I yawned awake, confusion spreading in my mind as I wondered what the heck I was holding. It was rough in texture and not soft enough to serve as a body pillow. Not that I owned any body pillows. The hair tentacle acting as my sleep mask went away.

  Oh right. I was holding onto Samsara’s abs. Should I move?

  It felt good to hug Samsara like this.

  Irene, Nilo, Atgo, and Kanes were all asleep. I could only sense their locations because of this.

  I may need to stop waking up so early. A bad habit from when I had a job. One of the benefits of being unemployed was that I was utterly free to wake up and go to sleep whenever I wanted. Sadly, I didn’t have a bed. However, I could make one if I hunted enough Kaijus. That feral Kaiju cat girl’s fur did make a lovely blanket. It’ll be sad once we outgrow it.

  I put my hair tentacle back over my eyes and went back to sleep.

  “Hey, wake up!”

  I jolted awake as something bumped into my nose. My hair tentacles went to grab it, and somehow I was grabbing myself?! My hair tentacle, acting as my sleep mask, came off my eyes, and I stared in shock at what had bumped into me.

  It was Samsara’s hair snake!

  “Finally,” Samsara pouted. “I was half worried you fell into a coma.”

  “Why would I fall into a coma?” I asked. My hair tentacles released themselves from both Samsara’s eyes as well as her hair snake’s eyes. I brought my hands up to her cheeks and cupped them.

  “I don’t know,” Samsara said. “Why else wouldn’t you wake up?”

  “Maybe I just enjoyed hugging you,” I said.

  “How can you enjoy hugging me if you’re asleep?” Samsara asked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “It makes as much sense as me falling into a coma,” I said, squishing her cheeks.

  “Fair point,” she said. She pulled my hands off her cheeks.

  We both got up and stretched.

  “Oh, and by the way, I did wake up before you,” I said. “I just went back to sleep after waking up.” I focused on my earlier memories of confusion.

  “Yes… You did,” Samsara said. I felt her heartbeat race as the memories of me hugging her abs flashed through her mind.

  “Why are you getting embarrassed at a hug?” I asked, poking her cheek.

  “You hugged me for too long!” Samsara panicked, her cheeks heating up.

  “So hugs are only fine if they are short?”

  I laughed as Samsara grew more flustered. My hair tentacles placed our makeshift blanket on the ground. Some of the red ink from my fingers was on it. Interesting. So it wasn’t affected by my acid.

  Four sensations immediately entered my mind. Multiple sets of vision snapped into focus, layering over mine. Irene stretched slowly and groggily at first. Her shared senses brushed my mind like a whisper. Then the chimera girl uncurled, all three heads rising from their shared long and feathery pillow. Sunlight blinded them, and they immediately covered their eyes.

  Irene and the chimera girl stared at each other. They both froze. They waited. They held their breath.

  Nothing happened.

  All four heads released shaky sighs of relief. The strange thing that seized them last night, my control over their bodies, did not return.

  “Thank fuck,” Nilo muttered under her breath, rubbing her face. “I thought it would… I dunno. Happen again.”

  “I didn’t sleep well,” Kanes hissed. “I think I woke up three times during the night. Every time I drifted off, I’d get nightmares about not being in control of myself.”

  “I think I saw some of those nightmares,” Atgo said. Nilo also nodded.

  “At least it’s gone for now,” Irene sighed again.

  Anxiety crept inside of Nilo, Atgo, and Kanes. Unlike Samsara’s emotions, this was muted. I didn’t feel it creeping into me and taking over. Also, wasn’t it ironic that I was thinking about this? Wait, I was thinking of coincidences, right? Not irony? It’s been forever since I had that lesson at the academy.

  The door to their room burst open, and their stomachs dropped. They each turned towards the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

  Their intruder was wearing a gray dress, with green scales on their arms and legs. Their tail held a basket.

  “Good morning!” Nara chirped. “Breakfast delivery!”

  The scent from the basket hit all four of their nostrils: Salty, smoky, and dried meat. My own mouth watered through the shared sense. Nara moved the basket to her hands and used her tail to pass out chunks of dried meat. Irene took two, while Nilo, Kanes, and Atgo took one each. Nilo and Kanes both snatched theirs while Atgo stared at it suspiciously before nibbling it.

  The taste hit my mind too. Briny, chewy, and slightly sweet at the edges. The taste got saltier as they finished their meat chunks. My tongue tingled with the lingering aftertaste. Samsara’s mouth watered in sync with mine. This was totally not fair. Where was our breakfast?

  “We’re not rationing?” Irene asked, still chewing.

  “Oh!” Nara straightened, puffing her chest out like she’d earned a medal. Actually, I don’t think she would know what a medal is. “Ramona and Samsara got this meat for us two days ago. A ring of feral falcon birds surrounded Aisling and me, and Ramona’s tentacle cut all of them in half. They were so kind, they let us take a whole bunch of the falcons.”

  “That seems right,” Irene said. “She did save me, Nilo, Atgo, and Kanes. They must have saved you, too.” The three heads on the chimera girl tensed up.

  “That’s right. And before I forget, we should worship Ramona and Samsara,” Nara suggested, kneeling on the ground. All four of my connected minds seized up, fear flooding their Cores. As Nara finished her prayer, the same feeling of warmth washed over us.

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  “What the fuck?” Nilo blurted out. “Are you being forced to do it too?”

  “What?” Nara blinked. “Forced? What do you mean by ‘forced’?”

  “We didn’t have a choice,” Atgo said. “It was like something was puppeteering our bodies. But you just did it out of your own free will?”

  Nara blinked again. “Yeah…? Why wouldn’t I do it out of my own free will? Wait a minute, you four worshiped Samsara and Ramona last night?”

  “Exactly,” Kanes grunted. “Except, as the others said, we had to do it.”

  Nara waved her hand through the air dismissively. “You all are probably just nervous about worshiping them. How could that even happen anyway?”

  Irene’s brow furrowed. “Maybe we should ask Ramona and Samsara about it?”

  Nara nodded. “Probably a good idea. Let’s go!”

  “Wait!” Atgo said. “I’m still eating!”

  After Atgo swallowed the last part of her meat chunk, the five of them headed out, exiting the house, and they descended the stone steps carved into the rocky mountain. I felt each footstep the four linked girls took like echoes under my skin. Irene was wearing sandals that showed off her sharp talons, while the chimera girl walked barefoot on her hooves. Maybe her old shoes wouldn’t fit her.

  The group reached the bottom of the valley and walked over to us. We waved as they approached.

  Nara waved back enthusiastically. Irene smiled nervously. Nilo, Atgo, and Kanes did not smile.

  Nara stepped forward to lead their group. “Good morning!”

  Irene raised a hand. “Uh… did you… Do either of you know what happened last night? Something made us move against our will.

  Samsara sighed, guilt bubbling through her thoughts. “I’d like to apologize for that. It was Ramona who… accidentally took control of you.”

  I activated my ‘kind’ personality. “Yeah… Sorry.” I added a stutter to make it seem like I was guilty, even though I didn’t feel any guilt. If anything, I felt annoyed that I had to do this. “I was testing a new ability. When Samsara revived you, it felt like I had grown multiple limbs. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. And I tried something. Something I shouldn’t have done. I deeply apologize for what I did to you and for any panic it caused… I won’t use it on you again.”

  Irene’s shoulders sank in relief. “Oh. I think I understand. It was one of your skills?”

  Nilo glared at us. “That was an idiotic thing to try.”

  Kanes nodded, but Atgo stared at us without a frown on their face.

  “Yes,” I said, agreeing with Nilo. I actually didn’t agree with her at all. If anything, she’s the stupid one for being captured by the Monster Purifiers. “I would like to offer you four something.” I pointed to Irene and the chimera girl with my hair tentacles.

  “I can teach you magic,” I said. “In exchange for your worship. This is completely voluntary.”

  Nara practically vibrated with excitement. “They weren’t kidding! Watch this!”

  Nara aimed at the ground and held out her hand. She winced as a [Blood Spike] began to form on her palm. It launched towards the ground, leaving cracks in the gray stone.

  “So, what do you say?” I asked. “Would you like to learn some magic?”

  Nilo huffed. “There’s no way I’m worshiping you.” Kanes nodded, and the chimera girl turned away. They went back to their house.

  As they climbed up the stony steps on the mountain, she muttered, “What kind of madwoman does she think she is, expecting us to worship her after she literally controlled our bodies?”

  “Yeah, I’m suspicious of her,” Kanes growled.

  “Is she trying to imitate those Demiurges of the past?” Atgo asked, putting a pawed hand on their chin. “No wonder humanity wiped them out.”

  Their bitterness scratched at my nerves, and I balled my fists. I should just go up there and eat them!

  “Don’t eat her!” Samsara cried out to my mind. “She seems smart. Like, didn’t she say she was a biological and agricultural something?”

  “Biological and agricultural engineer.” That’s what Nilo said. I had no idea what the other two did.

  “They could still be useful for the village,” Samsara replied. “While they may not worship us, they can help improve the lives of those who do. Plus, I think we might share the pain if you try to eat her.”

  Fine. I won’t eat her.

  “I’ll worship you,” Irene said. “I trust Nara, and you saved both of us.”

  She kneeled and repeated the prayer from yesterday. Samsara and I both hummed in content as warmth spread throughout us.

  “Thanks, Irene,” Samsara said.

  “Alright, Irene, hold still,” I said, slowly bringing one of my hair tentacles down to her. “Let me [Enlighten] you with some magic.”

  As the tip of my tentacle touched Irene’s forehead, I [Enlightened] her with the [Blood Spike] and [Blood Spike Launch] [Incantations]. Samsara gave her a brief overview of how magic worked.

  Irene unfolded her wings. I could feel her [Focusing] her mana to form the spell. She yelped in pain as a red spike formed on the tip of her brown left wing, causing her to lose focus and kneel. The pain was also shared with me. It was muted, but still very unpleasant.

  “Yeah, you definitely shouldn’t eat Nilo, Atgo, and Kanes,” Samsara said.

  “Yes, you’re right,” I said in agreement. What a shame. We could have had four more worshipers, but now we will only have one more.

  “We’re lucky we didn’t get 0,” Samsara said. “But now we know not to try controlling other people. Clearly, you wouldn’t like it if someone did that to you or me.”

  “Definitely,” I said.

  Irene got back up and tried [Focusing] again as she completed the [Blood Spike Launch] [Incantation], her [Blood Spike] dashed through the air and into the river. It embedded itself into a rock at the bottom of the river.

  “Okay…” she laughed breathlessly. “Okay, that’s… I need practice. It’s wild, yet also useful. Thank you so much for teaching me this.”

  “No problem,” I said, giving her a fake smile. The least you could do is worship us again.

  “I would love to stay here some more, but we should go find Aisling,” Samsara said. “This time, we’ll go without you, Nara. Don’t want you to get captured again.”

  “Thanks,” Nara said. “And good luck on getting Aisling back.”

  Samsara nodded. Both of us waved our goodbyes. Nara and Irene waved back before heading deeper into the village.

  Samsara and I left the village, with me running and Samsara slithering behind me. Our movements destroyed the grassy plains underneath us, leaving only craters of dirt.

  We went towards the canyon where everything happened yesterday. The area was clear of smoke, as if no machines were ever here. No engines or Kaijus roared, leaving only the sound of our movements to reach our ears.

  This time, I decided to go left instead of right at the edge of the canyon. The left side should be more grassy plains, while the right side had the forest. I doubt the juggernaut would go in there. Plus, the blimp came from the left side.

  If we just kept running left, would we arrive wherever they're holding Aisling? I wasn’t sure. What if the blimp just came from the left, but before that, it had to make a turn because it was initially dropping mechs off somewhere else? Then we would just be running in the wrong direction!

  That’s why I was on the lookout for smoke. I doubt the Monster Purifiers would give up on capturing monster girls.

  “Why are they capturing monster girls?” Samsara asked. “Wouldn’t it make more sense for them… to kill them?”

  “Heck if I know,” I mentally shrugged. “Maybe they need them to test out new weapons, and that’s why they kept them unconscious with those mana blockers. They won’t be able to fight back, and the Monster Purifiers have new bodies for target practice.”

  “That’s evil!” Samsara exclaimed. “We have to stop them! And get Aisling back before they kill her.”

  I spotted something dark rising in the distance. Smoke.

  [Color Camouflage II] made both of us invisible. I ran towards the source of the smoke. The roar of an engine echoed, joined with the sound of motors spinning. Up ahead, a lone juggernaut was crossing perpendicular to us across the grassy Wild Lands.

  I extended my hair tentacles. They lashed out, wrapped around the juggernaut, and lifted it into the air.

  “What’s going on?” I could make out the muffled sound of a male human voice from inside the juggernaut.

  “It’s a Kaiju!” a female voice called out.

  “I don’t see shit!” another female voice cried out.

  I wanted to giggle as I raised the machine. My hair tentacles angled the juggernaut such that its roof pointed towards my face.

  “What do we do?!” the male voice panicked.

  “Don’t just sit there, give me that!” I could hear a ruckus going on inside. What are they doing?

  All four turrets on the juggernaut started firing, with the front two blasting my chest with blue laser bolts.