Chapter 505: Six Months

(Cognosticon here. We are launching into the fifth book even though it may not be fully edited. The overall direction is clear enough, but there may be some typos. Might need to take an additional week at some point.)

By all rights, Kai should have been happy and content, yet he found himself shifting unhappily in their bed. For a long time he had been focused on Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena's concerns, especially when she was facing down her past. Now that such conflicts were behind them, there was nothing distracting him from the inexorable deadline.

Six months.

Where could all the time have gone? Sometimes Kai felt like it was just yesterday when he had been a young man starting the Hunter Trials, yet somehow it had been over six years since the previous incursion. Then again... when he thought about the revolution in Krysal, all his travels across Rosemount, the battles in Cloudspire, the fact that he was married... how could it have only been a few years?

Zae Zin Nim murmured in her sleep and shifted against his chest, so he instinctively shifted toward her. But for once she didn't seem unhappy, in fact she was smiling in contentment. Ever since she had defeated her father, she had been floating in this good mood. Currently she was curled between them, with Omilaena wrapped around her back, an arm stretched across her to Kai's chest. Both of them were still sound asleep and Kai found himself smiling fondly.

Even his wives couldn't distract him forever, though. Six months.

He actually couldn't be sure about the timing, which was part of why they were flying east as fast as the Clanless could take them. Though in the long term, monster incursions struck Deadwaste every seven years, each individual incursion varied slightly in timing. It was possible that they had seven or more months... but it could also be as few as four, and once it had even come three months early. He couldn't forgive himself if he delayed and wasn't there when the incursion hit.

All his old studies before his mana had developed were actually relevant again, after so long being trivia of Deadwaste. The expert hunters didn't see any pattern in the incursion timing: the fact that it had come a little early last time didn't mean this one was guaranteed to be particularly early or late. Then again, he'd been learning from regional experts in Monskon City - the Frontier elites might know more.

When he'd spent time with them and explored into the abyss at the center of the continent, they'd intimated that human actions could have an impact. It sounded like most of them just made things worse, otherwise they'd have taken more actions to blunt incursions. He abruptly remembered the southern Goralians pushing into the Frontier with their conspiracy theories, when he had been sent out to stop them. Supposedly it was just keeping everything in order, but it had ended up leading him to witness the battle of the gods above the abyss.

That reminded him of the other variation: the level of threat fluctuated wildly as well. An unusually intense incursion had been what killed his parents when he was just a baby, but that had paled in comparison to the apocalyptic attack. Even the dregs of it had nearly overcome many areas and knocked holes in the Frontier wall, which was part of why their help was so desperately necessary.

His old mentor, Gunjin Granfian, had been working on a theory about all those variations. So far, each time Kai returned to Deadwaste, he avoided actually speaking with Gunjin at length. This time he had a feeling that wouldn't be avoidable. Thinking back to Gunjin brought back long-buried memories of Monskon City and emotions he'd thought were gone.

Strange how he could have come so far, maybe even changed significantly, and still think back to those old slights. Being rejected by his own society didn't burn the way it once had, and it had led him to this life, but thinking back to Fhazi or Hannagan Lantrian...

Those thoughts were interrupted by Omilaena's hand stirring against his chest. He glanced over and saw that she was awake, blue eyes almost glowing in the shadows of their bedroom.

"You are lying in bed with two beautiful woman," she said in a softly mocking tone, "why are you looking so disgruntled?"

"Just thinking about the incursion," he whispered back. "We have six months, maybe. It could be more or less depen-"

"Yes, you explained the timing variation to me years ago. But we're already heading back to Deadwaste at the maximum possible speed, unless we can find another teleporting patriarch and beat them until they send us. Shouldn't you be taking this time to relax?"

"We relaxed after the battle, but now I can't help but think about the next one..."

"But isn't now your last chance? I have a feeling that once we get back to Deadwaste, you're going to be all serious, all the time." Omilaena's lips played with a teasing smile and her hand began caressing down from his chest to his stomach. "Maybe I should help you relax, hmm?"

A soft sigh emanated from between them. "Do you ever stop?" Zae Zin Nim asked. She was blinking sleepily as she woke up, but there was no venom in her tone. After grasping Omilaena's hand and interlacing their fingers, she gave a luxuriant stretch between them, which Kai had to admit was very distracting.

"How can I, when you're teasing me like this?" Omilaena embraced the other woman from behind and kissed at her neck until Zae Zin Nim giggled.

Despite all his concerns, Kai found himself smiling as well. He shifted onto his side and threw his arm over both women, grasping Omilaena's back to pull them together. That sandwiched Zae Zin Nim between them, pressed against his chest with Omilaena layered behind her. Normally she might have squirmed, but she relaxed with another peaceful sigh.

For his entire life, Kai had seen himself as a defender, standing between threats and the world he cared about. That had changed in a way he hadn't expected: he was still fighting threats, but what he was defending had become more personal. And, despite everything, he had managed to help free Zae Zin Nim from her past, opening up a new world for the three of them.

Was it possible that they could actually overcome the incursion and other enemies, then just live in peace? He would have liked to believe it, if not for what he'd glimpsed at the abyss. It seemed certain that there were terrible mysteries outside the known world and he didn't think it was his destiny to simply hold the line against the unknown, not when the answers might destroy everything.

Then again, perhaps he shouldn't rely on destiny at all. It hadn't worked out well for him this far. Maybe he'd find out in six months...

"We do need to discuss our path." Zae Zin Nim spoke in a more serious voice, even as she patted his chest affectionately. "Like we said, we're going to help you now. But the best way to do that isn't as simple as rushing east."

"I still agree that minimizing our travel time is best," Omilaena said. "I have a lot of new ideas for Krysal and Irun, but I probably need a few months to put them into motion. Despite what I may have said, I'm looking forward to that."

"But the path will involve at least one stop. We're going to pick up all the Deadwasters on Darkmist Island, right? They've been training for months, and letting them use our island would be pointless if we didn't bring them back for the incursion."

"Agreed." Kai glanced down at Zae Zin Nim, suspecting she had more in mind. "But that was obvious, so what are you really getting at?"

"I think we should... stop one other time." She lowered her head against his chest. "I want to stop in the Eastern Plains. I know it might delay us a little, but we can pick up resources from the Brightwind Sect. We could bring new sources of qi to Deadwaste, and more importantly we can use them to fuel the ship so we can spend more time training."

"It's basically on our way, I suppose, but what are the chances we get embroiled in another vendetta somehow? We don't have time for Cloudspire politics."

"I am not trying to convince us to get involved in the Brightwind affairs. They can all die, as far as I'm concerned. But we should take their resources first."

"It's true that their position is greatly weakened, without their patriarch," Omilaena agreed. "I doubt they have much of a future, but we're their only chance, so they might still be willing to hand us things in the hope that we'll help. No drama, no fuss."

Despite everything, despite his disgust with Cloudspire, part of Kai still felt like that was unjust. Not everyone in the Brightwind Sect could be cruel and backstabbing, and no doubt they had peasants and lesser cultivators who would suffer as rivals took vengeance. But could he actually protect all of them, and was he willing to fight his wives over it?

Thinking about it that way, the answers seemed obvious.

"Alright," Kai said. "We'll head more northeast and stop in the Eastern Plains. A few days one way or another won't make a huge difference, especially if they give us useful resources. But we can't afford to get tied up in another conflict."

"Thank you, you won't regret it." Zae Zin Nim kissed his chest happily, night-black lips briefly sticking against his skin.

"All it takes is a little affection to get her in the mood." Omilaena chuckled and slid her hand from Kai's chest to tease Zae Zin Nim instead. "Oh, you poor dear..."

"Not all affection is amorous!" Zae Zin Nim spoke crossly, but the corners of her eyes were smiling and she didn't pull away.

The two of them might tease, but Kai didn't think anything was going to happen, not in his current mood. He leaned over Zae Zin Nim to kiss Omilaena briefly, then as he began to crawl out of bed, kissed Zae Zin Nim as well. Once he left the bed, the Beggar King's Robes automatically slithered out around his waist and he walked out onto the deck of the Clanless.

It was early morning and no one else was awake except for their pilot and guard. At some point, he needed to talk to Inafay and his other allies, but for now Kai felt like he was alone in the world. Sailing through the heavens with Cloudspire rapidly disappearing underneath them.

So far they hadn't been attacked, not like the others had been, because their reputation cleared the way before them. He was still cautious about potentially running into some sort of ambush, some new entanglement that would keep them on the continent. Part of him had been hoping to head straight east and get over the ocean, but his wife was right, a slight detour wouldn't really increase their travel time in a meaningful sense.

Kai walked to the front of the ship, set his hands on the railing, and leaned forward into the wind. He stared out as if he could see Deadwaste, even though it was far beyond the horizon.

Six months. Less.