Novaris. Septer. 905. AGC.

  Nodel. Waxing Gibbous ??. Days 11-15.

  Tesilim woke up feeling strange. It felt like his body had more to it, and he was generally freer. The feeling was odd, as he had been dreaming of being a rock, and the dream had made him uncomfortable, as if he had been compressed into the object. Tesilim remembered that he couldn't feel things well, even though it had improved by the end of his dream. Still, the worst part about the entire thing was an odd scene of being in a stable and his friends dropping him into poop. Remembering that part of the dream sent a chill down his spine, something he was grateful to experience.

  As his conscience returned to his body, Tesilim's feelings returned, and he became more aware of his surroundings. Though his body still felt tight, it was likely due to having slept in his armor, something he didn't remember doing. In fact, he didn't remember going to sleep the night before. Granted, that was likely due to his mind recovering from the grogginess. Still being able to breathe after feeling so clustered in his dream was a great thing. However, what was even better was the feeling on his face.

  His head was much clearer now, and even though he refused to believe that the dream had been true, he did know what his face was lying on. So, he didn't question why he was sleeping in his armor instead; his hands immediately moved to squish one of the amazing plumps that his face was resting on. Sadly, he only managed to get one squish in before he was rudely yanked to the side as Lili finally realized that he was awake. In retrospect, Tesilim should have pretended to sleep for a while longer—not that it really mattered, since he could get into the same position whenever he wanted.

  “That’s rude of you,” Tesilim told his girlfriend, his voice still sounding off since he had just woken up.

  “You will be fine, you’re lucky I even left you there considering you had your armor on,” Lili told him, her voice also groggy from just waking.

  “Hey! It’s the least I deserve after yesterday!” Tesilim answered with mock entitlement, now aware that it hadn’t been a dream.

  “Nah, you had that coming for a while now, especially after the dragon,” Lili told him jokingly.

  “Yeah, well, you suck,” Tesilim answered back. He knew they didn’t actually blame him for his chaos, but the previous day had been a good way for them to bond and mess with him.

  “I do, and you know you like it,” Lili quipped, her tone sensually playful.

  “Shut up,” Tesilim told her, his brain circuiting for a second and not knowing what to say.

  “No, you shut up,” she answered, punching his shoulder playfully.

  “No, You, shut up,” Tesilim told her, emphasizing the you as if that would make a difference. Of course, he also retaliated by lightly shoving her shoulder, which naturally prompted the beginning of a wrestling match. A wrestling match that quickly turned from one type of fun to another.

  After their fun and going through their usual morning routines, they split up. Lili was going to head towards her shop to meet the rest of the party there. Meanwhile, Tesilim was going to Jolly's realm in order to pick up his drake companion and finally have a proper conversation with him about his soul.

  Entering the dryads' realm, Tesilim found it as usual: a green sky, plenty of trees, and the essence of a forest in spring. A short walk later, he came upon the dryad who, this time around, was holding court with some of her fellows. Of course, the dryad knew he was coming, so it wasn't a surprise when he popped through the trees.

  “Tesilim! Good to see you, and good to see you are no longer a rock. Have you come for Drex?” Jolly exclaimed as joyfully as usual, even if her words drew looks of confusion from the rest of the dryads, some of whom were looking at him rather lustfully.

  “Yes, I am here for him, and thanks, I am glad I am not a rock as well,” Tesilim answered with a smile while ensuring his gaze stayed on the beautiful dryad. Jolly was the one dressed in the most appropriate attire, in a long dress, while the rest of the dryads ranged from a few who were almost fully clothed to some who wore only leaves in key areas.

  “Wonderful! As for Drex, he will be here in a minute.”

  “Awesome, by the way, how has he been?”

  “He has been doing great, working like a real champ, the ladies love him,” Jolly mused, almost offhandedly.

  “Ladies? I thought he was only seeing the one drake?” Tesilim queried, confused at the dryad's words.

  “Oh dear, did he not tell you? He has been seeing quite a few of them. I am sorry, I thought you knew,” Jolly told him, sounding like she was actually remorseful, but Tesilim could tell from the glint in her eye that she wasn’t.

  “It's fine, I guess,” Tesilim sighed, sounding defeated, before adding, “though I feel like further recompense is needed for this,” Tesilim remarked, the implication clear.

  “Hmmm, I am not sure about that, it's not like we asked him to, the drake saw some beautiful creatures around and couldn’t help himself,” Jolly responded firmly, but not really convincing Tesilim. Alas, the elf didn’t care too much as long as his son, friend, or whatever the drake was to him was enjoying himself. Speaking of his supposed child.

  “Hey pops! I heard you were looking for me?” Drex said as he strolled into the clearing. However, before Tesilim could respond, the drake spoke again, this time his smooth words directed at the dryads, “Hey, ladies, how are you?”

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  “Hey, Drex,” The dryads replied in a chorus, which was soon followed by giggles as Drex walked by them and towards Tesilim.

  For his part, Tesilim watched the exchange, and a few thoughts went through his mind before he shook his head and threw them out as he finally spoke to the drake.

  “Yeah, come on, we have a few things to discuss,” Tesilim told him as he motioned for the drake to follow him.

  “Wait, can’t we just talk in here?” Drex argued, causing Tesilim to stop mid-turn.

  “No, plus I heard you've been having too much fun with your ladies, and I think it's time we did some training,” Tesilim declared, emphasizing the word “ladies” with a raised eyebrow, which ensured the drake knew the jig was up and causing Drex to wince slightly.

  “Right, right, but does it have to be right now?” Drex complained as he longingly looked back at the way he had come.

  “Yes, it has to be right now, it's about your soul,” Tesilim insisted. Luckily, the moment the drake registered his words, his head snapped back to him, then without another word, he immediately started walking towards the exit.

  Tesilim waited until they were both out of the inn before he started the conversation using their link. He would have started it back inside the tree, but he wasn't sure if the powerful dryad had some way to read their minds. As for the conversation, well, he kept it rather short, explaining to the drake what Alyx had told him. How it would be possible to upgrade his soul, as well as the requirements they would likely need to meet to make it happen. Tesilim also explained why the ritual could go wrong if the right items were not gathered. This included how the ritual could affect him as much as Drex.

  “I understand why we need what we need, but isn’t it going to take forever to get those kinds of items?” Drex questioned.

  “Yeah, it is, but if we want to do it the right way, then we just have to wait, and honestly, we've gotten pretty lucky with Maxkhalin’s deal.”

  “Can’t we just make some more trades? What if you give some mana to Jolly, and she can give us what we need? She is a powerful dryad, and they deal with life, right?”

  “I could, but I won’t. I feel like we have already given Jolly too much to begin with, and I would rather not continue dealing with the dryad, at least not in that capacity. As for other powerful entities, well, it is too risky. Jolly found out about me because I was dumb, and Alyx trusts Maxkhalin, and I trust Alyx. However, any other powerful creature might just kidnap or kill me to stop me from spreading my energy around.”

  Drex, hearing the seriousness in his dad's voice and also understanding what he was getting at, couldn’t help but sigh and agree that they would just have to wait. Still, there was one thing he could complain about.

  “Do I really have to train? I am a drake, I just bite and breathe fire,” Tesilim heard the drake say like a whiny child, and he just smiled.

  “Yes, you do, both because it's good to stay sharp and this is also a punishment for not telling me about your ladies,” Tesilim told the drake, using air quotations as he said the word ladies.

  From there, the two arrived at Lili’s shop and found everyone else there waiting for them, as they looked forward to a day of training.

  Nodel. Full Moon??. Days 16-17.

  They found that it was best to be asleep when the transformation happened. Mainly because seeing and feeling their bodies, at least certain parts of them, shifting in such extreme manners was rather uncomfortable. Not that the transformation was painful, but it could be uncomfortable, like an itch on their body and soul, and one they couldn’t scratch. Also, even if it only took less than a minute, seeing certain parts disappear and reshape was concerning, no matter how many times they went through it. So, since they had been at the church, the twins had decided that, on the night of their transformation, they would ensure they were deep asleep.

  Sleep also helped with the mental transition. This was because, for a few seconds, they would slowly lose consciousness as one mind took charge and the other went to sleep, at least for a few days before it slowly regained some semblance of awareness.

  Once complete, the other twin would usually awaken and feel completely rested. This was likely due to the flood of energy as their bodies were overflowing with their divine mana. The mana didn’t hurt them, but it also didn't truly help them advance; it simply empowered them as they were attuned to it more than ever. Of course, if they really pushed for it, they could channel more and more until they could be in more pain than they could ever imagine.

  As Jasmine awoke, the first thing that greeted her was the light. Her body was glowing slightly, her pale skin radiating with an abundance of white energy. This constant overflow of energy left a trail of light wherever she moved.

  Sighing at having to be locked up in her house, Jasmine got up and, as always, headed to the bathroom. There she looked in the mirror, not seeing a single trace of darkness on her. Her hair was silver white, and so were her eyes, which were orbs of silver white energy. Thankfully, she could tone down her glowing body a little bit so as not to look like a white ghost, but it would still be incredibly noticeable. Granted that illusions could solve the light problem, but not the real issue at hand, which was the godly energy radiating off her, energy that would act like a beacon even to those with weak senses.

  Alas, Jasmine couldn’t do anything about it, and after throwing on some clothes, she decided to do some training, hoping it would help pass the time faster so she could get back to her friends. Speaking of her friends, Jasmine had enjoyed watching as Arelion spent time with them, and honestly, she still couldn’t believe Tesilim had turned into a rock. Of course, the thoughts made her sigh in defeat, as she had not been there in person; sharing senses with her brother only did so much, after all.

  At the very least, Jasmine had not needed to experience the torture of beasts. She knew that what Alyx was doing was necessary, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Thankfully, the gnome respected her boundaries and didn't ask her to do such things, even if it was annoying that her brother still went and did it. Either way, she couldn’t truly fault either, as if it led to their eventual separation, she would just have to deal with it.

  Moving on from such sad topics, Jasmine was looking forward to speaking with them all again. She was especially looking forward to spending some time with Rose and was even hoping the redhead would be turned into a rock, so she could mess with the prankster.

  Gathering her thoughts, Jasmine began working on various techniques she had been thinking about. These techniques would mainly focus on helping her party members, but at least one would ensure she stayed in the fight longer by using illusions. Furthermore, she still had plenty of training to do to get enhancements down, as even if she knew what Arelion was doing, that didn’t mean she had the same mental understanding he had when dealing with such magical matters.

  While Arelion was away, and the party waited for Jasmine to return, their routine didn’t truly change. They all had plenty of work to do, even if their work was much different from one another. Alyx continued researching souls, learning more about the twins and Drex. Meanwhile, Lili practiced alchemy and sparred with Tesilim and Rose, with a particular focus on Tesilim, as she helped him adjust to not using his dice weapons. Finally, Drex was forced to join in the sparring sessions, while the party also encouraged him to develop some new techniques.