CH835 Thera's Perspective

She tried to keep the headache from touching her face as she left Ben, taking her first step through the gate to her old room and trying to seem positive for Mora and Bloom both as she went, even if she was expecting things to instantly become a mess.

When Ben had brought Ogilt back with him, all of the nearby great spirits had reacted almost immediately. She was sure the same thing was going to happen there but for whatever bit of mercy it held, they didn’t rush to her side, instead letting her lead the two through her home, trying to make sure they were both comfortable while she did.

“So, this is where I grew up,” She told them. “My old home and homeland. A bit bigger than what we’ve got in Stonewall, huh?”

“I remember it,” Bloom said, bearing the histories of all of the original spirits that had made it up while Mora stayed quiet, still withdrawn from it all like the child he was, scared of what he’d done and what was going to come from it, with Thera trying to provide a bit of comfort by giving his hand a squeeze.

“It’s going to be fine, sweety. A bit awkward at first, maybe, but fine in the end.”

All it is is introducing my family to two new types of spirits that have never existed before in the history of the universe and explaining that one of them created the other. How hard could that be?

…I really hope I haven’t accidentally been screaming with my mana and just not noticed.

She tried her best to steel herself. It would be fine in the end, she would make sure of it. She just needed to get through one long conversation first and trying to put it off no longer, let her mana sense guide her, feeling the point where it was practically screaming as it led her to the lounge and all who waited within.

With the crowd there making it clear they were trying to show some level of tact. The fact that her father, Lux, Funa, Ogilt, and Incedis were all gathered and waited certainly showed they had all known when she’d arrived and had made the choice to not just swarm her room but now there they were, face to face as all of the original spirits subtly shifted their attention between the two with her, her father speaking first.

“So, this is the end product of Vividus’s experiments?”

A comment with no emotion behind it but a sentiment cold enough that Mora took a step closer to her, with Thera not only shooting her father a glare but a small magic nullification spell as well to really drive home her displeasure.

“No, this is her son, Mora. Me and Ben have been raising him but something came up so I’ve come here so he can meet the rest of his family but if you can’t have any manners around your new nephew we’ll go back.”

“And is the other one in your arms the issue in question?” Funa asked. “I can’t imagine Abrus and Salinoth contributing anything of themselves to her to make something like that happen.”

“I’m Bloom,” The new spirit added, seeing they were talking about it while Thera extended her glare to the rest of them.

“And it doesn’t matter, if the rest of you don’t shape up right now we’re going back. I just told you, this child is Mora. If you have the slightest inclination of acting like family, there’s something else you should all be doing right now.”

Lux was the first one to understand what she meant, seeming like the most open of them all as she spoke up, even if she herself still didn’t sound confident as she went.

“Hello Mora, my name is Lux, the great light spirit. You can call me either Lux or aunty if you’d like, whatever you’re comfortable with. And Bloom… We can take some time later to figure out how to think of each other.”

With her introduction made, it was enough for everyone else to catch on too as the others spoke up, one by one.

“I’m Funa.”

“The great fire spirit, Incedis.”

“Ogilt.”

“I’m Thera’s father, Abrus, now-”

“We can talk a bit more about Mora,” Thera said, cutting her dad off. “We can focus on all of the more relevant stuff for now. If any of you had any doubts, he is a genuine great spirit and he has power over souls so he’s the first mixed spirit but he’s not like any of you with all of your years and history. He’s been shaped by his birth, you can think of him as being like a ten-year-old incubus but without ten years of experience behind him.”

“And are you sure he’s not just acting like that?” Incedus asked, flinching back as Thera shot another nullification spell his way.

“Ben was able to confirm it,” She told him coldly. “Now, since we’ve established that you’re talking to and about a child here, all of you think long and hard about just how you’re going to act with him, understood?”

“Ahem, alright,” Her father said. “But there’s not just one new spirit here. Where did Bloom come from?”

“...Mora made him.”

“...I see. How?”

“Same way all of you were supposedly born, a bunch of regular spirits merging together. In their case, it was just the three affinities that typically go into plant magic. It was a little… surprising when it happened which is why we’re here.”

“I handled existing poorly,” Bloom said brightly, the contrast between the words and the sentiment bringing subtle looks between it and Ogilt as they were forced to wonder if they had an insane great spirit as an issue now to add to their depressed one.

“He’s better now, Ben’s dealing with it. I can give you the details later.”

“Yes, later in general feels like it will be for the best. Thera, we need a little to talk about all of this, would you all mind giving us just a bit of time?”

“Alright, we’ll find another room to relax in then.”

---

Well, that could have gone better. Could have gone a lot worse too, but… Ugh.

Her family hadn’t been outright welcoming but other than the very start they hadn’t been hostile either and she knew that this had to be a shock to them that was on par with or maybe even greater than her own birth. After all of the eons of their existence, what a spirit was had just fundamentally changed.

But that’s not what’s important right now. She thought with a sigh as she walked into one of the other living rooms to be found in her family’s massive home. There’s a whole other conversation I need to get ahead of before they're done for whatever questions they have.

Taking a seat and leading Mora and Bloom to sit with her, her focus was directed on the spirit she was raising, trying to be comforting as she spoke up.

“Well, that wasn’t the best first meeting sweetheart. I’m sorry about that, they’re normally a lot nicer but well, I’m going to say they were surprised.”

“It’s okay. It’s my fault.”

“No it isn’t Mora, they’re just… Well, despite that introduction, if you could try to give them all a chance to show you their nicer sides later I’d appreciate it but if it still seems like you won’t be able to get along after that then you don’t have to see them again.”

“It’s fine, they weren’t that bad.”

“Well, alright but now there’s one more thing we need to talk about,” She told him, watching him shrink back into himself with the full knowledge of where the conversation was going to go. “Mora, why did you make Bloom?”

He didn’t answer, curling up instead and making Thera crouch down in front of him, sounding gentle and keeping a comforting look on her face.

“Mora, I’m not mad at you but this is something we need to talk about. Can you please tell me?”

“...I was trying to show off.”

She did her best to hide the surprise the answer caused her, even if it left a small pause in her before she went on. “I see, and why were you trying to show off?”

“...”

“Mora?”

“Delair was teasing me so I was going to show that even if I couldn’t use plant magic I could make someone who could.”

Such a simple answer left Thera almost biting a hole through her cheek. It was so easy to forget the power a great spirit held and here it was, being wielded by a child for childish reasons, fundamentally altering a group of people on a whim to try and impress a friend. It wasn't something either she or Ben could have expected, there was no way for either of them to know spirits could be altered in such a way but that wasn’t an excuse. They knew how strong he was, even if he’d done his best until that point to hide it which meant there was always the potential for something on that scale to happen, they’d just been leaving it be since it hadn’t been affecting them until then.

All issues she’d need to work through and talk to Ben about later but as things were he was dealing with the fallout of it all, she’d need to do her best to deal with things on that side of the gate by herself as she tried to figure out just what to say.

“Alright, I understand,” She eventually settled on. “But Mora, it’s important to consider how you use the magic you hold, there’s times it’s acceptable and times it's not. Altering what a person is like isn't something you can do without talking to them and making sure they absolutely understand before you do it, even if smaller things, like say, helping people raise their levels is fine. If you’re ever not sure if something is okay to do to someone, wait and ask me or Ben, alright?”

“...You knew?”

“That you were helping the people around you level up their skills in the clinics and hospitals we’d go to as well as when you stayed with Fontesh?” She asked with a smile. “You didn’t do the best job of hiding it. Can you tell me why you’ve been trying to keep it secret?”

“I didn’t want anyone to expect me to.”

“To what? Help level people?”

She could see why he wouldn’t want to, that was a lot of expectations to place on a child and she could only imagine that Vividus must have been heaping them on him before she’d given up, but he shook his head, the issue coming from a different angle.

“I don’t want to hurt people.”

Hurt people?

“Sweetheart?” She asked, trying to keep the edge from her voice. “What exactly did Vividus want you to do?”

“...”

“Mora?”

“She wanted me to hunt demons.”

…Ah.

Author's note

For some strange reason, when I first copied this over, everything above the line break was in bold and I really, really hope that isn't going to be a new thing I'm going to have to start reformatting on this website