Jaden looked over the pond. Anticipation and hope oozed from him as he released the harness and set Vivian down gently at the edge of the water.

Pond of Eternal Youth In ages past, wars waged endlessly over the water of this pond, unrivaled in healing ability. The gods displeased, sent their beasts to destroy the civilization, and wipe its record from the annuls of time. The method to produce this water is assumed destroyed along with the city and fountain this pond once resided in. The pond lay in this forest lost, forgotten. Silently evolving. In its long existence, this pond has never been able to unleash the true extent of its healing ability.

"I won't pretend to know just how strong your healing powers are, I just ask that you do what you can for my Mother." Jaden knelt at the edge of the water beside Vivian and spoke with reverence.

The pond stirred. Ripples broke the calm surface as ropes of water arose like smooth tentacles. Oddly enough, they were solid enough that they didn't appear to be made of water; they didn't even drip. They approached Vivian, one brushed her cheek. A spark sent an electric shock through the entire pond.

"I entrust her to you, the same as she once trusted herself to you," Jaden spoke calmly. The pond moved. The water left its basin, climbing out it enveloped Vivian, wrapping her in a large clear bubble of water. Jaden watched as it went to work, the painful sounds of bones cracking, shifting, and then forcefully merged back together. Every bone in her body visibly cracked and shifted into its proper location and fused back together in their proper shape.

The healing is more painful to observe than when the sphinx stepped on her. Jaden sighed.

The cracking finally echoed into silence, Jaden had an urgent message from Sasha. He watched in silence as the word (crippled) flashed and faded from her status, but it was the other thing that held his gaze.

Health pool 1/1000

Jaden kept calm. I expected fixing her body wouldn't be without danger and risk, but to lose all her recovery progress... He looked over his mother's body once more. She looked much better despite the underlying issue that she was nearly dead. I do trust that this water knows what it is doing.

The water bubbled and toiled, it squeezed into a smaller space, collapsing upon itself. It continued until only a thin layer of water remained surrounding Vivian, giving her skin a light sheen. The water pulsed through her body.

Badonk.

Jaden blinked, not believing what he was seeing; he closed and reopened the status indicator watching the number tick upward at an unbelievable rate. The water only gushed harder, pushing the number to increase even faster.

Badonk. Badonk. Badonk.

Health pool 750/1000

Badonk.

One final pulse. The water started falling apart, no longer capable of holding itself together. It set Vivian gently upon the ground. The compressed water exploded outward saturating the area like fresh rain. Jaden cupped his hands and gathered as much of the water as he could hold. He dumped what he had collected into the basin. "Thank you."

"No, thank you!" Jaden turned to see his mother standing upright, her pure white eyes had hazed over into a pale blue. "We have finally exercised our full potential and failed to completely heal, we can at last return to the nothing from whence we came."

Vivian's body knelt and she wretched, water exited from every pore, every orifice. It hit the ground and scattered.

"Mother!" Jaden caught and cradled her as her body collapsed. He held her tightly, feeling her lethargic breathing, steady and relaxed. Sasha.

Name Vivian Title Matriarch of the Race; Caretaker Level 10 Health pool 999/1000 Mana pool 90/90(60) Strength 10 Constitution 10 Dexterity 10 Agility 10 Wisdom 6 Intelligence 3 Willpower 10 Misc This host stands five feet(152 cm) tall and her tail is seven inches(17 cm) long.

Level restriction in effect. The host encountered an artificial water spirit forcefully trapped inside a body of water through an elaborate curse. Skill List Survive. Anya's Blessing. Sleep Resist(advanced). Quarterstaff(Master)

"A cursed artificial water spirit?" Jaden clenched his fist. "From what the spirit said, the curse stipulated that they would be trapped until they couldn't fully heal a person to their prime health. What a shackle that would be, considering just how potent their healing was."

Jaden paled as he thought further, "Did- did it bring mother's health pool down to the brink to hope it would break the curse? I can't say I blame it if freedom is on the line how far would I go to get it?"

He draped Vivian over his back and trudged into the forest. At long last, my biggest worry is put to rest.

Mine as well.

Sasha, what is that level restriction about?

Vivian is at the pinnacle of the mortal realm. A feat she only achieved due to the skill [Guardian Spirit] that Anya bestowed upon her.

Is she unable to break into the next realm?

The answer to that should be yes. Technically speaking, all her stats shouldn't be as high as they are. And she shouldn't be alive right now at the peak of health.

What are you getting at Sasha?

Vivian has become a special existence among special existences. The hand of death has proven ineffective at claiming her lifetime and again. Her body has adapted to every hardship she's ever faced, pushing against her fate. I won't be surprised when she pushes into the Epic realm; my reasoning? She is already epic. Her next brush with death will likely break that restriction, considering what it would take to kill her now.

And I was the first catalyst in that regard? Sasha... did... does mother have any side effects of my void corruption?

Yes, your birth was the first event where her body truly spiked in power. As far as I can tell, she remains pure of corruption. This is only from speculation though.

I'd prefer she remains that way. The void corruption in my divinity... feels like a hole in my soul.

Interesting, perhaps that's not far from the truth.

"No. I'm not eating any maupia. I don't care how delicious it is." Isa recalled how that got her in her current predicament, and she hated herself for falling for it. She flicked her tail in a moment of irritation. The plate shattered, the meal splattered over the walls of her heated nest and sizzled into charred ash. "I swear the next person to bring me anything related to the maupia will find themself on my menu. Just try me."

The enchantments on this chain are quite impressive. Even in this heat, the collar is barely warm. Isa thought to herself. Well, melting it was not the initial plan anyway. The last time I was captured, it was a fire that led to my rescue.

"You're still here?" Isa looked at the dumbfounded servant. "How about a lesson in the difference between fire immunity and fire resistance then?"

Isa pulled fire into her throat as she grinned maliciously. She exhaled into the self-sustained fire fountain. The temperature jumped a whole magnitude as the flame in the fountain shot up into the air sending sparks and ashes raining down on the city. "Now, as for the difference. I'll be fine while you'll slowly get cooked alive. Begone from my sight, unless you are interested in being my meal." Isa licked her lips quite convincingly.

The feline tripped over its own feet as it made a hasty retreat. Isa watched and laughed heartily. She closed her eyes, a slight smile on her lips. The collar is getting warm to the touch.

"As requested Sherisa, here's your wild boar." a voice intoned. A voice she detested.

"To what do I have to thank for this pleasure?" Isa didn't even look at him.

"Your little stunt, you've scared the hired help to death." Hemloc frowned, "It is pretty toasty in here."

"It's necessary." Isa stretched lazily and returned to her previous position.

"You forget I'm also a mirage dragon."

"My egg has lain dormant for several millennia. It's necessary. Now back away from my fire fountain." she cast a dangerous glare on him. Daring him.

"I'm afraid your boar is ruined." Hemloc wafted the plate, nothing but ash vacated the plate.

"You don't want me to starve this child, then you find a solution." Isa shrugged. She released her mana around her, condensed it, and sent it carelessly into the fire fountain. "Are you fire immune in that body?"

"Empty threats won't scare me." Hemloc glared at her.

Isa simply laughed as the fire fountain flared. His fur singed off and his clothes ignited. "Aren't you going to flee, or drop the illusion? Although, nothing would please me more than to eat a traitor."

Hemloc frowned, "My fur."

"Ah right, the Liralau are quite prideful about that aren't they? Still, think I'm bluffing? Though, I admit your fire resist is higher than I thought." Isa drew fire into her throat once more.

"You've become quite arrogant over the years, haven't you." Hemloc smiled as he dropped his illusion, reverting to his true body as a majestic mirage dragon covered in red and gold scales.

Isa exhaled into the fountain, it burst into a deep purple flame with a black core, mimicking the coloring of her scales. A very drastic and sudden increase in heat exploded from the flame, filling the city and making the residents highly uncomfortable, they retreated to underground shelters as quickly as they could manage. Isa basked comfortably in the glow of her unique dragon fire.

"You're playing a dangerous game Sherisa," Hemloc warned as he retreated to a safe distance. His skin and scales were scorching in the presence of her unique flame.

"When was the last time you felt the sting of fire as a dragon?" Isa asked, but she didn't care for the answer. "Fire immunity means nothing in the presence of a true flame."

"You're trying to melt the chain are you?" Hemloc laughed, "Should I mention the complications if that collar melts? It is bound with a system contract after all."

"That's why you didn't stop me?" Isa cursed her stupidity. She wafted her tail at the fountain lazily, calming the temperature of the flame slightly. "But why tell me?"

"To make the game more fun. What if I set my unique fire here?" Hemloc grinned, "Without knowing the details of the contract, I can only imagine the thoughts going through your head."

"You're bluffing. You'd have done that from the start if that were the case."

"Am I?" Hemloc filled the sky with his unique red flame with a golden core.

Shit. That flame is much hotter than mine too. This is all I can do for now. Isa expanded her unique flame, surrounding herself and creating a barrier out of it. I wasn't planning on actually needing to be rescued. Isa frowned.

Brawn occupied the training hall, listening to the peons striking the training dummies with ruthless precision. He sat in the center of their practice silently meditating as his muscles rebuilt the torn tissue from his sparring match. His ears twitched in irritation. He pointed, singling out a peon. "Out of sync." The peon's ears drooped as he discarded his training sword in a weapon rack. He dropped to the ground and began his punishment exercise.

"Pay attention to the subtle changes in breathing, and the timing of the cry. Adjust your swings accordingly. That's what this training is for. Learn to adjust to combat situations based on the situation of your allies. If one of you falls in combat, we all fail." Brawn stated with his eyes closed. "I am but one rat, I can't be everywhere at once."

"For the Horde!" all the peons joined their comrade on the ground, sharing in his punishment voluntarily. Brawn looked on in approval, "That's the type of solidarity that makes us unique. King will be proud."

"Just start with the first time you met him." Queen sat at a table across from Evan, a dreamy yet serious look in her eyes. "I want every detail of his life."

"Er..." Evan looked across the table. "I'd rather not recount everything."

"It's fine, it's fine. I can imagine you had some complications with one such as him." Queen smiled dangerously as she locked Evan in her eyes, "I want to know everything. If you're unwilling, I can always have Brains and Alchemist extract the information I want."

Evan swallowed hard. He told her everything, things he thought he'd forgotten, things he wished he hadn't done and things he wished he could forget. She hung on every word, smiling fondly hearing about the antics and behaviors of her beloved. She looked at Evan in disgust far too often for her own liking but always nodded at how Jaden did his best to defuse everything, never making a big deal out of nothing. A single thought entered her mind. Emily is far more dangerous than I thought.

"How do you feel about Emily?" Queen asked a question that didn't involve Jaden for the first time.

"Er..." Evan wasn't sure how to answer, "I like her, we've spent a lot of time together over the years."

Queen nodded, "Good good, you should spend even more time together. Keep her away from my King."

"..." Evan looked at her blankly, "Easier said than done."

"You just haven't had the right person helping you before." Queen replied with a devious smile, "Here's what you do..."

That takes care of Plan A. Queen smirked to herself watching Evan dashing off to find Brawn. For Plan B, I'm confident there's plenty of interest from our younger rats I could encourage to pursue her. That just leaves the feline. Although I'm not even sure she's a threat at this point.

Fixer appeared from a spot in the corner. He simply looked at her.

"What?"

"I'll tell you straight and take this to heart as this isn't something I'll be able to fix once it's broken: Don't try to manipulate him, or those around him. You've nearly secured your place at his side, don't let your selfishness ruin it now."

"...I did ask you to be my advisor again, didn't I?" Queen sighed. "Enough about that, what can you tell me of that other matter?"

"Our scouts are still searching. They sent a runner with a message, they picked up a trail."

"Wonderful." Queen smiled delightedly.

"Does she never tire?" Liralau asked while watching Emily playing non-stop the entire time they'd been walking.

"Only once, but it didn't last long." Molli replied, "I wish I knew the source of her energy. I could use a fraction of it."

"Anya," Lulu asked, "How are you feeling?"

Better. My fertile land draws near. She replied. Anya waved her arms and the trees along the path bent slightly to her whim. Nuts and berries from the trees flew through the air, Anya weaved her arms together into a basket, catching all of it. She absorbed everything. Her body taking in the new form of plant life assimilated it, and her body became more complex as a result. A flower bud sprouted in her hair, just above her right ear. It bloomed into a deep red rose.

They marched on, chatting idly. Pausing twice to eat. The manticore started growing restless.

"How far is your destination?" it snarled.

"At our current pace, we will arrive at nightfall," Molli answered with a shrug.

"..." that answer did not please the beast. "Finish eating and I will carry the caretakers and the Dryad. I do no favors for the catfolk."

Liralau shrugged. She knew her race had earned a lot of ire over the years and for nearly a decade she helped add to it.

Jaden frowned overlooking the land that was the only home he'd ever known. Barren. Lifeless. Dead. My void corruption did this?

"Jaden!" Emily had leaped off the manticore as she yelled his name. He turned and caught her.

"Emily, that was dangerous." Jaden frowned mockingly. She just smiled playfully.

Anya stepped forward slowly. The fertility is gone from the land... an empty husk of what it once was. What, just what happened here?

"Me." Jaden admitted, "Can you use this land still? I'd rather you didn't try though, I don't want you to get infected by what caused this."

Territory Corrupted

Cause: Unknown

[Repair] or [Abandon]?

I... think so... Anya mentally reached for the [Repair] option.

Stop her. Now!

"Anya, don't!" Jaden reached for her, but his hand went where it didn't belong, slipping into her system interface. A decaying black hand reached for [Abandon] in her mind and disappeared as suddenly as it appeared when the selection was made.

[Repair] Commencing