Chapter 557: One Week Left in Irun

As they lay together in their bed in Tusquo's home, Kai emerged from the warm haze with a strange sense of clarity. Despite the stereotypes, he realized that the sex was far more important to him than just reinforcing that Omilaena was alive and well. He was driven, on a level he hadn't understood, by a fear of loss: of his friends, his home, and now his relationships. For all that he went on about injustice, a large part of him wanted to be strong enough that he wouldn't lose anything ever again.

Strange to be thinking such abstract thoughts when he had Omilaena relaxing back against him, cradling Zae Zin Nim, all their legs tangled together, but the relationship had become old and comfortable while he wasn't looking. He stretched his arms around both women and squeezed a little tighter.

"Are you satisfied?" Omilaena asked, stroking Zae Zin Nim's hair.

"Mm." Zae Zin Nim cuddled up against her.

"I'm just wondering how long I should remain all warm and grateful before I can start bitching. I risk my life with an Insanity, you two go to great lengths to keep me alive, and I don't even get much of a Power boost out of it? Ridiculous."

Kai had been mostly glad that Omilaena was alive, and his thoughts beyond that were less analytical, but now he checked her soul.

<

Name: Omilaena

Total Power: 1825

Heart of Poison: Level 92 (644)

*Prana Jewels: Level +6 (42)

Lethal Artisan: Spinel Rank (325)

Ice Refinement (123)

Path of Venomsteel: Step 11 (165)

Physique: D-9 (245)

Soul Level: 9 (81)

Azure Core (+200)

>

She'd risen to 1825 total Power, which was insane by most standards, but she was right, it wasn't much beyond where she had been before.

"So my Azure Core jumped in response," Omilaena said, "and it seemed to count as absorbing some metal. But zero change in Physique, not even a mundane breakthrough, and nothing else developed. Did I really drive you two crazy just to give the Irunians a fancy new bath?"

"You feel nicer to me," Zae Zin Nim said, still nuzzling into her.

"Okay, I admit this mode for you is nice, though I hope I don't need to nearly die to see it again. But you're not going to get angry at me for whining about not making progress?"

"Never. And we'll help with that too."

The two of them were being very cute together, but Kai's mind was shifting back into a more thoughtful mode. He examined Omilaena's soul not on the first and most obvious level, but the deeper one they had half-mastered on Cloudspire. It was still hard for him in most cases, but he knew his wives so well that the spiritual sight deepened more easily.

<

Name: Omilaena

Physique: Steelsoul Mortal (900 year lifespan)

Soul: Enhanced Mortal (300 year lifespan)

Supremacy: None

Talent Capacity: Path of Venomsteel

Elemental Capacity: Heart of Poison

Essence Capacity: Lethal Artisan

Cultivation Capacity: Ice Refinement

(Azure Core)

(Prana Jewel Bond)

>

For the most part, Omilaeana's soul capacities hadn't changed: she had the most complete set of abilities of any of them, with everything filled except the mysterious Supremacy category. But since he had last checked, her Physique had changed substantially from the "Enhanced Mortal" state that he saw with many warriors. He wasn't sure how much the lifespan indicators in spiritual sight meant, but hers had skyrocketed to close to a millennium.

"Check your deeper soul," he suggested. "That looks promising to me."

"I..." Omilaena's eyes went unfocused briefly, then she tilted her head back and grinned up at him. "I'll be damned, you got there ahead of me. I'm not sure what a 'Steelsoul Mortal' is, but it sounds better than being a normal garden variety mortal."

"Steelsoul should not be in the Physique category," Zae Zin Nim said with a frown. It seemed she had come out of her warm haze and was back to stern expressions, though perversely this made Kai want to hug her. "That's just irrational."

"Especially since my Soul category didn't change. Well, I guess this process was thoroughly physical, so it would be too much to hope that it changed my soul. It has my lifespan as even longer than yours, too... damn, nine hundred years."

"What does that mean, though?" Kai asked. "I mean, I know we've been over that question, but I can't help but wonder what will happen in three hundred years..."

"If I haven't upgraded my soul in three centuries, something has gone very wrong." Omilaena grinned and swatted him playfully. "Afraid that I'll turn into a withered husk, are you? But you're right, I'd prefer to have answers to those questions."

"I wonder if it means that you made progress on a deeper level, though. Zin Nim had the Blackblood Physique for a long time before it paid dividends in raw power. You might have taken a significant step toward the Physique you've been working on, even if it didn't pay off now."

"That's the optimistic way of looking at it. Part of me likes that the system goes deeper than blunt power, but it's a real bitch to figure out these abstract details."

"I am glad we're together again," Zae Zin Nim said as she propped herself up to look at them both, "but you were right, we must discuss our strategy for the Irunians. There is not much time left." Even though she had returned to being serious, she looked amazing like that, and Kai had to restrain himself. Fortunately Omilaena was more focused.

"Well, catch me up on what I slept through," she said. "Give me all the details."

They explained what they had done while she was incapacitated, and though Omilaena played it off casually, Kai thought she was a bit touched. She was pleased with his further training of the Irunians, since apparently that sort of tempering was what they'd been missing. Thanks to the success of her experiment, their base power was increasing, though she was eager to examine them herself.

Omilaena flounced out of bed and into a thin robe, apparently ready to go through the house like that. She stopped at the door of the bedroom, then turned back and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I'm not in the mood for niceties, but with so little time left, we need to play to win." She gestured at the two of them. "Let's do this formally, Irunian-style. I'll focus on sheer quality, but I want both of you to be preparing for any gimmicks that Yuinafal might throw at us."

So they got more formally clothed, which in Omilaena's case meant a dress that didn't show cleavage or thigh. Zae Zin Nim dressed in her normal robes, because that was formal enough. There wasn't much Kai really needed to do, but when he cast a mental command toward the Begger King's Rags, they reformed themselves into a light gray version of the Irunian uniform.

"There are a lot of things we need to play based on how the variables look," Omilaena said while they dressed. "A new boost is good, but how accessible is it to the average warrior? Can we do the same for Tusquo and the other stronger ones?"

"Should we focus on that, when they aren't part of the contest?" Kai asked.

"Maybe not, but Yuinafal made this about a narrative, so we need to win the overall messaging too. The problem is, stronger abilities usually take time to grow, and time is what we don't have. Like I said, we'll need to have a flexible strategy."

They continued chatting as they entered the central chambers of the home, largely about specific training plans. Even though Zae Zin Nim didn't have a large part to play, it seemed to be implicit that she was staying with them until they all went back to Krysal. Maybe that was a less efficient distribution of their resources, but he was happy to have her around.

Whatever their plans had been for Tusquo, they were interrupted by someone else: Quinta was working in her garden. When she saw them pass, she observed them with a hard gaze for a time... and then she faced them and bowed, all the way to the ground.

"I apologize," she stated. "I have... judged you unjustly."

"Not that I'm complaining," Omilaena said, "but what has all this been about?"

"This is not the time for my trivial concerns. I heard you speak of training my countrymen, and your logic is sound." Quinta stood up and drew back one of her sleeves, baring a strong arm. "Do you still have a need for my blood? I would give it freely, if it helps produce a stronger Irun."

Omilaena turned to smirk back at them. "You see, this is exactly what I was saying about complete unknowns. We need to be flexible enough to go in new directions."

"Then... my assistance would be of use?"

"Oh yes." Omilaena grinned, and in that feral anticipation she looked like her old self again. "Now, how generous are you willing to be with that blood?"