“A wounded soul is the one that lashes out the most. You have to remain centered on yourself, or others will exploit such openings for their own benefit. A mandatory task, yet not an easy one, I certainly know that.”

-Temple master Zheng Lu Xiao.

Nashariel pov

She and the gang walked back to their borrowed house. The two ratkins followed them like hounds, even splitting up in two different directions. They could hardly fool Nashariel’s and Dan’s senses, not while being so close and full of hostility.

The Templars pretended to not notice them, entering the renewed house with light steps. Just before closing the door, Nashariel threw a questioning glance at her friends, to which they nodded.

"Ehy, you two, do you want to come in? I'd rather not have you standing outside like dogs.” At the lack of reply, Nashariel rolled her eyes. She pointed at the two patched of darker shadows, following their movements with her finger and tail at once. “I can do this all night, you know?” Or is it day? Gods, I miss the sky.

Shal emerged from the furthest shadow. “Sharp senses. How?” She asked, crossing her arms.

The other shadow revealed the bloodthirsty one. She limited herself to glaring at Nashariel.

The dragokin shrugged. “I like awareness. So, what do you wanna do?”

“How do we know that yours isn’t a trap-ambush?” The glaring ratkin asked with a snarl. Looking at her a bit longer, Nashariel noticed that her fur was marred by scars. The most notable ones were those which went from her abdomen to her right shoulder. Burns?

*Shadow/Hunger/Blood/Passion-Ratkin berserker Lvl 201 *

High levels, these ones. Do Ratkins have an innate affinity for Shadow and Hunger? Would it be rude to ask? Perhaps I may borrow some books about-

/Focus/

Right, sorry. “Because… we’re nice people? And also not stupid; if you go missing before we leave, everyone will accuse us of it."

The duo glanced at each other. They started to chatter in a strange tongue made of squeaks and low whistles.

Nashariel didn’t know the exact language, but it sounded familiar to her ears. Some flashes of living a ratkin’s life passed through her mind, but they were too quick for her to grasp another tongue from nothing. I guess that I haven't finished processing all of them, uh? I wonder if I can speed up the process in some way…

“We accept your invitation-welcome.” Shal announced. Her companion looked disappointed, crossing her arms and keeping her glare.

“Welcome, then! Please, don’t stab anyone that doesn’t stab you first!” Nashariel chuckled, letting the duo enter. At least we won’t have to watch every single entrance all night. The ground swayed for a moment under her. Astill’s mercy, I need a fricking bed.

The journey within her soul had taken a heavy toll on the omnidragon. No matter the amount of healing she had blasted upon herself, the fatigue threatened to shut her eyes close every single moment. Nashariel had hoped to get some rest for tonight, but the presence of the two Shadow-people made her uneasy.

There wasn’t any guarantee that she would wake up on time if they decided to ambush her and her friends.

Said friends gave a welcoming nod to the duo. “Wanted to chit-chat with us?” Dan asked, flashing a bright smile.

The berserker grunted. "Wanted to keep an eye-watch over you,” she glanced at Nashariel, who closed the door. “but her senses are sharp. Irritating-annoying.” She concluded her sentence by heaving for breath. Just two or three times, but Veliel immediately grew concerned.

“Do you need medical assistance?” She asked.

The ratkin stiffened. “Do not use your light-burning thing on me!”

Shal grabbed her hand, squeezing it for a moment. "It's all right, Dalka. Calm down."

The berserker’s eyes darted between each Templar. Upon finding no threat, she relaxed.

The group exchanged a glance. Well, duck.

/You invited them in, didn’t you?/

I sure did, thank you for reminding me.

/Anytime!/

“So, now that you’re here…?” Nashariel half-asked after a moment of awkward silence.

“We surveil you, to make sure that…” Shal replied, before trailing off. Perhaps she had just noticed the remodeling done by Dorel’s creative spree.

The featureless stone pavement had been ripped out and replaced by an elegant slate, alternating greys, blacks, and whites to resemble some of the beaches or ports seen in Andriel.

The upper side of the disfigured walls had been Manipulated in such a way that the cracks looked like waves breaking on the sea. A simple seabed decorated the low half of every wall in the building, showing dozens of different marine creatures locked in different motions of swimming. They missed lots of details, but they only had a few hours to do the work. The painting was dry, at least.

The furniture had been mostly, ignored. Creating materials was only a temporary solution, so Dorel only limited himself to creating their beds. He had fully intended to Manipulate them before leaving the Hub, but Nashariel's bad news had delayed his project.

And he wanted to do even more.

Nashariel realized that, probably, keeping away a crafter that loved his job from… well, crafting, for too long had consequences. She had never seen her quietest friend in such an artistic frenzy. Did he visit the Curse chamber, I wonder? She had never known that he was a painter too.

Seeing the ratkins slowly losing their scowls in favor of looks full of amazement was… much like seeing a kid looking at the ocean for the first time. Probably literally, seeing where the ratkins lived in.

Dorel stood a bit straighter.

When the ratkins looked at them, the group pointed their fingers toward the Touched Defender. He nodded. “We grew up by the ocean. We miss home.” Dorel said with a shrug.

“Did you want to live-stay here?” Shal asked, almost whispering. “Do you want to… take-seize this home?”

“No. My father always told me to leave something as I found it or better, if possible. This house was half-destroyed, so I decided to do my best to fix it. Even items have souls, and houses want to be inhabited."

The unrestful spirits tended to wreck the places that they once lived in, for some reason. There were some theories, but no one had a definite answer for the whys. At least, these had only been Lost spirits and not proper undead.

The duo slowly nodded.

“Thank you, Crafter.” They looked much more relaxed, judging by their stances. Shal turned to look at a smiling Nashariel behind her. “But we still have question-queries to ask.”

“Ask away! Perhaps we want to sit down somewhere instead of standing in the hallway like lost ducks?”

The group, and the two ratkins, sat down in what once was the kitchen. Dorel had transferred that to another, more aerated room to avoid the fumes from accumulating in the house. He also created four chairs, as the previous occupants had only been two.

The Templars looked expectantly at the fidgeting duo. Without violence in the air, they seemed a bit lost on what to do. Not that they completely dropped their guards, but they weren’t continuously eyeing their weapons, as of now.

“So,” started Dan. “what’s your favorite pastime?” He asked, trying to break the ice.

Shal snorted. “We kill-murder things in the tunnels. They come, and what the runes cannot repel, we slay. Hector helped us, so we repay.”

That's why they're so high level.

/They didn’t look like researchers in the first place/

True.“Are you not researchers yourself?” She decided to not explore the repay part. Seeing the twitch in the berserker’s eyes, Nashariel considered hers to be the right decision.

“Most of us aren’t. I like-enjoy working with dangerous things. Many powerful things live-hunt below. Must be careful.”

Dalka snorted. “Only if you’re some weak-puny mice!”

Shal rolled her eyes. “Or a blood-frenzied mouse.”

Nashariel’s friends solemnly nodded at Shal, almost like they understood her on a deeper level.

The dragokin pouted and crossed her arms. “I’m not that reckless…”

“Yes, Boss, yes you are.”

The secondary mind hummed in agreement.

Nashariel sighed. “Fine, fine. Anyway, what kinds of enemies can we expect below?”

“Worms that attack-ambush from below your feet. Spiders that weave their traps in the way. There are large slimes that engulf the idiots that don't look in front of them." Shal threw a fiery glance at Dalka, who nervously scratched her ears. "Most of the creatures you'll kill-face are attuned to Acid or Poison."

“Thank you. What can you tell us about their Tier? And where can we find the most possible amount of slimes?”

Dalka grunted. "2 at most unless you descend-venture lower. Good for levels."

"Slimes live on the eastern side of the tunnels. It's… hard-complicated to describe you the right way. Why are you so interested-curious about slimes?”

That’s the right direction. Nashariel debated for a split second her next few words. She didn’t want to risk losing the artifact, but Shal and Dalka weren't going to accept a not-answer, not when they had just started to open up to them. She repeated what she had said to Hector, figuring out that the duo would probably ask him anyway. “There’s something we recently became aware of that has been hidden in those tunnels, a long time ago.”

The ratkins’ ears twitched.

"We need to find it and destroy it as soon as possible. The two hunted spirits I put to rest here have been slain by that thing’s spawn, and I fear that’s just the start.” Nashariel asked with her most dead-serious look.

Shal slowly nodded. “The average level is going up. We thought that a powerful monster had moved-nested nearby, but…” The ratkin bit her lips, frowning.

Dalka steeled her gaze, if only slightly. “How do we know that you don’t want-need to steal-take it instead?”

Veliel shook her head. “We would never do something to harm innocents.”

“‘Innocent’ is a vague word.” The ratkin said bitterly, caressing the largest scar on her chest. “We have been burned-scorched by Angel’s justice.”

A moment of silence fell on the group.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. We have understood that the Paladins are…” Veliel tried to search for the right word. “dedicated?”

“That doesn’t even begin to cover their obsession or their ruthlessness!” Dalka snarled. Nashariel didn’t feel any heat directed towards her group, at least.

Shal squeezed her friend’s shoulder, looking angry herself. “How long have you lived in Valkas?”

“Less than two weeks, I’d say.”

“So you don’t know.” Shal cleared her throat. “We lived in the Cleansing Angel, until a few years ago. Our innate attunements had the Paladins keeping a wary-leery gaze on us. Then, one day, a Paladin got killed-murdered. They investigated, claiming that the assassin-murderer was a ratkin. But it was a lie-deception!” She snarled. “I know that they just wanted-desired to get rid of us!”

The group exchanged an alarmed glance. Nashariel was dubious but kept her face neutral. "And then what happened?"

“We defended ourselves, but… they were too strong. We ran-skittered away in the nearest tunnels. Dozens of us died, but we made it here. Hector welcomed us to stay-live.”

“How do we know that you’re not doing the same-exact thing!?”

"You can't," Nashariel replied shrugging. "You could argue that all our actions were aimed to gain your trust. I don't have the power to change your opinion of us, not in a single night. That said, we must get rid of that thing before it’s too late. We will go, no matter what you have to say about it.”

Her memories of that disaster were all too vivid, especially after having just lived as Ryahkera once more. Neither she nor the she of that time wanted to see another Darkmud incident.

The entire spectrum of emotions showed on both of the duo’s faces. Especially conflict.

“We’ll talk-discuss with the others.” Dalka finally said.

Shal nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

They went to the door, giving the house one last look filled with awe.

"Why did the house put you both at ease?” Dan asked.

Shal gave him a humorless chuckle. “Papa said that an artist’s work mirrors their soul. The paintings at the fortress were all about war-conflict. These are… peaceful. He was always right.”

They went out without noise.

As soon as the ratkins were out of her perception range, Nashariel collapsed on the floor.

The dragokin woke up in an unfamiliar bed. The marine scenes painted on the wall made her think to be back in her parent’s house in Andriel.

The illusion broke the exact moment that she heard Dan's snores. Dang it, Dan.

Smiling, Nashariel focused on her senses, detecting no other living being other than she and her group. She relaxed, then decided to see what had she gained over her inner journey by falling once again in her status.

Nashariel was positively flooded with notifications.

*Astral journey commenced.

…

Warning!

Ego death imminent!

Time remaining: 19 minutes.

…

Warning!

Ego death imminent!

Time remaining: 17 minutes.

Inner center/Outer edge Lvl up!

Warning!

Ego death imminent!

Time remaining: 25 minutes.

…

Inner center/Outer edge capped! Your strength of will is slightly increased / Your other sensory skills are slightly improved.

…

Warning… *

As always, off with a great start. Nashariel was drenched in cold sweat. Every time that her skill leveled up, the timer had been delayed by a few minutes. When the skill reached its last level, the clock stopped.

And yet, Nashariel later received a welcoming surprise.

*Inner center/Outer edge: For having put this skill to its utmost limits by re-living another incarnation of yours for over ten years without interruption, this skill has spontaneously broken its cap.

Inner center/Outer edge evolves into-> Draconic integrity/Draconic heed Lvl 20-capped (At dusk and dawn, this skill’s effects are both activated and empowered).

Draconic integrity/Draconic heed Lvl 20-capped

As a dragon, your sense of self is much more pronounced than that of a mortal. Knowing what one’s heart is set upon is certainly beneficial, but remember that being blinded by pride has led many of your kind to their downfall. / Being aware of your shortcomings is essential to be safe from others' manipulations. That said, hiding yours while learning their faults is the key to success. Remember, this ability can also be used to comfort an ally in need.

The effects that would cause you to lose your identity are significantly weakened.

Your strength of will is moderately increased.

During the day, you become harder to influence.

Others can hardly escape your notice unless you otherwise will so. Should an enemy evade your senses, there’s a small chance of you instinctually becoming aware of them.

Your other sensory skills are moderately improved.

At night, you become better at judging which words or actions produce the best results for your interests.

At dusk and dawn, both these skills' effects are activated and empowered.

Break cost: 100 points. *

Forcing the breakthrough of a skill wasn’t an easy feat, especially because the requirements varied between individuals. Nashariel wasn’t counting on it happening again anytime soon.

The skill itself seemed good, especially since it has made her journey much, much easier.

Nashariel shivered. If she had listened to the Church’s will, she would have died right there and there. As much as she respected the collective wisdom of Astill’s followers, she resolved to make her own decisions. Much like dad once told me. She realized, chuckling. Astill's mercy, I miss him and mom. I wonder how longer still I need to wait to hug them again.

Nostalgia aside, there was still much more to go through.

*Astral journey successfully completed!

Mature soul fragment reabsorbed.

Rewards:

Perfect comprehension of runes and artifact creation, up to Tier 2. Moderate of Tier 3. (Age limitation is still active).

Awareness increased by 100. Reward doubled.

You are granted a total of 4 free skills or advancements in the Mind, Flow, or Curse chambers to spend as you see fit.

+10 levels.

A new set of racial Quests is available!

This type of Quest can only be commenced by reabsorbing a soul fragment or in other exceptional cases. Be warned, Astral journeys are dangerous and should be treated as such. Exploring the life of an incarnation of an age category above yours is extremely dangerous, but the reward is doubled once for each Tier of difference.

Eternal Quest: Chapters of the Never-ending Tale.

Infinity lies behind and ahead of you. During your eternal journey, many pieces of yourself have been lost in time and memory. Retake them, reabsorb them, and return to what you once were.

One Chapter at a time.

First chapter: Ryahkera’s last goodbye

Ryahkera was forced to leave her country without her husband. Though her legacy is lost within you, the memories remain. Quiet them, let her rest.

Objective: Track Aran Lawbringer and give him Ryahkera’s pendant. Should he have died already, visit his tomb and lay the pendant there.

Reward: 200 skill and stat points. *

A new type of Quests, uh? Nashariel mused. I guess that visiting Alexandros is going on my to-do list. I’m not doing another Astral journey anytime soon, tho. Perhaps when we’re back home and I have a free day or two? And what does it mean with ‘what you once were’?

/Perhaps it’ll tell us when we complete the Quests/

Probably? Nashariel shrugged. Let’s save it for later, then. She called upon her sheet.

Nashariel frowned. So much work to unclog my sheet... But maybe…

Nashariel willed everything to only display her improvements. Less annoying to scroll through, I guess. Why haven’t thought about it sooner?

*Level: 190-> 200

Available stat points: 187

Available skill points: 64

Awareness 800-> 1000 - 2000

Skills:

Racial:

Omnidragon superiority (III) Lvl 2-> 5

Omnidragon’s supply Lvl 4-> 9

Omnia creation Lvl 3-> 4

Omnia manipulation Lvl 3-> 8

Fire:

Enhanced intimidation Lvl 2

Light:

Enhanced diplomacy Lvl 2

Improved leadership Lvl 4

Mind:

Sense motives Lvl 4

Healing:

Dedication of the healer Lvl 1-> 3

Eased trust-> 6

Spirit:

Sense spirit 20-capped (You can better distinguish between different spirits)

Spiritual tracking 20-capped (Fading tracks are more visible to you)

Flow:

Sense Flux Lvl 12

Mana finesse Lvl 20-capped (Effect increased)

Darklight:

Draconic center/Draconic heed Lvl 20-capped

Sense balance/Overlook confusion Lvl 20-capped (The harmful effects of your skills upon yourself are slightly weakened / Effect increased for skills originating from you) *

Nashariel nodded in her etheric body. That’s more like it!

She decided against spending points, then returned to the real world.

There was an artifact to stop, after all.

Feeling much more rested, the Templars went to the exit indicated by Hector.

There, they found a pair of guards and a group of ratkins.

All of them still looked somewhat wary, as Nashariel predicted.

Shal waved at them.

“I wonder if they want to come with us.” Dan mused.

"Without a doubt," Dorel replied. "and I feel like that isn't negotiable."

/Not without shedding some blood/

Yep. Let’s just hope that they have nothing to do with this.“Greetings. What have you decided?”

“We will travel-guard you. We shall see this ‘thing’ destroyed-obliterated.” Shal replied. “Some of us already killed-cleared the nearby tunnels.”

Even though she had expected it, Nashariel was no less annoyed. “Very well, follow us.”

Shal and a few others slightly widened their eyes in surprise. They quickly recovered, nodded, then vanished into the shadows.

I hope that they won’t take out all the monsters.

/I doubt it/

Nashariel, her friends, and the twelve shadows stepped into the ink-black tunnels.

The putrid smell of rot filled Nashariel’s every breath, down into the three-meter wide passages. Gray rocks did their best to confound her with their uniformity, as did the pitch-black darkness all around them. Veliel’s light bobbed up and down, following her footsteps but failing to illuminate more than a hundred meters at a time.

Sometimes, the passages opened up into wide caverns. Punctually, it was also the source of a Lair. The ratkins insisted on clearing them all out, especially Dalka.

The Templars didn’t contest that. Their temporary companions lived here, after all, and they too were sworn protectors.

Judging by their acrid smell, the roaming monsters down here either didn’t aim at being stealthy or everyone’s nose was dead since a few generations ago. Or both.

Probably both.

Ryahkera’s memories guided her at every turn of this underground ocean. Some of the tunnels and caverns had crumbled with the passing centuries, but her… Ryahkera’s perfect mental map led Nashariel to alternative ways to her destination.

She had deemed wiser to not show her capability to shift between attunements, after all.

A Worm surged from the earth, trying to swallow her whole. And a strong kick splattered it across the floor.

The monsters here were barely in the three digits, no threat for both groups.

Things changed when the rock around them became darker. The tunnels also enlarged a lot, which confounded Ryahkera’s memories. Mana made the tunnel’s air shimmer like during a heatwave.

Bedrock already? The massive amount of mana must have shifted the whole area’s Tier before its necessary depth, simultaneously corroding the narrow tunnels up to their current largeness. If this process could be replicated safely, we could build areas dedicated to leveling…

/Secondary mind to Nashariel. You good?/

Nashariel bit her tongue hard enough to draw some blood. I am now. Gods, I need to sleep again.

/Tired?/

Yeah. I'd like to take the next few days off if I can.

/If/

Don’t be a downer, please.

Musings aside, Shal reappeared from the shadows. “From now on, we’ll meet-kill only Tier 2 monsters. Are you certain-sure to proceed?”

“I am. We must get rid of that artifact.”

“Very well. Be wary of slimes and spiders, this is their territory-lair.”

“Thanks, Shal. If any of you need healing or buffs…”

The ratkin nodded, vanishing once more.

As expected, things got rougher.

The light emanating from Nashariel and her group kept attracting monsters like moths to a flame. Sometimes by themselves, sometimes not.

While that wasn’t a problem per se, the Templars were heavily impaired by the raw numbers of people fighting on their side. More than once, they had to pull back a blow that would have struck a ratkin. Not that the other party didn't, but the Astillians were certainly not used to fighting in these kinds of areas.

Nashariel got the impression that their guides thought the same thing. There had been a few avoidable injuries, and they didn’t look too pleased with their performance either. The ratkins still refused their help.

After a quick discussion, the groups decided to take turns.

Since Nashariel had to guide everyone, she would remain their vanguard. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!” She said to quiet her friends’ worries.

And she promptly smacked against a transparent slime.

The monster quickly sucked her body to the center of its mass, working on melting its prey to the best of its abilities.

Nashariel rolled her eyes. She powered her Territory, making the creature burst from within with blinding light.

*Mire/Craving-Tunnel slime Lvl 159 defeated.

Rewards assigned. *

The remains rained upon her surroundings, much to the dismay of the dazzled ratkins and the flat stares of her friends.

/Perhaps you might want to look where you’re going!/ The secondary mind snickered.

“Astill’s mercy, it’s everywhere!” Nashariel scrolled like a dog.

The strange substance that composed the slime clung to her armor and clothes, still eating through them even after the slime’s demise.

Dorel approached, laying a hand on Nashariel’s armor.

While the clothes dissolved completely, save for her magic mantle, the metal she wore rebuilt itself perfectly. It also got a weak purple hue. Nashariel prodded the regrown metal, finding them harder than usual.

“It’s Acid-resistant now. It should last for an hour or two.”

Can’t replicate a crafter’s touch, uh? “Thanks, Dorel. Let’s keep going.”

A Dan-copy appeared beside her. “And watch where we’re going!” He exclaimed with a thumbs up.

Nashariel uselessly bonked the copy. Dang it, Dan!

All the mirth ended when a shrill roar rattled the whole tunnel.

“Prepare to engage!” She shouted, retreating her mantle and extending her wings. Spear in hand, she readied her throw, following the approaching monstrosity’s footsteps.

Ideal timing for the tunnels to become large, uh?

/Aren’t we used to be lucky by now?/

Nashariel replied with a feral grin.

??? pov

“Mother approaches! I feel her!” Shouted the creature at the rest of its swarm.

They all rejoiced.

The Gift spewed out a few more of their kind. It too seemed happy. Good!

No one had ever met Mother in person, none except the Gift. The nameless creature had tried to talk to it, but its efforts had been for naught.

“Go to Mother?” Asked a member of the swarm, one of the little ones.

“We can’t, we can’t!” Echoed some of the others. “Shiny things burn!”

The nameless creature extended its senses. The once small opening had been demolished by the food-not-food one. To protect the swarm, it said, it built another set of shiny things. It also started to bring food to them.

The swarm had never seen such gargantuan creatures. Feasting upon them seemed the right thing to do.

And yet, the nameless creature noticed that once one of the swarm grew enough, the food-not-food took it away with them. The nameless creature wiggled in worry.

Suddenly, as if summoned by its thoughts, the food-not-food bursted into the room. “How did they find-remembered about the Cleanser?!” It snarled, sowing fear upon the swarm. It threw a massive corpse in the middle of them.

The nameless creature resisted the pangs of its hunger, powerlessly watching as its mates devoured the food. A cocoon larger than the creature just eaten appeared in place of it and that part of the swarm.

The food-not-food extended its head-mouth in a wicked smile. It drew something shining upon the cocoon. "Let's see how those Angel's dogs react-die to this!"

Mother, be careful!