From the outside world’s perspective, it had barely been a moment before Yoshika reemerged from her tent to go find Eunae.

To avoid confusion, she had Kaede stay where she was—not that it made a difference. For the time being, Kaede would be with her wherever she went.

She felt a little guilty not checking up on her first, but every second she spent focusing on Geumji was more time for something to go wrong in Chou’s realm. Yang Qiu was cooperative for now, but who knew how long it would be before she started testing Yue’s limits, or provoking Han Yu?

And Han Yu was a problem on his own.

To Yoshika’s surprise, however, when she made her way to the support corps camp and entered the tent Eunae was resting in, it was Rika who apologized.

“Yoshika! Good to see you. I heard that you drove off the demon army’s leader—I’m so sorry for staying behind. I know your family was in danger, I just...”

Meili shook her head.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. I’m not sure you could have caught up or what difference it would have made if you did. Helping Eunae was the right move.”

Eunae chuckled, then winced in pain, reaching up to the bandages around her throat. Her voice was soft and hoarse as she spoke.

“I told you, Rika.”

“I know! I just feel bad anyway. It sucks being so useless...”

“I might have died without your help.”

Speaking of which, Yoshika moved to Eunae’s side and lay a hand gently on her bandages.

“Here, let me...”

The healers of Lin Xiulan’s Cult of Harmonious Stars had done a good job, but wounds inflicted by xiantian fighters were often difficult to heal. Physically, the wounds had been closed and her windpipe restored, but her essence flowed poorly around those areas—a scar that went deeper than the flesh.

Divine essence could be used for more than just flashy sacred arts. Just as a cultivator incorporated essence into their everyday lives, divine essence could be used in tiny amounts to empower more mundane techniques.

So enhanced, Yoshika’s Tranquility of the Verdant Marsh was more than enough to finish what the healers had started, and restore Eunae back to perfect health.

Her eyes widened as she felt delicately at her throat.

“Oh! That’s—thank you. The healers said that it would take Lady Xiulan herself to do that.”

Yoshika coughed awkwardly.

“Uh...yeah, I guess there’s been a development. That’s part of what I’m here about—not that I needed a better reason than to see you.”

“I won’t be offended if you’ve come on business, Yoshika. We are friends first and foremost, but that doesn’t deprive us of the reality of our responsibilities.”

Rika rolled her eyes.

“She means we’re here for you. What do you need?”

“Well...let me try to explain as quickly as I can...”

Takeda Rika prided herself on her confidence. If she wanted something, she didn’t let anything get in the way. If she fell short of her expectations—or anyone else’s—she just worked harder to overcome those limits.

She’d been proud to be one of Yamato’s representatives at the academy, and she hadn’t let it get to her that her first act as such was getting her butt handed to her in a duel with Yan Zhihao. Despite her reluctance to join Hayakawa Kaede’s cause, she’d been proud to represent her country again as an ambassador to Goryeo—and then to Qin.

She was proud of the friends she’d made—the people she’d inspired and been inspired by in turn. She was proud of the fact that she was with two very beautiful women, one of whom was a princess who’d been extremely difficult to bring out of her shell. If Eunae had ever truly rejected her, Rika would have respected it—but instead she always demurred, and eventually Rika’s persistence was rewarded.

Rika had a lot to be proud of, but if there was anyone or anything in the world that could shake her confidence, it was Yoshika.

It felt like just yesterday she’d been teaching Lee Jia the basics of hand-to-hand combat, and trying not to get stabbed by An Eui’s over-eager ‘sparring.’

And now they had ascended together beyond the realm of mere mortals and into the world of real power. The kind that moved mountains and shook nations. That strange pair that she’d helped to welcome into the world of immortals only five years ago had soared so far beyond her that at last she had no choice but to accept that she would never catch up again.

There was only one thing to say to that.

“I’m going with you.”

Eun-eun and Yoshika both blinked in surprise and she laughed—what did they think she was going to say?

“If Eun-eun is going then I want in, too. And I don’t think she’s going to say no, are you?”

Eunae shook her head.

“Of course not. I’m happy to help.”

Yoshika hesitated.

“Uh...why?”

Rika scoffed.

“You mean aside from the chance to see Yun, or to share a uniquely intimate experience with Eun-eun? There’s nothing I can do to help you here, and there might never be anything I can do to help you again. If adding my soul to the mix is all I can do to make a difference anymore, then I’ll do it.”

Yoshika’s expression twisted into the thoughtful sort of frown she got whenever she was internally arguing with herself.

“Rika, that’s not—”

“Don’t try to spare my feelings. I’m useless to you as I am, and by the time I get to where you are—kami only know how much further ahead you’ll have gotten. Right here, right now, I might be able to make a difference. Let me help.”

Yoshika sighed.

“Rika, I don’t have time to argue—”

“Then don’t. Let’s get going. Neither Eun-eun or I are new to this, so let’s stop wasting time. We’re ready when you are—right Eun-eun?”

Eunae blinked and averted her eyes—Rika loved that she could look into her eyes now, even if she still had a habit of avoiding eye-contact.

“I—yes, of course. If you’re prepared, then so am I.”

Rika turned back to Yoshika and nodded.

“There you have it. Let’s go.”

Yoshika chuckled and shook her head.

“I forgot how headstrong you two can be. Alright, you win. We don’t have time to waste, and I’ll be happy to have you with us. Just...this isn’t going to be the same as before, and the risks...”

“Yeah, yeah, might force a tribulation, might get stuck like that, we get it. Let’s go! We’ll burn those bridges when we’ve crossed them!”

“I don’t think that’s how the saying goes...”

The three of them sat down to meditate, and Rika began the familiar exercise of clearing her mind to synchronize her thoughts and feelings with Yoshika. Strictly speaking, of everyone in the world aside from Jia and Eui themselves, Rika had more practice with joining herself to their cultivation than anyone else.

Yoshika’s domain settled around her like a comforting blanket and then—

She was right. It wasn’t the same. It had been an effort of will before—something that demanded her constant concentration lest she lose track of who she was within the ocean of Yoshika’s soul.

This time, she’d been Rika one moment, then relaxed into Yoshika’s domain as if it had always been there, just waiting for her. It didn’t feel like she’d become Yoshika, so much as remembered that she always had been.

Rika had been looking forward to being one with Eunae, but it was almost disappointing how normal it felt. She’d always been Eunae, and she’d always been Rika. She might have had an epiphany about how it felt for Jia and Eui, but of course, she already knew that—she’d always been them, too.

When Yoshika opened her eyes in Chou’s realm, she skipped the arduous process of creating new avatars. Rika's simulacra were nearly perfect for the purpose, and they could be quickly formed and reformed without much cost, as opposed to the more permanent bodies she’d used for Jia, Eui, Meili, and Kaede.

Eunae looked down at her ephemeral new form. It wasn’t quite as comfortable or natural as the avatars, but it still felt like her. The separate form made it easier for her to distinguish herself from the others, even if she still felt them all.

Rika giggled, hopping up and down and testing the feel of her new body, creating a few extra simulacra just to experiment.

“Oh this is amazing! They all feel like me. It is so much easier to control extra duplicates like this.”

Yoshika dispelled the extras until there was just one Rika again.

“Let’s try to stay focused, please.”

“Right, sorry. We’ve gotta go help out jerkface—Eun-eun, how are you feeling?”

The question was rhetorical, but the dialogue made it easier to sort through her feelings. She was beginning to see why Melati had trouble controlling large numbers of herself.

Eunae focused inward and felt at the source of her Soulfire. The Kumiho fragment within her was present, but distant—tapping into the roots of her power directly would be difficult across such distance, but she had an alternative.

“I think we can work with this. I still remember what it felt like when we were engulfed by Soulfire. With our essence and my spark, I think we can create our own Soulfire.”

Of course, that was only half of the puzzle. They still needed to see if it was even possible to restore Zheng Long’s soul after the damage Yang Qiu had done to it.

As they emerged from the hut, a pair of half-sized Melatis buzzed overhead.

“Yoshi’s back, Yoshi’s back! Her hive got bigger again!”

They took off giggling, but Yoshika didn’t follow. She could sense Melati’s queen body in a nearby hut with Ruiling and Sukarto. While Rika and Eunae made their way toward Zheng Long’s hut, Meili popped her head in to greet them.

“Hi! I’m sure Mel already told you, but we’re back.”

Melati waved exuberantly.

“Hi Yoshi!”

Ruiling nodded slowly—she looked tired.

“Welcome back. How did it go?”

“Well enough. I’m surprised at how fast Melati’s drones grew.”

The dragon girl grimaced.

“Do us a favor and kill any if you see them.”

Meili blinked.

“Uh, what?”

“Just like I warned her, Melati went overboard with her drones. The ones that are in town are mostly fine, but sometimes she loses track and some extras wander in.”

“Then what?”

Ruiling sighed and rubbed at her temple.

“It depends. Sometimes Mel catches them in time, sometimes she loses track somewhere else. Usually it's harmless—the ones she isn’t actively controlling mostly just wander aimlessly.”

Meili noticed the wasp-lady in question hanging her head sadly.

“But...?”

Melati buzzed her wings, somehow managing to make it sound sullen.

“The hive doesn’t need to eat, but we still get hungry. Melati can manage most of our drones if we concentrate, but sometimes a few of us sneak off for a snack when we’re not paying attention.”

Yoshika furrowed her brows.

“There’s nothing around to eat, though. What are you snacking on?”

Ruiling groaned.

“Don’t—actually, you know what? It’s probably better if you know at this point. Herself. That’s Mel’s secret survival trick, and at this point keeping it hidden is just going to be more of a detriment. I knew I should have put my foot down.”

“I...see. Well that’s a little disturbing, but doesn’t that problem solve itself? Eventually the drones cull themselves until Mel can manage them.”

For some reason that had Melati hanging her head even lower as Sukarto and Ruiling glared at her. Sukarto crossed his arms and scowled.

“Will you tell her, Mel? Or shall we?”

Melati whined a bit, but forced herself to look up and meet Yoshika’s eyes.

“Melati...might have left some eggs in some of our drones. Just in case! And...maybe, a few drones fertilized their eggs before getting eaten. And then, just a few of those eggs...hatched into Melati.”

Well that was a horrifying revelation about Melati’s reproductive cycle that Yoshika could have done without, but more importantly, if Ruiling had been worried about a couple hundred drones...

Yoshika swept her domain across Chou’s realm and paled. There were thousands. Most of the drones within the town were somewhere between Mel’s typical bubbly self and listlessly staring off into space, but beyond that?

The vast majority were completely feral, fighting and eating each other with wild abandon. She could sense her friends manning the walls as they had during the invasion, culling Melati to the best of their ability.

Meili grimaced.

“Mel, this is pretty far out of hand. How did you let it get this bad?”

She just hung her head without responding. Ruiling sighed and shook her head.

“This is why the awakened have a bad reputation. Even the cooperative ones like Melati have a bad habit of losing themselves to their instincts.”

“We’re sorry...”

Meili felt Melati’s genuine contrition. She hadn’t meant to endanger anyone—but it was in her nature to proliferate. She already had a lot on her plate, but she felt bad for the wasp-girl.

“How can I help, Melati? Anything I can do for you?”

She hesitated, drawing her knees up to her chest before answering.

“Kill us, please. Not all but a lot. Melati can’t cull a hive this big by ourselves, and if we lose too much control one of the eggs might hatch into a new queen—another bad Melati.”

“How many?”

“Melati can handle a hundred—”

Ruiling glared at her, and she quickly corrected herself.

“T-Ten! Down to ten drones, please. Melati will handle the rest ourselves.”

Meili nodded. It would definitely be one of the stranger favors she’d done for a friend, but if that’s what it took.

As she turned to go, she considered her own newfound troubles. Without splitting herselves into extra bodies, Yoshika had trouble keeping track of herself, and she wasn’t able to split her focus between Geumji and Chou’s realm anymore. She’d grown more powerful, but also more limited.

“Mel, after all of this is over, I’d really like to have a long chat with you about control and identity. I think we could both learn a lot from each other.”

Melati perked up, her sullen demeanor gone in a flash.

“Really?! Melati would love to have a hive-to-hive chat with Yoshi!”

“Great! I’ll look forward to it then. In the meantime, I guess I’d better go kill you.”