We arrived in the building that had been set aside for the Kindlesprites. Like the other buildings, there was no door. Just a tingly energy field that prevented the Primordial Clay from escaping the room. Inside, the place was empty aside from a mound of Clay piled up in the corner and a warded shelf that had several spare chisels on it.

 

Now that we were here, another concern was impeding my thoughts. "What if the new Kindlesprite isn't suited to Sculpting either? You said once that having a skilled Sculptor would make it faster to repop, right?" I realized I was biting my lip in agitation, and released it.

 

She shrugged lightly. "Even if the new Kindlesprite is no better at the task, having two of us to take Clay from will be an improvement."

 

The idea of two Kindlesprites constantly breaking themselves apart wasn't comforting, but... That was the reality I'd chosen. Presumably, I could reach a point where there were enough of them that self-damage was less efficient than just existing. That was something to aim for. "Alright. Is here fine, then?"

 

"I see no issues." She moved to stand behind me and to my left. There was a tiny hint of anticipation coloring her aura. Looking forward to not being alone anymore?

 

The Interface shifted over to the Creation screen for the Kindlesprite, but it was patient enough this time to wait for me to click the button. I snickered at that thought, then sighed. All I could do was hope that she would be the ideal sculptor. I pressed the button and confirmed the prompt.

 

The Creature manifested quickly enough, blinding energy sweeping excess mana out of the air and masking her physical creation for the most part. She was slightly shorter than her kin, with darker eyes and hair, and a pink dress as opposed to the first one's maroon. The grey patterns on her skin also ran in different shapes that made it simple to distinguish them. The ones around her eyes in particular had a vaguely mask-like shape to them.

 

She spoke with a voice that was slightly higher pitched than I expected, but completely emotionless. Oddly, it highlighted how much more human the first Kindlesprite had become over the last few days. "Greetings, mine Archon. How may I serve?"

 

That was... word for word what the other one had said to start with, I think. I smiled a little before answering. "Call me Selene. And... not My Lady or Lady Selene, either. Just Selene." Then I frowned. "Come to think of it, you two- you can't have names until you hit some mysterious Evolution or whatever. How am I supposed to call for you?"

 

The Kindlesprite behind me answered. "Titles or Roles would be an effective workaround. Numbers work as well."

 

That seemed rather... dehumanizing. But it didn't seem like there was a decent alternative. Well, before getting too distracted... I addressed the newly created Kindlesprite. "I suppose. For now, would you be capable of working as a Sculptor? If not, is there something you'd be better suited to?"

 

The masked Kindlesprite paused to think, sorting through the information the Dungeon instilled in her Mind. Then she lifted a hand over her heart. Oddly, a sense of awe diffused throughout her aura. "I... believe I am well suited to act as a Sculptor. This is a task I am... eager to perform." It was true. Anticipation was weakly chasing itself around her aura, weaker than what the other had managed, but growing ever so slowly.

 

Was it... really that easy? My thoughts refused to advance. Normally things were harder than that, right? I felt like there was a reason for it, and the connection was just a hair's breadth from being made. A long moment passed as I stared at the unperturbed Kindlesprite without saying anything. Finally-

 

"Ah!" I smacked my fist into my palm. "This is... A Spirit thing, isn't it. Like with the Rukh. I wished for a Sculptor, and so that's what I got. But it didn't work with Mara or the others? Why?" I furrowed my brow. Mara said she wasn't great at enchanting even though it was the entire reason I'd made her. Maybe the others could be excused since I didn't have a purpose in Mind, but not her.

 

The first Kindlesprite interrupted my brooding. "Perhaps something else was holding your attention at the time. It cannot be changed now, however. What are your orders?"

 

I looked back at her in surprise. Nearly shock, really. It was unusual for her to take this much initiative. But, it was for the best. I turned back to the masked Sprite- No, that wasn't right. "Then, Sculptor. This room should have everything you need to begin working, but if you need any kind of help, you can ask my other Creatures. They will prioritize helping you create Cores over anything else." As I said it, the Order was given. "Umm. How soon do you think you'll make the first one?" I nibbled on my lip, hoping for a good result.

 

The Sculptor turned and strode over to the Clay in the corner. She knelt down and examined it closely, then spoke. "With this much... Perhaps I can form a Core within the next day? I apologize... Selene. My grasp of time is somewhat limited. I will do everything I can to speed the process." She turned back towards me, the excitement in her aura carefully constrained. "Was there anything else, before I begin?"

 

I smiled a little at the sight. Like a kid waiting for candy. "No, I'll come check up on your progress tomorrow. Just do as you please until then."

 

With a sharp nod, she turned back to her work. The other Kindlesprite took a moment to leave some more Clay behind, and then we left the building.

 

I still had quite a bit of CP left over. Theoretically, I could create another Creature right now. Or, I could do any number of other things, of course. But it had been a while since I'd spoken with my other Creatures. By now, they might have a request that I could spend CP on. With that in mind, we headed towards the Fairy workshops. I had a vague feeling that most of them were there at the moment.

 

On the way, I started a conversation with the Kindlesprite. "She- The Sculptor. She seemed, um. Nice." Okay, that was a little lame.

 

The Kindlesprite offered no judgement. "I suspect she found her Calling in Sculpting. As long as she follows her path, she will grow prodigiously until she Adapts perfectly to her task. It is an exciting prospect." So she said, but there was no excitement in her aura.

 

That made me wonder... "Her Calling, you said. I get the general idea, but... Do you have something like that?" I felt kind of embarrassed asking about it for some reason. Like I was digging into something private. "You- don't have to answer. I'm sorry."

 

She raised a brow at me. "You would be the first I told if I found it. I exist to serve you, and I am- glad for that." A spark of emotion ran through her aura, and she suddenly frowned. Then... "Thank you. For giving me this opportunity, and for Creating me."

 

My face heated instantly, and a sick feeling settled into my stomach. Like I'd been punched. Even though I'd made her for my own selfish reasons, she was thanking me. Glad to serve me. It occurred to me- that maybe my wishes had poisoned her when I'd created her, much as they'd affected the Sculptor. A Slave, who would shatter her own Body and smile while doing it. Should I really be doing this? Any of this? I don't deserve her gratitude or- any of them.

 

A sudden cloud of distress flowed from the Kindlesprite's Core. "Selene? I apologize if I said something unpleasant. It was not my intention." She furrowed her brow and frowned deeply. Directing emotion towards me, even though she was usually so stoic.

 

Just like the Sculptor when she was thinking of her work.

 

But that wasn't fair. "No... I should be... thanking you. I'm sorry. I'm... so sorry." I felt tears gathering in my eyes, but I turned and brushed them away. She wouldn't understand, was already blaming herself. I didn't want to torture her. It was my fault, not hers. My choice. And all I could do was live with it. Well. That's the whole idea, right? Live. I hope it's worth it. I felt the bitterness gather like a fog, but I simply shoved it inside the shroud around my Heart. I was getting quite good at that.

 

The rest of the walk was silent, with the Kindlesprite never quite dismissing her worries and me trying to pull myself back together. We were close to the Workshop now, though. Oddly, I felt like the Air Fairy might be here. Perhaps I would finally have a chance to meet her, and choose a good name. Though if I was honest, I'd already narrowed it down to three based on her eyes.

 

The Fairies tended to be quite good at sensing emotions, so I took a moment to still my aura entirely. I also sent a smile at the Kindlesprite, hoping to calm her a little as well. "The others are just inside. Shall we?"

 

She blinked at me, once. Then nodded. "As you wish." There was no longer any sign of emotion in her aura, so I turned and stepped through the doorway.

 

The room was just as cluttered as I remembered. Only now there were little whiteboards scattered around. Some were empty, and others had detailed designs drawn on them in various colors. I was a little surprised, but shrugged it off. I saw Mica, Geni, and Mara all gathered around one of the designs, and we headed towards them. The Air Fairy was nowhere in sight, but I felt she was probably observing us.

 

They noticed our entrance quickly enough and moved to greet us with varying levels of exuberance. Talking over each other and fluttering around cutely, showing off their new clothes. It was pure chaos, and it was hard to keep from smiling.

 

Before they got too excitable, Mara finally spoke up. "Was there anything you needed from us, Selene?" Unlike the others, she was still wearing the dress she'd been Created in. Although she was trying to keep her composure, she'd also flown over quite excitedly...

 

I nodded a little. "Sort of, yeah. I just made a new Kindlesprite. She's working in the building with the Clay. I'd like all of you to help her if she needs it. Also, the Supply Depot is finished, so you can use the Market and Bank. Aside from that, was there anything that I needed to spend CP on? If not, I can just wait and make another Kindlesprite after a while."

 

"Oh! We've been talking about that." Mica was still preening a little, showing the new clothes off. They were similar to the old ones, but significantly less plain. Short-shorts dyed an oily black barely covered their middle, and a similarly colored vest left the wings on their back free to move. Both were laced with gold thread to create geometric patterns. The half-meter long white ribbons tied to their gold anklets were an odd choice, but the lack of shoes was probably just because they wanted to keep as much of their old jewelry as possible.

 

They continued smugly, kicking their feet around to make the ribbons flutter. "If we can use the Supply Depot now though, it's probably simple. We need plant seeds. Normal grass, but also crops or flowers or maybe something to make paper and thread with. The Arachne Silk is good for clothes and Spellbooks, but it's too high-quality to make scrap paper with."

 

"Ah." I considered that for a moment. I felt like it would actually be difficult to buy seeds from the Market. Then again, maybe stores on Earth would Sell them. "That seems like something we can work on over time. You can look around while you experiment with the Market, and if you need me to Create a specific seed, just ask."

 

Mara answered first. "If we need to Create seeds, it may be better to make a Spring Fairy. They would be able to make new plants and enhance their effects in ways that Mica and Corina can't, no matter how fertile their soil is. Until then, begging for free seeds on the forums seems to be the go-to option for us."

 

Huh? That hadn't occurred to me. It seemed... wrong somehow. But then again, if I wasn't dealing with Whiterest, I might have been able to collect random seeds just by digging up unowned plants in the forest. "Oh. Okay. That makes sense. Try to be... polite about it, I guess?"

 

"Of course!" Geni fluttered up in front of my face. Less because she had something to say, and more to show off her clothes, probably. "But look already! The new girl is really good at this stuff. It even has pockets!"

 

I rolled my eyes with a small smile. I would have been more amused if I didn't have the same reaction to my current clothes. Maybe I could get a second outfit soon?

 

The Contraption Fairy's outfit was nothing like the simple grey dress she'd started with during her Creation. Instead, she had a silver bolero covering a sunflower print tank top, a forest themed long skirt, and boots the same color as the jacket. As she'd said, there were several tiny pairs of pockets on the jacket and skirt, and a large over-the-shoulder bag for anything that wouldn't fit in those. The silver framed sunglasses were probably something Mica helped her make, though.

 

I'd seen clothes at this size before on dolls, but somehow they always looked so stiff and uncomfortable. The fact that these looked soft and flexible mystified me. "She really is quite talented. Was she the one who made that design, as well?" I pointed out the whiteboard they'd been crowded around before.

 

"Oh, yeah!" Geni leaned back in the air, nearly turning upside down to look at it. "That's for the Kindlesprite. The design came from the Air Fairy, but we've been modifying it for a while now. It has to be safe to use with the Clay, or the enchantments will fail and the cloth will start to corrode. It's taking all of us to figure it out." She turned to the Kindlesprite. "We still need your opinion on the design, too."

 

Hmm? "What about the clothes she's wearing now? They shouldn't have any special defenses, right?" Maybe the starting dress, but she'd borrowed some of my clothes as well, and those were still fine.

 

Geni waved dismissively, righting herself to look at me. "We enchanted those, but the only enchantments we could put in were the ones to prevent the corrosion. For this set, we're trying to balance those enchantments with all the basic self-maintenance and protective enchantments as well. It's like trying to write three books on the same sheet of paper. Very fun!" She giggled happily. 

 

That didn't sound fun to me, but I couldn't help returning her grin. I gestured for the Kindlesprite to help them with the design, and found a quiet corner to sit in. I watched them discussing the details, making alterations based on the answers they received to their myriad of questions. Not just to stay out of the way, though. I had a theory...

 

A soft pressure settled on my shoulder, a faint golden-white glow coloring the right side of my face. I stayed as still as possible, not even turning my head. I suddenly felt hyper-aware of every breath and itch in my body. I relaxed as much as possible, trying to slow my breaths to a reasonable rate.

 

Finally, a whisper like the sound of wind through reeds entered my ears, so quiet I wondered if it was my imagination. "Sorry... for running... Want... to help you... Scared." There was a long pause.

 

Then... "Others... so loud... to play... with you... Jealous." The weight on my shoulder shifted, and I risked moving my head until I could see from the corner of my eye. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, her long dress and hair trailing off opposite sides of my shoulder. Her wings flowed up and out, fluttering like flags in a strong wind. Her eyes were closed, and her head was resting on her knees. She looked like a tiny glass figurine, utterly still aside from her wings and the gases floating inside her body.

 

I studied her for a long moment. Her aura was shot through with anxiety and discomfort. But there was just a tiny streak of blue-white joy, the same color as her eyes. "Lyn..." I whispered it unconsciously. The name I'd been leaning towards the most of the three.

 

Instantly, she was gone.

 

I held my breath, hoping she might return... But there was nothing. Just a faint, joyful echo- less than a whisper. "I...Lyn!"