Sharp gusts of wind batter the group as they traverse the stale terrain, retracing the steps once taken to their repeated destination. The ground shrieks against the grating currents, a sky of clouds suppressing all light to a dull illumination of interspersed green against an ocean of grey. A wide mist consumes the edges of the horizon, obscuring the mountains and pillars which barely poke into view with their enormity. Shortly ahead, an obsidian boulder sits in stark contrast to the matt stone, subtle movements of life taking place within the glassy shell as it hunkers against the tempest. One of the big rock lizards. We must be getting close.

  "I think we're almost there." "What?!" "What?!" "What?!" This wind... A golden palm sinks into the earth behind her, warping the surrounding stone into a thick half-dome shield against the wind. The world in their vicinity calms, only the gentle puffs of chilly zephyrs and the harsh rumble of wind grinding stone leaking in. "Thanks. We're almost there. Let's wait out the storm before we keep going." "Hoh..." "Finally..." "Ah, how relieving." Three figures collapse and slide down against the smooth wall protecting them, sighs of relief harmonising with the whistling winds. "Cheh, weaklings. Giving up after a mere thirty hours of walking. I could've gone for a week." "Lyla. If you weren't strapped to Aleph like that you would have been blown away in the first minute of the storm." "You think I'd lose to a mere puff of wind like this? I could sneeze harder than such a paltry waft of air!"

  Aleph lays down around the group, warmth from her body pushing back against the ambient chill. "What's the plan for when we find the drake? Fight?" Didi asks, her body emitting a warm glow of its own. "Preferably not. I don't know how strong it actually is, but with a body that big any fight is going to be catastrophic, so hopefully we can just take the crystal without issue. If it's as smart as Nila said we can probably talk to it." "But they also said it lost its mind..." "We can only wait and see."

  Through the eyes of a muddled spider

  "So what's your plan after that?" Lyla skitters to the dragon's snout, eyes meeting for her question. "Get the other crystals for more Aether." "And then?" "Uh... Apotheosis?" "And then?" "Hmm... I... don't know." I figured. "How can you expect us to fight for you when you don't even know what your goal is?" "Oh, no. You misunderstand. I have a rough idea of what my goal should be, it's just... scrambled. Confused. Like several thoughts all mixed together." The others turn, intrigued expressions and confused squints meeting the dragon. "How do I put this... Someone will survive, but they're already dead. The universe will be born soon and is about to end. I must not exist for everything to exist. It feels like I have several goals, all jumbled together into an incomprehensible mess. Everything feels correct, but mistaken. This isn't quite like my obscured past, I think I've just lived so many lives that parts of them are mixing together under my fragmented memories as I both try and try not to recall them." "Huh... That's rough, buddy."

  Through the eyes of a bored demon

  "So, I think this begs the question. How old is Aleph?" Diala scratches idly at the ground, picking up a rock to begin chiselling. "We've established this. Less than one year." Lyla pokes at the demon with her legs, tiny clinks sounding as her head rocks with each tap. "That's if you only include this life. What about if we include all of her past lives?" "What if we include my past lives? Those just don't count." "You don't remember your past lives." "She barely does either." Diala pauses chipping away at the stone, her head still being bounced at regular intervals. "Good point..." "You only struggle with your first life at this point, right?" Fluffy interjects, splayed back in total relaxation, not even lifting his head to talk. "There's a few more recent lives I'm yet to remember, but for the most part you're correct." "Then if we include the lives remembered it's roughly two-thousand cycles." "Really? Doesn't feel that long." So she is the oldest then. But... "What if we do include the first life?" "Then it's simple. She predates all known history spanning back at least four-thousand cycles. Nobody but the ancients would know."

  Through the eyes of a tired elf

  I see we're all asking Teach questions, but I don't really have anything to ask. Though... this could be a fun one. "Hey, Teach. What is the strangest creature you've reincarnated into?" "Hmm... Well, there was one time I drifted within the soul sea a bit too far from euclidean space and entered a body which was topologically equivalent a Klein bottle. I died pretty quick because I don't know how to perceive hyperbolic geometry without Aether. Cause of death was probably something tantamount to cardiac arrest." I didn't understand a word. Such creatures can exist? Maybe Enri was right and I should learn some math after all...

  Through the eyes of a thoughtful ape

  The space within the shield of earth grows quiet, filled only by the ambient growl of the storm winds slamming around them. One by one the group fall asleep, the bright one slumping across her perch while the warrior of green manages to out-snore the storm. Even the fiery one turns dormant, a rough but discernible likeness to Gol Dhee held within her grip, leaving only two still awake. "You have something you want to ask me, right?" Was I so obvious? Though, elders do always appear to simply know things. Perhaps wisdom aids her more than I once thought. "How do I address you?" "You can call me anything you like. I really don't mind." Anything... That doesn't work.

  "My kin have no concept of a name. We simply describe. I thought you the strange ones for claiming words to be your own, yet after encountering other peoples and living amongst those in the city of the gods it seems I am the unusual one." "Often times there is little distinction between a description and a name. I've lived several lives where neither were possible, so you are far from unusual from my perspective." "I see... Still. The name I address you with is unsuitable. Hinya Mul is emissary to the great shadow, a being who calls you god. You are no emissary." "Then who am I to you?" Who indeed... Something to revere? A fond companion? An object of fear? A close friend? I do not know... I know. "Um'mah." "What does that mean?" "Unknowable one." "How apt."

  "That isn't what you wanted to talk about though." Too astute... "Very well... Am I a burden to you?" "No. But my answer won't help you. That is something you have to decide for yourself." I suppose so. It is my own doubts that inhibit me, yet knowing this does nothing to assist. "I should rest." "I'll wake you when the storm dies down." Gol Dhee nods, allowing the warm cloak of fatigue to cloud his mind as he rears back and loses perception of the world.

  "Hey! Banana peel! Wake up!" High-power deluges of mildly annoying taps relentlessly assault the eyes and face of the slumbering ape, accompanied by an especially annoying tune of words proving enough to disrupt anyone's mind from restful bliss. Grasping the irritating critter and tossing her random-ways, Gol Dhee sits up and wipes his eyes open. What is a banana? Thonk! "Ow! Success! He's awake!" "Well, that does seem like an effective method to wake someone up at least. Maybe I should try it next time." Groggy eyes squint at the warrior who turns away, expression too blurry to parse.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Storm's up. We shouldn't be far now." The unknowable one slides past his vision, tail tugging him to follow. Lumbering footfalls and gentle taps traverse the steadily focusing terrain, shield of earth long discarded by the time wakefulness returns in full. Light from the cores above pierce through the scattering clouds, interspersed patches of brightness building a landscape of contrast across the undulating terrain. Upon cresting a steep slope, a familiar peak graces the horizon, vegetation giving way to stark bluffs and flattened land. A faint quality of essence filling the air, growing, growing, ever slowly as they approach the inactive titan.

  Beasts of stone litter the surroundings, inspecting the group from afar yet maintaining a cautious distance. The gentle hum of energy keeps growing, growing, becoming a growl, a pressure, a mass which tugs down at every strand of fur. Plants vanish from the surroundings, only a flat layer of thin-leaved moss remaining. Observing creatures refuse further proximity, the landscape turning barren as the peak pulls into view as a mountain which eats more and more of the horizon as they grow closer. Gravity gains strength, growing, growing, becoming almost aggressive, an impartial hostility only held by the mindless forces of nature. And once more, the mountain opens its eyes.

  A silent gaze. A powerful Aura. A lacking intent. Gol Dhee looks into the eyes of the titan which once held his admiration, each orb large enough to fit dozens of homes yet bearing a distinct shallowness. Lacking in an indiscernible quality which makes the beast, a far greater scale than the home of his kin with its body alone, feel small. I do not understand. What differs? The unknowable one continues forward, fear not seeming to register as a concept. Atop her head, the bright one waves her challenge, the warrior of green inspecting the motions of the beast while the fiery one returns to chiselling after a brief glance of curiosity. "It feels... different." Gol Dhee murmurs, picking up his pace to keep up. "Looks the same to me. Maybe because last time was more hectic?" No... Something else feels different about it to me.

  The titan grows closer, eyes fixated on the approaching group with a simple, harmless curiosity. Why does it not speak the language of will? Has it nothing to say? The unknowable one stops, positioned within the focus of its eyes. "Are you Andrurra?" She speaks, voice resounding with the air itself, lacking in volume yet encompassing a wide range. No response. No reaction. No hint of acknowledgement. Only the persistent gaze of an innocent, almost animalistic curiosity. "I see..." She steps forward, gaze detached from that of the beast as she approaches the wedged earth defining its circumference. "Why does it not respond? Does it recall us?" "I doubt it. It doesn't even seem to understand my words, or recognise what should be its name."

  Black wings glide across the crevasse to cling to the beast's body, the remainder of the group making the leap to begin their climb. "This is what happens when you put a partially awakened soul into an improper vessel." "I do not understand." Upon leaving its view the beast shields its eyes once more, a low rumble of shifting earth shivering the ground as it returns to its silent slumber. "A soul without a pure heart to protect it will imprint on its vessel. This creature's soul was taken from someone with an awakened soul and implanted into a body which would normally never awaken its soul. Over time, the mind of the lizard overwrote the mind previously imprinted onto the soul, leaving us with something little more than an animal. Eventually, it will lose its awakened state entirely."

  The mind of the body imprints onto the mind of the soul? There is a distinction between the two? "That's kind-of sad actually..." The fiery one mulls, her jubilant hops growing more reserved. "As far as I'm concerned it's just an animal now. Cute, but not worth worrying about." "That's a bit harsh, don't you think? Regardless of what it is now, it was once a person with thoughts, feelings, and a favourite food." "I imagine it still has those things. The mind of an animal can be surprisingly similar to that of a person." "Then why don't you care?" "Something to do with pure hearts I think, but I just can't bring myself to care about anything without an awakened soul." Is there more to this concept of an awakened soul than the capacity to think? How strange...

  "Gol Dhee, what do you think? Surely this is worth being sad about." "I am uncertain. There is too much I am ignorant on to comment on its current state, though I agree the loss of one's mind is a travesty." "I for one think it doesn't matter. It is equally as fascinating regardless of its mental capacity. Do you think this is related to the Haven Clan's capabilities with soul moulting?" The warrior of green interjects, his pace leading the group as they clamber and climb the steep bluffs. "You guys need a lesson on animal ethics..." "I thought demon society doesn't have a standard set of ethics when it comes to contract worlds." "We don't. Anything goes within the constraints of the contract and laws relating to other demons and treaties. But this contract is already anything but standard, so who's keeping track?"

  I still do not understand it. This means it is no different from when we last encountered it. Does this mean I am the one who changed? How strange... "I sense it." "Hmm?" "It's no wonder I couldn't tell last time. This thing is huge for one, but the Aether is also being suppressed. Just like that box Nila had, though less effective." "Where is it? How do we get to it? Want me to use my epic laser-beam attack to dig for it?" "Lyla, you don't have an epic laser-beam attack." "I'll have you know I have the best epic laser-beam attacks." "We've never seen them." "Because they're too powerful to use carelessly. I'm doing you a favour by holding back." "..."

  Gol Dhee tunes out the idiot pair and turns to the unknowable one. "Where?" "Pretty much in a straight line through the ground. I can dig to it." "And if we agitate the titan of earth?" "If we need to fight for it, then we fight." "Allow me. I can avoid its ire." Violet eyes tilt quizzically, before ushering him on with a nod. Placing a palm to the earth, he pools his essence and focuses his will. Show me. Gol Dhee requests the earth, and the earth responds to Gol Dhee. A wave of essence pushes through the stone, brushing against the thick energy ambient to the titan's body and echoing across every cavity, every nerve and fibre, every disturbance. An overwhelming concoction of information is pulled towards him, yet in response to his simple request, a simple answer is given, a rough approximation compiling only what he needs to proceed.

  Within the centre of the mountain sits a space, a cavern within which essence seems to warp, lose focus, waver. That must be it. Grant me a path. A second request, a second will, and another response. Fingers pry at the earth, softening the stone and pulling it apart to form a winding tunnel which traverses around the sensitive nerves and fragile veins interspersing the beast's body. Liquid rock compresses at the edges, hardening into an almost crystal-like wall around the passage. The beast lays undisturbed by the moulding of its shell, likely unable to even notice from the lack of sensation. "We can proceed."

  "Your training has come a long way. When we first met you wouldn't have been able to even break stone this rich in Mana." Gol Dhee bows to the compliment before stepping into the tunnel, leading the group through the narrow twists and turns. "Hey, monkey! Could you not make this a bit wider? We can barely fit!" Complains the smallest individual in the group, who also happens to be getting a free ride and is thus having the least amount of issue traversing the space. Gol Dhee plants his palm on the stone wall, the gentle thrum of rushing blood humming through the thin shield. "Not without harming the titan." As he steps away, the bright one taps the wall curiously behind him.

  Winding passageways give way to a small opening, spreading out into a cylindrical room of carved stone. Essence seems to still under the soft ambience of a different energy, one without will, without intent, but filled with the dense nature of uniformity and stability. This energy... It feels like standing by the warrior of green or the unknowable one during battle. Is this the feeling of what they call Aether? In the nexus of the space sits a pink stone, gently reflecting incoming light into a colourless glow.

  The unknowable one strides to the stone, prying it free from its pedestal with an energy of her own and swallowing it whole. "That's one. Now let's go up and find more."