Descending back into the station was slow as James took the time to think over everything that he had vented to Mother. He didn't mean to spill all of his frustrations, but he couldn't take it back now. It also truly let him feel everything for the first time since his journey started.

Starting with his desire to simply learn more about his cultivation and to grow stronger and how it transformed into helping the elders. From there, it devolved quickly as they found the Forsaken city, and destroyed Running River. Finding his people below the city and absorbing their souls. It was one thing after another as he learned about nests and the need to destroy them. He didn't want his planet to be overrun and turned into wasteland, and it didn't seem like the sects were trying at all to destroy them.

Not only did he talk about that, but he voiced his concerns around Amber and Luna, and all of his other friends. How they were changing, and their curses. Their odd desire to be close to him and do as he asked. How much was he influencing them as a Valiant?

He need to start writing down all of the questions he had, because the list kept growing, and he still wasn't getting any answers. Not to mention, that he still had the other side of the station to explore and discover why there were so many souls. He also needed to understand what the Valiants weren't supposed to learn in the station. He doubted it was simply the demi-human discoveries.

Reaching the bottom, he returned to his companions and found Amber waiting for him, once again.

"You felt very frustrated," she said with worry.

"I am," he admitted. "I'll talk to Luna soon."

"I'll listen." Her soft voice was filled with the usual amount of love that was causing the problem between them.

Letting out a slow breath, James stepped up to the nekorian and rested his hand on her shoulder. "I know, Amber. But you also have to admit, we have a bit of a problem between us."

Closing her eyes, she nodded. "I do. I don't want to stop, even though I should."

He wanted to admit the same, he really did, but he couldn't do that to Luna, nor should he lead Amber on. Instead, he moved his hand to the side of her neck and rubbed her gently. "So, what do we do?"

Resting her hand over his, she sighed. "We don't act on anything. I'll try to tone things down and focus on business."

Letting her go, he said, "thank you. After I talk to Luna a bit, I'm going to come find you. You're still my best friend, right?"

"Of course," she said softly.

Stepping past her, he walked the last few minutes to Luna. The Fenrir was waiting for him with a pensive smile. "Amber found you again?"

"Yeah. I told her I needed to talk to you, rather than her."

Brows rising, she pulled him out of the room and away from their newly awakened guests. "You turned down Amber?"

"I did." Furrowing his brows, he asked, "does that surprise you?"

"It would surprise any of us," she said truthfully. "You two are attached at the hip normally."

"That's the problem we are both admitting."

"Oh…"

Rubbing his eyes, he nodded. "I have to go to the other side of the station and discover what's over there. I shouldn't be gone long, but I think I need to confide in you about some of my frustrations."

Smiling, she cupped his cheek before moving in for a kiss. "I'm always available for you, James. All you have to do is ask."

"Thanks."

Turning away from his wife, he left her in charge of the fifty demi-humans. They had a lot of recovering to do and they still needed to plant the crops that they had brought with them. Thankfully, they had plenty of meat and it shouldn't be that hard to find the kitchen.

Walking back to the intersection that he first came to, he took the other hall into the unknown side of the station. The tablet that he had messages on likely didn't know what was going on, but it shouldn't be that hard to learn.

He was forced to slow his pace after taking the first bend as the lights were flickering, casting the long hall into stretches of darkness. He could still feel the souls growing closer, and he began to notice that they were in groups in different rooms.

The souls felt odd. There was something about them that he couldn't place. Moving slowly, he approached the first room and tried to scan his palm to let him in. When it promptly flashed red, he knew it was guarded against him, and likely his kind.

Frown growing, he punched the door, breaking it open before setting it against the wall. The lights inside the room were flickering consistently, but it was what he found that halted him in his tracks.

Suspended in some kind of rack was one of his people. His stomach and chest were split open and strung to the rack. The kids organs were free to see, but it was his eyes that were the scariest. The teen couldn't have been any closer to eighteen, and despite the wires and tubes hooked to his body, his eyes weren't that distant. They looked pleading as James met his gaze.

The kid was alive and had some semblance of consciousness, knowing that his body was split open and he was being kept alive through some sort of twisted science. For hundreds of years, the kid had been suspended like that.

Peering further into the room, he found another eleven of his people in different states of dissection. All of them semiconscious and pleading with him.

James felt the spark of hatred in his heart ignite into an inferno as he knew that if he pulled the wires from the kids, they would die. The only thing he could do would be to drain their souls, and bring them with him.

Reaching out, he grabbed hold of each one and pulled. Their eyes expressed their thankfulness as he took them into his soul. Part of him cracked as the last one was drained and he sank to his knees. He was ready to find his people, but not like this. Never like this.

***

Luna was just debating talking to Amber and had just reached her when Soul Pressure unlike anything she had felt before washed through the station. Her breathing stopped for a few moments as she turned toward James in the distance. Amber didn't hesitate to start running, pushing through the thick feeling of James's released soul.

Staggering after the nekorian, she found Zenaria and the others joining her as they hurried toward James. Worry flooded all of them, but it was only Amber that seemed to have an easy time of moving forward.

"What happened?" Zenaria asked.

"I don't know," Luna admitted. Gasping for another breath, she added, "he simply went to inspect the other side of the station."

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"Some of the souls winked out," Linda stated. "He absorbed them."

Anger started to roll through James's soul, striking them like a hammer. The anger was promptly followed by despair and sorrow as they reached the intersection they needed. Amber was already reaching James by the time Luna and the others made it to the first bend.

Just as Amber reached him, the Soul Pressure cut off and Luna could feel her husband become hollow. His emotions retreated into himself as Amber smothered him in as much love as she could, hoping to break through.

Rounding the last bend, Luna rushed to the room they were in and came to a stop the moment she entered. Hanging from racks were teens and young adults that she knew were his people. Their various states of dissection nearly made her throw up and it was only through her force of will that she swallowed her bile. Behind her, she did hear one of the ladies throw up and the sickly scent of puke filled the air.

Kneeling by her husband was Amber, her arms wrapped around him as he vacantly stared into the distance. The nekorian was whispering to him over and over, trying to soothe him as Luna moved to their side.

"We need to get him out of here," Luna said as gently as she could.

Amber nodded and picked him up, cradling him against her chest as tears ran down her cheeks. Luna promptly kissed his brow before leading the way out of the room.

"He needs to be outside," Amber suggested.

"How do we get him up the ladder?" Grace questioned while wiping her lips.

Luna steadied herself and remained strong as she answered. "I will carry him. We'll strap him to my back."

No one argued with the plan as they walked back to the ladder. Strapping him to her back took a few moments and soon, Luna was climbing the ladder with her husband. Amber was left in charge with settling the demi-humans, while Grace and Zenaria were in charge of planting the crops. Linda would help Amber as best she could.

Reaching the surface, she found Mother with tears in her eyes and Luna felt herself grow unbearably angry. She wanted to scream at the dragon and even attack her, but knew she shouldn't. It was only the fact that James wouldn't be happy if she did that stopped her.

"Lay him in my nest," Mother said softly.

Nodding, Luna climbed the cloth and moved to the center of the nest. Unstrapping her husband, she laid James down and curled into his side. "He shouldn't have seen that. You should have warned him."

Mother shook her head. "I only see so much, child. Even I could not predict what was in those rooms, but I felt his emotions and that was enough."

Luna closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. "How much worse is it down there?"

"I don't know. I truly don't."

***

James felt distant as he retreated into his own body. The souls he had absorbed were filled with fear, relief, pain, the need for revenge. His people had been tortured and forcefully kept alive, only to be left for dead and trapped in their own minds. Their souls were now his, and he still had more down there that needed his help to free them.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he started to recover, but he found himself in a nest with Luna sleeping on his chest. The stars were shining bright overhead, as the broken moon reflected down enough light to clearly see Mother nearby.

"Awake?" Mother asked.

"For now," he whispered. "I don't want to be…"

"Should I send Amber to finish the rest of the station?"

Shaking his head, he gently slid Luna off his chest and laid her down. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why, Mother? Why were my people hated and tortured?"

"It goes back a long way. A very long way. It all started when your people were revered as gods in the Underworld. Your ability to absorb souls and exceed the strength of normal people brought your people to new heights. The ability to create disciples was unheard of, and your people amassed a vast force of soul cultivators. Everything was peaceful until the war started.

"Humans breached the boundary between worlds and caused a change between both worlds. The rampant energies of the rents, mutated friend and foe alike. Those you know as demi-humans were mutated from humans, a lesser copy of the Underworld denizens. Animals on both sides turned black as midnight and this was before the first Forsaken really started to appear."

"How do my people factor into this?" James asked.

Holding up a claw, she silenced him. "I'm getting there. Cultivators were not a thing apart from your people before the worlds were connected. Both sides gained the ability to wield powerful skills and grow just as strong as the soul cultivators. Although, that strength was different, and it was only the Underworld that truly understood how to grow."

Sighing, she took a moment before continuing. "Your people and their disciples led the battle against the humans and their weapons of mass destruction. The Underworld was too weak to not rely on them. But it was also the first time that they witnessed your people ripping the souls from sentient races. Whole armies could be extinguished in an instant, and nothing could truly kill your people. That is until The Pact was formed."

"And they found a way to kill my people and enslave our children," James murmured.

"Yes. I was there when the first of your people were killed. The Pact found a way to transform their cultivation into powerful weapons that they have kept secret for all of these years. I don't understand it, but they found a way to snuff out your souls and even turn them against you. They are powerful and your people didn't stand a chance."

James slumped as he thought about the children he had found in the last two stations. "Our children were captured for the humans and peace was formed."

"Yes, but the energy released during the war spawned the Queen in the first rent and split the world further. Each Queen started producing legions of mutated animals that you now call monsters. Cities were overrun on both sides as the wasteland started to spread. Everything died and was corrupted and it has only become more out of control. That energy was your people's souls. They killed your people and doomed both worlds and The Pact didn't care. They were driven to genocide and even now, if they hear about you, they will storm the rents to reach you."

Closing his eyes, James accepted her story. He knew she was speaking the truth, and yet there was nothing he could do about it. But his real parents talked about the violet soul being his only way to defeat The Pact.

"What do you know about the different stages of my soul?"

Mother seemed to frown. "It's hard to say for sure. Your people were numerous, but that also stopped them from leveling as much as they could have. I've never seen anything beyond gold, personally."

"My parents told me I need to reach violet."

Lowering her head to the ground, she hummed. "Interesting. I'm still confused on how they could have lived to deliver you to your false mother. When I came to Earth, I assumed your people were all but dead."

"We might as well be." Reliving the mental images of his people attached to wires and tubes made him shiver. Even if he wanted to save them, they would die the moment he unhooked them from the machines keeping them alive.

"I'm sorry, James. I truly am. But you are already stronger than the other Valiants I had met, and I know you will only grow stronger."

Opening his eyes, he found tears in Mother's eyes as she watched him. He knew they were real tears, and she felt truly emotional over the story she just told.

"I have to finish what I started," he said, his body growing numb. Getting up, he looked down at Luna and smiled. She had carried him all the way to the surface, just to help calm him.

"Good luck, James. My nest will be waiting for you, and I can have Everest ready to comfort you too."

Cracking a smile, James gave Mother a single nod before moving to the ladder. Before he descended, he asked, "what happened to the moon?"

Mother looked up, gazing at the broken moon. "I believe it was destroyed when your people's energy was released upon the worlds. I can't say for sure."

With nothing more to say, he went back down.

***

Jamie listened to her brother sneeze several times before rubbing his nose. "Are you going to survive?"

Groaning, Mender nasally said, "I think so. I didn't know I could get sick anymore."

Humming, she sat by the fire. "Maybe someone is thinking about you."

"Ah…My long lost love. For my heart will forever be hers," he joked.

Laughing, Jamie tossed a pebble at him. "You're an idiot. You've never been in love a day in your life."

"True," he admitted. "That begs me to question why you haven't found your true love yet."

Expression falling, Jamie turned away.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

It was easy for him to forget about what happened in Running River. He was unconscious for nearly all of it. He didn't have to kill the woman he was sleeping with. Jamie could still picture Bunny's rabid expression as she tried to tear Jamie apart.

A shiver passed through her body before she could calm herself. I wish James was here. He was always able to comfort me when I needed him.

"We could keep going," Mender suggested.

Shaking her head, Jamie yawned. "Not tonight. We both need sleep and if we push extra hard, we can reach him in a week or two."

Pulling out his sleeping mat, Mender laid down. "Okay. We'll be safe as long as we are in the forests. The animals know not to attack us now."

Spreading out her soul, she checked on their furry friends. A few bears had taken to following them earlier that day. She knew they were in it for James, but it was nice to know they were keeping them safe either way.

Pulling out her own sleeping mat, she laid down and turned to the stars. She wanted to believe James was watching the stars as well. Maybe he was laying with Luna. Maybe he was laying with Amber. Hell, he could be alone, not that that would happen. All that mattered was that she believe James was okay. No matter what he went through, he would come out the other side with her by his side.

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