Jaylin was crying. The healers were despondent.
Kai Dairook—was in terrible shape.
His entire body was wrapped in dark purple varicose veins.
I turned to the healer. “Is he…?”
“He’ll live,” the healer said. “But he’ll probably never use magic again.”
“No…” I shook my head slowly, unbelievingly. “There’s no way.”
“I’m afraid it’s true.”
Jaylin roared with tears. I tried to touch her, but she slapped my hand away and sobbed. I didn’t blame her. I was the one who did this to her brother.
Tyler walked through the doorway and bowed his head. He tried to approach, but stopped. “This was my fault. I… should’ve told him not to.”
I turned to him. “Tyler… Thank you. You’ve… done nothing wrong. But just… leave.”
He wasn’t at fault, and I didn’t want to argue with him on that point. Thankfully, he got that and said, “I’ll get to work then,” and left. I was glad he left, but I soon realized that Jaylin wanted the same of me. So I stared at the ground and walked out the door.
Sina, Dain, and Ryn were waiting for me with Aiden.
Here it comes… I thought, fighting for control.
“Dain wants to pass on,” Aiden said, patting Dain’s side. “But Sina and Ryn want to stay with you.”
I looked at Ryn and Sina with teary eyes, and then I finally sobbed when I made eye contact with Dain. His eyes likely would’ve welled with tears—but he couldn’t cry. It was one of the few things he couldn’t do in his new body. Still, I felt his tears in my soul.
“But,” Aiden said, chuckling weakly. “He’s now adding that he’s a Wraith and duty-bound to both Kael and this forest.” Aiden’s eyes welled with tears as well. “So he supposes he’ll have to stick around, at least until Kael passes.”
I sobbed and grabbed Dain and held him tight. “Dain…” I could feel his response. It was… strange. Being able to feel their emotions so deeply. I think that we both connected with a deep understanding at that moment. Then, I hugged Sina and Ryn, letting them all nuzzle me with their snouts.
Once we had our moment, I let my back crash against the tree and slid down it.
Kyro left, and Sina and the lurvine turned into their smaller natural forms and snuggled into me. Then we listened as the healers worked around the clock to improve Kai’s position.
I sat there for God knows how long, warding off everyone besides Kline, who lay at my ankles as Sina took my lap and the others took my sides. I didn’t even speak to the healers. I just went to that place that’s devoid of emotion or thinking, a place where everything’s bad, but it's somehow also irrelevant.
I didn’t look up until I felt someone’s overwhelming presence.
“This is strange,” Reta said, examining Sina curled in my lap. “They permitted this?”
“They did,” I said. “I promised to keep them out as much as possible.”
Reta tried to warn me against that, as it would be a waste of soul force. But she held her tongue as she sat on a gnarled knot on the tree, joining me in silence for what felt like a very long time. It probably lasted twenty minutes before she said:
“Lake Nyralith only adjusts the body—not one’s channels or cores—and there’s no elixir that’ll cure core damage that severe.”
I laughed and cupped my face, and took deep breaths.
Reta hesitated. “Usually.”
I didn’t even turn to her. “What’s the catch?”
“For once, there isn’t one,” Reta said, smiling strangely. “On the day Brindle left, he brought us the strangest seed. It was purple and white, and he said, This will take three thousand years to grow. Feed it only water, twice a week. It was bizarre, and after the first year, almost everyone thought it was fake. Other people pointed out that only a portion of seeds would grow; others mentioned that the next generation or the generation after would stop watering it or destroy the soil. Most didn’t even believe Brindle had given it to us to begin with. By the first decade, everyone thought it was hopeless. But it’s funny. At some point, we just… made it a tradition. Like… visiting a grave site. It was just something we did, for decades, and then centuries, and at some point, it was so ingrained in our traditions—millennia. But there was a certain amount of excitement that came on the three thousandth year. Tinus held a great festival, hoping it would grow—it didn’t. And so… faith in Brindle reached an all-time low back in those days, and people forgot about it. But we kept watering it and watering it and at some point… when no one was watching—it grew.” She laughed. “Just… peeked its way up, like a… normal flower. It grew… and when news spread, it changed everyone’s perception of Brindle.”
I held Sina close. “What does it do?”
“It restores the body and core to a prior point in the ethereal record,” Reta said. “Or rather, it destroys and rebuilds the body to that state. It’s much like what happened to your body, but it works off a past blueprint. If you choose to use it on Kai, it’ll reverse the damage.”
I rested my head against the tree. “And you’ll just… give this to me?”
“It’s not our flower. Brindle helped rebuild Hellfine, and he not only restored our fields, but he planted many new ingredients that we couldn’t find. But in exchange, he asked to build a trial for his legacy.”
“Harlock Forest,” I said.
“Yes. Hellfine agreed to aid and guide his guardians. That included resources, recipes—and namesakes. This is one of those namesakes. What you do with it is up to you.”
I grimaced, face contorting. “How many elixirs can it make?”
“Two.”
My shoulders slumped again. “I’m surprised you even told me about it. Didn’t think you’d entertain aiding someone I just met.”
“I’m not,” she said coldly. I turned to her, and she repeated her statement. “I’m not.” She turned back to the forest. “I’m aiding you.”
“How so?”
“Because there are certain decisions that haunt you… scar you. Small things that rip apart your insides far worse than the deaths and killing in battle, or true mistakes that cost lives. And this is one of them. If you don’t help him, you may be afraid to ever leave your family again. Afraid to take chances with people you care about.”
“Oh,” I chuckled to the point of lunacy. “I’m already there.”
“But there’s no need. Your brother is growing strong. He’s growing up correctly. And you shouldn’t stilt his or anyone else’s growth. But most importantly, you’re becoming a true guardian. It’s admirable. You shouldn’t lose that.
“That’s why, if you feel this might scar you, you should consider it. But only if you’re absolutely certain this will help you. Because trust me Mira—in three months, that boy’s not going to be grateful in the way he should be grateful. No one ever is.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
I bit my lip and thought about that ingredient. I could use that on Kline. I could use that on Tyler. Dad. Mom. Gatsby. Felio.
And yet… it felt like the right thing to do, to me at least.
Power is concrete, but relationships are complex, and morality is fragile. If we forget what makes us human, it leaves us nothing but animals. That’s why militaries will go to war over a dozen hostages. It’s not about the cost; it’s about the principle. It’s about what it means to be a human. And since the beginning, I had been struggling to become someone I was proud to be.
Yet I just let lurvine publicly eat a traitor. Did he deserve it? Yes. Was it humane? Not by my old world’s standards. Not in the least.
I was now hugging Sina, who was essentially a Pokémon soul slave. Did I mean well? Absolutely. Would I trust anyone else to do this? Absolutely not.
And then there were soul pacts. I had to reevaluate my beliefs on the military and soul pacts—and learn the intricacies. Did I trust myself to make decisions in good faith? Absolutely. Did I trust other people to bind my life with these pacts? No. I wouldn’t let anyone touch my soul aside from guardian agreements.
I had hard decisions to make, but I wanted, at the base of all of it, to have decency in my life. To create a world where people could celebrate; to create a world that inspired festivals and laughter, and tradition. A world so good that the older generation said, “It was better in those days,” and for it to actually be true. A world where the hanging lights in Wraithwood would be a sign of prosperity and great living.
I didn’t want to fight a war.
I wanted my people to thrive.
I wanted institutions that would protect my people long after I died.
And I felt that if I turned away from Kai—in a situation of my partial making—in pursuit of personal gain or my own second chances, I would continue to accept the current world instead of creating my own. So I made my decision.
“I’m going to use it. But it won’t just be for the scarring.”
Reta’s eyes flickered in the moonlight. “Then why are you doing it?”
“Because it’s what I’d want my people to do.”
My guide popped up without my prompting.
—---
Neophyte Mira Hill has been a unique quest in the Epic Quest Line: Protect Areswood Forest.
Name: Second Chance
Quest Summary: You’ve idealistically (and I’m loathed to say it, in a positive way for once) decided to use an alleged miracle ingredient to save Kai Dairook from the situation that hormones and stupidity shackled you to. Now, if this ingredient is as described, the Oracle has presented you with a unique opportunity that could, quite ironically, save this forest.
That opportunity is simple: The ingredient described is unknown and likely unique to the multiverse, owing to the strange phenomenon that rebuilt your body without intentional blueprint manipulation. It may be a mythical ingredient. Send it to Elana for testing. If it meets high standards, you will get an immediate legendary—”
—---
“No,” I declared. I wasn’t going to announce that there were mythic class resources in Areswood Forest. Even if I got a mythic-grade reward, which wasn’t likely anyway, it would only serve to create a multiversal war over the planet. It would never end.
Reta looked at me to see why I was speaking, but she figured it out the second a new pop-up came into view, and my neck buldged.
—---
Neophyte Mira Hill has been a unique quest in the Epic Quest Line: Protect Areswood Forest.
Name: Second Opportunity
Quest Summary: Doing things without thinking is what got you in this position, idiot. But given that you will surely and wisely refuse an opportunity from the Oracle anyway, I, Lithco, will give you a second opportunity that meets your current goals.
Create an elixir using this miracle ingredient and use it on Kai Dairook. If it works as expected, it will have been a monumental waste of the ingredient, but it will have legendary functionality. If you make the elixir and sell the second dose at your auction—which you’re already doing—it could push you toward a legendary request that you could use to save your forest from destruction, hence the big fancy title that reads “unique quest in the Epic Quest Line: Protect Areswood Forest.”
Just sell the elixir, idiot.
-
Duration: Indefinite
Quest Value: Greater chance to obtain a legendary reward that can pit armies against armies and gods against gods to protect Areswood Forest.
Requirements:
- Create an elixir that successfully heals Kai Dairook’s core to his pre-evolution state.
- Confirm, through your thoughts, that you were involved in the creation process.
- Sell the second dose during Elana’s multiversal auction.
Notes: Legendary chain quests supersede epic questlines. This quest will therefore fuse with your legendary alchemy chain quest. You will continue not to receive any alchemy-related rewards as you pursue a legendary reward, and you will not be guaranteed a legendary reward upon the auction. Only do this if you’re willing to see your chain quest to the end.
—---
That was a far better offer.
“What is it?” Reta asked.
“I’ll explain on the way.” I patted Sina and she jumped off, allowing me to stand. I turned to Kai’s door. “Should we take him?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Okay.” Sina expanded in size and demanded that I ride her. Kline was butt hurt, but I wouldn’t refuse her. Not tonight. So I mounted her, feeling her fur against my skin. “Give me a minute to find Trigan.”
I found him in the town square, speaking to the citizens. Sina walked through the crowd, parting them as everyone fell silent.
I approached him and he took a knee. Everyone did the same.
Before I spoke, Tyler rushed up and put his fist on his heart. “Ma’am. Malo and the guards are conducting independent searches for cores and soul meat. Trigan is verifying the intentions of all individuals. Kyro has also pledged support of Serenflora in protecting Wraithwood for the time being. Ma’am.”
You’re trying way too hard, I thought. But I was impressed by the initiative. “Good work.” I turned to Trigan.
“I’m sending you a diamond-grade leadership skill. I want you to suss out the ring leaders, publicly verify, through trials, their involvement so soldiers understand what you understand. Be fair, impartial, and if I’m not back before the trial concludes—kill them. But be humane about it.”
“And the ground soldiers?” Trigan asked, asking about the people who were active but weren’t leaders.
“Try them, too. I’ll determine what to do with them. Oh, and make sure to obtain judges by next year. It’s ridiculous we need them.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I turned Sina around and addressed my people. “I’m leaving. I’m not sure for how long. A day? A week? A month? It’s unclear. I have business to attend to. While I’m gone, I want everyone to think of a proper response to what happened. This is your settlement. You should care about your people—your safety—your way of life. Not just yours but those who come after you. Your children. Your lovers. The future generations.
“And don’t forget—everyone in the military is one of our people. If anyone promotes a us versus them blame game, I’ll punish them. We’re here to solve problems. We’re here to come together. We’re here to prevent this from ever happening again. So, unless someone is on trial for treason, I expect you to take their words seriously and think about your safety. Never forget that the military members are going to hunt for you, protect you, and build your strength. So unless you’re prepared to brave the forest for food, you should get to work.”
A chorus of “Yes, ma’am”s followed. It was better than Queen and Lady Hill and had stuck. I’d accept it.
I turned to Trigan. “I don’t care how you do it, but make sure they get along. The second we lose sight of our goal is the second we lose it forever.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I pushed myself back through the crowd with Kline, accepting Reta on Sina’s head as we made it into the forest. Kyro was waiting at the border, sitting on a tree branch, drinking from his flask. I nodded to him, and we rode to the teleportation circle and warped into Helfine.
It was late at night, but the city was alive as we rode through.
Seeing Sina, Ryn, and Dain in their sapient soul forms caused a buzz all around me.
Tinus was waiting for us at the border of the city. He studied the lurvine. “It seems you’re on your own path,” he said.
I nodded. “I am.”
“Have you decided on the Regala?”
“Is that the ingredient?”
“It is.”
“I have. I want to use it.”
“Then we’ll have our alchemists—”
“No. I need to do it myself. If I do, we could save this forest from ruin.”
He turned to Reta. She nodded. I had explained what was happening to her along the way.
Tinus nodded. “We’ll let you help. That’s the most we can do.”
“That’s enough.”
He motioned, and I walked with him to a lone hill where a periwinkle flower was glowing in the moonlight. It was time to create an elixir that could change everything.
Absolutely everything.