By the time the sun started going down, we'd found a nice clearing to camp in.
And when I say nice, I mean:
Flat-ish ground
No obvious murder birds
Only one (1) suspiciously large footprint nearby
So you know. Cozy.
Lune dropped her bag and immediately started gathering firewood like a military raccoon.
Tessa attempted to set up a tent.
Keyword: attempted.
I sat on a log and tried not to think too hard, because apparently thinking too hard is now a magical war crime.
"So," I said, unwrapping my rock-hard Snack Bread, "what's the plan?"
Tessa, tangled in rope like yarn in a cat's revenge fantasy, answered:
"ghrghf tent is attacking— help—"
I watched politely. "I believe in you spiritually."
The tent collapsed on her.
Lune walked over, lifted the entire tent frame with one hand, shook Tessa out of it, and said:
"You tie the corners. Slowly. With purpose. Stop flailing."
Tessa saluted like she'd just received instructions from a general.
I bit my bread.
It broke my tooth.
I decided to pretend I was full.
---
The Fire
Eventually, we got a fire going.
Crackling. Warm.
The kind of fire that makes you want to spill secrets or summon demons.
Not that I did that.
…yet.
We sat around it like a bunch of travelers who definitely did not all have mental illnesses and/or eldritch beings in their skulls.
Tessa took out her last piece of bread and a stick.
"I'm gonna toast it," she said proudly.
Lune and I watched with the solemn dread of parents who have seen this before.
She held the bread over the flame.
For exactly half a second.
It caught fire like it had been waiting for this moment since birth.
"TESSA—"
"A A A— WHY IS IT SO FLAMMABLE—"
She started waving it around, spreading sparks everywhere like some pyromaniac fairy.
Lune calmly reached out and smacked the burning bread off the stick.
It landed in the grass and smoldered like it had died dramatically for our sins.
A moment of silence.
Tessa sniffled.
"…I just wanted toast."
I patted her shoulder. "It is now extra toast."
She glared at me with wet betrayal.
---
And Then— Magic Happened. Literally.
The god stirred.
Not violently this time.
More like:
Hey.
You up?
I blinked. The air around my fingertips shimmered. Not glowing— more like reality hiccuping.
Lune noticed instantly. Of course.
"Rei. Breathe. Slowly."
Tessa scooted closer and held onto my sleeve like it was her emotional support handle.
The pressure inside didn't feel like before—
Not crushing.
Not tearing.
More like… something stretching. Growing.
Like waking bones after a long sleep.
The god's voice slid in behind my eyes:
> "They fear your power. But they should fear your silence."
That made no sense but sounded cool in a deeply concerning way.
"Not now," I muttered under my breath.
> "You called me."
"I did not—" I whispered back.
Tessa leaned closer. "Rei? Who are you talking to?"
"My… brain roommate."
"Ah."
She nodded like that was normal.
Lune's eyes narrowed— not scared.
Just calculating.
Because that's what she does.
She evaluates if she needs to kill a god tonight.
---
The Accident
I exhaled slowly.
Magic flickered in the air.
I didn't cast anything.
I just… was.
And a small glowing shape popped into existence in front of me.
Tiny.
Floating.
Shaped kind of like a rabbit.
But made of starlight and static.
Tessa gasped. "It's cute!!"
The rabbit opened its mouth and produced a sound that can only be described as: cosmic dial-up error chimes.
Tessa stopped reaching for it. "Nevermind."
The thing blinked at me.
I blinked back.
It blinked a second time.
Then it detonated into glitter.
Not violently.
Just puff.
Like a confused magical soap bubble.
Silence.
Tessa: "…what… was that."
Me: "…a mistake."
Lune: "We're increasing your training schedule."
---
Night
Eventually, Tessa fell asleep wrapped in her blanket like a caterpillar waiting for emotional development.
The fire dimmed to embers.
Lune sat awake, back against a tree, sword on her knee.
She wasn't guarding against monsters.
She was guarding against me.
I lay there staring at the stars that didn't look like stars anymore.
They looked like eyes.
The god sighed softly in the back of my mind.
> "You're changing. Accept it."
I whispered back, barely moving my lips:
"I don't want to become you."
He sounded amused.
> "You already were."
The night didn't answer.
I didn't sleep.