✦ Chapter 38 — A Beast and Some Questions
The gate to the next realm shimmered in the distance like a mirage, but for now, they stayed back—catching their breath, grounding themselves after the exhausting trial.
Puff lay behind them, a massive fluff of warm, lazy fur with golden tufts and closed eyes. Despite his size, he made almost no sound except for the occasional snore that shook pebbles nearby.
Laei sat quietly on the grass, legs crossed, looking at nothing in particular. "He's yours to borrow," she said simply. "He likes you. For now."
Havella, still stretching her sore shoulders, blinked. "Wait... he likes us? That thing?" She glanced over her shoulder at the dozing behemoth. "That's… weirdly kind."
Laei tilted her head. "He likes soft people. You're... soft. Deep down."
Havella looked slightly offended, but didn't argue.
There was a pause as the group relaxed for a moment, until Havella turned toward Jio, narrowing her eyes.
"Okay, no, I can't ignore it anymore," she said. "What the hell was that in the fight, Jio?"
Jio raised an eyebrow, unbothered.
"You know what I'm talking about," Havella said, pointing at him. "The void thing. You used to only do Bright Call. Light-based stuff. Where'd the whole silent darkness punch thing come from?"
Vexi perked up, eyes narrowing. "Yeah, I noticed that too. That was… not the same technique I remember from before the trial. It's like your whole aura's shifted."
Jio shrugged lightly, picking at a bit of dirt under his fingernail. "Just changed. After the trial."
"Changed how?" Havella pressed.
"I spent almost ten years in a war court, chasing a woman who outmatched me in everything," he replied quietly. "To survive, I had to adapt. Learned things. Became... quieter."
Vexi stared at him. "Wait—so you merged both concepts?"
Jio nodded. "Light isn't only about brightness. Sometimes, it's absence. The void was always part of it. I just never looked at it right."
Havella crossed her arms. "Huh. Makes sense. Still creepy though."
"Thanks," he said flatly.
Vexi looked down at her own hands, then back at them. "I've got a question too."
They both turned to her.
"Me. Mage stuff," she said. "I mean, it was always in me, kinda. But during the trial, I had to write out my entire life—line by line, choice by choice. Every mistake, every outcome. It unlocked something. Like… seeing the truth of my own narrative made me capable of rewriting parts of it."
"You rewrote your fate?" Havella asked, surprised.
"No. Just remembered how it could've gone. I learned to pull those lines. Shift outcomes. Open paths. It's not flashy, but... it's real."
Laei, still sitting quietly, finally added, "Both of you accepted parts of yourselves you hadn't looked at."
They went silent after that. No one spoke for a moment.
Only Puff's deep, lazy breathing filled the air.
After a bit, Havella sighed, rubbing her temples. "Okay, so Jio's brooding and scary now, and Vexi is technically a time-bending script mage. Great."
Vexi smirked. "And you?"
"I stopped a war," Havella muttered. "Wrote peace with my enemies. Used words, not death. Didn't expect that to be the solution."
Laei blinked. "You grew too."
"Yeah," Havella muttered. "Maybe."
They all sat there, four people and one colossal furball, at the edge of a realm about to end.
Soon, they'd pass through.
But for now, questions were enough.
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End of Chapter 38
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