Alma kept on pacing from side to side. Her steps were short but quick, and she never took more than ten before turning on her heels and walking back the other way.

"Do you need to pee?" Glavas asked after observing her for a while.

"No. I'm thinking."

[I'm sure Eigam will resolve it.]

"Huh? No, not about that. I mean, she's a goddess, right? Things will be fine."

"Then what seems to be bothering you?" Swen asked. The moment of peace appeared to have returned the almost angelic calm to his voice.

"You are! You are a god! And you are travelling with the mother of all creation!"

"Is it really that hard for you to take it in? If it is of any consolidation, after we part ways, you will never hear from us ever again. This brief divine encounter will not impact your life all that much."

"But I want the impact! You have answers nobody else might have! And you won't allow me to ask questions!"

Swen sighed. "Your questions are... simple. You ask about superficial things like if I can see everything or why I haven't done certain things during important historical events. That is not something you really care about."

"But there is something I care about! Please, PLEASE! Just one more question."

"Ugh, fine. But think this through. I will not answer any more questions after that, no matter how much you beg me."

Alma's face lit up. "Great! I promise this one is super important to me."

"Okay, then go ahead."

The girl took a moment to think of a way to properly formulate her question. "I wanna know more about being soulless. Anything you can share that might make my life at least somewhat easier? I want to know what to do with this power or what to expect. Or–"

"Well, I am afraid there is not much I can tell you."

"Come on! There has to be something!"

"Unfortunately, your condition is exceedingly rare. What you are is known as a Nihilia. Even though the term is scarcely used."

"A Nihilia? That sounds so awesome!"

[So there were others like her?]

"Yes. Four, including you, throughout all of history. As far as we know, at least. The first died in a war before his abilities could properly develop. The other two though..."

"What? What happened to them?"

"Do you wish to know?"

"Oh shit. Do Nihilias like die super young or something?"

"Hehe, no no, nothing like that. The second Nihlia lived until forty-two and the third was in her sixties, so you have nothing to fear there."

"Then why are you so cryptic? Just tell me the truth!"

"Well... nobody knows what actually happened to them. From historical records, it is known that at some point in their lives their minds... deteriorated. But in a strange way. They both lived centuries apart and had never heard of one another, yet they both claimed that one day, they discovered a truth that even Eigam had no way of knowing. Their friends and relatives said that since then, they changed. As if they were now always busy and working on something, yet nobody knew what. And one day... they just disappeared. No corpse, no warning, no goodbye."

"That's... mildly disturbing. Okay... wow. A lot to take in."

"I warned you."

"I know, I know. But can I do something about this? I don't want to go crazy!"

Swen shrugged. "I'd simply suggest not using your powers all too much, but that might not be always possible in your case. Either way, you seem to have a loving family. If you feel something change, do not shy away from telling them. Perhaps that way, you will avoid the fate shared by your predecessors. I am sure your brother and father will not mind sharing your burden."

She looked over at the two, who nodded in unison. "Hehe, yeah, I can count on them. Heck, I have a dad who literally cut down an army to get to us and a brother who knows some crazy magic. I'm sure I'll be fine." She smirked.

Glavas blushed a little. "That's the first time you actually called me that."

"Oh! You mind?"

"No no, it's just... wow... I really am a father, am I not?"

"Hehe, guess so."

"Damn. I never expected something like this to happen. But hey, I got some great kids." His eyes slid from Alma to Surdi, whose face was turning a few shades towards the red too.

[I... I'd stick to Glavas for now. I don't think I'm quite ready for–]

"That's fine! I didn't mean to suggest anything." Glavas smiled and scratched the back of his head.

The sight of the three of them reminded Swen of just how rare relationships like these were. Excluding the necrotic dragon and rebellious demon, the trip to this city was worth it even just for helping them reunite.

The space around them warped as a faint flash illuminated a cavern for a brief moment. Suddenly, everyone's expression turned serious once again. They saw Eigam's body, once again shrunken to the original, less scary form, as she emerged from the transportation spell, holding in her arm a bundle of cloth.

"So? Is he dead?" Glavas asked, his hand automatically reaching for his holster, just in case.

Glavas' heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. He hated the idea that Eigam might impose something like this on him. Nevertheless, he didn't intend to disobey the mother of all creation. He stood up from the ground and headed over to her side. She was even more intimidating from up close. Glavas' hands couldn't help but tremble. Part of him admired Ruun for being so brave, or stupid, to speak up against her.

she said and put the cloth bundle onto a nearby rock, at about waist height of the elven hunter.

Just as she commanded, Glavas listened. He approached and watched as the goddess gently pushed some of the cloth apart, revealing a face of a tiny bug-like creature underneath. It looked different in almost every way, but those countless red eyes were unmistakable. Their appearance was burned into Glavas' memories forever.

"What the fuck is this?" he spoke, his mind suggesting that whatever Eigam might impose on him, he would soon grow to resent her for it.

"A stalemate? Against a fucking goddess?! That fuck?" He pointed at the baby demon.

"No..."

"No!"

Glavas raised his gun and aimed it at the baby.

"No! You can't be serious!" Alma yelled at him.

"You are protecting him? After all he's done?!"

"But that's not him! Is it?"

"See? It's a baby! You can't kill a baby!"

"I've killed plenty of people today."

"But no babies," Swen interrupted.

Eigam's voice sounded in their heads like shredding metal.

"Sorry, sorry."

"No... No, you are right." Glavas scratched his head. "FUCK! What the hell am I supposed to do now, huh?" He walked around, wildly gesturing with his arms. "I don't want to do this! I don't want to raise a demon! I want peace and quiet with my family. Travelling the world, eating food, having a blast! Why does this little shit keep ruining my life?! And now what? I am neither a monster nor a man. I am in between. I kill him, I will punish him how I believe he should be. But..." He sighed. "It's a baby. The creature is, probably, innocent. If I pull the trigger..."

"Dad, listen. He was a piece of shit, I agree, but... well, Eigam, your... highness? Excellence? Umm... what exactly happened to Ruun?"

The goddess proceeded to retail all that transpired inside the pocket world. She retold the tale with often mind-numbing details, including entire quotations of the arguments she and the demon presented to one another, and Ruun's eventual death by slow and painful disintegration.

"See?" Alma raised her voice once Ruun's fate became clear. "He got evaporated. The dude is literally gone. And this, well, is technically his offspring. We shouldn't blame it for what its ancestor did."

"That monster took your family away! Why should I care about what he wanted!"

"That monster is dead. I don't want to live in the past anymore. Why do you keep going back to it?"

"Because I want to keep you safe!"

"Really? From a baby?"

"From a demon!"

Amidst their arguing, Surdi walked over to the bundle of cloth hiding the tiny larva. Both Glavas and Alma quieted down. If there was someone who would most certainly have something against the idea of raising a demon, it would be him. The young dragon leaned over and looked at the countless tiny red eyes that stared back at him. A faint coo left the creature's lips and it smiled as it looked at Surdi's round face.

[Alma is probably right,] he eventually signed.

"Are you both nuts?! You too? Of all the people, you want to keep that thing alive?"

[It's... It's complicated. When I saw the demon's eyes before, I... There was some feeling inside me. Like fear. Then hatred. Now it's just not the same. I don't really feel anything like before when I look at those eyes.]

"Feelings can lie."

[Maybe. But look at it. It's so helpless. Perhaps we could actually raise it better.]

"Why is this a topic of discussion?! This thing caused so much pain to all of us!"

[Yeah. But why should we be the same?]

"Because we're in the right here!"

[Are we? This kid has nobody. Not a follower of Ruun's is left. No memories of the life it had, if what Eigam says is true. And just as Alma said, it is like Ruun's kid. Should we really take away its future? Maybe it would deserve a chance at least? We were alone too. You gave us a chance, no?]

"But... Ugh! You aren't demons," Glavas' voice gradually quieted down.

"True, but we're not exactly normal either. You adopted me even though I have no soul. I will always bring some trouble to us one way or another. And Surdi's a... weird wizard freak."

[Hey!"]

"What?"

[I'm not a freak!]

"I didn't say that. You must've read me wrong."

[Very funny. I know what you said.]

"Well, and am I wrong? Usually, whenever you use magic, someone ends up hospitalized! Quite often it's you!"

[Well... that should change. Hopefully.]

"Point is, that we're all far from normal. A Soulless, a wizard prodigy, and a crazy monster hunter. Can you imagine a better family of weirdos to raise this weird critter?" She gestured towards the larva.

"But... If he turns out like old Ruun–"

[If he does, I'll put him down myself.]

"That's a big promise to make."

[I'm serious. I hated the demon. I still do. If this guy grows up a copy, I will not hesitate. But we shouldn't make assumptions. We shouldn't kill because it might be an evil creature. That's just not right.]

Glavas sighed and looked at the little critter. As it saw his dirty face, it smiled.

"Swen?" the hunter asked.

"Yes?"

"He must not take part, I know, shut up!"

"Eigam, darling, be quiet," Swen took Glavas' side. Alma had to push herself to her utmost limits not to burst out laughing at the idea of them just literally telling the goddess of all creation to shut her mouth.

"What did you want, Glavas?"

"You asked me that if I feel guilty about all the killing, I should do something to atone, right? Something that will make me feel better about myself?"

Eigam gave Swen a look full of anger.

"Well... purely factually speaking, yes, I did say that, given the circumstances of that situation."

"Maybe it's time I tried being the same person I used to be all those years ago."

"And that is?" Alma jumped in on that statement.

"I promised myself to kill monsters that would threaten others. And I did. But I also wanted to protect those creatures that didn't hold malice in their actions. And I did that too. This... thing. It doesn't really present any danger right now. Like a baby of a predator. It might turn out evil and harm people one day. But it may also grow up like a normal person. Who am I to judge a crime before it's been committed?"

[Does that mean...?]

Glavas sighed. "Yeah. I'll try to give this guy a home."