"Rin made you her successor?" Abby repeated, distress twisting her features. Her fingernails dug into her palms until blood dripped down her nails. She didn't even seem to notice. "What does that mean?"
"It means she was really pissed at the Nightmarch," Claire replied. She stared down at the Aspect Gem clutched in her grip. It vanished an instant later and her fingers closed down on the air where it had been. "I don't know the last time a Broodmother passed her line down to someone that wasn't even in her family. I'm not sure it's ever happened."
"Is that what the gem was?" Aaron asked.
"No." Abby answered before Claire could speak. "Aspect Gems are part of the System. When you reach the Initiate Stage, you'll be able to use three of them to improve your Soul Manifestation and make a domain. They're rare… but I don't think they had anything to do with what just happened."
"They didn't," Claire said. "Rin just asked me to take responsibility for this camp and everyone in it. She saw you as her children."
Alex tilted his head to the side. He was pretty sure that there was more significance to the conversation than Claire was letting on. Something told him that drinking Rin's blood hadn't been purely symbolic.
I'll have to ask Claire about it when we get a moment alone. She's obviously not going to want to go sharing what just happened with everyone that just happens to be standing around.
"There's not much of a camp left," Abby said grimly as she cast her gaze around the smoldering clearing.
She wasn't wrong. The stench of burnt foliage and flesh consumed the clearing. Alex could still see the main camp through the trees — they'd only gotten a little into the forest when they'd found Rin. Grass was scorched black and only a few of the cabins still stood strong. People and rubble littered the ground behind them.
"There's going to be even less of it left when the Region Boss gets around to you," Alex said.
Abby's lips thinned. "This isn't the time—"
"No," Alex said firmly. "This is exactly the time. We don't have time to sit around pitying ourselves. There's a monster leagues more powerful than the Field Boss coming, and if you aren't prepared to face it, then it'll kill everyone here. What's the point of Rin's sacrifice if you all just end up dying in a few days because you sat around moping?"
"Do you really think we even have a chance against something like that?" Aaron asked. "I mean… we barely beat the Field Boss. Wouldn't it be better to run away and train?"
"It would certainly be safer," Alex allowed with a shrug. "But you're already behind. For the rest of the world, the Apocalypse is in full swing. The people at the forefront of it — the ones who have the best chances of survival — have been fighting for their lives this entire time. Things aren't going to get any easier. If you want to get strong enough to survive, you'll have to take risks. Big ones."
"I don't even think I hurt that Field Boss, though," May said nervously. "How can we fight something stronger?"
"As you are, you can't," Alex replied with a shrug. "But I can give people a chance to get stronger. A lot stronger. Quickly, too. It'll give all of us a chance against the Region Boss. If we don't take that chance, then someone else will. You might survive this week, but the threat that comes the following one will kill everyone."
"Why can't we just avoid the Region Boss and focus on training?" Abby asked. "If you've got a power like that, we could use it until—"
Abby blinked. "What?"
"I'm sorry if you got the wrong idea, but I'm not doing this because I'm a saint. Claire and I already said the reason we came here. It's to defeat the Region Boss. I had no problem helping this village out, but I'm not running a charity. I can't afford to. I'm not that strong. If you help me, then I'll help you. If you won't, then you're free to go on your way."
Abby stared at Alex. Her gaze flicked to Claire. "But didn't you agree to—"
"A Brood must follow every order they receive," Claire said simply. "I agreed to honor Rin's wishes, but that would mean you have to fulfill them as well. Alex is right. Risks today give life tomorrow. We'll help those who stand by us and wish those who don't the best as they leave."
Brittle leaves crunched beneath Aaron's feet as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. There were several long seconds of silence.
Abby chewed her cheeks, her fingers twitching as they tapped a steady beat against her leg.
"I'll stay," Aaron said, breaking the silence. He set his jaw and clenched his hands. "Alex is right. We can't just keep running and hiding. I don't know what the hell is going on with the Apocalypse, but if the rest of the world is leaving us behind, we have to take a stand somewhere. If you can give me that chance, then I'll take it."
"Me too," May said. "I want to fight as well."
Alex half expected Aaron to tell his sister something stupid like she wasn't allowed to fight and would have to sit things out. But, to his surprise, Aaron just nodded. He caught the look on Alex's face and gave him a grim smile.
"What?" Aaron asked. "Did you think I was going to keep trying to shelter her?"
"Yes," Alex admitted.
"I'm not strong enough for that. I thought hiding would be safer, but I was wrong. We can't hide. And if we can't hide, then our only option is to fight. I'm not stupid enough to take away her only chance at being strong enough to defend herself."
Abby affixed Alex with a sharp look. "Are you serious about our chances? Or are you just planning to use the village as fodder to absorb the Region Boss' attention while you reap the rewards?"
"That depends on you," Alex said honestly. He wasn't looking to lie to them. There wasn't any reason to. It wasn't like anyone here had much choice in the matter. There were only two options. Either people took him up on his offer to get stronger or they ran. And if they chose the latter, it didn't matter what they thought of him. "I can't promise anyone will live. All I can do is give you the same opportunities I got. Some people will probably die, but the ones that survive will be powerful. And, for what it's worth, I'll do everything I can to help those who stand at my side."
"Definitely. Not probably. There's no doubt about it," Orchid corrected. "This isn't a game. You should know that by now, Abby."
"I do," Abby said quietly. "But I wanted to see if you would try to bullshit me about it. If you'd said that we'd all survive, I'd have said you were full of shit and left. But… you're right. I'll stand with you as well, and I'll speak to the others to see how many will join us."
"Thank you," Alex said. He really didn't fancy repeating this conversation with everyone in the campsite. Having someone to take care of it for him would save a lot of effort. "You've got four and a half hours."
"That's a… very specific amount of time," Abby observed.
Alex nodded. "Half an hour for the conversation. Four hours to meditate. We'll be leaving immediately after that. Everyone who fought today should have gotten some pretty good rewards for the challenge, right?"
May and Aaron both nodded.
"You're about to take us to some form of difficult challenge, right?" Aaron asked.
"Yes," Alex replied. "That's the only way to get stronger, and we'll need to be doing a lot of that before the Region Boss wakes up if anyone wants to survive. Why?"
"The challenge will be greater if we're weaker, right?"" Aaron asked. He swallowed, then pushed on. "Wouldn't it be smarter to hold off on meditating?"
A grin pulled across Alex's lips. "I like the way that you think. You're right — but I don't think you have that luxury right now. Trust me, you're not going to breeze through this just because you've gotten a bit stronger. This is just going to give you a chance to actually be able to put up a fight."
"Make sure you invest a lot of your energy into your Mind Palace," Claire advised. "Don't use everything on leveling up. It'll reinforce your body and make sure you're a lot stronger in the long run."
Whoops. Forgot to mention that, but it was a good idea to let them know. I would very much prefer that the people we spend time training survive. I'm carrying around a Town Token, after all.
No point having a town without people. I need a home base, but if there aren't people there to protect and look after it, I'll be stuck sitting around a bunch of empty buildings myself. It's much better to have a group of people to help so I'm not stuck in one place constantly… and if I want to fight back against the Outworlders, I'm going to need more than just me and Claire.
"Definitely focus a lot of strength on that," Alex advised. "Don't advance to Initiate until you've completely filled your body with energy and it won't take anymore."
"How do we know when that happens?" Aaron asked.
"You'll know." The corner of Alex's mouth twitched. There was something deeply amusing about pretending to be a wise, sage master. Now he knew why nobody ever gave straight answers. "Until then, go meditate. I'm serious about the four and a half hour time limit. We don't know how long it'll be until the Region Boss shows up. Abby, if you could rally up everyone that's willing to fight, I'd appreciate it."
"I'll do that," Abby promised.
She, along with Aaron and May, headed back to the smoldering campsite.
Orchid glanced from Alex to Claire. "I take it you want me gone as well."
"I was going to suggest you make sure we aren't missing anything and maybe work on getting that staff of yours fully connected to you," Alex replied innocently.
"Right." Orchid let out a short laugh. "I'll go do that. It's good advice if we're going back to the Mirrorlands. I'm still far weaker than I should be."
She followed after the others and made toward the campsite, leaving Alex and Claire alone for the first time in a while. They waited until everyone was out of earshot to speak.
"So," Alex said. "What exactly did Rin give you?"
"Potential," Claire replied softly. "Every Dhampir bloodline bears its own unique powers, and all Broods are of a single bloodline."
"So Rin shared hers with you?"
"No. Sharing bloodlines is impossible. Our bloodline is ingrained into our souls. They're one and the same. We can't share bloodlines. We can only give them up. It is the greatest form of sacrifice a Dhampir can do, and there is only a single time that it is ever done."
"And what time is that?" Alex asked, not missing the chill in Claire's words.
"During the ceremony in which the victor of Court absorbs the bloodline of a Brood that stood against them." Claire swallowed heavily. "Rin has named me Queen."