Day 22 - Morning
I woke to discover that Oni integration happened at approximately the speed of a avalanche covered in enthusiasm.
Kasumi had claimed the training grounds and was currently teaching bear kin warriors techniques that made Yorrik look genuinely excited. The sound of combat and laughter echoed through Ashenhearth before dawn.
Yuzuriha had somehow taken over the kitchen, and the smells emerging from that direction suggested she was either creating culinary masterpieces or summoning something from another dimension. Possibly both.
And Momo...
Momo was sitting in my incomplete library, surrounded by floating books, rearranging my entire organizational system with the focused intensity of someone who'd found their calling.
"Good morning," she said without looking up. "Your classification system was chaos. I'm fixing it."
"I had a system."
"You had books stacked by 'looks interesting' and 'might need later.' That's not a system, that's wishful thinking."
Fair point.
I was about to ask about her plans for the day when she finally looked up, and I saw the glint in her eyes that I'd learned to recognize in intelligent people who were about to make your life interesting.
"Knox Ashford," she said formally, setting down the book she'd been reorganizing. "I have a challenge for you."
"I thought the trials were over?"
"The Oni trials are over. This is personal." Her smile was small, almost shy, but her eyes were sharp. "A battle of wits. Just between us. To see if your mind is as impressive as your heart and body."
Through the bond, Nyx's amusement: Another trial. They really can't help themselves.
Should I be worried?
Momo is the most dangerous of the three. Kasumi's strength is obvious, Yuzuriha's seduction is expected, but Momo's intelligence is subtle. She'll dissect you and you won't notice until she's already won.
That's not ominous at all.
"What kind of battle?" I asked Momo.
"A game. A puzzle. A test of logic, creativity, and the ability to think beyond the obvious." She stood, her small frame somehow commanding the space. "I've been watching you, Knox. You're intelligent, but you hide it behind humor and self-deprecation. I want to see what happens when you can't hide."
"And if I lose?"
"You won't lose anything. But you'll learn something about yourself. And I'll learn something about you. Either way, we both gain understanding."
Hard to argue with that logic.
"Alright. I accept your challenge. What are the rules?"
Her smile widened. "Come with me."
The Labyrinth of Wit
Momo led me to a section of the fortress I didn't recognize, which was strange, because I'd built the entire thing.
"When did you have time to construct this?"
"Last night. While you were sleeping." She pushed open a door that revealed an impossible space, a room that was definitely bigger on the inside than the outside should allow. "Oni illusion magic. Temporary, but effective."
The room had transformed into a maze, but not a physical one. Floating platforms connected by bridges of light. Puzzles written in the air. Doorways that led to different versions of the same space. It was like someone had taken M.C. Escher's fever dreams and made them interactive.
"This is your challenge," Momo said. "Navigate the labyrinth. Solve the puzzles. Reach the center where I'll be waiting. But here's the catch, every wrong answer, every failed puzzle, reveals a truth about you that I've observed. Personal insights that you might not want acknowledged."
"That's... mildly terrifying."
"That's the point. Wisdom isn't just knowledge, it's self-awareness. Let's see how well you know yourself."
She vanished in a shimmer of magic, and I was left standing at the entrance to her impossible maze.
"Right. No pressure."
I stepped onto the first platform and immediately encountered the first puzzle:
Three paths lie before you. One leads to truth through pain. One leads to comfort through lies. One leads nowhere but feels like progress. Choose.
I studied the paths. They looked identical, same glowing bridges, same distant doorways. The puzzle wasn't about the paths themselves but about the philosophy behind choosing.
Truth through pain. That was growth, the hard lessons that actually mattered.
Comfort through lies. That was avoidance, easy but ultimately hollow.
The illusion of progress. That was busy work, movement without meaning.
I chose the first path.
The moment I stepped onto it, Momo's voice echoed through the maze: "Correct. You choose growth over comfort, even when it hurts. First insight: You believe suffering has meaning, which makes you resilient but also means you accept pain too easily."
The path solidified, leading to the next challenge.
Puzzle Two: The Mirror Room
The second chamber was filled with mirrors, each reflecting a different aspect of myself:
The warrior who'd conquered a dungeon. The builder creating a home. The partner in multiple bonds. The leader people were starting to follow. The broken man still carrying grief.
Words appeared in the air:
Which reflection is real? Choose one, and the others shatter. Choose all, and they merge into truth. Choose none, and you reject yourself.
This was a test of self-concept. How I saw myself versus how I wanted to be seen.
The easy answer was to choose the warrior or the builder, the positive reflections that showed strength and purpose. But that would be rejecting the complexity of who I actually was.
I reached out and touched all five mirrors simultaneously.
They didn't shatter... they merged, flowing together into a single reflection that showed all of me at once. Scarred, strong, broken, loving, flawed, trying.
Momo's voice: "Correct. You understand that identity isn't singular, you contain multitudes. Second insight: You've accepted your complexity, but you struggle to believe others can accept it too. You're whole but you don't feel worthy of wholeness."
The words hit harder because they were true.
The merged mirror became a doorway, and I stepped through.
Puzzle Three: The Library of Regrets
The third chamber was a library, but instead of books, the shelves held moments... crystallized memories floating in amber light.
I saw Emma's last weeks. The fairy wedding I'd been ambushed into. The first time I met Nyx. Siraq sparring with me. The Oni trials.
Words appeared:
Every choice creates paths not taken. Every joy costs what was left behind. Select the moment you regret most. Or prove that regret is a choice, not a burden.
I walked through the library, examining each moment. There was regret, yes... things I wished I'd done differently, words I wished I'd said. But regret as a defining feature? That was a trap.
I found a blank space on the shelves and willed a new memory into existence: This moment. Now. Standing in this challenge, learning about myself, growing.
The new memory glowed brighter than all the others.
Momo's voice held genuine surprise: "Unexpected. You created a new moment rather than dwelling on old ones. Third insight: You understand that the past informs but doesn't define. You're genuinely trying to move forward, not just running from what's behind."
The library dissolved, and I found myself on a platform suspended in starlight.
The Center: Truth and Consequence
Momo sat in the center of the space, surrounded by floating scrolls covered in her observations. She looked up as I approached, her expression thoughtful.
"You solved all three puzzles correctly. And in doing so, you revealed more about yourself than you probably intended."
"That was the point, wasn't it?"
"Yes. But most people solve puzzles by gaming the system... finding the 'right' answer the puzzle wants rather than the truth. You chose truth every time, even when it was uncomfortable." She gestured to the scrolls. "Do you want to know what I learned?"
"That depends. Is it going to make me self-conscious for the next week?"
She smiled. "Probably. But knowledge is still valuable."
"Hit me with it."
She picked up the first scroll. "You're intelligent, but you weaponize self-deprecation to avoid people's expectations. You'd rather be underestimated than fail to meet inflated assumptions."
"That's... accurate."
Second scroll: "You've built Ashenhearth as much for yourself as for others. You needed proof that broken things can be made beautiful. The fortress is your argument with self-worth."
"Also accurate. Also uncomfortable."
Third scroll: "You collect people who are lonely or damaged because they reflect what you see in yourself. You're building a family of the broken, and in protecting them, you're trying to prove you were worth protecting too."
I sat down heavily. "Is there a fourth scroll, or are three existential realizations the limit?"
She set down the scrolls and moved to sit beside me. "There is a fourth observation, but it's not about weakness... it's about strength."
"I'm listening."
"You're genuinely kind. Not performatively kind to earn approval, but deeply, instinctively kind because you remember what it felt like to be alone and in pain. That kindness is your actual power... more than your strength, more than your intelligence. It's why people gravitate to you. Why we Oni came here looking for something real and found it in you."
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then: "That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me while simultaneously psychoanalyzing me."
She laughed, the sound light and genuine. "I'm Oni. We're efficient. Why waste time being either kind or analytical when you can be both?"
The labyrinth dissolved around us, returning us to the regular library where this had started. But something had changed between us, an understanding born from being seen completely and accepted anyway.
"So," I said, "did I pass your personal trial?"
"You transcended it. Again." She stood, offering her hand. "You have a pattern of turning challenges into growth opportunities. It's impressive and occasionally frustrating for those of us trying to test you."
I took her hand, letting her pull me up. "What can I say? I'm bad at doing things the expected way."
"Good. Expected is boring." She held my hand a moment longer than necessary. "Knox Ashford, you are brilliant, damaged, kind, and real. I would be honored to stand with you. To help build this place. To..." She hesitated, vulnerability flickering across her features. "To belong somewhere."
"You already belong here. All three of you do."
"I know. But it's nice to hear anyway." She squeezed my hand once, then released it. "Now come. Yuzuriha has made something called 'breakfast fusion cuisine' and I'm ninety percent sure it's going to be either transcendent or poisonous. We should probably supervise."
"That's not reassuring."
"It's not meant to be. Welcome to having Oni in your life."
As we left the library, I felt the weight of the insights she'd shared settling into place. Uncomfortable, yes. But also clarifying. Sometimes you needed someone smart enough to see through your defenses and kind enough to help you understand what they found there.
Through the bonds, multiple voices:
Nyx: I like her. She makes you think.
Lira: She's terrifying. In a good way.
Pip: Did she really psychoanalyze you in puzzle form?
Siraq: That's the most Oni thing I've ever heard.
"Yes to all of that," I muttered.
Momo glanced at me. "Your bonds are commenting?"
"Extensively."
"Good. You should have people who care enough to commentate on your life. It means you matter to them."
"That's a surprisingly optimistic take."
"I contain multitudes. Just like you." She grinned. "Now hurry. Kasumi has apparently challenged Yorrik to something called an 'eating contest' and I want to see how this disaster unfolds."
We emerged into the dining hall to find exactly that: Kasumi and Yorrik facing off across a table laden with enough food to feed a small army, while a crowd of bear kin and fairies cheered them on.
Yuzuriha was indeed in the kitchen, her "breakfast fusion" turning out to be an elaborate spread that combined Oni cuisine, bear kin traditional foods, fairy delicacies, and things I couldn't identify but smelled incredible.
Nyx lounged in her throne, overseeing the chaos with regal satisfaction.
And Siraq caught my eye from across the hall, raising her cup in a small salute that said Welcome to your life. It's beautiful and insane.
I raised my own cup in return.
Momo was right. I'd built a family of broken, lonely people who'd found each other in a murder-forest and decided that together, they could be something worth keeping.
[MOMO'S TRIAL: PASSED]
[INSIGHT GAINED: SELF-AWARENESS +10]
[RELATIONSHIP WITH ONI: SOLIDIFIED]
[ASHENHEARTH STATUS: CHAOTIC GOOD]
[FAMILY DYNAMICS: MAXIMUM COMPLEXITY]
[BREAKFAST: POSSIBLY POISONOUS BUT DELICIOUS]
"Yeah," I said to myself, joining the celebration. "This is my life now."
And despite everything... the complexity, the chaos, the constant emotional revelations, I wouldn't trade it for anything.