A serene wind drifted across the meadow, carrying with the chorus of forest critters chanting their nightly songs. Aenon sat on a wooden stump, turning a meat skewer over the blaze with painstaking care. He had eaten this meal a thousand times before, but ever since his culinary lessons began, even this simple act had become a trial. Especially since Mrs. Ashvein was seated next to him, her dreaded walking stick primed in case Aenon slipped up.

Quite discussions took place all around him, but his full focus was on the meat that he was roasting carefully.

Smack

Another blow landed on his knuckles as his concentration wavered momentarily, allowing one energy wisp to escape his containment. Aenon didn't complain though, powering through the stinging sensation.

They had all returned to Reality's Edge and had set up a quite camp in Nocthrya's shade to recuperate from the battle. The R&R was more of a mental one—their physical injuries already mended by Thalindra. The mood on the way back was heavy. No one had been prepared to witness the absolute destruction Aenon had caused with a single Spell.

The only reason Aenon had even attempted that attack was to reassure Thalindra that she was not a threat he couldn't handle; that she was allowed to grow in power without fear of becoming a menace. But looking at everyone's shock, maybe he had overdone it. Even the old crone's mood had shifted into a contemplative one after the demonstration. Mrs. Ashvein hadn't said much, but he could feel it off her soul. She had questions; a lot of them.

But the worst part for Aenon was the suspicious lack of a Spell notification. In the past, even minor manipulation had granted him Spells. But with void mana, he never got any. His suspicion of the System Administrator's meddling grew.

At least he had gotten some levels out of it, and a decent chunk of progress for his Class evolution quest. Not to mention the first upgrade to his gravity proficiency.

Evolution Quest Objectives | Kill 10000 enemies of equal or greater level (2362/10000) | Protect your settlement from the coming horde (Time left before attack: 31 days)

Level Up | Abyssal Warden | Level 43 → Level 45 | +16 INT | +20 WIL

Spell upgraded: Gravity Well | Basic → Minor

Gravity Well (Minor) | Type: Gravity | Cost: 200 + 400/min

Create a gravity orb which attracts nearby objects. At minor proficiency, the field is equivalent to 1g of force.

It made sense he'd only gained levels in his secondary Class; he had erased the monsters outright instead of engaging them. But the more interesting addition was the upgraded Gravity Well. The description had changed from a weak pull to something measurable—1g of force; in other words, the objects body weight as on Earth.

But the System had no such clarity for what he had created with void mana. Without a description, he had no idea what to even call it. All he knew was that he had used Gravity Bomb—an Overcharged Gravity Well—and the addition of void had turned the pull into something monstrous. No wonder the dwarves had been forced to throw up walls just to keep from being dragged in.

Aenon's lips curved despite himself. If this was only Minor proficiency, he couldn't wait to see how the Spell would scale once he pushed it further.

His grin vanished with another sharp smack. He scowled, turning toward Mrs. Ashvein. But she wasn't even looking at him. His teacher's eyes were fixed calmly on the group gathered a little ways off.

As usual, Talia was at the center.

Aenon's irritation melted into a smile as he followed her gaze. His gamble had paid off. He'd hesitated at first—forcing a child to watch such carnage felt wrong. But Talia had already seen death, far more than any child should. Shielding her now would do nothing to erase it.

What Aenon wanted was to overwrite trauma with something gentler. To lace Talia's memory of blood and fear with a feeling of safety instead. To show her that even with a monster horde charging down upon them, she would be all right. That it was still possible for her to laugh, to play, to be a child.

The girl's soft giggle, mingling with the tranquil aura of the World Tree, made the atmosphere almost therapeutic. Even the horrors each of them had endured seemed to dull in that moment, wrapped in her innocent joy.

"It's burning," Mrs. Ashvein's gravelly voice cut into his reverie.

"Damn it," Aenon hissed, jerking the skewer away from the fire and hastily cooling the meat with a burst of Air Manipulation.

It was still edible—by his old standards, it might even count as a delicacy. But to his teacher, it was no different than the charred lumps Jenny had once tried to pass off as cooking in their early days together.

Aenon waited with bated breath for the judgement that often followed his mistakes. But surprisingly, it never came. Mrs. Ashvein had not looked away from Talia, her gaze distant. Aenon felt the rare burst of sadness from her soul. Somehow the woman was very good at concealing that.

He stowed the skewer away into his Inventory and leaned back. He didn't want to interrupt whatever was going on through her mind.

"It's rare," Mrs. Ashvein murmured at last, "for a child so young to smile after walking through pain."

"I agree," Aenon answered with a faint smile.

"And rarer still," she added, her voice softer now, "for kindness to survive in their heart."

Aenon opened his mouth to agree again—then froze. Because her gaze was fixed on him. Her words were not about Talia.

He turned away in discomfort, suppressing the familiar feeling of being read like a book. There was no magic involved of course. But the deep wisdom in those eyes was unmistakable. She might not know the details of his past, but she saw right through him.

Aenon didn't know how to respond. Without the compulsion from the soul chains, no one had managed to make him talk about his own trauma. Perhaps realizing his unease, Mrs. Ashvein spoke in a far kinder voice than he had heard her use before.

"Your strength," she said, "will be unmatched for that reason. Not because of your obscene control over mana, or the monstrous resource pools you possess."

Something stirred deep within Aenon's soul—an emotion he hadn't felt in so long that he'd almost forgotten it existed. He couldn't even name it. But in that moment, he felt more at peace than he had in years.

Mrs. Ashvein didn't elaborate. She didn't need to. She simply let the silence linger, warm and unbroken, until it spoke louder than words.

A deep hum broke the silence at last. The laughter and conversation had faded all around the clearing. In its place, Ignar had started to sing. A deep baritone that reached deep within their souls. The dwarves joined the chorus, raising the notes to greater heights.

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The journey started with a single step,

With hopes and dreams, within my chest.

The road ahead was clear as day,

Neither cloud nor fog along the way.

With passion high and spirit bright,

I ran along towards the light.

Then the journey turned a bit awry,

With fortunes low, my heart did sigh.

But still I pushed beyond I could,

Hiding pain and hurt from all I would.

With blood and tears, my path I made,

Despite the pain, my mind was made.

A journey long I had to take,

On tired feet without a break.

When hail or snow covered the path,

An ember burned within my heart.

Through mountains tall and darkness deep,

My will did fail, my eyes did weep.

Now my journey's end is within my sight,

With a wilted soul I've reached the height.

A promise kept, a duty done,

My shoulders sag beneath the sun.

The cold embrace of fear is gone,

The journey ends with the light of dawn.

The melody was simple, without flourish. But every word carried the weight of battle and suffering, tempered with the faintest ember of hope that refused to die. It was the unyielding will of warriors who had been broken and reforged in the depths of conflict.

Somehow, the song resonated with Aenon more than he expected. It stirred memories of his own trials, his own losses, his own scars. For the first time in a long while, his past rose unbidden to the surface—not as a burden, but as a reminder.

As the song ended, a peaceful silence settled. Talia walked over to her grandmother, gave her a quick kiss before settling next to Aenon. She snuggled in and immediately fell asleep.

The others began settling as well: Velastra nestled in the broad arms of her husband; the dwarven twins collapsing in a heap like drunks after a brawl; Thalindra and Jenny resting with the wolves and their pups curled protectively around them.

The soft grass was their bedding, the sky their canopy.

Mrs. Ashvein was the last from the group to lie down, after she covered Talia with a blanket. As Aenon observed the scene, an unseen tear ran down his cheek.

He turned to the sky, a melancholic feeling rising despite his nature.

"Rest, Aenon-Friend," Nocthrya's soothing voice reached him. "The journey is just getting started."

Aenon smiled as he too lay back down, careful not to disturb Talia.

"I know, Nocthrya," Aenon spoke softly. "But at least it wont be as lonely anymore."

As sleep claimed him, a gentle wind drifted across the meadow.

And at the edge of the clearing, a woman stood unseen—even to the World Tree.

* * *

System Nurse

The draugr stood still, observing the sleeping party. She had been asked by the System Admin to come over in person to cast a barrier this time. And the reason was obvious.

"Their soul links," she whispered. "I have never seen the likes of it. They were already strong to begin with. But this…"

The System Nurse flinched as she sensed another presence behind her. Someone who had not been seen on this plane of existence in a very long time.

The familiar blonde walked past the Nurse and leaned down; her hollow eyes fixed on Aenon's peaceful face.

"My liege…," the Nurse said, lost for words. The System Admin wasn't present here in flesh, but her avatar too could cause an upheaval if detected.

The Admin though, didn't respond. She continued her silent contemplation, unnerving the draugr more.

"Strange," the Primordial finally said. "The void, and by extension their users, are associated with solitude. And yet this child…"

The Admin's gaze swept over the others. The Nurse knew that the Admin was observing the same links that had baffled her too. With a finger flick, she extracted the shard from within Aenon's soul space. At least a representation of it. Breaching the barrier to one's inner soul space was risky.

All the tendrils were tethered to the unassuming pure crystal, which in turn was deeply embedded in Aenon's soul.

"Ah, I see," the Admin said with a smile. "Looks like the girl left behind more than just memories. Truly… love crosses the boundaries of even death."

The hologram was dismissed, as the blonde again turned to Aenon with an inquisitive stare. The Nurse felt nervous by the look; it was more emotion than she had ever seen from her superior before.

"The barrier will not suppress your presence for long," the System Nurse said in a panic. The transparent dome was starting to show cracks.

"Very well," the Admin responded. But what she did next completely shattered the Nurse's understanding of her mistress. She leaned forward and kissed Aenon's forehead, before whispering, "Sleep, my little predator."

With a casual wave the two were flung back into the void dimension, back in the solitary castle. The Admin walked back to her obsidian throne and sat down before pulling up the trillions of screens.

But this time, she wasn't just a passive observer. The woman was actively doing something. And looking at what it was, the Nurse's panic worsened.

"My liege, are you sure it's time? Didn't you want to wait to see how he would fare against the Alliance."

"After that display of control over void mana," the Admin responded without halting her dizzying hand movements. "I am confident there is nothing on that planet to stop him. I am just preparing for what comes after the tutorial ends."

"But then why suppress him from having void-based Spells?" the Nurse asked in confusion.

The Admin's hands wavered briefly before continuing. "Don't want to make things too easy for him."

"And the shard?" the Nurse asked hesitantly. She had seen the insanely complex runes on its surface and had a hunch of what it was doing.

The Admin stopped completely, before turning to the Nurse, who immediately got down on one knee.

"It's not a shard anymore," the Admin replied. "The boy's soul has completely integrated with it. A possibility even I did not foresee. The boy's sister played a role no doubt, or it could be mere fate. But the shard and the boy are one entity now."

"But what is it doing?" the Nurse asked nervously.

"It is doing nothing," the Admin responded, confusing the Nurse further. "The boy has taken control of it completely. His Aura managed to subdue it, reaping every single benefit a System Node is supposed to possess."

"You mean…," the Nurse replied with wide eyes.

"Yes," the Admin replied with a proud smile. "His soul powers. The brat has basically laid claim to the shard's core function: the creation of powerful lifeforms."

The Nurse's jaw dropped, her decorum completely forgotten by the bombshell.

"But… but…," she stammered. "A System Node isn't something that can be taken over, even if it was only a piece of it."

"Which is why I had to personally examine it closely," the Admin replied with a chuckle. "His powers were extraordinary to begin with. But the recent effects were too anomalous to ignore."

"So, everything he has accomplished so far…," the Nurse trailed off, not liking the implication.

The Admin shook her head. "They are his achievements. He has grabbed it with his own two hands. Without his strong will, it would have been the shard that dominated. But the boy's soul is… unyielding. It will break and shatter before submitting to anything. Hence his Title: Unfettered Soul."

"Is that even possible?" the Nurse asked, unable to comprehend what she was learning.

"If you had asked me before today," the Admin said with a sage look. "I would have said no. But the boy likes to blend the lines around the impossible."

The Nurse stood in silent contemplation as her superior got back to her task. The last couple of months started to make more sense now. Aenon's seemingly supernatural pull on others, and the effect of letting them Awaken.

A System Node was created to subtly effect the growth of civilizations. That included seeding certain thought processes, as well as nudging evolution in a certain direction. But no matter how groundbreaking the effect was, it had a major flaw: it was not sentient. The object could never feel, just like the Nurse. She could mimic emotions, but they were always imperfect reflections of the true thing.

If Aenon had truly absorbed the shard, then for the time, there was a sentient being that could boost souls. If this secret got out, no Multiversal power would sit idly by. The war would be catastrophic beyond the scales of comprehension.

The Nurse froze as another stray thought entered her mind. She looked at the Admin, who was zealously preparing.

"Purge that line of thinking from your mind," the Admin commanded without stopping. "I can see why you would think that, but I would never take away his free will. I don't care what he chooses to do with his powers. Only if he becomes an active threat to reality, would I interfere with him. And even then, it would be to destroy him."

The Nurse relaxed at that. Her worries were unwarranted, but something she couldn't avoid given her programming.

"But does this mean you will lend him a hand?" the Nurse asked with hope.

The Admin raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. Only after she was done did she lean back and turned to the Nurse.

"Not a hand," she said eerily. "But a shield. As long he is not against something truly unreasonable, I will protect him. But as before, he has to earn it first. This game has become much bigger than I imagined, the stakes higher than what I thought possible. But even so, I will not risk coddling him."

And for the first time in millennia, laughter echoed through the halls of the void castle. The Nurse shivered as the sound wrung reality itself, Admin's Aura rippling outward until the beasts sealed beyond the fortress fled in terror.

"I haven't felt this alive in so long," the Admin said with a grin that could shatter an army. "The game has finally begun to turn. Weak though he maybe, the boy has taken his steps to claim his throne. His journey…the world shall bear witness to it."

A faint glow emanated from the Admin eye sockets, showing a grey pupil for the first time. The gaze locked onto a single screen—where an oblivious group of adventurers slept comfortably beneath a World Tree.

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