By the time the Sage of Fluff got to Borgain's manor, nothing out of the ordinary was going on. It almost seemed strangely normal. But the doors were magically locked and even he wasn't able to undo them in quick order. Sure, Borgain was an accomplished mage, perhaps one of the strongest generalist mages in the kingdom, maybe even the world, but the doors were locked in a way that didn't make sense. It wasn't magic…

  "...Soul enchantments?"

  Sure, even Rou had those two swords from the blacksmiths that were soul enchanted, but was Borgain so ludicrously abusive that he'd enchant his damned manors /doors/ with souls? Were souls that pointless for him?

  –

  When Vitor saw Rou standing in front of his door, disheveled and looking like he was ready to kill someone, the ratty, alopecia-ridden fox looked terrified. "Rou, whatever…"

  "Can you get me into Borgain's manor? It's important!"

  Trusting the Sage of Fluff so implicitly, Vitor didn't even question him. Instead, he just pulled the red panda inside and hugged him gently. "The sil Krum family has passageways only for us. If you need them… go on, I will take you. Never liked the family much anyways, I don't mind losing them."

  He smiled a bit, leaving Rou to feel guilty but nodding, hugging Vitor gratefully and asking him to please do just that. Though as Vitor saw Rou pull out the two swords from the air nearby, the fox froze. Even he abhorred Borgain, but this? Was Rou really planning to kill him?

  What the hell was going on?

  –

  By the time Rou was shown the passages and guided through, Vitor watched him disappear around a corner and shivered slightly before looking up at the ceiling in the direction of where his cousins study was.

  "What have you done, Borgain… to anger /him/ that badly? He's a marshmallow…"

  But facing the fact that as he'd shown Rou that passage, his time with the sil Krums already gone, Vitor made up his mind and returned to his study.

  –

  "Damnit, Borgain, we had an agreement! You know full well what I have to offer you is more important than her and still, you…"

  "SILENCE!"

  As Rou barged into the study, Borgain slapped out with his hand lazily, the corpulent Fox currently looking at Celia's soulless body with the soul floating nearby. Despite his efforts and even blocking with both swords, Rou's body was flung like a child might be against a wall and promptly locked in place with magical restraints around his wrists and ankles.

  "I have put up with a great deal of nonsense from you, Fluff, but I am not going to tolerate you today. I can't say I know exactly how you dealt with the Archmages shields but your hands were free, so I doubt you can do that trick again with your wrists bound. Now can you?"

  The flabby, rotund fox dressed as if he was the King himself raised up and reached over to gently rub down Celia's right arm, tugging her hand to his cheek and shivering.

  "I've waited well over twenty years for this you know, why in the hell would I give her up to /you/? You actually thought I was being serious? I was just humoring you to see how desperate you were, fool, and to see what you would be willing to trade. On the off chance you tried to do something stupid like your soul for hers, I would have leapt on it. But no, instead you tried bribery."

  Borgain snorted as he walked to Rou to gloat, leaving Rou sneering in frustration at having realized he never had any chance of convincing Borgain of anything.

  The other soulless folks that had come to obtain Celia were lingering nearby, much like marionettes once again without strings, just kind of laying limply at impossibly uncomfortable angles. Alive, somehow, body simply going on automatic functions.

  "I offered you a fair deal, you fat fuck, and you still betrayed me? I offered you a path to divinity!"

  "HAH! Why would I believe that lie? Obviously I'm not on the wrong path. When I achieve total aether sublimation, obviously I will be able to reach the realm of the divine, and then I will claim my prize there."

  It was hard to say if Borgain was mad or simply greedy, but the fox licked his lips at the thought of Affection and cackled with glee. "But since you want your dear Celia so badly… let no one claim I am without morals. I only want her body, her soul? Have at it."

  With a carefree movement of his hand, Borgain took Celia's soul, which was floating over his desk like an invisible nightlight, and flung it right towards Rou.

  The soul hit his chest and promptly merged into him, leaving Rou's body to gasp and convulse.

  –

  "WHAT?!" In the high-dimensional realm, Creation stared at the screen that he was using to monitor what was going on with Rou and Borgain.

  "Two… souls? There's no way… there's no way he coincidentally got it!" Creation looked aghast. His mind spinning. He created the entire world by his own hand an eternity ago. Coincidences didn't happen like that, not over and over.

  How was Rou this lucky?

  There's no way! This can't be a coincidence!

  Looking around briefly in thought, the elder high-dimensional being promptly vanished, causing the entire high-dimensional realm to go on alert.

  –

  Affection panicked and all the 'gods' promptly left their domains to gather in a central location. No one seemed to know what was going on, even Aether, before she realized.

  "Creation… left the barrier. Whatever is going on?" Aether mumbled aloud, leaving the others to look to her, then at the non-visible barrier and beyond towards the elder being who was clearly on a mission.

  "Do you think it's related to Rou?"

  Affection's voice caused everyone to pause and look at her in confusion before she opened a screen to show what was going on with he and Borgain.

  "Wait, two souls?! That's impossible!" Aether practically jumped out of her non-existent skin, the high-dimensional being vanishing and reappearing at the screen to stare in shock.

  –

  Of course, in Rou's soul, Celia's had suddenly appeared beside his own. Separate at first before the two began to clash. Rou had no control over such things naturally as he yelled from the spiritual pain of it, but as he most certainly didn't want to hurt Celia, and seemingly she had no desire to hurt him either - the souls began to accept each other and coexisted in the tiny space. Overly confined, at risk of being damaged, but… peaceful.

  Warm.

  "...Rou?"

  He heard a voice from inside his mind, inside his being, in a way he'd only ever heard Affection's voice.

  "...so you're Celia, then."

  "Who are you?! You're not Rou!"

  "Affection. We finally get to speak now that you are free of that cursed body of yours. Borgain's contract stopped the Gods from reaching out to you before unless we overstepped beyond reason. You've led a rough life… Rou will keep you safe. I think you trust him like I trust him?" Affection offered some small comforts for Celia, causing the bodiless soul of the red panda to laugh and smile while crying a little. The gods had finally spoken to her, and now she knew why they never had. It wasn't her. It wasn't her!

  "...indeed. I… I do indeed."

  –

  Rou didn't really hear that though, at least, not all of it. Affection was naturally speaking with Celia through /her/ title. Not Rou's perks. Rou only heard the initial speaking of his voice and realized Celia wasn't gone. Not totally lost.

  But what Rou noticed as soon as his vision returned lit a fire in him like he hadn't felt before.

  Borgain had already undressed Celia and laid her out on his desk as if she were a piece of fruit.

  "DON'T YOU DARE! I ALREADY PLANNED TO KILL YOU, BUT I'LL...!"

  The Sage tried desperately to sound tough and intimidating but Borgain simply laughed. "You and what army? Boy, you can't even break out of those shackles and you want to posture at me? Please."

  But as much as Rou struggled, he couldn't do anything, and could only watch in pale horror as Borgain leaned down to enjoy himself, going for a taste of his prized fruit.

  –

  Only for some reason, Borgain shot up, gagging and sputtering, looking sick.

  "What… what have you… my Celia, you've…"

  Rou was confused, even the 'Gods' were confused as they watched.

  The only one who wasn't confused?

  Was Celia.

  "...hah. HAH. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

  Celia burst out in laughter in Rou's mind, somehow managing to take over his body briefly, laughing through Rou's mouth in sheer delight and unable to control herself.

  "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

  The high-dimensional beings above and Rou, whose body was overtaken with raucous laughter, were quite confused until Rou also realized why Borgain was sputtering and even he began to laugh.

  "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  The two souls who shared the same body began to laugh and shiver in absolute delight at having witnessed things. But what surprised everyone else, as Borgain in his madness grabbed a giant mace from nearby that he used to use from his adventuring days and leapt across the room towards the laughing one - sprightly in comparison to his appearance - was someone standing near Affection began to laugh.

  "HAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

  "...Laughter?" Affection seemed confused as Laugher fell over cackling in utter glee.

  The world over, every living person, every living being that was capable of hearing the 'gods', including Borgain, Rou and Celia, could hear a noise that had never been heard before to that degree.

  "...Laughter?"

  Nearly everyone in the world thought the same thing, but no one knew why the god known as Laughter, had seemingly truly found something so funny that everything in the world could hear his insane, joyous, terrifying laughter.

  They had heard the occasional worldwide hack of laughter from him now and again in the past, but this…?

  "HOW DARE YOU LAUGH AT ME, YOU HYENA BASTARD! I WILL HAVE YOUR TONGUE!" Borgain, suddenly sick to his stomach from everything, stopped his assault on Rou as he suddenly was bombarded with laughter from the very gods. Well, at least one god.

  Rou and Celia, however, it seemed laughter was the perfect cure for the two souls. What was two… began to join as one.

  "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

  It would seem the two had gone just as insane as laughter as they couldn't stop laughing, no matter how painful it was. Almost as if the two were broken of mind. But the more they laughed, the closer their souls became until they were practically the same being taunting in glee at Borgain.

  "HOW DOES IT TASTE YOU FAT FUCK, YOU WANTED TO ENJOY YOURSELF SO BADLY, SO HAVE A TASTE! FRESH FROM THE SOURCE, NOT EVEN AN HOUR AGO!"

  "GO ON THEN, HAVE SOME MORE, THERE'S PLENTY TO SHARE AND I'M FEELING GENEROUS!"

  "HAVE ANOTHER SERVING! WE MADE MORE THAN WE COULD ENJOY!"

  It would seem both Rou and Celia, perhaps with their souls merging as they were, very much shared that joyous delight in Borgain's suffering of having tasted not Celia as he wanted, but Rou.

  But the more that Rou and Celia taunted Borgain, the more the now-joined souls cackled with glee, the louder Laughter laughed, the more the world shook and rattled, even buildings around the world looking like they might jiggle apart from the movement.

  The entire world experienced a raucous earthquake the likes of which none had ever seen, as if the very ground itself was laughing with everyone.

  And the contract mage, Borgain, who had vomited in disgust before slowly pushing himself up, grabbed the mace, and promptly broke it upon Rou's body as Affection screamed in terror. "ROU, NO!"

  But strangely? Laughter howled even louder now, no matter how much the sound of flesh and bone being destroyed tried to echoed in Borgain's chambers. The only sound that the world could hear for a good while was just laughter… joyous, insane laughter.