Everyone from the village had gathered to witness Dallion’s walk to the chief’s mansion. The atmosphere was noticeably different from last time. Then everyone had accepted the fact that he’d lose his gift and had remained in their homes. Now there was hope he could actually stand up to the Luor family, something that no one had done in decades. Even the other village elders—awakened in their own right, some of which were in good relations with the chief—had appeared to witness the spectacle.

The mansion guards, in contrast, were somber and silent. The duo from last time hurriedly escorted him through the inner courtyard, making sure to shut the door as quickly as possible behind him. Once inside, they were joined by another pair of distant Luor relations, who took him directly to the main hall.

“Any idea what it’ll be like?” Dallion asked casually. It was a slightly cruel thing to do given the fear written on everyone else’s face, but he couldn’t resist. After all, it was a small payback for the way they had treated him and his family in the past.

The guards mumbled something beneath their noses. Most likely this is new to them as well. In the past awakened outside of the Luor family had only visited the mansion once.

The hall was as Dallion remembered it, though the people weren’t. The chief’s son and two oldest granddaughters weren’t present. In their place there was a dry skinny man in his fifties, some woman in her thirties covered with a mask of makeup that Dallion vaguely recalled to be the chief’s niece, and a child of five.

So these are the Luor awakened, Dallion thought.

There were no visible indications that they had the gift, but for those who knew where to look, the signs were everywhere. Apart from the aura of extreme confidence emanating from the people, none of their clothes were torn or dirty. The same could be said for every trinket, weapon, or piece of jewelry they had on them. Looking closer, Dallion noticed that Gloria’s clothes while identical in design were now made of silk.

You increased your perception again, didn’t you? He smiled.

“Well met again, Dallion the awakened.” The chief smiled, leaning forward from his seat. “You’ve caused quite a stir. It’s not often that one gifted is so..” the old man rubbed his chin ”..enthusiastic.”

“One might say my horizon’s been cleared in the past week.”

“Indeed, one might.” The chief hissed, maintaining his smile. “Which is why it is your duty to help the village. As you know, it’s an awakened’s task to help others. Without that help the village will crumble to dust and be swallowed by the wilderness.”

Wait, what?

No one had told Dallion about this. Rather, everyone had been telling him since birth and yet his former self had never once thought about it seriously. Everyone in the village knew that to be fact, a truth so simple that even the children accepted: everything broke down and decayed. It was only awakened that could reverse the process. A village without awakened wasn’t going to last long. Maybe it would survive a few generations, more if it was a trading hub, or had a valuable resource to sell. Ultimately though, it was fated to disappear.

This village was no different. The chief’s mansion was an obvious example, but now that Dallion thought about it there were other vital buildings in perfect order. Although not flashy, the village mill was in good shape, as were the barns, the kennels, the single bridge over the river.. So many things constantly maintained, that Dallion had taken for granted.

“You want me to repair a house?” Dallion’s face turned two shades paler.

“A well,” the old man let out a dry laugh. “The square well. It has been a decade before anyone did. Your father was one of the people that repaired it a few years ago, but that won’t be enough.”

A well? How do I repair a well?!

Even at his current level, he could repair three stones at most. The well must have been composed of thousands. Attempting anything of the sort would take years.

“Something wrong?” The old man rubbed his hands.

Several members of his family were grinning. His grandson was the most egregious example, his expression screaming “why don’t you die already?” Only Gloria looked away, choosing to avoid Dallion’s glance.

“Weren’t you so full of energy just moments ago?” The chief pressed on.

“My awakening level doesn’t allow me to mend all that. Maybe if I can help in some other—”

“Of course, it doesn’t. That’s why I’ll help you.” Aspion cracked his fingers. “I’ll open the awakened realm. All you have to do is mend the well. Simple, right?”

Having never done it before, there was no way Dallion could say whether it was simple or not. If the chief’s past behavior was any indication, the difficulty would range from hard to impossible. Was that why he had gathered every awakened from his family? Dallion’s success last time had already created ripples in the village, ripples the old man very much needed to straighten if he were to retain his unopposed rule.

“Sure.” Dallion bluffed a smile on his face. As his best friend in high-school had said: when in doubt always act like an ass. “When do we start?”

“We start immediately.”

The village chief stood up. With the confidence of a king, the old man strode past Dallion and out of the hall. The rest of his family followed, acting as a sort of entourage. Dallion too was forced to join in near the end. On the positive side, he was at least close to Gloria.

“Did you know about this?” He whispered the words with the faintest of breaths. No normal person would have been able to hear the words nor see his lips move. Someone with a perception of seven, though, did.

The girl gave him a silent nod.

“Why didn’t you warn me then?”

For a split-second Gloria’s face crumbled in sadness and shame. It lasted less than the blink of the eye, but enough for Dallion to get his answer: she had wanted to tell him, but something prevented her. Either the girl was a very good actress and had set him up, or he was going to have a long talk with her once this was over..