forging. The propagation method of that material is a trade secret of the Infernal Host. All that is known about this method, outside of those who are entrusted to use it, is that condemned soul eaters are made into vessels for its production. Some soul forgers, in the past, have intentionally propagated it on themselves but it is something I would not recommend as it compromises the structural continuity of your astral shell. It does offer some advantages but those do not offset the deficits.

“As for the eggs that were exchanged for the material the sin-eater took, all fourteen of them are burgeoning Tier IV existences. Unlike many creatures who are compelled to desire procreation, sin-eaters find it undesirable unless their numbers fall below a certain amount. Despite the extraordinary amount of benefits such a creature provides those who enlist their services, few are willing to do so voluntarily. The only exception on record is the frequent use within certain regiments of the Abyssal Host due to a lack of natural resources in their domain. This leaves them little recourse to take when confronted with certain ailments endemic to Asura.

“One method that the sin-eaters have espoused to limit their numbers is offering their eggs as a nourishment to the few Tier III existences that have something worthwhile to trade for them. As a defense mechanism against extinction sin eaters have to engage in the act of procreation to release them, however, only Tier IV existences and higher have sperm potent enough to fertilize them. Much like sirens and harpies, they are an all female race that has the ability to procreate with male humanoid mammals from other races, yet only produce their own. In-”

Wren interjected, “All right! I get it. Thank you.”

BZ continued, “It's important for you to note that the eggs may be stored for up to six years in a cool, dark and dry place. Since it would likely cause you emotional distress to consume something that you have def-”

Wren interjected a little more forcefully, “Stop, stop, stop! Full stop! I'll put them into middle void space until I form my embodiment. Then I'll let my entropic void process them... For the love of Bob, do not finish what you were about to say.”

BZ said, “I do not take pleasure in correcting you but it is a dangerous misnomer to refer to the consumptive portion of your void as 'entropic'. It is neither random nor does it produce waste in the form of light and heat. Such an underlying ideology, if allowed to stand, could detrimentally affect its future effectiveness. Please understand that I value creative license in the daily usage of speech but this particular usage is hazardous. The function of the consumptive part of your void is in some ways comparable to a black hole but the underlying principles are far more fundamental to the great cycle of existence than a mere black hole can contend with. At a future date, when you are more receptive to additional information, I will explain it in more detail.”

Wren wearily said, “Alright. For the sake of moving this along so that I can collapse and take a small coma, lets address the class and profession sets. All I can say is that I'm glad I'm about to pretty much body swap. I don't think this body's digestive track is capable of working the same again.”

BZ replied, “ Your shell display will announce to others that you are a Creatriarch with a Soul Forge profession. I will utilize half the remaining SE accumulation to provide you access to a chimera class build comprised of information from Astral Architect, Celestial Mendicant and Eldritch Summoner. I find myself having difficulty comprehending why your spiritual progenitor instructed you to claim Soul Forge as a profession. I assume he wanted some way to connect to you and have something to guide you in. Since you already possess memories of it's best feature for existences under Tier VI, model customization, allow me to create another chimera that will suit you better.”

Wren fought through the tired fog in his mind and said, “Making me the star of a tentacle porn without warning is strike one, Buzz, but everyone deserves room for error. Don't let me down buddy.”

BZ replied, “Noted, Wren. I am an imperfect creation but I have the potential to evolve... I will compile now but will await your approval before committing... Due to you having access to a consumptive void space and prior lack of information on how to utilize dimensional aspects of void power I have compiled a chimera that consists of Abyssal Alchemist, Infernal Engineer and Dimensional Locksmith. Do not allow the titles to breed contempt within you.

“The Abyss is a multi dimensional plane that is scant in natural resources. The precious few Abyssal denizens that specialize in utilizing those resources to create consumable items are under great pressure to perform well above and beyond others within the same field. Their ingenuity and efficiency are second to none in the field of medicine.

“Infernal Engineers have the rarest set of knowledge pertaining to the dividing lines between the organic and inorganic as well as the line between the physical and metaphysical. I doubt you will utilize it the same way they do but it is useful. I have little doubt you will come to see that as an understatement.

“Dimensional Locksmiths exist in an entirely different reality branch. It is fortunate that you do not have to face dimensional travel just to move more than a few hundred yards at a time. They do. It will take time to utilize more than just a defensive trick version of their primary skill but, with practice, it will become an indispensable tool in your repertoire.

Damn dude. I feel like I just sat through a Price Is Right showcase.

Wren said, “Alright, slap it on me and lets get going.”

BZ said, “I recognize your level of exhaustion is not light but I have two more issues to address before releasing you. Please consume four eggs and allow me to divert their SE to myself. I need to provide you with a functional percentage of inner mind and spacial calculation assistance, otherwise the overlay of the information within your legacy and the influx of class and profession skills may become corrupted. The chance is not high but since it is an unnecessary risk with available resources, there is no reason to take it.

Despite his discomfort, Wren was reluctant to dispense with the eggs when he could have used void power to do it after a few minutes rest but for the sake of getting to the safe-zone as soon as possible, he pulled his pants down and did what needed to be done.

I am dangerously close to disliking you right now, Buzz.

After doing as instructed and feeling the expansion of mind space he wasn't feeling so bitter. It had went a long way towards alleviating his terrible migraine as the information lined up in queue. As he saw the queue getting larger by the second, he went from being not bitter to outright grateful. After tossing the eggs into his void space, along with the oxygen mask and tank, he finally appeared in the safe-zone.

The safe-zone was exactly as he remembered. Lilly had discovered a secret this time, however, that they had not before. A sod covered hatch stood open and upon seeing Wren appear, Lilly motioned him over.

“Look at this, um... Should I call you Wren or Orison?” Lilly said.

“I would also like to know this, old friend,” Jampa added.

Wren looked at the two of them tiredly before he said, “You can call me a son of a bitch if you'll point me to a good place to sleep...Sorry, Wren's probably better but I'm not going to be mad if you call me Orison.”

Lilly smiled and nodded once before she continued, “There's a barrow down here with decent amenities. It's better than sleeping in the open, at any rate. Since Troy's already in the left room, I'm taking the right.” She made her way down.

Jampa said, “Much has happened today. I'm not quite ready to sleep yet so you can share the room with Troy. If need be, I can sleep outside. It would be far from the first time and it's a clear night.

Wren grunted and made his way down. The inside was crammed with a small area for cooking and a water closet aside from two small rooms with doors. The right side was closing and as Wren looked into the left he realized that there really wasn't much more room than for two people in the cell-like room on the left.

As Wren walked in, Troy said from his supine position on the floor, “Why'd you come in here for? I figured if I chose the small room I could have it to myself. The other one's like three times bigger.”

Wren said, “I'll take it you're dense. You do realize that one of us is a girl, an under-age girl.”

Troy said, “Oh. Yeah, I didn't think that through. It's just, I have a bad habit of clinging on to things when I sleep.”

Trust and believe, I know!

Wren said, “I don't really care. I'm too tired to care. Just don't wig out when you wake up tomorrow and you're sleeping beside an emo looking teenager.”

Troy blinked at him owlishly as Wren laid down and pulled out a bedroll with a buckwheat pillow.

“Why would I... You too? Am I the only one who didn't get some kind of upgrade?” Troy asked miserably.

“You get yours tomorrow. I got to go pick it up. And before you ask, yes I have another pillow and yes you can share my blanket.” Wren said as he tossed his extra pillow to Troy.

Troy scooted back to back with Wren. Since he started yanking on the blanket as soon as he drifted off, Wren pulled out his survival knife and wedged a corner of the blanket into the floor.

Be damned if you're gonna steal it from me after I shared it with you, little shithead.

As Wren woke up early the next morning, he was greeted with the almost nostalgic feeling of being grappled by Troy. That wasn't the only thing familiar about the scenario but Wren was feeling generous enough to just sigh and get up. Troy grumbled a little as Wren untangled himself but didn't fully wake up. Wren was more than happy to leave it that way as he shuffled out to the water closet. He took a little time to clean up and eat a protein bar before heading out to the safe-zone lock box.

Slimes weren't nocturnal and it was an hour or two before dawn by Wren's figuring, so he sent out the ugly little coiling ball of murder, that was his basic eldritch summons, to scout around for any kind of danger that might approach him. Getting to work, he had collected enough requested herbs to fill the quota and a few sets to spare for himself, turned in his personal mission and collected the goods that he had purchased from the AP shop before heading back. By then it was dawn and Wren figured it was time for the other three to wake up.

Wren started with Troy and he was more than a little concerned he didn't see Jampa outside so he didn't waste time with knocking on the big room's door and just opened it. Immediately, he wished that he had as he got an eyeful of Jampa and Lilly clinging to each other, naked as the day they were born, laying on a bed of their own clothes stretched over a pile of grass and leaves. Wren responded by backing out of the room and closing the door loudly.

What kind of fresh hell is this!? Not my problem... Trying to convince myself that this is not my problem. Let's just do what I'm best at. Ignore it and pretend I didn't see anything.

Troy zombie shuffled out of the water closet and asked, “What was that about?”

Wren put on a blank face and said, “Nothing much. Here, got some stuff for you.”

Wren handed Troy a small vial filled with a dark red liquid that had little gold flecks in it. After that he handed Troy something that looked like a miniature version of the Ark of Covenant.

“Why don't you go back into the small room, close the door then drink the suspicious vial of stuff. Once you're done screaming, open the box,” Wren said blandly.

Troy looked at Wren searchingly for a moment before he said, “Are you sure about this? It's not going to hurt me or something, right?”

Wren looked Troy dead in the eye and said, “The vial of stuff's gonna hurt like a bitch but I wouldn't waste my achievement points on a nasty prank. The most I can tell you about the box is that you kinda left it for yourself, in a manner of speaking. I have no idea what it actually has in it. Not to sound insensitive but daylight's burning and believe me, we want as much daylight as we can get.”

Troy gave Wren a watery smile and said, “I want to trust you, Wren. I hope you don't let me down. You look good by the way, like you're Thetus's little brother.”

Wren said, “No promises but I'll try... and fuck you very much. I'll have you know that Thetus is my son, at least in a weird metaphysical kind of way.” Without waiting for a reply, Wren went back to the surface to gather supplies till the safe-zone started giving him warnings.

Lilly was the first to come up and after spotting Wren she said, “Why is Troy making grunting noises inside his room and not wanting us to open the door?”

Wren said blandly, “He's going through some rough changes. He didn't get the benefit of some fairy godmother level magic so I bought him a pair of glass slippers. If I had woken up in the middle of the night I could be asking you the same question I bet.”

Damn it mouth. I thought we agreed we were gonna pretend that we saw nothing!

Lilly blushed furiously as she said at little more than whisper volume, “It's not Jampa's fault, okay... I was cold and thinking about my mom, he was crying a-and one thing just led to another. Something happened and I think I'm connected to him and I don't know!”

Oh no... She's starting to shake and then the waterworks are gonna come. I'm not equipped to handle this today.

Wren said, “You're tough right?”

Lilly looked at Wren a little red eyes as she jutted her chin at him and said, “Course I'm tough. I'm a Cork woman!”

Wren nodded and said, “Right. As long as no one's obviously taking advantage of you, I'll trust you to make your own choices. I wasn't expecting something like this to happen so soon but I got a couple of things for you. I was honestly surprised you could buy contraceptives from the AP store but they're cheap so I thought why not get a couple boxes. Let's hope that you're not a first one and done. There's something I can pick up along our journey today that can help with last night's event, a type of tea can be made with it that'll make sure nothing takes. It's not perfect but...”

Lilly didn't meet Wren's eyes but she took the box and said, “I got no problem with these but I think I'll pass on the tea. I'm willing to take... let nature be.”

Wren sighed and said, “It's a dangerous world out there but like I said earlier... Jampa, you going to grow mushrooms over there? No one's pulling out pitchforks yet, so I think you're in the clear... Lilly, let me talk with my friend in private for a moment. He's probably beating himself up. I want to make sure he's doing it hard enough... Don't look at me like that. I'm just joking but there is a thing or two I'd like to discuss with him that I don't want to cause undue embarrassment over.”

Wren could tell Lilly didn't want to but she reluctantly gave the two men some space, deciding to gather some supplies herself.

“One day away from the temple and you already...Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's cool, Jampa! Well, it's not but it is what it is,” Wren said as Jampa fell to his knees and started hitting his head off the ground while keening.

Jampa looked up at Wren, radiating absolute misery, with a scraped and seeping forehead and said, “She's a little girl. I am a vile man.”

Wren crouched down and locked eyes with his old friend and said, “Tell me if this sounds familiar to you... Last night she came to you. You didn't notice it that much before but something that is you yet also other had already started taking notice of her presence, even before we left the white room. As you comforted each other or whatever, you could tell she was receptive and that you that is also other clamored for you to claim her, make her yours. It wasn't about pleasure seeking though, it was something deeper. It made you feel like if she was yours then you'd be whole, complete. When you took her, something rushed out of you and through her. It made you feel connected, made you feel like you were as much hers as you feel her to be yours. You may have even felt this strange urge come over you to put yourself between her and me when she was over here a moment ago talking to me without you. Sound about right?”

Jampa gawked at Wren with a bloodless face.

Wren continued, “You're a strong willed man, Jampa, but do yourself a favor. Don't try to fight that other self for control. Commune with it. Help it to understand you and strive to understand it in return. It will always see things in the simplest of terms but it is far from stupid. In fact, it is deeply tied to your intuition and instinct. Learning how to find the balance between the two of you will make you stronger as a whole.

“As for you, inner Jampa, I am the spirit guide of this pack. It's shaman. Lilly is my family. If you seek to understand your outer self and you do not fight with me, I will teach you how to take in the song of the earth and sky, how to awaken the song of water and fire within you but only when you earn it. You've got a lot to chew on. There's no use in crying over it or banging your head flat.” Wren took a moment to heal over the scrapes on Jampa's head before excusing himself to check on Troy.

Wren approached the door and said, “You done looking in the box yet?”

Troy's weak and strained voice came from the other side, “No. If you were going to kill me, why not just do it while I was peacefully asleep. That was the second most painful thing I've ever been through.”

Wren said, “Really? The description gave a warning that it hurt. I've found that SYSTEM explanations tend to be conservative and understated. So what the hell was the first most painful?”

Troy said, “Going through five miles of stop and go traffic in an ambulance with bad shocks while sporting a freshly shattered hip.”

Wren quipped, “Well stiffen your lip Nancy. The sooner you go through your box, the sooner I can come in there and help you clean up. I got mad leet cleaning skills.”

Troy shot back, “Oh? Are you going to come in here and sponge me off, nurse Wren?”

Mustering up as much of a chipper voice as he could, Wren said, “No, but if you keep wasting time, I might find an SOS pad for you.”

A few minutes later, Troys subdued voice came out, “You can come in now.”

Wren walked in and was quickly grabbed up by Troy who said, “I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you. I wanted to be but... Are you alright?”

Wren, a little confused said, “Yes and no. I guess I have to be but right now you are rubbing your excreted filth all over me. It smells like death.”

Troy quickly let Wren go as he said, “ Yeah, sorry about that. What was in that vial anyway?”

As Wren exercised void power to clean them off he intoned, “A strange concoction created by some alchemist from the Abyssal Host. It's got demonic fire ant venom, inquisitor's thistle milk and draconic bee royal jelly as it's main active ingredients. I swear to you, Troy. A dragon will fuck anything once, I think, just to say it did... The main point is that it combines the effects of a Tier V marrow cleansing dan with a myriad of beneficial effects for a person without any supernatural heritage. I got it for next to nothing too.”

After chatting with Troy for a bit, Wren gathered everyone together. He handed out the herbs and had everyone turn in their lock-box mission before returning to the safe-zone. He consulted BZ on everyone's ability sets, managed to buy another 24 hours in the safe-zone for his group by scraping together everyone's AP. Once everyone got a round of familiarizing themselves with their abilities, he finished out the day by using his void to absorb odd and often detrimental, therefore cheap, spirit medicines as Jampa and Lilly fixed a meal for everyone.