[Bonding Successful!]

Rey saw this System Window displayed before him as Emil's gooey body slipped back into him and re-established their Bond. Once again, he felt the unreal sensation that he experienced when they first bonded. A rush of power swelled throughout his body, and he felt beyond alive.

'Ahh…' It was nearly orgasmic, but Rey controlled himself from leaking out any of his feelings through his face. Hence, despite having a stoic expression on his face, he felt immeasurable pleasure internally.

Before he could even acclimate, though—

~I've missed your body so much, Master! It looks like your body has missed me too! You've grown stronger too, haven't you? Ahhh… this feels amazing!~

—Emil's voice pounded within his head.

He didn't complain, though. Instead, he simply smiled and sighed.

"No thanks to you. You drained all of my Mana, so how exactly was I supposed to fight back against that explosion you sent to me? I had to spend my preserved Stat Points." He murmured, slowly remembering the feeling of anger he had previously.

Now that he thought of it, Emil actually needed some talking to… or would that go to Ater? He wasn't sure who to blame, but he needed to still educate the former about what was acceptable or not.

… Just for future purposes.

~Why didn't you use [Consume], though? Didn't you Copy it? Me leaving you didn't mean you couldn't use it…~

"...."

~I actually thought that was what you'd do, though it would have taken you time to absorb the energy, which would provide me and that guy a chance to escape.~

For a moment, Rey froze. It seemed, perhaps even more than Emil and Ater, he also needed some talking to.

"I was overwhelmed and confused at the time. That's why I didn't… think to… use it…"

~I understand, Master! Honestly, I'm glad my departure shook you that much. I guess you really do care about me.~

"I do, Emil." Rey said with a smile.

No only because she was a very useful Familiar to have, and also not because of her recent accomplishment with Adrien. It went a step further than that.

'We've spent so long together—hearing each other's thoughts. To me, Emil is like another part of me… a neighbor closest to me than anything else. She can also be pretty endearing and cute—not that I'm going to tell her any of that…'

~Master, I can hear your thoughts, you know?~

'Ah, shit!' Rey's thoughts echoed as his eyes popped wide open. ~HAHAHAHA! So you think I'm cute, Master! You also think I'm a part of you? Kikikiki… hehehehe… hahahahaha!!!~

'Don't push it, Emil!'

~Aye, aye, Master!~

Despite the conversation ending that way, Rey could sense that Emil was happy with him, and about herself. That made him glad for using a trick on her.

'Of course, I know you can hear my thoughts, Emil… but only the thoughts I want you to hear.' He smiled, thinking on a deeper level than what his Familiar had access to.

Thanks to his Layered Thoughts, Rey could not only multitask, but he could segment his thoughts into various regions and fool anyone reading his mind.

'I meant all those things about Emil, but I played it in a way that will make her think I didn't want her to know my true feelings…' After what he recently experienced, he realized he needed to appreciate Emil more.

This was the first step towards that goal.

'Indirectly praising Emil will make her understand how I feel about her, without her constantly seeking validation and praise from me.' Rey concluded.

Perhaps this was a scummy way to go about it, but he didn't think of it that way. It was the same way siblings didn't need to constantly repeat that they cared about their fellow siblings since said affection could be gleaned from their actions and indirect interactions.

'I might not have many opportunities to show how much I value her, and Emil can get very needy at times, so this is the perfect compromise.'

Once he concluded thoughts on that front, he decided to address the other issue—Adrien's Skills.

'With those Skills, I'll be able to get considerably more powerful, and Emil will also be a powerhouse on her own. She'll be useful in a lot more ways too…' He thought to himself, acknowledging how things just got a whole lot better for him.

'Still… this isn't enough.'

The words of The Oracle still weighed on him. Only he knew what was about to come—the destruction of everyone and everything in this world.

'Compared to the heights I need to achieve to prevent the destruction of everyone I care about… of the people of H'Trae… I need to be even stronger.'

This time, the power he sought wasn't only for himself, but for the people around him. Money, business, and his own individual might didn't matter if there were no more hardly any living beings left in the world. In a way, protecting everyone was beneficial to him.

But… he wasn't doing this only because of that. After interacting with the Elves for long enough, Rey was able to confirm his feelings and fully accept his newfound perspective.

'I can understand you a lot more now, Adonis.'

He wanted to help more people.

'I have started with the Elves, but now I want to go even further.' He reopened the portal that had closed up the moment he saw Emil.

~VWUSH!~

In H'Trae, there were also Dwarves, Giants, and Fairies—none of which he had ever interacted with, or even seen.

'That changes soon.'

"Farewell, everyone!" Rey waved at the Elves, who had now resumed their cheers once they saw he was leaving for real this time.

He stole a small glance at Esme, and found her smiling at him. She nodded slowly and whispered some words to him.

This was the first time she would interact with him for some days, and he felt his heart skip a beat once he saw her lips move.

His mind interpreted what she meant instantly.

"Thank you." He repeated her words, nodding back before moving closer to the portal.

He entered the swirling gate, but not before swiftly whispering a response.

"You're welcome."