As I arrived at the gate, I raised my fist to activate the rune embedded into the metal but stopped.

"How long have you been stalking me?" I asked, turning to look at my feet to the left.

The shadows stretched and strands separated as they stretched into the air.

Isaac's mouth formed, without his mask, bearing a snarl pre-emptive of the conversation. "Since you left the inn."

"Ah. Makes sense."

He stabbed a finger into my chest. "Did you expect anything different?"

"I suppose not."

He retracted his finger but kept the snarl. "You're an idiot. Of course I tracked you. Teddy was an idiot. Your mind is a complete mess. If he had half a-"

I stepped closer and pulled Isaac in for a hug. He was too surprised to fight at first, but eventually pushed me away and retreated several steps.

"It was just a hug," I teased.

"Who are you? What have you done with the numbskull?" he hissed.

I swear he acts like a cat. Maybe I should commission a special hoodie for him. Nevermind he might actually dig the cat ears.

I shrugged and opened the gate, moving past him and toward the manor. "That's a funny question. You might not like the answer though."

Isaac hesitated but still followed. It didn't take eyes in the back of my head to know he had narrowed eyes. His subtle mana probes into my body told me enough. Opting to ignore him for now, I approached the door but Walter beat me to it.

He stepped to the side and bowed. "Welcome back, sir. Master Theodore and the others are awaiting for you in the living room."

"Your skill is scary, Walter."

He raised his head and smiled with a gleam in his eyes. "Merely experience. Would you care for snacks to be served?"

"That sounds great. Something light and if you don't mind some cups, I'll serve lemonade."

"Of course, sir."

As Isaac slipped inside behind me, Walter closed the door and slipped into the shadows. Even with my senses being honed enough to detect someone like Isaac, it was as if Walter disappeared from reality.

And people complain about my skills. Ninja, badasss butlers are the real hacks.

When I entered the living room, I waved to the others, noticing even Khrem sitting down. They had mixed reactions, but generally kept a polite smile leagues above Isaac's expression. Before they could say anything, Walter appeared to my right and offloaded an entire tray filled with sandwiches and cookies. With a snap several large glass cups landed next to everyone's dominant hand before he slipped away in the next blink.

I pulled the lemonade pitcher, swiped a cookie and sat down closing my eyes. It took less than five seconds before the irate tapping began to drum from where Isaac stood.

"Oh grab a cookie and calm down, will yah? If you're going to be angry, at least have the decency to not be hungry at the same time."

Isaac continued to glare but at least he grabbed a cookie. The others let me have some peace, and partook of the snacks themselves. After I reached for a second sandwich, Teddy finally cleared his throat.

"Cyrus? How are you feeling?"

I sighed and leaned back, observing the others for their reactions.

"Tough question. What happened after I left?"

"It was a complete mess," Sereza said. "After you left, Myol stood guard while some of the king's men were summoned. After practically throwing the corpse into the captain's hands she announced that she quit and left. Nobody knew what to do after that."

"Elanor's father appeared personally. It was hard to tell because of how controlled their mana is, but he looked ready to fight," Celenae added.

"More like suppress," Igas snorted. "I'm pretty sure even with his skillset, Myol's stronger."

"After that," Sereza continued, "The announcer tried to continue the tournament."

"Oh? I bet Zog wasn't too happy about me leaving. I'm surprised he's not here, actually. With how determined he was about fighting me, I half expected him to stalk me out of the arena."

Sereza made an expression I hadn't seen before, or at least, one I hadn't seen from her.

"What?" I probed.

"He jumped into the arena, declared he quit as well before walking away. Teddy had Isaac follow him to be sure he wouldn't go after you."

Isaac snatched a cookie from Igas' fingers. "He entered a temple in the opposite direction of where you were. I wasn't about to follow him inside but he never left."

"So if he left, does that mean Vincent won?"

Sereza scratched her cheek. "Since there were only two people left, we ended up fighting. I took him down with a paralytic and won. I think the announcer was about to cry as he announced the winners of the tournament. We didn't stick around for the tier twos, so I have no idea who won that."

"Toogen did," Celenae said.

"Congrats on the win then. What do you actually win besides a seat in the auction?" I asked.

"It was supposed to be some gold, an artifact from the rift expedition along with a voucher for a full set of armor from one of the house blacksmiths," Sereza answered. She produced a small blue crystal in the shape of a coin bearing a golden sun embedded in gold. "Teddy thinks it's because of the king, but this is my new reward. I'm allowed a minor treasure from one of the kingdom's treasuries."

I whistled. If the treasure matched anything from my last trip to the vaults, it was far better a reward than whatever the Dawnborns were offering. However, I wasn't blind. I could see Sereza's conflict as she stowed the coin away.

"Happy for you. Make sure to choose something good. It's not like money will be too much of a problem when we're adventuring," I teased.

She looked surprised but allowed a slight smile. "You're not angry?"

"No reason to be. You weren't the one who allowed psychopaths to hire a mind reaper."

The room bursted into a barrage of mana types. From one end, the wind picked up while the air grew cold. Even Isaac's shadow turned black and started to writhe. Only Celenae and Teddy kept their cool, but the tension threatening to shatter their cups showed how thin that control was.

"Cyrus, are you certain?" Teddy asked, voice strained.

"I harvested the man's memories. It's not like he was subtle after trying to invade my mind."

Khrem looked around the room. Unlike the rest, his mana stayed calm. "I take it, the title is special?"

"It's a detestable person. One highly illegal. They're usually hired to scavenge information from their victims before they mentally neuter them. Brain dead. A living corpse," Igas explained.

"Honestly, wasn't that bad of a guy. As far as I know, he never touched children and often refused jobs that were too scummy. Most of his work was against scum from the underground," I offered.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"How are you not angry at this? Why are you defending him?"

I chuckled and downed my drink. "Because Galarion can essentially do the same thing. I don't see you guys reacting the way you are when he appears."

"You're not a hired blade. Even if the man was better than most, you're not the same," Teddy snapped. The anger in his voice surprised me. His mana bubbled under his control but it didn't feel entirely angry. Teddy crossed his arms and he shook his head. "I prefer if my friends valued themselves more. Uncle Brelten or not, if you were that depraved we would have refused to take you along. So hold your head higher than that, Cyrus."

My chest ached. A comfortable one, not like the usual pain. The others nodded along and I avoided giving Isaac the satisfaction of seeing tears well up. Thankfully my evolved body allowed me enough control to choke them back.

Ahh damnit. My emotions are still broken. I guess it'll be hard to brush them off like this.

I shrugged but made sure to acknowledge Teddy with a nod. "Fine. Anyway, I'm guessing you guys were wondering what happened in the arena."

"And after! Your mind is crazier than usual. I didn't think that was even possible!," Isaac cut in.

"Alright."

"You're not shrugging this one away thi-" Isaac cocked his head, bewildered. "Alright?"

"Do you want me to answer your question or not?" I groaned.

"See, he's being weird!"

I would have laughed, and hoped the others would have as well. Except they didn't and even Teddy looked genuinely concerned.

"Okay, enough that. So let me explain what happened from my perspective. First, the conversation with Myol. Then we can talk about what happened after he invaded my mind. For funsies, if you guys aren't too tired, I'll even tell you about the fight with the demon in my head."

In perfect unison, they stopped their simultaneous nodding and blurted out.

"Whaaat?!"

***

An hour later, Walter brought in more snacks. Teddy's parents had arrived but they came in long enough to ask if they could talk soon before leaving. Not even Teddy knew what they wanted to talk about but it wasn't exactly hard to guess.

After having to explain things for the fifth time, I eventually caved and summoned Galarion. He helped broadcast some of my memories on the wall. It reminded me of a home theater with a projector. Except, the projector was a baby eldritch horror and instead of home movies it was my memories. Well, maybe not too different from home movies.

They reacted appropriately angry, and even looked ready to storm their way toward the castle. Thankfully, Teddy kept them in line. There wasn't much to watch. While I trusted them, the memory of the incident felt like something that required Cal's permission. I didn't know what the golden woman in the memory meant, but every instinct baked into my body screamed that it was special. Private in a way that could mean trouble for those who weren't supposed to know.

The rest of the memories I had during my time inside the mindscape were too abstract to paint a clear picture. Not everything I remembered translated well through Galarion's skill. They at least kept silent at the obvious redacting when the rest of the scene continued to play out.

I wrapped it up by allowing them to see Mordred in my soul realm before cutting the feed.

"Noooo! He was ready to kick your ass! Put it back on," Isaac howled.

"You wouldn't last a day with cable," I grumbled.

"Why would I succumb to cable? Is it made of shardistriam?"

"What?"

"Type of crystal-metal blend that suppresses shadow mana," Khrem explained. He jostled something down in a notebook. "It's fascinating to be able see one's inner realm. Yours is far stranger than how people describe theirs on the island."

"Ignore that," Sereza butted in. "What in the hells was that? I've lived as a felkin my whole life! I've been around other felkins. We do not have evil clones in our soul trying to murder us!"

Unlike the others, Sereza looked genuinely shaken by what she had seen. Her tail twitched in agitation, forcing Khrem to take a few steps back.

I sighed and tossed Galarion into the air. He splattered on the ceiling before giggling and falling back into my hands.

"About that… I'm still not a hundred-percent sure. Mordred apparently had access to the same mystical font of information I have, but even then most of it was speculation on his part. As it turns out, I finally know why my chest was hurting so much all the time."

The room stilled and a firm force pushed my cheek to face Eodyne.

"What do you mean, your chest was hurting. You never spoke of this," she asked.

Ah crap.

"So about one of my skills. Split-mind Cultivation? Apparently your body isn't supposed to be always cultivating. Usually the process tires you out, mentally and physically. Well, I sorta had-have it active all the time. Combine that with suppressing my emotions, demonic heritage, and a few dozen other small things," I coughed. "I sorta-kinda, created a second me? It doesn't matter now. He's taken care of."

"That explains a lot more than it should," Teddy frowned. "Even as nobles we are taught that pushing too far with constant cultivation strains the body. I suppose nobody really pushed past the breaking point. One would be the lack of energy necessary to constantly cultivate. There's also the fact that most bodies simply give up. Push yourself too far and you pass out. It destabilizes the gains you made but even then your body stops at a certain point. This explains why your body took so much mana when I healed you."

Eodyne turned toward Teddy, lightning in her eyes. "You knew?"

"Uhhm."

"Hold up! We are not brushing past him saying it's taken care of. What does that mean? What did you do?" Isaac interrupted.

"We fought, beat each other to a pulp. Taught me some things…" I said, stalling.

Isaac threw a sandwich, followed by Igas. The air started to swirl with crumbs and the plate began to tremble as it rose into the air.

I held up my hands placatingly. "I learned a few things. Even regained access to some memories."

"What did you do with the demon?!"

I dropped my head and groaned. "His orb is resting on the throne in my soul, okay? Does that make you happy?"

"You didn't get rid of him? Why?"

I winced.

"I'm waiting to ask Cal but… I don't think I can. Maybe disable, temporarily remove, but he's tied to my me. My skills. The new changes are already strange enough. I don't want to break something. Especially when it deals with my soul."

Sereza shook her head. "Sounds like a nightmare."

Mana formed to my right and I I looked down to see my hand encased in a layer of purple.

"Celenae?" I asked.

She had a pen ready, pointed at my throat as fine as any finger.

"What changes?"

"Caught that, did you?"

"Cyrus…"

Sighing, knowing there was no point fighting it. Not that I wanted to. Celenae may be a tad overzealous, but she meant well.

The slight ache from before returned, and settled in at the thought. Even now, the others were all paying attention, watching me. Teddy caught my eye and he smiled with all the charm of having a face fit for the red carpet.

Pulling up my notifications, I willed over a copy to be sent to everyone in the room. While they were up, I scanned through them again. Something I had already done several times after exiting my soulspace. Even now, I couldn't help but be impressed. Maybe the others were right, I was a cheat.

STATUS

Name: Cyrus

Race: Reborn (Felkin)

Age: ??

Tier: 1 Rank: 2

Active Skills:

(T:1 R:2) Summon Familiar: Verdant Healer: (Áine)

(T:1 R:2) Summon Familiar: Resplendent Inferno: (Zharia)

(T:1 R:2) Racial Skill: Dimensional Storage: (Chomperz)

(T:1 R:2) Spirit Lord's Invocation

(T:1 R:2) Summon Familiar: The Dead Will Provide (Erebus)

(T:1 R:2) Summon Familiar: Reflective Coat of the Mirror Beast (Magnus)

(T:1 R:2) Summon Familiar: Storm King's Tempest (Sturmrorex)

(T:1 R:2) Summon Familiar: Shroud of the Astral Archon (Galarion)

(T:1 R:2) Roar of the Spirit Lord

(T:1 R:3) Absolute Authority

(T:1 R:2) Summon Familiar: Felblood Sanguinarch (Zagreus)

Passive Skills:

(T:1 R:2) Etherious Blood

(T:1 R:3) Sovereign-Threaded Soul

(T:1 R:3) Chaotic Resonance

(T:1 R:3) Spirit's Lord's Chorus

(T:1 R:2) Dual-Mind Cultivation

Perks:

Legacy of the Obsidian Crown

Scion of Calstrax

Demonic Blood

Child of Mana

Dread Guardian's Apology

Crystal Synthesis

Devourer of the Deep

Whisper of the Tempest

False Dungeon Core

Unleashed Soul (Tempered)

Astral Lotion

Blood Pact (Stage One)

Dual-Mind Cultivation:

Split your cognitive functions, allowing subconscious activity in the background without interfering with conscious thought.

Gain the ability to meditate and widen cultivation base passively.

Allows for the process of control and information through secondary avatar.

Spirit Lord's Chorus:

Not all souls are equal—especially yours. Yours carries the weight of sovereignty. Where you walk, the world listens. Reality stirs with each step, shifting beneath the rhythm of your will. Your presence is a chorus of dominion, echoing in silence, undeniable, unyielding.

Unleashed Soul (Tempered)

A gift, favor, and investment from the Caretaker of Rebirth

The soul has constraints, limits that are slowly ground away through the constant cycle of rebirth; these limits bind you no longer.

Your soul can grow and expand. And through hardship comes refinement.

Your soul has been refined and tempered through experience.

Acquired Expanded Soul Resilience

Acquired Soul Hardening

Expanded Soul Resilience:

Allows for Minor regeneration of the soul if damaged. Soul growth is easier to achieve.

Soul Hardening:

Hostile energy is naturally resisted. Allows for Minor resistance to soul-related attacks.

At least I didn't acquire something negative like 'Soul Scarring.' I wonder what Cal will say when I see him again.

As I looked up, the low tune of metal scratching paper buzzed in the air. Already Celenae was furiously copying over the notifications into her journal while Teddy made the smart decision of distancing himself.

A smile crept along, and I gave in to the mirth. At least I knew what Celenae thought of all this. Now if only I could survive the next few hours of interrogation, it wouldn't be such a bad day.

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