They were leaving a perfectly defensible base in the clutches of a heathen ashen Earl. Red wasn't invincible even after he dealt a blow to the demon’s hosts and gained another spirit. He was still stuck in the coalescence realm. Emily could feel the difference between them. After Hela helped her reach the nascent realm, Emily became the strongest in their group outside the fortress, soon to be remodeled into a heathen temple. To make matters, worse Red was about to have sex with Hela.

Humans weren’t supposed to be able to survive something like that intact. An ashen’s breath could taint the air in a room and kill mortals, their uncontrolled body heat can scorch flesh from bone, and their strength was beyond human. Fortunately, Red must not have had sex with her yet.

They stayed an extra week waiting for the horses to arrive. Red spent most of his time pouring over the heretical book Starlight. As he learned, Red made changes in the fortress, increasing the supply of fire qi and the fortress’s value. Hela’s gratitude wasn’t limited to the bedroom after that. They were leaving the fortress in the morning, so Emily decided to confront her.

Hela sat in the dining room, shoveling in a meal of spirit charcoal and black fire qi crystal. Such a diet seemed more fitting for a forge than a living creature. Emily didn’t know why Red couldn’t see that she wasn’t a woman. It resembled a human the same way a sculpture might but behind its blasphemous façade; it was a powerful fire spirit.

When she approached, the creature’s inhuman golden eyes locked onto her. Emily wasn’t sure if they functioned or if they were a top hat on a donkey. While they glanced in her general direction, the pupil didn’t enlarge or shrink, and her face remained a mask of beauty. There wasn’t a hint of warmth or comradery; it was like being stared at by a tiger. Red had visited her multiple times but never seemed daunted by her appearance.

Emily stood well within the nascent soul realm now, and her spirit moved her flesh more than muscles. She could sense the massive entity sitting in a humble chair, reading Red’s notes and eating charcoal. It was almost funny how massive an Earl class spirit’s presence was compared to her small container.

“Why are you trying to unman Red?” Emily said.

Hela pretended to choke on a bite of charcoal, but such a being didn’t really have lungs. The ashen didn’t need to breath, and their native tongue was more the crackle of flames and flicker of temperature than words. Even when Hela deigned to use human words to speak to them, Emily could tell it was from a place of superiority.

“That, we’re just having sex,” Hela said as if Emily could believe that. The ashen were known to take human cultivators as lovers and leave eunuchs and corpses behind.

“I’ve seen the burn marks on his face and arms. You chose to go slow with him until now, but I know you plan to finish him tonight. I won’t stand for it. Is penetration with a man who can’t take the heat even worth it for you? Or is this another method of feeding like the charcoal?” Emily said.

One of the knights walked into the dining room, and Emily thought for sure she would have to fight her way out.

“The priests of have sent an outrider. They will arrive here by nightfall with plenty of time to prepare the temple for its first morning if the weather allows. The extra horses will arrive with them to complete our trade.” The knight said.

Hela sighed and pushed her plate aside. “Leave us. My new friend and I have womanly things to talk about. I am going to indulge myself until the priests arrive.” The knight seemed to vanish from the room. Hela kicked out a chair opposite her when his aura was far away. “Sit down, Emily; there are some truths you need to hear,” Hela said.

Emily unleashed her nascent realm aura as she moved to the chair. Hopefully, Red would know and avenge her if it suddenly winked out.

“Is laying with Red a part of some heathen ritual? I’m sure the shock of losing his manhood would flood the world with emotionally charged qi.” Emily said.

Hela smiled, and it was a horrible thing. Emily knew then that she was right and Red’s manhood was in danger. Of course, that wasn’t what they bargained for.

“Some of the weaker priestesses do just that to empower a new temple, especially outside ashen lands. I’m sure you’ve heard of a small oasis in the world dedicated to Sol Invictus kept by human eunuchs. Red was cautious of such a fate at first. But you know what they say about flames; we attract moths. Even the wariest men get curious, especially if they’re powerful. So what makes Red different?” Hela asked.

“He would have sent Lucio to your bed and took notes instead of endangering himself or escaping. Red isn’t the type to fight an unwinnable battle.” Emily said.

Hela raised an eyebrow as if she had human reactions. “He seemed rather brave to me. When our spies saw him devastate the demon hosts, I watched the memory. Seeing a mere human stand against his natural predators was entertaining. I had to meet him and bed him.” Hela said with a smile.

Emily snorted. “You’re infatuated with an idea of a brave human who stands against all odds. There are heroes in the triad who have done what Red has and more. Don’t mistake Red for an idealist. Red would have retreated and left the Baron and his family to die if the demon's hosts had overrun our fortress. Even this fortress was expendable.”

Hela giggled and tossed back her silky coal-black hair; the tiny orange sparks reminded Emily of the burned remains of a banner she had seen on a battlefield. Crows, undead, and mad spirits cowered on the bloody ground, terrified of her master Logan Amon. They were always one step behind his daughter’s madness.

“I’ve learned that about him already. He sold this fortress to me because he saw it as trash. Once this place served its purpose, Red was always going to abandon it. It’s a shame we could have spent many happy centuries in this cozy little fort. The second he learned we didn’t have any other spirit cores, the ashen hills no longer mattered. His eyes are on the spirits of Terranor. But more spirits will make it impossible for him to advance.” Hela said.

Emily was confused. This mass of fire qi and ash masquerading as a human woman acted like she cared. But that wasn’t possible. An ashen could only ever be transactional. Caring wasn’t something they could do for humans, and they didn’t feel empathy. She had seen enough burned-out women to know that. So this was all an act it had to be.

“Red knows what he’s doing. Even if he remains in the same stage forever, I’ll be there for him.” Emily said.

“You’re young, desperate, and human; when it’s a question of choosing a stronger mate or him, the answer is obvious. Power and status are everything in this world, and outside these walls, Red is just another coalescence realm cultivator. The heroes invading the Barony will destroy him.” Hela said.

“I won’t abandon him; we’re the same. That’s why I won’t chase after someone else’s power and status. It's him or no one now.” Emily said.”

“Wow, you are having such an important conversation about our host. Emily, you don’t have to worry if you betray Red; I’ll be sure the inquisition isn’t far behind you. I am his official wife, and you’re a concubine.” Maddie said.

Emily glanced over at the little black fire spirit hovering over Maddie’s shoulder. The spirit managed to reach high class just before Maddie bonded with it. Maddie had a lot of demon host blood gathered for her ascension into the coalescence realm. She planned to take the dip at sunrise to maximize the coalescence process. It would make Maddie much stronger in the coalescence realm than Emily had been in the beginning. But Red would be stronger still.

“I think Red has a plan to ascend that doesn’t involve any assistance. He’s too focused on reaching Bright town for there to be no plan. I’m sure there are other stops after Bright town. I wonder if he’ll add more competition as well. How do you feel about becoming just another face in the crowd?” Maddie said.

Emily smiled at one of her greatest threats. “There are only two things that matters when owning something. Who had it first, and who has it now? Everyone else is inconsequential.” She had butchered the law of land ownership, but the message was clear enough by Maddie’s reddening face.

Hela took a tiny shot of water, and her face turned orange. “I think I’m pregnant, and Red is the father,” Hela said.

Emily and Maddie forgot what Hela was for a few minutes, and they stared at each other. Emily didn’t know how she felt about Red having a child with another woman, and she was sure Maddie was planning to poison the child in the womb. Then Hela took a bite of her charcoal cookie. Reality soon dawned on them both.

Maddie and Emily burst out laughing.

If they had managed to have sex Red’s seed would have burned up. Instead, ashen reproduced through spirit core binary convergence and produced a tiny grain of ash that slowly turned into a pearl in their wombs. An ashen body develops around the pearl as fire qi is fed from the mother’s spirit core saved binary template. An infantile ashen is formed, and birth happens. From there, the mockery of human nature continues until the child is fully grown.

“Has he even penetrated you yet?” Maddie asked. “If not, I better try him out before he becomes a eunuch. Finding a man who looks enough like Red to pass a child off as Red’s will be difficult.”

“I assure you there is no danger of Red becoming a eunuch. We’ve had relations fully in nearly every room in the fortress. He no longer needs to protect himself from my heat.” Hela said with a proud smile.

Emily didn’t know if that was true and if it was, she didn’t know how it came about. Red was a blasphemous infidel with a talent for learning heathen cultivation techniques. He took the starlight laws and merged them with several different laws. Even the laws of the triad weren’t safe. So, could he learn a technique or combine several techniques to protect himself from an ashen lady’s body temperature. Or could Hela control her body temperature better than any ashen?

Red walked into the room, absent all the burns that once covered his face. Instead, new skin had grown all around his body, slightly darker than it had been before. He kept his aura tighter to his body than expected and walked with strange movements. Red’s feet moved from side to side and almost with inquisitor techniques, except he glided nearly an inch off the ground.

He leaned down over Hela and kissed her lips. Emily expected to hear a sizzling sound like bacon in a hot frying pan and smell cooking flesh. But, instead, the two twirled their tongues around each others with no ill effect. The air shimmered around Hela, heating up at an incredible rate, but Red seemed unbothered.

Emily shivered as she felt something stir in her chest. The feeling left her unprepared for what came next.

Maddie delivered a dangerous blow. “So, Hela, are you certain you won’t leave this place behind and come with us. Red can always use more concubines.”

Emily could see Maddie’s game easily enough. Outside the ashen hills, Hela would be vulnerable to other spirits' rain, wind, and cold. A single rain spirit could weaken Hela to mortal levels of vulnerability. Yet, despite that and beyond Emily’s understanding, Hela looked conflicted. Maddie smirked as the table waited for Hela’s response.