The ground shook under the creature’s massive weight, and Zeke took an inadvertent step backward. As he did so, he belatedly remembered to use his inspection skill:

Ramul, Lord of the Oasis of Purity – Level 25 (M)

“Wait!” Zeke screamed, raising his hands in surrender as he scrambled backward. “I’m not a demon! I…I fell through a portal, and when I woke up, I was…I was…here. I just want to get home.”

Ramul, Lord of the Oasis of Purity stopped. “A portal?” he rumbled in a voice that sounded like cracking glass. “What do you mean, little not-demon?”

Zeke was more than willing to keep talking if it meant the giant monarch-tier creature would spare him. Zeke was strong – inordinately so – but the moment he felt the purifier’s aura, he knew that he wasn’t even close to strong enough to stand up to such a being. Diplomacy was a much safer tactic. So, he quickly explained what had happened, not sparing any details. It wasn’t that he trusted the creature, but rather that he didn’t dare hold anything back. Who knew what might convince Ramul not to grind him into dust? When he’d finished, he said, “And that brings me to here. I just want to find something that will allow my friends to survive here.”

“You tell a troubling story,” the creature said, scraping crystalline fingers across its chin. “The demons are moving. I have known it for months. And yet, I could not leave my oasis.”

“Moving? Where?” Zeke asked.

“South,” Ramul stated. “Do you not feel it? The Ruler’s eyes rest upon this region.”

Zeke shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he admitted, and he wasn’t surprised. He wasn’t a native to the realm, and so, it stood to reason that he wouldn’t be as attuned to its happenings. However, he had felt an alien presence that seemed to be watching him, and he suspected that it was this Ruler Ramul referenced.

The demon stood there, still as a mountain and lost in thought. It lasted long enough that Zeke readied himself to interject, but just as he was about to say something, Ramul spoke. He asked, “Your friends are human?”

“They are,” Zeke stated, nodding.

“I think I can help,” the crystalline golem said. “Follow me.”

With that, it turned on its heel and strode off. With its long legs, it covered ground incredibly fast, and within seconds, it had disappeared into the blue trees. Zeke hurried to follow, practically sprinting just to catch up. He was surprised to see that, despite his bulk, Ramul had no trouble passing through the forest of trees; it was almost like they moved out of his way, because he certainly didn’t alter his stride to go around them.

Finally, they reached a mound of solid crystal. However, instead of the blue that comprised the trees’ leaves as well as Ramul’s body, it was a deep, verdant green. Once they reached it, Ramul turned his head, asking, “How many friends?”

“Four,” Zeke said.

The giant golem gave a hum of acknowledgement, and Zeke felt a rumble in his feet. Then, the creature bent over the mound, and with each of its hands, scooped four divots into the green crystal. After that, it spread its four arms wide, tilted its head to the sky, and started vibrating, the reverberations emitting a keening, high-pitched sound.

At first, Zeke expected it to last only a few seconds, but it didn’t stop. Soon, a minute had passed. Then, a half hour. An hour. On and on it went until Zeke’s awe began to fade. But instead of worry, which had dominated his thoughts ever since he’d come to the demon realm, it was replaced by a clarity of mind, the likes of which he’d never felt before. It was almost as if the crystalline golem’s very presence had purified his mind, ridding it of all the negativity he’d cultivated since he’d fallen through the demon’s portal.

No - before that, if he was honest with himself.

He’d been beset by those negative thoughts well before he’d been reborn, and they’d continued to pile on as he was faced with one hardship after another. There were bright spots – Pudge, Abby, and, of course, the steady increase in his power, which had created a positive feedback loop that had him always looking for more – but they were mere blips compared to the steady deluge of doubts, second-guesses, and regrets.

He had made so many wrong decisions. From stupidly trying to put a girl into his spatial storage to letting Gerd, the frost giantess, go, it had been one mistake after another. And though he hadn’t paid the ultimate price yet, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone died due to his poor decision making. And he had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn’t be him. Rather, his friends would be the ones to pay the price.

However, as the purity of thought washed over him, enveloping him in its comforting embrace, Zeke started to see things more clearly. He’d made plenty of mistakes, but that was normal. Natural. Nobody’s decision-making was perfect. He was a flawed person who had done the best he could. Were there better ways? Certainly. If he could go back, he would change so many things. But he couldn’t, and wallowing in regret was the beginning of a dark path. He could only push forward and try to do better.

Never was that more appropriate than when it came to his path. It had been on his mind of late, the contemplation prompted by Oberon’s words. He knew he’d started down the wrong road. Protecting people was a noble goal, but ultimately, he just wasn’t suited for it. He liked the idea of keeping everyone safe, but it was too passive. Too reactive. Couldn’t he accomplish the same goals by simply attacking? He didn’t need a shield, did he?

But if he discarded the shield, what would happen to his second martial path? Would it remain there, unused and forgotten? Or could he perhaps change it? Zeke had already guessed that the names on his status page were little more than hints of much larger concepts. For instance, his blunt weapons path felt like it was on the cusp of becoming something else. Something more powerful. And unless he completely missed his guess, it would happen when he progressed past the novice tier. The question was whether or not he could influence its direction. If so, his shield path could be changed into something else. He couldn’t completely change directions, he was certain, but he could probably nudge it one way or another into something more appropriate.

Just when Zeke thought he was getting somewhere, he realized that the vibrations had stopped, and his clarity of thought had begun to drift away. He wasn’t as muddled as he was before, but he could feel the unnatural peace of mind drifting away.

He looked up to see the golem staring at him from only a foot away. He flinched back, surprised. “W-what…”

“You were on the edge of an epiphany,” Ramul stated. “I regret that I could not maintain the call for longer.”

Zeke shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. As he did so, he noticed that darkness had fallen, which meant that he’d been out of it for hours. “That’s okay,” he muttered. “What was that, anyway?”

“The call,” the purifier repeated. “Every world – every realm – must have a great enemy. In your world, there are monsters. Here, the demons have us. The purifiers. We are few in number, but it takes an entire horde to match us. Do you know why?”

Zeke thought about it for a moment, then said, “This place is different from the rest of the desert. It’s not caustic, is it?”

“What is caustic to humans is nurturing to demons,” Ramul said. “To you, as well, though you do not need it as they do. Without this atmosphere, most demons will slowly wither and die.”

It made sense. The demons in the caverns had mostly relied on possession, and though they were incredibly tough, the ones that didn’t seemed weaker than they should have been. Only a couple had dared to use any skills, and even the most powerful among them had possessed a human. And Zeke suspected that the atmosphere in the obsidian cavern was much better for the demons than if they were on the surface.

“I see that you understand,” Ramul said, nodding. He held out his hands, and in each one rested a shining, green jewel. “I have called on the purity to enchant these gems. So long as your friends carry them, they will be protected from the corruption.”

Zeke stared at them for a long moment before he remembered himself. He said, “Thank you. This is…it’s more than I could have ever hoped.”

As he took the offered gems, which were each the size of a thumb, Ramul said, “They will not last forever, so do not tarry. You have a week at most to find your way home. After that, the atmosphere will corrupt the gems, and you will lose any protection they offer.”

Zeke knew that the golem had already helped him and his friends more than he could have expected, but he decided to ask one more question. “How do we get back to the Radiant Isles?” he asked.

“I do not know,” the golem said.

It wasn’t a surprising answer. Not even powerful creatures like the purifier were infallible, and they certainly weren’t omniscient. Still, it was a little disappointing for a man who, more than anything, wanted to be pointed in the right direction so that, regardless of the obstacles, he could just charge ahead, knowing that he was on the right track. Life didn’t work that way, though, and he was quickly learning that he would have to adjust accordingly. Otherwise, he’d be left behind.

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” Zeke asked, sending the gems into his storage space.

With a grating sound of crystal rubbing against crystal, Ramul shook his head. “You have the mark of the chosen upon you,” he said. “But you are also marked as an adversary. It is weaker, but if you nourish it, it will grow strong enough to overwhelm your humanity. If that happens, know that we will become enemies. I will take no joy in purifying you, but such is my purpose.”

Zeke swallowed hard. “I understand,” he said. “In that case, I hope we never meet again.”

“As do I, young not-demon,” Ramul said, and though the golem’s face remained rigid, Zeke thought he detected a smile. Or perhaps it was just his imagination.

With that, the hulking creature turned around and walked away, disappearing into the trees and leaving Zeke alone once again. After a few moments of standing there, Zeke decided it was past time for him to return to the tower, so he started making his way back to where he felt Pudge was still waiting. When he finally exited the oasis, he saw that Pudge hadn’t been idle, and the infernal bear was surrounded by blackened and burnt corpses. Some were reminiscent of the roach-like monsters they’d killed on the way, but others were entirely new variants. None were alive.

Worried, thought Pudge. Took too long.

“Sorry, buddy,” Zeke said, running his hand along Pudge’s side. The bear’s size had gotten out of hand, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Pudge would continue to grow. Already, his back was level with Zeke’s shoulder. “I think I got something that’ll help the others, though. So, mission accomplished, I guess.”

Of course, it was only the first step, and the gems would only offer the bare minimum toward survival. More, it was only a temporary solution, and Zeke suspected that getting back to the Radiant Isles would prove to be much more difficult.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s head back.”

The trip back to the tower wasn’t uneventful. The monsters who inhabited the black deserts of Mal’araxis were largely nocturnal, so it felt like the duo could barely take a step without having to fight some wrongful miscreation. Pudge was a godsend, especially considering that his new ability to breath fire was incredibly effective against the creatures. The heat itself wasn’t terribly important, but rather, the black tendrils weaving their way through the fires were responsible for most of the damage. Zeke wasn’t sure what, precisely, it was, but he couldn’t deny its effectiveness.

Having Pudge to watch his back, Zeke was free to explore some of the ideas he’d had while experiencing his epiphany. With both his shield and his armor having been destroyed, he was forced to adapt his fighting style to something far more aggressive. Before, he’d relied on blocks and counters, but now, it felt like he was getting back to his roots as he adopted a “the best defense is a good offense” mentality. He’d used something similar in the troll caves and against the drachnids, and it proved just as effective against the new foes. Perhaps even more so, because he now possessed even more impressive stats, and his vitality stealing skill had gone through an evolution that made it more powerful than ever.

More than anything, though, it felt incredibly comfortable. It was like, for months, he’d been trying to hit from the wrong side of the plate. It could work, especially with enough practice, but it would never feel right. Now, though, it was like he was finally free to do what came naturally to him. That, more than anything, told him that he’d been trying to force his path, and it reiterated the necessity for adjustment.

The biggest issue was that he wasn’t entirely certain how to do that. His blunt weapons path seemed pretty straightforward, and he had quite a few ideas where it could go. However, he’d made a mistake with the shield path, so, with the requirement that the new direction needed to be somewhat related, he knew it would take some time to figure out where he wanted to take it.

But if nothing else, he had time. He’d already been in the Radiant Isles for a few years, and despite getting two very fast levels after killing the warlock, he knew that those final three would take quite some time to achieve. He had an inclination that it would be best if he got past the novice tier with his paths before heading to the next plane, but considering he didn’t even know how to do that, he felt secure in the thought that he would have plenty of time to steer his development back on track. Even so, he also knew that it wouldn’t be easy. But then again, nothing worthwhile ever was; he was used to that, and in a lot of ways, looked forward to the challenge.

Finally, the tower came into view, and they hurried forward until its aura enveloped them. With a sigh of relief, Zeke relaxed as he strode forward to tell his friends that he’d finally found a solution to their first problem.