As it turns out, I am really good at making situations entertaining, as Aftermath has admitted. I have barely been around more than 5 people throughout my entire life, one of those being myself, another being that forestry dragon who brought us stuff sometimes, yet I find these social interactions either extremely easy or extremely awkward. Both situations I can spin to my advantage. speaking of which…

  “Hey Aftermath, do you know about a Forestry dragon who brought resources down south?” I ask.

  “You may find this shocking to learn, but I do not know everything that every member of the species I rule under is doing at all times, especially away from my territory.” Aftermath says flatly.

  “Smartass.” I roll my eyes. “Either of you?” I turn to the 2 0thers in the room.

  “Um…” Miria says eventually. “I apologize but I do not.”

  “Nah, there's nothing to say sorry for.” I say with a shrug. “Just trying to piece a few things together.”

  “Did a Forestry dragon visit you when you were younger?” the variant asks, and I nod.

  “Yeah. Also What’s your name?”

  “Autumn.” She responds a little nervously.

  “Your parents were feeling creative.” I say flatly. Miria snorts but tries to cover it, and Autumn chuckles a bit before stabilizing herself.

  “They had no way of knowing what I would evolve into. However, I was lucky to get this evolution. It is one of the few variant species that has access to a tier 5 evolution, though I hear the requirements are difficult for evolution.”

  “Requirements?” I ask curiously.

  “You don’t know what evolution requirements are?” Miria asks, confused.

  “I have lived in a mountain with 3 other individuals my whole life. The only few times I have even had access to the internet were when our guardians put a movie on using some cable from god knows where.”

  “I do not know where.” Aftermath points out.

  “Shut your trap, you know exactly what I meant.” I say. “Anyways, please tell me what these requirements are. I’ve never heard of them.”

  “Well…” Miria starts, clearly not used to seeing someone backtalk her god. “Individuals have requirements to evolve… sometimes a certain amount in a stat, sometimes being liked so much, sometimes having never done or only done something specific. Most are very, very careful to follow the path of their species.”

  “That's interesting.” I say with a nod. “Makes me wonder what my requirements are… What were yours?” I ask them. Then I remember something I think aftermath said about it being rude to ask about others statuses. Is this considered rude too? This is supposed to be common knowledge so… maybe not?

  “For me, I had to drink the sap of the great tree, have at least a mid-tier blessing from Lord Aftermath, and have at least 130 in my durability stat.” Miria answers. She removes one of her silky white gloves- I didn’t even notice the gloves- to reveal a glowing triangle shape with 5 triangles inside it, looking almost like an optical illusion. The center of the triangles, however, is empty.

  “This is my high tier blessing of the Bone Emperor. 1 triangle inside is 1 tier.” She tells me, and I nod with interest.

  “How many tiers are there?” I ask curiously, wanting to poke it but restraining myself. That would be rude, right? No, I'm asking you I have no idea.

  “The blessings are Minor, Low, Mid, Greater, High, and Peak.” Aftermath narrates and I nod.

  “What does a peak tier blessing look like?” I ask curiously. Both Miria and Autumn seem curious too. Aftermath notices their curiosity and pauses before seeming to realize something

  “It is now that I realize I have not given out a blessing of this tier in a very long time, so it makes sense that nobody knows.” He says, rising to his full height. “It is not a secret. I shall show you.” Aftermath lowers a skeletal claw and places it on Miria’s forehead. For a moment her eyes widen, then her veins turn green as a sizzling sound can be heard. She screams and calls to her knees.

  “What the-” I back up a step. After a moment Miria settles down and manages to sit back up. Autumn pulls a chair over for her and she sits down. Quickly she pulls her glove back off, having taken it off before, and sees something she didn't expect. This looked almost nothing like the symbol before. This symbol’s only similarity was the base triangle in the center. Thats where the similarities stopped. On each point of the triangle was another triangle, thinner, pointing inwards towards the center. In the center of the triangles is another triangle. Unlike the triangles before, which were all just hollow, the triangle in the center is solid green on the inside with flecks of orange floating about.

  “Aftermath, did you just give Miria your Peak blessing?” I ask, blinking down at the elf, who has short circuited.

  “Yes, I have.” He responds with a nod.

  “Why?” I ask.

  “Having myself a champion is a great boon, and I have been procrastinating on it for far too long. I knew she was the best candidate already and- oh, she passed out.” Indeed, Miria has fallen to the floor, only barely caught by Autumn, frothing at the mouth.

  “I think she might need a minute…” I say hesitantly.

  “Autumn, bring my new champion to her new quarters. She needs some rest.” Aftermath says to Autumn, then pauses. “And maybe a rabies shot too, just in case.”

  I chuckle at his joke. She did kind of look feral with the foam coming out of her mouth. I didn’t even know that was a real thing until now. I thought they just added it to movies for dramatic effect.

  Me and Aftermath watch as the two leave, amused. Something I have noticed is how much he seems to enjoy simple things. Or more that he doesn’t, but is trying too.

  “Are you ok?” I ask him, looking up at him.

  “Of course I am. Why do you ask?” Aftermath asks, confused.

  “Just that… every laugh seems forced from you. You are trying really hard. Why?” That makes Aftermath freeze. Which is impressive considering how little he actually moves. Even the slightly shifting ectoplasm locks up for a moment before going back to flowing like molasses.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “You noticed, huh…” Aftermath says in a somber tone. “Abhor, how long do you think I have lived?” The sudden question catches me off guard.

  “Um… a long time? Billions of years?”

  “Trillions, Abhor. I have lived for 3 trillion years. As long as the first universe has existed.” There is a weakness in his movements. A sadness I hadn’t noticed until now. “When you live that long… things start to matter less. Your emotions start to deteriorate. I’m just… I’m just trying as hard as I can to grasp onto any sense of normalcy, of self, I have left. I’ve lost more than you have ever had, Abhor. All the joy and happiness I feel is slowly lessening and breaking apart… yet all the pain, the loss, the regret just keeps growing. I don’t even remember what I was originally like back in the beginning… just bits and scraps I grip onto like a drowning man.” He turns to me. He looks at me like someone once his friend that he lost. “I watched my friends die in front of me time after time. Yet I can’t stop myself from trying, from hurting…” Slowly the bones sink down to the floor, collapsing into a pile of bone. “I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore.”

  I don’t know what to say. What to do. I can’t begin to comprehend any of this…

  “You know… I really want to give you a hug right now.” I say. A pause. Then Aftermath reforms himself, draws up, and starts to laugh. True laughter, filled with emotion. He pulls me into a hug. The ectoplasm hardens like flesh around himself to get a good grasp on me. I hesitate for a moment, then smile.

  “I won’t die on you.” I promise.

  “You better not.”

  <{(0)}>

  Miria awoke in a room she didn’t recognize. She lies in a large bed, bigger than her old queen sized bed she used to sleep in back home. The sheets were fluffy and warm, and the bed itself seemed to be part of the floor. The wooden floor. Wait, was she in the great tree?

  She whips her head around, taking in the beautiful room, her eyes locking on a dragon sitting in the corner. Her eyes widened.

  “Autumn? Where are we?” Miria asks, sitting up and getting out of bed. Looking over herself she finds at least she is wearing familiar clothing. The enchanted form-fitting silk pajamas Autumn had gotten her for her 20th birthday, before she joined the church.

  “We’re in the church.” Autumn responded, grinning ear to ear. With Miria she doesn’t have to act all professional. It’s nice to have a good friend like her. It’s hard to find friends when you reach higher tiers. Suppression of aura from higher tiers is a real, powerful thing.

  “What?” She frowns, confused. Her dorms are supposed to be down by the roots, not up in the church. What the hell is this room?

  “Mir, do you remember what happened before passing out?” Autumn asks, standing up and walking over to her.

  “I… think so.” Miria scratches the back of her head. “Lord Aftermath was speaking with Lord Abhor. Abor asked us to stay, so we did. Then we talked about evolutions, and evolution requirements, which led onto blessin- oh. OH!” Autumn bursts into laughter as she immediately lifts her right hand up to the light. Sure enough…

  “The look on your face…!” Autumn manages between maniacal cackles.

  “He chose me…” Miria whispers with awe.

  “Who else would he choose to lead his divine fan club?” Autumns form began to shift, shrinking down and warping, until a middle aged human woman stood in her place. Her hair flows down along her back in a single long braid, autumn leaves scattered within. She wears the same robes as the other members of the church. She sits down beside Miria and smiles.

  “Congratulations, you’re buddies with a god now!” Autumn grins.

  “This is so much to process…” Miria leans against her friend, a small smile slowly growing on her lips. “All because a little black dragon stumbled into town looking for a space mage…”

  “We should take the kid to a restaurant or something to thank him.” Autumn says with a nod.

  “Ew, no, he’s what, 17? I’m 39!”

  “I didn’t mean it like that, nitwit!” Autumn says indignantly, slapping Miria on the back of the head.

  “Hey, no slapping the Champion!” Miria protests playfully. “I know what you meant. I was teasing you. He’s a nice kid, though severely lacking in knowledge and experience. Even so, I feel like I’m constantly walking on eggshells round him. Something about his aura, its…”

  “Different? Scary? Other?” Autumn offers. “I doubt those of the same tier can sense it, but those of higher tiers can definitely sense that… difference in his aura. It feels like I’m standing in the path of an apex predator in its juvenile state.”

  “That’s one way to describe it.” Miria nods. “It’s obvious he can’t tell, though. In truth, before he told me my name and I realized who he was, I thought he was some criminal that Lord aftermath wanted arrested. Lord Aftermath is the only one I have felt with such an other aura. Even most gods don't have that kind of feeling in their aura.”

  “Some sort of primordial bullshit, I presume.” Autumn nods as she stands up. “Those 2 kids are some ancient species of dragons, right? Lord Aftermath is also an ancient creature. I would assume them being some old species has to do with it. An aura is basically a projection of your soul, and your soul is the sum of what you are, so maybe that strange part comes from his species.”

  “That… makes sense.” Miria says, standing up. “Now shoo, I need to change.”

  “As the Champion of the Bone Emperor orders.” Autumn makes an exaggerated bow with a shit-eating grin on her face before bursting into leaves, returning to being a dragon, then jumping down a hole Miria didn’t notice was there. Taking a better look around, Miria takes a better stock of her new bedroom.

  “Bed in the center, closet to the left, carpet floor, way too many mirrors on the right, and beside that… oh, there’s the bathroom.” Miria first checks through her closet, relieved to find she recognizes most of the clothing, and picks out a simple shirt and pants to go with her robe today. Her new robe is far fancier, which she cant deny looks absolutely gorgeous. Entering the bathroom, she realizes it’s as big as her old bedroom was. The tub looks like it could fit a dragon in it, and the shower could fit 5 of her. She hangs up her clothes on a nice coat hanger and sets a white towel on the side before slipping into the shower. She finds 2 handles in the shower. She realizes that one makes the showerhead, which happens to be one of 5 in the shower(why) spew water, while the other douses her in the sap of the great tree.

  Unlike what most would believe, the sap of the great tree is incredibly revitalizing. The sap is so dense with mana that any life affinity mage, hell, anyone with life affinity, craves it. A single drop can improve one's mana reserves. And she has a showerhead that literally showers her with it. Unreal…

  After hesitating for a moment she turns on the water. She’ll try out the sap some other time. It must feel nice… She takes her time cleaning herself before stepping out and reaching for the towel. However, the moment she exits all the water evaporates off her skin. She notices the runes along the door of the shower and grins. I always wanted one of these. An auto dryer. Even her hair is nice and dry, though just moist enough that she can still work with it.

  20 more minutes in front of the mirror later and she leaves the shower room with a beaming smile on her face.

  “Took you long enough.” She whips her head around to see Autumn waiting for her.

  “I thought I asked you to wait outside!” Miria frowns.

  “No, you just told me to shoo while you were showering. You're Not showering anymore. Now come on, let's go watch the kids grind to level 50. I was told they should both hit it tomorrow.”

  “What? But I thought Abhor was only level twenty- something!” Miria frowns in confusion, adjusting her robe over herself.

  “Girl, you’ve been asleep for a week.” Autumn points out.

  “A- wh- huh?” Miria sputters.

  “Lord Aftermath said your body needed to adjust to the blessing. Something about your soul and body becoming more interconnected by your pathways or something. Are you coming or not?”

  “Yes, yes, just give me a second. You could have started by saying “Hey, you were in a coma”. That would have been nice.”

  “Please don’t make me wait any longer.” Autumn complained. Miria rolled her eyes and climbed onto her back. After settling onto her back Autumn allowed herself to fall backward into the hole. I wonder just what those two are up to…