"So, what now?" Jake asked Khaos.
The merge couldn't be stopped. Both of them weren't against it. It was necessary.
The amalgamation of two different yet same beings would create something unique.
It was too interesting for them to ignore!
"I will watch over your mindscape until the merge is complete. To be honest, it's a complete mess. Without me, your mindscape would have probably collapsed," bragged Khaos.
Jake said nothing to him in response.
He simply admired the chaotic state of his mindscape.
"Sometimes I wonder.." trailed Jake.
He got the attention of Khaos, who waited for him to complete his words.
"Wonder what?" mused Khaos.
"Wonder nothing. Just wonder," smiled Jake.
He stood up from his position and floated to the other rocks, checking each one of them to see what was behind the doors.
What defined a 'Jake Khaos Amethyst' wasn't chaos powers, but the mind. A mind free from most things yet significantly tethered to the starry sky.
A mind which could stay in a spot for a month and just be thinking, without any clear direction.
"You know what, when next you visit we will start the project," informed Khaos.
"The project?" Jake asked for confirmation.
That project wasn't something to be rushed. It needed delicate handling and Jake feared he wasn't ready for it.
Khaos reconfirmed, "Yes, the project."
As the two flew around the mindscape, they conversed.
"Why now? It's too soon," argued Jake.
"You need it now. You are a mess. Plus, I barely have years left," sighed Khaos.
Seeing him so serious was something that was always strange and hurtful to Jake.
He asked, "How much time do you have left?"
"Not much. Not small. Countless years, I suppose, but they aren't enough," divulged Khaos.
He and Jake weren't used to the concept of time much. It was easy for them to lose track of time, despite them not being old at all.
"Hmmm.on my next visit, we will start," agreed Jake.
As he was surfing his mindscape, Jake caught something at the corner of his eyes.
It was an egg, seating comfortably on one of the floating rocks. It seemed to have substituted the door, as there wasn't any door there.
'What is that?' Jake thought.
He was about to go there when he saw another floating rock without a door. Instead, there was a crystalline ball on it, almost the same as the other one.
"Another one?" Jake mused, "Khaos, wh---"
*Beep!* *Beep!*
Blaring alarms rang all over his mindscape. It hollered into Jake's ears as he understood why they rang.
His ethereal body acted on instinct as it dispersed into tiny dots of lights.
The last thing he saw was Khaos mouthing something at him, but he couldn't hear it!
..........
Kaleyx watched as her supposed ally was still buried calmly in the lake.
'When will he be back?' she thought.
She kicked her leg in the water and played with it.
Ultimately, over time, she couldn't resist removing her cloth and fully playing in the water.
Despite multiple eyes set on them from the distant bushes, Kaleyx didn't bother herself with that.
The demonic beasts had an innate instinct that kept them alive. They knew when to act and when not to.
This was one of the moments for them. They knew that once they bared their fangs at the young lady in the lake, they would die.
It was the raw and simple truth they all understood.
That was also why Kaleyx was carefree!
She stopped her movements when she sensed Jake was about to wake up.
Swimming closer to him, Kaleyx waited for her ally to open his eyes.
It didn't take long for Jake to truly eject himself from the water. His eyes fluttered open and he met with Kaleyx's silver eyes.
"Did it work?" Kaleyx asked him.
"Y--Yes," replied Jake.
He touched his throat and realized it was already healing back. Before, it never showed any sign of healing.
With his croaky voice, Jake said, "It worked, a bit. It's complicated."
As per their agreement, Jake went to his [Spatial Ring] and brought out all the books he had on the [Healing Path].
He also brought out a spare [Spatial Ring] and gave it to Kaleyx.
This cemented their relationship as allies.
They both got out of the lake and proceeded to warm their clothes. After that, they put them on.
"Take these," Jake threw a piece of cloth at Kaleyx.
It was a black cloak.
He also had another one with him, which he put over himself.
"We stand out too much. It can't be helped. This would hide ourselves from the public eye," informed Jake.
As he kept talking, he was drawing their future plans.
Kaleyx flexed around with the cloak, checking to see if it was comfortable.
Despite not being able to discern the direct material of the cloak, Kaleyx knew that it was from a demon beast of high value.
Yet, the cloak wasn't made stylish or rugged. It was just perfect for people like them.
"Is it fire resistant?" asked a suspicious Kaleyx.
"Yes. It is also water-resistant," informed Jake.
"I like it," commented Kaleyx.
She put the hood above her head and walked in front of Jake, "How much is it?"
She was already aware that she needed to contribute to this alliance.
Jake lightly responded, "Just fifty gold coins."
After emptying the Aztec vault, Jake was sure to never go broke for at least a decade.
Money was the least of his problems.
Finding it a good time, Jake informed Kaleyx of the economic status of the continent.
"...So, you are saying that the acceptable currencies are bronze coins, silver coins, gold coins, and energy crystals," asked Kaleyx.
"Yes, there are mortals everywhere. They have no use for energy crystals. So, the coins still hold weight," responded Jake.
Since getting to the island, he rarely had a moment where he used energy crystals to pay for things.
It was always coins.
He used the energy crystal to cultivate, that was if he felt like cultivating.