Eli's Perspective:
I help Adrian down the elevator, even though he complains the entire time. He tries to act fine. The pain is obvious. He struggles to stay upright. I keep my arm around him, supporting his weight.
I look into his eyes. There is a distant, beaten look there.
"What happened after I lost consciousness?" he asks as we descend.
"Well," I say, "Teruki activated a world edit to counter the slimes, and then she collapsed. After that, Shino and the Queen merged."
"Where is she? Where is Shino?"
"Where do you think I am taking you, dumbass?"
The guild feels hollow. It is quiet. We had all gotten used to Teruki cooking and Viri arguing with Rei about pointless things. Even Sera has not been doing well. She kept checking in on Adrian while he slept. She sat beside him most nights. She would always leave before he woke up. It felt like she wanted to speak to him but could not bring herself to do it. I knew what she wanted to say. She wasn't ready. Not yet. Not ready to reveal what had happened.
We leave through the back of the guild hall. We pass through the kitchen and step into the small courtyard behind the building.
The noon sun shines brightly. I raise a hand to shield my eyes. It has been a while since I last saw the sun. It feels different for too many reasons.
Shino notices us. She turns, and a small dejected look crosses her face. Adrian sees it and tries to give her a soft smile.
"Shino," he says with a heavy sigh.
"Who?"
"I am sorry."
Shino turns fully. Her face is clear now. I watch Adrian's heart break in real time. His eyes gloss over and his legs weaken. I see him cycle through several emotions at once. First shock, then pain, then sadness, then reluctant acceptance.
I told him they merged. They did. He looks devastated. There is a strange calm in him too.
Shino's mana. The Slime Queen's mana. Their mana is incredible. It is pure and quiet, almost serene. It is white, almost clear, and hard to see. With the amount she now contains, I am shocked I do not feel sick.
I think back to the fight. Even before the world edit, even with my mana restricted, I did not feel any sickness at all.
"Ah! Don't give up! You're heavy!"
I sat him down on the back steps. He lets out a long breath of relief as some of the pain fades.
"Even if you do not remember me," he whispers.
"Stop being so sad," Shino says with a laugh. "I was joking!"
"You're awful," Adrian coughs. He then laughs.
"So what happened while I was out?"
"I am sure Eli told you that the Queen and I merged, but that is not all. We became one being. I can see all of her memories, and all the memories of the people she absorbed."
Shino looks away.
"Caleb's?" Adrian asks quietly.
"Yes."
Adrian looks exhausted in a different way, as if his heart is tired.
"Are there any other differences you notice?"
"Rei and Viri have been helping me practice magic. I'm not Shino anymore. I can't say that ..."
"Don't apologize," Adrian interrupts. "You are my friend. Whether you have Shino's memories or not, whether you are twenty percent her or fifty percent, to me you are still Shino. If you need to use magic, that is up to you. You can stay in our guild! If G2 can help you improve, then it is your choice."
A look of relief crosses her face, and she smiles.
"I would say I am sixty percent the person she was. Part of the deal I made with the Queen to keep this much of my consciousness was that I can only use magic. Because of that, I can't touch weapons."
"All weapons," Adrian says. "What about staffs?"
"Even those, unfortunately. But my experience in hand to hand and stealth will surely help."
"She is incredible," Rei adds. "It seems her mana core is constantly leaking, emptying itself and immediately refilling with more mana."
"My mana core can only hold so much," Shino says. "Because of that, I don't think I can use more mana until I improve my core. The charging is basically instant, but the core itself strains."
"She is basically a glass cannon," Rei continues. "She can use maybe one or two heavy skills before she passes out. She recharges instantly, but the pressure on her core is too much."
"Small level skills or anything that pulls lightly from my supply, like flying or barriers, are easy to maintain," Shino says.
"She also can't die," Viri adds. "At least not to physical attacks."
Viri picks up a small katana. Shino lifts her hand. Viri slices her palm. Her hand reforms immediately, the same way the Queen once did. Adrian's face twists with confusion before settling into quiet shock.
"Does that mean," Adrian asks, "that mana drain or anti magic would hurt you?"
"Yes. It is like a poison to me. I am not sure how anti magic works on this new body yet."
"What do you think, Queen?" Viri asks.
"After reviewing my memories," Shino says, "I am very interested in this Pendant. The fact she was able to create such magic should be impossible."
"Can you replicate it?" Rei asks.
"As with our fight, I would need to see it at least once," Shino answers.
"I also have a question," Adrian continues. "If you die, will mana cease to exist? The way I understood it was that the Slime Queen was the manifestation of used mana. The more magic humans used, the more slimes would appear."
"I'm not a heavenly dragon or an old dragon," Shino says. "If I were to die, the mana would complete its life cycle and return to raw energy."
"If you're energy," I ask, "does that mean you won't physically age?"
"Unfortunately, I am stuck like this," she says. "I can make myself look older."
Her form shifts. Her hair grows longer. She grows taller. But it is still obviously Shino.
"Or younger," she says, returning to normal. "But my main form will always be this visage."
Rei crosses her arms. "I'm sure there is more about you that we don't know yet. It's indisputable. Shino has the most magic out of anyone in the tower."
"I wouldn't say that. Whenever I touch a mana crystal, it's still my old rating."
"An infinite well is still infinite, regardless of how small the opening is," Adrian mutters.
Shino laughs softly.
"I'm just happy we beat you," Viri sighs.
"If I wanted to win, I would have made an infinite mana barrier and let you all starve. But truthfully… since it's been so long, I wanted to see the world."
She looks at Adrian.
"And Adrian… I am sorry."
"Is that you speaking, or the Slime Queen?"
"I feel nothing but sorrow about Calder's death and your eye after seeing Shino's memories."
"Thank you, Slime Queen." Adrian turns to me. "What happened with the rest of my guild?"
"They went back to your base to tell Ania what happened. Why don't you stay here until you're well enough to leave?"
"Perfect. That gives Shino a chance to decide what she wants to do."
"I've already made up my mind," Shino replies. "I want to go back to Crusaders."