For the Record

The former eldra’s glaring doesn’t stop as she continues tearing through wave after wave of goblins…

I guess I may as well take a peek at her progress. It’s a bit more difficult than just pulling up her Status through our bond… considering we don’t have one.

No, not even Erebus made a bond with this poor creature. I’m guessing the intent was just to keep those thralls around as convenient fodder.

But even after three hundred years of killing goblins…

[Vampire Thrall (Least) – Nerin – Level 673]

Yeah, I guess this confirms a few things. First of all, she’s not even capable of choosing a Class, let alone an evolution. It makes me wonder how exactly wild monsters evolve.

You know, like I did over a thousand years ago.

…

Maybe it’s just that she’s been so busy fighting nonstop that she hasn’t had the time? Not sure I want to test that though, she might take an evolution that specializes in killing goblins or something…

Which means it’s up to me to do it for her.

Well, first things first I guess. An evolution, a beneficial one.

Thanks to the words of creation, it’s dirt simple to pull up a list of evolutionary options Nerin is ready for. Although… sure enough, most of them aren’t that impressive.

And all of them are some kind of undead.

Even worse… most of them are some kind of vampire, meaning existing on my plane to begin with is a limited proposition at best.

What’s even the point of evolving my old acquaintance if she’s just going to painfully disintegrate a soon as she steps outside?

No, I have to figure something else out.

…

Although…

I wonder.

…

…

I’m going to try it.

So I take a moment to plan how exactly I want to do this… I haven’t done this before, after all.

I don’t even know if it will work, but if it does I’m sure Nerin would appreciate it.

Well, no time like the present. And so I begin speaking the words.

…

In a flare of light and series of what I’m sure are painful screams, the vampire thrall begins undergoing her changes. Extensive ones.

They begin with ripples traveling over her flesh in ways that flesh was never meant to move, and after what is probably an agonizing half hour, she’s finally done.

And lifts her head to look around and blink.

“W-where…”

“Hello, Nerin. Welcome back. Sorry it took so long, I guess…?”

…

…

“You can’t see in the dark, can you?” I finally ask as the former thrall looks around the room vacantly. And then she shakes her head.

“I see. Aaaaand now you can.”

Nerin flinches and blinks again before more meaningfully taking in her surroundings… and then her gaze stops on me. “Where am I? What happened?”

I shrug lightly. “Erebus’ shock troops turned you into a vampire, and then turned you loose on my plane. I put together a curse with Artemis’ help to kill vampires in moonlight – oh right, we restored the moon too. And the stars, the night sky. Anyway –”

“You can do that!?” my old… friend? Exclaims.

“Yes, I absolutely can and did. It’s done. If I wasn’t a god before I absolutely am now. Probably more. But you don’t need to know about that right now. Anyway, you should probably look at your Status. I think you might be pleased.”

…

“I’m… I’m what? What is this? I’ve never heard of a ‘high eldra’ before.”

“I hadn’t either, but it’s what you are now. It’s something that was in your previous evolutionary progression tree… eldras can become a number of things, but it looked like the top of the tree was high eldra. The description said something about them being the most respected and long-lived of tribal elders? Do eldra live in tribes?”

“Some do, I think. In the forests of… of… where am I from?”

I just shrug back. “I don’t remember either. Not because I’ve forgotten, I’m just pretty sure that back then I didn’t care. I sort of still don’t, but I do a little bit as well. Maybe we can ask someone else later, or you’ll just remember. Either way, congratulations, you’re not a mindless undead anymore. Also I think if you get another uhhhh two hundred or so System levels I could make you some kind of god too. Or goddess. Whatever. Maybe I could kill Ebisu and give you his mantle… You liked being a merchant, right?”

“I… I don’t remember. I don’t remember a lot of things, I think. It’s not that… that… I can tell there are things missing. Gaps. Holes.”

Nerin finally rises to her feet from the feral crouch she’d assumed, most likely a reflex after so many years of slaughtering weak monsters.

“Oh, and you need to pick a Class. Turning into some kinds of monsters removes your current one, like it did to you. Usually when I make people into monsters though, they get a new one from me automatically. Looks like using the words of creation to change a person’s race doesn’t do that though.

…

Her sudden silence is most definitely looking through what I don’t doubt is an extensive list of options… But before I forget.

“Here, let me do you another favor.”

Without another word, I immediately declare her as mine in my mind. And sure enough, a fresh bond flares up among the others.

She apparently felt it too, considering the sudden surprise on her face. “What just happened?”

“Simple. I made you mine. Now no one can take you away from me again.”

And there’s worry. Good to know she trusts me.

We have a long way to go here. Nerin has a lot she needs to relearn…

But I’m sure she’d be happy in some kind of administrative whatsit or even helping Tathra. I guess we’ll see.

***

Good idea or not, I left Nerin with Nula for some degree of relearning… well, everything. Either way, it’s nice enough to have my first mortal contact back, I guess.

Why did I leave her behind? Simple.

Or so I muse as I sip my flute of god’s blood, grandmother to one side and Sekhmet at the other.

The other gods here don’t seem particularly happy about our presence, whether by reputation or our discordant hum of malevolence washing over those gathered. Sure, we’ve had a few visitors from time to time…

The most recent of whom is Eris.

“Are you here entirely to cause trouble or is there some other purpose? Because if only the former, I’d like to politely ask you to leave. We’re trying to have a pleasant evening here.”

I shrug. “No, I just haven’t been at one of these in a very, very long time, and was curious why grandmother still frequents them.”

“I, for one,” Lamashtu comments, “am most certainly here to rile up your crowd. Look at them scurry and stare! Fear must be cultivated lest it die on the vine.”

“Aha. Ahaha. Very funny.”

“I intended no humor.”

Sekhmet looks like she’d rather be anywhere else, absolutely anywhere else, as I smile and offer her a light shrug. “She’s just like this. You get used to it.

And then out of nowhere, that damnable pink succubus materializes behind Eris… already embracing her in a way even most primitive mortals wouldn’t in public. Her target’s squeak of surprise is actually kind of entertaining.

“Hello, poppet,” Eros hisses in her ear.

“A-ah! J-just what do you think you’re doing!?”

Giggling back, the succubus runs her hands even more places she probably shouldn’t.

“That’s enough. Stop,” I intone with an edge of command, forcing pressure through our bond.

Her squeak nearly echoing Eris’ a short moment ago, the demoness promptly lets go and vanishes…

…Only to appear clinging to me instead. “Oho? Being jealous are we? Don’t worry, darling, there’s plenty of me to share. See? Here I am!”

I sigh, but I guess introductions are in order.

“Eris, meet Eros. Eros, Eris.”

“Charmed I’m sure,” the goddess of strife deadpans. “Never touch me again.”

“Are you sure? I can be quite enticing.”

“No, I’d call it pushy. And weird,” I interject. “Stick to the mortals, I don’t want to have to extract you from any problems you’d definitely cause. At least the mortals won’t declare war on my plane, in any meaningful way at least.”

She shrugs back without loosening her grip on me in any way. “If you say so I guess, but I’ve already formed a handful of connections this way. Are you sure?”

And I sigh again. “I probably can’t stop you anyway, not without constantly monitoring you, and I’m not going to do that.”

“And why not? You used to love watching me.”

“Because you’re pushy and weird, that’s why.”

Out of nowhere Hades appears from my shadow and clobbers Eros right in the face, resulting in another squeak of surprise… and me almost following her flying from my chair, saved only by my pitch-black wife wrapping me up instead and promptly climbing in my lap.

“Hello dear,” I say quietly to her as she presses her face into my neck, a habit she’s been practicing regularly. “You’ve gotten quite strong, haven’t you?”

I can’t see her face, but I can tell she’s answering me with a smile.

…While the displaced succubus curses up a storm in a language I don’t yet know.