Woohoo! Another chapter done! Took me a while, but hopefully this brings back a bit of happy before I start the Doom and Gloom back up.

If anything seems confusing and needs clarification, well, I'm always available through PMs or my Discord. (Mostly my Discord as it's just easier to message through)

((Apparently there was a small flub, it should be fixed now))

Darkness. That is what had greeted me upon the moment of impact. It was such an incredibly familiar haze of black, as if being rocked upon a sea of tendrils. Before long, I felt my back land upon stone as my eyes lay affixed to a blinding white light. I had heard stories of a lighthouse that stood erect upon the floor of the Abyss. The light was all that stood against that ever encroaching ocean of Void.

Finding strength within me, I slowly moved my limbs so as to crawl upon my side before finding purchase along my knees and standing. I remembered this place. This haunted and corrupted land…

As I rose, the shades of my siblings that littered this forsaken pit looked upon me and drew near. I… did not understand it, but I felt something welling within me. As if a heavy piece of stone was placed within me and forced to grow. Stepping back, the feeling only increased as they drew ever closer until I had lost my footing and fell.

At least… I thought I fell. I slowly took note of it, the embrace of another. Looking back, I found that two of the Shades had taken hold of my back before slowly righting my posture. The strange feeling had returned, but it slowly diminished as the Shades pushed me along and away from the Void lake.

The Abyss… it was just as dark and lonely as I remembered. As far as I could see, the discarded shells of my siblings littered the grounds of the Abyss. I abandoned this place. I abandoned this place and my own kin… and yet, they welcomed me as if I had never left. There was kindness in their actions… and a haunting sense of urgency.

I was unallowed to reminisce and explore the place of my birth, instead being pushed forward once more as I was led to an altar of souls locked in perpetual horror. To my own, floating atop the altar had been River. I could not understand it… why? Had something happened? Had the worst come to pass?

Before I could question any of my kin, I was gently nudged forward and given reassuring looks… at least, I hoped that the Shades of my kin wished to reassure me. Her form had been wildly different here than in the waking world. Blackened feathers had instead shined a pale gold, her Slave Seal a pulsating Void black, and her mask… it was unlike our masks… she looked like…

Waving away the thought, I reached out a finger and placed it upon her chest before… as had happened before waking in the Abyss… all was darkness.

Meanwhile, in Mirso…

The corpses kept piling without end. Monster and human alike were scattered around town as if a museum to the act of death. It hadn't been more than a day since the departure of the Sword Hero, but in all that time, marauders seeking to ransack a 'Dead' town and monsters drawn to their inevitable corpses filed in as if moths to an ever burning flame.

There had even been a slight scare with an overly large serpent wrongly thought to have been a basilisk…

Thankfully, the monster was only fixated on a rather large egg and had been dispatched with more than relative ease. Beyond that, the Sword Hero party had its own excitement and surprises. One of which…

"Ah, yer a fine bird, Eustice," Bargram praised as he ran a brush and comb along his giant Filorial, the beast just as tall as its owner from the more than excessive fighting and hunting the two would indulge in.

It was a complete and utter shock to everyone present when the once stocky bird rammed into an encroaching marauder. The poor fool had every bone in his body break on impact. Said fool also had a missive signed and stamped by Mirso's elder… said elder calling open season on anyone still alive within his once noble town. While Fera and Wyndia placated the citizenry out for blood, Bargram tended to his newly gigantisized avian companion.

Unfortunately, tensions had not died down as Fera had screamed in absolute horror, the worse seemingly come to pass… for a good three hours.

"Ah, sometimes I fear the lass may be relyin' on that Bug of hers a bit too much," Bargram muttered as he preened his Filorial's wings.

"Doesn't she like relying on him?" A young voice asked.

Bargram chuckled as he put away the brush and comb, "Aye, that sh-" Eyes widening and muscles going tout, the giant of a man began to spin around, searching for the source of the child's voice.

"Poppa? What are you looking for?" The voice called out as Eustice craned his head over Bargram's shoulder, "Can I help?" Gasping in surprise and horror, Bargram went pale as he fell upon his back and crawled away all while Eustice followed, "This is a fun game, Poppa!"

A dreaded fear washed over the tavern owner that moment, memories arising and threatening to tear his ever fragile mind asunder… "No… no, gods please…" He whispered weakly as he struggled to escape.

"Poppa?" Eustice called out softly, "Are you mad?" The closer the giant avian came, the more tortured Bargram's visage grew. Before him was everything the man had ever dreaded come to remind him of his greatest mistake. The day he let his not so little boy strike out on his own… and the day a courier had come to give him a dismissive letter simply telling him that his boy was no more… "Poppa… please don't cry…" Eustice pleaded as he had finally caught the broken giant.

And for a moment, all was light.

Gone was the towering sphere of feather and fluff… in its place, a child. A child who so desperately whished to hug away his father's hurt and tears. The giant couldn't comprehend it. Was this not the gods of his world cruelly toying with him? Showing him what a monster he was to allow his only child to sell his soul to the devil incarnate?

Gritting his teeth and fighting back tears, Bargram did the only thing he could do… and held the wild, spiked brown haired winged child who deigned to call him 'Poppa'. For a brief moment… it was as if he had been reunited with his long lost boy, the gods granting his broken heart peace.

It would take some explaining, but hopefully the others would accept the child as he was… or he could always wave his fists around and upturn a bit of earth.

"Maybe magic ain't so bad afterall."

"Ohh… I hate magic and everything about it," River moaned as she crawled to a tree and placed her back upon its bark, "How long were we out?"

"Judging by the light of the day remaining," Aultcray replied as he had gained consciousness before us, "At least a pair of hours."

"Aultcray, River. Do you two find yourselves well?" I asked worriedly.

"As well as we can, my bo- By the gods!" The once king had shouted.

"What!? What's all the- OMIGOSH! MASTER!" River had joined in as she reached out to me, Talon softly hissing as she lazily lift her head, "This is no time to fight about who Master belongs to!" River shouted, "He's hurt!"

Hurt? Talon had craned her neck so as to stare upon me, our eyes becoming one for an instant. The moment was long enough as the dragon gasped and quickly began licking at my mask. I… could not fault her this. A new crack had appeared along my Pale Mask, a jagged line crossing along my right eye as if segmenting an entire portion of my mask. Pulling back, Talon cried out in frightened frustration as whatever she thought her saliva would accomplish had done nothing.

"Get out of the way, lizard breath!" River shouted as she tackled into me, "Master! Okay, don't freak out. I know! Quick, make a glob of Life Blood and I'll put it on your mask while you focus your soul! Easy fix!" Doing so, I held a bubble of Life Blood for my companion to use, watching as she carefully tool it in her own hands and poking it. Before long, my mask had been smeared with the liquid as I was bid to focus my Soul upon regeneration.

The warm sensation flooded me as I felt my body regain its lost strength. The feeling gone, I saw River's face soften before it hardened as she grit her teeth, "What is wrong? You do not look happy."

"Of course I'm not happy!" She shouted as she had begun to fret, "The crack is still there!" Frantic, she pulled me up and pat me down, "Okay… not the end of the world…"

"But what is wrong?" Aultcray questioned, "Surely he isn't at all harmed?"

"Oh no, he's fine!" River shouted in a tone that sounded as though I wouldn't be, "But you see that mask? That! Is what keeps his body locked in place. It's what gives him form. If he loses his mask, then it's over. He becomes a Shade and slowly or quickly deteriorates."

Talon gave a hiss and coiled around me as if to protect me from any further harm… River surprisingly happy.

"In any case…" Aultcray muttered worriedly, "I believe it would benefit us to continue our journey. Mirso is not far from here, I believe."

"Well, we could teleport," River offered, "The only reason we didn't is because we had a cart…" She gave a saddened glance at the destroyed and scattered mass of wood, "I loved that thing…"

"Gather around then," I offered as I unsheathed the Dragon Hourglass Blade. Aultcray had placed a hand upon my left shoulder, Talon had firmly affixed herself along my right leg and River had tackled into me with a hug as the blade's magic flared and sent us away.

As the light subsided, we were greeted to Mirso as we had left it, derelict and in disrepair. Many bodies both new and old scattered about and the gentle hum of breathing seemed to be masked well with a nearby lake.

"This is Mirso?" Aultcray asked as he gazed upon the deviation, "This is what you wished to earn me of?"

"Partly," I replied solemnly, "The main reason for why howe-" My words had been swallowed by a silent roar, my head whipping to the direction of a nearby forest. Had I eyes to widen, they would have as I lay witness to an impossible sight.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!?" Aultcray shouted in fear as he looked up at the massive Pale Wyrm rising from the forest.

"Master we have to hurry," River whispered as she took my hand, "That means now," As she pulled me along, transforming as she placed myself atop her back, I could only hope that whatever had caused such a sight would still be there…

-Present Day-

"Master?" Wyndia had called out as she approached. Much like the young Raphtalia, the wolf eared child had grown into a fine youthful lady, "He hasn't waken up yet?" She asked in regard to Naofumi.

Oh Naofumi…

We had arrived nary moments too late. His Filorial, Firo stood dropping in and out of consciousness, injured and bleeding. The lady Raphtalia was found with an axe lodged in her shoulder and unconscious yet breathing as a child poured healing potion after healing potion both into the wound and down her throat. Said child looked no worse for wear, but had clearly been shaken by the ordeal.

Then, there had been Naofumi. The Shell Bearer had been found in a state of near death, breathing slow and nearly non-existent, heartbeat faint… and upon his arm had been the opened maw of a Pale Wyrm as well as a griffon chick pecking at it desperately.

"Master?" Wyndia's words once more took me from my reverie as I looked upon her, "Is this about Mister Naofumi's shield?"

"Yes, it is," I replied solemnly, "If I am correct, this new shield means that he has the power to become a Wyrm. A literal god upon this mortal realm."

"He's going to wake up, right?" She asked worriedly, "He's the Shield Hero, he has to wake up, right? Raphtalia woke up! So he will too! Right…?" I placed a hand atop her head, gently ruffling her hair.

"You are uneasy, little Wyndia. Go and find Talon," I urged as she gave a pout.

"I'm not little…" She whispered before tackling into me, squeezing me before letting go and leaving reluctantly.

Raphtalia… she was currently being cared for by partner mine. Fera had informed me that the child, Melu… also known as Melty Q. Melromarc, had actually done well in keeping the raccoon woman alive at the cost of several high grade healing potions.

What a fight Lady Raphtalia had put up once she learned who Melty's father was. That was it's own small debacle of course, the purple haired child verbally tearing her father asunder for the crimes has committed and those he allowed to be commit.

"Shift's over, Master. Switch," River called out as she walked up to me, Naofumi's griffon chick, Uru in her grasp. Firo had also accompanied her as she had been bombarding the taller Filorial girl with various questions.

"Are your wings really that big!?" Firo questioned excitedly as she marveled at River's cloak, "Will mine grow that big!? Didn't you have a mask? I really like how your wings have the crest, do you think Master would be happy if Firo had her wings painted too? I wanna see your mask again! Come on, show me?"

Hm, it was a wonder she was able to keep her composure under such scrutiny.

"It's not all bad, Master~" River said rather haughtily, "This just means she knows who's better."

"Hm? Did your Master say something?" Firo asked curiously as she looked up at us, River laughing into her hand before pointing at her head.

"My Master and I hold a special bond here," She then lowered her hand to her heart and blushed, "And here… it lets us speak to each other through our bond."

"Woooooaaaahhhaaaa~" Firo's mouth went wide in awe as her eyes began to shine, "I want that with Master Naofumi! Teach me!"

"Once I put my own Master to bed," River replied as she turned me around and pointed me away, "Go on, shoo. Go get some actual sleep~"

Sleep… I did so enjoy sleep...