Wish upon the Stars (Original Superhero cultivation sci fi litrpg)

[Lone-sith]

Love it, hope he'll stay for at least 3-4 chaps

Click to shrink...

Well well well

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Before leaving the Tricorn, we still needed to check in with my grandfather. Aside from not seeing him for quite a while (mom coming to the wedding was one thing, but a Pope showing up on Callus was bound to draw some negative attention) we also needed to make sure the S-rankers didn't need us for anything.

Chelsea and I went alone, though she was unusually quiet as we entered the chamber where we were meeting my grandfather. Mom assured me it was shielded for dignitaries and was impossible to spy on, especially without her noticing, so at least there was that.

When we found him, I was surprised to see how tired he looked. "Damn." I said as we sat down across the table from him in the meeting room. "You look like shit."

"Laugh it up." He groused. "Someday you'll be as strong as I am and you'll have to deal with all this nonsense." He glanced at mom. "I heard from our Lord. I briefed him on everything that happened. He said to tell you that you did well."

My mom's expression was complicated, which I imagined came from knowing he was talking about HER grandfather, and she had to pretend to be a near stranger.

"So…where are you going to go?" I asked worriedly. "Are they sending you to the front lines? They have more S-rankers than expected, no way it was just those five each. Those worlds definitely have more. What if you get ambushed."

He smiled confidently. "Moonlight and I are sticking together. We have reports of what sounds like an S-ranker wreaking havoc at the edge of the Holy Dominion. Between the two of us we'll be fine. Not to mention that the Holy Dominion isn't your average space. Much like the Enshrining Abyss of Black Sorrow, the Dominion is a sacred place. Killing us there will be harder than you might think."

I wondered if that was related to the Red Revenants world and its location. Was the Holy Dominion under the direct protection of a god?

Seeing my expression, he chuckled. "Don't worry about it. We're being careful, and there's nothing you can do at this point. Break through to D-rank and I'm sure we can find you something- ow!" He winced, rubbing his head as my mother held up a glowing hand she'd just used to smack him upside the head.

It was impressive even her ability let her damage him, though he might have just been humoring her. "You will NOT plan to send my baby into a warzone, especially not right after his wedding."

"Sasha, no one is going to be able to stay out of this." He warned. "Our Lord pulled strings to get you reassigned so you could go to the wedding, but once it ends you'll be expected on the front too. It's all hands on deck."

My mom didn't seem bothered by that comment, apparently me being sent out was more worrying to her than going herself, which was actually reasonable given the strength disparity.

"Anyway." My grandfather said with a smile. "Good luck kid, and I hope your wedding is a blast." He pulled me into a tight hug. "Your grandmother wishes she could be here to see you, but things are still complicated…for the moment."

My mother's eyes widened. "Wait…is mom thinking of using the war as a platform to come out in the open? But Black Sorrow-"

"Black Sorrow won't do shit during the war." He said bluntly. "But how about after? Celia is tired of sitting at home worrying. She's thinking of using the enforced detente as an excuse to finally confront her mother. If she comes out of hiding then the rest of you can do the same. She just needs to pick the right time."

That was a big risk. Black Sorrow was…nuts, as far as I could tell. The perception that her daughter had sided with the Revenant, who she hated, would make her murderously angry as far as I was told.

He just smiled at my contemplation. "Don't worry about it, kid. Celia isn't stupid. Despite being a bit inspired by you standing up to that brat Aiden, she wouldn't do this if she didn't have a plan. Black Sorrow is a lunatic, but even she has things she wants. There's no such thing as a grudge that can't be mended."

I was pretty sure they were being optimistic, but I didn't know half the shit that went on at that level. If they thought they could bribe Black Sorrow to come to the negotiating table I was fine with it. If it worked my family would be free of that lunatic.

Chelsea stepped up next to us, holding out her arms for my grandfather, who laughed and gave her a hug too. "Be careful." She said sternly. "You and grandma both. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. If she can settle things, I want to bring Shane to the Holy Dominion for a visit."

"Sounds like a plan." He said with a smile. "You two be safe." He fished into a pocket, pulling out a small silver charm bracelet. "By the way, this is for Callie from your grandmother and I. A wedding present."

I took it, studying the item, and Chelsea gasped. "That's grandma's starpluck bangle!" She said in shock.

He nodded. "The bangle will let you leave positional marks on places you visit, Callie can teleport there at intergalactic distances. It's an excellent escape treasure. She won't be able to bring anyone with her, sadly, but you've got Zeke looking out for you, so we figured a bit of insurance for your future wife might be just the thing."

I stared at the unassuming bracelet, hung with little silver stars wrapped around shimmering crystal cores. I didn't notice the light until I focused on them, but once I did, I couldn't unsee it. I stepped forward and hugged my grandfather again. "She'll love it, this way she can visit her mom more. Can she use it? Anything that powerful has to be high ranked."

"The stars are individually enchanted and work with the bangle." He assured me. "It was designed to be used by lower ranked Ascendants as an emergency escape measure. Celia got it as a gift when she was a girl, though she's held onto it for a long time because it remained useful. It takes a month or so for it to recharge each star, but otherwise it shouldn't be a problem."

There were four stars on the bracelet, which meant she should be able to avoid getting stranded on any trips.

"Thanks gramps." I said sincerely. "Even with the month recharge, she's still going to be over the moon. She can set a point on Callus when we're there and see her mom every two weeks. Can she use a person as an anchor point?"

He chuckled. "From what I'm told, your grandmother asked the same thing when she got it. Sadly no. Has to be a planet. I assume you were thinking of using yourself so she could return more easily. A ship would work though, so at least there's that. If you ever get enough cash, you can pay KIllian to fly to Stratholme, pop over and leave a star point, then teleport back."

"I'll mention it to her." I promised. "Not to mention that kind of long distance teleportation must go THROUGH something. Maybe she'll get some ideas about her Path. Being able to do even a limited version of that would be amazing."

He grinned at me. "Why do you think your grandmother doesn't need it anymore. Her Path of the Stardancer was partly founded based on that bangle. I'm not sure how realistic it is to adapt an existing one, but as long as it isn't solid maybe she can get some inspiration. Just tell her to be careful. Even stepping on the path to an ability like that can be dangerous."

I glanced at Mom. "Wait, is that where the idea for your Path came from? A combination of your parents?"

She waggled a hand. "Stellar Flame Fist is a Solid Path ability, of course. My Path is the Path of Stellar Flame. But the Path of the Stardancer is more complicated than it sounds, and has more than a few aspects of my mother's inborn power in it. When she dances across the stars, they often go out."

I wondered if her Path spontaneously occurred during evolution like mine did. Her soul was Mirror from birth, and I couldn't image what kind of iron control and flexibility that would give you with Skills. I put the bracelet away in my ring excited to give it to Callie, and finished saying my goodbyes to my grandfather, then waited for Chelsea to say hers.

"Hey." I said as we left. "You're not like…mad Callie is getting the bracelet right? I mean, if it was grandmas maybe you should be the one who-"

My sister held up a hand. "Not even slightly." She said firmly. I exhaled in relief. I didn't want to sound like I was being a dick about it, I was just genuinely worried she'd be upset. She smiled warmly at me. "I don't begrudge you anything I have Shane. You're my brother. My twin. I spent years getting resources and treasures from the Church."

She pulled me into a hug, continuing. "Even if there wasn't a good reason for her to get it I would still be fine, but you and I both know she's the most vulnerable. You're protected by Zeke, and I'm always under guard."

"Yeah." I said with a relieved laugh. "Grandpa really came through. No one is going to be able to chase her across galaxies. I mean, the sheer EXPENSE of an heirloom like that. They went all out to welcome her to the family. I haven't met grandma yet, but just this one gift means more to me than anything else they could have done."

The generosity staggered me. You could probably build an entire S-ranked faction if you sold something like this. I'd never even heard of it, but I knew that people would undoubtedly go to war for something this powerful, especially something their kids could use.

As we walked out of the Central Location back to the others, I frowned over my shoulder. "Do you think they'll be ok? Trying to fix things with…her."

"I think they know her better than we do." She said bluntly. "And grandpa is over the moon for grandma. He'd die before he let someone touch a hair on her head. Combined with the safety they have while the war is ongoing, it should be fine. Plus if they can do it…"

I nodded. "It would be invaluable." I admitted. "I got targeted by her people a few times, and I'm pretty sure they only happened to notice who I was by accident." I still had no clue how Aiden had figured out my identity back when this all started, but it had caused a lot of trouble since then.

She sighed. "I've had assassination attempts too. One of my childhood friends turned out to be a heartripper."

I winced, pulling her into a side hug. That was terrible. I reminded myself to have her spend some time with Cass. Maybe she could help the girl get past things, given her obvious experience there.

As we approached our group, I smiled widely at all my friends. It was finally over, finally time for all of us to go home. Once we were underway, we could stop and digest our gains from this mess in terms of renown, though aside from wishes, I didn't think I'd be doing any training on this trip. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my future wife. Something told me alone time would be at a premium during a wedding this size. I couldn't wait.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Arriving back on the Necromedes was…blissful. Aside from the lack of pressure from the Tricorn's Impact (I'd gotten so used to it I kept having to watch my step to keep from catapulting into the air), I also got to see a bunch of old friends. When Callie and mom mentioned bringing people along, I'd underestimated exactly how many people they meant.

Serah and Holly were coming, as were Yvette, Annalise, Markoth, Nasha, and all my other friends were coming. We'd sent out invitations to various factions we'd encountered on the way here too, and at this point, the list of wedding guests was going to be enough to fill a small town.

Luckily we didn't have any of those on Callus, only big cities that would have plenty of room. For now, we had to get everyone settled in though. The newcomers were blown away by the ship. "You have access to an A-ranked ship?" said Holly in shock. "We belong to an S-ranked faction and we don't have one of those!"

Serah nodded stoically. "Yes. It is certainly in…ship shape."

Bethy giggled at the joke. "Hey that's funny. You're pretty funny." She held out a cheerful hand. "I'm Bethy by the way. What's your name?"

"Serah." Responded the stoic angel. "It is nice to meet you."

I cleared my throat. "As much as the idea of you two hanging out terrifies me to the very core of my being, I wanted to check that everyone was here."

Jessie double checked and then nodded. "Looks like that's everyone. Most of us went to unpack, but Blake said he'd handle introductions and all that." She grinned at me. "You have somewhere else to be right? Isn't it about time you checked?"

I laughed. "You still know me better than anyone except Benny and Callie. Yeah, I've been holding it back, but it's about time." Waving goodbye to the others, I went ahead reached out to Callie. There was a shift in the shadows and she appeared right next to me, grinning. I nodded at her wrist. "So it fits I take it?"

She displayed her wrist with a smirk. "Oh, this old thing? Yeah, isn't it nice? My fiance got it for me because he's the best." She leaned up and pecked me on the cheek. "So is it really time? I was waiting for you. How much do you think we gained?"

"Hard to say." I said as we headed back to our rooms. "I mean, with your godslayer legend propagating, especially after the war declaration, I'm guessing you got a big boost. The games will have pushed me up pretty high too though I bet." I winked at her. "I might just catch up to you at this rate."

She shot me a warm smile. "I hope you do. I always feel my best when the two of us are equal partners."
I put my arms around her, squeezing tight, and then we reached out lodgings. We headed inside, dropped off what stuff we had, and then headed out into the yard in case of any damage. "You mind if I go first?" I asked excitedly.

She shook her head, and I closed my eyes, reaching out with my soul. The ability to put off renown and stat gain was important as you ranked up. People like us had a lot of stories circulating, and the sensation of a constant trickle of power would be way too distracting. It was more convenient to wait until we had time to process everything before allowing the renown to hit.

Given how many points I already had and my soul strength the influx was intense but not overwhelming. Still, it was easy to tell just from feedback that this was beyond any gains I'd had before. I could feel my heart pounding as I pulled up my stat sheet, letting the purple flames roll across my vision.

Wishmaster candidate status. E-rank. Ability: Expert Wish- Seven times a day grant an Expert wish in return for proper compensation. Wish must be feasibly achievable by the candidate's own efforts within a three day period with current statistics.
Expert Path of the Doom Sovereign- A Solid Path toward a great destiny.

Might-11,500
Impact-65
Fantasy-9530
Vitality-12,242
Focus-6420
Perception-5504
Creation-7554
Progress to next rank:52815/100000
Soul strength- Sapphire Soul Body


Stored:7 shadow attacks, 10 shadow jump (seven in reserve), 10 Stealth charges, 0 fire attacks, 10 triple strenth tranq blows (ten in reserve), 0 triple strength density shifted attacks. 10 spider leg attacks (ten in reserve), 0 heal bursts (0 reserve), 3 gravity attacks, 0 shadow clone (2 in reserve), 18 scan heals (I-rank ability so Shane can hold more)

Pet- Wolf named Jin

Financial resources: 50 E-ranked chits 38 D-ranked(worth 100 E-ranked, past master rank is a watershed)


Skills: Expert Path of the Doom Sovereign, Lesser Valtek Mastery, Intermediate Cooking Mastery, Lesser Inventing Mastery, Beginner Balam Mastery, Minor Fire Manipulation Mastery, Minor Piano Mastery, Minor Guitar Mastery, Minor First Aid Mastery, Intermediate Paired Dueling, Expert Dust Construction Mastery

DS Subskills. Monk: Stone Limb, Moonlit Night, Consecration of Flame, Ripple Running, State of Grace, Steam Arrow, Afterburner, Pit of Despair, Mountain Stance.

Rogue: Mercy Kill, Double Trouble, Touch of Tears, Flurry of Blows, Heavy hands, Marked for Death, False Fatality

Diviner: Overlay, Song of the Soil, Rhythm of the Wild, Eye of Revelation, Danger Sense, Piece of Mind



Goetia Staff Art:

First form- Belial. Touch of Tears, Stone Limb, Consecration of Flames

Second Form- Mephistopheles. Consecration of Flame, Afterburner, Mercy Kill, Marked for Death.
Techniques: Cosmic Collapse: comdensed sphere of black flame that explodes out one side amplifying force. Mephisto's Waltz: Movement technique, Damnatio Memoriae: causes the ground itself to dissolve best used on mountains to cause avalanches
Circle of Damnation: defensive technique through destruction

Third form- Mornax. Stone Limb, Triple Strength Density Shifting (x10 F-rank stored attacks), Mountain Stance

Fourth form - Zagan. Heal Burst, Purifying Flame, Consecration of Flame, Afterburner
Techniques: Life Nova, purifying and healing version of Cosmic Collapse.Genesis Burst: enhanced version of Life Nova designed to repair soul damage.


I was blown away. Over twenty three thousand points. Almost twenty four. This last series of events had bumped me nearly one QUARTER of the way to D-rank. I doubted I'd get quite this level of boost again soon, I had mouthed off the Wishmaster in front of a bunch of S-rankers, which had probably played a large role, but still. My feats in the games should keep paying dividends.

I wrote everything out, showing it to Callie with a grin. Her eyes bugged out. "Holy shit, Shane. That's…wow. I mean, You're well past where I was at. I should be getting a bit bump from the war declaration, given people will be looking into stories about gods but…I'd be shocked if I passed you by much.

"I think it was the S-rankers." I admitted. "I know that higher ranked Ascendants have more heavily weighted renown. I impressed some of them during the games. Still, past the halfway point of D-rank…that's not bad. And I passed ten thousand points in multiple stats. VItality and Might make sense. Life Nova and that crazy mountain crushing blast."

She nodded. "Fantasy too, given the obvious technique use. Still a sizable bump. You ready to see how I did?" She sounded eager to compare, and I nodded excitedly. She closed her eyes, letting the renown wash over her. After a moment of focusing and breathing through the sensation, she took a pen and paper from her ring and wrote out her own stats.

Calliope Reynolds- E-rank. Ability: Expert Abyssal Infiltration- Enter the shadows and emerge where you will within range, shape the darkness to your call, moving it as if it were part of your body, and even extend your senses through the shadows to spy on your enemies.

Might-15,550
Impact-65
Vitality-3742
Fantasy-10,105
Focus-3908
Perception-12,375
Creation-9485
Progress to next rank: 55230/100000

Soul strength- Sapphire Soul Body
Pet-Wolf named Rellia

Skills: Minor Tracking, Beginner Dual Dagger Mastery, Intermediate Stealth, Intermediate Trap Mastery, Beginner Disguise, Lesser Balam Mastery, Expert Shadow Manipulation Mastery. Intermediate Paired Dueling.

Path of the Abyss-Illusory. Technique: Shadowed Glide

I laughed. "Damn, you still got me. It's close though. I'm only a couple thousand short. I think you'll pull ahead though. Your godslayer story has clearly been spreading like wildfire with those numbers. Even your low stats have evened out a ton. I think that huge bump from the S-rank renown is going to be a one time thing for me though."

"Please." She snorted. "You're ignoring the tons of points you'll be getting from wishes during the trip. I'll be lucky if you don't hit D-rank before the wedding."

I frowned. "Actually, what about D-rank." I hadn't considered it before, but we'd be on Callus. We couldn't rank up there. "I guess we could suppress ourselves at peak E-rank until we can get somewhere more stable. Maybe the Necromedes. I think Killian is staying for the wedding, so that's an option."

She waved me off with a laugh. "I was just puffing you up a bit. Considering you seem to be stuck at ten points per wish, chances are good we'll both need more time. The four month trip back to Callus would net you less than ten thousand." She frowned a bit. "Speaking of, what about that? Did you get a chance to ask anyone about it?"

I nodded, blowing out a breath. "I asked my mom. Ten is a soft cap. It's a recursion thing. I'll be able to get past it when I hit D-rank and have over a hundred Impact. Just one of those weird things people all believe that screws us a little bit."

"Well at least its solvable." She said with a smile. Walking over to me, she pulled me to my feet, then dragged me over and shoved me onto a couch, curling up against me. "Can you believe in four or five short months we're going to be married." She said as she rested her head on my chest.

I reached up, pulling my mask off, something I rarely did when we weren't alone. "I can." I said softly. "In fact. I couldn't believe anything else. I can't imagine not spending the rest of my life with you."

"Sap." She said in a pleased voice. "But I love it." She grimaced, and at me raised eyebrow blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, I just thought about my name. I'm taking yours, not sharing one with my asshole dad is nothing but good, but Calliope Wyndham sounds so snooty."

I clicked my tongue. "Honestly darling." I said in a high society voice. "I ordered the crystal chandeliers in the Rutherford pattern. This is clearly Cheffause."

She burst out laughing. "None of those are things." She said in exasperation. "And yet somehow they all sound so accurate it's ridiculous. Maybe I should tell Bethy you're a secret art and fashion genius."

"I don't believe you would do such a thing." I said sagely. "You love me too much."

She rolled her eyes. "Right. That. I knew there was a reason I kept you around. That and reaching things on the high shelves."

"Good to know I'm at least as useful as a stool." I said mildly.

She patted my cheek tenderly. "Oh, honey. Don't sell yourself short. You're far more useful to me than a stool. I have to carry those to the shelves. You just come when I call you."

We laughed together, snuggled up and staring at the ceiling, and I thought about our upcoming life together. Or rather, the one we already had, and how it would change. The comfort and security was soothing, and soon enough I started to drift off. Tomorrow we'd meet up with Benny and Jessie, see how they were doing after this mess stat wise, and then settle in for a relaxing wedding cruise back to our hometown. Life couldn't get much better than this.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The next morning we met up with the others for a team meeting. "So, everyone get settled in ok?" I asked Jessie as we let them into our place. We weren't staying in the same building this time. The Necromedes was huge, and we'd been moved up to a nicer part of the ship. This particular abode was more in the style of some of the Church architecture we'd seen.

"All good." She said with a grin and a thumbs up. "Serah and Bethy are becoming fast friends." She paused. "Well, Bethy decided they were fast friends and Serah got swept up in her wake. I think it's good for her to have someone to hang out with platonically. That love triangle with her and Gabe and Chelsea is messy."

"I'm not sure it is a triangle." I said with a laugh. "I can't tell who she's interested in if either of them. Then again, Morgan has multiple wives, maybe she's just planning to date both of them."

Jessie snickered. "I'm sure the Church will be thrilled to lose both one of their princesses and one of their most promising recruits to the independents. In any case, your sister has been showing Annalise and Yvette around, along with Markoth and Nasha."

"Nice of her." I nodded. "Lots to show too. It's a big ship. How about you?" I asked Benny. "How is the training going? You get any techniques done yet?"

He chuckled. "Been working on my sword art. Your mom's training might have been rough but it's really helping. Plus I'm still riding the wave from helping take down that D-ranker. I didn't rake in the same kind of points as you two, but I definitely benefited from being part of that whole mess." He slid out a piece of paper, scribbling out his own stats just like we had the day before.

Benicio Cortez- E-rank. Ability: Expert Body of Inspiration- Allows the integration of existing artifacts into the users body for the purposes of strengthening and enhancing them, two items per placement.

Might-9974
Impact-65
Fantasy-1556
Vitality-1441
Focus-8141
Perception-1582
Creation-2471
Progress to next rank: 25230/100000


Soul strength: Sapphire Soul Body

Pet- Wolf named Rolf

Current integrated tech. 14/20.
Torso: G-ranked intangibility for short bursts, Three times multiplication of Might for five minutes.
Right fist: triple punch.
Left forearm: F-ranked energy barrier or variable shape. Left fist: minor slow acting tranquilizer effect.
Right foot: Density shifting to create heavier kicks and more powerful jumps. Left Foot: momentum neutralization to allow stopping instantly.
Head: slight cognitive boost to allow more thinking time, Three times multiplication of Focus for five minutes.
Back: ability to grow a shell to tank damage.
Chest: Pair of golden G rank spider legs that arch up from the shoulders.
Waist: Belt of spiritual calming, Three times Multiplication of Perception for five minutes. Heart: Illusionary double, Three times Multiplication of Vitality for five minutes.


Skills:Minor Cooking Mastery, Expert Inventing Mastery, Lesser Haggling Mastery, Minor Stealth Mastery

Path of the Dracolich-Illusory. Proto Technique: sword art, Dance of the Dracolich

I whistled at the changes. "Almost ten thousand this time. Clearly that story is getting blown out of proportion in the retelling." He rolled his eyes, knowing I was kidding. "But you didn't mention hitting Expert in Inventing. That's awesome man, congrats. I think the biggest change is the evening out of the rest of your stats. That happened to Callie too."

Callie nodded. "Yeah, it's something I think we were all waiting for. We've been told for a while that once you hit a certain rank the stats lagging behind get dragged up alongside you. 'A rising tide raises all ships' and all that. I think we've all reached a level of notoriety where that effect is starting to show itself. Benny's are curiously uniform though."

He nodded. "I think it's a subconscious thing. Some of my stats were bumped extensively because they seemed like an active part of the proceedings, while some were just passively jacked up because no one would believe anyone below a thousand Vitality, for instance, could take part in something like that."

"What about the Inventing?" I asked with interest. "You didn't mention that going up."

He grinned. "That's new. I've been…experimenting. Trying to incorporate my Path into inventions. Part of the reason I made it was as a more fantastical counterpoint to my ability, hoping the two would synergize and boost me to new heights. Because of that, my Inventing was always supposed to relate to my Path, and be informed by it."

"What did you come up with?" I asked excitedly. "Did you finally find a way to make you creations more targeted? I know you were working on using your soul to steer Inventions to be more specific items."

He waggled a hand. "Well…sort of." He said sheepishly. "I'm still working on that. If anything, my Path made it harder, but I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track." He held out a hand, and a small item appeared on his palm. A black stapler. I reached for it with interest…and then it hissed and tried to bite me.

Its teeth (which had been hidden behind the stapler cover perfectly like lips in a mouth), sank into my gloves and stopped. My armor was very high quality, and my skin had three points more Impact than most E-rankers, so there was no chance of it getting its hooks in. Still I glared at my friend, holding up the stapler as it snarled and tried to dig into my finger. "Why?" I asked blandly.

He shrugged. "It's my new Invention. The Snarling Stapler, I call it. It's only F-rank. The Path of the Dracolich seems to have turned it feral. Like I said, bit of a backstep, but I'm on the right track."

"You realize we're going back to Callus for the wedding." I said bluntly. "Where an F-ranked stapler could probably wipe out a city."

"I…" He paused. "I hadn't considered that. I'll keep it in my ring. Sorry."

I just laughed. "Still, it's important to work on techniques, especially after the Fantasy bump. Those will be our biggest advantage in the future. Skills are important because they're a good basis, but techniques are where we can show real power."

"I think you might be a bit biased, hon." Said Callie with a laugh. "Your mom said you're a genius at forming those, so yours are a bit more effective than most. Not that I don't think they're important, but I think you might be in a better position to take advantage. The rest of us still need to depend on Skills and abilities."

She…might have a point. My Path was unusually far along, I had a strong soul and my unique ability gave me a wide variety of skills to use as a base. Still, I knew that once we hit D-rank we'd be facing more and more people with powerful Paths and we needed to be ready to beat them back with our own.

"Maybe talk to Abel." I suggested. "He made a powerful technique ages ago. The Cicada Stacking Steps are crazy useful" I turned to Jessie. "How about you, you get you Path made yet? Since we're heading home we don't need to worry about running into anybody dangerous for a while. You can afford to take your time."

Benny glared at me. "Oh sure, yell at me and tell me I'm dragging everyone down, but as soon as I get it finished we all go on fucking vacation and everyone else can take their time."
"It's not my fault you're so dumb." I said loftily. "Gotta get you started early if you want to keep up." I moved out of the way as he picked up and threw a coaster at me from the end table next to him.

Jessie rolled her eyes. "You two are like toddlers, I swear. I don't have a Path yet, though I do think the Path of Vitality might be a good fit for me. It'll be a comprehensive upgrade to my abilities, which are all based on that stat. Plus it might be easier to get in contact with. I've been getting some decent stats lately too. Mostly in Vitality as usual, but I've been seeing the same bump in my other stats as the rest of you." She wrote out her own stat sheet.


Jessica Evans- E-rank. Ability: Expert Lifeweaving- Infuse living things with life itself and direct their actions while the users power flows through them. Control has limited effect on sapient entities. Prolonged exposure to life energy may cause lasting effects in controlled subjects.

Might-3625
Impact-65
Fantasy-758
Vitality-17,256
Focus-755
Perception-765
Creation-1958
Progress to next rank: 25182/100000
Pet- Wolf named Lily and Undying Lifestorm Ursa named Randall(Intermediate Beast Bonding with Jessie)

Soul strength: Sapphire Soul Body

Skills: Intermediate Horticulture,Intermediate First Aid, Minor Herbalism, Minor Flower Arrangement, Intermediate Beast Taming Mastery, Intermediate Beast Bonding, Intermediate Shape of the Wild

I gaped at her Vitality. "Seventeen THOUSAND?" I asked in shock. "I mean, I know it's your main stat, but it's higher than any stat I have. Hell, it's higher than any stat CALLIE has, and she's much more focused than I am. I can see where your other stats may have suffered for it a bit though. Was the Might from Randall?"

She nodded. "Yup. I'm annoyed my Focus is my lowest stat. I get Perception and Fantasy, but Focus being seven fifty five? Do I come across as that much of an airhead?" She sounded outraged, and the rest of us had to smother our laughs.

"You know you try to downplay your intelligence." Said Callie with a friendly chuckle. "Guess it worked a bit too well."
Jessie stuck out her tongue at my fiancee, who laughed at her antics. "Anyway, try to find your way onto the Path of Vitality if that's where you're aiming. Like I said, we have nothing but time." I grinned. "Maybe you can teach Benny a thing or two since he's having so much trouble."

He pointed at me menacingly. "Oh that's it. Just you wait, I'm going to spend the next four months mastering my Path, and then I'm going to use it to kick your entire ass."

I snorted. "Please. You're a hundred years too early to challenge me."

"I'm marrying into this." Callie told Jessie with a long suffering sigh. "I'm going to be putting up with their nonsense for the next ten thousand years."

Jessie put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll remember your sacrifice."

"Hey." I said in outrage. "We're right here? Don't talk about us like we aren't in the room. And it's not like you two are a picnic to be around."

Callie turned to me slowly. "And what exactly do you mean by THAT, Shane?"

"Nothing honey." I responded quickly. "You're the light of my life and you make every day better. I'm looking forward to an eternity of wedded bliss."

She gave me an unimpressed snort. "A likely story." She winked at Jessie. "Gotta keep him on his toes so he doesn't start taking me for granted. My future mother-in-law taught me that. She's been giving me lessons."

"When we get to Callus." I said maliciously. "I'm going to ask Amelia for every embarrassing picture you've ever taken. Two can play it that game."

Her eyes widened in horror, but I felt laughter and peace through the bond. I sent my own right back. We spent the next few hours spending time without our friends and talking all about what we'd do first when we got home as the Necromedes made its journey out into the cosmos.

Four more months until we were home, and I'd see everything I'd grown up seeing through brand new eyes. I was so excited to get back, to see all our friends and comrades, and to finally marry the girl of my dreams. This trip couldn't be over fast enough, just four more months to the first day of the rest of my life.

 

[Marethyu]

I must say out of everything you've ever written, they're all excellent, but I enjoy this one the most. Thanks for the chapters.

 

[Quenster06]

Man, I can't wait until they get back to Callus and show up Callie's jerk of a father. Also,

As we approached our group, I smiled widely at all my friends. It was finally over, finally time for all of us to go home. Once we were underway, we could stop and digest our gains from this mess in terms of renown, though aside from wishes, I didn't think I'd be doing any training on this trip. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my future wife. Something told me alone time would be at a premium during a wedding this size. I couldn't wait.

Click to shrink...

We laughed together, snuggled up and staring at the ceiling, and I thought about our upcoming life together. Or rather, the one we already had, and how it would change. The comfort and security was soothing, and soon enough I started to drift off. Tomorrow we'd meet up with Benny and Jessie, see how they were doing after this mess stat wise, and then settle in for a relaxing wedding cruise back to our hometown. Life couldn't get much better than this.

Click to shrink...

Four more months until we were home, and I'd see everything I'd grown up seeing through brand new eyes. I was so excited to get back, to see all our friends and comrades, and to finally marry the girl of my dreams. This trip couldn't be over fast enough, just four more months to the first day of the rest of my life.

Click to shrink...

is it just me, or is anyone else seeing waving flags? I might just be having a paranoid breakdown and this is a genuine wind down before a ramp up.

 

[Bezarius]

I can't wait for Callie to kick her dad ass when she get back.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Four months flew by in the blink of an eye. I spent most of my time enjoying the relaxing trip with my friends, doing only the bare minimum for wish granting per day. I got another ten thousand points total. Eighty four hundred for my wishes and another sixteen hundred from pure renown.

Which was, admittedly, less than expected. But we were pretty sure the huge bump after the games combined with the big dip was a testament to the capabilities of the WCP and the five faction alliance. They had maximized the spread of my exploits right off the bat, so I was getting relatively fewer rollover stats.

I'd put five thousand into Perception, bringing it up to just over ten thousand five hundred, and then twenty five hundred each into Creation and Focus, bringing creation up over ten thousand and Focus up to just under nine thousand (ten thousand fifty four and eight thousand nine hundred twenty, respectively) for a grand total of sixty two thousand, eight hundred and fifteen.

The rest of the time I'd spent with my friends, my sister, and my fiancee, working out, eating good food, and playing the occasional game of pool. We also enjoyed plenty of time in an ACTUAL pool, with the sole exception of Abel, who had dedicated most of his time to training.

Which was why, as we approached Callus, Callie, Benny, Abel, Mel, and I were all gathered in one of the big restaurants celebrating, because my mentor had officially created his very own Solid Path.

"It's impressive." Admitted Benny as he cut into a juicy steak. "I'm just saying, why Ragam? Why not incorporate your Path of Blood into your ability in one shot, then you'd be a half step towards making your Chronicle like Shane is."

Abel just shook his head, swallowing the bite of lobster he'd been chewing. "Because there's no rush. I'm ages away from B-rank. I'll take it one step at a time. My Path of the Bloody Fist works well. I still need to percolate on how to integrate it into my ability. Not to mention my Ragam can keep ranking up past my current rank."

Benny turned to me. "That's a good point, actually. Why didn't you do that? Your Path fo the Doom Sovereign is an ability so it's stuck at your rank. Wouldn't it be stronger if you got it up higher?"

"Yes." I said bluntly. "But I wasn't sure I could. Unique Skills have odd and sometimes impossible requirements for ranking up. The higher I go the higher the chance I won't be able to reinvent the wheel again. Not to mention given the add ons I kept slapping on it to rank up the chances of me being able to form a Chronicle at all would have been slim. At this point I'm mostly cleaning up the Skill to prep for B-rank and it's slow going."

Abel nodded. "My Path and Skill are perfectly compatible and very stable, so that's not a concern for me. Though I'm looking forward to sparring with Shane."

"You better be looking through a telescope." Said Callie threateningly. "I'm getting married in less than a week, and if you beat up my fiance before my wedding and it screws up my pictures, I'm going to jettison you into the sun."

He swallowed audibly, and not because he was eating food. "Alright, damn. You don't have to be mean about it."

"Yes." said Callie sharply. "Yes I do. Because you fight anyone for any reason and you don't listen." Her face brightened into a beaming smile. "But congratulations on the new Path, that's super impressive."

Abel stared at her in mild terror before turning to look at me. "My condolences for the rest of your life."

I just chuckled. Callie glared at me, but I just winked back and she deflated a bit. She was really stressed about the wedding, having been working herself to the bone with the planning (I tried to help, but was informed I have terrible taste and am too edgy, whatever that means) and I had to keep reminding her to take a breath.

Sending some reassurance through the bond, I also pushed Piece of Mind to activate, shoving it toward her. She let it kick in, making a parallel to worry about wedding stuff while she relaxed, a compromise we'd come up when she'd started burning herself out.

"Sorry." She said after the parallel took over. "I'm a little tense. Seriously Abel, Solid Path is a huge achievement. You been thinking of any new techniques?"

My mentor's face lit up. "I have, actually. I got some inspiration from Shane and the Star Queen. I'm trying to create a cohesive set of Ragam techniques culminating in a transformation. It's been pretty tough coming up with the moves though. Techniques are hard work, my Cicada Stacking Step was the result of LOTS of trial and error over a very long period of time."

Benny nodded. "It's not a walk in the park, trust me. My Dance of the Dracolich is still forming. Without Sasha's advice I doubt I'd have gotten this far. Have you tried a chance in environment?"

"Not really in the cards for me." Abel grimaced. "Not here at least. When we get back to Callus I might take a trip into one of the forests and fight an E-ranked beast. There are a few of them lording over some of the more extreme areas of the planet."

I nodded thoughtfully. "I've heard stories." I admitted. "The Polar Cat King, the Berserk Volcano Ape. Probably a few more that I don't know about. But they've been around for ages. Those areas or off limits for a reason. I'm not worried about any E-ranker from Callus in terms of humans, but I bet some of those beast kings are actually dangerous."

Mel sighed. "That's what I told him. But he never listens to anyone. I was planning to stop by the Beast Lord Garden with Jessie. If anyone will have a dossier on what those monsters can do it would be the Beast Queen."

"I don't want dossiers." Complained Abel in a voice that told me this wasn't the first time they'd had this argument. "It defeats the purpose. I need to go out there and push myself. Bleed and get bled. If I know all their moves ahead of time there's no pressure. I'm on the Path of the Bloody Fist, not the Path of Slaughter."

Oddly, I didn't need to ask what that meant. I'd been around Abel long enough to understand the difference. Blood was earned through hard work and dedication. Killing wasn't the point of Abel's Path (though he was hardly shy about it). He was just as happy shedding his own blood as someone else's. The point was to push himself beyond his limits. It was closer to a Path of War than Slaughter.

She threw up her hands. "Yes, but you can't invent a new martial arts form if you're DEAD. I'll read the dossiers and wait nearby. If you run into trouble I can just step in to help."

"No safety nets." He said stubbornly. "It'll weaken my resolve. If I can't beat up some giant lava monkey I don't deserve to create a technique." Apparently he was going after the Volcano Ape. That was good to know.

Mel looked unhappy, but not as much as I'd expected. I was pretty sure she was getting more from their bond than we could pick up from the surface conversation. If I had to guess, part of the reason he was choosing the Ape was that it was a fire attribute creature. He was probably planning to have something made for her from the remains.

As I'd seen from watching Randall rank up, beasts didn't incorporate their stats the same way humans did, they more a part of their bodies. Much like naturally occuring runes in gems, certain beast materials would have naturally occurring runes that could be used to make gear.

We all had top notch armor from Camden's cousin, but you could make foci like a staff or like the sphere we'd gotten for Mel ages ago that could amplify her fire attacks.

"Wait until after the wedding, please." Pleaded Callie. "You're a groomsman, and it'll really ruin the atmosphere if you get your face burned off by molten monkey shit. I've heard stories about that Ape. It's a monster. Granted, so are you, but I'd be shocked if it doesn't get in a few licks before you put it down."

Abel raised an eyebrow. "Lot to unpack there." He said slowly. "I feel like that was an insult wrapped in a compliment wrapped in an insult wrapped in a command."

"It's like the turducken of comments." I said wisely. They all just looked at me blankly. "It's a turkey stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a chicken." I clarified. "I learned how to make it from a cookbook I bought on Tricorn." I'd gone back to old Arble's place to see the S-ranker, but he hadn't been in, so I just grabbed some random books before leaving.

My mentor shook his head. "Some things aren't meant to be attempted."

"You're talking about fighting an ancient Volcano monster to create a technique that can alter reality!" I protested.

Benny clicked his tongue. "He's right Shane. Some things are just unnatural."

"How am I the bad guy here?" I said in exasperation. "I was just talking about a recipe I found. Callie, back me up."

I turned to find her glaring at me suspiciously. "You've never fed me any weird recipes like that, right?" She said slowly. "Because I'm not okay with being your guinea pig as you commit culinary violations to the natural order."

Laughing at me crestfallen expression, Abel held up a hand. "Alright, stop picking on him. He might drop the whole table into a Pit of Despair or something."

"I would never do that." I said indignantly. "I'd poison you. Bit of Touch of Tears inside your food. Not enough to be noticeable, but it would only take a little bit entering your stomach to cause some serious pain." I smirked at all of them. "Of course, I'd have to distract you all from the table somehow to do it. Maybe by throwing a huge fit about something innocuous." I glanced slyly at my best friend. "Hey Benny, how's that steak?"

My friend's face went white and he dropped his fork. I burst out laughing as Abel glanced uneasily at his lobster. Callie just giggled. "He's messing with you." She said reassuringly. "I'd have sensed that, and he wouldn't do it to me in the first place. Your meals are safe."

"Spoilsport." I said with a grin. "Look how scared they were. I wanted to see them squirm for a bit longer."

Benny glared at me. "You're not helping your case here. Mutant combo birds, poisoning steak, your cooking is becoming more and more suspicious."

"Then don't eat it." I shrugged. "I don't care if you eat my food. I like what I make and so does Callie. You can eat nutrition bricks for all I care. I'm sure your old food fabricator is in working order. I'll have your folks send it over when we land."

The horror on his face was exactly what I was looking for, and I dug back into my beef stroganoff with relish (the sensation, not the condiment, I wasn't a monster). It was a bluff of course, I'd still cook for him when I had the time, but it was funny seeing how put out he got.

Laughing at my best friend's misfortune, everyone left him to stew as we switched back to talking about Abel's technique plans and enjoyed our meals. We were almost home, and this had been a nice end to a peaceful trip. Once we set foot back on Callus, we'd be completely swamped. I was really looking forward to it.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

It was hard to really encapsulate the feeling of standing in space, looking down at your home planet. There was nostalgia, joy, triumph, and a little bit of disappointment. Everything seemed so much…smaller. Even from up here, I could focus enough to get a decent glimpse of most of the major cities I remembered. Valen, Rajak, I could see home.

But everyone looked so small and insignificant from up here. I knew they weren't obviously. I had friends and loved ones on Callus. But I kind of got how people like Zeke could become so detached from their humanity.

Oddly, I think the thing that saved me from that was how fast I was getting stronger. I could still vividly remember my life before cultivation.

"We should jump it." Said Benny confidently. I turned and glared at him. He shrugged. "What, it would be so cool. Imagine us breaking through the atmosphere like fiery comets and then landing in cool crouches like all the famous heroes."

I smacked him upside the back of the head. "And exactly how would we do that?" I demanded. "Assuming our legs wouldn't break on impact, which admittedly they probably wouldn't, do you think a pseudo D-grade planet would hold up under a cannonball from someone at E-rank…from SPACE?"

He paused, halfway through yelling at me for the head slap. "Huh. Actually probably not. Oh well, guess we'll have to go down the boring way. Still, it'll be nice to be home."

"I'm so excited to see my mom!" Squealed Callie, practically bouncing with joy. "It's been ages. I try to call home when I can, but it's not the same." She glanced at her wrist, where the starpluck bangle sat. She was obviously thinking about being able to come home to visit whenever she wanted.

Jessie was staring down at the planet with a sort of fond melancholy in her eyes, and I threw and arm over her shoulder, distracting her by ruffling her hair with my knuckles. "Hey, we're almost to D-rank. You'll have your brother back soon enough."

Her face lit up. 'Yeah. You're right. I can't wait to tell him all about our adventures. He's never going to believe it."

"You thinking of sticking around after we bring him back?" I asked, trying my best not to let my tone betray any discomfort at the idea. It would suck to lose her, but Jessie had the right to make her own decisions.

She just smiled and shook her head. "I don't think so. I mean, I'll visit, but…I've changed so much since he died. Seen so much. I've helped so many people, made new friends, been to amazing new worlds. I just can't imagine going back to being plain old Jessie Evans who works at the flower shop."
"Are you sure?" I asked her in surprise. "I know how much you wished for your old life back."

"No. I wished for my brother back." She said firmly. "I still do. Don't forget where you met me. I always wanted to go on adventures, that was why I joined the Unity to begin with."

Callie stepped up on her other side and bumped her with a hip. "Well you're always welcome wherever we go. You're family, and you always have a home with us. Speaking of home, I think it's about time for us to head down. Stella and the others are going to meet us in Rajak."

I grinned at her excitement. I was looking forward to seeing Amelia and Alexander and the others too. She was right that phone calls weren't the same as seeing someone face to face. We headed for the hanger, and when we got there, Killian, Zeke, and my mom were all waiting. "I was wondering where you all got off to." Said the owner of the Necromedes.

"I wasn't." Said Zeke with a chuckle. "First time seeing their planet on a return trip. It's a hell of a sight."

Mom beamed at us. "You ready to go down and get started? I've been talking to Amelia on the trip over, lovely woman. I think she has a surprise for you too, Calliope." She winked at Callie, who seemed just as puzzled by that as I was.

Waving a hand, mom pulled an ENTIRE fucking shuttle out of her space ring. We all gaped, because the sheer size of that thing combined with the opulence of the shuttle was completely out of left field. I turned to Zeke. "Wait…do you have one of those on you? Have you been carrying a shuttle the WHOLE time?"

He shrugged. "Of course. What kind of B-ranker doesn't keep a ride on them. But I couldn't let you use it. That would have been violating the terms of my geas. You had to do it all your own way. Unless you paid me, but you don't have anything worth a ride on any of my shuttles."

"He's right." Said my mom apologetically. "Market price for a seat on something like this would be several A-rank chits. I doubt his are quite that nice, but they're still well out of your price range." She patted the side of the white and gold shuttle affectionately. "My Halcyon is a beauty though, isn't he?"

I had to admit she wasn't wrong. The white metal that made up most of the shuttle was polished to a near mirror sheen. The front was a golden lions head, its open mouth allowing the windshield full visibility. A pair of golden wings folded back to frame the open doors on the sides, and traceries of golden runes swirled over the surface of it beautifully.

This thing wasn't just powerful, it was clearly made by an artist, and I was blown away by the delicacy of the work. I could pick out individual hairs in the lions man, and the capillaries in the feathers on the wings.

The inside, as we stepped in, was as spacious as expected. Moreso, even. It was like we were inside a full sized manor house of some wealthy noble, with both sides of the huge space being enclosed by a pair of window walls that showed the outside of the shuttle as if we were watching on a thousand foot screen.

We'd entered through the open hanger sides, but once we were inside a pair of double doors closed behind us. The spaces inside and outside the shuttle were completely separate. "Wow." I said as I scanned the shuttle. "Swanky."

"Of course." Said my mom as she walked over to sit at the large wooden table in the center of the huge entry chamber. I could see stairs leading up and hallways leading away, but the big day room we were in was already impressive on its own. "Would you all like some tea? She produced a steaming tea pot. "I've got an excellent Night Jasmine Blossom Brew."

Smiling, we all took our seats around her. She poured a glass for everyone, and Bethy inhaled deeply before taking a sip. "I love tea." She said with a sigh. "Not as much as wine, but still."

"I have some of that too." Laughed my mother. "But it's early in the day. Enjoy your tea. I have to say, I'm looking forward to being back on Callus. It's been such a long time since I was last there."

I blinked. "Oh, yeah you lived on Callus for a few years didn't you? Back when we were all together. Do you have any friends there you want to see?"

"A few." She said with a shrug. "I had a friend named Alyssa who made the loveliest apple cider. This was back in Valen, of course. She owned a sort of farmers market, I have no clue if it's still there."

Jessie and Callie perked up, telling her about their time growing up and how Alyssa knew their mothers, and they had a nice chat about her while we finished our tea.

Sadly, the ride wasn't too long, only about a half hour, and as we came to a stop in front of the hideous orange house we still owned in Rajak, we all stepped off the shuttle with a sense of nostalgia and peace. Well, Callie and I did. I was pretty sure Benny was in the same headspace too.

Abel and Mel seemed mostly ambivalent to be back. Not happy but not upset about it either. Gabe, Bethy, Yvette, Annalise, and all our other friends were just glad to get to their rooms and unpack, having not bothered doing so on the ship.

When we opened the door, the wolves came streaking by, Cass on Jin's back as Cark chased after her. Blake had been watching them most of the time, but we'd decided to bring them back to Callus to leave them with Amelia. The big puppies were strong enough to be formidable guards here, and a stable planetary home would be good for them.
"We're HOME!" Squealed Cass as she leapt off the wolf and onto the overstuffed orange couch. "It's been such a long time! Oh I missed you ugly couch!"

Cark rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. The places we've been staying have been perfectly nice. You make it sound like we fed you scraps through the top of a crate. Or should we leave you here when we head back out. I'm sure Callie's mom would love to have a natural disaster around the house."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "You can act like you aren't happy to be back, but I know you want to see your giiiirlfriend." She singsonged the last word maliciously, as if she'd uncovered some dark secret.

The rest of us tried not to smirk as Cark rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'd love to see Sage. And I didn't say I wasn't happy to be back." He stopped. "Why am I arguing with you, you're not even ten years old." He turned and walked away as Cass let out an outraged shriek and chased after him.

"Well." Said my mom as she followed us in. "This is certainly…interesting."

I nodded solemnly. "Callie picked out the color scheme. She always wanted to live inside of a carrot."

My fiancee spun and glared at me. "Don't tell her that! Not even as a joke! If that gets out people will be giving us a bunch of orange furniture as gifts, and if that happens you'll be the one returning it all."

"I joke, I joke." I said, holding my hands up in surrender. "This place used to belong to some pumpkin themed supervillain or other. Zeke got it for us at a steal because no one wanted to live in such a hideous place."

My mom just laughed at us. Behind her, the door was pushed open and my sister walked in. "That certainly explains the decor." She said with a laugh. "But please tell me you redid at least some of the rooms?" She gestured to the stoic forms of Callen and Felicity, who had struck up something of a friendship with the stoic swordsman.

"Nope." I said with a shrug. "Not even one. We had other stuff to be getting on with." I chuckled at her exasperated look, mirrored on the faces of Serah and Holly as they entered behind the group.

As everyone unpacked, Callie messaged Stella, her mother, and a few other old friends and told them we were here. They'd been waiting at the Unity building, but with Callie's dad being around none of us felt like stopping there. That confrontation would be handled easily enough, but not on the day we got here.

Looking around the house, I beamed at how little it had changed. It had been less than a year since we'd been here, but it felt like so much longer. I couldn't wait to see what had changed while we were gone. It was good to be home.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

It didn't take long for everyone to arrive. When they did, it quickly became apparent exactly what the 'surprise' that Amelia had for Callie actually was. My girlfriend gaped at her mother in absolute shock as the older woman placed a stabilizing hand on her very pregnant stomach. "You…you're-"

"Pregnant." Said her mother cheerily. "Yes, that usually comes before children. I'm not sure you should be getting married if you don't know where babies come from." She turned to me, shooting me a wide smile. "Shane, it's good to see you. Come here." She widened her arms and pulled me into a big hug.

I laughed as I squeezed back, then pulled away. "It's good to see you too Amelia. Is Alex with you?"

She chuckled. "He's out front. Stella brought gifts, so he got roped into carrying things."

"Why don't they just put them in their space rings?" I asked with a laugh. Space rings weren't common on Callus, but I was pretty sure most of the E-rankers had them. Alexander was the leader of a major force on this planet. As 'The Nothing' he was one of the big shots among the local WCP.

Amelia just shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe she was just messing with him. Some people consider things like that bad manners when delivering a gift." Her eyes scanned the room, stopping on my mother. "And you must be Sasha." She strode over, giving my mom a similarly effusive hug. "It's so nice to put a face to the name. And such a pretty one. I see where Shane gets his looks."

"From his father, mostly." Mom said with a laugh. "But that's nice of you to say. Calliope looks quite a bit like you too. Both so pretty."

Zeke groaned. "This is torture. Are you both just going to pat each other on the back this whole trip for having good looking children? We're Ascendants, we're ALL good looking. Now where's my hug?"

Laughing, Amelia stepped up and gave him a quick squeeze. "Good to see you Zeke. You seem different."

"I finally made it to A-rank." He shrugged. "Wasn't a fun time, but I think it was worth the pain and effort. And you're already G-rank? Impressive progress for such a short period of time." I was surprised when I took the time to actually pay attention to her Impact, because he was right.

Granted, we'd all taken much less time than that to hit G-rank, but we weren't the norm even among talents from powerful factions, much less a small backwater like Callus.

Amelia grinned smugly. "Seems that being the mother of a godslayer has its perks. I don't get nearly as much renown as she does, but there's definitely some rollover. Especially locally, a lot of the Nightstrike fans have been following your adventures, at least as far as the Moonsong Glade."

My fiancee noticed my smirk and raised a brow at me. "That makes you way more self satisfied than it should. I know we're getting married, but why are you so pleased with yourself."

"Say Amelia?" I asked casually. "What are those old Nightstrike novelty mugs worth at this point?"

She burst out laughing, and Callie started complaining loudly about how embarrassing it was that I still had those mugs. Everyone else came in, Stella trying her best to ignore Zeke while standing as close to him as possible to make it clear she wanted him to start a conversation, Jessie introducing Bethy, Gabe, and the others to Ian, and Chelsea getting a big hug from Amelia in greeting.

I noticed one figure slip off, and after a brief wait, I followed Abel outside, where he leaned against the house, relaxing and closing his eyes as if he was trying to memorize the scent. "So you are happy to be home." I accused.

"Tell no one." He said, opening one eye. "But yeah. I don't hate it. I'm planning to drop by and visit my brother in the next few days." At my glower he just chuckled. "Don't be like that. He might be an ass but he's my blood. I've definitely missed the weaselly little bastard. Not to mention Alden."

I nodded, leaning against the wall. "I'm surprised you're taking time off, honestly." I admitted. "You've never struck me as the type."

He shook his head. "Reaching my Solid Path has put me way ahead of most. Plus I was getting to the point where I was starting to overtrain. I was getting to the point of combat satiation. A break will do me good."

That wasn't a term I knew. "Combat satiation?" I asked slowly. "What exactly is that?"

"You ever heard of semantic satiation?" He asked. I shook my head. "Well, semantic satiation is when you repeat a word over and over until it loses meaning. Combat satiation is when you start to see battle as a math problem. You do the moves so often that it loses all meaning beyond numbers and positioning. When battle just becomes a math problem you start to lose motivation."

I nodded slowly. I got what he meant. When fighting, you always had to look out for attacks, plan your next move, and decide exactly what to do to win. But if you started viewing everything as numbers…it took the soul out of fighting.
I hadn't ever heard it put quite like that, but it was a good way to think of things. "So even you have limits when it comes to training, huh?"

"Everyone has limits." He said with a laugh. "Mine just aren't physical, or even really mental. I love to fight, and like I told you before, it's not a strain on me. That said, sometimes I need downtime so I don't kill my passion. Too much of a good thing, you know. Not something I was aware of until now, but Paths make you look at things differently."

That made sense. "So you're planning to take some time off before you start the fight with the Volcanic Ape. Let your brain reset. I can see how that might help."

"How about you?" He asked with a laugh. "You were so excited to come back. Running away already?"

I chuckled. "Nah. I'm just letting them talk. I'd prefer to do my greetings personally. More one on one. You know how it goes. We have all day anyway. Tomorrow we're heading out to the resort where everyone will be staying."

When we'd contacted everyone back home about the wedding, Stella had extended us the use of the Unity's high ranking resort city. I had never even heard of it, but apparently the E-rankers on-world spent most of their time there, when they didn't have business to handle. The WCP had E-district, and the Unity had the resort, a place called Wintervale.

Unlike most Ascendant nonsense, Wintervale wad a closely guarded secret among the top brass. It was located in the fucking polar ice caps, which explained why none of us had ever seen any sign of it. I'd even looked from space, but apparently we'd been in a bad spot to catch sight of it.

We were actually really lucky, because the invitee list was surprisingly long. Most of the guests were people who lived on Callus, but we had needed to invite basically every E-ranker on the planet because Amelia and the others still had to stick around and actually interact with these people, and we didn't want to burn bridges.

Except Midknight, obviously. He wasn't invited, and if we spotted him in the vicinity I suspected he would have a very bad day. Shadowthorn HAD been invited, but only because Callie wanted her half-brother Eric to be there, and he was too young to come alone. She had been informed that she should stay away from the bridal party and keep to herself.

"This is going to be a clusterfuck." I went on with a small laugh. He cocked his head at me, waiting for me to see more. "We invited a ton of people. Some from nearby systems, some from galaxies away, and I still don't know if they'll all make it. Most of them are strong enough to be considered dangerous on this planet, and we're sticking them all in a secret resort town together for a week."

He just shrugged. "It's a wedding." He said, like that explained anything. And maybe it did. "An Ascendant wedding at that. Might as well have ordered insanity from the caterers. But let me ask you this, kid. Do you think it'll be worth it? Are you worried enough to back out? Under all the bluster, are you hesitating for even a second to walk down that aisle?"

"No." I responded immediately. "Not even for a second. Callie is…I was head over heels the second I saw her. And it's not a pedestal thing either. If anything, her flaws make her more amazing to me. The way she worries over everyone and takes on way too much. How absurdly excited she gets over treasure. How grumpy she is in the morning."

He snickered. "Yeah, she has her problems. Though you're no walk in the park either."

"Yeah no shit." I snorted. "I'm an indecisive adrenaline seeking battle nut with more family issues than your average magazine series. My great grandmother is an evil goddess who probably wants to kill me if she knows I exist at all, and I appear to be basically cursed to suffer endless calamities because I have the blood of fully HALF of the existing gods running through my veins. Not to mention those gods are now at WAR."

I was panting by the time I finished my rant, and he raised a brow at me in amusement. "You done?" He said after I stopped talking for a minute. "Because you know that shit isn't your fault, right?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any less true." I ground out. I hadn't realized how much that had all been bothering me. I couldn't bring it up to Callie because she'd just tell me I was being-

"You're an idiot." Said the firm voice of my fiancee from behind me. I blinked, turning to find her staring at me stonily, arms crossed. "For being worried, AND for not telling me about it. Double idiot. Idiot squared. You are an idiot to the idiot power. Do you honestly think any of that matters to me?"

I grimaced. "No, but-"

"Or do you think," She went on icily. "That after all the nonsense we've been through, and after all the times we've both almost died. That I'm too much of a coward to marry the man I love because of a little danger?"

I turned slowly to stare her down. "I don't think 'evil homicidal goddess' counts as a little danger."

"Ah." She said, her face morphing into an expression of understanding (my Danger Dense actually went off because that was such an obvious trap, thanks for nothing Danger Sense). "So I'm the kind of person who leaves when the going gets tough? I can't stick it out if there's any real trouble?"

Abel put a hand over his mouth, and stage whispered. "It's a trap. Don't answer."

I ignored him. "No." I finally said, letting my shoulders sag. "You know that's not how I think of you. Just like you know I'm worried. You could sense that."

"Well yeah." She snorted. "But if I yelled at you for being an idiot inside your own head I'd never take a breath." She winked, and I knew we were ok. She stepped up and put her arms around me, laying her head on my chest.

"That." Came a voice from behind us. "Was the cutest thing I've ever seen." We both froze, and turned in horror to find our smirking mothers watching us, one of them holding…oh dear gods. They'd gotten that on tape. I had a feeling I'd have to make some serious concessions for them not to play it at the wedding. Damn it, we couldn't leave for the resort fast enough.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

We ended up heading for the resort just a few hours later. Amelia wanted a room to stay in, and unpacking in the house just to move immediately didn't make sense. We left Cark, Cass, and a few others behind since the wedding wasn't for a week. Cark wanted to check in on some friends in Rajak and Cass wanted to spend some time at the house.

Since Stella, Maria, Amelia, Alex, and all our friends from Valen were already with us, we just decided to skip a step and head right over. "So. Wintervale," I prompted Alexander. "What's it like? You've been before I take it?"

"I have." He acknowledged. "My brother may be the guildmaster of the Unity branch on Callus, but as you might be aware, he splits his authority with a council of guild elders. I'm on good terms with several of them, and they mostly live in Wintervale. The Moravian is probably the most famous of them, since he's the oldest Ascendant on Callus."

I nodded. "Three thousand. But I doubt he's going to be anything impressive, given where he is. Callus is pretty backwater in terms of cultivation knowledge."

"Don't bet on that." Said Zeke seriously from where he was sitting across the table. We were in my mom's Halcyon shuttle again, so there was room for everyone. "Anyone who has been at E-rank for a few millennia is bound to have some tricks. And just because grunts like you didn't know anything about cultivation when you were here doesn't mean the bigwigs are as ignorant."

My mom nodded. "He's right. There's a long history of talented people stuck at a certain level perfecting their strength beyond what even some faction talents manage."

"Damn." I said with a sigh. "I forgot about that. Abel was like that, spent like a decade working on his strength at G-rank. But they can't be Master Candidates right? Or I guess Grandmaster Candidates since they're at E-rank. They wouldn't have the soul strength."

Alex shook his head. "It wouldn't surprise me if the Moravian had been to the Ruined Soul Temple. Don't forget it opens regularly. His origin is somewhat mysterious actually, he kind of just appeared out of nowhere from what I know."

"There are quite a few older Ascendants who don't bother with the limelight anymore." Said Amelia with a frown. "Since they can't reach D-rank, renown isn't important for them. They bide their time, hidden away in Wintervale. Paul mentioned them quite often when we were married. The elders are a consistent source of aggravation for all the guildmasters."

I just shrugged. "So maybe there are some decent fighters here. But we're not pushovers. I'm not scared of anyone in E-rank, and I doubt Abel is either. Plus we have Bethy, Gabe, Callie, hell even Benny is getting to be decently intimidating."

"Hey!" Snapped my best friend. "Don't add me as an afterthought….ass. Not everyone can be a total monster like all of you. I'm damned impressive for my level."
"It doesn't matter anyway." Cut in Callie. "We didn't come here to stage a coup. The elders aren't our enemies. We're here to get married, and we invited everyone who would have gotten offended." She winked at me. "Plus they're all probably super rich. Think of the wedding gifts."

I chuckled. "The loot goblin awakens. I hope you all put some effort into your gifts, because she'll be inconsolable if she doesn't get lots of shiny things to hoard."

"I do not HOARD." She snapped in annoyance. "I COLLECT beautiful and valuable items. In a pile. Inside my space ring. And sometimes I take them out and roll around in them. But that isn't hoarding. It's just enthusiastic appreciation."

Bethy sniffed loftily. "She's right. You'll never understand the appreciation a true artist has for their craft. Philistines."

"I don't think robbing people counts as an art." I said with a smirk.

Callie narrowed her eyes at me. "I don't rob people. I simply forcibly collect a toll for allowing them the pleasure of my company in combat." She swept her hair back over one shoulder dramatically. "It's their honor to get beat up by someone as beautiful as me." She raised a brow at me. "Right?"

"You're picking up bad habits from all the ridiculous nobles we've run into recently." I snickered. I knew she was just playing, but her impression of all those lofty second generation nobles was way too on the money.

"Excuse me." Said Celine in an offended voice. "I'm sitting right here!"

I patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. We didn't run into you recently. We've had a long time to get used to your ridiculousness."

She flipped me off, and Benny rocked back in his chair, clutching his heart dramatically. "Did you see that? Did all of you see that? Celine gave someone the middle finger. This must be what true love is like."

"Does that mean you're planning to propose like Shane did?" Jessie asked sweetly. "We could have a double wedding."

Benny glared at her. "Don't put that in her head!" He paled, turning to Celine. "Not that I'm saying I don't want to marry you. We're just really young. Not everyone can be as nauseatingly infatuated with each other as Callie and Shane."

"If that's in your best man toast, I'm going to punch you in the kidney." I said cheerfully.

We looked at each other for a second, and then we both burst out laughing. The others just rolled their eyes at our antics.

"If you idiots are done." Called my sister from near the wall of windows. "I think we're coming up on Wintervale. This is actually pretty amazing. Come and see."

I hopped up, hurrying to the window, and what I saw when I arrived took my breath away. A mesmerizing aurora lit the sky ahead of us, twisting and writhing over a small (by Callus standards) city nestled into a huge crack in the polar ice.

It was one of the most serene places I'd ever seen. The city was set within a verdant valley, pine trees and lush grass dotting the space, with buildings set in small recesses along a winding road. There were some shopping districts, a huge lodge, and dozens of smaller buildings that seemed like they might be restaurants.

Oddly, the weather seemed to shift abruptly once we entered the valley, which fit with the image of the place. From above it almost looked like the center of a flower, with the ice arching up over the top, leaving only enough open space to show the aurora. That was why I hadn't seen the resort from space. It was hidden.

When we touched down, we were greeted by yet another round of reunions. Some of whom were surprising. Sydney and Megan from the Wave Warren, Lament and Wren from the Spear Legion, and Sloan, Beric, and Croll from the Beast Lord Garden, were all waiting for us when we touched down.

"You guys!" Callie squealed as she charged over to start giving out hugs. I laughed and followed, giving Wren a fist bump in greeting as Sydney and Megan tackled me. "Shane! Look how many people showed up!"

An amused voice sounded from behind us. "Oh, I see how it is. You saw us recently so we don't get the enthusiastic greeting, huh?" I spun, eyes wide as I saw my cousin and Camden grinning at us.

"Nat?" I gasped, putting down the rabbit girls to hug Nat. "How did you guys get here? I didn't think you'd make it in time, but even if you did it would have been closer to day of."

She chuckled. "Well, after Zeke offed the Duke, there was a big shift in power in the Tolbert family." She nodded at Camden. "His grace over here is getting way more attention from the top brass, and he was able to arrange faster transport. We took an A-rank ship to the nearest system hub and caught a portal to Callus."

"You must have left around the same time we did." I goggled. "Lucky catching a ride."

"What can I say." She said cockily. "I've got the moves." I just laughed, squeezing her tight before I let her go. In the nearly ten months since I'd seen my cousin, she seemed to have been doing well for herself. Her quiet and withdrawn demeanor from after Perit died was gone, replaced with a slightly sadder version of the same cousin I remembered meeting before I first left home.

Valk, who had been standing off to the side, gave me a quiet smile and a nod, which I returned.

Bethy, who had been saying hello to our friends from the Wave Warren (screams of 'bunny!' rebounded across the clearing) spotted my cousin and blurred over to catch her in a hug. "Natty!" She squealed. "You look so great! I'm so glad to see you! How have you been? How are things back in the secret valley?"

"Hey Bethy." Laughed my cousin as she hugged the tiny vampire. "It's good to see you too. And the territory is fine. I'm sure Celine would be happy to give updates if you ask. I heard everyone got to meet your dad, I'm sorry I missed it."

Behy nodded quickly. "It was awesome. Daddy got to meet all my friends and then he beat up a bunch of S-rank enemies and scared everybody senseless."

"It was definitely quite a sight." I admitted. "Lark's Domain is terrifying. But I'm glad you weren't there, honestly. It was scary as hell, and we all almost died a bunch of times. Even Zeke barely made it out."

She grimaced. "I heard Uncle Eli made an appearance."

"An appearance is a good way to put it." I sneered. "Then that asshole booked it out of there before I could see him again." I smirked. "I punched him in the throat though."

"Broke your hand?" She asked with a knowing smirk. When I nodded she just rolled her eyes and laughed. "You're so melodramatic. Bet it felt pretty good though. Now where is my future cousin in law?"

Callie emerged from the crowd of well wishes. "Here I am!' She called with a laugh, embracing Nat before pulling away. I saw a bit of worry and hesitation in her eyes, and felt more through the bond, but Nat's open acceptance and greeting soothed her worries. Callie still blamed herself for Perit's death, even if Nat didn't.

"I trust you left room in the bridal party?" I asked with a laugh to take her mind off things.

Callie just rolled her eyes at me. "Yes, obviously. Leave all the important stuff to mean and your mom, sweetie. You can pick the music or something." She winked to let me know she was teasing, but I latched onto the joke immediately.

"Hell yes I'll pick the music." I said with a grin. "You ever heard of Witzern Delta?"

Her eyes widened in horror. "You are NOT hiring a singing comedian to sing at our wedding Shane. We have foreign DIGNITARIES coming to this. Witzern Delta uses PROPS!"

I cackled maniacally as I raced away, calling for Benny as my fiancee shouted in panic for me to stop messing around. I slowed to a walk when I was out of sight, enjoying doing a bit of teasing of my own, and then made my way up to the lodge.

We still needed to check in before we got started looking around as the venue and the rehearsal space and all the activity sites (Ascendant weddings were complicated and dramatic, much like Ascendants themselves). Benny caught up with me as I approached the front desk, and laughed when I told him about my earlier joke.

More and more old friends were showing up, and I couldn't wait to see them all. Despite being in the polar ice caps, I felt warmer here on Callus than I had for over a year. Now I just needed to find someone to get my wishes out of the way, and I could really relax for a change.

 

[Vongrak]

This was so much fun to come back to. I was mostly coming because I happened to find out about the amazon books and that I was nearly going to miss out... but it's been so much fun and better then I remember (I mean I only read new content but you get what I mean). I am now definately going to purchase the first few books... but...

@Malcolm Tent I was wondering if you get a good cut of the money from the paperback copies of Wish? I do sort of want physical copies but I'm mostly doing this to support you. I don't need specifics, but I don't want to pay the extra ten-ish dollars if that's all going to amazon.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

This was so much fun to come back to. I was mostly coming because I happened to find out about the amazon books and that I was nearly going to miss out... but it's been so much fun and better then I remember (I mean I only read new content but you get what I mean). I am now definately going to purchase the first few books... but...

@Malcolm Tent I was wondering if you get a good cut of the money from the paperback copies of Wish? I do sort of want physical copies but I'm mostly doing this to support you. I don't need specifics, but I don't want to pay the extra ten-ish dollars if that's all going to amazon.

Click to shrink...

Honestly I'm not sure. I know I get a chunk of the proceeds, but my publisher handles the specifics. Whatever form you buy the books in I definitely appreciate the support.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The inside of the lodge was surprisingly homey. I'd been expecting it to be some big towering hall, but the first room wasn't a colossal chamber. It was just a lobby. The wooden ceiling was only about a hundred feet up, and the walls were decorated with pictures and memorabilia. There was a marble fireplace set near two of the walls, with a little nook area surrounded by couches.

At the front desk, a clean cut, lanky man with grey hair and a red bellhop jacket greeted us warmly, and after checking us in, showed us to our rooms.

"So." Said my best friend as we walked. "I've got a big night planned in a day or two. We're going to see an E-rank grudge match between a hero and a villain that have been feuding for years, then we're heading up into the aurora to catch light sprites, which are supposed to be good luck, and to finish it off, all of us are going to share a dragon steak, from an actual draconic bloodline monster, that weighs fifty pounds."

I blinked at him in shock. "Jessie is going to be putting together something for Callie and the girls on the same night. But as your best man I naturally needed to give you a good sending off, while acknowledging that your fiancee can read your mind."

"She can't read my mind." I said with a laugh. "But that does sound like a lot of fun. How the hell did you track down a fifty pound dragon steak?"

He snorted derisively. "Out in the universe you may be a super bigshot, but don't forget this is my home turf. My dad owns the biggest mining interest on Callus, and he's still got fingers in pies. Combined with my own strength I can get anything I need to here."

"Yeah, yeah." I said with an eye roll. "You're Mr. Connections. I bow before your superior procuring talents."

"Damn right." He said proudly. Then his teasing tone softened. "Shane…this is a big fucking deal, man. I'm kind of blown away. I mean I knew it was coming, you proposed like ten months ago, but being here, back home. It really drives it home. I'm happy for you. And I'm proud you picked me to be your best man."

I chuckled. "As if there was anyone else I'd pick. Does that mean you're willing to help with all the arrangements? I have to go help Callie pick out a cake tomorrow, double check the venue, get my tux fitted, and about a dozen other things. I could use some backup."

"Can't you split your brain into like…a hundred different parallels?" He asked suspiciously.

Snorting, I waved off his question. "If I want my soul to collapse maybe.I've been doing some research on that Skill for a new form, actually, but it's not ready. Regardless, don't be a dick. As the best man it's your job to help. You and Celine can go with Jessie to check on the flowers. Callie wants black calla lillies as the center of the arrangements. "
He groaned good naturedly, but relented, and we chatted about how nice it was to be home before we got to our rooms, which were pretty close to each other. Before we could go in though, a familiar face appeared. "Alden!' I said with a wide grin. "Good to see you, man, how have you been?"

I clasped the older man's wrist, patting him on the shoulder, but I realized quickly that he looked a bit out of sorts. "You as well, lad. Congratulations on the impending nuptials. Listen, have you seen Cicero? He came with me, but he hasn't checked into his room. I can't seem to find him anywhere."

"Is someone missing?" Callie asked as she and the others came up the hall behind us.

I turned and nodded, shooting a look at Abel, who was frowning. "Yeah Cicero isn't in his room and Alden hasn't seen him. I'm sure it's nothing, but we can help him look around."

Abel snorted. "Knowing my brother, I'm sure he snuck off into the city to try to find some E-ranker willing to invest in the circus. He's always been good at that kind of thing. He's probably fine." Despite his relaxed tone though, I could see some worry in his eyes.

"Well if he's not here we can just keep an eye out." I said firmly. "But there's no harm in getting the lay of the land, and we can look for him as we do."

Alden let out a relieved sigh. None of us really LIKED Abel's brother except Abel, but Alden had basically raised Abel, Mel, and Cicero. The red bearded man was the closest thing Abel and his brother had to a dad.

We got the room number from Alden. It wasn't far, so we all headed over to check it out. To my surprise, I noticed Bethy looking unsettled. I hung back to check in with her. "Hey, everything alright?"

She nodded absently. "It's nothing." She said faintly, clearly trying to reassure herself. "I'm sure it is. But I feel…I feel like we're being watched. I've been feeling it since we got here. Like there's a predator looking at me. I get twitchy sometimes, I'm sure there isn't anything wrong. But with someone missing…"

I straightened my back, coming alert for the first time since we'd arrived on the planet. Being home didn't mean no danger. Callie felt the shift and glanced at me worriedly. My mom and Zeke had gone off to help get Amelia settled, but I wouldn't have consulted them anyway.

This was Callus. Our home. We didn't need high rank protection here. Zeke couldn't interfere with anything given we were at the highest possible rank, and my mom getting involved could be dicey. My grandmother was apparently trying to mediate things with Black Sorrow, but until then, keeping her out of the limelight was for the best, especially when we were RIGHT on the edge of Black Sorrow Cult territory.
"Alden, when was the last time you saw Cicero?" I asked. If it was just an hour or two there was no reason to be worried. Even if I was getting a bad feeling.

He grunted. "Been about five hours. We separated when we showed up, I was taking in the sights and stopped for a meal. By the time I got finished I realized he wasn't around, so I went looking. His room doesn't look disturbed or anything. But him being missing is odd."

When we reached the right door, Abel slipped past us and knocked. "Cicero!" He called. No one answered. "Cy, open your damned door or I'll break it down. And neither of us wants you to have to pay for that." After another minute with no response he pulled back his fist, ready to make good on his threat.

I stepped up in front of him. "Woah there." I said with a laugh. "Why don't you let me take care of it." Focusing on the door, I triggered Double Trouble, appearing behind it. I let the illusion of me fade as I opened the door from the inside. "Come on in."

After I let everyone inside, I turned to take in the room. It was nice. Like shockingly nice. Plush carpet, big central fireplace with a sort of stone bench surrounding it, a huge bed, a dresser, and a door leading out onto a full sized patio with a hot tub. I was beginning to regret getting sidetracked before entering my own room.

"I don't see him." Said Abel worriedly. "I thought he might be sleeping. He sleeps like the dead. Can you do your…" He made a bunch of weird random gestures near his face and the opened and closed his hands near his eyes like flashing lights.

We all stared at him. Finally I rolled my eyes. "Yes, fine. I can try Eye of Revelation." I triggered the Skill, scanning the room for anything that might be hidden, my crown activating as I did to improve the power of my eyes. I didn't pick up much. I wasn't sure what exactly I was looking for. My gaze was trailing the length of the room for the third time when I noticed something.

Walking over to the dresser, I knelt down, reaching underneath to fish out an item I'd overlooked the first few passes because it was so innocuous. When I pulled back my hand, I was holding a shiny brass button with a lion engraved on the front.

Abel walked over to take it from me. "That's one of his coat buttons." He said flatly. "He's obsessed with that damned coat. You'd have to pry a button out of his cold dead fingers if it came off. He'd have reattached it right away." his eyes flicked around. "Does anyone see any evidence of a struggle anywhere?"

We started searching the room again, this time looking for anything out of place. Before we got too far though, the door opened. We all spun, and I had my staff out and ready to attack before I even finished moving.

A familiar man in a top hat and a red coat froze as he entered. "Oh." He said slowly. "Hello? Is there a reason you're in my room?" He was standing extremely still, like he was worried we'd eat him if he made any sudden movements, and I felt kind of bad for randomly showing up in his space unannounced like this.

"Where the hell have you been?" Demanded Abel. "Alden says he hasn't seen you in hours." His voice was tense, but he was clearly relieved. I was kind of relieved too, honestly. I'd been winding myself up for some kind of disappearance mystery. It would be par for the course for my ridiculous life.

Cicero shrugged. "I was just out for a walk. I went out into town hoping to make a few friends. See if they might be interested in a circus coming through once in a while. These people are very influential, you know. I didn't even know Wintervale existed until I got this invitation." He tipped his hat to Callie and me. "Thank you again for inviting me, by the way. It's an honor."

I nodded but didn't say anything else. Cicero wasn't my favorite person. Aside from Abel, I'd mostly invited him because he partially owned the land our Pavilion was on, and Alden worked for him. The red bearded man had helped us out quite a bit when we first got to G-district, so inviting his skeevy manipulative ward was the least we could do.

Besides, Cicero couldn't do shit to us at our rank. I could literally go to sleep in front of him and not worry about what would happen. Inviting him posed no threat to anyone and it made Abel and Alden happy, so it wasn't a big deal.

Abel and Cicero bickered for a few minutes, and the man with the top hat apologized to our group for causing them worry. We all headed back to our rooms, and he headed to bed, tired from the day's activities, whatever those might have been.

As the door closed though, I caught his reflection in the knob across the hall. He was staring at me with a cold expression on his face, and despite my earlier thoughts about how he wasn't a threat, I got an unsettled feeling in my gut. Then it was shut, and I felt silly. I met Bethy's eyes, and she looked as embarrassed as I felt.

We'd both blown things way out of proportions. Clearly being out in the universe for so long had made us paranoid. Not everything was an insidious plot to kill us. I followed Callie back to our room, I played with the little metal object I was still holding. I pocketed the little brass lump, but as I did, I mentally recounted the meeting with Cicero. His coat hadn't been missing a button.

 

[Bezarius]

Well, that Cicero is definitely a shapeshifter.

 

[MichaelSuave]

No no, the universe is 100% trying to kill you, and the reference to a man in a top hat instead of ciscero clearly means it isn't Abel's brother.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Not forgetting to get my wishes in, I dropped seventy more points into Fantasy with the help of one of the wedding guests and then Callie and I went to sleep. I didn't mention my worries to her about Cicero right away. Something about that whole encounter bothered me, so I decided to check in with my uncle.

Given his Path, hiding a disguise from someone like him would be near impossible. So when I woke up the next morning I went to his room and pounded on the door. No one answered, so I just kept pounding, Zekie and I didn't have much in the way of boundaries when it came to things like this.

After a few minutes, the door flew open. "What?" Snapped an enraged Stella as she glared at me…until she realized who she was talking to and her eyes widened in horror. Looking down at herself in a misbuttoned collared shirt and no pants, with her hair mussed all over the place.

"Hey Stella." I said, trying to suppress a grin. "Nice outfit. Very avante garde."

Blushing furiously, she looked down the hall to either side of us. "Shane. How…unexpected. I didn't know you'd be visiting. I just…lost my pants. Ezekiel was helping me…oh hells. You're getting married, you know why I'm here. Just don't tell Ian please?"

"Not my business." I said, holding up my hands in surrender. "Though I don't think he'd begrudge you a chance at happiness."

She glared at me. " Zeke and I are just old friends who enjoy each other's company. Things are casual. It's not like we're seeing each other. I don't want Ian to get confused. There's definitely no happiness!"

"Ouch." I said with a laugh. "I'll be sure to mention that to Zeke. He in there? I was hoping to talk to him."

Her scowl deepened. "That's not what I…oh forget it. Yes." She looked over her shoulder. "Ezekial, your menace of a nephew is at the door." She stalked off, slamming the door, still muttering about nosy kids with big mouths.

A minute later, Zeke appeared. "What do you want, kid? It's six in the morning. I knew it was a bad idea to let you join the army."

"Oh wah." I mocked him mercilessly. "You're an A-ranker. You don't even need sleep. I, however, need your help with something. Last night, there was a weird incident with Abel's brother. Did you get a chance to get a look at him?"

"Cicero?" He asked lazily. "Yeah, I checked him out. Better safe than sorry."

I waved my hand impatiently. "And? Was there something wrong with him? That whole thing was really suspicious."

"I mean, he was wearing a bright red jacket with gold buttons and a top hat." He shrugged. "So probably a bunch of things. Nothing ability based though. First thing I thought of was that he might have been possessed or controlled."

Frowning, I went back over the events of the previous night. Had I been imagining things? If Zeke couldn't find anything wrong there wasn't anything to find. Maybe he'd just sewn on a new button. Still, between Bethy's weird feeling and mine, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on.

"Just…keep an eye out?" I asked slowly. "Something is off. I can feel it. Gotta trust my instincts, right?"

He nodded. "Sure…except when you don't, and you're just being paranoid. Being an Ascendant will do that. But it's your party. I'll keep my eyes peeled." If there was an incident, it was unlikely to be related to the candidacy. With the god war ongoing, factional disputes were on hold, and even interfaction issues were mostly being backburnered. There was even talk of the big succession battle being moved up to get it out of the way, though nothing was set in stone.

Thanking my uncle, I headed back to my room, to find Callie sitting up in bed, chin on her palm as she waited for me.

"Hey, you're up early." I said with a smile as I hung my mask, cape, and crown near the door.

She growled lightly, as happy to be up in the morning as ever. "Where'd you go?" She grumbled, trying to fix her messy hair.

"Zeke's room." I told her. Then I filled her in on my suspicions from the previous night. She'd been tired and frazzled the night before, so I avoided mentioning it, but only until I could talk to my uncle. Callie was going to be my wife, and I wasn't going to keep anything important from her if I had a choice.

By the time I finished she was frowning. "He said he didn't notice anything?" She asked suspiciously.

"Not a thing." I said with a shrug. "Probably just me being paranoid. We have a cake tasting today though, so I think you have bigger fish to fry. Speaking of which, I think one of the flavors they're pitching us might BE fried fish. That list was…extensive."

She scoffed. "Savory cakes are all the rage now. Obviously our wedding has to have the most cutting edge style. It's the social event of the century."

If I hadn't had the bond, I might not have known she was messing with me, but I could feel the mischief behind her words. "I'll be stylish as hell when I eat the strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting I'm going to request from the baker."

Climbing out of bed, she stretched and then strolled up, pecking me on the lips before heading to take a shower. "You're still not getting out of tasting. We'll pick together."

Laughing, I walked over to change. I switched into a nice pair of slacks, a button up, and a coat, slipping my mask back on, and when Callie came out she threw on a pair of leggings, a t-shirt, and a black denim half jacket along with her own mask.

Given our relative power (about three Impact points past every other E-ranker on this planet), walking around fully armed was likely overkill, and it would probably start unnecessary trouble. Since we were home, and pretty much at the peak of this planet, we'd decided to wear our civvies, with only the masks as a nod to our cape identities.

To my surprise, when we arrived in the lobby, my sister was waiting for us. "Hey!" She said excitedly when she saw us. "You guys look so cute in normal clothes."

"I feel so weird without my cape." I said, shifting my shoulders. "And these clothes are too light."

Callie grinned at me. "Big baby. You'll get used to it. And if not it'll be over soon." She winked at my sister. "You can see why I brought you along. He's such a whiner when it's just the two of us. Hopefully with you here he'll calm down."

"Not just her." Cut in another familiar voice. We turned to see Felicity, dressed in a hoodie and a summer dress, smiling dimly at us. "I heard there was free cake."

Callie beamed at her. "Of course. The more the merrier. How have you been feeling?"

Felicity gave a tired chuckle. "Better. Worse. I don't know. Less numb, but that's not exactly fun. Mostly I'm just…tired. There's so much bad that reliving it wears me out. I'm almost glad that my recovery is taking so long. I'd say I'm at…five percent. But five percent of an ocean of suck is plenty."

I grimaced. I'd been using my Genesis Burst on Felicity every day to undo the damage her dad had done. It was working very, very slowly, and I was pretty sure she was developing a resistance, but she'd made enough progress that she could slowly start coming to terms with her past, as much as anyone could come to terms with what she'd been through."

"Well today isn't about pain." Chelsea said, face full of forced cheer. "It's about family. And cake. So much cake."

I smirked at her. "You get one slice of each cake, so calm down. I'm not paying for a hundred wedding cakes if you decide to go on a binge." My sister, much like my fiancee, had a penchant for sweets. So did Benny, which was why my best friend had been relegated to flower duty.

Speaking of which. "You bastard." He groaned as Celine and Jessie dragged him over, Callen following behind them. "I thought you were joking about the cake tasting. How could you leave me out of this?"

"Flowers are a dirty job." I said mercilessly. "But someone has to do it. Heh, see what I did there? Because flowers grow in dirt, and also you aren't getting any cake and are therefore a joke to me."

"I will fight you." he said murderously. And received simultaneous elbows from both Jessie and Celine. "That is to say." He said, his voice becoming a monotone. "I am overjoyed to participate in any way you choose in your special day."

Callie shot Celine an impressed look. "That's amazing, how did you get him to do that?"

"I agreed to go to watch the Doom Sovereign PVP league finals with him later this week." She admitted with a sigh.

My eyes widened, and I swung to stare at my best friend. "What? But the finals aren't for another two months!" I didn't keep track of the DS Leagues anymore, but I knew what time of the year they happened.

"Nope." He said smugly. "They got moved up. Some sort of dispute with the fruit vendors union over the snacks at the venue. They had to switch suppliers and the new fruits aren't in season during the original timeframe."

I nodded. "Damn, I'll have to check it out, do you know wh-"

"So sorry." Said Callie as she grabbed my arm, my sister snagging the other as they dragged me away. "We're going to be late. No time to talk about Doom Sovereign or fruit. Enjoy the flower shop!"

Behind us, Felicity laughed quietly, which I took to be a good sign.

It didn't escape my notice that we had the only C-ranker in our group along for the ride, or that Jessie and the others had Callen with them. Someone must be taking my worries seriously, because they made sure we were suitably protected.

Felicity, despite the limits placed on her by the WCP, was still a C-ranker, and while she couldn't intervene directly in my favor for higher level opponents, she could protect Callie and Chelsea if need be. Despite knowing we were among the top one percent of powers on this planet, knowing that my worries weren't being discarded still made me feel better.

We headed for the cake vendor. Callie had hired an E-rank chef, a former heroine who went by Bakery, to cater the wedding, and she was especially excited about the cake. I had to admit, I was excited to taste some high end E-rank cooking myself.

When we arrived at Bakery's…bakery, she let us inside, and escorted us to the back where the tasting room was set up.

Arrayed in front of us was a huge room filled with tables piled high with hundreds of varieties of cakes, each one missing a slice. In the center of the room was a round dining table covered with a white tablecloth and set with a hundred plates, each one with a slice of cake with a tiny numbered flag stabbed into it.

I could feel Callie's excitement as she took in the spread, and I laughed as I saw it mirrored in my sister's avaricious gaze. I'd been kind of worried after last night, but it was hard to keep my suspicions up under the onslaught of such pure joy. I let myself relax as I was dragged along to the table, picking up the first slice and taking a big bite…only to grimace as the taste of okra and fried eggplant filled my mouth. Actually…this day might be longer than I had expected.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The cake tasting was…interesting. There was the usual stuff, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, even a few out there choices like lemon. But Bakery had apparently taken the stylishness challenge to heart, because there were more than a few unique options too. Fish, beef, spicy pickled cabbage.

I had a bite of a lobster pate cake that was surprisingly good with scallion cream cheese, though the raspberry pistachio goulash cheesecake was a close second. "None of this should be edible." I said as I chowed down on a cheddar macadamia white chocolate bundt cake with a chicken stock glaze. "It's weird that it is. But the flavors are weirdly modulated so they set each other off instead of clashing."

"The turkey rhubarb isn't half bad." Said Callie consideringly. "But I think you're right. It's just exceptional cooking Skill balancing it out."

I bit into a caramel carrot cheesecake, enjoying the flavor. "But it's not enough. The actual dessert type cakes are still much better. No need to balance, it's just leaning into the harmony of the flavors head on."

"He's right." Said my sister. "Hate to say it, because that shrimp and onion butterscotch cream cake was definitely on my short list, but I think going for something edgy is going to deprive you of the cake that will serve you best." She held up a fork to my fiancee. "Which, in my opinion, is this."

Callie took a sip of milk to cleanse her palate, then took the bite from Chelsea, and her eyes went wide. "This…this is amazing. What is this?"

"Brown butter pecan poundcake with a bacon caramel cream cheese frosting." My sister said smugly. "The bacon isn't as out there as it sounds. It stops the sweetness from overpowering the taste. Here, try it." She passed me the plate, and I took a big bite, closing my eyes and groaning in exultation.

It was amazing. The poundcake was soft and fluffy, but still dense, the butter was blended into the taste, with the pecans exploding across my tongue like starbursts during a delicious meteor shower, and the bacon caramel frosting was creamy, but with a slight bacon tang that pulled the cake back JUST before it dove off the edge of decadence.

"This one." Calle and I said as she grabbed another plate with the same cake on it and took a bite.

My sister grinned smugly. "Obviously." She said with a lofty tone that she barely pulled off without bursting into laughter. "My taste is flawless and impeccable, you know. Speaking of which…the bridesmaids dresses."

Callie shook her head. "I know we were going to use the ones we picked out shopping on the Tricorn, but then my mom wouldn't have one. I didn't know she was pregnant, so the fitting is going to be useless. I'm afraid you'll have to make do."

"But they were so pretty." Whined my sister. "And the new ones are so…" She trailed off as Callie raised a brow. "Also pretty." She finished lamely. "In a different way. A worse way. I'm sorry, but orange silk? They look like they're made of pumpkin."

My fiancee shrugged. "Orange goes well with my black dress. Most of the wedding is black, but we needed a color for a power accent."

"This is ok with you?" Demanded my sister? "You realize you'll be wearing an orange silk vest and tie with your tux, right? You can talk her out of this. We don't need an accent color,it can be monochrome."

Callie flicked an amused glance at my sister's black and white hair. "Really? Because that color scheme definitely doesn't favor anyone."

"I didn't INVENT monochrome." Said my sister in exasperation. "It's a noted style choice. It just so happens to work with my hair but…oh my gods, you won't do it because you don't want me to steal your thunder."

"I am APPALLED that you think so little of me." Callie gasped in offense. "I would never do something like that. Now you'll wear your ugly dress and stand in the background so I look pretty on my wedding day and you'll like it." She winked to show she was teasing and we all burst out laughing, even Chelsea.

Callie wasn't a petty person. I was sure the dresses looked fine, Bethy would be wearing one, and I wouldn't want to be the one to try to convince Bethy to wear an ugly bridesmaids dress.

"How about you?" My sister asked smugly. "You going to get your groomsmen outfitted in time?"

I shrugged. "Suits, ties, vests." I said with a lazy wave. "Easy as cake. And speaking of-"

My fiancee cut me off. "No." She said bluntly. "We're not bringing any of these home. We'd both gorge ourselves and be sick of cake by the wedding day. I'd like to take some back too. That ravioli spinach layer cake with alfredo frosting was delicious, and would make a fantastic dinner."

I sighed, but she was right. "Fair enough. Maybe we can grab one to go after the wedding." I held up a hand, calling over one of the attendants. "Hey, we picked the one we want." I gestured to the poundcake.

"We'll take a thirteen layer, and we want the custom topper. Use our faces, but we'll send you the outfit details." Callie said excitedly.

The woman from the shop, whose name tag said Amelie, smiled. "A wonderful choice Madame. I'm quite fond of that one myself." She winked. "I taste test for Bakery when she tries new recipes, so I've tried almost everything."

"Dream job." Groaned Felicity, who hadn't spoken through the whole conversation. Turning to look at her as she talked, I realized WHY. All the plates within arms reach were clear, and my cousin (easiest way to think of her in my mind) was greedily glancing at the other plates around us, as if ready to pounce across the table.

Chelsea raised a brow. "Liss?" She said hesitantly. "When was the last time you had sugar?"

"I never eat sugar." Said Felicity, eyes darting around. "I never needed sweet food. Da- my father said it was an indulgence. And since I've come to live with you I mostly take my own meals in my rooms."

My sister reached over and gently uncurled the girl's hands from the fork. "Why don't we just take that away." She said slowly as she pried away the eating utensil which was being held point down in a fist like a murder weapon. "You guys can clear the plates." She said as the attendants approached warily. "Liss, why don't we go to lunch and get something a bit more filling for you to eat."

I wasn't sure if a C-ranker could GET a sugar rush, though if it was possible, Bakery would probably be the one to make it happen, at least on this planet. More reasonably, it was probably just excitement at trying something new and an inability to deal with positive emotions, since she was only starting to feel them.

She pouted a bit (albeit subtly, I was getting used to her dim expressions, and my Perception helped me recognize what she was feeling) and the rest of us chuckled. After we convinced her, I noticed a small smile quirking her lips, and became convinced she was messing with us a bit, too. I didn't mind. She hadn't been able to mess with anyone for most of her life, a little teasing was to be expected.

After we left the details of the cake with Bakery, we moved on. Callie had memorized the layout of the town, and led us effortlessly through the streets until we stopped at an unassuming looking shop.

Pushing the door open, we were greeted by the heavy scent of paper and ink. I froze as I took in the neat, handwritten sign behind the counter.

"The SCARLET SCRIBE!" I hissed at my fiancee. "I thought he was dead!"

A chuckle rang out from behind the counter. A tall, thin man with a monocle and a well trimmed mustache smiled genteely at me. "You were meant to. That's why it's called retirement. Welcome to the Scarlet Scribe's Seamless Stenograph. Did you call ahead?"

"We did." Callie answered, talking over me. "The Wyndham-Reynolds wedding. I commissioned you for the invitations?"

"Ah yes." He said with a nod. "I got your requests. I have a few samples for you to choose from before I begin the final product. I was led to understand that these are collectible invitations? Meant to given to the guests as mementos?"

I hadn't been aware of that, but it made sense. Why else would we be coming to talk about invitations after everyone was already invited. I could see the reasoning too. Invitations would be a good gift for the guests too. Cheaper than most things but also personalized. Callie nodded enthusiastically. "That's the one. What do you have for me?"

Nodding slowly, the Scarlet Scribe (a particularly terrifying Rajak villain I'd heard about during my early days in the city who wrote notes in the blood of his enemies) withdrew a box from behind the counter and began laying out a variety of cardstock invitations.

I had to admit, there were some really interesting ones. Some beautiful night sky designs with glittering silver stars, a couple of deep forest scenes (which we both immediately nixed) and finally settled on the last one. The image was of a beautiful sunset, with a dark sky and shining stars overhead spelling out the invitee's name.

The sunset incorporated the black and orange that Callie wanted to use as the wedding theme, and we had all the details ironed out within about ten minutes, after which we set out again for that lunch we'd promised Felicity.

As we were walking though, I felt a strange sensation. I stopped, scanning the road around us, looking between buildings and across rooftops. I flicked on Eye of Revelation scanning between trees and in shadows, searching for…something. Callie looked at me worriedly. "What's wrong?" She asked, trying to see what I was seeing.

Which was nothing, until…I caught a flash of movement, my eyes flicked over to the spot on my periphery but nothing was there. I blurred forward, triggering State of Grace, and was across the intervening distance in a second. When I arrived nothing was there, but I was already on the trail. Eye of Revelation caught some disturbances in the grass and I was off.

Felicity was alerted, but the thing was E-rank, based on my brief glimpse of…whatever it was. Callie and Chelsea and I were on it though, and I kicked on Mephisto's Waltz, pushing myself as fast as I could, but the thing was smart. It kept changing directions and I was going so fast I needed to double back.

Finally, we reached the edge of the city, and we hit the icy cliffs surrounding Wintervale at speed. I triggered Ripple Running and went straight up the side, emerging out into a howling blizzard I hadn't even noticed from inside the valley. Off in the snow, I caught one last glimpse of a lumbering form with icy white fur before it vanished.

Callie saw it for a second as she arrived, but didn't get a good look, and Chelsea was barely able to see the outline based on her timing, but she DID spot it. "What the actual fuck is that?" She said in horror as it vanished into the sleet.

"Well." I said grimly. "Been a year or two since I've seen one, but they're hard to forget. If I'm not mistaken, that was a Wendigo." In the distance, an unearthly keening howl rose above the wind and snow, and within moments another dozen of the same cries rebounded off the air around us. "Nevermind." I grimaced. "My mistake. WendiGOS." I turned and headed back to the valley. I wasn't letting those things ruin my wedding. We needed to put together a hunting party.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"Wendigos?" Asked Chelsea in confusion after we got back to the lodge. "I don't know if I I've heard of those." she paused. "It sounds familiar though. Maybe I've read about them? I feel like I'd remember if I'd seen one in person.

Jessie snorted. "You would have." She said bluntly. "I know I sure do. Randall handled the last one we ran into. Back when Serenity was trying to take over the circus. I never did ask where the Peace Lord got the one he let loose on us. They're not pleasant. Big hulking monstrous things that eat human flesh."

"Agreed." I grimaced. "They also have a natural affinity for ice and snow." I pulled some paper from my ring and sketched out a picture from memory. With my Perception and Focus, sketching pretty much anything I wanted was child's play, especially if it was a recreation of something I'd seen. "They look like this." I said when I finished.

I shuddered at my own memory. "They're demons, which is a catch all term for more monstrous bearers of various racial traits." I continued." Not fae or devils, but still powerful and dangerous."

My sister picked up the paper, glanced over it with disgust, and then set it back down. "So…fifteen foot tall horned monsters covered in pale grey skin? How does something that size vanish into the snow? I mean, it looks right, but it seems like something that size would have trouble hiding."

I gestured to Callie. "How does she vanish into shadows? It's just what they do. Wendigos are terrible things. They lose all their humanity in exchange for some pretty horrifying bonuses, and from what I remember of my research, they're WAY harder to kill in the cold. They suck the stuff up like shuttle fuel."

"Callen, can you help?" Asked my sister beseechingly. "With a D-ranker helping it should be easy enough to take care of them. With Liss not allowed to participate, and Zeke and mom out of the running, I'm sure we'd all like a ringer."

The big swordsman shook his head. "If they've been seen here before it's a local matter. We're with the Church, and this is RIGHT next to Cult territory. We can be here because of the wartime truce, but if we start mucking about with local politics we'll give them a justification to start a fight, and none of us can afford that."

"But grandma is going to talk to Black Sorrow." Protested Chelsea. "They're going to sort the whole thing out."

He shrugged. "Key words there being going to. As of this moment they're our enemy, if a somewhat defanged one. We can't give them any excuse. Besides, I'm sure you can handle a few Wendigos. The one you fought before might have been powerful at the time, but think how far you've come. There's no way it'll be a match for you as you are."

He wasn't wrong. We'd all taken a level in badass while we were gone. Benny's Dracolich Path, Jessie's new evolved Companion and her absurd stats, Callie's upgraded ability. The Wendigo wouldn't be a match for us.
"Alright." I said slowly, coming around to the idea. "I can get behind a direct approach." I glanced at Abel. "You think fighting a Wendigo Pack would be enough for the Path upgrade you need? They're no Volcanic Ape, but they honestly probably suit your Path better. Wendigos eat people, they're all about blood and victory."

My mentor just grinned. "Even if I didn't I'd still want to come. It sounds like a party. The question is, how many of them are there? I'd never heard of a pack out here, though I guess it makes sense. The one the Peace Lord was using had to come from somewhere."

"Wendigo's are monsters. The catalyst for becoming a wendigo involves using the actual heart of another ascendant. It's actually much cheaper and easier to get the trait than most powerful racial traits, but the effects on the psyche are so extreme that no one does it if they can help it. What's the point of getting stronger if you turn into a horrifying monster with an insatiable hunger for human flesh.

"That's what was watching us." Bethy said with a grimace. "It felt hungry and predatory. Trust me, I know the sensation. We should eliminate them. Monsters like that don't add anything to the world. I'm in for the hunt."

Gabe nodded solemnly. "Abominations that prey on the weak? You have my lance as well."

"Chelsea, you might be one of our best weapons against them." I said after some thought. "Maybe your flames of purification…" Zagan might help too, but I didn't think cleansing someone of a racial trait was possible. Unlike my green fire, Chelsea's flames of purification did actual damage to impure things instead of just deep cleaning.

Effects like the ones that Primal Chaos Forest disciple used were one thing, but these Wendigos had BECOME something else. Even my power couldn't erase a complete change of species, no matter how much it would probably help.

She nodded thoughtfully. "I can do that. We'll need to track them down. You said they're at home in ice and snow. Can you even track them in the near permanent blizzard surrounding this place?" She held up her scan ring, typing in a few commands before flicking a screen up in front of us with a similar picture to what I'd drawn.

I read over it, recognizing the page. "Yup. They blend in the cold better than most. Apparently when they absorb enough cold air their flesh turns clear and crystalline. Makes tracking them by sight in the tundra almost impossible. Damn it, my Eye of Revelation is probably our only shot. Although…" I glanced at Bethy. "Do you think Luggage could track them?"

She brightened. "Maybe!" She said excitedly. "He doesn't love the cold, but it doesn't slow him down much. I bet he could track them down." She frowned. "But…we're assuming that they'll be together. Predators like that tend to have their own territories. Even if they're a pack, they most likely spread out. What if we miss some?"

I considered that for a moment. "Hey, Chelsea, there anything in there about where their lair might be? Seems weird there's a whole bunch of E-ranked monsters out here and no one knows about them. I imagine eating the witnesses doesn't hurt, but this is a resort town for E-rankers."

"That's because they're not E-rank." Said Stella as she and Zeke appeared on the other side of the table and sat down. "Or at least, they weren't. There IS a pack of Wendigo out in the tundra, but they're not nearly this cohesive, and they don't come near Wintervale because of all the powerful Ascendants. Are you sure you saw one in the city?"

I shrugged. "Well it was either that or a really ugly deer sitting on a gorilla's shoulders. Which, while theoretically possible in the world we live in, seems…unlikely."

"He's right." Said Jessie seriously. "Gorilla's have like…no neck. Sitting on one's shoulders would be nearly impossible." We all rolled our eyes as she winked at Stella, who chuckled lightly.

Amusing as that was though, we needed to focus. "Bethy is right though. We'll need to go out in groups. Abel, Bethy, Mel, Callie, Gabe, Benny, Jessie, and me. Seven groups outside mine, which means one wish for each. I won't tell you what tracking method to wish for, obviously, but since my Eye of Revelation will work on its own, that leaves each of us with a way to track them."

Callie nodded thoughtfully. "If we wish for the right tracking equipment, we can make sure to clear them all. That way when they stop working we'll know we're done."

"That's up to you all." I said blandly. "I can't really weigh in. But everyone will take a team. I don't care if they're random church initiates that Chelsea brought with her, or friends you made here. Nobody goes alone."

We were light on E-rankers, but this entire situation was rubbing me the wrong way. Sudden appearances of powerful groups of enemies who had grown out of nowhere, possible issues with Cicero, and that Wendigo getting noticed at exactly the right time to lure us out to the edge…this was all really convenient, and I didn't like it.

Luckily, we'd caught on early. We still had about six days to the wedding, and I wanted to get out there, take care of the Wendigos, and investigate where they came from in time to finish the variety of wedding chores I still needed to do.

Callie reached out and grabbed my hand across the table, squeezing it. "It's fine." She said in my head. "Everything will be alright. We can take care of this in no time, and everyone will be safe to attend the wedding. Nothing in this world is going to stop me from marrying you."

I made sure she felt the burst of warmth and love that flooded my heart at those words, and I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it softly, her smile lit up the whole room.

"I hope they stop doing this after the wedding." Groaned Benny in exasperation. "But realistically I know they'll be even worse as newlyweds. We should pick our teams. Celine, you want to come with me?"

She nodded. "I'm in. Though I'm not sure any of my nature magic will do much good in the tundra, I'm still E-rank, so I should be able to help."

The rest of us picked anyone we thought could help. Alex went with Callie, Jessie brought Randall, obviously, Bethy had her animals, and so on. I decided to take Nat with me, and the few of us without backup were assigned a Crusader from the church. It didn't count as interfering in local politics if the help was E-rank or lower.

Once we got that set up, everyone made their wishes. I charged Fantasy points, ten each, because I'd been trying to stockpile those to help with my Path stuff. I was up to nine thousand six hundred and seventy points in that stat, so I was making decent progress. Once that was finished, we all headed for the edge of Wintervale, where we'd seen the Wendigo.

Unsurprisingly, the snow had covered any obvious tracks, but my Eye of Revelation let me pick up the non obvious one. I could see the hideous clawed footprints in the drift, like they were glowing in under the light of the aurora.

"Alright everyone!" I called. "Stay together, if anyone has any trouble, use the flares that Benny gave you, and the rest of us will converge. Keep your compasses handy, and once you don't have a lock on anything reconvene with the nearest group and we can all meet back up here."

Everyone had decided to wish for silver compasses that could track the Wendigos, and Benny had supplied the flares from his personal stash. Apparently he had a ton of random stuff from inventing practice that he never had a use for and just stowed in his ring for just such an occasion. I couldn't complain about the added safety, I felt much better knowing we had signals.

With that finished, Nat and I headed out into the snow, taking our time and following the trail left by the same Wendigo I'd chased earlier. It wasn't going to get away this time. I saw my cousin draw a matte black stiletto with an icy blue gem in it and smiled. Apparently running a territory paid well, that was a D-rank dagger.

As we moved further away from the valley, I paid more and more attention to my Danger Sense, just waiting for any sort of tipoff. I wasn't getting ambushed, especially not with my cousin around in need of protection. As the storm swallowed the protrusions of ice surrounding the valley, I focused my senses to the peak. It was time for the hunt to begin.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"So, this is a fun wedding." Said my cousin glibly as we trudged through the snow. "It's just not an Ascendant party if someone isn't trying to murder us all." She shot me an appraising glance. "You sure we're good out here just you and me? We're not exactly the muscle of the group. Maybe we should have brought Gabe or Bethy."

I scoffed. "Please, you haven't been around lately. I'm a certified badass now. I won these huge games at the conclave for the WCP, took on a bunch of peak E-rankers. I'm not saying I'm invincible at E-rank, but I can handle anything on this planet no sweat."

"Oh really?" Asked my cousin with a grin. "You improved that much, huh? Must have been some crazy shit going down after you left."

Shrugging, I brushed her off. "We can talk about the details later. You'll see soon enough. I assume you have some trinkets on you for protection besides that pigsticker?" I gestured to the D-ranked dagger.

"Plenty." She said with a laugh. "I've been making quite a-" I held up my hand sharply and she stopped talking.

In the snow, the tracks had stopped. My Danger Sense started shrieking at me, and I narrowed my eyes. Just out of sight, I caught gargantuan distortions in the blizzard, creeping here and there, only visible for a moment. As I caught sight of another, and then another, I realized that they were circling us, leaping and bucking their heads, ripping the air with their horns.

The snow beneath my feet began to sizzle as I triggered Mephistopheles and Belial. I kept Zagan on the backburner for now, in case of injuries. Glancing at Nat, I saw her withdraw a black parasol studded with metal skulls and black glass beads.

She spun it once, and a dome of darkness enshrouded both of us, cutting off our vision.

The distortion gave me an excellent idea, and I triggered Moonlit Night, grinning wolfishly as the mist swallowed the area. Inside the fog bank, I could see everything perfectly, even the nearly invisible bodies of the transparent Wendigos.

Which was good, because one of them was charging and about to gore me like a bull. I stepped lightly, Mephisto's Waltz eating the ground beneath me as it rushed past. My staff licked out, interposing itself in front of its ankle, causing the blindly rushing monster to trip and faceplant into the snow.

Its leg began to blacked and crack as the corrosion crept in, but it didn't turn out to be necessary. As it fell, its antlers stabbed into the icy ground, sliding into the frozen dirt, and its body kept going. It skidded to a stop, head and neck at an angle as its antlers held it mostly immobile. I drove my staff forward, a relatively small Cosmic Collapse smashing into and eating its hideous leering face.
Behind me, Nat engaged with one of them, able to see where it couldn't and I was impressed to see my cousin tear the thing apart. The Wendigo snarled and tore at the air, but she slipped neatly between its strikes, and her D-ranked dagger licked out, parting transparent crystalling flesh at the joints of the limbs and where the achilles tendon would be on a person.

It collapsed, and she was on its back within seconds, opening its throat, and I watched a spray of greasy grey blood mist the air as it gagged and slumped into the powder.

I whistled as I let the mist fade. "Damn cous', that was brutal. Someone's been doing some training, huh?" I'd assumed her newly demonstrated calmness and peace of mind was a factor of time, but maybe she'd been a bit more proactive.

She smirked, wiping the blade on her enemy. "Of course." She said smugly. "I've been training with Valk, as well as sparring with all the soldiers stationed at the town." Her expression sobered. "I'm not going to get blindsided because I'm counting on other people to do the heavy lifting for me, and I'm not going to let Valk die because I wasn't treating things seriously enough."

I could see her determination not to lose another friend, and I respected the hell out of it. "I think that's a good way to look at things." I said solemnly. "And it looks like your hard work paid off. That was some damned impressive fighting."

Before she could respond, I saw something off to the side. Spinning, I put up a guard, expecting an attack, but my Danger Sense had going suddenly silent. I realized when I finished turning that I was seeing a red star cutting through the air. My eyes widened as I realized it was one of the flares Benny had given out. I checked to see that Nat was with me and then took off running, using Ripple Running to let us avoid sinking in the snow as we sprinted in the direction of the signal.

When we arrived, we found Mel, injured and surrounded, holding off a half dozen Wendigos. An explosion of force from out of sight told us her partner had been separated from her, and Nat broke off, bolting for the other combatant, who I knew was Valk.

Praying my cousin's friend was alright, I struck brutally at one of the Wendigos, unleashing a burst of black flame that sent it hissing and darting back. I let Belial drop, manifesting Zagan as I approached my friend. I let a Piece of Mind parallel take over one hand and operate Mephistopheles while I appraised her condition.

Mel looked bad. One of her legs was ripped open, but it wasn't bleeding, it was frosted over with dirty grey ice, and what looked like grey frostbite was spreading from the wound. "Shit." I said as I crouched over her, waiting to see if the others would attack. One tried to get close, and I swung my staff one handed, letting a burst of concussive black flame explode on contact as my swing connected.

It was blasted back, screaming in pain. Before it could attack again, Callie and Alex melted from the shadows, and my fiancee's daggers shredded the one I'd just injured as her uncle unleashing a tide of dark spikes.

Sighing in relief, I held my hand above the wound on Mel's leg, unleashing a blast of life fire to cleanse and heal her injury.

The grey frost melted away instantly, and the damaged flesh mended itself even as I watched. The actual wound hadn't been deep, and the Wendigo's had less Impact that Mel, so the damage didn't stick too badly. The infection or whatever it was had been most of the problem.

"Go help Nat." I called to Callie as she finished hers and came to check on me. "She went to check on Valk."

She nodded and took off, and I turned to Mel. "What the hell happened?" I asked in concern. "Did the compass malfunction? How did you get ambushed?" I assumed it had been an ambush. While not quite at the same level as Abel (pretty much no one but Bethy was) Mel had already discovered her illusory Path (Path of the Heavenly Flame) and was a genuinely dangerous fighter.

"They swarmed us." She spat. "The compass started going haywire because it couldn't focus on just one of the things, they were circling like sharks. Eight of the bastards. I was more than up to taking on three or four, but the fifth one got behind me and tore into my leg. Valk drew off three of them in that direction and I haven't seen him since." She gestured to where we'd heard the fighting.

I squinted into the snow, happy to see that Callie was coming back, along with Nat and a badly wounded Valk. Rushing over, I checked them for damage. Aside from the big redheaded man, they were all fine. "What happened?" I asked anxiously.

Callie set Valk down nearby. "We found him on the ground being torn into. We took them out, but he's…" She looked down at the wounded man. "They ate part of his thigh and bicep. His whole body seems to be covered in this grey frostbite effect. He can't move at all. Can you fix it?"

I nodded, stepping forward and letting Mephistopheles drop. Focusing entirely on Zagan, I charged up the biggest Life Nova I could manage. I let the green energy burst, covering the injured man, and was relieved to see the grey melt away. Nat collapsed on Valk's prone form, sobbing, and the rest of us took up position to guard them while he recovered.

Despite how much life force I'd used, the repairs would not be fast. Zagan was better for purification than straight healing, and Valk's injuries weren't light. This wasn't a puncture wound to the leg, the Wendigos had fucking EATEN part of two of his limbs. The muscle needed to regrow entirely, and the process was far from instant.
"Hey." I said after he'd had some time to compose himself. "How are you feeling?" Nat was sitting nearby, staring blankly off into the distance, and I cursed myself for bringing her. I'd gotten so used to traveling with my current lineup of friends, who were all powerful and dangerous people. Nat and Valk were BARELY E-rank.

I'd gotten cocky about the level of threat we'd see on Callus. Valk for his part, seemed to be taking it well. "I'm fine." He said calmly. I was surprised how relaxed he sounded. He was normally pretty stoic, but I supposed he must have been feeling the effects of the Life Nova still. I'd probably be pretty relaxed too. "It barely hurts."

Nat's head snapped up, eyes pinning him as he started to move. "You are NOT walking." She snapped. "We'll carry you. Callie, can you make a stretcher for him?" The two compasses the others had were spinning aimlessly, so this had been the last of them, thankfully, and we could head back.

"Sure." My fiancee shrugged. A quick effort of will had the shadows congealing into a pair of poles with a strip of fabric between them. Alex used a shadow cloud to lift him up onto it, and the two of us grabbed hold of the ends and set off for the rendezvous point.

As we walked, I frowned down at the injured man. "What the hell happened?" I asked as we walked. "Mel said you pulled three of them, which, you know, that was brave, but she could have handled the excess better than you could. You almost got yourself killed."

"He was trying to help!" Snapped my cousin. "You sent him out here to help her, remember?"

I put a hand up in surrender, holding the stretcher with the other. "Whoa! Not blaming. Just trying to figure out what went wrong. There might be some kind of clue to where the things came from. I appreciate him helping out, as does Mel, I'm sure."

The red masked woman nodded. "I definitely do. I was on my last leg. Literally. You saved my life. I owe you one."

Valk just waved her off. "It's fine. We were teammates. That was the point. As for clues…nothing I saw. I took off after tagging a few with my axe, and they chased me. They caught up to me quick, and I tried to fight them off, but they worked together and overpowered me. Once they had me down and immobilized..." He shuddered. "Well, you saw."

Arriving back at the rendezvous point, we filled the others in on what happened. Jessie set to work trying to help Valk recover, and the rest of us exchanged information on exactly what had happened out here. Oddly, nothing out of the ordinary had gone down. Find Wendigo, kill Wendigo. Rinse, repeat.

Despite the smooth operation, I saw Bethy frowning out into the snow, echoing my own expression. Something about this still felt off. For now though, all we could do was get back to Wintervale and move on with the wedding prep. But I'd be keeping an eye out.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Once we made it back to the lodge, I caught up to my mom and asked her a favor. "Hey, with all these weird coincidences, I'd feel a bit better if we had some security. Do you think you could have some of your E-rankers patrol Wintervale for us?"

"Of course, honey!" She said with a beaming smile. "We can't interfere in the internal politics of the region, but that's mainly a restriction on rank. Having my E-rankers keep an eye out is still fine." She frowned. "I know Ezekial took a look around as he was monitoring you, and I did a little poking about myself after you were all clear. I didn't find anything."

I sighed. "Damn. I guess I'm really just imagining things."

"No." She said bluntly. "I mean I DIDN'T find ANYTHING. There are no traces of what caused those Wendigos to evolve. One or two of them would be fine, but a whole pack of dozens of demons ranking up together? That only happens when alchemy or other unusual means are involved. There was no sign of any of that."

I got what she was saying. "You're saying in this case, the lack of evidence itself is the biggest red flag? Why would something that could hide from YOU be on this planet?"

"That is an excellent question." She said with a troubled frown. "Theoretically it could be some extremely niche ability that happens to perfectly counter my means of investigation, like spatial isolation counters Perception. But the chances of that are…slim."

Sighing, I slumped down into a chair, head in my hands. "Great. So we have to worry about-"

"Nothing." She snapped icily. My head jerked up, and I stared right into her blazing eyes. "You don't worry about a thing. I'll figure out what's going on, and I'll put a stop to it." She leaned forward and grabbed me, yanking me into a bone crushing hug.

Her voice was hoarse as she said softly. "I wasn't here for your childhood. I missed so many big events, so many firsts. I'm finally here with you, at your wedding, welcoming the love of your life into our family. I get to be a part of one of the most important days you'll ever have, and I won't let anyone ruin it. Not for me, but for you. Because I owe you that. That and so much more. I love you honey, and if someone wants to ruin your wedding they'll do it over my dead body."

I squeezed her back. "Hey now, I don't want any death flags here. I just got you back after thinking you were dead most of my life. Don't EVER tell Callie I said this, but we can have another ceremony. Your health is more important."

"She doesn't need to tell me." Said the amused voice of my fiancee as she stepped from the shadows beside us. "Because that's obvious, you big lummox. I know I might have been acting a bit wedding crazy, but what kind of person do you think I am?" Sadly I couldn't hide the surge of smug amusement, and she caught on. "Damn it, how long did you know I was there?"

"Since the beginning, love." I said with a laugh. "It's rude to eavesdrop. If you wanted to know what's up you could just ask."

She plopped down on the bench next to me. We were outside in a courtyard, and as she sat she pulled my mom to sit between us. "He's right though. The wedding is important, but everyone's health and safety obviously takes priority. That said, I have faith in you Sasha. I know you can figure out what's going on and handle it for us."

My mom beamed at her for a second, then her face twisted in an expression of pensive distaste. "Yeah…about that. I've been meaning to talk to you." Callie froze, panic filling her face as she tried to figure out what my mom meant by that. Mom let her stew for another second or two before finishing. "I think Sasha, is a bit formal for a family member. I was thinking "mom" sounds better."

Callie blanched. "I…I mean, that's…wow. But my mom is around and what if she feels weird about that? Not that I don't want to call you that, or I'm not grateful, or that I don't think you're a good mom, because you're a great mom, even though you weren't around for Shane, but that's not your fault and-"

I clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sweet Revenant Callie, BREATHE!" That whole thing had been basically one single breath, I was worried she might suffocate.

My mom just chuckled at her. "Your mother is fine with it. Her only demand is that Shane refer to her the same way. Says it's only fair. He went from having no mother to having two in just a year or so. Probably overwhelming for the boy."

"I'm sitting right here." I informed them helpfully. "In ear shot. Listening to you both talk about me like I don't exist."

My mother patted me on the cheek. "That's nice dear."

Callie burst out laughing, and I rolled my eyes, muttering about being ganged up on. My heart wasn't in it though. I loved that they were getting along. Callie seemed thoughtful for a bit, then finally nodded. "Alright. I'll call you mom. But you have to call me Callie. No more of this Calliope nonsense. I know you only use Zeke's full name because it bugs him, but I want the nickname."

"I suppose that's fair." My mom conceded. "Callie it is." She leaned in and gave my fiancee a hug of her own. "Welcome to the family, honey. I know it's a bit early, and I might not exactly have the right to be the one extending the greeting, but-"

"Of course you do." I said sharply. "Just because I'm still pissed about some of the choices you made doesn't mean you aren't my mom. It means a lot."

She put her hand over her mouth, eyes welling up with tears. "That's…thank you. Shane. Both of you. Thank you so much." We both got caught up in this hug, and I laughed a bit, letting myself relax a bit.

Some kids treat their parents like superheroes. Like they can do anything, and solve any problem. Ironically, my parents basically WERE superheroes, but I'd had that illusion of invincibility stripped away a long time ago. I didn't know if my mom was going to be able to figure out what was going on, and magically fix everything like she wanted to.

But I also didn't care. Because just for a second, sitting there with my family, I was able to let myself believe it. I felt safe, and happy, and even if she couldn't fix things, that was enough. Because she loved me, and she was trying, and that was all I could really ask from anyone, wasn't it?

"Speaking of Amelia." I said, my mind shifting back to an earlier part of the conversation. "Is she alright? Alex was with us, if something is really happening around here, wouldn't she-"

My mom laughed. "I left Andrew with her. If getting past an A-rank soldier of the Church was possible for these…enemies, they wouldn't bother with subterfuge. Assuming there is an enemy and we aren't all just paranoid lunatics."

"It could be both." I admitted with a shrug. "But yeah, Andrew should be more than enough. I hadn't seen him around for a while. Where has he been, anyway?"

She shrugged. "Around. The Necromedes is a big ship, and there are several passenger sections for higher ranked Ascendants with far more luxurious amenities than the areas you're allowed to visit. Pedigree only goes so far, you know. True strength is still the most important thing."

"Noted." I said with a laugh. "Hopefully I can hit D-rank before our next big trip. I look forward to seeing more of that."

My mom sniffed. "I can't believe my babies are going to be Masters. It's like watching you all take your first steps. I'm so proud of all of you. That goes for you too Callie. You're an impressive young woman, and I'm thrilled you'll be joining the family. I couldn't have asked for a better wife for my boy."

Callie smirked. "Well, I need someone pretty to do the cooking while I'm out slaying gods." She winked at me. "He does the job." I felt her love and adoration through the bond, and flooded it right back, reaching over to clasp hands with her.

"You two are so cute." My mom practically squealed. "I'm going to go tell Amy that you agreed. She's almost as excited about this as I am. I'll leave you two kids alone." Winking, she vanished from between us, appearing at the end of the hall casually as if she'd just taken a step.
My fiancee smiled after her. "Am I completely crazy, or did she somehow manage to basically order us to give her grandchildren without verbally saying a word about it."

"Right?" I said plaintively. "It's uncanny. Not that I plan on having kids soon." I said bluntly. "No offense, but we're still really young. I want to marry you, and have a family with you eventually, but we're not even twenty. There's no rush."

She laughed, putting her hands up in pre-emptive surrender. "Oh trust me, I'm right there with you. I adore you, and kids sound good…eventually. But I'm nowhere near that point mentally. I'm still dealing with the damage my own parents did."

"Preaching to the choir." I sighed. I put an arm around her. "But she's right you know. I'm lucky as hell to have you."

She leaned up to kiss my mask. "I make jokes, but I can't imagine spending my life without you. You're…you're a part of me, Shane. Maybe it's the bond, but when you're not with me I feel like there's a part of me missing."

Her head leaned on my shoulder, and I brushed my fingers through her hair. "Save it for the vows, love." I said with a soft smile. "I could go on an hour long rant about all the reasons I love you, but I don't want to use up all my good material. I really can't believe that this time next week you'll be my wife."

"I can't believe I'll be anyone's wife." She said with a laugh. "Not that I wasn't planning to get married eventually, but it's just such a weird label to apply to me. I'm not a wife. A wife is like, mature and wise. My mom is a wife. Your mom is a wife. I'm a perfectionist and an occasional dumbass."

"Occasional?" I asked sardonically, getting an elbow in my ribs and a scathing glare. "I'm kidding. I get it. I don't feel like anyone's husband. But I guess we'll have to figure that stuff out together. Because even if I don't feel like someone's husband, when I think of all the things a wife would mean to someone, all I think of is you."

She grinned smugly. "And you said you didn't want to waste your good material. Now, almost-husband, why don't you get some practice in and carry me over the threshold of our room." She snuggled up to me expectantly, nuzzling into my side.

I nodded sagely. "That's probably for the best." I admitted. "Gotta get my reps in to make sure I can handle the walk. You are shockingly heavy." I activated Double Trouble on a plant down the hall just in time to hear her squawk of offense. I triggered State of Grace and took off for our room, Callie screaming in outrage as she chased me through the halls (I could feel her barely suppressed laughter). Thinking about everything, I'd never been more sure about my wedding. I wanted things to be like this for the rest of our lives.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The next four days were both surprisingly busy and shockingly uneventful. Flowers, decorations, catering, clothes, all the things we'd already done needed to be followed up on, and all the things we hadn't still needed doing. I'd barely had time to get the two hundred eighty points of Fantasy from the four days of wishes. Finally though, we got everything finished two nights before the wedding. Just in time for Benny's big night out.

"But I want to go catch light sprites with you too!" Whined Bethy. "Why can't I go?"

I shrugged. "You can, but you have to go to the grudge match too. We're doing everything in order."

"It's going to be a blast." Said Abel with a grin. "Red Tiger and Blade Reaper have been feuding for decades. I used to read their comics when I was a kid." At my surprised look he coughed lightly. "When I was bored or in the hospital from all the fights I got into. I wasn't like…a nerd or anything. But their fight is going to be great."

Bethy sniffed contemptuously. "How barbaric." She said in a lofty voice. "I'm a caring and compassionate person. I don't want to see two big brutes beating each other up. I prefer to kill my enemies with kindness."

"Isn't kindness the name of the huge double headed battle axe your dad makes you leave at home?" Gabe asked suspiciously.

She huffed. "Fine! I don't want to watch some backwater E-rankers fight. It sounds boring! We're all way tougher than them. But Callie's stupid night out dancing sounds way dumber. She's going to that ice cream place after though with over ten thousand flavors. I want to do both things!"

"Well you can't." I said bluntly. "We're not letting you switch halfway. And since it's impossible to be in two places at once…" I paused. "Ok, it's impossible for YOU to be in two places at once. Probably."

The whole guys and girls night thing had ended up being messy and kind of a pain. Cark was more interested in the ice cream thing, Chelsea wanted to see the light sprites, and Mel wanted to watch the fight. We'd decided to just let everyone decide whose party they would go to, and Bethy was the last person to pick.

Except she wasn't picking, she was waffling, and nobody was having any luck convincing her to stick with something. After a minute or two more of complaining, she finally just pouted and said. "Fine. I'll go to the stupid fight. It's going to be so lame though. That steak better be good."

"You shouldn't judge people from this world so harshly." Gabe said reproachfully. "Abel and Mel are both from here."

She shrugged. "Mel is super awesome though. And I don't even know that other guy you mentioned." Abel gave a long suffering groan and put his head in his hands and we all burst out laughing.

"You sure you don't want to come with us Zeke?" I asked my uncle. "You know you're definitely invited. Mom, Alex, and Amelia are going to Callie's party."

He snorted. "Sure, because it's specifically about entertainment. You're all going to be hunting light sprites. That's competitive. Do you honestly think there's any competition you could beat me at? No thanks. I'll be staying home and taking a well deserved nap."

Callie gave him a knowing smirk. "Been working up a sweat lately, huh?"

Stella glared at my fiancee, cutting her eyes towards Ian, who was chatting happily with Jessie across the room alongside his girlfriend Clarissa, who I hadn't had a chance to actually meet yet, even if I'd heard of her.

Chuckling, Callie changed the subject. "Anyway, enjoy your nap old man. The cool kids will be out dancing the night away."

"Please." Said Benny derisively. "You nerds are missing out. I planned the best party ever."

I rolled my eyes. "Can we just go, please. We're going to miss the fight. Who's with us? Bethy, Gabe, Chelsea, Abel, Camden, Nat, Mel." I paused. "Wait, why is everyone coming to my party E-rank?"

"Because light sprites are a pain in the ass to catch." Said Benny emphatically. "They're E-ranked themselves, and they're FAST. Plus the aurora is sort of weird. You can actually walk on it, but only if your rank is high enough."

I glanced at Ian, Alden, Sloane, and all my other lower ranked friends. It was a shame to ditch them, but if they wouldn't be able to participate letting them hang with Callie and co for most of the night was fine too. "Alright, then let's head out. Where's the fight at, anyway? A local arena or something?"

"Nope." Said Benny proudly as we headed for the shuttle. "I didn't mention that the fight and steak were at the same place. Road Rage's Bar and Grill. The fights are live entertainment, and I had to bribe them to move the grudge match to tonight. Luckily, the economy of this planet is WAY underdeveloped compared to the universe at large. D-rank chits go a long way here."

I remembered that, actually. They basically didn't exist on this planet. I laughed, clapping him on the back happily. "Sounds like you really went all out man. I appreciate it."

Abel nodded approvingly. "I didn't realize you'd convinced them to move to the date. Look at you, moneybags. I'll have to keep that in mind for my trip to fight the volcanic ape. I'm planning it after the wedding, since killing those Wendigos helped me make some progress. I'm positive that I'll be able to advance my path." We chatted a bit during the ride, but I was too busy soaking in the sensation of comfort and warmth to mind. Not physical warmth, it was kind of chilly (thought not arctic), but spiritual warmth, knowing my friends were doing so much for me.

Finally we reached the restaurant, and climbed out of the shuttle. "Pretty nice place." I said appreciatively. "I like the aesthetic."

Road Rage's Bar and Grill was pretty unique. It was built into the side of a hill. The building portion was mostly rustic wood, with only a few windows, all shuttered in such a way as to make the facade look like one piece of wood with a few painted spots.

We walked casually up to the door, and Benny knocked. The door opened almost immediately, and Benny passed a wooden token to the door guard, who examined it, then nodded, stepping back so we could enter.

The inside of the place was much less woodsy. While the floors were lacquered planks and the tables were shiny dark wood, the trim was all chrome and steel, creating a somewhat sterile, almost surgical aesthetic that someone made the inside look bigger than the space itself would imply.

Of course, the space was already pretty expansive, given the spatial enlargement, but even so, they'd made excellent use of it.

In the middle of the restaurant, where a bar would normally be, was a recessed pit filled with sand. The edges were gold and gems inlaid in a dizzying array of enchantments and wards to prevent any attacks from getting out of the pit. We were escorted to an especially large table off the side of the fighting area, giving us an excellent view.

As we sat down, empty glasses were set in front of us, and then, in the middle of the table, on a metal slab set into the wood, a fifty pound steak was dropped. A loud hiss erupted from beneath it, showing us that the table was in fact, a grill.

"To get your drinks, simply lift your glass and speak your preference into the mouth." Said the server who had appeared with the steak. "The meat is only a few inches thick, it will be correctly seared in only a minute or two. If you'd like, you can cut your own section, then flip that, or you can all flip it together and cook it in one piece."

He bowed to us solemnly, then turned and scurried off. I sniffed deeply, enjoying the aroma. "Damn." I said with a sigh. "That does smell good though. I'm for medium rare? Anyone else?"

"Medium." Said Chelsea. We took requests, and ended up splitting it about halfway, medium rare and medium. "Well it's good that nobody wanted it well done. I guess we would have had to cut a small section for them."

I grinned at her. "No need to waste meat. I have a spare pair of boots in my space ring. If someone wants to eat shoe leather, I don't have a use for them anyway."

That got a laugh from most of my friends, and we used a supplied knife to cut the steak down the middle, waiting just a minute before flipping the half I was eating from, while the others left theirs on a bit longer.

Finally, the lights started to dim. "Oh shit." I said excitedly. "Showtime." I'd heard of Red Tiger and Blade Reaper too, if not quite as thoroughly as Abel. Tiger could summon a magma cat and even clothe himself in the material like a power suit, and blade reaper could summon bladed weapons of varying sizes.

As I watched them jump down into the pit, I was surprised to see them shrinking, and by the time they landed, they were only a few inches tall. With my Perception that wasn't a problem, but it took me a second to realize it was the same perspective shifting trick they'd used on the Tricorn, just much less sophisticated.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Boomed a voice from the darkness. "Thank you for coming to tonight's show. As you may know, this particular battle is one many of us have looked forward to with great relish. These two old enemies have been battling for decades, but tonight, for the last time, they will cross swords to decide the victor. Whoever wins will claim the title of master of Seerkel City, and be installed as the guild master of that place, either overtly or in the shadows. The other will leave Callus forever."

I whistled. "Wait, the loser has to leave? That's rough. Why now though?"

"Because they both topped out." Said Abel, staring at them clinically. "They're peak E-rank. No further to go while still on-planet. In reality, neither of them is losing out, but it'll be a good fight either way."

The announcer said a few more lines about their backstories and capabilities, but I mostly tuned it out. I was too focused on the two fighters getting in position. Finally, the announcer called to start, and the fight began.

From behind Red Tiger, a wave of magma erupted, forming into a giant tiger's head that lunged forward to bite down on Blade Reaper. Red Tiger was a fairly unassuming looking man in normal street clothes. The sole nod to his identity was the red tiger head mask he wore, the eyes lit like candle flames.

Blade Reaper was wearing a fitted black bodysuit lined with strapped down weapons. It mostly seemed like theater though, because without touching them, he flicked a hand and a pair of colossal bladed whips erupted from the sand to wrap around the magma tiger.

Red stepped back into the magma, and the tiger jerked as an entire human upper body tore itself free. In real size it probably would have been a hundred feet tall, but because the distortion it was more like five or ten. The arms reached up, grabbing the bladed whips, which began to smoke and warp.

With a massive heave, the lava golem tore apart the chains, and was immediately impaled on a hundred spears as they erupted from the ground to pin it in place. I turned, grinning at Benny as things started to heat up. "Ok." I admitted. "You were right. Best. Party. Ever." He just grinned back and we settled in to watch some violence. It was going to be a good night.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"Ok." Bethy admitted as we strolled out of the bar and grill. "That was a decent fight. No crazy Path powers, but they both made good use of what they had. That blade summoner guy was pretty cool, he was like 'whoosh' and those giant wrappy chain things were all over the place, and the tiger guy was like 'not today chain guy!' and then turned into that giant magma kitty."

I laughed. "It's not that weird. It makes sense people stuck at E-rank with no chance to move up would maximize their advantages, especially since everyone else here is also at E-rank. Polishing your rank like that is a good way to get stronger. That's how Abel did it?"

"Who?" She said in confusion. "Are you talking about a friend of yours? Are they really strong? I thought Adler was the strongest person you knew here."

Abel threw his hands up in frustration. "That one isn't even a name!"

"My mistake." I told her solemnly. "He's no one important. Anyway, practice makes perfect. Still, I wonder if there's anyone on Callus with a Path?" Alas, my curiosity would go unsated, because we'd arrived at the shuttle, piling in and taking off for our next activity. I had bigger questions now that we were on the way. "So…tell me more about the aurora. You said we can walk on it? How is that possible?"

Benny shrugged. "Who knows? How is anything we do possible. All I know is that the aurora is supposed to be amazing. The colors vary, creating paths through the lights, and you climb them to try to find light sprites. The sprites are supposed to be good luck, and they emit a mysterious light that polishes your soul."

"Really?" I asked with interest. "That's not exactly a common power. Soul refinement is one thing, but polishing mostly seems to be a factor of time and use. And is that luck thing legit? I wish we could have brought Sydney and Megan with us, they'd have a better idea. Sadly they're nowhere near E-rank."

My best friend just laughed. "Who knows. It should be fun though. Apparently the different colors of light create varying amounts of suppression. From red to violet, the further you go the better the sprites. Everyone has to start on red, then that run along the red road, turning of onto other colors as they twist around each other. I thought we'd make a game out of it. Whoever catches more sprites wins."

"It definitely sounds like a blast." I chuckled. "Any idea where the lights come from? The effect seems weird."

Chelsea perked up. "Oh! I know!" She said excitedly, putting a hand in the air. "Crystals. There are fields of ice crystals spread out through the tundra. The lights refract through them and create the aurora. It's kind of like a natural formation."

Speaking of the aurora, I glanced out of the shuttle, realizing we were rising up over the city, up into the air where the auroras waited. Glancing up at the lights, I realized that the ribbons of luminescence were indeed single colors, all wrapped around and intertwined.

The colors shifted and wove together in such a way that they weren't in any real order, some ribbons dipping under other lower level colors and then back up, creating a big shimmering rainbow mess. The shuttle circled a few times, seemingly searching for something, until we came to a stop in front of the end of one of the ribbons, a shining path of red light.

"It's so pretty." Said Bethy, wide eyed as she stared at the complex network of lights before us. "I want to lick it."

I pointed at her sharply. "Do NOT lick it." I said firmly. "I watched your dad eat lightning because he considered it 'plasma'. With our luck, you'll end up gobbling the whole thing down. Just run on it. You can eat one of the sprites if you feel like it." I paused. "Wait, the sprites aren't like…sentient creatures, right?"

"No." Benny laughed. "I checked. Just balls of colored light. Kind of like willow the wisps."

I nodded solemnly, putting a hand on Benny's shoulder. "Fair enough. I have to say man, this whole thing is amazing, and there's something I really wanted to say before we start this little race."

"What's that?" He said, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

I patted his shoulder twice. "First." I said kindly, then hooked my foot behind his ankle and shoved. He went down in a squawk of indignation, but I was already moving.

Turning on my heel, I activated State of Grace then Mephistopheles, using my Waltz, to cross the expanded interior of the shuttle. I felt someone shove me and had to use Ripple Running to stabilize as Bethy blurred past me, giggling madly as she put one platformed boot on the red light before anyone else, and then took off at top speed.

Cursing, I hit the light right after and followed behind her. Once I was on the light, I realized that the ribbons actually diverged into multiple paths. I didn't feel like competing with Bethy for sprites, so I turned left at a five lane fork, heading deeper into the tangle.

I felt a surge of energy from beneath me, as if the light was supercharging me, pushing me forward, and the faster I went the more weight seemed to pile on me.

Of course, I'd been to higher ranked planets, so this was nothing, as I rounded a bend, I saw another ribbon of light loop around the one I was on, and on it, I saw an orb of light. Without thinking, I pushed off, flipping in midair, my feet slamming down on the blue light path, and as I landed, the new gravity actually helped me stabilize as it slammed me down onto the blue path with way more force than the red.

Reaching out, I snagged the blue orb, and as I grabbed it, I felt it melt into me. There was a wash of cleansing energy, and I felt refreshed. I kept running, looping through the sky on the blue road. I glanced around, looking for my friends. Chelsea was on the orange, and Abel and Bethy had both switched to green. Not every path connected so easily to a more powerful color. I'd gotten damned lucky.

Sadly, most of the ribbons looping around my current route were yellow and red, with the occasional green. I had to stick to my current path until I found something better. Apparently the blue had a higher concentration of energy or something, though. More sprites were spawning on my road, and I grabbed them as I ran, feeling that cleansing energy washing over me again and again.

I still wasn't sure what soul polishing actually DID, but whatever it was couldn't be a bad thing. The further I ran the faster I went, and the higher the pressure, like I was being forced forward and down, but the pressure seemed to push the cleansing energy even deeper into me. It felt…intentional.

Curiously, I looked around, activating my Eye of Revelation, trying to find some kind of pattern in the light paths. If I hadn't been out in the universe, if I hadn't read the skill book, and if I hadn't talked to Camden's cousin, I probably would have missed what I was seeing. Luckily, I'd done all of those things, which is why I was able to recognize the man made formation that this aurora actually was.

Of course, knowing that meant nothing. I knew it was a formation, but not what it did or how. I considered the problem for a minute. I could ignore this, move on and just have fun, but something told me not to. Fate sense, fatewalker class, my Path, who knew? But something was pushing me to do…something.

I tried my overlay, and nothing happened, but the arrows were different than usual. Frowning, I tried something new. Piece of Mind. I triggered a parallel, then another, then another. I used Eye of Revelation and the overlay with each of them, superimposing them on top of each other, forcing them to work together as I triggered Afterburner.

The combination of the stacked, brute force approach and the supercharge did the trick. My overlay traced the lines of light, shifting and changing to show me a specific path through them.

I started moving, hopping from one to another, blue to green to red to yellow, following some kind of pattern I couldn't articulate. I landed on the violet and followed it down, absorbing sprites as I went and enjoying the cleansing, but focused on my goal, I leapt off the violet path onto the red and then ran straight off the side where it curled back over a yellow…and vanished.

There was a shift as I went through some kind of spatial distortion, and suddenly I was standing in an icy cavern full of frozen crystals. The crystals were frosted over, but I could see dark shapes inside them. Blinking, I walked back to where I'd entered, stepping through the distortion and back out onto the paths.

"Hey guys!" I called excitedly. "I found something. Come check this out!"

I caught a few confused stares, but then I turned and stepped back through the distortion, not bothering to wait. I'd needed to take a special path to get there, but now that I'd been in, the entrance was open. According to my intuition it would close in about thirty minutes, unless someone was inside it.

It only took ten for the others to show up. Bethy came shooting through the distortion, Abel, Mel, and shockingly Benny on her tail. The others took a bit longer, but finally we were all here.

"Check it out." I said, gesturing around the room. "Seems like the aurora is some kind of formation. I think the sprites are power leaking out of it. So this might be some kind of like…soul cleaning formation?"

Chelsea shook her head. "I don't think so." She glanced at Bethy. "What do you think? Cold storage?"

Bethy nodded. "Been here a while too, I bet. Daddy has one for some of my brothers and sisters. When they get start to slow down in their progression and he thinks they might lapse into obscurity."

"Most of the major forces do." Said Chelsea. "Though this is…flashy. Not like any of the ones I've seen."

I threw my hands up in frustration. "Can you guys share, please? What is cold storage."

"It's a means of putting people on ice." my sister said. "Basically anyone who seems like they aren't growing anymore. Sometimes it can be hard for people to break into the scene. Too many talented competitors, too little ability. Rather than let them get old and miss their best years to make a splash, some factions freeze their descendants."

Bethy nodded. "Yeah, and the cleaning thing makes total sense too." She gestured around her. "Cold storage is a stasis field, it has to nourish the soul and cleanse the effects of time passing." She walked up to a crystal, wiping off the frost. "This is a pseudo D-ranked planet, so it makes sense they'd freeze some E-rankers. Unfreeze them once the planet ranks up maybe."

I wiped some frost of one myself, and blinked. The clothes they wore…they weren't costumes like ours. Plate armor, velvet doublets. These looked almost imperial, but more old fashioned.

"Well that makes sense." I said slowly. "But with that said, I'm forced to ask an even more important question." I knocked on the crystal. "This doesn't seem to be unity work, and these people are dressed real old fashioned to be from the conglomerate. So…how long have they been here, and where the hell did they come from?"

Rather than be worried, I was pretty excited for this new mystery. These people wouldn't necessarily be hostile. This could be a great opportunity to do some recruiting. I shot my best friend a thumbs up. He really knew how to throw a party.

 

[MichaelSuave]

Snip

Click to shrink...

You made Mario cart's rainbow road into a story prop...

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"So how long do you think they've been here?" I asked in awe as I trailed through the cavern, checking the ice crystals. There were a hundred of them, which was…nuts. There were as many E-rankers in this cave as on the entire planet normally. More importantly, none of us recognized anything about any of them.

Granted, they weren't wearing costumes or anything, but several of them had VERY noticeable features, and having reached E-rank, we should have heard SOMETHING about them. One guy had wings made of amethyst feathers. Not the color, the fucking GEMSTONE.

It was impossible one of us hadn't heard about an E-ranker like that. Or the one with flowers for hair. Or the MINOTAUR. Or any of the dozens of extremely unique and powerful Ascendants in these ice crystals. As I was walking through the cavern though, my foot scuffed something under the snow. I frowned, kneeling down, and brushed it away.

"Hey, I found something." I was kneeling in front of an ice crystal containing a pixielike girl with rainbow dragonfly wings and lilac feathered hair. As I brushed away the snow, I found a plaque set into the ground. "Velliana Summerpeace- Heiress of the Summerpeace dynasty, 19 years old, peak E-rank. Interred- 742 SDC." I read aloud.

My sister stopped next to me, staring in shock at the plaque. "That's not possible." She said firmly.

"You've heard of her?" I asked in surprise. "What are the chances of that? Is the Summerpeace dynasty a big deal or something?" Had we found the descendants of some uber powerful lost tribe of fae?

She frowned at me. "What? No, these are random E-rankers, no way they made enough of a splash for me to have heard of them. I'm talking about that date. SDC. The Solemn Doubt Calendar hasn't been in common usage in EONS. These people predate any of the current factions, and based on the few scattered dates I found when I looked into it, PROBABLY the Aetherbright Empire."

I looked over the cavern with new eyes. Moving down the line, I stared to clear the snow from more plaques. More names, similar dates, and more factions and families I'd never heard of. All of them were peak E-rank, which implied to me that they'd been stuck below Master just like all the other E-rankers here.

Which was…weird. Planets could rank up. It made sense for Callus to restrain people below D-rank now, it wasn't exactly ancient, but if it had been a Pseudo D-rank planet for eons…that made far less sense. It should have broken through at SOME point.

"Do you know how big a find this is?" My sister squeaked excitedly. "An INTACT cold storage from the pre-faction era? Do you know how many questions they might be able to answer? The Historical Society would buy this cavern for more money than any of us could spend. You could charge an entire A-ranked planet for this place."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Interesting." I admitted. "But no. I'm not turning Callus into an archeological dig, especially not in the middle of a war. That'll draw way too much attention." I reached into my ring. "We can discuss this with the others and figure out a plan. If nothing else it'll be a trump card to use if we get in trouble, we can trade the info for some help or something."

Drawing up a quick contract, I passed it around. "I'm swearing everyone to secrecy on this. No one says a word to anybody except Callie, my mom, and Zeke. I don't want to mess with this place until we talk to them."

This was a huge find…but it was also a risk. Something about my power had pushed me here, walking the winds of fate, but I didn't feel like it was time to put this place to use. I might be imagining things, but something in my gut told me to keep this on the down low, and I'd been learning to listen to my instincts.

To my surprise, the others didn't seem to mind. They all just shrugged, signing to contract. "Well, at the very least, we can absorb the sprites in here right?" Benny gestured around. "The leakage inside the cavern is even more intense than in the aurora."

He was right, there were dozens of light sprites of varying colors floating above our heads. I'd been so distracted looking through the crystals I'd missed it. I glanced at Chelsea curiously. "That should be fine, right?" She knew more about formations than I did, so I was happy to let her make the call.

"Seems fine." She shrugged. "People have been siphoning the overflow from the aurora for centuries, at least. It doesn't matter if we take a bit more. As long as we don't damage the ice. These crystals are laid out in a very specific pattern, directing and shifting the energy in the formation to sustain the cold storage." Her eyes scanned the place in wonder. "This is incredibly sophisticated work."

I didn't know that much about the subject. "So like…a D-rank or C-rank formation?"

"No." She said after a brief hesitation. "It's E-rank. It's just…complicated. It's like if you built a house out of stone and one out of wood, the stone would be better, but if the stone house is a hut made of stacked rocks and the wood house was designed by a master architect, the former might not be much sturdier. The person who made this was brilliant."

I sighed. "Great. Well, you heard the woman, don't touch the ice, but otherwise gobble up as many of these things as you can." I winked at the others. "Our competition is still on, I suppose." Then I stepped off the air and blurred toward the nearest purple sphere. I wanted to get as much soul polishing as I could, and if the good luck rumors were true, I wouldn't mind some of that either.

As I passed through the various orbs, I felt them melt into me. I kept count, but it was almost an afterthought as little by little, my soul was polished. Triggering a Piece of Mind parallel, I let it take over as I tried to focus internally on my soul.

It was a strange thing to do, honestly. I'd looked into my soul multiple times, checking on my Skills and examining their construction, but that was more liking looking OUT from my soul. Trying to study the specifics was a bit like rolling my eyes up to try to look into the back of my skull. It took me a minute to figure it out.

When I finally nailed the technique, I was surprised to see my soul in all its Sapphire glory. But rather than a shimmering wall of blue like I expected, I saw a field of murky cerulean, cloudy and opaque. My soul in its pre polished state. As I watched it, I passed through another orb, and then two more. The energy sank into me, and I watched it strike the surface of my soul and roll over it like a ripple in a pond.

Where it passed, the cloudiness began to clear. Not immediately vanishing, but slowly dissipating as the blue became more and more translucent. It was fascinating to watch. I wondered what exactly polishing a soul did. The clarity was improving, but what effect would that have on me? I could see the necessity, given the journey of the soul found its end in a mirror sheen, so I was betting it had some use.

I tried a few skills, nothing seemed different. On instinct, I shifted to Mephistopheles again and triggered Mephisto's Waltz.

The world seemed to slow. The energy flowing through my body was smoother and calmer than it had been before. Thinking back, the Waltz had felt a bit more natural during the run, but not to this extent.

I'd questioned for a while how the soul related to Paths exactly. I knew it acted as a way to leverage my stats when I used techniques, but I hadn't been sure of its exactly role. Now I could feel it. The soul acted as a channel between the Path and stats, including Fantasy, which established the pseudo Domain that allowed techniques to work. The more polished my soul the faster and more easily that power flowed, and the less pressure it put on my soul.

My Waltz unspooled, Ripple Running let me step on air like it was solid stone, and I blurred through the cavern, snagging every one of orbs I could get, enjoying the visible proof of my improvement as I watched my soul clarify.

All too soon though, I was out. I touched down lightly, feeling oddly winded. Between my Piece of Mind parallel and the Waltz, that had taken more out of me than expected. My movement technique was based on using explosions of powerful destructive energy to eat up space, so it made sense it would be an energy hog.

"Twenty seven!" I crowed, throwing my hands in the air. "And half of them were purple! Beat that, nerds!"

Benny cursed. "Fourteen." He said acidly. "But not so fast. It'll only be fair if we do this by point value. Reds are one, oranges two, et cetera. Everybody add up your totals."

"One hundred and thirty six." I said after a brief recount. Focus really came in handy during times like this. I was confident in my score, I'd hit the violet path the earliest, and absorbed most of my sprites from there.

Sadly, I forgot who I was messing with. "One hundred and sixty!" Squealed Bethy happily. "That was so much fun. Did anyone beat me?"

Gabe raised a hand. "One eighty." He said with a small smile. "Nobody said we couldn't use Paths or abilities. My starlight charger was perfectly suited for this." We all stared at him in shock, he must have waited until we split up to summon it. I had to admit that was clever.

"Cheater." pouted Bethy. "If I knew we could ride animals I'd have ridden Luggage."

I glanced at my mentors. "Mel, Abel? How about you? You guys beat that?" I was hoping Mel had used her firepowers to get some extra speed. I didn't begrudge Gabe the win, but I wanted the locals to represent at least a bit.

"One twenty nine." Said the red masked woman. "Abel got one forty seven."

I laughed. "Well, you beat me. How about everyone else?" We took a count of everyone's scores, and in the end, Gabe took it by a landslide. Bethy was second, and my sister was third at one fifty eight. I was impressed.

We left the cavern together, retracing my steps to get back to the shuttle. I climbed in, laughing with my friends, and settled back to enjoy the ride to the lodge. As I watched the aurora fade away, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we descended back down into the valet. I caught something out of the corner of my eye and my gaze snapped over to the shuttle driver.

His eyes were locked on me, and for a second, I felt a sense of familiarity. It wasn't his face, or body language, or anything specific. I just got this sense that we'd met. It faded when my eyes landed on him though, and his own gaze slipped away. All this travel was making me paranoid. I'd have Zeke check him out just in case, but I really needed to relax.

So I did. Tomorrow was the last day before my wedding. I would be married in less than forty eight hours, and I couldn't wait. Closing my eyes, I settled in to listen to my friends banter, losing myself in the sounds, smells, and sensations of my home planet and my closest companions. It was a good night to be me.

 

[MichaelSuave]

You jinxed it... you taunted Murphy

 

[Lone-sith]

I'm really getting weird vibes, I don't like this

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"An ancient cold storage formation?" Asked Zeke in surprise when I filled him in on what we'd found. "Damn, that's not a bad find. You're not going to take over the universe or anything, but they might have some interesting abilities. Sounds like lots of unique racial traits and bloodlines among them too. That's a treasure trove for a candidate."

I nodded thoughtfully. "So you think I should bring them out now? I just can't shake the feeling it isn't time yet."

"Follow your gut, kid." He shrugged. "Everyone has their own way of doing things. Plus your wedding is the day after tomorrow, I get deciding to wait. Speaking of which, how was your party? Have fun?"

"It was a blast." I admitted. "Benny knows me well. Just the right blend of mindless fun and actual progress. The soul polishing was interesting. Though something weird did happen." I mentioned the driver to him, and he sighed.

He paused as if choosing his words carefully. "I can't do much for you there. I haven't seen anything around, and I've been looking. And I can tell you that because the wedding isn't part of your candidacy. With the big truce, you're officially off limits to any high rankers associated with other candidates, so if I found something I would be allowed to tell. If I found another candidate making things happen I couldn't tell you, but I could NOT tell you very obviously."

"Which means nothing is going on." I said, my shoulders slumping. I pulled my mask off, since we were alone, suddenly feeling a bit suffocated by it.

He shook his head. "Which means either nothing is going on or whatever IS going on is so far out of my weight class I can't tell. But honestly, that's always an option. Living your life in fear that you're being seamlessly manipulated by an untraceable puppetmaster so powerful you can't even tell they exist is how people go insane."

"So you're saying don't worry about it?" I asked in a deadpan tone. "This more of your 'if you can't change it ignore it' advice?"

Rolling his eyes, my uncle laughed. "Well if you knew what I was going to say, why bring it up?" He raised a brow at me, and I felt a force settle over us, masking our conversation. "Be honest. Is there any chance this paranoia might be a manifestation of cold feet? Trying to find a reason to put things off?"

"Not even a little bit." I said firmly. "My feet aren't cold. They're the opposite of cold. I have hot feet. Like, walking on coals hot."

And shockingly, it was true. I'd considered how surreal this was, wondered if I deserved it, considered how big a commitment I was making…and none of them had made me waver for even an instant.

I loved her. More than I'd ever loved anyone in my entire life. I'd sacrifice everything I had for her, give her anything she wanted, do anything she asked. I'd pluck the sun from the sky if she gave it a wishful glance. And she felt the same. I felt that every day. That surety, that peace, that love. She lived in my soul, for all intents and purposes, and I lived in hers. We were always together in a way more intimate than most couples could imagine, and exchanging vows was just making it official.

That was the part that floored me. How lucky I was. To know for sure what so many people had to guess at. I could live without it, mind. I'd proved that to myself in the ruined soul temple, but I didn't WANT to. I didn't want to live without it. I didn't want to live without her.

He must have seen that on my face. "You really aren't, huh? That's no small thing, kid. I'm happy for you. Gods know I'm not exactly that sure of anything myself."

"So we're not going to be attending yours and Stella's wedding anytime soon?" I asked sardonically.

"That depends." He said quietly. "On if I get up the guts to ask her." He snapped his fingers, and a box appeared in his hand. "I got this years ago." He said, staring at it wistfully. "Back when things were good. But you were young and I had responsibilities. Wasn't a great time. THen she figured out I wasn't quite as harmless as I portrayed myself, and things between us went sour."

I stared at him in shock. "You're serious?" I asked cautiously. "That's…kind of huge. When are you going to ask?"

"I don't know if I am." He said thoughtfully, tossing the box up and catching it. "Not all of us are you, kid. Not all of us find our soulmate. Or maybe we do, and we're too stupid to see it. I missed her when I was gone. That's not something I'm used to. I'm a very 'in the moment' kind of person. I don't dwell."

His tone was light, but I could tell this was weighing on him. Not just this either. "You're waiting for me to hit D-rank." I said solemnly. "Until your geas breaks."

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Or maybe that's an excuse. I'm not necessarily going to bail on you as soon as you rank up, kid. My geas breaks and my time as a guardian will end but my job as your uncle isn't over by a longshot. Especially with the competition's final stage moving up. Some of the older candidates are at my level. You'll need someone my strength for the final contest."

I didn't know much about the final contest, and I was sure he couldn't tell me. But I believed him when he said I'd need him. It didn't matter. "I don't want you throwing away your happiness for me. Stella is E-rank. Only one more to D. Mastery is a watershed. You could help her, like we helped the others. Because you're worried about that too, aren't you."
He sighed. "A to E is a big gap. I won't stand here and say that's not a factor. But more than that…this is new ground for me. I'm not sentimental, Shane. Not about this. I've had girlfriends, don't get me wrong, but no one that stuck. But Stella…I saw her face." His voice dropped, sounding tired as I'd ever heard it. "When I was fighting that skull masked fuck. When I thought I was going to die. I saw her face in my head. I wanted to see her again. Just one more time."

"Really?" I said in surprise. "That's kind of huge. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

He shrugged. "Bad business to advertise your weaknesses, kid. That's Ascendant 101. Your girl is a powerhouse, and you've got that connection. You're coming up together, so the cat's out of the bag. Stacey…she's not. She's a vulnerability." It took me a second to remember that Stella was her hero name. It had been a long time since I'd heard anyone call her anything else.

I wanted to disagree. Wanted to tell him he was being stupid and he should just be happy, but I'd seen the ugly side of the five factions. Seen what someone was willing to do to his own daughter just for a bit of power. He wasn't wrong. "So make her strong." I finally said. "You can help her find a Path. It's not like she needs to make it to godhood. It doesn't have to be a new Path. Just something that works. Hell, ask my grandmother, her Path is star based, right?"

He burst out laughing. "That's your solution? You want me to call up the secret daughter of a pair of feuding gods and ask her to make my girlfriend her apprentice because I hung out with her daughter when we were younger?"

"Or have mom ask her." I shrugged. "Or have mom teach Stella. Whatever you decide, you have options. Don't let fear take your choice away. What's the point of working your way up to A-rank if you're too scared to use that power to protect the things you love. Live your damn life, Zeke."

He blinked at me. "That…is wildly arrogant advice. I'm actually kind of proud. And you're right. I'll think it over. I have to talk to her about it, first. But at least I have the ring. Speaking of which, do you have yours?"

Laughing, I reached into a pocked, pulling out a small box of my own. I opened it, and inside sat…something spectacular.

"That." Said Zeke with wide eyes. "Is a Cosmic Moment. THose are REALLY rare. How the hell did you even get that? I don't think I've ever even seen one." He gingerly picked up the ring, and stared at it in fascination.

"Where else would I get a crystallized supernova." I said with a shrug. "It was moms. She gave it to me during the trip. She said she wanted me to have it."

The ring was beautiful. A midnight black band of crystal, within which spun a thousand galaxies. Set into the top was a brilliantly glowing stone that pulse with a blue white light. A Cosmic Moment, like Zeke said. The captured energy of an exploding star.
The engagement ring I'd given Callie was nice enough, and the starpluck bangle was a great gift, but this was our wedding ring. The one she'd be wearing for the rest of our lives. And I wanted it to be special. I knew my moms offer was partially based in guilt and wanting to be part of my wedding, but honestly, that made it more special, not less. Getting the ring from my mom felt…right. Like it was one more thing showing that Callie was part of the family.

Zeke whistled as he put it back. "You know what you can do with one of those?" He asked ruefully.

"Nope." I responded without hesitation. "No clue what it's good for. But I know it's priceless, and special, and beautiful. So it's about half as important as Callie as far as I'm concerned. If that."

He chuckled. "You're such a sap." I put the box away, returning it to my ring, and Zeke leaned over to clap me on the shoulder. "Hey." He said, getting my attention. "I'm proud of you. For all of this. Who knew when your dad left you with me all those years ago you'd grow up to be a halfway decent guy."

"You probably would have." I said fondly. "If you hadn't been so drunk most of my life."

He snorted. "Please. Like any of the swill on this planet could actually affect me. I just like the taste."

"So all those times you embarrassed me and passed out when I had friends over, you were just being an asshole?" I said in mock outrage. Zeke had never done anything that bad. He was mostly just not around. Now that I thought about it, that might have been his excuse to run the WCP branch in Valen.

We laughed together, talking about my childhood, and I was surprised how much of it he remembered. Things he hadn't even been there for. Zeke really had been watching out for me my whole life, even when I couldn't see him.

After our talk, I said goodbye, giving him a tight hug, and then headed for my room. I wanted to get some rest, plus spend some time with Callie. She was insisting we sleep apart the night before the wedding, so tomorrow night I'd be crashing with Benny. Something about not seeing the bride in her dress before the ceremony.

She was waiting for me when I got back, lying in bed with a soft smile on her face, and I curled up around her, feeling her warmth against me as I nodded off. The feeling of warmth and safety and love as I drifted off was irreplaceable. My feet, as I'd mentioned to Zeke, were toasty warm.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The next morning was surprisingly quiet. I'd gotten so used to things being busy and frantic, but with everything taken care of, I almost felt like we were in the calm before the storm. I woke up slowly, smiling down at Callie's peaceful face. I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, my smile widening as she grumbled and slapped at my hand.

Her brow furrowed slightly, but she didn't wake up. I leaned down and kissed her forehead gently before sliding out of bed and walking to the doors of our balcony.

The air outside was crisp and refreshing, still with that morning chill, and the silence around me was heavy on air. Oddly, I didn't feel the need to break it. More often than not, the silences I dealt with on mornings like this felt oppressive, but this one was different. Harmonious, almost.

Above us, I watched the aurora dance in the sky, visible even more vividly in the early morning, before the sun had risen. I was completely immersed in the sight, and almost missed the movements behind me, but it became clear who was moving when a familiar arm wrapped around my waist as Callie tucked herself under my arm.

"Sorry if I woke you." I said shortly. It felt almost sad to shatter that peaceful silence.

She just shrugged. "Hard to sleep." She said idly, staring up at the aurora. "Just one more day. It'll be weird sleeping alone tonight."

"Your rule." I said with a wry grin. "I'd be happy to scrap it.

Snorting, she shook her head. "Not mine. My mom's. She's superstitious about the weirdest things. But it makes her feel involved when I listen to her, and that's important. Speaking of important, I need you to do the once over of the venue. Make sure everything is up to snuff. I have to get my dress fitting double checked."

"You haven't changed even slightly over the past couple months." I pointed out. "You haven't even gained muscle because we weren't working out on the trip."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "When will you learn to let me have my quirks? Measure twice, wear once. That's a known thing in fashion. Bethy told me that."

"Then she lied to your face." I laughed. "That's a known thing in CARPENTRY. It's measure twice, cut once, and that saying is about literal wood beams." She looked unimpressed, so I rolled my eyes and gave her a quick peck. "Oh fine. Yes dear. I'll check on the venue."

Beaming at me, she gave me a tight squeeze. "Shane…I just wanted to thank you. I know this has been a pain. I've been going out of my mind with worry. It just feels like…I have to get this perfect. This is the first time the world will be seeing us together as a married couple. I want everyone to know that we're a team, that we support each other and have each other's back."

I could feel what she wasn't saying. "Is this still an insecurity thing?" I reached down to put my finger under her chin, raising her head to look me in the eyes. "You, Calliope Reynolds, are amazing. I was in awe of you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I'm lucky to have found you, and anyone who thinks you're not good enough, or are using me, or whatever crazy ridiculous thing you've convinced yourself people will think, is an idiot, and I will strike them violently about the head and body with my magic stick."

That threw her off enough that she burst out laughing. She was used to my support and adoration, and she just thought I was biased, but the unexpected joke had jarred her out of her funk. She laid her head against my side and closed her eyes, smiling peacefully. "I love you."

"I love you too." I said without hesitation. "And I always will. Now, if the wedding being perfect means that much to you I'll make it happen, so I have a venue to vet. Sadly, that means I can't make you homemade cinnamon buns for breakfast like I'd planned." Her jaw dropped in outrage as I dipped back, avoiding her grab for my shirt. "I'm sure future you appreciates your sacrifice thanks bye!"

I laughed maniacally as I bolted out of the rooms, ignored her joking cries of faux anguish at the thought of missing a home cooked breakfast.

About halfway down the hall, I ran into Benny, who was coming out of his own room. "Whoa there." He said with a laugh. "Where are you going in your civvies?" He gestured to my sweats and t-shirt. I'd slipped on my mask but hadn't bothered with my armor for the same reasons I hadn't needed it the other day.

"Benny!" I said happily. "Congratulations, you're being conscripted."

He grimaced. "Am I joining the army again? Because that was way less fun than you made it sound.

"You're so whiny." I said teasingly. "You made me join the army Shane. This tournament is hard Shane. I can't survive swimming in that volcano Shane, I'll die. You have absolutely no sense of adventure, you know that?"

He shot me a deadpan look. "Where is the adventure in having to help set up your wedding? You're just using me for free labor."

I threw and arm over his shoulder. "This is all about mindset. You don't 'have to' help me set it up. You 'get to' help me set it up. Or else. Just look for the silver lining. These are useful and important skills you can use to plan your own wedding someday."

"Except I'm not a Wyndham, so I won't need to make such a big fuss." He groused.

I just snorted. "Your girlfriend is elvish nobility. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you ain't seen nothing yet."

He frowned deeply. "I really wish that didn't make sense. Damn you."

"It's ok bud." I said consolingly. "That's a problem for future Benny. Present Benny is going to be so damned busy he won't be able to worry about it." I paused, looking up at the driver of the shuttle I'd just walked us up to. "Harmony Hall please."

Benny blinked, looking around in shock. "Shit, you distracted me. Come on, I can't even get breakfast?"

"You can eat when you're dead." I said mercilessly. "Or when my work is done, either is fine."

He glared at me sulkily. "Despot. Fine. But only because tomorrow is the big day and Callie has been going out of her mind with the planning. We should take some of the work load off her mind so she can enjoy things more."

"Agreed." I said with a sigh. "That's mostly why we're doing this. She needs a chance to relax a bit before the wedding so she won't be all burnt out."

We chatted for the rest of the tide, and despite our back and forth, I could tell my best friend didn't mind getting sucked into things. I considered bringing up Celine again, but I knew Callie and I had taken this step earlier than most recursion aside. I wasn't going to poke him about something that might make him genuinely uncomfortable, at least not too much.

I was pretty sure my talk with Zeke and the wedding itself had put me in a weird headspace about the whole thing.

Finally, we arrived at the venue, and I thanked the driver (not the same guy who had weirded me out the day before) and hopped out, excited to take in the place where I'd be getting married.

Sure enough, when we disembarked, I was awestruck. We'd rented a sort of garden spring gazebo in the center of Wintervale. While most of the place was green and relatively warm, the spring had collected all that frost and cold and condensed it into a single area. A small black pond sat in the center of the garden, with the gazebo behind it.

An ice bridge led over the pond, formed of black frost. The gazebo was clean and peaceful looking, if small, and the garden around the pond was a cascade of gorgeous flowers, growing up and around rows of intricately carved seats. I could see engravings of animals and beautiful scenes carved into the dark wood.

I'd expected the orange and black plants to be ugly, but to my surprise the vibrant starbursts of color among the deep black plants homogenized with the black ice and the pond, and the orange fairy lights hanging from the gazebo tied the whole thing together shockingly well. Even the grass was black. I could see some of the flowers Jessie had mentioned, but instead of arrangements it looked like they'd planted them and let them grow over the seating.

"Damn." Said Benny in an impressed tone. "This looks better than expected. I was kind of on the fence about the color scheme, but it looks good."

I smiled wryly. "Same here. It's weird, I think she decided to do orange partly because of the house back in Rajak. Like a nod to where we came from. But it seemed like such a terrible choice to me. I kind of get it now."

"You say that." He smirked. "But you don't have to wear a completely orange dress. Celine was NOT pleased, though she obviously didn't make too big a fuss. I think once she sees all this she won't be as unhappy. Lucky we only need orange ties."

Laughing, I resumed my circuit, taking in the details and double checking everything Callie wanted to make sure of. The gift bags, custom invitations included, were set out, the plating was done on the big fancy tables behind the gazebo (though none of the food was out yet obviously) , and there was a stage set up for the band (because DJs were tacky apparently).

All in all, everything was where it was supposed to be. Oddly, the more I confirmed, the more uneasy I got. My sense of peace from the morning was slowly eroding, and I wasn't sure why. I used my Eye of Revelation on everything, making sure there was no poison or traps or hidden weapons caches, I checked all the staff I saw and didn't notice an issue, I just couldn't figure out what was bothering me.

Eventually I just shoved it down. I was here for Callie, and if something went wrong I'd handle it, but for now, I was going to make sure this went as perfectly as possible. I owed her that much, and so much more. She deserved to have this day go just as perfectly as she wanted, even if the insecurity was a little silly. I grimaced as that pushed me back into the worry spiral, putting me back at square one.

"Hey." Said Benny casually. "You still have wishes for today right?" I glanced at him, and he grinned. "I know you're distracted, but we might as well get them out of the way." He reached into a pocket and flipped me a D-rank chit. "Credit for your thoughts?"

I rolled my eyes, but I was glad he was here. He always knew how to distract me. Plus,seventy Fantasy would put me over ten thousand, and milestones like that felt important.

Benny wished for seventy Might (putting HIM over ten thousand) and traded for the Fantasy I needed as we got back into the shuttle. We'd confirmed everything and now had the rest of the day to kill. I wasn't sure if it would be over in a flash or drag on forever, given how nervous I was.

As we took off, I looked back down at the gazebo, trying to pinpoint what was bothering me. Try as I might though, nothing was coming clear. Reaching out for Callie, I sent her a supportive burst of love through the bond, getting one back, and that helped me calm down. The last errand was out of the way. Tomorrow was my wedding. It was almost here.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I woke up alone. I didn't feel particularly strongly about that. No, loneliness was not on my list of emotions. The cold, gnawing dread was up taking up most of my emotional bandwidth. It was so pervasive it took me a minute to realize I hadn't woken up on my own, I'd been helped along by a knock on my door. Or rather, Benny's door, Celine and Callie had switched rooms so we'd all have somewhere to stay.

"Hey man, you awake?" Asked my best friend as he came into the room with a cup of hot cocoa and a plate full of food. "I figured you could use some food.

I grunted, sitting up, and gave him a grateful nod as I took the meal. I forced myself to chew, despite my stomach being a rioting mess and the bacon tasting like ash.

Like I'd told Zeke. I didn't have cold feet. I couldn't wait to marry Callie. No, the problem was that I was terrified SHE would rethink marrying ME. This girl was way too good for me. She was smart and beautiful and perfect and I was a lazy battle junkie with daddy issues.

Benny raised a brow at me. "You certainly seem to have your head on straight. Steady as a rock. I'm surprised, you usually freak out when you're doing something big. I guess you've grown up a lot."

"What are you, fucking insane?" I snapped at him. "I'm about to puke. My heart is hammering like an automatic rifle and palms are sweating for some weird reason. How am I supposed to regulate that? What if it happens during the ceremony? What if the ring slips off and she leans down to get it and I accidentally knee her in the face and her nose breaks and she leaves me forever-"

He covered my mouth with his hand, looking appalled. "Shit man, you buried that crazy in a shallow grave. My mistake. Luckily, I come bearing more gifts than just food." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to me.

Taking it, I opened the note to find a short, succinct message. 'I love you, idiot. Calm down.' I laughed, folding it up and putting it in the pocket of my pajama pants.

"I can't believe I took the under." He said with a disgusted sigh. "Almost two years at this and you only managed a decent poker face. Bastard. Seems like that helped though. Let's try this again. Pushing down any insane panic spirals about elaborate farcical comedies of errors ruining your wedding, how are you feeling, you absolute moron?"

I patted my pocket, closing my eyes as I pictured the note again, and laughed quietly. "Sorry." I said as I opened them. "I'm good. She does know me well. Did you see her? Did she seem ok?" I reached for my bond, getting a pulse of adoration and excitement, which I returned in force, but nothing specific.

"I didn't." He said. "Celine brought me that. I love how your wedding means my girlfriend doesn't sleep in our room. If I'd know being best man meant having to bunk with your big ugly ass, I'd have let Zeke do it."

I gave him a sympathetic look. "Jealousy is such a petty emotion." I said kindly. "But don't worry, we're only nineteen. I'm sure you'll grow into your features someday. Until then, try to control your envy at my refined and glorious features." I framed my chin with a finger and a thumb like a check mark and grinned cheesily.

"No wonder you managed to form a Path so early." He said pityingly. "You've completely lost touch with reality."

Shrugging, I winked at him. "Maybe it's the air up here. It gets thin at this altitude. You wouldn't know about that though, would you?" I never let him forget my current one inch height advantage after Callie traded me an inch for a wish.

"I'll let that pass because it's your wedding." He said with narrowed eyes. "But starting tomorrow you better watch your ass."

We both laughed, and I pulled him into a huge. Benny always knew when I needed to banter and let off steam. "How about you?" I asked when I let go. "You ready? Got the ring?" I'd handed it to him last night, and if he'd lost it I was going to hyperventilate.

"I'm not an idiot." He said with an exasperated sigh. He patted his pocket. "It's right here." He froze. "Wait, where did it go?" He patted his pockets frantically. "Shit, I swear I just had it…You're not buying this at all are you?" His panicked expression gave way to a toothy grin. "I thought you might be nervous enough to believe me."

I rolled my eyes. "Luckily I know you well enough to expect your poorly timed and amateurishly executed attempts at humor. You should talk to Serah. I'm told she's the funniest angel in her whole tower."

He burst out laughing. "She does crack me up sometimes. But it's a bit hit or miss. She pulls off most of her jokes because of the deadpan delivery, and I just don't have it."

"I shudder to think what she's teaching Bethy." I said with a terrified expression.

"Speaking of, she seemed awfully excited to be a bridesmaid. It was sweet of Callie to ask her. Maria really appreciated it too."

I smiled fondly. "Yeah, she's sweet like that. Though speaking of Maria, what's up with her and Jessie. They break up or something? They haven't really seemed to be interacting much, I was expecting them to hang out once we got back."

"They were never really together." He shrugged. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder sometimes, and sometimes it just puts distance. They decided to just be friends. Jessie was telling me about it the other day. They're just doing different things with their lives. Not everyone has a fairytale romance with their first girlfriend."

I shot him a withering look. "Dude. You're dating an ACTUAL elf princess."

"She's not a princess." He said quickly. "But fair point. Anyway, they're still friends, just not pursuing anything romantic, so it won't be awkward."

"Up to them." I shrugged. "I kind of get it. Long distance is hard enough for established couples. Trying to start something that way would be rough." I stood up, grabbing the bag with my suit in it and stepping into the bathroom to change. "Man, I thought being so sure of this would mean I wouldn't be as freaked, but if anything being so committed to the idea is making the pressure heavier."

I finished changing and stepped out, cracking my neck and spreading my arms wide. "So, how do I look?"

He shrugged. "Maybe half as good as I do. Which is still ten times better than usual."

"Remind me to replace your mirrors." I said with a mock sneer. "Apparently they're all the funhouse kind that Cicero uses at the circus."

He gave me a knowing smile. "You know we're going to have to quit stalling eventually." He said in a surprisingly kind tone. "There's nothing to be scared of. She's crazy about you, and it's not like this will really change anything. You're basically newlyweds anyway, you're so into each other it's sickening."

I laughed, pulling him into another hug. "Thanks man. You're right. Let's go."

We slipped out of the room, taking a specific hallways so we didn't run into Callie and climbing into a shuttle. The ride to the venue was shockingly quick, and when I arrived, the usher led me to the gazebo where I would be waiting.

We were early, by a substantial degree. Most of the seats were empty, but my mom and Amelia were already there. "Shane!" Callie's mom said happily. "You look so handsome!" She stepped up the adjust my tux, then adjusted it back a second later before nodding in confirmation. "Are you ready?"

"A little shaky." I admitted. "I'm worried she won't show up. I mean, I know she will but what if she doesn't, what if she dec-" Benny's hand covered my mouth again.

"Let's not get him started." He said with a laugh. "He's fine, and he'll be more fine when she gets here. Is everything ready?" He turned to my mom, who was standing off to the side in an orange silk dress, beaming proudly at me.

She brushed the question off with a snort. "Obviously. "I'm not half assing my baby's wedding. Our seating is all lined up, bridal party and groomsmen are aware of their places, caterer has already delivered the food, flowers are out, gift bags are ready, cake is here, photographer is standing by, the wolves are dressed in little outfits, and we nixed the doves because we were pretty sure they would get eaten."

"Where's the ring?" Asked Jessie as she arrived. "I want to give it to Randall before the ceremony, we have his pillow all set up."

Benny fished in his pocket. "I got it. Best man holds the ring until the ring bearer gets it. Or ring bear, I guess." He shot me a reproachful look. "Was the bad pun really necessary. You could have had Callie's half brother do it."

"Randall is adorable." I said in a dignified voice. "Plus Eric is too young. That ring is worth more than this entire star cluster. Cass is out flower girl though."

Jessie beamed. "I picked out the cutest petals for her to use. They burst into flames when they touch the ground. But like…not hot flames. Orange ghost fire. It's going to be very tasteful, and not arsonisty at all."

"That's good to hear." I said dryly. "Callie was very clear about how much fire the wedding was allowed to be on. Which is none. She's against it."

"I know." Said Mel as she stepped into the gazebo, Abel following behind her. "I tried to convince her to let me do a fire dance, but she said it's too dangerous. Something about G-rankers being so flammable I might ignite them from a distance by accident. So insulting. Security is standing by." She told my mom. "The last sweep came up clean."

I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you two were helping out with that? I appreciate the assist. And thanks again for the manpower mom."

"Of course sweetie." She said happily, fixing my jacket exactly the same way Amelia had and actually messing it up worse. Her hands came up to grip my face. Or mask at least. "Look at you. I wish you're take this thing off for the ceremony. I'm surprised Calliope didn't insist."

I shrugged. "She knows it's a safety issue. Plus I think it looks good. It's my brand."

We talked for the next hour or so, double checking everything as guests began to trickle in. It was crazy seeing the mix of old friends and new, seeing powerful E-rankers we'd grown up hearing about next to people we were friends with and had fought with side by side. The whole wedding had a surreal vibe to it, without even touching on how crazy it was that I was marrying the woman of my dreams.

Eventually, Amelia, Chelsea, Mel, and my mom stepped over to where Callie's bridesmaids were waiting, and Abel joined Zeke, Gabe, Ian, and several other friends with the groomsmen. Benny stayed by me waiting at the end of the aisle.

After everyone was seated, the band started up the music, and my heart thundered in my chest as another shuttle, this one sleek and understated, landed at the end of the aisle. My eyes were locked on the exit, and I couldn't stop myself from swallowing as a figure emerged. Calliope Reynolds, the woman who was going to be my wife, started her walk down the aisle, and I'd never been so transfixed by any sight in my entire life.