The next hour flew by. If not for my nethersight, it was possible the stygians could’ve outrun us, but with it, catching the creatures was child’s play.


    Nor was what followed any harder.


    Four hundred stygians were a lot to face head on. But four hundred stygians fleeing and steadfastly refusing to engage? Well, that was as simple as picking stragglers from a herd.


    Lurking around the edges of the stygian formation, I charmed, paralyzed, or slept small groups of the creatures, isolating them from the rest. Then, Ghost and I laid into the bespelled stygians with tooth and claw.


    The overlord didn’t try to stop us.


    Keeping up its relentless retreat, north, northeast, the stygian Power didn’t so much as throw an errant nether blob our way. Nor did it release any of the flying serpents perched on its surface.


    I could still have charmed them from afar, of course, but not wanting to reveal any more of my capabilities to the void tree—which I had to assume was ‘watching’ the battle from afar—I didn’t try.


    For the same reason, I stayed invisible and reconsidered my decision to use fearsome aura. I would have to put all my abilities in play eventually, no doubt, but for now, the less the stygians knew about my wolf form the better.


    Two hours into the skirmish—battle was too grand a word for it—the overlord crossed the river, leaving the remaining ground-bound stygians stranded on the same side of the river as my familiar and me.


    “Where is it going?” Ghost wondered.


    “Back to the void tree and the stygian nest, I suspect,” I replied.


    Ghost turned my way. “Why?”


    I gave a lupine shrug. “Probably because it realizes it’s too vulnerable out here alone.”


    The pyre wolf’s head swung back to the river. “We’re just going to let it go?” she asked, sounding disappointed.


    “Today we are. But it won’t reach its destination today. Or even tomorrow for that matter. The overlord moves too slowly for that.”


    “What happens tomorrow?” Ghost asked, sensing something in my voice.


    “Tomorrow, it dies,” I replied flatly.


    The pyre wolf bobbed her head, taking me at my word. “And them?” she asked, gesturing toward the hydras and serpents still milling about the water’s edge.


    “Them, we kill today,” I growled.


    ? ? ?


    The remaining stygians chose to scatter.


    I wasn’t sure if that was because of some final command by the overlord or whether it was a result of the stygian Power finally losing its hold over the creatures. Still, Ghost and I weren’t about to let our prey get away so easily.


    Tracking the stygians, we hunted them down one by one. It was a task that was tedious and time-consuming but without any real danger, and deciding to make the most of the opportunity, Ghost and I trained as many skills as we could. I even went so far as to use ventro again and limit the use of my more powerful abilities.


    A few hours before midnight, we ran down the last stygian. But despite the lateness of the hour and the day’s surprising turn of events, I was pleased by what we’d accomplished. Both Ghost’s and my own skills had advanced appreciably.


    You and Ghost have reached level 252!


    Your tooth and claw (shortswords), channeling, and meditation have reached rank 22, your two weapon fighting and telekinesis rank 20, and your nether absorption rank 21.


    Ghost’s magma maw and telepathy have reached rank 12, her ash armor rank 14, her death magic rank 10, and her nether manipulation rank 6.


    “Well, Ghost,” I said, turning to my familiar, “that took longer than we expected, but I can’t say we have any cause for—”


    I broke off as another string of Game messages scrolled through my mind.


    Your nether absorption has increased to level 213, increasing your chance of resisting harmful nether effects by 52.5% and decreasing the damage you suffer from the void by 105%.


    Congratulations, Michael! Your nether damage reduction has surpassed 100%, transforming it from a reduction buff and into a regeneration one. In future, any nether damage you sustain will restore a portion of the applicable energy pools.


    Your current nether regeneration rate is: 5%.


    The nether toxicity at your current location is at tier 4.


    Based on this, your health, psi, stamina, and mana are regenerating at a rate of 1.25% per minute.


    My nostrils flared in surprise, and if I had been in human form, I would’ve laughed out loud, too. It was not so long ago that I’d been singing the praises of resistance and recounting—if only to myself—why it was better than damage reduction.


    The latest series of Game messages gave me cause to reevaluate.


    Was it better to enjoy total immunity—inclusive of spells—or to be healed every time I was attacked?


    Damn, if I know, I thought.


    Picking between resistance and reduction would be horribly difficult, and I was just glad that, having both, I didn’t need to.


    Ghost yawned mightily. “Are we done here?” She prodded the corpse at her feet with her nose. “Or are you planning on looting these?”


    I shook my head firmly. The four hundred odd stygian bodies were spread out over an area of a few square miles, and I was not about to tramp back and forth between them, collecting reagents—and certainly not in human form.


    “No, it’s time we rejoin the others,” I said, drawing psi. “Let me shift back, then we can leave.”


    ? ? ?Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    You have taken the form of a level 252 human.


    Warning: you have cast shapeshift twice in one day and cannot recast it again today. The ascendant ability requires a full sleep cycle to recharge.


    Ghost has unmanifested.


    Portal scroll consumed.


    You have opened a greater portal within sector 18,240.


    I stepped directly from the mist-filled plains and into the cool darkness of the cave that was to be our new home.


    Only it was not so dark—nor cool for that matter.


    You have entered a tier 5 concealment field.


    You have triggered the ward: fly-trap!


    Before I could react, strands of steely silk wrapped around my torso. Yanking me off my feet, they pinned me against the closest wall.


    You are stuck (duration: 25 seconds).


    I sighed. This again?


    “I see you’re not wasting time, Adriel,” I said loudly, the words reverberating from the stone walls. “You’ve fortified the place already?”


    The lich’s rich laugh floated from somewhere out of sight. “Oh, that’s not my doing.”


    I frowned. Fly-trap didn’t sound like a spell that would belong in an aetherist’s spellbook. “Saf?”


    Her chuckle echoed Adriel’s amusement. “The ward is not mine either.”


    My consternation grew. “Then who—”


    You have passed a Perception check! You have detected a neutral entity.


    Lucius is no longer hidden!


    The shadows unraveled and a shape appeared above me. Craning my neck back, I tensed, drawing psi, and was about ready to shadow blink when I realized what—or who—I was staring at.


    A possessed.


    Or rather a former possessed in a new golem body.


    It had taken inexcusably long for my brain to catch up with what my eyes were seeing. But in my defense, everything about the golem screamed of danger, and my instincts had taken over.


    Then, too, the golem in question—Lucius—was upside down.


    My eyes flitted from Adriel’s silently descending creation to the silk threads holding it—him—up. Each of the six steel-like bands was as thick as a rope and affixed to the roof of the cavern itself.


    How did he get all the way up there? I wondered. Lowering my head, I tracked Lucuis as he descended from the stone ceiling.


    The golem was humanoid in shape and slightly larger than me. In texture and color, his skin—is that the right word? somehow it didn’t feel correct—was identical to the nagas’ scales. But I could perceive no joints. The golem’s outer layer was one seamless whole—unblemished and bearing an ebon sheen.


    But for all that, Lucius looked… unfinished.


    For one, the golem was completely hairless, and for another, while all his limbs appeared meticulously crafted and as about as supple and flexible as any player’s, they lacked the finer details that often characterized people.


    Lucius’ eyes were orbless, his head bald, his face unwrinkled, and his limbs unlined. More telling yet, the golem was androgynous, and his torso bore no genitalia of any sort.


    Adriel spoke truly, I thought.


    She’d given Lucius a functional body, if not a human-appearing one. Certainly, there was no mistaking the golem for anything other than what it was—a construct.


    The former possessed drew to a stop at eye level with me and our gazes met. “Lucius, I presume?”


    The golem nodded. “Well met, Wolf.” Lucius’ tone was warm and smooth, and surprisingly lacking in any mechanical overtones.


    I tugged on the silk cords binding me. “Mind letting me down?” I jerked my head toward him. “And while you’re at it, how about turning yourself right side up? Conversing this way is far from comfortable.”


    Lucius shrugged. “As you wish.”


    While the golem set about unraveling his spell, I looked past him and took in the cavern at large. A lot had changed in the hours I’d been away.


    The left side of the cavern had been reconfigured as a storeroom. Heaps of furs, bone sleds piled with food, ebon mounds of naga scales, and even huge blocks of ice sat there, all carefully sorted and arrayed in neat lines.


    The right side of the cavern had been claimed by the Packs, and everywhere I looked, I spotted dire and arctic wolves lounging at rest and pups gamboling in play. To my great relief, all the wolves were present and accounted for.


    Safyre, Shael, and Anriq have done well, I thought. Not only had they evacuated both Packs, they’d even managed to relocate the bulk of our supplies, and all in less than a day.


    Speaking off the trio…


    My gaze drifted to the far end of the cavern where Adriel, the pack elders, and Safyre were gathered around the Astral Rings. They appeared deeply involved in another rehoming ritual, which explained their truncated greetings and resulting silence.


    Shael and Anriq meanwhile were busy in the center of the cavern doing…


    I squinted. From the looks of it, the pair were building something made from bone, metal, and bits of wood. Hmm, now what are—


    A fly-trap has dissipated. You are no longer stuck.


    I broke off as my silken cage vanished. Controlling my fall, I dropped lightly onto the cave floor. A second later, the golem flipped himself over and thumped down beside me.


    I winced as the ground shuddered at the impact.


    “I do not like this body,” Lucius said flatly, noticing my expression. “It’s too heavy.”


    I shrugged. “It was the best we could do under the circumstances.”


    “You promised us flesh bodies,” Lucius said, not letting the matter go.


    I folded my arms. “I did. But I also promised that you would serve out the rest of your lives as soldiers of New Haven. That’s not happening either.” I held the golem’s eerily-dead gaze. “A lot has happened since my speech in the archlich’s court, and none of us have any choice but to adapt to the situation we find ourselves in.”


    The golem’s expression did not shift, not even a little, and I got the sense that it could not. No facial muscles? I wondered.


    Lucius tilted his head to the side. “Adapt or die, is that it?”


    “Pretty much,” I said evenly. “You can either pledge yourself to our cause or choose to end your life here and now—a life, mind you, that you artificially extended at the expense of countless innocents.”


    For a drawn-out moment, Lucius said nothing, leaving me to wonder what he was thinking. The choice I’d bluntly offered him was a harsh one, deliberately so. I could have sweetened the deal, I suppose. But that would have been an injustice.


    The former possessed were criminals. I could not forget that, nor would I allow them to. Yes, I was offering them a chance at redemption, but until they had proven themselves, I would trust them no further than necessary, nor would I pander to their wants and desires.


    “You speak plainly,” Lucius said at last. “I like that.” Before I could say anything, he went down on bended knee. “To whom or what do I pledge?”


    My eyes darted to the back of the cave. “Did Adriel not explain?”


    Lucius chuckled. “The lich does not explain. She commands, she instructs, and sometimes she may even stoop to asking. But explain? Never. I was told simply to guard the cave and await your return.”


    I stroked my chin. “I see. Then, in that case, we’ll need to have a longer conversation. But that can wait for later. For now, you will make your pledge to the Forerunners faction.”


    “A faction,” Lucius murmured. “How fascinating.” Without needing further instruction, he bowed his head and made his pledge, which I accepted.


    You have accepted Lucius, a non-player, into the Forerunners faction. Lucius is free to break his pledge of loyalty at any time and without consequences. As are you. However, until such time as the Forerunners disavow the golem—or vice versa—he will be considered the faction’s sworn servant, and his actions will reflect on it.


    His oath made, Lucius rose smoothly to his feet. “Now that that is out of the way, will you tell me what I am?” he asked plaintively. Extending his arms, the golem stared down at them. “This substance… I do not recognize it.”


    My brows rose. “Adriel did not tell—” I broke off. “Forgive me, it’s obvious from your question that she didn’t. Let me analyze you.”


    Reaching out with my will, I inspected Lucius.


    The target is Lucius, a level 210 nagian mage hunter.


    Nagians, so-named for the nagas which birthed them, are a new type of flesh-construct. Created from bestial remains, pure void crystals, and condensed nether, they are equally at home in the Nethersphere as they are in the Kingdom.


    Nagians are heavily resistant to physical damage and also suffer no damage from free-floating nether. Moreso, while surrounded by mist, nagians require neither food nor drink, and take sustenance directly from the nether itself. Note, a nagian’s immunity to free-floating nether does not extend to other forms of necrotic attacks and spells.


    I read the Adjudicator’s response aloud for Lucius’ benefit and could feel his shock. I was a little bemused myself. Adriel had created something unique—again. Was there no end to her creativity?


    “How did Adriel make me immune to the void’s touch?” Lucius demanded. “And why would she bother?”


    “That’s part of the wider discussion we need to have,” I replied carefully. “Come on, let’s rejoin the others, and I’ll explain.”