“What?”

  “Nothing,” Raven said with an all‐too‐satisfied smile. They resumed their march towards the portal that Ori hoped would take them back to Earth. He looked down with an exaggerated frown.

  “Don’t think I won’t drop you, yeah?” Ori warned, swinging the girl as if he were about to toss her, and was rewarded with a yelp.

  “Oi, don’t you dare!”

  “Then tell me, what’s got you looking so smug?” Ori asked, suspecting it had something to do with her chat with his bonded.

  “It’s just that I know some things you don’t know, for once.”

  “That’s not hard,” Ori scoffed.

  Raven smirked. “Hehe, you’re in for a lot of girl trouble later, I reckon.”

  Ori’s absent smile froze. “What’d you mean?”

  “Secret. Anyway, that Rue girl... she’s nice, and really… it’s hard to describe. And Freya too – they seem to think highly of you for some reason. And I can tell Freya seems to really care about you as well.”

  “Just what on Earth were you lot talking about?” Ori asked, his concern growing over the fae’s propensity for chaos. “You didn’t make any promises? Accept any gifts?”

  “Erm… Not really. It was just mostly girl stuff. They told me about all your situationships. I mean, Elves? Really? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve just lived through every boy’s wet dream, and some girls too. And so now there’s that Rue girl involved no, aye? That kiss somehow made it official?”

  While the tips of his ears burned, Ori appreciated the distraction from his growing anxieties. Suppressing his embarrassment and channelling his inner Bondweaver, he nodded sagely and replied, “One kiss is all it takes.”

  Raven scoffed, slapping Ori’s chest. “Ha, Freya was right to be worried about that head of yours.”

  “I do have a dangerously handsome head, don’t I?” Ori continued.

  “Ha, mate, save it. A man grows abs and learns a bit of magic, and suddenly he reckons he’s all that.”

  “Oh, so you’ve noticed those too?” Ori tensed his abdomen as Raven, clearly aware of his naked chest, turned crimson.

  The conversation trailed off into a comfortable silence as Ori’s split mind continued to observe his surroundings while finalising his plan to defeat the Overseer. After ranking up to Nascent and improving his mental stats, Ori could feel a qualitative improvement in his ability to problem‐solve. It was as if his mind constantly bubbled with new possibilities, while a newfound clarity and speed of thought made organising his ideas and strategising effortless. His perception – though still capped by his intellect – was an order of magnitude more acute in its pattern recognition and detail analysis. Meanwhile, with Split Mind, keeping track of low-stakes conversations without distractions became second nature. “In all seriousness, though, I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  “Obviously,” she scoffed.

  “Oi,” Ori prepared to toss Raven again in response to her snark.

  “Alright!” Raven screeched. “Aye, drowning in pussy, woe is me, right? What’s the problem?”

  He sighed and spent a moment to figure out what was truly bothering him. “I’m just worried… worried I’ll let them down, that I won’t be strong enough or smart enough, or be where I need to be when I’m needed. I’m worried about losing them or having them leave me. I’m worried I can’t make them happy, that I won’t even know if they’re unhappy, that I have so little relationship experience, and now I’m basically married three times over. I’ve done almost nothing to deserve them, and the most important thing I want – their loyalty – isn’t something I can return equally.” Ori shook his head, abashed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all this on you.”

  “Aye, classic imposter syndrome,” Raven said, echoing Ori’s sagely nod. “There’s a timeless fix to that.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Aye. Fake it till you make it. It’s that simple.”

  “Oh yeah?” Ori laughed incredulously.

  “It’s working for me, isn’t it? I’ve been in a wheelchair all my teens, done almost nothing with boys, and now I’m giving advice to a himbo pussy magnet. Meanwhile, I’m trying to avoid the fact that I’m a million light years away from home, apparently surrounded by demons that want my soul or som’aut?. If it weren’t for you, I would have completely lost it – nay, I’d be dead,” she whispered. “They told me. You freed everyone, Ori, even the angels. I don’t know all that you’ve been through, but I know you’re doing all right. You’ll be all right, aye?”

  “Yeah,” Ori exhaled before looking down to catch Raven’s gaze. “Fake it till we make it, yeah?”

  “Cliché and trite, I know, but it’s working for me, isn’t it?”

  Ori laughed. “Yeah, it’s weird – it’s like I forgot you were ever fazed by all this. I was wondering where all your confidence comes from.”

  “Most of it’s a front.”

  “Most of it?”

  “Aye. The rest comes from you. I reckon you’ll figure out a way to get us home.”

  A sudden chill across his skin signalled the return of the Overseer’s phantasmal gaze. He had been restraining any sign of recognition as the three hundred former prisoners snaked their way through the narrow passages of Ghigrerchiax. The scene of the Sluagh’s ambush drew near, and the knowledge of the likely suffering twisted his stomach. The White Mage and Bondweaver roiled in rebellion at the callousness of his plan, while—though dissatisfied—the Du?list understood the ultimate goal.

  “What’s wrong?” Raven asked, sensing his growing unease.

  “I need to put you down for a sec,” Ori said, no longer concealing his awareness as the sounds of something scraping through cracks in the rock increased.

  ‘Freya…’ he warned silently through his bond.

  ‘I’ll be safe, Ori.’

  He gritted his teeth, suppressing his fear and doubt. Felsner, the Awakened Estoc of the Piercing Void, appeared in his right hand after he retrieved Uriel’s Wand from his sock. He caught Simon’s gaze as the line around him contracted. In the hour between now and his bond with Rue, Ori had cycled through dozens of plans—ones that required less sacrifice, plans that might have been more satisfying in the short term only to lead to adverse consequences down the line. Whether by using his Aethermancy or offensive lightning to quickly dispatch the creatures, or a dream-aspected domain to mask the presence of the people around him or his abilities, in the end, Ori decided to reveal as little as possible. Formulating a persona in his mind, he would be the Redeemer—a healer who empowered others.

  Ori activated Will of the High Human, boosting his class abilities by 800%. Using Du?list’s Weave, he layered the cavern floors with Death-Warded Beacons of Regeneration. The ground shimmered with celestial light as shock and fear blossomed on the faces of those around him.

  High-pitched, bestial screeches precipitated the beginning of the butchery. Shadows—fast and dog-sized—zipped out of the cracks in the wall. Screeches of human fear and anguish accompanied sprays of arterial blood.

  Ori moved. Blocked by dozens in the narrow passages and unwilling to reveal the true extent of his speed, he weaved through the frozen and confused bystanders and grabbed a Slaugh mid-leap. It had just carved open a man’s throat.

  The creature resembled a dog-sized crab, except with four scythe-like legs, its body an exoskeleton slick with human blood, and its inhuman face abhorrent in its unfamiliar structure and cruelty. Ori’s enchanted blade pierced the Lesser Rank creature, its knife-like limbs twitching even in death. He repeated the action dozens of times, moving down the line of humans still fighting for their lives. His eyes blazed ghostly white as the ground ignited—as if sundered by a heavenly hammer—while the area-of-effect heals preserved life amid the carnage. Grievously wounded mortals regrew chunks of flesh within seconds; while those fighting for their lives, unaware of their crippling injuries, grew emboldened. Strikes that were little more than desperate slaps turned more vicious. Through the corner of his eye, Ori caught a woman protecting a child by repeatedly slamming a Slaugh onto the floor. Celestial light burnt the Lesser Infernal Demon even as its carapace cracked under repeated bludgeoning. Meanwhile, Simon quickly dispatched them one after another as if they were dogs, his off-hand guarding his throat as though offering it to be bitten before he savagely punched a creature with the knife Ori had given him, several times in quick succession. Surprised, Ori caught the moment Raven released a jet of black fire from a wand he had no idea she possessed or could even use. Behind her, Ruenne’del spun and swung her oversized greatsword—the weapon seeming weightless in her hands as its passage through the air appeared to drag reality behind in its wake.

  Lances of golden light rained down across the passage. Thirty celestial rays passed seemingly ineffectually through humans while striking the remaining Slaugh. The lesser-ranking creatures exploded into balls of molten fire, leaving the tunnel filled with sickly blue smoke and the screams and cries of the injured.

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  As he sought more enemies, Vision of the Progenitor saw five human bodies with souls still trapped within. Meanwhile, a sea of peritia gathered around three people as their pages of fate were rewritten.

  ‘Freya? Lysara?’

  ‘We’re safe, Ori.’

  “Easy enough,” Karanno boasted, seemingly undisturbed by the carnage and bloodshed.

  Ori nodded. “Thanks,” he said—more in gratitude for his playing along than for their help in the counter-slaughter.

  After several minutes, Ori had successfully revived the Death-Warded with Life Spark—much to the consternation and amazement of those around him. He did not try to hide his vastly improved healing powers under the effect of Will of the High Human; instead, he used his increased power to rapidly heal all he could. However, by disguising his use of Life Spark with hammer blows to the chest—which more closely resembled the work of a defibrillator than genuine chest compressions—he managed to deflect some of the odd looks and more pointed questions from the bystanders about his ability seemingly to revive people from death.

  Knowing that the next part of his plan relied more on speed than subterfuge, he relayed his orders. Everyone was covered in blood, and where blood was absent, anaemic skin and ruined clothing remained as lasting evidence of the ordeal.

  He gathered together everyone he could in the few minutes available. Glancing over at Simon, Raven, and the middle-aged woman he’d seen protecting a child—all newly awakened—Ori reminded himself to speak with them about it before they returned to Earth.

  “Karanno, you take the rear and make sure no one gets left behind; Freya, you too. We run as fast as we can to the gateroom. Incheon, Rue, take turns carrying the weakest amongst us.” He turned towards the humans. “Simon, Wojciech, round everyone up. We need to book it. One last, mad-dash and then it’s home time. Let’s go, everyone—quick! Men, carry whoever you can; we need to book it before more demons come.”

  Cries of alarm rippled through the tunnel. Initially, people were sluggish, but as Ori made his way through and harried them along, the former prisoners began to move.

  Ori saw Raven, her eyes staring off into the distance, likey inspecting her page from the library of fates as she cradled what might have been mistaken for a length of charcoal or a burnt twig.

  “Come, we need to go,” Ori said, pushing aside his questions for the moment.

  “Aye,” Raven replied, blinking, before yelping as Ori lifted her into a fireman’s carry.

  “Move it! Let’s go!” Ori shouted as he made his way to the front. At the head of the line, another empowered Beacon of Regeneration lit up the ground, followed by another only a dozen steps later. “Follow my trail—more monsters are coming. Run!”

  With the health, Breath, and Mana regeneration effects from his area-of-effect spell, Ori hoped that those following would receive a modest boost to stamina. As for the urgency, it wasn’t because Ori was afraid of more Slaugh; no, they were fast approaching the open cavern from which a Galroga would ambush them. There was a slim chance that, after not enraging the Overseer by piercing its eye, it wouldn’t divert its attention from the Angels approaching from the other reaches. And after dealing with the Slaugh and the victims far more quickly than in the alternate timeline, there was an even greater chance that, even if the Overseer decided to target them, they could be through the three-hundred-yard open cavern and into the relative safety of the narrow tunnels before the heavy, ponderous, and bulky creature could arrive.

  The tunnel opened up into the cavern as his blazing eyes sought signs of an attack.

  “Ori, let me down,” Raven demanded.

  “What, really?”

  “I can run – I’ve awakened,” Raven replied. Stopping to place her on her feet, Ori’s shining gaze peered deeply into her own. Confirming that he saw within her eyes, a newfound resolve, Ori nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”

  They ran as Ori’s beacons signalled the way.

  ‘Ori, Karanno senses something coming behind us. He said it’s more of the Slaugh.’

  ‘Just keep everyone moving – the sooner we get out of this open space, the better our chances.’

  As a precaution, Du?list’s Weave combined Death Ward with his subsequent casts of Beacon of Regeneration.

  And then Ori’s heart froze as something ahead caught his attention. For a moment, he feared there were multiple Galroga; however, creatures smaller yet far faster were making their way towards him. Like larger Slaugh, these infernal abominations ran on two knife-like legs with sharp, scissor-like strides, their figures decidedly top-heavy though no less vicious than their smaller cousins. Instantly, Ori knew what this was – something that would either delay the party or force him to reveal more of his strength.

  Unwilling to have his bonded suffer irreparable harm from either the impending ambushes or the prospect of the Galroga, Ori prepared to Channel Lightning.

  A black ball of fire shot past him and splashed across the man-sized monster, instantly cooking it. It stumbled, its smoking carapace turning to ashes under subsequent fireballs. Ori looked behind him to see Raven, her arms outstretched as her wand fired spell after spell. The nascent rank monsters were no match for the artefact spirit, with her wand seemingly empowering her spells. As the last creature crumpled into a ball of shell and ash, Ori caught Raven just as her eyes rolled back into her skull. He removed the wand from her grip as a precaution and continued to run—dodging piles of smouldering ash while remaining under the ever-present gaze of the Overseer.

  "Come on, move it!"

  "What happened?" said a groggy Raven, still in his arms.

  "We’re almost there." He was the first to reach the narrow entrance. Looking back, he could see the former prisoners moving in a panicked shuffle through the opening. He clenched his fist every time they stumbled, their cries and shouts echoing oddly through the subterranean hall.

  ‘Ori, there are thousands of them—the walls, the ceiling, the tunnel is covered in them!’ cried a panicked Freya through their bond.

  ‘Lysara!’

  ‘On it,’ replied Lysara, anticipating his thoughts. Although he had wished not to reveal this card, having Lysara act now with a massive area-of-effect blast of Chain Lightning was the least bad of his remaining options. Besides, given his insight from the alternate future, Ori suspected Lysara was uniquely vulnerable to the Overseer's curses and dark abilities, so he committed to keep her far away from the demon in future.

  "Freya, get Karanno to focus on getting everybody out. Lysara will cover you."

  A loud, crackling snap echoed from almost half a mile away; silt and small stones fell from the ceiling as the entire cavern shook.

  ‘Lysara?’

  ‘Fire mission successful – falling back to your position, Ori.’

  ‘Thank you, good work,’ Ori said as he placed Raven on the ground while Incheon and Ruenne’del arrived carrying some of the weak and elderly. “I’m going to scout ahead, get everyone through the tunnels and help Karanno with the Slaugh coming from behind."

  He ran, weaving between the others, many of whom were winded or limping. Casting another Beacon of Regeneration, it wasn’t long before the light of the gate room illuminated the end of the tunnel. Several possibilities filtered through his mind – from a tampered or sabotaged gate to a garrison of demons blocking access or returning from an abduction. But what he found far exceeded his expectations.

  "Why hello again, handsome." Ori heard a sultry, posh British accent before he could see the creature to which it was attached. Casting Mind over Mind to fortify himself and reaching for his Bondweaver trait, Ori faced the one responsible for his abduction.

  She stood in her human form, slender and elegant, her dark hair, ruby eyes and pale skin a stark contrast to her all-too-knowing smirk. It was an expression that formed a pit in Ori’s stomach, as caution warred with action, and fear with grim curiosity.

  Mel was a Greater Succubus. Although nominally a rank lower than the Sovereign-ranking wardens he’d already vanquished, "Greater" actually referred to her race – equivalent to an Arch Elf or Arch Fae – making her far more powerful than ordinary demons at her rank. Even so, Ori suspected he would prevail in a typical fight, that she was no more powerful than the Overseer. While curiosity about the special circumstances surrounding her presence and role here abounded, Ori was far more interested in protecting himself and his followers.

  She stood on the gate ring, the artefact humming with energies as the world beyond the portal revealed a damp nighttime street with familiar buildings—the portal to another world, seemingly invisible to the Londoners beyond. Ori frowned as he noticed the corpses of demons littered around the gate, their bodies savagely sliced and punctured, their gaping wounds leaking pools of tar-like demon blood.

  "What is this?" Ori asked, his brows pinched together in expectation of a trap.

  "A peace offering… and a gift," Melisandre the Wayward replied, catching his wondering gaze.

  "Peace offering? For what, atonement? You serious? I can’t even imagine all the heinous shit you’ve pulled."

  "Yes, far more than you can imagine, but…" She paused, her eyes flickering with a trace of melancholy as she leaned in slightly. "But consider this: one of the many forbidden secrets of my race. As a succubus, our bodies are made for sin, designed to be moulded around the ones we wish to pleasure. We Greater Succubi take this one step further. Under circumstances few, if any, of us understand, our appearance can permanently lock—fixing us in a single form for the rest of our lives. There are only two known requirements: maidenhood, and that the succubus in question must meet a mate truly worthy, one capable of solely satisfying their every need, want and whim." She smirked. "And can you guess? Ever since we first met, I’ve been unable to change more than the addition of a tail or a few extra wings. It’s as if my very essence has been branded by that one fateful encounter."

  Ori’s expression hardened, his scepticism plain. "If you don’t fuck off, I will kill you," he growled, wondering why he hadn’t attacked already despite his fears of being observed, as Seraphine’s Beacon materialised in his hand.

  "Kill me?" Her smirk deepened as she left the gate room’s platform, her confident strides carrying her over the bodies until she stood just a few paces away. "At first, I thought you would have wanted to punish me, but oh no—was I so very wrong, Redeemer. You want to save me, don’t you?"

  Lightning blossomed around them as a black, almost viscous shadow coated her wings. They folded over her chest, shielding her from Ori’s channelled lightning.

  "My, my, handsome, all I need is an extra minute of your time, then I’ll be on my way." Melisandre continued in an almost sing-song voice, seemingly unruffled, though Ori could tell his spell had inflicted some damage. Her smirk faded as her expression turned solemn. "Yes, I am truly beyond redemption… but there is someone you should save. She’s unique, a miracle—a demon truly untainted by infernal pacts and with no interest in our… way of life. She’s my… blood sister. So, when you inevitably arrive at the fifth circle of hell on the Infernal demiplane, be sure to find me."

  On the surface, Ori was unmoved. Beneath it, however, a thousand thoughts crowded his mind—chief amongst them disbelief. Why would he ever help her? Save her? Perhaps after carving out and purifying her soul, if such a thing could be called saving. And why on earth would he ever go to the infernal realm? In the end, Ori had far more pressing and important matters to attend to.

  "You done?"

  She sighed. "Oh, I wish I could go with you and see what you’d do next, my light. But alas… our time isn’t quite yet… Oh, hello, sisters!"

  Ori caught Incheon, Ruenne’del, and Freya approaching behind him while dozens of other captives huddled in the passage beyond. Ruenne’del frowned, while Freya looked between them in concern.

  "As I was saying, a peace offering and a gift." She placed something on the ground. "Notice how Xaltrax’s peeping eyes have yet to discover us? Well, this is just a small charm—a curse enchantment that prevents his unwanted gaze within a radius of a few hundred paces. Useful if you prefer to act without being spied upon, yes? Well, I should be off; this gate should remain open for a few minutes still. Consider it a final act of sincerity."

  Leaving behind a wan smile, she turned around and left.