{Jeoff Senior POV}

The Jeofferneys were a group of proud Nymphs.

More specifically: a group of proud, noble [Earth Nymphs].

The [Earth Nymphs] of noble heritage that descended from the strongest among their people, when they were [Transferred].

The strongest people that, thanks to the connection to their birth-land (or, at least, to the piece of it that had come with them to the [Nexus]), were directly responsible for the reclamation of their original territory in record time, across all the races.

The territory in which, as a gesture of gratitude from their compatriots, were still regarded as the ones with the finest [Noble Lineage] there was: having such a title even recognized by the glorious [System] as a [Trait].

So, why was Patriarch Jeoff, the current head of the family, earing about his prodigal son, that had decided to make a name for himself as a humble [Priest], being detained, awaiting punishment?

"What do you mean he started a fight!? My Jeoff would never do so unprompted! The other party must be at fault! And why would that call for him to be locked up!? A cut to his salary should have been more than enough!" The Patriarch was fuming, shouting at the messenger that had brought him the news, and slamming his hand on the artful slate desk he was sitting at.

"T-the matter seems to have been handled by the [High Priestess] herself, with help from the [Cleaners], so little to no information about it got out" The trembling messenger responded.

“Of course, the daughter of that wretched woman would work against his precious son! She even had the gall to gang up on him with the [Cleaners]!” is what he thought, but that he couldn’t obviously voice out loud.

" 'Little to no information' isn’t none, what else do you know?" It took a great deal of effort from the Patriarch to stop putting [Pressure] on the ant in front of him (he sometimes forgets how much lower the [Level] of most people was).

"Well…" the messenger seemed reluctant of providing more information.

"Do I have to remind you of who is sitting in front of you? Do you really think that I would ask you to talk about something, with that insignificant mouth of yours, if I wasn’t interested in what it could incompetently stammer out?" His voice gained an ominous edge, honed in the hostile field of the noble’s court, "Speak!"

The 'lesser' Nymph jumped at the sudden shift in tone: "Young master Jeoff accused one of the [Humans], the newly [Transferred Race], of being a [Demon], or [Monster], disguised, and that it had bewitched the other presents!" And got that out in one breath.

Jeoff considered the last statement: for his Junior to believe that a [Demon] was among the [Humans], and to then start a fight for the sake of it, he must have had more than a hunch.

But what could have rankled his son to the point of lashing out? Was his son the one that got [Charmed]?

“Of course!” thought the patriarch, “my son has a body as sturdy as granite, but his mind is still malleable like clay (one of the perks of youth, if you asked him), but that also made him more susceptible to [Mental Spells]…”

There was no doubt in his mind that some trickery was afoot, and he would scour any leads he could find.

"And who was this… [Human]… that my son seemed to think was a [Demon]?" he asked, once more collected.

The messenger gulped audibly, an omen to an answer that neither would have liked.

"As I already stated, they are keeping a closed lid on this, so we don’t have as much reliable information as usual, but we do have two small things that seem to be consistent…"

"…Yes?" the reluctance in relaying information of this messenger was getting on the patriarch's nerves: maybe it was time for some changes among his staff.

"The [Human] accused of being a [Demon] is generally described as being unusually short, compared to the others of the same [Race], and very unsociable… almost standoffish."

They both knew that, for an entirely new [Race], this information was almost as good as useless.

"Anything else, before you are dismissed?", 'permanently' he added mentally.

The messenger, whom he didn’t even bother learning the name of, seemed to be grinding his own teeth for a few seconds.

“There is something else, but he doesn’t believe it to be reliable” was the conclusion that Jeoff reached by observing the insect in front of him.

"Speak your mind; after all, this report can’t get any worse" the patriarch deadpanned.

The messenger seemed chastened by his words, but spoke nonetheless: "There are rumors of him also having 'unsettling' eyes…well, what they said was crasser, but the sentiment was the same: his eyes were distinctive. But I couldn’t get anything more about it".

Jeoff had to take a deep breath to avoid strangling the idiotic messenger, "Let me get this straight: You almost withhold from me a piece of information that was deemed distinctive from those present, only because you thought of it as just a rumor?"

"W-w-w-well… if you p-p-put it t-that way-" he sputtered, panicking.

"Get out of my sight" the words were barely above a whisper, but the power in them made the messenger bolt out of the room.

He sat alone at his desk, a remnant from the first generation of Jeofferneys, or at least as 'alone' someone of his caliber could be.

"I want my son to be set free, the daughter of that miscreant brought to justice, and the [Human], [Demon], whatever, dead! As soon as possible, in this order" he said to the empty room.

And the emptiness spoke back: "Arranging the release of Jeoff Jr. won’t be a problem, it’ll just need a bit of befuddlement of official records, a bit of greased hands here, a bit of blackmailing there… not a big deal" said someone, from one of the darkened corners of the room.

"Marring the reputation of the [High Priestess]", they continued, "will be the hardest one, but it still can be done: for a high enough price".

The patriarch simply materialized a sack, and then threw it at the feet of the shadow, with the satisfying tinkling of coins following it.

"Good. After that, killing the [Human] will be a joke: be it a [Demon], or a newly [Transferred], it won’t have a chance in escaping a [True Hunter]… little does" a sinister cackling denoted the end of his speech.

"I don’t really care about the [Human], and I doubt they’re actually a [Demon], but it’s a matter of principle, so they can’t be left wandering around, as a living sign of failure on our part" a dismissive gesture from Jeoff makes evident how little he actually cared about that last order.

"That’s still fine by me. All in all, it will take the better part of a year to see it all done."

"See that it is done as fast as possible: I hate waiting" says the patriarch, turning his head in the direction of the concealed predator.

"Don’t worry, we [Hunters] rarely disappoint, and a [True Hunter] never does" and, with that last statement, his presence vanished.

Finally, truly, alone, the patriarch relaxed and slumped against the plush, ornate, armchair, made of precious [Earth Wyvern]’s leather.

He sighed, faced with the difficulties that the [Nexus] always seemed to pose in front of him, and took a moment to meditate on the day filled with jobs well done, at least on his part.

Almost as an afterthought, he remembered that he had a bit of cleaning of useless people: so, he regrettably got up, and went on his way to reorganize his entourage.

Because to fire people in person was the highest of honors that he could allow to his servants.

And then people dared say that he wasn’t just.

* * *

{Demi-Goddess Undine POV}

She didn’t know what to make of the weird [Human].

And weird was putting it lightly: he was a true [Anomaly], one that the [System] shouldn’t allow existing.

She said 'shouldn’t', because it could happen, but it did so rarely that she honestly forgot when it was the last time that it happened…

Was she even born yet, the last time it happened?

She didn’t think so, or she would have had better [Information] about it.

The [System] tended to act erratically when an [Anomaly] was involved.

And for good reason: this [Human], that had just gotten [Transferred], managed to alter reality the first time it succeeded in making a [Spell].

The FIRST TIME!!!

The shock of it hadn’t yet settled, and she had little to no idea how to rationalize what she saw happen.

Was he a [Demon]? No, she would have noticed, and her daughter even checked on him to make sure.

The fact that he could, 'somehow', naturally alter reality was preposterous, only someone of her caliber could do such a thing, with the need of a great deal of effort to boot, and yet…

Talking about her daughter, she demonstrated an unexpected fondness for the man.

And the man warmed up to her in the end…

She may have failed to become his first [Patron], but she could probably use this bond to her benefit.

Obviously, she would never force her loving daughter to do something she didn’t want to, but asking her to look out for him, and possibly getting closer to him in the process, shouldn’t be something that would end up upsetting her.

And even if little Undine was unsure about what approach to use, her mother would always know best, and offer clues.

She made it as far as [Demi-Goddess] after all.

And yet, something bothered her.

Was it really the [Anomalous Human], or something else?

The scuffle with the young Jeoff was an amusing distraction, with a pleasing distraction, but it was still unexpected: how could something so unlucky happen under her own ro-

'Oh no', she suddenly thought, 'I really hope that what I think happened wasn’t what actually happened'.

The [Goddess of Luck] wouldn’t be that fickle, right?

…

Ah, who was she kidding, this had her fingerprints all over it!

'I’m going to have some chosen words with her, at the next council', and the words she was thinking about wouldn’t be cordial.

* * *

{Unknown POVs}

Something new was alive.

“Alive?”

“Alive!”

Something new was generating light.

“Light! Yes yes yes!”

It didn’t know how it came to be, it was just glad that it was so.

And that it had a clear purpose, one, and only one purpose: to light the way for his creator.

A noble purpose indeed.

Unfortunately, his stay in the outside world was cut short: its presence was not needed, yet.

Now, he resided on a grassy hill, in a new place that felt even more abundant with 'energy' than the old one.

It didn’t how, it didn’t know why, it just knew that this place was made by his creator.

“Like me!”

This new place appeared as if it was truly made for him, since it alternated between being in a state of perpetual twilight, or of being in a very dim, and violet, dusk.

Never too dark, but always in need of more LIGHT.

And the new being was more than happy to provide.

It knew that one of the spheres in the sky should have been giving light to the world, just like him, and yet it was dormant, pitch black, like it had 'lost' the capacity to shine bright.

"Worry-not, me here!"

The happy lantern wasn’t smart enough to ponder over the evident conundrum, and just happily provided light to the fragrant grass that dominated the landscape.

And the grass grew, nurtured from the presence of what it needed.

“Yes, light!”

And the happiness at seeing the fruit of his endeavor spurred on the little familiar.

Soon, threes were also sprouting and thriving.

“Yes, more Light! Yes, more Life!”

It had no idea of the grandiosity of what it had accomplished in so little time, all thanks to its [Divine], and [Life]-filled, spark of [Light], but it probably wouldn’t have cared anyway.

[Buddy] watched the magical lantern go on his way, inside the [World-Within], and then switched back to observing the ominous black sun.

[Buddy] didn’t know when it gained access, as a mere observer, to this inner realm, but it gave it a chance to experience something new, bizarre, and unexpected, so it didn’t question it too much, for now, and immersed itself in the duty.

It already questioned its existence enough, it didn’t need more to ponder over on his plate.

Observing the sentient being that his bonded-creator had, somehow, made, was the last head-scratcher it needed: [Buddy] basically had gotten a [Job] as a caretaker for Darwin’s inner-sanctum, and it was still elaborating the fact.

But that line of thought was halted when it first noticed the 'black hole'.

It was like a furnace of energy, but lulled asleep.

Powerful, but inactive.

Seemingly darkening its surrounding.

Its purpose? A complete mystery: maybe it was a natural part of this world, or maybe it wasn’t.

[Buddy] didn’t know.

The [System] didn’t hint about knowing of its existence, and nothing in the [Information] had anything about it.

The only thing [Buddy] had was a 'bad feeling'.

And if it inherited its luck from its bonded-creator, then you better believe that it would end up bearing results.

And just like its bonded-creator, it would learn to curse its 'mouth'.

THE [ABYSS] STIRS