Hector spent three days cultivating at that site before moving on. He'd located a muddy pond not far from there and trusted in his body enhancement to let him survive any disease that might lurk in the filthy water. He would have stayed longer to replenish through mental cultivation if not for his mounting hunger.

Undergrowth was beginning to reclaim the trail of destruction from the Ogre, but it remained clear enough for Hector to run without issue. The guards of Breadfruit Village hesitated when he appeared at the gate, but ultimately let him inside. Someone went to fetch Mila and she momentarily showed shock before slipping on an easy smile.

"This is wonderful, Hector. Did you come alone or are others with you?"

"It's just me, Mila."

"Then we will have to make sure you are enough. How long until you can be ready?"

Hector folded his arms. "Are we in a rush?"

"My scouts found the Ogre. She is preoccupied with the Mother Tree. It's a level ten tree revered by three different religions. The affront to cultural heritage aside, Calamity should be safely distracted for a few more weeks."

"Good. I want to cultivate at the site of my last battle."

Mila blinked at him in confusion. "Xian certainly have odd practices."

"That we do, Mila. That we do."

Hector received a modest meal of breadfruit, soybeans, and chicken that evening. Then he jogged to the location of the rift and performed mental cultivation through the night and until noon of the following day. He returned to the village for dinner and then took a nap in a communal pavilion.

Over the next couple of days, he quickly drained the mental band of chaos next to the closed rift. His mind aperture felt extremely close to the peak of level five by that point. Close enough that he began practicing the mental strengthening technique Volithur learned at the fifth household to hasten the progress.

Otherwise, Hector stayed within the village and cultivated through his externality and sometimes through his aura. He was restoring his energy levels fast even as he spent some to strengthen his mind further. The days went by in a blur. The villagers began to ignore him other than calling him to eat dinner once a day.

As he gathered cosmic energy, Hector had time to think. About respect. About his past actions. About what he wanted in life. About who he wanted to be. The thoughts running through his head weren't always pleasant.

He needed to stop throwing money at people to solve relationship problems. Twice now he tried to bribe Riley into not expressing her feelings. She refused both times. Reflecting on their dynamic, he understood that rejecting the credit transfer was a rejection of a fundamentally transactional relationship. She was his friend, she'd communicated, not a business relation who could be manipulated by payments. He needed to respect the friendship. If he felt uncomfortable with her displays of emotion, that was his burden to bear.

Every situation-ship he'd been in since the dreams began played out in his thoughts. The transaction of affection for aid with Mila. That left a bad taste in his mouth, which only grew worse as he realized she treated him like he tended to treat others. There was the flirty behavior between him and Esther, which ultimately he knew was how she treated everyone in her orbit. Tricking himself into believing there was something deeper there was an excuse to feel comfortable in his isolation.

Before that, he'd bonded with Jasmine at the tournament. He never really respected the woman and her level of competence. She revealed her chaos bolt and killed Micah during their match, massively upsetting expectations. If they didn't cancel the tournament the moment Hector and Darius escaped, Jasmine likely took first place. Jasmine certainly had not felt respected by him.

The only relationship he felt actually worked – in the entirety of his life, if he was being honest with himself – was the one with Evelyn. Though she denied it strongly at the time, Hector suspected what ended the two of them was the scare when he wouldn't wake up in the midst of receiving his true insight. Her mental image of him as a virile man had been replaced by one of advanced age. Which was fine. She had the right to make her own decisions for reasons she felt valid.

Somehow, he respected Evelyn more than any other woman he'd invited into his life. Maybe it was the fact that she pulled him into a grand mission at a time in his life when he was cast adrift. Maybe it was because they managed to mix business and pleasure. Maybe it was because her flippant attitude deflected and disarmed his usual behaviors. Hector couldn't pinpoint why it was they worked. But he knew he missed her. Evelyn was off saving the multiverse now, while he was contributing in his own lesser way. He respected that. And he hoped that she was still the same irreverent goofball while going about her important work.

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Their paths were unlikely to cross again, so it was on Hector to figure out the right lessons to take from the only relationship he hadn't wrecked. Did he need to date women dedicated to the same cause as him? Intertwining romance and business would certainly prevent him from ignoring one in favor of the other. He probably needed a woman to match his energy. Which Mila did – but he hated how that felt.

On a related note, what did he even have to offer a romantic partner? He was strong, fit, ambitious, and had the potential to earn a lot of credits. Those were all great, but they weren't relationship qualities. He wasn't a good listener or generous with his affection. He was obsessive and driven. Hector came to the only obvious conclusion: he had a lot of work to do on himself.

In three weeks, Hector was most of the way full. He decided to stop cultivating at that point because he felt like he was at serious risk of accidentally advancing again. Reaching level six could happen whenever he wanted. It didn't actually improve his combat prowess, though. It just raised the limits he could reach. At the moment, his body and mind were at the peak of their potential. He would like to further improve his aura and domain before moving to the next level. But first… he was finally ready to fight this Ogre.

When he told Mila it was time, she momentarily looked stricken by panic. Needless to say, that was not the reaction he hoped for. After taking a moment to compose herself, she spoke. "Cataclysm should still be at the Mother Tree. We can leave this morning. Just the two of us. Bringing any more Alfar would only be feeding the Ogre."

Within the hour, they were on their way. Hector followed behind the beautiful Strigoi woman as they left behind the usual trails to hike cross country. They made good time, ranging over hills and through small streams without any concern for conserving stamina. If there was one thing he knew for sure about Mila, it was that she had plenty of endurance. He could tell by the pace she set that she had a similar opinion of his stamina. At least that much was real between them.

They continued hiking past dusk, only stopping when they reached the foothills of a mountain. Mila lay next to him for warmth, no hint of amorous intentions in her movements.

"What is the plan?"

She tensed. "What plan can there be? We attack Cataclysm until she dies or we do."

"At least tell me what I can expect from an Ogre."

"Life twisted to a singular will," Mila said.

"I don't know what that means."

"Cataclysm will heal instantly, assuming you are even able to hurt her. Instead of tiring over time, she will grow hungrier. That's how I turned her aside before, by making battle less palatable than fleeing. She doesn't care for how others perceive her. She just wants to feed."

Hector stared through the darkness at the figure beside him. "You don't sound optimistic about our chances. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Only a fool would want to face an Ogre, Hector. I have only three choices in this matter, all unpalatable. I face the Ogre now with a Xian by my side. I face the Ogre alone later. I abandon my village. My choice is the best of the bad."

The next day they took a pass between the mountains and started towards a lush valley.

Tall figures soon blocked their path forward. "You may not pass here. The Ogre Cataclysm devours the Mother Tree."

Mila stood fearlessly before the figures. "We come to fight the Ogre."

The lead man squinted at each of them, his expression growing more severe. "A Strigoi and a demon. You think you are a match for Cataclysm?"

"The Xian cannot be devoured. I am likewise resistant to her hunger."

The man shook his head. "The demon is only level five. Your level eight is no better. The wardens will not let you approach the Ogre."

Hector focused his mental energy, a feat which had become remarkably easier with his recent breakthrough in mental cultivation, and studied the man's soul. A level ten Alfar. The others with him were all eight or nine. "Are you able to fight the Ogre?"

"Not well," the man said. "I've reached parity, so I am not defenseless, but I have no means of hurting Cataclysm. She is beyond my reach."

Hector frowned. "Parity?"

"The tenth level," the man clarified.

"A number doesn't explain why you call it that."

The man shrugged. "At level ten, the walls of a soul are equal in density to the world. It is parity with existence itself. If I don't want my energy stolen, it will not be stolen."

"Then fight with us," Hector said.

An ironic shake of the head greeted that request. "Fight alongside a Strigoi and a demon? Were the wardens not busy with the Ogre situation, I would slay the both of you."

"You'd kill me? For what crime? I came to this world to fight off a monster invasion."

"Crime? I am no constable, demon, to enforce obedience to laws. I'm a warden. I guard humanity against evil. Cataclysm came to the Mother Tree after the monsters and demons drove her in this direction. The most sacred tree in the world dies because your kind brought a war to Eden. The only reason I don't raise my hand against you is because I cannot be distracted from the greater threat at this time."

Hector clenched his jaw. Respect. Whether or not he received it, he would give it. "What you call demons are just humans from other worlds. We didn't bring the monsters here. We came here to stop them from causing harm. Our goals are the same as your wardens, only on a far larger scale. I am here now and I will stand between that Ogre and the Alfar. I'm not going to let you stop me."

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