There is no Epic Loot here, Only Puns.

Chapter 204: The Heart of A Giant

Delta watched as Nina, well most of her, and Estal seemed to be getting along like a house on fire with innocents all around them fleeing in terror as the two complained about men, work, other women, children, life, and the hassle of death. The mood in the usually down-to-earth bar changed to something electric as the two ordered 'badass girl' cocktails, Fera stared at them as she held pig livers and toxic flowers before shoving them into crystal decanters and began to blend them into something drinkable with grumbles about needing 'dainty glasses'.

There was a strong urge to join them like Delta was back in high school and the popular girl table had open space and she, the quiet anxious teenager Delta, desperately wanted to be invited by them but she resisted the urge to manifest.

She was on a mission.

Focusing, Delta looked over Estal in an effort to find that elusive self-echo of a Shape, but other than the faint flows of her Mana at times, Estal didn't have one. There was an odd crackle of dark lightning near her chest but it was never around long enough to be anything other than a flicker. Estal simply didn't have a Shape. Delta supposed that would make sense if Shapes were rare among people.

"If Estal ever gets a Shape, I fully expect them to manifest as god-killer high heels," Delta nodded to herself.

Delta expected Nina to be the same way honestly. However, when she peered at the nearest clone of the girl, she staggered back as immense pressure filled her mind as the Shape was like a sixth-dimensional puzzle left undone, some parts having six connecting pieces, others only having two, and a single clone who was eating a napkin having a single 'edge'. The image was wild and connected to some very far-away pieces with twists on the edge her vision couldn't quite follow.

Trying to peer at Nina's Shape in its entirety was headache-inducing except for one part. A dark, almost burned missing section that should be between excited Nina, desiring Nina, and focused Nina. A black-burned-out shape that looked not just gone, but ripped out harshly. It was like a black hole in an otherwise colorful picture and in that void, something was staring back.

As Delta turned her attention to it, it vanished into the maze of other pieces, moving into the darker and less used Ninas as camouflage. Delta lost track of it within seconds. If Delta wanted to find it and expose whatever it was, she would need every piece of Nina laid out in a line. Every single piece being as folded out as it could. If she counted roughly off-hand, that was close to three hundred... ish Ninas existing at one time.

Delta winced as the headache of the 'not-quite-Dungeon' vision took a hard toll on her. It was even worse than overindulging in Dungeon space.

Still, any information Delta could grab on Shapes and their power to fight the Silence (or empower it) was worth a small headache. The more data and reference points she could locate or study would help her find Durence's Shape but also perhaps how to help her own monsters grow theirs without any issues.

"Okay, time to go full scientific method on... self-concepts and the manifestation of it as a tool. Easy," she declared and Fera shot her a look and the gaze was filled with all sorts of questions.

Delta just looked back with a total 'yes and why not'.

In fact, Delta just thought of an excellent sample group!

She turned and shot past the boss room down to the second floor, hovering over the area with her eyes closed as she tugged at certain strings to get the attention of their owners. Slowly, the group formed as Delta grinned at the Frogs and Renny as they arrived at the Hotsprings that Luna lovingly took care of.

Seeing them together was staggering under her 'between' vision due to the simple range of different Shape developments they offer. Giant the Bridge Guardian had little to no Shape development which seemed to be coming from a lack of personal growth and desire to change, Luna had some, but it seemed to be taking far longer as she was not defining herself simply as a frog but as a location. Devina was quite developed as her Shape included spirits and birds, giving her some power in that area, but Delta could see it hadn't hit that level where it formed an identity.

Gramps the Chief was like Giant but she chalked that up to the fact the old frog didn't like strangers and never left his cave, like a young teenager who found showering optional.

But her eyes went wide when she fully took in Rale and Renny, finding they were on a whole other level.

"Yes, I have done my third lap of the river just now!" Rale flexed as if thinking Delta noticed a slight change in his muscular body, or noticed a single, more protruding vein there or here.

Delta's mouth dropped open as Rale's aura washed over her with the raging force of a river but at the same time, she felt a little safe as if she had an inflatable ring around her hips. The feeling was that the river was not simply across the jungle in between two cliffs, flowing in one direction, but was literally standing before her in the shape of a Frog.

Rale was a source of life, protection, and progression.

He was also easily prone to overflowing, taking back what he gave, and being utterly oblivious to those who desired him, his nature to always be on the move. It was also like opening her eyes in a chlorine pool so she blinked away from Rale to Renny who was doodling in a notebook about skeleton clown formations, rattling tiger boxes, and highwires made of hair and sinew.

He looked just like Renny to Delta's new vision but all around him was a nightmare of grinning delights, a multi-handed muscular ghoul with its mouth perpetually wide open as it adjusted things that Delta still couldn't see such as a motion to counter Renny's leaning posture so he could lean on thin air or a constant small barrier that was smoothed down by five of its arms like a bubble, and dozen more things Renny had to be constantly aware of on some level.

Running over Renny's Shape were dozens of chains, ropes, and even some prayer beads, stopping it from ever truly flexing itself.

"Oh," Delta mused as she saw the chains were turning orange.

If this was some show, perhaps a very colorful show with strong animation, Delta might expect Renny's Shape to appear with a sudden title like 'Demonic Buddha of the Unseen Underworld' or 'Say Nothing At All' or some other weird song title like that.

"She's all cross-eyed," Luna commented and Devina shot her a look.

"Delta is seeing things beyond our knowing," she chided the other Frog and Delta had to quickly refocus her gaze so she stopped going cross-eyed and appeared wise.

"Apologies, I'm studying the source of your gifts and how you've developed them," she said and tried to politely not look at Giant and Gramps who looked curious.

"My muscular gift is plain to measure," Rale promised. Devina eyed him and Delta only heard what she said because Delta was the air they all breathed.

"Let me recount them for consistency's sake," she mumbled and Delta shot her shamanistic frog a scandalous look. It was then a wave of glistening water washed over Rale to give him a sheen. That was... that was direct Shape usage!

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"Do that again!" she sort of 'demanded' of Rale who blinked then looked sheepish.

"I uh... don't make it happen on purpose. I just sometimes wish to glimmer like a star of the jungle and I get wet!" he explained with a shrug, still dripping.

Devina muttered something again and Delta turned to her, face crimson.

"I can hear you!" she cried and the frog went very quiet then vanished into the jungle at breakneck speeds.

Renny waved a hand.

He looked at Delta and a dozen things changed under his control. A nearby chair became lighter, two invisible barriers smoothed into place, and Renny's bubble became ridged with spikes and he looked to be holding something like a baseball bat.

His control was... insane. His Shape flexed and bent, making it all happen without any indication on Renny's side, but when he needed to trade speed for subtlety, he used his hands to match the Shape, overlaying its ghostly form with his own, causing him to mime his actions.

"How are you doing all that?" Delta asked, leaning in closer with a curious expression. Luna looked around and immediately tripped over one of the invisible barriers but she rolled it off with grace and indifference.

Renny paused, then directed a memory of absolute darkness, being bored out of his skull after burying all that he loved in the collapsed circus, flexing and using his talents to pluck worms out of the earth to sustain himself over the years.

"I... are you sure you don't want me to make you a therapist?" she asked and Renny shook his head, he turned his book around to show a little hat and bowtie for Wilhem the massive gorilla, the only living member of Renny's original circus.

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"No therapy... only pet outfits," Delta said slowly.

"I have trauma, can I get stuff?" Luna asked brightly. Delta shot her a confused look.

"What trauma?" she asked, looking at the happy frog monster. Luna lifted a little of the kimono she wore, showing a partially chewed pair of shoes.

"I don't know anything you'd let chew your shoes and not have you kick them right in the face," Delta admitted, a little confused. Silently. Luna pointed to a tree where the small form of Lyre, the new floor guardian, watched them all in her silent unblinking human form.

The utterly creepy thing was the horde of Pygmy Mushrooms in the trees above her, chanting ominously at her presence.

Lyre had no Shape, so new that she was barely showing any signs of development but what baffled Delta was the Pygmies.

They had a Shape.

A singular Shape between all of them. It looked like a golden woman with battle-armor with massive gambeson-like buttons and a long silver snake coming down around her neck and a billowing skirl of smoke and mysterious movements. The face was covered in a sheen of light making any feature impossible to make out.

As Pygmies came together or split off, the figure grew firmer or lost cohesion. It was a bit shapely with hips that could carry an army.

It also had a huge butt for some reason.

She tried to put it into her menu and got the same sort of gibberish that Fran gave her.

The Mighty Mother.

Does she see us? Hear us? Love us? Would she die for us?

The questions do not matter. We See. We hear. We love. We would.

Hair to weave the glorious image. Celebration to sanctify it. Promises to sustain it.

From us to our children. The Mother is always.

From us to our enemies. The Mother is always.

"That feels vaguely like something I should address before someone's skin ends up as a tapestry," Delta muttered.

The avatar turned and Delta jumped in surprise as instead of a back, there was simply another Shape.

A dark blue figure with long claws made of bone. The shadows and darkness moving over it hide most of it, but when skirmishes or fights broke out in the Pygmies, it moved its weird claws, making them quiet down. It was watching them all with its moving hundred eyes and Delta shivered as it grew stronger the more agitated the Pygmies grew despite its efforts to quiet them down.

The Cold Shadow

He knows us. He sees us. He would use us.

But we accept this for all is for the Mother. He tempts us to act on instinct while the mother wants us to think. To act and be the beasts we are or to rise above and be loved. We struggle, but it's a good struggle. We weave or we hunt.

We are shadows or we are hunters.

The moon smiles.

"Then again, at least I'm not the symbolic Lucifer in this tale," Delta decided and turned away.

She nearly jumped as Giant loomed over her.

"Mother... I... should I be gifted?" he asked in a small voice that was at odds with his large frame.

"What do you mean?" Delta asked, taken aback in surprise.

"Others made you look strange for a long time. I did not. They have something that makes you happy or curious. I do not," he summed up and it was hard to argue with that.

Delta really needed to work on her expressions when she was peering at concepts. It was worse than her poker face which was already bad enough to circle back around to being a godly bluff.

No one could predict Delta if even Delta didn't know where the heck she was.

"It's not that, Giant. You do have the potential. It's just not there yet," she said, patting his head. The gift of levitation was very good for head pats.

"How do I grow?" he asked, trying to find some concrete answer to a problem Delta only figured out was a thing this very day.

"You need experiences, you need to define yourself against others," Delta said, thinking about it as Luna huffed.

"Stop living under a bridge," she translated to the giant frog who turned thoughtful.

"I like my bridge, it has all my things and I know where it begins and where it ends," he pointed out and Luna shot him a look then clicked her tongue. It was a lot louder than humans due to the fact frog tongues had more power to it.

"Just... don't grow or do things because you think you should. That might actually stunt your growth," Delta cautioned.

"But I just want to lay around and listen to the jungle," Giant admitted.

"Then why is this an issue?" Luna grumbled but Gramps finally spoke up.

"He is torn between comfort and the lust for growth, to be seen as important. Not everyone is handed a hot spring," the old frog reminded.

"He was handed a bridge!" Luna protested. They argued and it clicked. Luna had things to do around the spring! The secret garden with the herbs and mixes, her secret ninja training, and chatting with Wyin.

It was multifaceted, so she would just need to do the same for Giant!

Giant could be her case study!

Which sounded strange.

Instead, Giant could be her first... student! The word made her glow, literally and Luna shielded her eyes.

"Help, Mom is going supernova again," she cried and Delta couldn't help it, she was suddenly so excited!

--

In the core room. The symbol of the mushroom on the core itself shifted, the mushroom stem becoming blocky with pockmarks with hints of dust falling off it.

--

"-then she just ups and goes 'I don't need any of you. I'm the true Nina. Then she teleports away with some doohicky!" Sassy Nina complained and Estal couldn't believe the audacity of Nina being so rude to Nina. Nina needed a hard slap and dragged her back by her hair to Nina to apologize for giving Nina such trouble.

"Trust no one, not even yourself," Estal stated with a slur to her words.

She looked down at the odd drink she didn't order. It looked like a deep orange liquid that seemed fruity-woody-nutty-meaty-medicinal.

"What's this?" she asked as Nina leaned away from it as if the drink was a dangerous monster.

"Delta Surprise. Everyone gets one," the goblin bartender grunted.

"Why does it keep changing colors, consistency, and texture?" she asked, confused.

"It's a surprise and I'll headbutt you if you ask what kind of surprise," Fera warned and stalked off.

"I like her when I'm not trying to Dungeon this place, we need more straight-to-business bartenders!" Estal declared and raised her glass.

"To the bartender!" she declared.

"I'll smother you if you spill that drink," was the response. Estal downed the whole thing in one go and Nina gagged in a way one only could when they saw a liquor that almost killed them once. All at once, her toes and fingers began to tingle as she felt the room was getting further away.

No, wait she was floating!

"I am the queen of the sky lizards! Bow to me, Ninas! Nini? Plural of Nina!" she declared as the wonderful sensation of being loved and hugged surrounded her. This was what it felt like to get a hug from someone without ulterior motives.

Estal sort of hated it! Where did she stick the dagger of betrayal? Where was the contract almost signing her away as some wife of an inbred idiot? Where was the trick that came with this treat?!

She floated through a spiderweb and the court of spiders all raised their tiny glasses in toast as she passed by.

"Oh no! I didn't bring my upper-crust pants! Don't look at me, your lordhips and ladies!" she wailed as she covered her eyes from the fancy spiders.

---

Sassy Nina watched as Estal bumped into the roof and began to sob. Fera handed her a broom.

"Poke her to a corner before she runs into a candle," the goblin ordered.

"Got it covered," Nina said and held up her hand, showing a string wrapped around her fingers that ended up around Estal's foot. She got the string on as soon as Estal began to float.

"That drink is a menace," she told Fera who looked thoughtful.

"I think it's cathartic. I think it's trying to help you see how to think about your problems. Take ice cube up there. She needs to cry more," Fera said and Nina raised her brow.

"How did splitting me into a hundred copies help me?" she asked sarcastically.

"Maybe you need to find out what's at the bottom of your barrel of monkeys. Maybe you're missing something you can only see when it's all put on the table. I don't know. I'm not paid to fix your problems. I'm barely paid to listen to you all complain," Fera huffed and walked off.

Sassy raised her glass to Earnest and indicated she needed another drink. Earnest, Diligent, and Busy were all working today, cleaning plates and sweeping the place.

Sassy would drink for them!

"So elegant!" Estal continued to sob to a cobweb stuck to her face.

Sassy liked Estal, but this was going right into the ammunition bag when they got into another little spat.