Chapter 214 (END OF BOOK 4) (Patreon)

Chapter 214 (END OF BOOK 4)

Merry Christmas!  Edits to the last chapter were made concerning the end where Riven is crippled.  I obviously don’t want people to think this is a permanent direction he’s going in and wouldn’t change the entire direction of the story so he’d become a crafter lol (but I’m glad I was made aware of the reaction prior to publishing), so if you’d like to go back and read you can - otherwise this is the gist of it.  Let me know what you think:

• Riven isn’t demoted from the leaderboard and remains at rank 5, remains as a titled world boss
• I added ‘Temporarily’ to a lot of the debuffs in his soul crippling description, changed the way he and Allie talk about it with some small details
• Yatazzi still leaves because they are unsure of how long the soul crippling will last
• The end of this chapter 214 reveals just how long he has concerning the soul crippling, unbeknownst to him.

====================

Athela slowly shut the door to his manor room behind her to leave only a crack open, smiling at Riven’s bare rising and falling chest while he recovered.  Then her eyes fell to the pair of feathered boots that Riven still kept at the side of his bed, and her smile faltered.  The past few days had been… difficult, with the serious damage to his soul very apparent.  He could barely summon mana at all.  Frankly she’d been surprised that he didn’t have permanent damage because that kind of event would have outright destroyed most cultivation efforts forever, but she was thankful the worst hadn’t happened and that in time he’d be fine.

“You’ll stay here to watch over him?” She turned to Azmoth, and the large demon gave her a curt nod.  “Good.  Thank you, I have business to attend to in the nether realms.”

She turned to go, but was stopped by a large clawed hand that landed on her shoulder.

“Say hi for me.” Was all he said, and Athela stiffened slightly.

She nodded, removing his hand and turning back to look up at him with pursed lips.  “What do you think I should do?  When Tupper came to get me, I…”

Azmoth slumped his shoulders, looking away and out a window in the hall where faded sunlight pierced through the fog of the haunted landscape outside.  “I not know.  But I like her.  Fay always kind to me, even if dirty succubus.”

Athela’s frown deepened, and she clutched the sides of her body in a self-hug, looking down shamefully to the floor.  “I think… I may have overdone things.  Back in Dawn’s capital at the battle of Rippenvire, when I ate her.  It was really mean, I was just so angry I… I felt betrayed and felt like she was trying to steal him away.  Perhaps we should have talked more first.”

“Yes.” Azmoth nodded in agreement.  “You should have.”

“What do you think she wants to talk about with me?”

“Not know.”

“Will Riven abandon me if she comes back?”

Azmoth reared his head back and had to stifle a laugh, putting two hands on his hips with two more behind his head in a stretch.  “No.  Riven love you.”

“But I can tell he misses her.  He talks about her in his sleep.”

“Yes, but he chose you.  You not know what he was like when you died.  Was very, very bad.”

Athela gave a half-hearted smile, shifting her long black hair off to one side behind her ear.  “Yes I know.  I suppose he did choose me - but I’m not sure it was for the right reasons.”

There was a silence after that, and eventually Athela muttered a goodbye - waving at Azmoth while she disappeared down the steps of the manor stairwell and exiting out two stories down on the bottom floor.  There, she met Tupper.  The blue-skinned, white-haired incubus dressed in a tuxedo was waiting patiently for her arrival, and he bowed his head upon her approach.

She nodded to him in acknowledgement and took in a deep breath, fingers clenched.  “Hello again Tupper.”

“Mistress Athela.” Tupper replied with a hesitant smile.  “Thank you again, for agreeing to meet my sister.  You didn’t have to do so.”

“I know.  But there are things that’ve been on my mind, things that I’d like to get off my chest probably just as much as she does.  It wasn’t all that long ago that we were friends.”

Tupper opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated - then shut it again.  Without a word he opened up a blue-rimmed portal leading into a private nether realm, then gestured for her to walk inside.

***

The nether realm she’d created was only a temporary one, displaying a simple octagon room with low-hanging yellow lanterns overhead that gave off a warm glow and two fluffy couches facing one another across a small table.

Fay fidgeted nervously, taking in deep breaths over and over again with long exhales to calm herself down.  She’d been sure to make herself look presentable and wore a modest white dress, plain and simple but still form fitting.  Her black eyes stared vacantly at the table in front of her as she crossed her long blue legs, and a ball was forming in the pit of her stomach as she went over all the possible scenarios that could go oh so terribly wrong.  She just wanted to… to change how things had ended.  She wanted to have a clear conscience after what had transpired.

“Hello Fay.”

Fay startled, looking up to see a slender, athletic woman she’d come to know rather well over the past year.  She abruptly stood up, still clutching her sides involuntarily and giving a forced, nervous smile.  “Hello Athela.  How’ve you been?”

There was an awkward pause while Athela considered this, and she gave a noncommittal shrug while looking away.  “Could be worse, could be better.”

Well at least Athela hadn’t snapped at her.  That was promising.

“Have a seat?” Fay asked when the portal to Panu shut behind the other woman.

Athela nodded, then stepped forward and sat herself on the couch on the opposite side of the table.  She straightened her posture, put her hands on her bare knees, and then made eye contact when Fay sat across from her.  “What about you?  How have you been doing?  I hear you have a new master.”

The words stung, though it was unintentional and there was no malice hidden there.

Fay grimaced, but thought about the old man and some of the tension left her shoulders.  “I’ve not been good.  Not at all, but the person I’ve contracted with is helping me out.  He’s something of a therapist.”

“Going for the older guys now?” Athela gave a halfhearted, teasing smile.

Fay couldn’t help but frown, and shook her head.  “No, I… we haven’t done anything of the sort.  He’s just a friend.”

“Ah.  That’s rather unusual, considering the type of people that usually contract with your race.”

“Yes, I agree.  It is.”  Fay paused, gathering her courage and clasping her hands in front of her while avoiding eye contact.  “Riven was like that too, at first.”

The silence reigned heavily on the two women after that, each mulling over their own thoughts.

“I was told he recently got injured, pretty severely.” Fay started again, glancing up for confirmation.

Athela nodded with a grimace.  “Yes.  We’re not sure how long it will last, but he should recover.  It isn’t the end of things, but it is enough that his newest contracted familiar left.  It was a basilisk of some kind, it didn’t want to wait.  Short sighted, if you ask me, but at least we weeded out the bad apple if you catch my drift.  Riven is a great master to have and I wouldn’t choose anyone else over him even if he could never cultivate or level again.”

“I suppose that’s a point we both agree on.”  Fay’s gaze fell, and tears began to well up underneath her eyes.  “I wanted to talk about what happened between us.  What I did.  I… I was hoping that you’d accept my sincere apology.  I was immature and selfish, and I sacrificed our friendship over what happened.  I’ve thought a lot about it, and I was willing to let him be with any other woman except you there at the end.  That was… That must have been rough to hear for you.  And you and I both know that I knew how you felt.  I’m sorry, Athela.  I really am.”

There was a pause.

“And you’re telling me this… why?” Athela asked uncomfortably.

Fay gave a quivering smile, wiping away some of the tears dripping down her cheeks.  “I just feel bad.  And I miss all of you.  I miss Riven, sure, but I miss you and Azmoth as well.  I know it likely isn’t repairable, and I’m not asking to come back.  I just don’t want to go the rest of my life knowing how badly I fucked things up and not trying to have reconciled with the people I wronged.  Namely, you.  It is why I asked to meet only with you, and not with Riven.  I owe you that much.”

Athela silently gazed ahead, staring at her while Fay continued to talk.

“I was also hoping that you’d pass along a message.” Fay said with a self-loathing laugh.  “To Riven.  Tell him that Tupper has a letter, you can look it over first if you wish - but tell him that you were right.  That I tried to manipulate him while you were gone because I was so head over heels, and I was jealous of you.  I wanted him for myself.  The time I spent with all of you was the happiest I’ve been, even though it was rather short - and I ruined it.”

Athela clicked her tongue.  “Yes… He told me about the date the two of you went on.”

Fay outwardly cringed at its mention.  “I… see… What did he say?”

“He told me what you two did and described to me how it made him feel.”  Athela replied sadly.  “He said he wants to find that with me.  He invited me to go on a picnic and a nature walk with him sometime as our own first date.  I’m excited to go.”

“You’re implying he doesn’t already feel that way about you?” Fay asked warily.

Athela shrugged.  “Honestly I’m unsure.”

“He chose you over me, Athela.  I’m sure he feels that way about you.”

“He did, but even in the beginning he admitted that he hadn’t seen me as a romantic interest.  He treats me like one now, certainly, but I get the feeling he’s doing that out of… obligation.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Fay protested, frowning.

Athela laughed.  “I’m not being ridiculous!  I know he loves me, I don’t doubt that at all.  But the way I love him is perhaps different from the way he loves me.  I view him as a romantic partner and have ever since my transition into this body.  Meanwhile, he views me as a best friend - as family.  It is different, you know.  When he sleeps, I’m not the one he talks about.”

Athela’s eyes lifted to meet Fay’s.  “He talks about you.  He still keeps your boots at the side of the bed.”

The succubus just stared.  Then Fay’s eyes and face scrunched up, and she immediately began to sob.  First it was mild, and then she began to cry more violently as her shoulders shook while holding her head in her hands.

Athela bit her lip, her voice cracking.  “Fay… Why didn’t you just talk to me?”

Fay didn’t reply, only continuing to violently sob on the couch across from the other woman.

“I wish we could have stayed friends, you know.” Athela eventually said in a low whisper.  “I don’t like seeing you like this, and I want to apologize too.  I’m sorry for eating you back in Mandon.”

Fay managed to calm herself down, sniffling loudly, and then laughed at the mention of it.  “I deserved it.  Didn’t I?”

“Probably, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad about it.”

The two women shared a smile, and Fay even managed a curt laugh between sobs.

Standing up and walking over to the other side of the small room of this nether realm, Athela motioned for Fay to scoot over and sat down next to her.  Wrapping her arms around the succubus and letting tears fall down her own cheeks, Athela shuddered.

“I really am sorry.” Fay muttered under her breath, surprised at the embrace but leaning into it.  “Really, really sorry.  I was a shitty friend.  I have a lot of growing up to do.”

Athela snorted, wiping off her cheeks.  “Yeah I know.  In some ways, so do I.”

The two women sat in silence after that, only the rising and falling of their chests moving in the otherwise still room.

Fay moved to hug Athela back, pulling her in close one final time before pushing the demoness away.  “I think this is goodbye, for good.  I should leave and finally move on… It was nice seeing you again, Athela.  I mean that.  I won’t bother or pester you anymore, I just wanted to end things on good terms.  Thank you for coming, from the bottom of my heart.  I’m sure you and Riven will have lovely children one day!”

Fay began to stand up with a gentle, shaky smile directed Athela’s way, but was yanked back down to the couch with a surprised grunt.

Athela glared at the other woman menacingly.  A strange mix of emotions crossed her black and white face, but eventually she put a hand up to Fay’s cheek and gently touched her wet skin.  Private nether realms had quite a lack of actual feeling, but shared ones were more tangible as it drew on more than one demon to use - so the intimate touch startled Fay even more.

“Is your summoner able and willing to let you go, should you want to leave?” Athela asked curiously - searching Fay’s face for clues.

Fay, despite being startled, hesitantly nodded back and sniffled again.  “Yes… Why?”

“Riven gave you the option of staying right before you left, under a condition.  Do you remember what that condition was?”

Fay momentarily blanked, her heart beating up to a much faster pace while she took in the implications of what Athela was getting at.  “Riven asked me if there was any way the three of us could work this out.  That he’d rather not lose either of us, and he’d rather try to go forward with both of us rather than just choose one.”

“And does that idea still not appeal to you at all?” Athela asked softly, fingers twining around Fay’s on the couch.  “I would like to be friends again.  I liked how we once were.”

Fay’s composure quickly dissolved again, and soon her face was scrunched up and tears were running down her cheeks for the third time that meeting.  She violently nodded, voice wavering.  “I w-would like that v-very much.”

Athela smiled, put a finger to Fay’s lips, then leaned in close and nuzzled the succubus’s cheek with her nose.  “Then there’s only one way I see this working out.  We should work on our own relationship first.  I think… I think it would make Riven very, very happy.”

Grazing Fay’s left breast with a hand, Athela tugged on the fabric of Fay’s cleavage and pulled it down.  She slowly reared back a moment to soak in the look of surprise on Fay’s face, then went back in and gently locked lips with the succubus - before pushing her to the couch beneath as Fay began to undress.

***

Captain Vros Kinal, champion of this expedition to Panu, planetary leader of The Empire of Dying Suns, was vexed.  He looked the group from Rippenvire over with a bemused expression, glancing over at his subordinates while conquered natives labored in the wheat fields below his perch on the tower.  “You want to team up?  Did I hear that right?”

The representative from Rippenvire nodded.  The man was a tall vampire, pale skinned and red-eyed just like all the rest - but lacking the distinct glow that many of the purebloods had.  He wore gadgets and steampunk pistols on either side, with a tophat that covered his face from the sun and a vest made of satin.  “Yes.  You are correct, human.”

“And just why would I agree to something like that?” Captain Vros Kinal asked with a raised eyebrow, motioning for the vampire to come stand with him at the ledge of his tower overlooking the landscape.  “The Empire of the Dying Suns is doing just fine without you.  Unlike yourselves, we chose not to go head to head with an Apex ranker immediately upon arrival and have been flourishing for it.  Our men grow in level quickly, our profits are soaring, and we already hold many towns and cities while recruiting the best of the natives we capture to our own cause by holding out shiny trinkets and the promise of power to them.  What reason have I to ally with blood suckers like you?”

The vampire grimaced beside him, but didn’t take obvious offense to the human’s jab.  “We have developed a means to kill the one known as Riven Thane, but we need the manpower to back us up after our forces were demolished at the battle of Mandon.”

Captain Kinal blinked, leaning onto the railing and resting his armored shoulders while the stiff horsehair down the center of his helmet shook in the breeze.  “That’s very interesting, but I doubt we’ll be fighting Riven Thane anytime soon.  If anything, I want to avoid that monster at all costs until we get to the point that we can receive reinforcements from the homeland.”

“You won’t survive long enough for that to happen.”

“Brazen words coming from a failed group of nobodies like you.  Rippenvire might be respected in your part of the multiverse, but here on this planet - you’re nothing but a bunch of washed up dogs tucking your tails between your legs after a severe beating.”  Captain Kinal gave the stoic vampire a knowing look.  “But I will admit I’m curious.  Theoretically, if what you say is true, I would be open to potentially working with your kind.  Just what is in it for all of you though?  What would you get out of helping us?  Surely you can’t expect to actually succeed in conquering this planet now that over 90% of your forces have been crushed.  You’re all still in hiding and I doubt you’ll come out unless forced to do so.”

“What do we get?” repeated the steampunk vampire with a blank expression, meeting the other man’s gaze and folding his arms in front of him.  “What we get is our regained honor before returning home after murdering the man who took this victory from us.  Do not worry about why, all you need to worry about is the how.  Perhaps you and your men could follow me to a remote island out to sea, it is there that our secret lies.  I’m sure that, one day when the time finally comes, you’ll have been thankful that you agreed to this when that bastard comes knocking down your door.”

***

Riven sat in a wheelchair in the garden of his manor, next to Jose’s tombstone with Azmoth nearby.  The sound of crickets under a large tree infused with death mana after the terraforming was rather peaceful, and the neon-teal leaves glowed pale light down onto his position as he contemplated life.  His body felt weak, but he could already tell there were signs of repair in his soul aperture.  His pillars were beginning to reform, albeit slowly, as were the mana channels he’d cultivated over the course of integrated time.

“Yattazi was so hasty to leave.” Riven muttered, looking up at Azmoth with clasped hands in front of him.  “It surprised me, very much so.  Kinda hurt my feelings, honestly.”

Azmot grunted in irritation.  “No loyal.  No need for snake to be here.  Not bad, but not one of us.  It ok.”

Riven let on a warm smile.  “Yeah.  I suppose I still have you and Athela.  Do you… Do you think Fay’s doing alright?”

Azmoth turned his spiked, armored head - obsidian daggers for teeth smiling back at him.  “Yes.”

Riven sighed.  He did that a lot nowadays, the sighing.  No matter how hard he struggled, he just couldn’t seem to escape this bombardment of bullshit that chased after him almost endlessly.  Just sitting here in the garden and taking in breaths of fresh air with his eyes closed made him realize that he’d been constantly on the move without giving himself a moment to really pause and consider what it was he wanted to do outside the obligatory NEED to do things.

This was the cost of power, he supposed.

“I still can’t believe what happened at the trading compound.  Kathrine was very shaken.”  Riven stated while looking skywards.  “I hope she’s alright.  I hope Lahn’s alright, but he was in even rougher shape than she was.  Kid has a good head on his shoulders though, it’ll be a while but at the very least his body will heal.  His soul on the other hand… I’m not so sure about it.  Maybe, maybe not.”

“This multiverse very big.” Azmoth retorted with folded arms, leaning against the manor’s outer wall.  “Lots of treasures.  Lots of powers.  He get fixed, I sure.”

Riven snorted a laugh, glancing down at the shifting, flickering sleeve tattoo covering his right arm.  “Yes, I suppose it is a big place.”

The sound of footsteps and a beating heart caused him to turn, and from around the corner he saw Genua in a maid’s outfit - her long blonde hair swaying back and forth as the pretty older woman headed his way.  Her eyes were starting to turn a pale red, which was unusual for thralls but not unheard of - and she hadn’t even made her transition yet.

Though he was sure that was likely to come soon.  Her attitude towards him and pretty much any other vampire had also drastically changed to one of both servitude and reverence - an opposite reaction to many mortals concerning vampiric negative charisma.  This change was a common side effect of the transformation as well.  When he finally did turn her into a complete thrall, those feelings would only solidify.  What was even more interesting to him, was that he simply didn’t care that she’d essentially had her mind warped.  Not only had she chosen this, albeit coerced into doing so, but in his opinion the punishment of everlasting servitude was fitting after she and her family had tried to assassinate him for no good reason.

“Here you are, master.” Genua said with a low bow, handing him a stack of tomes with a huff.  “These are the manuals you requested.  All that we could acquire concerning totem making and rune crafting.  There wasn’t much that we could find, even in the altar’s system store, but there’s enough to get a head start.”

Riven nodded, happy that he had at least something to go off of.  “And the supplies?

Genua unhooked a spatial sack of her own, handing it over to Riven with a smile.  “Of course, these are some of the supplies listed in those books.  Again, not much, but we got what we could.  It should last you for at least a short time while you endure your recovery.”

“I see.  How’s your daughter doing?”

“Len is fine.  The schools Mara set up are very good, and she’s slowly stopped talking about her father and sister.”

“What about you?  Are you still thinking about them often?”

“Of course.” Genua admitted, though without much emotion.  “It does make me sad.  I did love them, especially Ethel.  Farrod was… not the greatest husband, but he was still mine.  However I’m doing much better now thanks to Gurth’Rok and Dr. Brass, they regularly infuse me with vampiric venom in preparation for when you claim me as a thrall.  It has helped my mood tremendously.  I find myself enjoying life once again.”

“Oh?  How are those two doing by the way?  I haven’t talked to them for some time now.”

“Very good.  They have taken up managerial positions under Mara and help run the city.  General Bruner from Chicago is also in Mara’s inner circle, and I get to see the four of them quite often since I work at your estate.  They’re far busier than you’d imagine.”

Riven snorted.  “Well I’m glad SOMEONE enjoys that kind of work.  It certainly isn’t me.”

He pulled up his status page and scrolled over to the quests menu.  From there, he selected the most recent Chalgathi update.

[Chalgathi, The Apocalypse Beasts World Quest, Panu:

Congratulations on being the 3rd person to collect all 5 Chalgathi artifacts.  Now that all artifacts have coalesced into one item set, you are to be given eventual access to the sub-event: Altars of Dread and Hope.

The Altars of Dread and Hope are exclusive areas designated by the Elysium Administrator, where only the chosen of the apocalypse beasts may enter after having acquired their given artifacts.  This applies to all apocalypse beasts, not only Chalgathi.  Here at the Altars of Dread and Hope you will be divided into two groups: Cultists and Non-Cultists.  As previously described, the outcomes of this world quest differ greatly depending on which of the chosen acquire the prizes for these quests.  Thus, cultists will be pitted against non-cultists when reaching these altars.  Non-Cultists across all three apocalypse beast categories will arrive at the Altar of Hope, and Cultists across all three apocalypse beast categories will arrive at the Altar of Dread.  It will be highly incentivized to work together with your given team upon arrival, and severe punishments will be handed down to those who intentionally harm any others within your own category while involving yourself in this sub-event of the questline; with more details to arrive upon event initiation.

The Altars of Dread and Hope will first open with an event initiation in 2 months, 19 days, and 11 hours from now.  Upon opening, the next phase of  World Quest 2, The Apocalypse Beasts will begin.  You can expect to enter an alternate pocket realm at that time along with other various people, places, artifacts, and events drawn in from around the multiverse; and can be expected to be gone for a minimum of 1 year’s time.  Participants who do not collect all of the necessary apocalypse beast artifacts upon event initiation will still be able to join the Altars of Dread and Hope sub-event upon completion of the item sets.]

He re-read the ‘2 months, 19 days, and 11 hours’ part.

Would that be enough time for him to heal?

And damn, being gone for an entire year or more… That was rough.

Had it really only been a month and a half since he’d collected Messenger?  So much had happened in that short amount of time… It was almost unfathomable.  His thoughts trailed back to that day, the day Athela had died - the day he’d saved Fay from the cultists.  He was simultaneously sad, angry, and happy all at once when thinking about it.  Sad because Fay had left, angry that the cultists had dared harm people he cared about, and happy that Athela had returned to him.

Perhaps it was selfish to think he was angry that things didn’t turn out better, given the ridiculous circumstances he was in.

Taking a look at his own spatial bag, he pulled out two objects.  The first was a system-proclaimed ‘treasure map’ related to a dao treasure of Sin that he’d acquired from finishing the quest to save Fay.  The other was a dao treasure related to Blood that Athela had acquired herself after the harbingers of Gluttony had been defeated in Mandon.

Unlike most treasure maps, this one was actually a 3-dimensional hologram.  It was created out of a small metal cylinder, with the top of the cylinder creating a very intricate diagram of a part of Panu from a zoomed-out view.

The hologram displayed a tropical island with a volcano at its center.  It had a very distinct boot-shaped protrusion that formed a cove on one side, with trees and other features on the island so tiny that they were smaller than a pinhead but still somewhat discernable.  The map spanned many meters across in any direction from the cylinder, and he was even able to get up and walk through it - identifying a glowing dot underneath the volcano through a large sprawling set of ancient ruins that were built into the ground underneath the island.  There, where a ruined city lay long forgotten by the looks of how decimated the architecture was, were flowing rivers of magma that eventually led to an odd-looking temple.

It was here, at this temple, that the icon continued to flash.

It had no description otherwise, no details, only the outline of the island, the ruins, and the path down the magma rivers leading to the temple where the dao treasure of sin was located.  The very large problem he now had though was that he had zero clue where this island was.  It could literally be anywhere, and he had no doubt that the combination of three merging planets would only make it all the harder to find.

But people in Chicago were already working on finding the treasure map’s location by using drones.  The mapping of Panu was underway, and  many of these drones were already far out to sea to the south of Dawn.  It might be a long time from now, but he’d find the island he was looking for eventually.

The dao treasure of Blood he already had, and it required a bonded partner to use it.  Probably made specifically for Athela by the system itself, it was shaped like a tear and fit in the palm of Riven’s hand - only being the size of a tennis ball, rounded with a point, and it glowed a bright red similar to the color of Riven’s eyes.

[Tear of the Blood Good (Legendary F-Grade Dao Treasure): Must have a bonded, contractual partner to use.  Reveals insights into the Dao of the Blood Subpillar and drastically increases the resilience and size of both partners’ Blood Pillars after use regardless of what your insights gain for you.]

It was perfect.  Not only because the Blood Subpillar was his specialty pillar, one that he had a 100% affinity for, not even because he had the accomplishment title of ‘Bloodthirsty’ that increased his damage output for any blood abilities he used.  No, it was perfect because this treasure in particular would be able to reinforce both his and Athela’s pillars - and perhaps it could even heal his blood pillar entirely.

He’d be finding out sooner rather than later, that was for sure.  He felt rather exposed the way he was right now, and was pretty certain that even the weaker members of the Thane Necropolis military could likely put him down in his current weakened state.  He needed to recover fast, and this treasure perhaps held the key.

“Do you intend to use it before you leave to meet with Hakim?” Genua asked curiously, cocking her head to the side.  “Or not until you get there?”

“Probably before.  Might as well use it here where I’m safe, rather than waiting until I’m in relatively unknown territory to expose myself if anything goes wrong.  But Athela has to get back first.  After that I plan to work a bit on totem making, power level Hakim and the others, then maybe go after this other dao treasure before Chalgathi’s quest happens if I’m recovered before then.”  Riven replied, putting the items both down on the stack of tomes next to his wheelchair and grunting with pained exertion upon turning the chair around.  “Oh boy… This chair is a real pain to use.  I don’t know how Lahn manages to…”

Riven’s voice trailed off, and he nearly staggered when his eyes locked on two figures standing at the corner of the building behind where Genua now stood.

Genua turned upon seeing his look of shock, then her eyebrows rose - and she quickly dismissed herself with a polite bow.  Walking away and past the other two women present, she made herself scarce and vanished from sight.

Athela stood beside Fay, holding hands with the other woman while smiling fondly down at Riven’s seated form.  Fay on the other hand looked incredibly nervous, avoiding eye contact and only managing to spare Riven brief glances while biting her lip.

Eventually, as the silence wore on and Azmoth turned to look as well, Athela nudged the horned succubus in the ribs and then gently shoved her forward.  “Go on.  I know you’ve been looking forward to this.”

Fay looked over her shoulder, legs shaking slightly, and her head hesitantly turned to look Riven’s way while her hands fidgeted with the long, white, silky hair trialing down her front.  She caught Riven’s watery gaze while he stared her down, and she gulped with a light wheeze.  “Hi… Riven.  It’s… It’s nice to see you again.”

Riven’s hands balled into fists, and his red eyes shamefully hit the floor, unable to meet Fay’s own while his body began to tremble.

“Are you unhappy to see me?” Fay asked worriedly, stepping back and almost tripping over her own feet.  “I-I can leave, if you want.  I just thought that maybe…”

Riven held up a hand, shaking his head.  He turned to stare at Athela, who gave him a warm, smiling nod, and then he turned his attention back to the succubus while slowly beginning to wheel himself over to where she stood.  Looking up at her and coming to a stop a foot away from the young woman, he barely got out a whisper while trying to contain his emotions.  “Are you here to stay?”

Fay bit her lip, trying hard to fight the urge to cry and failing.  “Do you want me to?”

“Of course I do.  I never wanted you to leave.”

Fay choked, and she nodded adamantly - kneeling down onto the dirt below and wrapping her arms around his waist while shuddering.  “Ok.  Then I’ll stay.”

Azmoth watched the silent, crying duo embrace one another before lumbering over to where Athela stood watching over them - arms crossed in satisfaction.  He turned to match her posture, looking back and forth between her and the succubus who was shaking in Riven’s arms.  “I surprised.”

“Are you now?” Athela asked curiously, raising an eyebrow up at the currently larger demon before lightly punching him in the shoulder.  “I’m full of surprises.”

He nodded in agreement.  “Yes, yes.  I proud of you.  Did you forgive?”

Athela let out a long sigh, and her shoulders relaxed while leaning into the armored titan beside her.  “Yes.  I did forgive her.”

“And she forgive you?”

“Yes.”

Azmoth smiled.  “Good.  Maybe it go back to way it was, or better.  I hope better.  You made Riven happy too.  The way he looking at you says lots.”

Athela blinked then followed Azmoth’s head-nod to where Riven was still sitting in his wheelchair, hands holding Fay’s kneeling figure while she quietly sobbed into his lap.  Happy tears trickled down his cheeks, and he was giving Athela the most genuine look of appreciation she’d ever seen.

Her heart nearly stopped, and a faint blush started overcoming her.  Then she straightened and huffed, pointing his way.  “I hope you appreciate the things I do for you, mister!  You don’t even WANT to know what I had to go through to get her here!  Hmph!”

With that, Athela twirled around - black hair swishing out behind her, and she made her way into the manor to get some food.  “Come on Azmoth!  Let’s get breakfast.  I’m starving, and a spider princess needs to keep up on her diet!”

Azmoth chuckled, gave Riven a wave, and then left with his friend to follow her inside.

Unbeknownst to Riven in that very moment, as his heart thundered approval with every beat while holding Fay close, his soul aperture was undergoing more changes than just a self repair.

Tendrils of sin energy were spreading from his Mark of the Sinner on his right arm, silently spreading like a cancer into the demolished pillars and scattered fragments littering his soul.  They pulled and pushed, yanking the pillars back together piece by piece - infusing each of them with Gluttony’s presence while the great maw watched in avid fascination.  It was a unique situation that the main body of Gluttony had not encountered before - having a harbinger finish his or her sinner’s mark immediately upon a soul shattering.

It provided a very unique opportunity to weasel himself inside, to circumvent laws that would otherwise keep him held back.

[Estimated time until soul repairs and symbiosis are complete: 16 days.]

“Riven…” The great maw hissed at its notification in the eternal black of its abyss - tendrils from the deep places of creation spiraling upwards and outwards, waiting for his soul to reform.  “Oh Riven… How I cannot wait to see how you turn out.  You and I… we’re going to be very close friends… Very… Close… Friends…”

This is the End of Book 4.  Thanks for reading!