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"writing": "No rest for the weary. Predictably, things were moving at lightning speed now. Kyry's message had only been a prelude to Annah and Lilita contacting me too. Kormir and Morrigan knew I'd been found now too, and Koramir's Bastion forces had already mobilized. They'd kept their behemoth of a train prepped and ready, and now it was shooting towards Nulidia as fast as it could. Which was... really fast, actually. Just over a day, fast. Along with it was a full battalion of elite guards and Kormir himself. Yikes.\n\nKyry had told me to delay on taking the next doses of detoxing. My system had... mostly gotten back to normal. Even with the withdrawls, they were just little bouts of lightheaded sensations and a bit of vertigo. But at this rate, it would still take [i]weeks[/i] for the half-life of the Moondust to rid it entirely of my system. Damn... But obviously they didn't want me utterly wrecked for the evacuation, so I'd have to put up with it for a bit.\n\nRemi... had recovered from the initial haze of joining the Nexus, at least, by later that night. Heh, just in time for supper. Now we were spread out over two of the booths in the private lounge, with me at least nursing a very, very full belly. But it made me feel warm all over, and a little more at peace with myself again. Some foods were odd like that. Like you were feeding your [i]soul[/i] at the same time. Pizza was awesome like that. Remi and Exa snuggled against me, and I idly rested there while subtly typing away at my comm under the table now.\n\nAnnah was ecstatic to the point of being a little hysterical, immensely happy to have found me again. Lilita was more cautious, apparently concerned over Kyry's report on my health and speculation as to what I'd been through. I... had to agree with her that I was going to need therapy. It was unavoidable at this point.\n\nCollapsing the projected comm display back onto the comm itself at my wrist, I gave a little sigh, then glanced past Remi to the other booth. Mirya was playing with her comm, herself, and Vox was there talking with Xora. I'd seen her around a few times since coming here, but it was hit or miss really. She kept busy as Vox's financial arranger, running about in Nulidia dealing with issues. I don't think she ever got past seeing me as an expensive `toy' that Vox had purchased on a whim, though. Given she was really frugal, she looked down on that heavily. I guess it didn't matter that he got me for `free' anyway. Actually, I don't know if he told her that part...\n\nThis one was a rather tense conversation, however. ``Vox, this is a [i]huge[/i] amount of money... I can sample it to see if it's clean, but... [i]fuck[/i]. No bank in Nulidia is going to be able to take all this at once. It's insecure, and... questions will be asked. Like where the fuck did all this come from?!'' She gave him an exasperated stare at that, and he slowly shook his head.\n\n``I told you. It was a donation from a guest who was very, very pleased with their stay. You know I keep such things anonymous.'' Xora's eye twitched at that, and she sagged back into the booth again. Ah, those `technically true' lies. I loved those. They were the best.\n\nShe gave a stressed sigh, rubbing her temples for a moment before slowly shaking her head. ``The only thing I can think of for now is to put it in the Black Keld's vault. We'll get it sampled for counterfeits and... I guess start to slowly trickle it into your various accounts. It might take a few moons but... fuck...'' Vox grinned to her, then nodded.\n\n``I'm patient. You know this...''\n\nI relaxed back in the seat again and rested my head against Remi's. Her ears flicked lightly, and she gave a little yawn before tucking under my chin again. It was nice, just being close like this, admittedly. But... she reminded me that I needed to work on the Nexus some more. The newest experiments were in the process of getting done in the sewer lab right now, at least.\n\nYawning, I gave a stretch, then sat up again fully. Remi and Exa perked, watching curiously now, and I projected into both of their minds. ``I'm gonna go check on the research in the sewer. You two can stay up here if you want.''\n\nExa grinned. ``Ooo, I'll go too. It's been a bit since the twins got attention.'' Almost half a day! Exa's libido was kind of scary. But I mean, she was happy with it so... Okay, no, she probably needed therapy too.\n\nRemi gave a nod. ``I'll go with you. Run a peek about the sewers for any intruders, then maybe `check on' the little Cultist you acquired.'' Heh, oh boy. Still, she'd gotten the hang of mental communication really well. It would have been easier if Xora wasn't here, as she wasn't in on the bulk of our activities... Honestly, I was still shocked he even got her to accept Exa! The trick was apparently annoying the fuck out of her until she stopped asking.\n\n``Would you believe that Inaga reproduce asexually?''\n\n``My cloning experiments have recently bore success! Sort of...''\n\n``His twin sister is visiting!''\n\nAnd my favorite. ``What Inaga?'' Oh Vox...\n\nThat settled, we all made our leave, waving to the others before at least getting around the corner, so I could wrinkle us down into the sewer far below...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nI sighed as I looked over both pieces of meat. They were both corrupted. It didn't matter how fast the sample was cycled. It didn't get rid of the contagious property. Which meant... it was a part of the Nexus itself. One of its natural properties was to not ask for consent. Great... I gave an exhale before tossing the two chunks of meat into the freezer for storage. Well, there was only one other approach I had at this point. I couldn't suppress it after it was outside of me. I couldn't stop it from coming out of me. The only thing I could do now was try to change it while it was still [i]inside[/i] of me.\n\nI washed my paws, then walked over into the overflow area, looking the crates of supplies over and the cryo-tube that the Garkin was in. Hmm. Exa was hanging out with, and probably fucking the twins somewhere around here. I didn't need to check in with her over [i]that[/i], mercifully. Remi, however, was chilling in the corner, legs up rather lazily and resting right over the Jakatar's knees, using her as a sort of leg rest. The only difference was that they were both elevated using three chairs, with the Cultist sitting on one and having just the very end of her paws bracing on the other. That left no support under said knees at all, which Remi was casually leaning on and pressuring them slowly in the wrong direction.\n\nThe girl was crying now and spasming there, squirming but unable to force her body to do anything other than suffer. She gave a long whimper as I rounded the corner, and Remi perked, grinning my way with a wave of her paw. ``Hey, Exes! How goes tha experiments?''\n\n``Poorly. Worst case scenario at this point. I'll be trying to change it inside of me...'' Remi winced at that as I walked up on the two of them, then lifted an eyebrow to her. ``Uh, you know I can just pull the memories right out of her head, right?''\n\nRemi pouted. ``O' [i]course[/i], but where's tha fun in that? Didn't even ask `er anything yet. Ah tend ta take... offence ta people tryin' ta kill me an' mah friends...''\n\nI waved her backwards, and she pouted again before withdrawing her legs from the girl's. I moved the chair back and let her legs fall to the floor again, her knees slowly hissing as they regenerated now. She shuddered, cheeks stained with tears as she looked up at me. ``T-Thank you! I don't... I don't even know who you people are!'' Yup! About the only thing she'd managed to tell me so far was that the Cult kept itself segmented into various sects, each encapsulated with need-to-know information only. Because of course they did.\n\nLazily, I moved my lower right paw up and just kicked her chair over backwards. She gave a sharp yelp of surprise, then winced as she hit on her back, the chair sliding along a few centimeters under her. I hopped up onto the edge of the now raised seat, between her knees hanging there, and plopped my lower paws down on her stomach, watching her curiously from above now.\n\n``My name's Exes. Your Cult of the Shattering kidnapped me almost a year ago. Things got kinda fucked up, and it really wasn't a good time. Your name is Zyka. You're a bottom-rung member of the Cult who was barely taught the most basic of parlor tricks, then tasked to oversee this experiment with the Garkin for your direct supervisor. A babysitting mission, you thought, until we came along and fucked everything out from under you. Sound accurate?'' My tail swayed lightly behind me, and her eyes widened the longer I spoke.\n\nRemi grinned as she walked up on the right side, then slowly nodded. ``Yeah, Ah mean, she went down like ah pussy. `course, she [i]is[/i] ah Jakatar. Maybe ya turned `er on an' she lost on purpose fer ah chance at yer dick?'' Zyka flushed at that, wincing before looking away from the two of us.\n\n``H-How do you know all this? Why... Why can't I move?!''\n\nI lifted an eyebrow to her at that, then tilted my head. Her eyes widened up fully as her own paw lifted up, wiggling in the air before reaching down and yanking her head back and forward to look at me again. ``Doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with your movements. Seems fine to me!'' Remi snorted, then laughed as the Jakatar started to look panicked again, staring in horror down at her own paw holding her muzzle shut.\n\nI leaned down, drawing her attention back up to me, then gave her a nod. ``Maybe the question you wanted to ask was, why doesn't your body move unless [i]I[/i] want it to? That's because I pulled you into my Nexus, and happen to not like you very much. You and your soul are mine now, and I can make you do anything I want. I [i]could[/i] just pull your entire life's memories and not need to interact with you at all. It would hurt. A [i]lot[/i]. But...''\n\nI sighed at that, then slowly shook my head. ``I don't know. Maybe I want to attempt to be a nice person still. Maybe I want you to have a chance to make up for the suffering you caused and try to redeem yourself somewhat? Maybe I just want to watch you squirm and really have time to [i]regret[/i] your poor life choices. Hard to say... Though I suppose which one of my reasons it is depends on how cooperative you are, too.''\n\nShe was crying again, but quickly nodded towards me at that. I had her paw let go of her muzzle finally. ``Y-Yes! Anything! I'll... I'll cooperate, please!'' I glanced to Remi, who nodded back at that. She was the expert at reading people, after all. She was also feeding the information to me, mentally, so I could gradually get better at reading the cues myself. For interacting with people I didn't own the soul of, that is.\n\nI looked back down at the Jakatar before slowly nodding. I stepped off the chair again instead, and Remi simply reached down and flicked it back upright, causing Zyka to wince... at least until she sagged, then widened her eyes, lifting her own paws up to look at them. ``Alright. If you can be a good girl, you can move about again. Don't bother trying to escape or use magic or any brute force True Alchemy. You'll just embarrass yourself and go back to being a puppet. That's what bad girls get.''\n\nShe rapidly shook her head, looking desperate now. ``I'll be good! P-Please...''\n\nRemi pouted, but nodded to me. ``Darn. Ah was gonna see if Ah could get her ta choke unconscious on tha twin's dicks next. Ah well. Ah suppose tha only dick she should be suckin' around `ere is yours, regardless...'' She shot me a grin, but I rolled my eye and booped her on top of the head, getting her to pout again, instead.\n\n``Behave, Remi. Anyway, I suppose this provides us with an opportunity to at least learn about the Garkin...'' I turned back to the shivering Jakatar again and gave her a nod at that. ``So, what's the experiment's purpose? What's her deal?'' I gestured behind me at that, towards the glowing tube.\n\nZyka lowered her ears again, hesitating before sighing. ``I... don't know much. They just assigned me to watch over the... the transit. Before that I was just... I was just the logistics clerk in the facility. It's run by our group.''\n\nI frowned. ``The Cult of the Shattering ran the facility that was shut down?''\n\nShe winced at that, then slowly nodded. ``We... We call ourselves the Children of the Shattering, but... y-yeah. It was a facility to research Garkin and their connection to Gar. And um, use the imbalance in their essence to try to do stuff.'' Cute. But uninformative. \n\n``Do [i]what[/i] stuff? And who is she?'' I thumbed over my shoulder again, getting another wince from Zyka.\n\n``I don't know! She... She's a custom order fourth generation. One of only three.'' That... was more informative, and significantly more disturbing. \n\nMy eye narrowed at that. ``Fourth... [i]generation[/i]? As in a reproductive generation?'' She nodded at that, and I was pretty sure my eye twitched.\n\n``Y-Yes. Breeding to... accelerate the instabilities and manipulations of their essence. Then with the growth pods the council lent us, we'd accelerate them to breeding age and harvest more eggs and sperm. She... She's only about two moons old.'' There were no words for that, and Remi looked absolutely disgusted as she stared at the now shrinking Jakatar. This was...\n\nSlowly, I rubbed at my temples again. ``How... What the [i]fuck[/i] is [i]wrong[/i] with you people?! How do you even [i]sleep[/i] at night?! Why did you join up with a group that does [i]this[/i]?!''\n\nZyka kept her eyes entirely on the ground, ears flattened back now. ``It... It's not... We're... We're going to fix everything! We're going to bring about a new age of world peace and equality! Paradise! You... You know how horrible it is in places like Nulidia! We're going to-``\n\n``You're part of how horrible it is! You don't get peace and equality by [i]torturing and murdering people[/i]! Your fucking [i]cult[/i] has been doing horrible things, and you're [i]helping[/i] them!'' My paws clenched on her robe's collar, having yanked her to me at that. She shivered, looking away and to the left as her eyes started to water again.\n\nShe didn't say anything, and I just gave a low growl and shoved her back into the chair, which almost toppled over again from her impact. ``Your [i]new world[/i] is being built on a mountain of corpses, and I'm not going to let them succeed at whatever bullshit they're aiming for. And now, you're going to help me. We're leaving Nulidia tomorrow, and you're coming with.''\n\nZyka shook there, tears sliding down her cheeks before slowly shaking her head. ``I... My paws might be covered in filth, but... If that's what it takes to let the next generation live in paradise, then... I'm fine standing judged! M-My family in the Great Beyond will be [i]proud[/i] of me!'' Wow.\n\nRemi looked down for a moment next to her, expression darkening, before a grin shifted slowly onto her muzzle. ``Heh. Ya'll never find out, Cunt. Yer [i]soul[/i] belongs ta Exes now, like he said. Ya don't [i]got[/i] an afterlife.'' Zyka's eyes widened at that and she froze, shakily looking over at Remi, who smirked up at her. ``Ah'm proud ta be with Exes. But yer just ah worthless piece o' shit. Yer never gonna see yer family again, or tha paradise ya so desperately want. Even better, yer `Children of the Shattering' were tha ones who forced Exes ta have this... power. Ah hope ya enjoy wallowing in yer filth...''\n\nThe Jakatar sagged, shuddering at that, and Remi just turned and walked away, following me instead. I relaxed, then smiled to her before sliding my arm around her side as she slipped up next to me. Remi was... Remi. Instead, we headed over to check on the Garkin. Two moons old... Had... she even ever opened her eyes? Had she ever woken up? I shuddered, muzzle curling lightly as I did.\n\nI had tortured and murdered too. But I never, ever thought I was bringing about world peace. I doubted such a thing was even possible, unless everybody was dead. Corpses were remarkably nonviolent. Usually. No... If anything, I just wanted to see a world free of [i]them[/i]. Free of the people who hurt and abused others for their own gain. My paw touched the chilled crystal of the Garkin's tube, and I sighed. No, I [i]would[/i] see this Cult destroyed. That much, I vowed to myself.\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nWe were all packed and ready to go in the sewer level. The Garkin's container was put back together and refueled. It would last over two weeks on internal supply alone, which I felt comfortable with. The twins were making sure all the supplies were accounted for and packing the Demon relics. Minus the dagger I couldn't identify. That Remi had kept. She had closed off the overflow chamber again after I'd used True Alchemy to slice the wagons up into little shards. She vented it after it was sealed. The bits and pieces would probably end up somewhere in the river valley further east of Nulidia. The city didn't have a purification system, disgustingly enough. But I guess that worked out to our benefit here. Nobody would find the wagons.\n\nI was tired by then, and just retreated inside of us for now, with Exa taking over. I rested on the bed inside the storage room, idly pondering if I should try restructuring the palace again now that things were getting repaired. I... was a lot more comfortable manipulating, well, everything inside of this... realm, I guess you could call it. My soulscape. I guess being perfectly morphic was a good quality to have. Pity the price had come with the loss of everything I'd ever held as sacred to myself.\n\nMy eyes closed and I felt out the area around me. My own soul. Shared with the Keyhole entity. I'd run a few names past it, feeling out trying to call it something different but it just laughed. There was a distinct sensation afterwards of `pointless' and `unnecessary'. I took that as it not wanting to be named. Still, I kind of wished it had other ways to communicate with me other than invoking bleak emotions over the whole of my soul. It kind of felt like trying to talk to a three-year-old whose sole learned method of talking was various ways to punch someone in the face. Like other three-year-olds I happened to know.\n\nSighing, I sorted through myself, feeling the entity, my own soul, and all the layers within. There was that pervasive, creeping sensation through the entire mix, though. That... corruption that infested every centimeter of my soul now. I could feel it distinctly as a part of myself. It was [i]my[/i] corruption now. My own [i]Nexus[/i]. I felt deeper, sorting out the sensations that were mixed up in it. Earlier, even...\n\nMy eyes opened at that, then widened. Earlier... I'd infected Remi with my saliva. I'd felt... There was actual physical pleasure in doing so. It had even overwritten that ugly sensation of the... incident prior to that. It... My body was almost getting high off the sensation of releasing the wavelength into her. I... remembered that now. Why had it...?\n\nI felt deeper yet, closing my eyes again and forcing all the other sensations away. Those urges. They were sunk into that freezing, wet, and sticky mess that was everywhere in me now. I went past it instead, not shying away as I pushed into the wet ooze and drove downwards. It was... me. I wasn't afraid of myself. And if I was disgusting and corrupt, then that was me too.\n\nThere was... nothing. I sunk right into the frozen core, pulsing with power and energy. My core. It mixed with mana, vita, and aether now. Everything that was my soul. The more I searched, the less I found, until the eldritch unknown slowly melted away, revealing... just me. My fears and concerns. I didn't... I didn't want to be vulnerable. I didn't want to be alone. Remi had said it was... okay. She wanted to be marked by me. Infected. She wanted to be a part of the Nexus.\n\nShe gave me permission, and my deepest, darkest urges took that. I... had wanted to infect her. I didn't want to be alone, and she... wanted to be here with me. Metal bones burned with energy, even as the tentacles writhed over them, and now a thick, webbed mesh of frozen sinew stretched over my limbs. I was... a monster. I acknowledged that. They'd changed me into what they wanted me to be but then... they'd lost control.\n\nBut the Nexus inside of me was me. I held... the power all along. And along with having this power... this strength and ability... came more [i]responsibility[/i] to use it with care. My eyes opened again. Why had I never even... considered it? As pervasive as the infection was in my soul, I never even considered that this `Nexus' wasn't a... layer in me. It wasn't an object in my soulscape. They'd turned my [i]soul[/i] into the Nexus. An interconnected web that gathered other souls to it. [i]I[/i] was the Nexus!\n\nI felt the energy wavelength inside of myself. It was everywhere in my soul, but it only [i]leaked out[/i] specifically inside of me. I... just pulled it back, and out of my fluids again. I pulled it back inside of my soul instead, and told my body to leave it like that. Just like that, I felt it retreat again, and the flow turned off like someone turning off a water tap. It was... me.\n\nI relaxed on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling of the room. I'd have to do more tests after this just to make sure, but... The solution was so simple. So obvious and personal, that I'd completely overlooked it. That was... humbling, but I felt guilty at the same time. My saliva had [i]become[/i] infectious, because I had wanted to infect Remi. She'd been [i]begging[/i] for it, and... I did it. I may as well have done so intentionally. I basically did.\n\nBut Remi wasn't in her right mind. I don't think she knows what she wants at any given moment. To trust someone like that with such a massive choice that could have [i]permanent[/i] consequences was... foolish to even think about. But I'd taken advantage of her and done it anyway. I sighed, paws clenching against my sheets. I was just as fucked up as she was. I'd... not been thinking clearly or logically for a long while, either. The paranoia and spite had consumed me. It... was the only thing stopping me from instead thinking about everything that's happened and despairing. I'd been hiding behind my own anger for a while now. How long could I really keep it up?\n\nAnother exhale, and my paws slacked again, tears sliding down my cheeks. I longed for the tribal days again when nothing mattered and my only thing to complain about was having too much homework and a fucked-up leg. Ogling girls from afar, then listening to the saucy stories Exir would tell me. That... That sounded like `paradise' to me now.\n\nBut that was gone forever. I could never go back to that no matter how much I wanted to. They were just memories now. Those places only existed in my mind, and life had moved on. That was the most painful part; knowing that there was no hope of ever being there again. People moved on. Sometimes they died. And now I was an abomination in the depths of Nulidia, literally stealing people's souls.\n\nTurning, I just curled up on myself and pushed my face to my knees. My breath was shaky as I let the tears slide down my cheeks and muzzle, and onto the mattress. It... All I could do was let it pour out of me, curling my tail up to protect me. To hide me from sight. I just lay there in a ball, crying now and surrounded by frozen statues, made of light and entangled in tendrils...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nSleep was shallow and fleeting. A flurry of ins and outs, and restlessly staring at nothing in-between. I'd just let Exa stay in control for the rest of the night. At least until Remi started getting concerned and asking for me the next morning. I probably looked like I'd had too much to drink the night before as I lurched out into our body again, almost falling off the medical bed.\n\nRemi was concerned of course, but I showed her instead. It was easy enough to grab a piece of meat from the kitchen again, with a simple little wrinkle, then poke my finger with my own claw, letting a drop of blood fall onto it in front of her. My finger hissed as I rubbed it, sealing up almost as fast as I'd poked a hole in it, and Remi and Exa both widened their eyes as the drop of blood just sat on the surface of the chunk laying on the floor.\n\n``You... You fixed it?'' Exa tilted her head, then they both looked up to me again instead.\n\nI nodded, staring down at the unaltered slab of meat on the floor. ``Yeah. I figured out how to just... turn it off. Nobody is contagious now...''\n\n``Nobody...? Tha twins and Ah aren't...? Or Ah guess tha cunt in tha sewer...'' I nodded.\n\n``We should test it, but yeah. It should have affected everyone at once.'' I'd [i]felt[/i] that it had. I could... control who was infectious and who wasn't. I'd pulled it back from everyone. Even Atir and Callia.\n\nExa smiled at that, but Remi frowned, still looking to me. I sighed inwardly, then shook my head. ``I'm sorry, Remi. For infecting you. I... My saliva became infectious because I [i]wanted[/i] it to. Because I... wanted to infect you. You'd asked specifically, and given me permission. And the childish monster that I am sometimes was... gleeful. Now I... know that. On a subconscious level, I infected you intentionally.''\n\nHer eyes were wide at that, searching my expression, but I just sat there feeling empty now. I'd betrayed her trust in me and hurt her after all. I'd taken her soul. Maybe permanently. I didn't know. That would be what I'd test next. Could I undo the Nexus taking someone?\n\nSlowly, she relaxed again however, then gave a softer smile. ``It's... fine, Exes. Ah know that sounds... grossly oversimplified, but... Ah really did want ya to. Ah'd been... playin' with tha idea ever since ya told me about tha power.'' Eh?\n\nShe gave a chuckle and nodded, crossing her legs as she sat down next to me. ``Ah like runnin' away. Ya already knew that. Ah'm impulsive an' often selfish. Ah'm afraid o' people an' their power over me. But like Ah said, ya... make me feel safe. Like nobody ever has. An' now Ah know... yer fer real.'' Right, she'd said that. She gave another nod, then smiled softly. ``Ah... Ah thought about usin' ya, though. Ever since ya told me. Usin' ya ta run away again. Tha ultimate runnin' away. Ferever.''\n\nI frowned. Running away? ``What do you mean? How can I help you do that...?''\n\nShe flushed lightly, then chuckled. ``Ya already have. Ah... escaped responsibility fer mahself yet again. In ah way, Ah don't have ta make choices about things. Ah belong ta you, instead. Ah can just follow ya around an' not worry about things. Ya think it's... takin' mah soul. Enslavin' me. But... no. In ah way, it's tha ultimate freedom.''\n\nI exhaled at that. The logic was... twisted. But I could understand her, still. ``You're putting... You [i]put[/i] a lot of faith in me, Remi...''\n\nShe giggled, then nodded. ``Ah did. Impulsive, remember? Though... Ah think, fer tha first time, Ah don't regret mah decision. Now Ah know yer legit, an' it was tha right choice. Kinda instantaneous validation there...''\n\nI snorted at that, then chuckled. ``Lucky you. Normally you don't find out that you fucked yourself over for quite a while...'' She grinned at that, then nodded. Exa huffed though.\n\n``You two could both have instantaneous `validation' if you just eased into fucking each other, finally. Sheesh. It's extremely therapeutic!'' She crossed her arms and pouted at that, and I rolled my eye.\n\nRemi just shrugged, though. ``Eventually, yeah. Ah plan on slowly progressin' that direction. Heh, maybe Ah'll even retire one day an' finally give Sis what she's prodding meh fer. An' give Exes some pups!'' I flushed at that and huffed, now feeling teased more than anything. It had been... a while since I'd thought about anything of the sort in a [i]positive[/i] light, that was for sure. But they were at least keeping it really lighthearted, as they both grinned towards me. But... that felt the safest to me. Unlike my little sister, I preferred to carefully ease myself into really warm or really cold water...\n\nRemi settled against me with that, and I sighed, nodding slowly. Well, at least I felt better about getting that much off my chest. Exa slowly rubbed her back at that, and the three of us relaxed a little again... at least until the door of the medical ward opened up suddenly. We perked, looking over as Vox entered instead, interestingly enough.\n\n``Ah, you three [i]are[/i] up and about! Good. Actually, I came to talk to Remi specifically, but I don't see why Exes, slash Exa, couldn't come too.'' I gave him a skeptical stare at his name usage, but Remi perked and sat up fully again, resting against my thigh.\n\n``Oh? What's up? Need ah security detail?''\n\nVox shook his head, however. ``No, nothing drastic like that. Well, I'll be taking a couple additional guards. Xora just finished some sampling of the funds, and I'll be bringing the first batch to the upper bank first. I was hoping you'd come along too, Remi, to sign off the security deposit we had officially created, so I could add to it.'' I... was totally lost.\n\nShe perked at that, then slowly nodded. ``Ah totally fergot that stupid thing had mah essence signature on it. Why are ya addin' ta that, though? Ain't tha insurance on this place already satisfied...?'' I tried following along. Insurance was... something that paid for things that got broken, right?\n\nVox chuckled, but nodded. ``Oh, yeah, it's fine. Xora's just [i]immensely[/i] paranoid, and thinks it would look less suspicious if I split the funds up a bit and sunk it into some of the sub-accounts. Though I figured we could maybe shop at the upper stores a bit afterwards, and get you and Exes something. It still feels like... This is way too much money...'' I snickered at that, and he pouted at me.\n\nRemi gave a slow shrug at that, but then hopped off the bed. ``Not like Ah need anything, really. But thanks fer tha offer, Voxxy. Ah'll go with, anyway.''\n\nI exhaled at that, then slowly nodded. They'd told me to just lay low and act like nothing was different so... why not? ``Alright. I'll probably just sit around and brood otherwise, so I'll go too...'' My mom had always sworn by that `fresh air' thing. I had never asked, but I assumed she'd been alluding to exercise outdoors. Might as well follow her wisdom...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nAt least it was a nice day out. The top layer was actually elevated quite a distance off the steppes and mountain slope around the city. The edges dropped off abruptly into the large `wall' of the city, with only the most modest of railings to prevent a good ten story drop. Rather than put funds into the security of the railing and edge, I'd heard the council instead just invested more in body cleanup for the sweeping slums around the walls.\n\nNotedly, the good weather wasn't really helping my mood much. I walked along next to Remi now, with both of us trailing behind Vox and Xora. Vox had a briefcase cuffed to his wrist, presumably with the funds in it, and we were almost to the bank now. This was the most `reputable' one in the city, and apparently managed most of the legitimate businesses therein. Of course, it also managed a lot of illegitimate ones too. I didn't quite know in which gray area the Black Keld sat in.\n\nThe inside of the bank was unsurprisingly very nice. They had an air ventilation system that kept it nice and cool. There was a nice carpet laid down, and individual rooms for clients to meet with the bank representatives and managers. The waiting room in the front was also pleasant, with the entire front wall being glass windows, letting in an impressive amount of light.\n\nI chilled there for a while with the guards, staring at my comm while waiting for the three of them to conclude business with the bank. Kyry had sent me a message just a few minutes ago, but I... lingered in putting it away. Apparently, the train had arrived a couple hours ago, and the hover wagons were already outside the slums now, with the guards gearing up and preparing to move into the city, en-masse. She predicted a couple hours, now. Would probably cause quite the stir when they did, though they were probably already visible and causing the council to flail.\n\nNow, my eye lingered over all the contacts in it, and my paws tensed. Mom must have a comm unit now. I stared at her name for a long moment, before realizing [i]everyone[/i] was in it. Exia, Kada, and Yimir. Exir and Niva. Mari? Wasn't that Remi's sister's name? Aliris? I... didn't know who that was. Every single Realmsguard contact too, in their own subfolder. I only knew a [i]few[/i] of those.\n\nSo many people I could just tap and immediately talk to. ...and so many that I was [i]terrified[/i] of talking to again. It was like I was... filthy now. There was no way their memory of me would line up with what I was now. I was... embarrassed of myself. I sighed, idly scrolling through the names again. Kada... He was okay then. Whatever the Cult had done to him... It didn't hurt him. I was glad. I'd... not thought about that in a long time now. At some point... while I was deep underground and losing myself, I'd just come to terms with the fact that I'd probably never find out if he was okay or not.\n\nI turned the comm off and slid it back onto my wrist again. Tch. Maybe I'd see them all in even a few days. I'd... It would be awkward as [i]fuck[/i] for a while, I imagined. But I'd live. Maybe... things would reach some semblance of how they used to be. I doubted they'd ever be the [i]same[/i] again, but... My ears perked up, and I looked to the right as Vox, Xora, and Remi came out of the side room again, this time without the briefcase. Ah. They must have been done then. Good... If they'd taken any longer, I'd probably have been sobbing like a little kit...\n\nRemi slipped up and nuzzled me on the cheek as I stood, and I scrunched my own muzzle in return. ``Yer broodin' again. Relax, X.'' Soon, I wouldn't need the stupid moniker, either.\n\nVox sighed as he looked to me, then slowly nodded. ``I think some shopping, and food, will cheer us all up. Which do you guys wanna do first?'' My mind drifted back to the message. Two hours or so... That didn't leave us with a lot of time.\n\nXora looked up from her notepad, then gave a sigh and reluctant nod. ``Admittedly, I wouldn't mind a bit of shopping. I heard they released the new and heavily upgraded Chronicles of Na'ard.'' My ears shot up at that, with my focus immediately on her, and she perked, then smirked down to me. ``Oh, you've heard of it?''\n\nI nodded at that. ``Ah, yeah. It's one of my favorite PEC games...'' My tail swayed behind me, and she grinned, giving me the thumbs up.\n\n``You've got good taste! The PEC is the way of the future, honestly. They recently got a huge influx in popularity and business, and their first release is aimed at Chronicles of Na'ard. The `Grandmaster's Favorite', they claim. Heh...'' Oh... right. I'd given them that massive review on it in particular...\n\nRemi snorted, then laughed at that. ``Wow, didn't know tha Grandmaster was such ah [i]massive dork[/i].'' Xora and I both managed to glare at her with that one, but she shot me a wink.\n\nI flushed. ``I [i]know[/i] that one was aimed at me, brat... You're playing it now too, though!'' Aimed at me for multiple reasons...\n\nShe grinned, then held her paws up. ``Ah'm ah hostage! Ah swear! Ya force me ta play it!''\n\nXora rolled her eyes at that. ``Remi playing the PEC. Now this I'd pay to see... Well, I suppose it's time better spent than drinking for free at the bar and mauling our patrons.'' Uh...\n\nRemi immediately gave her a defensive growl at that. ``It was [i]one[/i] patron! An' he got pawsy with mah butt!'' Ah, that would do it.\n\nVox held his paw up, however. ``It was in the past and forgiven. Let's just focus on doing some shopping, okay, guys?'' Remi huffed, but nodded, relenting even as Xora held her paws up in assurance. I had the sneaking suspicion those two didn't always see eye to eye.\n\nI kind of wanted to melt when we exited into the hot air again. Remi walked right alongside me, holding my paw, and gave it a little squeeze, flushing now a little. Heh, she'd mentioned that it felt... naughty somehow to be holding my paw in public. Her profession didn't leave her very accustomed to public displays of affection, it would seem. Our guards formed around us as we did, and Vox and Xora paused just outside of the bank.\n\nVox gave a nod afterwards. ``Alright, I think we'll hit up the clothes first. Thanks to Mirya, I need a new tie and dress shirt. Then we can hit up entertainment...'' Did I even want to know...? Xora looked just as disturbed for a moment, until her comm went off suddenly.\n\nShe frowned, looking at it, then sighed. ``Of course. I left one of the receipts inside. I'll be right back...'' She shook her head, but Vox nodded to her, then stepped aside as she headed back inside the bank. Receipts? They wrote those for deposits? Well, no, I guess that made sense. Proof that you put stuff in, if there was a problem later.\n\nRemi, unfortunately, was curious. ``How... exactly did Mirya destroy yer dress shirt an' tie?'' Vox turned a little pink, which was really [i]all[/i] I needed to know on the topic! Seriously.\n\nMy inner mana [i]writhed[/i] suddenly, and my eyes widened. Remi's were already wide open entirely, with her head whipping to the left a split second later. I was already facing that way, as I threw `Accelerate' into myself to slow down things as fast as I could! There was... It looked like there was a second sun expanding outwards and towards us, coming from the side of the Demon tower!\n\nMy breath caught. It was an incoming [i]wall[/i] of energy and fire, almost six meters across! There was... Aether energy mixed in with it?! Remi had turned and dove towards Vox and I, but it was coming in way too fast. The street was... There were people all around us, walking and minding their own business!\n\nIt was a split-second choice, as I unsealed my Keyhole, flaring with azure light. My arms extended to both sides of me, and I just radiated it outwards as hard as I could! One [i]giant[/i] wrinkle, grabbing everything organic. I shunted everyone on the street as far to the left as I could, all at once! The distortion was intense, and I gasped for air as it felt like everything sucked inwards... and then we all fell sideways, people yelping and shouting in shock as we were dumped almost twenty meters away, onto the other sidewalk.\n\nIt was only briefly, as the explosion sent me hurling sideways into the building next to us. I shattered through the window, feeling glass dig into me and metal lining snap against my back. People flew all around me, including our guards, and Remi slowly rotated in the air, landing into a skid, on her paws, even as I crashed into a board game display, back first!\n\nEverything went black for a moment, then hazy as I groaned. Pain signals were flaring up all over my body, and I managed to open my eye again just in time to see a [i]massive[/i] shape crash into the broken, melting remains of the street outside! It was huge and black, and let out a massive roar that vibrated the metal and glass shards around me on the tiles. Fuck... That was...\n\nHe was large enough for even my blurry vision to pick up properly, as he stormed towards the shop. Ignaus. It was... Ignaus, in his full-size, feral form. I didn't even register in his vision, with all his seething rage aimed right at Vox instead, who was just now struggling to move to a crawling position a few meters away from me. He looked dazed and scratched up, but one of his guards had apparently grabbed him mid-wrinkle shift, and cushioned the impact of the explosion. Vox was laying almost on top of him now.\n\n``Give her back, fucker!'' Gone was Ignaus' polite, calm tone. He screamed it out in rage, lashing down and grabbing Vox right off the guard, and tearing him back out through the front of the store as he screamed in pain. Fuck! No, this wasn't...\n\nRemi winced, managing to struggle to her paws with that, then reached to her back and drew that Demonic dagger in her right paw, point down. Ignaus didn't even look her way, instead holding Vox up and glaring at him in his claw... briefly. There was a shadowy distortion a moment later, with Kyry just gently falling out of the air, past his arm. There was a flicker as she did, and I saw two dagger hilts suddenly stabbing out of his forearm, and Ignaus screamed in pain, entire arm jerking. Kyry snatched Vox out of his grip, as it failed entirely, and landed gently with him before flicking away again. She... really had tailed me!\n\n``You fucking cunt!'' Ignaus tore the daggers out of his arm, that claw hanging limply now. Kyry had sliced right into the controlling nerves of his arm! He stood fully again, easily the size of the entire front of the building, even as Remi hopped forward and burst into a leap herself!\n\nShe was definitely reeling from the explosion still, steam sizzling off wounds on her as she jumped. I doubt he would have been able to even see her coming if she hadn't been injured. He managed just enough reaction to slightly turn his head out of the way, as a long, hot line slashed his cheek and missed his left eye by centimeters. Another scream of pain mixed with rage, and he stumbled, then lashed out at where Remi had landed! No!\n\nShe wasn't there, though, and he just cratered his still functioning claw into the dirt and stone. Remi landed on his arm, then hopped up it, with him just barely moving his head out of the way to avoid another cut, taking it to the jaw instead! He just started to snarl again when Kyry came out of nowhere, snapping out of shadows mid-dash this time, then leapt faster than I could even see! By the time I looked up to his head again, she'd already spun to the side in midair and drove a third dagger right into his left eye!\n\nIgnaus screamed again, this time with heat flaring out of his open mouth. I could [i]see[/i] the Aether energy building up, and he snapped it forward, releasing another blast of heat and flames, this time into the air to try to hit Kyry! But it was like he was standing still. She was already gone, landing behind him into a spin and drawing another one of her daggers. Remi was on the other side, and they both dove forward again, at the same time...\n\nThey were... untouchable practically. Both of them were a blur, with Ignaus barely managing to avoid lethal strikes as they danced around him, leaving cuts and scratches all over! I noticed... they were slowly backing him away from the store, each attack causing him to wince or flinch further back and away from where I was, and where I'd dumped all the other now injured civilians... Further... I also noticed that every scratch that Remi was doing to the large Gar was... bleeding a [i]lot[/i]. They even seemed to be [i]widening[/i] over time, somewhat... What...? The dagger?\n\nFuck... this was... I had to[i] do[/i] something! I don't know how he'd found out, but he [i]knew[/i] that we'd hit his caravan! That was the only reason he was... I tried to focus, feeling dizzy. Fuck... I couldn't sit upright. My right arm was numb and unresponsive. I couldn't feel my left leg either... I struggled, but the shelf behind me felt heavy for some reason. It was... My eye shifted to the right, and then widened as I realized a busted metal bar from the shelf was [i]through[/i] my shoulder! Blood oozed down my side, and my right arm was very obviously broken and twisted sideways. There was a metal piece of the window sticking up through my left leg, too, with blood starting to form under where I lay... Fuck, this was bad.\n\nIt was hard to focus, even as my body hissed furiously trying to heal my wounds. Magic... I needed to try to stabilize myself but... Exa was panicking inside of us, trying to push against me and... keep me awake. Right, this was...\n\nXora was screaming something from the broken remains of the bank across the street. ``...said you wouldn't kill him!''\n\n``Shut up, cunt! You did your part!'' Ignaus screamed her way, flaring with more flames and blasting to the side, even as Kyry easily stepped away from the shot, luring him to fire off the edge of the city instead, I realized. Xora... Xora, she... The money. She knew about... Fuck! She sold us out!\n\nMy eye rolled in my head as I tried to grab at the metal pole, but it was slick with blood, and my left paw fell off it. Fuck, fuck, fuck! This wasn't... Xora had to retreat back into the bank as Ignaus suddenly flared with energy, somehow releasing flames from all over himself instead! I could feel the sudden heat from here, even! Remi landed, sizzling, behind him now, and Kyry was forced to hop backwards, switching to her crossbow as she grit her teeth. The flames coiled off the giant Gar, wrapping him like a blanket as he snarled, then turned towards Remi instead! No! Fuck, no!\n\nRemi's eyes widened as she dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a fast and small breath shot he released. He fired again as she came out of the roll, and she barely jumped backwards, the small explosion sending her flying as she let out a pained squeak. I clawed at the metal bar, teeth gritting furiously now! No, he was going to kill her!\n\nKyry shot at his back and neck furiously with bolts, but they burned up or plinked off his armor rather meaninglessly, and he advanced only on Remi, clearly realizing she was injured. Fuck, there wasn't... My eyes widened. There was... I didn't know what it would do, but there wasn't any other choice! There... I couldn't let Remi die! My paw touched my own chest, and I pushed the words into myself, through the Keyhole. Reset. Return to a base state. All of myself...\n\nThere was a heavy pulse that shot through me like a bolt of lightning! Everything seemed to freeze and distort, the air itself warping away from me as my chest caved backwards away from my paw. It... felt like I was putty suddenly, bending and melting about. I screamed, feeling like my soul was twisting instead, a split second later! My right arm spasmed, with dark pulses of raw Aether coming off it now. Black and purple, radiant flames, like what it looked like before exposure to Aion. The arm twisted and snapped with wet crunching noises as it moved back into place, and my entire chest spasmed. Bits of rock started drifting into the air around me, and I suddenly gasped, my breath getting sucked out. Her... song. I heard it all around me, just like the first time... Something was... Why now? Why that song?!\n\nIt echoed through my skull, my blood drifting into the air around me, then slowly sucking back into my body in long, wet ribbons. I stood at that, shaking now as I stepped forward, snapping my right arm out of its socket and intentionally pulling myself off the metal pole, drawing it back out behind me before I fell forward and onto my knees, shuddering there as my paws gripped at the broken ground in front of me! My blood crawled along the ground after me in thick streams, sucking into open wounds that boiled with black light. The stone under me warped and melted, and I shivered, hearing her song crest and slide around in my mind. This wasn't... like the first time. There was... There was something else... I felt it. The song opened things. Opened our reality to let even more Aether in. Now, it felt like it was opening [i]me[/i]!\n\nMy body ached. It wasn't pain. I couldn't feel pain. This was something inside, writhing and spasming now. Reset. It was returning me to a base state that I'd never been at in the first place. I'd [i]always[/i] been broken. My arms shook and spasmed. Remi managed to dodge another shot, but got blown sideways into the edge of the bank. Her scream... Kyry folded her crossbow up behind him, then grit her teeth as her left arm reached around and pulled a Jakatar blade and sheath around from tucked against her back, shifting it into a waist-mounted position instead. But... she hesitated. [i]Faster[/i]! I needed to help!\n\nMy arms split in spots, flesh breaking then warping together in ribbons of black light, hissing with steam over and over again. Muscle poured out of nowhere, from outside Aion, and sunk deep into my flesh. I grew larger, back cracking and breaking, then sealing together again as my entire body spasmed there! My arms were... They were three times the width they had been, and I felt my chest pouring out of me, spilling forward and widening, even as I watched my fur shift back to normal colors right before my eyes. More hisses, the air wavering with heat around me, and the bandage on my right side [i]burned[/i] away, my other eye opening and seeing again immediately. Tattered bits of my clothing drifted around me with the floating debris, having torn apart as I spilled out of them, leaving only my stretchy loincloth in place now. Fuck! There was...\n\nMy eyes widened as I watched him pick Remi up, removing the flames only from his right, still functioning arm. She struggled in his claw, steam rolling off her body from dozens of wounds and burns on her now. No... he... Remi was my mate. [i]My[/i] mate. He wasn't... It wasn't his [i]place[/i] to touch her! It was... beyond anything I'd ever felt before. A red hot, seething [i]hatred[/i] that boiled up from my chest and into my skull. I panted and shook there for a second, saliva suddenly dripping from my muzzle as all I could see was Ignaus, standing there and holding my mate.\n\nI stood then, easily now as the Keyhole flared on my chest, and both eyes blazed with light. No. This was wrong. This offended every fiber of my being and made me want to [i]break[/i] him. Slowly. There was suddenly nothing else in the entire world, and crystal clarity washed through my mind. Single in purpose, I just stepped forward, right into the wrinkle, eyes suddenly letting me entirely ignore the disorientation.\n\nI landed on his arm, into a crouch. His eyes started to widen, but my right paw had already swung downwards, flared with a distorted black light. [i]Sever[/i], fucker! My paw smashed into his wrist, claws digging in and radiating with the power of my word. A pulse, and I spun, tearing through scale, muscle, and bone before diving to the side as the energy I released exploded! Remi squeaked in surprise, but I caught her out of midair and landed gently on the broken stone street, carrying her in both arms now. Ignaus' right claw landed next to us with a heavy thud, red hot and glowing blood like fire spurting out of it, even as the giant Gar screamed in hysterical rage!\n\nRemi looked up at me in shock, but I'd already stepped forward and out of reality again, now next to a surprised looking Kyry, as I set Remi down. Safe. She was... safe. It didn't help. That seething rage boiling through me wasn't satisfied. No, I was going to [i]end[/i] Ignaus. I could feel the disgust [i]beating[/i] through my veins as I turned, glaring at the Gar as he stumbled forward, rolling now and partly falling to his side as he burned his stump shut, teeth clenched into a growl.\n\nHis own hatred showed through as he swung around to look at me instead. Just me. Just like I wanted. Flames danced around him again as he pulled up that fire armor technique once more, but I didn't care, slowly walking towards him instead. The Gar's own blood sizzled on my right arm, black lines of Aether energy drawing it into my body too as my muscles tightened and hardened. I pulled [i]everything[/i] in, Nexus eating it for energy and mass, and adding it to my own.\n\nHis eyes narrowed, one useless and oozing blood. The cuts Remi had made were blackened now, scales cracking away from them as it spread wider, pouring his burning blood out of him. ``You... [i]You[/i]! You fucking... [i]This[/i] is how you repay me?! I'll fucking destroy you!'' So he [i]had[/i] seen me on the street, before I reset myself. Good. He'd know who sent him into the next life, then. He pulled his head back, mouth opening again and flaring with heat. Aether energy. He was generating it from inside of him, and using it to cause a brute force True Alchemy reaction, generating heat and light in a beam attack from his mouth. It was released as a wave of unstable energy, with the intent to burn and explode on contact. Right. Gar had `breath weapons' they could use. Even seething with hatred, everything was... Everything moved slowly still, and my eyes picked up every little detail.\n\n``Exes!'' I heard Remi shout from behind me, but it was distant. No, I was in front of her now. She was safe. And Ignaus was going to die. I momentarily lost sight of his head entirely through the flare of heat and energy, and then he snapped it downwards and fired that wave of flames right at me, at point blank range.\n\nNo. He had hurt my mate. He had [i]touched[/i] her, and every fiber of my being felt violated by that. I [i]hated[/i] him, and now, he was dead. I screamed out a roar, flinging my arms out as my chest pulsed with energy. It was mine. Everything around me was [i]mine[/i], and I took what Ignaus had, too! The air bled darkness in front of me, and the flames crushed inwards into the scream. A molten rush, wrinkling and distorting as everything collapsed into a single point at the very tip of my tongue. More and more flames smashed at me, only to be sucked into my open maw of darkness, crackling heat and light dancing in front of my eyes!\n\nIgnaus snapped his head back again, coughing as smoke exited his muzzle, only to see the last of his own fire pull into my mouth. The black Aether energy slopped like saliva from my maw, and that little pinpoint of hot white energy dancing on my tongue. I toyed with it for a moment, feeling its weight and sheer [i]power[/i], before grinning with the light shining through my teeth, as I dropped down onto all fours with a feral shiver. Wrinkle Singularity, Explode.\n\nIt wasn't enough. I kept the force on it, crushing it down using my wrinkle in reality. It flared and struggled, but I held it there in my muzzle. It was [i]mine[/i]. It didn't dare disobey me now. Explode! Every use of the word magnified the power of the angry dot of energy. More heat and light, and another spill of black, glowing energy from my mouth, this time accompanied by an arc of hot lightning, melting the street to my left to slag. I was going to end him. Completely.\n\nHis one eye widened towards me, concern showing through for the first time as I fell down, crouching there on all fours as my mouth opened again. ``You... You're nothing! I'm destined to be a God! The father of the true race of Aion!'' Funny that he was backing up while he said it. Explode! More heat, the light burning off the rippling air around me, and her song becoming audible in the air as a series of white static pops and crackles. It was mania, in my head, feeding my emotions with hers, through the song, until it was a fervor. More! More, more, more! Explode, Explode, Explode! My snarling laughter came out now, arcs of flame burning the street in front of me to ash as the Aether pooled under me, sizzling and flaring up in little scintillating purple and pink flames. Reality itself was sobbing, laughing, and singing along, and I opened my muzzle wide, aiming it right at the giant Gar's chest as he stumbled backwards, wings of energy opening again as he took to the air. No, he wasn't escaping me. He wasn't anything, anymore!\n\nExplode! It flared, and I simply released one little pinprick of the wrinkle, facing him. Ignaus' own energy, magnified a thousand times over and very eager to be free, was fired back at him from the center of my roar. For a very brief moment, a brilliant white line, brighter than the sun itself, extended from my open maw and right into the Gar's chest. Just half a meter up and to the right of center. My roar echoed like a terrible, final thunderclap, and the force of the shot pushed my head up and to the right a split second later! I spit the rest of the energy out as it faltered away, leaving a white-hot line going from where it had impacted, all the way off Ignaus' right shoulder. It warbled as it hung in the air, writhing there as a thin, hairline slice, radiating the fury of a star. The clouds off in the distance parted in a line, the sky blackening momentarily in the flash of light from the energy. For a second, everything was absolutely still and silent, as Aion itself seemed to falter under the energy released.\n\nThen the air exploded, with the shockwave blasting out faster than sound could keep up in a thunderous detonation. Ignaus was blown in half in an instant. Parts of his chest fell away into molten heat, before it collapsed against itself and exploded in a bloom of fire. His upper body was torn sideways, then ripped free of his back legs in a spray of flames and gore, with intestines splattering out and bits of his lung landing next to him where he crashed, on fire, against the blown-out gaming shop.\n\nThe line continued, scraping along the edge of the huge central tower, leaving a trail of explosions that sent bits of the Demonic spire cascading into the air amidst the blaze... then another explosion, completely unheard for several seconds, along the distant mountains behind that. I saw the shockwave of the impact expanding out over the tundra, approaching the city, and parts of the mountain peak start to collapse downwards in a huge slide of rock and molten debris. Ignaus stared at me in shock, even as the air sizzled from the blast, and people ran screaming in every direction, not knowing how to escape.\n\nHis only eye looked over to the left, at the burning spray of meat and bone that used to be his lower body, then back to me as I slowly walked towards him, chest blazing with energy. The gashes Remi cut into his face had decayed most of his cheek now, but that was clearly the least of his concerns at this point. Slowly, his bleeding muzzle twisted into a snarl, until my left paw suddenly slammed his entire head back against the stone wall behind him, fracturing the rock and breaking his lower jaw almost in half. Then he was screaming hysterically again...\n\nI wanted him to [i]suffer[/i]. But no, I didn't want this [i]filth[/i] inside of me. With nothing but a silent, hateful glare, my paw pulsed, thumb digging up into his skull from his broken jawline. Explode... He jerked, as the stone behind his head blew away with the concussive blast, leaving a broken, circular gouge out of the corner of the building in an anticlimactic pop and clattering of stone. Bits of the back of his skull and splatters of his brain landed in the alleyway, and I let what was left of his head go, watching it slump to the right, limp now.\n\nPanting there, I just stared down at his broken remains, the screams distant now as chunks of the black tower collapsed and burned in the corner of my eye. The sounds of twisting iron resounded through the air, and I watched the tip of it bend downwards and inwards, then [i]snap[/i]. It crashed down into the bulk of the tower afterwards, and the entire thing started to collapse, raining burning debris down into the base of the city. The mountain range in the background now had a second collapsing peak, forming a new molten valley and adding to the shaking the ground was doing. It... wasn't enough. I wanted him to suffer more, but... The heat burned through my head, and I panted there, stepping back and away from him as my paws clenched, and balled into fists. Fuck! I wanted him to be alive again so I could kill him more!\n\n``Exes!'' My ears flicked, and I turned around to my right, seeing Kyry running up with huge eyes. I couldn't stop the low growl towards her, and she froze there, holding her paws up defensively. No, she... I was only [i]irritated[/i] at her. She... She'd only failed to find me. It wasn't... I needed more! Remi limped up next to her, safe now but looking shocked, but... ``W-What... oh shit! Rage!''\n\nMy eyes flicked to the left, as a panicked-looking Xora stumbled out of the remains of the front of the bank and ran down the street. Ah, perfect. A new target. A distortion, and she let out a strangled gasp as I held my left paw out and she wrinkled out of reality, running right into it. It closed around her entire throat, as I realized I was as tall as she was now. My arm flexed, and she made a choking gasp, entire body lifting off the ground as I held her there, slowly crushing her throat in my paw. [i]Perfect[/i]!\n\n``Fucking traitor!'' I growled, teeth showing now as I turned her to look right at me as her eyes widened in panic. She was done too. I'd just squeeze until her head popped right off her-\n\n``Exes!'' I gave a start as Remi ran forward and wrapped her arms around my torso, just above my waist. I... what? ``Exes, it's okay now! Ah'm fine!'' She was fine, yeah... I made sure of it. It was...\n\nKyry slowly nodded, looking to Xora before me again. ``Everything's fine, Exes. You saved everyone. Just put her down, and I'll make sure she's arrested, okay?'' Arrested...? But she deserved... She needed to...\n\nRemi gently nuzzled my stomach, and I shivered, paw lessening on Xora's neck a little. I lowered her paws to the ground again as she spasmed there, raggedly inhaling breath around my grip. This was... I suddenly felt [i]tired[/i], and blinked once, focusing more on Remi, who was smiling up at me now. No, that was... She was fine, and there wasn't any real need to kill Xora too. Was there?\n\nI let Xora go, and she fell to the side, unconscious now. Kyry grabbed her and slid her away from me slowly, watching me cautiously, even as I gave an exhale and plopped down onto my rear. Remi slipped into my lap a moment later, holding herself to my larger chest now. What... had happened? I remembered but... \n\nIt was like I'd been in a dream. Aware of what I was doing but not really... directing myself. All I really knew was that I'd never, ever felt that angry before towards [i]anyone[/i]. My body felt... thick and weird now. Everything had happened so fast. Vox winced as he slowly walked up, and his guards were helping people out of the toy shop now, and checking the injured. This was... Holy shit, Ignaus attacked us in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street...\n\n``W-Wait, Kyry?'' Vox stared at her suddenly in shock, and she coughed lightly, sitting down next to me instead.\n\n``Uh, hey Voxet. By the way, we're here to evacuate Exes and everyone involved. That includes you and Mirya. Better pack up...'' He stared at her in shock, even as I saw a flood of heavy Vulkus guards starting to rush up from the direction of the tram station. Oh. Guess they deployed early!\n\n"
},
".description.json": {
"description": "Got a long one this time! Lots happening in it. Be mindful of the tags!\n\nPotentially Triggering Tags:\nViolence, Gore, Death\n\nChapter Summaries:\nhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1VHNSczlxfkUvf34NKZNscT1a3Rr-222jdhGpdfV82Fw/edit?usp=sharing\n\nCurious about my custom species? Here's a link!\nhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1k0PobVi3hgyzg8zrro6rnqLLpm_cybJd-3LP-kvp1KI/edit?usp=sharing\n\nFeel like giving me a little financial assistance? I’ve set up a SubscribeStar account! I'm extremely thankful for everyone who donates anything they can, be it a subscription or one-off donation.\nhttps://subscribestar.adult/kiroberos-entertainment"
},
".writing.json": {
"writing": "No rest for the weary. Predictably, things were moving at lightning speed now. Kyry's message had only been a prelude to Annah and Lilita contacting me too. Kormir and Morrigan knew I'd been found now too, and Koramir's Bastion forces had already mobilized. They'd kept their behemoth of a train prepped and ready, and now it was shooting towards Nulidia as fast as it could. Which was... really fast, actually. Just over a day, fast. Along with it was a full battalion of elite guards and Kormir himself. Yikes.\n\nKyry had told me to delay on taking the next doses of detoxing. My system had... mostly gotten back to normal. Even with the withdrawls, they were just little bouts of lightheaded sensations and a bit of vertigo. But at this rate, it would still take [i]weeks[/i] for the half-life of the Moondust to rid it entirely of my system. Damn... But obviously they didn't want me utterly wrecked for the evacuation, so I'd have to put up with it for a bit.\n\nRemi... had recovered from the initial haze of joining the Nexus, at least, by later that night. Heh, just in time for supper. Now we were spread out over two of the booths in the private lounge, with me at least nursing a very, very full belly. But it made me feel warm all over, and a little more at peace with myself again. Some foods were odd like that. Like you were feeding your [i]soul[/i] at the same time. Pizza was awesome like that. Remi and Exa snuggled against me, and I idly rested there while subtly typing away at my comm under the table now.\n\nAnnah was ecstatic to the point of being a little hysterical, immensely happy to have found me again. Lilita was more cautious, apparently concerned over Kyry's report on my health and speculation as to what I'd been through. I... had to agree with her that I was going to need therapy. It was unavoidable at this point.\n\nCollapsing the projected comm display back onto the comm itself at my wrist, I gave a little sigh, then glanced past Remi to the other booth. Mirya was playing with her comm, herself, and Vox was there talking with Xora. I'd seen her around a few times since coming here, but it was hit or miss really. She kept busy as Vox's financial arranger, running about in Nulidia dealing with issues. I don't think she ever got past seeing me as an expensive `toy' that Vox had purchased on a whim, though. Given she was really frugal, she looked down on that heavily. I guess it didn't matter that he got me for `free' anyway. Actually, I don't know if he told her that part...\n\nThis one was a rather tense conversation, however. ``Vox, this is a [i]huge[/i] amount of money... I can sample it to see if it's clean, but... [i]fuck[/i]. No bank in Nulidia is going to be able to take all this at once. It's insecure, and... questions will be asked. Like where the fuck did all this come from?!'' She gave him an exasperated stare at that, and he slowly shook his head.\n\n``I told you. It was a donation from a guest who was very, very pleased with their stay. You know I keep such things anonymous.'' Xora's eye twitched at that, and she sagged back into the booth again. Ah, those `technically true' lies. I loved those. They were the best.\n\nShe gave a stressed sigh, rubbing her temples for a moment before slowly shaking her head. ``The only thing I can think of for now is to put it in the Black Keld's vault. We'll get it sampled for counterfeits and... I guess start to slowly trickle it into your various accounts. It might take a few moons but... fuck...'' Vox grinned to her, then nodded.\n\n``I'm patient. You know this...''\n\nI relaxed back in the seat again and rested my head against Remi's. Her ears flicked lightly, and she gave a little yawn before tucking under my chin again. It was nice, just being close like this, admittedly. But... she reminded me that I needed to work on the Nexus some more. The newest experiments were in the process of getting done in the sewer lab right now, at least.\n\nYawning, I gave a stretch, then sat up again fully. Remi and Exa perked, watching curiously now, and I projected into both of their minds. ``I'm gonna go check on the research in the sewer. You two can stay up here if you want.''\n\nExa grinned. ``Ooo, I'll go too. It's been a bit since the twins got attention.'' Almost half a day! Exa's libido was kind of scary. But I mean, she was happy with it so... Okay, no, she probably needed therapy too.\n\nRemi gave a nod. ``I'll go with you. Run a peek about the sewers for any intruders, then maybe `check on' the little Cultist you acquired.'' Heh, oh boy. Still, she'd gotten the hang of mental communication really well. It would have been easier if Xora wasn't here, as she wasn't in on the bulk of our activities... Honestly, I was still shocked he even got her to accept Exa! The trick was apparently annoying the fuck out of her until she stopped asking.\n\n``Would you believe that Inaga reproduce asexually?''\n\n``My cloning experiments have recently bore success! Sort of...''\n\n``His twin sister is visiting!''\n\nAnd my favorite. ``What Inaga?'' Oh Vox...\n\nThat settled, we all made our leave, waving to the others before at least getting around the corner, so I could wrinkle us down into the sewer far below...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nI sighed as I looked over both pieces of meat. They were both corrupted. It didn't matter how fast the sample was cycled. It didn't get rid of the contagious property. Which meant... it was a part of the Nexus itself. One of its natural properties was to not ask for consent. Great... I gave an exhale before tossing the two chunks of meat into the freezer for storage. Well, there was only one other approach I had at this point. I couldn't suppress it after it was outside of me. I couldn't stop it from coming out of me. The only thing I could do now was try to change it while it was still [i]inside[/i] of me.\n\nI washed my paws, then walked over into the overflow area, looking the crates of supplies over and the cryo-tube that the Garkin was in. Hmm. Exa was hanging out with, and probably fucking the twins somewhere around here. I didn't need to check in with her over [i]that[/i], mercifully. Remi, however, was chilling in the corner, legs up rather lazily and resting right over the Jakatar's knees, using her as a sort of leg rest. The only difference was that they were both elevated using three chairs, with the Cultist sitting on one and having just the very end of her paws bracing on the other. That left no support under said knees at all, which Remi was casually leaning on and pressuring them slowly in the wrong direction.\n\nThe girl was crying now and spasming there, squirming but unable to force her body to do anything other than suffer. She gave a long whimper as I rounded the corner, and Remi perked, grinning my way with a wave of her paw. ``Hey, Exes! How goes tha experiments?''\n\n``Poorly. Worst case scenario at this point. I'll be trying to change it inside of me...'' Remi winced at that as I walked up on the two of them, then lifted an eyebrow to her. ``Uh, you know I can just pull the memories right out of her head, right?''\n\nRemi pouted. ``O' [i]course[/i], but where's tha fun in that? Didn't even ask `er anything yet. Ah tend ta take... offence ta people tryin' ta kill me an' mah friends...''\n\nI waved her backwards, and she pouted again before withdrawing her legs from the girl's. I moved the chair back and let her legs fall to the floor again, her knees slowly hissing as they regenerated now. She shuddered, cheeks stained with tears as she looked up at me. ``T-Thank you! I don't... I don't even know who you people are!'' Yup! About the only thing she'd managed to tell me so far was that the Cult kept itself segmented into various sects, each encapsulated with need-to-know information only. Because of course they did.\n\nLazily, I moved my lower right paw up and just kicked her chair over backwards. She gave a sharp yelp of surprise, then winced as she hit on her back, the chair sliding along a few centimeters under her. I hopped up onto the edge of the now raised seat, between her knees hanging there, and plopped my lower paws down on her stomach, watching her curiously from above now.\n\n``My name's Exes. Your Cult of the Shattering kidnapped me almost a year ago. Things got kinda fucked up, and it really wasn't a good time. Your name is Zyka. You're a bottom-rung member of the Cult who was barely taught the most basic of parlor tricks, then tasked to oversee this experiment with the Garkin for your direct supervisor. A babysitting mission, you thought, until we came along and fucked everything out from under you. Sound accurate?'' My tail swayed lightly behind me, and her eyes widened the longer I spoke.\n\nRemi grinned as she walked up on the right side, then slowly nodded. ``Yeah, Ah mean, she went down like ah pussy. `course, she [i]is[/i] ah Jakatar. Maybe ya turned `er on an' she lost on purpose fer ah chance at yer dick?'' Zyka flushed at that, wincing before looking away from the two of us.\n\n``H-How do you know all this? Why... Why can't I move?!''\n\nI lifted an eyebrow to her at that, then tilted my head. Her eyes widened up fully as her own paw lifted up, wiggling in the air before reaching down and yanking her head back and forward to look at me again. ``Doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with your movements. Seems fine to me!'' Remi snorted, then laughed as the Jakatar started to look panicked again, staring in horror down at her own paw holding her muzzle shut.\n\nI leaned down, drawing her attention back up to me, then gave her a nod. ``Maybe the question you wanted to ask was, why doesn't your body move unless [i]I[/i] want it to? That's because I pulled you into my Nexus, and happen to not like you very much. You and your soul are mine now, and I can make you do anything I want. I [i]could[/i] just pull your entire life's memories and not need to interact with you at all. It would hurt. A [i]lot[/i]. But...''\n\nI sighed at that, then slowly shook my head. ``I don't know. Maybe I want to attempt to be a nice person still. Maybe I want you to have a chance to make up for the suffering you caused and try to redeem yourself somewhat? Maybe I just want to watch you squirm and really have time to [i]regret[/i] your poor life choices. Hard to say... Though I suppose which one of my reasons it is depends on how cooperative you are, too.''\n\nShe was crying again, but quickly nodded towards me at that. I had her paw let go of her muzzle finally. ``Y-Yes! Anything! I'll... I'll cooperate, please!'' I glanced to Remi, who nodded back at that. She was the expert at reading people, after all. She was also feeding the information to me, mentally, so I could gradually get better at reading the cues myself. For interacting with people I didn't own the soul of, that is.\n\nI looked back down at the Jakatar before slowly nodding. I stepped off the chair again instead, and Remi simply reached down and flicked it back upright, causing Zyka to wince... at least until she sagged, then widened her eyes, lifting her own paws up to look at them. ``Alright. If you can be a good girl, you can move about again. Don't bother trying to escape or use magic or any brute force True Alchemy. You'll just embarrass yourself and go back to being a puppet. That's what bad girls get.''\n\nShe rapidly shook her head, looking desperate now. ``I'll be good! P-Please...''\n\nRemi pouted, but nodded to me. ``Darn. Ah was gonna see if Ah could get her ta choke unconscious on tha twin's dicks next. Ah well. Ah suppose tha only dick she should be suckin' around `ere is yours, regardless...'' She shot me a grin, but I rolled my eye and booped her on top of the head, getting her to pout again, instead.\n\n``Behave, Remi. Anyway, I suppose this provides us with an opportunity to at least learn about the Garkin...'' I turned back to the shivering Jakatar again and gave her a nod at that. ``So, what's the experiment's purpose? What's her deal?'' I gestured behind me at that, towards the glowing tube.\n\nZyka lowered her ears again, hesitating before sighing. ``I... don't know much. They just assigned me to watch over the... the transit. Before that I was just... I was just the logistics clerk in the facility. It's run by our group.''\n\nI frowned. ``The Cult of the Shattering ran the facility that was shut down?''\n\nShe winced at that, then slowly nodded. ``We... We call ourselves the Children of the Shattering, but... y-yeah. It was a facility to research Garkin and their connection to Gar. And um, use the imbalance in their essence to try to do stuff.'' Cute. But uninformative. \n\n``Do [i]what[/i] stuff? And who is she?'' I thumbed over my shoulder again, getting another wince from Zyka.\n\n``I don't know! She... She's a custom order fourth generation. One of only three.'' That... was more informative, and significantly more disturbing. \n\nMy eye narrowed at that. ``Fourth... [i]generation[/i]? As in a reproductive generation?'' She nodded at that, and I was pretty sure my eye twitched.\n\n``Y-Yes. Breeding to... accelerate the instabilities and manipulations of their essence. Then with the growth pods the council lent us, we'd accelerate them to breeding age and harvest more eggs and sperm. She... She's only about two moons old.'' There were no words for that, and Remi looked absolutely disgusted as she stared at the now shrinking Jakatar. This was...\n\nSlowly, I rubbed at my temples again. ``How... What the [i]fuck[/i] is [i]wrong[/i] with you people?! How do you even [i]sleep[/i] at night?! Why did you join up with a group that does [i]this[/i]?!''\n\nZyka kept her eyes entirely on the ground, ears flattened back now. ``It... It's not... We're... We're going to fix everything! We're going to bring about a new age of world peace and equality! Paradise! You... You know how horrible it is in places like Nulidia! We're going to-``\n\n``You're part of how horrible it is! You don't get peace and equality by [i]torturing and murdering people[/i]! Your fucking [i]cult[/i] has been doing horrible things, and you're [i]helping[/i] them!'' My paws clenched on her robe's collar, having yanked her to me at that. She shivered, looking away and to the left as her eyes started to water again.\n\nShe didn't say anything, and I just gave a low growl and shoved her back into the chair, which almost toppled over again from her impact. ``Your [i]new world[/i] is being built on a mountain of corpses, and I'm not going to let them succeed at whatever bullshit they're aiming for. And now, you're going to help me. We're leaving Nulidia tomorrow, and you're coming with.''\n\nZyka shook there, tears sliding down her cheeks before slowly shaking her head. ``I... My paws might be covered in filth, but... If that's what it takes to let the next generation live in paradise, then... I'm fine standing judged! M-My family in the Great Beyond will be [i]proud[/i] of me!'' Wow.\n\nRemi looked down for a moment next to her, expression darkening, before a grin shifted slowly onto her muzzle. ``Heh. Ya'll never find out, Cunt. Yer [i]soul[/i] belongs ta Exes now, like he said. Ya don't [i]got[/i] an afterlife.'' Zyka's eyes widened at that and she froze, shakily looking over at Remi, who smirked up at her. ``Ah'm proud ta be with Exes. But yer just ah worthless piece o' shit. Yer never gonna see yer family again, or tha paradise ya so desperately want. Even better, yer `Children of the Shattering' were tha ones who forced Exes ta have this... power. Ah hope ya enjoy wallowing in yer filth...''\n\nThe Jakatar sagged, shuddering at that, and Remi just turned and walked away, following me instead. I relaxed, then smiled to her before sliding my arm around her side as she slipped up next to me. Remi was... Remi. Instead, we headed over to check on the Garkin. Two moons old... Had... she even ever opened her eyes? Had she ever woken up? I shuddered, muzzle curling lightly as I did.\n\nI had tortured and murdered too. But I never, ever thought I was bringing about world peace. I doubted such a thing was even possible, unless everybody was dead. Corpses were remarkably nonviolent. Usually. No... If anything, I just wanted to see a world free of [i]them[/i]. Free of the people who hurt and abused others for their own gain. My paw touched the chilled crystal of the Garkin's tube, and I sighed. No, I [i]would[/i] see this Cult destroyed. That much, I vowed to myself.\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nWe were all packed and ready to go in the sewer level. The Garkin's container was put back together and refueled. It would last over two weeks on internal supply alone, which I felt comfortable with. The twins were making sure all the supplies were accounted for and packing the Demon relics. Minus the dagger I couldn't identify. That Remi had kept. She had closed off the overflow chamber again after I'd used True Alchemy to slice the wagons up into little shards. She vented it after it was sealed. The bits and pieces would probably end up somewhere in the river valley further east of Nulidia. The city didn't have a purification system, disgustingly enough. But I guess that worked out to our benefit here. Nobody would find the wagons.\n\nI was tired by then, and just retreated inside of us for now, with Exa taking over. I rested on the bed inside the storage room, idly pondering if I should try restructuring the palace again now that things were getting repaired. I... was a lot more comfortable manipulating, well, everything inside of this... realm, I guess you could call it. My soulscape. I guess being perfectly morphic was a good quality to have. Pity the price had come with the loss of everything I'd ever held as sacred to myself.\n\nMy eyes closed and I felt out the area around me. My own soul. Shared with the Keyhole entity. I'd run a few names past it, feeling out trying to call it something different but it just laughed. There was a distinct sensation afterwards of `pointless' and `unnecessary'. I took that as it not wanting to be named. Still, I kind of wished it had other ways to communicate with me other than invoking bleak emotions over the whole of my soul. It kind of felt like trying to talk to a three-year-old whose sole learned method of talking was various ways to punch someone in the face. Like other three-year-olds I happened to know.\n\nSighing, I sorted through myself, feeling the entity, my own soul, and all the layers within. There was that pervasive, creeping sensation through the entire mix, though. That... corruption that infested every centimeter of my soul now. I could feel it distinctly as a part of myself. It was [i]my[/i] corruption now. My own [i]Nexus[/i]. I felt deeper, sorting out the sensations that were mixed up in it. Earlier, even...\n\nMy eyes opened at that, then widened. Earlier... I'd infected Remi with my saliva. I'd felt... There was actual physical pleasure in doing so. It had even overwritten that ugly sensation of the... incident prior to that. It... My body was almost getting high off the sensation of releasing the wavelength into her. I... remembered that now. Why had it...?\n\nI felt deeper yet, closing my eyes again and forcing all the other sensations away. Those urges. They were sunk into that freezing, wet, and sticky mess that was everywhere in me now. I went past it instead, not shying away as I pushed into the wet ooze and drove downwards. It was... me. I wasn't afraid of myself. And if I was disgusting and corrupt, then that was me too.\n\nThere was... nothing. I sunk right into the frozen core, pulsing with power and energy. My core. It mixed with mana, vita, and aether now. Everything that was my soul. The more I searched, the less I found, until the eldritch unknown slowly melted away, revealing... just me. My fears and concerns. I didn't... I didn't want to be vulnerable. I didn't want to be alone. Remi had said it was... okay. She wanted to be marked by me. Infected. She wanted to be a part of the Nexus.\n\nShe gave me permission, and my deepest, darkest urges took that. I... had wanted to infect her. I didn't want to be alone, and she... wanted to be here with me. Metal bones burned with energy, even as the tentacles writhed over them, and now a thick, webbed mesh of frozen sinew stretched over my limbs. I was... a monster. I acknowledged that. They'd changed me into what they wanted me to be but then... they'd lost control.\n\nBut the Nexus inside of me was me. I held... the power all along. And along with having this power... this strength and ability... came more [i]responsibility[/i] to use it with care. My eyes opened again. Why had I never even... considered it? As pervasive as the infection was in my soul, I never even considered that this `Nexus' wasn't a... layer in me. It wasn't an object in my soulscape. They'd turned my [i]soul[/i] into the Nexus. An interconnected web that gathered other souls to it. [i]I[/i] was the Nexus!\n\nI felt the energy wavelength inside of myself. It was everywhere in my soul, but it only [i]leaked out[/i] specifically inside of me. I... just pulled it back, and out of my fluids again. I pulled it back inside of my soul instead, and told my body to leave it like that. Just like that, I felt it retreat again, and the flow turned off like someone turning off a water tap. It was... me.\n\nI relaxed on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling of the room. I'd have to do more tests after this just to make sure, but... The solution was so simple. So obvious and personal, that I'd completely overlooked it. That was... humbling, but I felt guilty at the same time. My saliva had [i]become[/i] infectious, because I had wanted to infect Remi. She'd been [i]begging[/i] for it, and... I did it. I may as well have done so intentionally. I basically did.\n\nBut Remi wasn't in her right mind. I don't think she knows what she wants at any given moment. To trust someone like that with such a massive choice that could have [i]permanent[/i] consequences was... foolish to even think about. But I'd taken advantage of her and done it anyway. I sighed, paws clenching against my sheets. I was just as fucked up as she was. I'd... not been thinking clearly or logically for a long while, either. The paranoia and spite had consumed me. It... was the only thing stopping me from instead thinking about everything that's happened and despairing. I'd been hiding behind my own anger for a while now. How long could I really keep it up?\n\nAnother exhale, and my paws slacked again, tears sliding down my cheeks. I longed for the tribal days again when nothing mattered and my only thing to complain about was having too much homework and a fucked-up leg. Ogling girls from afar, then listening to the saucy stories Exir would tell me. That... That sounded like `paradise' to me now.\n\nBut that was gone forever. I could never go back to that no matter how much I wanted to. They were just memories now. Those places only existed in my mind, and life had moved on. That was the most painful part; knowing that there was no hope of ever being there again. People moved on. Sometimes they died. And now I was an abomination in the depths of Nulidia, literally stealing people's souls.\n\nTurning, I just curled up on myself and pushed my face to my knees. My breath was shaky as I let the tears slide down my cheeks and muzzle, and onto the mattress. It... All I could do was let it pour out of me, curling my tail up to protect me. To hide me from sight. I just lay there in a ball, crying now and surrounded by frozen statues, made of light and entangled in tendrils...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nSleep was shallow and fleeting. A flurry of ins and outs, and restlessly staring at nothing in-between. I'd just let Exa stay in control for the rest of the night. At least until Remi started getting concerned and asking for me the next morning. I probably looked like I'd had too much to drink the night before as I lurched out into our body again, almost falling off the medical bed.\n\nRemi was concerned of course, but I showed her instead. It was easy enough to grab a piece of meat from the kitchen again, with a simple little wrinkle, then poke my finger with my own claw, letting a drop of blood fall onto it in front of her. My finger hissed as I rubbed it, sealing up almost as fast as I'd poked a hole in it, and Remi and Exa both widened their eyes as the drop of blood just sat on the surface of the chunk laying on the floor.\n\n``You... You fixed it?'' Exa tilted her head, then they both looked up to me again instead.\n\nI nodded, staring down at the unaltered slab of meat on the floor. ``Yeah. I figured out how to just... turn it off. Nobody is contagious now...''\n\n``Nobody...? Tha twins and Ah aren't...? Or Ah guess tha cunt in tha sewer...'' I nodded.\n\n``We should test it, but yeah. It should have affected everyone at once.'' I'd [i]felt[/i] that it had. I could... control who was infectious and who wasn't. I'd pulled it back from everyone. Even Atir and Callia.\n\nExa smiled at that, but Remi frowned, still looking to me. I sighed inwardly, then shook my head. ``I'm sorry, Remi. For infecting you. I... My saliva became infectious because I [i]wanted[/i] it to. Because I... wanted to infect you. You'd asked specifically, and given me permission. And the childish monster that I am sometimes was... gleeful. Now I... know that. On a subconscious level, I infected you intentionally.''\n\nHer eyes were wide at that, searching my expression, but I just sat there feeling empty now. I'd betrayed her trust in me and hurt her after all. I'd taken her soul. Maybe permanently. I didn't know. That would be what I'd test next. Could I undo the Nexus taking someone?\n\nSlowly, she relaxed again however, then gave a softer smile. ``It's... fine, Exes. Ah know that sounds... grossly oversimplified, but... Ah really did want ya to. Ah'd been... playin' with tha idea ever since ya told me about tha power.'' Eh?\n\nShe gave a chuckle and nodded, crossing her legs as she sat down next to me. ``Ah like runnin' away. Ya already knew that. Ah'm impulsive an' often selfish. Ah'm afraid o' people an' their power over me. But like Ah said, ya... make me feel safe. Like nobody ever has. An' now Ah know... yer fer real.'' Right, she'd said that. She gave another nod, then smiled softly. ``Ah... Ah thought about usin' ya, though. Ever since ya told me. Usin' ya ta run away again. Tha ultimate runnin' away. Ferever.''\n\nI frowned. Running away? ``What do you mean? How can I help you do that...?''\n\nShe flushed lightly, then chuckled. ``Ya already have. Ah... escaped responsibility fer mahself yet again. In ah way, Ah don't have ta make choices about things. Ah belong ta you, instead. Ah can just follow ya around an' not worry about things. Ya think it's... takin' mah soul. Enslavin' me. But... no. In ah way, it's tha ultimate freedom.''\n\nI exhaled at that. The logic was... twisted. But I could understand her, still. ``You're putting... You [i]put[/i] a lot of faith in me, Remi...''\n\nShe giggled, then nodded. ``Ah did. Impulsive, remember? Though... Ah think, fer tha first time, Ah don't regret mah decision. Now Ah know yer legit, an' it was tha right choice. Kinda instantaneous validation there...''\n\nI snorted at that, then chuckled. ``Lucky you. Normally you don't find out that you fucked yourself over for quite a while...'' She grinned at that, then nodded. Exa huffed though.\n\n``You two could both have instantaneous `validation' if you just eased into fucking each other, finally. Sheesh. It's extremely therapeutic!'' She crossed her arms and pouted at that, and I rolled my eye.\n\nRemi just shrugged, though. ``Eventually, yeah. Ah plan on slowly progressin' that direction. Heh, maybe Ah'll even retire one day an' finally give Sis what she's prodding meh fer. An' give Exes some pups!'' I flushed at that and huffed, now feeling teased more than anything. It had been... a while since I'd thought about anything of the sort in a [i]positive[/i] light, that was for sure. But they were at least keeping it really lighthearted, as they both grinned towards me. But... that felt the safest to me. Unlike my little sister, I preferred to carefully ease myself into really warm or really cold water...\n\nRemi settled against me with that, and I sighed, nodding slowly. Well, at least I felt better about getting that much off my chest. Exa slowly rubbed her back at that, and the three of us relaxed a little again... at least until the door of the medical ward opened up suddenly. We perked, looking over as Vox entered instead, interestingly enough.\n\n``Ah, you three [i]are[/i] up and about! Good. Actually, I came to talk to Remi specifically, but I don't see why Exes, slash Exa, couldn't come too.'' I gave him a skeptical stare at his name usage, but Remi perked and sat up fully again, resting against my thigh.\n\n``Oh? What's up? Need ah security detail?''\n\nVox shook his head, however. ``No, nothing drastic like that. Well, I'll be taking a couple additional guards. Xora just finished some sampling of the funds, and I'll be bringing the first batch to the upper bank first. I was hoping you'd come along too, Remi, to sign off the security deposit we had officially created, so I could add to it.'' I... was totally lost.\n\nShe perked at that, then slowly nodded. ``Ah totally fergot that stupid thing had mah essence signature on it. Why are ya addin' ta that, though? Ain't tha insurance on this place already satisfied...?'' I tried following along. Insurance was... something that paid for things that got broken, right?\n\nVox chuckled, but nodded. ``Oh, yeah, it's fine. Xora's just [i]immensely[/i] paranoid, and thinks it would look less suspicious if I split the funds up a bit and sunk it into some of the sub-accounts. Though I figured we could maybe shop at the upper stores a bit afterwards, and get you and Exes something. It still feels like... This is way too much money...'' I snickered at that, and he pouted at me.\n\nRemi gave a slow shrug at that, but then hopped off the bed. ``Not like Ah need anything, really. But thanks fer tha offer, Voxxy. Ah'll go with, anyway.''\n\nI exhaled at that, then slowly nodded. They'd told me to just lay low and act like nothing was different so... why not? ``Alright. I'll probably just sit around and brood otherwise, so I'll go too...'' My mom had always sworn by that `fresh air' thing. I had never asked, but I assumed she'd been alluding to exercise outdoors. Might as well follow her wisdom...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nAt least it was a nice day out. The top layer was actually elevated quite a distance off the steppes and mountain slope around the city. The edges dropped off abruptly into the large `wall' of the city, with only the most modest of railings to prevent a good ten story drop. Rather than put funds into the security of the railing and edge, I'd heard the council instead just invested more in body cleanup for the sweeping slums around the walls.\n\nNotedly, the good weather wasn't really helping my mood much. I walked along next to Remi now, with both of us trailing behind Vox and Xora. Vox had a briefcase cuffed to his wrist, presumably with the funds in it, and we were almost to the bank now. This was the most `reputable' one in the city, and apparently managed most of the legitimate businesses therein. Of course, it also managed a lot of illegitimate ones too. I didn't quite know in which gray area the Black Keld sat in.\n\nThe inside of the bank was unsurprisingly very nice. They had an air ventilation system that kept it nice and cool. There was a nice carpet laid down, and individual rooms for clients to meet with the bank representatives and managers. The waiting room in the front was also pleasant, with the entire front wall being glass windows, letting in an impressive amount of light.\n\nI chilled there for a while with the guards, staring at my comm while waiting for the three of them to conclude business with the bank. Kyry had sent me a message just a few minutes ago, but I... lingered in putting it away. Apparently, the train had arrived a couple hours ago, and the hover wagons were already outside the slums now, with the guards gearing up and preparing to move into the city, en-masse. She predicted a couple hours, now. Would probably cause quite the stir when they did, though they were probably already visible and causing the council to flail.\n\nNow, my eye lingered over all the contacts in it, and my paws tensed. Mom must have a comm unit now. I stared at her name for a long moment, before realizing [i]everyone[/i] was in it. Exia, Kada, and Yimir. Exir and Niva. Mari? Wasn't that Remi's sister's name? Aliris? I... didn't know who that was. Every single Realmsguard contact too, in their own subfolder. I only knew a [i]few[/i] of those.\n\nSo many people I could just tap and immediately talk to. ...and so many that I was [i]terrified[/i] of talking to again. It was like I was... filthy now. There was no way their memory of me would line up with what I was now. I was... embarrassed of myself. I sighed, idly scrolling through the names again. Kada... He was okay then. Whatever the Cult had done to him... It didn't hurt him. I was glad. I'd... not thought about that in a long time now. At some point... while I was deep underground and losing myself, I'd just come to terms with the fact that I'd probably never find out if he was okay or not.\n\nI turned the comm off and slid it back onto my wrist again. Tch. Maybe I'd see them all in even a few days. I'd... It would be awkward as [i]fuck[/i] for a while, I imagined. But I'd live. Maybe... things would reach some semblance of how they used to be. I doubted they'd ever be the [i]same[/i] again, but... My ears perked up, and I looked to the right as Vox, Xora, and Remi came out of the side room again, this time without the briefcase. Ah. They must have been done then. Good... If they'd taken any longer, I'd probably have been sobbing like a little kit...\n\nRemi slipped up and nuzzled me on the cheek as I stood, and I scrunched my own muzzle in return. ``Yer broodin' again. Relax, X.'' Soon, I wouldn't need the stupid moniker, either.\n\nVox sighed as he looked to me, then slowly nodded. ``I think some shopping, and food, will cheer us all up. Which do you guys wanna do first?'' My mind drifted back to the message. Two hours or so... That didn't leave us with a lot of time.\n\nXora looked up from her notepad, then gave a sigh and reluctant nod. ``Admittedly, I wouldn't mind a bit of shopping. I heard they released the new and heavily upgraded Chronicles of Na'ard.'' My ears shot up at that, with my focus immediately on her, and she perked, then smirked down to me. ``Oh, you've heard of it?''\n\nI nodded at that. ``Ah, yeah. It's one of my favorite PEC games...'' My tail swayed behind me, and she grinned, giving me the thumbs up.\n\n``You've got good taste! The PEC is the way of the future, honestly. They recently got a huge influx in popularity and business, and their first release is aimed at Chronicles of Na'ard. The `Grandmaster's Favorite', they claim. Heh...'' Oh... right. I'd given them that massive review on it in particular...\n\nRemi snorted, then laughed at that. ``Wow, didn't know tha Grandmaster was such ah [i]massive dork[/i].'' Xora and I both managed to glare at her with that one, but she shot me a wink.\n\nI flushed. ``I [i]know[/i] that one was aimed at me, brat... You're playing it now too, though!'' Aimed at me for multiple reasons...\n\nShe grinned, then held her paws up. ``Ah'm ah hostage! Ah swear! Ya force me ta play it!''\n\nXora rolled her eyes at that. ``Remi playing the PEC. Now this I'd pay to see... Well, I suppose it's time better spent than drinking for free at the bar and mauling our patrons.'' Uh...\n\nRemi immediately gave her a defensive growl at that. ``It was [i]one[/i] patron! An' he got pawsy with mah butt!'' Ah, that would do it.\n\nVox held his paw up, however. ``It was in the past and forgiven. Let's just focus on doing some shopping, okay, guys?'' Remi huffed, but nodded, relenting even as Xora held her paws up in assurance. I had the sneaking suspicion those two didn't always see eye to eye.\n\nI kind of wanted to melt when we exited into the hot air again. Remi walked right alongside me, holding my paw, and gave it a little squeeze, flushing now a little. Heh, she'd mentioned that it felt... naughty somehow to be holding my paw in public. Her profession didn't leave her very accustomed to public displays of affection, it would seem. Our guards formed around us as we did, and Vox and Xora paused just outside of the bank.\n\nVox gave a nod afterwards. ``Alright, I think we'll hit up the clothes first. Thanks to Mirya, I need a new tie and dress shirt. Then we can hit up entertainment...'' Did I even want to know...? Xora looked just as disturbed for a moment, until her comm went off suddenly.\n\nShe frowned, looking at it, then sighed. ``Of course. I left one of the receipts inside. I'll be right back...'' She shook her head, but Vox nodded to her, then stepped aside as she headed back inside the bank. Receipts? They wrote those for deposits? Well, no, I guess that made sense. Proof that you put stuff in, if there was a problem later.\n\nRemi, unfortunately, was curious. ``How... exactly did Mirya destroy yer dress shirt an' tie?'' Vox turned a little pink, which was really [i]all[/i] I needed to know on the topic! Seriously.\n\nMy inner mana [i]writhed[/i] suddenly, and my eyes widened. Remi's were already wide open entirely, with her head whipping to the left a split second later. I was already facing that way, as I threw `Accelerate' into myself to slow down things as fast as I could! There was... It looked like there was a second sun expanding outwards and towards us, coming from the side of the Demon tower!\n\nMy breath caught. It was an incoming [i]wall[/i] of energy and fire, almost six meters across! There was... Aether energy mixed in with it?! Remi had turned and dove towards Vox and I, but it was coming in way too fast. The street was... There were people all around us, walking and minding their own business!\n\nIt was a split-second choice, as I unsealed my Keyhole, flaring with azure light. My arms extended to both sides of me, and I just radiated it outwards as hard as I could! One [i]giant[/i] wrinkle, grabbing everything organic. I shunted everyone on the street as far to the left as I could, all at once! The distortion was intense, and I gasped for air as it felt like everything sucked inwards... and then we all fell sideways, people yelping and shouting in shock as we were dumped almost twenty meters away, onto the other sidewalk.\n\nIt was only briefly, as the explosion sent me hurling sideways into the building next to us. I shattered through the window, feeling glass dig into me and metal lining snap against my back. People flew all around me, including our guards, and Remi slowly rotated in the air, landing into a skid, on her paws, even as I crashed into a board game display, back first!\n\nEverything went black for a moment, then hazy as I groaned. Pain signals were flaring up all over my body, and I managed to open my eye again just in time to see a [i]massive[/i] shape crash into the broken, melting remains of the street outside! It was huge and black, and let out a massive roar that vibrated the metal and glass shards around me on the tiles. Fuck... That was...\n\nHe was large enough for even my blurry vision to pick up properly, as he stormed towards the shop. Ignaus. It was... Ignaus, in his full-size, feral form. I didn't even register in his vision, with all his seething rage aimed right at Vox instead, who was just now struggling to move to a crawling position a few meters away from me. He looked dazed and scratched up, but one of his guards had apparently grabbed him mid-wrinkle shift, and cushioned the impact of the explosion. Vox was laying almost on top of him now.\n\n``Give her back, fucker!'' Gone was Ignaus' polite, calm tone. He screamed it out in rage, lashing down and grabbing Vox right off the guard, and tearing him back out through the front of the store as he screamed in pain. Fuck! No, this wasn't...\n\nRemi winced, managing to struggle to her paws with that, then reached to her back and drew that Demonic dagger in her right paw, point down. Ignaus didn't even look her way, instead holding Vox up and glaring at him in his claw... briefly. There was a shadowy distortion a moment later, with Kyry just gently falling out of the air, past his arm. There was a flicker as she did, and I saw two dagger hilts suddenly stabbing out of his forearm, and Ignaus screamed in pain, entire arm jerking. Kyry snatched Vox out of his grip, as it failed entirely, and landed gently with him before flicking away again. She... really had tailed me!\n\n``You fucking cunt!'' Ignaus tore the daggers out of his arm, that claw hanging limply now. Kyry had sliced right into the controlling nerves of his arm! He stood fully again, easily the size of the entire front of the building, even as Remi hopped forward and burst into a leap herself!\n\nShe was definitely reeling from the explosion still, steam sizzling off wounds on her as she jumped. I doubt he would have been able to even see her coming if she hadn't been injured. He managed just enough reaction to slightly turn his head out of the way, as a long, hot line slashed his cheek and missed his left eye by centimeters. Another scream of pain mixed with rage, and he stumbled, then lashed out at where Remi had landed! No!\n\nShe wasn't there, though, and he just cratered his still functioning claw into the dirt and stone. Remi landed on his arm, then hopped up it, with him just barely moving his head out of the way to avoid another cut, taking it to the jaw instead! He just started to snarl again when Kyry came out of nowhere, snapping out of shadows mid-dash this time, then leapt faster than I could even see! By the time I looked up to his head again, she'd already spun to the side in midair and drove a third dagger right into his left eye!\n\nIgnaus screamed again, this time with heat flaring out of his open mouth. I could [i]see[/i] the Aether energy building up, and he snapped it forward, releasing another blast of heat and flames, this time into the air to try to hit Kyry! But it was like he was standing still. She was already gone, landing behind him into a spin and drawing another one of her daggers. Remi was on the other side, and they both dove forward again, at the same time...\n\nThey were... untouchable practically. Both of them were a blur, with Ignaus barely managing to avoid lethal strikes as they danced around him, leaving cuts and scratches all over! I noticed... they were slowly backing him away from the store, each attack causing him to wince or flinch further back and away from where I was, and where I'd dumped all the other now injured civilians... Further... I also noticed that every scratch that Remi was doing to the large Gar was... bleeding a [i]lot[/i]. They even seemed to be [i]widening[/i] over time, somewhat... What...? The dagger?\n\nFuck... this was... I had to[i] do[/i] something! I don't know how he'd found out, but he [i]knew[/i] that we'd hit his caravan! That was the only reason he was... I tried to focus, feeling dizzy. Fuck... I couldn't sit upright. My right arm was numb and unresponsive. I couldn't feel my left leg either... I struggled, but the shelf behind me felt heavy for some reason. It was... My eye shifted to the right, and then widened as I realized a busted metal bar from the shelf was [i]through[/i] my shoulder! Blood oozed down my side, and my right arm was very obviously broken and twisted sideways. There was a metal piece of the window sticking up through my left leg, too, with blood starting to form under where I lay... Fuck, this was bad.\n\nIt was hard to focus, even as my body hissed furiously trying to heal my wounds. Magic... I needed to try to stabilize myself but... Exa was panicking inside of us, trying to push against me and... keep me awake. Right, this was...\n\nXora was screaming something from the broken remains of the bank across the street. ``...said you wouldn't kill him!''\n\n``Shut up, cunt! You did your part!'' Ignaus screamed her way, flaring with more flames and blasting to the side, even as Kyry easily stepped away from the shot, luring him to fire off the edge of the city instead, I realized. Xora... Xora, she... The money. She knew about... Fuck! She sold us out!\n\nMy eye rolled in my head as I tried to grab at the metal pole, but it was slick with blood, and my left paw fell off it. Fuck, fuck, fuck! This wasn't... Xora had to retreat back into the bank as Ignaus suddenly flared with energy, somehow releasing flames from all over himself instead! I could feel the sudden heat from here, even! Remi landed, sizzling, behind him now, and Kyry was forced to hop backwards, switching to her crossbow as she grit her teeth. The flames coiled off the giant Gar, wrapping him like a blanket as he snarled, then turned towards Remi instead! No! Fuck, no!\n\nRemi's eyes widened as she dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a fast and small breath shot he released. He fired again as she came out of the roll, and she barely jumped backwards, the small explosion sending her flying as she let out a pained squeak. I clawed at the metal bar, teeth gritting furiously now! No, he was going to kill her!\n\nKyry shot at his back and neck furiously with bolts, but they burned up or plinked off his armor rather meaninglessly, and he advanced only on Remi, clearly realizing she was injured. Fuck, there wasn't... My eyes widened. There was... I didn't know what it would do, but there wasn't any other choice! There... I couldn't let Remi die! My paw touched my own chest, and I pushed the words into myself, through the Keyhole. Reset. Return to a base state. All of myself...\n\nThere was a heavy pulse that shot through me like a bolt of lightning! Everything seemed to freeze and distort, the air itself warping away from me as my chest caved backwards away from my paw. It... felt like I was putty suddenly, bending and melting about. I screamed, feeling like my soul was twisting instead, a split second later! My right arm spasmed, with dark pulses of raw Aether coming off it now. Black and purple, radiant flames, like what it looked like before exposure to Aion. The arm twisted and snapped with wet crunching noises as it moved back into place, and my entire chest spasmed. Bits of rock started drifting into the air around me, and I suddenly gasped, my breath getting sucked out. Her... song. I heard it all around me, just like the first time... Something was... Why now? Why that song?!\n\nIt echoed through my skull, my blood drifting into the air around me, then slowly sucking back into my body in long, wet ribbons. I stood at that, shaking now as I stepped forward, snapping my right arm out of its socket and intentionally pulling myself off the metal pole, drawing it back out behind me before I fell forward and onto my knees, shuddering there as my paws gripped at the broken ground in front of me! My blood crawled along the ground after me in thick streams, sucking into open wounds that boiled with black light. The stone under me warped and melted, and I shivered, hearing her song crest and slide around in my mind. This wasn't... like the first time. There was... There was something else... I felt it. The song opened things. Opened our reality to let even more Aether in. Now, it felt like it was opening [i]me[/i]!\n\nMy body ached. It wasn't pain. I couldn't feel pain. This was something inside, writhing and spasming now. Reset. It was returning me to a base state that I'd never been at in the first place. I'd [i]always[/i] been broken. My arms shook and spasmed. Remi managed to dodge another shot, but got blown sideways into the edge of the bank. Her scream... Kyry folded her crossbow up behind him, then grit her teeth as her left arm reached around and pulled a Jakatar blade and sheath around from tucked against her back, shifting it into a waist-mounted position instead. But... she hesitated. [i]Faster[/i]! I needed to help!\n\nMy arms split in spots, flesh breaking then warping together in ribbons of black light, hissing with steam over and over again. Muscle poured out of nowhere, from outside Aion, and sunk deep into my flesh. I grew larger, back cracking and breaking, then sealing together again as my entire body spasmed there! My arms were... They were three times the width they had been, and I felt my chest pouring out of me, spilling forward and widening, even as I watched my fur shift back to normal colors right before my eyes. More hisses, the air wavering with heat around me, and the bandage on my right side [i]burned[/i] away, my other eye opening and seeing again immediately. Tattered bits of my clothing drifted around me with the floating debris, having torn apart as I spilled out of them, leaving only my stretchy loincloth in place now. Fuck! There was...\n\nMy eyes widened as I watched him pick Remi up, removing the flames only from his right, still functioning arm. She struggled in his claw, steam rolling off her body from dozens of wounds and burns on her now. No... he... Remi was my mate. [i]My[/i] mate. He wasn't... It wasn't his [i]place[/i] to touch her! It was... beyond anything I'd ever felt before. A red hot, seething [i]hatred[/i] that boiled up from my chest and into my skull. I panted and shook there for a second, saliva suddenly dripping from my muzzle as all I could see was Ignaus, standing there and holding my mate.\n\nI stood then, easily now as the Keyhole flared on my chest, and both eyes blazed with light. No. This was wrong. This offended every fiber of my being and made me want to [i]break[/i] him. Slowly. There was suddenly nothing else in the entire world, and crystal clarity washed through my mind. Single in purpose, I just stepped forward, right into the wrinkle, eyes suddenly letting me entirely ignore the disorientation.\n\nI landed on his arm, into a crouch. His eyes started to widen, but my right paw had already swung downwards, flared with a distorted black light. [i]Sever[/i], fucker! My paw smashed into his wrist, claws digging in and radiating with the power of my word. A pulse, and I spun, tearing through scale, muscle, and bone before diving to the side as the energy I released exploded! Remi squeaked in surprise, but I caught her out of midair and landed gently on the broken stone street, carrying her in both arms now. Ignaus' right claw landed next to us with a heavy thud, red hot and glowing blood like fire spurting out of it, even as the giant Gar screamed in hysterical rage!\n\nRemi looked up at me in shock, but I'd already stepped forward and out of reality again, now next to a surprised looking Kyry, as I set Remi down. Safe. She was... safe. It didn't help. That seething rage boiling through me wasn't satisfied. No, I was going to [i]end[/i] Ignaus. I could feel the disgust [i]beating[/i] through my veins as I turned, glaring at the Gar as he stumbled forward, rolling now and partly falling to his side as he burned his stump shut, teeth clenched into a growl.\n\nHis own hatred showed through as he swung around to look at me instead. Just me. Just like I wanted. Flames danced around him again as he pulled up that fire armor technique once more, but I didn't care, slowly walking towards him instead. The Gar's own blood sizzled on my right arm, black lines of Aether energy drawing it into my body too as my muscles tightened and hardened. I pulled [i]everything[/i] in, Nexus eating it for energy and mass, and adding it to my own.\n\nHis eyes narrowed, one useless and oozing blood. The cuts Remi had made were blackened now, scales cracking away from them as it spread wider, pouring his burning blood out of him. ``You... [i]You[/i]! You fucking... [i]This[/i] is how you repay me?! I'll fucking destroy you!'' So he [i]had[/i] seen me on the street, before I reset myself. Good. He'd know who sent him into the next life, then. He pulled his head back, mouth opening again and flaring with heat. Aether energy. He was generating it from inside of him, and using it to cause a brute force True Alchemy reaction, generating heat and light in a beam attack from his mouth. It was released as a wave of unstable energy, with the intent to burn and explode on contact. Right. Gar had `breath weapons' they could use. Even seething with hatred, everything was... Everything moved slowly still, and my eyes picked up every little detail.\n\n``Exes!'' I heard Remi shout from behind me, but it was distant. No, I was in front of her now. She was safe. And Ignaus was going to die. I momentarily lost sight of his head entirely through the flare of heat and energy, and then he snapped it downwards and fired that wave of flames right at me, at point blank range.\n\nNo. He had hurt my mate. He had [i]touched[/i] her, and every fiber of my being felt violated by that. I [i]hated[/i] him, and now, he was dead. I screamed out a roar, flinging my arms out as my chest pulsed with energy. It was mine. Everything around me was [i]mine[/i], and I took what Ignaus had, too! The air bled darkness in front of me, and the flames crushed inwards into the scream. A molten rush, wrinkling and distorting as everything collapsed into a single point at the very tip of my tongue. More and more flames smashed at me, only to be sucked into my open maw of darkness, crackling heat and light dancing in front of my eyes!\n\nIgnaus snapped his head back again, coughing as smoke exited his muzzle, only to see the last of his own fire pull into my mouth. The black Aether energy slopped like saliva from my maw, and that little pinpoint of hot white energy dancing on my tongue. I toyed with it for a moment, feeling its weight and sheer [i]power[/i], before grinning with the light shining through my teeth, as I dropped down onto all fours with a feral shiver. Wrinkle Singularity, Explode.\n\nIt wasn't enough. I kept the force on it, crushing it down using my wrinkle in reality. It flared and struggled, but I held it there in my muzzle. It was [i]mine[/i]. It didn't dare disobey me now. Explode! Every use of the word magnified the power of the angry dot of energy. More heat and light, and another spill of black, glowing energy from my mouth, this time accompanied by an arc of hot lightning, melting the street to my left to slag. I was going to end him. Completely.\n\nHis one eye widened towards me, concern showing through for the first time as I fell down, crouching there on all fours as my mouth opened again. ``You... You're nothing! I'm destined to be a God! The father of the true race of Aion!'' Funny that he was backing up while he said it. Explode! More heat, the light burning off the rippling air around me, and her song becoming audible in the air as a series of white static pops and crackles. It was mania, in my head, feeding my emotions with hers, through the song, until it was a fervor. More! More, more, more! Explode, Explode, Explode! My snarling laughter came out now, arcs of flame burning the street in front of me to ash as the Aether pooled under me, sizzling and flaring up in little scintillating purple and pink flames. Reality itself was sobbing, laughing, and singing along, and I opened my muzzle wide, aiming it right at the giant Gar's chest as he stumbled backwards, wings of energy opening again as he took to the air. No, he wasn't escaping me. He wasn't anything, anymore!\n\nExplode! It flared, and I simply released one little pinprick of the wrinkle, facing him. Ignaus' own energy, magnified a thousand times over and very eager to be free, was fired back at him from the center of my roar. For a very brief moment, a brilliant white line, brighter than the sun itself, extended from my open maw and right into the Gar's chest. Just half a meter up and to the right of center. My roar echoed like a terrible, final thunderclap, and the force of the shot pushed my head up and to the right a split second later! I spit the rest of the energy out as it faltered away, leaving a white-hot line going from where it had impacted, all the way off Ignaus' right shoulder. It warbled as it hung in the air, writhing there as a thin, hairline slice, radiating the fury of a star. The clouds off in the distance parted in a line, the sky blackening momentarily in the flash of light from the energy. For a second, everything was absolutely still and silent, as Aion itself seemed to falter under the energy released.\n\nThen the air exploded, with the shockwave blasting out faster than sound could keep up in a thunderous detonation. Ignaus was blown in half in an instant. Parts of his chest fell away into molten heat, before it collapsed against itself and exploded in a bloom of fire. His upper body was torn sideways, then ripped free of his back legs in a spray of flames and gore, with intestines splattering out and bits of his lung landing next to him where he crashed, on fire, against the blown-out gaming shop.\n\nThe line continued, scraping along the edge of the huge central tower, leaving a trail of explosions that sent bits of the Demonic spire cascading into the air amidst the blaze... then another explosion, completely unheard for several seconds, along the distant mountains behind that. I saw the shockwave of the impact expanding out over the tundra, approaching the city, and parts of the mountain peak start to collapse downwards in a huge slide of rock and molten debris. Ignaus stared at me in shock, even as the air sizzled from the blast, and people ran screaming in every direction, not knowing how to escape.\n\nHis only eye looked over to the left, at the burning spray of meat and bone that used to be his lower body, then back to me as I slowly walked towards him, chest blazing with energy. The gashes Remi cut into his face had decayed most of his cheek now, but that was clearly the least of his concerns at this point. Slowly, his bleeding muzzle twisted into a snarl, until my left paw suddenly slammed his entire head back against the stone wall behind him, fracturing the rock and breaking his lower jaw almost in half. Then he was screaming hysterically again...\n\nI wanted him to [i]suffer[/i]. But no, I didn't want this [i]filth[/i] inside of me. With nothing but a silent, hateful glare, my paw pulsed, thumb digging up into his skull from his broken jawline. Explode... He jerked, as the stone behind his head blew away with the concussive blast, leaving a broken, circular gouge out of the corner of the building in an anticlimactic pop and clattering of stone. Bits of the back of his skull and splatters of his brain landed in the alleyway, and I let what was left of his head go, watching it slump to the right, limp now.\n\nPanting there, I just stared down at his broken remains, the screams distant now as chunks of the black tower collapsed and burned in the corner of my eye. The sounds of twisting iron resounded through the air, and I watched the tip of it bend downwards and inwards, then [i]snap[/i]. It crashed down into the bulk of the tower afterwards, and the entire thing started to collapse, raining burning debris down into the base of the city. The mountain range in the background now had a second collapsing peak, forming a new molten valley and adding to the shaking the ground was doing. It... wasn't enough. I wanted him to suffer more, but... The heat burned through my head, and I panted there, stepping back and away from him as my paws clenched, and balled into fists. Fuck! I wanted him to be alive again so I could kill him more!\n\n``Exes!'' My ears flicked, and I turned around to my right, seeing Kyry running up with huge eyes. I couldn't stop the low growl towards her, and she froze there, holding her paws up defensively. No, she... I was only [i]irritated[/i] at her. She... She'd only failed to find me. It wasn't... I needed more! Remi limped up next to her, safe now but looking shocked, but... ``W-What... oh shit! Rage!''\n\nMy eyes flicked to the left, as a panicked-looking Xora stumbled out of the remains of the front of the bank and ran down the street. Ah, perfect. A new target. A distortion, and she let out a strangled gasp as I held my left paw out and she wrinkled out of reality, running right into it. It closed around her entire throat, as I realized I was as tall as she was now. My arm flexed, and she made a choking gasp, entire body lifting off the ground as I held her there, slowly crushing her throat in my paw. [i]Perfect[/i]!\n\n``Fucking traitor!'' I growled, teeth showing now as I turned her to look right at me as her eyes widened in panic. She was done too. I'd just squeeze until her head popped right off her-\n\n``Exes!'' I gave a start as Remi ran forward and wrapped her arms around my torso, just above my waist. I... what? ``Exes, it's okay now! Ah'm fine!'' She was fine, yeah... I made sure of it. It was...\n\nKyry slowly nodded, looking to Xora before me again. ``Everything's fine, Exes. You saved everyone. Just put her down, and I'll make sure she's arrested, okay?'' Arrested...? But she deserved... She needed to...\n\nRemi gently nuzzled my stomach, and I shivered, paw lessening on Xora's neck a little. I lowered her paws to the ground again as she spasmed there, raggedly inhaling breath around my grip. This was... I suddenly felt [i]tired[/i], and blinked once, focusing more on Remi, who was smiling up at me now. No, that was... She was fine, and there wasn't any real need to kill Xora too. Was there?\n\nI let Xora go, and she fell to the side, unconscious now. Kyry grabbed her and slid her away from me slowly, watching me cautiously, even as I gave an exhale and plopped down onto my rear. Remi slipped into my lap a moment later, holding herself to my larger chest now. What... had happened? I remembered but... \n\nIt was like I'd been in a dream. Aware of what I was doing but not really... directing myself. All I really knew was that I'd never, ever felt that angry before towards [i]anyone[/i]. My body felt... thick and weird now. Everything had happened so fast. Vox winced as he slowly walked up, and his guards were helping people out of the toy shop now, and checking the injured. This was... Holy shit, Ignaus attacked us in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street...\n\n``W-Wait, Kyry?'' Vox stared at her suddenly in shock, and she coughed lightly, sitting down next to me instead.\n\n``Uh, hey Voxet. By the way, we're here to evacuate Exes and everyone involved. That includes you and Mirya. Better pack up...'' He stared at her in shock, even as I saw a flood of heavy Vulkus guards starting to rush up from the direction of the tram station. Oh. Guess they deployed early!\n\n"
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"writing": "No rest for the weary. Predictably, things were moving at lightning speed now. Kyry's message had only been a prelude to Annah and Lilita contacting me too. Kormir and Morrigan knew I'd been found now too, and Koramir's Bastion forces had already mobilized. They'd kept their behemoth of a train prepped and ready, and now it was shooting towards Nulidia as fast as it could. Which was... really fast, actually. Just over a day, fast. Along with it was a full battalion of elite guards and Kormir himself. Yikes.\n\nKyry had told me to delay on taking the next doses of detoxing. My system had... mostly gotten back to normal. Even with the withdrawls, they were just little bouts of lightheaded sensations and a bit of vertigo. But at this rate, it would still take [i]weeks[/i] for the half-life of the Moondust to rid it entirely of my system. Damn... But obviously they didn't want me utterly wrecked for the evacuation, so I'd have to put up with it for a bit.\n\nRemi... had recovered from the initial haze of joining the Nexus, at least, by later that night. Heh, just in time for supper. Now we were spread out over two of the booths in the private lounge, with me at least nursing a very, very full belly. But it made me feel warm all over, and a little more at peace with myself again. Some foods were odd like that. Like you were feeding your [i]soul[/i] at the same time. Pizza was awesome like that. Remi and Exa snuggled against me, and I idly rested there while subtly typing away at my comm under the table now.\n\nAnnah was ecstatic to the point of being a little hysterical, immensely happy to have found me again. Lilita was more cautious, apparently concerned over Kyry's report on my health and speculation as to what I'd been through. I... had to agree with her that I was going to need therapy. It was unavoidable at this point.\n\nCollapsing the projected comm display back onto the comm itself at my wrist, I gave a little sigh, then glanced past Remi to the other booth. Mirya was playing with her comm, herself, and Vox was there talking with Xora. I'd seen her around a few times since coming here, but it was hit or miss really. She kept busy as Vox's financial arranger, running about in Nulidia dealing with issues. I don't think she ever got past seeing me as an expensive `toy' that Vox had purchased on a whim, though. Given she was really frugal, she looked down on that heavily. I guess it didn't matter that he got me for `free' anyway. Actually, I don't know if he told her that part...\n\nThis one was a rather tense conversation, however. ``Vox, this is a [i]huge[/i] amount of money... I can sample it to see if it's clean, but... [i]fuck[/i]. No bank in Nulidia is going to be able to take all this at once. It's insecure, and... questions will be asked. Like where the fuck did all this come from?!'' She gave him an exasperated stare at that, and he slowly shook his head.\n\n``I told you. It was a donation from a guest who was very, very pleased with their stay. You know I keep such things anonymous.'' Xora's eye twitched at that, and she sagged back into the booth again. Ah, those `technically true' lies. I loved those. They were the best.\n\nShe gave a stressed sigh, rubbing her temples for a moment before slowly shaking her head. ``The only thing I can think of for now is to put it in the Black Keld's vault. We'll get it sampled for counterfeits and... I guess start to slowly trickle it into your various accounts. It might take a few moons but... fuck...'' Vox grinned to her, then nodded.\n\n``I'm patient. You know this...''\n\nI relaxed back in the seat again and rested my head against Remi's. Her ears flicked lightly, and she gave a little yawn before tucking under my chin again. It was nice, just being close like this, admittedly. But... she reminded me that I needed to work on the Nexus some more. The newest experiments were in the process of getting done in the sewer lab right now, at least.\n\nYawning, I gave a stretch, then sat up again fully. Remi and Exa perked, watching curiously now, and I projected into both of their minds. ``I'm gonna go check on the research in the sewer. You two can stay up here if you want.''\n\nExa grinned. ``Ooo, I'll go too. It's been a bit since the twins got attention.'' Almost half a day! Exa's libido was kind of scary. But I mean, she was happy with it so... Okay, no, she probably needed therapy too.\n\nRemi gave a nod. ``I'll go with you. Run a peek about the sewers for any intruders, then maybe `check on' the little Cultist you acquired.'' Heh, oh boy. Still, she'd gotten the hang of mental communication really well. It would have been easier if Xora wasn't here, as she wasn't in on the bulk of our activities... Honestly, I was still shocked he even got her to accept Exa! The trick was apparently annoying the fuck out of her until she stopped asking.\n\n``Would you believe that Inaga reproduce asexually?''\n\n``My cloning experiments have recently bore success! Sort of...''\n\n``His twin sister is visiting!''\n\nAnd my favorite. ``What Inaga?'' Oh Vox...\n\nThat settled, we all made our leave, waving to the others before at least getting around the corner, so I could wrinkle us down into the sewer far below...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nI sighed as I looked over both pieces of meat. They were both corrupted. It didn't matter how fast the sample was cycled. It didn't get rid of the contagious property. Which meant... it was a part of the Nexus itself. One of its natural properties was to not ask for consent. Great... I gave an exhale before tossing the two chunks of meat into the freezer for storage. Well, there was only one other approach I had at this point. I couldn't suppress it after it was outside of me. I couldn't stop it from coming out of me. The only thing I could do now was try to change it while it was still [i]inside[/i] of me.\n\nI washed my paws, then walked over into the overflow area, looking the crates of supplies over and the cryo-tube that the Garkin was in. Hmm. Exa was hanging out with, and probably fucking the twins somewhere around here. I didn't need to check in with her over [i]that[/i], mercifully. Remi, however, was chilling in the corner, legs up rather lazily and resting right over the Jakatar's knees, using her as a sort of leg rest. The only difference was that they were both elevated using three chairs, with the Cultist sitting on one and having just the very end of her paws bracing on the other. That left no support under said knees at all, which Remi was casually leaning on and pressuring them slowly in the wrong direction.\n\nThe girl was crying now and spasming there, squirming but unable to force her body to do anything other than suffer. She gave a long whimper as I rounded the corner, and Remi perked, grinning my way with a wave of her paw. ``Hey, Exes! How goes tha experiments?''\n\n``Poorly. Worst case scenario at this point. I'll be trying to change it inside of me...'' Remi winced at that as I walked up on the two of them, then lifted an eyebrow to her. ``Uh, you know I can just pull the memories right out of her head, right?''\n\nRemi pouted. ``O' [i]course[/i], but where's tha fun in that? Didn't even ask `er anything yet. Ah tend ta take... offence ta people tryin' ta kill me an' mah friends...''\n\nI waved her backwards, and she pouted again before withdrawing her legs from the girl's. I moved the chair back and let her legs fall to the floor again, her knees slowly hissing as they regenerated now. She shuddered, cheeks stained with tears as she looked up at me. ``T-Thank you! I don't... I don't even know who you people are!'' Yup! About the only thing she'd managed to tell me so far was that the Cult kept itself segmented into various sects, each encapsulated with need-to-know information only. Because of course they did.\n\nLazily, I moved my lower right paw up and just kicked her chair over backwards. She gave a sharp yelp of surprise, then winced as she hit on her back, the chair sliding along a few centimeters under her. I hopped up onto the edge of the now raised seat, between her knees hanging there, and plopped my lower paws down on her stomach, watching her curiously from above now.\n\n``My name's Exes. Your Cult of the Shattering kidnapped me almost a year ago. Things got kinda fucked up, and it really wasn't a good time. Your name is Zyka. You're a bottom-rung member of the Cult who was barely taught the most basic of parlor tricks, then tasked to oversee this experiment with the Garkin for your direct supervisor. A babysitting mission, you thought, until we came along and fucked everything out from under you. Sound accurate?'' My tail swayed lightly behind me, and her eyes widened the longer I spoke.\n\nRemi grinned as she walked up on the right side, then slowly nodded. ``Yeah, Ah mean, she went down like ah pussy. `course, she [i]is[/i] ah Jakatar. Maybe ya turned `er on an' she lost on purpose fer ah chance at yer dick?'' Zyka flushed at that, wincing before looking away from the two of us.\n\n``H-How do you know all this? Why... Why can't I move?!''\n\nI lifted an eyebrow to her at that, then tilted my head. Her eyes widened up fully as her own paw lifted up, wiggling in the air before reaching down and yanking her head back and forward to look at me again. ``Doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with your movements. Seems fine to me!'' Remi snorted, then laughed as the Jakatar started to look panicked again, staring in horror down at her own paw holding her muzzle shut.\n\nI leaned down, drawing her attention back up to me, then gave her a nod. ``Maybe the question you wanted to ask was, why doesn't your body move unless [i]I[/i] want it to? That's because I pulled you into my Nexus, and happen to not like you very much. You and your soul are mine now, and I can make you do anything I want. I [i]could[/i] just pull your entire life's memories and not need to interact with you at all. It would hurt. A [i]lot[/i]. But...''\n\nI sighed at that, then slowly shook my head. ``I don't know. Maybe I want to attempt to be a nice person still. Maybe I want you to have a chance to make up for the suffering you caused and try to redeem yourself somewhat? Maybe I just want to watch you squirm and really have time to [i]regret[/i] your poor life choices. Hard to say... Though I suppose which one of my reasons it is depends on how cooperative you are, too.''\n\nShe was crying again, but quickly nodded towards me at that. I had her paw let go of her muzzle finally. ``Y-Yes! Anything! I'll... I'll cooperate, please!'' I glanced to Remi, who nodded back at that. She was the expert at reading people, after all. She was also feeding the information to me, mentally, so I could gradually get better at reading the cues myself. For interacting with people I didn't own the soul of, that is.\n\nI looked back down at the Jakatar before slowly nodding. I stepped off the chair again instead, and Remi simply reached down and flicked it back upright, causing Zyka to wince... at least until she sagged, then widened her eyes, lifting her own paws up to look at them. ``Alright. If you can be a good girl, you can move about again. Don't bother trying to escape or use magic or any brute force True Alchemy. You'll just embarrass yourself and go back to being a puppet. That's what bad girls get.''\n\nShe rapidly shook her head, looking desperate now. ``I'll be good! P-Please...''\n\nRemi pouted, but nodded to me. ``Darn. Ah was gonna see if Ah could get her ta choke unconscious on tha twin's dicks next. Ah well. Ah suppose tha only dick she should be suckin' around `ere is yours, regardless...'' She shot me a grin, but I rolled my eye and booped her on top of the head, getting her to pout again, instead.\n\n``Behave, Remi. Anyway, I suppose this provides us with an opportunity to at least learn about the Garkin...'' I turned back to the shivering Jakatar again and gave her a nod at that. ``So, what's the experiment's purpose? What's her deal?'' I gestured behind me at that, towards the glowing tube.\n\nZyka lowered her ears again, hesitating before sighing. ``I... don't know much. They just assigned me to watch over the... the transit. Before that I was just... I was just the logistics clerk in the facility. It's run by our group.''\n\nI frowned. ``The Cult of the Shattering ran the facility that was shut down?''\n\nShe winced at that, then slowly nodded. ``We... We call ourselves the Children of the Shattering, but... y-yeah. It was a facility to research Garkin and their connection to Gar. And um, use the imbalance in their essence to try to do stuff.'' Cute. But uninformative. \n\n``Do [i]what[/i] stuff? And who is she?'' I thumbed over my shoulder again, getting another wince from Zyka.\n\n``I don't know! She... She's a custom order fourth generation. One of only three.'' That... was more informative, and significantly more disturbing. \n\nMy eye narrowed at that. ``Fourth... [i]generation[/i]? As in a reproductive generation?'' She nodded at that, and I was pretty sure my eye twitched.\n\n``Y-Yes. Breeding to... accelerate the instabilities and manipulations of their essence. Then with the growth pods the council lent us, we'd accelerate them to breeding age and harvest more eggs and sperm. She... She's only about two moons old.'' There were no words for that, and Remi looked absolutely disgusted as she stared at the now shrinking Jakatar. This was...\n\nSlowly, I rubbed at my temples again. ``How... What the [i]fuck[/i] is [i]wrong[/i] with you people?! How do you even [i]sleep[/i] at night?! Why did you join up with a group that does [i]this[/i]?!''\n\nZyka kept her eyes entirely on the ground, ears flattened back now. ``It... It's not... We're... We're going to fix everything! We're going to bring about a new age of world peace and equality! Paradise! You... You know how horrible it is in places like Nulidia! We're going to-``\n\n``You're part of how horrible it is! You don't get peace and equality by [i]torturing and murdering people[/i]! Your fucking [i]cult[/i] has been doing horrible things, and you're [i]helping[/i] them!'' My paws clenched on her robe's collar, having yanked her to me at that. She shivered, looking away and to the left as her eyes started to water again.\n\nShe didn't say anything, and I just gave a low growl and shoved her back into the chair, which almost toppled over again from her impact. ``Your [i]new world[/i] is being built on a mountain of corpses, and I'm not going to let them succeed at whatever bullshit they're aiming for. And now, you're going to help me. We're leaving Nulidia tomorrow, and you're coming with.''\n\nZyka shook there, tears sliding down her cheeks before slowly shaking her head. ``I... My paws might be covered in filth, but... If that's what it takes to let the next generation live in paradise, then... I'm fine standing judged! M-My family in the Great Beyond will be [i]proud[/i] of me!'' Wow.\n\nRemi looked down for a moment next to her, expression darkening, before a grin shifted slowly onto her muzzle. ``Heh. Ya'll never find out, Cunt. Yer [i]soul[/i] belongs ta Exes now, like he said. Ya don't [i]got[/i] an afterlife.'' Zyka's eyes widened at that and she froze, shakily looking over at Remi, who smirked up at her. ``Ah'm proud ta be with Exes. But yer just ah worthless piece o' shit. Yer never gonna see yer family again, or tha paradise ya so desperately want. Even better, yer `Children of the Shattering' were tha ones who forced Exes ta have this... power. Ah hope ya enjoy wallowing in yer filth...''\n\nThe Jakatar sagged, shuddering at that, and Remi just turned and walked away, following me instead. I relaxed, then smiled to her before sliding my arm around her side as she slipped up next to me. Remi was... Remi. Instead, we headed over to check on the Garkin. Two moons old... Had... she even ever opened her eyes? Had she ever woken up? I shuddered, muzzle curling lightly as I did.\n\nI had tortured and murdered too. But I never, ever thought I was bringing about world peace. I doubted such a thing was even possible, unless everybody was dead. Corpses were remarkably nonviolent. Usually. No... If anything, I just wanted to see a world free of [i]them[/i]. Free of the people who hurt and abused others for their own gain. My paw touched the chilled crystal of the Garkin's tube, and I sighed. No, I [i]would[/i] see this Cult destroyed. That much, I vowed to myself.\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nWe were all packed and ready to go in the sewer level. The Garkin's container was put back together and refueled. It would last over two weeks on internal supply alone, which I felt comfortable with. The twins were making sure all the supplies were accounted for and packing the Demon relics. Minus the dagger I couldn't identify. That Remi had kept. She had closed off the overflow chamber again after I'd used True Alchemy to slice the wagons up into little shards. She vented it after it was sealed. The bits and pieces would probably end up somewhere in the river valley further east of Nulidia. The city didn't have a purification system, disgustingly enough. But I guess that worked out to our benefit here. Nobody would find the wagons.\n\nI was tired by then, and just retreated inside of us for now, with Exa taking over. I rested on the bed inside the storage room, idly pondering if I should try restructuring the palace again now that things were getting repaired. I... was a lot more comfortable manipulating, well, everything inside of this... realm, I guess you could call it. My soulscape. I guess being perfectly morphic was a good quality to have. Pity the price had come with the loss of everything I'd ever held as sacred to myself.\n\nMy eyes closed and I felt out the area around me. My own soul. Shared with the Keyhole entity. I'd run a few names past it, feeling out trying to call it something different but it just laughed. There was a distinct sensation afterwards of `pointless' and `unnecessary'. I took that as it not wanting to be named. Still, I kind of wished it had other ways to communicate with me other than invoking bleak emotions over the whole of my soul. It kind of felt like trying to talk to a three-year-old whose sole learned method of talking was various ways to punch someone in the face. Like other three-year-olds I happened to know.\n\nSighing, I sorted through myself, feeling the entity, my own soul, and all the layers within. There was that pervasive, creeping sensation through the entire mix, though. That... corruption that infested every centimeter of my soul now. I could feel it distinctly as a part of myself. It was [i]my[/i] corruption now. My own [i]Nexus[/i]. I felt deeper, sorting out the sensations that were mixed up in it. Earlier, even...\n\nMy eyes opened at that, then widened. Earlier... I'd infected Remi with my saliva. I'd felt... There was actual physical pleasure in doing so. It had even overwritten that ugly sensation of the... incident prior to that. It... My body was almost getting high off the sensation of releasing the wavelength into her. I... remembered that now. Why had it...?\n\nI felt deeper yet, closing my eyes again and forcing all the other sensations away. Those urges. They were sunk into that freezing, wet, and sticky mess that was everywhere in me now. I went past it instead, not shying away as I pushed into the wet ooze and drove downwards. It was... me. I wasn't afraid of myself. And if I was disgusting and corrupt, then that was me too.\n\nThere was... nothing. I sunk right into the frozen core, pulsing with power and energy. My core. It mixed with mana, vita, and aether now. Everything that was my soul. The more I searched, the less I found, until the eldritch unknown slowly melted away, revealing... just me. My fears and concerns. I didn't... I didn't want to be vulnerable. I didn't want to be alone. Remi had said it was... okay. She wanted to be marked by me. Infected. She wanted to be a part of the Nexus.\n\nShe gave me permission, and my deepest, darkest urges took that. I... had wanted to infect her. I didn't want to be alone, and she... wanted to be here with me. Metal bones burned with energy, even as the tentacles writhed over them, and now a thick, webbed mesh of frozen sinew stretched over my limbs. I was... a monster. I acknowledged that. They'd changed me into what they wanted me to be but then... they'd lost control.\n\nBut the Nexus inside of me was me. I held... the power all along. And along with having this power... this strength and ability... came more [i]responsibility[/i] to use it with care. My eyes opened again. Why had I never even... considered it? As pervasive as the infection was in my soul, I never even considered that this `Nexus' wasn't a... layer in me. It wasn't an object in my soulscape. They'd turned my [i]soul[/i] into the Nexus. An interconnected web that gathered other souls to it. [i]I[/i] was the Nexus!\n\nI felt the energy wavelength inside of myself. It was everywhere in my soul, but it only [i]leaked out[/i] specifically inside of me. I... just pulled it back, and out of my fluids again. I pulled it back inside of my soul instead, and told my body to leave it like that. Just like that, I felt it retreat again, and the flow turned off like someone turning off a water tap. It was... me.\n\nI relaxed on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling of the room. I'd have to do more tests after this just to make sure, but... The solution was so simple. So obvious and personal, that I'd completely overlooked it. That was... humbling, but I felt guilty at the same time. My saliva had [i]become[/i] infectious, because I had wanted to infect Remi. She'd been [i]begging[/i] for it, and... I did it. I may as well have done so intentionally. I basically did.\n\nBut Remi wasn't in her right mind. I don't think she knows what she wants at any given moment. To trust someone like that with such a massive choice that could have [i]permanent[/i] consequences was... foolish to even think about. But I'd taken advantage of her and done it anyway. I sighed, paws clenching against my sheets. I was just as fucked up as she was. I'd... not been thinking clearly or logically for a long while, either. The paranoia and spite had consumed me. It... was the only thing stopping me from instead thinking about everything that's happened and despairing. I'd been hiding behind my own anger for a while now. How long could I really keep it up?\n\nAnother exhale, and my paws slacked again, tears sliding down my cheeks. I longed for the tribal days again when nothing mattered and my only thing to complain about was having too much homework and a fucked-up leg. Ogling girls from afar, then listening to the saucy stories Exir would tell me. That... That sounded like `paradise' to me now.\n\nBut that was gone forever. I could never go back to that no matter how much I wanted to. They were just memories now. Those places only existed in my mind, and life had moved on. That was the most painful part; knowing that there was no hope of ever being there again. People moved on. Sometimes they died. And now I was an abomination in the depths of Nulidia, literally stealing people's souls.\n\nTurning, I just curled up on myself and pushed my face to my knees. My breath was shaky as I let the tears slide down my cheeks and muzzle, and onto the mattress. It... All I could do was let it pour out of me, curling my tail up to protect me. To hide me from sight. I just lay there in a ball, crying now and surrounded by frozen statues, made of light and entangled in tendrils...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nSleep was shallow and fleeting. A flurry of ins and outs, and restlessly staring at nothing in-between. I'd just let Exa stay in control for the rest of the night. At least until Remi started getting concerned and asking for me the next morning. I probably looked like I'd had too much to drink the night before as I lurched out into our body again, almost falling off the medical bed.\n\nRemi was concerned of course, but I showed her instead. It was easy enough to grab a piece of meat from the kitchen again, with a simple little wrinkle, then poke my finger with my own claw, letting a drop of blood fall onto it in front of her. My finger hissed as I rubbed it, sealing up almost as fast as I'd poked a hole in it, and Remi and Exa both widened their eyes as the drop of blood just sat on the surface of the chunk laying on the floor.\n\n``You... You fixed it?'' Exa tilted her head, then they both looked up to me again instead.\n\nI nodded, staring down at the unaltered slab of meat on the floor. ``Yeah. I figured out how to just... turn it off. Nobody is contagious now...''\n\n``Nobody...? Tha twins and Ah aren't...? Or Ah guess tha cunt in tha sewer...'' I nodded.\n\n``We should test it, but yeah. It should have affected everyone at once.'' I'd [i]felt[/i] that it had. I could... control who was infectious and who wasn't. I'd pulled it back from everyone. Even Atir and Callia.\n\nExa smiled at that, but Remi frowned, still looking to me. I sighed inwardly, then shook my head. ``I'm sorry, Remi. For infecting you. I... My saliva became infectious because I [i]wanted[/i] it to. Because I... wanted to infect you. You'd asked specifically, and given me permission. And the childish monster that I am sometimes was... gleeful. Now I... know that. On a subconscious level, I infected you intentionally.''\n\nHer eyes were wide at that, searching my expression, but I just sat there feeling empty now. I'd betrayed her trust in me and hurt her after all. I'd taken her soul. Maybe permanently. I didn't know. That would be what I'd test next. Could I undo the Nexus taking someone?\n\nSlowly, she relaxed again however, then gave a softer smile. ``It's... fine, Exes. Ah know that sounds... grossly oversimplified, but... Ah really did want ya to. Ah'd been... playin' with tha idea ever since ya told me about tha power.'' Eh?\n\nShe gave a chuckle and nodded, crossing her legs as she sat down next to me. ``Ah like runnin' away. Ya already knew that. Ah'm impulsive an' often selfish. Ah'm afraid o' people an' their power over me. But like Ah said, ya... make me feel safe. Like nobody ever has. An' now Ah know... yer fer real.'' Right, she'd said that. She gave another nod, then smiled softly. ``Ah... Ah thought about usin' ya, though. Ever since ya told me. Usin' ya ta run away again. Tha ultimate runnin' away. Ferever.''\n\nI frowned. Running away? ``What do you mean? How can I help you do that...?''\n\nShe flushed lightly, then chuckled. ``Ya already have. Ah... escaped responsibility fer mahself yet again. In ah way, Ah don't have ta make choices about things. Ah belong ta you, instead. Ah can just follow ya around an' not worry about things. Ya think it's... takin' mah soul. Enslavin' me. But... no. In ah way, it's tha ultimate freedom.''\n\nI exhaled at that. The logic was... twisted. But I could understand her, still. ``You're putting... You [i]put[/i] a lot of faith in me, Remi...''\n\nShe giggled, then nodded. ``Ah did. Impulsive, remember? Though... Ah think, fer tha first time, Ah don't regret mah decision. Now Ah know yer legit, an' it was tha right choice. Kinda instantaneous validation there...''\n\nI snorted at that, then chuckled. ``Lucky you. Normally you don't find out that you fucked yourself over for quite a while...'' She grinned at that, then nodded. Exa huffed though.\n\n``You two could both have instantaneous `validation' if you just eased into fucking each other, finally. Sheesh. It's extremely therapeutic!'' She crossed her arms and pouted at that, and I rolled my eye.\n\nRemi just shrugged, though. ``Eventually, yeah. Ah plan on slowly progressin' that direction. Heh, maybe Ah'll even retire one day an' finally give Sis what she's prodding meh fer. An' give Exes some pups!'' I flushed at that and huffed, now feeling teased more than anything. It had been... a while since I'd thought about anything of the sort in a [i]positive[/i] light, that was for sure. But they were at least keeping it really lighthearted, as they both grinned towards me. But... that felt the safest to me. Unlike my little sister, I preferred to carefully ease myself into really warm or really cold water...\n\nRemi settled against me with that, and I sighed, nodding slowly. Well, at least I felt better about getting that much off my chest. Exa slowly rubbed her back at that, and the three of us relaxed a little again... at least until the door of the medical ward opened up suddenly. We perked, looking over as Vox entered instead, interestingly enough.\n\n``Ah, you three [i]are[/i] up and about! Good. Actually, I came to talk to Remi specifically, but I don't see why Exes, slash Exa, couldn't come too.'' I gave him a skeptical stare at his name usage, but Remi perked and sat up fully again, resting against my thigh.\n\n``Oh? What's up? Need ah security detail?''\n\nVox shook his head, however. ``No, nothing drastic like that. Well, I'll be taking a couple additional guards. Xora just finished some sampling of the funds, and I'll be bringing the first batch to the upper bank first. I was hoping you'd come along too, Remi, to sign off the security deposit we had officially created, so I could add to it.'' I... was totally lost.\n\nShe perked at that, then slowly nodded. ``Ah totally fergot that stupid thing had mah essence signature on it. Why are ya addin' ta that, though? Ain't tha insurance on this place already satisfied...?'' I tried following along. Insurance was... something that paid for things that got broken, right?\n\nVox chuckled, but nodded. ``Oh, yeah, it's fine. Xora's just [i]immensely[/i] paranoid, and thinks it would look less suspicious if I split the funds up a bit and sunk it into some of the sub-accounts. Though I figured we could maybe shop at the upper stores a bit afterwards, and get you and Exes something. It still feels like... This is way too much money...'' I snickered at that, and he pouted at me.\n\nRemi gave a slow shrug at that, but then hopped off the bed. ``Not like Ah need anything, really. But thanks fer tha offer, Voxxy. Ah'll go with, anyway.''\n\nI exhaled at that, then slowly nodded. They'd told me to just lay low and act like nothing was different so... why not? ``Alright. I'll probably just sit around and brood otherwise, so I'll go too...'' My mom had always sworn by that `fresh air' thing. I had never asked, but I assumed she'd been alluding to exercise outdoors. Might as well follow her wisdom...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nAt least it was a nice day out. The top layer was actually elevated quite a distance off the steppes and mountain slope around the city. The edges dropped off abruptly into the large `wall' of the city, with only the most modest of railings to prevent a good ten story drop. Rather than put funds into the security of the railing and edge, I'd heard the council instead just invested more in body cleanup for the sweeping slums around the walls.\n\nNotedly, the good weather wasn't really helping my mood much. I walked along next to Remi now, with both of us trailing behind Vox and Xora. Vox had a briefcase cuffed to his wrist, presumably with the funds in it, and we were almost to the bank now. This was the most `reputable' one in the city, and apparently managed most of the legitimate businesses therein. Of course, it also managed a lot of illegitimate ones too. I didn't quite know in which gray area the Black Keld sat in.\n\nThe inside of the bank was unsurprisingly very nice. They had an air ventilation system that kept it nice and cool. There was a nice carpet laid down, and individual rooms for clients to meet with the bank representatives and managers. The waiting room in the front was also pleasant, with the entire front wall being glass windows, letting in an impressive amount of light.\n\nI chilled there for a while with the guards, staring at my comm while waiting for the three of them to conclude business with the bank. Kyry had sent me a message just a few minutes ago, but I... lingered in putting it away. Apparently, the train had arrived a couple hours ago, and the hover wagons were already outside the slums now, with the guards gearing up and preparing to move into the city, en-masse. She predicted a couple hours, now. Would probably cause quite the stir when they did, though they were probably already visible and causing the council to flail.\n\nNow, my eye lingered over all the contacts in it, and my paws tensed. Mom must have a comm unit now. I stared at her name for a long moment, before realizing [i]everyone[/i] was in it. Exia, Kada, and Yimir. Exir and Niva. Mari? Wasn't that Remi's sister's name? Aliris? I... didn't know who that was. Every single Realmsguard contact too, in their own subfolder. I only knew a [i]few[/i] of those.\n\nSo many people I could just tap and immediately talk to. ...and so many that I was [i]terrified[/i] of talking to again. It was like I was... filthy now. There was no way their memory of me would line up with what I was now. I was... embarrassed of myself. I sighed, idly scrolling through the names again. Kada... He was okay then. Whatever the Cult had done to him... It didn't hurt him. I was glad. I'd... not thought about that in a long time now. At some point... while I was deep underground and losing myself, I'd just come to terms with the fact that I'd probably never find out if he was okay or not.\n\nI turned the comm off and slid it back onto my wrist again. Tch. Maybe I'd see them all in even a few days. I'd... It would be awkward as [i]fuck[/i] for a while, I imagined. But I'd live. Maybe... things would reach some semblance of how they used to be. I doubted they'd ever be the [i]same[/i] again, but... My ears perked up, and I looked to the right as Vox, Xora, and Remi came out of the side room again, this time without the briefcase. Ah. They must have been done then. Good... If they'd taken any longer, I'd probably have been sobbing like a little kit...\n\nRemi slipped up and nuzzled me on the cheek as I stood, and I scrunched my own muzzle in return. ``Yer broodin' again. Relax, X.'' Soon, I wouldn't need the stupid moniker, either.\n\nVox sighed as he looked to me, then slowly nodded. ``I think some shopping, and food, will cheer us all up. Which do you guys wanna do first?'' My mind drifted back to the message. Two hours or so... That didn't leave us with a lot of time.\n\nXora looked up from her notepad, then gave a sigh and reluctant nod. ``Admittedly, I wouldn't mind a bit of shopping. I heard they released the new and heavily upgraded Chronicles of Na'ard.'' My ears shot up at that, with my focus immediately on her, and she perked, then smirked down to me. ``Oh, you've heard of it?''\n\nI nodded at that. ``Ah, yeah. It's one of my favorite PEC games...'' My tail swayed behind me, and she grinned, giving me the thumbs up.\n\n``You've got good taste! The PEC is the way of the future, honestly. They recently got a huge influx in popularity and business, and their first release is aimed at Chronicles of Na'ard. The `Grandmaster's Favorite', they claim. Heh...'' Oh... right. I'd given them that massive review on it in particular...\n\nRemi snorted, then laughed at that. ``Wow, didn't know tha Grandmaster was such ah [i]massive dork[/i].'' Xora and I both managed to glare at her with that one, but she shot me a wink.\n\nI flushed. ``I [i]know[/i] that one was aimed at me, brat... You're playing it now too, though!'' Aimed at me for multiple reasons...\n\nShe grinned, then held her paws up. ``Ah'm ah hostage! Ah swear! Ya force me ta play it!''\n\nXora rolled her eyes at that. ``Remi playing the PEC. Now this I'd pay to see... Well, I suppose it's time better spent than drinking for free at the bar and mauling our patrons.'' Uh...\n\nRemi immediately gave her a defensive growl at that. ``It was [i]one[/i] patron! An' he got pawsy with mah butt!'' Ah, that would do it.\n\nVox held his paw up, however. ``It was in the past and forgiven. Let's just focus on doing some shopping, okay, guys?'' Remi huffed, but nodded, relenting even as Xora held her paws up in assurance. I had the sneaking suspicion those two didn't always see eye to eye.\n\nI kind of wanted to melt when we exited into the hot air again. Remi walked right alongside me, holding my paw, and gave it a little squeeze, flushing now a little. Heh, she'd mentioned that it felt... naughty somehow to be holding my paw in public. Her profession didn't leave her very accustomed to public displays of affection, it would seem. Our guards formed around us as we did, and Vox and Xora paused just outside of the bank.\n\nVox gave a nod afterwards. ``Alright, I think we'll hit up the clothes first. Thanks to Mirya, I need a new tie and dress shirt. Then we can hit up entertainment...'' Did I even want to know...? Xora looked just as disturbed for a moment, until her comm went off suddenly.\n\nShe frowned, looking at it, then sighed. ``Of course. I left one of the receipts inside. I'll be right back...'' She shook her head, but Vox nodded to her, then stepped aside as she headed back inside the bank. Receipts? They wrote those for deposits? Well, no, I guess that made sense. Proof that you put stuff in, if there was a problem later.\n\nRemi, unfortunately, was curious. ``How... exactly did Mirya destroy yer dress shirt an' tie?'' Vox turned a little pink, which was really [i]all[/i] I needed to know on the topic! Seriously.\n\nMy inner mana [i]writhed[/i] suddenly, and my eyes widened. Remi's were already wide open entirely, with her head whipping to the left a split second later. I was already facing that way, as I threw `Accelerate' into myself to slow down things as fast as I could! There was... It looked like there was a second sun expanding outwards and towards us, coming from the side of the Demon tower!\n\nMy breath caught. It was an incoming [i]wall[/i] of energy and fire, almost six meters across! There was... Aether energy mixed in with it?! Remi had turned and dove towards Vox and I, but it was coming in way too fast. The street was... There were people all around us, walking and minding their own business!\n\nIt was a split-second choice, as I unsealed my Keyhole, flaring with azure light. My arms extended to both sides of me, and I just radiated it outwards as hard as I could! One [i]giant[/i] wrinkle, grabbing everything organic. I shunted everyone on the street as far to the left as I could, all at once! The distortion was intense, and I gasped for air as it felt like everything sucked inwards... and then we all fell sideways, people yelping and shouting in shock as we were dumped almost twenty meters away, onto the other sidewalk.\n\nIt was only briefly, as the explosion sent me hurling sideways into the building next to us. I shattered through the window, feeling glass dig into me and metal lining snap against my back. People flew all around me, including our guards, and Remi slowly rotated in the air, landing into a skid, on her paws, even as I crashed into a board game display, back first!\n\nEverything went black for a moment, then hazy as I groaned. Pain signals were flaring up all over my body, and I managed to open my eye again just in time to see a [i]massive[/i] shape crash into the broken, melting remains of the street outside! It was huge and black, and let out a massive roar that vibrated the metal and glass shards around me on the tiles. Fuck... That was...\n\nHe was large enough for even my blurry vision to pick up properly, as he stormed towards the shop. Ignaus. It was... Ignaus, in his full-size, feral form. I didn't even register in his vision, with all his seething rage aimed right at Vox instead, who was just now struggling to move to a crawling position a few meters away from me. He looked dazed and scratched up, but one of his guards had apparently grabbed him mid-wrinkle shift, and cushioned the impact of the explosion. Vox was laying almost on top of him now.\n\n``Give her back, fucker!'' Gone was Ignaus' polite, calm tone. He screamed it out in rage, lashing down and grabbing Vox right off the guard, and tearing him back out through the front of the store as he screamed in pain. Fuck! No, this wasn't...\n\nRemi winced, managing to struggle to her paws with that, then reached to her back and drew that Demonic dagger in her right paw, point down. Ignaus didn't even look her way, instead holding Vox up and glaring at him in his claw... briefly. There was a shadowy distortion a moment later, with Kyry just gently falling out of the air, past his arm. There was a flicker as she did, and I saw two dagger hilts suddenly stabbing out of his forearm, and Ignaus screamed in pain, entire arm jerking. Kyry snatched Vox out of his grip, as it failed entirely, and landed gently with him before flicking away again. She... really had tailed me!\n\n``You fucking cunt!'' Ignaus tore the daggers out of his arm, that claw hanging limply now. Kyry had sliced right into the controlling nerves of his arm! He stood fully again, easily the size of the entire front of the building, even as Remi hopped forward and burst into a leap herself!\n\nShe was definitely reeling from the explosion still, steam sizzling off wounds on her as she jumped. I doubt he would have been able to even see her coming if she hadn't been injured. He managed just enough reaction to slightly turn his head out of the way, as a long, hot line slashed his cheek and missed his left eye by centimeters. Another scream of pain mixed with rage, and he stumbled, then lashed out at where Remi had landed! No!\n\nShe wasn't there, though, and he just cratered his still functioning claw into the dirt and stone. Remi landed on his arm, then hopped up it, with him just barely moving his head out of the way to avoid another cut, taking it to the jaw instead! He just started to snarl again when Kyry came out of nowhere, snapping out of shadows mid-dash this time, then leapt faster than I could even see! By the time I looked up to his head again, she'd already spun to the side in midair and drove a third dagger right into his left eye!\n\nIgnaus screamed again, this time with heat flaring out of his open mouth. I could [i]see[/i] the Aether energy building up, and he snapped it forward, releasing another blast of heat and flames, this time into the air to try to hit Kyry! But it was like he was standing still. She was already gone, landing behind him into a spin and drawing another one of her daggers. Remi was on the other side, and they both dove forward again, at the same time...\n\nThey were... untouchable practically. Both of them were a blur, with Ignaus barely managing to avoid lethal strikes as they danced around him, leaving cuts and scratches all over! I noticed... they were slowly backing him away from the store, each attack causing him to wince or flinch further back and away from where I was, and where I'd dumped all the other now injured civilians... Further... I also noticed that every scratch that Remi was doing to the large Gar was... bleeding a [i]lot[/i]. They even seemed to be [i]widening[/i] over time, somewhat... What...? The dagger?\n\nFuck... this was... I had to[i] do[/i] something! I don't know how he'd found out, but he [i]knew[/i] that we'd hit his caravan! That was the only reason he was... I tried to focus, feeling dizzy. Fuck... I couldn't sit upright. My right arm was numb and unresponsive. I couldn't feel my left leg either... I struggled, but the shelf behind me felt heavy for some reason. It was... My eye shifted to the right, and then widened as I realized a busted metal bar from the shelf was [i]through[/i] my shoulder! Blood oozed down my side, and my right arm was very obviously broken and twisted sideways. There was a metal piece of the window sticking up through my left leg, too, with blood starting to form under where I lay... Fuck, this was bad.\n\nIt was hard to focus, even as my body hissed furiously trying to heal my wounds. Magic... I needed to try to stabilize myself but... Exa was panicking inside of us, trying to push against me and... keep me awake. Right, this was...\n\nXora was screaming something from the broken remains of the bank across the street. ``...said you wouldn't kill him!''\n\n``Shut up, cunt! You did your part!'' Ignaus screamed her way, flaring with more flames and blasting to the side, even as Kyry easily stepped away from the shot, luring him to fire off the edge of the city instead, I realized. Xora... Xora, she... The money. She knew about... Fuck! She sold us out!\n\nMy eye rolled in my head as I tried to grab at the metal pole, but it was slick with blood, and my left paw fell off it. Fuck, fuck, fuck! This wasn't... Xora had to retreat back into the bank as Ignaus suddenly flared with energy, somehow releasing flames from all over himself instead! I could feel the sudden heat from here, even! Remi landed, sizzling, behind him now, and Kyry was forced to hop backwards, switching to her crossbow as she grit her teeth. The flames coiled off the giant Gar, wrapping him like a blanket as he snarled, then turned towards Remi instead! No! Fuck, no!\n\nRemi's eyes widened as she dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a fast and small breath shot he released. He fired again as she came out of the roll, and she barely jumped backwards, the small explosion sending her flying as she let out a pained squeak. I clawed at the metal bar, teeth gritting furiously now! No, he was going to kill her!\n\nKyry shot at his back and neck furiously with bolts, but they burned up or plinked off his armor rather meaninglessly, and he advanced only on Remi, clearly realizing she was injured. Fuck, there wasn't... My eyes widened. There was... I didn't know what it would do, but there wasn't any other choice! There... I couldn't let Remi die! My paw touched my own chest, and I pushed the words into myself, through the Keyhole. Reset. Return to a base state. All of myself...\n\nThere was a heavy pulse that shot through me like a bolt of lightning! Everything seemed to freeze and distort, the air itself warping away from me as my chest caved backwards away from my paw. It... felt like I was putty suddenly, bending and melting about. I screamed, feeling like my soul was twisting instead, a split second later! My right arm spasmed, with dark pulses of raw Aether coming off it now. Black and purple, radiant flames, like what it looked like before exposure to Aion. The arm twisted and snapped with wet crunching noises as it moved back into place, and my entire chest spasmed. Bits of rock started drifting into the air around me, and I suddenly gasped, my breath getting sucked out. Her... song. I heard it all around me, just like the first time... Something was... Why now? Why that song?!\n\nIt echoed through my skull, my blood drifting into the air around me, then slowly sucking back into my body in long, wet ribbons. I stood at that, shaking now as I stepped forward, snapping my right arm out of its socket and intentionally pulling myself off the metal pole, drawing it back out behind me before I fell forward and onto my knees, shuddering there as my paws gripped at the broken ground in front of me! My blood crawled along the ground after me in thick streams, sucking into open wounds that boiled with black light. The stone under me warped and melted, and I shivered, hearing her song crest and slide around in my mind. This wasn't... like the first time. There was... There was something else... I felt it. The song opened things. Opened our reality to let even more Aether in. Now, it felt like it was opening [i]me[/i]!\n\nMy body ached. It wasn't pain. I couldn't feel pain. This was something inside, writhing and spasming now. Reset. It was returning me to a base state that I'd never been at in the first place. I'd [i]always[/i] been broken. My arms shook and spasmed. Remi managed to dodge another shot, but got blown sideways into the edge of the bank. Her scream... Kyry folded her crossbow up behind him, then grit her teeth as her left arm reached around and pulled a Jakatar blade and sheath around from tucked against her back, shifting it into a waist-mounted position instead. But... she hesitated. [i]Faster[/i]! I needed to help!\n\nMy arms split in spots, flesh breaking then warping together in ribbons of black light, hissing with steam over and over again. Muscle poured out of nowhere, from outside Aion, and sunk deep into my flesh. I grew larger, back cracking and breaking, then sealing together again as my entire body spasmed there! My arms were... They were three times the width they had been, and I felt my chest pouring out of me, spilling forward and widening, even as I watched my fur shift back to normal colors right before my eyes. More hisses, the air wavering with heat around me, and the bandage on my right side [i]burned[/i] away, my other eye opening and seeing again immediately. Tattered bits of my clothing drifted around me with the floating debris, having torn apart as I spilled out of them, leaving only my stretchy loincloth in place now. Fuck! There was...\n\nMy eyes widened as I watched him pick Remi up, removing the flames only from his right, still functioning arm. She struggled in his claw, steam rolling off her body from dozens of wounds and burns on her now. No... he... Remi was my mate. [i]My[/i] mate. He wasn't... It wasn't his [i]place[/i] to touch her! It was... beyond anything I'd ever felt before. A red hot, seething [i]hatred[/i] that boiled up from my chest and into my skull. I panted and shook there for a second, saliva suddenly dripping from my muzzle as all I could see was Ignaus, standing there and holding my mate.\n\nI stood then, easily now as the Keyhole flared on my chest, and both eyes blazed with light. No. This was wrong. This offended every fiber of my being and made me want to [i]break[/i] him. Slowly. There was suddenly nothing else in the entire world, and crystal clarity washed through my mind. Single in purpose, I just stepped forward, right into the wrinkle, eyes suddenly letting me entirely ignore the disorientation.\n\nI landed on his arm, into a crouch. His eyes started to widen, but my right paw had already swung downwards, flared with a distorted black light. [i]Sever[/i], fucker! My paw smashed into his wrist, claws digging in and radiating with the power of my word. A pulse, and I spun, tearing through scale, muscle, and bone before diving to the side as the energy I released exploded! Remi squeaked in surprise, but I caught her out of midair and landed gently on the broken stone street, carrying her in both arms now. Ignaus' right claw landed next to us with a heavy thud, red hot and glowing blood like fire spurting out of it, even as the giant Gar screamed in hysterical rage!\n\nRemi looked up at me in shock, but I'd already stepped forward and out of reality again, now next to a surprised looking Kyry, as I set Remi down. Safe. She was... safe. It didn't help. That seething rage boiling through me wasn't satisfied. No, I was going to [i]end[/i] Ignaus. I could feel the disgust [i]beating[/i] through my veins as I turned, glaring at the Gar as he stumbled forward, rolling now and partly falling to his side as he burned his stump shut, teeth clenched into a growl.\n\nHis own hatred showed through as he swung around to look at me instead. Just me. Just like I wanted. Flames danced around him again as he pulled up that fire armor technique once more, but I didn't care, slowly walking towards him instead. The Gar's own blood sizzled on my right arm, black lines of Aether energy drawing it into my body too as my muscles tightened and hardened. I pulled [i]everything[/i] in, Nexus eating it for energy and mass, and adding it to my own.\n\nHis eyes narrowed, one useless and oozing blood. The cuts Remi had made were blackened now, scales cracking away from them as it spread wider, pouring his burning blood out of him. ``You... [i]You[/i]! You fucking... [i]This[/i] is how you repay me?! I'll fucking destroy you!'' So he [i]had[/i] seen me on the street, before I reset myself. Good. He'd know who sent him into the next life, then. He pulled his head back, mouth opening again and flaring with heat. Aether energy. He was generating it from inside of him, and using it to cause a brute force True Alchemy reaction, generating heat and light in a beam attack from his mouth. It was released as a wave of unstable energy, with the intent to burn and explode on contact. Right. Gar had `breath weapons' they could use. Even seething with hatred, everything was... Everything moved slowly still, and my eyes picked up every little detail.\n\n``Exes!'' I heard Remi shout from behind me, but it was distant. No, I was in front of her now. She was safe. And Ignaus was going to die. I momentarily lost sight of his head entirely through the flare of heat and energy, and then he snapped it downwards and fired that wave of flames right at me, at point blank range.\n\nNo. He had hurt my mate. He had [i]touched[/i] her, and every fiber of my being felt violated by that. I [i]hated[/i] him, and now, he was dead. I screamed out a roar, flinging my arms out as my chest pulsed with energy. It was mine. Everything around me was [i]mine[/i], and I took what Ignaus had, too! The air bled darkness in front of me, and the flames crushed inwards into the scream. A molten rush, wrinkling and distorting as everything collapsed into a single point at the very tip of my tongue. More and more flames smashed at me, only to be sucked into my open maw of darkness, crackling heat and light dancing in front of my eyes!\n\nIgnaus snapped his head back again, coughing as smoke exited his muzzle, only to see the last of his own fire pull into my mouth. The black Aether energy slopped like saliva from my maw, and that little pinpoint of hot white energy dancing on my tongue. I toyed with it for a moment, feeling its weight and sheer [i]power[/i], before grinning with the light shining through my teeth, as I dropped down onto all fours with a feral shiver. Wrinkle Singularity, Explode.\n\nIt wasn't enough. I kept the force on it, crushing it down using my wrinkle in reality. It flared and struggled, but I held it there in my muzzle. It was [i]mine[/i]. It didn't dare disobey me now. Explode! Every use of the word magnified the power of the angry dot of energy. More heat and light, and another spill of black, glowing energy from my mouth, this time accompanied by an arc of hot lightning, melting the street to my left to slag. I was going to end him. Completely.\n\nHis one eye widened towards me, concern showing through for the first time as I fell down, crouching there on all fours as my mouth opened again. ``You... You're nothing! I'm destined to be a God! The father of the true race of Aion!'' Funny that he was backing up while he said it. Explode! More heat, the light burning off the rippling air around me, and her song becoming audible in the air as a series of white static pops and crackles. It was mania, in my head, feeding my emotions with hers, through the song, until it was a fervor. More! More, more, more! Explode, Explode, Explode! My snarling laughter came out now, arcs of flame burning the street in front of me to ash as the Aether pooled under me, sizzling and flaring up in little scintillating purple and pink flames. Reality itself was sobbing, laughing, and singing along, and I opened my muzzle wide, aiming it right at the giant Gar's chest as he stumbled backwards, wings of energy opening again as he took to the air. No, he wasn't escaping me. He wasn't anything, anymore!\n\nExplode! It flared, and I simply released one little pinprick of the wrinkle, facing him. Ignaus' own energy, magnified a thousand times over and very eager to be free, was fired back at him from the center of my roar. For a very brief moment, a brilliant white line, brighter than the sun itself, extended from my open maw and right into the Gar's chest. Just half a meter up and to the right of center. My roar echoed like a terrible, final thunderclap, and the force of the shot pushed my head up and to the right a split second later! I spit the rest of the energy out as it faltered away, leaving a white-hot line going from where it had impacted, all the way off Ignaus' right shoulder. It warbled as it hung in the air, writhing there as a thin, hairline slice, radiating the fury of a star. The clouds off in the distance parted in a line, the sky blackening momentarily in the flash of light from the energy. For a second, everything was absolutely still and silent, as Aion itself seemed to falter under the energy released.\n\nThen the air exploded, with the shockwave blasting out faster than sound could keep up in a thunderous detonation. Ignaus was blown in half in an instant. Parts of his chest fell away into molten heat, before it collapsed against itself and exploded in a bloom of fire. His upper body was torn sideways, then ripped free of his back legs in a spray of flames and gore, with intestines splattering out and bits of his lung landing next to him where he crashed, on fire, against the blown-out gaming shop.\n\nThe line continued, scraping along the edge of the huge central tower, leaving a trail of explosions that sent bits of the Demonic spire cascading into the air amidst the blaze... then another explosion, completely unheard for several seconds, along the distant mountains behind that. I saw the shockwave of the impact expanding out over the tundra, approaching the city, and parts of the mountain peak start to collapse downwards in a huge slide of rock and molten debris. Ignaus stared at me in shock, even as the air sizzled from the blast, and people ran screaming in every direction, not knowing how to escape.\n\nHis only eye looked over to the left, at the burning spray of meat and bone that used to be his lower body, then back to me as I slowly walked towards him, chest blazing with energy. The gashes Remi cut into his face had decayed most of his cheek now, but that was clearly the least of his concerns at this point. Slowly, his bleeding muzzle twisted into a snarl, until my left paw suddenly slammed his entire head back against the stone wall behind him, fracturing the rock and breaking his lower jaw almost in half. Then he was screaming hysterically again...\n\nI wanted him to [i]suffer[/i]. But no, I didn't want this [i]filth[/i] inside of me. With nothing but a silent, hateful glare, my paw pulsed, thumb digging up into his skull from his broken jawline. Explode... He jerked, as the stone behind his head blew away with the concussive blast, leaving a broken, circular gouge out of the corner of the building in an anticlimactic pop and clattering of stone. Bits of the back of his skull and splatters of his brain landed in the alleyway, and I let what was left of his head go, watching it slump to the right, limp now.\n\nPanting there, I just stared down at his broken remains, the screams distant now as chunks of the black tower collapsed and burned in the corner of my eye. The sounds of twisting iron resounded through the air, and I watched the tip of it bend downwards and inwards, then [i]snap[/i]. It crashed down into the bulk of the tower afterwards, and the entire thing started to collapse, raining burning debris down into the base of the city. The mountain range in the background now had a second collapsing peak, forming a new molten valley and adding to the shaking the ground was doing. It... wasn't enough. I wanted him to suffer more, but... The heat burned through my head, and I panted there, stepping back and away from him as my paws clenched, and balled into fists. Fuck! I wanted him to be alive again so I could kill him more!\n\n``Exes!'' My ears flicked, and I turned around to my right, seeing Kyry running up with huge eyes. I couldn't stop the low growl towards her, and she froze there, holding her paws up defensively. No, she... I was only [i]irritated[/i] at her. She... She'd only failed to find me. It wasn't... I needed more! Remi limped up next to her, safe now but looking shocked, but... ``W-What... oh shit! Rage!''\n\nMy eyes flicked to the left, as a panicked-looking Xora stumbled out of the remains of the front of the bank and ran down the street. Ah, perfect. A new target. A distortion, and she let out a strangled gasp as I held my left paw out and she wrinkled out of reality, running right into it. It closed around her entire throat, as I realized I was as tall as she was now. My arm flexed, and she made a choking gasp, entire body lifting off the ground as I held her there, slowly crushing her throat in my paw. [i]Perfect[/i]!\n\n``Fucking traitor!'' I growled, teeth showing now as I turned her to look right at me as her eyes widened in panic. She was done too. I'd just squeeze until her head popped right off her-\n\n``Exes!'' I gave a start as Remi ran forward and wrapped her arms around my torso, just above my waist. I... what? ``Exes, it's okay now! Ah'm fine!'' She was fine, yeah... I made sure of it. It was...\n\nKyry slowly nodded, looking to Xora before me again. ``Everything's fine, Exes. You saved everyone. Just put her down, and I'll make sure she's arrested, okay?'' Arrested...? But she deserved... She needed to...\n\nRemi gently nuzzled my stomach, and I shivered, paw lessening on Xora's neck a little. I lowered her paws to the ground again as she spasmed there, raggedly inhaling breath around my grip. This was... I suddenly felt [i]tired[/i], and blinked once, focusing more on Remi, who was smiling up at me now. No, that was... She was fine, and there wasn't any real need to kill Xora too. Was there?\n\nI let Xora go, and she fell to the side, unconscious now. Kyry grabbed her and slid her away from me slowly, watching me cautiously, even as I gave an exhale and plopped down onto my rear. Remi slipped into my lap a moment later, holding herself to my larger chest now. What... had happened? I remembered but... \n\nIt was like I'd been in a dream. Aware of what I was doing but not really... directing myself. All I really knew was that I'd never, ever felt that angry before towards [i]anyone[/i]. My body felt... thick and weird now. Everything had happened so fast. Vox winced as he slowly walked up, and his guards were helping people out of the toy shop now, and checking the injured. This was... Holy shit, Ignaus attacked us in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street...\n\n``W-Wait, Kyry?'' Vox stared at her suddenly in shock, and she coughed lightly, sitting down next to me instead.\n\n``Uh, hey Voxet. By the way, we're here to evacuate Exes and everyone involved. That includes you and Mirya. Better pack up...'' He stared at her in shock, even as I saw a flood of heavy Vulkus guards starting to rush up from the direction of the tram station. Oh. Guess they deployed early!\n\n"
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.description.json · embedded sidecar fallback Download

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  "description": "Got a long one this time!  Lots happening in it.  Be mindful of the tags!\n\nPotentially Triggering Tags:\nViolence, Gore, Death\n\nChapter Summaries:\nhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1VHNSczlxfkUvf34NKZNscT1a3Rr-222jdhGpdfV82Fw/edit?usp=sharing\n\nCurious about my custom species? Here's a link!\nhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1k0PobVi3hgyzg8zrro6rnqLLpm_cybJd-3LP-kvp1KI/edit?usp=sharing\n\nFeel like giving me a little financial assistance?  I’ve set up a SubscribeStar account!  I'm extremely thankful for everyone who donates anything they can, be it a subscription or one-off donation.\nhttps://subscribestar.adult/kiroberos-entertainment"
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.writing.json · embedded sidecar fallback Download

{
"writing": "No rest for the weary. Predictably, things were moving at lightning speed now. Kyry's message had only been a prelude to Annah and Lilita contacting me too. Kormir and Morrigan knew I'd been found now too, and Koramir's Bastion forces had already mobilized. They'd kept their behemoth of a train prepped and ready, and now it was shooting towards Nulidia as fast as it could. Which was... really fast, actually. Just over a day, fast. Along with it was a full battalion of elite guards and Kormir himself. Yikes.\n\nKyry had told me to delay on taking the next doses of detoxing. My system had... mostly gotten back to normal. Even with the withdrawls, they were just little bouts of lightheaded sensations and a bit of vertigo. But at this rate, it would still take [i]weeks[/i] for the half-life of the Moondust to rid it entirely of my system. Damn... But obviously they didn't want me utterly wrecked for the evacuation, so I'd have to put up with it for a bit.\n\nRemi... had recovered from the initial haze of joining the Nexus, at least, by later that night. Heh, just in time for supper. Now we were spread out over two of the booths in the private lounge, with me at least nursing a very, very full belly. But it made me feel warm all over, and a little more at peace with myself again. Some foods were odd like that. Like you were feeding your [i]soul[/i] at the same time. Pizza was awesome like that. Remi and Exa snuggled against me, and I idly rested there while subtly typing away at my comm under the table now.\n\nAnnah was ecstatic to the point of being a little hysterical, immensely happy to have found me again. Lilita was more cautious, apparently concerned over Kyry's report on my health and speculation as to what I'd been through. I... had to agree with her that I was going to need therapy. It was unavoidable at this point.\n\nCollapsing the projected comm display back onto the comm itself at my wrist, I gave a little sigh, then glanced past Remi to the other booth. Mirya was playing with her comm, herself, and Vox was there talking with Xora. I'd seen her around a few times since coming here, but it was hit or miss really. She kept busy as Vox's financial arranger, running about in Nulidia dealing with issues. I don't think she ever got past seeing me as an expensive `toy' that Vox had purchased on a whim, though. Given she was really frugal, she looked down on that heavily. I guess it didn't matter that he got me for `free' anyway. Actually, I don't know if he told her that part...\n\nThis one was a rather tense conversation, however. ``Vox, this is a [i]huge[/i] amount of money... I can sample it to see if it's clean, but... [i]fuck[/i]. No bank in Nulidia is going to be able to take all this at once. It's insecure, and... questions will be asked. Like where the fuck did all this come from?!'' She gave him an exasperated stare at that, and he slowly shook his head.\n\n``I told you. It was a donation from a guest who was very, very pleased with their stay. You know I keep such things anonymous.'' Xora's eye twitched at that, and she sagged back into the booth again. Ah, those `technically true' lies. I loved those. They were the best.\n\nShe gave a stressed sigh, rubbing her temples for a moment before slowly shaking her head. ``The only thing I can think of for now is to put it in the Black Keld's vault. We'll get it sampled for counterfeits and... I guess start to slowly trickle it into your various accounts. It might take a few moons but... fuck...'' Vox grinned to her, then nodded.\n\n``I'm patient. You know this...''\n\nI relaxed back in the seat again and rested my head against Remi's. Her ears flicked lightly, and she gave a little yawn before tucking under my chin again. It was nice, just being close like this, admittedly. But... she reminded me that I needed to work on the Nexus some more. The newest experiments were in the process of getting done in the sewer lab right now, at least.\n\nYawning, I gave a stretch, then sat up again fully. Remi and Exa perked, watching curiously now, and I projected into both of their minds. ``I'm gonna go check on the research in the sewer. You two can stay up here if you want.''\n\nExa grinned. ``Ooo, I'll go too. It's been a bit since the twins got attention.'' Almost half a day! Exa's libido was kind of scary. But I mean, she was happy with it so... Okay, no, she probably needed therapy too.\n\nRemi gave a nod. ``I'll go with you. Run a peek about the sewers for any intruders, then maybe `check on' the little Cultist you acquired.'' Heh, oh boy. Still, she'd gotten the hang of mental communication really well. It would have been easier if Xora wasn't here, as she wasn't in on the bulk of our activities... Honestly, I was still shocked he even got her to accept Exa! The trick was apparently annoying the fuck out of her until she stopped asking.\n\n``Would you believe that Inaga reproduce asexually?''\n\n``My cloning experiments have recently bore success! Sort of...''\n\n``His twin sister is visiting!''\n\nAnd my favorite. ``What Inaga?'' Oh Vox...\n\nThat settled, we all made our leave, waving to the others before at least getting around the corner, so I could wrinkle us down into the sewer far below...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nI sighed as I looked over both pieces of meat. They were both corrupted. It didn't matter how fast the sample was cycled. It didn't get rid of the contagious property. Which meant... it was a part of the Nexus itself. One of its natural properties was to not ask for consent. Great... I gave an exhale before tossing the two chunks of meat into the freezer for storage. Well, there was only one other approach I had at this point. I couldn't suppress it after it was outside of me. I couldn't stop it from coming out of me. The only thing I could do now was try to change it while it was still [i]inside[/i] of me.\n\nI washed my paws, then walked over into the overflow area, looking the crates of supplies over and the cryo-tube that the Garkin was in. Hmm. Exa was hanging out with, and probably fucking the twins somewhere around here. I didn't need to check in with her over [i]that[/i], mercifully. Remi, however, was chilling in the corner, legs up rather lazily and resting right over the Jakatar's knees, using her as a sort of leg rest. The only difference was that they were both elevated using three chairs, with the Cultist sitting on one and having just the very end of her paws bracing on the other. That left no support under said knees at all, which Remi was casually leaning on and pressuring them slowly in the wrong direction.\n\nThe girl was crying now and spasming there, squirming but unable to force her body to do anything other than suffer. She gave a long whimper as I rounded the corner, and Remi perked, grinning my way with a wave of her paw. ``Hey, Exes! How goes tha experiments?''\n\n``Poorly. Worst case scenario at this point. I'll be trying to change it inside of me...'' Remi winced at that as I walked up on the two of them, then lifted an eyebrow to her. ``Uh, you know I can just pull the memories right out of her head, right?''\n\nRemi pouted. ``O' [i]course[/i], but where's tha fun in that? Didn't even ask `er anything yet. Ah tend ta take... offence ta people tryin' ta kill me an' mah friends...''\n\nI waved her backwards, and she pouted again before withdrawing her legs from the girl's. I moved the chair back and let her legs fall to the floor again, her knees slowly hissing as they regenerated now. She shuddered, cheeks stained with tears as she looked up at me. ``T-Thank you! I don't... I don't even know who you people are!'' Yup! About the only thing she'd managed to tell me so far was that the Cult kept itself segmented into various sects, each encapsulated with need-to-know information only. Because of course they did.\n\nLazily, I moved my lower right paw up and just kicked her chair over backwards. She gave a sharp yelp of surprise, then winced as she hit on her back, the chair sliding along a few centimeters under her. I hopped up onto the edge of the now raised seat, between her knees hanging there, and plopped my lower paws down on her stomach, watching her curiously from above now.\n\n``My name's Exes. Your Cult of the Shattering kidnapped me almost a year ago. Things got kinda fucked up, and it really wasn't a good time. Your name is Zyka. You're a bottom-rung member of the Cult who was barely taught the most basic of parlor tricks, then tasked to oversee this experiment with the Garkin for your direct supervisor. A babysitting mission, you thought, until we came along and fucked everything out from under you. Sound accurate?'' My tail swayed lightly behind me, and her eyes widened the longer I spoke.\n\nRemi grinned as she walked up on the right side, then slowly nodded. ``Yeah, Ah mean, she went down like ah pussy. `course, she [i]is[/i] ah Jakatar. Maybe ya turned `er on an' she lost on purpose fer ah chance at yer dick?'' Zyka flushed at that, wincing before looking away from the two of us.\n\n``H-How do you know all this? Why... Why can't I move?!''\n\nI lifted an eyebrow to her at that, then tilted my head. Her eyes widened up fully as her own paw lifted up, wiggling in the air before reaching down and yanking her head back and forward to look at me again. ``Doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with your movements. Seems fine to me!'' Remi snorted, then laughed as the Jakatar started to look panicked again, staring in horror down at her own paw holding her muzzle shut.\n\nI leaned down, drawing her attention back up to me, then gave her a nod. ``Maybe the question you wanted to ask was, why doesn't your body move unless [i]I[/i] want it to? That's because I pulled you into my Nexus, and happen to not like you very much. You and your soul are mine now, and I can make you do anything I want. I [i]could[/i] just pull your entire life's memories and not need to interact with you at all. It would hurt. A [i]lot[/i]. But...''\n\nI sighed at that, then slowly shook my head. ``I don't know. Maybe I want to attempt to be a nice person still. Maybe I want you to have a chance to make up for the suffering you caused and try to redeem yourself somewhat? Maybe I just want to watch you squirm and really have time to [i]regret[/i] your poor life choices. Hard to say... Though I suppose which one of my reasons it is depends on how cooperative you are, too.''\n\nShe was crying again, but quickly nodded towards me at that. I had her paw let go of her muzzle finally. ``Y-Yes! Anything! I'll... I'll cooperate, please!'' I glanced to Remi, who nodded back at that. She was the expert at reading people, after all. She was also feeding the information to me, mentally, so I could gradually get better at reading the cues myself. For interacting with people I didn't own the soul of, that is.\n\nI looked back down at the Jakatar before slowly nodding. I stepped off the chair again instead, and Remi simply reached down and flicked it back upright, causing Zyka to wince... at least until she sagged, then widened her eyes, lifting her own paws up to look at them. ``Alright. If you can be a good girl, you can move about again. Don't bother trying to escape or use magic or any brute force True Alchemy. You'll just embarrass yourself and go back to being a puppet. That's what bad girls get.''\n\nShe rapidly shook her head, looking desperate now. ``I'll be good! P-Please...''\n\nRemi pouted, but nodded to me. ``Darn. Ah was gonna see if Ah could get her ta choke unconscious on tha twin's dicks next. Ah well. Ah suppose tha only dick she should be suckin' around `ere is yours, regardless...'' She shot me a grin, but I rolled my eye and booped her on top of the head, getting her to pout again, instead.\n\n``Behave, Remi. Anyway, I suppose this provides us with an opportunity to at least learn about the Garkin...'' I turned back to the shivering Jakatar again and gave her a nod at that. ``So, what's the experiment's purpose? What's her deal?'' I gestured behind me at that, towards the glowing tube.\n\nZyka lowered her ears again, hesitating before sighing. ``I... don't know much. They just assigned me to watch over the... the transit. Before that I was just... I was just the logistics clerk in the facility. It's run by our group.''\n\nI frowned. ``The Cult of the Shattering ran the facility that was shut down?''\n\nShe winced at that, then slowly nodded. ``We... We call ourselves the Children of the Shattering, but... y-yeah. It was a facility to research Garkin and their connection to Gar. And um, use the imbalance in their essence to try to do stuff.'' Cute. But uninformative. \n\n``Do [i]what[/i] stuff? And who is she?'' I thumbed over my shoulder again, getting another wince from Zyka.\n\n``I don't know! She... She's a custom order fourth generation. One of only three.'' That... was more informative, and significantly more disturbing. \n\nMy eye narrowed at that. ``Fourth... [i]generation[/i]? As in a reproductive generation?'' She nodded at that, and I was pretty sure my eye twitched.\n\n``Y-Yes. Breeding to... accelerate the instabilities and manipulations of their essence. Then with the growth pods the council lent us, we'd accelerate them to breeding age and harvest more eggs and sperm. She... She's only about two moons old.'' There were no words for that, and Remi looked absolutely disgusted as she stared at the now shrinking Jakatar. This was...\n\nSlowly, I rubbed at my temples again. ``How... What the [i]fuck[/i] is [i]wrong[/i] with you people?! How do you even [i]sleep[/i] at night?! Why did you join up with a group that does [i]this[/i]?!''\n\nZyka kept her eyes entirely on the ground, ears flattened back now. ``It... It's not... We're... We're going to fix everything! We're going to bring about a new age of world peace and equality! Paradise! You... You know how horrible it is in places like Nulidia! We're going to-``\n\n``You're part of how horrible it is! You don't get peace and equality by [i]torturing and murdering people[/i]! Your fucking [i]cult[/i] has been doing horrible things, and you're [i]helping[/i] them!'' My paws clenched on her robe's collar, having yanked her to me at that. She shivered, looking away and to the left as her eyes started to water again.\n\nShe didn't say anything, and I just gave a low growl and shoved her back into the chair, which almost toppled over again from her impact. ``Your [i]new world[/i] is being built on a mountain of corpses, and I'm not going to let them succeed at whatever bullshit they're aiming for. And now, you're going to help me. We're leaving Nulidia tomorrow, and you're coming with.''\n\nZyka shook there, tears sliding down her cheeks before slowly shaking her head. ``I... My paws might be covered in filth, but... If that's what it takes to let the next generation live in paradise, then... I'm fine standing judged! M-My family in the Great Beyond will be [i]proud[/i] of me!'' Wow.\n\nRemi looked down for a moment next to her, expression darkening, before a grin shifted slowly onto her muzzle. ``Heh. Ya'll never find out, Cunt. Yer [i]soul[/i] belongs ta Exes now, like he said. Ya don't [i]got[/i] an afterlife.'' Zyka's eyes widened at that and she froze, shakily looking over at Remi, who smirked up at her. ``Ah'm proud ta be with Exes. But yer just ah worthless piece o' shit. Yer never gonna see yer family again, or tha paradise ya so desperately want. Even better, yer `Children of the Shattering' were tha ones who forced Exes ta have this... power. Ah hope ya enjoy wallowing in yer filth...''\n\nThe Jakatar sagged, shuddering at that, and Remi just turned and walked away, following me instead. I relaxed, then smiled to her before sliding my arm around her side as she slipped up next to me. Remi was... Remi. Instead, we headed over to check on the Garkin. Two moons old... Had... she even ever opened her eyes? Had she ever woken up? I shuddered, muzzle curling lightly as I did.\n\nI had tortured and murdered too. But I never, ever thought I was bringing about world peace. I doubted such a thing was even possible, unless everybody was dead. Corpses were remarkably nonviolent. Usually. No... If anything, I just wanted to see a world free of [i]them[/i]. Free of the people who hurt and abused others for their own gain. My paw touched the chilled crystal of the Garkin's tube, and I sighed. No, I [i]would[/i] see this Cult destroyed. That much, I vowed to myself.\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nWe were all packed and ready to go in the sewer level. The Garkin's container was put back together and refueled. It would last over two weeks on internal supply alone, which I felt comfortable with. The twins were making sure all the supplies were accounted for and packing the Demon relics. Minus the dagger I couldn't identify. That Remi had kept. She had closed off the overflow chamber again after I'd used True Alchemy to slice the wagons up into little shards. She vented it after it was sealed. The bits and pieces would probably end up somewhere in the river valley further east of Nulidia. The city didn't have a purification system, disgustingly enough. But I guess that worked out to our benefit here. Nobody would find the wagons.\n\nI was tired by then, and just retreated inside of us for now, with Exa taking over. I rested on the bed inside the storage room, idly pondering if I should try restructuring the palace again now that things were getting repaired. I... was a lot more comfortable manipulating, well, everything inside of this... realm, I guess you could call it. My soulscape. I guess being perfectly morphic was a good quality to have. Pity the price had come with the loss of everything I'd ever held as sacred to myself.\n\nMy eyes closed and I felt out the area around me. My own soul. Shared with the Keyhole entity. I'd run a few names past it, feeling out trying to call it something different but it just laughed. There was a distinct sensation afterwards of `pointless' and `unnecessary'. I took that as it not wanting to be named. Still, I kind of wished it had other ways to communicate with me other than invoking bleak emotions over the whole of my soul. It kind of felt like trying to talk to a three-year-old whose sole learned method of talking was various ways to punch someone in the face. Like other three-year-olds I happened to know.\n\nSighing, I sorted through myself, feeling the entity, my own soul, and all the layers within. There was that pervasive, creeping sensation through the entire mix, though. That... corruption that infested every centimeter of my soul now. I could feel it distinctly as a part of myself. It was [i]my[/i] corruption now. My own [i]Nexus[/i]. I felt deeper, sorting out the sensations that were mixed up in it. Earlier, even...\n\nMy eyes opened at that, then widened. Earlier... I'd infected Remi with my saliva. I'd felt... There was actual physical pleasure in doing so. It had even overwritten that ugly sensation of the... incident prior to that. It... My body was almost getting high off the sensation of releasing the wavelength into her. I... remembered that now. Why had it...?\n\nI felt deeper yet, closing my eyes again and forcing all the other sensations away. Those urges. They were sunk into that freezing, wet, and sticky mess that was everywhere in me now. I went past it instead, not shying away as I pushed into the wet ooze and drove downwards. It was... me. I wasn't afraid of myself. And if I was disgusting and corrupt, then that was me too.\n\nThere was... nothing. I sunk right into the frozen core, pulsing with power and energy. My core. It mixed with mana, vita, and aether now. Everything that was my soul. The more I searched, the less I found, until the eldritch unknown slowly melted away, revealing... just me. My fears and concerns. I didn't... I didn't want to be vulnerable. I didn't want to be alone. Remi had said it was... okay. She wanted to be marked by me. Infected. She wanted to be a part of the Nexus.\n\nShe gave me permission, and my deepest, darkest urges took that. I... had wanted to infect her. I didn't want to be alone, and she... wanted to be here with me. Metal bones burned with energy, even as the tentacles writhed over them, and now a thick, webbed mesh of frozen sinew stretched over my limbs. I was... a monster. I acknowledged that. They'd changed me into what they wanted me to be but then... they'd lost control.\n\nBut the Nexus inside of me was me. I held... the power all along. And along with having this power... this strength and ability... came more [i]responsibility[/i] to use it with care. My eyes opened again. Why had I never even... considered it? As pervasive as the infection was in my soul, I never even considered that this `Nexus' wasn't a... layer in me. It wasn't an object in my soulscape. They'd turned my [i]soul[/i] into the Nexus. An interconnected web that gathered other souls to it. [i]I[/i] was the Nexus!\n\nI felt the energy wavelength inside of myself. It was everywhere in my soul, but it only [i]leaked out[/i] specifically inside of me. I... just pulled it back, and out of my fluids again. I pulled it back inside of my soul instead, and told my body to leave it like that. Just like that, I felt it retreat again, and the flow turned off like someone turning off a water tap. It was... me.\n\nI relaxed on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling of the room. I'd have to do more tests after this just to make sure, but... The solution was so simple. So obvious and personal, that I'd completely overlooked it. That was... humbling, but I felt guilty at the same time. My saliva had [i]become[/i] infectious, because I had wanted to infect Remi. She'd been [i]begging[/i] for it, and... I did it. I may as well have done so intentionally. I basically did.\n\nBut Remi wasn't in her right mind. I don't think she knows what she wants at any given moment. To trust someone like that with such a massive choice that could have [i]permanent[/i] consequences was... foolish to even think about. But I'd taken advantage of her and done it anyway. I sighed, paws clenching against my sheets. I was just as fucked up as she was. I'd... not been thinking clearly or logically for a long while, either. The paranoia and spite had consumed me. It... was the only thing stopping me from instead thinking about everything that's happened and despairing. I'd been hiding behind my own anger for a while now. How long could I really keep it up?\n\nAnother exhale, and my paws slacked again, tears sliding down my cheeks. I longed for the tribal days again when nothing mattered and my only thing to complain about was having too much homework and a fucked-up leg. Ogling girls from afar, then listening to the saucy stories Exir would tell me. That... That sounded like `paradise' to me now.\n\nBut that was gone forever. I could never go back to that no matter how much I wanted to. They were just memories now. Those places only existed in my mind, and life had moved on. That was the most painful part; knowing that there was no hope of ever being there again. People moved on. Sometimes they died. And now I was an abomination in the depths of Nulidia, literally stealing people's souls.\n\nTurning, I just curled up on myself and pushed my face to my knees. My breath was shaky as I let the tears slide down my cheeks and muzzle, and onto the mattress. It... All I could do was let it pour out of me, curling my tail up to protect me. To hide me from sight. I just lay there in a ball, crying now and surrounded by frozen statues, made of light and entangled in tendrils...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nSleep was shallow and fleeting. A flurry of ins and outs, and restlessly staring at nothing in-between. I'd just let Exa stay in control for the rest of the night. At least until Remi started getting concerned and asking for me the next morning. I probably looked like I'd had too much to drink the night before as I lurched out into our body again, almost falling off the medical bed.\n\nRemi was concerned of course, but I showed her instead. It was easy enough to grab a piece of meat from the kitchen again, with a simple little wrinkle, then poke my finger with my own claw, letting a drop of blood fall onto it in front of her. My finger hissed as I rubbed it, sealing up almost as fast as I'd poked a hole in it, and Remi and Exa both widened their eyes as the drop of blood just sat on the surface of the chunk laying on the floor.\n\n``You... You fixed it?'' Exa tilted her head, then they both looked up to me again instead.\n\nI nodded, staring down at the unaltered slab of meat on the floor. ``Yeah. I figured out how to just... turn it off. Nobody is contagious now...''\n\n``Nobody...? Tha twins and Ah aren't...? Or Ah guess tha cunt in tha sewer...'' I nodded.\n\n``We should test it, but yeah. It should have affected everyone at once.'' I'd [i]felt[/i] that it had. I could... control who was infectious and who wasn't. I'd pulled it back from everyone. Even Atir and Callia.\n\nExa smiled at that, but Remi frowned, still looking to me. I sighed inwardly, then shook my head. ``I'm sorry, Remi. For infecting you. I... My saliva became infectious because I [i]wanted[/i] it to. Because I... wanted to infect you. You'd asked specifically, and given me permission. And the childish monster that I am sometimes was... gleeful. Now I... know that. On a subconscious level, I infected you intentionally.''\n\nHer eyes were wide at that, searching my expression, but I just sat there feeling empty now. I'd betrayed her trust in me and hurt her after all. I'd taken her soul. Maybe permanently. I didn't know. That would be what I'd test next. Could I undo the Nexus taking someone?\n\nSlowly, she relaxed again however, then gave a softer smile. ``It's... fine, Exes. Ah know that sounds... grossly oversimplified, but... Ah really did want ya to. Ah'd been... playin' with tha idea ever since ya told me about tha power.'' Eh?\n\nShe gave a chuckle and nodded, crossing her legs as she sat down next to me. ``Ah like runnin' away. Ya already knew that. Ah'm impulsive an' often selfish. Ah'm afraid o' people an' their power over me. But like Ah said, ya... make me feel safe. Like nobody ever has. An' now Ah know... yer fer real.'' Right, she'd said that. She gave another nod, then smiled softly. ``Ah... Ah thought about usin' ya, though. Ever since ya told me. Usin' ya ta run away again. Tha ultimate runnin' away. Ferever.''\n\nI frowned. Running away? ``What do you mean? How can I help you do that...?''\n\nShe flushed lightly, then chuckled. ``Ya already have. Ah... escaped responsibility fer mahself yet again. In ah way, Ah don't have ta make choices about things. Ah belong ta you, instead. Ah can just follow ya around an' not worry about things. Ya think it's... takin' mah soul. Enslavin' me. But... no. In ah way, it's tha ultimate freedom.''\n\nI exhaled at that. The logic was... twisted. But I could understand her, still. ``You're putting... You [i]put[/i] a lot of faith in me, Remi...''\n\nShe giggled, then nodded. ``Ah did. Impulsive, remember? Though... Ah think, fer tha first time, Ah don't regret mah decision. Now Ah know yer legit, an' it was tha right choice. Kinda instantaneous validation there...''\n\nI snorted at that, then chuckled. ``Lucky you. Normally you don't find out that you fucked yourself over for quite a while...'' She grinned at that, then nodded. Exa huffed though.\n\n``You two could both have instantaneous `validation' if you just eased into fucking each other, finally. Sheesh. It's extremely therapeutic!'' She crossed her arms and pouted at that, and I rolled my eye.\n\nRemi just shrugged, though. ``Eventually, yeah. Ah plan on slowly progressin' that direction. Heh, maybe Ah'll even retire one day an' finally give Sis what she's prodding meh fer. An' give Exes some pups!'' I flushed at that and huffed, now feeling teased more than anything. It had been... a while since I'd thought about anything of the sort in a [i]positive[/i] light, that was for sure. But they were at least keeping it really lighthearted, as they both grinned towards me. But... that felt the safest to me. Unlike my little sister, I preferred to carefully ease myself into really warm or really cold water...\n\nRemi settled against me with that, and I sighed, nodding slowly. Well, at least I felt better about getting that much off my chest. Exa slowly rubbed her back at that, and the three of us relaxed a little again... at least until the door of the medical ward opened up suddenly. We perked, looking over as Vox entered instead, interestingly enough.\n\n``Ah, you three [i]are[/i] up and about! Good. Actually, I came to talk to Remi specifically, but I don't see why Exes, slash Exa, couldn't come too.'' I gave him a skeptical stare at his name usage, but Remi perked and sat up fully again, resting against my thigh.\n\n``Oh? What's up? Need ah security detail?''\n\nVox shook his head, however. ``No, nothing drastic like that. Well, I'll be taking a couple additional guards. Xora just finished some sampling of the funds, and I'll be bringing the first batch to the upper bank first. I was hoping you'd come along too, Remi, to sign off the security deposit we had officially created, so I could add to it.'' I... was totally lost.\n\nShe perked at that, then slowly nodded. ``Ah totally fergot that stupid thing had mah essence signature on it. Why are ya addin' ta that, though? Ain't tha insurance on this place already satisfied...?'' I tried following along. Insurance was... something that paid for things that got broken, right?\n\nVox chuckled, but nodded. ``Oh, yeah, it's fine. Xora's just [i]immensely[/i] paranoid, and thinks it would look less suspicious if I split the funds up a bit and sunk it into some of the sub-accounts. Though I figured we could maybe shop at the upper stores a bit afterwards, and get you and Exes something. It still feels like... This is way too much money...'' I snickered at that, and he pouted at me.\n\nRemi gave a slow shrug at that, but then hopped off the bed. ``Not like Ah need anything, really. But thanks fer tha offer, Voxxy. Ah'll go with, anyway.''\n\nI exhaled at that, then slowly nodded. They'd told me to just lay low and act like nothing was different so... why not? ``Alright. I'll probably just sit around and brood otherwise, so I'll go too...'' My mom had always sworn by that `fresh air' thing. I had never asked, but I assumed she'd been alluding to exercise outdoors. Might as well follow her wisdom...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nAt least it was a nice day out. The top layer was actually elevated quite a distance off the steppes and mountain slope around the city. The edges dropped off abruptly into the large `wall' of the city, with only the most modest of railings to prevent a good ten story drop. Rather than put funds into the security of the railing and edge, I'd heard the council instead just invested more in body cleanup for the sweeping slums around the walls.\n\nNotedly, the good weather wasn't really helping my mood much. I walked along next to Remi now, with both of us trailing behind Vox and Xora. Vox had a briefcase cuffed to his wrist, presumably with the funds in it, and we were almost to the bank now. This was the most `reputable' one in the city, and apparently managed most of the legitimate businesses therein. Of course, it also managed a lot of illegitimate ones too. I didn't quite know in which gray area the Black Keld sat in.\n\nThe inside of the bank was unsurprisingly very nice. They had an air ventilation system that kept it nice and cool. There was a nice carpet laid down, and individual rooms for clients to meet with the bank representatives and managers. The waiting room in the front was also pleasant, with the entire front wall being glass windows, letting in an impressive amount of light.\n\nI chilled there for a while with the guards, staring at my comm while waiting for the three of them to conclude business with the bank. Kyry had sent me a message just a few minutes ago, but I... lingered in putting it away. Apparently, the train had arrived a couple hours ago, and the hover wagons were already outside the slums now, with the guards gearing up and preparing to move into the city, en-masse. She predicted a couple hours, now. Would probably cause quite the stir when they did, though they were probably already visible and causing the council to flail.\n\nNow, my eye lingered over all the contacts in it, and my paws tensed. Mom must have a comm unit now. I stared at her name for a long moment, before realizing [i]everyone[/i] was in it. Exia, Kada, and Yimir. Exir and Niva. Mari? Wasn't that Remi's sister's name? Aliris? I... didn't know who that was. Every single Realmsguard contact too, in their own subfolder. I only knew a [i]few[/i] of those.\n\nSo many people I could just tap and immediately talk to. ...and so many that I was [i]terrified[/i] of talking to again. It was like I was... filthy now. There was no way their memory of me would line up with what I was now. I was... embarrassed of myself. I sighed, idly scrolling through the names again. Kada... He was okay then. Whatever the Cult had done to him... It didn't hurt him. I was glad. I'd... not thought about that in a long time now. At some point... while I was deep underground and losing myself, I'd just come to terms with the fact that I'd probably never find out if he was okay or not.\n\nI turned the comm off and slid it back onto my wrist again. Tch. Maybe I'd see them all in even a few days. I'd... It would be awkward as [i]fuck[/i] for a while, I imagined. But I'd live. Maybe... things would reach some semblance of how they used to be. I doubted they'd ever be the [i]same[/i] again, but... My ears perked up, and I looked to the right as Vox, Xora, and Remi came out of the side room again, this time without the briefcase. Ah. They must have been done then. Good... If they'd taken any longer, I'd probably have been sobbing like a little kit...\n\nRemi slipped up and nuzzled me on the cheek as I stood, and I scrunched my own muzzle in return. ``Yer broodin' again. Relax, X.'' Soon, I wouldn't need the stupid moniker, either.\n\nVox sighed as he looked to me, then slowly nodded. ``I think some shopping, and food, will cheer us all up. Which do you guys wanna do first?'' My mind drifted back to the message. Two hours or so... That didn't leave us with a lot of time.\n\nXora looked up from her notepad, then gave a sigh and reluctant nod. ``Admittedly, I wouldn't mind a bit of shopping. I heard they released the new and heavily upgraded Chronicles of Na'ard.'' My ears shot up at that, with my focus immediately on her, and she perked, then smirked down to me. ``Oh, you've heard of it?''\n\nI nodded at that. ``Ah, yeah. It's one of my favorite PEC games...'' My tail swayed behind me, and she grinned, giving me the thumbs up.\n\n``You've got good taste! The PEC is the way of the future, honestly. They recently got a huge influx in popularity and business, and their first release is aimed at Chronicles of Na'ard. The `Grandmaster's Favorite', they claim. Heh...'' Oh... right. I'd given them that massive review on it in particular...\n\nRemi snorted, then laughed at that. ``Wow, didn't know tha Grandmaster was such ah [i]massive dork[/i].'' Xora and I both managed to glare at her with that one, but she shot me a wink.\n\nI flushed. ``I [i]know[/i] that one was aimed at me, brat... You're playing it now too, though!'' Aimed at me for multiple reasons...\n\nShe grinned, then held her paws up. ``Ah'm ah hostage! Ah swear! Ya force me ta play it!''\n\nXora rolled her eyes at that. ``Remi playing the PEC. Now this I'd pay to see... Well, I suppose it's time better spent than drinking for free at the bar and mauling our patrons.'' Uh...\n\nRemi immediately gave her a defensive growl at that. ``It was [i]one[/i] patron! An' he got pawsy with mah butt!'' Ah, that would do it.\n\nVox held his paw up, however. ``It was in the past and forgiven. Let's just focus on doing some shopping, okay, guys?'' Remi huffed, but nodded, relenting even as Xora held her paws up in assurance. I had the sneaking suspicion those two didn't always see eye to eye.\n\nI kind of wanted to melt when we exited into the hot air again. Remi walked right alongside me, holding my paw, and gave it a little squeeze, flushing now a little. Heh, she'd mentioned that it felt... naughty somehow to be holding my paw in public. Her profession didn't leave her very accustomed to public displays of affection, it would seem. Our guards formed around us as we did, and Vox and Xora paused just outside of the bank.\n\nVox gave a nod afterwards. ``Alright, I think we'll hit up the clothes first. Thanks to Mirya, I need a new tie and dress shirt. Then we can hit up entertainment...'' Did I even want to know...? Xora looked just as disturbed for a moment, until her comm went off suddenly.\n\nShe frowned, looking at it, then sighed. ``Of course. I left one of the receipts inside. I'll be right back...'' She shook her head, but Vox nodded to her, then stepped aside as she headed back inside the bank. Receipts? They wrote those for deposits? Well, no, I guess that made sense. Proof that you put stuff in, if there was a problem later.\n\nRemi, unfortunately, was curious. ``How... exactly did Mirya destroy yer dress shirt an' tie?'' Vox turned a little pink, which was really [i]all[/i] I needed to know on the topic! Seriously.\n\nMy inner mana [i]writhed[/i] suddenly, and my eyes widened. Remi's were already wide open entirely, with her head whipping to the left a split second later. I was already facing that way, as I threw `Accelerate' into myself to slow down things as fast as I could! There was... It looked like there was a second sun expanding outwards and towards us, coming from the side of the Demon tower!\n\nMy breath caught. It was an incoming [i]wall[/i] of energy and fire, almost six meters across! There was... Aether energy mixed in with it?! Remi had turned and dove towards Vox and I, but it was coming in way too fast. The street was... There were people all around us, walking and minding their own business!\n\nIt was a split-second choice, as I unsealed my Keyhole, flaring with azure light. My arms extended to both sides of me, and I just radiated it outwards as hard as I could! One [i]giant[/i] wrinkle, grabbing everything organic. I shunted everyone on the street as far to the left as I could, all at once! The distortion was intense, and I gasped for air as it felt like everything sucked inwards... and then we all fell sideways, people yelping and shouting in shock as we were dumped almost twenty meters away, onto the other sidewalk.\n\nIt was only briefly, as the explosion sent me hurling sideways into the building next to us. I shattered through the window, feeling glass dig into me and metal lining snap against my back. People flew all around me, including our guards, and Remi slowly rotated in the air, landing into a skid, on her paws, even as I crashed into a board game display, back first!\n\nEverything went black for a moment, then hazy as I groaned. Pain signals were flaring up all over my body, and I managed to open my eye again just in time to see a [i]massive[/i] shape crash into the broken, melting remains of the street outside! It was huge and black, and let out a massive roar that vibrated the metal and glass shards around me on the tiles. Fuck... That was...\n\nHe was large enough for even my blurry vision to pick up properly, as he stormed towards the shop. Ignaus. It was... Ignaus, in his full-size, feral form. I didn't even register in his vision, with all his seething rage aimed right at Vox instead, who was just now struggling to move to a crawling position a few meters away from me. He looked dazed and scratched up, but one of his guards had apparently grabbed him mid-wrinkle shift, and cushioned the impact of the explosion. Vox was laying almost on top of him now.\n\n``Give her back, fucker!'' Gone was Ignaus' polite, calm tone. He screamed it out in rage, lashing down and grabbing Vox right off the guard, and tearing him back out through the front of the store as he screamed in pain. Fuck! No, this wasn't...\n\nRemi winced, managing to struggle to her paws with that, then reached to her back and drew that Demonic dagger in her right paw, point down. Ignaus didn't even look her way, instead holding Vox up and glaring at him in his claw... briefly. There was a shadowy distortion a moment later, with Kyry just gently falling out of the air, past his arm. There was a flicker as she did, and I saw two dagger hilts suddenly stabbing out of his forearm, and Ignaus screamed in pain, entire arm jerking. Kyry snatched Vox out of his grip, as it failed entirely, and landed gently with him before flicking away again. She... really had tailed me!\n\n``You fucking cunt!'' Ignaus tore the daggers out of his arm, that claw hanging limply now. Kyry had sliced right into the controlling nerves of his arm! He stood fully again, easily the size of the entire front of the building, even as Remi hopped forward and burst into a leap herself!\n\nShe was definitely reeling from the explosion still, steam sizzling off wounds on her as she jumped. I doubt he would have been able to even see her coming if she hadn't been injured. He managed just enough reaction to slightly turn his head out of the way, as a long, hot line slashed his cheek and missed his left eye by centimeters. Another scream of pain mixed with rage, and he stumbled, then lashed out at where Remi had landed! No!\n\nShe wasn't there, though, and he just cratered his still functioning claw into the dirt and stone. Remi landed on his arm, then hopped up it, with him just barely moving his head out of the way to avoid another cut, taking it to the jaw instead! He just started to snarl again when Kyry came out of nowhere, snapping out of shadows mid-dash this time, then leapt faster than I could even see! By the time I looked up to his head again, she'd already spun to the side in midair and drove a third dagger right into his left eye!\n\nIgnaus screamed again, this time with heat flaring out of his open mouth. I could [i]see[/i] the Aether energy building up, and he snapped it forward, releasing another blast of heat and flames, this time into the air to try to hit Kyry! But it was like he was standing still. She was already gone, landing behind him into a spin and drawing another one of her daggers. Remi was on the other side, and they both dove forward again, at the same time...\n\nThey were... untouchable practically. Both of them were a blur, with Ignaus barely managing to avoid lethal strikes as they danced around him, leaving cuts and scratches all over! I noticed... they were slowly backing him away from the store, each attack causing him to wince or flinch further back and away from where I was, and where I'd dumped all the other now injured civilians... Further... I also noticed that every scratch that Remi was doing to the large Gar was... bleeding a [i]lot[/i]. They even seemed to be [i]widening[/i] over time, somewhat... What...? The dagger?\n\nFuck... this was... I had to[i] do[/i] something! I don't know how he'd found out, but he [i]knew[/i] that we'd hit his caravan! That was the only reason he was... I tried to focus, feeling dizzy. Fuck... I couldn't sit upright. My right arm was numb and unresponsive. I couldn't feel my left leg either... I struggled, but the shelf behind me felt heavy for some reason. It was... My eye shifted to the right, and then widened as I realized a busted metal bar from the shelf was [i]through[/i] my shoulder! Blood oozed down my side, and my right arm was very obviously broken and twisted sideways. There was a metal piece of the window sticking up through my left leg, too, with blood starting to form under where I lay... Fuck, this was bad.\n\nIt was hard to focus, even as my body hissed furiously trying to heal my wounds. Magic... I needed to try to stabilize myself but... Exa was panicking inside of us, trying to push against me and... keep me awake. Right, this was...\n\nXora was screaming something from the broken remains of the bank across the street. ``...said you wouldn't kill him!''\n\n``Shut up, cunt! You did your part!'' Ignaus screamed her way, flaring with more flames and blasting to the side, even as Kyry easily stepped away from the shot, luring him to fire off the edge of the city instead, I realized. Xora... Xora, she... The money. She knew about... Fuck! She sold us out!\n\nMy eye rolled in my head as I tried to grab at the metal pole, but it was slick with blood, and my left paw fell off it. Fuck, fuck, fuck! This wasn't... Xora had to retreat back into the bank as Ignaus suddenly flared with energy, somehow releasing flames from all over himself instead! I could feel the sudden heat from here, even! Remi landed, sizzling, behind him now, and Kyry was forced to hop backwards, switching to her crossbow as she grit her teeth. The flames coiled off the giant Gar, wrapping him like a blanket as he snarled, then turned towards Remi instead! No! Fuck, no!\n\nRemi's eyes widened as she dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a fast and small breath shot he released. He fired again as she came out of the roll, and she barely jumped backwards, the small explosion sending her flying as she let out a pained squeak. I clawed at the metal bar, teeth gritting furiously now! No, he was going to kill her!\n\nKyry shot at his back and neck furiously with bolts, but they burned up or plinked off his armor rather meaninglessly, and he advanced only on Remi, clearly realizing she was injured. Fuck, there wasn't... My eyes widened. There was... I didn't know what it would do, but there wasn't any other choice! There... I couldn't let Remi die! My paw touched my own chest, and I pushed the words into myself, through the Keyhole. Reset. Return to a base state. All of myself...\n\nThere was a heavy pulse that shot through me like a bolt of lightning! Everything seemed to freeze and distort, the air itself warping away from me as my chest caved backwards away from my paw. It... felt like I was putty suddenly, bending and melting about. I screamed, feeling like my soul was twisting instead, a split second later! My right arm spasmed, with dark pulses of raw Aether coming off it now. Black and purple, radiant flames, like what it looked like before exposure to Aion. The arm twisted and snapped with wet crunching noises as it moved back into place, and my entire chest spasmed. Bits of rock started drifting into the air around me, and I suddenly gasped, my breath getting sucked out. Her... song. I heard it all around me, just like the first time... Something was... Why now? Why that song?!\n\nIt echoed through my skull, my blood drifting into the air around me, then slowly sucking back into my body in long, wet ribbons. I stood at that, shaking now as I stepped forward, snapping my right arm out of its socket and intentionally pulling myself off the metal pole, drawing it back out behind me before I fell forward and onto my knees, shuddering there as my paws gripped at the broken ground in front of me! My blood crawled along the ground after me in thick streams, sucking into open wounds that boiled with black light. The stone under me warped and melted, and I shivered, hearing her song crest and slide around in my mind. This wasn't... like the first time. There was... There was something else... I felt it. The song opened things. Opened our reality to let even more Aether in. Now, it felt like it was opening [i]me[/i]!\n\nMy body ached. It wasn't pain. I couldn't feel pain. This was something inside, writhing and spasming now. Reset. It was returning me to a base state that I'd never been at in the first place. I'd [i]always[/i] been broken. My arms shook and spasmed. Remi managed to dodge another shot, but got blown sideways into the edge of the bank. Her scream... Kyry folded her crossbow up behind him, then grit her teeth as her left arm reached around and pulled a Jakatar blade and sheath around from tucked against her back, shifting it into a waist-mounted position instead. But... she hesitated. [i]Faster[/i]! I needed to help!\n\nMy arms split in spots, flesh breaking then warping together in ribbons of black light, hissing with steam over and over again. Muscle poured out of nowhere, from outside Aion, and sunk deep into my flesh. I grew larger, back cracking and breaking, then sealing together again as my entire body spasmed there! My arms were... They were three times the width they had been, and I felt my chest pouring out of me, spilling forward and widening, even as I watched my fur shift back to normal colors right before my eyes. More hisses, the air wavering with heat around me, and the bandage on my right side [i]burned[/i] away, my other eye opening and seeing again immediately. Tattered bits of my clothing drifted around me with the floating debris, having torn apart as I spilled out of them, leaving only my stretchy loincloth in place now. Fuck! There was...\n\nMy eyes widened as I watched him pick Remi up, removing the flames only from his right, still functioning arm. She struggled in his claw, steam rolling off her body from dozens of wounds and burns on her now. No... he... Remi was my mate. [i]My[/i] mate. He wasn't... It wasn't his [i]place[/i] to touch her! It was... beyond anything I'd ever felt before. A red hot, seething [i]hatred[/i] that boiled up from my chest and into my skull. I panted and shook there for a second, saliva suddenly dripping from my muzzle as all I could see was Ignaus, standing there and holding my mate.\n\nI stood then, easily now as the Keyhole flared on my chest, and both eyes blazed with light. No. This was wrong. This offended every fiber of my being and made me want to [i]break[/i] him. Slowly. There was suddenly nothing else in the entire world, and crystal clarity washed through my mind. Single in purpose, I just stepped forward, right into the wrinkle, eyes suddenly letting me entirely ignore the disorientation.\n\nI landed on his arm, into a crouch. His eyes started to widen, but my right paw had already swung downwards, flared with a distorted black light. [i]Sever[/i], fucker! My paw smashed into his wrist, claws digging in and radiating with the power of my word. A pulse, and I spun, tearing through scale, muscle, and bone before diving to the side as the energy I released exploded! Remi squeaked in surprise, but I caught her out of midair and landed gently on the broken stone street, carrying her in both arms now. Ignaus' right claw landed next to us with a heavy thud, red hot and glowing blood like fire spurting out of it, even as the giant Gar screamed in hysterical rage!\n\nRemi looked up at me in shock, but I'd already stepped forward and out of reality again, now next to a surprised looking Kyry, as I set Remi down. Safe. She was... safe. It didn't help. That seething rage boiling through me wasn't satisfied. No, I was going to [i]end[/i] Ignaus. I could feel the disgust [i]beating[/i] through my veins as I turned, glaring at the Gar as he stumbled forward, rolling now and partly falling to his side as he burned his stump shut, teeth clenched into a growl.\n\nHis own hatred showed through as he swung around to look at me instead. Just me. Just like I wanted. Flames danced around him again as he pulled up that fire armor technique once more, but I didn't care, slowly walking towards him instead. The Gar's own blood sizzled on my right arm, black lines of Aether energy drawing it into my body too as my muscles tightened and hardened. I pulled [i]everything[/i] in, Nexus eating it for energy and mass, and adding it to my own.\n\nHis eyes narrowed, one useless and oozing blood. The cuts Remi had made were blackened now, scales cracking away from them as it spread wider, pouring his burning blood out of him. ``You... [i]You[/i]! You fucking... [i]This[/i] is how you repay me?! I'll fucking destroy you!'' So he [i]had[/i] seen me on the street, before I reset myself. Good. He'd know who sent him into the next life, then. He pulled his head back, mouth opening again and flaring with heat. Aether energy. He was generating it from inside of him, and using it to cause a brute force True Alchemy reaction, generating heat and light in a beam attack from his mouth. It was released as a wave of unstable energy, with the intent to burn and explode on contact. Right. Gar had `breath weapons' they could use. Even seething with hatred, everything was... Everything moved slowly still, and my eyes picked up every little detail.\n\n``Exes!'' I heard Remi shout from behind me, but it was distant. No, I was in front of her now. She was safe. And Ignaus was going to die. I momentarily lost sight of his head entirely through the flare of heat and energy, and then he snapped it downwards and fired that wave of flames right at me, at point blank range.\n\nNo. He had hurt my mate. He had [i]touched[/i] her, and every fiber of my being felt violated by that. I [i]hated[/i] him, and now, he was dead. I screamed out a roar, flinging my arms out as my chest pulsed with energy. It was mine. Everything around me was [i]mine[/i], and I took what Ignaus had, too! The air bled darkness in front of me, and the flames crushed inwards into the scream. A molten rush, wrinkling and distorting as everything collapsed into a single point at the very tip of my tongue. More and more flames smashed at me, only to be sucked into my open maw of darkness, crackling heat and light dancing in front of my eyes!\n\nIgnaus snapped his head back again, coughing as smoke exited his muzzle, only to see the last of his own fire pull into my mouth. The black Aether energy slopped like saliva from my maw, and that little pinpoint of hot white energy dancing on my tongue. I toyed with it for a moment, feeling its weight and sheer [i]power[/i], before grinning with the light shining through my teeth, as I dropped down onto all fours with a feral shiver. Wrinkle Singularity, Explode.\n\nIt wasn't enough. I kept the force on it, crushing it down using my wrinkle in reality. It flared and struggled, but I held it there in my muzzle. It was [i]mine[/i]. It didn't dare disobey me now. Explode! Every use of the word magnified the power of the angry dot of energy. More heat and light, and another spill of black, glowing energy from my mouth, this time accompanied by an arc of hot lightning, melting the street to my left to slag. I was going to end him. Completely.\n\nHis one eye widened towards me, concern showing through for the first time as I fell down, crouching there on all fours as my mouth opened again. ``You... You're nothing! I'm destined to be a God! The father of the true race of Aion!'' Funny that he was backing up while he said it. Explode! More heat, the light burning off the rippling air around me, and her song becoming audible in the air as a series of white static pops and crackles. It was mania, in my head, feeding my emotions with hers, through the song, until it was a fervor. More! More, more, more! Explode, Explode, Explode! My snarling laughter came out now, arcs of flame burning the street in front of me to ash as the Aether pooled under me, sizzling and flaring up in little scintillating purple and pink flames. Reality itself was sobbing, laughing, and singing along, and I opened my muzzle wide, aiming it right at the giant Gar's chest as he stumbled backwards, wings of energy opening again as he took to the air. No, he wasn't escaping me. He wasn't anything, anymore!\n\nExplode! It flared, and I simply released one little pinprick of the wrinkle, facing him. Ignaus' own energy, magnified a thousand times over and very eager to be free, was fired back at him from the center of my roar. For a very brief moment, a brilliant white line, brighter than the sun itself, extended from my open maw and right into the Gar's chest. Just half a meter up and to the right of center. My roar echoed like a terrible, final thunderclap, and the force of the shot pushed my head up and to the right a split second later! I spit the rest of the energy out as it faltered away, leaving a white-hot line going from where it had impacted, all the way off Ignaus' right shoulder. It warbled as it hung in the air, writhing there as a thin, hairline slice, radiating the fury of a star. The clouds off in the distance parted in a line, the sky blackening momentarily in the flash of light from the energy. For a second, everything was absolutely still and silent, as Aion itself seemed to falter under the energy released.\n\nThen the air exploded, with the shockwave blasting out faster than sound could keep up in a thunderous detonation. Ignaus was blown in half in an instant. Parts of his chest fell away into molten heat, before it collapsed against itself and exploded in a bloom of fire. His upper body was torn sideways, then ripped free of his back legs in a spray of flames and gore, with intestines splattering out and bits of his lung landing next to him where he crashed, on fire, against the blown-out gaming shop.\n\nThe line continued, scraping along the edge of the huge central tower, leaving a trail of explosions that sent bits of the Demonic spire cascading into the air amidst the blaze... then another explosion, completely unheard for several seconds, along the distant mountains behind that. I saw the shockwave of the impact expanding out over the tundra, approaching the city, and parts of the mountain peak start to collapse downwards in a huge slide of rock and molten debris. Ignaus stared at me in shock, even as the air sizzled from the blast, and people ran screaming in every direction, not knowing how to escape.\n\nHis only eye looked over to the left, at the burning spray of meat and bone that used to be his lower body, then back to me as I slowly walked towards him, chest blazing with energy. The gashes Remi cut into his face had decayed most of his cheek now, but that was clearly the least of his concerns at this point. Slowly, his bleeding muzzle twisted into a snarl, until my left paw suddenly slammed his entire head back against the stone wall behind him, fracturing the rock and breaking his lower jaw almost in half. Then he was screaming hysterically again...\n\nI wanted him to [i]suffer[/i]. But no, I didn't want this [i]filth[/i] inside of me. With nothing but a silent, hateful glare, my paw pulsed, thumb digging up into his skull from his broken jawline. Explode... He jerked, as the stone behind his head blew away with the concussive blast, leaving a broken, circular gouge out of the corner of the building in an anticlimactic pop and clattering of stone. Bits of the back of his skull and splatters of his brain landed in the alleyway, and I let what was left of his head go, watching it slump to the right, limp now.\n\nPanting there, I just stared down at his broken remains, the screams distant now as chunks of the black tower collapsed and burned in the corner of my eye. The sounds of twisting iron resounded through the air, and I watched the tip of it bend downwards and inwards, then [i]snap[/i]. It crashed down into the bulk of the tower afterwards, and the entire thing started to collapse, raining burning debris down into the base of the city. The mountain range in the background now had a second collapsing peak, forming a new molten valley and adding to the shaking the ground was doing. It... wasn't enough. I wanted him to suffer more, but... The heat burned through my head, and I panted there, stepping back and away from him as my paws clenched, and balled into fists. Fuck! I wanted him to be alive again so I could kill him more!\n\n``Exes!'' My ears flicked, and I turned around to my right, seeing Kyry running up with huge eyes. I couldn't stop the low growl towards her, and she froze there, holding her paws up defensively. No, she... I was only [i]irritated[/i] at her. She... She'd only failed to find me. It wasn't... I needed more! Remi limped up next to her, safe now but looking shocked, but... ``W-What... oh shit! Rage!''\n\nMy eyes flicked to the left, as a panicked-looking Xora stumbled out of the remains of the front of the bank and ran down the street. Ah, perfect. A new target. A distortion, and she let out a strangled gasp as I held my left paw out and she wrinkled out of reality, running right into it. It closed around her entire throat, as I realized I was as tall as she was now. My arm flexed, and she made a choking gasp, entire body lifting off the ground as I held her there, slowly crushing her throat in my paw. [i]Perfect[/i]!\n\n``Fucking traitor!'' I growled, teeth showing now as I turned her to look right at me as her eyes widened in panic. She was done too. I'd just squeeze until her head popped right off her-\n\n``Exes!'' I gave a start as Remi ran forward and wrapped her arms around my torso, just above my waist. I... what? ``Exes, it's okay now! Ah'm fine!'' She was fine, yeah... I made sure of it. It was...\n\nKyry slowly nodded, looking to Xora before me again. ``Everything's fine, Exes. You saved everyone. Just put her down, and I'll make sure she's arrested, okay?'' Arrested...? But she deserved... She needed to...\n\nRemi gently nuzzled my stomach, and I shivered, paw lessening on Xora's neck a little. I lowered her paws to the ground again as she spasmed there, raggedly inhaling breath around my grip. This was... I suddenly felt [i]tired[/i], and blinked once, focusing more on Remi, who was smiling up at me now. No, that was... She was fine, and there wasn't any real need to kill Xora too. Was there?\n\nI let Xora go, and she fell to the side, unconscious now. Kyry grabbed her and slid her away from me slowly, watching me cautiously, even as I gave an exhale and plopped down onto my rear. Remi slipped into my lap a moment later, holding herself to my larger chest now. What... had happened? I remembered but... \n\nIt was like I'd been in a dream. Aware of what I was doing but not really... directing myself. All I really knew was that I'd never, ever felt that angry before towards [i]anyone[/i]. My body felt... thick and weird now. Everything had happened so fast. Vox winced as he slowly walked up, and his guards were helping people out of the toy shop now, and checking the injured. This was... Holy shit, Ignaus attacked us in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street...\n\n``W-Wait, Kyry?'' Vox stared at her suddenly in shock, and she coughed lightly, sitting down next to me instead.\n\n``Uh, hey Voxet. By the way, we're here to evacuate Exes and everyone involved. That includes you and Mirya. Better pack up...'' He stared at her in shock, even as I saw a flood of heavy Vulkus guards starting to rush up from the direction of the tram station. Oh. Guess they deployed early!\n\n"
}

profile.api.json · CAS artifact Download

{
  "user_icon_file_name": "192123_Kiroberos_exes_profile.png",
  "user_icon_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/192/192123_Kiroberos_exes_profile.png",
  "user_icon_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/192/192123_Kiroberos_exes_profile.png",
  "user_icon_url_small": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/192/192123_Kiroberos_exes_profile.png",
  "user_id": "32253",
  "username": "Kiroberos"
}

3695127_5696091_Kiroberos_aion_s_rebirth_-_exes_chapter_38.pools.json · CAS artifact Download

[
  {
    "count": "40",
    "description": "Every single chapter of Exes' rebooted storyline.",
    "name": "Aion's Rebirth - Exes Reboot",
    "pool_id": "73193",
    "submission_left_file_name": "5640087_Kiroberos_aion_s_rebirth_-_exes_chapter_37.doc",
    "submission_left_submission_id": "3663461",
    "submission_right_file_name": "5817615_Kiroberos_aion_s_rebirth_-_exes_chapter_39.doc",
    "submission_right_submission_id": "3762999"
  }
]

73193.json · CAS artifact Download

{
  "count": "40",
  "description": "Every single chapter of Exes' rebooted storyline.",
  "name": "Aion's Rebirth - Exes Reboot",
  "pool_id": "73193",
  "submission_left_file_name": "5640087_Kiroberos_aion_s_rebirth_-_exes_chapter_37.doc",
  "submission_left_submission_id": "3663461",
  "submission_right_file_name": "5817615_Kiroberos_aion_s_rebirth_-_exes_chapter_39.doc",
  "submission_right_submission_id": "3762999"
}