“I’m telling you, I’m fine,” Eshya says for the fortieth time today. “It’s just a few… what’s the… I’m fine.”

She stumbles, her leg falling from under her as she tries to stand up, only saved from hitting the ground because of Adler’s careful presence. The ex-welfare officer has been the most restless of us all, following Eshya around and helping her keep her feet or in this case, return to her chair.

“It’s not like words even mean anything, but I can’t even find the right concepts in my head.” The elf grumbles rubbing at her temple as she struggles to think clearly. Even I can feel the unstable thoughts running through her mind, though I try not to spy too deep.

“I was worried that you were going to have your brain scrambled entirely,” I say, meeting her eyes. “It’s good to see that you’re still mostly yourself, we just get a small glimpse into your senile future until you recover.”

“What does age have to do with anything?” Eshya grumbles.

“Oh, I can answer that one!” Vii perks up. “Mana-less old people have worse memory, and their bodies slowly decay around them until their decomposing flesh realises it’s already dead. Having mana seriously reduces those symptoms, and people still usually die without seeing any serious mental or physical decay. At least out here, I saw some of the old people back on Kyra’s homeworld, it was eerie.”

“Is that some horrible… Laughing words?… ugh… Joke? Joke. That’s what I was trying to say.” She grunts, pushing back her tea and tapping out an uneven rhythm with her foot, at times she’ll just pause before shaking her head and returning to us.

“It’s not how I’d describe it, but I can’t say she’s lying,” I reply. “And dying of old age is much preferable to dying young fighting for recourses.”

“Ah, some here would disagree,” Eshya says, “And by that, I mean me. If I ever had my body decaying around me, then I’m finding the biggest monster in the neighbourhood and fighting it till it kills me.”

“You can try, but there’s nothing you could do to make me kill you.” I laugh at her. “Besides, we’re all living forever. Anyone want some mana?”

I stir it into a few cakes on the table and everyone takes a share, they’re all developing nice and quickly by the standards of the Unified States, but that’s still not enough for me.

“Still, if we don’t live as eternal gods, then I’m dying in a fight,” Eshya says firmly.

“As I said, no one here is ever dying on me,” I grumble, staring down at the few scribbled out plans that I’ve strung together for our alliances with the other caverns. It’s a fine distraction from Eshya’s illness, which we can do nothing about.

“The healer said that you’ll be fine in a few months,” Nel says, relaxing at the table with a casual pose as frustrated thoughts flow through her mind like a vicious whirlwind. She smirks at Eshya as the girl struggles to lift a slice of cake, the thoughts in her mind quite terrible though she seems to be struggling to quiet them. “Maybe this could be a lesson on hubris?”

Eshya’s quiet grumbles and glares turn towards Nel who raises her teacup in quiet gratification.

“How did Gale do that anyway?” I ask. “It’s like what I do, but I don’t remember screwing with your heads.”

“Apart from the torturous pain of it, you mean,” Adler grumbles.

“I guess he was just a lot rougher with his… feeler… grasping things…” Eshya pauses and takes a moment, “Hands.”

“Maybe,” I say.

The fact that it’s another human with this ability suggests that my strengths aren’t actually unique to me and that others have tread the same path to power. The fact that he’s been mind fucked by the Unified States—or maybe he just started off that way I don’t really know—is concerning, but perhaps I could get some of my scientists interested in studying the phenomenon. If humans do have some unique advantage for having been born without mana, then I’d like to explore that, and train some more people in its use.

“I’m going to get some rest,” Eshya says, pushing up from her chair and heading back towards the bedroom with Adler’s help. My heart still hurts from how bad of a beating it took while we were waiting to learn just how bad her injuries were, and even now some dark corner of my mind is whispering horrible thoughts.

“She’ll be alright,” Vii says, nodding to herself with a soft smile. Her confidence in that conclusion seems to be born from some future vision, which is extra soothing. “In a few weeks, she’ll be back to her normal self again.”

“All this just as she was getting back her fighting spirit,” I grumble. “I was getting excited to see what she’d get up to. We’ve all been a little worn down and dispirited lately.”

“Don’t say that to her.” Nel’s head snaps around, as she levels a quiet glare at me. “She doesn’t need more reason to act irresponsibly. If we can reinforce our position here, then we can just forget all of the fighting for now. We can enjoy some peace and quiet for once.”

“That’s after we have that super long internship thingy that we’re being sent on for our combat class holiday,” Vii says, bouncing up and down on her talons either in excitement or worry. “You remember that, right? We’ll be out for like a few weeks to do a proper job dealing with some dangerous beasts or something like that. It should be interesting. Maybe a chance to get some more Skills, or allies, or something.”

“After our alliance is sorted,” I say, staring down at my table. “We need more hunting grounds; I don’t want us running out of food.”

“Our trade deals are supplying us with sufficient food as it is,” Nel says. “But I agree, I’m not certain we can rely on trading for our food supplies forever.”

“We have a Grand Council meeting soon. I’ll push for the alliance before then and do all that I can to ensure that we get this done. I’m thinking that if we can get access to these caverns, we might even be able to put forwards leaders for each cavern, giving us more votes in the council. I was going to have Eshya take one, and Red too. They’re our best fighters.”

“Would the republic and the monarchy be willing to accept those conditions? It seems a little much.” Nel asks.

“I… I might be able to manage something,” I say, scratching out a few thoughts onto paper. Nothing convincing comes to mind that would make this easy. “I’ll think on it.”

“For now, it’s likely best that we solidify the foundation of our own home,” Nel remarks thoughtfully. “The people here are… while not overly bound to you, they do respect you, which is good. Still, most of the gremlins and the settlers aren’t loyal to us, they’d accept anyone as king, queen, or whatever else so long as they get to keep living. They respect your power, but they don’t yet have any devotion to you or your values.

“That said, they’re all fed, housed, and most have found some work for themselves, with the assistance of the new department of work and education.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?” I ask, spreading my senses out towards the housing complex which has been taken over by the organisation that Slan and June have put together for me. Already there’s a steady tide of gremlins there discussing options with the personnel we’ve hired.

Many of them are directed to the vague beginnings of a school where various Skilled individuals teach their own classes. It’s a little too disorganised to consider it a competitor for the Academy that we’re preparing, let alone the one on the surface, but it’s something.

Others gather into groups to go out and help with the farms, or with construction work. They’re mostly happy to go about it since from what I’ve seen, they’re worried about being seen as worthless. If they can’t prove their value to me, then they see no reason for me to let them keep their food and shelter. A legitimate concern in the awful world that they’ve lived in so far. Even a little kindness, in the form of free food, and access to shelter—which was theirs before I even came here—is enough to impress them. So, they’re inspired to work. Making something of themselves to the best of their ability.

That said, there are still many who don’t do much of anything. They’re all either lazy or traumatised, and are hiding quietly in dark corners of the city, eating and sleeping, they’re living only in the strictest definition of the term.

Before I even have to concern myself with that, I overhear Slan discussing an outreach program for them. Shen, our mind-controlling mascot is there to help, crying out ‘together’ over and over, ready to inspire those who are still too troubled to re-join society.

Their conversation strays to one that’s still persistently causing issues. A definition to separate the beings that can be farmed and eaten, and the people that we should reach out to and educate. On Earth it’s much easier to define as the plants and farm animals aren’t going to do well in school no matter how much you spend on private tutors, but out here, with enough effort, the lint in your pocket could become a person intelligent enough to have an emotional breakdown at work like the rest of us.

“Eshya…” Adler’s voice quiets as she struggles for the next words, stepping back into the room with us. “She’s not doing as well as she shows you.”

“I know,” Nel replies quickly. “But, she still lives and she’ll recover. Hopefully, this will teach her a little caution.”

“She knows how to be cautious,” Vii interrupts sharply. “She explained it all before the fight began, didn’t she?”

“She did, but still…” Nel doesn’t give up quite so easily. “She… I don’t want her to die for something stupid like this.”

“None of us do,” I say shaking my head and stilling my breath. “But I take those risks myself, much too often.”

“And I begrudge you for every single incident, but…” Nel pauses, glaring down at her teacup. “You are stronger than she is, and you have to get stronger still. Eshya is just throwing a tantrum because she’s not keeping up.”

“That was a tantrum?” I ask.

“She… should have waited for us all to come to a decision,” Nel replies. “She can’t be running off on her own and doing these things.”

“We can’t tie her up and leave her locked up in this tower. She’s not herself if she can’t be free, even if that means that she’s out fighting monsters. It was stupid not to talk to us first, but we can’t just ground her here because of that.”

“You’re on her side?” Nel asks, glaring at me over her teacup.

“There are no sides,” I reply firmly. “We’re all in this together, but we need to trust each other. She was reckless, but as Vii pointed out, it’s not as if she didn’t think the situation through, and because of that we now know how Gale has bypassed his collar, and we know that he’s more of a threat than we thought.”

“We could’ve found out another way,” Nel replies setting her tea down and standing up. “Aren’t you angry?”

“Of course, I’m angry?” I shout, pushing my chair back as I stand up. “I sat there and watched as he hurt her, giggling like a fucking schoolgirl while he did it. He’s going to die for that, but I can’t let my anger make me do something more stupid than what Eshya did.”

“I’m not having this conversation,” Nel says, turning away. “Eshya is fine, and everything will be back to normal in a few months. I’ll go take care of her.”

Nel leaves, her steps a little stiff as she moves. Through her mind, I can feel the moment that her frustration gives out to fear, and I hear the stifled sob as she rushes up towards Eshya.

“Have any of you noticed something else that might prove a danger to us?” I ask Vii and Adler who have stayed with me. “I’m certain that there’s something we should be doing right now, some threat that we need to be getting ready to face.”

“Other than the Council issues, I can’t think of anything,” Vii replies. “There’s a whole universe worth of enemies to fight, most of them would happily eat us whole if they sense that we’re weak, so maybe that’s just getting at you?”

“Maybe,” I grumble, taking a moment to try and find the source of this overwhelming anxiety running through my heart. The ground beneath my feet feels like thin ice holding me up over an abyss, each step I take is just spreading more cracks through it, dooming us to a cold fate that is yet invisible to me.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Alder asks.

“I just… There’s always something out to get us. Or some villain that we have to face, and while sure, there’s the two factions and their powerful leaders down here, they’re not as terrifying as they should be.”

“You want to be terrified?”

“I should be terrified,” I reply. “Most things in this universe want to see us dead, just to eat the mana that we’ve gathered inside ourselves. If I’m not terrified of something, that just means that I can’t see what’s coming for us.”

“Or maybe, here in the dungeons, we’re actually safe,” Adler says, resting her hand on my arm as she sits beside me. “I know that you felt hounded by the rules of the Unified States up on the surface, but it was the same there. If you deigned to obey the unspoken rules, you would be safe. I understand you wanted something different, but still…”

“Maybe…” I say, though the feeling doesn’t come with the admission. “I’ll just… I’ll just set that aside for now. I’ll get this treaty dealt with, petition for more land, and when that’s done we have to go on a hunting quest for the Unified States. That’s enough to keep me distracted.”

“Kyra.” Adler’s hand tightens around my wrist. “Distracting yourself from your worries isn’t living. We should work through this trauma and try to overcome it. Look what happened today, you saw Gale taking a student, and rather than reacting with a calm measured response, you panicked, which led to Eshya picking a fight with him that we weren’t prepared for.

“You never had to fight Loekan, and half the trouble stirring in these caverns around us is something that you’ve inspired because you’re looking for trouble. If you’re constantly looking for a fight then of course you’re going to find it, just take some time to try and deal with your emotions, and then maybe we can avoid some of these things.”

“What more can I do that I’m not already doing?” I ask, “I’m already fine. I’m alive, I win the fights that I get into, and I’m not out there sacrificing my citizens to get stronger. I’m fine. Really.”

“You’re not fine,” Adler says, squeezing my arm. “None of us are.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stats and Skills

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 38,977 / 60,892 units

Current mana volume: 19,376 / 30,271 shards

Mana volume at crystallisation density (Max. mana volume):

Kyra: 30,271 shards

Kyra’s armour: 20,777 shards

Kyra’s throne: 1,109,298 shards

~Forms

Mana Canon

-Annihilation Heart (Adapted)

-Blood Fuel (Adapted)

-Bone Magic Storage (40,000 mana shards)

-Nail Shifters (50,000 mana shards)

Dancer

-Flash Nerves (Adapted)

-Quick Perception Mind (Adapted)

-Burst Reflex Muscles (35,000 mana shards)

-Layered space Muscles (80,000 mana shards)

Turtle

-Rebinding Tissue (Adapted)

-Catalyst Sweat Glands (140,000 mana shards)

-Repulsive Skin (80,000 mana shards)

-Prehensile hair (10,000 mana shards)

-Fatty Tissue Blood Storage (100,000 mana shards)

Investigator

-Wide eyes (Adapted)

-Wide ears (Adapted)

-Sharp nose (Adapted)

Misc.

-Clean bowels (Adapted)

~Favourited Skills:

Magic:

-Annihilation Magic (Customised)

-Fire Magic (Functional)

-Space magic (Broken)

-Force magic (Functional)

-Ice magic (Broken)

-Wind magic (Broken)

Movement:

-Hand-to-hand casting (Functional)

-Mana surge movement (Functional)

-Stealth (Functional)

Senses:

-Eyes of an Empire (Customised)

-Combat Awareness (Functional)

-Watchmen (Functional)

-Hidden bug (Mastered)

-De-tagging (Mastered)

-Anti-stealth sight (Mastered)

Special:

-Spirit Transformation (Broken)

-Conformity (Broken)

-Training mana form (Functional)