The battle in the Dream Realm was fast-paced and incredibly fun. The wounds felt real, but they healed very quickly, and like Sina, if I were incapacitated, it wouldn’t take more than a minute for me to rematerialize. It was for this reason that Sina and Kline could fight for the first time, taking out their grievances that they had developed since Sina decided to butt in on our relationship.

  Sina was naturally no match for Kline, but Ryn and Dain gave one beast army a run for its money. This surprised Kline until he realized that while their magic was the same, their bodies were feeding on my soul force—which was vastly stronger than they originally were.

  I had made them far stronger—and Kline pouted about that. So he demanded we fight over and over again, but I got tired and called us back into the real world.

  To my surprise, our six-hour excursion had only been one hour in the real world, and I felt refreshed, so I closed my eyes and did Mental Shielding training.

  It was in this way that we maximized all twenty-four hours of the day. I would wake up, train with Kai, who was making massive progress with his threading and seeding, and then watch him, Malo, and Tyler do afternoon sword practice.

  It was strange to think that Kai was relatively young—between my age and Tyler’s age—and he was still in the first evolution. Despite that, his power was incomparable to Tyler’s in every aspect.

  That was natural—Kai was trained in combat since he was three by a legendary fighter. Tyler played Call of Duty and played basketball on a losing team.

  They were not the same.

  That said, Kai was really good. Malo was a legendary swordsman in the high second evolution, and when they both limited their power to raw skill, Kai was able to hold his own. I watched him use Vengeance one day, and they were about equal in power with just swordplay.

  That said, Malo’s magic prowess was terrifying. Now that he was threading second- and third-evolution cores and eating meat, he was becoming intimidating. That said, he made my soul pact out of loyalty so that he couldn’t harm us. The stronger he was, the better.

  I enjoyed watching them fight. It was a nice break.

  In the afternoons, I would do alchemy. It was my full-time job. That was a delight. Felio would always squeal and say, “I’m so glad you’re back, and hug me,” and I’d actually hug her back.

  I was starting to feel human again.

  So, I made an effort, treating Felio and Jaylin to meals at Wraithwood Cafe and holding an alchemy-and-guards-only girls' night in the public bath once a week.

  And then I’d go home and eat dinner with Kai, and every other night or so, he’d stay over.

  Every time I took Felio and Jaylin to our cafe, they would lean and say, “Come on, tell us,” and I’d say something like, “Oh, I was going to tell you guys. The weather was pretty average today,” and they’d puff out their cheeks.

  My love life was no one’s business—even mine, really.

  I wasn’t much for romance, but then again, neither was Kai. He enjoyed spending time with me, but he wasn’t a pushover. He wanted to get stronger, and he was making serious gains.

  Over the summer, he had gone out hunting with Aiden and earned himself a diamond reward that he, quite surprisingly, spent on Mental Shielding. Everyone from the first year of Wraithwood proper earned a Poison Sense skill, and Kai wanted to learn if he’d get one for “seducing the leader” or at least for helping out. So he figured he’d focus on what he needed, and Mental Shielding was what he needed. He had a gold acceleration technique, but his mind couldn’t keep up—so he wanted to unlock the spell’s potential. So he practiced shielding and acceleration day in and day out, improving his threading until I was amazed.

  Between the massive gains he made during the evolution and six months of hard practice, he was damn near as good at threading as I was.

  Kai’s core was also becoming remarkably pure.

  He would have a wonderful evolution.

  Kai and I weren’t too romantic, but Tyler was. He had Sarah come over for dinner and talked about her ad nauseam, sharing her habit of leaving little notes for him and explaining how she loved art and music. She was a sweet girl, and soon, they were engaged. They would have the wedding once my family joined us in two years.

  The fall passed by like that, and soon the harvest was upon us.

  I didn’t go—obviously.

  I was there when another thousand citizens and soldiers arrived, bringing an abundance of tools, clothing, and building supplies, as well as dozens of wards, protective gear, and military goods with them. Half of them were family members, but mine wasn’t included that year. After the Ikala incident, I decided to push it back one more year, then train the most elite team of ultra-secure, highly trained super troops to protect them full-time.

  My entry soul pact had provisions not to touch my family, but after Ikala showcased the bleak number of loopholes in soul pacts, I decided not to risk it.

  The other half were skilled volunteers, political hires, or traded talent—mostly the latter.

  Once the Dante learned that Cassain could bend most of their members’ spines like a folding chair, they realized how quickly we would succeed them. Their pocketbook couldn’t afford higher-level supplies from the upper domains, so the Dante and Melhan removed the ultra-exclusivity market and then entered trade negotiations with us to compete with the Second Domain. We agreed to sell hypothetical elixirs, rare elixirs, and third evolution products—

  For talent hires only.

  There were two conditions: first, the person had to want to join Areswood, and two, the family would have to release all soul pacts on their people.

  Trigan had a diamond-grade leadership skill now—so he could tell both.

  Unsurprisingly, almost everyone offered the position took it. Their contracts were highly exploitative, and people who joined Wraithwood could leave the next year as free individuals, provided they had made an effort to acclimate, and they didn't use their knowledge to harm the forest or her family. There were actually a significant number of provisions that the Drokai required to ensure that they didn't harm the forest, but the point remained the same. Once they left, they would be removed from their oppressive contracts with the Dante, Melhan, or any other group.

  Some disagreed with this, but Trigan and I knew the power of human capital. Even if ultra-skilled people left after a few years, their contributions would last forever. Either way, we were planning on making Wraithwood a place people wanted to live in—a place they wanted to protect.

  That was already possible.

  The First Domain was a nepotistic cesspool, and while nepotism and classism were impossible to eliminate—and I was guilty of it—we instituted powerful legal protections. It didn’t matter who someone was—the law was the law. And in a settlement of two thousand, it was impossible to hide abuse, fraud, and extortion.

  Wraithwood was small enough to instill our laws, and once it grew, the culture would grow with it.

  The next year flew by.

  Of all the years in Wraithwood, it was perhaps the most insignificant.

  While Kai and Jaylin had made significant progress on the seeds, botany is really hard work. I ended up spending most of the fall breeding plants and trying to cross-breed them, as well as learning how to apply my plantmancy with new plant-magic techniques to help the plants grow. I tripled the speed of growth, but the seeds were inconsistent, unstable, and lacked the right genes. As a result, we were constantly isolating, replicating, and modifying plants.

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  Kai and I had a small celebration when he evolved his second evolution core. It wasn’t very exciting, considering that everyone was the second evolution, and he almost succeeded in breaking through the impossible task the year before.

  That night, he said, “All that risk and it lasted ten minutes. It sounds like a pregnancy scare.”

  I giggled and said something stupid, ‘cause I’m actually not funny, and the rest was a blur.

  It was ironic how insignificant the event was. That said, the situation was never about evolving Kai’s core to begin with. The whole thing started because I wanted him to keep up so I wouldn’t be lonely, and it ended with us in a relationship and him giving Sina and the lurvines their magic back.

  Sometimes it’s the process that’s important—not the end result. But the end result wasn’t half bad.

  Tyler and Sarah were also happy. Felio married her alchemy, and Jaylin developed a crush on some boy or another. Soon, we were all having triple dates and this and that. It was nice.

  As for training, it was ruthless. I expanded my soul core three hours a day in Hellfine, then worked on soulmancy manipulation and fighting tactics. Reta even taught me some plantmancy—the type used for ambushes.

  During the nights, I practiced drills with Sina and the lurvine in the Dream Realm, which Reta allowed.

  Kyro dropped in frequently, sitting on my shoulders and drinking during the nights. We became closer—like friends—rather than guide and guided. We knew the perilous trip to Aelium would come eventually—but that was years off, so we enjoyed the time together.

  The one thing that did happen that year was that Wraithwood expanded rapidly. Once we circulated our currency, everything popped off. We had a bakery, a brewery, a distillery, restaurants, a salon, and a few other private businesses. Of course, these buildings were still under construction that year, but they were built on the buyers’ dime and labor. So they popped up while housing was being established—and they would be ready by the next year.

  As for housing, we learned how to efficiently construct five-story tree houses for barracks and filled thirty per floor until housing was built.

  It was all happening so fast.

  Wraithwood.

  Practice.

  Growth.

  Time was flying by, just as my parents warned it would. But then the third year hit—and everything slowed down for major changes. And it all began with family reunions.

  2.

  Doug Hill had been warned, quite aggressively, that Mira’s appearance had drastically changed. Quite annoyingly, she refused to answer how. She simply said, “Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal,” as if it were a footnote, and then changed the subject. Once he asked about it, she said, “No, seriously, it’s fine.”

  It was not fine.

  Knowing Mira and where she was, she had hideous scars all over her face, and she was playing it off cool. She was always like that.

  But it was “not a big deal,” and it was “seriously fine,” so he tried to push it out of his head. Yet he and Tanya couldn’t, so they spent a valuable silver request to ask Tyler about it, and Tyler, that little shit, replied, “Oh, it’s not a big deal. Just make sure you have heart medicine, Old Man.” Then, he continued gushing about Sarah as if Mira was a footnote.

  It worried them sick.

  That only got worse when they went to Galfer’s Gate to tentatively move into Wraithwood, only to be picked up by an entire army of aura-stricken elites who said, “Doug and Tanya Hill? Come with us.” Then, it got even worse when they were escorted through the gates, only to be met with a literal army of beasts. If Aiden weren’t out front, and didn’t kiss his hand and wave at Railain, who stomped off with a red face, Doug would’ve had a heart attack. These lovable kids were turning into freakish warlords, and he couldn’t cope with it, let alone Tanya.

  Once they were in the center of the plaza, they started having a panic attack.

  Until they saw Felio.

  “Oh my God!” Felio cried. “Doug! Tanya! I’m so excited you’re finally coming to live with us.”

  Tanya chuckled nervously. “Tenetively. Right, Dear?” She looked at Doug. He swallowed, nodded, and said, “Right. Though we will be giving it a real chance. Huh, Honey?”

  Tanya’s face stiffened, and Felio giggled and hugged her. “Don’t worry!” Felio said. “You have no idea how beautiful it is. You can’t hike around yet, but the settlement? It’s quite large and super free. Oh, and there’s amazing bathhouses and restaurants.”

  “Restaurants?” Doug asked in surprise.

  “Yeah, restaurants. We have a place called Wraithwood Cafe. It’s built in a spiralling tree and it has three floors with a… what does Mira call it… a place with alcohol.”

  “A bar?”

  “No… not a bar. She says it’s classy.”

  “A… speakeasy?”

  “Yeah! That’s it!”

  “Speakeasies are illegal!” Tanya cried.

  “Relax, speakeasies are completely legal,” Doug said. “It’s not the Prohibition.”

  “Yeah, but that Aiden boy’s been hanging out with Claustras,” she whispered.

  Felio giggled again.

  “What?” Tanya pouted.

  “It’s just… you’re just like Mira talks about. You’re like… how do I explain this… not happy about things, but you still support her? That’s pretty rare here, and I think it’s super nice.”

  Doug watched Tanya melt under Felio’s response. She was so sweet it was almost sickening.

  “And I mean, it’s paying off,” Felio said. “Aiden’s background is a bit scary, but he’s super nice. You’re gonna love him.”

  “Don’t stop now!” Aiden said in the distance. “Tell them how suave I am!”

  Felio giggled. “In your dreams…” She turned and saw her parents, and her smile faded. “I gotta go. I’ll be back, though.”

  Doug realized why Felio appreciated them when he saw how she interacted with her family.

  “Not even a hug?” Tanya asked, heartbroken. There wasn’t as much as a smile when they reunited. Her dad seemed almost furious. He motioned, and Cassain brought out a crate of elixirs, and they set to work discussing them in public. Just business. Nothing more.

  “Guess not… That’s kinda sad.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Don’t worry about her,” Tyler said, riding up on a massive lurvine that had gotten even larger than the last time they saw one. “They’re all business, but they’re not usually this bad. They’re just pissed because they tried to arrange a political marriage for her, but Mira told ‘em she’d ice their entire alchemy enterprise if they tried.” He grinned. “It was pretty badass.”

  Doug returned the grin.“Seriously?”

  “Honey!” Tanya hissed. “You shouldn’t encourage our children to make enemies. And you know they’re going to take it out on Felio.”

  “Oh, no, they won’t,” Tyler said. “Like, you don’t understand. Mira was so furious that they tried to sell her off that she told them that they’d have to let Felio become a Hill, or she’d spend a diamond request to ensure the Oracle destroyed every business and supply chain they had. And this was after she warned the Melhans they’d need to stop selling to the Hellara if they refused. One word, and their business will tank. That’s how big Wraithwood is. It’s not a joke.”

  Doug and Tanya were stunned.

  “Oh, by the way, we adopted Felio,” Tyler said casually. “So she’s technically your daughter now. Well, stepdaughter—but whatever.”

  Doug turned back to see Felio’s father glowering at his daughter. Her mother was even worse. Doug threw out a fist—Tyler grinned and bumped it.

  Tanya kept silent. It always gave her anxiety to watch Mira make powerful enemies and push people around, but it was clear that she was glad Felio was free, too.

  “Anyway, Aiden’s gonna get mind-fucked for the next six hours, and Felio’s gotta make deals with her business partners, so why don’t we take off? I can’t wait till you see Mira.”

  Doug leaned in panickedly. “What’s wrong with Mira’s appearance? She’s mentioned it like three times, but she won’t say what’s wrong.”

  He retained a poker face and yelled, “Felio!”

  She turned nervously. “Yes?”

  “We’re taking off. Can you come here really quick?”

  “Of course!” She gave her biological father a one-second motion and rushed up. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  “Uh, yeah,” Tyler said, turning to Doug and Tanya. “Your… parents…”

  Felio blushed and looked between them nervously.

  “Want to know,” he said slowly, “what’s wrong with Mira’s appearance?”

  Felio’s face stiffened, losing all anxiousness about her familial status. She smiled nervously and whispered, “Uh… This isn’t the best place to talk about this. So… uh… we actually shouldn’t.”

  Tyler frowned, looking around as if he realized she was right.

  “But it’s not bad!” Felio cried, seeing the worry etched on Doug and Tanya’s faces. “I promise. It’s not a big deal.”

  “That’s what she said!” Tanya cried. “That’s what she keeps saying! Why won’t you just tell us?”