My Overpowered Bunny Girls

The TCA camp had grown quieter by nightfall. The other parties had retreated to their tents to rest and process their rewards. The field where the portals had stood was empty now, the grass still bent where the black towers had risen. The sky was clear, filled with stars that seemed brighter than usual, as if the death of the Ashen Expanse had cleared away some old haze.

Nathan sat outside his tent, his three summons in their small forms around him. Mirko was curled against his leg, Kuro was a black shape on his other side, and Shiro was perched on a nearby crate with regal stillness. The Tower World Map Fragment glowed softly in his palm—a piece of something larger, its surface covered in lines and symbols Nathan didn’t yet understand.

Smithy approached quietly. He had been given his own tent near the party’s, still under watch but no longer treated as a prisoner. "You’re studying the fragment."

"It shows connections between Tower Worlds," Nathan said. "But I don’t recognize any of the symbols. It’s not a language I’ve seen before."

"Let me look." Smithy sat down across from Nathan. He studied the fragment for a long moment. Then his expression changed. "These are coordinates. But not spatial coordinates. They’re... narrative coordinates. Story positions. Each Tower World is connected to the others by the order they were consumed. The Shepherd consumed worlds in a specific sequence, and each World remembers what came before and what came after."

Nathan frowned. "Like Chapters in a book."

"Exactly like Chapters in a book." Smithy pointed at a cluster of symbols. "The Ashen Expanse was early. One of the first. That’s why it was so old, so faded. The King had been waiting so long." He traced a line to another symbol. "This one is next. The next World in the sequence. It’s marked differently—brighter, more active. The Shepherd’s influence is stronger there."

Nathan looked at the glowing symbol. "The Verdant Depths."

"The next Tower World in the sequence." Smithy nodded slowly. "It’s a world the Shepherd consumed after the Ashen Expanse. It will be different. More alive. More dangerous."

"Dangerous how?"

"The Ashen Expanse was already dead. That’s why the Clear Condition was about mercy. An ending. But the Verdant Depths..." Smithy paused. "The records said it was a world of overwhelming life. Nature had reclaimed everything. The Shepherd’s corruption there isn’t about decay—it’s about overgrowth. Life run wild. Life that won’t stop."

Nathan thought about that. A world that wouldn’t stop growing. A world consumed by its own vitality. That was a different kind of horror.

"We’ll need to prepare," Nathan said. "But first, we need to understand more about how we cleared the Ashen Expanse so quickly. The other parties were confused. I was confused. We just followed the path and made a choice."

Smithy was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "I’ve been thinking about that. The Tower Worlds respond to something. The records called it ’resonance.’ Some Climbers have it. Most don’t. The last expedition that entered the Ashen Expanse didn’t have it. They wandered for twenty years and died."

"Resonance?"

"The ability to understand what a Tower World is trying to tell you. To see the path it’s offering." Smithy met Nathan’s eyes. "You have it. Maybe it comes from Your special ability to summon these demi beast warriors. I don’t know. But you have it, and it’s why the Ashen Expanse opened itself to you. It’s why the King chose to speak to you instead of attacking."

Nathan stared at the map fragment. The symbols glowed in the starlight. "So I’m a key."

"Maybe. Or the Demi-Beast lineage you’ve inherited." Smithy shrugged. "The important thing is that the Tower Worlds will respond to you. They’ll offer you paths that other Climbers can’t see. But that also means the Shepherd will know where you are. He’ll feel you moving through his creation."

Nathan thought about the flower field. The Shepherd’s voice. Fight hard, young soul. Or I shall consume you too.

"Then we need to move carefully," Nathan said. "We can’t just charge into the Verdant Depths without understanding what we’re walking into."

"Agreed. We need more information. More research. The TCA has archives on Tower Worlds that haven’t been accessed in years." Smithy stood up. "I can help. I know how the Court gathered intelligence. I know what to look for."

Nathan nodded. "Tomorrow. We start tomorrow."

Smithy walked toward his tent, leaving Nathan alone with his summons. The stars were very bright. The night was very quiet.

Mirko stirred against his leg. ’Master. You are worried.’

"I’m always worried."

’This is different. You’re worried about something specific.’

Nathan looked up at the stars. "The Shepherd consumed worlds in a sequence. The Ashen Expanse was one of the first. The Verdant Depths is next. But the map fragment is incomplete—there are dozens more symbols, dozens more Worlds. We’re climbing through the Shepherd’s memories. His trophies. And he’s watching us do it."

’Then let him watch,’ Kuro said quietly. ’He is bound by rules. He cannot act directly.’

"Not yet. But the Cleansing weakened those rules. Fester was working to break them completely. We stopped him, but the damage is done. The Shepherd is closer to freedom now than he’s been in centuries."

Shiro shifted on her crate. "The Young Lord carries the ember. The fire that refuses to die. Whatever the Shepherd has planned, he will find us ready."

Nathan looked at his summons. His partners. His family. "We need to be more than ready. We need to understand what we’re fighting. The Shepherd has been playing this game for millennia. We’ve been playing for months."

"Then we learn faster," Mirko said. Her pink eyes were bright. "We are excellent learners. Especially me."

’You are an adequate learner,’ Kuro said.

"I am an EXCELLENT learner! I learned to be a Knight in days! I learned to use Dragon’s Fang in hours! I am a learning MACHINE!"

’You are a loud machine.’

"Loudness is not a learning disability!"

Nathan felt himself smile despite everything. The banter was familiar. Grounding. It reminded him why they were fighting.

"Get some rest," he said. "Tomorrow, we start digging into the archives. We need to know everything about the Verdant Depths before we enter."

Nathan stood up and walked toward his tent. The starry sky stretched above him. The TCA camp was quiet. And somewhere, in the darkness between worlds, the Shepherd was waiting.

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