“You swear to wield this weapon… to vanquish the Ugoc threat!” screeched Bin, eyes shot with blood, angry purple veins bulging out of his neck.

Dorian hesitated. What to do?

There was a fruit in the Upper Realms called the Ul-Kran fruit. It was akin to a big, juicy blueberry which smelled like sweetest honey on softest winds. Its skin glistened in sleet or rain or sun alike; and it tasted divine—its tart skin sealed flesh so delicious no words could do it justice. To taste the Ul-Kran, it was said, was to feel the single greatest pleasure open to any creature, man or God.

It also killed whoever ate it, hollowed out that person from the inside, and made them its zombie. It was an S-Tier devil-fruit, a parasite which made a sport of killing Gods. Some poisons are sweet to the tongue and the eye.

As he stared down Bin Heilong’s offer, Dorian felt like he was looking at an Ul-Kran fruit. An image popped to mind: a sea of beasts, Wryms and Vordors and sandwolves and drakes of all sizes and power levels, crashing through the Oasis walls, trampling hordes of its wailing citizens. Then there was Nijo, wielding those golden god-given powers, blasting through the city—

Hardly appetizing.

But…

Dorian looked to his choices. First, the Oasis Lord, who gave him a stern squint. Second, the Artificing Head, who gave him a toothy grin. And third, to Bin, who looked at Dorian the way a starving, caged animal looks at rotting meat. Bin wasn’t happy about any of this, but given the circumstances the man was far beyond caring.

All three offers would tie him to the Oasis. He’d be forced to confront the Ugoc armies one way or another. But Bin’s would put him most directly in the line of fire.

Bin’s offer was also the best by far.

A Spirit Weapon of the finest caliber in this realm. Three scales’ worth of Essence stored in that gorgeous thing. And he’d be treated like a young master!

The only hang-up was the specter of imminent death. Dorian still remembered that Pearl boy—almost certainly one of Nijo’s agents—with that same gold mark on him as Nijo’d had. He also remembered nearly getting a hole blasted in his Soul by whatever golden god—or gods—Nijo dealt with, back in that Tournament.

A good rule of thumb for mortals: don’t fuck with gods. Don’t fuck with factions backed by gods.

But Dorian’s eyes glinted. A familiar mischievousness tickling at him again. Since when had he been one for rules?

He glanced around the smoking ruins, the hunks of melted steel and blackened stumps of stone littering the crater. The main Heilong Estate was in shambles, true, but its main forces were still undamaged. This was the military family of the Oasis. It likely had hundreds of men at its disposal, and Dorian had the know-how to arm them. He would forge his staffs. He would make elixirs that were miracles by this realm’s standards. Yes. Yes! He could stock this place with the weapons of a new age.

They might’ve had a god on their side…

Dorian looked at his hands, and grinned.

But we do too, don’t we?

He looked to Bin Heilong. His grin turned fierce. And he nodded.

“I accept your offer.”

Mission: defend the ludicrously outmatched fortress against a beast tide that is literally backed by godly powers is a go!

Dorian hummed. Admittedly, the name could use some work.

***

Through a blur of choking dust-clouds and throbbing, head-splitting pain, Kaya managed to stumble her way home. She didn’t remember half the journey. It had all happened in some dazed haze. Only once she’d sagged into the tent, felt the rough grits of sand shoring up her knees, stinging at the bloody scrapes there, did she heave out a long, slow, sigh. She closed her eyes. It felt like her body had been holding back a day’s worth of fatigue. Now it crashed on her all at once, dragging at her eyelids, her thoughts, her horribly sore arms and legs. She felt like she was about to unwind—fall apart, drift off into dust clouds then and there. She was too tired to even cry.

Today made no sense. None at all! She was so damned sick of all this churn, this bustle. That weird super golden glow-power? That big stick of light in the sky? Getting knocked out—twice? She winced. Even thinking right now was like trying to swim through oil.

She let out a low, soft groan.

“Hey, sis! Good news!”

There was a shadow in the peachy murk of the door. Her eyes widened.

“Io!” she gasped.

“Yup,” said the shadow, chuckling. Her grinning brother stepped into the tent. “I’m back. Shame, I know. Anyhow, I—oof!”

He was cut off by her smothering him in a tackle-hug.

She took a long, deep, dragging breath. She dragged in another, gasping. She felt silly as hells, clinging to her kid brother like she was the younger sis, somehow it felt like the one thing that made any kind of sense. She sniffled. Io was here. Solid, real, here, with her in this damned mess! It was going to be okay. She was going to be okay.

Pulling back, she took him in again. She blinked. Something about him seemed… off. His skin was brighter, maybe. Cleaner. His hair blacker. Then she put a finger on it—it was his aura, streaming out of him like he was a lively hearth. The aura of the Profound.

This little rascal ascended again?!

Who was she kidding? A tired smile tugged at her lips. It was Io. Of course he did.

She had no clue what to say. Should she tell him what’d happened to her? Or ask what had happened to him? Or ask about that crazy storm?

She settled on hissing—“Where were you?!”

“That,” said Io, wincing, “is a long story. I’ll tell it to you later. Suffice it to say, I’ll be making a few more breakthroughs than expected tomorrow… for now, all you need to know is I got us housing in the city! It’s a lovely place, smack-dab in one of the Heilong Estates. Quite a nice area, if I do say so myself—“

His face froze. Then it went utterly still. His eyes latched onto her hand.

“What,” he said slowly, “is that?”

“Huh?”

Kaya followed his gaze.

“Oh!” On the back of her hand, there was a faint etching. She hadn’t even felt it! How had that gotten there? She tried wiping it against her tunic, but it wouldn’t go. She rubbed it harder, but only managed to smudge the back of her hand with grease and dust. It was stuck there, stubborn, like it was part of her skin itself. Two weird little gold circles, stuck together. Huh. She could’ve sworn she saw that symbol before…

Then she looked back to Io, and yelped.

His jaw was clenched tight as a fist, his eyes stark and staring. The look was so intense, so furious, the blackness of his pupils seemed to burn in the dim dusk light. She’d never seen him this mad. Ever.

The shift was so sudden it felt like a slap in the face.

“Nijo…” he breathed. “BASTARD!”

He snatched her wrist. She flinched as he ran a finger over it, muttering, then bringing it to his face and picking it apart with his eyes. She gaped. His face had gone totally rigid, mouth set in a harsh, snarling arc, cheeks flush with boiling rage.

For a second it was like she was seeing someone else—like he’d been possessed! Her brother was a sweet, gentle, fun-loving soul. Where had this come from?! He almost looked like some kind of demon!

She dared not move before he did; she barely dared to breathe. And he didn’t move for a time. Thinking back on it later, it might not’ve even been enough time for a tea-kettle to boil, but in the moment it felt like the whole night had passed before he let her go.

He started to laugh—a sneering, lilting sound. He looked out to the starry sky.

“Is this your idea of a peace offering?” He whispered. “A sign? A bribe? Hmph! Sneaky little prick. How dare you touch what’s mine?”

“What?” croaked Kaya. She was still rooted to the spot. She still couldn’t scrub that face from her mind. Those eyes, burning with black…

“Heh.” Io turned around, smiling. It was like the whole thing had been one long joke. His rage had vanished in an instant—like it hadn’t been there at all! “Don’t worry. It’s safe.”

“What?” croaked Kaya again.

“Ah.” He blinked. Then he drew up to her, gently taking her hand and looking her in the eye. Soft, warm, black eyes. Caring eyes. His brow furrowed, lips trembled. He looked worried-- really worried. “Oh, gods! Did I frighten you?”

Kaya stared at him. Maybe she’d imagined it—maybe she’d made something much worse than it was. She was really, really tired. And she had gotten hit by on the head a whole bunch.

“Uh?” she said.

He winced, looking chagrined. “Drat. I’m real sorry about that. I got scared. And… angry. I thought—“

He swallowed. “I thought someone was trying to hurt you.”

“Oh,” mumbled Kaya. “Oh.” That… changed things. That made sense. Of course! A little warmth bubbled in her chest. Then she felt a stab of guilt. She cringed. Her sweet little brother, possessed by a demon? What was she thinking?! She really had been hit too hard.

“It’s okay,” She said. He didn’t look convinced. “I’m okay. Really!”

“It’s not okay. I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that,” he sighed. “I just needed to make sure. You seem to have been… hmm. How should I put this? I think you’ve entered into a contract.”

Kaya swallowed. “What?” she said again, feeling very stupid. “Contract? With who?”

“Well…it's hard to say,” said Io. “The important thing is that it’s a Blessing, not a Mark. If it were a Mark you’d essentially be a slave, like our friend Pearl. But yours is one-way, and you can give it up anytime. Just…heh.” He grinned weakly. “Not by scratching it, dummy!”

She didn’t even bother questioning how he knew it. The first dozen times she did. Now she’d somehow grown used to it—he just knew things. That was the way he was now, all powerful and important and stuff. She used to think she knew every nook and cranny of him; now huge parts of him were way beyond her. Sometimes talking to him made her feel very silly. Like she was a toddler asking a patient adult to explain super obvious things--things that she somehow just didn't know.

“So…” she said. She felt that way now. “Um. What do I do now?“

Io shrugged. “Well, you can use it—some of these things can be quite useful. Or don’t bother with it. Whichever. Do tell me if anything changes, alright? If someone tries to contact you through it, please let me know.”

Kaya looked to her hand, then to her hand, then to him again. Why couldn’t one thing that happened today—just one—make a lick of sense?!

“Why would anyone do this to me? Is it—do they just give these out?”

“Oh, Heavens no!” Io laughed warmly. “That took a lot of effort and planning to do, believe me. More than you could ever know. As to why they marked you, well. Who knows?”

He tapped his chin. “If I had to guess, it’s two things. First, as a gift. It’s a peace offering from them to me. But it’s a little like this fruit from the Upper—nevermind. Basically, they also marked you to remind me that they can get at you. It’s a subtle reminder that I have weaknesses.”

He snorted, looking to the night sky once more. “Or so they think.”

Kaya didn’t even try to make any sense of that.

“I think I’ma nod off,” she mumbled. Her brain felt like a clogged latrine.

“Oh, of course. You do that. You’ve got a big day ahead of you!” Io waved her off. “Among other things… the Tournament’s First Round starts tomorrow! And with, uh, recent news I expect you’ll hear of soon, I expect they’ll ratchet up the stakes to match.”

He grinned. “You’ll do well, sis. I just know it!”