Emmet now knows his totems are gone, but he considers what he gained for improving his forge a fair trade. What he needs now is to collect more demonic energy, but he doesn’t have many rend crystals left. Then he remembers: Lenka needs fixing. He thinks about what kind of Peculiarity Lenka has, suddenly excited to gain a new upgrade from her; fixing her would be a win-win for both of them.

  He hurriedly asks Jasper to arrange a meeting with Lenka.

  Emmet finds Jasper setting the table and notices there are five plates in total.

  “There are five plates, but last I remember, there are only four of us here,” he asks.

  Jasper replies, “Oh, I forgot to introduce you to Tierra. She said she’s coming today.”

  “Oh, I remember you did say there was someone else,” Emmet muses. “So this Tierra, what’s her Peculiarity?”

  Jasper simply says, “See for yourself.”

  A girl with long white hair enters. She looks incredibly thin, almost lifeless, and her long white hair seemed to possess a will of its own, strands as fine as thread woven tautly around her limbs, pulling her forward in a series of unnatural, jerking steps, as if she were a dancer whose strings were controlled by a master neither seen nor felt.

  She greets Jasper, “Hello. I’m Tierra. You must be Emmet. Lenka told me a lot about you.”

  Even speaking seems hard for Tierra; her hair fibers appear to move her mouth for her.

  Emmet freezes, completely absorbed by Tierra’s appearance. She looks like some kind of marionette—so pale, so thin, as if her life force has been sucked out of her.

  Cliff shouldered his way in, setting down a mound of fresh vegetables and fruits. “Good, we’re all here! We need another table,” he booms, before helping Jasper unload the feast: thick steaks sizzling on platters, towers of barbecue, and salads piled high—a mountain of celebratory food that starkly contrasted with the hollow-eyed stillness of Lenka and Tierra.

  Tierra speaks in a slow, monotonous tone, “Wow, there’s so much food. I’m so famished.”

  Cliff grins. “Don’t stop yourself, Tierra. There’s more where that came from.”

  Tierra immediately begins eating.

  Emmet, however, is looking for someone. “Where is Lenka?”

  Lenka speaks from beside him, already seated.

  Emmet takes a good look at her. Lenka looks haggard, her eyes as if she hasn't slept all week. She looks like a creepy, gothic lady with straight, long black hair and a black gothic dress.

  Emmet forces a greeting. “Hi, Lenka.” He doesn’t want to offend her or Tierra by describing how awful they look. He realizes, This must be the effect of their Peculiarities.

  The others are already eating while Emmet ponders the possibility. Lenka’s eyes haven't flinched since I saw her, so it must be her eyes... and Tierra’s body isn’t moving on its own; it’s guided by her hair like she’s a puppet, so it’s definitely her hair.

  Jasper interrupts Emmet’s thoughts. “Please eat first, Emmet, or Cliff will eat everything!”

  Cliff immediately starts telling stories about his adventures: how he traveled Elarith, the types of creatures he’d seen, the battles he’d joined, and the kingdoms he’d served.

  The topic shifts to the Cult. Emmet kept one ear on Cliff's exploits, but his mind was consumed by the Rend Smith System. He traced the cool, invisible flow of energy under his skin, itching to access his forge, to see what new, monstrous creation he could craft with his stolen energy, even as the desperate needs of Lenka and Tierra warred with his craftsman's impulse.

  Cliff then tells the part where Emmet fixed his core, highlighting how he’s become stronger and faster, with better air control. He flexes his muscle, blowing air to create a mini-cyclone on his palm.

  Lenka stands up. “And look at Emmet,” she says. “Emmet, please fix Tierra. You can do it, right? She’s suffering the most. I don’t think she can survive much longer.”

  Emmet replies, “Well, that’s what I intend to do, but... I don’t want to force it on you. I just discovered that fixing you will make you bound to me. Sorry, Jasper, I didn’t know at first since you were the first one. The realization still sits like a stone in my gut—that my power over the Rend isn't just about fixing; it's about forging a permanent, unbreakable tether. It's a profound responsibility I stumbled into."

  Cliff interjects, “Oh, and you’re not apologizing to me?” He feels a sudden shock for asking the question, and his eyes go blank. This sight already seems usual between Cliff and Emmet.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Emmet explains, “For you and Tierra, I don’t want to force it. Just so you know, you will all be linked to me. You will gain my strength. I might gain some aspect of your Peculiarity, but in a different way, which I don’t yet understand. I think you deserve to know that before we do the procedure.”

  Lenka explains her plight. “My eyes. I haven’t slept ever since the day I was born. My eyes will always be active even if I close them. I see things I don't want to see. Even with my shadow skill, I can see further, and I can't even control it.” Despite being an extreme introvert, she is speaking with conviction. She continues, “If not for Tierra, I would have died a long time ago. She is the only thing standing between my eyes and utter madness; she expends her own draining Peculiarity to heal the relentless damage mine inflicts on me.”

  So, Tierra is a healer, Emmet realizes.

  Lenka continues, “I don’t mind if I am bound to you or become your slave like Cliff.”

  Emmet quickly clarifies, “Ah, Cliff’s is a different situation,” struggling to find the right words to explain it.

  Lenka continues, "Please, I beg you, Emmet, fix me and Tierra. Tierra approves of it already.”

  Tierra lifts her hand using her hair, making an OK sign with her thumb.

  Emmet agrees. “Okay, but I want you to think hard about it. I can guarantee you I can fix your core and your Peculiarity, but doing so will link you with me through Rend.”

  Lenka doesn’t know what Emmet means, but she simply bows and begs again. “No matter. I am very sure. Please fix me and Tierra.”

  “Okay, okay,” Emmet says. “We will do it right after our meal.”

  Jasper’s heart threatened to burst with a joy so fierce it was almost painful. He slammed his palm against the tabletop—a sudden, sharp sound—to anchor himself, trying to stop the ridiculous, overflowing tears from welling up and spilling over. This was more than a cure; it was hope resurrected.

  “This is a memorable day. Seeing Cliff coming back to join us, and the miracle that is Emmet,” Jasper declares. “I swear by my bones and blood, I will protect each one of you, and I will serve you, Emmet. Just fix Lenka and Tierra. And just so you know, even without the Rend link, I am willing to devote myself to you.”

  Cliff, still eating, gulps his drink. “Yeah, and I don’t have a say in that matter, but yes, please fix Tierra and Lenka. Oh, Master, please do it.”

  Emmet, unsure how to reply to the devotion, just smiles and says, “Okay, I will do my best.” He stands up and declares, “If you are linked to me, then my path, my future, is linked with all of you. We will all share the same destiny. It will be dangerous. Death is a possibility. I plan to be more powerful, stronger, to survive. My purpose is to find someone and save her if she is still alive. I am not sure if she is, but if there is only a small chance, I will find and save her. My last fight against the Inquisitor has left me with one understanding: I am still so weak. I have seen powers like gods. I intend to be like that—no, I intend to exceed that power. And as I grow stronger, you will all too. So, if you are willing, then let’s do it. We are carving a path to power... together.”

  He raises his glass. Jasper smiles as if he loves Emmet’s speech and raises his own glass. The others follow, but Cliff is just eating. Lenka stares at Cliff until he says, “Okay, okay, I’ll join you.” They all raise their mugs and make a toast.

  “To power!” Emmet says. “We are the Unwoven. The world will know our name.”

  The others like the name Emmet has declared for them: The Unwoven.

  Right after the banquet, Emmet proceeds to fix Lenka’s core and create a Rend Link. Lenka is finally able to close her eyes. She feels it: her physical strength has increased. Her ability seemed to merge and upgrade, synchronizing perfectly with her shadow magic. As she reached out with her newly calm mind, she could stretch her shadow essence across the landscape, viewing the world up to ten kilometers away—a sudden, clear, staggering omniscience that brought fresh tears to her eyes. Lenka’s eyes fill with tears of joy, and even Jasper congratulates her.

  Emmet also benefits; his vision seems to gain an upgrade. He can see the whole room from the ground, behind him, 360 degrees, even with his eyes closed. He wants to test more of what he has gained, but he will do that later.

  Next is Tierra, the girl whose hair was sucking the life out of her. She can now control her hair, and it no longer drains her life force. But the greatest change of all is how her character is finally revealed: she is so excited and loud!

  “Emmet, thank you! I now can fix things and break things! Break and heal them! And you—I will fix you!” she yells like some madwoman. She retracts quickly, saying, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it,” and acts cutesy, regretting her outburst. She then gets back to her aggressive state. “Emmet, I will serve you, I will be your slave, whatever it is, just let me break and heal things!” she says, already imagining it.

  This scares Emmet a little, but he thinks they all have their different oddities. He’s not sure and can’t really identify it, but all of them—The Unwoven—have some character defect, including him.

  Emmet notices his body feels very relaxed. He thinks, I must have gained something from it. Was it my hair? No. He looked down at his skin, observing the fine, vellus hair that now seemed to shimmer with a faint, imperceptible energy, radiating a profoundly relaxing feeling. He took a knife and drew the blade across his forearm. The skin parted, but before a single bead of blood could surface, the minuscule hairs along the incision vibrated, knitting the tissue instantly back together. His new passive healing was absolute.

  Overall, Emmet gained new physical abilities: healing, breathing control that aids his Rend control, and his bones seem to be harder and stronger than steel. He can slightly change their structure, though not as well as Jasper’s control. His vision improved, allowing him to see in a bird’s-eye view. He knows there is more to it, and he needs to discover more.

  “Now I can focus on the Rend Smith—my forge,” he says. “I have to see how these new links have changed my inner world.”

  He closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into the Rend Network. The inner world, once a structured map of his own power, was now completely distorted. In the center, where his core resided, was a miniature version of himself. But surrounding this tiny Emmet, the network was composed of strange new elements: a ghostly set of floating, rigid bones; a pair of pulsating, ethereal lungs; a mass of shifting, fine, hair-like creatures; and, most bizarrely, a giant, unblinking eyeball.

  “What a weird looking Rend Network,” he muttered, immediately stepping out of the vision. The network was a grotesque mosaic of his allies' Peculiarities, and while unsettling, it was a clear map of his new, shared power. I have gained more skill—another first step to power.