Vela made the puppy bite the avatar's hand which kept her left hand prisoner. Pef grinned and let it go. She was learning fast.
"Okay, I'll drink that molten metal if you say it's so great. But first, go and cook something. I'm starving!" the elf demanded with a glare.
Pef vanished and re-appeared in the kitchen, hearing the puppy jaws clench on empty air with a dangerous clack.
His mother was right, as always. The way to someone's heart was easier through their stomach.
He began cooking, first for his family, then his demons and outer body, which he store separately, then for the newcomers, who were residing at the edge of the forest and were still confused of their location.
That was solved by the time he finished cooking, which while taking a few years, didn't take any time at all. His own time stop was very localized, barely twice as large as the kitchen, but worked wonders anyway.
Reason was able to freeze an entire universe, but she had the advantage of her Tier 7 nature. Pef was only a newly ascended Tier 3, bumbling his way into advanced concepts and abilities.
Someone like Lia would have been much better at this, but the glove chose him, perhaps because he was young and naive and easy to manipulate.
Perhaps for other reasons, like his voidsplitter skill, or his genetics or none of those. For something as strong as an Elder God, its reasons might be so complex or elusive that he might never guess right.
When he was ready, he served everyone at once, and returned to his real body. Well, outer body.
Both were real, if he could believe Reason.
He ate everything and still felt famished, but at least his eyesight had returned.
Zorkel needed only to be awakened and fed, then he regenerated back to health in moments.
"I feel different. Like my mind is better. What happened to me?" the Greater Demon asked with a curious face.
"The scepter's influence is gone, I believe. Do you yearn to become a Chosen anymore?" Pef replied while measuring the demon with his senses. He was now internally similar to the elves, with mana circuits glowing under his skin.
Zorkel summoned a ball of fire in his palm, then shaped it into a blade, then a whip.
"I have the same powers as a Chosen now. Mana isn't fleeing from me now. It comes easily and obeys me." he mused, changing elements to blood, then air, then lightning.
Pef took out a demon core and a mana stone, then offered them to Zorkel.
To his surprise, the Greater Demon could use them both now, though he still preferred demon cores as they were 'flavored' and easier to digest.
"I believe the Archdemon will come for us soon. He'll also bring an army of demons with him. And after we kill them all, I'll need someone to become the next Archdemon." Pef said, eyeing Zorkel with a piercing gaze.
The demon returned the look, calculating eyes measuring Pef for some trick. "He's much too strong. Even worse, his scepter is recharged now, going after that blast in the capital."
Pef nodded. "I'll deal with the scepter myself. The other three demons will help you against the Archdemon. And I'll go speak with the Elf King as well. Between the five of you it should be doable."
"So that's what the burning light did. You enslaved them from afar. The mace, eh? That is one potent weapon." Zorkel said with a worried glance at Pef's hand.
"Just as the scepter enslaves its Chosen. Not that I would treat you as demons treat their slaves. You are now a valuable subordinate. One that I expect great things from." Pef said in a flat tone.
"I see. An overseer for your domains in a distant galaxy. A loyal subject." the demon said like it was a curse.
"I'm glad that we agree. But if you don't want it, one of those three can serve me instead. As it happens, there's only one Archdemon core to give."
The Greater Demon poured himself more wine, eyes glinting with calculation. "You trade well, for a human. But it's just a dream now. We'll talk again, once you actually have such a core to give."
Pef nodded and went to awaken his other demons. These three were much more pliable though, with barely a hint of independent thought left. The voice of reason broke them quite thoroughly.
"Yes, Master. We'll fight your enemies, whoever they may be. For the Legion!" they said in a monotonous tone.
Pef shrugged and gave them some food, but no wine. No need to waste it now. These meat puppets would serve and then die.
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PefVersed in the lewd.
With a Blink, Pef arrived at the Legion headquarters in Rome and began flash-forging equipment for the Legion, everything from armor and weapons, to storage rings filled with rations and maize seeds.
A hundred thousand militia would be raised and equipped til next week, basically all the cultivators that he had gathered in the new nation of Rome. An Emperor rank bone helmet, inscribed with formation arrays for mind shields and elemental dampening would be sufficient, when paired with a Sky ranked spear with an Emperor rank tip, one inscribed with anti-demon wards.
For the Legion proper, he had to forge a breastplate as well, and a shortsword made of Saint ranked tooth. Those swords were a hundred times harder to make, but he only needed three thousand, as white auras weren't quite that common.
It was a bit overkill for the new recruits with their low cultivation, but he wanted to give the Roman Legion more than a fair chance to kill lesser demons if they managed to land.
With a swap, the rescued slaves were moved into Rome, and given houses to live, while every cultivator arrived in the inner world and received his new ring and equipment.
A minute later, the new recruits were all imparted the Taichi cultivation, and began their Practice.
Meditation, circulation, combat forms, then again. Over and over for 10 days.
Many recruits fainted or collapsed due to fatigue or lack of sleep or hunger. Sadly for them, they were not allowed to sleep or eat, not even to die. Water with fruit syrup was all they could consume, and nothing else.
In this period, Vela ascended to Physical God and Qin reached her Saint rank.
And when the first demon treasures appeared at the edge of the system, Rome had a militia of 100 thousand Core ranks, and a Legion of 3000 recruits, with ranks varying from Core to Earth, depending on talent and willpower.
Outside, Nellie finished her own Awakening, becoming another Physical God and a Tier 2 at that.
Pef fed her an Orange and then a Violet Meridian Pill and made her train with clones and soul spikes until she started cursing. Which was a big deal for elves.
"I swear, not even my mother was so harsh. I hate you!" she muttered as another silver and white helix impacted her chest, and blasted her deep under the ocean.
She retaliated with a mind flay, and not a playful one. Pef grimaced then looked up, noting the demon army preparing for a siege.
'What are they waiting for?' he asked inward.
'The Archdemon isn't there, yet. I guess they wait for him.' the glove said with an uncaring tone.
Pef glanced behind him, as the Elf King had appeared. "Your Majesty? Anything to say?" he asked curious.
"My daughter. Is that how you treat your wives?" the elf muttered, not so pleased.
"There's a method to my actions. Training saves lives. I was too kind before and lost many loved ones." Pef said with a sigh, summoning a table and chairs and some wine.
Vela emerged from the inner world, and nodded coldly towards the Elf King, then sat down.
She looked so different from how she did before, that the King didn't recognize her at first. Gone were the sunken eyes and cheeks, the pale skin, the frail body. Just like any of the Legion, she was now a radiant goddess, with glossy skin, strong body and ethereal beauty.
"Holy... Vela! You look much...different. And a higher rank as well." the King mumbled a bit confused.
"Ah yes. I was a bit skinny before. Must have regained my appetite during my vacation." she replied curtly, then poured herself some wine.
"Yeah. You look quite normal now. I first thought the elves had a skeleton, put there to scare visitors." Pef added with a grimace, then poured wine for himself. "To health!" he wished out loud, then gulped his glass.
Vela sipped slowly, not yet used to such drinks, even if they were made from plants.
The Elf King used his senses to scan the vestal, looking for signs of compulsion, in mind or body.
To his displeasure, he found little, except ever better mind shields and a healthy body. "So you have joined this Legion, just like my silly daughter."
Pef took out a mind stone and placed on the table. "I made this cultivation method, for the cultivators of Rome. Tell me what you think of it."
With a curious face, he waited for the elf to read the mind stone then scan the country to observe the results.
"From seed to Stoneshaper in one year. And all former slaves have already reached their Mana Sea." the King mused with a deep frown. Possibly impressed then.
Pef nodded and smiled. "Different names but yes. Their life span has doubled, and they aren't completely helpless anymore. In a year, they will be the masters of this continent, immune to weather, animals or criminals."
"It doesn't go further though. The white souls got a better cultivation, I would guess." the elf said in a suspicious tone.
"Exactly. The white aura is a sign of combat effectiveness, or perhaps righteous justice. All the same, they are meant to go out and fight evil. A few trainers may remain in Rome, but the Legion aren't of much use here. Plenty of demons out there." Pef explained with a wide grin.
"My daughter, you can't take her. She's needed to become our Queen. That's what her mother wanted." the King pleaded in a low voice, just as Nellie arrived, clothes still wet.
"Dad! And Vela! Oh, you look gorgeous now! And a goddess too!" she gushed, then captured Vela and whisked her away for gossip.
Pef smiled, and poured more wine. "Nellie could stay as a trainer at the Rome base. What she does in her civilian life isn't important to the Legion." he whispered, eyes turning towards the demon's armada gathering at the edge of the system.
The King followed the direction, no doubt aware of the impending attack.
"An alliance then. Till we defeat the demons." the King proposed with bitter tone.
"I plan to install Zorkel as the new Archdemon. And I have three more enslaved Greater Demons as fodder for this war."
"I know, I saw the golden weapon. Can you use it again?" The Elf King asked raising a thick eyebrow.
Pef counted the remaining impure jade. "Twice at same strength. Or a smaller wave to pacify the army and a stronger wave for the scepter. That would be a wiser use of its abilities."
"Risky. What kind of resources do you need to power it more?"
"Impure jade or demon cores." Pef said with a shrug.
The Elf King waved his hand and deposited a hundred cores of various strengths, including 30 tier 2 and one Tier 3. "And with these?"
Pef collected the ammunition with a wave of his hand. Telekinesis was really useful for tricks like these.
'Three more shots. Or a big one. You'll probably evaporate from the recoil.' Reason spoke in his mind.
Pef mused for a minute, analyzing the disposition of the demon forces.
"One initial wave, pacifying the majority of the army, including lesser demons and Demon Lords. Then a strong wave, aimed at the Archdemon and the scepter. And a reserve, in case they have a surprise in store." he answered slowly, raising one finger after another.
The King nodded and vanished, taking the wine with him.
Cheap shot, but the cores were quite valuable. Plus, Pef did steal their vestal, after all. Fair was fair.
Another Blink, and he surprised Nellie as she was divulging some intimate details.
"Soldier! The sun is still up. Back to training. One hundred laps around the planet. Now!"
"I hate you!" Nellie yelled as she ran off.
Vela chuckled, then noticed the glare aimed at her. "What?" she asked innocently.
"Start running, recruit. Five laps today, since you were a bit sick." he said with a pleasant voice.
Vela took off, cursing him all the way as she ran. At her speed though, Vela will finish her planetary laps after Nellie.
Pef sighed and returned to the space station. Time to chop up some demon limbs and craft Tier 3 weapons from their bones. The mind-wiped demons were glad to donate a few arms for the cause. But actually soul smithing the bones was not so easy.
It was hard work, unbelievably hard in fact. The Greater Demon bone resisted him all the way, refusing the soul imprint. Still, Pef grit his teeth and keep trying.
Cultivation was hard, nothing new.
As the day came to an end, he had managed to make a crude club from a demon arm, looking worse than his first sword, the blunt one made of Core ranked bone.
With a sigh, he stored the bones and the club and returned to his inner world.
"Lin! Got a moment?" he asked his much smarter wife. He soon explained the problem.
"Oh, Greater Demon bone you say? Is it a normal bone or one from the converted demons?" Lin asked with a smirk. Pef smiled sadly. He got tricked somehow.
Reason appeared next to them, holding the cursed club. "I'm disappointed, Pef. The word mace is diminished by the existence of this artifact." she said smugly.
Lin snickered and poked the club with a finger. "Reason, be so kind and remove the abyss inhibitor."
"Of course, my lady." the treasonous artifact said, even smiling with approval.
Soon, Lin molded the bone, infusing it with her golden soul then shaping into a double-bladed sword, and even inscribed it with durability and sharpness runes! It only took her one hour, and didn't even tire her.
Pef poked the new weapon with admiration. "Great work, Lin. It's your sword now." he said generously.
Then out of nowhere, Lin struck the avatar, doing little damage, but it did nick his neck a millimeter deep.
"Sorry, hubby. I'm too weak to chop you into pieces, for now. But it's a decent gift. Now go and make dinner." Lin spoke with a wistful voice, then turned away and just left, cooing at her new sword.
Pef glared at Reason and blinked away, starting his routine in the kitchen. Beef soup today, fried noodles and fish with sauce. Maize porridge with sour cream and cheese for Vela. It was time to transition her to baby food. Like dairy and milk and cheese. And she will love it, since his food was godly.
In the kitchen, at least, he was the true god.
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PefVersed in the lewd.
The Legion continued to prepare and arm themselves with better weapons, content to prolong the stalemate as long as possible, but things do not always go to plan. The stalemate ended through the actions of a foolish man.
Pef could only watch in horror as Ceres flew valiantly towards the demon armada and mind screamed at them to leave Mi'rilodor space or be killed.
Perhaps he thought the demons were hesitating, or unsure of victory. Surely his brave act would establish him, the valiant High Prince, as the future leader of the elves.
The prince and his honor guard were almost immediately swarmed by a company of demon High Lords, and had to retreat in tatters, losing most of their numbers and their dignity too.
The Grand Duke arrived too late, saving only a few. The prince survived, but was gravely injured and wouldn't help in the future engagement.
Even the Grand Duke had to retreat at speed, as his attacks were deflected by a field created by the collective efforts of demons.
It seemed the demons had learned a special defensive formation, allowing them to combine their powers and match a higher tier.
Pef frowned and cursed inward, since this new development messed up his plans. Still, it wasn't all bad.
The demons probably wanted to keep the formation a secret, and use it at a critical moment. One rash elf, and their plans were also derailed.
'There were 108 demons anchoring the formation. Something to do with number 9?' he asked the glove.
'I doubt the demons follow daoist precepts. That formation was likely stolen from someplace else. Remember they also had the Legion gun and the Veridian armor.' the glove answered with a warning tone.
Pef nodded and grimaced. And they had a golith spear as well. Considering the demons were ruling an entire galaxy and already scouting nearby galaxies, they likely found or looted untold numbers of artifacts or cultivation secrets.
Pef tried to anticipate the Archdemon's future moves, but he knew too little about him or his powers. But if he was at least as capable as the Elf King, he would be waiting nearby, possibly invisible.
'Try to read their body language, see if they are being directed from a certain direction.' he asked while blinking forward and slicing through a Demon Lord before jumping back.
With his new rank and extended range, Pef could blink in and out at his pleasure, using the spacestation's sensor room as his launch pad.
The magical arrays had ten times the range of his own qi senses, covering the entire system.
Only one blind spot existed, as the sun blocked the scanner directly behind it.
Pef struck again, this time at a different area, again killing a Tier 1 demon then retreating. The demon army repositioned, grouping into tighter groups.
'I found our hidden demon. He's not behind the sun though. The Archdemon is inside the sun. This is bad.' the glove explained with an uncertain voice.
Pef scratched at his cheek and glanced at his own stats. 'I can survive inside the Sun too. Won't be able to see very far though. My Fire domain is too small.'
'Stop being dense, Soldier. Remember the blue nebula near Hellsreach? That used to be a sun too.'the glove muttered with an annoyed tone.
Pef cursed again. When the sun went nova, there wouldn't be any Mi'ridolor to defend.
"Zorkel, take the other three and engage the Archdemon. He's inside the sun." Pef ordered rapidly, then he wrapped himself in Indigo cloaking and blinked far upwards, positioning himself for an enfilade burst on half the demon army.
The Legion gun snapped in his hand, glove gripping the butt of the weapon with immeasurable force.
'Target the widest concentration. Pacify and hold, Tier 1 or lesser.' Pef demanded, pointing the barrel towards the invading army.
Time slowed down, as the familiar sound rumbled, coming from everywhere. Golden light followed then a short vocal cantrip. "Within her light, there can be no shadow. Hold still and await your fate."
Pef blinked himself away, then blinked downwards, aimed at the other half of the army, which was already moving, but too slowly. 'Let there be light!' he whispered inward.
Another glowing wave of golden light, with the same cantrip, and over 99 percent of the entire demon army remained frozen, their bodies surrounded by a thin film of golden motes.
Meanwhile, inside the sun, titanic forces were battling as the converted Greater Demons engaged the Archdemon in melee, ignoring the large pressure and heat of the sun.
A second later, the Elf King joined the fight, keeping the Archdemon too busy to set up whatever means he used to detonate stars.
A Greater Demon accompanied by a hundred High Lords, sped towards Mi'ridolor, while another was desperately trying to free the army, and failing.
'Nice trick there, Reason!' Pef exclaimed inward, amused at the raging of the Greater Demon as he impotently smashed at the golden barrier without success.
'Temporal amber is quite useful. But it won't last long, due to low energy reserves.' Reason said in a strange, hurried tone, almost implying urgency.
Pef flashed forward, swiping a few dozen Demon Lords into his inner world. His wives would be glad at the easy kills.
He continued with another jump, attacking the demon formation from behind, just as Duke Gormash and Nellie struggled to hold them from reaching the planet.
His qi sword formed in his hand, then time slowed down, while the glove projected on his eyes an optimal strike. Then he released his skill, the Voidsplitter expanding from his sword with infinite speed.
The formation resisted for a fraction then imploded, the void itself flattening into a cutting edge of infinite sharpness. Half of the High Lord demons died on the spot, bisected through their cores and evaporating into violet flames and silent screams.
Pef blinked away, dodging the two Greater Demons who retaliated against him almost instantly.
The Elf Duke took advantage of the broken formation and threw a dozen darts of some kind, killing the poor Tier 2s which were now exposed.
Pef ran away, his path taking him through the midst of the frozen demon army, capturing hundreds after hundreds of Demon Lords and lesser ranks and moving them inside his inner world.
Already he could feel Lia and Lin begin their Ascensions, as the immobilized demons had no choice but to die without recourse.
Then the Heaven's lighting clouds began gathering, bringing a sense of terminal danger with it.
This time the lightning wouldn't be easy to survive. Not that it has been in the past.
Pef blinked himself as far as he could into the sun, then dove deeper, with two enemies of same tier chasing ever closer.
At the speed he was moving, seconds meant a long time, enough to catch up with the Archdemon and stab him with his qi sword. He barely managed to pierce two finger deep, but it should be enough.
Lightning struck, wide as a river, but billions times stronger.
In the midst of all the pain and paralysis induced by the current, Pef could feel his glove and gun beaming with joy, becoming energized by his suffering.
The Archdemon wasn't so happy, as his defenses were down, and he wasn't able to move.
The Elf King used the opportunity to stab a red-bladed and glowing athame into the demon's stomach, resulting in the blade snapping of, after hitting something too hard.
Zorkel howled and sliced at the Archdemon from behind, severing the spine and getting his sword stuck.
Pef directed mentally two of his Greater Demons to fend of his two pursuers, then grit his teeth and activated his skill again. He was too close to miss, and the Archdemon was paralyzed.
His void skill slashed, cutting through the Tier 4 demon with ease. Then it stopped with a high pitch sound, and bounced up, decapitating the Archdemon but unable to penetrate the core.
'Target his core and fire. Do it!' Pef ordered in desperation.
Time stopped, as the Legion gun emerged from glove and began singing.
The golden light was thin as a laser, focused only on the Archdemon's core. "By her grace, you are brought into the light. For her light is the truth, and the truth pierces through anything. Neither heaven nor hell can block her light, and no illusion or lie can remain in her light. Veritas unicum!"
The Archdemon screamed in horror, as his core cracked then split open, disgorging countless slaves and artifacts, including a spear like item, which exploded into a violet cloud of lightning.
Everything nearby was devoured, including the Archdemon's dying body, the Greater Demons, the burning billions from the demon's inner world.
The Elf King survived, fleeing at speed while his magic barrier crackled with wisps of violet electricity.
Pef didn't have time to flee, so he advanced, slashing through lightning with his qi sword, and hitting the golith sting without doing any damage.
A malevolent energy rebounded through his sword, then his arm, reaching his mind and shattering his mental shields.
The golith lightning was burning through his body, while a more insidious construct was advancing through his mind maze, sweeping aside traps and barriers with impunity.
At the last ward however, Pef felt a familiar presence step beside him.
"You're too late, discarded sting. This is where you fail and die." Reason spoke with a dismissive voice, and Pef could see her lips moving.
A frayed golith-like figure coalesced in front of them, towering over them with height and power and more importantly depth. It was a million dimensions deep, each of them glaring back with eyes and snouts and fangs and pincers.
"You said it Reason! Kick its ass!" Pef yelled, emboldened by her presence.
The golith didn't speak, but Pef could fell it was amused and derisive. The thing was in his mind after all.
"Oh, you expect me to kill this thing?" the gun's avatar asked, looking at Pef's avatar with amusement.
"Who else?" Pef asked, a bit worried at the obvious answer.
The woman smiled and patted Pef on his head. "This thing? You already killed it. Dubious method, and rather suicidal, but I'm glad anyway. The second time will recharge me completely. For you...it will hurt."
Pef searched his mind, and came up empty. "What do mean? The second time..."
Then the second lightning strike fell, the one caused by his failed void skill. Another Heavenly torrent of electricity, and this time the lightning coursed through him and into the golith weapon. Bright lightning devoured the violet lightning of the golith weapon, erasing the construct in his mind.
The world errupted into light, and pain.
A million years passed, and yet not a grain of sand moved.
Pef stared at the sky, his eyes glazed and mind wandering.
Far away someone was singing, the song sad, but familar. He felt he was close to hearing the words, but still too far.
Pef wondered about his family or his few friends. If they learned what he's done, would they still love him?
Truths hurts. Will it ever stop?
He wondered how many he had killed, when their universe was split open. Maybe they were better off now, having escaped their torment from a mad Archdemon and his grotesque weapon.
Maybe they screamed in despair, as they burned alive inside of a sun.
He surely knew how it felt.
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PefVersed in the lewd.
"Wake up already!" Pef heard someone yelling in his ear.
He opened his eyes, then glanced at Reason who was standing too close and was glowing and glaring at him, at the same time.
Then he looked around, observing the frozen landscape, waves poised to splash, but yet not falling.
"Shut up... I was having a great dream." Pef mumbled with a lazy and sleepy voice.
The glowing woman sighed and patted his head. "You were on life support for one and a half million years. I told you the recoil might kill you!" she complained with a sad tone.
Pef nodded wisely. Of course, he had known. He tried to avoid firing such a powerful discharge, but that Tier 4 demon was much too durable. Even his voidsplitter skill bounced off.
"How are things outside?" he asked instead.
"A dozen demons made it to the surface and released their invasion armies, mostly slaves and war beasts. The elves and the Legion are fighting them off, while the Elf King is dealing with the higher ranks. About 20 percent loses so far, and we have a couple of new Emperor recruits." Reason explained, while sitting on the warm sand next to him.
"A flawless victory then, going by normal Legion standards." Pef mused, thinking of his earlier failures during worm crisis and the Perimeter last ditch defense.
That victory was a classical and textbook Legion one, with over 99 percent total loses.
His senses spread out, taking in the new land mass, now expanded into a small continent. His wives were all Ascended now, having butchered most of the captured demons. A dozen Demon Lords were still kept in glowing amber, possibly as Ascension gifts for their sisters back on Lacrima.
Deep under the water geyser, a boundary layer had formed, with a few White Ice Lotus plants growing there. Pef smiled at the way his subconscious mind came up with things to help out. Copying the wonders of his homeworld, but this was at least useful, unlike the silly ice castle of solitude.
Then he looked up, and saw the new planet that had appeared around the nearest star. Another ocean planet, with a small island containing a small monastery and a few fields of mana fruits. Maybe Arden will like it, if they ever met again.
His inner core size had reached a size called Constellation, which was quite fitting. One could look at the sky now and imagine shapes made of stars. The Virgin, the Archer, the Smith.
Each could have their own story, and become myths. Then one day, if the belief was strong enough, they'll come back to life.
Time resumed its flow, as Pef's avatar stood up and flew next to his wives.
Vela glanced at him, still petting the puppy absently. "We won then?" she asked in a soft voice.
"There's still some mop up to do, but yes." Pef said with a nod.
Yuan came and hugged him gently, then drew back and scanned him with her new divine senses. "You look like you've been through hell, husband. Even your avatar is tired and depleted."
A lightning strike fell from the sky, crashing far into the ocean. Pef grimaced, and pointed with his chin. "Still am. My body is still getting fried by lightning." he answered with a pained voice, while caressing the bright red hair of his wife.
They all looked at Pef with pity in their eyes.
Another goddess stepped next to him, and poked his cheek. "The land is so big now. You killed the Archdemon?" Xie asked with a grin.
Pef grinned back at his purple-haired wife. "You know me, Xie. Plus, I had Reason talk some sense into him. The poor demon died screaming." he explained with a smirk.
Reason snorted loudly and bent to pet the puppy. "I know, comrade. We're forced to serve an idiot." she complained in fake whisper.
The puppy barked in approval.
The women laughed and Pef blinked away, entering his kitchen.
Cooking was food for the soul. Maybe one day, someone will have a Cook constellation named after him.
That would be much better than the Swordsman, splitter of worlds.
Lia entered the kitchen and started making tea, her movements precise and formal, while he flowed through the ritual of cooking without formalized steps, instead going by inspiration and smell.
The oracle glanced at him but remained silent, since she generally understood what was happening much better, via her skill.
"We almost died, Lia. It was so close." he said in a whisper.
"Failure is scary, death is not. Even in death, we serve the Legion. But we didn't fail, and now we get to live. Once you update the Indoctrination Method with the new insights, we'll be able to open the door." Lia said while pouring tea with sure hands.
Pef stopped for a second then nodded. "I sure hope so, Lia. But if there's no one there, to open the door for us..."
Lia sat down and sipped her tea with a serene face. A minute later she sighed and tapped the table. "You're halfway to tier 4, beloved husband. You'll break down the door if you have to. The glove didn't choose you for your brains."
Pef snorted and sat beside her, and smelled deeply. The tea was a mix of ginseng and jasmine, and boiled to perfection. "You can start cooking for us now. I think you're as good as me."
Lia smiled into her cup. "Lin is even better. She has the skill of a Maker, you know?"
Pef pouted and stirred the porridge in silence. "Of course she does. I struggle to perfect my cooking skills, Lin just...makes whatever she wants."
A long silence answered him, so he turned around. The table had filled with every inhabitant of his world, including Lin. He smiled awkwardly and began serving the meal.
"What is this?" Vela asked in a doubtful tone, poking the fried mushrooms.
"Edible plants from the forest. Pigs love them." he said absently.
Vela chewed slowly, then decided it was good food and gulped everything at speed. "Tastes great!" she exclaimed with a satisfied voice.
"Glad you like it dear. Now, we'll need to prepare for when I exit the sun. There are still about 20 demon High Lords around, which will help you Ascend rapidly to Tier 2 after you each kill a couple..." Pef began, detailing his plans.
An hour later, everything was as prepared as he could.
He grit his teeth and returned his perception to his outer body.
Instantly, the glove stored all the nearby artifacts and demon cores, then Pef blinked himself outside the Sun.
With another blink, he began catching up with two demon High Lords, which he dismembered and froze in ice, leaving Lia and Yuan to finish them off.
Another jump, and Lin and Qin were gifted their frozen prizes.
Then the next jump placed him beside the elf Grand Duke, who was chasing after three demon High Lords.
He caught two, leaving them partly immobilized for Vela and Xie.
'Thanks, human. I'll get the last one...' the elf pulsed in his mind.
Pef nodded and jumped away, arriving above a treasure ship with a dozen demons preparing to flee.
He drew his gun. 'Ask them politely to stay awhile.' he whispered in his mind.
Reason chuckled in his mind, then spoke, her words forming a bear trap made of golden light, which crushed the ship and entrapped the High Lords in temporal amber.
Then he turned around and blinked away, as Zorkel slashed through the place he had just occupied.
'Your vows are broken then?' Pef asked as he parried another sword slash from the Greater Demon.
'With the Archdemon and his cursed scepter destroyed, I am the strongest demon in the galaxy!' Zorkel boasted, attacking with a flurry of swords, six of them, for each of his hand.
Pef summoned another sword blade, barely able to deflect the furious attacks. He kept flying backwards, drawing the treasonous demon away from his wives.
'Even so, my friend. I promised to give you the Archdemon core, for your faithful service.' Pef whispered into the demon's mind.
Zorkel stopped for a second. 'Really? You weren't joking?'
'Hold him for a minute, dear Reason.' Pef ordered instead, glad he managed to get Zorkel to stay still for a second.
The power word gun spoke again, a flash of light and a short sentence. "By her grace, hold a minute."
Pef chuckled inward and blinked away, grabbing Nellie from the Legion spacestation and bringing her back with him.
'Break his core, Nellie. He turned on us.' he pulsed in his elven wife's mind.
Zorkel screamed in his mind, pleading for a second chance and reminding him of his promise.
Pef rose his index finger. 'I said faithful service, Zorkel. You chose death instead.'
Seeing Nellie unable to break the demon core, only chipping off tiny bits, Pef grabbed her elbow and flared his sword qi, slashing through the Greater Demon's core.
Zorkel wailed and died, but this time his body didn't evaporate into violet flames. The corpse remained floating in the void, cut in half.
Nellie looked in wonder at him, before exploding with blue light, her aura expanding greatly as she Ascended to Tier 3.
'Blue aura, huh?' Pef mused inward.
'Magic and mind affinity. Just like Vela.' the glove said curtly.
'The curse on the demons is broken now?' Pef wondered as he stored the corpse in his glove.
The glove didn't answer, too busy scanning the Greater Demon for extra tidbits of information.
The body cultivation method in particular, as well as the magic circuits in his body. Almost like a formation array, designed to allow demons to emulate the elves natural abilities.
The cultivation allowed rapid regeneration and immunity to many toxins, as well as increased strength and endurance.
'The barrier around the galaxy is broken, and the soul vows lost their power. There will be lots of infighting now, plus huge slave revolts once they realize what's going on.' the glove said instead.
A flare of blue aura emerged from behind and Pef glanced at it with a smile. Vela Ascended again, then she passed the Legion knife to Xie, so she could core her own target easier.
Xie ignored her, and kept chipping at the High Lord with her maul, pounding on it for an hour until it cracked open. She bloomed with a halo of white aura, Ascending to her own Tier 2 rank, slower but more secure in her powers.
Soon, the other wives attained their own breakthroughs, by slaughtering demons and devouring their qi and souls.
Pef went to store the captured demons in his inner world, but placing them far off the farthest star in his constellation. They would keep, like meat in a freezer.
He planned to pack the pantry anyway, to keep the Legion supplied with easy Tiers for the new recruits.
And now he had a galaxy full of demons to raid, to liberate the slaves and boost up the Legion ranks.
He wasn't very hopeful he would civilize the demons entirely, but those who opposed him would end up as juicy rations, for the long road.
Arazmodel first noticed the lack of pain, which was in itself pure bliss.
He cautiously regrew his eyes, and tried to move, but found himself still chained with adamantine links to the floor, and still in the Fateweaver's dungeon.
Then came the realization of why the pain stopped. His vows were gone, erased. The allegiance to his guild, to the scepter, even the contract with that human, Legion.
With a glimmer of hope he tested his magic, founding it working, very weakly, but working!
Good. In a few years he'll be able to erode the mana dampening jade floor, and escape, even if still bound by the damned chains.
His mind entered overdrive, rapidly postulating theories and ways to test them. After a few hours, he reached the obvious conclusion. The wards of the Fateweavers were weakened, which meant... no Chosen was available to reinforce them, even for the highest priority prisoners. Dead, probably.
His vows however, that took more thinking. Most likely the Archdemon was dead, and unable to control the scepter anymore. Arazmodel grinned at the thought.
The crazy human had to be the reason for that.
But how could he win? Even with his pet Greater Demon, even if the Elf King helped...
Arazmodel mused for a while. Then it came to him. The black mace which was not a mace. It seemed it was indeed stronger than the scepter.
That was the only logical conclusion.
Arazmodel thought forward. What would the human do, now that he won?
No doubt liberate more slaves, but that wasn't a goal in itself.
Arazmodel himself was in the midst of doing the same thing, replacing weak humans with enslaved demons. Until the Archdemon captured him at the behest of his advisers, the cursed Fateweavers.
He thought about the human would do, but in truth he couldn't guess. Damn man was too unpredictable for him.
Anyway. He would have to escape first. Rebuild a power base maybe.
A few years passed, but in the end Arazmodel managed, and broke the jade, freeing the adamantine chains from their anchor.
First step complete! Now he had to leave the dungeon...
A rumble and a blinding light enveloped him, and the next second Arazmodel found himself in his old house, free of the chains and face to face with Legion.
"Arazmodel, my old friend! So glad you survived your ordeal!" the human exclaimed with an exuberant voice.
Truth!
The Soultrader hesitated for a second, unsure if this was truly a joyous occasion.
"I had already freed myself, human." he chose to respond. Lie.
"Yes, yes. Almost, but close enough. But beside the chains, there were some tricky vows too, correct?" the smiling human asked rhetorically as he began arranging a table full of deliciously smelling dishes.
Arazmodel nodded and sat down. He had seen the tournament, after all. Between the choices of eating amazing food and getting killed, he chose the former.
An hour later his hunger was sated, and he gulped a jug of fruity wine.
Then the human glanced up. "Didn't have a proper battleship for polite negotiations, so I brought the Elf King instead. I'm afraid most of the planetary defenders will have to attain critical thinking in their next life."
Truth.
Arazmodel realized with horror that he hadn't been paying attention to the space around.
The glaring alarm at the presence of the Elf King seeped into his eyes, before he brought himself under control. Critical thinking. Negotiations.
"My name is Pef Xi, Soldier rank, Veritas Legion." the human said in a different tone, and placed the freaking Archdemon's core on the table.
Truth.
Arazmodel nodded wordlessly and poked the core with wonder. He couldn't use it yet, not before attaining a Greater Demon rank, but that could be fixed much easier.
"Yes. You killed him. So what do you want from me? I'm not in charge of anything." he asked in confusion.
"You're smart. And you proved to learn when you saw there are better options. Perhaps you learned from your suffering as well?" Pef asked with a sad voice.
"I've always known you need power to be free. My brain and skill didn't help me when I was tortured to break my vows." Arazmodel complained with a grimace.
"Exactly. Now you know how those slaves feel. And I'd prefer the demons to survive as a species. Trading partners, shipbuilders, explorers. You can be more than just more barbarians that I have to exterminate." the human said in a soft whisper, then vanished.
On the table, the Archdemon core remained, glowing a beautiful blue and promising immense power. And possibly extermination. So easily given, the core, without any vows. Just as easily taken away then, from his corpse if he misbehaved.
Arazmodel had no illusions, now that the human had revealed his name and origin. If that Legion could make such powerful weapons, another Archdemon would mean nothing to them.
He placed the core in his pocket and headed towards the guild.
It was time Arazmodel took charge, now that he had the backing of his new human friend.
The offices were a mess, with half the staff in tears and half missing.
"Silence!" he yelled. "Who's the highest rank left?" he asked after the demons put themselves together, very slowly.
"Lord Arazmodel!"
"Praise the Nine Hells! You're still alive Lord!"
"Nobody else had returned from the war. Good to have you back, Lord." the secretary demoness explained with a happy sob, while the rest were just happy to see any Soultrader was alive at all.
Made Arazmodel feel strange, since people usually feared him instead of being glad at his appearance. Well, except that strange human.
"Good news is the Archdemon is dead. Bad news, as you all know, the vows are gone. No more Chosen or slave collars." he explained patiently, then took out the glowing core.
Even the lesser demons in the staff could sense it, the amazing power and temptation it held. Power over the galaxy, or so they thought.
A few of the staff even changed their eyes, becoming greedy and treasonous. Poor fools.
Arazmodel smiled cruelly and squeezed with his mind, crushing the few idiots then ripping out their cores, using their own blood. The staff stood straight now, and much more respectful.
"We'll have to adapt and become JadeTraders. Jade and metals like adamantine or gold are still valuable. And there will be plenty of idiot demons trying to test the new regime. They'll be sent to the mines instead of our slaves." he ordered in a loud tone.
The staff, almost a thousand of them rushed to their desks, drawing holojades to begin sending the new orders.
"First order! All treasure ships are load as many slaves and jade as they can carry, then return to the capital as fast as possible." he began yelling as he walked behind each and every employee.
"Two! Prepare a list of our competitors planets and compile them into a map." he added as he noticed Pef appear in their headquarters.
"Three. Pef Xi and his Legion will be given all support if they ask, and complete respect at all times. We don't mess with the people who killed the Archdemon." Arazmodel said with a smaller voice.
Pef walked around, observing his guild's setup with curious but not impressed eyes.
"You'll need bigger offices and a thousand times more workers. Plus an enforcement group. I can provide a thousand cores if you prefer to promote from within." the human said in a thoughtful tone, then simply discarded on the floor a chest-high mound of demon cores, some of them even High Lord quality.
Arazmodel smiled sadly and swept the remains of an entire army into his inner world. "I'm not able to use this core, Lord Pef." he said in a polite tone, offering the Archdemon's core back.
It was all a cruel test, he knew. Think ahead or die. But then human surprised him again.
"Oh. You mean you need to progress in order?" Pef asked with a surprised tone, then offered a fistful of Greater Demon cores.
Arazmodel calculated for a moment, then picked a small and then the largest core in the pile.
Immediately he began draining the essence of this dead demon, adding to his own core bits of lands of the previous owner, even mountains and mines. Of course, anything alive was gone now, as would be items or artifacts brought from outside.
Fragments of body cultivation followed, circulating through him as the core dissolved into essence.
The bigger core bought Arazmodel to the peak, and the small one crossed him over and pushed him in Greater Demon rank.
Pef floated the Archdemon core back at him. "So easy?" the new JadeTrader asked with suspicion.
"Well, I do want to observe what exactly you do when you reach next rank. Let me in." the human said with a gentle voice.
That confirmed it for Arazmodel. To put himself in his power, and enter his inner world?
It would be plain suicide, especially for someone below a fourth tier of soul cultivation.
Except it possibly was another test, and the human was way too strong, playing games with him.
Arazmodel wasn't ready to risk his life, not when an entire galactic army had tried and just died.
He nodded cautiously, and allowed the human inside.
A human female appeared as well, standing beside Pef. She felt alien and deadly, and not quite alive.
"This is Reason, my weapon. Go ahead and ascend to tier 4." Pef said with a finger pointing up.
Arazmodel obeyed, and began draining the Archdemon's core.
The woman began to sing, while Pef took out a bed and went to sleep, ignoring the lava field underneath.
He ignored the human and his bed, but the song was really pleasing.
Sometime during the ascension, Arazmodel fell asleep as well.
But when he woke up, the inner world's sky was full of stars.
Pef shook himself awake, and glanced around the new Archdemon's inner world.
As expected, it has grown tremendously, from a single planet full of lava and magma pits, to a dwarf galaxy containing a million stars.
The former planet had become quite large, and had changed dramatically, now containing a large continent full of forests and lakes and even a small ocean to the south.
A copy of the capital city had also appeared, as it was before the Archdemon obliterated most of it with the scepter.
"Good work, Reason." Pef said in a pleased voice.
"... It is really amazing." he heard Arazmodel mutter beside him.
Pef glanced to the side, where the JadeTrader had appeared in avatar form. A bit frayed and shredded by the song, but he was already healing himself.
"How do you feel, Arazmodel?" Pef asked with a curious look, measuring the avatar with his senses.
The demon had no experience in managing his new cultivation and abilities, and it showed. But that was probably for the best.
Arazmodel hesitated, glancing to the sky and then around with wide eyes. "My soul. You changed it. Changed me." the demon muttered in suspicion.
Pef nodded slightly. "You are better now, Archdemon. I changed your cultivation a little, to make you able to feel. You will need a lover, or more lovers, else your soul will decay and vanish. Then you will die."
Truth.
Arazmodel sighed and nodded. A leash of some kind then.
"Those of your bloodline will have the same abilities as you. I think you'll find managing half the galaxy much easier with competent administrators, who won't try to backstab you." Pef explained in a softer tone.
The new Archdemon mused in silence, going over possible advantages and disadvantages of such a loyal family line. "Half the galaxy?" he asked instead.
"More at first, but as the other races recover, they'll want their teritory back. Don't worry, the Legion will still be around, keeping an eye out."
Arazmodel sighed in despair, then realized what this meant. Trade and new markets. He and the new guild would just have to meet their demands as they grew.
Plus, he had the rank now. Archdemon.
A hundred Greater Demons would need to join together to oppose him, not that any were left anyway, while he could grow his own loyal enforcers.
"You won't recruit demons for your Legion?" Arazmodel wondered.
"My wife, Nellie Xi has elected to deny demon applications at this time. That might change in the future, but for now there's lots of bad blood between demons and their former subjects. Give it a thousand years of good relations, to let the scars heal."
"So, you're leaving." Arazmodel deduced from that.
"I still have to visit all these demon guilds and see what treasures I might need. But, yes. I'll leave soon." Pef replied in a far away voice.
The Archdemon smiled. The human wasn't that different after all. He opened a portal to the outside and the human walked out, back into the guild's offices, all silent and empty now.
Everyone had gone home, except the secretary. "Lord Arazmodel, I had to stay and make sure you're alright." she said in a worried tone.
Pef rose an eyebrow and vanished.
"Oh, thank you Elsbeth. Well, you must be starving. Join me for dinner?" Arazmodel asked on a hunch.
The demoness blushed and nodded shyly. The Archdemon smiled and warped them both to a luxury restaurant. Perhaps this lover thing wasn't so bad.
Pef returned to the former Fateweaver base, where his wives were still searching through a million jade slips full of maps and prophecies.
A dozen old jade tablets were placed apart, Lia going through them slowly.
"Anything good?" Pef asked in a low voice.
Lia shook her head. "Nothing good, beloved husband. These Fateweavers were preparing a cataclysm. Or perhaps remembering the distant past or even the future. It's all very confusing." she answered in a tired tone.
The Elf King materialized silently next to her, and picked up the tablet and scanned it at speed. He picked another one.
"Visions. Mad ramblings. Door into eternal cold. The silent one who eats all stars. A maiden made of light. The too-many eyes. Thought listener. The voice of truth." he said, poking each tablet with a disgusted face.
Pef blinked at the last words. 'Maybe not that mad, eh?' he asked inward.
'Prophecies can only occur in the light-cone of that same event. These demons are poor oracles, but what they saw wasn't wrong. Nor were they right. Only the past is fixed.' the glove said in a dismissive tone.
Pef nodded but was still worried. If Reason was right, everything in this universe was happening in an eternal present, an infinite dream that would only end when they stepped out. Someday.
"We'll deal with those things as they come. I completed my task here. Where next?" Pef spoke towards the Elf King.
"The Far Explorers Guild, then the Treasure Makers. Then Formations and Talismans Guild, maybe the Alchemical Masters too, though I doubt those have anything of value." he said in a more interested tone.
Pef smiled widely. "Okay, we visit the alchemists first!" he said exuberantly. The Elf King cursed and warped them all away, and brought them to their next bounty.
Over the years, they had amassed an impressive amount of treasures and knowledge, confiscating whatever nice things the demons had found or looted over millions of years.
Cultivation methods from a hundred species, most of them extinct. Gems and precious metals. Artifacts and weapons. Sadly, most of the demons' own works, like ships or other artifacts needed either demon blood, or abyssforce or magic to activate or operate.
The Elf King collected most of those, since the elves had magic identical to the demons.
Even without those, Pef and the Legion had acquired enough riches to buy three galaxies.
Another year later, Pef checked on the Archdemon, only to find him back at work, ruling over an entire city of clerks and a dozen besotted secretaries. One of the demonesses was now a Demon Lord and pregnant.
He left her a storage ring with a couple of gifts inside, and blinked away.
It was time for the long way home. After a heartbreaking goodbye with Nellie, he saluted the Legion recruits and sped away.
In his wake, the galaxy was forever changed, with thousands of planets already freed from demon occupation, and local civilizations slowly rebuilding.
Small conflicts between demons clans or between old way demons and forces of the Legion and the elves still continued, but those would take a long time to come to end. Maybe never.
Pef was still content. Conflict would allow the Legion recruits to prosper and ascend to higher tiers, while the demons' yoke on the galaxy was broken.
Huge wars won't be allowed to occur again, since both the Elf King and the Archdemon were now bound by self interests and the Legion's looming presence. They wouldn't like it if Pef had to return.
In less than a year, Pef arrived in the Arden's galaxy, since his travel speed had increased again, with his new tier.
He descended on Ardenia with a wide grin, noticing his friend has at least become an Emperor, both in rank and temporal power.
Gaia's presence was seated beside Arden, symbolically represented by a sunflower in a pot.
"No councilmen. We will not deny women to right to work in any field they choose. And don't come back with such insulting demands again." Arden spoke in a threatening voice, while the sunflower nodded beside him.
Pef snorted out loud, and expelled the petitioners into a nearby lake.
Arden turned surprised, and then took in his visitors at the court. "Pef! You're back!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
"No wonder you're such good friends. Both of you like to state the obvious out loud." Qin muttered in a cheeky tone.
"Eh. Ladies...welcome to my court." Arden mumbled a bit embarrassed.
"Go and have fun girls. Vela you stay." Pef whispered as he summoned a table and some wine.
"Freedom!" Xie yelled and ran off, dragging Aria after her.
The other wives winced and vanished, leaving only Pef and Arden in the throne room, each with a goddess at their shoulder.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Vela. Lovely hair. New wife?" Arden said with a wide smile.
"Likewise, Emperor Arden. And no. I'm not planning to get married." Vela said in a stoic tone.
Pef grimaced and poured wine in four glasses.
"Vela was a slave-like vestal for three million years. Easy with the delicate questions, Arden." Pef admonished him with a frown.
"Oh, that sounds bad, I think. What's a vestal?" Arden asked curiously.
A petal flew from the sunflower and smacked Arden over the head. "Ouch! This is Gaia. She's invisible to people, but real none-the-less." Arden explained while rubbing his head innocently.
Vela sighed and glanced at Pef then towards Gaia's divine form.
"I see why you're friends. And well met, Gaia. That yellow dress looks lovely." Vela said with a pained smile.
"Wait, you can see her? I wish I could see Gaia's dress now..." Arden said longingly.
Another flower petal hit Arden in the arm.
Pef grinned. "Come, let's move inside. There's someone else you should meet." he explained gently, while offering a hand to the elf goddess.
Perspective changed, as Arden and his goddess entered the inner world.
"This is Reason." Pef introduced the armored woman.
Gaia took a step back, intimidated by what she sensed while looking at Reason.
Arden just nodded politely, trying not to step on his own feet again.
"A Veridian remnant, like I expected. And something I wasn't expecting, a Serghoul Lich. Well, a reborn one." Reason mused aloud, but without moving her lips.
Gaia stared in surprise at Reason, then at Arden.
"I was a lich? The other life?" Arden asked in wonder.
"A Consecrated Archlich, to be precise. A Tier 7 necromancer with some dominion over Life, Death, Entropy and Time. Bound to the Serghoul Master, a terrifying Tier 8 entity and the ruler of that Dominion." Reason explained with a frown.
"Wow, that sounds quite amazing. Well, you still died in the big war, I would guess, but you must have been scary when you were alive. Or undead. " Pef exclaimed in an appreciative tone, and poured more wine for both of them.
Arden gulped his wine, not that excited at the revelation. "This is bad. I don't want to become a lich, whatever that is." he complained with a sob.
"Hey! You're my friend, Arden. You can be whatever you want. But keep necromancing away from me, that sounds gross." Pef replied cheerfully.
Arden turned to look at Gaia instead, who was sipping some wine in deep thought.
"Gaia? You're not mad at me, right?" Arden asked in a pitiful voice.
"Pef is right. You can be whatever you want. But necromancy sounds gross." she whispered to herself.
Vela giggled, taking the scene as a big comedy. "You all realize that divinity means you can resurect people at will, right?"
Gaia nodded after a second. "I've seen Arden die and get brought back a dozen times." she said in a warmer voice.
"You killed Arden a few times yourself." Pef added helpfully.
"... That's different. He was acting stupid!" she defended herself, not that convincingly.
Arden grimaced and sighed. "I was twelve! And you're like a million. Aren't gods supposed to be wise?" he asked rhetorically.
Reason rose an eyebrow, and smiled a bit. "You dream big, kid." she said with a soft laughter.
Pef raised a finger and pointed at his guests. "Less jokes and more work. Can you fix them?"
"The boy is easy, since his rank is so low. But your friend Gaia...she might die. Wait until she has a physical anchor." Reason responded after a second.
"Her old Legion should have a better cultivation though. Can't you make Gaia remember?" Pef demanded with a wince.
"I can strengthen what is inside her, not what will be. Enlightment comes from within and her body lacks proper circulation in dreamsleave state. But there is a way. They are in love and I can enhance that." Reason said with a meaningful glance at Vela.
Vela drew a deep breath and glared at Pef, but it was too late.
Reason began to sing, while the inner world froze.
Arden, Gaia and Vela had golden auras that expanded and melded, filling the entire world with light.
The song weaved divine strands and repaired their souls, until Arden and Gaia were connected with a golden string, and a similar one linked Vela to Pef.
Years passed during this process, and yet no time passed at all.
Vela and Pef woke up first, and looked at each other with different eyes. Pef with amazement while Vela with curiosity and fear.
"I can feel your heart..." she muttered in disbelief.
"Not what I intended, Vela. I just wanted you to show how others look when they are in love. Even if they are so different in background." Pef said with a shrug, and glanced at Arden.
"And that's what Reason did. Now I know. And I was right. Your heart is too big. All that pain and loses, failures and disasters. And you still think about others. Trying to heal old wounds." Vela whispered with a sob.
"Hey! I did bad things too. Killed lots of people. There are no virtuous gods like Arden dreams of. You'd have to isolate yourself from the world, and never get the chance to do anything. You might as well be dead." Pef answered with outrage.
"Idiot! I was isolated from the world, for three million years. While my people fought against the demons, while my Queen died. I stayed away, kept pure and virtuous. I know!" Vela yelled back, tears flowing on her face.
Pef hugged her, and patted her back. "Don't cry silly. It breaks my heart." he whispered in her hair.
"I know. I feel it." she mumbled with a pained throat.
"Come, lets fly down the waterfall. You'll like it." Pef said with a grin, dragging Vela after him as he descended into the geyser and under the boundary layer.
Soon, he could feel her amazement at the improbable lotus plants, floating at the thermocline barrier.
'You have a wild imagination, Pef. Nothing like this can really exist.' Vela sent into his mind.
'Oh? There's one such plant for each meridian. How do you think we made the meridian pills?' he asked wryly.
Vela drew closer and kissed his cheek. 'I'd love to see them.'
Pef hugged her, feeling her embarasment and shyness. 'A kiss for each visit.' he demanded shamelessly.
'You're a moron.' she said with a short laugh.
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