Chapter 7-||

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

The bright blue flash of light was unexpected. Her family had been chatting while watching the Baku drift over the dinner table, slowly dropping white flower blossoms. In a way, Kagome found the quite conversation of her favorite people a wonderful change in pace from her normal hectic life.

Then... blue fire. Flames.

All the flowers just... burst. Like fireworks.

Nothing visually burned, but everything felt... warm. Safe. Sunlight on a normally cloudy day.

It wasn't until the light show faded away and her mom hugged her that she realized she was crying. Silent tears, something she hadn't done for years, flowed down her face.

Cleansing.

Her little brother had joined the hug group along with Grandpa at some point, but she was too busy crying and hugging her mom.

Whatever that was, it had been... overwhelming. Like stepping out of shadows. Her dreams from last night, but a thousand times brighter and more peaceful.

Her gaze fell on the still burning Baku.

...Was he eating her spirit review notes!?

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Thirty minutes into the lecture, Adam decided to never tell anyone in this Realm he could talk.

It was bad enough that they assumed him to be mentally a child (Something the people in his head agreed with), no reason to let them know that he was a grown man gently chewing on a girls paperwork.

It was for her local use, not school related, but... well. Yeah.

Anyway, he ALSO discovered that anything Kagome focused on would slowly gain her holy aura, or priestess taste, or something.

Point is, it gained a spiritual essence.

It was why he fell asleep so easily in her bed: That thing was soaked in raw holy power.

And soft.

So yeah, eventually everyone stopped poking him or complaining about his eating habits and he was back to exploring the territory.

Now that he knew about the whole 'Circles of Yami' spiritual shield thing however, his first self appointed task was to make several passes along the circumference of the shrine.

Then several passes around the house.

And finally... that delicious, decaying well of despair.

Best. Decision. Ever!

After several passes around the shrine, easy enough to do since the weak shielding already there was a good guide, a wall of power rapidly built up. Energy built up quickly after that, faith in the air being captured more easily within the shrine in minutes. Any positive energies that bumped into this property would just hang around now instead of wandering off.

It felt wonderful! And the loose white blossoms trailing behind him after several passes seemed to melt into the ground, making it look like carved stone instead of actual petals. So... it was not going to blow away. That was nice. Looked artistic too!

The second ring around the house also became a stone flower patterned trail. The level of holy power inside the home thanks to these two rings reached VERY dense levels. Probably wouldn't cause problems, as long as any demons that entered were approved by the residents.

But uh... bad people might catch on fire. Like... real fire. Not just demon people either, if a murderer showed up there might be a sudden torch issue.

Meh, should be fine.

It was getting late however when he started circling the 'Bone-Eater`s Well.'

The energy from the thing was foul. Dank. Only the power from the shrine itself kept it from corroding the soil and air around it. If you got too close to the hole itself, whispering of demons past echoed just beyond hearing.

Nothing tasted sweeter.

After the new shell of power was established around the thing, Adam fell against the outer edge of the well and just... drank deep. Black ooze like snacks everywhere!

The 'Bone-Eater`s Well' was an ancient thing. To preserve health and protect others in the past, rubbish and bones from beasts and demons were tossed into it over hundreds of years. Sort of like a very specialized landfill.

Of course, a lifetime of dumping magical demon bones into a well would have side effects. Even WITH purification.

But for now, he was at peace laying as a lump and gently licking the dark energies that swirled ever thicker inside the new barrier.

'Harmony' was helping 'Research' to scan the well, on a side note. It was... old. And something about how it connected to the past required... lengthy scanning. Even with his power charges, the more in depth the scan the less time it would take to understand it on a conceptual level and allow him to finally go home. So... patience was needed.

Thank goodness it was such a delicious task.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

His claws gripped the edge of the well, helping him to get out of the stupid thing. Careful to not scratch the structure, he sat on the edge and gathered himself emotionally.

And... well, to be honest, he was worried.

Kagome had held up well against many demons, beasts, and dangerous fights and regions... but the recent issues had caused the rift between them to grow. At a terrible time too, as she had only just recovered from a light poisoning before heading back to the future.

Not that he was going to TELL her that he was worried about her. She may be the reincarnation of his love and hold the power of a priestess, but at the end of the day she was a human child. In retrospect, it was amazing that she hadn't broken down badly BEFORE this.

But she tended to be very violent when surprised. Or supported. Or embarrassed. Or bored?

Was he a masochist?

...Maybe. Sigh.

With a gentle flip, he made a perfect landing.

"Squeak!"

He blinked. Looked down.

Alright, a near perfect landing. "Is this a cat toy?"

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

This should hurt, right? There was a foot on his face.

Adam contemplated life as whoever it was lifted him and began squishing him. "Squeak."

Yeah, this should probably hurt. Did this body not have nerves?

It would explain why being squeezed by Kagome's mom didn't really make him bother to wake up.

Oh, he was let go. And floating again.

Was that controllable? If random creatures floated around a lot, it would probably be more accepted than the locals had acted so far. So probably not normal.

His right ear absently flapped, causing a slow roll in the air. Oh, he was caught again. "Squeak."

This guy had claws too. Each finger had very sharp tips... which did nothing to his squishy side.

So... not sturdy or rigid, but this body was VERY durable. And squishy. "Squeak?"

The dog thing blinked. "Oh. Sorry."

"Squeaker Squeak Squeak Squeakin!"

The creature paused. THAT would show him!

"The heck." Squish. "Squeak!"

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Kagome blinked. "Inuyasha?"

The half-demon scowled, holding the Baku by one leg. "Hey, not to bother you and all but what the heck IS this thing!?" He frowned as he squished it a few times. "Stepped on it near your well, which feels all kinds of weird now."

Her eyebrow ticked as she watched the guy squish the Baku like an accordion. "Inuyasha?"

He blinked. "Yea?"

"SIT!"

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Ooh, did we get that!? Dragon, did we scan that!?

Her voice confirmed. "Full scan of Inuyasha's necklace, the spiritual pattern to activate it, and the energy signature needed."

Great! Adam wouldn't activate it himself of course, but now there was a set of examples he could use to remote activate existing spiritual frameworks!

Landmines, maybe portals, even just remote control bedroom lights. All kinds of remote activated options were now available! The only other abilities 'Harmony' had picked up were the use of talismans and arrows to deliver spiritual payloads, or ritual walking and pacing to set boundaries!

He set the girls off to research and trial the new concepts even as Kagome picked him up away from the new floor-guest. That 'Sit' command was really a jerk move, acting like a massive physical assault from gravity to crater you into the earth. It was a spiritual attack too, so it could hurt the soul of lesser beings. This guy seemed fine though.

Narwhal's voice popped in. "But the necklace was a gift from the old priestess, right? That Kikyo girl?"

He blinked. What?

Narwhal nodded in his head. "Yeah, it wasn't going to be the phrase 'Sit' to activate it, but 'beloved'. Like an anti-safe-word."

Adam narrowed his eyes. So. The necklace was a kinky sex thing that Kagome accidentally got a hold of, Huh? Then again, Kagome was a reincarnation of that naughty girl. And Inuyasha never did act THAT injured after being 'hurt' by it so often. He didn't want his memories of the show tainted by that thought. Not that he was a fan of the thing really.

He blinked. Wait, how the HECK would she know all that? No, why would HE know that!? 'Harmony' couldn't have gathered those details. Or... these others.

Nightmare Moon sent her thoughts. "We noticed the new memories appearing after you entered this Realm. Seems to be part of the traveling process, something from your original source of powers. A base level of understanding of the realm you travel to, and a possible timeline."

He felt Twilight nod. "They only took this long to integrate because we were checking them for hidden issues. We were worried that even mentioning them could set off some sort of conceptual attack or whatever, but the option was taken from our hooves when you were stepped on by Inuyasha. Then they sort of... popped into place."

Huh.

So... did that mean his memories of My Little Pony and Worm only showed up when he entered their universe?

That was both useful and terrifying.

Anyway, ignore the existential horror of implanted memories, ignore the kinky sex necklace, and ignore the current cuddles.

Back to the well of death and deliciousness!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Asako watched the tiny elephant thing pomph its way back outside to that old well again as her daughter continued to rant at her 'not boyfriend'. How adorable.

She had been following the tiny creature out of curiosity for most of the day now, fascinated by the flower spewing cat-sized creature.

What little spiritual detection skills she had went nuts over those rings it set up, but after checking with father-in-law, they seemed harmless enough. Useful even.

She had almost lept to the defense of the tiny thing when that dog boy stepped on it, only to find out that whatever the Baku was crafted from didn't really care about being squished. Or pulled. Or poked. It was like an adorable stress ball that went through life enjoying anything.

Even now, it was bumbling along like a very fat cloud stuck to the ground.

Not that it was fat. Much. It was part elephant. Should she put it on a diet?

COULD she? It ate nightmares and what seemed to be bad karma, how would one limit that to a healthy level?

Maybe she should give Kagome and Sota chocolate milk before bed or something. A bedtime story should help bad dreams stay away, right?

Either way, it was a good excuse to pamper her two darlings for a night or two. Who dares say they are too old for the love of a mother!? Her babies needed their stories!

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

A perverted priest and ninja maiden waited next to a demonic bone devouring well, many years in the past. They were both ignoring the small fox child gazing into the hole.

Having been reprimanded many times by the woman beside him, the priest sighed with a bruised head as he gazed at the portal to another time. "I wonder how long they will take this time."

He blinked. "Sango, you don't think the two are actually using the future as a love hideaway for their twisted fantasies..." Ignoring her glare, he nodded. "Indeed, their love must have brewed thick with tension and denial until the only release was to thrust themselves through time itself."

With a deep blush Sango swung her arm, the massive boomerang attempting to smack into the back of the priest's head. "Perverted priest, don't SAY such things! Kagome would have your head for even suggesting it."

The man blocked the large weapon of demon bone with practiced ease, his staff blocking it. "Ah, but of course the innocent damsel would deny her true feelings! I, Miroku, have a lifetime of trials and tribulations finding the secret dreams of young girls hearts and setting them free to new experiences and passions!"

THAT time he failed to block, the massive boomerang acting more like a sword than projectile as he was knocked away. "Argh, why do you get worse as soon as those two leave the area!? Find some decency for once!"

With grumbles she turned and waved at the small fox-like creature near the well's edge. "Shippo, let's leave this sick man alone. I don't think Inuyasha or Kagome will be back today and this love obsessed fool can't figure out the strange holy aura issue anyway."

The tiny Kitsune sighed but followed. "Alright Sango."

As the two left the twitching religious man behind, Shippo glanced back at the well. It had started feeling odd ever since they had gotten here this morning, much more so just as Inuyasha was jumping inside to travel.

Not bad, but... it felt out of place. Well, more so than usual.

Absently, he wished once again that he could get older sooner, to become more useful to the team than his small pile of tricks and stealth. An adult Kitsune with their powerful tails could weave fantasy as a blade or twist nature asunder! Half the creatures that tried to bully or attack them would be 'bamph' and 'boom'! Shippo saves the day! But all he could do now was just... feel things. Understand stuff.

Whatever had happened to the well, it wasn't bad... but it felt changed.

And flowery. And did he smell peanuts? The heck!?

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

When Kagome and Inuyasha jumped back into the 'Bone-Eater`s Well', Adam didn't even bother to get up.

His power was scanning it anyway, and the raw amount of spiritual energy (tainted or not) was more than enough to keep him happy just lounging around here.

When he woke hours later, he found that at some point someone (Probably Kagome's mom, she was awesome) had picked him up and placed him on a pillow, which was resting on a towel.

So... back to sleep.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

It had been... several days.

At some point, the small white flower blossoms had swept around his pillow throne and began to fill the boundary surrounding the well. Not enough to completely cover the ground, but it was noticeable.

He didn't need to sleep, negative energy didn't force him to go to the bathroom, and he didn't get thirsty.

So... he just slept next to the well.

Kagome's bro, Sota, had come around a few times to give some head pats. Asako had actually brought her own pillow and hung out for an hour or two while drinking tea. It was nice.

The old man (Grandpa!) would stop by to gather more blossoms for his own needs.

But days drifted by as he siphoned literal years of decay, sadness, death and despair.

His second power guided by his spiritual soul was almost automatic, nearly missed as he drifted away and consumed with glee.

'Purification.'

Using the kami he gained and produced to refine the spiritual concept of a creature to a more pure state. It was odd... a bit like sorting. If he wished he could actually purify evil into a more refined form just as easily as he could refine purity or cleanliness.

It was about... analyzing an object, person, relationship, or concept. Then, distinguishing some part of it as an impurity...and cleansing that impurity.

Used on a soul, it could clear outside influence or remove unwanted traits.

Used on a metal alloy, he could rip it apart into the pure metals used to smelt the bar.

It was surprisingly flexible, and meshed well with 'Tithe'. Portions of the purification process would be sent to conversion, consume, and all the other abilities that could use free energy. It showed up in his Gate soul as the white rope that the 'Tithe' charm hung from, and seemed to bind the Gate in some unknown way. Neat.

Anyway, it was loads of free power with no ethical issues. Eating a well of despair was a surprisingly simple way to rapidly build up spiritual power without having to eat humans or demons or force kids to have nightmares.

Honestly, he was strong enough that he could probably find ways around eating, drinking, sleeping, and so forth ALREADY. But when a feast of darkness just... sat there? Dinnertime!

It was a bit embarrassing to realize how much of an effect it was having on the barriers though.

With 'Purification' combined with 'Consume' and 'Conversion', tainted energy was being drained rapidly... which created a 'flow' or 'current' of power towards the shrine.

And any positive energy was being held by the outer ring on the shrine, with further buildup within the Well and the house thanks to their own rings. Any negative energy was being converted, mostly consumed by Adam himself, then released into the ever growing ward system.

Anyone with spiritual sense would see something like a growing tornado, sucking in sadness, strife, fear, and other energies from miles away. Funneled like black soot into the shrine, where it was shredded into white power and white blossoms.

Point is, very minor spiritual creatures were following the flow of energy and finding this place to be something like a paradise. One of the tiny red haired wood spirits, something 'Harmony' informed Adam was called a 'Kijimuna', had actually got its courage up and petted him!

It was nice.

Not sure why exactly all the creatures were treating Adam as boss here though. Maybe they recognize the barrier energy as his? Even now he could feel various creatures and spirits claiming sections of the shrine as territory. They were not being a pest, so not his problem.

He felt the growing power charges gather as his scan/feast continued.

The well was... odd. It wasn't like a tube, with one end mystically leading one into the past. It wasn't a tunnel, that one could travel through to reach a new world. It wasn't a set of gates or anchors, that could open a connection to join the two for a pathway.

It was like having two pockets in the exact same point but not.

If you put a coin in pocket one, that coin was already in pocket two because they were the exact same pocket... even if pocket two was 500 years in the past!

The framework of spiritual magic that allowed this was fascinating. And pretty. The spiritual power was provided in the past from corpses and the power was given form in the future, when Kagome first traveled through... but due to how both time spans connected, that order was not needed. In a way, it was very much like quantum entanglement, in that one change appeared on both particles at the same moment regardless of distance.

Well, not really, in fact those two things were silly different. Why was he thinking about that stuff anyway? He wiggled deeper into his pillow, trunk absently pushing flower blossoms off his belly.

It was like more like... um. Two possible realities where only one thing changed, and that change was also the joining point of... of... something.

Anyway, the well was fun to examine as his power drained away the spiritual corruption.

Oh, and while including the converted kami, the faith his soul generated, the power 'Tithe' was adding, AND the darkness being consumed from the well... the shrine was ALSO donating energy directly to Adam!

As a being both physically present AND spiritual in nature, most prayers or hopes being directed to this shrine that didn't directly specify a cause or deity just... floated on over to him.

More, there were multiple visitors to the shrine over the last few days that had noticed the convincing 'statue' near the well... and some asked 'it' to watch over their dreams or guide them from sickness.

He frowned slightly, wiggling his hips on the pillow. On second thought, healing those people and consuming their nightmare seeds was probably why the number of local Baku related prayers had gone up.

Well, no big issue. Probably.

His spiritual soul Gate was changing, oddly enough. Once the snow globe of faith filled the bottom with flower blossoms of kami, the pile began to compress. Large flowers shrank to tiny specks. Not sand or rice size, but like... buttons.

Millions of buttons.

If anything, compressing the kami into the smaller forms increased Adam's unconscious draw of faith energy nearby significantly.

Idly, his right ear flapped over to scratch his eye. Becoming a sinkhole of faith energy was... probably a big deal. And he should probably get up and do something about it. Eventually.

Then again, consuming the energy didn't lower the amount available really. It sped up the conversion and purification process, it encouraged even more energy to arrive, it increased the resonating between all the tiny units.

It was strange stuff. The more faith you had, the easier to inspire more. As long as you didn't waste the starting capital, it had an exponential growth curve really.

Squirming on his cushion, Adam chose another stream of black despair to snack on. This stuff was more sticky than the rage or denial pools, had better texture.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Life was better, Asako decided, when you had tiny elephants.

She finished folding the laundry, breathing deep. Crisp, clean air, far cleaner than air should be this deep in the busy city.

According to Father-in-Law, who had been having fun examining the 'Spirit Barrier' set up by the little Baku, the new 'defenses' were less meant for security and more for healing. Detoxification.

It was only because of how strong they were that they had also become strong defenses against the darker parts of society.

That stranger who had been seen weeks ago lurking in the neighborhood had not come back, nor had that group of delinquents that occasionally fought for territory. And when she left for grocery shopping, she noticed that even the vegetation on the few abandoned properties seemed healthier. Stronger. Her herb garden was doing fantastic!

She gathered the basket and moved inside, humming.

It wasn't obvious to those without a life steeped in spiritual matters. But the air itself seemed lighter after these few days.

She noticed that kids nearby the shrine felt safer. Were more willing to play in the sunlight. Couples took more walks, although she wasn't sure if they knew why it seemed like such a good idea.

And the wildlife variety had picked up. Birds were visiting more and more often, and when walking near the back of the property she saw a fox exploring the taller grass. Most likely a fox.

It was probably for the best that she was unaware of the number of people visiting the hospital for minor wounds and burns over the last few days. Several gang members had severe hand issues when their weapons almost exploded from heat, and one man who arrived screaming in pain turned out to be a fairly famous child rapist who had been in disguise... although that guy might not live long enough to enter custody.

The strange phenomenon was creating a low level wave of communication in the city, as the lowering trend of reported crimes became more noticed. Some attributed it to the hard work of local officials, others claimed a new gang was moving into the area and was wiping out competition in preparation.

Most odd was how a young man selling peanuts from a cart found a surge of customers when he traveled near a local shrine. He wasn't sure WHY everyone kept buying a couple of bags without eating one, but money was money and this area of town was looking much nicer these days anyway.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam blinked at the bowl filled with peanuts. "Squeak?"

Sota sighed. "Look, I said he doesn't eat those."

The three visiting girls were ignoring him completely, as they used their phone to take photos and video of the cute thing.

Sota frowned at the continuing questions. "He's a pygmy elephant that Grandpa is taking care of because of how much he looks like those mythical Baku spirits." "No, he has a special diet from the vet. He won't be able to... No, STOP adding peanuts!" "Seriously, I just finished telling those last two girls that he... please back up, don't crowd him!"

Adam blinked at the growing group of girls. Had... they been here the whole time?

Sota sighed, seeing the Baku wake up. "Alright, he's awake now. Can everyone please back up a little? We don't want to scare him. Grandpa says he shouldn't be handled by strangers."

Why was Sota always stuck with the strange jobs? Apparently Grandpa was worried problems would come up if someone didn't watch over the Baku. Which was initially boring, as all the tiny thing did was... sleep. And wiggle. For days.

Then Sota's luck ran out, and one of Kagome's visiting friends from school popped up with more homework for her 'sick' friend to handle later, and nearly stepped on the darn thing.

The cute was too strong, and more friends were called.

He held out a hand. "Look, could you all just back up and... NO, he does not eat peanuts! Why are you getting more peanuts!?"

Adam blinked at the crowd.

He looked at the growing mound of peanuts, overflowing the bowl.

Adam didn't even have a stomach. What was the point of this?

He absently picked a peanut up with his trunk, causing the crowd to go silent at his movements.

Hmm? Oh. It counted as an offering! This thing was FULL of energy!

Sota groaned as the tiny elephant instantly shoved the large peanut into it's tiny mouth, devoured one instantly before giving a tiny burp-squeak.

Crud.

The crowd's massive squee of adorable fanaticism washed over the unlucky child as several girls dashed off to get more cuteness-pellets and the others rabidly recorded the scene.

Sota gave up and headed inside to get adult backup. Maybe mom or grandpa could help.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

The feeling of completion caused Adam to jerk awake... and a small pile of peanuts to fall off his body.

Huh. The analysis of the 'Bone-Eater`s Well' had finished.

Also, he had consumed an enormous quantity of tainted energy. Purified, refined, and stored it away.

Even now, the dark taint of the well was a thin wisp compared to the waves and rivers of before. The patterns and runes on the ground containing the former cursed energy now glowed with purity. Air was crisp, the sunlight clear, and the peanuts were... uh.

There were a lot of peanuts.

A WHOLE lot.

How long had he been out here!?

A quick check in his power fishbowl revealed a LOT of power charges. Ten, twenty... had he been sleeping next to this well for months!?

Dragon's voice popped in. "Morning Adam."

He directed the mental questions her way.

She passed on data with a sigh. "After a few days, your body solidified into a pillow/rock thing. Curses, dark energy, nightmares, and bad karma was drawn to you from the well and the outside wards, you purified it and absorbed it into your Gate, and released part of that energy back into the runes and helping the local area."

He mentally felt the light touches of followers. Not fully acknowledged patrons of faith, but children and worshipers who visited the shrine over the last... however long that was. There were quite a few.

Dragon continued. "To a certain extent, your powers automatically acted. 'Recovery' healed some sick people and kids who visited. 'Consume' and 'Conversion' drew nightmares and bad karma from those nearby. And recently, as the good karma built up from your constant absorption of all negative energy, some people were claiming you granted good fortune." She glanced at her records. "Might have been accurate, too."

Adam looked down at the literal pile of peanuts. Some of which were months old, yet still fresh as the day they were given. "And this tribute?"

Dragon sighed. "The more good things that happened after people visited you, the more kami built up. And since people kept offering you peanuts, the faith power eventually overfilled your system and spread to them as well."

Adam noticed that at some point his body had automatically began picking peanuts and shoving them into his mouth.

They were fabulous! Om nom nom.

Dragon sighed. "Right. Also, all the kami in your Gate soul has converted into peanuts as well. And you have started generating peanuts rather than white flower blossoms. Just so you know."

Adam could make his own peanut butter.

Life was good.

He turned to the results of the scan. Thanks to the long time it took to review, he had plenty of charges to use to gain his third power, reinforce himself a bit, and head home. Finally. "Right. so what power should I aim for to handle the jump back to my Worm Realm?"

Squishy was... well. Poking his peanuts. And eating them? Could Squishy eat spiritual peanuts?

Adam coughed.

Huh. Didn't know a jellyfish could look embarrassed. Anyway, we have 'Tithe' and 'Purification', what would cover this well's ability and hopefully let us go home?

Squishy bounced a bit. Poke.

Hmm. The heck is a 'Amenominakanushi'?

No.

No. Adam wasn't going to use a name as a power generation method.

'All-Father of the Originating Hub', 'Heavenly Ancestral God of the Originating Heart of the Universe', etc, etc. No.

First of all, it was some dude's name. Secondly, it sounded super silly. Or pretentious. Not that his stuff wasn't already that way, but no. And using some name from a specific Realm set a dangerous precedent for future exploration. Might even tie down his power to a restricted location.

So like... a hundred nopes.

'Mori'? A sacred place, or shrine... his soul was already a Gate, why add a power that represents itself? No Squishy, that isn't in any way ironic. Or awesome.

The list of options got sillier from there.

Right, so... Squishy was having too much of a rush from eating those peanuts. Or sacrificial donations. Whatever.

Adam turned back to the data recorded from the shrine. Most of it was duplicate info, the energies was coming from similar beasts and demons from the past and could be sorted as such. He compiled unique data from the thousands of years gathered and tried to find the unique types of energy.

It was still a lot, but at least he could imagine the amounts. Or at least, imagine the amounts in number form. It was a LOT of zeros in there, but not the mind numbing amount he first reviewed.

Huh. Aside from the strife and suffering, a few idiot kids decided a 'Bone-Eater`s Well' would be an awesome make out spot. Wow, they really should have worn protection. Then again, that was a time period without mass production OR rubber, so... whatever.

A few murders, more bodies being tossed in, a couple of suicides, some sort of corpse scavenger that couldn't get back out and starved to death, more kids tossing rocks, and so on.

But how is this connected?

'Harmony' and 'Research' allowed Adam to handle the data in a more focused way.

All these events could connect through time and space thanks to a common variable. One thing that did not change despite the many years and events that passed by.

The well itself.

Specifically, the legend.

Every time a corpse was dropped in, the people involved were not thinking about another hole in the ground. Every kid fooling around were doing so because this spot had a tale. A story.

'The Bone-Eater`s Well', where the damned bodies of demons lay at rest.

The power of those bodies, of those children, they were a type of faith. The passing on of corpses was very similar to the offerings of peanuts. In an odd way, the constant sacrifice of power (via bodies) to the well enhanced the spiritual might of the legend as a whole.

He wasn't just consuming the rage of the lost and the tears of the damned. He was absorbing the power of years of worship and dedication. He was consuming a concept. A concept tied to a series of events held together by a framework of thoughts and ideals, to a spiritual ideal. The well of lost souls, of doomed bodies, of the cursing dead.

So... how would he use this to travel back to his own body?

Specifically, back to his own time and place?

Grasping the power of his charges, he focused on a concept.

"Binding."

His Gate, on a mountain of spiritual peanuts with uncountable tags hanging from grasping ropes, glowed. The ropes that held the 'Tithe' power began to glow black with purpose, the energy from his gathered kami causing the dark threads to glow as it not only bound itself to his soul but to itself.

Within moments, the entire Gate shrank by half. Crushed, 'Recovery', 'Growth', and 'Purification' all activated and helped Gate stabilized.

The once clear snow-globe was now covered in thin cracks... and those cracks filled with black rope. 'Binding' was not just a power to use on others, but like all Spiritual Power Sets, one to use on one's self.

His spiritual domain stopped expanding wildly, stopped generating more peanuts of kami in all directions... and in the first time for months, focused on refinement, purification, and condensation of the power within.

Adam would have appreciated it more if he wasn't curled up in a tiny elephant ball, shivering in pain. How large HAD he allowed his soul to grow these recent months? No wonder he was losing track of time, having issues focusing.

He used dozens of charges on 'Binding', no point in letting them sit around in his Fishbowl when this pain could stop sooner. Within moments, he gained the ability to apply the effects of other socketed shards on the binding itself... and 'Recovery' and 'Growth' began the healing process.

His fishbowl had gained a layer of binding as well, though thanks to the painful past refinements it was more like paining the exposed surface of his soul with powerful reflective black paint more than any kind of restriction.

More interesting, his Tree soul automatically redirected the bindings down to the base, to the roots. It now looked like the base was fully supported by a half sphere of black roots and darkness... and Tree itself was far more relaxed now. Happier. The mouth filled with fangs smiled.

His Tree soul was freaky.

A clarity of thought was a cool wind on a burning day. He watched the peanuts of faith deplete rapidly even as 'Growth' helped the bindings grip all three of his core souls together. 'Recovery' was forcing the adaptation as it all... compressed.

On some level, he knew that his soul was... bubbly. Like a strand of grapes, connected by something more than just vegetation. Like multiple sides of a many sided coin. Dice? Whatever.

Now, those sides were being bound tighter.

With a disturbing 'Sluck' sound, it all just... collapsed.

His Fishbowl, painted black, was filled with his power charge jewels. Within, blue moss covered the roots of the black tree, blue tentacle leaves gently exploring their new home. Against the back of the bowl, a bright red Shinto Gate was bound with black ropes and white cards of prayer, a small hill of white peanuts leading to something... somewhere.

The trunk of Tree jagged open, fangs wide as a blue vine reached down and... tossed in a few peanuts.

That... wasn't a problem. Right?

Squishy was ignoring Adam, also eating a peanut or two. Did she even have a mouth? Oh, she could also use 'Consume' to a limited degree. But her mouth was tiny and cute. Like a baby. No teeth either, which was probably a good thing. Less creepy at least.

In the center of the Fishbowl was a relatively small crystal castle. His Worm powers seemed to live inside, as it was full of liquid fire, computers, and the simulation where his soul visitors lived. In the center of the castle was a courtyard with a large white stone crafted of marble. The monument was in the shape of a heart, not the meaty one but the type preschoolers drew on valentines cards.

And it had three sockets, each labeled with a cute drawing. A castle, a tree, and a gate.

Obvious enough.

Adam very calmly fell over in his mound of peanuts, unaware of the gushing schoolgirls and crowd who tended to visit over the last few months, as he absently ate another oversized peanut.

He should recover. Relaxing was good too.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Dragon tried to push Nightmare Moon off the pile, but Narwhal and Twilight were sort of twisted over that way and her limb was being pulled the other way...

Narwhal groaned. "I feel sick."

The pile of people attempted to separate faster.

Dragon lurched to a chair, collapsing in exhaustion. "So. That went... odd."

Twilight had summoned a console window faster, but then again the young handled being tossed like a salad better than most. "Well... we did think that his soul was getting a bit unstable. Thankfully this has likely fixed the issue... probably?"

Nightmare Moon was still sprawled on the floor. "I'm grateful to be alive. But that was terrible."

Narwhal dragged herself onto another chair. "WHY was it so violent!? I thought he was going for some sort of time travel thing. That shouldn't have caused ANY issues! We checked!"

Dragon watched the girls compose themselves before checking the new surroundings. Every surface was clearly a crystal, but there were shades and textures everywhere. The floor was a rich blue with fine grooves for better traction, the walls a happy set of textures and colors that was even now changing into less obnoxious combinations under her scrutiny.

Twilight kept typing on the keyboard, her body shifting into a more humanoid form. Kept the horn though. "He reviewed the data faster than we got into it. Looks like he focused more on the connections aspect than the time traveling one... the well works by connecting those times and places through the legend generated over time by people USING the well."

She tapped the screen, causing paper copies to appear that she handed around. "The new power, 'Binding', can be used on a conceptual level like the other spiritual abilities. Using the domain taken from the Baku body, he can hopefully bind his existence in the past, the event of 'leaving', to his current form, another event of 'leaving'."

She glances at the monitor, the pile of peanuts shifting as Adam rolled around. "When he recovers, I mean."

Narwhal frowned. "But is that enough? Or useful?" She waved a hand. "Outside the bedroom I mean, the ability to bind people has always been a crowd favorite."

Holding back a blush, Twilight nodded. "It might be the BEST choice he could have made. Time manipulation is tricky and dangerous even when done correctly. And if this method can get him home, there should be no danger of paradox or self destruction or soul cannibalization"

Seeing the horror from the others, she waved a hoof. "This is why Canterlot's time travel spells are so complicated and filled with error checking. Time is hard to work with."

Dragon stood, feeling far less shook up after regaining her sense of balance. "Well, why don't we explore a bit? Squishy is too busy to give us a tour and I know at the very least that the 'Celestial Garden' has gone through SOMETHING strange. And is in the basement now."

She paused. "Also, we have a basement."

The crowd began to explore the enormous crystal castle while Squishy outside continued to eat the white peanuts. Her changes had been... odd.

First, she now had exactly six limbs, and they weren't connected with the powers anymore. Which was good, cause more peanuts.

Secondly, her mind was connected to the Heart Stone in the castle. Socketing powers was much faster now that it didn't require physical movements. Each power was a much more solid orb as well, even if they refused to fit into the other options.

The courtyard of the castle was filled with white sand, fragments of power charges that slowly combined into new white stones. But once given purpose, they would join the other glowing gems of power that slowly orbited the Heart Stone. A super slow power tornado, with orbs popping in and out as Squishy tested each ability.

Another peanut. It was... odd. Eating these did increase her abilities in some way, even if she couldn't tell exactly how. But the strange part was that the more of these she consumed, the more were created.

Just... enjoying this snack was actually causing Adam to gain a bit more kami in general. Same thing when Tree ate a few.

Neither Tree nor Squishy NEEDED to eat these wonderful snacks, but... they were awesome! The shells would fragment away into something that smelled like fresh peanuts and felt like a warm breeze, and the actual flavor when consumed made Squishy just pause with her eyes closed and enjoy the experience.

Oh, and after the power shift, she had eyes. Big, cartoony eyes and a small mouth. No nose though. Not sure how the power interactions caused that. Her 'Technomancy' beanie hat was still on, but her 'Transfer' tentacle wings now glowed bright white-blue. And could be used like a thousand smaller limbs if she REALLY needed more than six legs.

Not sure where the 'Conversion' wand went though. Everything got all swirly and collapsed. It was honestly a bit terrifying.

Still, her power was far less fragile now. Separate souls were easier at first, sure, but also had very odd connections between themselves that would have been risky to leave exposed to who knew what.

Also, free peanuts. That was nice.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam wasn't really asleep. But he was unfocused.

As the pain vanished, he took more time than he should have before checking internally.

Major. Soul. Modification.

The Fishbowl was now a black sphere, the tiny gaps between the 'Binding' ropes allowed something like starlight inside, a twilight that wasn't night nor day.

Everything inside floated as if water filled his soul, but it was simply air that let the strands of green life drift in the breeze. The floor was extreamly light blue sand, nearly white.

The crystal castle was formed from similar matter as the shards he explored back in Worm. Recursive crystal structures, impossible and sparkling in the starlight.

Tree was to the right, and his scale was massive. Equal to the castle, his black bark split into fangs as tall as light-poles as he tossed into his maw... peanuts? White peanuts.

Was Tree allowed to eat plants? Did spiritual peanuts count?

Ignoring the possible plant cannibalization ongoing inside his soul, Adam turned to the source of the pleasant breeze in his soul.

A cheerful, bright red Shinto Gate. On a mountain of white peanuts. Wrapped in black rope with white cards dancing in the wind.

The source of light by the way was the peanuts. It added enough to keep this from actually being night time in here. And thankfully, none seem to rot or whatever like real mountains of vegetation would.

Oh, Squishy was near the edge of the castle eating peanuts too.

They... they did look good. How much did being a Baku encourage him when it came to diet? He did still consider raw emotional filth a tasty snack.

Huh.

Hopefully that would go away when heading home.

For some reason, these changes seemed... right. Something unknown within had relaxed more than expected, recovered more than those last few months snoozing away and consuming darkness ever had.

With a bit of hop in his step, he walked toward the entrance of his crystal castle to visit his current guests and relax a bit before attempting to rip time and space apart using baby elephant prayer magic and demon well suggestions.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Asako hummed as she put up the laundry to dry a bit earlier today. There was a possibility of rain later, and it was a good idea to tackle life's little challenges early.

She glanced at the now commonly expected crowd staring at Lil' Baku as he napped away. The darling was perfectly happy to sit like a lump while the crowd add peanuts to his pile.

Her attempts to get them to treat Lil' Baku with more respect had been halted early on by father-in-law. He pointed out that none of the 'offerings' were spoiling or being rejected, and that spiritual creatures needed a certain level of respect and fellowship to be healthy.

Of course, neither of them thought things would escalate so far.

Lil' Baku had become something of a mascot of this shrine, and the changes after that became silly rapidly.

One girl had made a donation and a small prayer, mostly due to the encouragement of her friends... and her face had cleared up of all pockmarks instantly. After several stunned moments and her companions forcing her to watch a short video of her own face as proof, all the girls started tossing whatever change they had as donations and crossed their fingers.

As the girls left, looking like they had just experienced the greatest spa day of their lives, the important part wasn't the shock the other shrine goers had experienced or the surprise Asako had felt herself.

No, the important part was that the entire situation, like many things in a teen girls life, had been filmed by friends. And uploaded online.

In the end father-in-law had to set up some ropes to keep the crowds from causing issues. Not that it was too concerning, as even the most rowdy and impatient people seemed to calm down to a near zen like state when they got closer and closer to Lil' Baku. In the end, father-in-law placed a large donation box near Lil' Baku's resting spot and made informational fliers about the Baku, the legends surrounding them, and so forth.

Which the visitors proceeded to buy.

Finances were already through the roof when the first issue occurred.

A father brought his little girl, not even eight years old, in a wheel chair.

He was desperate, medical science decided she should have passed away already, his finances were near non-existent now, and even the bizarre 'Baby Baku' story online was enough to have him try again to help his little baby.

The video of her just... looking better. Face no longer pale, her hair rapidly regrown from the loss during chemotherapy, her eyes bright... well. It changed things.

They had quickly set up a second queue just for medical problems, and while the wealthy and informed scoffed at the whole situation the poor and desperate came to find hope.

It was only a month or so before people began arriving with tools and sensors and such, eager to expose the hoax and gain fame themselves.

It uh. Didn't go well for them. Equipment broke before parking, film overexposed, shoes were untied, and if they tried to harass any of the desperate or sick... Well.

They don't do that anymore.

Still, it was Asako's guilty pleasure to sneak over and hug/pelt Lil' Baku in the morning before the rush of visitors arrived. He still did that adorable squeak thing, even if most of the time he didn't bother to wake up. And he seemed happy enough, even if sleeping for literally months was the laziest thing she had ever heard of.

And at the very least, just coming to the shrine helped people. The air was cleaner, the sun was brighter. Coughs weakened even when waiting in line, thoughts relaxed, traumatized children fell asleep in their parents arms on their own for the first time in weeks.

Asako was considering opening one of the larger rooms as a daycare area just so more children could come and benefit from the strange rings Lil' Baku had set up around the shrine. Already there was an informal version set up, where the neighborhood mothers gathered to talk with her about life while their children tended to take restful naps on pillows.

It was the strongest connection with her community she had felt in years. It was nice.

When Kagome had shown up a week ago, the changes had shocked her to her core. Or maybe it was the pile of peanuts to her left and the giant crowd gaping at a girl just climbing out of the scary looking well.

Her awkward excuse had convinced (some) people that she was taking care of the well. Just like how father-in-law swept the shrine steps. So her friends called her the well-keeper now.

It was adorable.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Sango watched Kagome stalk off muttering something. Poor Inuyasha and that perverted priest were both in the ground at the moment. Inuyasha due to the collar, the priest because he just. Couldn't. Keep. His. Mouth. Shut.

She glanced at little Shippo, fox tail still from confusion. "Come on, Shippo. Someone has to calm the girl down without adding fuel to the fire."

He blinked. "Why was she so angry about the well though?"

Who knew. The well was odd as all get-out at this point. The strange power had started off with just noises and sensations... and now raw power just spread like smoke from the thing. Raw purification and power had flowed from the dark thing, and now it was almost a jungle of growth near the stupid thing. Plants that were mostly berry bushes and sweet smelling and so forth, but bushes shouldn't grow taller than an adult overnight.

On the plus side, demonic powers and even poisonous miasma hated the thing. The area spreading around the well was rapidly becoming a safe haven for anything nearby that wasn't a jerk. Thankfully it didn't indiscriminately destroy demons or spiritual creatures or Inuyasha would have even MORE problems right now, but it was still strange.

Still, Miroku should have taken her damn hint and shut up when Kagome started turning bright red. SOMETHING about the situation was making her all kinds of furious, or embarrassed... and for all of Miroku's charm as a perverted man, he just failed to notice in time.

As she and Shippo followed the path of rage Kagome was leaving, she slightly hesitated near the priest. He had been hit pretty hard... maybe she should help him...

Feeling the jerk's hand reach for her rear, she slammed her inner optimism into the dirt and her demon smashing weapon into his chest. Right, he may be handsome, a nice guy, and a good fighter... but don't give him an inch.

Damn pervert.

As she also began grumbling, she resumed following Kagome's path. If the man had any kind of commitment or monogamous bone in his body, dating wouldn't be out of the question. Or even some fun activities. But the damn hound chased every squirrel in the forest.

She absently petted Shippo to distract his awkward questions and decided to focus on the rage priestess of the party. And why she was griping about the well, elephants, and friends. Had to be some story there.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam had spent the following week inside his soul, letting the Baku body laze around and eat peanuts on its own. It drastically lowered his own mental distractions, and after allowing 'Tithe' to build up some kami to go, it was MORE than time to head home. It also helped that he hadn't made any lasting relationships here, so there was no need for some party or huge fanfare.

With an unavoidable grin on his face, he released his inner representation, becoming the black fishbowl as a whole and focusing his abilities.

'Transfer', 'Harmony', 'Bind'.

"Bind: Transfer: Traveler of the Abyss, Adam's Adventure."

Stars.

The void was hungry, but beyond it and unseen was a sea of stars.

All of them him.

Places he had been.

Places he would be.

Places he could have been.

Places he never would be.

Forward and backward through time, his journey was an ever changing web of discovery.

His black fishbowl soul twisted to a point, a blue glow of magic bursting into flames over the surface as white orbiting peanuts drifted freely.

It was time to go home.

A long way away, a long time ago, he was born. There. A combination of raw potential, dying powers, and a source of self. Even as he continued to grow, his home was in a small forest, now partially burned, in a world of death and despair. The Worm Realm. Where the journey began.

His past movements and decisions flowed in his mind, reinforcing his own memories and establishing a... a presence. Being lost. Setting off into the unknown. The journey.

He was born to find.

Adam 'Adventure' Burns was born to search.

What he found, what he gained... all were part of the joy of exploring more.

The stars faded. Points remained.

"Transfer."

And he was gone.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Sota glanced over at the sudden gasps from the courtyard. And frowned.

He sighed and headed for the house. "Mom, Lil' Baku changed colors."

He listened to his concerned mother as he went to do homework. "I don't know why. He has spots now instead of stripes. And is green."

Not his problem.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam didn't notice the 'Binding' losing hold of the Baku on his leaving. He took his portion of the domain of the spiritual world that used to belong to that spirit into himself, and Adam had experienced no problems taking that domain with his soul when he headed home. It wouldn't have bothered him much anyway, as his new travel method would make return trips trivial if he ever wanted to sleep in tasty treat sacrifices again.

But this wasn't just a basic location in a forgettable land.

This was a shrine. Filled with far too much faith and belief.

A shrine with a legend growing. Of a cute baby elephant thing that healed the sick and smelled of delicious peanuts. That lazed about next to a scary well, and would squeak if you hugged it.

And a Baku was not made of flesh, nor crafted with magic or souls... but belief. Why would it age? Or die? As long as prayers and belief existed, so would the floaty peanut munching mascot.

Lil' Baku rolled over in his piles of peanuts.

Not having high level thoughts was SO much more relaxing.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

This time the journey was different.

Before, it was tunneling through the hungry nothing. Each step dangerous to the unhardened soul, to the unstructured magic or weakly established faith.

Now? He wasn't really traveling at all.

He existed at home. His body was there. Why should he force a path when one was carved on the journey here? And it wasn't a path of stones or stars, but one of concept.

He was, therefore he had always been. He had existed there, he would exist there, he already existed there again.

It was a strange aspect of enforcing and defining his own, personal legend.

Everyone had an internal story developed, one that described their past and beliefs. But now...

Adam was creating a personal, unknown legend of his own existence.

If shared, faith would flow like a land of rivers. Building him up, while washing away what made him 'real'. It could create the real danger of vanishing should his story become untold. Which was... dangerous. Preventable too, if he was careful. But why take the risk exposing himself to unknown masses just to ensure survival?

So a private legend. One contained in his fishbowl, under the bright red Gate of his faith.

Dragon stood next to his physical representation in his soul, watching the Gate with the other girls. She pointed to the left. "Your legend is a giant peanut."

Adam sighed. "Yes."

Dragon leaned forward. "I mean, it has cool scenes and stuff on the shell, and I think each of the actual edible parts inside represent the growth of a soul. Maybe. After another few, it will start to look like a long string bean."

He ignored the other girls who were sneaking some of the white glowing peanuts into pockets. They DID taste good after all. "Yeah. Squishy says eventually it could look like a giant python that ate a lot of chickens. Like... thirty or more lumps in a peanut shell."

She looked back at him. "Do we know WHY it is a peanut?"

He gave her a dry look. "Baku. At least part elephant." He frowned. "Although I am not sure why all those white 'Tithe' cards are now peanut shaped."

Dragon hummed. "Squishy said your 'Tithe' ability could now pass peanuts into followers souls to help them develop powers or help guide growth or something like that."

He looked less put off. "So a spiritual seed then? Maybe could grow into something bigger later! Make my followers into actual power users without being stuck with terrible traumas like other Parahumans."

Dragon shook her head. "Maybe. Peanuts are not nuts nor normal seeds. They are legumes. They flower on bushes, then the flowers dangle down into the soil and fruit down there. So... your followers may gain a holy peanut bush. One that tries to then bury itself."

Adam stared at the sexy cyborg. "That... what? Are you sure?" Seeing her nod, he turned to gaze at the monument to peanuts. "The hell is wrong with my powers. And peanuts."

Narwhal popped over. "So how do I accept Adam as my Lord and Peanut Bush?"

Nightmare Moon was poking the large legend peanut. "I think he has to use 'Tithe' on you deliberately rather than the normal affection you two have for each other. Probably would be best to wait till you talk with your organic half first though."

The giant peanut sort of... rolled? But in the same spot? Whatever it was doing was giving Adam a headache. "Moon, leave it alone. Who knows what it would do exactly."

Nightmare Moon sighed. "Fine. I'll go back to the crystal castle you set up and check in on Twilight. You know, I used to be jealous of my sister getting such a smart student, but seeing how obsessive she is I can see why Sun-butt would send the filly to another town. That girl is a breeding zone for stress and over-achievement."

Narwhal continued filling her pockets with peanuts. "She's just geeking out over all the new information that the binding process dumped into the Golden Garden servers. In a day or so she'll be fine."

Dragon frowned. "Right, about that." She looked at Adam. "Your Golden Garden, which used to run the simulation and everything, it uh. Changed."

She pulled his arm and led the way back towards the castle. "It spawned a whole basement of Celestial Gardens, moved all the simulation stuff and my personal changes into it, then... did something."

Seeing his concern she sighed. "Right, still not sure what exactly, but the early analysis from 'Research' says your memories, soul storage, biological storage... all your various data saving abilities and such have combined into your Golden Garden. Under your castle. Like... really under."

Dragon walked while an hologram gave more context for Adam. "This happened before we left, right in the middle of the first 'Binding' when your soul consolidated. Squishy isn't sure what exactly happened, which is scary on its own rights, but some of her daily tasks and responsibilities for your power got taken inside it as well. Thankfully those still work though."

When Adam blinked and suddenly had his soul shift everyone much closer to the castle, Dragon was polite enough to not comment.

He hummed. "I don't FEEL bad, or any negative effects, so... it must be so subtle I missed it or so terrible that I am crippled. Hopefully the first."

Adam's hand jerked up, and the entire building of crystal and raw ability lifted with smooth motion. Basement and all. And... a column of blue-white sand followed into the sky as well.

The enormous hole now exposed, Adam ignored the dropped jaws of his companions and stared into the core of his soul. The very center of his being, exposed now that the castle had been shifted.

The pain passed easily. His burned soul shrugged it off.

The distortion faded quickly. He had felt worse.

The dark retreated. It was nothing compared to the Abyss.

It was... a tiny light. No. Smaller than that.

A spark.

A broken spark.

Even as he watched, the massive hole began to wriggle as black roots from Tree dug into the walls, reinforcing the sides. Glowing white peanuts fell, creating a glowing floor under the tiny thing and ever so slightly increasing the rate that the spark shard grew.

Squishy appeared out of nowhere, bouncing happily, as she dived into the hole and collected something hidden from below the spark.

Huh. Apparently she found her 'Conversion' wand... in the hole.

What. The. Heck.

And even still, his eyes followed the dimly pulsing light slowly being surrounded by peanuts.

The spark was... not a doorway. Or a subspace. Or even physically there at all. Even as he felt his resources and such within that small light, even though it still handled requests and such like his old server did...

He couldn't fully comprehend it. It was outside of any context he had found before.

Unlike the Divine Domain he had taken over and dedicated to the peanut of adventure, this spark was... something else. A concept. An unrealized but growing ideal.

A compression of self.

Even now he felt parts of himself, bits so small that it was near invisible, duplicating and being absorbed into this... thing.

Eventually, everything that he was and possibly everything that he COULD be would be mirrored in this tiny light. Theoretically he could even use it as his only source of existence as a last resort some day, or use it to heal wounds of terrifying quality.

He noted with exasperation that the spark was (of course) blue. Like his magic. And shaped sort of like a peanut. Because why not.

Adam sighed and lowered the miles of sand, basement, and castle back into the hole, seeing a border automatically forming at the edges. Like the boundaries he made around that Shinto shrine, these ALSO had cleansing and protection effects.

He frowned. The pattern on the band was not white flower blossoms, but peanuts. He really should have seen that coming.

With a grunt, he waved off the questioning guests and went inside to his normally unused virtual bedroom, not wanting to put up with this right now.

It wasn't causing him to slowly die from compression like smacking into a black hole, it wasn't trying to take him over or eat him, the energies involved came from his own power so nothing external was influencing the process to the best of his abilities to detect. And everything he checked claimed that this new setup was far more stable, efficient, and powerful compared to the past.

No, he would leave this alone for now until he had some idea of what the hell was going on.

Plus, he could stay in the Abyss as long as desired before returning home because time didn't work right here. He had only held off on instantly showing up at home because he wanted to ensure the security of this new travel method and verify that his defenses could withstand the gnawing hunger of the Void over long periods.

So... nap.

A damn long nap.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Narwhal focused on her paperwork. Sort of. A little.

Chewing on her pen, she glanced back at the virtual screen showing Variance doing... whatever he was doing. Supposedly to help those poor victims out.

It would be fine.

She tried to continue reading her last batch of forms before giving up with a sigh. Adam was still doing something, swaying. His skeletal costume was starting to glow strangely too... that was fine, right?

It would be fine.

She absently created a force field, thirty on top of each other, to create a solid white surface to tap her fingernails on.

Dragon was helping make this as safe as possible... but unlike Adam's other adventures, this one could go VERY public if anything happened. And public capes became targeted by some pretty terrible people. Strong, terrible people.

But it would be fine.

She had rescheduled thirty separate 'Help Gray Boy Victim' attempts for today, testing everything from chemicals to tinkertech. Dozens of security teams made complicated patterns while guarding places that did and did not have personnel.

She had personally misfiled thirty documents to ensure that even SHE couldn't verify where exactly Adam was stationed. And Dragon had decoy escorts to get her man out without someone tracking him down.

Which wouldn't matter, because it would be fine.

Ideally, Variance would never notice how much effort was being put into making this 'Save victims targeted by terrorists' safer. And it was all just in case someone decided to attack the man in some sort of 'THIS will appease/displease the Slaughterhouse 9' crazies.

Not like logic worked on those people.

But it would be fine.

She watched stunned as Adam collapsed to the ground and his hair flamed out. Even as dozens of reports started flooding her inbox and Dragon began Endbringer Truce levels of coordination to the chaos, all she could see was her boyfriend being quickly moved to a transport shuttle and lifted toward the hidden check point Narwhal had hoped to not need.

She dashed toward her own transport, thankful that the medical team she set up would be ready to handle whatever the hell had happened.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam blinked as he tried to 'enter' the Worm Realm.

It... well, it wasn't rejecting him exactly. But it WAS asking for something. Sort of like a template request.

As he felt the world try to accommodate his modified soul, he felt... questions.

Then again, his former body was a mutated power mess, changing shape and type all the time on some level and twisting each time his power was selected.

A normal human body couldn't grow paper hair, for example.

So... what did he want, exactly?

He absently felt his power charges being spent as he pushed 'Recovery' with data retrieved from Panacea's power shards. Specifically, the ability to store a body and swap control/position with it, also known as standard 'Changer' powers. He didn't need the ability, just the information for 'Research' to handle.

When it felt right... he just clicked.

Somehow he was inside his body, currently on some sort of medical bed in a transport of unknown origins. His soul, a black fishbowl covered in blue fire and white peanuts, settled into the husk... and ignited something within it.

His perception of time went nuts. Everything slowed.

Adam's soul journey had helped him find what guided him. What made him unique. It even helped establish his sexuality (Straight male, Homosexual Female, or Female Oriented Other) and refined what his goals in existing should be.

And his advancements in spirituality, magic, and souls required him to make some choices.

His corpse exploded into blue power, 'Conversion' working with 'Growth' to reduce his former self into potential.

White peanuts of faith bound themselves tightly, blue flames of magic twisting them into tighter and tighter constructs as 'Recovery' forced the core to twist into bones.

Even as each white bone collapsed into existence, thin patterns of Null Metal and Flame Metal wove through the constructions.

Null Metal, which blocked everything, was interestingly enough an amazing material for conducting magic. Flame Metal, which could conduct energy beyond levels possible, acted as a magical insulator. 'Research' was going into overdrive testing patterns that would allow easy energy transfer as well as magical support... getting it wrong by even a little could cause his bones to burn flesh or explode in magical chaos.

The trick was kami, or faith. It acted as part of the other, something not of himself yet formed from himself. The patterns of metal that grew in his bones could be kept from interfering with each other thanks to bands of power, seals and bindings constructed from faith. So far, at least.

It was... tricky.

The same pattern allowed energy to flow within paths formed by channels that allowed magic to travel. Without faith ensuring some paths would only act as restraints, ANY solution would also be a bomb to the opposite material or energy.

Unicorn horn 'Recovery' scans had the solution in the end. It was why the horns all twisted... it allowed directional motivation to magical forces as the spiral moved toward a single point.

White bones gained black and silver patterns of metal, even as the silver began to glow softly with blue magic. Each bone in Adam's spinal column began to reform from the flames.

Adam's focus was being pressed though. Each bone was a unique shape. Simulation had to first design the most durable shape possible that still looked human once covered in flesh, THEN he had to determine which patterns of metal would give the most magical potential along with the most energy transmission.

The spine sacrificed magical power for maximum energy transfer, the limbs went for a full magic focus, and his torso was attempting to keep balanced between the two.

His skull though was being created very carefully, and in layers. Null Metal and Flame Metal, one to protect from energy attacks and mental assaults, the other to handle blades or spikes being rammed into his brain later on. Within the multiple thin layers his bone became more dense as Adam forced layers of magical power and bushels of prayer peanuts.

As the skull grinned at nothing in the magical fire, Adam filled the cavity with Shard Crystal, or at least his castle's version of it, and used the glinting material as a base for the first spell to be cast in this Realm.

'Technomancy', 'Harmony', 'Binding'.

"Spell Seed: Golden Garden."

This should work. Theoretically.

Layers of spell frameworks began forming... and collapsing into each other.

As expected, the mess of magic being bound to his shard brain had to be constructed such that the pieces left over from casting would basically implement and trigger the 'Repair' function.

Which would see the mess of magical slurry and try to repair it.

Thus, 'Repair' would be repairing the spell that was never actually performed in the first place.

In all honesty, this was the best he and the girls could come up with. The upgraded Golden Garden spell seed was too complicated for even a dozen unicorns to cast, so instead this spell would build a framework that could build other frameworks.

It would 'repair' itself up to a 'recovered' form over the next few weeks or so, and thankfully Adam only had to successfully cast that initial part of the process himself. It would drain his magic pretty heavily during the correction process though.

Seeing the clear crystal exposed in the skull sockets light up with blue flames, Adam began focusing on the rest of his new body.

Unlike most Parahumans, his mind was now stored in his soul rather then flesh. His bones had structures that could theoretically recover into a working body even if pulled apart, messy as that thought was. So technically he could stop now and consider himself done! But life would suck without taste, touch, and so forth. Thus the more... gooey bits.

Each internal organ was tested. Magic added, removed, modified. Some, like his liver, received runes made of Null Metal embedded within. Nerves were given trace amounts of Flame Metal to enhance signal delivery. 'Purification' was used to ensure each design wouldn't slowly poison him or posses some sort of slowly escalating maintenance cost.

He didn't even feel the twist inside as Squishy used some of the rapidly dwindling power charges to allow passive power use inside his body via patterns or runes.

He was more focused on design changes. For example, the intestine was much shorter. It basically had patterns based on 'Purification', 'Consume' and 'Conversion' to just handle anything Adam ate or drank in the future. 'Purification' in fact was being carved into the jawbone, eye socket, ear hole, and so forth just so that nothing too bad would be absorbed by his body as it traveled to his stomach.

It... should work. Liquids or chemicals designed to pass through the skin might still get in his body, though. Better than nothing.

With the freed up space in the torso, the heart and lungs were both expanded and the bones present were given a honeycomb pattern under-layer and a bit of expanded coverage behind the normal setup. It wasn't as good as full coverage armor or a sub-dermal material beneath the skin, but it would prevent someone from slipping a blade between his ribs while still allowing his body feel normal to his girlfriend if she didn't check too closely.

Thin layers of fat, layers of muscle, skin... did he need body hair? Nothing below the neck was fine. Wait, back up. Too much muscle, no reason to look like a gorilla. Nails would not grow, but were far more dense and way better connected to the finger and toe. Hopefully they would look normal, but wouldn't crack or whatever when abused.

His soul blinked. Huh.

His hair grew in as bright blue. So... no mustache or beard. Unless he went pirate. Blue beard, Parahuman of the seas!

The eyes were trickier. In the end, it was a thin layer of prayer peanuts to make the 'white' portions of the eye, solid black Fire Metal to make the pupil. The blue flames glowing in his eye socket made the iris really show off, but... well, it would be a giveaway that he wasn't a normal person. Way more telling than blue 'Oh this? I just love dying it!' hairstyle.

Not important. He could see just as well even if he had a full mask of Null Metal or whatever, as long as it was his material then he could see through the stuff. Was that a full power, or a side effect from the magic? Anyway, he could just get some sunglasses or something.

Hold up, no tail. No. No wings either. Or shoulder spikes. Who even needed shoulder spikes? A firmer focus forced his body into something like swimmer, if an athlete could get muscles that tight without drug use.

He frowned. Was his hair slowly becoming tentacle limbs like those on Tree?

...Fine.

But no longer than a few inches, and they can't move much or it would be super obvious. Bright blue hair was strange enough.

He looked at the nude body wreathed in magic and fire. And with a sigh, reduced his 'size' by a lot. Stories and some movies suggested that bigger was better, but honestly beyond a basic point it was just painful for a woman and unsatisfying for a guy. THAT thing was just a joke. Or a very specific fetish.

Anyway, if he ever had second thoughts later on, body modification was FAR easier than the soul mutilation stuff he went through.

A thin layer of clothing, mesh made from Null Metal and Flame Metal, and he was wearing a very dapper black suit with a gray tie... one that turned glowing blue as his power began to saturate the outfit.

Good enough.

His soul collapsed into the protective layers of Null Metal that coated all organs in his body, finding and binding to the heart in some mix of magical suggestion and conceptual significance. It would spread out refill his new body once everything had some time settle and balance.

Activating 'Recovery', 'Growth', and 'Purification', he felt his world fall away as darkness filled the sky.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Dragon's hologram rested next to Variance as her shuttle sped to the medical fallback point.

It had all just... gone wrong. So quickly.

One moment, and her friend was studying something she couldn't see like normal. The next, she gasped in horror as he began to collapse like a stroke patient.

Thankful once again for her own over complicated backup and 'just in case' plans, she kept all sensors available scanning Adam for anything to explain what was going on.

Her initial personal theory... a second trigger. Which could be anything.

The follow-up reports sort of supported the concept.

SOMETHING had allowed all those victims to escape. Healed them. Teleported them to Adam's home town.

Somehow, she believed that Adam had (hopefully temporarily) donated his capabilities to all the victims connected to the one he was studying and attempting to help.

But if that theory was accurate, then the cost was grave. Because without his powers, Adam had collapsed. Scans implied that most of his body was still healthy, but... well.

His brain was showing signs of being... reset. It was showing up on her tools as raw brain cells, on the development level of an infant rather than the man she had become friends with.

Somewhere in her heart she almost cursed the removed security chains. Several of her past restrictions prevented her from having too many 'emotional' connections or outbursts as a security setting... but even with the pain of possibly transporting the living corpse of her friend, it was still better than the mental torture and binding her past life consisted of. And mastering yourself to remove sadness or emotional pain would probably lead to nothing good.

Still, she wish she could do more. Panacea was still being contacted, but it would take long enough that it was better to rely on standard medical science for now... even though chances were it was too late already.

Her inward thoughts were a bit disturbed however when Adam exploded into blue flames. And she herself now being on fire. Really nice, comfortable fire... that she could feel even as a hologram.

Dragon's rapid emails and checked sensors however didn't remove her wide smile and tears though. This would probably add more paperwork and she might (hopefully) have to cancel Panacea's sudden trip... She felt waves of relief as Variance began snoring naturally on the now charred furniture.

It was fine.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

It's lonely out in space.

And of course, to most people or things, silent.

No real atmosphere. There was stuff vibrating out here, and particles, and gravimetric waves.

But it didn't take much to push that aside. She only allowed visual spectrum waves to actually interact with her, and that was more a whim than a requirement.

But if she allowed such things, it would have been quiet. It would be quiet in the theoretical future.

So it was quiet. Probably.

Compared to down there. Another screaming mass. Another world of fear and anger and lust and sadness. Another mindless assault.

So... so quiet.

Unlike most of her orders, she willingly destroyed and interfered with any attempt by these humans into joining her in space. This was her only rest. Anywhere else was filled with people that her master forced her to manipulate.

Besides, what were the lives of a dozen people. There were billions and billions more.

Earth itself wasn't what she considered beautiful. She could see it too well. The corpses of hikers that covered beautiful mountains, left behind by even more hikers that wanted to claim they had been somewhere once. The miles of trash in the air, water, and even in space. The clouds of poison and such.

No one likely noticed the massive amount of material she cleaned from her home, left behind by those crashed satellite and such.

She did however watch the relationships. The psychic bonds that held people to places, friends, and concepts.

They were beautiful.

It was why she raged all the more that she had to twist those lines of meaning into pain and torment.

Part of her being suddenly popped. Something inside her was taking notice.

Glancing down, she noticed that confusing man, Variance, had just caught on fire.

But that was fine, for he was a normal man of not much importance. Had a business, that did things that she didn't have time to focus on. Had people who were doing other things that wasn't relevant.

Even as her mind left, she faltered... and forced herself to focus on the man again.

Thankfully, he was a normal man of not much importance.

Relieved that nothing was wrong, she was shocked that she felt relieved that nothing was wrong.

Thankfully, it was a normal emotion about a man of not much importance.

This other area near the island of Niihau on the other hand had several people trying to build manned cannons. As in, cannons filled with men able to launch itself. By firing men.

It had a high death count, not that the villain tinker seemed to care, but it COULD technically intrude into her personal space.

The Simurgh rotated her many wings and began shifting the relationships of matter and objects. This bit would fail here, that bit would heat up too much, those would loosen and come undone. The reaction would catastrophically collapse, possibly destroying part of the island as well. Acceptable.

After all, her home was too nice to clutter up with screaming people. They should do their screaming on the ground like all the rest.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

The gears of life continued to turn... but they were missing a tooth. Predictive shards felt an error, and corrected by removing this normal man of not much importance. Stranger shards accepted a new input thanks to a message from the flying Endbringer, which informed the shard network that trying to analyze a specific individual would give strange results, and since it was a normal man of not much importance, much time and effort could be saved by the network as a whole by marking him and those around him as already reviewed.

Non-powered humans would fail to notice the many subtle changes caused by Parahumans who were thankfully warned about the perfectly normal issues that may happen if they tried to influence, threaten, or damage certain perfectly normal men of not much importance.

As for why the Slaughterhouse 9 decided to put off the planned assault on The Guild this month, they had found other, more important targets that were much closer. No reason to go all that way and search for other perfectly normal people of not much importance.

It was slightly interesting, however, how many groups of villains and rogue parahumans lost interest in certain areas. Not the areas themselves, those were perfectly normal and not of much importance, but in the general behavior itself.

Many researchers and analysts began to review these groups. There may be some connective cause somewhere.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Narwhal stepped down the ramp, idly blocking the wind with a barrier. "Talk to me."

Her local attendant looked through his notes. "First, Variance seems to have undergone a significant change. He now has brain activity and is currently asleep."

She blinked and glanced at the man. "Wait, his brain stopped!?"

The guy nodded. "Full deterioration or replacement. And his body was collapsing, although at a slow rate. Dragon suggested that he had a second trigger, possibly a third trigger event."

The first door accepted her credentials far too slowly for her tastes. "Details."

He turned a page. "Full body reconstruction, little if any previous DNA detected, but significant signs of prior abilities suggest this is not someone replacing his body. Also, he is currently on fire."

She paused at the second gate, code half inputted. "Is it handled?"

He shook his head. "No. The flames are both resilient and able to survive a hard vacuum. However, they have no visible or detectable negative effect on his body and anyone within range have declared the flames as both 'warm and positive'. Dragon believes his body is able to use the flames as a conduit to his other abilities, and that it is currently set to 'Recovery'."

She waved him off as the final gate opened, allowing her to digitally connect to Dragon and the network that was isolated in this room. No risks of outside hackers or network infiltrators hopefully. "Everything good?"

Dragon's cyborg hard light projection gave a weak smile. "I believe so, yes. My scans show his brain has begun redeveloping much of the same patterns I had recorded in the past, so hopefully low amounts if any of memory loss."

She handed over some holographic paper that Narwhal paged through as they walked to a sitting area. "The largest change is in his biological stability. As we talked about from his last health check, his body was always... shifting."

Narwhal absently nodded, going through the information. "His height would change, sometimes hourly. His limbs would thicken or alter. I thought it was considered handled?"

Dragon gave a wry grin. "You just didn't want to scare him until we could determine if it was a danger or not, especially because we had no options to help him at the time." She sighed with a much more relaxed smile. "Now, although there have been heavy modifications to his body and a large amount of his special metals included inside of it, the energy readings and scans are FAR more stable. No random fluctuations, mutations, and so forth. He is much closer to those with non-human bodies and Case 53's than the man-shaped body-goo he was before."

Narwhal slowly slumped into her chair, relief flooding her system. "So... so he is probably fine."

Dragon nodded. "Possibly better than fine. As long as his memories are safe, he may be fully stable as can be determined... for the first time in months. The metals inside him seem to be added as a protective measure, although they also make it far harder for my tools to inspect with clarity."

The guild leader held back a few tears. It had always been in the back of her mind, that he may just unravel as some Parahumans had when their power just collapsed. It was rare, but not unheard of. It was in fact why she had been far more open and accepting than usual, knowing their time together may be unreasonably short.

Her smile grew as they both drifted into teasing and other topics. It was a weight gone, a lifting of spirit... life felt better when loved ones were saved.

~~~Broken Adventure~~~

Adam sat up, falling off the bed, and slid to the wall. Trying to push off the thing hurled him to the other side of the room with a loud smack, not that it hurt or anything.

Forget standing up, how the hell does he crawl!? Push even SLIGHTLY too hard and it popped him a half foot into the air!

He carefully held still. "Right. Focus on... like. One hand." Right hand, best hand.

Absently, it was interesting that he could actually move two fingers like a person walking and just... drag his whole body along. It did leave dents in the metal floor though.

Huh. Would he need help dressing? Not technically, it was easier to just form flame clothing already on his body than put up with all that twisting and stretching and stuff. Felt nice too, his 'Flame Manipulation' was way more advanced than before when it came to making solid yet soft cloth and micro-mesh patterns.

It was at this point that he realized that he, the floor, and most of the walls were on fire. Blue, magical flames.

And they were... part of him. His bones. His essence, his self, and his being was formed mostly from his skeletal system, which was patterned on Twilight's and Nightmare Moon's horns... so he was some sort of mutant unicorn bone person now.

Flexing... something. He felt the magical flames twist in response. Intuitive.

They moved as he wished, even if they also desired to explore. Like dozens of puppies, they were licking everything and stumbling everywhere. More flame puppies were generated by his bones by the moment and wandering around.

He tried to sit up and his hand went through the floor. And hit more metal. And the fire began exploring the floor, the hole, inside the hole, and something that felt electricity-ish. Possibly wires.

So... no sitting up. Great.

Anyway, he used the hole as grip and focused. Calm. Breathe out. And... IN!

The blue fire rushed at him and covered him like a puppy pile. They filled his suit, his skin, his eyes, his nose, his mouth... and for a moment, his body pulsed. A blue skeleton glowing through his flesh like a lantern in the dark.

And then he was a 'normal' human. With bone white skin, bright blue hair that moved, and glowing blue eyes. For a second or two.

Then the magic got bored, and began randomly popping in and out of his body and suit. Just... tiny, less than palm size flames that would peek out, wander around his suit's edges, play with his fingers... it was strange.

Whatever.

Now moving far more slowly, tried to sit up.

And succeeded. Well... Great!

He gripped the twisted metal on the edge of the hole he... uh. Someone else made. Right.

Watching carefully, he squeezed it... and nothing. The sharp edge didn't even scratch him, but it was solid metal. No give.

Then a flame puppy flopped onto his hand and metal squished like hot butter.

So... his new magical aura gave a fairly powerful physical boost. And liked being played with.

He looked up as the door opened to see his girlfriend and Dragon walk in. "Narwhal!"

Adam was standing and sweeping her off her feet before either of them could catch up, him too giddy seeing his girl after so long and her too happy to see him up and recognizing anything at all. Dragon was chuckling against the wall after making sure the blue flames now dancing around the two weren't causing burns or undressing anyone.

He looked into her beautiful eyes before attempting to hold her forever. "I... I missed you so much."

Seeing Dragon's confusion behind his girl he sighed. "Look, I will explain what happened to the best of my knowledge and try to explain why at least part of it was both my fault and necessary for our survival later, just... I need to hold her for a little bit."

Narwhal's hug tightened, and everything was just a little bit better.

Then a midnight horse with stars for hair showed up in the hologram system. "Adam, we are having a bit of an issue connecting with... with... oh. Hi."

Adam waved off the situation. "I said information later, cuddles