“W…” Vivi stuttered in disbelief. “What? Grandpa?”

  “Surprised?” Grandpa asked, grinning like some mastermind. “Sorry, I’ve been keeping a few secrets.”

  “How are you here?” Vivi asked, her voice barely coming out.

  Is he fake? Vivi asked. Is someone tricking us?

  “No, skills that change appearance like that don’t exist,” Lucius said, his voice in just as much awe as Vivi’s. “Not even in Paradise. Only spirit wielders can enter.”

  “No way,” Vivi said. “You can’t have a spirit.”

  Grandpa’s grin revealed a full line of teeth. “My damned cat woke up a few days ago. Took him a while, but he’s finally here. Show yourself, spirit.”

  Upon the command, something popped out of Grandpa’s core, just like Lucius always did from Vivi’s. Except, this creature moved with far less enthusiasm. The cat’s black paws were drooped, its face tired, as if it was about to fall asleep. It floated next to Grandpa and sat in the air, floating. A black mist of pure laziness surrounded it.

  “Say hello to Grumps,” Grandpa said. “Or was it Guppy?”

  “Gupps,” the cat said with a yawn.

  “Oh, dear,” Lucius said, seeing the spirit. “They did not seriously give him a bond with Gupps. Of all spirits… Gupps!”

  “How?” Vivi asked, mouth hanging open. “How do you have a spirit?”

  “The hunters included this little guy in their contract,” Grandpa said. “For two main reasons. They hoped that channeling ether would lengthen my lifespan and improve my focus. And the second reason I can’t tell you, or Gupps might get mad.”

  His spirit glanced at him annoyedly, but didn’t say anything.

  “Andre wanted to control him,” Lucius said. “And tying him to an obedient would be a perfect way to solidify him with the Greenwitches. Gupps is one of the dumbest spirits I know. He forgets things, and he’s too lazy to follow orders. Andre could have easily told Gupps to not visit Paradise.”

  “Gupps has been asleep for the last month,” Grandpa said. “He only woke up after I did, from the coma.” His grin faded as he faced Vivi. “I’m sorry for not letting you know. I didn’t know if the spirit would ever wake up. And now that it has woken up, I didn’t want to take away what made you special. You are the ether hunter of this family. I’m merely an old man.”

  Vivi was at a loss for words, still gaping at him in disbelief.

  Suddenly, he coughed. Violently. He leaned forward and held a hand over his lungs and a fist blocking his mouth. Another, even more violent cough followed, until he finally stopped.

  “Grandpa?” Vivi ran over, then froze as she saw blood left on his fist.

  “Hell, I thought our bodies were supposed to be healthy in this dream realm,” he said, glancing at his spirit.

  “I brought you in the condition of your real body,” the spirit said lazily. “I don’t know what your healthy body looks like.”

  “What do you mean?” Vivi asked, frowning at the spirit. “Grandpa is healthy.”

  That claim was faced with silence. Gupps shrugged. Grandpa wore a difficult expression. Even Lucius looked away.

  “Right?” Vivi asked. “I mean, you woke up from the coma practically instantly.”

  “I’m dying, Vivi,” Grandpa said.

  She paused. The words she’d just heard passed through, as if a connection was cut. She registered the words, but the words were meaningless.

  “But you were just working,” Vivi said in a near whisper. “What do you mean dying?”

  “I spent my last breaths at the forge today,” Grandpa said. “The stress of swinging a hammer did it. My lungs are scarred beyond repair, and the damages are spreading. I’m not sure what is happening, but I’m currently in a coma.”

  Vivi’s thoughts broke in half. She stood still, forgetting how humans normally acted.

  “It’s true,” Lucius said hesitantly, while looking away from her. “He’s being treated in the same building as you are right now. You’re both unconscious. His condition is not looking good.”

  “But…” Vivi said again, turning to Gupps. “You have a spirit now. You can shape ether and survive, right?”

  “I’m already giving him ether,” Gupps said. “I don’t think it’s working.”

  “Try harder!” Vivi said. “Grandpa is still—”

  “Vivi,” Grandpa said, grabbing her from the shoulders.

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  Her lips were trembling, throat tight. “Yes?”

  He suddenly grinned. “How did you like the sword?”

  Vivi sniffled, vision getting blurry. She couldn’t form words. The only response she could muster was a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, as if hoping her embrace would miraculously make everything okay.

  “I knew you could save the city,” Grandpa said. “You defeated that big ugly mound of stone. While nobody else could.”

  “It was the best sword I’ve ever swung,” Vivi managed to say, trying not to cry on his shoulders.

  “Will it beat the spirit blades?” Grandpa asked.

  Vivi let out a light chuckle. “The spirit blades won’t stand a chance. Not even with three weapon enhancement skills active at once. Or ten.”

  “Then I’m satisfied. Take good care of it.”

  Vivi hugged tighter. Softly, she asked, “What’s its name?”

  “I thought a lot about that,” Grandpa said. “Originally, I wanted to call it Runeblessed. But that doesn’t really fit, does it, considering it’s your sword. So I’ll just say Runeblessed is the brand. This sword specifically has a different name. I named it after you.”

  Vivi stayed hugged, waiting.

  “It’s called Dawnpour,” he said. “Because no sunrise is right without a little bit of rain.” He grinned and added, “And if Lucius is upset, you can add ‘Of The Abyss’ to the end.”

  Lucius’s ears perked at that.

  “Dawnpour,” Vivi said. “That’s…” She let out a chuckle. “I’m not sure if that’s beautiful or silly.”

  “Well, it can't be changed now,” Grandpa said, grinning. “Spread its name, Vivi, and get yourself famous.”

  “I still need to survive as well, Grandpa,” Vivi said. “We will both.”

  He gave no response to that. After a short moment of silence, he said, “Ah, but I do have another gift for you.” He held her from the shoulders, and Vivi let go of the hug.

  “Yes?” she asked.

  Grandpa looked contemplative. “I worked on this with that Senith girl as a birthday present. Or well, she made it, and I grumbled at her to make it better. She probably won’t like it that I’m giving it to you without her. Tell her I’m sorry.”

  He turned to his spirit. “Show it to me, spirit.”

  Gupps reached into spatial storage. A hammer appeared, falling straight to the ground next to Grandpa.

  “No, not my hammer,” Grandpa said. “The coat.”

  “Oh, that rain thing,” Gupps said. “Okay.”

  Vivi’s eyes were already wide as it appeared in Grandpa’s hands. With a wide grin, he held the fabric from the shoulders, showcasing a raincoat. The fabric was a deep black, perfectly smooth and without wrinkles. The inside of the hood was a cute purple, matching Vivi’s dress. Everything else was the same purple, from buttons to the drawstrings on the hood. Turning it around, a large circular runic structure, cosmetic and unfinished, leading to no rune at all, had been embroidered on the back with purple string.

  Vivi gaped at it in utter awe.

  Behind the coat, Grandpa grinned wide. “I’m not sure when black and purple became your colors,” he said, “but the demons seem to love it, and it certainly matches. What do you think?”

  Vivi apparently hadn’t felt enough strong emotions today. She couldn’t even think of how to describe what she thought. “Senith made this?” she asked, voice full of awe. “With you?”

  “Sure did,” Grandpa said. “The purple material is something called moonweaver’s silk. They told me you know what that is. Apparently, it makes the coat strong enough that it won’t break if you get bitten by an angry surge dog. Want to try it on?”

  He didn’t wait for an answer as he wrapped the coat around Vivi. She still didn’t believe what was happening as she slid her hands through the sleeves. When was the last time she had gotten a new raincoat?

  With the coat buttoned up over her dress, Grandpa took a step back and examined her. He looked satisfied.

  Until wisps suddenly rose from the fingertips of his right hand. His fingers began losing their shape, slowly disintegrating like a defeated monster. He spotted it, flinched, then shook his hands. “The hell?”

  “You’re dying,” his spirit explained calmly. “Your consciousness is leaving your body.”

  Vivi’s heart thumped, and Grandpa’s state returned to the forefront of her mind.

  Before she could panic, Grandpa grabbed her from the shoulders again. “Vivi,” he said. “I wanted to stay for your eighteenth birthday. That was the promise I made for myself when I started training you into a runesmith. I adopted you selfishly, perhaps. Almost as a challenge for myself. With you in the smithy, I had to work hard.”

  I would have died without you, Vivi thought, her throat too tight to speak. Nobody would have raised me.

  “I failed you,” Grandpa said, head low. “With my efforts only, you would have died.”

  Vivi opened her mouth, but he lifted his head. A warm and honest smile was on his face. “But you survived. On your own. As always, you’re the one being amazing.”

  His right hand continued disintegrating. He held her shoulder with his left.

  “Could I see my sword again?” Grandpa asked, letting go of her shoulder. “For one last time?”

  Vivi sniffled. She summoned the sword from spatial storage, offering it to him.

  “No, not in my hands,” Grandpa said. “It’s your sword now. Show me a swing.”

  Slowly, Vivi went into stance—the same stance Grandpa had taught her to test swords, and still the only stance she properly knew. She held the sword with two hands and called forth a light amount of ether, just enough to make her raincoat glow. Then she swung.

  “Yes,” Grandpa said with a satisfied smile. “That’s how heroes are supposed to look like.”

  Vivi smiled. She couldn’t imagine herself looking like a hero at all. More like a mess of tears on the verge of bursting into a full bawl. “You really did it…” she said. “A six runed sword.”

  “Six?” Grandpa asked, confused. He snorted. “Don’t make me laugh.”

  What? Vivi thought.

  Grandpa held her cheek with his remaining hand, while rapidly disintegrating from behind. With a warm and wide smile, a few tears in his eyes, he said, “Happy birthday, whenever it comes, Vivi. Continue saving the world.”

  The last of his body disintegrated. The wind caught his smile, and the last wisps of Grandpa’s figure rose to the sky.

  Vivi held out her hand, watching him go. His spirit, too, disintegrated.

  She stayed still for a long ten seconds, intense, indescribable sensations pounding within.

  Then she looked down at her sword, perplexed by what Grandpa had just said. Six runes, she thought. Is this sword not a six-runed sword?

  She was certain Grandpa had succeeded. This wasn’t like the five-runed swords he had crafted. Dawnpour was special. This had to be a six-runed sword. She counted each rune on its hilt. Sure enough, it had all six main runes.

  Then she spotted something. Something that in the middle of the chaotic fight, she’d somehow missed.

  Hidden underneath the gemstones on each side of the hilt glowed a runic pattern. It was vague, and the gemstone shrouded its shape, but now that Vivi looked at it, the rune within was unmistakable, connected to the ether roots inside.

  A shockwave rune.

  Vivi gaped at it.

  Tears flooded out. Seeing the last hidden rune, it felt as if a dam had opened. Everything came out all at once, and she stopped fighting back.

  Grandpa, you idiot… Vivi thought through her tears. You just couldn’t be satisfied with six? Crafting the best sword wasn’t enough for you?

  This wasn’t a six-runed sword at all.

  Dawnpour was a seven-runed sword.

  here! Reviews and ratings are also greatly appreciated. Thanks all for reading!