Announcements and Book 3 Redo - Chapter 13 - Tragedy Sparks Transformation (Patreon)

[Author Note - Hey guys! I feel really dumb, because I forgot to post this! I had worked on it for the new book and said I would share Berri's meeting with Echidna when it was re-done, but then forgot. I had some announcements and figured it would be a good time.

1. Audiobook for Book 1 is now out!: https://www.audible.com/pd/Champions-Trial-Audiobook/B0CBQL9589 

I think whispersync is coming soon, so if you don't already have an audible subscription for cheap credits, you may want to wait! I think Anne did an excellent job of bringing Ophelia and Fhesiah to life, and narrating the book. Jack does a pretty good job doing Jake, and especially the villains (and the dwarf you hear in the sample). If you like listening to audiobooks, it's now available for Bonded Summoner! Book 2 should be out next month!

2. Book 4 is available for Preorder! I do like how Tanda turned out, even if her description isn't perfect, I think she looks great. It's set to release 10/1.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCSQD1W5 

3. A reminder, Book 3 Comes out 8/1, just next week! There is quite a few tweaks, for those of you that may have read this the first time through on RR, it might be worth rereading again! I'd like to say I improved a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C6FR3TZB 

So, apologize that this revised chapter is late. There are changes to the next chapter, beasts and bonds, but they are mostly minor - as a result of the situation, Jake only mildly gets mad at Blood + Berri (mostly the, why didn't you trust me? talk). See you guys tomorrow!]

Chapter 13 - Tragedy Sparks Transformation

Jake headed to the medical tent drinking some mana water and passing many beastkin that looked quite happy. He could tell they were joyful about being healed, and there was a positive energy in the air from the food and the prospect of people getting ready for a fight.

He would have to remember that these people all appreciated strength and, as such, might be violent battle maniacs, just like his wives. Even if some of them might be a mixture of a herbivore and a human, it appeared the result was: a potentially violent beast person.

Seeing a cute sheep woman sharpening her claws with a vicious smile was an odd duality to him.

But when Jake entered the pavilion-styled tent, it was replaced with a sad atmosphere instead, and Jake could feel Bloodberri’s sadness peak. He looked over to Ophelia and found her drinking mana water as well. “What’s going on, Ophelia?”

She sighed. “Things were going great, and we healed many beastkin, including children that had gotten the disease from the blighted food. It seems even this village was assaulted by the undead near the rear, and they spread the blight even inside the walls somewhat, hitting their food stores. They held off eating any as long as they could, but it was almost time for their harvest just before they got hit.”

She continued, “But then this woman brought her…” Ophelia’s voice then wrung in his head instead, [Dead child inside. She thought that since we were using magic, maybe we could do something. I overheard that goat beastkin healer, it appears this child was often sick before the blight, and despite being healed just yesterday: she died this morning. It’s been hours, and I told her there’s nothing we could do…but Bloodberri…]

Jake thought these people were against deviating from the natural cycle, but he figured that, like anywhere else, a mother losing a young child might be willing to break all traditions if it meant bringing them back. He approached and overheard the mother, a rabbit beastkin, stricken with grief.

“There has to be something you can do! Aren’t you a priestess of a Goddess? My baby is dead… Please!”

Jake watched as Bloodberri continued to fill the child with her Holy energy, even without a spell. He knew that, in a sense, Berri didn’t need a spell to heal with her holy mana. It was simply more expedient and more efficient, if you weren’t overly skilled, to use a spell.

From what he could tell, she was simply trying everything, grasping at straws. Jake did his best to search for the words to say to her. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn’t notice his approach.

Jake knew that priestesses would eventually get this spell. If this were the game, she would already have it. But this was not a game, and their reality was that a priestess likely would not get this spell until their second Tier.

Not only that, but Jake knew that normally such a spell could only target those that were initiated into the Framework. The Framework protected their soul and allowed them the possibility that a spell could merely reconstitute their body, plus do a little extra work together with it to restore their damaged soul, and they’d be alive again.

The spell was simply too complex, and her mana was not of a high enough quality. Not only that, but the outsiders were likely now capturing or consuming the child’s soul due to them being affected by the blight caused by them. Jake did not think it was possible to resurrect this child. The body was already healed, but the soul was probably gone, he thought.

“You! You’re the Champion of that Goddess, aren’t you? Please! Help my baby…” The mother implored.

Berri’s attention snapped to Jake, and she stopped attempting to heal the child.

“Jake! I…” She hesitated. “I really want to save this child, is there nothing we can do? She just looks so cute, just look at those fluffy ears! I was going to take all the kids and teach them to play baseball, and Blood was looking forward to seeing them train and fight one day! But now…”

Tears filled her eyes, and she was sniffling. She gave Jake a pleading look, and he knew Blood was talking to Berri in their mind. “We even could have come last night, and this wouldn’t have happened. We were having fun, but this child… Please, Jake, just try. I know it’s unreasonable…”

Emotions were really a double-edged sword. Jake had taught her to care for others, and while she had always been partial to kids, it was because of Jake’s choices for her that she was in such pain now.

If he had left the two girl’s mindset as that of a monster, she wouldn’t be so distraught right now, likely moving on to the next person that needed healing since he had asked her to heal.

While she was in pain now, Jake was proud of how far she had come. As early as next week, she could be playing ball with these kids, and he just couldn’t wait to see her brilliant smile. But now, even his eyes were starting to tear up, her emotions of grief and remorse flooding their bond.

Of course, there was no way he would say no to trying or no way he’d say no to her pleading eyes like that. He choked out, “I’ll try my best.”

Jake had doubts he could do anything, but he would give his all. His best was pretty good, in his opinion. He looked over the child with [Arcane Eye]. The child couldn’t have been any older than four or five years old, and Bloodberri’s assessment was entirely correct: this child was very cute.

She had cute white rabbit ears and bobbed-cut short white hair atop her head. Even if her nose was like that of a human’s, it was still a small button nose that almost looked like a rabbit’s somehow.

And Jake could tell she had a fluffy rabbit tail, even though she was lying on her back, thanks to his [Arcane Eye]. Jake inspected her Auril Heart, which was where the beastkin’s metaphysical doorway to their soul lay.

There, it was a bit murkier than he expected, and he almost thought the details looked similar to Alisara’s, where it was being obscured. He inspected it closer than he ever did a corpse, but really, he couldn’t find any hints or details that he thought could help him.

Jake knew that if there was really anything he could do, it was with the Divine Energy welled up inside his vessel. But there were some problems: first, he spent nearly all of it. To some extent, he lamented using it, but he knew that was a foolish thought.

By showing the power of the Hestia in front of those tens of thousands of people at Cascadia, he probably saved dozens, if not hundreds, of people. This was not even including the people that Hestia directly healed on the brink of death but by people being inspired and integrating into the Framework or joining Jake’s Guild that wouldn’t have otherwise.

The flames of the goddess stirred the beastkin’s hearts, literally, and he knew, after meeting with the elders, that hundreds were already sending their prayers and thanks over to the goddess herself.

This one child could not compare, but he still thought he and his girls could have defeated that bone dragon along with the Necromancer without using it. Now, he had less than ten percent of the energy left, and performing such a major miracle, he knew, would cost a lot more than that.

The second issue was, even if he had a lot, just what could he do with it? He had practiced a lot with the Divine Energy back at their Refuge, and he could barely push with brute force meaningfully. Just how could he resurrect someone with it? Jake decided that gaining information was the best way to start.

He reached into his core and latched on to where this Divine energy was kept. Like when he did the daring shield as he was teleported, he formed a path of Hearthfire up from his core to his eyes. He did his best to focus and move the Divine energy to this area, monitoring the beastkin girl at the same time.

When moving the Divine Energy, he felt like he was back at Mana Control level 1. The movement of the energy was sluggish, and he felt like a child clumsily playing with molding clay.

For a brief moment, he saw a glimpse of something, perhaps something he shouldn’t have been able to see at all before the small amount of Divine Energy he set in his eyes ran out. He saw what he thought was the child’s soul, which was wrapped by a wicked-looking tentacle leading up into the sky. It was the outsiders, and they had a hold on her soul.

Of course, Jake had only seen it briefly, but he guessed that her soul was still present in the body; otherwise, what were the eldritch beings grabbing? This meant that he had just now learned that there were two problems: the spell that would heal the body and soul and beat off the outsiders. Was the latter even possible?

“Any help from you, Ira? Can you do anything?”

Ira stirred, and Jake thought he got nothing but a blank stare from the creature. Apparently, this was way out of Ira’s league, and even asking the Tier 0 creature was silly.

[Skill Learned! Divine Energy Manipulation Level 1]

Jake had finally received a level of Divine Energy Manipulation when he had tried nearly everything the past several weeks to earn it. If nothing else, there was something good gained from this.

He had thought Champion Magic should cover this but understood that this special energy sat in a class of its own. While Champion Magic used things like the flames of Hestia, it was like a watered-down version of his mana being mixed with a tiny amount of the energy of the gods to produce the desired result.

The Divine Energy was the energy of the gods in its purest form that was available to Jake at this Tier.

Still, he would try. He formed runes out of his Hearthfire, creating the largest runic healing spell he could while also focusing on the [Advanced Purifying Flames] passive skill, which could carry the purifying flames of the goddess into heals.

He even tried to push the more pure divine energy to the ability, but he really couldn’t tell if he was successful. Moving the energy was easier now that he had the skill, but it still moved sluggishly and didn’t appear to move completely to his desires.

The runes lit up the air, and brilliant healing energy in a bright light cascaded onto the girl, causing the surrounding people to gasp. Jake had even targeted where he saw the tentacle as best he could.

He took a look at it again using the same method he had previously, and it took him a while to even reproduce his feat. Eventually, though, he spotted a glimpse of what he had seen previously: and if anything, it looked worse now. Perhaps, he had just given the outsiders a meal, or maybe it was redoubling its efforts as his spell had some sort of effect.

He didn’t know, but he knew he had used enough energy that not enough would be left to do anything meaningful.

“I’m sorry, Bloodberri. I think it’s beyond us at our Tier. If anyone could do it, though, it’s supposed to be you.”

“M-me?”

Jake once again put his theory-crafting hat on and said, “Well, yeah. Priestesses or Cleric types get the ability first. Even though I’m a Champion, my base class is a Summoner. I doubt I will get this ability until we’re in the third Tier, except for the version that’s able to resurrect my bonded, I could receive that at almost any time. Even where I summoned the Goddess, the type of things she could do were likely limited by my class.”

He looked over to Ophelia before looking back to her. “I’m sure you could ask Fhesiah and Ophelia, each Champion could only do certain things, more prone to their class. But you should be able to pray to the goddess and resurrect someone, eventually, even if you’re not a Champion. Come to think of it, you might be able to do it once you become one, too.”

Berri nodded and looked thoughtful but kept her thoughts closed off from him. But then, she took on a serious look, and Jake wanted to stop whatever line of thinking she had cut off.

She filled herself with holy energy, drawing everything from Jake she could, including his sparse remaining amount of Divine Energy, drawing everything from Ophelia and even Fhesiah back at Cascadia. Then, she prayed.

Jake felt a presence descend, almost like the times he met Hestia or had the Framework intervene when it appeared she wanted to warn them about Alisara somehow. He looked at Bloodberri worriedly.

He wanted to ask what was happening but found he couldn’t really move or respond.

But Blood and Berri heard a voice. “Are you sure, child? Resurrecting that little beastkin will have a Price. You and your husband might not like all of them.”

Berri nearly shouted that she would, but Blood stopped her. Blood responded, “But you already gave your Oath, right? What is the Price?”

Jake did not like where this was going based on Blood’s response, but something about the descending presence limited him from accomplishing anything meaningful.

“It is good that you are there to watch your sister, Blood. Berri is a little too driven by her emotions, and I feel she would have agreed, even when it might not be very smart. I definitely want my Champion to be intelligent, and between the two of you together, I know you won’t let me down.”

Blood and Berri felt a tug on their minds, and Jake’s mind somehow came along for the ride.

Suddenly, they were standing in a giant clearing in front of an enormous mountain. They could tell that this mountain was somehow larger than all of Highlands combined, the size of an entire world itself.

They were in a massive paradise filled with verdant greenery, the trees reaching high in the sky, further than their enhanced eyes could even see. There were cascading waterfalls, and a river was flowing nearby.

Plants and trees lined the river and mountain, and Bloodberri and Jake were awed at the size and variety of the fruits growing on them, along with the near prismatic smattering of color present in the valley.

There were creatures everywhere, and many of them had the features of various animals on them. Some were even fighting, but Jake and Bloodberri could tell that while fierce, it was not the struggle of beasts but that of sparring or testing themselves.

Some were even much larger than Bloodberri, and their roars were brimming with power and ferocity.

Jake was a little upset at what was happening because Berri and Blood had not filled him in on what they were doing. Clearly, she had kept to themselves that they were praying to Echidna rather than consulting Jake and the rest of the family.

Of course, he understood she was distraught, but…well, he didn’t have much time to think about that right now.

In front of them was the biggest creature of all.

Jake and Bloodberri could hardly comprehend the size as far away as they were near a massive mountain, but she had a snake body like Bloodberri but scaled the color of gold. There were other colors mixed in, making a beautiful mosaic of wilderness, of the struggle of beasts.

Beasts clawed at each other; a mother bear defended her cubs. A deer drank at a pond while an alligator loomed. Many depictions of the ferocity of nature continued up her large snake body and where the snake body ended: A beautiful naked woman.

While her skin was pale like Bloodberri’s, they felt that she was not ugly at all. She radiated beauty, and they hoped they could be as beautiful as her one day.

Her body had some differences, though: She had four arms. At around the elbow, her human arms switched to scales, and she had wicked-looking claws on her hands. On her back and a little on her upper snake body, she had six giant wings like that of a golden hawk.

While the wings appeared somewhat small compared to the rest of her body, they could tell that this giant woman could fly easily. The extra arms were a little smaller than the original two and came out of her extra wide shoulder blades below the other arms.

On the woman’s head was flowing golden hair, but some of it ended with snake heads that were clearly alive. She even had massive horns, and they didn’t look very different from Fhesiah’s draconic ones. The woman’s piercing golden eyes stared at Bloodberri and waited patiently as Jake and the sisters took her in the Goddess Echidna, the Mother of Monsters.

She spoke, and they could hear her clearly despite them being very far from the goddess.

“Oh my, that Hearth bond is truly special. Hestia told me what to expect, but I still found it hard to believe. Welcome to my abode, Champion Jake and Bloodberri. I had brought Bloodberri here to offer a deal: one that would secure my aid in this war, and grant Bloodberri what she desires.”

Berri remembered why she originally called the goddess. “Yeah! I want to…save that girl!”

Echidna smiled. “Of course. But to make it possible, I will have to give up more than I am willing. Making you my Champion is of course something I want, but not that badly–I have other options. Unless, you take my offer.”

Jake frowned, focusing on one detail. “Secure your aid?”

She sighed. “That’s right. The truth is, my power is waning. Soon, I will be nothing more than prey for Tartarus. The status quo is simply not working out for me, and unfortunately, I must consider other options–it’s a self-preservation thing, you see. Not many demihumans will resonate and worship a mother of monsters, and I do not have the strength to create my own race, to change the status quo. Then, the other gods of the Alliance often have their own agenda, and are not great at communicating to monsters and spreading my will. I can count on Hestia, this is true–but I can’t help but feel it’s too little too late. However, Bloodberri represents a unique opportunity for me.”

What appeared to be an image of a Dark Lamia, what would be Bloodberri if she didn’t have albinism, appeared in front of them. Then, an Arachne appeared.

“The Gods of Chaos approached me some millennium ago, asking for a portion of my spark to create races both in their image and for their goals–the Dark Lamia and Arachnae. This is highly sought after, among us gods. You can be assured that they paid me greatly for it, but it came with restrictions. In giving up that portion of myself, I lost control over it, and with the restrictions, I had no way of getting it back. In all honesty, I thought that they would fail.”

For a moment, the two figures shifted into what Jake could only describe as hideously mutated creatures--blobs of flesh, teeth, scales, and claws. Then, they shifted back to the two creatures.

“Instead, they succeeded better than I could have dreamed. I’m sure Blood and Berri here are aware of how special Dark Lamia really are.”

Jake and Bloodberri took this in. Just why was she telling them this? The history lesson was interesting, learning about what the gods would do. He knew they would merge their sparks to create races as they discussed what Ophelia and the rest would evolve or ascend into already.

Just where was she going with this? Before calling them, Echidna had mentioned a Price, and Jake was worried about what it would be.

She smirked. “I can’t hear your thoughts, but I can guess what you’re thinking. I’ll be getting to the Price soon. Now, my restrictions are complicated, but I have found a loophole, as it were. Dark Lamia are truly special, and Bloodberri here, even more so. Born of a human hero of Eirene and a Dark Lamia, she has a portion of the spark of the dead goddess within. Thanks to this, I can finish the job much more easily, and create a race in my image.”

Jake’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He had sort of read about Eirene of the Greek Pantheon. A goddess of peace, order, and abundance, she had already died thousands of years ago. He knew losing a Chosen Hero would often result in a downward spiral that could lead to a God’s death, but his knowledge on the subject was quite limited.

Echidna gestured, and the two figures disappeared, the image presented changing into a race much more like her. Really, it looked like Bloodberri, but she had horns that looked draconic on her head, golden scales on her arms from beyond the elbow, and a change near the waist.

The woman’s scales began at her waist, but conveniently wrapped around the hips, leaving her womanly parts human—or elflike. Bloodberri currently had a woman’s thighs and was strangely inserted into the top of a snake's body. The snake body would just begin a tad earlier, or one might say there was a little less human.

Berri interjected worriedly, “Um, will Jake still want to mate with me?”

Jake groaned; that was what she got out of that? Still, he reassured her–this was hardly a problem with him. It would limit their bedroom…positions, but Jake was already spoiled for variety.

Echidna chuckled. “Yes, I’m sure he won’t have an issue with that. However, I thought it's important to clear something up. It’s relevant to our discussion, ultimately. Observe.”

A massive lizard towered over them above the forest, one large enough to crush Cascadia with one foot. Jake wasn’t sure when it approached or if it was there the whole time, looming above them somewhere above the branches.

It shimmered, and in the clearing in the distance, a man appeared. He looked mostly human or like one of the beastkin of Highlands–just having reptilian features.

“When we reach a certain Tier, our forms are more fluid. Our existence becomes different, allowing us to be able to match it to our desires. Even beasts will unlock true sentience and intelligence, once they reach a certain point. When that is varies, but I’ll come back to that.”

In the distance, Jake saw another massive creature–what looked like an odd Cerberus monster. It had three heads like dogs, except instead of a dog's body, it had scales and looked more like an ankylosaur, from what he could tell.

He thought it would transform or create something, but it seemed to back away from his attention, hiding behind a smaller mountain off to the side. Was it being…bashful?

Jake knew that these creatures were probably beyond Tier 3, most likely Tier 4, based on their size alone. However, they were really too far away for him to properly feel or understand what he was looking at or feeling from them.

He knew Echidna was actually somehow standing hundreds or thousands of miles away from him at the moment, and it was the same for the giant lizard and the Cerberus dinosaur. This world was odd, its geometry hurting Jake’s head as he tried to think about it.

Echidna continued, “So, that brings us to the Price. Of course, I want to make Bloodberri my Champion, Hestia already told you this. This is a separate Bargain–a trade enforced by the Framework.”

A new image appeared next to the Echidna version of Bloodberri, and it almost looked like the demihuman man standing off in the distance, except his wife clearly inspired it.

Bloodberri’s figure now had full legs and feet, and the scales were quite similarly placed on her body. She didn’t have horns, and her snake tail that trailed behind her was much thinner. Clearly, the body had been compressed, though she was still a bit over two meters tall.

Now that Jake had gotten a little taller, he was quite close to two meters tall. He imagined he could be even bigger after he increased to Tier 2.

“J-Jake, I don’t like that one. It’s too small–you can’t even ride me!”

Echidna’s pealing laughter shook the valley, and Jake realized this was likely why she ‘stood’ so far away.

“That’s right. This is what the Framework would likely choose for you. Your children would be male or female, and would be mixed demihumans. Ultimately, it is also quite strong. However, I think you’ll find Bloodberri as an Echidna Race would be uniquely powerful.”

Bringing up children worried Jake about where this discussion was going.

“Yes, this is related to your Price. If you take my Bargain, Bloodberri would immediately gain the ability to resurrect all fallen allies. She would also become the powerful Echidna Race. However, your children will be forever changed. For Blood and Berri, this hardly makes much of a difference–they were already hoping for strong Dark Lamia females for children, anyway. This is not very different from that in truth. However, if an Echidna Race mates with anything not a human or demihuman, well, just take a look around you. That’s about what you can expect.”

Looking around at the creatures battling in the valley once more, very few of them had humanlike features.

Berri pointed, “Jake, look at that one! It looks like a snake with wings, but it has a lion’s head and the leg’s of a lizard! It’s so cute! Our grand-babies will be like that? I can’t wait!”

Cute? Jake was a bit unnerved now that he had an odd lens in which to view the creatures. “I-I see it.”

The creatures could only be described as chimeras. So that was what they had to give up or accept? Potentially monster, or chimeral, grandchildren?

Echidna nodded. “That’s right. Echidnas will certainly have a desire to breed with a strong mate. However, they will have the intelligence and reason to rule their impulses properly, just as Bloodberri does. Most likely, as these monstrous grandchildren reach the second Tier, they should have full sentience and sapience, this happening an entire Tier or two earlier than a creature normally would, aside from some rare instances. Your descendants will be truly special.”

This went along with what Fhesiah taught Jake about cultivators and beast cultivators. By the third Tier, nearly a hundred percent of them would reach a full level of sentience and sapience as they formed their Nascent Soul. Only those with the poorest and dumbest bloodlines might not achieve this.

They would often create a humanoid-like avatar at this point, but some would completely skip that step if they so chose, discarding the option and doubling down on a more bestial path.

Some beasts with more powerful or advanced bloodlines would reach this level of sentience and sapience even sooner than that. They could learn language and reason even sooner or as early as their birth, though these were typically extremely rare and mythical creatures–like dragons and phoenixes.

Echidna continued, “Still, this is a large enough change that I require your permission to proceed. Thus, the Bargain. The Echidna Race will have special influence over monsters in general, typically making them want to worship them instinctually, and can be more easily guided to join and fight for the Framework. More monstrous demihumans will resonate with them, and you will find this beneficial to you in ways that you likely can’t imagine. That’s why, if you accept, I will be all-in on this war. I will go from being prey to being the one who preys on Tartarus, joining Hestia’s Pantheon in truth.”

Jake realized that this could be even bigger than he thought. The idea that this choice would secure a goddess’ aid in the war instead of an enemy was reason enough to accept the odd situation.

Blood asked, “What about the spell for the resurrection? How will this work?”

Echidna smiled. “The spell will be quite unconventional, and it’s only because of your unique status as a twin-souled, monstrous being of holy light and dark that this is even possible. Of course, we can thank Hestia as well for this being possible at all.”

She continued, “Not only that, but it will lock in your level twenty specialization choice now, granting it a little early. This is a one in a trillion spell here, I’m quite proud I was able to make it. It is only barely possible, despite your husband’s…persistent preparations. Do keep in mind, if you keep adding every spell or ability under the sun, there won’t be any room in your mind or soul for us goddesses to add anything to your Classes, your templates. You haven’t even used [Drain] in a fight.”

Jake was shocked; he had no idea they were limited to the number of abilities they could learn. He had treated things too much like a game. He recalled there had been times when he tried to learn some spell or ability, and he hadn’t succeeded until he leveled up.

Most likely, his soul or some portion of himself wasn’t enough to learn it until then. Thinking of it, perhaps this was the reason he couldn’t learn Divine Energy Manipulation until just now.

Blood blushed. “I just, wanted to have a ranged attack sooner, before Berri learned the baseball thing, and it became mostly unused. What specialization choice?”

“All Framework classes receive a specialization choice at level 20, preparing them for their Class Advancement at level 25. It both limits and specializes the choices, so this is important. Your choices were going to be to specialize your class, though others could get different choices: such as for their spells or melee abilities, rather than just class focuses, depending.”

Jake was surprised by Echidna’s willingness to answer what was probably wasting her time. He could see her looking at Bloodberri almost fondly, like a mother teaching her own child.

She continued, “Your choices were going to be to specialize your Priestess class towards: [Monstrous], [Holy Light], [Dark], or [Duality]. This would lock in [Duality], which focuses on your both light and dark nature, and their ability to be combined for more power. While I might enjoy the first choice, I think we can all agree that this was what you two would have chosen?”

Bloodberri nodded, being able to review the choices. While [Monstrous] sounded good, what they noticed while fighting Ophelia and Fhesiah was that what made them special was the two of them in one body and their magic together.

Berri’s holy magic allowed them to protect and heal, then Blood’s dark magic would debuff and weaken their foes.

Sure, their large body was powerful and massive, but there were many ways to counter a large enemy. It was their magics combined with that that made them genuinely difficult to deal with.

While [Monstrous] would make their body more powerful, it would actually make the one not driving the body potentially more useless than any of the other three options.

Jake looked over to Bloodberri, trying to read the other girl’s feelings on this. They were both very interested in becoming the Echidna Race. Ultimately, this would normally be their choice to make, but their children would be affected–this impacted Jake significantly. He was glad he was here.

The potential for monster grandchildren was more than a little weird, and Jake wasn’t sure he knew what to feel about it. He was unnerved by the thought of his future daughter bringing a giant monster home to introduce her new boyfriend. That was bound to be more strange than most humans would ever experience.

However, it would just be in his daughter’s hands to make those choices–his grandchildren would be just like Bloodberri if they chose to mate with humans, elves, beastkin or similar.

Still, that was now two wives that would only have daughters. This one was probably going to be the busiest one if she had anything to say about it.

As he looked at Bloodberri, he noticed her armor. The choice of having the strange belt-shield-girdle thing was strange to him. It sort of provided extra protection to her thighs or stump-like legs, but he had wondered why not some kind of armored skirt or something like this.

Perhaps, this was Hestia being mindful of the future and signaling her intent in some way. The more he looked at the two racial possibilities, the more he thought he was right. He would trust Hestia in that, on some level, she had agreed with this path for his family.

“So? What is your answer? I get what I want: a powerful race influenced by my own divine spark. I’ll join Hestia’s Pantheon in truth, and stop sitting on the fence. Monsters and beasts will rally to our call, and we shall crush the enemy with overwhelming strength. You’ll get your resurrection spell and some bonuses, allowing you to not just resurrect this child, but others–including Jake here, should the worst come to pass.”

She continued, “You’ll become my Champion, and your might will not be stopped. Jake would have to accept some odd situations, but that was already going to happen–did he think that parenting Dark Lamia children would be normal?”

Echidna added with a smirk, “I think you’ll find that you’ll be able to meet your goals, Berri. Being an Echidna Race, you should be able to have children much more rapidly, and Blood will be happy that her children will be quite strong. Let’s just say from the moment they hatch, they could easily defeat an adult human.”

Jake groaned and facepalmed. His children would…hatch? However, he could see Blood and Berri’s hopeful glances; they were filled with excitement at the prospect of their desires being fulfilled.

This was important to them, and he was having a hard time seeing the downside other than how strange it would be in the future. Berri, in particular, was filled with desire, and he just knew that this was nothing but a super-win for the girl.

He accepted this bizarre situation, though he let her know they would discuss the overall situation later.

Bloodberri said, “We accept.”

Echidna smiled, and a small spark flew from her hand and floated in front of Bloodberri’s chest. Jake felt like a raging beast was near him, but he also felt the love and desire of a mother, wanting her child to become both powerful and successful. That through deadly struggles, one would become strong enough to face anything.

Now Echidna smiled as she looked at Jake. “I knew I could count on you, Champion Jake. I know this situation is weird for you, but I know that in the end, you do love beasts and creatures of all kinds, and you will love your grandchildren very much. Your love of beasts among summoners is special, and I actually considered placing one of my children in your party–before you became Hestia’s Champion.”

She seemed to glance at the ‘small’ mountain, where the odd Cerberus dinosaur hid behind. “If you had chosen the beast path, that just might have come to pass.”

Jake was shocked; she was interested in him before he met Hestia.

Before he could really respond, he felt Bloodberri and himself drifting away. Echidna continued, focused on Bloodberri, “Goodbye, child. Fight for your family and others under Hestia’s banner, and temper yourselves and your children against your enemies. Struggle, overcome adversity to grow and reach the apex.”

Echidna’s Divine Spark entered Bloodberri, merging with the physical Hearthcore and the two souls. As Berri was already empowered by Hestia and by her unique birth, a slight majority of the empowerment went to Blood’s dark-attuned soul, making it Holy Dark. Now, the two souls were truly in balance.

Bloodberri and Jake disappeared from the clearing, and Echidna’s smile was beaming. She spoke to one of her children, the Cerberus dinosaur.

“I can’t believe that deal I made with those crazy dark elves is really going to pay off like this. To think they’d ruin everything on their side in a colossal failure, and that spark would come back to me instead, but better. It’s like my daughter returned to me after being married to a scumbag against my wishes, professing that she learned her lesson and would listen to mommy now. It’s a wonderful feeling, I will treasure it for all time.”

The three dog heads all barked in reply repeatedly, their barks of derision shaking the valley.

Echidna scoffed. “You don’t think Jake’s children will be that big of a deal, since he’s only a mere human?”

She snorted. “That Odin would pull wool over the eyes of the entire multiverse, if it meant winning this war against Tartarus while staying true to himself. Either way, Jake won’t be only a mere human for much longer, if it’s already not the case now. You’re just jealous the demoness talked him out of the beast path.”

The dogs all sneeringly barked some more in reply.

“You might have helped Jake in those fights, but it wasn’t necessary. You three were just bored and trying to have fun, and you know it. We had to use this glade for this meeting because you destroyed half the other one fighting over which of you would drive that stupid badgerdillo or otter next. Watching that fight was entertaining, but it was a little much.”

The dogs all blushed, and Echidna chuckled. “Oh! I bet I was on the mark about the jealousy, wasn’t I? Does someone have a crush?”

They all barked in anger, their denial echoing through the valley. One offered a query.

Echidna frowned. “What do you mean, how do you know if you want to eat something, or eat something? You’re old enough to understand that by now, aren’t you? I guess the nature of the void is an odd thing. You may have a shot at getting a little closer to the void child, but you’ll have to give something up. Many will gather under Hestia’s banner, and whether you find your mate or a meal you can’t eat, the war in this Sector should still be beneficial to you.”

The Cerberus-like being thought a moment but nodded in acquiescence before leaving the clearing.

Echidna summoned a mirror, the view showing hundreds of worlds, including the world of Highlands. She focused her gaze on it with a smile. “The war on this world is really heating up. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”