Fighterman481

We've got an important announcement at the end of this chapter, so please give it a look after you finish reading, even if you don't read the other "important" announcements!

Lilith let herself enjoy the moment for a few minutes more before she got back to business. During that time, Emily and Vithi wandered off, seemingly uninterested in further discussion, while Kirdin dragged Lilith’s parents off for more training, Judy and Thaila trailing behind them. Siph gave Lilith a wink and a mental Fill us in later as she left, leaving Lilith (and Parallels) with Kali, Anna, Alex, and Raphael. “Alright, before I sorta derailed everything, we were talking about what we were going to do with Eve?”

“Yeah!” Eve said, puffing up her cheeks. “Way to steal my thunder!”

“Can it, pipsqueak.” Carmen replied. “Don’t even try to pretend you weren’t worried.”

“I’m not a pipsqueak, I’m just as old as you!” Eve protested.

“Sorry, Eve, that was rude of me. I should have been able to keep my feelings in check a little more.” Lilith said, looking Eve in the eyes.

Eve glanced to the side. “I-it’s fine. As my boss, I suppose it is only natural you are allowed to dictate the progression of work-related meetings. Anyway, as I had been saying, I need to create a base of operations, and for that I’ll need to make some sort of sub-dungeon, or get help building a castle or something.” She look to Kali. “Is there a way I can make a sub-dungeon or something similar?”

Kali nodded. “Yeah. But your dungeon isn’t nearly developed enough to get there. You’ve basically been force-feeding it mana instead of actually going and generating resources, so its growth is pretty stunted. I know you’ve been busy, but you sorta just left it to rot once you finished making what you wanted.”

“Hey, it’s not like I could feed it any other way!” Lilith replied defensively. “If you haven’t noticed, the area around here didn’t have anything that could provide income, not until everyone else started living and training here. And since I wasn’t getting an income, I couldn’t just leave the dungeon alone for a while and come back to make changes. I had to actively spend time venting mana and then just sit there forever, and it was a huge effort.”

Kali blinked. “Oh, right. Well, I suppose that means Eve will just have to work on the dungeon in the meantime, then. May I suggest taking the Wandering Core Class? It’ll help speed things up somewhat.”

“You’re joking, right?” Eve said. “There’s no way I’m just going to sit on my butt here for days or weeks or however long this ends up taking. Can’t we just make the Dungeon Core Parallel we talked about a while back? That way we can give the work to someone who wants to do it.”

“Didn’t I already say we weren’t going to do that? Seriously, why does everyone feel the need to keep pushing me on this?”

“Because,” Eve said, trying to get up in Lilith’s face and failing due to the height difference, “You have no idea what you’re talking about! Seriously! Misconception one, you’re not bringing new life into being or anything. At the end of the day, we’re all the same person here. Misconception two, any Parallel won’t really be doing just one thing. If, somehow, you’ve forgotten, we all share senses. It’s like we’re right there with each other all the time. It’s just another way to split our focus. That’s it.”

She had started flapping her wings to level the gap between their faces. “So, get your stick out of the mud and think about this from our perspective. In a way, you’re saying that you didn’t want any of us, except for Carmen. Circumstances just forced you into it. Is that true?”

“N-no.” Lilith stammered. “I’m very grateful for both of you, and neither of you were forced. I wouldn’t want either of you gone.”

“So, there’s nothing to stop you from making another one of us, as long as you’re not just doing it willy-nilly. She’ll fulfil a much-needed role, we’ll have a new friend, and our power will be directly increased. It’s a win-win. There is literally no reason for you to be so obstinate, so stop.”

Alex leaned over to Carmen, chuckling a little. “This feels like one of those shoulder angel/shoulder devil comedy routines, except real. It’s honestly kind of surreal seeing someone nag herself like this.”

Eve rounded on Alex. “I am not nagging! I’m forcing myself to look at the situation properly! There’s a huge difference!”

While Eve lectured Alex, Mae spoke up. I must say I agree with Eve. While she has yet to be aware for very long, I am perfectly content with my existence and see no reason she won’t be as well. I wouldn’t change a thing.

 “But you hardly even talk!” Lilith protested, “You just…sit there, doing…what are you doing?”

Keeping watch on the areas around all of us or thinking of ways to increase our capabilities. It’s extremely relaxing to just sit and observe; I don’t even have to worry about breathing, it’s all done for me. I’ll have to let you try it some time.

Raphael raised a hand meekly. “U-um,” she stammered, “could you tell me a little more about why exactly you don’t want to make this new Parallel? I might be able to help.”

Carmen raised an eyebrow. “Lilith is worried about bringing new life into being for the sole purpose of doing one job, and one job only.”

“Um…how is that any different than Mae or Eve?”

Lilith frowned. “Because, the new Parallel would be cooped up in the dungeon, doing just dungeon stuff. Eve will have long periods of downtime and a variety of different tasks, and…well to be honest I was still sorta groggy when I made Mae and hadn’t thought things through well enough and just blindly trusted Kali.”

Raphael tilted her head. “But…none of this is new life, though?”

“It kind of is.” Lilith responded. “It’s a new conscious entity with her own likes, dislikes, and will. That’s good enough.”

Raphael shook her head. “No, it’s not. We’ve got laws about this sort of thing, because it pops up every once in a while. To be classified as completely new life, Parallels would have to be able to remain fully functional if you were dead, and from what I understand, if someone manages to permanently kill you but not any of them, then they go poof. So, they’d probably fall under the category of really advanced tulpas or something, bodies or no.”

“Tulpas?” Eve asked.

“Another personality that lives within someone’s head.” Kali said, “Rudimentary ones can actually be made without the use of magic, but they’re closer to just a straight split personality than they are to true tulpas. But, see, I told you Parallels weren’t new life, and I would know!”

Lilith frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me this tulpa thing before?”

Kali shrugged. “Wasn’t going to do any good coming from me. I’m the world’s foremost expert and my word wasn’t good enough, so the law wouldn’t be either. And, I might have just forgot about it. It’s a kind of a niche law.” She said with a wink.

“Why do you know about it, kiddo?” Alex asked, ruffling Raphael’s hair.

“I didn’t want to, but grandma made me get tests after we got back from Miss Siph’s place. She said she was worried Lilith did stuff to me and didn’t trust Kali, since she seemed too friendly with Lilith.”

Alex gave the girl a hug. “Sorry you had to go through that. In the future, if she ever tries to do something to you that you don’t want, let me know, OK? I’ll come fight her myself if I have to.”

Raphael giggled and returned the hug. “Thanks, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. She’d probably make Winston tear you to shreds if you actually hurt her.”

“I’m not scared!” Alex proclaimed. “I’ll fight anyone who threatens the people I love!”

Raphael’s breath hitched. “Do you…love me?”

Alex paused, looking slightly stunned herself. “I…think so. We’ve only been this close for a couple of weeks, but I can’t help but want to protect you. You’re too precious for someone like Elenoa to ruin. Is that weird?”

Raphael shook her head, causing it to rub against Alex’s chest. “N-no. And I don’t want you to ever leave. I…guess that’s love, right?”

“I’d say so.”

Eve coughed. “This is…really touching and all, but we’re getting distracted. We were going to make the new Parallel, right?”

Lilith sighed. “Give me some time to think about it. It’s a big decision.”

“I expect an answer by morning.” Eve said flatly. “It’s not a hard choice, and you’re going to make everyone’s lives way better by saying yes. We get to actually advance the dungeon, everyone living in it gets an upgraded experience, and we all get to use it as a better resource to support our activities.”

Anna nodded. “Alright, what’s your plan until your lair is constructed? If you don’t have one, you’re more than welcome to come crash with me, I’m sure I can find something for you to do.”

In a rush of air, Eve was back behind Lilith. “Absolutely not! I know what you’re trying to do, and you’re not going to get to dress me up!”

Anna sighed. “Well, it was worth a shot. But, really, what is your plan?”

“I’m going to stay here and work on my fighting style. I can’t fight the same way as Lilith does, so I have to figure something out.”

“Why not?” Anna asked, frowning.

“The whole point of choosing a different appearance is to keep people from figuring out that we’re related. We have a number of extremely rare or completely unique Skills, so if we fought the same way it’d be a dead giveaway, duh. Sheesh, you’d think I’m the only one putting any thought into this.”

“Ooh, can Jameson and I train with you!?” Anna said, eyes sparkling. “It’ll be just the three of us, like it used to be!”

Eve seemed to struggle with that for a moment. “I-it would be best if you didn’t get too used to my presence. The life of the Queen of Monsters is a lonely one, and I cannot have companions amongst normal people, for fear of allowing spies into my midst.”

Anna thought about it, then smiled impishly. “But, what if we’re not your companions?”

“Elaborate, mortal.”

“You’ll be incognito as a mysterious loner that was roped into a group, infiltrating the ranks of the mortals to gather information. Sometimes you’ll just vanish for long periods of time while you attend to your business as Queen of Monsters. You’ll always appear in the nick of time, saving us when all else seems lost! Then, at the critical moment, as we are coming to assault your castle and are backed into a corner, you’ll reveal yourself and take off, crushing us with your sudden act of betrayal!”

Eve perked up, and then sagged. “Your plan has merit, but now that you know about it I cannot in good faith implement it, nor can I implement it with people who know I am Queen of Monsters.”

Anna sighed, disappointed. “I suppose you’re right. I just wanted us to be able to spend a bit more time together now that I found you.”

“No, the plan still works.” Kali said. “They just need to defect with you. You can just make them your Champions and put them in a contract that prevents them from leaking your secrets. They already know the biggest secret of all, that you and Lilith are the same person, so you can’t afford to leave them alone.”

“O-of course! I’m not sure why I didn’t think of that before!” Eve cleared her throat, then pointed a finger at Anna. “Heed my words! Now that you know my secrets, you’ll never be able to escape me! I’ll dog you to the ends of the earth if I must!”

“What if they go to Haven? Will you just leave them alone then?” Carmen snarked.

“It’s a figure of speech!”

Anna giggled. “In that case, I’ll be your loyal subject, your majesty.”

“I’m glad someone is going to treat me with the respect I deserve.” Eve preened. “As a reward, I will allow you the rare pleasure of referring to me by name whilst we are in private. You will have to do so whilst we are in the lands of people anyway, so you best accustom yourself to it now.”

“By that it means she feels weird when you call her that.” Carmen translated, shooting Eve a smug look.

“S-shut up, no one asked you!” Eve whined. “I’ve got an image to maintain!”

“And, like Lilith said, you don’t have to maintain it in front of us. No one’s going to judge you for it here.” Alex soothed. “This should be where you can relax.”

“No! Unless I am forced to do so to disguise myself, I cannot risk letting myself get into the habit of dropping my guard. If it happens in public then no one will be able to take me seriously and everything will be over.”

“Whatever. You do you, I guess.” Alex replied.

“That’s not something you could stop me from doing. The only one with the authority to do that is Lilith.” Eve huffed.

“Can I come with you guys too?!” Raphael asked excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to fight alongside a Perfect Chimera, so it’d be super cool to be in your party full-time!”

Eve hesitated, then shook her head. “I’m afraid you’re under a sort of house arrest, like everyone else living here, except for grandpa. If someone comes to take you while we’re out, then I’ll have to reveal myself and blow my cover, and I can’t afford that.”

“But I can learn how to make myself look like other people! If I can do that, then can I come?!”

Alex ruffled Raphael’s hair. “What about when you have to get magically scanned by someone or something? Then what?”

Raphael pouted. “Who say’s that’ll happen?”

“If you all head to any healers or any Haven governmental buildings you’ll have to. For that matter, won’t Eve also have problems with this? I’m sure dad scanned you.”

“Already scrubbed her signature from the records!” Kali said proudly. “That aside, it’s going to be different now that she’s a Higher Being. There’ll still be some similarities, but it’s different enough that most software wouldn’t flag it anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Can’t you just scrub the rest of our signatures?” Raphael asked.

“Elenoa would make a fuss about it. It’d basically turn into an international incident and would make trying to be a peacekeeper really hard for Lilith.”

“Oh.” Raphael said, disappointed. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Lilith told her. “It’s not like we’re never going to have the chance to be teammates. Once everything’s settled down a bit, I’m going to turn my attention to making sure you all won’t have to be cooped up here anymore. And in the meantime, as long as you’re not in any cities, we can let you guys visit other places if you want.”

“And if Tunem has been looking into it and knows where we’re going to pop out?” Carmen asked warily. “What do we do then?”

“That’s under control.” Kali said. “As long as we let me do the teleporting, it shouldn’t be an issue. It’s built into the system that you can’t scry or otherwise look into any details on the admin functionalities, so if we just head to my place and let me use my personal teleport on you all, then he won’t be able to pin down any exact details about the transit. And divination isn’t exactly foolproof in the first place, so unless he’s putting a lot of effort into it, he won’t be able to get any useful information so long as you don’t stay in one place for a while. It’ll cost a bit of Worship, but it’ll be worth it.”

“But if he is putting in that effort, we’re still out of luck, that right?” Carmen said, raising an eyebrow.

“Aside from Alex, he hasn’t made any attempts to look for any of you.”

“He’s looking for me? Doesn’t he know I’m safe?” Alex asked.

Kali frowned. “Yeah, he does. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really care about that. What’s he does care about is getting you back to him. That was his aim ever since you left for the Society, and it was one of the biggest incentives I used to get him to pick Lilith as the recipient of Vithi’s lamp. So, having you whisked away again so soon doesn’t really sit right with him. I’m pretty sure he’s willing to bring you into Council custody against your will if it meant getting you back in his life.”

“So, what? Do I just have to sit around here doing nothing until this all blows over?”

“Well, first, let’s try and get you to talk it out with him.” Lilith suggested. “We can get some sort of phone call going and see if we can’t make some sort of compromise.”

“That’s a good idea.” Kali said. “I’ll set up a time a couple of days from now for us to talk, that work for you?”

“Yeah, that works for me.” Alex said. “Do you think you and Lilith should be there too or…?”

“I think it’s best if the two of us are there, yeah.” Kali responded. “Just in case. Plus, I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear that Alex is out of her contract with Lilith, and that’s probably better to hear straight from Lilith herself.”

While they were getting the details of the call figured out, Eve made her way out from behind Lilith and grabbed Anna’s hand, tugging somewhat forcefully and leading her out of the room. “Come on, let’s go start training. We’ll pick up Jameson when his meeting finishes.”

Anna blinked. “Training? “

Eve rolled her eyes. “I’m not letting my minions go out into the world without any knowledge of how to defend themselves. And, since the two of you are going to be some of my closest accomplices, I’m going to personally make sure you’re capable enough to support me on the battlefield. Carmen’s told Jameson to let us know the moment he’s free, and one of us will pick him up when that happens. Until then, it’s just the two of us.”

She narrowed her eyes and gave Anna a wary look. “And if you even think about dressing me up, I’m going to make you run laps.”

Fighterman481

Hey all! This isn't the important announcement, but I'm posting early because I'm working on getting a glossary of characters up and running using SH's glossary feature and felt like posting early ;). Even if you feel like you've got a good grasp on who everyone is, go ahead and check it out; I've got more detailed appearances for characters I've neglected to give one, their current Class (regardless of whether or not it's been "officially" announced, as I don't view that as a spoiler save for people who Lilith would reasonably know the Class of. Others you'll just have to wait until it becomes important), and exact ages for people who are curious. It's not complete as of now but I'm hoping to have it finished within 2-3 days, so check back then if you're curious and want to read the whole thing.

For the important announcement, we've got an editor on board now! Vongrak has graciously offered to help, so we should be seeing an uptick in quality!

So, for this chapter, let's talk about tulpas. It's a term lifted from real life, and maybe some of you are familiar with the term. For those who aren't, in "mainstream" western use (stressing that because there are other uses), a tulpa is...kind of hard to describe? If you want to get really simple, think of them like imaginary friends. Except, instead of playing pretend, you go through a bunch of special meditation and essentially will them into being inside your head, from where they act as a voice inside your head. In that sense, Mae is sort of an archetypal tulpa. If you're curious, I believe there's a subreddit for them (it's been quite a few years so it may be gone now), and it's an interesting read, so go check it out if the topic interests you.

I hope you're not tired of Eve yet, because we're getting her PoV next chapter! Part of it, anyway. As for the other part...well, you'll have to wait and find out ;).

As always, thanks for reading!