They made it.

The brothers lay on the Stomper's back, Stabby's core pounding through his chest. Shades gather around the new arrivals, attempting to glimpse the men who dashed through their walls. He picks his torso up, heaving as he waves at the citizens.

The featureless faces of the shades somehow smile, bowing to the returning royalty. Stabby can't help but return a wide grin at how his presence brings joy to the people, almost falling off Stomper with giddiness. He catches himself but falls onto his brother.

"Ow. Watch your step, some of us are trying to get a little shuteye."

"I think that may not be the best idea in public."

One of Grisha's eyes pop open and scan his surroundings. "Agh, you're right, let's go." Grisha rolls off the kohdok, landing on his feet.

After latching Stomper into her shaded stable, they head to the castle. As they walk, they see two figures give farewells in the distance, what Stabby assumes to be a gorgon and his mother.

His mother... he'd been so distracted by the constant rush of danger, he hadn't thought of how to speak to her on his return. He feels stronger; he fought terrifying monsters, won a battle with a demon, and saved his brother on multiple occasions. Not to mention his grasp on how to use his ability strengthened, although... not by much. It's still painful to activate, he needs the threat of physical harm to separate his clone, and in the silk forest, they barely defeated one hybrid. No, it's still impressive. He's accomplished a lot for his young age... he thinks.

His mother spots him and gives an expression that warms him like a thick blanket. She bows, and the gorgon does the same in response. She waves to her children and turns to the doors. Stabby wants to run to her, but his body resists as if glued to the surface. He struggles harder, but can't break from the invisible restraints that wrap around him. She disappears inside the castle.

His growth isn't enough, he needs to get stronger.

Grisha lays a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll see her later. We need to talk to her, anyway."

Stabby nods without a word.

He turns his attention to the gorgon, now accompanied by guards of her kind, approaching the entrance opposite of them. He hasn't seen her before. Why is she here? Shades don't appear to get along well with most species, but gorgons may be an exception.

"Who is she?"

"That's lady Shiphrah, queen of the gorgons. One of the few people I've seen our mother give a genuine smile."

Stabby's attention shifts to the shades bowing to the queen. He could have easily answered his question by a second thought, but he ignores the fact to instead admire Shiphrah's fair scales. "She seems nice, I'll introduce myself."

"Not now, we'll have to improve your introductions a lot more before you'll be ready for that." Grisha grabs his brother's shirt, dragging him along. "I'd like to hurry with everything we have to do, anyway. I feel like Nemuke, herself, is forcing my eyes closed."

"Are we going to meet mother, then?"

"At some point, but we should stop by the library first."

"To find books on the elven graveyard?" Stabby breaks free from his brother's hold and walks beside him.

"That and the rest of the forest surrounding it."

"Reading's cool and all, but do we need that much?"

"Doesn't hurt to be safe." Grisha shares a tired grin.

Stabby shrugs, doesn't hurt to have more to read, either.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

They travel through the familiar corridors of the castle, Stabby taking the chance to examine everything he missed before. The decorated walls he noticed but didn't appreciate; the illuminating crystal that hangs from the ceiling; and the surprising amount of mirrors. A copy travels opposite of him through the reflective glass world, wearing the same outfit, worn like many before it, but not ruined. He's grown more fit, his lean body more muscled, but his soft features and pointy ears still keep him cute. Staring at the copy of himself calms the anxiety of his upcoming interaction with his mother. Maybe he should bring a mirror with him...

"That's strange," Grisha mutters.

"What is?" Stabby spins to where Grisha stares.

Black mist exits a small crack from the bottom of a shut door. The mysterious air-like substance emits vibes of what he could only describe as death, a feeling Stabby vaguely remembers.

"Oh, nothing. It's just Kazimir is back earlier than I expected. There's no way he completed his mission this quickly with how slow things process at the temple."

The towering winged man's menacing form appears in Stabby's mind, his pupil-less eyes staring down at him.

He shudders. Grisha mentioned he's not as terrifying as he appears, and he is a monk, so Stabby shouldn't feel scared, but... he can't help it. He would find his cloaked brother's appearance cool if it weren't for the mist, something's off with the mist.

"We'll have to say hi to him at some point," Grisha says.

"Yeah..." Stabby fights back his initial reaction to reject the idea. It'll be good for him to face his fears, and Kazimir is family, it's rude to treat him like this.

The library doors hang open, the wall of books open to see for all who pass by. Kir must be in there. Stabby hopes so. The bug-faced shade could answer a lot of his questions, and since his last encounter, Stabby's wanted to learn more about him.

"Hey Kir, you there?" Grisha calls, stepping into the room.

Piles of books encumber the many tables, enormous gaps in the shelves caused by their absence.

"It appears the time has come again." Grisha glances around. "And of course he's nowhere to be seen."

"What's happening?"

Grisha scratches the back of his head. "Well, Kir has a problem with things not being kept in place, and every few weeks, despite his desperate attempts to keep the books where they belong, the bookshelves will reach a point more unorganized than he can handle. And so, the only 'reasonable' option for him is to take every single book out and return them to their rightful spot."

Stabby scans the room. "Wouldn't that take forever?"

"It does. He usually works on it for days straight, kind of odd for him not to be here now."

"Disappointing too. I was hoping to see him."

"And we can't find the books without him unless we dig through the seas of knowledge." Grisha waves at the piles. "Well... We'll just have to come back later."

"No need." Kir walks through the doors, another stack of books in his hand.

Grisha spins to meet his brother. "You're back, and perfect timing too."

"I try." The deadpan voice of the intelligent shade makes it difficult to tell if he was joking as usual. "How was your talk with the shaman? He's not with you, so I assume still incomplete."

"Yeah, he might work with us, but ends up we have to go the elven graveyard to break him free."

Kir sets the books down, separating them into piles. "That would make sense, with Tadame's finger being the cause of his cage."

"That would have been nice to know before we went all the way to the swamp."

"I felt confirming Kyoki's cooperation before letting him free to bring chaos into Razorvanny was a smarter idea."

"That's fair."

Kir stops in front of Grisha. "You look terrible. It's like your eyelids fought Nemuke herself."

"I feel like it."

Stabby watches the two converse, intrigued by how the two seem more and more similar as you learn about them. They're both homebodies, so it makes sense.

Kir shuffles books around, examining them for a second before switching them to another pile. "How were the books?" He asks.

"The books?" Stabby says.

"The ones I let you borrow."

Stabby's eyes widen. "Oh, they were great, I'm ready for more suggestions."

"Which type would you like? More biology?"

"History!" Stabby hops up and down. "More history, especially ones on the gods."

Kir nods, "smart choice, understanding the past is vital for deciphering the present." He motions to Grisha. "I'll have your books ready for when you leave."

"Thanks, Kir, maybe we'll get time to catch up at some point," Grisha says.

"I find it unlikely with where the world is heading, but it would be pleasant if we could."

"Bye Kir, talk to you later," Stabby says, waving goodbye.

"Farewell, brother."

The shades are about to leave when Grisha turns back. "Oh, do you know why Kaz is back already?"

"It appears the monks told him to wait here while they solve an issue at the temple."

Grisha rubs his chin. "Odd. Hopefully, it isn't another revolt, that would throw a wrench in our plans."

"It's hard to tell now, but mother will figure out something if it's the case."

"You're right."

Kir's head raises. "And Grisha."

"Yeah."

"Make sure to get some sleep."

Grisha chuckles, "will do."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The brothers stand before the door in a far back corner of the castle where their mother waits. A lot has happened, and only a portion of it was good. His mother is kind, so she's sure to not react badly, but he fears that'll change if he says anything negative about his performance. He must be strong, his confidence will show his improvements and help her forgive their failings. He must be confident.

Stabby takes a deep breath and notices his brother does the same.

Grisha opens the door, the dim room inside filled with connected papers with strange markings and containers of powders and crystals, it's cluttered but somehow organized. She scribbles a marking onto a wall with a blue crystal, stopping as she hears the creaking of the door. She turns to meet them. "My children, welcome home."

Grisha tries to speak but the shadow mother interrupts, "I apologize but we must skip past our greetings. We have much to speak about but little time, so be quick with your report."

"Very well, mother." Grisha bows. "We've discovered much in our journey, so I'll bring it up chronologically to save time."

Grisha recounts the events to their mother, the encounter with the hybrids, the meeting with the ogre and the imps (and the possibility of his recruitment), and the fight with the bijokajo demons. She dismisses the former two as something she'll speak with Grisha about later but stops him at the latter.

"Though I trust your abilities," the mistress says, "I find it suspicious how you defeated the bijokajo without the support of your guards. Especially ones who I'm presuming killed the guards without a scratch. When your energy is the most spread out it's been in ages, no less."

"I've been thinking the same thing," Grisha responds. "While fighting them, I had an odd feeling there were holding themselves back."

Stabby knows for sure it's the case as his opponent blatantly slowed to let him fight back, but holds his tongue.

"And," Grisha slumps. "I used it."

Her eyes narrow. "Fudo's rage."

"Yes... I'm sorry. The demon knew how to manipulate me."

The mother's voice turns stern. "You know every time you use that dreadful ability you risk losing Kawa's favor. Don't use it again, unless it is necessary for the survival of our people. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

She takes a deep breath. "You only used it once?"

Grisha hesitates.

Stabby, building up his courage, speaks for his brother, "I only saw him use it once."

"And you weren't hurt?" She turns to Stabby.

"No, I snapped him out of it before anything happened."

"Oh? Well done, my child. That's something even I haven't done."

"Thanks! I got my quick thinking from you." Though he woke his brother more through coincidence than thinking, the compliment's still nice.

She laughs, returning her gaze to Grisha's. "You mentioned you questioned the demon. What did you learn?"

"I've discovered the weapons they used, so now I can strategize a way to counter them, and that they don't have a meeting place, they only gather when called by their leaders. I tried to learn more, but he disclosed nothing else that could be useful to us."

"That's not much..." She taps her lip. "But it's something. Make sure you're completely prepared for another attack."

"I will. Though... I am worried about something he said before he died."

"And what would that be?"

"He said I bear the mark of death."

The shadow mother says nothing, grabbing a scrap of paper without a look at what it is. "Did you feel something follow you on the way back?"

"Yeah... we did. I assumed it was more demons."

"They failed twice, I find it unlikely they'd attack you without planning." She marks the paper and hangs it on the wall.

"Something was weird about it," Stabby says. "I noticed it slowed down and let us get inside."

She curses under her breath. "He must have sent an avatar to watch you."

"Who did?" Grisha asks.

"The god of death. You mustn't exit the castle."

"But I have to. We need to go to the elven graveyard to free Kyoki."

"I'll send Kir."

"We don't know what waits for him there. Kir can't do single combat."

"You're right. I'm letting worry control my thoughts." She turns away, grabbing the newly marked paper. "I'll make a charm for you, keep it on at all times, and do not speak to the avatar. If he convinces you to make a deal, there's no going back." She looks at a map in the corner. "Though, after a moment's thought, it might be best for you to go to the forest of ancients... As you may have noticed, I talked with Shiphrah."

"Were you able to get their support?"

"She said she'd be willing if we solve a problem for her."

"What's the problem?"

"She didn't say, though she mentioned Zmey had been working on it with her daughters for a while now, and they haven't sent a report back for a suspicious amount of time." She stares at the ground. "I heard nothing from her either..." Her eyes return to Grisha. "If you find them, I'm sure the princesses will help you."

"So, you want me to find Zmey, figure out what happened, help her solve the problem, then using information from the gorgons get Tadame's finger?"

"Exactly. I'm proud to have such a smart family. Which speaking of, Stabby..."

Stabby feels sick, he's avoided the question until now. He's trying to stay strong, but he's sure of what she'll ask and unsure of how he'll respond. She'll want a demonstration of his abilities. He's not ready. His second shadow trembles, as do his hands he hides behind his back.

"I hope your training's going well..."

He winces in preparation.

"But, you'll have to practice for a little while longer. I'd love to see your abilities now, but sadly I don't have the time."

His second shadow shows visible relief. Stabby nods. "I will!"

"Continue to make me proud." She lays a supportive hand on his back. "Now something good. We won't have to worry about the light for some time."

"Why not?" Grisha asks. "They should be strong this time of year."

"The waves rage again."

"Aito's becoming active?"

"There are rumors of his forces breaching the ocean side of the empire, and even Ambrosio showed concern, though only momentary."

Grisha grins, "this is great, it'll be so much eais..." His words become jumbled as he falls face-first. Stabby tries to jump beneath him, but their mother catches them both.

She lays a hand on Grisha's forehead. "We've talked too long, you need rest."

"That's what I've heard," Grisha mutters.

"I would suggest listening to it... But before you do, regretfully, I must ask something of you."

Grisha picks himself up to his feet. "What do you need?"

"I know how much you dislike it, but since you were in charge of the shades who died, it is your responsibility to let it be known. I'd postpone it, but the shades grow impatient to hear what happened."

"I know." Grisha sighs. "I'll do what I can."