The following morning, Bast woke him up early for breakfast. He brought  him to the kitchen where they ate a quick bowl of a savory soup and then quickly got to work in the forge. Today, Aku was being taught how to make the blade of a sword. 

“First, you have to purify the steel you’re going to be working with.” Bast was explaining. “You have to heat it to an extreme temperature and fold it over itself over and over, like I’m doing.” He was holding a piece of raw, glowing steel in his tongs, hammering the metal until it was flat enough and wide enough to fold again. Each time he did so, the metal was getting more and more pure, its imperfections being hammered out. He kept adding a kind of powder to the metal, which he called flux, to assist in the process. 

Once he had the metal in its purest state, he put the pure metal into the hearth. “Next, now that we have the metal how we want it, we heat it up again. Once it’s hot enough, we’ll begin to shape it.” Bast said, taking a seat on a stool by his bench. 

Aku, meanwhile, was looking at the heating metal inside the hearth. It was gray, and Aku could sense a faint pulse of energy coming from it. “What kind of steel are we using?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of it.

Bast took off the thick leather gloves he’d been wearing, setting them on his workbench. “It’s a high quality steel known as Cloudsteel. Its name comes from the fact that it can only be found high in the mountains, above the clouds.” He sighed, a content smile playing on his lips. He seemed to Aku like he was much more comfortable here in his forge, in his element. “It’s one of the few metals that I can’t create as a Creation Inheritor, because it’s an Energy Steel.”

Aku tore his gaze from the hearth, looking over at Bast. “An Energy Steel? What’s that?” 

“It’s a kind of steel that has magic energy inside of it.” He explained. “Don’t you feel it?”

Aku nodded, looking back at the heating Cloudsteel. “I do, yes. It feels somewhat… calming, in a way. Like the energy soothes me.” He mused. 

Bast smiled up at Aku. “Yes indeed. I think you’ll find that energy has a way of calming us Bestowed. We have a deeper connection to it than most, it’s a part of us.”

They sat in silence for a while, waiting for the steel to heat up. 

‘You know, a thought just occurred to me.’ Aku thought, but not to himself.

‘Oh? And what might that be?’ Chaos responded. 

‘What exactly happened yesterday, at the square? I never asked you.’ He said, thinking about it. He’d been so caught up on the fact that a demon was living in his head that he hadn’t thought about what had transpired. The Pillar, Xiron, had approached him personally and tried to do… something, when Chaos had abruptly intervened, teleporting Aku and his companions back to Bast’s home. Outside of that knowledge, however, he wasn’t really sure why any of that had happened. 

‘The Pillars are, as you were told, the best of the best among the Inheritors of this Realm. They serve as protectors of the Realm, keeping the central city safe.’ She, who was currently speaking as a female, explained. ‘However, they also serve a different purpose as well. They are the personal messengers and scouts of the god they serve. In this case, Life.’ 

Aku nodded to himself as he both listened to Chaos explain and watched as Bast removed the Cloudsteel from the hearth.

‘Yesterday, that Pillar, Xiron, was attempting a teleportation spell. To where, I’m not entirely sure, but I believe it was to the top of the Great Tree. Which, as I’m sure you weren’t aware, is where Life resides.’ She finished. 

Bast laid the Cloudsteel down on the anvil and handed his tongs and hammer to Aku. Taking his arm in one hand, he guided Aku’s movements to show how to properly swing the hammer as well as how to shape the steel properly. “Remember, this is a slow process, if you rush it you’ll only mess up the metal,” he said, letting go of Aku’s arm. 

He kept hammering the glowing metal for several minutes, slowly molding it into shape. As he continued, his muscles began to strain, sweat glistening on his skin and rolling down his arms. He began panting heavily, his lungs burning in the sweltering heat of the forge. Feeling he was reaching the brink of exhaustion, he began to slow down, when he suddenly felt a rush of energy flow through his body. 

‘Chaos?’ He panted mentally. 

‘It seemed like you could use the help.’ She said simply. 

Chuckling, he picked his pace back up. He caught Bast raising an eyebrow at him and averted his gaze, hiding a small smile. Each time the hammer met the metal, his own energy seemed to interact with the natural energy of the Cloudsteel. It drew his into the steel while mixing the steel’s with his, making a mixture of the two. Aku felt as if he was putting a part of himself into the blade, an innate part of him that connected his very being with the Cloudsteel. 

It took hours for him to complete the sword entirely. Bast went out of his way to make the hilt for him, but it still took very long to shape the metal in the correct shape, and they still needed to sharpen and polish it. Bast said he’d handle that part and sent Aku off to rest. A long while later, he came into Aku’s room with the finished blade. The fine, gray Cloudsteel made the longsword into a beautiful piece of work, a faint aura emanating from the blade. The hilt was brown with a spherical pommel, and the crossguard curved upward towards the ends. 

Bast put the blade into a brown scabbard and handed it to Aku. “Now all that’s left is to deliver it. Our customer is a woman named Helena Brine, and she’s not too far from here,” he fished a map out of his pocket, handing it to Aku. “Here, this has her house marked, and that’s my house there.” He pointed, then stepped back. “Think you can handle it?” 

Aku nodded, folding the map and putting it in his pocket. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he confirmed, already moving towards the door. He left the house and started off down the street.

Bast leaned out and called after him. “Don’t mess it up, now! She’s one of my most loyal customers!”

A while later, Aku arrived at a shop not too far down. There were large glass display windows with suits of armor on the outer walls of the shop. A sign hanging from the doorway read ‘Warsmith Rielli’s’. 

‘Surely it couldn’t be…’ Aku thought to himself.

He stepped inside, a chime ringing from a bell above him. Inside, the walls were lined with swords, war hammers, war scythes, and various kinds of armor. Lanterns illuminated the space, reflecting off of the different metals. He could sense energy coming from some of the implements, especially so from one particular sword hanging in the middle of a rack. 

“Welcome, adventurer! How can I-... you!” Sure enough, the woman from earlier, whom he met at the market, was none other than the shopkeeper. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you buy what you needed at the market?” Rielli walked out from behind a tall counter, which encased a display of all sorts of knives. 

“Ah, well, I have a delivery. From-” 

“Bast sent you? Since when does he hire employees?” She prodded, crossing her arms over her broad chest. 

“Less of an employee, and more of an apprentice,” Aku said, slinging the longsword off of his back and holding it up to her. 

“Apprentice, you say? So the old ass finally roped someone into his business, did he?” She snorted and took the sword, laying it down flat on the counter before turning back to him. “Well, good for him. It sure took him long enough, that’s for sure.” 

Aku nodded, taking a slow step towards the door. “Yes, indeed. Anyways, thank you for your patronage, but I’ll be going now.” 

“Ah ah, not so fast, kid.” She grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back inside. “You’re forgetting something, no?” 

He stared blankly at her, ears turned red slightly. “I, uh…” 

She sighed, shaking her head. “Money. I haven't paid you yet.”

“Ah! Right. I… knew that.” Aku said defensively, looking bashfully off to his side. 

She laughed, letting go of his shoulder as she walked behind the counter and into a door behind it. “Come on, follow me.” She called out.

He slipped into the room close behind her, scanning his new surroundings. It seemed to be her personal office, with a desk in the corner and storage cabinets beside it. In one corner, there was a suit of golden armor, seeming to glow in the dim light. Beside it was a large battle axe made of the same material, the head as wide as Aku’s torso. 

Rielli sat down behind her desk and beckoned Aku forward as she began digging through the drawers. A few moments later, she produced a small bag and handed it to him. “There you are. 15 gold coins, as promised.” 

Aku’s eyes widened as he took the bag. He looked inside and saw exactly what she’d said, 15 shimmering gold coins. It was an absurd amount from what he knew, about 15 times what Bast had given him to spend. From what he knew, 1 gold coin was worth 100 silvers, and 1 silver was worth 100 bronze. Past gold there was Platinum, then past that special energized metals were used, or just the barter system. 

“Thank you, I’ll be sure that Bast gets it. Is there… anything else I can help you with?” He asked, pocketing the pouch. 

Rielli waved her hand dismissively, standing up to lead him back out of her office. “No, I’m alright,” she said as she ushered him to the door. “But if you have any more equipment needs, be sure to either come here or to the market, yeah?”

Aku nodded to her over his shoulder as he walked out of the war smith's shop. “Will do. See you around, then.”

She waved to him as he walked down the street. “Until then!”

Ten minutes or so later, he arrived back at Bast’s shop and handed him the payment. “Here.”

“Ah, back already? You were quick.” He opened the coin pouch, and his eyes widened. “15? The deal was 10…” he muttered to himself, closing the pouch and looking up at Aku. “Did you do something for her while you were there?” 

He shook his head, creasing his brow. “No, why? What’s the matter?” 

“She ordered the sword for 10 gold, not 15. That’s quite the price jump, and I can’t think of a reason why she’d possibly donate an extra 5 coins.” He tapped his cane absently for a minute, then shrugged. “Bah, who cares? Extra coin is extra coin. Whatever her reason, I can’t really complain. I’ll have to thank her next time I see her.” 

Aku watched as Bast stood up and headed to his room. “Night, Aku!” He called out before closing the door behind him. 

Aku made his way to his room, laying down on his bed. He closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. ‘A long day. But a good one.’ He thought with a smile.

‘A good day indeed.’ Chaos said in his mind, materializing in his desk chair. She was in her usual form, red dress, black hair. And those everchanging eyes…

“I have a question.” Aku said, sitting up and leaning back against the headboard. “What happened to me? Why was I inside that cave, where I woke up?”

She shook her head at him, frowning. “I’m afraid I don’t know. Whatever it is that happened to you before I was released from the lantern’s seal, I have no memory of.” 

He nodded, turning his gaze to his lap. “I see.” He laid down again, crossing his arms behind his head. “Well, I should go to bed. It’s been a long day.” 

Without a word, Chaos vanished, and the lantern’s red light faded from the room. 

He closed his eyes, quickly drifting off.

“Ah, you again. Wake up.”