Surprised, Dei asked “Wait, was he known? But yea, that sounds like him. I didn’t know he was an Elite, but in hindsight, that makes sense. His build focused on adapting to different threats and outlasting them, which would synergise perfectly with the Elite Achievement… Yea, I don’t know how I didn’t think of that. He’s the only thing I’ve run into so far that was able to not only match me pound for pound, but outpower me. If he’d still been thinking rather than completely rabid, he might’ve even been able to beat me.”

  “Hm, and why did you two come to blows? I do not hold you accountable for his death and there will be no repercussions for it, but I am curious.”

  Dei shook his head. “I’d rather not say, but I can tell you that I did not initiate the fight, and I tried to spare him after he was defeated.”

  “I take it that did not go over well?”

  Dei frowned. “No. His body is in the bottom of the crater over that way.”

  Justin looked stunned. “That crater was from the battle between the two of you?! I’d assumed it as a high level monster!”

  Dei laughed, saying “No, it was from a high level monster that I made Edward fight. Like I said, he would have defeated me if he wasn’t insane, so I got him to attack a bunch of things he would struggle to defeat, that way I could wear him down.” Justin sighed in relief, and Dei asked “But I don’t know a lot about him. From the brief time his soul was too damaged for him to go insane again, I got an answer or two about who he was as a person, but it was… admittedly, a bit unsatisfying. I don’t think you’ll have all the answers, but could you tell me about him? Whatever you know will be enough for me.”

  “You’d be surprised at how much is known to the Shamans about him. Edward was known to the Shamanic Council as a person of interest that might one day come back for revenge, so we kept his weaknesses in mind and prepared for a day he would return for blood. You see, it starts on the surface- as I’m sure you could tell by Edwards variant. He was a Wrath user that discovered the entire list of his Rules of Wrath, a very short one. Specifically, he had a single rule, it was ‘I will retaliate.’ I’m sure you know what Rules of Wrath are, as a user yourself, but what you may not know is that the number of Rules decides how violently you are affected when it is crossed. If you have nine or ten rules, you become frustrated and petty when a rule is violated. Since Edward had one, all his rage was focused into that one single response, so he gained a massive boost anytime he would retaliate.

  “This alone would not have accounted for his power, as single-rule Wrath users are known, but he leaned into it. He went to a military academy, made rivals with people that would act out against him, and resisted the urge to vent his anger by retaliating, instead keeping his fury at a low-thrum perpetually. The rivals that continuously pulled him down were the driving force to his success, and he soon graduated at the top of his class- much to everyone's frustration. His method of training made him irritable, and nobody particularly liked him. Funnily enough, his rivals were the only ones spared from his ire. His reputation for being angry grew, and I’m sure you can see where this is going.”

  “No, not really?”

  “...Right, I forget, living out in the wilds. I’ll finish the story then explain. Well, after graduating as the number one most dangerous and gaining the Elite Achievement, he ventured around the world, looking for dangerous and unique monsters to hone himself on, working more on his Skills than his levels to push himself for a better Class. I believe he chose to stay at level one hundred for a long time so it would be easier to train. His travels eventually took him down into the Gem Dweller caves, known for its diverse monsters and tricky enemies, where he met the woman who would become his wife. A year later, they were married and soon had a child. Two years after that, in which he trained his Skills, his family perished at the hands of monsters while he was out hunting. He got back only after all the survivors, what few remained, were evacuated. I’m told that witnesses showed him digging through the rubble of his house for several minutes, before an explosion of Wrath mana indicated he’d been blessed by Wrath.

  “It’s speculated this is also the moment his affinity altered into Rage, because he was granted a massive spike in power. Rage is like Wrath, but far more volatile and, as you’ve seen, causes the user to go insane. Previously, he tricked monsters into fighting him in advantageous situations. After his transformation, he didn’t need to because nothing of the higher stratas was able to threaten him any longer. He followed the trail of the monster who killed his family but I’m told Tir found it first, and Edward was never granted closure. This was… a blunder on Tir’s part. He should have allowed for Edward to be the one to strike the final blow.

  “Edward was not sated, at all. He promptly returned to the surface and went on a rampage against all who’d wronged him in the academy. It was anger built up for years, close to a decade, and none who were directly affected by him had any means to stop him. By the time a task force was mobilized to put him down, he was found in the rubble of his final rivals home, completely burned out. A non-threat. He was put to trial for several murders but found innocent due to foreign influence and manipulation from both his God, who’d been the catalyst for his Rage affinities creation, and the resulting influence of that Rage. Edward was mentally unprepared for the consequences of his new affinity and unable to rein it in. The God was put to trial and forced to pay in cash, faith, artifacts, and other resources to the suffering parties of Edward, his victims, the town, and even the Gem Dweller system at large.

  “Edward was told that if he went berserk and killed again it would be on his own name, but there was no chance any longer of that. He promptly went into retirement, but his actions caused waves for a while in those who’d seen him and felt his bloodlust. His tale, depressing and action packed, soon turned into a tragedy played out by entertainers in the area, with great embellishment of course. When enough people knew his name, he soon started being identified as Edward of Rage, the result of a Performer's Achievement.

  “Earlier, when I said ‘I’m sure you can see where this is going,’ it was because I thought you would pick up that his growing reputation would soon grant him recognition and renown. His time in the academy served as a base for the stories that would spread. The last time he was checked on, he still sat in his old run down house, but I suspect that report will soon change if you are to be believed. I will check the corpse as well to be sure, but I cannot imagine it being anyone else if they were Identified by Edwards stage name.”

  “I wonder though, was it the name that caused Edwards aura to become more physical? I’m still confused on that part. Sure, he was well known, but the benefits of that are only so limited, yea? I imagine that the Achievement would focus more on how he interacts with other people than combat uses.”

  “Don’t underestimate reputation. Though Edward might’ve earned a portion of his fame from the stage, he was still terrifying to all who’d seen him fight. When something becomes Named, its power is multiplied based on the name it’s made for itself. Named monsters are terrors, no matter where they are, and Named humans are just the same. If the Name was fully performative, sure, its combat uses would be negligible, but it wasn’t just performative. Edward was exactly the person they sang about, hot headed and murderous. He did kill all those people, at least all the main characters. When he attempted to paralyze you in fear, you instinctively knew you were battling a creature of renown and infamy.”

  “I see… so, becoming well-known would grant me power, depending on what I’m known for and how true it is?”

  “Correct, but don’t try to force the issue. People that try to intentionally make themselves famous when they aren’t performers tend to end up in bad spots after either trying to fight in a flashy way and dying, or getting too pushy with bards and ending up in prison.”

  “I had no intention to, just curious.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Both sat awkwardly for a few seconds before Dei said “Alright, well, this was much more pleasant than my last human-to-human… err, wait, human-to-union interaction. But really, I should be getting to the other universe. I’ve got some business to resolve.”

  “I as well should be getting home. It will not be easy to depose Oura and the hold he has on the others, but I have a few allies in the Council that should be roused by a Wordless Testimony, are you ready to give yours?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Dei shrugged. “How does it work?”

  “Fairly simple, just say clearly your agreement to the spell, then describe the two memories you’d like to state as facts, last you should tell what could be gleaned from these memories, and the spell will hold your truthful confession as evidence. An example being ‘I agree to a Wordless Testimony, I will use my memory of Aloran as evidence. He declared that my soul was free of any Void Beast.’”

  Dei nodded, and Justin brought his wooden staff up, motioning to Dei in a circular motion as it started to glow blue. When Justin nodded to him, Dei said “I agree to a Wordless Testimony, and I will use my memories of my interaction with the System and the God, Aloran. The System declared my soul clean for rebirth and Aloran confirmed that it was not infected by Void Beasts.”

  A subtle magic passed over Dei and his soul, which he made no efforts to stop or redirect. His gut told him the magic was exactly what he expected it to be, so there was no cause for panic. When it withdrew, the staff’s blue glow died down and the weapon went dormant once more.

  “That’s all?”

  “Yea, easy. Ah, but before you leave, I should give you the typical greeting to new Slaughterers. Protocol and all.” Justin cleared his throat before launching into a very practiced-sounding tirade.

  “I, on behalf of society, would like to welcome you back! There are a few things you must know before encountering other people, but it is not too complicated. Society has much need for Slaughterers, and you will be respected wherever you go. Should you wish to grow stronger, there are endless armies in the east called the demon-kin, constantly trying to massacre everyone they can get their hands on. Many are not strong enough to face them, so you will be hailed as a hero if you choose to do so. Aside from that, there are a few rules to living with others you may not be aware of. You do not need to memorize all of them, but as a general rule, try not to hurt others or make them unhappy. There will soon be an advisor assigned to you, just as all Slaughterers have. Should there be any confusion, feel free to talk to your advisor. If there is anything you consider annoying about society, please talk to your advisor. Things are not as simple around other people, so you will be far less annoyed in the long run if you allow your advisor to help you out and handle the frustrations others will inevitably cause. Do you have any questions?”

  Dei chuckled. “I’m a bit unusual for a Slaughterer because I actually do have memories of living with others. I’m good.”

  “Perhaps,” Justin conceded. “But tradition exists for a reason, even if I am too young to understand the full meaning of it. Your particular method of rebirth is new, but there have been others subject to experiments of the soul that were given new bodies. They always assume they can rely on previous experience in interacting with others for their new life, and that is usually true, but not always, so do not discredit the help of your advisor, they are there for a reason. For example, I’m sure the laws of our world are slightly different than your previous, so talking to your advisor first will help clear up any confusion that may result from careless actions, yes?”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Dei blushed slightly, ‘That’s a very good point. Things will be different, I am in a foreign land with foreign laws. I should be more aware of them, but I don’t exactly need to be with an advisor.’

  “I understand. Either way, I don’t have any other questions. About the advisor though… When will I meet them and how?”

  “I’ll come find you in a few months, after you’ve returned to our planet. When I come, I’ll bring your advisor along and introduce you to them so you two can become acquainted on the way back.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Nope, anything you need from me?”

  “Not at all. In that case, this is goodbye for now. Just in case I don’t see you before you reach Gem Dweller civilization, have this mark” Justin said, and Dei felt a powerful signature brand itself onto his soul. This one was willing though, and he could remove it whenever he wanted. “It will record my declaration that you are innocent and, if you ever run into Iora, it will say she is sentenced to death. Use it if you want to challenge her, or the citizens in your home village will jump in to help. With that mark, you’re free to kill her. Just flex your will, push it out with your presence, and everyone will know you’re acting on my behalf.”

  Dei was too stunned to speak for only a moment, which Justin used to float off the floor with a billowing wind, wave at him, then shoot through the ceiling of the cave, stone liquifying around him and giving way.

  “See ya, stinky. Next time, let’s fight” Whisper said in his ear, then, he was pretty sure, left as well.

  ‘Stinky? OH my GOD! I haven’t taken a bath in like a year! I probably smell like a dead rat!’ he sniffed under his arm, confused when he smelled nothing, but Fendrascora quickly spoke up.

  “I’ve been washing you consistently of all dirt and blood to avoid you getting an infection, don’t worry about it.”

  He wiped away the imaginary sweat on his brow and realized Whisper was probably just messing with him.

  Now that Justin was gone, he decided he would write a message to his mom, especially now that he knew she was listening.

  “Hello mom! You’ll never guess, but I just met Justin! He said that you and dad sent him, so thank you! He was very nice and collected enough evidence to prove Iora is lying and that Oura is mistaken. I don’t really know how to take things from here, but I figured I’d tell you that I’ll soon be traveling far away from where you left me, and I don’t know if my messages will still reach you. I will, of course, be back after the legal battle or whatever happens between Oura and Justin, but for now I have something I need to do. I can’t wait to see you again some time soon! I love you, and I’ll always be grateful that you and dad are my parents.”

  There wasn’t much he could exactly tell her about the conversation between him and Justin. He didn’t want to talk about his journey, that was something he’d explain face-to-face next time. And he couldn’t provide an explanation for what, exactly, Justin found that would disprove Oura because supposedly mortals weren’t supposed to know that.

  His eyes widened marginally. ‘OH SHIT! I forgot to warn Justin to not talk about Void Beasts! Will he get smited?’

  Dei wasn’t sure, but he quickly sent a follow up to his mom: “By the way, if you see Justin again, tell him to NOT talk about the secret thing. Remind him that he isn’t supposed to know about it and that nobody else is either. Bye!”

  There was just one more thing to do before leaving. Addressing his entire party he hesitated, then said “Okay, I don’t really know how to go about this but… I’m not sure if you three should come with me to my home world. I don’t think any of you would have a good time. There are no battles, so you can’t fight at all on my homeworld. The people, and all the other creatures there, are incredibly weak. A haphazard attack will be a massacre of innocents, so we’d have to talk our way out as much as possible, and I don’t know how the people of my world will react to Clever or Fendrascora, and I don’t want a nuke to be dropped on us for being invincible monsters- a nuke is a big explosive that would make us disappear instantly and kill us. I don’t even intend to make myself known, as my plan is to hide in the spirit realm as much as possible, but I know none of you can do that.

  “Aside from the social issues and the fact that none of you can hide… It might also kill Fendrascora to go to my planet. She’s pretty much fully made of mana, and my planet is a mana dead-zone. I don’t know how her body will react to a total lack of mana, but I imagine the vacuum of mana would pull her apart rather quickly. More than that, I don’t know if I’ll even be able to take her. It’s already near impossible for me to teleport myself, I don’t know if I could move all the extra mass, especially since the spatially expanded space within her would mess with the Void affinity.”

  “What about you?” Fendrascora asked curiously. “Did you forget already? Dei, you have imbued your every muscle with Soul mana. You, too, are a partially mana-based creature. Will you not be pulled apart? What about your Soul Strength, the outer layer that protects you? I imagine low pressure will pull at that layer as well… although I only have experience with that in liquids, but I imagine it’s the same with mana. I think”

  Dei wanted to slap himself in the face. “Oh, yea, I guess you’re right Fendrascora… I might get ripped apart by Earth's lack of mana… Well, at the very least, I’ll try, then come back if it’s too dangerous. I’d be really frustrated if I couldn’t make it a longer trip, but I might have to just pop over and kill some people then pop back. That’s not the crux of the issue though. I guess… I guess I’m asking if you all want to split up, temporarily? If you’d like to come along with me, I will still take you of course, but it will be wildly boring for you for the next several months if you do.”

  Clever and Fendrascora pondered the question, but he didn’t know if Perumah cared. He’d ask her specifically in a second.

  Fendrascora was the first to speak up. “I don’t think I’ll go… I have a garden to take care of now, my little people. They need mana too, I can tell that they have a lot in their bodies. I don’t know what would happen if it was pulled from them. I can’t risk them.”

  Clever stared at the bits of Fendrascora that were exposed to open air for a long time, before finally deciding. “I… don’t think I will either. It would be slightly interesting to see your world, but I don’t want to leave Fendrascora alone. She does not have the fighting power needed to guarantee survival on her own, and I worry.”

  Dei felt equal parts of embarrassment and gratitude radiate off Fendrascora, as it seems she agreed.

  Lifting up the Flesh Trap that’d been part of his part the longest, he asked Perumah “I take it you, too, will stay? I’ve given you a lot of Soul mana to work with, and honestly I’m shocked you still haven’t uncovered the affinity yet, but I know you said you can’t digest it all immediately. Would you like to wait on this planet and digest what you have?”

  “True. I do have a lot of Soul mana saved that I haven’t been able to use, and I don’t think I will gain power from following you either. It may be best for me to stay here.”

  Dei nodded, ready to accept the answer, but Perumah surprised him when she continued.

  “But… maybe I should come with you. The way you act, it’s almost naive, despite being an adult with a full life experience behind you. It frustrates me, but my mind has been drawn to a particular fact. One that I have not been able to set aside, despite it being useless to think about.” She paused, and Dei got the impression she was trying to think of a way to say what she wanted.

  He patiently waited, and heard the quiet whisper of her response.

  “I don’t know what I am anymore.

  “I’m changed. Flesh Traps do not feel Pride or Kindness, yet I do. The affinities don’t appear on my Interface but… they’re still there. They’ve given me a way of thinking I didn’t know existed before. I would like to come with you, to perhaps experience the naivety of your original life, first hand. I do not believe I will ever be like you, but there are parts of me that I feel are still missing. I would like to find them, and that does not involve battle.

  “I want to come with you, to this land where Virtues are somehow important. I have many Vices already, and understand their purpose for survival. I still… Virtues confuse me. Earth will help me grow in a way that I cannot on this one.”

  Dei wasn’t caught totally off guard when Perumah said she was growing a connection to new affinities; he’d suspected so ever since she mercy-killed Edward, but it still relieved him that she now had the capacity to like him. He considered her a friend, even before she’d done the same to him, so it was a weight off his mind that his efforts were not in vain.

  As for taking her? She was probably the only one that had a passable chance of going unnoticed. He wouldn’t be able to slip in and out of the Spirit Realm, but that was okay. He’d rely on other ways to disguise himself and survive. He also had to admit to himself that he was hopeful for her earning more connections to the different Virtues, perhaps flushing out her personality and making her more emotion-based and less purely pragmatic. That might be a bad thing to some, but he really did think she’d be happier in the long run if she was able to feel joy.

  Studying the extended blade in his hand, it was hard to tell that she was genuinely a person, and one that was asking him for help right now. Perumah was in the middle of an identity crisis, he’d be remiss to deny helping her.

  Nodding, he said “Alright. I’ll be glad to have you along. It’s settled then? Fendrascora and Clever stay on this planet to watch out for one another, Perumah and I go to Earth and do the same.”

  After getting agreement all around, Dei made his way back to the remains of Aloran’s cave. That was the closest stream of water, after all.

  * * *

  Lifting Clever off his shoulder, Dei could tell that his little buddy was sad to see Dei go. Dei’s misty eyes betrayed his assurance as he said “It’s okay, I’ll be back soon, so be safe, yea?”

  “You as well. When you come back, I will be stronger than even you! I’ll show you my power and make you proud, so don’t be gone for too long?”

  “I’ll make it as short as I can,” he said, then pulled his little friend into a hug. Clever was getting so much larger, up to the length of his entire arm. Dei couldn’t wait to see his growth in the short time they’d be apart.

  “I feel ignored,” Fendrascora pouted.

  “Yes, I think I know their favorites,” Perumah replied.

  Dei laughed, then walked over to where most of Fendrascora was left hanging outside the Great River, wrapping as much of himself around her as he could in a hug. She pushed more of herself into the Great River, condensing herself down into a more human shape so he could hug her more easily.

  After a few seconds of a group hug, they parted, and now Clever sat on Fendrascora’s shoulder instead.

  He resisted the urge to frown, but waved with his free hand. “Again, be safe you two. I can’t imagine this taking more than a few months, but anything can happen.”

  They waved back, Clever getting choked up and Fendrascora giving the Korgonda a side-eye that he could actually read from her body language when she was in human form. ‘She really IS jealous.’

  Without further ado, he used a small line of Connect, recently produced, to link himself with Perumah. He’d tested before with Clever in that… botched… Void experiment a few months ago, and verified it was possible to teleport with another when connected deeply. Flooding both himself and Perumah with Void mana, controlling both, he closed his eyes.

  He’d thought for a long time about how he would make it home, and knew the answer he was too afraid to test, but his knowledge granted to him by Void would help protect him from the worst of the dangers.

  Into his soul he went, down, down, and deeper below he brought his view. The darkness encroached as he dove into the deepest parts of himself. Before he knew it, he was at the rift.

  The Void within himself, what he believed to be the representation of his [Void Walker] Achievement.

  Same as before, the line of Connection was the only guide he had to go by. He wasn’t ready to tackle the Void itself, but he didn’t need to.

  He activated [Roving Gate], sending the two pieces of Void flying down the endless white line that somehow pierced the darkest shadow he’d ever seen.

  It might’ve been his imagination or a placebo, but for a moment he felt a delay. Despite Void having no concept of distance, his fear spiked that he might be wrong. That Roving Gate might not be strong enough.

  Before those doubts could settle in though, he felt a tug on his body. In a blink, he was gone.

  End of Book 1

  But there will be an Epilogue! :p