Page 4017

It was nonsense, though. The constant push to see patterns where none existed. He and all his kin each had their own reasons for coming here. And it wasn’t because they were secretly mortal or “craved” its miserable touch.

Rather, it was simply because this was where land and sea met.

At length, Germal returned to the little castle’s main chamber and took a seat by the western wall. This place, too, harbored plenty of memories for him to fall back into, but he’d already indulged enough, he felt.

He needed to prep for his friends’ arrivals.

Maybe one day, he would be able to tell them the full truth of things. Of his unique nature and history. He certainly wanted to bring them in.

But it was still too soon. He didn’t want to risk them not understanding.

Yes. Better to keep up the illusion for a while longer.

He reached into his coat and pulled out the dormant blob of ethereal energy.

Nerovoy. Germal’s reaper.

Or Jonah’s, rather.

Doubtless, this had a great deal to do with why Jonah refused to see reason.

Nerovoy’s decline into this state was not something that Jonah was going to forgive or forget any time soon.

Reapers were always an issue when it came to reincarnating. They didn’t always decline in exactly this way--nor had it always been this gradual--but there was always something that went wrong with them. Despite his many attempts to remedy the problem across multiple incarnations, Ettol had never found a solution.

He didn’t want to resign himself to the idea that this was wholly unavoidable--that the merge simply could not be conducted without harming the reaper--but after all the Ages, it was difficult to deny that might well be so.

More lies, of course. He’d known this was going to happen all along and never warned Germal about it. Oh, but he’d ‘merged with full understanding,’ right? Sure he did.

Never the bad guy. Always well-meaning, at the very least.

How hard you work to convince everyone of that story. Even yourself.

You lying monster.

You can’t deceive me. I see right through you, and I always will.

Germal pushed Jonah back down again. More forcefully, this time. Stay quiet for a while, please.

He returned his attention to Nerovoy. He concentrated, closing his eyes as he searched for the Windlight.

Next page on the 4th

Thanks for reading, everyone. And Happy New Year, by the way.

Page 4016

Hmph. Never forgotten, had you? Perhaps if Arnel had become a vessel, you would have. After all, how was he any different from Hada? Eating people alive. Taking pleasure in the suffering of others. Why did Hada get a pass from you but not Arnel?

Hada did not “get a pass,” Jonah. But there was only so much that could be done to him as a form of retribution or punishment.

Bullshit. You’ve always been too soft on him. Even moreso than the others.

Jonah. Hada might very well be the most powerful among us. Sure, we could trick him in any number of ways, imprison and annoy him, but in the end, what more could be done? If you know of some way in which we could kill him, then speak it now.

Work with the emperors instead of against them. Together, you might see it done.

You make it sound so simple...

And you make everything sound complicated.

Ettol couldn’t stop a sigh from passing his lips. The illusory tower on fire dissipated into nothing, taking the imagined nighttime along with it and allowing daylight to return.

He wanted to keep arguing, but he could already feel Jonah’s will falling into the recesses of their mind again. And it was a conversation they’d already had, of course. No doubt, that was why Jonah was receding into the background: because he knew they’d arrived at their typical impasse.

How did Jonah become so stubborn? He used to be so gentle and kind. So understanding. Even towards Ettol.

It was the Supreme Will, wasn’t it? As much as he wanted for it not to be true, Ettol was finding it increasingly difficult to remain in denial. At some point, Jonah must have developed it.

But when? Ettol searched his memories. It had only been about forty years since Bellvine, so if he compared Jonah now to then... and reexamined everything that had transpired since...

What could have prompted the Supreme Will to be born in him?

That was yet another of their ancient opponents. But of course, the Supreme Will was also a special case, wasn’t it? Because in many ways, it served as an ally to his kin. They typically needed it for their vessels. It fortified the vessels’ souls and minds, allowing them to withstand the unreal fires of rebirth, which otherwise could only occur within the infinite realms of non-existence.

But it was a double-edged blade, the Will. Because it also resisted their efforts. Emboldened their enemies. And whispered to them, constantly, that they were not gods.

That the reason they were so endlessly attracted to this mortal realm was because, ultimately, they too belonged here.