Eris couldn''t say that she lived through the dream in the same way that Izanami did.

In actuality, she was more like a third person looking in from beyond a window.

She didn''t feel the emotions personally, but she saw them expressed.

And Izanami had lived suffocated by these emotions for the better part of 1,000 years.

The feelings that Izanami had developed because of it were as real as the ground beneath their feet.

And what she had lost was completely and horribly unfair.

Eris only snapped out of it when she had seen everything. She was heartbroken.

Izanami awoke after Eris'' subtle intruding.

Her eyes showed immense horror.

"Y-You weren''t supposed to see that.."

"Izanami, I.." Eris hadn''t realized how much her tone had softened when she spoke to her.

Izanami hated that tone.

She almost sounded like her. The version she had already lost.

Izanami couldn''t stand it.

How many more reminders did she need of the reality in front of her? How many more times did she have to sit in front of the woman she loved and pretend not to feel pathetic?

She was an embarrassment. She hated herself again.

And she would have given anything if she could have just died before.

"Get out..." Izanami said quietly.

Eris felt her heart clench as she reached for her hand.

Izanami pulled away as if she feared that one touch would make her crumble. Her eyes had already begun to water.

"Please...!" She begged.

Eris became choked up.

She fled from the the woman''s room in a hurry, with Sei close behind her back.

Only Nyx stayed behind as she watched Izanami fall apart before her.

The change was gradual at first, with Izanami gripping the sheets until her knuckles turned white and her body wouldn''t stop trembling.

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She lowered her head all the way down to the mattress and cried while curled up in a ball.

She heard no sound over her crying, but she did feel Nyx suddenly rub her back as she moved beside her.

"I''ve no idea what is going on here, but I would wager all of the stars in my sky that my mother had something to do with it. Whatever she showed you, I need you to know that she was trying to break you. You can''t let her."

Nyx heard Izanami''s sobbing stop and change into a dry laughter.

Izanami found her concern funny.

After all, what made Nyx think that she was not broken already?

-

Abaddon and the girls finally finished getting ready and they exited the bedroom together.

Straga was walking past their door at that moment and yawned as he waived.

"Morning, old people..."

Ten different veins bulged in ten different foreheads at once.

When they entered the living room, they found Fiona sitting on the sofa with Thrudd and Behemoth. The blankets they''d given her last night were neatly folded in her lap.

When she saw Abaddon and the girls enter, immediately stood up and presented the blankets and pillow that''d been given to her.

"Mr. and Mrs Tathamet? I wanted to say thank you for letting me sleep here last night. I really appreciate it."

Valerie smiled as she took the blankets back and returned them to nothing. "No need for all the ceremony, dear. We''re just happy you slept well."

Boy did she ever. The couch and blankets were both so comfortable that Fiona never wanted to get up.

If Thrudd hadn''t come and ripped them away from her, then they might''ve still been staring at a sleeping woman.

"But you should try to talk to him at some point, Fiona." Abaddon reminded gently. "He''s earned at least that and we shouldn''t be giving him more reasons not to like me." He joked.

Fiona smiled wryly. "I will do that... thank you."

Tatiana found the almost 30 year old woman to be very cute.

She grabbed her by the arm and led her to the kitchen. "Come on, what can I make you to eat? An omelette? Maybe an oat and fruit parfait?"

Before Fiona could answer, Thrudd chimed in from the barstool. "She''s okay, mom. I gave her a protein bar."

Tatiana loved her daughter, but for some reason she stared at her as if she had just come into her house covered in mud and touching all of her white furniture.

"Thrudd, that is not how we treat guests, you know that."

"No she doesn''t. She''s never had friends before." Belloc joked.

It''s difficult to say what happened next without wincing, but it is important to note that Thrudd seriously compromised her younger brother''s chances of having kids of his own.

Around twenty minutes later, the unit was ready to leave the house.

They exited the front door and emerged inside of a deep cavern. The only light coming from down here was being produced by the huge lime-green crystals jutting out of the walls.

A total of roughly fifteen blue tents were erected a couple of yards away from the house.

The order''s temporary lodgings couldn''t fit down in this space because of its size.

It wasn''t like the dragons'' home, which could have it''s outside size adjusted without changing anything on the inside.

The whole reason Fiona slept at the Tathamet''s last night was because she didn''t want to sleep on a hard floor.

Abaddon noticed Shin''s eyes practically drilling holes into him.

He just pretended that he didn''t see it, and walked past the encampment without saying much of anything.

The order finally finished packing up too. Nobody had even said anything to each other yet.

Shin heard the sound of footsteps and turned around to find his daughter walking towards him.

She took the napkin in her hand and unrapped it, offering what was inside.

"Toast stick?"

Shin just kind of stared at the offering. He wasn''t sure if he should tell his daughter that he didn''t need to eat anymore.

But eventually, the answer came to him clearly.

"...Sure. I would be honored."@@@@