Six Months Ago…

~~~~~~

Stanley

~~~~~~

Stanley thought he was dead when first finding himself aware in the dark and feared that he was nothing more than a fading Soul adrift in the nothingness. Until the first Notification came through…

Soul-Bonded Beast(Caffeine) Sacrificed -2 All Base Attributes.

+1 All Base Attributes

He fought the dark then, desperate to find Lee and Caffeine, but only briefly.

Skill Level Up: [Twin-Soul Mental Fortress]

That Notification brought light into the darkness, and Stanley realized where he was. "Not dead, and probably not a ghost, but…" He followed the glow to its origin and found Caffeine's Soul curled up in the center of the courtyard inside their Soul Fortress.

Caffeine was barely glowing, but as the only light in the dark, he was almost blinding in his luminescence. It didn't hurt that Stanley knew precisely what that light was… it was the Source. A tiny little bundle of god-like power, all tied up within Caffeine's Soul.

The fact that it had brightened when Stanley attacked the dark was also not lost on him. "Keep sleeping, Caff. I'll be quiet."

Stanley sat down with Caffeine and started petting him out of reflex, then froze in a panic the moment his hand touched the glowing fur. It was soft… and nothing terrible happened. So Stanley relaxed there, one hand gently stroking the fur as he pieced together his memories.

Lee had said something at the end, something about Three… and there was a Notification.

Debuff Gained: [Absolute Stasis]

Skill Level Up: [Twin-Soul Mental Fortress]

Skill Level Up: [Twin-Soul Mental Fortress]

Skill Level…

…

Debuff Partially Resisted: [Absolute Stasis]

Debuff Gained: [Stasis]

"Right, his building that he was giving Soul points to," Stanley remembered, and then as if on cue…

-1 Twin-Soul(Two Becomes Three)

(Not Affected by Trait: [Ruthless Undying Soul])

A Notification that had become almost routine recently, well, before everything went to shit. If he could only remember how long the intervals had been, he might be able to tell the passage of time… and then there was the mention of their newest Trait.

It was ironic and a bittersweet reminder. It was also the reason that Stanley feared becoming a ghost.

They had gained an Immortal Soul, sort of, just in time to die… except at the end, it had been their bodies that were being destroyed, and their Soul was technically still intact… if a bit worn down.

Unlike the first time he'd used their Soul as a weapon, at least this time, it hadn't resulted in a bleeding wound. Whether because of his Class or simply because the first time had started with the injury already caused by the Undead.

As for what would happen if they died, Stanley didn't know and didn't want to know. The Notifications had said repeatedly that he had died… or tried to say it…

Stanley ignored the memories and focused on the feeling of soft fur under his fingers.

Soul-Bonded Beast(Caffeine) Sacrificed -2 All Base Attributes.

+1 All Base Attributes

"Caff…" The fact that he only gained half the points highly suggested that Lee was also alive and getting the remainder. That was reassuring, though he had assumed as much already. They were bound too tightly together now, and one could not live without the other. It was a comfort, in a way. Stanley wouldn't have to fight on alone, but it was also a responsibility. If he failed, then Lee would be dragged down with him. "I won't fail, Brother."

That brought him back to the first Notifications… they had been put on ice.

More specifically, Lee's building had put them on ice, and Stanley didn't want to risk breaking it. "Lee, you created a sentient, magical building… and named it Three… we both suck at naming shit." A lot like their parents, he assumed, since all they had to remember them was smiling people in photographs that didn't look familiar. "Why am I even thinking about that?"

Stanley knew that he could break free from the Debuff. Hell, he almost had already without realizing it or even really trying… but doing that would very likely be fatal for both of them. So Stanley sat still and summoned up happy thoughts about how much he liked the dark and how pleasant it was in here. "Wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Nope, I love being in Stasis. Best thing ever!"

Time passed, at least Stanley assumed it did… and with nothing else to do, he went over the Notifications from the battle that he had skipped before.

Skill: [Mind Over Matter] Evolved into [Mind Over All]

[Mind Over All(Initiate I)](Legendary)(Source)

You have cast your Mind and Will against Everything that stood in your way, including Death, and Prevailed.

All will Bend before your Will or be Broken.

The Greater your Understanding of what you are Attempting to Change, the Greater your Power.

Effects:

+5% Ease of Altering Reality Per Skill Level

-2% Psionic Energy and Source Cost Per Skill Level

"Not bad," Stanley decided. Especially the part where it said he was legendary. Unfortunately, that Source tag probably meant that he would need to Rank up before he could actually use the damn Skill…

Class: [Soul Psionic] has Reached the Journeyman Threshold. No Evolution Options Available. Upgrade to Adept Available. Proceed? Y/N

Stanley agreed, remembering what came at each upgrade, and eagerly looked through his Class Skill options.

[Elemental Focus](UnCommon)

Want to Throw Fireballs or Summon Lightning?

Increases the Affinity and Understanding of Elemental Effects.

Affinity for Specific Elements may Increase or Decrease over time, Depending on Usage.

"Is Time an Element?" Stanley thought, "If so, could I stop time or speed it up…" Then he remembered that he kind of already did that. Between Stopping people and using his Still Mind… "Could I haste someone if I do the opposite of Stop?" Stanley amused himself for a little bit, thinking about ways he could use his power but had never even thought to try before. Such as trying to Stop himself… and whether that would work or if he would resist himself. Or if Space was an element that he could use to teleport eventually. Either way, it didn't matter. His new Legendary Skill could do anything this one could do, and probably better.

[Mental Adjustment](Rare)

When your Enemies or Friends have the Wrong Idea.

Increases Understanding and Ability to Connect to Another Entity's Mind, and Change It.

Not all Minds are the Same, and Effects may Vary Depending on the Target.

"Not even an option." The last thing he needed to be doing was fucking with other people's heads using his own fucked up mind. He would stick with good, clean killing to deal with his problems. Though his legendary skill would probably work for this as well… "Nope, I'm sure it wouldn't!" Was putting someone to sleep a form of mind control? "Definitely not."

[Soul Manipulation](Epic)

Let me get that for you.

Move Further along the Path of the Soul and its Mysteries.

Increased Ability to Heal or Harm the Soul of Yourself or your Target. Or to Change the Parts you Don't Like.

That one might have been tempting if he was still trying to repair their Soul, but otherwise, it was worse than the mind fuckery one. Stanley felt that he knew his own Soul reasonably well after all they'd been through, but translating that to someone else's Soul and then trying to change it… "Yikes!" That was a hard pass. "Plus, my new Legendary Skill could probably…"

[Split Minds](Epic)

Did I Say That? Or Just Think It?

The Ability to Split your Mind and Focus on More than One Thing at a Time.

Higher Levels Increase the Number of Split Minds Available at Once.

Does Not Increase Psionic Power. All Splits Share the Same Power Pool.

"Last option, and the best one," Stanley thought, and then his hand froze on the white fur. "Does this mean I'll be twice as bored while stuck here? Or that I'll have someone to talk to…" He groaned, and the groan shifted into a chuckle, then slightly manic laughter. "I'm going to go insane stuck in this place…"

Despite his mild misgivings, Stanley could think of a myriad of ways it could be helpful. Such as actively defending while attacking, meditating while he was fighting, and other stuff… probably. Stanley chose the Skill.

New Class Skill: [Split Minds(Initiate I)](Epic)

Stanley activated it and… "Hi me!" It was not what he expected. In fact, it felt almost completely normal, aside from the fact that he had two streams of consciousness now… "Shut up, dumbass." Nope, it just felt like his own thoughts from either split. Literally like talking to himself, so unfortunately, he would have to go insane the old-fashioned way.

Stanley set both splits onto meditating… or tired to, and then used one to quietly mutter increasingly colorful curses when he realized that he couldn't activate [Soul Meditation] in here. The other split was tasked with analyzing the problem.

He was currently inside his Soul and should have been able to use the Skill, but his body and the lack thereof was the problem… and with it, the Psionic Energy that he needed to circulate in a specific pattern. "God Fucking…"

Soul-Bonded Beast(Caffeine) Sacrificed -2 All Base Attributes.

+1 All Base Attributes

Stanley sighed and kept petting the sleeping pug. "Thanks, Caff." He left the issue of meditation alone and went back to the Notifications.

For Your Role in the [Greater Boston Area Raid Dungeon], You have Gained the Title: [Inspiring]

You Inspired Thousands of Humans Throughout the Invasion.

You Directly Changed the Fate of Over A Thousand Humans Through One Action, and Most of Them Don't Even Know. But Enough Do.

Effects:

+10% to All Positive Effects Cast on Others.

"Okay." It wasn't much, and he didn't even have any Buffs… unless he tried Fasting people…

For Achieving the Highest Contributions during the [Greater Boston Area Raid Dungeon], You have Gained the Title: [Raid This!]

Among an Army of Defenders, you Stood Out as the Best.

Effects:

+20% Effectiveness of All Attributes while Within a Raid Dungeon.

"I'm number one!" He didn't keep the chant going. It wasn't any fun without someone to lord it over… "and I hope I never get to use it again. Fucking Raid Dungeons!"

While he dealt with those, Stanley's other split mind had started worrying about Caffeine. "Walter will look after him… hell, everyone loves Caff. They'll all take care of him," he told himself. However, he did wonder what exactly was happening with his body. Was it just frozen somewhere? He had been inside the Tower when this kicked off, so Walter at least should have noticed if Stanley stopped moving. "Or do they think I'm dead, and they buried me… no, Caff wouldn't let them do that."

+1 Twin-Soul(Ruthless Undying Soul)

"Huh." Stanley checked his Status and saw the diminished Twin-Soul Attribute. "Is it working retroactively on all the Soul I burned to not die?" That was all he could think of, but time would tell if that was the case, and time was all Stanley had now.

~~~~

Eve, present-day…

~~~~

"Eve, guess what?" Zeke yelled into her work area.

"What?" Eve said, and a speaker nearby her brother carried her voice to him while a camera let her see him looking around. It still surprised her sometimes to see him looking so grown up…

Zeke looked at the speaker and then at the chaotic workspace. "Where are you?"

"In the trailer," Eve said through the speaker again, and a little metal spider skittered out in front of Zeke. It waved a tiny leg at him and then ran away. He followed and shortly thereafter found her.

"Wow, Eve. It looks nice in here!"

"Told you it would," Eve grumbled and stepped back from the refrigerator she had just installed. She looked over the converted truck trailer and couldn't help her grin. "If we will be traveling for a while, there's no reason we can't go in style." It was a bit… metallic looking but otherwise looked like a luxury camper, though with an unusual amount of animal pelts in place of cushions. She had to work with what was available after all, but she suspected that the pelts were far more comfortable than anything from before. Magic fur could be so soft…

"Are you ready to move Stanley down here?" Zeke poked at the metal enclosure filling the rear of the trailer. It looked like an egg… or maybe a coffin.

"I'll do that right before we leave, and yes, just about ready. What about you? Ready to hit the road?"

"I…" Zeke hesitated.

"I'm not leaving you here, Zeke!" Eve growled, "We've discussed this!"

"No!" Zeke exclaimed, "It's not that! I… I'm just gonna miss everyone…"

"I know," Eve softened and pulled her brother into a hug, "but Stanley has to move, and I'm the only one who can block his… emissions."

"It sounds gross when you say it like that," Zeke pulled back and grinned, "and obviously, I want to help him." He looked away and said, "the good news is that Shelly got her Class! That's what I was coming to tell you. Now Nate will still have a Purifier after we leave."

"So…" Eve smiled wickedly, "now you can ask her out, right? Since she's no longer your Apprentice?"

Zeke blushed but stood his ground. "No, we are leaving, remember? I… well, there's no point now."

Eve's smile faded, "right."

"What about that guy I saw you sneaking around with?" Zeke shot back, and Eve's mood took another dip.

"He's a coward," she spat.

"Didn't want to leave the safe city?" Zeke guessed right on target and smiled mischievously, "What about Stanley?" Eve glared at him, seeing where he was going with this, "He is looking younger every day…"

"Don't think I won't shoot you," Eve growled, and a thought had both of her shoulder cannons popping up, poised and glowing.

Zeke laughed and vanished through the door. "Good luck catching… oof!" His laugh cut off when one of her traps easily tripped him.

Zeke had latched onto Stanley as a kind of surrogate father figure. He was a crazy, old fuck of a father figure, and so a step up from his birth father. Though Zeke was right in that Stanley was looking younger. An effect that was hard to notice day to day but clearly evident after all this time. Their best guess was that Caffeine was somehow giving Attributes to Stanley.

"Oh, hi guys," Zeke said outside to the large group of approaching supplicants, "if you need healing, you have to go to the main building and pay first. King Nate's orders, sorry. Unless it's an emergency?"

Eve had seen them a ways back since she had the entire city wired by now, and nothing could move undetected anymore, so she wasn't surprised to see them. She was very surprised by what she heard next.

"Y'all need to clear out of here," said one of them, "we are the Crimson Blades, an' me and my band are claiming that there tower behind ya!" Turns out they weren't here for healing… They were just idiots.

Eve sighed and stomped outside after Zeke. "Why don't Y'all just fuck right off!" she did her best mocking imitation of his accent, "If Y'all want to claim a building, then Y'all need to go grovel before the tyrant king, and then Y'all can kiss his ass!" She only saw maybe ten C ranks among the hundred or so people, pathetic.

Zeke's sigh was audible in the sudden silence following her outburst. "Eve… Nate's not a tyrant."

Eve laughed, "They'll think he is after he beats some sense into them."

"Eve…" Zeke sighed again, "Sorry, guys, but she's right. You have to…"

"Listen here, you old broad," the idiot drawled, and Eve almost killed him right then.

She settled for checking herself out with one of the numerous cameras in the area. Her hair was still white… "Fucking Stanley!" But she looked like her youthful self in every other way.

"...might makes right," he was still giving a speech when Eve stopped ignoring him… "over one hundred C Ranks in my Crimson Blades…" An obvious lie.

"How are you this stupid?" Eve interrupted, already sick of his voice, "Don't you know whose home this is?" She pointed up at the somewhat rundown-looking and crumbling Tower. Eve knew it was just an illusion, though the actual building was in great shape. Daryl only made it look shitty to deter idiots like this from bothering them.

"I heard about the old man in there," the idiot laughed, and Eve felt a chill, "but I have a Domain too!" He pushed a weak as fuck Domain over a tiny area, and Eve relaxed again. He was indeed just a dumbass and didn't know anything about Stanley or even Walter if he thought he could take the butler.

"Not him, you idiot! The…"

"I've had enough of your attitude!" The man activated some kind of Skill and took one step forward before freezing in place with a gurgling whine.

Eve sauntered toward the man impaled through the back by a silvery spike. It was twisted around inside him after cutting directly through his spinal cord, it turned out that humans still needed that, and had emerged from the side of his neck. Though that was mostly to shut him up. She hadn't even hit anything too vital.

"Just how far did Y'all come to not know the shit you are stepping in?" She asked cooly. Every one of the C ranks in his… army, were all in the same situation as their leader, and the D ranks weren't a threat to anyone.

"I would happily let him kill and eat all of you…" Eve continued, "but the poor little guy doesn't need the stress and indigestion that Y'all would give him. So how about this…"

Reality Rippled.

Eve froze as a familiar sensation rolled over them all. "Oh, shit!"

"It's Stanley!" Zeke gasped, right as Eve dove towards him.

She tackled him as metal exploded from her back and a pained, howling cry reached her ears.

A black blur passed her most distant camera a millisecond before the feed went dark.

More camera's failed as the metal expanded from her back, fanning out into a dome. A camera atop the Tower glimpsed the approaching shockwave, and a tiny black blur collided with the building right as the dome of metal enclosed her and Zeke. A still functional camera across the city let her see the Tower lean ominously toward the river behind it, and then everything was shrouded in the cloud of debris that followed Caffeine home.

"It'll be a good test of the armor on the trailer…" Eve thought through the cacophony of noise and destruction as her own shell rocked under the assault.

Zeke was already glowing before the storm ended, with his golden aura blazing by the time Eve let them both out of the improvised bunker. Lucky break for the 'Crimson Blades' who looked like they were only alive because of the healing light.

The crying howls from the Tower were too loud to hear over as Eve inspected the damage to her trailer, not that she needed it now… "Well fuck." It had held up quite well at least…

She turned to glare at the stunned faces of the still conscious Idiot Blades, right as a shadow expanded into a midnight wolf as big as her trailer. The looks on their faces got even better when the whole pack of giant Wolves padded into the area. "Feel free to eat those," Eve told the mama wolf, and pointed to the morons.

"Eve!" Zeke was moving through their ranks and pulling the jagged… everything, from their bodies as he continued to heal them. Her brother was a softie, but… Eve smiled, they would still have to pay for the healing!

~~~~~~

Stanley

~~~~~~

It was quiet in the darkness, and Stanley didn't mind that.

What he did mind was how boring it was… "Stupid Mental Fortress, and my stupid, powerful mind," Stanley grumbled, for the umpteenth time.

He was alone in the dark, no brother, or anyone else, to pass the time with, and his sole company was a softly glowing white pug that stayed curled up in a little ball.

Caffeine, or at least his Soul, never stirred from his slumber, but Stanley appreciated his presence all the same. An adorable little nightlight to keep the nightmares away.

Stanley had tried to find Lee, like he had during the collar incident, but his brother wasn't in the Fortress, and Stanley couldn't step outside to look further. Not that he was actually trapped, but his body, or Soul projection, whatever it was, felt heavier and slower the closer he got to the outside. He wasn't sure if he would just fall asleep if he went out there, or if he would just be stuck and still awake. Or if he might further destabilize the Stasis, and that was not something he wanted to risk. If Lee was awake, Stanley would have heard or seen something by now… hopefully.

Besides, he'd made progress with his new Skill, as well as figured out how to meditate… sort of. He couldn't use the actual Skill, but he did settle into a more mundane form of it. Especially when he had three minds to work with. Self guided meditation…

But he still had far too much time to think, and thinking was a good way to get into trouble.

His latest obsession was thinking about how this all started, in the mountains and snow. Waking up with broken memories, and this power. There had been the feeling that they couldn't place, the feeling that something was coming. Stanley was pretty sure this was what they had seen coming. But the real question was how much did they see? How fixed, or predictable was the future? Did they know they would be split up, and if so, why would they still theoretically send themselves down the same path?

"Did we need to be split up? Was it important somehow?" Lee had been suddenly drawn to move into that apartment, not that long ago… Stanley could have just stayed with him. But he had felt the need to get more money… Was that just ingrained capitalism, or something else? Like say, a suggestion planted in his brain by himself, or by someone else…

That idea somehow made it worse. Them fucking with their own heads was one thing, even if they were playing their future selves like marionettes, but someone else doing it was so much worse.

"Was it to save Zeke? Or maybe the Undead just had to be stopped? Did Lee need me gone for some reason?" Of course, the real kicker was trying to imagine what both of them would look like, power wise, if they had stayed together. Lee might have been able to enchant the tower if he was here… but would Stanley have used the Source if not for the Undead trying to kill Caffeine? If that never happened, if Stanley never learned Soul Sight from that first Raid Leader, never continued down the trajectory that put him on, would he just be a weak nobody in the crowd? Maybe throwing around spikes and nails with his original telekinesis Skill?

"All of the pain, the torture and misery, it forged us into what we are now. Granted what we are now is almost dead. But we aren't dead yet…" Stanley didn't like this train of thought.

But that didn't stop him from circling back to it over and over.

He had been a fucking badass before the… near end, but… "I would rather not be, I'd rather be sitting peacefully next to a roaring fireplace inside a snowed in house, with Caffeine curled up in my lap and a hot cup of coffee to drink while I read about how terrible politics have become."

That dream was dead now, or rather, if he wanted something like that, then he needed to be so much of a fucking badass that no one and nothing would dare to bother him. In which case, all of the pain might have indeed been worth it… "Next topic!"

Another thing Stanley realized along the way was that he wasn't using his full mind. It should have been obvious from the start but he didn't notice until the third split became available at Apprentice rank in [Split Minds]. Stanley guessed that he was using the part of his mind that had been offloaded into his Soul, while the rest of him was frozen in Stasis. He still wasn't sure how that actually worked, but if he got all the splits going full steam at once there was a noticeable… lack. Like a brain cloud, or a headache.

Soul-Bonded Beast(Caffeine) Sacrificed -200 All Base Attributes.

+100 All Base Attributes

You have Reached D Rank Threshold. Evolution Available. Begin? Y/N

"Finally!" Stanley exclaimed, "Let's get the fuck out of here!" And then he hesitated before agreeing. Lee wasn't awake… and Stanley was sure that the Stasis would break if he ranked up. But he wasn't sure what that would do to Lee… it would wake him up, but probably start burning him before he could accept, and then he would be below the threshold again… "Accept it, Lee."

Nothing happened. "Aw, poop."

Stanley tried to console himself with the knowledge that it was probably for the best… he didn't know if he might get burned after accepting either…

Caffeine was obviously doing fine out there, and what was a little more time spent trapped in here. He loved being in Stasis!

His lies stopped working once the next batch of Attributes came through and the pressure to rank up increased.

Soul-Bonded Beast(Caffeine) Sacrificed -200 All Base Attributes.

+100 All Base Attributes Fortification

You have Reached D Rank Threshold. Evolution Available. Begin? Y/N

"Accept it! Accept it! Accept…" Stanley started up a mantra, increasing the Willpower he put into it as it went on, hoping to get through to Lee somehow, and to distract himself from the irritating pressure. They had the Attributes to spare now!

Eventually, he felt something change… Stanley waited a few more seconds, just to be sure, and followed Lee's example.

[Psionic Source of Power]

Burn Bright with Psionic Power. Obliterate All who Stand in your way. Burn All to Nothing. Alter Reality to Your Will.

You have Embraced your Class and Made it a Permanent Part of your Being.

You have Bound your Twin-Soul Fully and Irrevocably to a Source.

Take up the Power Sealed inside your Twin-Soul and Become a God as you Burn. Do as you Wish. Unstoppable to the End.

Traits: [Source] [Ruthless Undying Soul]

That just looked like what he already had… "Come on, don't fuck us here…"

[Slumbering Psionic Source of Power]

Burn Bright with Psionic Power… When Necessary. Obliterate All Who Stand in Opposition… When they Refuse to Yield. Choose your Reality… Always.

You have Embraced your Class and Made it a Permanent Part of your Being.

You have Bound your Twin-Soul Fully and Irrevocably to a Source.

You have Survived as a Source of Power beyond when you should have been Destroyed.

You have Hidden yourself Away and Slept rather than Face your End.

You have Grown through an entire Rank Threshold through no Effort of your own.

You have managed to Still your Soul and with it, the Source Bound Within.

Hide away the Power in your Soul and Become a Slumbering God. Let All fear to Wake you from your Slumber, Lest they Burn with you.

Traits: [Slumbering Source] [Ruthless Undying Soul]

"I'll take it." Stanley thought of the glowing pug inside their Soul, and whether that was what the Slumbering referred to… "I wonder if I can get him a Soul doggy bed to sleep in." Their Soul trembled minutely and he knew that Lee had chosen. Stanley did the same.

Unfortunately, Stanley's mind remained as it was, a small piece awake throughout the process. But it wasn't that bad. The returning feeling of his body was a welcome sensation, even if it brought pain with it.

The first thing that changed was [Soul Awareness] fading back in. Stanley felt Walter standing nearby with Adrian, along with a few other people that Stanley thought he recognized both above and below. "I'm in the tower… right where I was before?" Then his mind stretched out and he felt the metal shell around him, all of it holding traces of Eve's Soul.

A large crowd of Souls was below, including Eve who was alarmed, and Zeke who was excited, then Stanely felt the incoming missile.

Caffeine ripped a hole through Stanley's still waking awareness, and passed directly overhead, destroying the metal shell along the way. He struck the back wall of the room, and Stanley felt Walter's power all around him, both protecting Stanley from the blast of wind and debris, as well as fighting to keep the structure from collapsing under the impact. The tower tilted over even further as Caffeine kicked off the wall an instant later…

And then the squirming and whining pug was in Stanley's lap!

Stanley felt his face stretch into a smile before he could even gain enough control to open his eyes. "Caff… you're such a good boy!" The tongue lashing being dealt to his face was extreme, but Stanley didn't mind one bit. He only struggled to move his hands so he could pet the pug, to open his mouth and console the frantic Caffeine.

One hand twitched, and Caffeine switched targets with more yowling cries.

"Good…" Stanley whispered, and then his face was under assault once again.

His eyes burned and Stanley activated [Split Minds], just in case. Two of the splits reveled in the joy of reunification with Caffeine, while the third looked away, with some difficulty, and checked on Lee.

Lee felt… angry, but not afraid. He was dealing out pain and retribution to something. Stanley leaned into their Soul Fortress for a moment and felt the Souls faintly around his brother. They were humans, and allies. Further away there was a disturbingly large number of non-human Souls… but their faint echoes were of pain and fear. "Good. Fuck em up, Lee."

Stanley left Lee to his battle and checked his own surroundings again. The first oddity was Adrian… the man was… an egg? A giant egg, and it was on fire. Walter was carefully setting it on the floor as he stood mostly stoically a few feet away, while his Soul betrayed the feelings much more similar to Caffeine's, though luckily without the face-licking obsession.

There were far fewer people in the Tower than Stanley remembered, and some of them were afraid, while others shared in the joyous occasion.

Adam had appeared in the room at some point and was watching Caffeine with protective affection.

Down at the ground outside, Eve was berating the crowd of terrified people while Zeke was resignedly healing them. A large pack of wolves surrounded them all…

His hands finally lifted and Stanley held Caffeine tight. At least, as tight as he could with the frantic squirming. "Good boy, Caff," he whispered, "very good, good, boy."

Stanley felt Nate approaching from the direction of a massive conglomeration of Souls filling the downtown area. "I guess they moved?" It made sense now, with how many people were over there.

And approaching rapidly from the south, was a cloud of… two Souls? It felt like there were hundreds… or thousands… or just two. "Daryl… and Princess," Stanley finally recognized them. "He learned some new tricks." The man's Soul was full of pleading hope, overshadowing the knot of desperate fear beneath. "Of course, the egg."

"Thank you, Walter," Stanley said, "for taking care of him."

"Of course, Sir," Walter replied over the loud and unceasing whimpers. "Though I am afraid my assistance was minimal," Walter continued, "Master Adam here, as well as the Wolves outside, served a much greater role than myself."

"Thank you, Adam," Stanley said, and felt the boy's, no, young man's Soul flinch away, Adam had definitely grown. He vanished and reappeared among the wolves, now holding a sack of meat and strolling calmly around the giant beasts, petting and feeding each of them treats in turn.

Nate arrived downstairs and paused briefly to speak with the gathered crowd. All of the stranger's Souls surged with fear and then relief as they capitulated. Stanley caught a flash of something linking between them and Nate, then Nate jumped through the large hole Caffeine had left in the side of the building, and rushed to Stanley. Eve and Zeke walked inside and Walter brought them up to join the party.

"Stanley," Nate smiled, but his Soul was all nervous energy… "very glad to see you've recovered, and you look great, but I think you need to leave."

Everyone, Stanley included, faltered at his words.

Caffeine had stopped squirming and crying, mostly. He sat unmoving and staring at Stanley's face, while a faint whine emanated from his throat and his tail wagged nonstop. He ignored everyone else in the room while Stanley kept both hands stroking his fur.

"Tyrant king," Eve whispered to Zeke, "told you."

"What the hell, Nate!" Zeke exploded, but Stanley held up a hand as he studied the man.

"What is it?" Stanley asked him while picking up more fear from the man's Soul than he could ever remember seeing in Nate before.

"I've had a feeling growing for a while now," Nate said, running a hand over his short, almost shaved, dark hair, "it got a lot worse the moment you woke up. Something is coming… and you need to get gone or we all die, including you."

Stanley felt a chill at the certainty in the man's Soul. "Okay, I'm gone." He very gingerly lifted himself into the air, and the pug in his Soul stayed asleep, though he could have sworn that it twitched…

"I need to get home anyway…" It felt a bit abrupt, and may have stung slightly to be getting kicked out immediately… but people couldn't fake that kind of fear in their Soul, so far as Stanley knew. He just hoped that he could fly fast enough…

"We're coming with you," Zeke blurted, and then looked nervously at Eve, as if for confirmation. Eve didn't seem thrilled, but she was resolute as she nodded her agreement.

"I don't know how fast I can fly," Stanley said, "or how much I'll be able to carry…" Even as he felt a warmth in his chest, and not from Zeke's aura.

"Eve made a truck!" Zeke exclaimed, "We can take that!"

Daryl arrived then, appearing out of flickering lights as Walter brought him and Princess upstairs. "Stanley!" There was an edge to his Soul that Stanley didn't remember being there before, Princess too. No surprise there as Daryl moved closer and his gaze jumped to the giant egg. Stanley guessed what he wanted.

"Adrian is in there," Stanley told him confidently, then noticed the fluctuations coming from the egg and added, "and I think he can hear your voice…" The strangest part was that Stanley couldn't 'see' inside the shell, not past the red-gold flames burning furiously on the surface. It was also a bit too small to house a full human inside, let alone a bird as well, and he was pretty sure that he could feel Cheesesteak in there… He decided not to think too hard about what was inside, beyond the Souls.

"Is this about what that tentacle face said?" Eve interrupted to ask Nate

"I think so," Nate said, nodding slowly.

"Damn it," Eve swore, "the truck's not even fully charged yet!"

Zeke brightened behind her. "I'll start packing!"

"Of course," Eve yelled, "get packed already! Walter, help him!"

"So, King Nate?" Stanley asked while one of his other splits carefully moved his body around the room, and the third gave Caffeine head scritches. It appeared that he could still fly without using the Source that his [Mind Over All] was labeled with, though to be fair, he had been able to fly when all he had was the basic telekinesis. The real test would be if he tried to go any faster… "and what's this about a tentacle face?"

"Thanks for the reminder," Nate said, "and yes, but let's walk and talk." He pulled a metal rod from his belt and tapped it against his head as he jumped outside again. Stanley followed and Nate told him about the visitor and its warning.

Caffeine never looked away from him this whole time and Stanley didn't stop the pets, one whole split fully devoted to loving the pug. He would have devoted all of them, but this seemed like an emergency… especially after hearing that the Reviewer had sent someone to find him.

Nate was talking loudly into the metal rod when Stanley started paying attention again, "...this is not a drill! Full Ruler's Authority is incoming! Get everyone locked down, yesterday!"

"Understood," a woman's voice echoed from the rod.

Nate saw Stanley's questioning look and clarified, "I make every resident of New Boston swear Fealty to me if they want to stay." He grinned slightly and Stanley understood what he'd seen linking Nate with the men outside. All of whom were now running as fast as they could toward downtown…

"Relax," Nate continued, "they are free to leave at any time. It just helps me maintain law and order. Doing that got me the King Title which lets me steal some of their Attributes." He laughed at whatever he saw on Stanley's face, "Just for a short time, like say an imminent threat to all our lives."

"Why not just leave," Stanley asked, though he suspected the answer already, "come with us?"

"I've created something here, Stanley. This is what I wanted to do, what you made possible, a place of safety where humanity can be more than just violent monsters. I won't abandon it!"

"Don't believe him," Eve said through a small spider on Stanley's shoulder, "he just wants you gone before you start a revolution and overthrow him!"

"Figured," Stanley smiled while Nate rolled his eyes, and then directed his thoughts to the fourth split of his Mind. The one that he had let deal with the long isolation. Technically it was the first or second split… but he couldn't remember which.

Also it didn't quite work like that… It was more that he was refusing to think about his very, very, very, long time in the dark, and letting one split focus on it instead. It let him still think about other things at the same time, but he had a bad feeling that it was still affecting the other splits. He did have an idea that he hoped would help, though. "Hey, we are free now. Stop gibbering and try meditating already!"

"What?" Nate asked, and Stanley realized he'd spoken aloud.

"Nothing, just talking to myself…" Stanley felt his cheeks warm slightly, and heard Eve's laughter coming from the spider. "Just a bad habit I picked up in Stasis…"

Eve's laughter cut off. "Wait, you were awake all this time!?"

"Kinda, sorta," Stanley said, and directed his fourth split into meditation…

[Soul Meditation] Activated.

Skill [Soul Meditation] Level Up… Level Up… Level Up…

Skill [Soul Meditation] Has Reached the Initiate Threshold… Apprentice Threshold… Journeyman Threshold…

"So all of the practice paid off…" The split immediately calmed down, as did the rest of them. "I should just keep that going for a while," Stanley decided, hopeful that it would help the split recover.

"You're still talking to yourself," Eve said helpfully from her spider.

"You must be imagining things," Stanley replied, and then considered his Still Mind ability. What would happen if he activated it with one split?

Nate was tapping his foot nervously and sending orders to his subjects. Everyone else was busy running around and Stanley didn't have anything to pack, so…

[Still Mind of the Psionic Beast] Activated.

It was… weird. One split was now analyzing everything much more clinically, while the other two were still happily focused on Caffeine. The fourth however, seemed to be having trouble keeping the meditation going in tandem with Still Mind… In fact, that was the first time he'd ever used both at the same time. They both required different flows of his energy to maintain, with just a tiny bit of crossover…

Synergy Detected Between the Skill [Soul Meditation] and the Skill [Still Mind of the Psionic Beast] Combined Evolution Available.

"Oh?" Stanley chose the Evolution option. "What do you have for me?"

"I have a metal coffin for you to sit in," Eve said.

Evolution Available:

You have Trained and Worked Tirelessly to Improve your Mind.

You have Fought Against Emotion and Wholly Embraced It in Turn.

You have Stayed Awake while In [Stasis].

You have the Skill [Still Mind of the Psionic Beast].

You have the Class Skill [Soul Meditation].

You now have the Option to Combine Both Skills into Something More, and Less.

New Class Skill Evolution:

[Quiet Meditating Soul](Epic)

Calm your Mind Through Soul Meditation.

Accelerate your Mind to Calm the World.

Feel Emotion Free From Its Control.

Effects:

Increase Regeneration of Body, Mind, and Soul.

User may Enter into their Soul Space In a Meditative Trance that increases All Regeneration and Refreshes the Mind, Body and Soul while Slowing the World around the User by Increasing Perception Speed.

Allows for Reduced Sleep Requirements while Retaining Awareness.

May Also be Used Outside of a Meditative Trance with Reduced Effect.

Higher Levels will Further Reduce the Need for Sleep, Increase Awareness, and Effectiveness.

Stanley accepted it in a heartbeat. Still Mind was a Skill that made him nervous even with Caffeine able to cancel it. This way he could get rid of it and still gain some of the time slowing effects. At least he hoped so from the description, and it still looked to have all the benefits of Meditation as well.

New Skill: [Quiet Meditating Soul(Initiate I)](Epic)

"The light! It burns us!" his fourth split hissed as the [Soul Meditation] Skill vanished. "Shut up drama queen!" Stanley thought at it, "and stop quoting movies!" Humor was a great coping strategy… though it did get old, telling yourself jokes, quoting movies to yourself… but he had to admit that despite all that, he was really loving this split mind deal. "Try the new one already!"

"Wow," Eve sounded a bit nervous now, "you somehow got crazier…"

Skill [Quiet Meditating Soul] Activated.

The Skill worked only slightly differently from the old ones. A mix of both, but not an exact copy… The fourth split went quiet, and dark. The world around Stanley slowed slightly… but nowhere near Still Mind. So, curious, he tried activating it simultaneously with two more splits, and it worked! Though, it wasn't so much that he was doing the same thing three times, more that he was putting more effort into the one attempt.

The world slowed further, close to Still Mind levels now. "Might as well try them all. Sorry, Caff. Give me one second." He activated it with the last split, and the world went dark and quiet.

Once again, Stanley was adrift from his body, completely surrounded by the sea of darkness that twinkled with countless Souls in the distance, and nearby. He could see them through the walls of his Fortress… and the Souls nearby were moving very, very slow, nearly frozen. "Great! Only now I can't do anything else…" He did feel good though, great in fact!

Skill Level Up: [Quiet Meditating Soul]

But the little bundle of a Soul in his lap was stirring so Stanley dropped one split to resume the comforting. Caffeine seemed to move at normal speed as he licked at Stanley's face and wagged his tail. Everyone else moved in slow motion… and Stanley felt no pain in his head. Though, that could just be his higher stats?

Stanley smiled at Caffeine and only then noticed that his hands on the pug looked… normal. He looked around and his gaze landed on the truck Eve was crawling around underneath. "Mirrors!" He slowed as he approached, staring at the giant wolves all around it. Two of them looked familiar… a black wolf with its shadow shifting back and forth, and a gray one that was bigger than an elephant… "Is it the same two from the tiger incident?"

Stanley stopped in front of them as they watched him. "Thank you," Stanley said, and he truly meant it, "thank you for helping him. If there is anything I can do for you…" He stopped talking, they were wolves and couldn't understand…

Both of them turned to look at the truck and then back at Stanley. Their Souls told him that they understood enough… "Of course you can come! But I don't know how you'll… fit." The giant wolves shrank down into merely big dog sizes…

"Did Caffeine teach you that?" Stanley laughed and headed for the truck, "Let's go then!" and Adam followed them.

The truck looked familiar as he got closer, though much more post-apocalyptic in appearance, with armor plates everywhere and what looked like mounted guns all over. "Eve, is this my truck?" He couldn't even tell what the tires were made from…

"Yes," Eve's voice came from a small spider on the roof this time, "it Was yours. Now it's mine!" He could see her glaring in his direction from the engine compartment, which also looked completely unlike his old diesel. "Those wolves are gonna share your side of the trailer! Now get in your coffin, I mean cocoon, already! You're oozing all over the place!"

"I'm coming too," Daryl declared loudly, coming out of the Tower with the flaming egg in his arms. Stanley noticed it flare up as they approached…

"What!? No," Eve exclaimed as she scrambled to her feet, "You tell me this now!? There isn't enough space in the trailer for more people, let alone your giant egg!"

"I thought Adrian would be back by now…"

Eve stomped into the trailer through a door on the side, and yelled, "look how little space is in here!"

Stanley floated inside behind Daryl, and whistled. "Fancy…"

"Your bed's over there," Eve pointed, and Stanley stopped smiling. It was a metal… egg, or cocoon, identical to the one that Caffeine had destroyed in the Tower, and situated in the rear of the trailer, away from all the nice stuff. It didn't look at all fancy, or comfortable.

The wolves squeezed through the door and then Adam popped inside next to them. "Adam…" Eve's groaning frustration trailed off when the young man put two hands on the wall, and pushed that entire side of the trailer farther away.

"What…" Eve gaped, along with Stanley and Daryl.

Adam pushed the wall a few more feet out and then repeated the process on the other side, leaving the trailer feeling much more spacious. "Awesome…" Stanley whispered, "it's bigger on the inside!" And it was, maybe twice as big… and despite being awesome, it was confusing as hell on the senses that he'd started to take for granted, especially since he could see inside and out at the same time, and from every direction.

Nate stuck his head through the door and said, "Are you guys ready yet? We need to hurry!" He seemed entirely unfazed by the larger interior.

"Fuck!" Eve screamed, and then pointed at Stanley, "Get in there! I need you to help charge the batteries. We leave in five!" She went forward, through a flexible tunnel connecting the trailer and cab.

Daryl sprinted out the door, leaving Adrian next to Stanley's… pod. Princess sitting protectively next to it. She hadn't done much except follow Daryl ever since Stanley woke up and her Soul felt… off, a lot like Daryl's in fact. "Princess?" Stanley held out a hand to her, and she growled at him, teeth bared and everything! A dozen illusory foxes sprang from her and surrounded the egg in fiery, swishing tails. She was angry… and afraid.

Caffeine whined and jumped to the floor. He looked back at Stanley once and then stepped closer to Princess…

She snarled and lunged at him, even more fear in her now.

Caffeine whined as he easily slipped around her snapping teeth, and then dropped into a play bow in front of her. She lunged again and Caffeine took off with little howls into a sprinting loop around the larger but still quite narrow interior of the trailer. His sprint spiraled tighter until he was just spinning in place. Then he stopped, back in a play bow facing the fox.

Princess felt confused more than afraid now, and she yipped softly. Caffeine took off, spinning in the opposite direction this time. Her Soul calmed even more as Caffeine tried to play with her, and Stanley wondered just how long she had been fighting alongside Daryl. The man's Soul felt strong, only eclipsed by Nate as far as Stanley could tell, and Nate was probably cheating… "I bet he gets Cores just for being king… like taxes!"

"I do," Nate said from outside.

"Goddamnit!" Stanley cursed, "I really need to stop thinking out loud…"

"Yes, you do!" Eve's voice snapped from his shoulder.

Daryl emerged from the Tower carrying a couple duffels and Walter stopped in the doorway behind him. "Is that everything, Master Daryl?"

"Yes, and thanks, Walter."

"Of course, Sir." Walter looked over at the trailer, they were all here ready to go. A suitcase appeared in each hand and Walter stepped out the door.

Stanley was completely unsurprised, but apparently Daryl was… "Walter! You don't have to go, you can stay safe…"

"Of course, Sir." Walter walked quickly to the truck. "We should hurry along. Master Nathaniel seems rather distraught."

Daryl shut his mouth and followed him toward the truck. "What?" Stanley asked Daryl once he was in the trailer, "Did you think he wouldn't come with you?"

"I… honestly wasn't sure if he would want too…"

Stanley shook his head, but Eve spoke first from his shoulder, "Men! Can't even talk to each other!"

"Quite right, Ma'am." Walter set down his bags. "Shall we be off?"

Eve flipped some switches. "Get in the damn pod, Stanley!"

He did, and it slammed shut around him, not before Caffeine was in his lap though. "It's dark in here…" Stanley said.

"Close your eyes and pretend it's not!" Eve squeaked from the spider, and then the truck lurched forward rather violently.

"I could drive…" Stanley thought, he made sure to only think it this time!

"Like hell you're driving my truck!"

The wolves in the trailer howled softly, mournfully, as they headed out, and the wolves left behind responded. All of them felt sad… but not tragically. It was a farewell, but only until we meet again. Caffeine added his own howl to the mix and all of the ones left behind brightened considerably. "Good boy," Stanley whispered once again.

He didn't know why they were splitting up, but more than a few of them felt reasonably intelligent and Stanley assumed they had a reason. While he could pick up their emotions, Stanley didn't understand all of them like he did with humans. At least, he thought he understood humans…

Nate was jogging easily alongside as they picked up speed and Stanley had another thought. "Are there even any roads left?" He distinctly remembered a lot of overgrown and crumbling roads. That had been months ago… or years? "How long was I in Stasis?"

"It's been six months, give or take," Nate said from the still open doorway, apparently having no trouble hearing Stanley through the metal, "and the System seems to like roads so long as they get used enough. We've had enough folks migrating that you should have a passable road for a ways. After that I have no idea."

"Huh, magic roads…" It didn't seem any more outlandish than everything else.

"You need to go faster, Eve!" Nate was getting more and more worried. Eve didn't respond verbally, but the truck sped up.

Stanley could feel the road, or rather, the path underneath them, and it looked a lot rougher in his mind than it felt. "She must have upgraded the suspension…" Stanley mused. He would never have driven this fast on a dirt road before, not without bouncing his head off the roof and traumatizing Caffeine.

"I did upgrade it," Eve said, and Stanley sighed.

Despite Nate's increasing alarm, Stanley felt fine, great even. Not at all like he should… "Is it the Meditation? Maybe something leftover from still mind?" But no, he'd felt mostly great after waking up, aside from getting told to run away, and he should be more worried, shouldn't he?

Eve muttered something, but Stanley ignored it and dropped his meditation. He let all of his emotions well up and fill his mind.

There was fear there, but of the dark and being trapped in it… Stanley smiled upon realizing that the metal cocoon was glowing. It was dim but just enough to see the pug in his lap staring up and him with a wagging tail. Stanley kissed the top of Caffeine's head and kept feeling.

Mostly, he was happy! Happy to be free, to see Caffeine's happiness, to see his friends again! But most of all, Stanley was so very happy to be alive! He had thought he was okay with it being over… but he wasn't! "We will live, Lee!" Stanley said aloud, not caring or trying to be quiet, "I Will come home! I will…"

Mana Saturation of (Earth) has surpassed (D Rank) Threshold. Rank Up.

[Dungeon(Earth)](C Rank)

Prepare to Defend the Dungeon! Fight!

Mana Capacitors Depleted. (Earth) Progression Rate Reduced to Normal.

A lot happened in the moments following that Notification.

Nate's worry turned into full blown panic and the man sank a hand into the metal of the trailer, pushing it faster with everything he had.

Caffeine leaned slightly to one side, staring at something above and behind Stanley's head, and Growled out a vicious sound.

Stanley felt something in the sky where Caffeine was looking, something he'd never felt before. A pinhole of shining Power greater than him and Nate combined, greater than he thought possible!

Beyond that was something even worse… he could feel Source! And not his own!

Stanley didn't hesitate, already reaching out with his power the moment Nate panicked, touching upon everything and everyone in the tractor trailer.

In the Twin-Soul Fortress, a little sleeping pug opened glowing eyes…

Stanley Moved…

Twin-Soul(Source) is Burning your Body and Mind. -100 All Base Attributes per One Second

Nate's hand slipped free of the trailer and he plummeted away behind them…

Stanley felt something ahead of them… a gossamer curtain dropping down like a guillotine blade… and it landed with terrible finality… right behind them.

You have been conscript… Error. Analyzing… No Violation Detected. User Departed Within Allowed Parameters.

There was a lot of screaming and roaring wind. Some bouncing, and crashing sounds as the truck plowed through trees and one small hill… Heat and fire bloomed around and behind them as Stanley failed to push enough air out of their way.

Then just Eve's voice… as Stanley let go of his Power and Caffeine's Soul closed its glowing eyes once again.

"What the fuck was that!? What the fuck did you do to my truck, Stanley! Goddamned…" She kept going, and going, even as the truck continued rolling, though with a bit more of a rattle now…

Stanley just breathed and let her rant. He knew she had felt the same thing he had, everyone had felt it. But they had left… escaped, and he could feel something from Nate now, far, far behind them. Hope.

Then Nate vanished, along with every Soul in the city, lost behind an impenetrable veil. Stanley just hoped that Nate was right to be hopeful, that his departure had shifted the balance enough. "I hope you're okay, Nate…" The things he'd sensed wouldn't be slowed by Nate, no matter how many Attributes the man could steal.

He did send one split into his Soul while that happened though, Lee had felt the heat, and was very upset… "Stanley!"

Stanley embraced his brother, once again feeling the rush and relief of survival. Then he told him what he'd felt there at the end, along with the new message that had come while they were sleeping. "Sorry about your Attributes," Stanley added at the end, "I had to act. Fuckers tried to trap me again!"

"It wasn't that bad," Lee said, "I only lost ten points… that's a small price to pay."

"I lost a hundred…" Stanley murmured, "but that's great! You'll have to test yours to see if it goes both ways!"

Lee smiled but only a little, "Not just yet, I need to deal with something over here…" and then he told Stanley about his Legend Title... "So did they come for you because of me?" he finished.

Stanley shook his head slowly, "I don't have the Title, and if the Reviewer was involved… it has to be the Source. That first message talked about how something was highly coveted, and they only showed up after earth hit C Rank…"

"Fuck," Lee growled and looked off to the side, "hurry back, Stanley. We both have a target on our backs now."

Stanley nodded. "It's not going to be fast, I think I got slower after ranking up… at least without using the Source." He felt the Souls in the truck around him. "But I do have some great allies to help me."

"We really need to get to the next Rank, soon… and I have an army of monsters that delivered themselves to my door!" Lee felt kind of bloodthirsty… and Stanley liked it.

"Fuck em up, Bro! I'll be right behind you."

Lee faded and Stanley opened his eyes, and found out that the metal shell around him had melted down… somewhat. "Oops." Eve was still cursing almost nonstop, but she was hauling ass down the road at the same time.

Stanley smiled at Caffeine and whispered, "Road trip, Caff. And this time I don't have to drive! You know what that means right?" Caffeine just stared at him with his tail wagging slowly back and forth. "It means cuddles and bellyrubs all day!" Caffeine jumped up and started licking his face while Stanley laughed and checked his Status.

Status

Name: Stanley Cascade

Race: [Slumbering Psionic Source of Power(Human)](C Rank)

Traits:

[Slumbering Source] [Mental Soul] [Ruthless Undying Soul] [We Are Three]

Titles:

[Solo Hunter] [Inspiring] [Raid This!] [First Time?]

Class:

[Soul Psionic(Adept II)](Rare)

Class Skills:

[Mind Over All(Initiate I)](Legendary)

[Quiet Meditating Soul(Initiate II)](Epic)

[Psionic Soul Shield(Apprentice V)](Rare)

[Mental Fortress(Adept VI)](Rare)

[Split Minds(Journeyman II)](Epic)

Attributes:

Strength: 900

Vitality: 900

Dexterity 900

Perception 900

Intelligence 900

Willpower 900

Twin-Soul 623

Non Class Skills:

[Soul Awareness(Journeyman V)](Rare)

[Soul Reinforcement(Apprentice II)](Epic)

[Source Regeneration](Legendary)(Passive)

[Heat Resistance I(Passive)](Common)

[Cold Resistance I(Passive)](Common)

Buffs:

[Soul Support Tether] [Walter's Gratitude]

Debuffs:

[Famished]

[Dehydrated]

"Does anyone have any food or water?" They did. Eve had a working refrigerator even! Stanley shared with Caffeine and while he was at it, checked Caffeine's Status.

Status

Name: Caffeine

Race: [Canine(Pug)](D Rank)

Traits: [Good Boy] [Slumbering Source]

Class: [Beast Lord](Apprentice V)(Legendary)

Class Skills: [Reprimand] [Leader of the Pack]

Attributes:

Strength: 100

Vitality: 100

Dexterity: 100

Perception: 100

Intelligence: 100

Willpower: 100

Soul: 623 [Soul Bonded(Stanley Cascade)(Lee Cascade)]

Non Class Skills:

[Great White Chomp(Master I)](Rare)

[Big Enough]

[Strong Enough]

[Tough Enough]

[Let's Be Friends]

[Howl of the Beast Lord]

There was a new Class Skill…

[Leader of the Pack]

All who run with the Beast Lord Receive a Boost to Attributes and Regeneration

Effect:

+20% Effectiveness of All Base Attributes

+200% to All Regeneration

All the other Skills remained as opaque as ever to his inquiries. What did stand out was that Caffeine was still D Rank. Though what his actual Attributes were was still unknown, thanks to one or more of his Skills Stanley suspected. "You need to rank up, Caff."

Stanley wasn't sure how far he had Moved everyone, likely more than necessary… but far behind him, in the sea of Souls both large and small, a familiar spark flickered back into his senses.

An absolute weariness filled the Soul, along with a hefty amount of pain, but all of it was overshadowed by the triumphant feeling of victory! "Thank you, Nate…" Stanley smiled, but didn't think of going back, not yet… "I'll see you again, Nate. One day…"

The wolves howled again, in response to something Stanley couldn't hear, and Caffeine howled softly with them, before curling up in Stanley's lap and falling asleep.

Walter was speaking to Eve, and Stanley couldn't hear what they were saying over the wind whipping through the open door, but a moment later, Walter's Domain filled the trailer, and it felt good. Stanley enjoyed the breeze while feeling Lee go on a killing spree half a world away.

Unfortunately, his little brother didn't seem to have the stomach for it…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone, somewhere

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My Lord," the voice called, "we have it."

Aiod-Aohig turned from their musings to look upon the large Portal that nearly covered the wall. "Excellent. Just in time too." They stood and strode to the golden key that hovered in the window-like Portal. A touch brought up the Divine System's screen.

Dungeon Key(Gold)

Targeted Location: Earth(D Rank)(Sapient)

Local Sapient Population: (Human)20000+ (Various Non-Local Sapient)20+

Highest Local Rank: C(Mid)

Dungeon Size: [Greater Raid]

Party Participation:

Aiod-Aohig [B(High)],

Eiod-Aohig [B(Low)],

Fiod-Aohig[B(Low)]

Restrictions:

Extreme Limitations Due to Rank Disparity. Three [C Rank(High)]

Proceed with Invasion? Y/N

"Are you sure?" Aiod-Aohig asked the gruntling, "I will not tolerate failure." The Gold Key was not to be used on a whim.

The Extreme Limitations meant little while the Dungeon was D Rank against their B Ranks. The Divine System always played Fair. Not to help the monsters or protect them against the Civilizations, but to ensure that the Civilized Races always had to struggle and grow. It was the only way to keep the Dungeons under Control.

"My Lord, this is the most powerful location on the planet, at least double what every other available location will allow! And there is something else that drew our attention… if My Lord would like to observe?"

Aiod-Aohig placed their appendage against the smooth surface of the unopened Portal, and listened to what the energies told them. Then it turned multi-faceted eyes to the gruntling, "Traces of the Source… and Eternals."

"My Lord, we have found no other such traces in our search, and none of the scouts have reported yet on the location of the Eternal holdings…"

The Source trace was a good sign that they were on target this time. But the Eternals… Aiod-Aohig turned their gaze back to the Portal and the view of the other side. A view looking down upon a coastline, and land that shone with life, even through the distortion. If the Eternals had already found the Source… the land would be ruined by now.

They pulled up their quest.

Quest: [Secure the Source on Dungeon(Earth)]

Your Brood Master has tasked you with finding the Source on the new Dungeon World(Earth)

Once found you will Claim it and Return if the Source is small enough. If it is too large, you will secure the site and await Reinforcement.

Objectives:

Find Source.

Claim or Secure Source.

Return.

Rewards:

Promotion to A Rank.

Failure:

Variable.

The Quest hadn't been failed yet, but this was not an All-knowing Divine Quest. It would not Fail unless they or their Master knew of the loss.

"Estimating World Rank Up incoming momentarily," the gruntling called, and Aiod-Aohig nodded to their clutch-mates.

All three of them gathered before the Portal, and waited.

They didn't need the guntlings to tell them when the Dungeon Ranked up. The screen before the Key changed.

Dungeon Key(Gold)

Targeted Location: Earth(C Rank)(Sapient)

Local Sapient Population: (Human)20000+ (Various Non-Local Sapient)20+

Highest Local Rank: C(Mid)

Dungeon Size: [Greater Raid]

Party Participation: Aiod-Aohig [B(High)], Eiod-Aohig [B(Low)], Fiod-Aohig[B(Low)]

Restrictions: No Limitations.

The lack of Restrictions was a surprise, and a welcome one. They had expected their Source to be Restricted on all of them… but this also meant that they must be on target!

Aiod-Aohig touched the Key to accept the Offered Dungeon… "A…" their appendage vibrated oddly… "Accept!"

Error. Warning! Dungeon Conditions have Changed. Do you still wish to Proceed? Y/N

Aiod-Aohig froze as they contemplated the changed screen.

Dungeon Key(Gold)

Targeted Location: Earth(C Rank)(Sapient)

Local Sapient Population: (Human)20000+ (Various Non-Local Sapient)20+

Highest Local Rank: C(Mid)

Dungeon Size: [Greater Raid]

Party Participation:

Aiod-Aohig [B(High)],

Eiod-Aohig [B(Low)],

Fiod-Aohig[B(Low)]

Restrictions: Heavy Limitations. Two [B Rank(Low)] Two [C Rank(High)]

Heavy Limits meant that they would all lose their Source… which meant that the Source had been within the Raid Perimeter, and it had left! Either one of the Monster's had somehow claimed it, an impossibility on even a C Rank world, or someone was Interfering…

Aiod-Aohig removed their clutch-mates from the party and tried again.

Party Participation: Aiod-Aohig

Restrictions: Minor Limitations. One [B Rank(High)]

That was acceptable. "You will remain here," they told the others, "I will Subjugate the Dungeon and Pursue the Source." Their own Source was Restricted still, but it would be unnecessary to handle an army of C ranks. And once they were freed to roam…

They touched the Key and accepted. The Portal pulled them through…

New Dungeon Quest: [Victory]

Defeat or Force the Surrender of Over 90% Dungeon Sapients.

Rewards:

Return Portal and/or Key. Variable on Performance.

If someone was Interfering with a New Dungeon, it was a valuable opportunity to hurt them or their Masters. Aiod-Aohig could simply petition the Divine System with what they had seen already, and punishment would be harsh, for all involved. But the best option was if they could catch the intruders, then concessions could be demanded in exchange for silence, including turning over whatever Source they held!

Aiod-Aohig knew that it had to be interference and not another reaching the Source before they did. Especially when the world had only just reached C Rank moments ago. The traces of Eternal essence led him to believe that whoever it was, was either one of the Eternal, an unusual move from the usually predictable things, or it was another who had made a move against the Undead, and apparently pulled it off well enough to avoid detection… They hadn't even registered on the threat Assessment!

The Portal deposited them into the sky, the way they preferred. "Let all observe the golden glory that was Aiod-Aohig and their shining carapace!" Others may prefer the ground, or even beneath it, skulking about no better than the monsters they hunted!

Their back opened and shimmering gossamer wings spread to gently flicker against the air. Aiod-Aohig tasted the essence in full, no longer restricted by the membrane of the closed portal, and there it was! A trail of Source running from a muddied pool of it, off in a nearly straight line out of the Dungeon. "I just need to wipe out the Humans and I will have it!" The trail was rather sloppy, though. As if they were begging to be found… and there was a large burst still fading at the wall. Another trail visible beyond the wall, only this one of fire and running far into the distance.

Something moved below, running back along the trail of Source.

[Analyze]

Nathaniel Thomas

Human [C Rank(Mid)]

Titles: [King] [Martial Master] [Wise]

"Perfect! A king." When that one surrendered, it would count for everyone beneath it and would likely complete the Dungeon Quest. "How very helpful this monster is being to me!" It ran straight towards them. Obviously, they could kill it, and all the rest of its race, but that would be slower than acquiring a surrender. Aiod-Aohig did not know this new Race, doubtful that many did for such a newcomer, and they did not wish to risk that it was one of those annoying Burrowing creatures that took forever to dig out enough of for Quest Completion.

[Myriad Tongues] Activated.

[Golden Shell] Activated.

[Blistering Speed] Activated.

[Crushing Strength] Activated.

[Magic Mirror] Activated.

It would not do to engage without some precautions, despite the fact that any C Rank would be unable to even scratch their golden armor.

"Human," they descended and deigned to speak with the disgusting creature, "I do not hunt you today, I have issues far beyond your simple understanding to deal with." The creature wore its meat exposed! No shell at all! "Simply surrender, swear Obedience, and I will depart."

The human looked at them with what must have been awe at seeing so majestic a being for the first time… "No," the disgusting sound of its meat vibrating almost made Aiod-Aohig miss the meaning of its speech, "I don't think I will."

They slapped the pathetic monster across the ground, and instantly regretted the fact that they now had some of its juices contaminating their carapace… "I will kill you, simple thing. Do you not wish to live and breed?"

The human laughed, and it was worse than the speech. "Shit… have the royal guard on standby, I'll need them when it's over." It was speaking into a communication device, and ignoring them!

Aiod-Aohig crushed the metal rod into molten chunks, and a fist slammed into the side of their head, hard! "How!?" Another blow struck the same place and they were driven into the dirt.

This was infuriating, and embarrassing to be… the human kicked them in the leg and something cracked! "Through my [Golden Shell]!?" They forced out a more powerful [Analyze] and held it for longer, searching for the answer as they backed off.

[Analyze]

Nathaniel Thomas

Human [C Rank(Mid)][False B Rank(Mid)]

Titles: [King] [Martial Master] [Wise]

Effects: [Ruler's Authority] [Defiant to the End]

It had used a strengthening effect, and a rare one at that, one too precious to be used by this monster king!

The human was still coming on with its false rank. It was annoying, but a false B rank could not compete with a true B rank, let alone a High B Rank.

[Lightning's Charge] Activ…

The human moved faster and drove fleshy digits into their eye, cracking the protective membrane. Worse it interrupted the Skill just in time to trigger the cool down but before they gained the effects…

Another of its limbs struck just beneath the arm joint, and a new crack formed there.

This… this disgusting flesh monster! Apparently its Title of Martial Master was not merely for teaching others, it actually had some small skill. But it was no master. Aiod-Aohig would show this creature what true fighting mastery meant.

The human was relentless and they were forced to block four more strikes as they unsheathed their claws. "I've decided to kill you, human. So die!" They moved into the forms of the greatest martial art in the multiverse, and missed every single strike!

The human was more slippery than a Vesh snake dipped in oil, and seemed to slide a claw's edge past every blow. "Try keeping that up when your meat is melting…" The human struck again for the crack under the joint, in an obvious move that was easily blocked…

[Crippling Poison…

…and then ripped one of the antennae from their head! "Argh!" It was a foolish mistake to not retract them for a fight, but this shouldn't even be a fight!

Another blow to the eye cracked the protective membrane further…

This was ridiculous! Aiod-Aohig stopped trying to block the human and traded blows with it, finally scoring deep lines in its flesh in exchange for a few minor cracks that would heal up in a day. But it wasn't an equal exchange, the human continued to evade, or nearly evade, every lethal strike that should have ended the fight.

As the exchange dragged on, and the cracks kept growing longer, Aiod-Aohig realized that they were losing… against a False B mid! It was impossible! And yet it was happening.

The human was breaking itself, damaging the structures of its body just to inflict a little more damage to them… it couldn't keep up this pace… but neither could they.

"I need the Source! That would put this upstart cur in its place!" But to unleash it, even just to kill one human, would bring the wrath of the Divine System… and at best the Source would be stripped from them. At worst, they would be drained down to C Rank… but they would live. The human would die, and they would be forced to hide and hunt their way back up… but that was better than death. "My master may kill me for losing the Source I was bestowed… but better to die at their claw, than to be killed by an upstart monster and bring shame on the entire clutch."

It was decided, they reached down past the Divine Systems barrier, its presence more of a reminder than an impediment. "Di…"

The human pulped one of its own appendages and shattered the carapace under the joint, the other came too fast to block and its flesh dug into the dermal under armor, stabbed through, and clawed at the nerve cluster beneath, shredding it.

Aiod-Aohig couldn't understand anything through the blinding pain. "How? How did it know to strike in that spot?" A foot struck into their leg joint, cracking something, but failing to break through. "It has to die…" They raised claws to shield the exposed hole in their carapace and unleashed the…

Something pathetically weak tugged at their leg as the human attacked, it was barely enough to even feel, but it shifted their stance ever so slightly… and the human stabbed its flesh through their eye membrane, pulping the eye.

"No! Die!" Another unseen blow on the injured leg staggered them and the human broke more of their shell open.

More shapes darted in and out until they caught one with a weak kick that sent it tumbling with half of its body crushed. They were just beasts! Not even Sapients!

The human did not relent for even an instant, always there to disrupt their every attempt to draw up the Source. The beasts kept coming, even though they had to be cracking their teeth against the golden shell, and every distraction they caused, be it a nudge or an attempt on Aiod-Aohig's part to retaliate, the human took violent advantage.

Aiod-Aohig showed their back and sacrificed their wings to shield the hole in their chest from the human just long enough to… another beast appeared from nowhere, blades of light already descending, doing no damage to the armor around the hole, but clawing and digging through their exposed flesh.

They ran then, to keep the human at their back for a single precious instant longer…

A towering behemoth of a beast rose up from what they had thought was a hill, and swung a heavy blow down… they dodged the descending claws, but the weight of the strike still landed on them somehow… spreading more cracks, and spinning them around as they stumbled…

And right into the path of the monstrous human, baring its fangs at them as its struck true, and deep.

Aiod-Aohig had a shot, and took it, cutting the Human's appendage clean off as it dug into their flesh.

The monster showed no hesitation upon losing a limb, only spinning to drive a foot into the limb still embedded in their chest!

The pain slowed them down again, and they fell tumbling onto their back as they ripped the monsters claw from their chest.

When they looked up, there was a dark cloud of swarming creatures that dove like a spear for the exposed wound. They tried to raise limbs and block the oncoming flood, but one limb refused to obey and the other was held down by the human!

They had a moment to see its bared fangs, shining white between the red patina that covered its body, and then the explosions blocked it out.

The flying beasts were weak, barely scratching them, but there were so many… each one exploding on contact, with some managing to dive inside their chest before exploding.

"I lost…" Everything was blurry as they struggled to stay conscious and find a target, any target, just something to kill. "There…" The human was dying as well. Its Buff gone and its body shattered beyond repair…

"Nate!" "Nate, where are you?" "King Nate!" "Lord Nate!" voices, more Humans… "There he is! Shelly, Heal him!"

A Human with golden light coming from its hands, was running toward their dying King. "I won't let you…"

A furry muzzle sank into their chest, jaws closing over something, before the beast was gone an instant later, and tore something out when it left…

"I…" the golden light was fading now, the Humans drifting further away. "I can't lose…" the beautiful light that was just the right shade of Gold… fading… "they're just monsters."

Quest Failed. [Source]

Quest Failed. [Victory]

You have Died.