Lucius placed Vivi into deep sleep soon after that and focused on recovery. She had no clue how long the process lasted for. To her, it was all just sleep.

  She did see a few dreams. Actual dreams away from Paradise. The type that made no sense, such as swimming in tomato soup, or meeting a faceless mother, or hugging those who were important to her. Vivi’s dreams had never made much sense, but she saw a lot of them, her mind making work of the passing time.

  When she came aware of herself, her eyes simply opened, and she was suddenly awake. There was no panic or sharp pain, not even all that much grogginess. She just woke up, finding herself in a bright room. She turned her head, spotting immaculate white walls and tables filled with scissors, potions, and all sorts of equipment. The room reminded her of Lortel’s sewing room—and after looking around, she realized this was the same room, just transformed into an infirmary. Vivi’s bed was hard, though she did have a blanket.

  Lortel was there as well. She wasn’t watching over her, but was working on some project with a thread and nail. Instead, Lucius was beside her bed, watching over her, but his eyes were closed. In the opposite end of the room was another bed, though that one was empty.

  “Vivi?” a soft voice said to her left. “You’re awake?”

  She turned her head and saw Senith sitting on a chair next to her bed. Senith wore an exhausted but warm smile, a small glint in her eyes. Somehow, Senith was just there, as if she knew she’d be the first person Vivi would want to meet.

  “Thanks…” Vivi said.

  Senith tilted her head. “Still sleepy?”

  “No, I’m awake,” Vivi said. “Thank you. For being kind.”

  Senith’s smile turned awkward. She rubbed her cheek with her fingernail. “I believe I should be the one thanking you for saving the city.”

  “Is my grandpa…” Vivi asked next, hesitating. “Is he…?”

  Senith’s smiling teeth immediately hid behind her lips, the glimmer disappearing as she thought of how to answer. Vivi knew the answer right away.

  “He passed, then,” Vivi said quietly, saving Senith from delivering the news.

  “He did,” Senith said anyway, head low. “Lortel did everything she could. She didn’t sleep for days. I’m sorry, but we couldn’t save him. Not even until you woke up.”

  “It’s fine,” Vivi said. “I got to say goodbye.”

  Senith didn’t seem to understand, looking confused, but she didn’t ask further. Lucius still slept as a loaf next to Vivi.

  This was the second time now that Grandpa had “died.” The first time had left much worse of an impact on her head. This time… Vivi already missed him, of course, but the utter sense of despair, as if the world had ended, wasn’t there. If anything, she felt strangely calm. She didn’t feel like the world had ended at all. The opposite. She felt like something new had just begun.

  She knew she’d miss Grandpa for the rest of her life. But this time, the memories and emotions associated with the farewell were positive.

  Grandpa had achieved his dreams. He hadn’t died in a cold prison cell. And he’d died knowing that Vivi would bring his legacy well past his own efforts.

  “Ah,” Vivi said, remembering something. “I think I need to apologize in Grandpa’s stead about one thing, Senith.”

  “Yes?” Senith asked. “What is it?”

  “While I said goodbye to him,” Vivi said, “he, um, kind of revealed your raincoat.”

  Senith flinched upright. “Wait. When did he do that?”

  “It’s a bit complicated,” Vivi said. “It happened while we were asleep. I know you were planning it to be a surprise. But could I see it again?”

  Senith’s face reddened. “Well, if you’ve already seen it… I guess there’s no need to wait.” Flustered, she stood up. “I’ll go fetch it.”

  Vivi was left with Lortel. The seamstress made no attempts at small-talk, keeping her eyes on her project. Vivi wasn’t sure what she was working on, but it looked like a dark dress.

  With the room silent, Vivi tested her limbs. She rose to sit. Sharp pain revealed itself right away, hitting her muscles as if she was still fighting the godslayer. She fell right back to bed.

  Lucius finally jolted awake. “Oh,” he said. “Oops. I’ve been paying attention! Of course! I have not been slacking!”

  Vivi smirked at him. Looks like you kept me alive. Thanks.

  He took a proud pose, face embarrassed. “Of course! All thanks to me! And Lortel, slightly.”

  Vivi glanced at the bed on the other end of the room. That was Grandpa’s bed, right? What happened to his spirit now that he died?

  Lucius turned, checking the direction. “That’s… a good question. Spirits of dead fighters are usually collected into urns and returned to the hunting company they belong to. Sometimes spirits get lost in the underground, in which case they must be retrieved.”

  The latter has happened, then, Vivi thought. Where is Gupps?

  “I’m actually not sure,” Lucius said, looking troubled. “I thought he’d still be there, lazily sleeping.”

  Vivi tried looking into the ethereal realm. She couldn’t feel anything spiritual. Lortel was there, not as an ethereal presence, but as a totally invisible spot in the middle of the room.

  “Lortel?” Vivi asked. “When Grandpa passed… Did you see any odd flashes of light or wisps escaping from his body?”

  “I saw his cat spirit,” Lortel said. “Gupps.”

  Oh, Vivi thought. “Do you have it? Where did it go?”

  “I tried to collect it as a skill,” Lortel said with an amused grin. “He rejected the bond. Then he yawned a little bit, noted that its previous bond was now over, and decided it was free to do as it wished.”

  “You didn’t stop it?” Lucius asked with a frown.

  “My apologies,” Lortel said, “but I am not going to start fighting with a demigod’s spirit.”

  “So Gupps is somewhere in the city,” Vivi said. “Alone.”

  Lortel shrugged.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  What can it do? Vivi asked. Is this a problem?

  “Probably not,” Lucius said. “Gupps can wander around for a bit. Then he’ll start losing his memories. He can either form a bond with a being that can’t shape ether, like a human, to retain his consciousness. If he fails that, he’ll return to his wisp form, and he’ll float around until something finds it. Or until Ythar personally calls him back to his core. I think there are around a hundred lost spirits across the lower levels now.”

  So Gupps will most likely fall unconscious, since demons can channel ether on their own.

  “Yep,” Lucius said. “That idiot will be back to a wisp in a day.”

  The door opened, and Senith returned with the black raincoat. She showcased it much like Grandpa had. Instead of a wide grin shining behind the raincoat, however, Senith looked embarrassed, afraid to meet Vivi’s eyes.

  “It’s not perfect,” Senith said. “But I think I’m starting to understand what makes raincoats great.”

  “Did you really make this?” Vivi asked. “Something so beautiful?”

  “Whenever I wasn’t working on building the company,” Senith said, “I was working on raincoats. I think I’m getting better at making them.”

  Vivi held out her hand, and took the raincoat. It was just as beautiful now as it was in Paradise. She couldn’t believe Senith had created something so perfect. If raincoats could be compared to runeswords with the amount of proficiency required to make one, this must have definitely been a five or a six-runed raincoat.

  But Senith had only been practicing for a month or so. How good would she get if she continued practicing?

  “Do you… like it?” Senith asked.

  “I’m trying to figure out how this could be improved,” Vivi said. “I don’t think it can. Perfection is hard to improve.”

  “So…” Senith flushed. “You like it?”

  “It’s perfect,” Vivi said. “The most beautiful raincoat I’ve ever seen.”

  “Oh,” Senith said. She didn’t look like she believed it. “Really?”

  Vivi grabbed her hand. Senith let out an “Eh?” as Vivi pulled her closer. Despite the protest of her muscles, Vivi sat and hugged Senith.

  The position proved awkward. Vivi began falling backward, Senith still in her arms, and she pulled Senith halfway on the bed for a better hugging position.

  “Thank you,” Vivi said with a smile. “Can I wear it now? I’ll pay you for it.”

  “It’s yours, Vivi,” Senith said, as if that was obvious. “If Lortel allows, you can wear it. There’s no need to pay.”

  Vivi ignored the last bit of advice and, while still hugging her, quickly transferred a million ether into Senith’s core.

  “Stop!” Senith said laughingly. “It’s a gift, silly.” She rolled her eyes as she transferred the ether back to Vivi.

  Vivi returned the chuckle. It felt good to smile at a person she could with certainty call a friend.

  The warmth still felt bittersweet, recalling what had just happened in Paradise. Her family was gone now.

  I’ll miss you, Grandpa, Vivi thought again. You didn’t teach me nearly enough. But I won’t be left behind.

  Vivi wasn’t alone anymore. She had allies. Friends. Even now, she woke up with Senith next to her. More people were undoubtedly waiting for her outside the doors.

  Those people outside, it turned out, were not about to wait. A knock came, but the visitor did not wait, opening the door on their own behalf. Another enthusiastic face followed—Coshi Dala, with cat-like excitement filling her face—followed closely by Anthony, who looked pragmatic, as always.

  “Vivian,” Coshi beamed. “You’re alive. You’re actually alive! I can’t believe it.”

  Senith and Vivi awkwardly released the hug.

  “You’re the only person—” Coshi slammed her arms at the end of her bed. “—who can get eaten by a behemoth, only to kill it and come out with an exalted skill. All while abusing ether so much that it was your presence we felt outside.”

  “I didn’t get eaten,” Vivi said. “I jumped in voluntarily. The behemoth was kind of like a dungeon. After clearing monsters, I made it to the boss in the middle, and I killed the behemoth afterward.”

  Coshi blinked. “Really? That’s how behemoths work?”

  “It is written in legends,” Anthony said, “that behemoths have a heart in the middle that needs to be killed.”

  “That was true,” Vivi said. “And there was a godslayer defending it.”

  The room fell silent.

  “Hold on,” Coshi said. “Are you certain?”

  “Well, Lucius said it was a real godslayer.”

  “So. You didn’t defeat just a behemoth. You also killed a freaking godslayer?”

  “Yes?” Vivi said. “That’s the one that dropped the exalted skill.”

  More silence.

  Coshi and Anthony looked at each other. Senith sat to the side, out of everyone’s way, but she looked surprised as well. Even Lortel was eyeing Vivi, as if wondering if Vivi was lying.

  Vivi summoned Grandpa’s sword. “It’s all thanks to this.”

  Eyes found her Dawnpour. Vivi placed it sideways on her arms. She, too, observed the veins inside. Making sense of the network inside was still difficult with the sheer amount of stalks and branches inside. Vivi struggled to connect which one went to which rune. She’d need to admire it later.

  The shockwave rune, however, was the oddest thing and easily recognizable. It arched through loops, but didn’t form any branches of its own. The shockwave rune was shaped almost like a miniature sword itself, with a sharp edge. Vivi suddenly felt stupid for not doing the same for her own shockwave swords. Of course the projectile would be stronger if the ether shaped by the shockwave runes was already formed to the shape of the blade.

  She was also afraid to test out the rune in action, lest she accidentally cut a mountain in half.

  “Is there any chance I could…” Coshi asked quietly. “Try it out?”

  Vivi gave her a look. “Maybe later.”

  Coshi grinned at that. “Sorry, sorry. You’ve saved us, Vivi. A full city. Tens of thousands would have died without you. I came here to thank you.”

  “Shivenar is my home as well,” Vivi said. “I’ll defend it with my life.”

  “I’m afraid I’m not nearly rich enough to repay you,” Coshi said. “But I will place myself eternally in your debt.”

  Vivi was starting to feel a headache from all the praise and nonsense. The only thing she wanted right now was to put on her new raincoat.

  Lortel got up from her seat, causing heads to turn her way. “Vivi is still resting,” she said, as if having read her mind. “I believe she would appreciate it if she was offered time.”

  She then ushered both Coshi and Anthony out of the room. On the way out, Coshi called, “Rest well, Vivi!”

  ***

  She did just that. The next three days of deep rest passed with delicious meals and a few pastries, and of course with silly conversations with not just Senith, but everyone—the ballista makers, the Runes and Rain company. Eem was brought to check on Vivi, though she had to quickly be brought out before she got too excited.

  After three days, Vivi was ready to move, in time for the next event.

  ***

  Vivi had never been to a funeral where anyone important to her was being buried.

  Elders had died in Fellwater, of course, and Vivi was made to attend their funerals. She always lingered around for the event, with her head low to show appreciation, while other townsfolk cried. The only good thing about funerals was that Fellwater’s teens respected the event enough to not bully Vivi, making do by only glaring at her.

  So while Vivi would never admit it out loud, she usually just waited for funerals to be over so that she could get back to runesmithing.

  Today, everything she knew about funerals was flipped upside down.

  Shivenar had no burials, of course, seeing that anything dead would eventually reanimate. The traditional funeral was more like a death ceremony. Grandpa’s coffin was placed atop a hearse carriage that passed the city through the middle of the highway. The family of the deceased gathered on another carriage that led the way along with any important people that were invited. Vivi sat there, wearing her raincoat, with Coshi and Senith standing to her sides.

  Traditionally, funerals of those important to the Luminary started from outside city gates, where the hearse started its climb up to the Luminary’s palace. Grandpa, however, started from the top, and descended down to the Lowmoor district.

  Vivi watched the streets pass. To her sides, a surprising number of passersby stood to pay their respects. Vivi couldn’t tell how many had come for the event specifically and how many happened to stumble onto the hearse on its way, but she figured that most of everyone felt the same way she usually did during funerals. They respected the dead, but felt nothing special.

  Would Grandpa have wanted a burial on the surface? she kept asking herself. Definitely not in Fellwater, but maybe in Ranewal, his home city. Very few would know him there either.

  Shivenar was the city of his dreams. He completed his dream here. A funeral here, with people who respected him and his profession, was definitely more fitting than some half-hearted burial on the surface, where people would pour waste on his grave.

  The hearse paused at the Lowmoor district, at their church and crematorium. The coffin was carried down for family members to wish their final goodbyes, and to offer letters to burn with their loved one. Vivi had prepared a letter of her own, which she slid into the coffin. She tried not to cry, but she shed a few tears anyway, before wishing goodbye. Grandpa was brought in for cremation.

  The Shiv traditionally stayed to watch. Vivi thought it would have been disturbing to watch her grandpa burn in a coffin, but the opposite proved true. The process wasn’t violent. She barely even saw flames. She could hear a light crackling, and in under an hour, the process was done.

  The priests presented her with the urn. The urn had three lines of text.

  Thomas Warren’s Son

  Blessed by Runes

  Inventor of inside-carving

  Vivi looked up, recalling the last wisps of his consciousness rising to the air like they had in Paradise. Goodbye, Grandpa.

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