I needed a way to let them know I was alive. Preferably in a way that kept them from killing themselves. If it weren''t for Zach, some of my girls might already be dead.


    When their faces no longer showed a dark expression, I began to exin what they all wanted to know.


    "Be, can you please seal this room?"


    "Done. I''ve also cut off all the cameras and listening devices. No one can hear us now."


    "Thank you, honey. Now everyone, I need to tell everyone what I just went through."


    Knowing that the time for ying was over, the Sirens all separated from me and sat in a circle. Their expressions ranged from concern to unease to fear.


    "I was abducted by Rnd Winchester. With him was Xander Rutherford,mander of the Savior, and Raymond Gertrude, master of the Deryck family. The information they told me was ssified to only a few Specters and above."


    "Husband, you were ordered not to tell it to Phantoms and below. Why are you telling us now?"


    "Because none of you will remain Phantoms. And I want you all to know this. Everyone, I have made up my mind. To survive theing dangers, we must be stronger. Stronger than any before us. You are my kindred, so I will see to it that all of us be Revenants."


    "Us? Revenants?" Robyn asked confused.


    "Yes. Liv has already told me what happened to the North. During this week I understood how vulnerable the battlefront is. If we cannot defend them they will be overrun.


    "That is why I have only two ways to protect you all. Cage you all in my hands so that you will not be endangered. Or ascend you all to Revenants."


    "Master, everyone is grateful for your faith in us, but we are Formless. We are weak."


    I shook my head and exined.


    "Formless are not weak. Just as we evolved into Phantoms, we only need to evolve into Specters and then Revenants. Humanity is the price for Phantoms. Everyone here already knows that. But for a Phantom to be a Specter, the cost is the memories of the dead."


    "Hmm. I see, Phantoms have to give up their memories to be Specters," Lilly pondered like a philosopher.


    "Yes, dearest, the Specters were not the first to tell me this truth. I originally learned it from Isolde Drache," I revealed.


    Jo then rested her face on her fist as she rified, "The Wyvern?"


    "Yes, she exined it to me while she was telling me her story. I apologize for not telling you before, it slipped my mind."


    Lilly looked at me as she nodded.


    "Considering how hectic your life is, I can understand. Still, if memories are the requirement of a Phantom, it''s no wonder I couldn''t progress. My trauma of being my father''s bastard created my personality. But perhaps my mother is my greatest hurdle."


    "Your mother?" I probed.


    "Her name was dys Adams. A maid for the Browning family. My father, who was engaged to a daughter of the Brownings, had a one-night stand with my mother. I am the result of that night of passion."


    I listened intently as my wife told me about her past.


    "You don''t seem to care, dear. Does my background repulse you?"


    "No, I have nothing but gratitude for your mother and David. For without them, the woman I love, Lilly Browning, would not have been born. Their status or profession does not matter. That goes for everyone parents, of course."


    "..." Lilly turned abruptly after hearing my words. I quickly noticed that her ears were red, probably from embarrassment.


    "Anyway. Growing up, I always made sure to remember the bullying I received as a child, along with the few memories I had of my mother. My insistence on remembering both probably kept me stuck," Lilly continued.


    Be then interrupted as she cleaned her sses.


    "I agree with you, Lilly. That may be the reason. But I am more concerned about what Xander told honey. Despite everything he and his wife tried, he still forgot her.


    "If what they told Honey is true. Then Specters will all eventually be empty husks once the right person dies."


    "I know, right? If Darling dies, I have a feeling I won''t care about anything else."


    "I don''t think so, Jo. For me, even if husband dies, if you are still alive, I don''t think we would forget him." Jasmine concluded.


    "Why do you say that Jasmine-San?"


    "Think about it, if everyone forgot Xander''s wife, how can both His Majesty the Invincible and Zachary Lynch remember her? If what Xander says about the loss of emotions is true. His Majesty should not have felt shame, or rather, Xander would not have affected him in the slightest," my dark-skinned lover exined.


    "I see, if everyone forgot everything about them. No one would even remember that Xander was married. Since they still can, only Xander has forgotten herpletely. Would the same thing happen to us if Beloved died?"


    "I agree with Jasmine-sans analysis. Then there must be a rule that determines which memories are erased. If we can understand the principle, we might be able to find a way to counteract memory loss even as we evolve into Specters," Aki summarized for everyone.


    While the smart people debated, Robyn crawled over and sat on myp. We smiled at each other, neither of us knowing what the hell this discussion was going to achieve.


    The sound of flowing water reached my ears. A stream of water was moving quickly towards Robyn. I covered her with my shoulder and got hit by the liquid instead.


    "Ara, how gant. Dear, please pay attention. Robyn, stop using times like this to flirt with him!" Lilly reprimanded.


    Robyn, enjoying my hug, replied without a care in the world. "Get stuffed princess. Stop being boring if you want Possum''s interest."


    Feeling that now was a good time to continue my report on Rnd and his gang, I began the next topic.


    "Actually, the memory loss of the Specters was a segue. Rnd kidnapped me to tell me about the armistice of the battlefronts over the Formless. Apparently, the Formless are the ones causing the undead in Hellsgate to grow in strength.


    "And the normal protocol for Formless who excel, such as myself, was to be executed. But since David vouched for me, the other Revenants will use David''s actions as justification to begin training Formless as well."


    "Then the headlines we all saw?" Be gasped in surprise.


    "Yes, ording to Rnd, the Revenants intend to use the Formless as armies to overthrow the other Battlefronts. This is in addition to the fact that the Formless are directly rted to the frequency of floor breaks. So, in essence, while I have inspired the Formless to act. ording to them, I have doomed us all."


    "Master, they say such drivel that it is your fault?"


    "Well, ording to them, if I join the Seeker War, I will cause many deaths in the future."


    "Fucking cunts! Possum! How is any of this your fault?"


    "Agreed, dear, they are looking for someone to me. You would be an idiot to take them seriously."


    "YEAH! Darling! Do you know that Zach told us something simr? He said that you would destroy the world and that we should leave you!"


    Hearing Zach''s words, I understood his reasoning, but not before I had doubts about what the Siren was teaching. Be''s words made me smile.


    "We all told him to fuck off! We would rather destroy the world than leave you!"


    "Of course you would say so," I replied happily.