My boots sank a little into the soft sapphire moss as I crossed into the heart of my territory's outer glades, still raw from everything that had happened: Szylla's realm, the evolution, the crushing truth that I was now something not quite normal anymore. Far from the human that I was.

  Taking in the sunlit peace, I was busy forcing my breaths steady from the haze of dimensional travel, trying to keep my new energies from spiraling out of control, when I first heard—

  "KiAera?"

  It was Oath's voice.

  Or it should have been.

  It sounded like Oath. Same protective warmth, that innocent lilt at the end of her words. But for some reason it sounded lighter, brighter. No longer the deep, rugged resonance that vibrated in the chest. It was… wrong.

  My head snapped toward the source so fast the world blurred.

  Standing there among the crystalline flowers was a girl. Human-like. Maybe seventeen at most, slender and uncertain on her feet like a newborn fawn. Her hair spilled around her shoulders in soft, rippling waves of light-blue, catching the suns' luminous rays like it was spun from the same substance.

  I stepped forward, memorized. Crystalline mouse ears poked through the strands of the girls hair, twitching as though overwhelmed by every new sound. A thin, translucent tail swished behind her, jittery with excess nerves. It could not have been her. Not Oath. But the [Insight] said otherwise:

  ???

  [Status Analysis] Oath

  Faux Nym: [Oath]

  Species: [Osseod] — [Orselith]

  Dominions: [Manifest] [Virtuoso]

  APeX: ["50,000" Units]

  Attributes: [Ore] [Glacial]

  Evolution Stage: [Emergent]

  Current Variant Grade: [Abnormal: Elite] ☆

  ???

  I stared while my pulse stuttered.

  Because the girl didn't just look like Oath.

  She looked like Emma. My old mentor. Same facial features, same curious brow, even the way she chewed the inside of her lip. I'd watched Emma do that a hundred times during strategy briefs, when pretending not to be worried.

  But this was Emma younger and unscarred. A ghost reborn in someone else's skin.

  Oath blinked at me with eyes that glowed faintly with that telltale crystalline pattern. Her gaze wandered to her own hands, which she flexed in front of her face with wonder. And no small amount of awkward fumbling, as though her fingers might detach at any moment if she wasn't careful.

  "Oath…?" My voice cracked against a dozen layers of grief.

  Oath beamed like she'd just won a prize at a fair. It was Emma's smile, tilted shy and sincere.

  "KiAera! Look!" Her new voice spilled out in a delighted rush. "Oath's feet are so small now. And Oath has—" She twisted clumsily, trying to catch sight of her own tail, nearly toppling over. Her ears wiggled in frantic surprise. "Eee! Oath almost fell. Sorry. Body's not used to balancing yet."

  I stepped back without meaning to, heart nearly punching a hole through my ribs.

  "You… You're… Oath?" I managed, as though saying it might stabilize the shaking inside me.

  Oath nodded vigorously. Her tail curled around her leg. "Yes! Oath feels very light. Very different. But still Oath." She paused, ears drooping slightly. "Oath doesn't feel teeth or bulk anymore. No thunder inside Oath's chest. But Oath feels closer to KiAera somehow. And KiAera's scent… it's still safe. Makes Oath's heart race."

  Her smile wavered, uncertain. Her eyes searched my face the way Emma's used to when she feared she'd disappointed others.

  I reached out on instinct, gripping Oath's shoulders. They were warm, fragile under my hands. Thin bones, delicate collar. Nothing like the monstrous, muscled bulk I remembered leaning into for protection. My throat squeezed painfully.

  "Oath… why do you look like this? Why Emma? How did—"

  Oath's ears twitched, confusion flickering across her features. "Oath doesn't know. When Oath woke up, body was already like this. Maybe Oath's heart chose it? Because Oath remembers Emma too. Oath remembers Emma always protected KiAera. Maybe Oath wanted to be… more like that. More close."

  My vision blurred, tears threatening to release. I pulled Oath into a fierce hug, nearly crushing the smaller form against my chest. Oath squeaked in surprise, then melted into it with a relieved sigh, arms wrapping tight around my waist, tail curling protectively.

  "I thought I lost you," I whispered into her hair. "I thought that Rite would kill us both."

  "Oath is here," Oath murmured, pressing her face into my shoulder. Her words were muffled, but vibrated with quiet joy. "Always here. New shape. Same heart."

  I closed my eyes, clutching her tighter, trying not to let the swirl of monstrous power inside me to accidentally harm this delicate new Oath. I felt the girl's heartbeat racing. It was light. So impossibly alive.

  When we finally pulled back, Oath giggled then stumbled sideways as if her legs didn't quite respond right. She shot me a mortified look.

  "Oath needs to practice walking again," she confessed with a shy grin. "Being so small is very wobbly."

  I let out a choked laugh, that almost became a sob. "We'll figure it out. Together."

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  Oath nodded fiercely, her ears catching droplets of light, refracting it in dazzling rainbows.

  I pushed my head against hers, as I tried not to tear up. Emma is gone, I reminded myself. This is Oath. Always Oath.

  Oath gestured forward and beamed. "Come. Crystal Shelter waits. Oath will walk with you. Oath will always walk with you."

  I nodded, unable to find any more words.

  I led Oath carefully through the brush, one arm protectively around her shoulders as if the girl might topple over from a stray breeze. Every few steps, Oath stumbled, her feet often clumsy and tail swinging wide to overcorrect. It would have been almost funny, if not for the hollow ache still clawing at my chest.

  I exhaled shakily, forcing my mind to steady. Questions burned on my tongue. Finally I couldn't hold it back.

  "Oath… where's GamaGen?"

  Oath stopped. Her crystalline ears twitched downward and that bright, innocent glow dimmed. She wouldn't meet my eyes. Her hands balled into fists at her sides.

  "Gone," Oath whispered, voice thinned by grief. "GamaGen… protected us at end. Too many bad things tried stop Rite. He not let them. So… now GamaGen gone."

  But Oath didn't answer right away. Instead, she reached into the folds of her new, linen-silver gown, sewn somehow from nothing KiAera recognized, and slowly pulled something out.

  A feather.

  But not just any feather.

  It shimmered the color of old obsidian and ink-smoke. At its center was the faintest hint of prismatic colors—shaped like an Omega symbol—but that sigil wavered, flickering between presence and absence like it was forgetting itself. The feather was translucent around the edges, nearly breaking apart in my palm, like it had been through realms that refused to hold shape.

  Oath placed it in my hands, cupping them together as if the artifact might vanish if left unguarded.

  "His last. Before he... dissolved."

  I stared at the feather as I struggled to process what I'd heard: Dissolved. Like something ancient and sacred that had poured too much of itself into others… and simply unraveled.

  I didn't cry. But my chest felt like it was caving in. GamaGen had been more than a mentor. He'd been proof that wisdom and compassion could survive in a monstrous world. That something could guide without control. Lead without binding.

  My throat tightened painfully. I swallowed it down, feeling my monstrous new soul quake with it. That raw rage and sorrow almost overtaken me.

  My hands trembled with the heavy burden "No…"

  "GamaGen wanted you to have it," Oath said. Her lip trembled, eyes going glassy. "He said it might help you remember him. Or yourself. Or maybe it just needs somewhere safe to stay."

  I held it close to my heart.

  "Thank you," I whispered to the world, to GamaGen, wherever his spark had gone.

  Suddenly, a crack of thunder split the sky. Red lightning forked through the sapphire canopy overhead. Both Oath and I jolted, turning just in time to see a massive silhouette emerging from the trees.

  At first, it looked almost like a colossal stag—but wrong in every possible way. Its skull was elongated and skeletal, hollow sockets faintly aglow with coals. Antlers branched out like jagged veins of obsidian, encrusted with crimson gemstones that pulsed to some dark rhythm. Sparks of scarlet energy arced between them with each ponderous step.

  Oath squeaked and stood in front of me, tail curling around my wrist carefully. But I stepped in front of her, holding up a hand to signal "stand down."

  For I knew who it was despite their transformation.

  ???

  [Status Analysis] "???"

  Faux Nym: [???]

  Species: [Dorvus] — [Doomzorvus]

  Alt Species Name: "Doom Deer"

  Dominions: [Unleash] [Virtuoso]

  APeX: [218,832 Units]

  Attributes: [Grim] [Voltage]

  Evolution Stage: [Emergent]

  Current Variant Grade: [Elite]

  ???

  The Dorvus— no, he was no longer just a Dorvus—lowered his head slowly. The glow in his sockets burned hotter as he regarded us. And then, shockingly gentle for such a monstrous form, he bent until the tip of his bony forehead pressed directly against mine.

  A deep, resonant voice flowed out.

  "KiAera. You did not falter. You gave me cause to stand through the dark. For that… my thanks."

  I stood rigid, breath caught, feeling the raw power radiating off him. And underneath that, something tender. Almost warm. My instincts wanted to recoil, to submit to fear. But I stayed upright, pressing my forehead back in silent solidarity.

  Then the stag straightened. Sparks leapt from his antlers to the ground, leaving tiny craters in the soil. He looked impossibly regal, terrible and beautiful all at once.

  "You have a new name now?" I asked.

  The beast paused, hollow sockets burning into mine. Then, in a voice that vibrated through my marrow.

  "Call me… Zest."

  I blinked because… how absurd. That was… startlingly simple. Almost playful for such a dire, wrath-forged titan. But the name settled into my mind with a rightness that surprised me. Like it had always been waiting there, coiled and patient.

  ???

  [Status Analysis] Zest Zorvus

  Faux Nym: [Zest]

  Species: [Dorvus] — [Doomzorvus]

  Alt Species Name: "Doom Deer"

  Dominions: [Unleash] [Generalist]

  APeX: [108,832 Units]

  Attributes: [Grim] [Voltage]

  Evolution Stage: [Emergent]

  Current Variant Grade: [Elite]

  ???

  Oath peeked around me, eyes wide. "Zest…" she repeated softly, then giggled while her tail flicked. "Oath likes it."

  A rumble that might have been a laugh rolled through Zest's chest.

  My lips parted. "You… you made it through."

  "I have survived the void. I have seen what stands at the edge of all feeling. And I choose life. I choose to feel. Even if it burns."

  He looked at the sky, then back to her.

  "And there is no better word, I think, for the flavor I now crave in everything I do."

  I let out a huff of a laugh.

  "…Alright, Zest," the name settled strangely well on my tongue. "Welcome back."

  He dipped his great head again in respect. "I follow your lead. If you'll still have me."

  I brushed aside a strand of my hair then gave his jaw a pat. "I'd be a fool not to. Let's return to our home. All of us."

  Oath nodded vigorously while Zest took a step back to allow me to move past. When I did, he fell in alongside me as if we had done it a thousand times before.

  It was a strange feeling… one that felt both new and familiar. As if I was just now discovering something I'd known all along.

  But despite the ache in my heart, the weight of grief, I didn't look back. That was not until I didn't expect the startle. When Zest decided to grasp my coat's collar with a thunderbolt.

  He lifted me until bringing onto his back to mount. My face became heated, only to relieve it with an annoyed huff. I heard a squeak and a gasp from Oath, who watched with awe.

  "Zest… is this really necessary?"

  The Doom Deer shook its massive head and let out a low rumble. "It is my duty to protect my companions. Especially one so vital as our leader."

  I shook my head and chuckled. "You're impossible, you know that?" I settled backward with a lean, palms pressed against his dark hide. My finger gave it a curious circle as I felt its rugged texture, almost like bread flattened on glass. The warmth underneath it was comforting. "But thank you."

  A rein made of crimson electricity materialized from the harness that appeared around his neck. It swayed, awaiting my touch. I gently grasped it, giving a light tug. Zest responded by shifting his weight forward into a slow stride. Oath stepped beside us, ears swiveling forward in excitement as she gazed at the forest around us.

  Zest's hooves dug into the soil as he picked up speed. His antlers sparked with energy as they cut through the canopy. The trees blurred past us as we rushed through the forest.

  My heart raced in excitement. The wind whipped at my hair, and the sunlight played across my skin.

  We ran, while Oath drifted clumsily into the air at first, then started to fly with a serene aura shrouding her. Some sort of [Anti-Gravity] ability.

  My mind was racing as I tried to make sense of everything that had happened. So much had changed. I'd changed. And yet, there was still so much more left to do.

  We'd changed. We'd grown. And we would continue to grow stronger.

  Zest hooves scraped against the ground as he skidded to a halt. Why he had done that? Those blackened darts that stabbed into the tree had forced him to.

  Oath stopped beside him, looking worried. She turned her gaze to me and her expression became one of concern. "KiAera?"

  I glanced down at the projectiles, my eyes appraising as I realized what they were.

  "[Shadow Needles]."

  "What?" Zest and Oath exclaimed.

  The needles dissolved in a spark of mana, leaving only a dark spot and an intense vibration where they'd struck. The vibration spread quickly, growing into a deep tremor that rattled the entire area around us.