From inside the blanket, I reached into my core and retrieved some clothes for us to get dressed, realising we were both still completely naked after our sea bath last night. Ashley had pushed herself as close to my back as soon as I rolled away from her, murmuring in her sleep. When I tried to extricate myself to get dressed, she gripped me tighter, prompting me to poke her rib, which startled her enough to scream and laugh, making her retreat to the far side of the tent with the blanket.

  ‘Is there anything nearby?’ I asked Meadhbh groggily as I slipped on a fluffy poncho.

  ‘No, there are two Caretakers nearby preventing anything from coming close,’ she responded casually.

  ‘How long have they been here?’ I asked, unfazed by their presence.

  ‘They arrived just after the two of you got back from your attempt to drown yourselves. Don’t worry, they’re out of sight; you won’t… Never mind, they have seemingly returned to the Isle now.’

  Good, I thought to myself, I really needed a wee. Fumbling with the lock, it felt small in my hands, but I shrugged and got it open before climbing barefoot up the hill. Standing on top, I spread my arms to stretch, enjoying the feeling of the wind as it tousled my messy hair. After doing what I needed, I returned to the cave, picked up some wood, and threw it towards the fire pit to relight it.

  “Ow!” Ashley screamed as the log flew over the fire and struck the side of the tent while I stared at my hand in shock. “What is your problem?” she growled, covering herself with the blanket and freezing as she glared at me.

  ‘Took you long enough.’ I heard Meadhbh’s smug tone.

  “Who are you? What have you done with Sadie? Eww, why are there so many teeth in the bed!” Scrambling to emerge from the tent, I leapt across the cave to catch her before she fell, glancing back in astonishment at the distance I had covered so quickly.

  “Meadhbh, what on earth has happened to our bodies?” I howled, staring at the bag in which she sat. Now I realised why the lock felt strange; I had grown taller, and as I ran my tongue along the inside of my mouth, I could feel that all the false teeth from my incident were gone. They had a distinct feel and a wire that had run along the back, but now it was missing, and I could see them amongst the sheets of the mattress. Looking down, the poncho that usually fell to the middle of my shins was above my knees; no wonder it felt so breezy.

  ‘You both have been asleep for four days, and during that time, your bodies have grown and adjusted to the changes brought about by Isha’s Embrace. It wasn’t entirely peaceful, and I believe this is why Freya remained here; she likely induced a deeper sleep during your growth.’

  “So, she didn’t do… this,” I asked, gesturing up and down at myself.

  ‘Certainly not. She’s not a fleshsmith, and even those eerie witches lack the skills for a job as good as this.’

  Rubbing my temples as Ashley stood there, still wrapped in the blanket, I realised that the clothes I had were no longer going to fit us. My heart raced as I pondered how we would explain this to Mum, as it was not something I could simply brush aside like my previous increase in strength.

  “I think I met him that night. He’s how you know so much about our connection because he is also one half of a pair. Who is she?” I asked, glaring at her.

  ‘It's complicated, I’m sorry, I cannot tell you more. Did he say anything else?’ I was disappointed she wouldn't reveal the truth he was hiding, but I decided not to push it for now.

  “That the Host was coming, and a war more terrible than the First War would rage, along with something about this world being my cradle. What does he mean by that?”

  ‘The First War is practically a myth, occurring hundreds or even thousands of millennia ago. It is rumoured that gods stalked the battlefields, with worlds cleaved from existence as if by barely an afterthought. For him to reference that, it must truly be terrible.’

  “But he also said, this world is my cradle. What did he mean by that?” I asked forcefully.

  ‘Consider it; you are merely a child and need time to mature. It's an unusual choice of words from him, yet it effectively conveys the message.’

  Not entirely trusting her, I couldn’t argue and turned away to resume collecting firewood when I noticed a black bag resting behind the tent. I hadn’t seen it earlier, and I approached it with suspicion, noticing a white note on top.

  Something you may need for the coming days; hope you’re hungry and that they fit.

  F

  Opening the bag, I felt the cold air inside, but it was filled with fresh food. Grinning, I turned to Ashley, whose eyes lit up with delight as she had despised the dehydrated meals we had eaten recently. Reaching out with a claw-like hand, I passed her the coffee, which she inhaled deeply from as if it were a drug. Beneath the food, I discovered some clothes, which, when I held them up to check the size, were nearly perfect.

  ‘Don’t look at me. I haven’t heard from F?r in weeks; Freya left it as a gift. So if you must blame someone for your sudden growth spurt, blame her or him.’

  “This is Nijis! Holy crap, Sadie, this t-shirt alone is worth at least two grand. If they’re going to keep giving us expensive gifts like this, do you think we could make a wishlist?” Ashley said excitedly as she put on the t-shirt. Nijis is a Japanese brand that interweaves armour into their casual wear, and while it’s not rift attire, it could save your life in an emergency.

  ‘Remind me to thank Freya next time I see her; without this, we would have been going around practically naked.’ I projected quietly to Meadhbh while watching Ashley getting dressed. The transformation of her body had been astonishing; the scar on her leg had vanished, her stomach was well defined, and I suppressed the urge to reach out and run my fingers over her abs. We both possessed entirely new bodies, and I was relieved that the unsightly scar on my wrist had disappeared. My back felt revitalised as the scars no longer restricted my movement, restoring my flexibility.

  Wiggling an arm out, I noticed that the teddy bear tattoo I had on my right arm was gone, and I traced my finger over the spot sadly. Josie had one on her left arm, and we had gotten them when we graduated—another part of my old life erased. During these last few weeks, everything had changed; I was no longer the person I had been when I entered that rift with my friends. Feeling the pool of mana within me, I stirred it up and watched the golden aura erupt from my right hand like fire.

  ‘Impressive, you’ve shown remarkable growth.’ Meadhbh commented as I felt proud of it.

  ‘Is this common? Have you ever heard of something like this before?’ I asked, attempting to be subtle, but Ashley still heard my question and directed her glare at me.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  ‘As I mentioned, your growth surprised me, but reflecting on it, it doesn’t appear that unlikely. Your bodies have grown to within the limits of what Gaeians can achieve, although there is nothing preventing you from bulking up even more.’

  “Nope, no, nu-uh,” Ashley said, shaking her head as I watched the blonde curls of her hair shimmer in the light. “I don’t want to end up looking like a hulking monster. While I know I was a bit pudgy, this is enough.” Lifting her t-shirt to reveal her flat stomach, I couldn’t help but let out a whistle as she blushed and let it fall again.

  As I entered my core to retrieve something, I realised the two wolf corpses were there. Preparing for the worst, I was pleasantly surprised that there was no smell. Flinging the tarp off them to inspect, I was shocked to find the corpses had become almost crystallised. Reaching up to my necklace, I felt the mana stone and pulled it off, shattering the clasp at the back. Although it had been a gift from Mum, making it my first Guardian felt more than fitting.

  Taking a breath, I began to stir the mana within my body; no longer was it a struggle, but merely thinking about it felt as though I had unleashed a tidal wave. Tendrils of golden flames leapt from my other hand as I pointed it at the corpse, watching as the crystallised wolf began to melt into the black resin. Flowing over my body against my skin, it began to coalesce around the mana stone as it hovered in the air, slowly spinning with more resin pooling into a ball. Once a certain point was reached, the wolf completely melted, and resin began to drip from the ball, revealing details: a body and legs, then a head. Like rain, more and more resin fell as the form of a large wolf gently descended to the ground.

  I had felt the pull of mana before, and while it had been only a goblin, it had been extremely draining for me; however, now I could hardly notice it. The reservoir within me was still brimming with mana, and I savoured the sensation of it flowing through me. Hearing the wolf shuffle, I looked down to see its golden eyes blink, and lines began to trace slowly across its entire body as it sat up and regarded me. Reaching out, it rubbed its nose against my palm, its fur surprisingly soft, and its nose dry.

  Hunkering down, it scooted forward, and I laughed as its dry tongue licked my face. It felt rough, but it didn’t hurt, and I wrapped my arms around it, pulling it in for a hug. There was no smell, and it felt like cuddling a real dog. I could hear a soft whine emanating from its throat. “I’ll call you Munin,” I said, and a small jab ran up my spine as it barked once.

  It was hard to describe, but I felt a connection forming with him, like a thread hanging between us. Standing up, I raised my hand as he sat there, and, waving it in different directions, he jumped, rolled, chased his tail, and followed every command I gave him. “You’re a good boy,” I cooed as I hugged him once more. He was a boy, right? I tried to peer underneath, but the darkness of his fur made it impossible to tell. My stomach grumbled again, and I knew it was time for breakfast.

  “What were you doing?” Ashley asked, glancing at me while frying the sausages.

  “Not much,” I grinned mischievously and snapped my fingers. Trotting through the ripples, Munin padded softly to my side as Ashley’s eyes widened and she toppled over in her haste to escape. “Calm down,” I laughed, hurrying to her side and lifting her from the ground as she stared at him in fright. Wrapping an arm around her waist to prevent her from fleeing again, I pointed to the ground in front of me, and he came over.

  “Is that a Guardian?” she asked nervously, pressing her hands to her chest and gazing at me with a pleading expression that seemed to implore me to keep her safe.

  “Yes,” I grinned, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek, aiming to reassure her. “Look, he won’t bite, not unless I tell him to.” As I gazed down at Munin, he whined as if he understood my words, flattening his ears against his head while his tail swept the ground.

  Holding her hand, I gently drew it out as Munin licked it and she trembled slightly before I felt her tension ease up and become more comfortable as she rubbed his neck. “He doesn’t smell,” she said, astonished, as she sniffed her hand.

  ‘We don’t need to eat, breathe, or sleep, and we only get dirty from our surroundings. If you tell us to eat, the food merely sits in our stomachs and rots, yet we can still retain our six senses. The last time I had to eat to maintain my cover, I spent six hours upside down trying to get it to fall out, a hose shoved in my mouth—please be mindful. The wolf is a basic creature: loyal, but dim-witted.’

  “It hasn’t said a word yet, only barked at me. Do I need to teach it English?” I asked, rubbing Munin’s head as Ashley hurried to save the sausages from burning.

  ‘Unfortunately, no. Only essence crystals, like me, can transform into a Guardian who can speak right away. For him, you’ll need to feed enough mana stones to allow him to regrow his essence. He is just a fraction of what he once was. Since he was a low-grade stone, he has further to go compared to if you had used a high-grade one.’ Meadhbh explained as I held Munin close.

  Using him as a backrest while we had breakfast, I gazed at the forest bordering the beach. We would be returning to Dublin tomorrow, and all the stones we had collected on our trip here had vanished, absorbed by both of us on the first night. Freya had taken the suit of armour she had just gifted me, leaving only my sword and shield, so if I were to go hunting, it would pose a challenge. Rubbing Munin's neck, I smiled wistfully as I realised it would be a fun experience now.

  Swinging it around a few times, I could hear the blade almost sing as it sliced through the air. “I’ll be back by dark; will you be alright on your own?” I asked from the entrance to the cave.

  “Yeah,” Ashley replied, a hint of sadness in her voice. “I want to speak with Meadhbh, alone.”

  Nodding once, I jumped down the small embankment, landing heavily in the sand as Munin barked and followed me, landing far more gracefully than I did. Chasing me up the beach, we disappeared into the trees, and I relished the newfound strength I possessed, running faster than ever before, no longer needing to stop for breaks every couple of minutes. When I found my first goblin, sniffling behind a bush, a single swing completely bisected it before it had a chance to react.

  Upon extracting its mana stone, I was able to quickly create a Guardian from it, as some nearby leaves and branches transformed into resin along with the corpse. Unlike Munin, the goblin I named Guk’la was completely naked when she formed, so I gave her one of my old t-shirts to wear. Similar to the goblin I had visited in its core, she was docile and curious, with a less emaciated and gentler appearance than her living form. Settling her on Munin’s back, the three of us set off again, with Munin sniffing the ground and guiding us like a homing missile to more monsters prowling the forest.

  The first wolf I encountered, I allowed Munin to charge ahead, and he utterly overpowered it in a savage display of dominance. The wolf managed to inflict a large scrape on his side with its dying breath, and as I ran my hands along the wound to inspect it, I watched his body beginning to heal itself just from my touch. I had to push him away as he tried to lick me with his bloody mouth, seemingly oblivious of how gross it was.

  As I grew my forces over the next hour, our hunting became quicker, and we sought out larger groups of monsters. Approaching midday, I nearly stumbled upon a roaming patrol of mercenaries and hid inside my core for a few minutes until they passed. In an abandoned church nearby, I discovered a small goblin settlement built around a rift and managed to secure myself a hoard of stones. Delighted with my find, I felt it would be enough for us to return with, without raising too much suspicion about our activities.

  Climbing back down to the cave from above, as the tide had come in while I was hunting, I had to drop to the ground as a pebble cracked against the wall, what felt like inches from my head. “Don’t even dare come in smelling like that,” I heard Ashley growl. “I could probably smell you before I saw you.” Sitting by the fire, I could see her making dinner.

  Looking down, I realised I was utterly filthy, covered in mud and blood. Lifting my arm to sniff it, I grimaced upon discovering what I had been ignoring. Scampering away as another pebble flew towards me, I laughed while climbing back up and making my way to a nearby stream to clean off. I let everyone else out to wash themselves, the goblins diving in and splashing water everywhere as they revelled in it. It was endearing to watch as I changed into some clean clothes, having to adjust some of them since everything was now too small.

  “Productive day?” I asked as I returned for the second time, passing her sniff test whilst drying my hair.

  “Somewhat,” she grinned, yet I could sense something was troubling her. Meadhbh was unusually quiet. “How did it go on your end?”

  Snapping my fingers to call them, Munin led the others as they marched out. “I think I did quite well for myself. Five wolves and ten goblins, along with another forty goblin stones to sell.”

  “Wow,” she exclaimed, surprised when one of the wolves, the second I had created, placed his head in her lap without me saying a word. “I’ve gathered a few as well.” Lifting a bag, she tossed it effortlessly at my feet, and I chuckled at the number of stones she had collected.

  “Had I known it was a competition, I would have tried harder.”