The Long Peace

So, Haalfrin allows some years to pass by in relative peace. As time goes on, he and the Queen even start exchanging citizens every now and then in order to visit the other side and improve relations.

Although in small groups, a few Ants would come up to the Valor Hall and spend time there, while a few Arkin would go down below with big arms full of alcohol that they brought with them from the Death Realm – extra supplies the Rehkin had donated to them to help pass the time.

It quickly becomes obvious to the Arkin that the young ants had never had alcohol or any other delicacies before.

Needless to say, with them all being faced with temptations they don't know what to do with, intoxication and chronic drunkenness become common vices among the Ants.

You could say that all of the Ants learn how to really *have a good time*.

What? Did you think this is referring to anything inappropriate? No way would Dakka allow any of the Arkin to sleep with any of the Ants, seeing as how the girls are all fragments of his wife's soul. Having someone lie down with one would be akin to his wife cheating on him.

Now, "Having a good time" was referring to their ability to entertain themselves and forget their days in a drunken haze.

Rampant alcoholism aside, the Ants are also taught various trades by the Arkin, like PROPER farming, forging, and even culinary arts.

The Ants are especially keen on learning how to cook. When they realize that their diet can be more exciting than fruits, they're so happy that they're over the moon.

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One day, Kaalhyme and a few of his closest friends are walking through the green corn fields that the Ants had made. Off to the side of the fields is a large mill with a huge stone block and a few hundred Ants diligently turning the will around – crushing huge swaths of corn into flour.

While the mill is being worked, thousands more are neatly arranging the new corn stalks and making sure they grow straight.

Kaalhyme notices that while it's mostly the older Ants who are working, most of the younger ones are running between the tall stalks and playing hide and seek.

"Oi!" one of the working Ants yells at a child who bumped into her. "You! YES, YOU! Get over here! Get back to work like you're supposed to!"

"Bleh!" the child spits at her elder 'sister'. "I said my name's Jenna, Arri! The pointy ears say that every individual gets their own name, so don't call me 'you'!"

"When did I say my name was Arri!?" the older one snaps. "Don't waste time giving people names and just get back to work."

Seeing the child ignoring her and continuing to look for her friends, 'Arri' just scowls and grabs the child by the shoulder. "Listen, girl! You can waste time playing when the work is done. You need to know how I do it so that you can take over for me when I'm old in a few years."

This is a valid concern since the Ants, as a race, normally have a short life span – only a dozen years or so. Of course, the Queen is an exception since she lost her ability to age when her soul was fragmented.

The little girl quickly ignores 'Arri' and runs away in another direction after breaking out of her arms.

Kaalhyme and his friends were watching this, and 'Arri' looks up at him – waving politely. Once they approach her, she does a short bow. "Hello, friends!"

The Arkin next to Kaalhyme flinch – especially at being called friends. Still, they return the greeting – albeit, more awkwardly.

For the Arkin, whose living memory included being mercilessly ripped apart and eaten alive (among other things), this "abrupt" change in the Ant population is rather disconcerting. It just feels… unreal… and awkward…

From the Arkins' perspective, the war ended just the other day. From the Ants' perspective, the war with the 'demons' is just a myth – some story used to scare the young ones into submission.

And so, one of Kaalhyme's friends nods at 'Arri' politely before saying, "We were just looking around. No need to mind us. Good day, ma'am."

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Many more years pass, and we see Haalfrin sitting by his window with Freyya on his lap eating a piece of cake; for a change, the cake has nuts on it.

"Perhaps peace is really going to be an option, Haalfrin. Those Ants look pretty content down there, so they might not need war anymore," Freyya says blandly. "Are you planning on just wasting away here until you age to death?"

Haalfrin sighs heavily. "What choice do I have? I'm not the type of person to ruin someone else's happiness just for my own sake; and I wouldn't just be hurting Dakka. I'd also be hurting all the Ants, the Rehkin, AND the Arkin. It's not good to create war."

Haalfrin looks at Freyya through the side of his eyes. "You don't seem very concerned. I thought you wanted me to die in battle?"

"…Oh? You didn't know?" Freyya looks at him with a blank face. "Oh… I guess I never told you. Sorry that I forgot."

"What is it?"

"When you split Das's blessing a long time ago and stuffed part of it in your Dra Name, you've basically given yourself an unlimited lifespan. You don't really have to worry about aging to death – not for a VERY long time, anyway."

She looks up and chortles, "You don't know, since you haven't been keeping track of the time here, but you've been in this grey battlefield longer than any human should be able to live – even a 6th Gate mage like yourself."

Haalfrin is stunned. Even though this is good news, he can't bring himself to laugh or smile, though he doesn't know why immediately. "So… that means that Dakka and Fina will be stuck in this battlefield forever?"

"Almost forever, assuming nothing goes wrong."

"Ugh," Haalfrin stands up with disgust, and he sets Freyya down on the chair he was just occupying. "I'll get back to training my Fel Name."

"Look on the bright side," Freyya chirps happily, "At least learning the Advanced Fel Name isn't nearly as dangerous as the Dra Name!"

"It's dangerous to my mental health, dear."

"…That's true," Freyya covers her smile with a few parted fingers and says. "You do hate science and math, and Fel has a lot of science and math needed to manipulate it properly."

When Haalfrin shuts the door behind him, he hears his wife's voice from behind the door, "Study hard! DO YOUR HOMEWORK!"

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After many MORE long years, Haalfrin finally makes a breakthrough on his Names, and his Fel Name glowed brightly – growing in size to match the other 5 larger Runes in his soul.

At last, his Fel Name has Advanced. The only thing left to do is get his 7th Name and become a god.

Freyya and Fisco, being his two Contractors, are the first people to feel the change in his soul. Freyya, being a goddess, is the first to reach him.

Abruptly, the woman barges into his room with a bright smile on her face. "You did it!? That was faster than I thought."

As Haalfrin sits down with her and pours them both cups of wine, he asks, "So…How old is this wine now?"

"How would I know how old the wine is?" Freyya asks with a chuckle.

"I locked them away when I started training my Fel Name, and I swore that I'd drink the bottle with you once I succeeded. So, how old's the wine now?"

Freyya looks up and casts a quick spell to make her recall her memory better. "Let's see… With your meetings with the Queen happening every 10 years, and with you having met with her 72 times since you've started your training… It's been about 720 years… You can add a few years on that to be more accurate."

"Ah…," Haalfrin sighs, "The older I get, the shorter a century sounds to me - much less, 700."

"So said every old person." Freyya rolls her eyes. "I mean, look at those hairs. Are those streaks of grey?"

"I'm not getting old; they're stress hairs," Haalfrin protests.

"Oh, don't worry Haalfrin! Men who physically take good care of themselves like you usually look great while they're middle-aged. In fact, you look more than great! Your charm has only increased. I hope you look a little older like this forever in the Death Realm."

Haalfrin knows very well by now that Freyya is a little grossed out by men with baby faces.

"I know!" Haalfrin laughs, "you've become more *enthusiastic* in recent years."

"Mmmm."

"Anyway, my charm isn't what I was worried about," Haalfrin reminds her, "Despite having this absurdly long life-span you've told me about, I'm already showing grey hairs. Tell me… How long has this war really been going on?"

"Eh… You sure you want to know?"

"Well, I DID ask."

"Over 10,000 years since you and the Queen were trapped here together."

Haalfrin feels like throwing up just thinking about it. A normal human can only live to be about 4-5 thousand years, assuming he's gotten to the peak of magic. Haalfrin is barely showing a few stress hairs, and he's already well over 10,000 years old.

Considering all that he's been through, Haalfrin guesses that he's not even halfway through his lifespan; maybe he has the body of a 30-year-old right now.

Over all the years training his Fel Name, he'd comforted himself in knowing that his old age was still far away from him. However… he's been reminded that even though his life is long, it's not unending.

Feeling anxious, Haalfrin says while looking down at the Threshold through his window, "If she really is genuine about giving up the war, I really will have no more opponents. I don't think this is going to end well."

Freyya quickly gulps her wine down, hiccups, and says to him, "Don't worry. I've been working on some plans for you to die in battle."

"Oh? What are they?"

She puts a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "I can't tell you too much right now, but I can tell you SOMETHING at least."

She suddenly thinks of something which made her anxious, so she quickly downs Haalfrin's wine as well in a few gulps.