Luna swiftly changed from her Soul Form back into her human form before the hunger for souls struck her. All of her friends were panting around the area, most of them bloody but undamaged.

Mender kept his Consecration field up for a few moments longer until he too dropped it and sank to his knees. Everywhere they looked, piles of corpses greeted them. As far as the eye could see, the buildings that made up the city were simply gone; turned into monsters.

Mother was the first to step up to her side, leaving the only building that still stood. "I will go find James."

Luna shook her head. "I should go to him. He needs me." She could feel his ravenous hunger and new soul caressing her. He felt emotional, and she desperately wanted to comfort him.

"No," Mother stated. "This is one thing that I must handle. Watch my children for me."

"Why you?" Luna didn't know why the dragon had to be the one to help him. She should be going to him.

"Because I can stop him if he needs me to."

Reluctantly, Luna nodded. "Please bring him back to me."

"I will, child."

Stepping to the side, Luna scanned the area as Mother jumped into the air with a few mighty flaps of her wings. A moment later, she was flying toward the center of the city.

Amber was the first one that Luna honed in on. Marching over to the cat, Luna started patting her down. James's shirt was shredded on her body, and the shorts she was sporting were caked in blood. Her mouth was covered in blood as she had feasted on the bodies around her. Even now, her feline teeth were transforming back into more human-like molars and canines.

"Stop," Amber mumbled as she leaned into Luna.

"Dammit, Amber," Luna sighed. "Seeing you covered in blood had me worried."

Humming, Amber continued to lean against her. "I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"Why am I wearing James's shirt? And why do I smell like him?" Amber picked at the shredded shirt while switching between smiles and frowns.

Luna giggled, earning a glare from the nekorian. "You may have rolled in his scent for nearly a day while you were out of it. We had to give you a shirt just so you didn't follow him into battle."

Groaning, Amber sank to her knees. "Why?" she cried. "He's never going to look at me the same now!"

Mender ran over. "Is she hurt?"

"Only her pride," Luna joked. "She'll be fine."

Whimpering, Amber quickly pulled off the ruined shirt and summoned a new one. "I'll just change! That'll fix everything!"

Luna cocked a brow at the woman. "You believe that. But I do need you to go help the dragon children. Mother left us in charge for now."

Jumping up, Amber looked half panicked. "Everest!"

Before Luna could stop her, she was slipping on the new shirt while running into the grocery store. Left with Mender, Luna turned toward the center of the city. "He's leveled up again."

Mender joined her. "How bad do you think it's going to be?"

"I don't know…but I'm worried. How many monsters did he fight on his own to level up the way he did?" Holding herself tight, she continued to feel his anguish in her soul.

***

Zulitrix Zepher landed near the god-like being named James. He wasn't a true god, but the people of the Underdark considered his people as such. Even the humans tested and experimented on captured children before executing them for being too dangerous. Trix couldn't believe that one of the old gods had survived after all of these years. And better yet, he had already recruited followers.

"James," she said softly as she watched him rip apart a monster. His mouth was dripping blood and strands of flesh clung to him. The one known as Bo was hardly more than bones, and yet James was still ravenous.

Snapping his attention to her, she listened to his stomach growl before he flung himself at her, craving her fresh meat. Lifting her foot, she slammed it down on him, pinning him to the ground. With her other foot, she extended a claw toward his mouth and dripped a single drop of dragon blood between his teeth.

The moment he swallowed, his eyes regained their focus and his stomach settled. He gasped for air, but she didn't let him up quite yet.

"We have much to talk about," she said, just as soft as before.

James dropped his head back onto the grass. Closing his eyes, he said, "it was so bad this time…"

"I know. And it'll only get worse the stronger you become. Thankfully, the mortals won't be able to hurt you anymore. You only have to worry about those from the Underdark that would see a god dead."

"A god, huh?" Shaking his head, he started laughing.

Releasing him, she sat by his side. "You are not a god, but the people believe that your ancestors were. You have the ability to command the Forsaken, and can rebuild followers. Your strength is theirs, and your kind became feared. You were hunted and your children captured by humanity. Experiments were run before they were executed. Now, we have you."

"What are my people called?" he asked. Sitting up, he crossed his legs and looked up at her.

"You had many names. The one I'm most found of was, Valiant. For your people are the ones that freed the dragons and all of the Forsaken that you have come to know and tame. Not the twisted monsters, but those that want to live in the forests and plains of the world."

"I don't feel Valiant. I feel like a monster," he mumbled.

Whacking him with her claw, she glowered at him. "Hold your head high, James. Don't you dare think of yourself as a monster. A monster wouldn't sacrifice himself to save his friends and lover. A monster wouldn't train a child to better understand herself. You are a Valiant, and you have finally come into your power."

Pushing her claw away, he closed his eyes. "So much has changed, Mother. Where do I go from here?"

Smiling as best she could, she answered. "You discover why humanity attacked your ancestors and home world. You learn why your mother abandoned you. And you bring a stop to the wastelands that are spreading and consuming both worlds. But first, I believe you promised Bo that you would aid his sect."

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Nodding, he got to his feet. "Before all of that, I need to test my new soul. My body feels weird."

Chuckling, she looked toward the cloudy sky. "You have finally began your journey to power. Hard to believe that level nine was the starting point."

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

Turning to the south, she raised a claw and pointed. "I will journey to the south and find you a home to claim. Once I'm settled, I'll contact you and we'll figure out how to cross into Africa."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, James. You helped Everest begin her path. She's a smart child. She now knows to only hunt monsters and to be careful with her power. You are a Valiant, and have proven that my faith was placed in the right man." Stretching out her wings, she started walking away. "Take your time, James. The others will be waiting for you."

Without looking back, she started her trek back to her children. She needed to get them ready for their journey and say their goodbyes. For the first time in centuries, her heart raced with excitement and hope. Her god had come to her at long last. Even though he was an infant before, he had proven himself and stepped onto the truth path to power, and saved her and her children in the process. If he could grow, he would be the one to finally fix Earth and the Underworld. Maybe then, her children could grow up without worrying about dying to mutated Forsaken. They could have a future.

***

James watched Mother walk away, her tail swaying behind her to a gentle rhythm that was entrancing. Her soul felt at peace and there was elation to being able to share the story of his people. Now, he just needed to do something with the information.

Pulling up the waiting notifications, he breathed deeply as he read them over.

Souls absorbed. Soul Strength: 9.00194

New Soul Skill: Soul Control

Soul Water: Level 7/10

Acid Resistance: Level 5/10

Slashing Resistance: Level 5/10

Concussive Resistance: Level 4/10

Soul Resistance: Level 3/10

Many resistances went up from the fight, but that wasn't the greatest change. Reaching level nine had changed his soul from a white flame to gold. He had also gained Soul Control and could now pull in his soul without distorting the air or scaring people around him. It would take practice, and he felt like he would lose control of his soul if he was disturbed or attacked.

Why gold? It feels as though I'm something more. Something far stronger than should be possible, and yet Mother said this is only the beginning. How much more can I grow?

Shaking his head, he started walking back to the others. He was going to be explaining his changes for a while once they saw him. He might as well get it over with.

Climbing over the piles of corpses, he yawned. A wave of exhaustion struck him as he staggered. Blinking a few times, he felt the changes settle more into place, but something told him that once he slept, he would feel everything would be integrated.

His steps were slow and measured as he forced himself to keep walking. Leaving the crater behind, he finally left the corpses and entered what had once been the city. Only small piles of rubble were left from the buildings that had been turned into monsters.

The clouds broke up as he reached the grocery store. Mother was already back in her nest, checking on her children as James felt Luna rush toward him.

Using a bit of Soul Water, he washed his face, and watched her climb over a pile of bodies to find him. With a scream of joy, she leapt and he opened his arms to welcome her.

"You're back!"

Holding her against his chest, he felt her sniffle and sob against his body. Her white soul was roiling with emotion. What more, a second soul was racing toward him that felt out of control.

With a quick glance, he found Amber sniffing the air as she rushed to his side. He barely had time to react before she had her arms around him and was rubbing her cheek and face against his arm. Sniffing wildly, she started to purr, and he could only stare in bewilderment. Even Luna watched her with a confusion.

"I thought you were over this?" Luna voiced.

Amber froze in place. Clearing her throat, she backed up several steps. "I am!" Bowing her head, she added, "welcome back, James. We missed you."

Pulling Luna to his chest again, he chuckled. "Thank you, Amber. Am I going to have to hide my clothes from you?"

Groaning, she held her head. "I'm sorry!"

Luna giggled. "Leave her alone, dear husband. Just be happy she isn't peeing on your stuff to mark her territory."

Face falling blank, Amber said, "I'm not a dog. I don't pee to mark my territory."

Shrugging, Luna started pulling James toward the store. "I won't judge…much."

Letting out another groan, Amber hugged herself. "I hate this!"

James didn't respond as he pushed through the pile of corpses. The rest of his party was waiting in a circle near the entrance of the grocery store. Jamie was the first to jump forward.

"Brother!" Hurrying over, she pushed Luna out of the way to hug him. "I've been so worried!"

Rubbing her back, he kissed the top of her head. "I'm fine, sister. In fact, apart from feeling tired, I feel like a different person."

Pulling away, she grabbed his hand and led him over to the others. "His soul is gold!"

Mender started patting down his body, checking James for injury. "Your flesh and bones are showing new levels of durability. That soul of yours feels different. Do you know what all changed?"

James quickly shook his head. "I don't. But I did gain the ability to properly pull my soul in so I can enter cities again. We'll have to test it more—"

Before he could finish, the flapping of dozens of wings reached him. Several massive bodies landed all around the area, the vultures settling nearby. One of them dropped his panther off, which hurried over to his side and jumped up to press his feet against his chest.

Ruffling his panther's head, James looked around at all of the vultures. "Thank you for staying outside the city. But as you can see, we survived."

All of the vultures bowed their heads before hopping onto the piles of corpses. With their sharp beaks, they started tearing apart the monsters.

Luna whistled from his side. "They feel strong."

"They do." Agreeing, James turned back to Mender. "We'll test my limits more as we journey to Running River. We have a job to finish."

"Elder Bo?" Mender questioned.

Shaking his head, James gave his answer. Mender and Jamie both let out slow breaths at the demise of their elder. That was when Linda and the Elson brothers walked over.

"You're back, Master," Linda said with a smile. "Why is Amber clinging to your side?"

Frowning, James looked over and found Amber sniffing at him while slowly reaching for his arm. Luna walked over to her and slapped her hand away. "Go for a walk!"

Huffing, Amber walked away.

Chuckling, James turned back to Linda. "Are you ready to take the rest of the day off and maybe I can set up the baths."

Perking up, Linda rubbed her bloody arms. "For the love of god, hurry and set them up!"

Luna pulled at her soiled chest wrap. "She has a point, love. I really need to clean my clothes, and I don't want to travel today."

Picking at his own clothes, he started moving into the grocery store. "It'll take me a moment to fill them. Jamie, did you save the pipes?"

"I did, dear brother!"

Smiling, he gestured to the surrounding wasteland. "We might be able to find more before we leave. We need to figure out that enchantment before we reach the next city."

"You two can figure it out after the baths," Luna chided. "This wolf needs a clean body."

"And clothes," Linda added. "The boys may not care, but I have blood in places blood shouldn't be."

James frowned. "I didn't think women had a problem with blood down there."

Luna pulled him to a stop. "James, Honey. Linda is an elf and I'm a Fenrir. We don't bleed down there."

"Really?" Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Bronson wave for him to shut up. Even Mender was dragging his thumb across his throat, trying to get him to stop.

Jamie cleared her throat. "Dear brother, did you just assume that all women were the same? Or did your thoughts travel to Luna going into heat?"

"I didn't!" James quickly tried to defend himself.

All three women crowded around him. "I do believe he was judging us," Linda stated.

Humming, Luna crossed her arms. "Is there something wrong with our bodies, dear husband?"

Sighing, he pushed past them. "I'm just going to shut up and set up the baths."

Turning to the other men, the girls crossed their arms together. "Did you boys want to add something?" Jamie asked.

All four of them stepped back. James smirked at them as he stepped inside the store and scanned the space. Everest was bounding toward him and he barely had time to kneel and open his arms.

"James!"

"Everest! Have you been behaving?"

Screaming in joy, she slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. Laughing, she rubbed against him.

Rubbing her head, James savored the attention. After nearly a minute, he pushed her back. "I have to set up the baths, Everest. I'll need some space."

Whimpering, she clung to his side as he stood up. Rolling his eyes, he started taking out the baths and setting them up in a loose circle. There was one for each of them, plus the one for their clothes. Filling them took nearly an hour as his soul still felt strained from all of the changes.

Everest didn't bother backing away as he stripped and tossed his leather and feather shirt and pants into the wash tub. Everyone else copied him a moment later and before he knew what was happening, Amber was back with them, waving for him to join her in her tub.

"She's sleeping outside tonight," Luna stated. "I'll tie her up."

"Hey!" Amber protested.

Ignoring them, he climbed into his own tub. Sinking into the gold water, he felt his muscles relax after the trying day. Before he knew it, his eyes were closed and the world started slipping away.

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