“Don’t call me that!” Aerion snapped, turning her head away. “That life is gone.”

  “Doesn’t have to be,” I replied. She acted tough, but those red ears gave her away.

  Still, I didn’t press the issue. It would be some time before I was strong enough to deliver on that promise, but it wasn’t an empty one either. As Order’s Champion, I doubted there was much people could do to stop me once I’d ranked up to Ascendance—especially if they weren’t backed by a strong army.

  We walked in silence for a while longer, fingers intertwined, just enjoying each other’s company.

  The forest on top of the enormous tree trunk was truly magical, with spectacular views all the way down to the actual forest floor and everything in between. From the elven settlement on the boughs in the distance to the canopy itself—an ecosystem of its own. To think it was all atop a thousand-foot-tall tree boggled my mind.

  “Do you think it'll last?” Aerion asked finally.

  “The training?” I asked.

  “No,” she chuckled, “this peace that we have. This happiness. There's a Cataclysm going on, Greg.”

  “Sure, and?”

  “And I don’t know if it’s right to be this happy when people are dying.”

  “I mean, it’s not like we’re wasting our time here. We’re training, and we’re gaining strength faster than we ever have. I think this is probably the best place we could have come to get stronger. I’m gonna reach Convergence soon.”

  “Right,” Aerion replied. “And soon, another cataclysm dungeon will fall. And another one after that, until the Archon finally appears. It may well be years until it’s all over.”

  “Then that’s all the more reason to take care of ourselves,” I said. “For one, we don’t know if we’ll even survive this Cataclysm—so what’s the point in being sad? And for another, if we’re mopey all the time, that’s going to affect our performance. Yeah, people are dying out there, but that’s no reason not to enjoy the time we have. As you said yourself, who knows how long these precious moments will last?”

  Aerion smiled, squeezing my hand. “Thank you, Greg. You’re right, of course. It’s just difficult to compete with you sometimes, you know? I feel like you’ve jumped by leaps and bounds these past few days, while I’ve stagnated. It’s frustrating.”

  “That’s not true at all! I mean, yeah, I’m progressing faster than I ever have, but so are you. I gotta admit, Syrril really knows his stuff. He was totally right about Order being the stat needed to level quickly toward Convergence. I honestly don’t know how much time I would have wasted bumbling around with other stats trying to figure that out.”

  “Yet even pouring all of my stats into Order, my progress feels glacial in comparison. As you predicted, my stats are becoming more and more diluted as a result.”

  That was definitely a problem, and one I’d thought long and hard about.

  “I think you should stop focusing on your Vigor from now on,” I said. “You have enough points in that stat to not immediately succumb to the first thing that hits you. Honestly, your biggest defense is your sheer aggressiveness. You’re relentless in your Reave state. You never stop to give the enemy enough time to mount proper attacks. That’s a defense all on its own.”

  Aerion frowned, clearly unconvinced.

  “I think having you double down on offense makes the most sense for your build,” I continued.

  “And putting points into Order counts as offense. One look at Syrril’s all you need to know he’s right about that.”

  “So, distribute my stats between Dominion and Order, then? Ignore the rest?”

  “I think so,” I said. “The beauty of my Blessing is that I can easily synergize with anyone. If you focus on offense, I can complement it with defense. At the rate I’m progressing, it won’t be long before I reach Convergence, and I’m almost a hundred percent sure I’ll get more armor slots when that happens. Maybe even several.

  “I was thinking of having the elves commission a heavy armor Mythril set for me. One that I’d turn into a pure Vigor build.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “I see,” Aerion said. “But you won’t always be there to protect me.”

  “No, I won’t,” I admitted. “But we work as a team. Which means I’ll have your back when you need it. Just like I know you’ll have mine when I need you.”

  “If only that were true,” Aerion replied in a hushed voice. “I lose control, as you know. I’m not exactly in control with Reave active. I wish we could do something about that.”

  “Maybe there is,” I said, hesitant to even mention it.

  “The Sylvan Reavers?” Aerion guessed.

  I nodded.

  “Just who do you think they are? How do you think they came to be?”

  “A good question. I honestly don’t know,” I replied. “If you talk to the Silrithar and Syrril, they’d say they’re mad people—mad elves. Feral, almost.”

  Aerion’s ears drooped a bit. “And what do you think?”

  “Well, knowing what I do about your power, I could understand how they might be seen that way. It definitely sounds like at least some of them have the same sort of Reaver ability you have. Which makes me wonder if the other elves only see the Reavers through the lens of conflict. I doubt if anyone’s ever truly tried to understand them.”

  “Do you think they’ll know more about me? About my Blessing?”

  “I think if there’s anyone in this world that does, it’ll be them. I wouldn’t be surprised if a bunch of them even had the same Blessing.”

  Aerion’s ears perked up.

  “That would be nice. It would be good to understand what exactly I am, and what lies in the future as I get stronger.”

  I nodded. “That would be nice indeed.”

  Maybe it was a stretch to hope that they’d have ways of controlling her rage state, but I couldn’t imagine how they’d function as a society without some sort of solution. As strong as Aerion was right now, I couldn’t imagine how capable she’d be if she retained her wits to a higher degree.

  “Don’t get your hopes up too much, though,” I warned. “We don’t even know if we’ll be able to have a conversation with those elves. Maybe they’re just as crazy as the Sylrithar says they are.”

  If communication was possible, it’d also be a rare opportunity to peek into Aerion’s progression path—something I sorely wished I’d had back when Cosmo first summoned me.

  Knowing what I now knew though, I was almost convinced that he couldn’t tell me even if he wanted to. Not without consequences, anyway.

  “I’m glad we met, Greg,” she said after some time had passed. “I admit, I thought little of you back when we first encountered each other in the dungeon. I thought you were like everyone else. I thought you would use me or hate me because I’m an elf. I didn’t expect…”

  “Didn’t expect to fall in love with a dashing, handsome man from Earth?”

  Aerion laughed. “Yes, that.”

  “So, what’s the real reason we’re out here?” I asked. “As nice as it is to reminisce, I know you well enough by now to know there’s something else on your mind.”

  “Then I’m afraid you know me too well,” Aerion said, giving me a playful shove. “That’s no good at all, you know? I want our relationship to be full of mystery and excitement.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, there’s plenty more of that,” I quipped.

  “Speaking of mysteries…” Aerion grinned, looking up at me with expectation.

  I knew well what was coming but decided this was too good a chance to tease my adorable girlfriend. “So what? You look awfully excited. Is my face really that attractive? I mean, I know it is, but—”

  “Rocky!” Aerion jabbing my shoulder. “How many more days?”

  “Well,” I said, chuckling, “when you asked me this morning, it was about three. So now it’s two and a half.”

  “Ugh,” Aerion moaned. “This wait is killing me. Are you sure we don’t need to keep it warm like other eggs?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “Beats me.”

  I’d kept the egg—or what we thought was an egg—in our lavish residence beside our bed, on off-chance that keeping it in stasis might stunt its birth. So far, though, we’d seen no motion whatsoever from the thing whatsoever. No indication that it’s about to hatch.

  I’d shown the rock to Syrril as well, and he’d had a couple of elves more familiar with mystic animals take a look at it. None of them were able to determine what it could be or whether it needed any kind of attention.

  “I figure it would’ve said something in the status description if it did,” I replied. “I don’t think Cosmo kept this thing around for hundreds of thousands of years just to have it die on us.”

  “That is true,” Aerion said. “Though then again, this is Order we’re talking about. One can never put anything past him.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” I muttered. “So temper your expectations. We could very well be looking at a rock with two eyes and a mouth.”

  Aerion giggled. “That would be something.”

  “I honestly wouldn’t rule it out,” I said.

  “I’m just so excited!” Aerion replied. “After Emma passed, I’ve never quite felt the same. I mean, yes, we have each other now, but…”

  “I know,” I replied. “It’s not the same. I never had a winged dog, but there’s nothing like coming home to a happy friend wagging his tail and running up to you, like you’re the most important person in the world.”

  “Exactly!” Aerion said, nodding happily. “I only hope whatever hatches is just as friendly.”

  I squeezed her hand. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about there. I can’t think of a single animal that wouldn’t get along with you.”

  “Thanks,” Aerion said, blushing.

  Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself growing just as excited. If only I’d known the stress and worry that awaited us, I might’ve felt differently at the time.