After a moment, L spoke "I am sure you don't understand the meaning of the gift you have given me. And yet, I cannot help be moved." L ran her hand along the blade, as one might caress the face of a lover. "I have struggled to regain my sense of purpose since I was made a part of this game, and even more so since the loss of my sword. Now... perhaps I can see it clearly once again..." L's gaze drifted away from the sword, into some far-off memory. Eika shifted her weight back and forth, unsure if she should be staying quiet, or if she should tell L how cool her sword looked now. V for his part, simply waited for L to collect herself. In his old world, you could find many stories of great warriors who saw their weapon as a companion rather than a tool. He had hoped to improve L's mood with the return of her weapon, but her reaction upon receiving it was much... more... than he expected. He figured it would be best to simply wait and let her sort herself out.

"You see, I would have done almost anything to get revenge on O, surrendering to you was a means to an end." V nodded, that was not a new revelation, but he figured he'd let her have her moment here. "Since then, I have walked the line. I am a servant, but in my heart, I never accepted that fact. I wished oft for death, and I condemned your choices and actions. My actions were those of dishonor. A servant who berates their master for every choice they make? A warrior who toes the line, unwilling to commit to one side or the other? How can one uphold their honor when they constantly curse their position, when it was their choice alone that placed them in it? I did not have to surrender to you, I could have searched for another way. Revenge, at the time, blinded me. Yet it was still my own decision, and then if all of that was not enough, shortly after enduring the memories your heart carried, I was faced with a decision. Keep my agreement with the Champion of Evil? Or attempt to drive him off? He himself proclaimed he enjoyed betrayal and all types of evil. However, that would mean breaking my word. Yet another decision that I walked the line, I would leave the choice to you, it was out of my hands. As a servant, all I had to do was serve. If an Emperor wages an unjust war, the dishonor is his, not those that dutifully follow their masters’ orders. It is their job to obey, not to judge. And yet as we worked alongside of T, I found myself doing just that, condemning you for a decision I had willingly left to you, as the master of our group. As we fled the Champion of Life's manor, I realized it had to stop, I could no longer bear my own dishonor. I was a hypocrite to my own ideals. Not willing to serve, not willing to lead. I had resolved upon your return, to inform you of my decision to end my own life, and ask for your assistance in the ceremony of honorable suicide, the only remaining option for one such as I." V was somewhat taken aback. He knew that working with, or for, him was difficult on her. However, the difficulty she faced was less with him, than with her own heart. V understood that well enough. It was not natural to him however, to "serve" another power, he would not have considered that L's internal struggle revolved around the subject. V came from a world of "freedom," at-least on the surface. Rules where often questioned by the people of their nation, honor in servitude was not a concept, heck, honor as a concept did not really play into his culture at all. Eika seemed to accept her slavery, it was a part of her world, of her culture. He supposed that L's world was one of duty and service to those above you.

He nodded slowly, losing L would be a real setback. In so many ways. If he was honest, he had grown fond of their back and forth. Also, his own struggle to avoid the sins of his past was aided by having someone of her kind around. He began to speak, but L cut him off. "I was already prepared for you to attempt some form of dissuasion. Perhaps out of a desire to not lose a valuable asset, or perhaps simply because you see me as one of your compatriots. You need not waste your breath. I have changed my mind. My katana... its presence has reminded me of a great many things. Of reasons for living, those that wish me to live, and clarity of purpose." L bowed as deeply as her body allowed. "As I swore to protect and serve the one who first gave me my katana, if you would have my service, I once again swear service, this time to the one who has returned it to me."

V was not entirely sure how to respond to the situation. He had always considered her a companion by happenstance, a slave or servant only by circumstance. Now however, she was formally... entering into his service? He wondered if there was some sort of special words or ceremonial acceptance. If so, she had to know he had no way to know them. He was certain saying "Cool thanks!" was not going to cut it, he struggled to find the right words. Yet... he himself once swore an oath of service. Not to a person but to a family. The only hierarchy V had ever known was his crime family. Joining the family proper was the greatest honor he had ever received, and it was the only ceremonial thing he could think of. He supposed that he should accept her as part of his family. He was the de-facto head of the family now after all, since he was the only living member on this world. As he picked up one of their water skins from their supplies, he spoke "We don't have wine or a gun, or any depiction of saints, but we do have the most important part of the only ceremony I know." He poured the water over L's head, and spoke as he had once been spoken to. "Just as your mother and father once baptized you at the start of life, I baptize you now at the start of your new life, with your new family." V doubted L was baptized but, in the world he came from, many people had kicked that tradition as well. Even so, those were the words the head of the family spoke to him, the Godfather himself had overseen his initiation, V could no longer remember his actual name... perhaps he never knew it? Either way, that was the only part of the initiation he could carry out, given the circumstances. After a few moments, L straightened up. V supposed he really was the new head of the family now, although he supposed it was an awful small crime family, only two people. As those thoughts crossed his mind, he felt something, almost like a switch had been flipped in his mind. It was a strange feeling, perhaps it was simply some of his old memories resurfacing.

L stood "In service to your line, I will find my honor." V hesitated to tell L about the "family" part being a "crime family." Maybe he would leave that explanation for another time.  "Can Eika join!?" Eika had managed to stay quiet for a long time, but she clearly could no longer suppress her energy. "Eika wants to join the family as well! Does it work if I pour water on my own head? What is a baptized? Can Eika join if she did not have a baptized?" Eika rummaged around, looking for another container of water. V chuckled as he moved to slow her down. He was thankful for Eika's interruption though, as he was not really sure how to continue the conversation, as was not looking forward to awkwardly standing across from L for an hour in silence. "Maybe another time. We can call you an associate of the family, how about that?" V was joking of course, but that was clearly lost on Eika. "Nice! I'm an associate! Do I get a baptized?" V shook his head "The word is Baptism, and no not yet. Associates have to work hard in order to join the family." Eika nodded seriously. "Then I will keep working hard! I wanna be a family member." When she acted like this, it was easy for V to forget the times she had that strange gaze, that angry glare, that power that gave pause to the Champion of Darkness. "Anyway, we should tell L about the... encounters we had while we were away." Eika's eyes got big, and she started speaking at lightning speed "OH RIGHT! Hey so we were coming home. Well like back to this place, is this home? Anyway, so this guy jumped us! Well, no, he just called out and wanted to speak with us. This guy was named J and...."

Many corrections to Eika's story later, V started to open his item storage to attempt to retrieve the two letters. "Do you think it’s wise to do exactly as this "J" says?" L spoke, a cautious expression upon her face. "Well. I don't see another option. The letters are clearly meant to be used. I suppose we could use them in different order or something, but I don't see how we would get out of using them completely, and if we are going to use them, we might as well use them in the way J described. So far, he has been helpful." L nodded "I suppose that is true enough, the letters clearly are intended to be gathered and used, we cannot very well ignore them entirely." V brought up the status

┌——————┐
Item Storage: Safe House
Shield x 1
Vase of The Mother Goddess x 1
E x 1
I x 1
L x 1
└——————┘

He figured it would be best to try to do this one at a time. He envisioned retrieving an "I" from his storage. A strange crackling noise immediately filled his ears. In his hand appeared a... Well, it was hard for V to describe. It sort of looked like a piece of broken mirror, but the edges were... fuzzy? Hazy? They crackled and sounded a bit like the white noise on a TV. Shooting off like sparks from these hazy edges, small geometric shapes flew before dissipating. "Why is it shooting squares and stuff?!" Eika asked with an incredulous look on her face. V slowly handed it to L, it was cold and hard, and it felt like it dug into his hands, but there was no damage, it was just a phantom pain of some sort. "I uh, I don’t know. Maybe take this sooner rather than later." L nodded seriously and gingerly took the item from V. A status message appearing as the item disappeared from her hands.

┌——————┐
Added to Item Storage "I"
└——————┘

"Well, it was added to my items, so I guess we should get on with this..." Her voice was filled with trepidation.

┌——————┐
Name: I
Class: Special
Type: Divine
Description: A special component gained by killing a Divine Champion.
Can be used to replace a normal name, or be added to an existing Divine Champion's name.
└——————┘

She used the item in much the same way as other ways of interacting with your status, simply by willing it to happen. Pain exploded in her head, and spread to the rest of her body. She staggered, barely able to keep from falling over.
┌——————┐
Expanding Name.
....
....
Congratulations! Your name has been expanded!
Skill Gained:
Sleep Immunity Lv ∞

Your level in "Divine Samurai" has increased!
3 => 4
Acquired Ability:
Last Strike
└——————┘

V wanted to move to help support L's body, she was sweating and clearly in pain. On the other hand, something positively awful could be happening. For all V knew she was transforming into something horrible, and running away was the smart plan. Splitting the difference, he simply stood and waited. After a few moments L spoke, breathing heavily. "I was unprepared for the pain that brought on. It was like... nothing I had ever felt before." V cautiously asked "Is that all that happened? A bunch of pain? because I’m going to be actually upset if that is all that happened." L shook her head and explained the messages she received. "Well, uh... Sleep immunity? That... I mean that is helpful I guess, if a bit random? The level up is nice though. Do... are you able to do the second letter? Or do you need time to recover?" L shook her head, "Let us just get this over with." as V removed the other letter from his item storage, L suddenly remembered the name of her mother. She had not even realized she had forgotten it...

In V's hand another strange object appeared, also mirror shard-esque. Although this time it was larger, and the edges bled a thick dark substance. It dissipated once it hit the floor, but as it ran over V's hands, he felt a terror he had never felt before. Panic started to creep over him. It was coming, it was after him! V started to back away from L, he had to put his back to a wall. It was coming for him, he had to find safety! He dropped the "mirror shard" as he retreated. As the shard hit the floor, the entire floor turned black. Eika started screaming, she ran to the door and started clawing at it in blind panic. V knelt down and covered his head with his hands. He could see it. He could see the world of the Champion of Darkness. A world with no sun, no light. It was coming for him! The monster was coming for him! V started crying in fear. The shadows in the room started to develop faces, laughing, grinning. As V started screaming, it all suddenly stopped. The room returned to normal. The fear V felt slowly dissipated, what was he even afraid of in the first place? Eika simply collapsed by the door. L was shaking uncontrollably, but she had grabbed the shard, and added it to her item storage.

"What the hell was that?" L asked, her voice wavering heavily. V shook his head, leaning against the wall as he tried to stand up. "I... I don't know. I think it was the Champion of Darkness's origin world. Maybe these fragments, these letters we are taking from the champions are the divine aspects of their world? Or... something? Look I don't know..." V shakily walked over to their supplies and drank some water, steadying himself. He knew he was recovering when an idle thought passed through his mind, "Why were we carrying our supplies around when we had an item storage?" V figured it was because it felt "normal" to him and L to do so. After a good thirty minutes, Eika had woken up, fear had been banished from V's mind, and L had steadied herself. "Well, I guess I should get to it then." L's voice had a hint of concern this time.

┌——————┐
Expanding Name.
....
....
Congratulations! Your name has been expanded!
Skill Gained:
Regeneration Lv 4

Your blessing has grown!
Please Choose a Path!
1) Greater Blessing of Honor
2) Blessing of the Lady Protector
3) Blessing of the Honor-bound Ronin
└——————┘

The pain L suffered this time was not as intense as the first letter, whether she had merely been prepared for it this time, or it was in actually less painful was yet unclear. L had assumed there was a way to increase the strength of one’s blessing, the large discrepancy she had witnessed between blessings always seemed odd to her. She supposed it made enough sense that this is one of the ways it would be done, taking fragments of other champions. Although she did not expect "options" in the matter. Unfortunately, she did not seem able to gain more information about the three options presented. However, she was no longer a ronin; and she had recently regained the sword given to her upon becoming the Lady Protector. It seemed to her as if fate itself was guiding her hand.

┌——————┐
Blessing of Honor has evolved into Blessing of the Lady Protector.
└——————┘

Immediately, L's blessing activated. Although based on V's expression, it was not a noticeable activation. She was now keenly aware of V's status. Not in the "game" aspect, but in the mortal one. She could tell he was healthy; she knew he was exhausted and hungry; she even had a sense on his location. Even if she closed her eyes, she could still tell where he was. She also noticed another new sense, her blessing indicated that V was in some form of imminent danger.