The Grand Weave

We arrived at the Lightcrest mansion to the crushing embrace of Teddy's parents. They must have sensed something was amiss because they led us inside without banter and forced us to sit in the dining hall.

As Anastasia and Nathan disappeared into the kitchen, I turned to Sereza.

"Surprised you're staying. Don't you need to report to your father?" I asked.

She glared at me and shook her head. "He can wait. Cyrus, I have so many questions you refused to answer."

"Correction, I am bound by a promise not to reveal certain things. And you keep asking questions about those things."

Celenae tried to devour me through her stare. "You were asleep for an entire day, and when you woke up, you told us a vague, information-redacted story about somehow fusing with the dungeon and defeating a sentient dungeon monster trying to revive their dead god. Also, you spoke about trading the divinity for some skillstones and new perks. You have explained nothing."

"What even are your new skill-" Isaac demanded before Igas clamped a hand over his mouth.

I nodded toward the oni. "Thank you."

Sereza banged her fist on the table. "At least explain how you became a scion! Like how? When did you meet a god, and are they a god for felkins? I haven't heard of this Calstrax."

The others in the room became nervous, a funny reaction considering Cal wouldn't touch them. Isaac especially looked subdued even after Igas removed his meaty hand.

"Luck. Well, unlucky if you want to frame it from a certain angle. And as for felkins... I don't think so? He is well was a felkin at one point. I'm not entirely sure on that front, I suspect he's a lot more than what he is now. Oh, and he's not my god, not the same way a priest has a god. He's more like my adoptive parent. Cool guy, I call him dad."

Bang!

I raised my eyebrow as Sereza groaned and gently banged her head again.

The others looked over in sympathy, and I felt a growing sense of accusation, especially from Isaac, who looked over as if to say, 'See? Look at what you did.'

"I'm feeling attacked here. All I did was tell you who my dad was."

"At least you're not a demigod. That'd be too much," Sereza finally relented.

Hmmm. I'm not sure about that. Dad didn't give birth to me, but he did give me his blood?

Sereza's jaw dropped, and she pointed an accusing finger before a polite coughing from behind us alerted us to Teddy's parents. They walked in while balancing several silver platters. Within seconds, the table was laden with steaming food and desserts. To the side, Nathan summoned a cooler filled with drinks before he activated a skill and filled it with ice-cold water.

"We've already received word about Helio. It looks like you were busy the past few days. Eat, drink, and relax. You can discuss things after," Anastasia declared.

Nobody argued, and soon enough, we all chowed down. Even though I wasn't hungry, I stuffed myself full and picked up a surprisingly bubbly drink that reminded me of orange soda.

Sereza didn't know, so she didn't outwardly express it, but I could feel the other's gazes burning into me. I had acquired two new skills, and Celenae was especially interested.

I sighed and finally decided to address the changes in my status sheet. It appeared, and I read the changes along with their descriptions.

STATUS

Name: Cyrus

Race: Reborn (Felkin)

Age: ??

Tier: 0

Active Skills:

(T:0 R:9) Summon Familiar: Verdant Healer: (Áine)

(T:0 R:9) Summon Familiar: Resplendent Inferno: (Zharia)

(T:0 R:9) Racial Skill: Dimensional Storage: (Chomperz)

(T:0 R:9) Spirit Lord's Invocation

(T:0 R:9) Summon Familiar: The Dead Will Provide (Erebus)

(T:0 R:9) Summon Familiar: Reflective Coat of the Mirror Beast (Magnus)

(T:0 R:9) Summon Familiar: Storm King's Tempest (Sturmrorex)

(T:0 R:0) Summon Familiar: Shroud of the Astral Archon (N/A)

Passive Skills:

(T:0 R:9) Etherious Blood

(T:0 R:9) Sovereign-Threaded Soul

(T:0 R:9) Chaotic Resonance

(T:0 R:9) Spirit's Lord's Echo

(T:0 R:1) Split-Mind Cultivation

Perks:

Legacy of the Obsidian Crown

Scion of Calstrax

Demonic Blood

Child of Mana

Dread Guardian's Apology

Crystal Synthesis

Devourer of the Deep

Whisper of the Tempest

False Dungeon Core

Unleashed Soul

Summon Familiar: Shroud of the Astral Archon (N/A)(Currently no spirit contracted)

Summon a bonded familiar. The familiar is a psionic based being.

Summons can remain inside the body in a passive state. While active, they reserve an amount of your mana pool.

All Summons have their own mana pool and regeneration but may tap into their summoner's mana when they run out.

Split-Mind Cultivation:

Split your cognitive functions, allowing subconscious activity in the background without interfering with conscious thought.

Gain the ability to meditate and widen cultivation base passively.

Unleashed Soul

A gift, favor, and investment from the Caretaker of Rebirth

The soul has constraints, limits that are slowly ground away through the constant cycle of rebirth; these limits bind you no longer.

Your soul can grow and expand. And through hardship comes refinement.

I breathed in and let the stress fall away—or at least I tried and only marginally succeeded.

Looks like I passively gained a level. Good.

When I set my drink down, the room quieted. Everyone turned, even Teddy's parents, who still had their blindfolds on.

Without speaking, I mentally sent over the description for the perk and watched their reactions. Out of everyone, only Teddy's parents reacted normally.

Celanae had her journal out, and everyone else glazed over before flinching.

"Cyrus," Teddy whispered. "You told us you met another god, but not that kind of god."

"Do you know him? I've only met Eraztis twice now. I still can't decide whether he and Cal are good friends. Half the time, he seemed ready to punt him into the void," I said.

I frowned and closed my eyes.

"Cyrus? What's wrong?"

It took a bit, but I finally found it through the sea of loot inside Chomperz's stomach. As I opened my eyes, I produced a small book and flopped it onto the table.

Sure enough, Eraztis was there, with a mural, description, domain, preferred method of worship, and more.

"Huh. He is famous. It makes sense, considering his title. It's a good thing I gave his favors to Cal."

Mana activated, and I looked up and stared at Isaac's shadow spreading across the walls.

"You didn't mention anything about favors from the god!" he yelled.

I shrugged and finished the last of my drink. "Is what it is. Frankly, I don't see the problem. None of you risked your soul to fight and loot an evil god. Who the fuck cares if I talked with my god and negotiated a deal? Pretty sure I deserved it, and it doesn't matter what I tell you about it, considering it doesn't currently affect me."

My voice had more heat than I intended, but I realized I was getting angry. Remnants of memory from the confrontation with Not-Sam filled my mind, and I crushed them before tossing them aside.

They all stopped, their expressions a war of emotions. Isaac, Eodyne, and Sereza looked angry. Teddy, Igas, and Celenae had softer expressions, mostly concern.

My claws dug into my thigh, and I knew I drew blood. I rubbed the drops against my pants and grabbed another drink before standing up.

"Sorry. I'm still tired," I said. Before I pushed in my chair, I turned to Teddy's parents. "Nathan, Anastasia, I have a request for you."

They smiled, and Anastasia leaned forward. "Of course, what do you need?"

"The rewards for Helio. I was told to bleed the kingdom for what it owes me. Can you handle that?"

"Ohoho bold. But well deserved," Anastasia grinned. "Anything in particular? And you realize we'll probably have to confirm the story of your involvement. We only know snippets."

I shrugged. "It's fine if you tell them, but I'd prefer to be anonymous. Panasia can confirm everything I said. I trust a tier-three guildmaster has enough weight to their words. "

"She would, yes."

"Good, she helped in the fight at the end. Plus, most of the guards saw me ripping out the mind parasites. If they need further proof, I can get Cal to come. All the talk about gods, I bet he can say something on my behalf."

Anastasia's smile cracked some, and Nathan stepped in.

"That won't be necessary. Allaron will believe our word, and we believe you," he explained.

"Cool. Then some gold—it's not the biggest issue, but I'm low. And mostly, I want skillstones. That's pretty much it. Besides, some anonymity if the kingdom can provide it."

"That's doable. But it might take a while."

I shrugged and smiled. "Fine by me. I'll be in my room. Thanks for the meal."

The others stayed sitting, and I ignored their stares. Isaac almost stood up before Celenea summoned a barrier to stop him.

Only Sereza walked out with me, and I finally stopped once we were far enough away for the silence enchantments to activate and prevent anyone from hearing us.

"What's up?"

She frowned and examined me. "Are you okay?"

"Not really, but I'm alive. It beats the other options," I joked. She didn't laugh, and I rubbed the back of my neck. "I'll be fine. Wounds are still fresh and all that. It'll heal."

"Are you sure?"

I lightly tapped her arm. "Yeah.

She didn't look like she believed me, but I wasn't in the mood to try and change that. It would have been a lie.

"Okay," she accepted. "I'll expect a more detailed story at some point, minus the stuff you're not allowed to talk about."

"Fair enough. Are you heading out?"

She nodded. "Yeah it was nice to relax. Father would like to know what I was doing. Getting a thank you from the crown would help."

"I'm still offering to beat him up if you need it."

"He's a well-established tier two,"

"And?"

"Whatever," she chuckled. "See you in a few days? We still need to meet the others."

"Sounds perfect. Gives me some time to settle back in. And we can discuss the tournament."

Before she turned away, she paused. "You're participating?"

"Probably not, but you will. I can at least support a friend by cheering them on."

She smiled. "Later Cyrus. Get some sleep."

I walked her to the door and waved goodbye. As she left, I dragged myself toward the bedrooms and stumbled into the room before collapsing onto the bed.

The soft sheets and pillows swallowed me, and I let myself sink further until I couldn't see the light. Alone, unbothered. Nobody to judge me.

I dropped control and winced as the painful memories came back, not the ones I sealed away, but the fragments of emotions that came with the whole scene.

It felt like a fresh scar, still pink, the skin barely thick enough to resist being reopened.

They hurt, it forced me to run away because I didn't want to deal with them. So instead, I willed myself into my soulspace and took in the comfort of the soft pink glow from the lake.

The fog was back, as was the general healthy condition of my soul. And even as my familiars began to circle me, I sat cross-legged and stared at the new skillwisp floating above the lake.

Lifeless and grey, it lacked its spirit.

My familiars brushed along my shoulders in their own way before floating toward the new wisp.

Painful memories were unwelcome, and I couldn't think of a better way to distract myself.

Grinning, I activated the new skill and fell into the spirit planes.