Dei could only look on, frozen by the roiling emotions in his gut, but knowing it was the right thing. What had he damned the man to? A life of grief? More than a fear of death, Edward would’ve been plagued by the horror of it. His every waking moment spent avoiding an inevitable fate. Dei stole the very idea of a peaceful end from Edward.

  Perumah was right, that was no mercy at all. His back slumped in shame as he stared into the fire, but Perumah was not done with him yet, only adding salt to the wound.

  “If you ever have to choose between doing that to me and ending my existence, I beg you to simply kill me. I don’t know what you showed him, nor do I ever want to. Keep the horrors of your mind within, and think about what kind of fate they would want, rather than the fate that spares you the most trouble.”

  Dei was red with embarrassment by the end, and couldn’t rebuke her words. ‘How did it come to this? I’m being lectured on Kindness by a being that can’t even feel it…’ as soon as the thought occurred to him, another took its place.

  “Wait, Perumah, why do you care?” he did not ask sarcastically, but with genuine confusion in his voice.

  “Why do I care? Because you treated him like… like… it was… cruel?” The heat in her voice died as she spoke, Perumah also realizing what Dei was saying.

  There was no logical or functional benefit from killing Edward. He was already out of their hair. He’d taken a System Vow to never bother them again, but Perumah was still furious with Edward being left in the state he was.

  What part of Perumah cared though? Her Race couldn’t feel empathy for another, so what should the pain of Edward’s existence matter?

  Dei was curious, but it felt wrong to speak any more. He decided to let the conversation die as another wave of shame took his voice.

  * * *

  POV: Perumah

  Quietly, her mind chewed over the issue, and her Heart affinity searched her own emotions. It was only a spark, but there was something foreign within her now. A new part, a new idea.

  There were many new parts since last she’d looked inward, to the point that she was almost unrecognizable. Perumah tried to look over all her mental changes once a century, and there was oft nothing different. Not so with her current emotions, but why?

  The words of The Mother came back to her now “In the short time you’ve entered this deal (With Dei), it has begun to define who you are far longer than the hundreds of years previously. Your purpose grows, your mind defines itself with each passing day at a pace you previously could not have.”

  She’d rejected the words at the time because the mother categorized her as a tool, and anything surrounding the idea was disregarded, but perhaps there was wisdom to be had.

  What was her life before the vessel- before Dei found her and they began their journey? Before she’d started building her way to her new affinity?

  It was quiet, very much so. She’d sit still for years, the peace broken up by the occasional beast falling on them. There were times of feast, monsters injuring themselves multiple times a week on the hive she was a part of, and times of starvation as she went dormant for decades with no blood to sustain herself.

  Now, every day was a change. There didn’t seem to be a peaceful moment around this former human, now union. He’d spent a short period. Hardly a few months, training, and by the end of it she saw that he was impatient. Did he vie for the rapid change, despite its chaos? It provided power, yes, but immense danger as well.

  The lifestyle difference between her previous life and current one were incomparable, but she learned more. She grew more as well. With each battle, with each change, she found herself not wanting to fall dormant. She wanted to be here, not let the weeks fly by until the next event.

  She wanted to see in a way she didn’t before.

  She hadn’t been dormant in weeks. Even in the period of rest Dei took, she was reluctant to fall asleep. All the others in their group worked rapidly, pushing their Skills constantly, and that pressured her for reasons she couldn’t place.

  She hadn’t trained with their fervor, but she felt she should be content with the small exercises she found herself doing… but she wasn’t. Why?

  What was her life before? Wait and grow strong, there was no danger in waiting, even if it was slow. Flesh Traps did not grow old, their power was assured through patience, and they didn’t care if a hundred beasts were born, surpassed their levels, and died. The Flesh Traps would still be there.

  Now she felt something else. Impatience. It was not something she’d known before, but she felt impatience to grow strong, and a desire to push upwards, even if it meant stepping on the heads of her current group. This… this was her thought process only hours ago. Pride, a feeling she hadn’t felt before her confrontation with The Mother.

  Now there was something else. Something that nudged her to consider a new path. Even if the group she was in fell, they would get back up so long as they survived. And if they were alive, they would protect her. Together, they would be strong.

  It felt like the hive state of being within a swarm of Flesh Traps, but lesser. They did not share minds, but there was understanding between them. They were individual, but connected.

  ‘Kindness.

  It made her uncomfortable, it limited her, but she felt possibilities open as others closed. She would no longer be able to throw them into danger for her own benefit, because she would feel shame from doing so. In the same vein though, she understood they would protect her, even at their own detriment, and that provided security.

  Dei couldn’t explain positive, connected emotions to her before, but with her new perspective, she started to understand. There was power in taking advantage of others in helpful ways. Mutually beneficial ways, where she helped them, and they helped her. Both would become stronger for it.

  What was the benefit of throwing them away when they could provide a lifetime of security alive?

  There were more than functional considerations though. She felt a desire to remain in this group even after she found her way past the Systems bound, because she… liked the fools. Sure, it was also the smart decision, but within her blossoming mind she felt the slightest twinge of consideration towards their contentment. She knew more about their individuality than was strictly necessary, for seemingly no reason at all.

  Despite him being a creature of fire, she was impressed by Clevers drive and his quick wit. He could think on his feet and account for different variables faster than her, despite her having more experience. He didn’t need experience or planning to account for unknowns. He wouldn’t let his failures slow him down in moments of import.

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  Fendrascora was the closest to her in age of their little group, but likely a century or two younger. She felt kinship with her for their similar upbringings of Patience and Sloth respectively, and perhaps even for Fendrascora being a female as well. Perumah wasn’t sure why that was important, but it was.

  Dei was headstrong and dumb, but also considerate and careful. He thought differently than he should from his experiences. He should be cautious and violent from the way he was raised, but she saw none of that in him. He was an enigma. Perumah fought with him the most out of their group, but she found that he was her favorite as well. He liked her a lot, and was thoughtful when she chastised him. It was hard to remain angry during her rants at him for his stupid actions, because he agreed. More than that, she could see through his emotions that he was twice as hard on himself whenever he brought harm to her or the others.

  He learned from his past mistakes, never making the same one twice but somehow missing the common sense outcome right in front of him. The only reason she imagined he wasn’t sticking his hand in the fire out of curiosity, was because he’d done it before! He was just cautious enough to not immediately die from his actions, but not cautious enough to keep himself from lethal danger- but that quality was also his greatest strength. He gained power like the spread of a raging inferno, and if he wasn’t careful, he would be extinguished as he burned his fuel too fast.

  But that was where he relied on Kindness. He relied on her, Clever, and Fendrascora to cut him back when he’d gone too far, and this was where her new understanding of Kindness led her to consider something else: if she could keep the fool alive, how much could he help her? He would grow into his power, then use all the tools at his disposal to bring her to his level.

  She brought her attention to him now, looking at the kaleidoscope of tangled emotions within him, burning brighter than her own dull soul.

  When she was born as a plant, she felt few emotions. The Slothful unfocused desire to wait. A Gluttony to gorge herself on blood and, eventually, Soul mana. Lust, an odd feeling of nature and control- eventually turning into Heart, emotional manipulation.

  In the start, that was it, but now she had two more.

  Pride, the desire to be above all, to show she was better. The benefit of this was the security it provided, the push to the top meant there were none above her to bear down.

  Kindness, a connection with others and a security of community, protecting her from enemies she would not have been able to handle alone.

  How changed would she be when she left Dei’s group? If she left Dei’s group.

  Dei’s soul flashed with color, complex and beautiful. She thought she should feel an emotion about the difference between them, but Pride was silent and nothing spoke up to take its place.

  ‘Am I… Incomplete?’

  * * *

  There wasn’t much to talk about after his brief scolding from Perumah. The fire died down, the stone was growing faster, (although still perfectly ignorable) and Dei mentally braced himself to face the demon-kin, the last obstacle before trying to go back to Earth. He hadn’t succeeded with spatial-based void teleportation during his training, but he’d succeeded once at time-based void teleportation. With his new experience, he thought his attempts would go better.

  Before he left though, there were some few notifications he’d gained after Edward died.

  [EXP gained for killing Edward of Rage (Level 142)]

  [Class Leveled Up: Watchful Slaughterer (Level 134) -> (Level 140)]

  [Total Stats Gained: +6 Physical, +3 Mental, +3 Spiritual, +3 Magical]

  [Affinity Strengthened:

  [Kindness: Low-Treasured: 99% has strengthened into Kindness: Mid-Treasured: 1%]

  [Affinity Strengthened:

  [Wrath: Mid-Rare: 99% has strengthened into Wrath: High-Rare: 21%]

  [Affinity Strengthened:

  [Fortitude: Low-Rare: 99% has strengthened into Fortitude: Mid-Rare: 6%]

  [Affinity Strengthened:

  [Void: Low-Uncommon: 99% has strengthened into Void: Mid-Uncommon: 2%]

  Seeing what “Race” Edward was marked as shocked him. It didn’t say “Human,” just “Edward of Rage.” Was he so furious that he’d somehow genetically changed himself? Unlikely, Dei thought it was probably because of some Achievement Edward had earned, a title of sorts that people saw when they Identified him and, perhaps, killed him.

  Dei was partially distracted from his grief at the thought of a “named monster” system. Sure, many monsters had names, but only a few beings in the world earned titles of sorts, and these would become named beings, creatures of note that indicated they were a cut above the rest. Compared to the average human of the same level, Edward must’ve been unfathomably more powerful. Dei wondered if he had earned a title as well, and if he did, could he see it? He was sure his party would tell him if he had, so he must be lacking something.

  The next few notifications hammered him with shame once more. Kindness and Wrath both jumped massively. While Wrath was understandable, Kindness felt undeserved. He’d tried to be kind, and failed. He didn’t think he should be rewarded for driving a scarred man to depression because he didn’t want Edward’s death on his conscience.

  There was nothing he could do to stop it though. Kindness was loving of his good intentions, even if Dei felt only more shame at its understanding.

  ‘I need a break before going to fight those demon-kin. I can’t fight them like I am now.’

  When the fire was gone, he collected up his friends and started back towards where Aloran’s Garden used to be. Even without the plants and bugs, as Fendrascora had taken all of it into her, it was still a familiar place to sleep, and he didn’t want to be exposed at the center of a crater.

  * * *

  Dei decided to rest for a couple of days and rejuvenate some of his spent resources.

  [Soul Strength: 218/453]

  [74/13840 Soul]

  The fight with Edward had slowly whittled down his Soul Strength, and he didn’t have the mana to replace it all, so a break was in order. He wanted to be in top condition before facing the demon-kin.

  Even if they were no doubt weaker than Edward and wouldn’t serve to put up much of a fight, he didn’t want to risk it. Demon-kin were slimy creatures, and the idea of losing to one felt violating and wrong, which he identified as another mental nudge.

  In the short break, his party members also went over a few changes, the main one being Fendrascora with her new Geometry-affinity ability.

  * * *

  “Ready?” Fendrascora asked him.

  “Sure, go ahead.” he responded

  Most of her peripheral body lay still in front of him. She’d positioned herself so he could watch her progress of slowly compressing herself in real time, and it was interesting to see.

  Gradually, she shrank down from forty feet in diameter to only thirty, before she stopped.

  “That’s as far as I can go for now.”

  It was nothing to scoff at and made her both more maneuverable and better at hiding herself. She said that she had a much better time of compressing things that weren’t herself though, as Aloran had supposedly hand-crafted the Skill specifically for the purpose of storing other creatures within her.

  The reason she was asking his permission before doing so became obvious when he tried standing up, feeling like his weight had tripled. It wasn’t the worst though, so by the time he adjusted, it didn’t bother him. He’d have to be careful turning corners though, as he might end up buried in rock if he ran too fast.

  With Fendrascora done, he continued to wait and Meditate.

  * * *

  “I see the battle” Clever told him, referring to his fight with the demon-kin. He’d pestered the little guy for some time to update him on any information he might have.

  “How does it go?” he asked. Even though he felt like he knew the answer, it was good to double check.

  “Easily,” Clever confirmed, "But things get murky afterwards."

  “Murky?” Murky made him nervous.

  “I don’t think it’s bad. Something is hiding its future from me and it looks like a storm of impossibility, but I can see your future, just not the murk. You seem happy. You like this person, but you don’t recognize them. Hard to say much more through the haze.”

  Dei’s brow scrunched. Someone he doesn’t recognize and hides their own future comes to see him very soon?

  “Do they always find me, or only when I fight the demon-kin?” that was important to ask, as it might be demon-kin hunters.

  “I don’t know, I’ve only been scouting that timeline. Let me check.”

  * * *

  “Only when you fight the demon-kin. Otherwise, there’s no sign of them… I think. But everything is a bit odd. Off. Maybe you are supposed to fight the demon-kin? I don’t think fate exists though… This makes me unsure. I will look into this phenomenon more.”

  * * *

  Ultimately, Clever couldn’t find what was wrong with all the other futures, even if there was a swirl of impossibilities in the singular positive one. Dei opted for “The enemy you know,” and they went forward with their plan to kill the demon-kin. He got his Soul Strength to full, fifty Soul mana in the bank, then set out to slay some evil.