Devick sat with her legs crossed and squinted at her Path screen. Her stomach bubbled with excitement, but also with indecision. And maybe a small amount of hunger. A long time ago, her adopted father had told her that while minor Paths might lead to immediate benefits, it was much more efficient to wait for a Path that spoke directly to you and then use your accumulated PP in order to finish it in a single stroke. As such, Devick had an impressive 4389 PP accumulated from the past few years.

But what do I do if two Paths speak directly to me? Which should I attempt? Devick bit her lip. Bahh….!

The Godslayer Path 0/5000

The Reaper of the Shallah Path 0/10000

On the one hand, Devick felt very confident that slaying gods would be an activity she could grow to like. Her heart still pounded, thinking about the blow she had unleashed with Malice. Maybe someday, it would even become a fun hobby that she and Hungry Eye could do together. Yet even with an ominous name such as ‘Godslayer’ it only required half as much PP to finish as the Reaper of the Shallah Path. But the pivotal word was one she didn’t recognize.

“Are the Shallah even more powerful than gods?” Devick frowned. It was difficult to imagine. Well, just imagining a god left her somewhat reeling. The closest she could get… was Hungry Eye. And that comparison did not instill confidence in their continued relations. She heaved out a deep sigh. Hungry Eye had given her a whole series of speeches on being unreasonable. Yet it was a tortuous state to be in, because Devick very obviously wanted both of these Paths.

With a finite amount of PP, such a desire had no basis in fact.

“Tch, in front of the realities of PP, even Hungry Eye probably has to surrender.” Devick sniffed. She flipped her long hair over her shoulder and then crossed her arms. “I’ve been saving up for a long time… well, Hungry Eye— indeed, there is probably some age difference between us. He’s had time to earn Skill Levels. But it cannot be easy for him to obtain this much PP, yes? Even he has probably only managed to finish a few Paths that require ten thousand PP…”

Frustrated, Devick flung herself to her feet. Rather than simply wasting away here and waffling on whether to almost finish one powerful Path or get only almost halfway on another (probably more so) powerful Path, she needed to get out and work her body a bit. After all, the other benefit she received from this experience was a stupifying +100 to all Stats boost. That extra punch would take some getting used to.

Tch, if only there was a Stat related to looks. An extra hundred… heheh, even Hungry Eye would be helplessly infatuated after that sort of boost.

She opened the door to her small hut and almost headbutted Hungry Eye in the chest. With the extra boost of her new 100 Stat points of Reaction and Perception, she noticed his presence and developed a sudden plan. Mostly, she wanted to cover up the fact she had just been fantasizing about him. She made a fist and throw a punch, trying to seem shocked and frightened by his appearance.

It obviously wasn’t a very complicated or well-thought-out plan.

Hungry Eye caught her fist without even a ripple of shock coming across his face. They stood there for a moment once her attack had been neutralized and he raised his eyebrow. “You missed me, I see. And you’ve been taking lessons in proper greeting etiquette from Elhume. It was a good punch.”

“I didn’t even notice it was you,” Devick lied. “Perhaps my instincts are still just overly aroused from slaying a god. Be careful, my murder spree is only just beginning.”

“Does that mean you mistook me for a god? How flattering.” Hungry Eye teased and released her hand. “For all your ridiculousness, you are a surprisingly poor liar. Well, anyway, I’m having a dinner tonight and I want you to attend-”

“A date?” Her heart pounded, but for whatever reason, Devick’s words came out fast and suspicious. More than anything else, she felt alarm. Despite their slow… well, courtship was a strong word, but definitely mutual fascination with one another, it was hard to believe Hungry Eye would jump straight to a date.

Unless the godslaying counts as our first date…? If we hurry, maybe we can catch some of this pretty ambiance.

Confirmation of disappointment came in his lopsided and somewhat awkward smile on Hungry Eye’s face. “Not a date. Ah, or rather, not a date for us. I’ll be the chef, and I was hoping you and Neveah could help me.”

“Sure, now that the world is finished with its overly-dramatic threats to collapse, I suppose I have the free time to act as a pretty prop in someone else’s date-” Devick paused. A brief flicker on Hungry Eye’s face during the middle of her words caught her attention. “...wait seriously? The world isn’t finished trying to end itself?”

“I’ve told you this is a memory. And from what I can tell… the finale is swiftly approaching.” Hungry Eye’s face turned serious. His emerald eyes shifted down to the ground. “Maybe in just a week. Tonight… well, we have time enough for this, I think. Especially because the two of them deserve some consideration, after everything they have sacrificed. But the rest of the week we will be trying to convince people to believe in the threat.”

“It’s just slightly awkward that you will show up, telling them the world is ending, and then stating that you have the only solution,” Devick pursed her lips.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Definitely, this is not a scam,” Randidly shrugged. “I work with the tools I’ve been given.”

Devick waved a hand. “Fine, fine, we don’t have time for you to hound me like this, you hopeless flirt. Go do your preparations, I need to exercise a bit. I’ll see you tonight. Wait, do I need to dress up? Never mind, of course I need to dress up. No reason to waste this chance. Alright, I’ll see you there.”

Devick practically buzzed, imagining herself showing up in a wonderful gown and blowing Randidly’s mind, but some of her previous thoughts held her back. She turned around. “Ah, one more thing. You’ve finished some Paths, right? What was the cost of the longest Path that you’ve finished.”

Hungry Eye paused and considered. “Huh. 50k PP, I think? Oh yea, it’s been a while since Keyholder of the Infinite Nether Passages. Also a 20k and a few 15k…” He noticed her expression and winked at her. “Ah, Devick, if you ever thought you could rival me in unreasonableness, perish the thought. I have advantages in every area.”

*****

“Mae, wait.”

Mae Myrna supported the Monarch of Karma across the Badlands with a sand-toothed wind sawing at her ankles. So far, they had been moving like this for almost four hours. She ignored the voice and hobbled forward, keeping the man upright next to her. His breathing was ragged, but even through the haze of exhaustion around her, she felt glad he couldn’t speak.

Because if he could, he would simply continue to ask to die. With all the previous wounds this day had inflicted on her, hearing those words one more time might really kill her.

“Mae! Just I want to talk. I know… I know this situation is strange, but please. Listen to me. Let me explain.”

Behind them, the Patron of the Borrowed Fiero hurried after them. He had caught up about twenty minutes ago and had been thoroughly making a nuisance of himself ever since. Her hours of walking ended up meaning nothing when he had zeroed in on her position and found them. Mae squeezed her eyes shut. Her ankles stung, almost raw. Based on their speed, he would catch up soon. Yet the prospect of stopping seemed exhausting.

For now, she ignored him and walked.

It bought her a few minutes. Then he finally reached her.

“Mae! Please.” Fiero inserted himself in front of Mae and the wounded Monarch of Karma. She could see his eyes were glassy from nerves. He contained half of the light of the Elhume she had met and fallen for years ago, all the coltish possibility with none of the earned certainty, the conviction that helped him move forward. “Let’s just talk, okay? I… truthfully, I’m just as confused as you are. But that doesn’t mean my feelings aren’t true. I love you Mae Myrna. More than anyone or anything else. As long as you give me a chance-”

He at least had the decency to stop talking as Mae sighed. A headache throbbed behind her eyes, but she looked him up and down. She really considered although the answer didn’t budge ever for a moment. “Fiero. Let me be entirely transparent. I have no special affection for you. And your existence just proves that my feelings for Elhume were misguided. A being who would eliminate superfluous emotions rather than facing them… cannot be trusted to be part of a relationship. I will not give you more of a chance than you already had. Have a good life.”

Mae moved to walk around Fiero, but he stepped in front of her and refused to concede. “Give us a chance, Mae. I will not toss my feelings aside. I am not Elhume; I won’t make the same mistake he did. The feelings you had for each other were real and I am all the parts of him that matter. He… he has lost himself. Let me prove it to you.”

“Give ‘us’ a chance? Ha. You took all the inconvenient parts of him,” Mae corrected gently. But it used the last grains of her patience to do so. “And it turns out, for Elhume, when all the inconveniences were removed, nothing of worth remained. Leave us.”

For a second he seemed stunned by her pronouncements and let her pass. Then he wheeled around and shouted, desperation and want animating his voice. “Mae!”

Mae’s shoulders shook, despite herself. The raw emotion contained in her name acted as a spell, stopping her from walking away. She felt so, so weak. She pivoted slowly, looking back at the Vulpine. His tails hung limply next to his body. His eyes were wide and pleading— don’t leave me now, don’t leave me here.

It was hard to feel anything, looking at him.

Mae wondered if she could even find her happiness after the last few months. She felt so empty right now, her image broken and her worldview shaken by the powers she had witnessed. Nether King Hungry Eye had shattered her plans and then ascended to fight even more powerful foes. Even the hollowed-out Elhume had managed to surpass her. Which left her with nothing but the broken remnants of her determination.

She didn’t know if she believed in the perfect world she sought.

A ripple ran through existence. Another life began to overlap this one. Mae bit her lip as the changes occurred, furious and scared as she sucked in a breath. Because it was the same knowledge that Hungry Eye utilized to defeat her; she couldn’t deny there existed a strange truth in these mirrored moments. Yet her lungs filled with air and she felt a heady rush of power and that surety that came with it made her hesitate.

The moment took over.

She wasn’t broken, she had ascended! The Monarch of Karma began to glow with force, her image roaring and drawing more and more momentum into his body. And next to Fiero, facing her world-image that gathered momentum, was Elhume. Elhume and Fiero held hands, releasing those same pulses of power that Hungry Eye had faced down. They approached the Pinnacle, rushing ahead of her toward the goal of true power.

The other Fiero said. “It does not have to be this way. Step down, Mae Myrna. We can create your own future. We just need to work together. If you continue like this… you will eliminate free will. You will regret your actions.”

She ignored Fiero. She looked at Elhume. In this universe, too, his eyes were empty. He had mortgaged his entire existence for power. He didn’t remember what he had lost.

Scornful, Mae raised her hands. If she could call on the power of this other version of herself, she would wield her power to destroy as much as possible. It was… the ending she deserved. “This world should suffer, for birthing us.”

“You… stupid bitch…!”

In the next instant, the fakeness of the moment faltered and broke. Back in the present, she felt weak and depressed. All of her potency drained out of her body. But now, the Vulpine’s eyes bulged with rage and frustration. His hand stretched forward, penetrating her chest, the curved fingers squeezing her heart. She was a single moment away from death.

Mae Myrna laughed. “Have we plumbed the depths of your love already, Fiero? What a bleak bottom. How quickly the facade crumbles. You are an existence that cannot help but take. You… never knew love. Even compared to an empty Elhume, you fail-”

Fiero’s face twisted at the mention of that name. His hand tightened. Mae Myrna died.

She didn’t see the Vulpine turn and stare across the Badlands. “You…! This is your fault. If only… your life was mine…!