By the time Bee finished her shower, she was shivering and clutching herself, cold to the point of numbness. Turning around as she stepped out of the water stream, she found Will standing by the back door, a stack of clothes in his hands.

He looked down at her body; then, with what seemed like an effort of will, back to her face.

“Stop staring, creep,” she said, sticking her tongue out.

Will smiled. “Yes, ma’am.” He came up to hand her the clothes, but seemed reluctant to let go when she tried to take them. They lingered near each other, and she peered into his deep, black eyes. His gaze had always sent a chill down her spine, gave her a sensation like he could undress her and bore right down into her core with a glance.

That ability had not diminished. If anything, he frightened her more. Like she could fall into the blackness of his eyes at any moment and be swallowed up completely.

I wonder if he’s warm, she thought, subtly changing her grip on the clothing, inching her fingers closer to his.

She realized that she had somehow outgrown him, looking slightly down at him. She had never been taller than him before, had she?

“We, uh, don’t have any towels, so you’re gonna need to air dry,” Will said, finally breaking out of his stare and looking away. He cleared his throat. “I don’t think you need to worry about catching a cold, since you’ve got 7 points in Toughness now.”

Bee took a step back, hoping that the redness didn’t show on her face. “Right! Okay, yeah, thanks.”

“Food’s ready inside. Oh, also, we’ll try on boots at some point to see if we have any that fit you, but it’s gonna be a bit iffy. Either way, I’ll make sure to get something sorted out.”

“Thank you.”

He picked up her discarded old clothes and retreated inside, leaving her to stew in her feelings while she waited to dry.

Suddenly having him back like this was almost too much. She wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to handle it moving forward.

I never said how I felt about him before he died. I mean, I’m pretty sure we were more than just friends, but it was always unspoken. And it was five years ago, too.

Then again, he did look interested just now.

I should probably say something to him. I just need to find a good moment. There’s so much going on, so much I need to learn about this place, that it doesn’t feel like I’ve had a moment to sit down and breathe yet.

The clothes were similar to Will’s own; just a light-blue tunic, some black pants, and a thin leather belt. Maybe they actually were Will’s. She smelled the tunic, but it had no distinct scent that she could pick up on. Disappointing.

The tunic was a tad tight, and short in the sleeves, but the pants fit better, and the belt was adjustable enough. Going inside, she padded barefoot across the creaky wood floors, finding both Will and Mongrel at the table in the living area. Seeing the pot on the tabletop, Bee immediately seated herself and ladled a large helping into a wooden bowl that Will handed her along with a matching wooden spoon. He reminded her to roll up her left sleeve, and she sheepishly complied.

Then she tucked into the still-steaming food and hummed with satisfaction at the rich, meaty flavor. As soon as she swallowed, she could feel the warmth spread through her body. “Bro, this is so good.”

“At least someone around here appreciates my cooking,” Mongrel said around a mouthful of stew, already tucking into his own portion. “Here I am, slaving away to make my precious little brother a meal, and what does he say? Should’ve added more thyme, should’ve added less salt, duh duh duh.” He jabbed his spoon in Will’s direction. “Whiner.”

“You mean Number Two’s cooking, surely,” Will noted absently as he took some for himself. “You just stirred it around a bit so you could look like you were doing something. And I said it tasted fine.”

Mongrel snorted. “Well, the criticism was implied by your tone.”

They kept on bickering, but Bee stopped listening to focus on her food. She finished off one bowl in just a few minutes and immediately went for another serving.

She was on her third bowl when Will finally cowed Mongrel into silence and took back her attention. “Right, Bee, we’ve got a lot of things to get through before you’ll have a decent understanding of what’s going on here, so I’m going to start with the basics. That okay?”

Bee’s mouth was full, so she just nodded that she understood.

“All right. You’re on Nifala, you know that much. This world was created by a goddess named Era, along with her angels, to provide a second chance at life to lost and damned souls who would have otherwise ended up somewhere far worse. You know, murderers, career criminals, scam artists, that kind of thing.

“To give the humans she brought here a greater sense of progression and to promote productive cooperation for building a new society, Era implemented a system—the Holy Concord. It’s what gave you your Profession, your attributes, all of that. And, obviously, the more you level up, the better you’ll get at your job.

“Now, the goddess was kind of a peace-loving, pacifist type, so she created the Concord to only serve harmonious and peaceful purposes. That’s why the Professions are all essentially just regular jobs, and it also means that there are almost no abilities that are made for combat or hurting others.

“So, things were pretty good like that for a few years. Era kept on bringing in new people from Earth, and her angels would help her in keeping things running smoothly. She would come down here herself pretty often to hear out people’s grievances or to answer questions. Quite famously, she would give an audience to anyone who asked for it.

“In the end, though, Era was maybe too good for her own good. She underestimated the kind of degenerates she brought here, and the depths they were willing to sink to. Ten years after this thing started—which just so happens to have been ten years ago, also—a man asked for an audience with her. Crow was his name. However, when Crow got Era alone, he killed her and absconded with her corpse. No one knows exactly how he managed it, just that it happened.”

“Damn,” Bee mumbled, wiping a trickle of stew from her chin.

“Damn is right. The cracks had already been showing before then, violence and shady dealings in the dark corners of the colonies, but once Era died things went to hell quick. Most of her angels fled, and the monsters and demons who had been hiding from divine retribution could come out to play in earnest.

“There were a few bloody years where we decimated each other to fight over power. We found ways to work around the Concord and use its abilities in ways they were never intended to, all to wreak as much destruction as possible.

“It’s been a bit quieter in the last three or four years; the power balance has started to stabilize, and proper social hierarchies are forming again. But that mostly just means systemic suffering rather than random chaos. For example, you saw the bustling slave trade firsthand.

“Basically, what I’m trying to say is, this place is a fucking shithole. It sucks. It is actually revolting.”

“But we love ittt,” Mongrel said in a sing-song voice, followed by a little laugh.

Will nodded. “We love it.” His eyes had that evil glint in them, something hungry and dangerous she’d never been able to quantify. “If you can get ahead and make some smart decisions, the amount of freedom you can have is so brilliant.”

Bee thought about it for a while. “This place… How strong could I get?”

“Sky’s the limit. Right now, we’ll want to level you quickly. As you can hear, there’s a lot to worry about. Bandits, monsters, and the local lord’s men, should we find ourselves in disfavor with him. Even the regular citizens will just as soon shank you as shake your hand. I can’t promise I’ll be able to keep you safe from all of it—not forever. I make good money with my Profession, and I’m useful as a support, but I’m not really a fighter.”

“You don’t need to tell me that,” Bee said, chortling. She finished off her third bowl, scraped off the inside, and burped once she was finished. “You always had me fight your battles for you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Bee was about to tease him some more when one of the doors in the house came open and a woman strutted out, wiping sleep from her eyes.

She was odd. Ashen skin, long black hair, and… horns? She only had a loose tunic on, the linen fabric pierced by a multitude of sharp spines that seemed to protrude from her skin. She wandered into the living area, showing off almost all of her long, slender legs, and looking almost like she was walking on her tiptoes. She took Mongrel’s bowl right out of his hands and started eating from it.

She was beautiful, in a frightening, dominatrix kind of way.

Annoyingly beautiful.

She was also very clearly a demon.

“You sure are being loud,” the demon said. “I was trying to get some sleep.”

“It’s the afternoon,” Will pointed out.

She just shrugged in response, like that was an irrelevant detail.

The thing Bee fixed on, more than all the other alien features, was her yellow eyes. Eyes that brought a stomach-clenching sense of familiarity.

“Who’s this?” she asked neutrally.

“This is Nix,” Will said with a barely audible sigh. “She’s the demon I contracted with to get you here safe. Our business was technically concluded a while ago, but she just kind of… decided to stay here, I guess? There’s nothing we can really do to kick her out right now, so she’s just freeloading for the time being. Please don’t pay her any mind.”

“She’s not wearing very many clothes,” Bee pointed out.

“Consider yourself lucky. It was hard enough to get her to wear that much.”

“Speak for yourself,” Mongrel muttered with a childish pout. “I personally think we had a great thing going until you ruined it with your puritan ideals.”

“Aren’t you just the sweetest?” Nix purred, scratching Mongrel under his bearded chin. Turning her head to Bee, she said: “It’s so nice to meet you officially, Beatrice. You’re much prettier in the daylight.”

“You’re the one who killed me, then?”

Nix’s saccharine smile made Bee want to punch her perfect teeth in. “It was all business, sweetie. Well, mostly.” She gave Mongrel a last clap on the cheek and turned away from him, leaning across the table and putting all her attention on Bee. “You know, you’re very lucky to have Mr. Boyfriend there.” Her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, she added: “He tastes delicious.”

Bee rose from her chair, fists clenched. Her face was flushed and hot, thumping with her heartbeat.

“Enough, Nix,” Will said sternly. “Bee, don’t worry about anything she’s saying. She just likes stirring up trouble.”

“Yeah? She’s very good at it.”

“Just leave it, Bee. This isn’t the time for a fight. Let’s go outside and get some air, just the two of us.”

“My, how forward!” Nyx said with a giggle, jumping upright. “Mind if I watch?”

“I do mind. Bother Mongrel for a while.”

“What if I don’t wanna do that? How are you going to stop me?”

“Enough.”

“Ugh, you’re so boring. Whateverrr.” She went over and straddled one of Mongrel’s legs, playing with his beard. “Dearest Matt, would you like to accompany me to my room? You’ll definitely regret it, but in the best way.”

“Right, that’s our cue to leave,” Will said, standing up and ushering Bee towards the hall. “Mongrel, you know the rules. No fucking the demon.”

Mongrel provided a muttered, incoherent response, lost in Nix’s unlaced cleavage.

“Will he be fine?” Bee asked.

“Probably,” Will said with a shrug. “If he puts his dick in infernal pussy after all the warnings I’ve given him, it’s just natural selection at that point.”

Bee still had a strong urge to stomp that woman into the ground, but she didn’t want to make more trouble for Will by picking a fight she didn’t know the rules to, so she left it alone and accompanied him outside without fuss.

The chimps were still out there, two of them lounging on the porch and the other three playing in the clearing. Will sent them inside so that he and Bee could be alone together.

“Take a seat,” he said. “I just need to get something from inside quickly.”

Bee sat down on the edge of the porch and waited as Will disappeared inside. A minute later he came back out and threw a heavy bag down at her feet, bulging with a variety of different items.

“What’s that for?” Bee asked.

“It’s for you,” Will said, sighing as he sat down next to her. “I don’t know how much you’ve pieced together already, but I want to say this plain. At the end of this conversation, you might not be so keen on sticking around anymore.” He nudged the bag with his foot. “So this is some stuff to get you by, in case you decide to leave.”

“Why would I do that?”

“It’ll make more sense when I’ve explained it.”

“Okay. I don’t get it, but okay.”

Will looked away from her, somewhere off to his left, shoulders hunched about his neck. “I killed you, Bee. Or I hired Nix to have you killed. Same difference.”

“I… see.”

The fact that she didn’t understand what was going on made her feel stupid. She had always been the stupid one.

“Will you let me explain everything?” Will continued.

Bee nodded. “Please.”