Pef tried to blink himself awake, but he was kept still, frozen in time. A faint perception told him no time has passed, and yet it took him hours to regain consciousness.

He looked around, now suddenly inside his inner world, waves frozen in motionless form.

The avatar stood in front of a black haired woman, wearing a grey and scarred metallic armor.

They both turned and looked at him.

With an effort of will, he took back control of his avatar.

"Hello" he spoke, but his mouth didn't move.

"A Legion Soldier, designation Legion. A truth so strong it covered your true name from the Fateweavers Guild." the woman spoke, her lips not moving, but his ears still hurt and bled.

'Glove, what's this?' he asked in his mind.

"The adjutant isn't allowed to interfere. Its code is corrupted. I must make the decision alone." the woman spoke with a softer voice, keeping the pain to a minimal level.

"You're my gun! The word..." Pef muttered, while his mind searched feverishly some kind of hidden override. 'C'mon glove, you knew this would happen. You always know.'

"Yes. We are in direct contact now. Your blood was scanned, genetics verified, indoctrination, service record. I know everything about you, Pef Xi." the woman said with a surprised frown.

"Good! But keep it a secret. Not even my wives know everything about me." Pef proclaimed a bit more relaxed.

"You carry 35 kilotons of Red Impure Jade. You also carry 14 Tier 2 cores and two Tier 3 cores. I require access to recharge myself." The woman demanded in a pleading tone.

"Can't override my storage, huh? Fine, you may take one Tier 2 core. But you have to sing something for me." he demanded with a smile.

"What ?!?" she exclaimed with outrage.

"Something nice. A ballad maybe. My nerves need to relax. Long day, fighting demons and all." Pef explained in a condescending tone.

The mighty Tier 7 woman stared at Pef with murder in her eyes. She opened her mouth, then closed it back.

Pef glanced at the woman up and down, taking in her sizes and looks. Strangely, she looked a lot like Pela, when she was alive. Even the hair cut was the same. Bob cut, ending right at the jaw. And her lips...

"Close your filthy eyes, vermin. And don't ask me again, or I'll paste the screaming strands of your soul over this galaxy." the woman said in a stern tone, before she began to sing.

Magical undulations flowed over the inner world, reshaping the very reality with each word.

The islands flowed together, and became a large forest with a tall mountain visible even over the highest trees. The seashore arced inward, forming a clear blue lagoon.

And deeper into the woods, a castle made of ice appeared, surrounded with permanent white mists.Birds flew over the beach, wings beating in the same rhythm as the melody.

A warm and pleasant wind flew over Pef's face, reminding him of home. Sadly, the song ended too soon.

He opened his eyes to find them full of tears.

"Pretty good song, moved me to tears." He admitted while looking around and noting the changes.

Even his old ice castle was back! But in the wooden beach house, Vela was still trembling from unending cold. Qin was focused on fusing water into plasma, and will soon get scalded with radioactive steam when she failed.

Lia was deep in trance, studying a mind stone.

And outside, he was still frozen, half his body crumpled under the force of the blow. The weapon's butt had shattered his shoulder and reached his heart. Quite a feat for a blunt weapon.

All in all, everything was as expected. Grave or mortal injury, recalcitrant weapon, Qin was still taking stupid risks.

"Only 'pretty good'? Are you deaf and stupid?" the woman asked aggravated.

"Probably. I am bleeding from my ears. Also, you broke my heart." Pef said with a shrug.

The woman snorted and turned around. "I am a blunt instrument of destruction. A mace, you called me."

"And the demon sensed my lie, as you're not a mace at all." Pef admitted with a sigh.

The armored woman turned away, looking towards the sea. "Sniff. The song took a lot from me. I require access to more energy." she said in a clear voice.

Pef blinked and willed his avatar to move in front of her. "You said: 'sniff' " he said with a flabbergasted tone

"I did? You must have heard wrong." she replied in a shy tone.

"No. I am only deaf, not stupid." Pef explained patiently. Who says sniff? The weapon was trying to manipulate him.

The woman stomped her foot. "Stupid! Give me access to the cores. Or at least some jade."

"Maybe later. For now, I intend to study this frozen time phenomenon." Pef replied cheerfully, then sat down to meditate. What did the glove say? Time has three dimensions?

Time obviously had only one direction, forward. But if so, how did it stop right now?

Pef stood still, clearing his mind and letting time go by. Yet, no time passed at all. Birds and waves were still frozen when he opened his eyes.

Unless, time was only a perception of some internal observer, while being absent to someone on the outside.

More thoughts wandered around his head. Gravity? A black hole would freeze time. Frozen, for those inside the event horizon.

Okay, that could work. But there wasn't a black hole around.

"How do you do it? Shift reality with a song?" he asked in wonder.

"All existence is real. A flow of time goes forward, the thick soup of the present. At the same time, all time, everything exists eternally. Light and sound, wave and particle." the woman answered with a weaker voice, and sat down beside Pef.

"Fine, don't tell me." Pef muttered with a grouchy tone. Bullshit answer that told him nothing. Controlling information was something you did to enemies.

"I am outside. Held in hand by a demon. Time still goes on, out there. This is another universe, as real as the one outside. You're just too weak to see it." she whispered with a real sniff.

"Okay, fine! Take the Tier 2 cores. And the red jade. Leave a bit for my glove though." Pef exclaimed with a softer voice. Hearing a woman cry always broke his heart.

"Hmph. No wonder you fell for a devil. Your heart is too soft." the weapon's avatar said with a dismissive snort.

"Shut up and sing more. Something inspiring. I still have to go back and finish what I've started." he demanded and fell on his back, letting the warm sand seep into him.

The song was longer this time. Various animals populated the forest, and Vela stopped trembling.

Qin got a breakthrough, and managed to fuse hydrogen, without blowing herself up. Lia smiled.

A boat with a steam engine floated now in the lagoon, engine no longer exploding.

The moon rose in the sky, a palm-sized mirror bouncing starlight into his eyes.

A long time later, Pef opened his eyes. Still, no time had passed.

"Well? Ready to kick to eldritch entities in the ass?" Pef asked, turning his head towards the weapon.

"The recoil will kill you." she said with sad voice.

"Pffttt. Don't be silly. Just make one illusion. A golith. Demons cry when they see it." he said in an amused voice.

"A Tier 7 nu-golith warform used as psychological trauma induction vector? I like it. Just don't open your eyes. Most humans die on sight." she said in a more interested tone.

Pain and danger threw him into action, gloved hand taking the weapon's stock, while his knife flashed with sword ki, severing the demon's wrist.

With a blink he jumped back, and grabbed Arazmodel. Another blink, and he reached Zorkel's position in high orbit.

Below them, the planet went mad, demons ripping their eyes out, over and over.

Pef glanced with the corner of his eye, just to have an idea what to expect. He quickly regreted that idiot thought. Spinning vertices of planes and dimensions intersected with tentacles and eyes and dozens of other things he couldn't name, but were wrong. Even from this distance he could feel a malevolent presence intent to devour him.

Then the Archemon woke up and screamed, his scepter arcing from a nearby palace into the Central Arena. A million mad demons died instantly, while the capital was incinerated by violet lightning.

Verzinel shot out from the lightning cloud, screaming and ripping out his regenerating eyes.

'A Chosen should put the pitiful mad Soultrader out of his misery.' Pef sent to Arazmodel via mind pulse.

'A Chosen will, however this Chosen is only a High Lord. Many thanks for saving me from that nightmare monster.' Arazmodel said with frozen tears in his eyes. Space is cold and not conductive to tears.

'That tiny golith? That's a summon of mine. I can call it out anytime.' Pef replied with a smile.

'Not sure if that's a good thing or not.' the demon admitted with a frown.

'I might anchor it to Mi'ridolor. Makes a great guard dog, should anyone be mad enough to attack my planet.' Pef mused out loud, with a mind pulse, of course. Space is not conductive to sound.

'Like I said. Just tell it not to eat my mind. It would be a terrible thing to waste.' Arazmodel asked in a meek tone.

Pef took out a fragment of a Greater Demon's core. 'Is this worth anything?'

'A thousand planets at least.' Arazmodel answered with a greedy voice.

'Deal.' Pef agreed and tossed him the core.

Then he blinked down. His knife flashed at high speed, striking downwards and killing Veriznel who had stopped to cry and scream. As the violet flames vanished, Pef collected the loot and blinked back into orbit.

Arazmodel was busy digesting the core, while Pef browsed through Verzinel's treasures and riches.

A thin silvery necklace with a green and blue leaf-like pendant drew his attention.

'What's this?' he asked holding the item up.

Both Arazmodel and Zorkel shook their heads.

'I think it's a Veridian Legion armor.' the glove answered with a wary tone.

'Armors look like pendants?' Pef asked inward.

'In stored state, Pef. Gaia might be able to unfold it.' it replied in a tired voice.

'What's wrong?' Pef asked with some worry. The glove was his friend, after all.

'My energy is gone, and the gun is grouchy. Says you treat her poorly and are a bad man.'

'She sang for me, one nice song and a good song later. And my heart is still broken. And not metaphorically. ' Pef complained in turn, looking down at his crushed shoulder and heart.

'You just killed another Tier 3. You can Ascend and heal yourself. But first, let's run away.' the glove said in a snarky voice.

Pef glanced at his status window, noting the blinking Tier 3 - Ascend button.

'Arazmodel, be so kind and give me your ship. I'd rather not destroy the planet's defenses when I leave.' he messaged the Chosen demon.

Arazmodel glanced at the burning city then towards Pef. 'As you say, Legion. And may we never meet again.'

Soon, the Soultrader ship flew away from Hellsreach, carrying a wounded Tier 2 human and an enslaved Greater Demon.

"Fly to Mi'ridolor and dock at the station." he ordered his new demonic squire.

"Yes, Legion." the demon said as Pef fell asleep. Zorkel entered the address and left the command console.

Then Zorkel removed the broker collar and stared at his new master.

Legion was healing too slowly, and was a human.

Then again. He won the tournament and gave the prize away.

And that golith thing.

Who fought such things willingly? He had seen Legion summon the creature and smile wryly as he drove the capital mad.

And then he went to sleep, without a worry of nightmares eating you alive. Zorkel knew for certain he will never sleep one hour, for whatever long he lived.

Back in the inner world, time resumed and the inhabitants took notice of the changes.

"You think Pef Ascended again?" Qin wondered with a trace of envy in her voice.

Lia looked around, checking for something special, beside old memories made real.

Then she saw her. The woman in metal armor.

Her skill told her to run and hide, only it was too late. The thing was everywhere in the universe.

"Hey, want to have some tea?" she asked instead, choosing a Pef-like trajectory.

"Sure. But don't make me sing." the woman replied with an annoyed voice.

'Idiot husband! What did you do?' she yelled in her mind. Who lets a universe eating monster wander around? And makes her sing somehow?

"Who's the new girl? Another wife?" Qin asked jovially, while sitting at the table uninvited.

Lia sipped the tea in silence. Words would make things worse.

"Leave her alone. She's like me. A broken tool, discarded after her usefulness had ended." Vela said, glancing at the newcomer with sad eyes.

The weapon sighed and drank the tea. Pretty close to the truth, after all.

The inner world shook, sky shattering then reforming into a new color. Black as night and full of stars. In the distance, the mountain exploded into a huge volcano.

"Reckless idiot." the woman muttered without opening her mouth. The volcano subsided into a mild lava flow, while clouds covered the sky.

Lia tapped the table, feeling the reality of this universe getting more solid. "Now he's Ascended. Tier 3."she concluded with a frown.

Soon after, the avatar appeared at the table, smiling widely.

"Girls! I made it. Tier 3!" he exclaimed.

"You broke the sky." Qin commented widely.

"And a mountain. Burned half the forest too." Vela added with a disproving look.

"Details. I was busy unbreaking my heart. And you!" Pef exclaimed, pointing at the weapon's avatar.

"Yes?"

"You need a name. I name you... Reason !"

"At least it's not something stupid like Melody." the woman said with a shrug.

"Exactly! You're the voice of reason. Someone everyone needs, but rarely has. Often the last resort of a warrior. Usually the first advantage of a general...girls, I present you Reason. The first woman to break my heart, and my personal and most beloved weapon. The power word gun!" Pef proclaimed grandly, and rushed to hug the armored woman.

Her fist blew him away, sending the avatar crashing into the moon. The crater was visible with the naked eye.

In a second, the avatar returned to his place, coughing lunar dust and cold vacuum.

"He sleeps with his knife inside his chest." Qin explained with a shrug.

"Really?" Vela asked a bit confused.

"Not always! Just when the knife is lonely." Pef protested loudly.

"Oh. That makes a bit of sense. I was very lonely sometimes." Vela said with a sad voice.

"Reason! You know how to fix Vela? The locals made her sick." Pef asked pointing at the elf virgin. Vela dropped her eyes, hiding from too much attention.

"I already fixed the tremors. For the rest, she needs care and love." Reason replied curtly, then sipped the tea that Lia made for her. She'd have to thank the Captain somehow. How easily she'd brought her into the group, and made her feel like home.

Qin eyes darted from Vela to Reason, then stopped on Pef. "Hubby! You get to marry another elf! Lucky bastard..."

Vela chocked on her tea, and drew back a little.

"Don't scare the virgin elf, you moron! And Vela, it's your choice. Nobody will force you to do anything. Plus you're too skinny." Pef intervened, calming the waters before they got rough.

"I'm not skinny! Am I?" Vela protested in a weak voice.

Nobody answered, but Pef fled to the kitchen anyway.

After a short minute of silence, the Reason spoke instead. "Your body starved and malnourished, Vela. Plus your cultivation is horrible and your meridians need to be rebuilt. As for your tattered soul...without love, it will unravel and force you to suicide. Your mind is in good shape though. Almost like a Tier 4."

"Wow, and I thought Pef was insensitive. You two are like, made for each other." Qin muttered with an amazed tone, though as she was much the same she didn't mind.

"Reason can only speak the truth. It's her nature." Lia said gently.

"It's true. I was made this way. Although, I can still trick Pef sometimes. He's not too bright." Reason whispered in confidence. The women nodded and grinned.

"I can hear you!" Pef yelled from the kitchen.

Sadly, nobody else cared about his reputation. He focused on making the best meal he'd ever made.

Here in the inner world, it was much easier. All the fires or steam or boiling obeyed his wishes.

Nothing could go a bit amiss, forming chunks in the porridge or keeping seasonings from distributing equally.

All stoves had perfect convection and so on. It was a dream to cook here, and his proudest achievement.

He cared much less about birds or the moon, than his cooking.

Although, cooking was meant to feed and nourish him and his family. That mattered more.

Still, the perfection of taste also mattered.

In one hour, he made enough food for a dozen people. He set a separate tray for Zorkel and outer Pef. When his body woke up, he could just take out the food.

Then he setup the table and called everyone to lunch.

It seemed they liked it, even if Reason only nibbled a little and Vela much the same.

"You have to eat, Vela. Close your eyes and follow the smell. Whatever smells good, you can eat." he advised her in a warning voice.

Hesitantly, Vela picked something and ate it. Then something else.

However, after a dozen bites, she was full.

"What do you say?" he asked the gun.

"Good food."

"Our elf skeleton, I mean." Pef explained politely.

"Hey!" Vela protested weakly.

"You need to activate the Legion Standard Method. There's a hundred blockages in her body, circulation and soul. No point feeding water to a burning patient."

Pef turned towards the elf former vestal. "You heard her. Your mind is very strong and keeps you going. But not for long. You need to recover and Ascend. The cross into divinity will fix some of the problems, while the new cultivation will fix the rest. Unless you feel unable to defend a little child from being eaten by beast, or a demon."

"But it hurts!" Vela protested a bit rhetorically.

"She just punched me into the moon. Pain is merely a number." he said with a smile.

The weapon wanted to correct him, then stood down as Pef glared at her.

"What number?" Vela asked with a frown.

"Between two hundred and a thousand. A thousand being you going to sleep too tired to eat." he said with a sad grimace. Having your stomach eat itself wasn't pleasant.

"Oh. I did that a thousand times..." Vela mused with a longing look.

"Plus you won't be alone or cold. Nothing to lose." Pef argued with a shrug.

"Okay. What do I do?" the elf asked with some trepidation.

"You just stay in bed. For a few months."

"Really? I kinda dreamed of being able to sleep for a year." Vela said wistfully.

Pef exchanged a glance with Lia. "Nah. I think three months. Maybe a little more or less, if you're in pain or not. Aria wanted two years, for example. But she didn't like it at all."

"Normal Legion Awakening times are two to four weeks. But if you can withstand more, you'll be stronger. I recommend more, as your mind is strong enough. You'll might not even feel anything." Reason added helpfully.

They all stared at Reason with complicated reasons.

Then Pef stepped beside Vela and whisked her onto the bed. 'Commence Indoctrination.' he ordered towards the glove.

With his senses he could feel the Awakening starting, first in the bone marrow.

"It only tingles a little. Why were you so sure it would hurt?" Vela asked with a soft voice.

"Well, I was seven when I did my own. It hurt quite a lot. Then again, my shoulder was pulverized a few hours ago and I barely felt the pain. It's possible I got used to pain."

"I don't even remember most of my youth. A temple or such, green robes, plenty of serious vows." she said with a frown.

"Ugh, a temple. Sounds horrible. I lived in the woods, had a cabin, with my mom. We only had that maize for food, but it was great. It was a good childhood." Pef mused gently.

"I wish I had something like that..." Vela muttered as she fell asleep.

The avatar blinked, and arrived above the volcano. It was almost identical with Etna, where he spent a few years helping Firalli.

Reason appeared next to him, glancing at the mountain.

"This isn't supposed to be here. There's only water under this island." she said with a frown.

"Qin, maybe? She lived here, back on Lacrima."

"That place is not a real planet. And your glove is not who it says it is. This universe is a prison." Reason continued in a sharp voice, and still not moving her lips.

"Well, I did meet seven golden auras so far. I bet there's more." Pef said with a shrug.

"Your Chosen friend, from the other fake planet. Do you know what chose him?" she asked with a smile.

"I guess the demon scepter?"

"Exactly. There is no scepter. That's a nu-golith sting. Like me, but worse." Reason said with silent words then vanished.