BOOK 8 - PROLOGUE

“How long do you think you can live without a heart, husband?”

“Er–I uh…” Jake looked at the implements on the table as he thought about it. It wasn’t like him to become frazzled like this anymore, but Fhesiah had somehow managed it with that opener to the conversation. “I’m not sure that I want to find out.”

Fhesiah had called him into her alchemy room, and so he had teleported into the room near her. She was in her draconic form, wearing her red and gold cultivator robes like usual. Her golden, draconic eyes and long, straight black hair done up with elegant golden pins to match her bronze horns were striking. Her red and purple yin and yang flame sat in her bountiful chest, with a golden candle flame flickering in the center.

She was floating over what looked a lot like an operating table, with various scalpels, clips and clamps, a bone saw, and other surgical implements scattered on top of it.

With all the different alchemical processes going on in the room, it certainly looked a lot like a mad scientist’s lair. Cauldrons around the outskirts of the room bubbled, and pill furnaces let out herbal smoke as their flames underneath them flickered. There was a formation running around the floor of the room filled with Qi and ending up in the center where her special cultivation mat lay.

Fhesiah spent a lot of time in this room, and she would often consume pills and cultivate in this very same area as she worked and researched. It had several adjacent rooms where she could go to be more private or control the environment more and gather Qi or to sequester off various processes and tasks.

The room had evolved over the last few years. Herbal smoke and fumes were drawn up into a special exhaust, not influencing other processes within the room. Even Tanda’s nose wouldn’t have trouble in here any longer, the special energies properly contained where they belonged.

It had been nearly a week since their travel began toward The Burning Steps, with over three weeks remaining until they arrived to begin their serious Conquest and PvP efforts. Their armies were scheduled to arrive on all the worlds only a few days or weeks after Clan Hart landed, staggering their arrivals based on distance and time.

Jake was standing on the other side of the lab table looking at the tools, frowning.

She grinned, her pouty lips curling up to one side. “Oh, but I think you do want to find out. You see, I think if we gave you, Bloodberri, and Ophelia an Auril or Nethril Heart, it would increase your strength and survivability in a fight far beyond where it is now.”

He looked at her dubiously. Jake certainly saw the value in having access to a larger pool of Auril or Nethril within his body, and the heart and its song were what enabled the default connection and the ability to control the auril.

His Void-Divine Hearthian Core had amounts of each within and generated it, but it was nowhere near what an equal-level beastkin could have–10% of both storage and regeneration at best.

Better to have it than not, of course, and he used the two to fuel certain spells that were compatible enough to do so, as well as Celtic runes on his armor.

Still, surgery to replace his heart while he was alive was a bit iffy for him and sounded dangerous. “Do we really need that, though? It seems like we are already beating our enemies rather soundly. We crushed those two Champions in that Battleground with very little effort.”

Fhesiah grinned. “Hey, this conversation seems kind of familiar, doesn’t it? I seem to recall a prideful woman who refused to wear armor because their enemies were just so easy. Isn’t that what our enemy has always wanted us to think?” She gestured, and an image of the Champion of Eternal Night appeared. Its scorpion body was massive, and the humanoid body perched on top of it emanated malicious energies.

She said, “When I faced off against that Tier 3 Scorpion Rider, he was certainly much stronger than the other Tier 2 enemies, including those two we just faced. It’s true I wasn’t fully recovered from the previous battles, but even if I were… It’d have been too close for comfort, thanks to how they clearly chose someone who countered me. And there are stronger enemies than that.” The image changed to the gruesome Enforcer, its twisted maw on its obsidian frame, something that would haunt anyone’s dreams.

Jake realized what she was getting at. They had improved when their races became Tier 3 equivalents, but it wasn’t enough. There were also Tier 4 Champions, Enforcers, and special monsters prepared by ritual sacrifice, evil energy infusions from a Divine much like beast or monster avatars, and more. While the ability for his family to call their Divine was powerful, Tartarus always did what it could to stack the encounters against them to where that just wasn’t enough.

And the great game wasn’t exactly fair to individual participants or even the individual worlds involved. As the Framework and Tartarus saw it, if they sent a Tier 4 Champion to squash them, they would have an advantage. Both from experience, skills maxed out to the peak of the current Tier they were competing at, and also special elements that simply caused them to perform better than those at the previous, such as higher energies or a more powerful, yet limited soul.

If that Tier 4 deigned itself to come down to a Tier 2 Conflict, it couldn’t always be somewhere else, even with projections. They didn’t know a ton

about them just yet, but a large portion of their ability to be in more than one place at a time was merely for travel and positioning. How many places projections could participate in battle simultaneously was still a limiting factor.

The dungeon would be using a limited resource to tip the scales of a lower one, so its loss in opportunity was what made things ‘fair.’ There were a few other checks and balances as well regarding their usage of such a weapon. It may allow the other faction to use one, but Jake and his family’s complaints over such a thing occurring would reach deaf ears. Their only choice was to do everything in their power to win, to gain a significant benefit instead.

Because there was one more advantage to them as individuals. The Tier 4 entity was essentially wagering a Tier 4 Spark for a chance to only gain a Tier 2 one. This was why when Jake’s party won two Tier 3 Sparks and whatever the hell an Enforcer gave, it was such a tremendous victory and upset of the enemy.

He sighed as she let the image flicker out. “I get it, we might be a better match for the third Tier Champions now, but there are those above that. Lia certainly couldn’t defeat the Enforcer all on her own besides. It’s questionable if any of us could even now. We should grasp onto whatever strength we can.” He thought about it a little more. “What about the…hearth vines? I guess…with our hearth mana, we don’t need it as much now.”

After Tanda and everyone else became a Hearthian, the disruption of mana usage from auril heart beats was far less of an issue. The density of everyone’s mana was greater, and their control over it was far superior, leading it to be less of a problem to control both energies at the same time. And Tanda had only truly needed it as part of the Divine’s plan to shift her auril heart into a hearth–something Jake already had.

Not only that, but the fact that her heart and hearth were cyclical meant she had no issues casting spells. Thanks to this, she was often working on her runes along with Blood, learning that death and darkness were quite compatible. It was much less work to take the spells Blood already made and try to swap out death with nethril for the spells.

Then, Jake had found that he could easily merge his hearth mana with auril, at least within his body, empowering it further. As a Hearthian, the amount of Hearth mana he had was a much larger percentage of his total, when it used to be way under half.

They had also learned that they could really only provide the Hearth vines to clergy dedicated to Divine in which hearths were compatible for the beastkin–Hestia, Brigid, Vesta, Bastet, and Arawn. If Lugh or others like Guan Yu were compatible at all, they couldn’t achieve it currently. Since the only benefit it now provided Tanda was her ability to refine and enhance seeds, it was certainly not something Jake required to benefit from an auril or nethril heart.

Fhesiah nodded. “The auril heart beating does disrupt mana, but your hearthian core’s mana has made that less of an issue for you. Plus, if we were auril heroes in truth…”

Jake could see the value in that. The full control of auril and nethril outside of their bodies might allow for more interesting usages, in addition to casting. He and the girls could currently act like auril heroes merely by using their Expert Energy Manipulation and harmonizing with it through Tanda or Avalara.

But because the amount they had access to was rather pathetic, their ability to use it had been limited. Being able to control it at all was great, but it was not the instinctual usage that a true Auril Hero could accomplish. Not only that, this harmonization was truly too slow to use in deadly combat, and Jake only valued it when he took on Avalara’s state of the Archon. It was one of the things they wanted to potentially gain. The other tool they were interested in was something related to Divine Sense or just heavenly energy in general.

“And why not you or Nessa, then?”

“I’ve already got two bloodlines and two weird templates for bodies that I need to balance. Adding something like that will be even more complicated, more complex than it is for you. That’s not even considering how life and death fit into the picture of my flames themselves or how it might go against my cultivation, my harmonization with the heavens using Qi. The latter is the same for Nessa, though I don’t think it’s impossible for her. I just think something else might be more fitting in her case.”

Jake argued, “But I have a bloodline too. A difficult one. And I need to remain balanced. Is auril something I want always running through my body?”

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As it stood now, auril and nethril were sort-of waiting within his hearth, and some of it seeped into his cells, much like Fhesiah’s Qi or the other energies. This was part of why he benefited from stats and the core refining him in the first place.

It certainly didn’t have as much output or effect on his body as his own auril heart, nor did he have a ton stored in his own body to replenish it, as his heart beat like a beastkin did. Instead, it was replenished from the void, just like mana–from Avalara and Tanda’s connections.

Fhesiah was thoughtful for a minute but replied, “True, but the Framework did award you with this tailored reward. It means it must have some level of compatibility.”

“That should be right, but who says it's in this way? And will the Framework really let us change our bodies like that? I recall you said we had to fight it in order to make the mana core before. This should be…kinda like that, right?”

Fhesiah smirked at him and took on a teasing tone as she shook her head, “My, my, Husband. Could it be that you don’t want to do this? You sure are offering a lot of objections.” She picked up a bone saw and turned it on, the high-pitched buzz filling his ears as it spun. “Could it be that you’re afraid, scared of this little bone saw?”

Jake narrowed his eyes on Fhesiah. “You started this conversation with, how long do you think you can you live without a heart? I think I have a pretty good excuse to be a bit wary.”

Fhesiah chuckled, her tail lashing behind her. “Fair. Anyway, I think we just have to overcome the Framework working against you to apply the previous template. If we put forth enough effort, it should work.”

Jake thought about it as he looked over the tools. “How are you wanting to accomplish this, specifically? Helping with your Flesh-shaping skill?”

“Pretty much.”

“What makes you think you can be successful, and what the hell are all the tools here for then?”

“Ambiance.” Fhesiah deadpanned as she turned the bone saw on again and then angled it toward her own hand too quickly for him to react. The saw shredded itself against her draconic skin, and shards of the saw were sent flying throughout the room–her skin was simply too hard for the mundane tool to penetrate. “Hehe, see? Just a toy.”

Jake groaned but couldn’t help but chuckle a little. To think she lined up all those tools just for the joke.

She gave a small smile as she continued, “As for how, it’s that personalized reward you and some of us received, the [Elixir of Boundless Life]. It’s a Potential Improving Item that is meant to increase someone’s life affinity, but it says that it can have effects on Origins compatible with life energy to improve what makes them special. Then, by mixing it with tons of auril, it should help the auril energy stick. We also have more than one of these, and in our dungeon diving, we’ve obtained a few items that might just supplement it. In addition to some high-quality auril pills that are at the peak of our Tier, I’ve refined some treasures for some additional life energy, and so did Nessa.”

Jake nodded. “I did hear that the beastkin had found a similar treasure, and it improved their Auril Heart much like Tanda’s was originally improved by becoming Cernunnos’ Champion, having the same Improved Auril Heart trait. Then, there was the treant of Lugh that created his auril heart, but it seemed that they had earned something from their Tier Up. Then, it was definitely the Framework helping him with that, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t we just use this on Tanda, then? She even has the high vitality body from her Diva Seal. It’s even more likely she would benefit.”

Fhesiah shook her head. “I think that would be a waste. The girl is already steeped in life energies above our Tier–a higher energy, probably higher than what is inside that elixir. I’m willing to wager that if she received a benefit at all, it would be minuscule. With just a few drops of this thing, we can power through whatever problem is caused by creating an organ not meant for you and do this for the three of you.”

Jake could see what she meant. “Wouldn’t it be better if I had the skill too, in that case? Flesh shaping. I could help, then.”

“Maybe. Part of what makes me able to gain that skill at all is my Divine Sense, monitoring the body at a cellular level as I alter it and stimulate those changes with Qi. And that I, as a demoness, are familiar with modifying my body–being a dragon sure doesn’t hurt, either. This is yet another reason why it’d help if you had Divine Sense to help you with obtaining it. But maybe with your Umbral Gaze? Still, you did remind me of something. Bloodberri recently obtained the skill. She did want her juicy booty after all! Perhaps she is in fact the best test subject.”

Jake frowned. “I can’t really see at that kind of level with my Umbral Gaze, at least I don’t think. Regarding Bloodberri, I’m not sure I like that idea–”

Bloodberri appeared in motes of light, her tail coiled underneath her. Sitting next to Fhesiah, aside from being massive, the two practically looked like they could be sisters above the waist. She had white hair and golden, slitted eyes. Golden scales to go along with her pale skin and dark draconic horns.

Right now, she wore what were her usual ‘home clothes,’ a simple outfit that would almost be fitting at a gym. A tight white tank top that looked like it could be made out of spandex or similar fabric held her massive chest, and then a black tennis skirt hid her privates.

Berri said, “Let’s do it. Besides, if I get really good at it, then I can transform my body any time! I’m already almost done with my juicy booty, but that was too easy to get all that much practice.”

She turned around and lifted up her skirt a little. Jake could see the distinct shape of the butt she had been working on where the snake portion of her body began. Of course, she always had to wear a strange sort of band of clothing to hide her private parts in the front, but now it had a distinct…booty shape in the back.

Fhesiah smiled. “That’s right, you are chimerical. It will probably be a useful skill for you to improve, and working on something like this will improve it even quicker.”

Jake noticed that she did now have the Flesh-shaping skill, just at a low level. “Wait, she doesn’t have a sight skill. How did she obtain it?”

Berri beamed. “I’m super awesome, is why.”

Fhesiah chuckled. “That’s at least partially right. I guess it’s in part something that her body can merely do. Hers is a bit more instinctual than mine, even considering my dragon heritage. I think how she uses her bone crafting versus how Ophelia does forging is a great analogy. Ophelia meticulously builds an item block by block or blow-by-blow and layer by layer, and Bloodberri merely sculpts bones and hides like clay, almost like it is a part of her. I think this is like an extension of that.”

Jake suddenly understood that Fhesiah might be well prepared for this. “I see. So this was why you’ve spent so much time observing Jasmina, the Naga King and octopus template, and spent so much time scanning that treant of Lugh with your Divine Sense. Then, you’ve spent so much time with Bree and Avalara’s true avatar. It was all in preparation for this.”

“Don’t forget me observing all these materials and testing them! I would never take my dear sister wives' or husband’s health lightly. I believe we can do this.”

“What do Nessa or Bree say about this, creating special organs? Could they even say anything?”

Fhesiah chuckled. “Bree is really limited. She froze up weirdly when I asked. For Nessa, as part of her entry to this Sector, sharing her knowledge was somewhat restricted. But she knew a few facts that could piece it together. Nessa, care to chime in?”

[Hang on, let me…finish something real quick.]

They waited a minute, and then the blue-haired Nessa entered from the adjacent room where her cold-flame alchemy station was located. “Sorry. Was working on some more pills. The Refuge Hearth is amazing! I can accomplish so much in here.”

She arrived next to Jake, kissing him on the cheek and hugging him tightly, her tail wrapping around his leg. “There’s a few details I can talk about, since you already learned some facts about this in a sense. You know how the Framework revives cultivators who fail an ascension, right?”

Fhesiah nodded. “In a way, we get a free try, and two in total.”

Nessa said, “If they failed because they weren’t ready or their foundations weren’t stable enough, they would die in the process but still respawn. But if they did it again…well, then they wouldn’t.”

Jake had heard that after a failed ascension, the Framework sold a sort of ‘ascension kit’ that would aid them in successfully ascending. It would form a sort of scaffolding that a cultivator would have to slowly build up and alter their foundations within their Spiritual Temple into to help them be successful., almost like the Celestial Nexus that Fhesiah participated in.

However, there were downsides, and it was even more than just that. Depending on their path, they would be forced to deviate away from their personal path to essentially a prescribed and approved one and earn the various portions of the prescription when it came to treasures, cultivation techniques, and more. In a way, it was like an ascension quest that they had to complete or risk their own deaths the second time.

Knowing the stubbornness of cultivators…many might just do that, rather than deviate from their path. If Fhesiah had failed to make her special core the first time, she might have been forced to make a much simpler one or die trying the second time.

Fhesiah added, “So we have at least one try per person to try modifying our bodies in this way. Beyond that, we’ll have to rely entirely on the Framework or risk permanent death.”

Jake noted, “This feels a little strange. Why can’t we do this unlimited times? We could even cast the resurrection spell ourselves.”

Nessa replied, “The Framework does protect our lives and souls, but it does not allow or aid human experimentation, even on yourself. It’s in the same vein as human sacrifice and similar. However, there is a little bit of leeway in that you get one free try for things like this.”

The spell of resurrection was definitely Framework-assisted. Otherwise, it would only be a spell that Tier 4 people and above could even possibly cast, and even then, only people specialized or otherwise having a mastery over the soul. It made sense that if they broke the rules, it would just…not assist them.

Nessa added, “When it comes to the body, the Framework and Tartarus don’t much care. It’s when it deals with the soul, and well…an auril heart connects to the soul. The true catastrophe will be the mind or soul being damaged, and the Framework needing to protect it from our own actions. Most mystical organs connect to the soul in some way; it’s what makes them special and able to control various energies in the first place.”

Jake sighed. “Alright, fine. So we want to give it a shot with her first and then think about it for the rest?”

“Nope! I got a new idea. For her.”

Jake groaned. “That’s really not what I want to hear this late in the game. It sounds like you’re not ready for this at all.”

“My plan was to start with you, but you were the one who was… afraid.” She smirked. “Just playing. But now, I just remembered Bloodberri gets benefits based on what she eats. So…maybe we should have her eat a bunch of auril hearts first. We have several from auril beasts, both herbivore and predator, and then some aquatic ones–the octopus and a few more.”

“Kay.” Berri didn’t mind one bit.

Jake grimaced. “That…well, that makes a sort of sense. So we’re not doing this right now, right?”

Fhesiah shrugged. “I guess not, but it won’t actually take her that long. You were going to work on Nessa’s hearth enchantment, weren’t you? Then we can meet back and try to get it done.”

He looked over at Nessa, who had been attached to his side every chance she got since the trip to The Burning Steps had begun. “You’re right, I guess it’s best to stop putting it off.”

Nessa blushed. “It’s okay. I know you are just wanting to know me even better first. I’ll try to help.”

“Let’s go.”