Nyx scrunched her nose at the stream, though the water didn’t have as adverse an effect on her due to her affinity with it, it still made scent tracking harder. Lux motioned for her to look at a puddle of some black substance near the stream that was slowly seeping into the ground. She carefully bent a bit closer, inspecting it, before nodding to her brother, “It’s the poison I was smelling earlier. Seems like they figured out a way to get rid of it. I don’t smell any blood though, which I would have expected…” she trailed off in her confusion.

The rest of the Shadows were cautiously staring at the ceiling, where a few small bats were hanging. It seemed like the majority had left through various smaller exits near the ceiling to go hunting. One of the group near them spoke up however, “That’s Blood magic, that is.”

Lux motioned for the raid member to join them and they cautiously approached the pair of higher ranking Shadows. “Explain.” He commanded simply.

“I got a right nasty wound a whiles back. A fight with a rogue that coated their blades with poison. The healer I got was a Blood ‘n Water Blessed, they pushed the poison out but left the blood inside,” the Shadow Neophyte explained. “Hurt like crazy but it leaves that pile o’ poison.”

Lux nodded and waved them off in dismissal, which they gratefully obeyed. “So there’s a Blood Blessed involved now. I don’t remember reports of a fourth person, though I guess the only one we could have asked is no longer available due to your temper,” he said sideways towards Nyx, who rolled her eyes at him.

“Spare me. You would have done the same if you were in my position and our target made a pretty tune for you like they smell for me,” she quipped back before searching around the area once more.

Lux paused a moment contemplating her statement. He honestly didn’t believe he would ever find someone like that. Perhaps some weakling who’s magic didn’t make a racket everytime he was near? He thought about the Cursed ones he had crossed paths with before; his hope had been that they wouldn’t emit any sound and he might be able to tolerate their company more. Alas, most had quietly buzzed when he got close which he couldn’t entirely understand but chalked it up to whatever mana they had. Silence just wasn’t a thing that he would ever get from a person but that’s not what Nyx had really suggested either.

His thoughts were interrupted as his twin waved at him from across the stream and pointed excitedly towards the exit, “This way, it’s much stronger over here!”

Aster felt like he had gotten hit by a truck-kun, which he found a bit funny given his circumstances. When he awoke and looked around his Soul Space to take in the changes, he was pleasantly surprised that no undead or dungeon motifs had been introduced. Though, when he thought about his new bond’s… sparkling tendencies, he figured the open space layout did make more sense.

There was more of a separation between the different common areas now, with the additional new room for Drake. Each door had changed slightly as they had moved in relation to the rest of the space, keeping the common spaces in the center still. The doors all had their chosen names inscribed into them, as well as a symbol of their element, and a minimalist icon of the creature they originally were. Aster found it very interesting and helpful as their little soul family grew larger.

The shared spaces now included the kitchen, a dining area with a round table large enough to seat all six of them, and a sitting area with plush couches and chairs situated around a modern-looking fire pit great for chatting around and where he currently sat. There was an open training area that seemed like an odd mix of modern and medieval, with things like a weapons rack, a rock climbing wall and a wooden training dummy along with a couple of archery targets.

There was also a newer study room with glass walls and doors to keep the sound from disturbing any occupants but allowing the open feeling to continue. The study even had minimalist bookshelves so you could see through the backs and they were filled with books from Earth and Selesola that he had seen before. His little work desk had moved in there, it seemed like, and he agreed it was a fitting location.

It was in this room that he noticed Rosabella and Drake talking animatedly over said desk and pointing at different papers. He couldn’t exactly tell if they were arguing or not but he didn’t have time to ponder more when he felt the couch dip as someone sat next to him, “Good, Master awake. Is earlier than usual, wonder if newest member be reason…” Imbratisa said as she handed him the mug with his usual drink of choice.

He took it gratefully, letting the warmth spread through him and relaxing his aching muscles, though he guessed those were mental muscles… he stopped himself from spiraling down the inception tunnel again and asked, “How long was I out?”

She thought for a moment, “About hour.”

Aster’s eyes widened in surprise, “An hour? Doesn't it usually take a day?”

She nodded, “For new affinity, yes. I think Bloodsucker speed process when he heal Master.”

“Bloodsucker?” Aster asked in slight amusement.

The former hedgehog grinned, “Rosa’s name for him.” She gestured over to Drake in the study, “I like.”

He nodded, thinking it all over and checked his health pool: 508/540. He let out a small sigh of relief and checked his notifications.

You are no longer bleeding.

Acclimation to Blood complete!

You gained an Elemental Affinity!

Your Blood Affinity reached 10%.

Skill Acquired: Magic (Blood) (Beginner 49, 80%)

To rip and rend or heal and mend, the power of blood can both give and take, ever changing and ever flowing.

Your Intelligence increased by 1.

Skill Acquired: Resistance (Blood) (Beginner 24, 40%)

Your blood runs strong and won’t be easily turned against you.

Your Constitution increased by 1.

New Ability is unlocked.

New Spells are unlocked.

New Technique is unlocked.

New Party Ability is unlocked.

Your Constitution increased by 1.

Your Karma increased by 1.

You gained 1440 experience.

Crimson Destiny gained 720 experience.

He gained the expected Blood Bending ability and Empowered Blood technique that seemed to come baseline. For spells, he gained:

Cleanse

Effect: Remove impurities from a living target’s blood.

Duration: ∞

Cooldown: None

Cost: 5 mana per minute

Requires: Beginner Magic (Blood)

Cut

Effect: Slice through a target’s flesh within 5 meters of you.

Duration: Instant

Cooldown: 1 minute

Cost: 10 mana

Requires: Beginner Magic (Blood)

He guessed that would solve their antidote problem, at least for venoms. If it was an ingested poison then they might still be in trouble. He wasn’t sure how powerful Cut would be and he wondered briefly if it could get rid of any trees or bushes that might block his path in the future.

The new party ability was intriguing and might open up all sorts of options for the group.

Blood Bond

Effect: Party members can share their life pool with each other.

Requires: a Blood Blessed party member

Rosabella interrupted his thoughts at that moment, “We need to talk, mi amor.”

“See, why do you get to call him pet names but I don’t?” The newer voice rang out as it’s owner sat in one of the chairs across from him in a casual manner, his legs flung over an arm as he relaxed into it. He was drinking a dark red liquid from a wine glass and Aster wondered briefly if it was actually wine or blood.

“Bit of both actually, I find they pair well together,” Drake answered his thoughts and Aster’s eyes widened in surprise before narrowing a bit. Drake gave a very pleasant laugh that sent embarrassing little shivers down Aster’s spine as the vampire said, “Hey, they all hear your thoughts too, I just thought I’d complete my look by actually responding to them.” He gestured to his pale self, “It really is the perfect adaptation of me,” he gave a cocky little grin and Rosabella whacked him across the back of his head. “Hey!”

“There is not enough space in mi amor’s soul for both our sass,” she said, then sat in the chair next to him, making Aster focus on her once more. “Mi maestro, I know this might seem like a bad time but we need to discuss some things you have been running away from.” Aster raised an eyebrow, confused about what she could be referring to.

“She’s dancing around the fact that you need to admit you love that little snowball before your next moon cycle.” Drake cut in. Rosabella gave him a death glare, “What? Why waste time with words? If you don’t recall, we're in a bit of a rush with the little bunny currently running our body down a dark tunnel while being chased by zealots.” He took another leisurely sip of his blood wine as though he hadn’t just said they needed to hurry.

Aster took a moment to process the words, since his actions weren’t matching the content of them, and he turned to Rosabella as the unlikely source of clarity, “Are we in danger?”

Rosabella’s glare dissipated as she turned back to the half-elf, though the irritation she was feeling couldn’t be completely hidden, “Not of the immediate kind. We can take a few moments to discuss this before you go running off in the dark with your party.” She leaned back a little as she collected her thoughts once more, “The Bloodsucker here informed me while you were acclimating that as a Blood Blessed you will have to deal with some… unusual side effects.” Her lips curled slightly in annoyance.

Drake rolled his eyes, “Look, I didn’t think we’d need to talk about it so soon before I agreed to bond. How was I to know he isn’t as honest with himself as he is with others?” He threw up his free hand in mock frustration before Rosabella continued, trying to ignore his outburst.

“You are now subject to the effects of, what he called, the moon cycle. On top of that, your emotions may become a bit more… erratic.” She spoke a bit hesitantly as though only half understanding what she was saying.

Aster stared blankly at her before asking shakily, “Are… are you saying… am I… going to… menstruate?” He didn’t even like thinking of the word, let alone saying it out loud.

Drake’s pleasant laughter filled the space again and he interjected, “Not far off really.” Aster went pale. Back in the Tutorial, when he was trapped in a female body, the monthly horror was a constant assault on his sanity. It wasn’t that he was adverse to women having periods. He knew it was just a normal, if slightly annoying, bodily function that most dealt with and he never thought less of them for it.

For him specifically though, it felt wrong. It reminded him of how he saw himself: broken. If he had to suffer through all of that again… “No.” Drake’s voice interrupted his panicking thoughts and, when Aster met his gaze, the beautiful man was looking at him with compassionate concern, “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to cause that kind of fear. It’s not like that, the only similarity is that it will happen every month but that’s it.” Aster took a calming breath, nodding to show he heard him, “Your blood won’t leave your body but it will become… excited.”

“From what I understand, it is a day where you have little to no control over your impulses,” Rosabella chimed in.

“Just a day?” Aster asked with slight surprise. He thought it might be more hormonal or something and have a wax and wane time, like the moon.

“It is a bit like that. You will notice when the time gets closer and feel like you are recovering for a few days after; but it is that single day that we need to be most concerned about,” Drake elaborated for all of them, answering Aster’s thoughts once more.

“We? Does it affect all of you too?” the multimage asked, uncertain about this new… liability.

Drake just gave a shrug with one shoulder and took another swig. Rosabella picked up the conversation again, “We won’t know until it happens. We feel what you feel,” she reminded him.

Aster nodded and replayed through everything that had been said, trying to picture what might come from this new situation and how to plan for it, “Wait, so why do we need to talk about Saelak?” he questioned as he tracked back to what started this conversation.

The quiet Imbratisa spoke up this time, “He confuse you.”

Aster gave her an innocent look, “He’s my best friend, what’s there to be confused about?”

All three of them rolled their eyes at him, which Aster found amusing, but Drake was the first to respond, “He doesn’t want to be just your best friend though, does he? You aren’t being honest with yourself when it comes to him.” His tone brokered no room for argument.

Rosabella spoke gentler, “You keep running away, mi amor. You won’t acknowledge your own heart.”

Aster’s muscles and teeth clenched involuntarily as they spoke, pointing out his cowardice. Imbratisa set a reassuring hand on his arm, “Time to show self, Master is brave and strong.”

He could feel his anger rising again but this time he could tell it was mixed with fear, uncertainty and guilt. He tried to take a steadying breath and keep his voice even as he finally gave words to his emotions, “I’m over a hundred years old, mentally at least. He’s only 17 now.” They all nodded though Imbratisa gave a look of sad understanding, Rosabella’s expression was one of encouraging support, and Drake’s was more like a ‘duh. So what?’. Aster continued on, not wanting to shy away from the topic again, “Won’t I be taking advantage of him? Haven’t I been lying to him our whole lives by not telling him I remember my past life? That this is all a simulation? That he’s not even real?”

“Are we not real to you?” Rosabella asked softly.

“ I didn’t mean-” Aster began but Drake interrupted him.

“Yeah, you did.” His blunt attitude was on full display, “You might not have meant to hurt or insult us, but all of us know that, at least some small part of you, doesn’t see any of us as real.” He set his empty glass down on a small table between his and Rosabella’s chairs, the little sound of glass on wood adding emphasis to his final word.

“We are real, mi amor. Just like the people in your last life were.” Rosabella tried to assuage him. Before he could voice a protest, she continued, “We are not just programs, just lines of code, we are aware, we are conscious.”

“We experience emotions. Happiness, sorrow, fear, courage, anger and pain, we can feel it all, the same as you.” Drake pointed out, “It doesn’t matter if you believe us or not. You can't prove that you are real, nor can you prove we’re not real.”

That realization is what made it finally click for Aster. Even if their bodies weren’t real, their minds, their souls were. All three of them smiled brightly in response to his thoughts and he shook his head, “I’m still way older than him.”

Drake spoke again, always cutting through to the point, “That’s not really what’s holding you back though.” He took his feet off the arm of the chair finally and leaned forward pointing towards Aster’s chest, “You’re old enough to know that taking advantage of someone means intentionally manipulating them into doing something they don’t want or don’t understand. It’s not the age gap, it’s that part of you that still sees him as a kid and it’s warring with the part of you that’s willing to accept him as a lover. That confusion is going to be dangerous when your next moon cycle arrives in about an hour.”

“Wait, what? I thought you said it was a month!” He said, a bit taken aback.

“It’s based on the day of your birth apparently, for you that means the 8th.” Rosabella said regretfully.

He did some mental counting, remembering that they celebrated Saelak's Age Up just yesterday, which made today the 7th, had the day already passed? “So, how is confusion dangerous?” He tried to figure out what the problem could be.

Drake expounded, “Not only are your inhibitions dampened, generally causing more reckless behavior, but your emotions are amplified and you’re more willing to act on them. Confusion makes your behavior less predictable. Confusion makes you more likely to do something you might regret.”

Imbratisa squeezed his arm getting his attention back to her, “We worry you either push Saelak away,” she gave him a small playful smile, “Or liberate clothes.”

“Oh.” He replied in surprise as his eyes widened and the implications swam through his head. He wasn’t sure which outcome he would prefer to happen if he had to pick between the two.

“Hence confusion,” Drake said, leaning back in his seat once more. “And probable regret,” he added as an afterthought.

The feline spoke a little sadly, “You don’t get to run anymore, mi amor.”

“Aster, you have to run!” Hitsuki almost tackled him to the ground in her haste.

“What?” He was completely caught off guard by the sudden appearance, “What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

She spoke urgently, “There’s, like, a ton of enemies!”