Annoying bastards, Greldo thought as he moved along the length of the portal gallery branch, searching for a place with less of the Oculithar. Some areas had far fewer of them, but there weren't any with so few he dared make a run for it.

  Every time he'd tried, he'd felt... something... observing him. He had no idea who or what it was. Initially, he'd thought it had to be the Oculithar, but as he flew around, he didn't see their eyes trailing him. And with how many they had, he would definitely have noticed.

  Not that they weren't a problem on their own.

  He could sense them. They partially moved through the shadowrealm, causing waves and ripples. Even if it was instinctive, it meant that if he moved too close, with how much of a ripple he made when he moved, they would sense him just as well.

  I guess we should be glad that there's not one of those big ones here, Greldo thought.

  After another two hours, he slowed down again. He was getting weary, his energy low. Ever since he'd gotten his new soulcard, his ability to drag stuff through the shadowrealm had increased tremendously, but it wasn't without limits.

  Coal's mind touched his, and Greldo frowned.

  Right… we could do that, he thought, as he changed course and began speeding up again.

  In the far distance, he saw one of the remaining storm clouds, a pulsing, writhing mass of soulforce mixed with water and ice. It took only minutes to get to its edges, and when he did, he sensed the faint movements of the Oculithar through the shadowrealm. There were definitely some inside, but from what he could sense, far fewer than outside.

  The spot where the storm touched the barrier was constantly blazing with blueish lightning.

  Time to try again, Greldo thought to Coal.

  His friend rushed back to him, having remained much closer than normal. Only a handful of his shadow clones were outside, and Greldo felt them move toward him, dissipating or dissolving as they came closer to Coal. When they were all gone, he felt Coal return to his soulscape.

  With everything prepared, Greldo dove deeper into the shadowrealm, moving forward slowly as he did.

  He felt the ripples of the few Oculithar that skimmed the surface of the shadowrealm, trying to stay as far away as he could.

  As he closed in on the barrier, he began getting the same unsettling sensation he'd felt before. Something was observing him. He slowed, focusing on the tiny ripples in the shadowrealm. There weren't any Oculithar near him… so what was he feeling?

  He moved forward again, hoping Irwin was paying close attention.

  Whatever was observing him, he couldn't keep this up much longer. Besides, he might need energy to flee if this failed.

  He continued forward, the sensation of being watched increasing until it was so strong he gnashed his teeth in frustration. He was only a mile from the barrier. He could either teleport or fly at full speed… both ways would get him there nearly instantly. So why did he have this feeling of impending dread?

  He forced himself onward until he was almost within touching distance of the barrier. It was a mass of writhing lightning and pulsing energy, so thick and dense that he could only faintly see through.

  Was the problem on the other side? Perhaps what was somehow disturbing him…

  Greldo frowned, looking around. There was something here, but he couldn't see it. What did that mean? Was it invisible? Hiding on the other side of the barrier?

  If it's on the other side, we will just have to find out, he decided.

  He took a deep breath and pushed onward, touching the barrier. As soon as he did, he felt it—a movement. Not in the storm. Not beyond the barrier. But inside the shadowrealm! So deep he could barely fathom it, but surging forward and … up? Out? He had no idea what to call it, but something massive was coming out from within the depths he'd not even felt before.

  He was about to teleport when he stopped.

  It's going to follow me!

  He didn't know how he knew, but he knew it was true. Whatever had been hiding in the depths, following them, would somehow follow him through the barrier if he moved now.

  He shot back, hoping the thing would sink down again, but it wasn't. The shadowrealm all around him began pulsing and flailing as it moved toward him. Hundreds of tiny shadow fish popped into his shadowpocket, something he didn't know they could do, causing the normal aura of shadowy life that followed him to turn desolate within a moment.

  The dread he was feeling increased, and Greldo knew he was out of time. Sending a small prayer that Irwin would be fast enough, he ejected his friend from his soulscape, then appeared beside him within the storm.

  He grabbed Irwin's arm as the icy cold wrapped around him. A moment later, he reappeared in a calm room, a crackling fire in the forge, the only sound.

  "Grell-"

  "There's something in the shadowrealm," Greldo shouted as he turned to Irwin, barely realizing his friend had his normal-sized body within his soulscape. "Use that soundwave thing and get us inside!"

  Irwin slumped down where he stood, and Greldo clenched his hands, his mind a fuzzy mess as adrenaline tried to wash away his weariness.

  --

  Irwin jolted as he pulled his full focus into his giantself. He didn't see anything around him but the raging storm, but he didn't hesitate. He disappeared from where he'd popped out and flowed across the soundwaves, shooting toward the barrier.

  Two hundred feet were crossed in the blink of an eye, and a moment later, he passed through the portal gallery barrier. As he did, he felt a moment of intense pressure on his soulscape barriers, as if something was trying to push through.

  Then he reached the other side, and the pressure vanished as he reappeared in midair, a thousand feet above the massive landmass below. He turned his head, and his breath caught in his throat.

  Enormous, pale orbs were staring at him from the other side of the barrier. Tentacles pressed against it, causing a web of blue lightning.

  Irwin shuddered as he felt a mix of hatred, fear, and… awe. He knew it came from his ancestral memories and, with them, an influx of knowledge.

  A fully grown one…

  He shuddered again, realizing he was currently falling toward the ground below. With a short burst, he shot across the soundwaves, back and away from the portal. A few moments later, he landed on the rocky, dusty ground.

  The entire side of the portal gallery barrier in front of him was covered in blue lightning, obscuring the eyes he'd just seen.

  "You can't come in," he muttered, knowing he was right.

  The crackling didn't stop, and Irwin watched it for a short while before turning away and shooting off into the distance as fast as he could.

  I hope I don't see another Oculithar for a very long time, he thought.

  --

  The monstrous being raged as it saw the brightly burning pinprick vanish. Howling, it slammed itself against the barrier, knowing it couldn't go through but needing something to vent.

  One of the smaller parts of its multifaceted mind remained calm and observed that the young ones were speeding away from it. Should it go after them? They had failed to catch the source of the old scent…

  The thought managed to calm the rest of it, and slowly, the minds bundled together as the thrashing stopped.

  It backed up, away from the horrible barriers that prevented it from going where it wanted. Even for it, the barrier was too powerful, too strong.

  Flowing further back, it began diving back into the darkness, relishing in the sense it brought. It was new and different! Something that hadn't been there the last time its mind had managed to reel itself back from mindless, splintered insanity.

  A wave of rage and hatred filled it for a moment at the realization of how close it had come. If only the tiny thing had been more powerful, had created a larger wake through this new realm! Then, the entity knew its presence would have gone unnoticed. It would have been able to move a part of its body through the barrier! Just long enough to eject a cluster of eggs… that would have been enough.

  As it dove deeper and deeper into the new realm, feeling other things, broken and almost as ancient as itself, scuttle away in fear, it focused back on one of its tentacles. The new clutch of eggs was almost ready, and they would be different! They were likely still unable to move through the barrier as the small one had, but maybe they could hide within its shadow.

  The entity stopped diving and remained where it was, knowing it wasn't anywhere near as deep as it could go but sensing the movements below. It faintly recalled the sense of being prey. Back when it was a mindless young one. It knew that if it went any deeper, that might happen again, though the knowledge was so foreign… such an odd concept that it didn't fully grasp what it meant. But it would. It just had to remain here as more of its fragments pulled themselves from insanity. Eventually, it would regain its full mind.

  And then? A single coherent thought carried the essence of the entity.

  > Hunt <

  --

  "Great… so Oculithar moves through the shadowrealm now," Greldo said, sitting with his back against the railing of the Nocturna.

  Irwin looked at his friend and pulled another plate of food from his soulscape.

  "Eat," he ordered, handing it to Greldo.

  "Yes, yes, Mom," Greldo muttered.

  Irwin shook his head, glancing at Rindiri, who stood behind the helm.

  "If we use the ships, it will take months to get to Eluathar," she said. "If Greldo brings us, it should be only a few days."

  Greldo barked a laugh, spitting bread and stew across his legs. "Greldo will take some rest, then gladly carry you, freeloaders, all the way back home! Just make sure you tell everyone how great I was."

  Irwin snorted, then laughed. "Sure. I'll tell Dahlia that for at least the first few months that we are back."

  Greldo cocked his head, frowning at Irwin. "Is that a threat?"

  "It might be," Irwin said as he waggled his eyebrows.

  "Ugh…. please don't do that, it's frightening," Greldo grunted.

  "Do you wanna stay here or…"

  Greldo reached out a hand. "No, please, Lord Irwin, bring me to your realm so I may rest in silence!"

  Irwin laughed as he reached out and pulled his friend into his soulscape, using some extra effort to return him to his own room. Then he looked at Rindiri.

  "Alright, let's go and scout around for a world," he said.

  --

  Basil yawned, his jaw plopping.

  "Can you scout around again, Basil?" he muttered, his voice slightly higher than normal. "You're the only one who can go out that far, Basil."

  He snorted.

  "Why did I let them talk me into this again? I could be drinking in the Purple Canopy now! Checking on Irwin's brats and seeing what trouble they've gotten into this time."

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Scariander let out a deep hum that carried almost as much annoyance as his own complaints.

  "Exactly! You could have sang with those calves, teach them some manners," Basil agreed, padding his friend's thick hide hard enough that it would have shattered a table.

  "Whatever. Let's see what we can find. With some luck, those blue-haired bastards didn't find a way past the fleet again. Slippery little shits."

  He looked around, his gaze drifting to the barrier high above. The glowing energy almost made it look like a blue sky, but he knew that behind it was the infinite primal chaos, at least that's what Daubutim told him it was called. Without the storm covering it, however, it was easy to forget what was beyond.

  Well, let's hope I don't find any more pockets, he thought.

  If that stupid Galub, Doomblade, was to be believed, the ships of those invaders only allowed travel through the storm.

  "Galubs," he grunted, shaking his head. He still couldn't believe they actually allowed those to remain in the harbor! Yes, they had gotten their own separate district, but even then!

  "Asking for trouble," he muttered.

  He was about to complain a bit more when a soft tremor ran through Scariander. It was accompanied by a bunch of feelings and images that, to him, almost sounded like normal words.

  "What do you mean, you sense something?" he asked, pushing himself up on his feet and looking around from Scariander's massive, heavily scarred back.

  "I don't-"

  "Hey! Basil!"

  Basil jerked around, his armor and sword appearing as he struck out behind him.

  "Careful, you tall fool!"

  Basil stared at the hairy, golden-eyed, black-haired man behind him, who had disappeared and reappeared a few steps back so fast that he almost missed it. It took him a few moments to recognize the person below the dusty and ragged exterior.

  "Greldo?" he grunted, lowering his sword. "What? By Gelwin's balls, where did you come from?"

  "Here and there," Greldo replied, scratching his beard. "You know how it is. Travel the Portal Gallery, visit new worlds."

  Basil just stared at him.

  "Right, well, did anybody ever tell you you shouldn't talk to yourself?" Greldo said. "I could hear you from miles away!"

  "Who says I was talking to myself?" Basil snapped, tapping his foot. "I was talking with Scariander!"

  "Right! About that! You wanna know what we picked up during our travels?" Greldo said, his grin widening.

  Basil sighed. Couldn't this brat just tell him instead of asking questions?

  "No. What?" he said, deadpan.

  "This!" Greldo said, waving his arm to the side.

  Basil followed it and felt his jaw go slack as he saw seven tiny chaos whales appear. The longest was barely large enough to sit on, though it would look ridiculous.

  Scariander let out a deep trumpeting sound, floating sideways while radiating confusion and a desire to protect.

  "Where did you pull those from?" Basil asked, looking at Greldo. "Also, now that I think about it, where is Irwin? Scintilla said he was with you?"

  "Scintilla made it back?" Greldo said, taking a step forward, a look of intense relief flooding his face. "Was Dahlia with her?"

  "The mouthy smith? Yeah, she was there," Basil said.

  "Thank Yilda," Greldo whispered, and suddenly Basil noticed just how weary the other man was. His eyes were droopy, his shoulder slightly slumped, and his hands clenched into fists.

  "Are you guys alright?" Basil asked, taking a step forward as he un-summoned his armor and sword.

  "We will be," Greldo said, letting out a less playful but more sincere smile. "Knowing the others made it back alive helps. Is everything alright back home?"

  Basil hesitated, then shrugged. "Everything is fine on Eluathar, the cities are growing, and towns have begun appearing all over."

  Greldo frowned. "And the harbor?"

  "Do you remember that galub, Doomblade?"

  Greldo's eyes narrowed, and Basil saw the other's hair slowly rise as if pushed by some invisible wind.

  "What about him? Didn't we leave him in the middle of nowhere?"

  "You did, but apparently, he didn't like it there," Basil said with a snort. "He returned about a year ago, chased by dozens of ships. There was a little confusion till we figured out what was going on, but when those ships started firing on ours, we eventually fought it out."

  "Wait, I'm too tired for this. Who did you fight with? The Galubs?"

  "No, some purple and blue-haired people with purple blood," Basil said. "According to Doomblade, they had been roaming around the other side of those soulforce dead areas."

  "Accentii," Greldo grunted.

  "What?" Basil asked, moving closer. "You know of them?"

  "Oh yeah," Greldo muttered. "Are you heading back?"

  Basil looked around, then shook his head. "I want to, but I need to scout this area. Those… Accentii, if they are the same ones, have been moving through the last bits of the storm, trying to pass the barricade."

  "Barricade…?" Greldo shook his head. "Never mind. Coal is sending his shadow clones around. We can head back."

  "Shadow clones?" Basil asked, raising an eyebrow. He knew about Coal, Greldo's hound, but what did he mean by shadow clones?

  Greldo waved his hand around, and suddenly, dark, shadowy hounds hovered around them, each the size of a young charbul and staring at Basil with intense, glimmering eyes.

  "Right," he said, taking a step back. "I guess that will do…"

  The shadow clones vanished, and Greldo lowered himself into a seated position.

  "I'm going to get Irwin out here so you can bring us up to speed," he said. Before he even finished, a towering man who seemed made of dull molten metal appeared beside him. With dark golden hair that had black strains from which a trickle of smoke leaked up, he looked around.

  It took Basil two seconds to recognize him, and even then, he knew he'd have had a hard time without Greldo's prewarning.

  "Irwin… you changed a bit," he said.

  Two eyes that were dark, swirling masses of molten metal and rock focused on him, and for a moment, he felt an intense pressure. Then it faded as the face lit up in a bright smile.

  "Basil!"

  Basil blinked as Irwin stepped closer, towering almost a full head over him. The smith reached out and squeezed his shoulder.

  "It's great to see you again! Tell me did-"

  "They all made it back safely," Greldo said. "Now stop scaring him! Just because you fell asleep-"

  "I'm not scared!"

  "I'm not scaring him!"

  Basil and Irwin shared a surprised look before they both burst out laughing.

  "It's good to see you too, Irwin," Basil said. "Now, seeing as Greldo is taking over scouting, how about we head back, and I share what has happened? Perhaps you can tell me a bit of what happened to you?"

  Irwin grimaced, then nodded. "Yeah, but let's wait until we get back so we don't have to repeat that. Also, I'll bring out a few others. How much weight can Scariander carry?"

  Basil frowned. "You bringing people around in your soulscape again? Sure, bring them all out. This big lug can handle a few extra people."

  "A few," Greldo whispered before shaking his head ruefully.

  Irwin just smirked. "Ten should be fine, right?"

  Basil nodded, wondering what was going on. "Yeah."

  A moment later, another ten people appeared on Scariander's wide back. Basil recognized only one of them. Rindiri.

  Well, that's going to make a few very happy brats back home, he thought before turning to the others.

  Two women looked similar to Irwin, both tall and seemingly made of metal, though one had skin close to burnished onyx. The others were a mix of Yuurindi and Ignitzians.

  "Basil, meet my friends and crew," Irwin said. "Everyone, this is Basil, the one I told you about, who is bonded to a chaos whale."

  Basil noticed an intensely curious look from the tall, metallic woman who looked at Irwin while the others were looking around, taking deep breaths, or staring down at Scariander.

  "Alright, tell us what we've missed," Irwin said as he sat down.

  --

  Glow sprinted through the narrow path, pushing himself off the side to speed through the corner.

  "Glow! We'll catch you!" A happy scream came from behind him.

  Not yet, Glow thought, as he prepared for the next part of their daily parcour. He'd come up with another way to speed through, and he was sure not even Mia would be able to keep up this time.

  As the stone building he was racing past made way for the next, lower one, he jumped up and sideways. Twisting his body midair, he reached for and grabbed the edge of the building before letting his momentum swing him sideways. His fingers scrambled to keep a hold, and he almost lost it. Then, his whole body hung horizontally in the air beside the roof. Before gravity could yank him back down, Glow pulled himself onto the roof and rolled away from the edge.

  "Hah," he shouted, slightly out of breath.

  He quickly scrambled up and sprinted across the roof, jumping the gap to the next building. He laughed at the confused shouting from his siblings and ignored it as he saw his goal, the northern watchtower, close in.

  He quickly crossed the buildings, scaling two that were higher with ease, before reaching the side of the watchtower. It was one of the highest places in Eluathor Harbor, but he wasn't worried. He took a dead run straight at the wall, jumped up, and managed the six steps he needed to reach the windowsill. Grabbing it, he pulled himself up before squeezing himself through the two bars that would block any adult from entering.

  A soft shuffle made him almost jump a foot in the air, and he spun around. How had they caught up?

  A surprised guard stood in the hallway, looking at him before laughing softly.

  "Glow, did you find another way in?"

  "I did! Don't tell the others," Glow said, turning around and sprinting up. He heard the first of his siblings reach the lower floor of the tower. Mia and Flux, he knew.

  Racing up the stone stairs, he was out of breath when he finally reached the top.

  "I win," he shouted down the staircase.

  A muted cry came in response.

  "Cheater!"

  Glow grinned, walking to the side of the watchtower that gave a great view of the sprawling lands beyond. Ever since the storm had weakened, the lack of bright flashes from high above made it almost possible to see the roof, and Glow almost felt like he was in a different world.

  Quick footsteps made him turn around to see Mia and Flux rush onto the platform, both out of breath.

  "You cheated," Mia said, pointing her finger at him before leaning her hands on her knees. "We said no cards!"

  "I didn't use my cards," Glow said, smirking as he crossed his arms. "I found a faster way!"

  "Oh? Which one?" Flux asked, walking towards him, looking more curious than annoyed now.

  "I'll show you when we head back," Glow said. "But you can't tell her until we run it together tomorrow!"

  "Hey!" Mia snapped. "No fair!"

  "Your own fault for calling me a cheater," Glow said, sticking out his tongue.

  They continued bickering until the other three joined them. Soot was the first, though he was far less out of breath than they were. Glow knew his younger brother could have gone much faster, but he never left Zan alone while they were out in the city playing. As Zan and Ti walked up, he saw Ti's shrewd eyes focus on him, a tiny smile on her lips.

  "I think I know where you went," she said.

  Mia spun around, eyes wide. "Itirilla, you have to tell me!"

  Ti's smile widened. "Do I? Why?"

  "Because they are ganging up on me," Mia said, stomping her foot.

  "Do you think that might be because you didn't share the shortcut you found for an entire week?" Ti said.

  Mia snorted, but Glow saw her lips curl up in a grin as she stared at him and Flux.

  "I still won seven times in a row," she said. "There's no way either of you can beat that!"

  Glow turned to Flux. "What do you think? First, I'll win seven times, then you? That should teach her!"

  Flux sniffed. "Eight times sounds like a better idea," he said.

  Mia's smile faded, and she crossed her arms. "You can't-"

  Her words were cut short as Zan raced past her, eyes wide. "LOOK!"

  The other five spun around and followed her to the railing so they could look into the distance.

  It took Glow only a moment to find what Zan had.

  "Basil is coming back already? That's way too soon, isn't it?" he said, looking at Mia and Flux. "Do you think he found more of those enemies?"

  Mia stepped beside him, their previous mock fight completely forgotten.

  "I hope not. Why can't they just leave us alone?" she said.

  "Because they are evil," Soot said. "Evil people do evil things."

  Glow didn't react, wondering if it was that easy. He knew some people said that, but he'd talked with Bron last week, and he had said things were never simple.

  "There are other people with him," Zan whispered, leaning forward so far that Soot and Ti grabbed the back of her shirt to keep her from falling out. "I think… I think so!"

  Glow saw her eyes go wide and fire as she channeled her card. Then she drew in a quick, shaky breath and let out a scream that caused the rest of them to go completely still.

  "Heatfather!"

  Glow spun around, staring at the incoming chaos whale, trying to see what Zan had seen. She was right. There were other figures there, but he couldn't see who they were. They were like tiny spots.

  "I don't see him," Flux said from beside him.

  "He was there," Zan exclaimed. "I recognized his soulforce resonance!"

  None of the others said anything, knowing full well how sensitive Zan's ability to sense those was. Still, Scariander had to be at least ten miles out…

  They continued to stare at the incoming Chaos Whale, seconds passing by, when a soft thud came from behind them. Glow spun around to see a familiar, massive shape looking at them.

  "Heatfather!" a half-dozen voices cried in unison.

  The next thing Glow knew was that he and the others were wrapped in an enormous embrace as he now sensed the familiar resonance of his heatfathers presence.

  "I missed you guys so much…"

  --

  Scintilla lowered her sword, staring at Earilla.

  "Good! You've made progress again," she said. "You still need to learn to be less reliant on your Fearits to teleport you around, but if you keep this up, you will be able to give most single-sworded blademaidens a challenge."

  Earilla smiled, wiping sweat from her forehead.

  "Think I have a chance against Zender?"

  Scintilla shook her head. "Not without your Fearit. Even without his whip, he had had far more training than you. Besides, he is taller and stronger. You will need to make far more use of your superior speed for that."

  Earilla sighed, hanging her head. "I guess that means more practice?"

  Scintilla walked to the younger woman and put an arm around her shoulders.

  "Yes, but not now. We've been at it for hours, and you need a break," she said, guiding her away. "How about some food? The kids should be back soon, and-"

  Scintilla heard a distant chatter coming from outside the small courtyard.

  "- there they are," she continued, shaking her head.

  "I would love to, but Zender and Ihrana asked me to come and eat with them."

  Scintilla led her to a bench and pushed her down.

  "That's good too. Just make sure you take some proper rest this time, right? No practicing on your own tomorrow."

  Earilla nodded, though from her expression, Scintilla knew she was probably going to practice anyway.

  She listens as well as my own kids, she thought, looking up as she heard them reach the gate. Their voices were constantly squealing as they chattered, not even letting each other finish.

  Did Esmee come here again? she wondered. Usually, her embers were only this excited when their grandmother arrived. But she'd only been there for her last week.

  She looked up to see the door being pushed open, watching the one thing she had waited for and wanted to see more than anything else walk inside, carrying six children on his shoulders and in his arms.

  "Heatmom! Dad is back!"

  Scintilla didn't even realize she used her flame dash until she stood in front of Irwin.

  He finished another soulcard, she thought, staring into his beautiful eyes. They had darkened slightly, and his skin had less gleam.

  "You shrank," she said, smiling up at him.

  Common = Quartz, Uncommon = Amethyst, Rare = Topaz, Very Rare = Emerald, Epic = Ruby, Legendary = Diamond, Mythical = Ammolite