5th Day of the 1st Fire Cycle[1], 2000 g.c.
The moment the story returned to Floor 31, I was still standing in a dream field of hemp, seething with a rage I could taste at the back of my tongue like oxidized nickel. My Bio Mana leaked in thick, heavy sheets around me, warping the air as it poured out of my body in a slow, spiraling pressure front. Every few seconds, the chamber groaned as if the walls had lungs struggling to draw breath. The hemp plants around my legs shriveled into brittle sticks, their emerald sheen collapsing under an invisible corrosive wind that folded their stems toward the soil.
The stench of ozone bubbled through the field, mixing with the earthy musk of crushed roots under my feet. The magitons pouring out of me looked like drifting particles of moonlit dust, but they had a weight that lived deeper than the senses—an undertone that made the air taste metallic no matter how slowly I tried to breathe.
Luda stood to my right, arms crossed but jaw tense, watching me like he was prepping to tackle me if things got worse. The Hamadryad of the Sycamore Tree, Elysia, hovered beside him with her leafy twisted locks of hair, trembling. The sight of her precious plants dying one after another became too much for her.
Her voice cracked as her skin paled like a bark losing color.
"You're starting to give off a lot. Please—control your aura, Demon Lord. You're going to kill everything with that dark magick."
I didn't hear her. Or, rather, the sound reached me, but none of it landed. My head was still spinning with what I'd felt earlier—something sharp, like a wire snapping in my spirit corridor, something that tasted wrong. Something that screamed Omnia might be in danger.
"I don't know who's strong enough to threaten Omnia," I muttered. My fists clenched until the bones in my knuckles went pale. "But that's the wrong bitch to go fucking with while I live and breathe."
Elysia flinched at the venom in my tone, but she didn't run. I barely even registered that she existed.
It took Luda stepping close enough for his shadow to cross mine before I snapped back.
"Xi." His voice hit me like a slap. "Snap out of it, nigga. What the hell is going on?"
A long, shaky breath finally reached my lungs. The haze pulled back just enough for the surroundings to come back into focus.
"Hemp fields. A curvy nymph. My boy Luda. Negotiations."
Right. I couldn't be losing control there—not when the tie between my emotions and my mana wasn't just symbolic. My power amplified whatever I felt. If I spiraled too hard, I could kill a weaker living being by my aura alone. I closed my eyes and reeled my leaking mana back into the depths of my core, tightening it layer by layer until the corrosive wind died. The plants around my feet stopped collapsing. A fresh breath of air crept back into the room. The moment I got myself centered, I reached out through the [Telepathy] link, expecting Omnia's warm presence to greet me. Instead, I crashed into static. Every attempt to connect snapped apart just as it neared her. Like the corridor between us shivered out of tune.
That irritated me.
So I tried [Master's Recall]—and it didn't complete. The moment the skill reached for her, the connection unraveled like a wet rope.
"What the hell…?" I whispered.
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi]'s voice slid into my mind like cold water.
"The trouble is not natural. It comes from interference by another Vessel Skill."
"Nigga… how?"
"Guardian Summons are bound to me by a Crest. They are tied to my Soul. You'd need absurd authority to cut into that."
"Who's stronger than y'all?" I thought sharply.
[Midnight Star: Belial] answered with a voice like heated stone.
"Pretty sure someone from Paradiso is involved. The Heavens still have monsters they haven't thrown at us."
Tsukuyomi added, gentler but firm.
"He is likely correct. Ether traces line every failed attempt. Ether is commonly woven into Divinity Mana."
Beings from Paradiso.
The Trappers.
"Oh, they done fucked up," I thought, already stepping forward. "Say motherfuckin' less."
Belial let out a delighted rumble.
"That's the passion I like. If someone pissed you off, Boss, we can go beat they ass."
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi] returned with calm precision.
"Master, I have her last coordinates. I can warp us there when you give the word."
[Midnight Star: Belial] cut in.
"Before we go, we'd better secure that nymph's soul. Can't miss out on a good opportunity."
"Fine. That would at least guarantee she didn't die if I ended up blowing this tree off the map in unholy retaliation."
I turned, locking eyes with Luda first to let him know with nothing but a glare that shit was serious.
Then I shifted my gaze to Elysia and walked right up to her.
"Seems we've gotta skip the foreplay. You got three seconds to sell me your soul," I said, my voice low, steady, dangerously calm. "Yes or no, sweetheart?"
The boldness hit her like a physical strike. Her hands flew to her chest as if she wore a necklace. Her breaths came quick, uneven. She teetered on her heels.
But she didn't need all three seconds.
"Yes!" she blurted, almost tripping on the word. "Please... just don't leave me trapped here."
Relief washed down her face like warm rain. She exhaled so hard her shoulders dropped, accepting salvation from the Panty Raiders thanks to a real nigga.
Luda, meanwhile, wasn't done.
"You gonna tell me what happened? What made you wince like that? Your whole vibe shifted."
Something inside me tightened again.
"Something happened to Omnia," I said, voice sharpening. "I'm going to find out what."
Luda gave me a half-disbelieving look.
"Has it been this busy all night? I swear I just got here and everything's popping off."
"The best parties have nonstop sex and violence to go with the drinks," I said.
He snorted.
"So where's my sex and drinks?"
"You late. That was during the first half."
"Guess Roxy'll just have to make it up to me later. We ready to go?"
"Does a spiderbear shit silk in the woods, my nigga?"
I tossed my hand into the air, drawing a slow circle with my fingertip. Magitons gathered instantly—pulling the fabric of reality into a soft, swirling point. The circle bloomed into a warped ring of indigo light, humming with thick dimensional pressure.
The portal fell downward like a collapsing curtain, swallowing the three of us in one soft, fluid motion.
And just like that, the Sycamore chamber disappeared behind us.
The only thing left in my mind was finding my Twilight Goddess. Every second wasted felt like another second she might be in pain in someone else's hands.
The thirty-third floor was wrapped in a screaming silence, the kind that pressed inside the ears and throttled the heart. Lynnette Judas and Luvina Puff stood frozen where Orion had left them, the echo of his exit hanging in the air like the last trembling note of a broken violin. The Dominion Angel's departure had sucked the magitons out of the room in one violent sweep, leaving the atmosphere stripped and raw. Clarity—too sharp to feel natural—poured in where the magick used to be, but that clarity came tinged with Ether. The leftover divine particles clung to their skin like frostbite, numbing, paralyzing.
Both women trembled involuntarily. Orion's divine pressure hadn't fully faded; it clung to the dungeon like a lingering echo, rattling the walls and pressing against their souls. It felt like someone had stuck their spirits in front of a stadium speaker and cranked the volume to max. A crisp linen scent saturated the room, cutting through the coppery blood smell that clung stubbornly underneath. The scent felt too clean for a place of suffering, like someone hanging fresh sheets over a battlefield.
Luvina was the first to think again. The ashen-haired, chocolate-skinned vixen wiped her palms against her hips—they were slick with sweat.
"I may only have minutes before the Devil arrives on the floor. How do I show him I'm on his team and not Orion's?"
"He might kill me on sight... and even if I try, he might not believe me. Plus, I don't even know if he's strong enough to win. Damn it... what do I do?"
Her breath shuddered as she bounced through fear-laced strategies, none of which made her feel safe.
Lynnette, meanwhile, finally let out a gasp that deflated her whole chest. She straightened slowly, not sure whether to step forward or backward. Her teal eyes were wide with lingering terror.
"They called him an Angel," she thought, trying to process what she'd witnessed. "If that's what an Angel feels like… what good has any of my training been for?"
She looked down at her trembling fingers, forcing them into a fist. "So the old Church stories were real. His speed didn't even seem possible. Wow, Lyn-Lyn… tonight's one for the diary."
Only thirteen seconds crawled by before the fabric of spacetime shuddered like a disturbed pond. A ripple widened into a spinning aperture, opening right in front of them.
My hyperspace exit tore through reality with a soft roar. The portal collapsed downward, ejecting me, Luda, and Elysia into the destroyed prison like a dropped meteor of indigo light.
My horns were the first thing Luvina noticed. She stiffened instantly. Her multiple hearts were beating too loud to ignore.
"Is that Xiro? No way the Devil is already here… And who are those two with him? "
"...Why does my Soul Core feel all tingly again?"
Her shock mirrored Lynnette's. The Ascended Human staggered back half a step, awestruck by witnessing Spatial Mana Arts unfold in real time.
Lynnette whispered under her breath.
"Who is using Space Magick? More strange Demihumans… the woman looks part tree, but the green-haired guy looks human."
Her eyes darted to me.
"The guy in black is cute. Wait… purple horns. Oh shit."
While they scrambled to connect the dots, Luda took in the scenery with the blunt honesty only he could deliver.
"What a shitty looking place. Somebody wrecked shop."
Elysia nodded with nervous urgency.
"We are two floors above the hemp chamber. This is a dungeon for prisoners. This is where the strongest woman in your group and the Dhampir were sent. Is Lord Xiro looking for one of them?"
I didn't answer. My voice wasn't ready; my instincts were working faster. I swept the chamber with my senses first. Luvina's mana signature came through familiar—Umdori spice, seductive, chaotic. The teal-eyed woman was new; strong for a human, but unimportant at the moment. What mattered was the heavy background signature.
Fading.
Weak.
But strong enough to be recognizable.
"I know that's not who I think it is…"
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi]'s voice slid into my mind.
"You are correct. This signature belongs to the same person who interfered at the end of our fight with Taurus."
[Midnight Star: Belial] added, cold and precise.
"…Orion."
Their certainty hit something deep in my gut. Orion was the one I'd kept an eye out for since the beginning. The one ghosting around every major disruption. And now that fading trace? I didn't need to guess who he'd taken. Or why. Heat crawled under my skin, but my eyes moved—a flicker caught in the back corner of the dungeon.
Nicole.
She was slumped in darkness, her body half-hidden beneath shadows thick enough to choke on. Blood pooled beneath her, sticky and dark. She was the reason the room smelled like copper beneath the divine scent. The pretty-titty Dhampir was in rough shape.
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi]'s analysis hit me hard.
"Nicole's life force is fading. Her vitals are collapsing. She will die soon without intervention."
My jaw tightened.
"Why do I suddenly care…?" I murmured, barely audible.
I pressed into reality. The world bent around my body, a glaze of ultramarine and white light wrapping around me. Quantum Mana surged like a cold current. My [Wind Mana Arts: Flash Step], folded into it naturally, combining the two. And in the blink of an eye, I vanished. I reappeared beside Nicole with a sharp crack of displaced air, kneeling at her side before anyone could blink. I'd moved so fast even the afterimage was redshifted, as I sprinted past the speed of light.
Lynnette stumbled backward.
"Wha—where did he go?"
Luvina's breath caught.
"An afterimage? He's just as fast as—"
"Demon Lord Xiro?" Elysia squeaked.
Luda pointed easily.
"He's over there."
Their voices blurred behind me.
Nicole was all I saw.
My aura leaked again, rising like a tidal wave. The dungeon rattled as the air bent under the pressure. Chunks of ceiling dropped, crashing into debris on the floor. Luvina's lips curved into a sinful grin. She bathed in the radiation of my mana like a cat in moonlight. Orion scared her—but my fury comforted her. It gave her something to rely on. Lynnette didn't fare as well. Her eyes shook with disbelief. She couldn't read my mana signature at all, which terrified her.
Not to mention my looks distracted her—apparently, I was "cute" to her, like a dangerous puppy. Women...
Ultraviolet trails of mana drifted around my head, evaporating into the air like smoke from a dying star. I reached for the metal poles jutting from Nicole's abdomen. The blood dried on them had gone darker, almost blackened by air. The corner where she lay was robbed of light. Just shadow—thick and lonely—and the smell of slowly dying hope. Nicole clung to consciousness by threads thinner than spider silk, spiraling through her own thoughts, unaware of anyone around her.
"...Can't keep holding on. I'm so tired..."
"Lord Xiro... someone... please help me. It hurts so bad..."
Her mind flickered with memories as the Soul Core destabilized:
Of her and Azumi on a rooftop at sunset. Azumi drenched in red while standing over a bloodstained corpse. Vivian burning. Many more villages destroyed around it. Guilt. Fear. Hopelessness. Then an image flashed of Omnia. A spark of admiration—jealousy—confusion.
Death pressed cold fingers against her heart as memories of a Wolven man and a human woman followed.
"I'm sorry, Captain Melech... I'm sorry for never avenging you, Shannon…"
"I guess this is it... dying sucks..."
Then, suddenly—
Me. Smiling at her. Her dying heart twitched.
"If only he looked at me like that... if only he didn't hate me..."
I leaned closer and muttered, "Maybe I judged you too harshly. If I knew you liked long, hard rods in your stomach, I would've changed my view on you."
My voice snapped through her collapsing mind like thunder.
"Am I hallucinating…? Did I just hear him? Lord Xiro..."
I touched her mind with telepathy, brushing gently against the tattered edges of her consciousness.
"You're still aware? Good girl. That makes this a lot easier."
Her spirit convulsed.
Hope—pure, raw—ignited like a wildfire.
And that was it. The last spark she needed to abandon the Church of Holy Madness. Her Crest reacted violently. The kill switch detonated inside her Soul Core. I detached for half a second, just long enough to miss the warning. The last thread of her life force snapped. And like that, she was gone. Another death added to the night.
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi] shouted in my mind.
"Master! Her vitals have flatlined. She is dead. Her Soul Core is deteriorating into the Spirit Realm."
My eyes widened.
"Nigga, what?"
Tsukuyomi delivered the details—her original Crest deleting itself instantly and launching a suicide signal as her ties to the church were severed.
Her spiritual thread snapped so abruptly it stung my own core.
I felt the fork in the road. Kill her off forever… Or pull her back. Hours ago, I wouldn't have cared. She was an enemy. A spy. A pawn to Orion. One of the opps.
[Midnight Star: Belial] groaned.
"There it is again. This savior complex. You don't give a fuck about her. Why're we doing this?"
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi] countered.
"Master feels responsible."
[Midnight Star: Belial] barked back.
"Responsible? Please. He feels ownership. She's like a gemstone or a toy to him."
They both weren't wrong.
And somewhere along the night, I had forgiven her. She had an additional Crest tied to me now. She had chosen faith in me. In Xirotation. I considered her mine.
"You're right, Belial," I thought. "I do see her as an object more than a person. But I love all my toys. All my gems are precious to me."
Belial snorted.
"A nice speech. Motivating. But she's still dead."
"Come on, Belli. You should know me better. Ain't shit that can stop me."
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi] chimed in.
"I have the data recorded from Death's Mask. We can begin [Skill Synthesis]."
"Good job, Tsuki. Time to piss off the Prime Realm System."
I stood, eyes never leaving her corpse.
Luda was rubbing off on me—his greed was contagious.
My copy of his Sonata Skill, [Dominius Avaritiae], pulsed inside me, whispering:
My possession.
My possession.
I snapped my fingers and activated [Dominus Desidiae].
Time stopped.
Every visible and invisible particle moving under lightspeed froze. Droplets paused midair.
The stillness wrapped around me like a suspended universe.
"Perfect. Exactly what I needed."
A moment to prep.
"Let's spin this new skill."
I raised my hand.
"[Core Fusion]."
Magitons, spiritons, and psions gathered instantly in my palm.
Colors that shouldn't exist shimmered together as the particles slammed into each other, merging into a pulsing orb of modified Astral Mana. Next, I streamed the paraparticles dubbed Soul Essence into it. The orb whitened, then deepened into a plum hue. Nicole's shattered Soul Core hung frozen in time. I plucked the fragments from the air one by one, adding them to the new core. I forced my sight and mind into overdrive—activating [Heaven's Kaleidoscope] and [Parallel Thinking Plus] to keep pace. I was multitasking a dozen Personal Skills at once. Something that would have overstressed an average soul.
Only then did I remember my artifact still resting under her body. A flick of my fingers drew the broken halves of Death's Mask into the air. The obsidian pieces hovered before me. I dissected the artifact down to atoms and held every electron in place. She'd need to be stronger when she returned. More durable. More powerful. She wasn't ever going to be the same. I knew that bringing Nicole back to life would alter her future, but I also knew that it would forever tie her to me. My ego wouldn't let me ignore that I had the ability to improve her. So I did what any real nigga with godly powers would do; I upgraded her.
I spent an unrestricted eternity inside a single breath. Time was frozen, every particle around me locked in place like dust encased in amber, and that gave me all the playground I needed. I ran trillions of simulations, each one unfolding and resolving in less than a heartbeat. Every possible variation of Nicole's revival played out through my mind with the precision of [Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi]'s quantum computing.
I didn't need more time. I'd already gathered everything required. The fusion of particles from the destroyed Death's Mask, plus the fringe of mana I pulled from my own Soul Core, was reaching a stabilized end. The spinning mass in my palm slowed its rotation, but its glow brightened with every pulse—white, radiant, almost alive. The sphere looked like the first spark of a new star forming inside a void. The dungeon around me stayed drenched in darkness. Light refused to travel while time was stopped; photons couldn't move, only exist. The glow was visible only through my [Heaven's Kaleidoscope], giving the orb an unreal look, like a firefly floating inside infinite nothingness.
It made me pause and smile. Just for a second, the chaos didn't feel so heavy. But the moment passed quickly. Rage and urgency pulled me back. The scent of unnatural linen and ozone still clung to the air—the aftertaste of Orion. Knowing that bastard had been here soured every inhale. I clenched my jaw, forced myself to take a deep breath, then snapped my fingers. Time cracked back into motion.
Everything unfroze in an instant. Stored light exploded across the room as photons regained life. A surge of magickal pressure rippled outward from me, brushing across the faces of everyone else before they could understand what they were feeling.
Lynnette blinked hard, confused.
"When did he cast a spell…? Hold up… why does it feel like I'm standing inside an endless void?"
Her gaze roamed the room until it settled on me and the glowing sphere in my palm.
Her breath hitched.
Luvina didn't speak at all. Her eyes narrowed as she studied me quietly, trying to understand why every nerve in her back was screaming. A phantom chill crawled down her spine. My aura was brushing against her soul—firm hands kneading her shoulders, weighing down her chest.
Luda stood there with his arms crossed, completely unfazed.
"Xi," he said, deadpan. "You froze time again, didn't you? What the hell are you doing now?"
Elysia flinched. "Huh? What do you mean he froze time?"
Luda didn't answer. He just grinned at her and shrugged. Elysia looked at him like he'd just spit in her drink.
I turned toward my bro. My [Kaleidoscope Eyes] churned softly, each gankyril rotating through tri-colored brilliance.
"One of my bitches died," I said, voice low and cold. "So I'm about to bring her back to life, on some Evanescence shit."
That sentence dropped like a meteor. Every head snapped toward me. The air itself paused. I had just announced that I intended to grab the concept of life by the collar and tell it to return.
Luvina's lips parted in disbelief.
"Impossible. Revive spells are just folklore. They don't exist anymore."
Lynnette stared.
"There's no way he's serious… does he even hear himself?"
Luda combed his fingers through his green dreads, pushing a few locks away from his right eye.
"Xi, are you saying you know resurrection? Since when can you do that, my nigga?"
I met his stare directly.
"Just a minute ago," I said. "This is my first attempt."
Luda burst into laughter and gave me a nod.
"A'ight then. Do ya thang. I gotta see this shit."
Elysia looked between us in shock.
"D-did he say that woman is one of his concubines and he's about to return her to life?"
Luda answered casually, "Seems that would be so. I just met the woman, but apparently, she means something to Xiro. I'm more interested in the fact that my brother might've just learned the shared dream of every necromancer and high priest."
Elysia's eyes widened, then softened into something like awe.
With [Absolute Domination] to handle controlling her spiritual essence, [Magick Reconstruction] to refine the energy, and [Core Fusion] binding everything into one stable unit, I molded the spinning ethereal sphere in my hand. Then I noticed the problem. Most of Nicole's psions—the fragments that made up her mind, her memories, her personality—were gone. Faded into the Spirit Realm. And I'd destroyed a chunk myself earlier when I removed her corrupted memories. No matter what I did now, she'd never return as the same woman.
A hollow ache hit me. I'd lost again. My own damn fault. If I'd killed her clean earlier, I wouldn't be here wrestling with regret like some confused simp. The weight of my mistake pressed down on me. [Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi]'s voice broke the tension.
"Master, I suggest replacing her lost psions with newly created ones. Otherwise, she will be drastically weaker."
[Midnight Star: Belial] groaned.
"Oh, brother. We already have too many soul ties with Omnia's multiple forms, alone. Now we're making another one, Boss?"
"What can I say," I thought. "A nigga feel responsible."
Belial scoffed.
"Then make her an Anima. At least turn her into a Guardian Armament. Get something out of it."
Tsukuyomi agreed.
"He has a point. Taking advantage of the opportunity would be wise."
"You two never stop hunting for improvement, huh?" I muttered internally. "Fine."
I placed my other hand over the orb. Using a precise copying of my own psions, I added replacements—clean, new, and laced naturally with the nihility that always seeped from my mind-space. That trace of nihility branded the forming Soul Core without me even noticing. It flowed into the essence like ink seeping into water, marking the new spirit with my spiritual signature. The orb reacted to me. To my will. To my desire. The swirling mass pulsed rhythmically—like a newborn heart.
It was ready.
I lifted Nicole's body from the metal poles with magnetic telekinesis. Yang Mana flowed through her damaged torso, knitting torn flesh and sealing organs enough to support renewed life. Her violet hair slid over her cheek, obscuring her face, her fangs peeking from her slightly open mouth.
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi] gave the final cue.
"Everything is ready. Fuse the Core into the body."
"Say less."
I pulled her closer and pressed the Soul Core into her chest. The sphere sank through flesh like passing into water, locking into place with a sharp pulse. The once lifeless corpse twitched as a glow grew under her ivory skin. Clusters of mana erupted around her body.
The next second—
White flames consumed her. Her aura didn't return as a Dhampir... something else was waking up. I instinctively jumped back into a guard stance, watching every movement, every flicker. Then the Prime Realm System chimed.
«New personal skill acquired: [Soul Reincarnation].»
"Wait… reincarnation?" I muttered.
The white fire blazed brighter—too bright to look at directly.
Everyone around me shielded themselves.
Lynnette stumbled back. "Did he do it? What is that light? It's blinding!"
Elysia shrieked and covered her face.
"Oh my stars—ahhhh!"
Luvina stared, entranced. "Was that a Soul Core? What… what is he…?"
Luda just laughed.
"Insane shit, Xi. You really figured out resurrection?"
The entire dungeon vanished inside the blinding white glow. Every inch of the room was washed in that luminous fire, erasing shadows, erasing distance, erasing the sense of physical space itself. Mana Crystals on the ceiling cracked and shattered as the air around us collapsed. Whatever was happening, it was more than resurrection. More than revival. It felt like reality itself was rearranging to accommodate what I had forced into existence.
"Don't disappoint me, girl. I didn't come this far just to feel defeat again."
I knew one thing for certain:
Life as I understood it was about to change again.
Meanwhile, right outside the Sycamore Tree on the bottom floor near the entrance, the air twisted like someone wringing out reality. A bead of shimmering teal liquid formed out of nothing, wobbling as it hung in midair. It grew from the size of a raindrop to the size of a melon, then to a massive bubble taller than a person in less than three seconds. The surface rippled with light, reflections dancing across its membrane like something alive. It burst with a wet, heavy pop.
A wave of teal liquid slapped across the stone floor and spat Alex out like he'd been fired from a cannon. He slid across the ground on his back, coughing as the last flecks of shimmering mana evaporated off his clothes. Cool night air washed over him. The sky above was painted in soft blues, dark purples, and silver, Gaia's three moons hovering further west than they had when the masquerade first opened its jaws around him. The forest breathed gently in the dark—crickets chirping in uneven rhythms, night birds calling from branches high above, the scent of amberwood drifting with every breeze.
Everything about it felt real. Too real.
He sat up slowly.
"No... I can't be outside. Why am I here?"
He pushed himself to his feet and scanned the clearing. My six-wheeled baby, Nightcrawler, sat exactly where we left it—sleek, black, waiting like a loyal beast. But there wasn't another soul around. No Ameera. No Danica. No Pandarens. Not even the faintest spiritual trace of anyone. When he looked toward the Sycamore Tree's carved entrance, he froze. The doors were shut.
He scrambled over and jumped back to his feet, palms pressing against the wood-like surface. No handle. No seam. Not even a crack showing where the door had once opened.
"Damnit! Don't you fucking do this to me!"
His fist slammed against the sealed entrance. The impact sent a vibration through the air, but it dissolved into nothing. The tree didn't shake. Didn't dent. Didn't acknowledge him at all. He tried again with a kick. Same result. A spatial barrier swallowed the shockwave like it was hungry.
"Fuck noooo! Stupid piece of shit! Open this door right fucking now before Ameera—"
Her name cut him open.
He saw her face—wide eyes, sharp fangs bared, body pinned in place by Kiranna's twisted sorcery. He saw the Blood Witch's hand raised, dripping with red intent. Saw the exact second Ameera might die without him there to stop it. A pulse of fear tore through him. Fear for her. Fear for Danica next. It squeezed his chest so hard that some instinct inside him snapped loose.
Spiritons drifted out of his skin like glowing dust. Tiny motes of white and baby blue gathered around him, swirling in a spiral that built faster than he could breathe. Astral Mana thickened in the air, vibrating with a soft chime as it molded itself into a humanoid shape.
Alex didn't even realize he'd activated the skill.
[Master's Recall] triggered itself—dragging Danica straight to him.
She materialized fully in front of him, her eight tails flicking outward as she regained her balance.
"What the hell is happ… Master Alex?"
"Danica?"
Her ears perked. "Master Alex, why would you recall me at such a moment? I was in the middle of rescuing the foxgirl."
"I what? I don't know what you're talking about. I don't remember casting anything. I was just… worried about your safety."
"My safety?" She paused, then let out a soft, teasing hum. "Oh, I see. You big worry wart. Come here."
She didn't wait for him. Danica bounced forward, nearly weightless, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him—slow, warm, with a tenderness that softened every frantic edge in him. He held her waist carefully, fingers brushing the fur of her tails as they curled around his legs.
It was one second. Maybe two. But it was enough. Clarity flushed through him like cool water. Danica pulled back just slightly, her forehead resting against his.
"You mortals of the Lower Realms are overflowing with compassion," she said with a smile. "But save all that for later. We have assholes to fight and a follower to rescue."
"But I don't know how to get back inside," he told her. "The doors are sealed. I can't open them."
"Doors?" Her head tilted. "What are those?"
"You're kidding, right? You've never heard of a door before?" He pointed behind her. "Look over there."
Danica turned. Her ears twitched as she examined the entrance, but her expression only grew more puzzled. She turned back to him with a tiny frown.
"I'm not Xiro... I can't tear open reality." Alex murmured, turning his face away briefly.
"Do you think we are locked out by mere walls? Oh, Master… I have so much to teach you. The entrance is not a door. It is a function. And you already possess the counter-function."
She closed her eyes and let her breath settle. Her eight tails lowered gracefully, folding together behind her like a ceremonial fan. Spiritual mist rolled off her skin, drifting into the night air as her body dissolved into a swirl of Astral Mana.
The mist condensed into the familiar shape of her Guardian Armament. Her tails dissolved last, the eight streams of mana weaving together into the shape of the staff.
The bō staff dropped gently into Alex's hands. He caught it with a startled look, brow rising as the wood hummed faintly with her presence.
Her voice echoed from within the weapon.
"In this form, I can assist you with using [Quantum Leap]."
"Oh yeah," he muttered, still baffled. "You did mention that…"
He didn't finish the thought.
An orb of azure light swelled around him, smooth and spherical, humming like a tuning fork struck underwater. The sphere cracked at one edge, light bleeding through it like a tear in reality. Next, it compressed tighter and tighter until everything inside collapsed into a single blue point.
And then Alex vanished. The clearing fell silent again. Only the rustling leaves and distant night creatures remained. He left behind nothing but the echo of displaced air, the scent of mana, and the quiet hope of every trapped Wolven inside the Sycamore Tree.
Tonight, they needed a savior.
And Alex had just rejoined the madness.
[End of Chapter]
[1] April on Earth