It is with a warm heart that I step back through the gates to my home cavern, the metal work is simple, but they are sturdy and defensible. The guards welcome me back, one with a crisp salute, the other with a casual wave of the hand. I respond to each before walking down to the overlook over the lake.

The warm waters here, clear and glowing, are not at all like the rust-red waters that I’ve just fought back on the surface of this world. No longer are the dark shadows swimming through the lakes, and even the forest has been pushed back from around my city’s walls to make room for the farms.

“This is your home?” Sky’s mother asks, looking wide-eyed at the expanse around her. “This is the belly of a giant monster? It’s safe?”

“I wouldn’t call Rick a monster,” I say. “He’s not bothered us so far, and he seems happy to sleep the centuries away.”

I may want to reach out to him properly when I’ve grown in strength. When we visited him, he seemed rather depressed and hopeless. When a friend gets that way, it can be important to drag them out of their funk.

“You are safe here?” Pao asks, keeping a distance from the pair of predators on my opposite side.

“Yeah, I have fairly good control over the local area, and the wild beasts are gone,” I say. “There’s some violence now and again. People are still people, but it’s all rather nice here at the moment.”

There are only two brawls that I can see, but they both seem friendly if that can really be said about a brawl. They’ll break up soon, and more than likely there won’t be any grudges forming from the tussle. A more serious fight is raging elsewhere in the city, a cheating spouse has caused some issues, but it’s more shouting and emotional damage than physical bruising.

“So, this is your home?” Sky asks. “Everyone here is friendly? Like in our town up in Blue’s leaves?”

“That’s right,” I say. “There were a few issues with the whales we were keeping in the lake and they had to be moved to another cavern where we can farm them more safely,” I explain, looking down into the deep waters below.

“Since then we’ve not had any serious problems.”

The first time I set foot here it was a wild and dangerous place, and now there’s only the image of it left. It’s no longer the same place that it was. While it’s undoubtedly safer for most people who call it home, it also feels as if it’s lost something in the process.

To grow and construct is necessarily a destructive process. We grow by eating and ‘destroying’ food, we build by clearing away a space and reshaping materials to our wants and whims. I think what we have now is worth what we’ve destroyed to make it.

“Let’s get going,” I say, flying up off of the ground and lifting Pao with a basket of force magic. She squeaks in fright but doesn’t complain, still gazing at the wide, open space around her.

Through the space between the great lakes below and the shallow, but expansive, pools above, we fly toward my home. The tall tower at the centre of it marks the place where my lovers wait for me, with a few familiar faces nearby to help escort my visitors around and show them what sort of place we have here.

“Kyra!” Nel calls to me, smiling warmly as I fall to the ground before her. Her pregnancy is starting to show, but only very slightly. Our home is secure enough for now, but I’ll need to have the school prepared for them when the time comes.

“Everyone,” I say, stepping in close for a hug. It’s like all the heavy thoughts in my mind suddenly wash away, and all my burdens are eased from my shoulders.

“You fought hard,” Nel says. “Let someone else take it from here, come and relax with us.”

I nod slowly.

It takes a little bit of effort to set aside my concerns and hand over my new potential allies to someone else. A familiar dwarf comes to take care of Pao the ferret, while Shen and Slan are here to escort Sky and her mother through the town.

“Return here later, and I’ll show you to your guest rooms,” I say tossing them at their respective guides. Sky is already running ahead to get a look at a colourful storefront.

“You found peace with the beasts on the surface?” Adler asks, walking close and hooking her arm through mine as she drags me inside. Vii and Eshya are ahead of me, whispering and laughing about something.

“We’re in friendly competition,” I say. “The tree doesn’t see lesser beings as anything of much worth, so we need to tag everyone who leaves to make sure that she doesn’t kill them.”

“Better than I expected from the wild lands,” Adler says, squeezing my arm. “I thought it would just be endless killing.”

“Well, there is an aspect of that too.”

Inside, we settle down into couches, tea and snacks set out on the overly fancy table between us. Walking from a battlefield into a lounge room, it’s absurd to think that both these places are of the same world. The bloody swamps above feel like an entirely separate world from where we relax right now.

“How are you feeling Eshya?” I ask. “You said that you wanted to talk?”

“I… I’m figuring out my place here,” she says, shifting awkwardly as she faces me.

She was watching through the entire battle on the surface, the fight that I was struggling to make seem like anything but a fight. I’m not sure if it’s intimidated her, or what but it’s clearly changed how she looks at me.

“Your place is here, with us, fighting who you want to fight,” I say. “Or just sitting around reading books and eating cake if that’s what you want.”

She nods slowly, looking at me again in a new light. She’s never been this… hesitant. Even just after she woke up again she was more herself than she is now.

Frustrated, I stand up and shove myself over to her side. I’ve already dropped my armour, in favour of something a little looser, and before she has a chance to escape, I sit on her lap to trap her in place.

“What is it?” I ask, looking into her eyes. “What’s changed? What’s bothering you?”

“Kyra, I just…” she pauses, squirming under me. “You’re kind of… important, and I’m not.”

“What?”

“You’re running a city; dungeons listen to you and even on the surface you were getting the attention of that big tree. They respect you. You’re important; I’m nothing.”

“You’re not nothing, I say glaring into her eyes. You’re a little slow getting powered up, but you’re important, and your talent in fighting is frightening.”

“I’m only important because you’re pulling me along with you,” Eshya says. “If you weren’t on that same ship with me when we crashed, I’d be dead. Red would have killed me, or just left me to die, if you weren’t there.”

“We all need help sometimes,” I say.

“Why did you send us back?” she asks. “Because we can’t help you. If I can’t help you in return…”

“Fighting isn’t everything,” Nel says, stepping in. “I never intend to dive into some awful battle, but do you think that I have no purpose in life? Do you think that it’s meaningless for me to take care of our people here at home? Do you think that I don’t deserve to be in this relationship?”

“No, that’s not it,” Eshya shakes her head vigorously. “I just…”

“Want to be equal?” Vii asks, hanging off my shoulders. “You want to be fighting alongside a team of equals, where you can actually do something to help. So that we’re not just dragged around like a cheer team, or so we can carry home all the loot?”

“That might be it,” Eshya admits. “I’m just too weak. I don’t belong here. I should be fighting with the rest of the trainees under Red.”

I grit my teeth, watching her dip her head in defeat. It’s not just about her place in our civilisation, it’s about her place in our relationship. Our strange and still developing relationship.

I hold her hands tight and look her in the eyes. She tries to turn away but I force her to focus on me.

She’s lost and trying to find her way, after having her head messed up. The memories are there but her emotions are still a mess, and she’s latching onto an anxiety that used to fuel her training sessions.

“You’re important to me,” I say. “I don’t care if you’re weak today. I don’t care if you’ve forgotten a few things, or if you’re still figuring out your emotions. You are important to me.”

“You have the others,” Eshya says. “I mean, what even is this relationship? We fell into this because we went through that terrible experience together, and we were desperate for affection and warmth in that cold violent world. It’s not normal.”

“I don’t care if it’s normal,” I say. “I’m not normal, none of us are.”

I lean in close and kiss her lips.

She’s a little taken aback, but it’s not as if a little affection fixes everything. I take her hand and press it to my chest, my heart is beating heavy enough that I know she must feel it.

“Do you want me?” I ask.

“I do, but that’s just lust, it’s not-”

“Do you feel happy when you see me happy?” I ask. “When you smile it makes my guts feel warm, and it’s like everything we’ve been through, all the terrible things that have happened and that I’ve done. It’s brought me here to this world, with your warm smile. Every pain and loss was worth it.

“Do you feel the same?” I ask.

“I don’t like seeing you upset. Or hurt,” Eshya admits. “I already told you that I can’t feel anything properly at the moment.”

“Do you want to love me,” I ask, pressing closer to her. “Do you want to stay by my side, feel my joy as your own?”

“I do,” Eshya finally whispers. “I do want that.”

“Then what should we do to get you there?” I ask. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Eshya nods slowly, taken aback.

I’m pushing too hard. I know, but I’m still worked up from the fight, worried about Eshya, and I don’t like seeing her like this.

“Before you get too excited,” Vii shoves in between us. “I have an idea.”

“What is it?” I ask, “So long as it’s nothing too out there, I’ll try to keep open-minded.”

“What? No. Gross. I’m talking about training,” Vii says. “I think that I can use my time talent to give us extended meditation, but only for our mana forms.”

“I don’t get it…” I say.

“I can use my magic to help us develop our mana forms faster,” she explains nice and simply. “That way we can keep up with you, and we won’t be left behind. We can fight, at least well enough that we don’t hold you back.”

“Interesting thought, is it dangerous?” I ask.

“Not really,” Vii says, looking around guiltily. “I mean, I figured it out, so it’s not dangerous anymore.”

“Vii?” I ask.

“I might’ve locked myself in my own head for a day or two,” Vii admits. “It was very uncomfortable, but I’m fine now.”

I pull her close and squeeze her in a tight embrace. She’s a warm and anxious ball of feathers and I can’t easily tell her that I’m worried about her without it coming across as hypocritical given the risks that I’ve taken.

“Okay,” I say. “When are you trying out this training?”

“Soon,” Vii says. “I want to do some training tomorrow, with you there to watch over us just in case something happens. Also, I think you have those visitors back, the ones with the wings.”

“Ah,” I look down to the first floor, seeing the pair of predatory angels have returned for some reason. I hadn’t noticed with all that was happening, but they don’t seem to be bothered about anything as far as I can tell. “I’ll go deal with them.”

I rush down the stairs to get this dealt with quickly. My little attempt at romance isn’t enough to rebuild my floundering relationship with Eshya.

“How do you like my home?” I ask the pair as they look at some of the pretty flowers adorning the place. “Do you see what I’m trying to build, the sort of place that I want to bring to this whole world?”

“We do,” The mother says nodding quickly. “This isn’t a lie, is it? It’s safe? There’s no fighting? People can just… live and work in peace?”

“Well, it’s not all peace, but I do strive toward that end,” I say. “It’s the life I want for myself and those close to me, so it’s what I want to build.”

“I want you to take my daughter in.”

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“This place… it’s peaceful. I want you to protect my daughter. I bow to Blue-Crown and I acknowledge her will and her power, but she does not protect us, she doesn’t cherish our lives. I don’t want to see Sky die the same as her father and her brothers, just to feed the great roots below…”

“Mom…”

“She’s weaker than them, she can’t… I don’t want to see her die, too,” The mother insists.

“Let’s figure something out,” I say, feeling a bright warmth in my chest.

They can see a small fraction of what I’m trying to create, and she wants to be a part of it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stats and Skills

~Mana Form:

Current mana crystallisation:

-0.4% at 78,231 (Stage 2)

-99.6% at 60,892 (Stage 1)

Current mana volume: 30,304 / 30,304 shards

Mana volume at Stage 1 crystallisation (Max. mana volume):

Kyra: 30,271 shards

Kyra’s armour: 20,777 shards

Kyra’s throne: 1,109,298 shards

~Forms

Mana Canon

-Annihilation Heart (Adapted)

-Blood Fuel (Adapted)

-Bone Magic Storage (Adapted)

-Nail Shifters (Adapted)

Dancer

-Flash Nerves (Adapted)

-Quick Perception Mind (Adapted)

-Burst Reflex Muscles (Adapted)

-Layered Space Muscles (Adapted)

Turtle

-Rebinding Tissue (Adapted)

-Catalyst Sweat Glands (Adapted)

-Repulsive Skin (Adapted)

-Prehensile hair (Adapted)

-Fatty Tissue Blood Storage (Adapted)

Investigator

-Wide eyes (Adapted)

-Wide ears (Adapted)

-Sharp nose (Adapted)

Misc.

-Clean bowels (Adapted)

-Mana Drive (Adapted)

~Favourited Skills:

Magic:

-Annihilation Magic (Customised)

-Fire Magic (Functional)

-Space magic (Broken)

-Force magic (Functional)

-Ice magic (Broken)

-Wind magic (Broken)

Movement:

-Hand-to-hand casting (Mastered)

-Mana surge movement (Customised)

-Stealth (Functional)

Senses:

-Eyes of an Empire (Customised)

-Combat Awareness (Mastered)

-Watchmen (Functional)

-Hidden bug (Mastered)

-De-tagging (Mastered)

-Anti-stealth sight (Mastered)

Special:

-Spirit Transformation (Broken)

-Conformity (Broken)

-Training mana form (Functional)