"A creature of innumerable forms, the god of animals The Shapeless One is a wild, loyal, yet merciless deity. He seeks to constantly evolve, to change, to overcome. He protects all of the animals, beastkin, and monsters in the world. He has no disdain for humanoids but finds most of them untrustworthy. The shapeless one can appear as any creature at any time. This makes following him a fairly trying ordeal, but he rewards loyalty and commitment with the boon of the animal kingdom." ~ Miriale Skysinger, Druid of the Paw

What could one say to be called a mythical harbinger of death and destruction? What could one do when confronted with the belief that she had caused monsters and likely the cycle of chaos and regeneration to continue endlessly?

Serena was pretty sure it wasn't to stare wide-eyed and let out a sound that was somewhere between a wail and a hiss.

The small part of her that was trying and failing to compartmentalize this development had just thrown its hands up in the air and checked out. The young reborn girl figured it was unwinding, perhaps with a nice wine and a book, while the rest of her was on the verge of having a massive meltdown. Strands of black mana ran across her body, the wisps of energy sparking to her growing concern and horror. Her curly hair began to lift away from her body, floating on the waves of rampaging mana that she just barely kept from lashing out.

It was only the ceaseless warmth of her brother holding her hands that pulled her from the brink.

Minutes passed, filled with her heavy breathing as if she ran a marathon and Kalani's reassurances. Only then, after the urge to destroy all around her to vent her suffering had abated even for the mana not to lash out, could she begin to think clearly.

This changes things. Serena wasn't sure exactly what changed or how best to act, so she decided it was best to focus on the meaning of the words. First, I need to attend to my brother.

The energy was uncommon to physically see unless it was concentrated or being used as some kind of attack or display of prowess. It was a sign of someone inexperienced with control.

A deep blush marred her pale cheeks as Serena activated the plain ring on her left pinky. At a first glance, the relic of their mother was just a simple platinum ring engraved with runes. Its aesthetics fit her and her heritage, but it was no doubt obscenely expensive. Platinum was one of the most popular metals that had great magical synergy with a lot of enchantments and could be turned into weapons, armor, and accessories. As such, there was always a hefty price to even the smallest trinket. However, that wasn't the problem here.

What was the problem was that it was a storage device and one that seemed to have a nearly endless storage capacity. It seemed to be based on how much mana is put into it, along with the user's affinity for spatial magic and manipulation. Magic and energy manipulation had always come as second nature to her, so Serena was not surprised when it reacted in such a way. Through mana control combined with mental manipulation and visualization, she could retrieve and store things with ease. The collection of items seemed to have their time halted, at least in her ring, but that is likely due to her affinity more than anything.

If Marama attempted to use it, she would likely only be able to get a handful of items stored.

Kalani had an identical ring where he kept his equipment and items.

Serena closed her eyes and channeled mana into the ring. The platinum ring glowed faintly with pale blue light and hundreds of items passed through her mind. Sorted by gear, traveling supplies, clothing, materials, resources, trading goods, tools, medicine among other categories, the inventory reacted to her desire.

Her little black book was stored in the Key Item tab where it was called the Book of Aeon. It was not the first time she had discovered the name for the book, not by a long shot, but it provided the barest of information.

The Book of Aeon

"The Power Within can bring forth either Salvation or Destruction at the whim of the wielder."

Ancient Relic predating known Eras. Potentially linked to either the Storyteller or Lord of Oaths.

Insufficient information to glean about potential benefits or costs.

This relic has little power and needs to be researched and slowly restored to start to comprehend it.

That's not cursed at all, Serena thought blinking rapidly. The information changed it seems.

Putting that off to the side, Serena focused on looking at some medicinal salve. After a moment, she found a good one and retrieved it.

The item appeared beside them as she opened her eyes, and Serena removed her hands from her brother's to open the lid of the small, round container. The scent of the white cream was pleasant and with experienced ease, she tended to the small black burns on his fingers. Mana burns were a minor side effect of magical backlash, but it was rather mild with only the tips of them hurt. The cream seeped into the flesh, causing Kalani to hiss in pain as it started to restore his body to a more pristine state.

"I'm sorry for losing my cool," Serena muttered. She kept her gaze on kneading the cream into his hand, making sure there was no pain left for him. It sickened her that she had hurt him, even by accident.

To distract herself, she thought about the meaning of the term Pandora.

Pandora was an Earth myth and was both a creation myth of humans and a tale of divine punishment. The chief of one pantheon decided to punish someone who tried to help humans. She was molded by the craftsmen god and endowed with gifts by the others. One of these alleged gifts was a jar full of all the evils and diseases which exist in the world. She would eventually lift the lid of this jar and set them all free, except for hope or more accurately anticipation for both good and bad things to come.

The name Pandora was often translated as all-gifted, but it could also mean all-giving. An alternative name for Pandora was Anesidora which meant she who sends up gifts. Apparently, in the Earthian culture, this was from, Anesidora was an epithet applied to Gaea or Demeter who was the names of beings who were connected to nature and the seasons. As the life-bringing entity Pandora was eclipsed, the death-bringing human Pandora arose.

As disturbing as this was to consider, the implications of her moniker made sense. If Serena followed the train of thought that Kalani implied happened then her death, or more accurately the covenant she made, had some unforeseeable repercussions on reality. If she brought such chaos into her home, then she didn't have anyone to blame but herself...and she wasn't going that far either.

It also heavily implied that the Hope or Anticipation for good or evil things was herself. In which case, that opened up an entire line of thought Serena was not eager to walk down. Celestials of any rank were prone to thinking they were superior to other races, and while she had the same thoughts at times, she has seen enough of the fallout to avoid such outcomes. She had no intention of being a stupid overlord.

Despite the insane predicament, she had found herself in, Serena started to relax. She listened for potential dangers still, of course, a difficult task as it wasn't exactly the silent kind of lake in the middle of a forest. Birds sang, distant roars of beasts rang out frequently, and the rustling of the leaves as the wind swept through were all oddly soothing.

Then as one, the birds stopped singing and silence spread across the once peaceful lake.

Serena turned to the forest to the right of them and frowned in concern. There were six huge wolves, easily about the height of an average adult. The dark brown fur was matted with blood and dark energy oozed out of ceaseless gashes. Their crimson gaze was feral and monstrous, but within them was maddening pain. Black fluids leaked from their panting mouths, each pained-filled gasp echoing. The land around them seemed to distort faintly, and even lost a little of its vibrancy.

“What are those things?” Serena questioned, in a low tone. It was an obvious answer and one she hoped was wrong.

Her brother did not hear her plea and was blunt. "Corrupted wolves. Where is that damn slayer when you need her?"

"The perception of their surroundings seem to be lackluster." The wolves had yet to notice them when they were less than twenty meters or so away.

The feeling they gave her wasn't one of danger. She had a feeling that handling them would be easy. Both of them were either immune or had high resistance to Mist and corruption, at least the physical kind, so even close combat would be doable.

"Can you tell them that we mean them no harm?"

Serena just glared at her twin. "I'm not a monster whisperer whatever you think I am. And even if I was, they are too far gone to communicate with. Their suffering needs to end."

"Your first kill?" Kalani asked, a strange intensity in his voice.

That alone confirmed that he had killed before. Perhaps even in the last few years.

Serena nodded. She had never done more than spar with others and had never been in a fight before. Certainly not one where her life was on the line. Of course, she had supplied toxins, wards, and other tools that would kill other things and so had killed indirectly but she had never seen it happen.

Senku often regaled her with stories of the battlefield and how he felt a rush of energy and new power when he slew those who opposed him. The rush of power, of acquiring their mana or even their soul combined with the experience and abilities of such, was something Serena had never experienced. A large part of her wondered how she would take to it. If she would enjoy the carnage and long for the scent of death and the sight of eyes clouding over in death.

It didn't bother her as much as she felt it should.

As if the celestials heard their plight, Marama appeared before them in a blink of an eye. The towering platinum blond-haired woman held her double-headed ax to the side, the mithril alloy glinting in the sunlight. The ax was bound to a shaft of platinum, as bright as the full moon itself. The entire weapon was taller and wider than the huntress and was more malleable and durable than normal gear. Such things were mandatory as even the weakest hunter possessed inhuman strength.

However, the woman didn't seem to be interested in killing them herself. Instead, she seemed to be morbidly curious about their development.

The two twins shared a long, suffering look before making a simple plan. They would start with ranged attacks from a distance, trying to damage or maybe kill one or two, with Marama trying to go in the front to get their attention. The plan held the assumption that the beasts were stupid and aggressive if attacked. Given the state of corruption and the kind it was, it was the best bet they had.

"Serena, do you have the confidence to hit one from here?” Marama inquired, seemingly not holding much faith in the plan.

“Of course,” Serena answered.

She channeled energy through her body to prepare for even swifter silent casting and the need to dodge or take a blow in case they became too close to her. Around her, several orbs of white light floated and after a moment they shifted to other elements. A blue flame burned hot, the chilly blue of the water, the crisp light green of wind, and the dark green of earth remained as the basic elements of fire, water, wind, earth, and light were prepared for the ballistic barrage. It was an old technique she had heard of involving manipulating mana into rapid-fire projectiles though she didn't know if it would work. She only tried it since Marama wouldn't let them become too injured.

Serena looked at the beasts who were too far gone to be salvaged. The orbs began to ripple as bullet shapes began to emerge from them. Each bullet was wrapped in energy and would cause some kind of magical effect when it would strike. Time seemed to slow down ever so slightly as she concentrated on figuring the best place to aim for.

She smiled, took aim, and unleashed the first in a long chain of bullets. The magical missile was aimed at the neck of the largest of the pack, with a second and third going to the head and heart to ensure it was dead. The other two were aimed at the second largest, possibly a mate, in the location. After that were the ones that were the most far gone and so the most dangerous.

The missile hit the mutated wolf on target and then things got messed up. The flame bullet set his neck on fire, nearly decapitating him in the process. The water bullet to his head caused it to explode, flesh and blood matter spread to the other wolves before freezing the afflicted body. And the light bullet just vaporized the body.

Serena felt like throwing up at the sight but now was not the time.

It fell back over, and before the other wolves had even registered what had happened, the second, third and fourth part of her chain of barrages arrived. It was no less horrific to see them burst into flame as they were to be sliced into ribbons, their corrupted organs littering the grass and dying it crimson. The remaining two wolves instantly charged at Serena, showing no regard for their lives.

Before the beasts could sink their teeth into Serena, Marama moved in front of her and cut off their heads with a single swing of her ax. The heads flew off their bodies, soaring through the air before falling back to earth with a sickening sound.

Serena collapsed to her knees and covered her face in her hands. She was aware of the mana returning to her, and of Marama ruffling her hair.

"You did well for your first kill. However, you seem to be way out of their league. In any case, you are bloodied now. And just in time for our trip back."

Kalani tried to comfort her, but his words were more praises and pointers on how to pour the barest hint of mana into each attack to reduce the overkill antics. She appreciated it, but damn she wanted something sweet and just take a nap. It's been a long day.

It was more than the horror of what she had done so easily and without a thought that plagued her.

She felt good. Like everything was finally making sense and that she felt alive.

The emptiness within her body, the void, and the darkness that flowed through her veins was filled with pure energy that was not her own or the world's. It was a heady experience to feel one's existence become empowered by mana, the soul...even death. A wide grin spread across her face as she became alive and knew the thrill of growth in any form. It was on par with her endless curiosity, and the warmth did not leave her even as she calmed her body enough not to be smiling like a lunatic.

With her brother's help, Serena stood up and the trio headed back to their little caravan company. It was less than a day to Netherthorne from here, and the Institute would need to be informed about corrupted creatures being so close to their headquarters.