33: Temporary Retirement
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33: Temporary Retirement

Avalon’s view

Upon further investigation, the writings I found cannot be recognized by humans or demons, but monsters can see them and read them. I haven’t had the courage to ask any of the dragons, but I suspect the rule is that the races created by the gods cannot see it or comprehend it.

With help from my sisters (the adorable little ladies that make cute mecha spiders, and the new living spell mother calls a ‘world spirit’ named Gaia) more hidden writings were discovered. We were able to conclude that there was a previous civilization here that broke some sort of taboo, and the world got destroyed and remade. The messages we found are warnings about it. 

Eventually I found a secret I dare not tell mother about, as I fear she’d definitely try to tinker with it at some point; there’s a spell on this world, a spell that hides and protects it. The spell also hides everything that’s not supposed to be part of this world, from the humans and demons; this is the real reason only monsters and other artificial created beings can read the hidden messages. The messages I found are not meant to be part of this world, and monsters and I (perhaps this world considers me a monster? I like to think of myself as a spell though.) capable of reading such things were probably not anticipated by the spell’s creator. 

As for the taboos? One taboo is going past the atmosphere and into space or attempting to communicate with the creatures outside the atmosphere (I and my sisters can see them with the right tools as aid, but humans and demons cannot). Another taboo is creating self-replicating artificial life. Mother actually came dangerously close to breaking that one already, thankfully my sisters and I don’t qualify, though my elder sisters do create artificial life, what they make is not like themselves, and more like ordinary monsters without true intelligence. 

In all of my studies though, one really big mystery remains: Why is mother able to create true intelligences? Her spell creation seems to be instinctive, which is normally indicative of a divine gift, but considering the restrictions of the rules of this world, it makes no sense for a god to grant such a power. 

...

Revenna’s view

Since we won’t be staying forever, I convinced Jess that we should return to the capital to see our families and take care of our own children for a bit. We aren’t in a rush, and I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten both Osia and Jessica pregnant by now. Oh how I look forward to finally seeing our children. Plus, I know my mom and dad will definitely want to see their grandkids before we leave. Gonna suck saying goodbye since we probably won’t ever return. Maybe I can convince everyone to stay a few decades?

Jessica’s view

Revenna’s idea of staying a while is a good one, especially since Edward gave me this crazy idea of making a world, instead of just traveling to one. Unfortunately for me, Avalon’s suggestion (that Osia and Revenna demand I follow) is to make another living spell to do the research for me. I guess they don’t trust me to not break anything while trying to create a world on my own. So now I’m stuck waiting around as others do research for me. 

At least I get to watch the kids. I’m not sure why, but seeing them happy makes me smile… and when they aren’t happy, I get dragged out of the room and told not to use magic on them. I was just gonna give them some horns that would help take care of things like hunger and waste with magic.

“We don’t know what the long term consequences could be, and I don’t want to take any chances with our kids!”

“It would only ever be a problem if they ended up in a place with no magic.”

“Or if they got blasted with holy magic!”

… I suppose Rev and Sia are right. Raising kids to be entirely dependent upon magic is not a great plan. *sigh*

...

Osia’s view

I never realized how much I’d love being a mom. It’s a lot of work, but for once I have someone who needs me to watch over them all the time. Jess warns me to be careful about smothering them with too much attention, but I’m pretty sure that’s not an issue when they’re still so young they need diapers and constant supervision. Sometimes it feels like the little things are trying to get themselves killed with the way they always seem to wander towards whatever the most dangerous thing in the room is. Hot stove? Reaching for it. Sharp knives? Reaching for it. I’m so glad Rev is helping out, I’d never be able to keep up with two babies at the same time on my own.

“Feels a little weird sometimes that you aren’t clinging to me so much now, Sia.”

“Getting lonely, Jess?”

“No. It’s just I’d gotten so used to it that it feels weird whenever I realize you’re not clinging to me. I’m glad our children have such an attentive mother. I don’t think I’d be any good if it were left to me.”

“No way would I leave them in your care alone. You’d get distracted by some random idea popping into your head, and forget about them! I’m glad you’ve stopped trying to build new spells all the time, but I still clearly notice the way you get lost in thought.”

“Well, I am curious what the manifestation of existential despair would look like.”

“Stay curious then. You are not allowed to try and make it just to find out.”

Jess just sighed at that. I do feel a little sorry for her, but she really needs to learn not to be so reckless with her magical experiments. For now, she’s not allowed to do any without supervision from either me, Rev, Ava, or Gaia, that new ‘world spirit’ she made. 

As for what Revenna’s doing? Well, she’s already working on lesson plans for our kids. Seems a little early when they haven’t even learned to walk yet, but at least we can be sure they’ll get a quality education with how obsessed Rev’s been about getting it perfect. Though, Rev’s a bit disappointed that Jess’s baby is a boy, and not a girl like mine. I suspect she was hoping for a mini Jessica. I’ll have to watch carefully to make sure she doesn’t put weird ideas in our kid’s heads. I love Rev, but sometimes her judgement is a little weird.

David’s view

I thought I’d be able to relax a while as I waited for a solution to our problems be found by others. Except it seems Edward wants to help with spell research. So, now I find myself living in demon lands, constantly bombarded by challenge requests. While the fights themselves can be entertaining, it’s a little tiresome to have nothing else to do most of the time. Between me only being up while the sun is down in Demi, and the libraries Edward needs being open only during the day, we end up seeing each other for only an hour or so each night. I try to make the most of what time we have, but it’s still a little lonely.

After defeating every challenger, and continuing to do so for years, I’ve acquired quite the reputation in Demi. This thankfully allows us to enjoy some very luxurious accommodations. Having a jacuzzi big enough to float in is nice.

Arena announcer’s view

This human, this guy, this David… he is absurd. I’ve watched a great many fights, but never before have I seen such things! Our great champion, the Ancient Bone Dragon Denise, shattered into pieces! It seems the repairs are still ongoing, and it’s already been three years! 

People still debate how he did it. Was it a rapid series of slashes too fast for the eye to see? Did he strike a critical point that caused the entire bone body to fall apart? Denise refuses to say how they lost, and merely insists they won’t lose so easily next time. Truly a loss for our greatest physique fighter to be felled and need to rebuild their body. Finding another dragon skeleton isn’t likely, and dragon bone dust from the markets is known to be inferior to a fully intact skeleton. Just how does Denise intend to rebuild even stronger?

Then there’s the Great Annihilator Ashe! Infamous for employing his special brand of hellfire, capable of burning away even the greatest of defenses. David just swung his sword every time a spell was cast, and the fire would vanish before it could even touch him. Reliable sources say Ashe will return next year to prove even heroes can be burned. Our experts are divided on whether or not they think he can. Half of them are convinced David is exploiting an inherent weakness in spell structures, and no spellcaster can hope to defeat him. The other half insist such a feat is impossible, and Ashe just needs to cast even faster.

***Author Note***

I actually wrote most of this before writing chapter 32, and then had to go back and edit stuff to account for Edward changing the plan.

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