NOVEL NEXT 38: The Rewinders
"Glory?" I repeated. "What does that mean? Does it only work within the store like the watch?"
"Ye, it only works inside the Superstore," Kirra shrugged, the movement causing her feathers to ripple. "The arrow points to challenges. Opportunities. Dangerous but rewarding paths." Her claws traced the ornate silver and gold casing with the superstore logo on the back. "It led us to Aisle 45'217 where we found Kale's bracelet, which works outside of the store. We found the watch first, then the compass."
"The compass leads to whatever we need most," Katerina added. "But the paths it indicates are never easy. Always guarded by... things."
Nessy leaned forward, her nose twitching as she studied the compass. "It smells like... anticipation. And hunger. It's feeding on your desire for achievement."
"Nonsense," Kirra scoffed, though she reflexively tucked the compass back into her police uniform. "It's just a tool."
"A tool that's eating your ambition," Nessy insisted. "Little by little, leaving you hungry for more glory, more challenges, more risk. All of these items were created to lead you to your doom within the dungeon-store's domain."
Krysanthea rubbed her temples, her feathers flat against her head. "This is exactly what I feared. You've all been compromised. These damned artifacts are feeding on you."
"Oh yeah?" Katerina growled. "What of Alec's immortality and the dog's extra-sniffery? You gonna tell me that doesn't fuck with them in some way?"
"It doesn't," Nessy said. "Because we've created our own syntropic artifact with our pack-bond through positive vibes n' friendship!"
"What?" Katerina laughed. "Vibes and friendship?! Are you telling me that you've made your own artifact with… the magic of friendship? What is this, a children's cartoon? Please tell me you're not serious!"
"I'm totally serious," Nessy huffed. "The Mini-Mart Archmage taught us how to do it! Our pack bond created something powerful and unique, made not bought. Something that grows stronger rather than feeding on us. Our artifact feeds us 'cus it's made from our awesomesauce feelings for each other!"
Katerina's laughter died in her throat as she studied Nessy's earnest expression. "You really believe that shit, huh?"
"I know it," Nessy corrected. "I can smell the difference. Your artifacts feed the dungeon. Ours gives back to us."
A thought occurred to me as I watched the sisters. "Can you see your stats?" I asked suddenly. "Like, numbers floating in the air? Levels, skills?"
The three raptor sisters stared at me blankly.
"Stats?" Kirra repeated, her head tilting in confusion. "What?"
"Yes," I nodded. "Strength, agility, that sort of thing. Numerical values that represent your abilities."
Katerina's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"
"He means the System interface," Nessy explained, gesturing vaguely in the air. "Our pack can see our stats when Alec says 'Stats!'. Levels. Skills. Health points. The whole shebang."
"The whole what now?" Kaledoniya blinked.
I exchanged glances with Krysanthea, who seemed to be considering something deeply. After a moment, she nodded.
"Show them," she said.
I focused my attention, calling up the silver interface that had become so familiar. "Personal stats," I said aloud.
The now-familiar silvery text materialized in the air atop of my hand.
| Name: Alec Benoit Foster
| Species: Human (Reconstituted)
| Level: 2 (Manual level up to 3 available!)
| Core Affinity: Reconstitution
| Health: 100/100%
| Reconstitution: 22/100%
| Strength: 14
| Agility: 4
| Dexterity: 12
| Vitality: 36
| Charisma: 9
| Foresight: 2
| Intelligence: 37
| Wisdom: 30
| Skills: [Reconstitution], [Pack Leader], [Depictomancy], [Syntropic Fusion]
| Domain: Fort Pack LV 2 (Level up to 3 available!)
| Pack Members: Alec Foster (Leader), Nessy Whitepaw, Krysanthea Strand
Thankfully, the pack quests window didn't show up, since I wasn't sure what kind of a reaction it would cause in the raptors if they saw the 'blend in' quest that was asking me to pretend to be the local Alec.
"I don't see anything," Katerina said flatly, her eyes narrowing to suspicious slits. "Is this some kind of joke? Where am I supposed to look?"
"Wait, you really can't see it?" Nessy asked. "It's right there! Silver floaty text showing all of Alec's numbers and skills floating above his hand!"
Kirra waved her clawed hand through the space where my stats hovered. "There's literally nothing here, dog. Maybe your… artifact fried your brain."
Kaledoniya leaned forward, her feathers rising with curiosity. "What does it say? Can you read it to us?"
"It shows my level—currently 2 with an option to level up to 3," I explained. "Health at 100%, Reconstitution at 22%. Various attributes like Strength, Agility, and so on. And skills including Reconstitution, Pack Leader, Depictomancy, etc."
"Depictomancy?" Kaledoniya repeated, her head tilting.
"Drawing magic! It helps Alec draw our portraits filled with pack vibes," Nessy bobbed at my side.
"I can create syntropic connections by drawing portraits," I explained.
The youngest Strand sister's eyes lit up with undisguised interest. "That sounds neat!"
"But what's most important," Nessy interjected, bouncing slightly with excitement, "is that it also shows our domain—Fort Pack—and lists the pack members: Alec, me, and Kristi."
Katerina's head snapped toward Krysanthea, her feathers bristling. "You're part of their... pack?" The word seemed to taste sour in her mouth.
"Yes," Krysanthea replied simply, her posture straightening slightly as if preparing for a confrontation.
"Since when?" Katerina demanded.
"Since yesterday," Krysanthea said. "I… camped out with them both in Alec's grandfather's RV."
"Why would you do that? Don't tell me that you actually like that dog!" Katerina demanded.
"I got… hurt by the highway 69 dungeon," Kristi revealed. "Being in a pack with Alec and Nessy helped repair some of that damage."
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Kirra and Kaledoniya exchanged glances.
"So," Kirra began cautiously, "these pack bonds... they're, like, beneficial? They don't feed on you like you claim our artifacts do?"
"Correct," Nessy nodded enthusiastically. "It's symbiotic, not parasitic! We all get stronger together."
Krysanthea seemed to be considering something as she watched her sisters' reactions. After a moment, she straightened.
"I propose a solution," she said, her voice carrying the authority of her position. "Join our pack. All three of you."
Her sisters stared at her in stunned silence.
"What?" Katerina finally managed.
"What?" Nessy barked at the same time, glaring at Kristi. "Is your plan to out-raptor me with bigger numbers? Not cool, feather-face!"
"Join our pack," Krysanthea repeated, sending a 'you shush' glare at Nessy who crossed her arms. "If what Nessy says is true—and I've seen evidence to support it—then joining our team could potentially counteract whatever influence those damned Superstore artifacts have had on you."
"You want us to join a pack led by..." Katerina's eyes flicked to me, then to Nessy, her disdain evident, "...them?"
"Alec is the pack leader," Krysanthea corrected.
"That's worse!" Katerina hissed. "He's human!"
"Oi! You got something against humans?" Nessy demanded.
"Humans are… weak, slow," Katerina said.
Krysanthea sent her sister a murderous glare.
"I mean… some of the more intelligent ones can make good... house-husbands," Katerina tried to backpedal poorly under her older sister's gaze.
"Alec already survived situations that would have killed any of us," Krysanthea countered. "His ability to reconstitute—to come back from death—makes him uniquely suited to deal with Systemfall threats."
A tense silence fell over the room as the sisters processed this.
"How would we even join your pack?" Kaledoniya finally asked, her voice smaller than before. "Is there a ritual or something?"
"It requires an oath of allegiance," Krysanthea explained. "To Alec, as pack leader."
"An oath?" Katerina scoffed. "Like what?"
Krysanthea's amber eyes met Katerina's gold ones unflinchingly. "Like the one I made. Katerina, as the oldest after me, you should go first." She turned to me. "Alec, do you accept?"
"Uhhh… sure," I nodded, somewhat bewildered by the sudden turn of events but recognizing the value in having more Strand family raptors on my side.
"Kat," Krysanthea said firmly, "kneel and recite after me."
For a moment, I thought Katerina would refuse outright. Her face scales seemed to darken ever so slightly with suppressed rage, her claws flexing against her thighs. But something in Krysanthea's steady gaze must have reached her, because after several tense heartbeats, she slowly sank to one knee in front of me.
The gesture was stiff, reluctant, nothing like Krysanthea's fluid grace when she had knelt before me in the restaurant lobby.
"I, Katerina Dusk Strand," Krysanthea began.
"I, Katerina Dusk Strand," her sister repeated through clenched teeth.
"Hereby offer my allegiance to Alec Benoit Foster."
"Hereby offer my allegiance to Alec Benoit Foster," Katerina echoed, each word seeming to cost her considerable effort.
"As a daughter of the Lord Marshall of Ferguson."
"As a daughter of the Lord Marshall of Ferguson."
"I pledge to stand as his shield against all that would harm him."
"I pledge to stand as his shield against all that would harm him," Katerina continued, not sounding like she was into it at all.
"To guide him through the complexities of our world."
"To guide him through the complexities of our world."
"And to ensure his place within the boundary of this town and beyond it… forevermore."
"And to ensure his place within the boundary of this town and beyond it… forevermore." Katerina finished the oath, her amber-emerald eyes lifting to meet mine with an unreadable expression.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the air around us seemed to shimmer, silver light gathering—but instead of forming the expected Y/N companion offer connection, it coalesced into a floating message:
[Pack Merger Attempt Failed: Target "Katerina Dusk Strand" is already bound to an existing pack: "The Superstore Rewinders." Cross-pack affiliations are strictly prohibited by the Cosmic Homeowners Association bylaws, subsection 42-B. Would you like to file an appeal? Processing time approximated to: 3-5 business eons.]
"What the—" Kirra began, reading text that she could now clearly see.
"The Superstore Rewinders?" Krysanthea interrupted, her voice sharp as a blade.
"That's like a thing I call us," Kirra said, wagging her feathery tail slightly. "Just a joke. Dang though. I guess the System takes that kinda stuff seriously."
Nessy's nose twitched rapidly. "I smell... their connection now! Between all three of them." She pointed to the raptor sisters. "They've already formed their own pack through that rewind watch!"
Katerina took a step back, her hand instinctively moving to cover her calculator watch. "It's not... It wasn't intentional," she said, the first hint of uncertainty entering her voice. "The watch sorta wrote 'welcome to the Rewinders' on it when it rewound us the first time."
"And you didn't think to mention this to me?" Krysanthea's voice was dangerously quiet.
"Would you have understood?" Katerina shot back. "Or would you have just condemned it as Systemfall corruption without seeing its value? We've already secured a ton of resources this town desperately needs!"
"At what cost?" Krysanthea demanded. "What is the Superstore taking from you in exchange?"
Another silver message materialized in the air.
[Fun Fact: The Superstore membership contract (section 3.1.4) includes a "reasonable spiritual extraction fee" on all transactions. Side effects may include gradual soul erosion, dimensional displacement, and in rare cases, gradual evolution into shopping carts, aisles or store employees. But hey, those loyalty points add up! Just think of the savings!]
Nessy's eyes widened as she read the message. "Your souls," she whispered. "Just as I thought, it's taking pieces of your souls!"
"That's absurd," Katerina scoffed, though her scaled hand tightened around her watch. "We're perfectly fine!"
"Let me smell you properly," Nessy insisted, stepping closer to Katerina. "I can tell what it's doing to you."
Katerina recoiled. "Keep your wet nose away from me, dog."
"Katerina," Krysanthea growled. "Let her 'effing smell you."
For a moment, the two sisters stared at each other, a silent battle of wills playing out in the space between them. Finally, Katerina relented with a sharp nod.
Nessy approached cautiously, her nose working overtime as she circled the dark-scaled raptor. She inhaled deeply, her blue eyes closing in concentration.
"You've rewound... eight times," she said after a moment, her voice distant as if reading information from an invisible source. "Each time, a fragment remained behind. The watch... no, the spider inside the watch... It sucked out some of your blood and collected those fragments. It... Built a web of… soul anchors across the store. Connected the three of you through those threads." Her eyes opened, focusing on Katerina with unusual intensity. "You're perma-bound to the Superstore now. Part of you exists there, even when you're physically here in Ferguson."
Katerina's scales seemed to pale slightly, though her expression remained defiant. "So what if it does? We've gained power. Knowledge. Resources."
"But you're trapped," Nessy insisted. "The more you use that damned Rewind, the stronger the connection grows. Eventually..." She trailed off, her ears flattening against her head.
"Eventually what?" Kaledoniya asked, her hands trembling ever so slightly.
"Eventually, there won't be enough of you left here," Nessy finished quietly. "You'll be more there than here. You'll go shopping, get rewound one last time and… become some random part of the store like the System message said!"
A chill seemed to settle over the room as the three sisters processed this. Even Katerina's defiance appeared shaken.
[Would you like to know more about the Superstore's Customer Retention Program? Four out of five dimensional entities agree: "It's soul-satisfyingly effective!" The fifth entity couldn't be reached for comment as it now serves as Aisle 362'891's fluorescent lighting system.] The System commented.
"We need to break their connection to the Superstore," I said, the System's message confirming the doomed fate of Kristi's sisters. "Before it's too late."
"And how exactly do you propose to do that?" Katerina challenged.
"We go to the source!" Nessy said. "We visit the Superstore ourselves… and we punch the personnel resources manager in the face!"
"What?" Katerina sputtered. "How the shit do you…"
"Just smells like a thing that could help," Nessy shrugged, her tail wagging slightly.
"What if we take that watch off her and set it on fire, destroy it in the furnace?" Kristi asked, eyeing the calculator watch with an irate expression.
"Not gonna work," Nessy sniffed the watch. "It's already dug waaay deep into their souls with the whole Rewinders concept."
[New Quest Discovered: "Supermarket Sweep" - Infiltrate the Infinite Superstore and liberate the soul fragments of the Strand sisters from the watch-spider's web before they become permanent shelf stockers. Difficulty Rating: Probably Suicide. Reward: Three potentially grateful raptors and a 5% discount on your next online purchase (exclusions apply).]