SK4 - Chapter 1 - Shara - The Raw Deal (Patreon)

Shara watched a distance from behind, as Nick and his strange bird of ice moved through the caverns, leading her people to safety. The bird tried to ride him at first, but he slapped it, causing it to squawk with anger.

Eventually, they managed to settle into a pattern of moving through the cave, Birdy watching over the Star Oni from ledges while Nick led from the front. The Star Oni men were excellent scouts, but simply too limited with their Qi restricted. 

Shara observed a few Star Oni couples walking through the caves with a sigh. Holding hands, smiling, laughing, chatting happily, the mood was positive. Seeing them so happy warmed her heart a little, but the fact that all the couples looked the same increased her anxiety.

She had always imagined and dreamed about her Fated, picturing him as a Star Oni man. Rugged. Handsome. Maybe a bit more muscular than her father, like her uncle instead.

Learning that he already had seven wives, with the stars only knowing how many were on the way, had shattered her. She was filled with rage, that it was like her one true love of her life was already taken away from her by another.

Thankfully, after taking out her ire on a small and weak stone, she was able to mostly calm herself. That was before he had even met her, and could she really blame him for that? And then, it seemed that he was certainly not taken away, and didn’t mention that he had any problems with more wives like her.

She stewed on it over the last few days, and she was still a little hurt and confused. Shara had even talked with one of her cousins and asked for advice, for a friend–herself. What would her cousin do if her Fated already had several wives or dao partners when she met them?

Her aunt had overheard the question, and her answer was the same as her cousin’s. Why, pound them all into the ground with their clubs, of course! The Star Oni had long-since learned that both sides must remain faithful to one another, or their trust would be broken and often, death would quickly claim them.

To pursuit the dao with one another–to become dao partners–required a trust that went beyond being both husband and wife. Cultivation was a practice that defied the heavens, and required countless resources to reach the peak. 

To work together for each other’s success meant they must be selflessly devoted to one another, and their paths. With their fates intertwined, this only made sense. To add another into this was to invite calamity, as how could the other be truly devoted to sharing the resources of a fate not theirs?

But Nick’s wives were not women that she could just pound with her club! The Soul Pact alone would prevent it, even if she wanted to so badly. And even if she could, he could just revive them–just like the two the stone tiger had killed. 

Just what kind of world was this Orion, anyway? 

On the other hand, when he fought the stone tiger, he was just so manly. So strong. Her Clan members were left shattered and broken, but his arm had bulked up and overpowered that cat to the point where it was scared of his immense strength and speed. And something about his shout sent shivers down her spine. Well, she did hear this kind of thing was common.

It was why she was avoiding him, before. When her people were around their Fated, they would gravitate toward liking and loving every single thing about them, no matter how small–even if it should be a negative thing. 

Whether it be the shape of their face or a scar on it, or the sound of their voice, or every minor action done like how the person scratched their cheek while thinking or fixed their robes would be like an arrow to the heart.

A friend of hers shamelessly spoke at length about how much she loved her Fated’s stench of their armpits and feet after an intense workout, and even the smell of their farts. She seriously complained that these things disappeared as they reached the second stratum! While she understood some women of other races would become like this about their lover, the Star Oni became even more obsessed than usual.

Her cousins and friends said they would see their Fated with a prismatic shimmer around them, brightening everything that they did. However, Shara hadn’t seen him like that until he touched her, releasing a shower of light that was nearly blinding.

The shimmer then persisted for a few minutes and shocked her out of her berserk state, but eventually, it had fallen away, which had alarmed her. When she asked her father about why that might be, he said that it might be related to his magic.

She made him promise her that he would not say another word to Nicholas about Fated, and that she would explain it to him under her own terms. The time hadn’t been good for her to explain it yet, but she would get around to it eventually.

When she had gone over to talk to him, she had seen Nick light up. It was odd, when he lit up with essence around him, she had seen that prismatic light shimmer around him, so she had to ask him what it was about. To think it was that he had completed a quest for his wife…

She should be happy that she had found her Fated, but the problem was that she felt…trapped. And more than most Star Oni usually do. The Star Oni women felt that they still had freedom because they could choose to mark another, even if that choice was lesser. Her people even looked down on making that other choice, but at least they could still make it.

But she carried the bloodline of the Matriarch, the fate of the Fatestrider clan resting with her. She had to mark Nicholas for the good of her clan. How could she not? For one of her bloodline to defy fate would be a true betrayal of their loyalty, reducing and maybe even destroying all of her people’s futures. 

Shara had been just about to tell him a little more when that stone tiger attacked. Now, the scouts wanted Nick along with them in the caves, as sight was challenging and the creatures lurking would surely be in their favorable environment–just like the stone tiger.  

So Shara was forced to watch him from afar. Nick and her people had run into a few challenges throughout the caves. And each time, his shout and his displays of strength had once again sent her heart beating into a frenzy, and shivers down her spine.       

Her friend Hoshiko joined Shara at her side. The girl was tall with long and straight purple hair, like most Star Oni. Only Shara and her mother, who carried the bloodline of the matriarch, had pink hair, making them stand out.

It seemed Hoshiko had noticed Shara staring at Nicholas. “You got it bad, Shara. Is he your Fated or something? I mean, I gotta admit, he’s handsome and strong, but if he’s not your Fated, what’s the point? Maybe good for a fling, but aren’t you saving yourself for your Fated?”

Shara frowned, surprised her friend would say something. Most of her friends only talked about the Star Oni themselves as being attractive. Unless… “You think he’s handsome? He’s not a Star Oni.”

Hoshiko got a far away look, and a small smile, before chuckling. “Yeah, but…something tells me he’d be good in bed, you know? Something about the way he moves…and he’s so strong, like his hips won’t quit…or break.” She started to blush, and then the look on her face as her breathing picked up…

Shara narrowed her eyes on Hoshiko, and her blood started to boil as Hoshiko made that lewd face about her Fated. Her voice came out much less dignified from usual, “You shut your fucking whore mouth, ah? Or I’ll bash it closed.” She brandished her tetsubo, even as she tried to calm herself. She had only wanted to change the subject, but her anger took over!

Hoshiko’s eyes went wide as she started backing away and waving her hands in alarm, “Woah, woah, Shara! I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m sorry! Don’t tell me he’s your–”

Shara shushed her, as she barely got her rage under control. Taking a calming breath, her mind was racing. Could it be?

Among her brethren currently alive, there were a number of Star Oni women who had never found their Fated. This wasn’t that abnormal because her people lived a long time. Sometimes, their Fated just hadn’t even been born yet, or hadn’t yet traveled to Star Hold. Though, with it destroyed… 

Or, they would simply meet them on their travels, a race outside of the Star Oni. Often, those Star Oni women would end up joining those other clans or sects, rather than staying at Star Hold. This was why they only had Star Oni people among them. 

Could it be that Nick was Hoshiko’s Fated, too? She’d seen that amorous look before. After all, Shara herself was probably making it only minutes before when she thought about how strong he must be when his arm bulked up when he fought the tiger. But…the only way she could test it, was if Hoshiko…touched him.

Then what? Just thinking about it boiled her blood. 

“You stay away from Lord Nicholas, you hear me?” 

Hoshiko bowed, though looked more than a little confused, her eyes darting every which way as she tried to make some sense of the situation. “Yes, Shara! I’ll do as you ask, I promise. I…will stay closer to the back…” She hurried away, and Shara felt a little bad. If he was somehow her Fated too… could she really deny her?

She sighed, feeling more than a little defeated and lost, again.

They had traveled through the caves late into the night, and eventually rested in the caves. The Star Oni in the first stratum like herself were slowing the group down. After about six hours of rest, they continued, and spent many more hours moving through the caves. During that time, some small skirmishes occurred with various beasts, but Nick or the Star Oni scouts had no issues dealing with them.

Shara had even more time to think about the issue, and she couldn’t help but feel angry any time she thought about this Kaya, or one of Nick’s other wives. 

She felt so lost and depressed, until suddenly, she heard her father’s voice. “Daughter, why are you looking down? Like your world is crumbling around you.”

“You know why, Father.”

“No, I’m not so sure that I do. Our people and their futures have been saved from absolute calamity at the hands of those fate eaters, and a bandit lord’s army was defeated. We’ve found a new home, and soon, our people will be able to cultivate once more. Not only that, but I still live! And your mother will be returned to us. Sure, we were only at least partially put into this position because of the whims of this…Orion System. But we all got swept up in that man’s fate. Then, you have finally found your Fated. For what reason could you have to wear a frown?”   

When he put it like that, she couldn’t help but be embarrassed. Was she being greedy? Ungrateful?

Her father interrupted her thoughts, “Just trying to give you some perspective. Of course, I know your struggle. How could I not? Do you think that I would share your mother with anyone? I barely enjoyed sharing her with you! I don’t know how many times I got a little jealous, just seeing how she smiled at you, and you at her instead of me.”

Shara laughed at the silliness, and his wronged expression. She sighed, realizing that no matter how she looked at it, she was truly blessed. Fated issues or not, her people had been saved, and she had so many reasons to be thankful. Provided they…made it to this Frosthaven place. It did sound pretty nice, and Nicholas lit up when he talked about it.

“Thanks, dad. You’re right. I did want to tell him, but we got interrupted that time. I–”

A commotion started up ahead, and stardust floated among them, signalling danger. Her father rushed ahead, and Shara stomped behind, along with many of the other Star Oni men and women. 

What was rather alarming, was that several roars shook the cavern, and the smacking of clubs were ringing out.

When Shara saw the fighting, she was shocked. Nick was covered with his cloak of white light, and he was fighting numerous beasts at once. They were some kind of green, slimy, monstrous bears, that were shorter but had longer limbs. They were strong and numerous, easily deep into the second Stratum.

And Nick was blurring all over the battlefield, his blade of blue and white light flashing in dangerous arcs. Each swing cleaved off an enemy’s limb, head, or pierced through their heart. The Star Oni men focused on dazing the underground monsters with starlight, halting their charges and confusing them. Meanwhile, the Star Oni women struck them with their clubs, but only sent slime scattering. The slime was acidic, and her people took injuries and shouted in pain as slime burned their flesh.

There were just too many. It seemed like they were endless, and the Star Oni’s clubs were not doing well.

“Target the frost-covered parts!” Nick shouted out, in between his attacks. Shara joined the fray, swinging her club and doing just as he asked. The frost was spreading across the slime creatures slowly, and chains were wrapping around others.

They were getting outnumbered, and Nick was forced to save many of their people from getting covered by the slime bears. Chains wrapped around some, and Birdy sent blades of ice freezing others.

Some more entered the cavern from the side, and it wasn’t looking good. With each killed, two or more took its place. Wherever these things came from, they severely outnumbered her people.

Her father shouted, “There’s just too many, Nick. We should retreat!”  

Nick grinned as he slayed another slime creature with his whipping blade cleaving it in half. “Not quite. Help is here.”

A howling like wolves rippled through the cavern, and strangely…a hissing sound, and it sounded like some more people yelling ‘woooo.’ Not long after, a bunch of…tiny women dashed from an adjacent cave. 

The tiny women were either small wolf women, or some kind of snake or other reptile. Icicles shot out, and then beams and webs of light struck and wrapped around the slimes. There was also a giant…red raccoon or bear with an axe…and some axes in its tails, slashing and cleaving through the slime bears. Just what kind of allies…?

There was also a girl that moved in the shadows, that she couldn’t help but feel stood out. She sliced through them easily, and the power of frost pierced deeply into the creatures. And…a giant spider woman, who was responsible for the beams of light and webbing.

While the Star Oni’s clubs had trouble harming the slime creatures, these people’s spears and shields had no difficulties attacking them and bringing them to nothing but a pile of slime. They also spread the frost along with Nick’s Aura, making it easier for the Star Oni to attack effectively.

There were more than a dozen of them in total, and Shara could feel it–these were Pacters, Followers of Nicholas.

If only she could cultivate, she could finally contribute properly. The large party of warriors fought through, defeating the many slime-bear creatures. The second stratum Followers were not very numerous, but they were that much more effective against them than her people. And…their smaller size actually helped them move around in the cavern, the larger Star Oni women not having enough room to properly swing their weapons.

Shara coudn’t help but feel they were strong, and thankful that they had arrived. But…she had a bad premonition.  

Because they were all women.   

Eventually, the monsters were cleared, and her people were saved.

“Master!” The giant spider woman rushed over to Nicholas, and gave him a hug, lifting him off the ground.

He returned the hug with a wide smile and a laugh, and Shara couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. “Hey, Jas. I’m so glad to see you.”

A wolf girl in armor covered in frost and with her tail wagging came over next, along with a dozen other monsterfolk, including the one with black fur.

“Boss! Did you see us? We all ran so hard to come to your aid!”

Nick laughed, and scratched her ears, which made the girl beam at the praise. “Good job, Fang. You came in just when we needed you, and that definitely was some good fighting by everyone. Who are all these girls?”

The girls were all what Shara knew as monsterfolk, and they all started preening and posing. Though, it didn’t work all that well, as they were all covered in armor, with the exception of the two archers, who had a much sexier looking tight leather on. The one with dark fur next to Fang chuckled as she looked over the others. 

Still, there were many tails wagging and undulating, and Shara’s breaths started to come in heavily. Her blood began to boil, and–

Fang gestured to the girls. “These girls have all been training hard. They all had no mates when you became their alpha, so they’re all yours, ready to be your mates!”

All of them? But there were nearly a dozen girls there! Something within Shara snapped, her rage coming to the fore. “Get out of here, you damned sluts! You can’t have Nick, he’s mine!” Shara growled as she brandished her club, and began to dash toward the little whores.

The Star Oni were bewildered, murmuring about Nick being Shara’s Fated–thankfully, in the Star Oni language, but Shara could barely think as she was consumed by her rage. Her intellect dropped to that of an angry child, unable to think about anything else other than smashing the little wolf whore.

Jasmine tilted her head. “Finally she’s saying something. I’m dying to see how this plays out.”

Nick looked over at Jasmine, alarmed. “Huh?”

Fang frowned, as she turned to Shara’s towering form, approaching her. “Yours? Oh! You want to be Nick’s mate too? That’s great!”

Shara swung her club down at the little whore, but she blocked it with a casual shift of her shield, deflecting it. Continuing on her attack, she chased Fang down with her club, her berserk going deeper as she followed her.

Nick was more than a little alarmed that Shara could even attack Fang at all, but it had seemed Fang was handling it.

Fang continued to dodge with a smile as Shara chased her with her club, almost like she was playing, which infuriated Shara further. “Why are you mad?”

“Stay still, you little bitch!”

“Okay!” For some reason, being called a bitch did not seem to bother her at all.

Shara brought down her club with all her might, and Fang dug her feet into the ground with her cleats as she prepared her shield. With a crash, Shara’s club hit the frosty shield with a thud, sending chunks of ice flying. She wrenched the club away, then drew back her club once more for another swing, and– 

Nicholas appeared by her side, and his arm grabbed hers in an iron grip. An explosion of light echoed out once more, and she could see the prismatic light surrounding him again as she started to snap out of it. She fought him for a brief moment, but his arm was unmoving.

He said, “I think that’s about enough of that, Princess.”

Blood drained from her face as she realized what she had done, and she was filled with shame as she dropped her club. She took deep breaths as she tried to recover. As mad she was at the idea of him having wives, this man was nothing more than her people’s savior. How could she do that to his wife? When she was…nothing, to him… 

Nick looked at her face, with a surprising amount of concern. “Why don’t you and I have a chat? Just me and you.”

Shara looked over to her father, and he just nodded at her. She could see a bit of sadness in his gaze, but no disappointment, which she was happy for. “I…okay.”

He turned and gave his girls a look, and the two of them headed to the previously cleared cavern. Shara looked at him pleadingly. “I’m…sorry for my outburst, and attacking your wife. I…have no good excuse.” 

 “You wanna tell me what that was all about, Shara? ‘He’s mine!’ you said. This somehow about that Fated thing?”

“That…” Shara froze, as she wanted to lie, but was unable to. She really didn’t want to talk about this, even still. Searching for her words she could actually speak, eventually, she said, “I don’t know for… sure.”

Nick snorted. “Oh right, I’m supposed to believe that the explosion of starlight when I touched you both times was for no reason? It doesn’t match what Myron said exactly–he said you’d know when I was your Fated on sight. So this is different from that, somehow?”

Shara sighed. “He told you that? It must have been before…he promised. I’m…sorry, Nicholas. I just…wanted more time to…sort out my feelings. I don’t know for sure, but…I’m pretty sure. That you’re my Fated. The one I’m…meant to be with.”

“I don’t know what this Fated thing is, but I can kinda guess. You’ve definitely been avoiding me, and you’re afraid or worried about talking to me about it. Why? If you have worries, let’s hear ‘em. I can help. I ain’t gonna bite.”

“Bite? Who would think that?” She let out a breath. “Us Star Oni women…we can see who our Fated is–normally. You…are extra weird somehow, and the feeling or sight only happened when we touched, instead.”

“Hm. Okay, so what is it? What does being Fated mean? In precise terms.”  

“That’s…complicated? It’s a special talent us Star Oni women have, as we are in tune with, or connected, to fate itself. We can see who we are fated to be with. Then, when we leave our mark on someone, we merge our fates into one–and the sum of the two fates is greater than the individual parts. I know you know this part. But for us cultivators, our Fated is our Dao Partner. The one we were meant to strive toward immortality with.”

“Dao Partner? I think your Daos are like Concepts, or your Path, this kind of thing?”

“Right. A Dao Partner is not only your husband or wife. It’s usually more than that, for a cultivator. You might walk different Paths, but you walk them as one. It’s a sharing of resources, a… I guess like a pact, that you will work together to your last breath to aid the other to be successful. But us Star Oni link our fates through our mark, enabling us to have a deeper bond. Since we’ll die on the same day and at the same time, we can truly work as one. There is no chance for betrayal, so our trust and love can grow deeply.”

“That’s… not all that different from me and my wives, really. So your Fated…is it like you have to mark them? Just why were you avoiding me?”

“I…have my reasons. We…Star Oni women do have a freedom–to defy fate. To place our mark on another. But our people…they look down on this. Because they know–that their fate is undoubtedly lesser. Usually, calamity finds them, instead.”

Nick let out a breath. “Damn. That’s rough. And then what if the guy is like a deadbeat, an alcoholic or something? You’d still be stuck kinda marrying him then?”

Shara couldn’t help but look at him with a little blame.

Nick scowled. “What! Who’s the deadbeat here? I’m a Lord of Orion,” he dusted off his shoulders for some reason, “I got a mall, remember. And I’m a hero. I’m a catch, and if I’m your Fated, that’s a plus, not a minus!”

Shara couldn’t help but be amused at his exaggerated rebuttal, and couldn’t help feeling that it was kind of cute. But she sighed as she realized she had to come clean about her feelings.  “When… I learned about your other wives…it’s like I saw red. All my expectations…my dreams, they were all crushed–just like…that boulder.” He chuckled at that, and she continued, “I had pictured my future husband countless times, that when I was with my Fated… it was with him alone. I…really don’t like the idea of you having others.”

Nick let out a breath. “I can totally see that. I don’t blame you one bit for being unhappy about that.”

Shara was surprised at this. “You don’t?”

“Course not. If when I came here to Orion they told me some empress, or something, was fated to be my wife, but I’d have to share her with a bunch of other dudes, I’d say screw that noise. I wouldn’t care how beautiful or awesome she was. I’d go mark someone else, or whatever.”

Shara narrowed her eyes at him, looking at him in a little disbelief. “This talk is heading in a strange direction. I feel a little cheated? It’s like you’re talking me out of marking you.”

Nick shrugged. “I’m just telling you like it is. I empathize with your struggle here, if I were in your shoes I’d feel like someone handed me a shit sandwich and told me I had to eat it.”

Shara couldn’t help but chuckle at his strange wording, and Nick continued, “At this point, I hardly know you. You seem nice enough, and you make a mean tea. You’re pretty and strong, besides–a fighter, which matches my other wives well. But maybe it wouldn’t work out. If you hate that my wives even exist, that tells me it’ll be hard for you to give them a fair shot. And besides. For you to be jealous about them is only natural to me. I’m betting it’d be painful. I doubt that I could ever live with it, how could I expect that of you?”

“I… don’t know if I could. Maybe… I don’t know. I just…mom and dad were just their one and only. And the only Star Oni I know of that had two wives involved twins. I guess…they shared just fine and were happy, but most of us get jealous easily when it comes to our Fated.”

“Huh, that’s interesting about the twins. Well, how about this? We just take things slow. I’ll treat you like any other woman I’d like to make mine, and you can meet my wives, and see how you really feel about them, or about seeing me with them. Right now, they’re just like a number, right? You’ve only learned a little about Kaya, and you’ve barely met Fang, Sable, and Jasmine so far.”

Shara couldn’t help but blush at his very minor complement, and her heart started beating faster. “You…would like to make me yours?”

Nick looked at her like she was crazy, narrowing his eyes and his mouth open. “That’s what you got out of all that? And who wouldn’t? How many complements do you want? But it’s important to me that you can get along with my other wives, besides.”

Shara chuckled. “That…thanks for saying so. I guess…I’d like to try to…meet them again, and get to know you better, too. I kind of ruined our first meeting, didn’t I?”

Nick shrugged. “That was just Fang you fought with. You’ll have to forgive her. She has a sort of…pack-minded devotion. She’ll have difficulty understanding your…lukewarm focus on me. In her mind, you’re either in or you’re out. If you explain this Fated thing to her, the idea that you didn’t get on your back and spread your legs the moment you learned it was me would actually make her a little angry.”

Shara’s eyes widened in shock. “What? You…can’t be serious.”

Nick chuckled, and shook his head. “I was only lightly exaggerating there, the wolflings which she evolved from selected their mates for life at just a smell. But anyway, that’s her own issue, and you shouldn’t worry about that. If I tell her to be nice to you, she’ll be nice. That’s just how it is.”

Shara frowned. “Just a smell? But you said you wanted me to get along with your wives. If you can just tell them to get along with me, does that even matter at all?”

Nick narrowed his eyes at her. “Who attacked first, there? In truth, my wives aren’t hard people to get along with, for anyone. And I’ll tell you what. If you’re feeling like it’s hurting, I’ll be happy to try to meet you half way, or help reassure you some other way. The rest will be up to you, if you decide to walk away, there’ll be no hard feelings. So? Do you want to try?”

Shara looked at Nick, and she could feel it–the pull of fate. She was attracted to him, and it felt like he would do his best to make her happy. In truth, she had nearly a dozen reasons why she should. But most of all, she liked that he had a caring heart, to go along with his heroic one. And somehow, as she started to like him more, it almost seemed like the shimmer started to grow around him.

“Please. I…want to try.”

He gave her a winsome smile. “Good, I am happy to hear that, and that’s the truth. Now, let’s make toward the exit. It’ll be a while, but the girls won’t be in the next cave.” He started walking, and Shara joined him before frowning.

“Where did they go?”

“I sent them ahead a little to prepare the bikes–our transportation. I figured…you could use a few more minutes.”

Shara hesitated, as she entered the next cavern where the rest of the Star Oni were waiting–recovering from their battle. “I… thank you, that sounds like the best I could ask for. I’ve…always been a little shy, when it comes to this kind of thing.”

“What do you mean?” Nick asked. “I thought this was your first time meeting me.”

“It’s just…I’ve always had a little bit of anxiety about meeting my Fated. I didn’t even want to look and find him at first, back at Star Hold. Because we didn’t find him when my mother made me look, I even procrastinated on an expensive divination. If not for the fate eaters we were fleeing, we might not have even done it. Then, talking about my Fated with others, it’s just something I’ve been reserved about. Maybe it was because my Fated was so far away, and I somehow knew? I don’t know.”

Myron cleared his throat and came near them, as he had been waiting in this cavern. “Your mother was shy about it too, you know.”

Shara hadn’t heard this. “My mother was? Really?”

Myron grinned. “She watched me from afar for Months. It was even approaching an entire year that she obsessed over me. She didn’t know how to approach me and let me know. I was a bit older than her, by a few years. She said she felt so intimidated. Her. Even though she towered over me.” He motioned above his head, far taller than Nick was and just a little taller than Shara’s height. 

He continued, “Knowing who you are fated to be with may seem like a blessing and a curse, but I believe it’s very beautiful. I’ve met many people and cultures in my travels, and every Fated couple has held profound happiness, that few races or couples could match. The few times I’ve seen a Star Oni woman defy Fate, it did not turn out well for them. It’s hard to know if it was caused by defying fate–the universe itself working against them. Or if it was because they were denying a part of themselves, it just couldn’t ever work out.” He grimaced. “Or because it was forced. A terrible fate.” 

Myron cleared his throat. “Anyway, daughter, I’m glad you’re no longer avoiding Nicholas. Even before I knew he was your fated, I was very impressed and had hoped he would be.” He winked at Nick. “And he knows I’m telling the truth. “

Shara blushed even harder, as it was like basically pointing out he knew how this would end.

Nick laughed. “Your dad’s a good guy. I can’t wait to see what your mother is like.”

“You’ll really bring her back?”

“Doubting me? I promised your dad I’d do my best. I don’t know for sure what it’s going to look like exactly, but I know I can bring her back. It’s just a matter of how and when. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to rebirth her at level 1 with all her memories. If not, we may need to wait a while. Until I reach the fourth stratum.”

The fourth stratum…the same as Nascent Soul? That would be a long ways away, some took over a hundred, even several hundred years to achieve it. She would be worried whether he could even accomplish it, but her father had already said he was impressed with his mastery of the dao. It was just a matter of time, so the idea that Shara would get her mother back eventually was a wonderful feeling. She had thought her gone for good, and her father too.

The two continued to chat as they followed the Star Oni and behind Myron. She wasn’t exactly ready to meet his wives, but she was starting to feel a little more comfortable with the idea, knowing he truly understood her challenge and cared about her feelings. That while it was like she didn’t have a choice, he would make it feel like it was.

It seemed like a small thing, but it for her, it meant a world of difference.