The Newt and Demon - Book 8 Chapters 61,62,63 (Patreon)

Chapter 61

Reforge Many

Theo sat awkwardly at the dinner table. The entire meal had been without words so far. Sarisa and Rowan had cooked a lavish meal of steak and an oversized lobster, something the alchemist could only assume was appeasement. Tresca had shown her power. It wasn't just that she had drawn on the power of the dreamer's core. She had utilized celestial energy to enhance her body, pushing herself well beyond what should have been possible for any mortal. If you had to guess, she was fighting close to the level of the gods, and the worst part was she was holding back.

If Tresk were to find out her full strength, Theo did not know what would happen. He considered the reality of the energy they had absorbed and how it put them so far above everyone else. And this wasn't a good thing. If they didn't hold the thrones of power, then whatever happened after the reset would surely see them ejected from the sector. The alchemist shook the thought from his mind. They had the thrones, so there was no need to worry about that. The only thing to worry about now was breaking the silence.

“So, this steak is excellent,” Theo said.

Sarisa and Rowan jumped at the same time.

“Tough crowd,” Tresk said.

Sarisa shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Yeah, you know. We were pretty close to the arena floor for that fight…”

“I mean, I’ve seen you fly, Tresk,” Rowan said, tipping his head toward her. “We’ve seen Theo do some things that are impressive. We’ve always known you guys were strong, but that level of combat is unimaginable.”

“I feel like a fly,” Sarisa said weekly. “And you’re the spider.”

Tresk frowned. It might have been the first time Theo felt her feel true regret or sadness. “I’m still the same crazy little marshling. Look at me. Doing wacky stuff!”

“Still… you have to admit. You’re scary,” Rowan said sheepishly.

Tresk deflated even more.

Theo felt a flash of anger rise in his chest that he battered down. He wanted to make Tresk feel better, but both Sarisa and Rowan were right. This wasn’t the kind of power that a mortal should have. It was well beyond anything anyone should experience in their lifetime, and only the reset would fix that. Theo and Tresk wouldn’t be gods in the new world, but they wouldn’t linger on the mortal realm longer than needed. Theo wasn’t even sure he would be allowed down here again.

“What we have to remember,” Theo said, taking the role of mediator. “This is a mixed world. We’re denizens of the Middle Realms, while you’re currently operating in the Mortal Realm. The power we have is meant to protect you, not to harm you. A display like that was an exhibition.”

Sarisa nodded, looking up and finally meeting the gaze of Tresk. “I think it would be worse if we didn’t grow up together.”

“Yeah,” Rowan said, straightening his back slightly and puffing out. "Where's that little marshaling that used to get lost in the swamp? Where's the girl who used to get stuck in a log every single day?"

"She's still here," Tresk said, a smile finally spreading across her face. Theo could feel the anxiety in her chest reducing. It didn't take much to make her happy, and that seemed to do it. “We're just operating on a different level now, that's all.”

Although Theo could tell that didn't completely appease the others assembled at the table, it was good enough to get regular conversations started. He was happy about that. Tresk, at her core, was a very defensive and sensitive soul. If she thought the people she grew up with didn't like her anymore, she would fall into a deep depression. The conversation around the table turned to telling stories about her. She was a precocious child who always got into trouble. Fortunately, the other children in town were always there to pull her out of it.

Dinner went on longer than normal, which was nice. Theo just listened as the others talked, only politely laughing when they told another story about Tresk getting stuck. Logs, between rocks, in the mouth of a snapper. There wasn’t a place the girl wouldn’t get trapped in. When that was finally over, it was time to head to the Dreamwalk to test the alchemist’s newest venture.

Alex took to the skies right away. It didn’t pass Theo’s notice that Tresk had summoned the image of Broken Tusk during her childhood. She looked at the river fondly, her eyes glazing over the city without a wall.

“You good?” Theo asked. He knew she wasn’t the kind of person to dwell. She also wasn’t wordy.

“Yup. Gotta grow up sometime, right?”

“That’s right,” Theo said with a nod. With a flash of intent, he summoned a group of people before him. “This might not truly work, but we’ll see how far the Dreamwalk lets us get today.”

“What’s the theory?” Tresk asked, tilting her head. Theo could feel her digging in his brain. “Dragon magic, Reforge Soul… profit?”

“That’s as far as I got.” Theo shook his head, recalling some important properties he would need. “Reforge Soul is a combination of the Burning Regen and Soul properties. We can double down by infusing the potion with the Soul property again. That’s the most potent version of the potion.”

“How does that work in spell form?” Tresk asked.

Theo smiled to himself, recalling the ad-hoc spells he had formed in the arena. “I didn’t think I had it in me, but there’s no reason I can’t make a spell version of this. Infused with dragon magic, who knows how potent it will be?”

“Okay magic man, make your spell,” Tresk said, waving a dismissive hand. “And make it snappy, I’ve got dragon magic to master.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The most simple version of this spell wouldn’t work. Theo was certain of that. The ward system he used for spellcasting was something he had borrowed from Toru’aun, and it was imperfect. A ward could easily be infused with the power of a property, borrowing those concepts from his alchemy. But lower potency wards didn’t take well to advanced properties, especially legendary ones like Soul, very well. Instead, Theo would design a spell, then infuse it into his aura.

That would allow him to create a powerful ward, and ignore the system requirements by infusing it into his aura instead of a normal spell. “Easily done on paper, but…”

Theo got to work on the spell, opening his spellcrafting menu and going through the motions. It wasn’t easy, though. The interface wanted to fight him on the placement of the properties, outright refusing it until he had everything perfectly lined up. It took a few hours to complete, which was more time than he had initially wanted to dedicate to the first phase of this project. Tresk had long-since went off to train with her powers, leaving him to inspect the spell by himself.

[Reforge Many]

[Advanced Ward] [Linked Ward]

Soul, Reforge Soul

Create a directed field that reforges the soul of anyone it touches.

Trigger:

Manual

Duration:

N/A

“Not sure what I think about that one,” Theo said, tapping his chin.

The system claimed the spell would work, but Theo had his doubts. He took a deep breath, looking over the field of faceless people to reforge. Activating the spell, he watched as it spread out before him. His willpower allowed him to direct where it was going, and he washed it over those assembled before him. But he didn’t have fine control of the spell, causing some people to get more of a dose than he had intended.

They promptly caught fire, eventually falling to the ground, dead.

“Ah, yes. A spell that murders people,” Theo grumbled. “That’s exactly what I wanted to happen.”

A pink blur landed before Theo, impacting onto the ground. Tresk would’ve died, but instead tilted her head up with a bloody grin. “New murder spell?”

Theo shrugged, gesturing to the flaming people before him. “I didn’t expect it to kill them, but yes. New murder spell.”

“I like how they’re on fire,” Tresk said, finally standing and dusting herself off. “Maybe because they don’t have any souls? No soul plus soul magic equals fire. Simple math.”

“Could be,” Theo admitted. “But my instinct says otherwise. I wasn’t able to control the spell very well. Perhaps casting it free style would work better.”

“Free style? That’s not a thing. You’re making up terms.”

Theo shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m gonna add the spell to my aura and direct it. With any luck, I can input a lot more parameters to manipulate this thing.”

Tresk gestured to what few imagined people were still alive. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

Theo focused on his aura. It wouldn’t be as simple as Tresk had suggested. Weaving the spell into his aura was easier said than done. Summoning his aura, the alchemist inspected its quirks. The aura consisted of a loose amalgam of his mana, imbued with his willpower and bristling with power. He already knew how to dump more of his willpower into the bubble, so why not dragon energy.

“Hey, it isn’t black anymore,” Tresk said, clapping half-heartedly. “Not sure what I think about the purple and green.”

“Looks better than the gray-black,” Theo said, observing his aura. It was certainly infused with dragon mana, but it was hard to know what that meant. If his previous experiment with potions was anything to go by, the general power of it should have increased, but it had also gained a modifier that would alter how it functioned. “Now for the part I wouldn’t trust in the real world.”

Even before Theo added the Reforge Many spell to the array, he felt the Dreamwalk push back. Tresk laughed, taking a seat on the ground to watch. “Let’s see if you can talk the dream realm into it. It seems reluctant to apply the spell.”

“I can feel it pushing back already,” Theo said, lacing the spell into his aura after deactivating it. In the inactive state, the spell was bound with little issue. But when he went to activate the combined spell and aura, the Dreamwalk refused. “This is well within the bounds of the system. You and I both know that.”

Theo set his jaw when he felt nothing in response from the Dreamwalk. He couldn’t understand why it wasn’t playing fair, considering everything was within the rules.

“I don’t think the Dreamwalk can handle it,” Tresk said, tapping her chin. “Maybe a computational limit?”

“Well, that sucks,” Theo said. “If that’s the case, there’s no way to test this without going into the real world. Also, maybe we can upgrade it?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Tresk shrugged, clicking her fingers to summon the image of the void. They floated around, looking at distant representations of the Middle Realms. “What we could try is testing the gongs. Why not make sure they’re perfect, rather than passable?”

It had been hard to hold it back. Testing the gongs was a great idea, and Theo knew they had to get some work done before the festivities kicked off. But he couldn’t stop the shift in the Dreamwalk. Instead of shifting to the imagined landscape of a planet, he was back in the snowy field, surrounded by trees. Tresk tensed immediately, spotting the distant female figure in the distance.

“Man, you really held that back for a long time,” Tresk said. “I’m impressed.”

“Right? I thought she’d come out a lot sooner.”

Tresk was sensitive for once in her life, holding back whatever jabs she had loaded. Instead, she used a much less hurtful jab. “Ya kinda neutered yourself, bud. Not sure there’s much romance for you.”

“What about an old friend?” Theo asked.

Tresk shrugged. “Yeah, I think you could manage that. So, are we going to break her out or something?”

Theo shook his head. Plunging into Death’s Gate was an idiotic move. Only an absolute psychopath with nothing to lose would do that. “We’ll wait it out. Death is growing more friendly by the day, and honestly, I kinda like him. Whatever we need to do to earn a favor from him is easier than just going into the gate.”

“And who knows!” Tresk said, patting him on the back. “Things have a way of working out anyway, so don’t even worry.”

“Maybe. Anyway, let’s run those simulations,” Theo said, giving up on the aura thing wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, but he shrugged it off the best he could. While that rolled out of his mind easily enough, the woman didn’t. At least her name didn’t echo in his mind this time. Perhaps that was even more difficult to accept. Not that he couldn’t have her again, but that perhaps he had moved on.

Could she?

Chapter 62

Exciting

Tresk and Theo didn’t know the exact mechanism the planets used to resonate like a gong. But they knew enough to run a few simulations based on what they knew about the old Ascendant realms and how each might be a better medium for conducting energy. With that knowledge, the Dreamwalk was happy to provide simulations of different energy events, including low energy, and high-energy situations. The alchemist tried to keep a straight face as they watched absolutely nothing happen.

The energy was invisible to the naked eye.

“Well, that was boring,” Tresk said, complaining as the Dreamwalk neared its end. “This is my least favorite kind of work. The kind of stuff that doesn’t involve blowing stuff up is the worst possible work.”

“I thought it was pretty fun,” Theo countered. “At least we learned a lot.”

“Did we?” Tresk grumbled, pacing back and forth. Both of them could feel the Dreamwalk nearing its natural end. “I now know the Burning Eye was extremely powerful, and we’re lucky you’re not dead.”

Theo nodded. “True. And the demon gods have a different type of energy than the other gods. Come on, that’s something.”

“I guess,” Tresk said, throwing her hands in the air in defeat. “I’m ending this farce. Gonna get me some more giant lobster for breakfast.”

The way Tresk ended the Dreamwalk was jarring. Theo bolted awake, looking over to find his companion already sprinting from the room. The giant lobster wasn’t as good as she thought. The alchemist preferred the steak, as always. Heading downstairs, the smell of the heated food flooded into his nose. It was a rich mix that had no place during breakfast and he loved every second of it.

In class Broken Tusker fashion, both Sarisa and Rowan had forgotten about the events from yesterday. They greeted Tresk heartily, gesturing to the spread of food on the table. To Theo’s surprise, there were a few egg and sausage dishes spread amongst the stuff leftover from last night.

“Figured you guys would need some more fuel,” Rowan said with a chuckle. “Preparing the world for a change is hungry work!”

“What a turnaround,” Theo said, taking his seat. Before saying anything else, he ensured he got a decent slab of meat. Tresk had a way of shoving it all down her gullet without regard to others. “Seems as though you got over your fear of Tresk.”

“Well, we remembered that silly little marshling,” Sarisa admitted. “She’s still there, somewhere. But now she’s a big working girl doing big, important stuff.”

“That’s me,” Tresk said, puffing with pride

“We can’t forget the demon that made it all possible,” Rowan added.

Both Sarisa and Rowan took their own seats, piling a modest assortment of food on their plates. Theo targeted the eggs, meat, and sausages to fill out his breakfast. Although he was unsure if eating more would make him feel more energized, he wasn’t about to let it go to waste.

“We’ve got a few small things to do today,” Theo announced. “We’re maxed out on dragon energy. The gong project will be simple to finish after our research. And, of course, Elrin has a few shards for me to carry. I think they’re the last five, then the reset can start.”

“That sounds… horrifying,” Sarisa said with a shiver.

“All just standard stuff, really.” Theo dismissed the thought, commanding the table once again. “What I need from you two is a favor. Between your duties at the arena, could you find people willing to make the switch early?”

Rowan cocked his head to one side, his suspicions instantly rising. “Feels like you’re leading them to slaughter.”

“Some of you might burn,” Tresk announced. “But that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Theo kicked her under the table. “I’m not starting with the full power of my aura. We’ll select, at most, five people. And when we get to Tero’gal, I’ll take it easy.”

“Let’s leave that part out of the pitch,” Sarisa said, nodding to her brother. “If they don’t know they might die, they’re much more likely to come along.”

“Agreed,” Rowan said with an eager nod. “I think I have a plan.”

Theo ate the rest of his food, enjoying the fact that the conversation worked its way back to normal topics. He played a passive part, listening rather than chatting along. After everyone was done eating, he stood and slapped Tresk on the back. “Hold down the fort. Elrin is gonna be pissed.”

“Heh. Nerd.”

Theo didn’t wait to exit the building. He instead folded the void, arriving in Boar Hollow an instant later. There was a decent amount of activity on the main road, with people passing here and there. A few bowed their heads, but the alchemist was most interested in those that didn’t. They didn’t know who he was, which put a big smile on his face. That meant the world had a healthy enough population that there could be those unaware of who ‘owned’ the world.

As expected, Belgar came trotting over. “You can tell when I come into the world?” Theo asked.

“Yeah,” Belgar said, matching the alchemist’s smile. “You should see Elrin.”

Theo raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“Come on,” Belgar said, jerking his head to one side.

Theo followed closely behind. Belgar didn’t say a word as they worked their way through the town. The alchemist always loved looking at the little things in the town. It wasn’t a sprawling thing like the things in Khahar’s world. Instead, it was a collage of little stories, all strung together by that road. He shook the thoughts away before he fell too far down memory lane, focusing instead on the park area looming ahead.

“There he is,” Belgar said, leaning to one side and pointing through the line of trees.

Theo matched Belgar’s angle, squinting. Sitting cross-legged in a clearing was Elrin, eyes closed in concentration. Ribbons of familiar power raced around him. The signature of celestial energy was undeniable, but the alchemist didn’t recognize it as Tresk’s technique. He patted Belgar on the shoulder before making his way into the park. After hopping over a pleasantly burbling stream, he stood before the elf to study his technique.

There was no denying the amount of talent it took to force the celestial energy in his body while his system was active. Elrin reached out with his aura, snagging stray strands of power and forcing it into his soul like a blacksmith would pound a hammer against hot metal. The technique was different, but it was working.

Elrin let out a steady breath. “About time,” he said, turning to regard the alchemist. “Busy?”

“Yeah, I've been pretty busy.” Theo gestured vaguely to Elrin. “What was that? Did you come up with your own technique?”

A playful smile crossed Elrin’s features. “That’s right. The time dilated areas don’t agree with me, so I need to do everything the hard way.”

“Your technique is good,” Theo said. “Slow, but good.”

“Is that a backhanded compliment?” Elrin asked, pushing himself to his feet. “Doesn’t matter. We’re doing the rest of the Shards today.”

Elrin smiled even wider as Theo’s face dropped.

“Don’t worry. I calmed the system. Your ‘gong’ project put her mind at ease, so you’ll have extra time on the mortal world,” Elrin said. “Everyone’s happy.”

“Wow.Thanks for that,” Theo said. “Did you have some of that coffee yet today?”

Elrin’s eyes shifted from side to side. “No?”

Theo laughed, shaking his head as he turned around. There was always more room for coffee and sweets.

Elrin shared his plans for the near future while they had their treats. There wasn’t much left for him or the Warriors of the Shard to do until the reset. The Shards themselves needed to be tuned, but that was no different than the gongs.

“They seem quite similar,” Elrin said, sipping his coffee with his pinky out. “The Shards have a bigger job than just managing energy, but they can do that.”

Nursing his drink, Theo nodded. As the days rolled on, he wondered how much of this stuff he’d be responsible for in the long run. The stability of the void as it related to the spaces connected within it was his job. There was the god, Void, but his job was currently hamstrung. Until the gods were trained to be proper gods, they’d remain benched. Perhaps the blame for all this work fell on the alchemist himself, who hadn’t searched for help from the other dude on his team. Khahar was technically his other half in maintaining all those things.

Perhaps it was his turn to pull his weight.

“About ready to move the Shards?” Theo asked. “I’ve decided to yell at a cat-person today.”

“Do you have time in-between making some gongs?” Elrin asked with a smile.

“I’ll make time. I suspect something went wrong with the way he bound his realm through the Ascendant system.” Theo drank the rest of his coffee and pocketed a pastry. “We might’ve brushed it off before, but I’ll need to confront him.”

“Exciting,” Elrin mocked. “Come on. After we transport the last Shards, I’ll have an absurd amount of work. Work I’d rather not do.”

“Right. Let’s get it over with.”

Transporting the Shards wasn’t hard. Although Theo had thought it would be a massive project, it was mostly a matter of moving them, then letting Elrin do his thing. Attuning them was the hard part, but as the alchemist approached the void island in the distance, he frowned.

“The island has moved,” Theo said, watching as a large chunk passed them on the right. “And I guess the island is falling apart.”

“Worse than I thought.” Elrin pressed his nose against the bubble. “All the residual energy is gone from the island. Well, islands now that we have chunks. What happens if it slams against the temporal barrier?”

“Nothing good.” Theo quickened their pace, finding himself in the wake of those islands. “Whatever latent energy remained in the chunks is being released into the void. Feels like we’re walking through mud.”

“Walk faster,” Elrin urged. “We’ll snag all five at once. No choice.”

With a nod, Theo pushed them harder toward the main island. Through his senses, he felt the rest of the Shards on the larger chunk. Although they were holding it together, it wouldn’t be long before the whole arrangement crumbled to dust. Even the landing on the surface of the island was rough. Both Theo and Elrin tumbled from the bubble, finding themselves in an environment that was too hot and too cold at the same time. Sections of the ground were covered in frost while supported raging wildfires.

“This isn’t right,” Elrin said, nearly falling over as the ground split beneath his feet. “Not enough time for this.”

Gritting his teeth, Theo reached out into the Tara’hek. His instructions were simple, but he wasn’t sure his companion could do it. As if to prove him wrong right away, the eager marshling appeared next to them.

“Where they at, boss!?” she shouted.

Theo didn’t even need to verbalize what they needed to do. Tresk was already darted off, drawing on the alchemist’s knowledge of void travel. She planned to place the beacon for a random Shard, and handle it herself. Nodding, Theo turned to Elrin.

“We’re doing this weird style,” Theo said, pointing at the two nearest shards. “You get that one, and pray to whatever god you worship.”

“What are you planning, exactly?”

Looking around at the crumbling world, Theo saw how little time they had. Removing one shard would see it crumble even more. “No time to explain. Just mark a Shard, and hold on for your life.”

Elrin offered a confused look for only a moment before nodding. “I’ve done stupider stuff with less information. Let’s go.”

Chapter 63

We Are Dave

Theo didn’t know how to estimate the conceptual weight of a Shard. From the first time he had interacted with one, he had felt how heavy they were. If one considered them to be a form of World Anchor, the weight was too much for one person to handle. That’s why they had created the beacons, as a way to guide that weight along a track, eventually reaching predetermined destinations.

Now Theo faced five shards at once, a task which would’ve been impossible without help. Yet one amongst them wasn’t so lucky as to have mastered the void.

“How is this going to work?” Elrin asked, arms wrapped around the dim shard. “Do I steer?”

“A little,” Theo said, watching as Alex emerged from nowhere. Without prompting, the dragon coiled herself around Elrin. The elf shouted in surprise for a moment, but gritted his teeth. “Alex isn’t comfortable doing it alone, and both her and Tresk are going to draw on my ability and authority to make this happen. That means…”

Theo trailed off, stumbling to one side as the ground fissured below him. Gritting his teeth, he went with the short version. “Trust the dragon!”

Tresk had two shards under her care, as did Theo. Alex and Elrin were only responsible for one, which should’ve lessened the load. The alchemist stopped whatever spiraling thoughts came after. Unless he wanted to lose a Shard to the void, they had to move.

“Just pay attention,” Theo said, closing his eyes. His aura sprung out, wrapping around the two shards and encasing them with his immense willpower. Tresk did the same, although the willpower she added to the mix wasn’t quite as impressive. When Alex’s barrier erupted, it was the weakest of them all. The alchemist grumbled. “Load balancing.”

Thanks to Theo’s immense willpower, he had more than he needed. Even with two Shards, he could wrestle them through the void and guide them to Iardein. He spread his will over the group, through the Tara’hek. Tresk took the least of it, bolstering her decent shell. Alex drew heavily on him, causing him to lose focus for a few moments. It took longer than he wanted to adjust to the sensation, but there was simply no more time. They had wrung the void island dry of extra time, and now paid the price.

Theo drew one last breath, narrowing his focus to a point. Everything, from his willpower to his authority as the combined Dreamer and Dreamwalker entered his command.

“Go.”

The void island crumbled to nothing, rocks broken into dirt, then fine particles of dust, and eventually nothing. A whirlpool of conflicting energies formed where the group had just stood while three balls of protective energy rocketed across the emptiness of the void. Theo’s mind shot in every direction, his soul aching as he held three bubbles together at the same time. If Xol’sa’s little invention failed, the world would be down an anchor. It was an unacceptable loss.

Through the pain and the strenuous flexing of Willpower, there was only one thing keeping Theo’s mind together. A gentle song floated through his mind, sailing like a flower on the breeze. It took him too long to realize that Tresk was singing into his mind, humming an unfamiliar tune that came with an impossible level of comfort. The alchemist felt warm and certain, as though pleasant summer days were here to stay, now and forever. He then felt the urge to murder something, driving his daggers into its stupid, ugly face.

Theo shook his head, looking down to see his normal, scale-strewn skin. He focused again, steering the group as best he could while the song grew louder in his mind. In her bubble, Tresk’s eyes were clamped shut. Elrin was pumping his fist and shouting words of encouragement. Meanwhile, the alchemist did everything he could to keep himself from drifting.

The marble appeared in the distance, shrouded amongst the darkness of the void.

Almost there.

Words of self-encouragement filled Theo’s mind, joined by the song. It repeated, the words mingling with the song. They became the lyrics. Don’t worry, be happy, or something like that. It didn’t really matter, did it? Come on. Theo knew what he was doing. He’d done this crap a thousand times before, just zipping through the void like a streak of purple.

Theo shook his head, dislodging the invasive… But it wasn’t invasive, was it?

“Oh, crap,” twin voices muttered.

As per Xol’sa protocol, the Shard split as they approached Iaredin. They locked onto their destinations, no longer in need of help. Elrin hooted with excitement and Alex roared. But their descent onto the planet wouldn’t go well unassisted. They weren’t Shards, after all.

The barriers guided them all down. Perhaps not to the intended destination, but it was enough that none of them died due to the strange way a body entered a world in this realm. With a snap, the barriers vanished, revealing a desert landscape. Elrin stumbled from his shell, shaking off the sand that had been kicked up and thrusting his hands into the air.

“Hells yeah!” he shouted. “That went off without a hitch! Are you guys… okay… What in the name of the Lady am I looking at?”

Dusting themselves off, the Tara’hek rose with a frown on their face. “This complicates matters,” they said.

Elrin’s mind flooded with confusion. Before him stood someone he didn’t recognize. The being was roughly his height with horns somewhere between the dragon and the demon, pale purple skin covered with scales, and a thick tail that swept back and forth like a tiger ready to pounce.

“Who are you?” Elrin asked, pointing a lazy finger.

Looking down at themselves, the Tara’hek sighed. “Yeah, this isn’t good. We drew on too much of our connection. Now we’re the same person.”

Elrin’s head slowly tilted to one side. “That was an option?”

“I suppose it was.” The Tara’hek clapped their hands together. “Now, we need to figure out how to pull ourselves apart. We didn’t get a system message, so this is part of an existing skill.”

“That’s a problem. I need to get to the other Shards, so I can’t help you,” Elrin said, turning his head. He could sense the new Shards requesting his help somewhere distant. If he didn’t act soon, there was no telling what would happen.

“You’re fine,” the Tara’hek said.

Elrin nodded, looking at the new being before him with concern. “This is Skaral, by the way. Uh… Have fun.”

Elrin vanished, replaced by a bird that looked around with a confused expression. It made a screeching sound before taking to the skies.

The Tara’hek was left there, in the desert, with their thoughts. And they were some extremely confusing thoughts. It wasn’t as though three voices were crying out for control over the body. They all worked in concert, merging to create something that wasn’t Theo, Tresk, or Alex. They were all three at once. Rather than solving the problem, the Tara’hek teleported to Tero’gal, instead.

This time, when Belgar came jogging over, he looked puzzled. “Hey. Are you…?”

“Yeah, we’re having a bit of trouble right now,” the Tara’hek said. “Theo, Tresk, and Alex merged into one entity. And you’re looking at them.”

“Oh! That’s… not good,” Belgar said with a chuckle. “Or is that good? I don’t know.”

The Tara’hek shrugged. “It just is. We’re going to that park Elrin was meditating in. We figure the best chance to splitting is some calm.”

“That makes a lot of sense to me. I think,” Belgar said, scratching his head. “So are you a demonling? Marshdragon? I can’t think of a way to combine three words that makes sense.”

“We’re the Tara’hek.” Without explaining further, they headed through the town and found their way to the park. That’s where the Tara’hek took a seat, closing their eyes and focusing on what had happened. That was the best way to figure out how to reverse it.

It didn’t take long for them to figure out that this was the Tara’hek Union skill. While they had never pushed it this far, they remembered the song that had spread through the connection to unite them. They also realized it was the only reason they had come out the other end alive. The Shards weren’t stable enough in their inactive form to have survived the crash-landing. Combining their connection was the only way to operate as a whole unit, rather than segmented things.

A few hours of breathing, reflection, and introspection later, and distinct voices sprung from within the union. It took great effort, but the skill eventually activated.

Theo opened his eyes, blinking away what felt like a week’s worth of sleep. “I’m not eager to try that again.”

“Are you kidding!?” Tresk shouted. “That was awesome. I wanna do that all the time.”

Alex shook her head. “I’m with Theo on this one. Perhaps that’ll be useful as a last-ditch effort, but it was too hard to split ourselves. We could get stuck that way, you know.”

“Can we?” Theo asked, scratching his chin. His concern wasn’t getting stuck. It was a concerning, but pleasant enough experience. There had been no confusion about what needed to be done, resulting in split-section decisions that saved the Shards. “I don’t know. We should reserve it for dire circumstances.”

“This is why we can’t have any fun,” Tresk said. “You guys are always worried about, ‘Oh, what happens if we get stuck as the same person forever? I need my sense of identity and blah blah.’ Who cares?”

“I’d say she has a point, but she doesn’t,” Theo said, laughing. “The point of the union is to provide us a chance to work as an unimpeded team. There’s nothing stopping us from drawing on any power from the three of us. We can communicate without communicating. It goes beyond instinct.”

“I sense some training in my future,” Alex said with a smoky sigh. “I can already feel your desire for us to increase our willpower to match yours. I don’t think that’s possible without the system’s little cheat.”

“No, that’s true. You won’t be able to reach the level I’m at now, but you can get close,” Theo said. “And if you’re close, that means that our overall willpower when we’re in that form will be... well, we can’t even calculate how strong it will be.”

“The most important point of all is that we need a name,” Tresk said, slamming her fist into her open palm. “Something that strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies, something that exemplifies everyone in the group.”

“Dave,” Alex blurted out.

“I like it,” Theo said before Tresk could oppose. “We are Dave.”

“We’re not Dave!” Tresk shouted back. “How could you do this to me? We could’ve been Murderaxe Killboy or something like that. You wanna call us Dave? I’ll kill ya!”

“Thus it is spoken,” Theo and Alex said in unison. “We are Dave.”

“We are Dave! We are Dave!” they chanted.

“Noooooo! Stop it!” Tresk threw a tantrum, falling to the ground and slamming her fists. But she got tired, eventually rising to her feet with a sigh. “Fine. But it stands for something cool, I just know it. We are Dave! We are Dave!”