The m came with an unusual sensation for Niphru. His bond with Dawn was ever-present, yet now something was different. Uh the lich, it didn’t feel like anyone or anything was intruding, but their li strange for some reason. Dawn began to stir beside him, but he remained focused, trying to determine what had occurred.

  Several mier, Dawn got out of bed, rubbing her eyes as she stretched. Her at seeing him clearly awake a motionless flowed toward him through their bond, finally revealing what was new. Instead of taking up their entire link, it felt like the link had been split and then eo e didn’t bee any weaker, somehow.

  Niphru shook his head and put the matter aside for a moment, expining what he had been focused on to Dawn through the bond, “I feel something odd with our bond, but not our bond? It is hard to describe. Do you feel anything different?”

  She tilted her head to the side, surprised and fused at him using that method of speech when he normally spoke with his illusions. After a moment of focus, she replied, “No, everything seems the same as normal to me. Do you have any idea what it is?”

  “I ’t tell for sure, but it is like there is a sed side to our link, and I ’t feel anything through it like I with you. I’m worried; do you have any ideas?” he responded, slowly standing and sliding off the bed to join her as they left the room.

  She shook her head, stating, “I ’t think of anything, and we ’t ask Morris either; he left during the meal st night, saying that he was going to hunt the monster you found. He was muttering about being anxious about it and how he should leave early. Maybe you figure something out—just be careful. I don’t even know how to help if something goes wrong…”

  Having been reminded about it, Niphru fought with the idea for a moment before saying, “Would Morris even be able to help if he was here? I didn’t think of it, but no one else seems to have a bond quite like ours. He said his link with Kel was more of a way to cast magic at a distaher than being able to feel and talk without doing anything. He did have to use magic to listen to Kel most of the time, after all.”

  Seeing that he wasn’t do, Dawn took a moment to stretch again as he collected his thoughts.

  “I guess I do have to try to figure it out on my own after all… But how could this happen, and what if something goes wrong… Maybe it isn’t ected to anything, though, I haven’t felt anything from it since I woke up. I guess I’ll try to feel deeper into it before I have time to worry too much about it. Oh, maybe it is from that weird feeling back when I grew suddenly, I fot about that…” he rambled before sitting down where he stood in the middle of the room and closing his eyes.

  Even as he felt ing from Dawried to push his mind through the other link, much as how he shared his thoughts with her. For a moment, nothing happened, but then he felt the e strain aend signifitly, drawing a shog amount of energy from him, staggering him even as he tried to do something to cut it off in arm.

  Dawn bolted forward to catch him as he toppled toward the floor, fear fshing through their link as she spoke, the words seeming far away as his vision dimmed. A seemiernity ter, g at the new link with his mind, he felt an almost physical tug as it solidified, feeling more like metal thaery feel of his bond with Dawn.

  He still seemed distant from his own body, but the intense drain on his energy had stopped. Instead, a noise like a flowing stream came through the e, followed by a mild sense of , regret, and apology.

  His strength began to return, aried to stand again, finding that he had knocked over Dawn wheempted to catch him. While his limbs were numb, he could feel his senses returning rapidly. He shook his head at Dawn, sending her a message through their bond that he couldn’t hear her.

  “Are you okay? What happened? You just colpsed, and I was so worried! Please don’t be hurt!” Dawn excimed in a jumbled mess directly into his mind.

  Even as he began to form a respohe other link thuo life, an incredible force bsting through it like a tornado. It was hard to make out through the sheer power behind it, but there was a voice within the painful onsught.

  “We are sorry, we meant to open this ourselves ter. Rex, and we shall expin when you are ready,” he could make out from the flow of power before it faded, leaving behind an echo that slowly died out.

  Still in shock, his voice crackled as he replied to Dawn, “That was… I don’t know… I felt something terrifying.”

  As he regained trol of himself, he sent an impression of his feelings through their bond and tinued with more posure, “The li somewhere. I don’t know where. It feels like what I think sprinting for an hour would feel like, I barely support myself and am about to fall ain. But it stopped doing that to me and seems to have reached something big. Incredibly big. I could barely make out what came through the link because of the strength of it. It said it was sorry and would expin.”

  Finishing his expnation, he found himself fused. It felt almost like an attack targeting his mind, but he could tell that it wasn’t intended as one. The terror was still there, especially sihe link was still open, and he just knew whatever it was still lurked just out of reabsp; But the e also radiated a calmiion.

  He knew he should be on edge because of that, but even aware of it as he was, he couldn’t help but rex. Dawn’s fusion and worry were clear through their bond, and she sat up from her sprawl and hugged him, letting him rest his weight on her as he began to colpse again, though he could feel he was starting to recover.

  Niphru stayed silent for a moment as Dawn took in what he said, simply resting as he leaned against her. The link that had nearly crushed him stirred again, and a mercifully geream of thought came through, “I apologize for my panion; they are not used to this. Rest. We will wait.”

  veying the new tact to Dawn did little to help either of their s, but there was little they could do. As she held him, their host returo the home, appearing surprised at their situation. Dawn was quick to ask for help, requesting, “Could you help me get him back to bed? Something happened, and he is too big for me to carry anymore like I used to.”

  Fortunately, this seemed to be enough for the man, and he scooped Niphru up and brought him bato the room they were borrowing, gently pg him on the covers. After ensuring he was settled, the man asked if there was anything else they needed before leaving them alone when nothing was requested.

  While he was still worried, Niphru couldn’t resist, his sciousness fading as Dawly stroked his fur.

  He awoke feeling far better some time ter, finding that Dawn had drifted off to sleep beside him. Feeling incredibly worried, he tried to check his mind for any difference from before, stopping quickly as he realized something with that much power wouldn’t o mess with him if it had ill i.

  Feeling like he might be making a poor decision, Niphru decided to try to reach through the link again. The voice, and the raging torrent had both mentioned expining, after all, and did not seem ht aggressive, despite what had occurred.

  Mentally brag himself, he extended his mind toward the e once more, wing in anticipation. The incredible drain did not occur this time, however, nor did the bst of power. Instead, the calm voice flowed through the link.

  “Ah, you are babsp; It is good to see you recovered from that unfortunate event. Before anything else, I apologize for what happened, it was my idea to copy how your bond ected as a method to talk, and hought you would mao activate it yourself. Had things gone as pnned, we would have supplied the energy, and my partner wouldn’t have panicked like she did,” it remarked in a rexing tone.

  After a short pause, it then tinued, “Unfortunately, things did not go as pnned, as you easily tell. I have quite a bit of practice speaking with lesser beings, while my partner does not, so she used far too muergy when she panicked.”

  Immediately, despite his certainty that it was a bad idea, Niphru found himself snapping out, “What do you mean lesser? I am a person like anyone else!”

  A feeling of amusement flowed through the link before the voice calmly tinued, “I merely speak the truth. I suppose I should probably introduce myself to expin my remark. I am Inari, a being of great power primarily active in other realms. The people of your realm, they would call me a god. My partner is anod, Atryna.”

  Niphru fell silent, wanting to disbelieve the statement but finding it hard to dismiss, given the incredible pressure from earlier.

  Seemingly uned, Inari remarked, “We bined our efforts to help you awaken, a you upoh many of my servants follow. To be clear, we do not demand you follow us, or serve us. We would like your assistance as you grow stronger, however. We are bound by rules of our own, and beited to speak with you already was an ued boon.”

  The feeling through the link became focused, a moment of pressure bearing down on him as Inari procimed, “You have made surprising progress, and are on the cusp of evolution. You either allow the rules of your world to ge you, possibly ing you into a different person, or you follow the path that many I have guided in other worlds have taken, which will ge your body, but not your core self. Given your current state, you have a month at best, though you begin at any time. Remember your spirit crystal, and keep it safe. It is key to both paths before you.”

  fusion fshed through his mind for a moment before the god picked up on it a an image of the pouch he kept his mana stone in. Following this proje, Inari spoke again, the link shuddering as power flooded it, though in a much more trolled and formal mahan what had happened before.

  “I, Inari, give my oath upon the roots of my being that I offer to the one I am versing with,” the voice firmly decred. Following the statement, a feeling of utter stillness desded, even beyond the e.

  Niphru could feel the force upon the vilge, notig Dawn jolt awake as a hum ale pressure passed.

  Following the unusual phenomena, Inari gently stated, “I offer my path freely and without trickery, enforced by my oath. Should you accept, simply inform me, and I will give my guidanbsp; Now, I shall leave you to speak with your bonded panion and resume teag my partner how to properly speak with you.”

  At the end of their statement, Niphru could feel the link fade into the background, still clearly present, yet without any of the pressure it had previously held. To his side, Dawn shook her head and looked around, fusion apparent on her face.

  “What happened? I felt something just a moment ago,” she questioned, rubbing her eyes as she turo face him.

  “That,” he stated numbly, “was a god.”