For a brief moment, the room was silent. Maya swallowed a lump down her throat as she wasn't sure of how to process the information she just heard.

But eventually, Melord spoke. "Be not afraid, your fate will not necessarily follow that of your predecessors."

"I… see."

"Each incarnation of Munin was given different abilities, and none so far have had the same powers as far as I'm aware."

"So, what could the previous incarnations do?" Sophia interjected.

Melord inhaled deeply before exhaling. "What I know is from legend, so take it with a grain of salt. It is said that the first incarnation was able to transform even a stone into a magical sword. The second could alter the minds and memories of those he came across. And the third could conjure and manipulate various summoned beasts."

"As amazing as that all sounds; I still don't get how I exactly became an incarnation in the first place." Maya said.

"I assume you gained your current abilities only after you died once in the Tower."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Then whenever you received your… Relic Class, that was the moment you became an incarnation of Munin."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "Do you know about the Administrator?"

Melord nodded. "Yes, why?"

"Does he have anything to do with Munin?"

"It's hard to say; he's been dead for a long time after all."

"But I spoke to him once before."

"Then you were speaking to a ghost; a remnant of a man who once tried to best the Old Gods."

Sophia raised a hand. "Wait, how do you know all this?"

Melord shrugged. "Wisdom from my ancestors and experience."

"That doesn't say much." The Paladin said.

Melord rubbed his temples before answering. "Think about it; if the Administrator were truly still alive and was able to think independently, why would he give Maya a Relic Class?"

Sophia crossed her arms and said, "Are you implying that Munin would have a good reason to?"

Melord nodded, "Previous incarnations of Munin have always been people one would least expect; for instance, the third was a seamstress who came from this village."

Valor suddenly interjected then asked, "What happened to her?"

"She was killed after accidentally angering an Ironhead Bicorn; after which she was reborn as an incarnation of the Lord of Change." Melord replied.

The beastman seemed taken aback at this and said, "That's... interesting."

Maya sighed, "So, why does Munin keep choosing these random people?"

"Sadly, even I don't know the answer to that question; perhaps the Lord of Change sees things differently from us mortals."

Sophia coughed into her hand to interrupt and said, "Back to the Administrator. If he's been dead, then what is he now?"

Turning his attention to Maya, the elder elf continued, "The way I see it: he's now just a tool of the Old Gods, including Munin."

Maya glanced at the idol still in Melord's hands. "So, was I speaking to Munin back when I died?"

Melord chuckled at the question. "I wouldn't rule that out; the Lord of Change does things differently."

Maya rolled her eyes in response. "Of course."

"But regardless, what you should be concerned about for now is how to climb the Tower, and how you can succeed where your predecessors failed."

"Fair enough, but how did the previous incarnations of Munin die anyway?"

"I can't provide you with details. But all of them met their final end here in the Tower: that much I do know."

"You're not exactly making me feel very confident." Maya said with a sigh.

"Apologies, I'm just telling you what I know." The elder elf then reached into his pockets and retrieved a small black orb and handed it to Maya.

The Shapestealer raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"

"Earlier you mentioned that you wanted to come here to ask for my help in finding the golden branches: here it is, now touch the orb."

"Alright."

With a bit of hesitation, Maya touched the black orb with her right index finger. The stone was cool to the touch at first, but it rapidly became warmer as it began to glow. The warmth became hotter and hotter, until it became quite painful for Maya to touch the orb: and yet, she was unable to force herself to let go of her finger.

As Maya groaned in pain, Sophia glared at Melord. "What are you doing to her?"

But the elder elf only gave out a resigned shake of his head. "Forgive me, it will all be over soon."

"Enough with the-"

Before Sophia could finish her sentence, the orb had vanished completely. In its place, now resting on Maya's lap, was a small black fox, its tail made of black fire. Strangely, despite its fiery appearance, she didn't feel any heat coming from it at all. The creature immediately rubbed up against the Shapestealer: seeking her affection.

"A fox? How interesting," Melord commented.

Maya picked up the fox and brought it close to her head. The fox began to lick her face, leaving behind trails of black embers in the air. And once again, these embers did not harm her. "So, who's this cutie?" she asked, looking towards Melord for answers.

"It's a type of spirit animal; one that will only respond to Munin's incarnations, and its form changes according to whoever it bonds with."

"Oh, let me see," Valor said. He moved closer to pet the fox, but the fox turned its head towards the beastman and growled.

"Don't be shy," Valor laughed as he brought a finger close to the fox's head.

In response, the fox spat out black flames that burned the beastman's finger. Valor let out a pained yelp and frantically shook his finger to extinguish the flames: but they stubbornly clung on to his flesh.

Seeing this, Maya lowered the fox back to her lap and glared at it. "You can't do that! He's a friend."

The fox mewled and nodded as if it felt regret for its actions. Immediately after, the flames on Valor's hand vanished as if they had never even been there in the first place.

Valor blew on her finger and rubbed it, checking to make sure it was fine. Meanwhile, Sophia looked at Melord and asked, "Will the fox only respond to Maya?"

The elder elf nodded. "That's correct, unless it's told otherwise, the spirit animal will only obey one of Munin's incarnations."

Maya began petting the fox's head gently. "Does it have a name?"

"You can name it whatever you wish,"

"Hmm, is it a girl or a boy?" Maya asked, lifting the fox slightly and eyeing its form curiously.

"That's hard to say; but tradition is to refer to a spirit animal the same way as you'd normally refer to yourself. But of course, you're free to do whatever you wish," Melord explained.

With a thoughtful nod, Maya placed the fox on her shoulder and declared, "I'll name her Maple then."

"An interesting choice, any reason for that name?"

"It's… similar to the name of a person close to me."

Melord smiled, "With that settled, I think we're done here."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were going to help us with finding the golden branches?"

"Your spirit animal will be a lot more useful in that regard than anything I can tell you; just tell it to search for what you want, and it should lead you to where you want to be."

Maya eyed Maple thoughtfully and then back to Melord, saying, "Alright, thanks for the help."

"You're welcome, and good luck."

***

Maya, Sophia, and Valor made their way back through the village. As they approached the gates, Valor turned to Maya, his curiosity piqued by the potential of their new companion. "So, are we going to get Maple to find the golden branches for us or what?"

Maya glanced at Maple who was resting on her shoulder. "Sure, but let me try one thing first."

She pointed to the ground and said, "Maple? Could you go down, please."

The fox nimbly ran down Maya's body and landed gracefully on the ground. It then looked up at her expectantly, its fiery tail flickering softly.

Maya eyed the fox and used [Copycat]. However, she was greeted with the following notification:

[Target invalid: knowledge threshold not met]

Sophia chuckled at the attempt. "It was a nice try."

Maya shrugged. "Yeah, I was just curious; but anyway, let's get to the good stuff."

The Shapestalker knelt down to Maple's level and patted her head gently before asking, "Could you lead us to the nearest golden branch?"

Maple responded with a high-pitched bark. She then darted ahead, moving a lot faster than one would expect for a creature of its size.

Valor watched the fox's surprising speed and muttered. "Uh, we should probably start running too."

***

Maya dashed ahead of Valor and Sophia, her legs pumping furiously as she tried to keep up with Maple. The village fell away behind them a long time ago, and she could feel the burn in her lungs from the extended run.

"Maple, slow down!" she yelled.

To her surprise, Maple abruptly stopped and barked. The fox pointed with her snout towards something ahead. Maya slowed to a stop, panting slightly from the exertion, and looked at the fox. "What is it?"

Maple barked again and tilted her head forward. Maya followed the fox's gaze and saw a large encampment. Banners depicting black claws hung from its wooden walls: it was clear that the place belonged to the Black Talons.

Turning back to Maple, Maya asked, "Is there a golden branch in there?"

The fox barked affirmatively and wagged her tail, as if to say "yes."

As Maya thought about their next move, she heard Valor's footsteps finally catching up. "Geez, you're almost as fast as the fox," the beastman said.

Maya chuckled in response. "I'm pretty good at running."

Then, she saw Sophia slowly jogging towards them. Waving at the Paladin, Maya called out, "You alright?"

After finally catching up to the group, Sophia grabbed her knees as she breathed heavily. "It's not easy running with this damn armor, you know?"

"Cut yourself some slack; I'm surprised you can run at all." Valor said.

Sophia soon stood up properly and shot back with a smirk, "I'm just built different."

The Shapestealer then pointed towards the encampment. "Since we're all here; Maple just told me that there's a golden branch inside there."

Valor's eyes widened as he recognized the camp. "I'm pretty sure that's the camp where I stole my booze last time."

"And?" Maya raised an eyebrow.

"Just not sure if it's a good idea to go there," Valor replied.

Sophia stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she surveyed the encampment. "Doesn't seem like there's too many people there right now."

Maya nodded. "Then this might be our chance."