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

[Malcolm Tent]

I woke with a happy sigh, sitting up and stretching expansively. I felt refreshed, like I had finally exhaled after months of holding my breath. I glanced down to find Callie sleeping peacefully, and kissed her forehead as I slipped out of bed. The suite Callie was living in at the WCP encampment palace was shockingly similar to the one I slept in back at the main palace and as expected, the shower was the same as well.

Being able to stand under scalding water as it tattooed the beat a peaceful song on my skin was a balm to my soul and nerves so frayed I had forgotten what it was like not to be stressed. Sadly, all good things must end, so I only stayed in for an hour or two before stepping out and drying off. Once I got dressed, I headed for the in suite kitchen and pulled out ingredients, beginning to prepare a nice breakfast for the two of us.

I spent about twenty minutes cooking before I heard the door opened, but when I turned I found Benny, Jessie, Chelsea, and Celine rather than Callie. They all sat down at the table, staring at me expectantly, and I rolled my eyes, cracking more eggs for them.

"So," I said nonchalantly. "You guys do anything fun last night? Skydiving? Surfing? Getting engaged?"

"Subtle," Benny said dryly. "And yes, I asked."

I nodded solemnly to Celine. "Turned him down huh? Good choice. He's fine in small doses but you don't want him around all the time."

"No, she said yes, ass. And I will throw this knife at you," Benny said mildly. "I know you can dodge, but it might scratch the cabinets, and then what would you do? This is a high end suite of the WCP, if you mess up their furnishings-"

"They'll do nothing at all because I'm the boss of EVERYONE?" I grinned maliciously.

He glared at me. "I despise you. How am I supposed to keep your rampaging ego in check now. You're ACTUALLY the center of the universe. Or at least a few galaxies."

"You sure you want to sign up for a lifetime of THIS?" Chelsea asked Celine wryly. "I'm stuck with these idiots, but you can still escape. Though I guess I'm in no position to be throwing stones about eccentric significant others."

"Why am I the one getting ganged up on?" Benny complained. "This is supposed to be my special day."

The door to my room opened, my wife padding out in a heavy pair of pajamas. She glared at our guests. "You people are so loud. Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's not polite to speak words before noon?"

"Morning hon," I told her as I kissed her cheek and handed her a plate. "Benny was just telling me about the proposal."

"Don't care," she grunted. "Too early. Eat now. Talk later."

We all laughed but left her to her meal as she dug in with the single minded determination you usually saw from particularly motivated alligators. I turned to Benny and raised my eyebrow. "So, if we're all going in together I'm gonna need to know your stats. Jessie you too, let's see what you guys are working with. Been a while, can't wait to see how much you've grown."

He snorted at me, scooping up a forkful of eggs and stuffing them in his mouth. He stared me down as he ate them as slowly as possible, defiantly extending his mastication as long as possible, and I rolled my eyes and waited. Finally, he swallowed, proudly took out a piece of paper, and copied down his stats, passing them to me smugly.

Benicio Cortez- C-rank. Ability: Grandmaster Necrotech Integration- Allows the integration of existing artifacts into the users body for the purposes of strengthening and enhancing them, three items per placement. Allows the integration of souls into created technology.

Bonded Companion: Toast (Dracolich)

Might-615,044

Impact-155

Fantasy-323,486

Vitality-426,441

Focus-720,141

Perception-343,582

Creation-263,471

Progress to next rank: 2,692,320/ 1,000,000

Soul strength: Tanzanite Soul Body

Current integrated tech. 17/30.

Torso: C-ranked intangibility for short bursts, Three times multiplication of Might for ten minutes.

Right fist: triple punch, right infinite edge axe blade.

Left forearm: C-ranked energy barrier or variable shape, space ring.

Left fist: master slow acting tranquilizer effect, left infinite edge axe blade.

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 ten minutes.

Back: ability to grow a shell to tank damage.

Chest: Pair of golden D-rank spider legs that arch up from the shoulders.

Waist: Belt of spiritual calming, Three times Multiplication of Perception for ten minutes. Heart: Illusionary double, Three times Multiplication of Vitality for ten minutes.

Skills:Minor Cooking Mastery, Grandmastery of Inventing, Grandmastery of Necromantic Engineering, Grandmaster Path of the Dracolich, Lesser Haggling Mastery, Minor Stealth Mastery

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

I whistled at the changes. Honestly, the biggest shock was how LITTLE a quarter of the way to B-rank ended up being. He didn't have a single stat over one million. Which made sense, since he and Jessie had broken through not long ago. He was actually doing incredibly well, but still, I'd been expecting bigger numbers, especially after I'd seen Callie's crazy growth. In a way, I was actually glad to know Benny was taking his time. Callie had our bond to help with recursion, but Benny would have to deal with that himself.

Most impressive was the comprehensive upgrade to his tech. All the D-rank artifacts had been updated, which must have taken an IMMENSE amount of work, given the semi-random nature of inventing. Even if he gained control as he ranked up the skill, it couldn't have been easy. Not to mention the multiplier items had been replaced, since not only did they work at his current rank, the timeline had been extended to double what it had been before.

Beyond that, the rank up had expanded his capacity to three items per slot, meaning he had effectively half his slots open for use. Now that he'd caught up with replacing all his items, he could start working on new ones. I was about to suggest he fill them now, but considering the contents of the test, the legacy might teach him some new ways to improve, so I'd let him handle it on his own. Still, he'd done well, and I let the others check it out as I processed.

Jessie was leaning over my shoulder, peeking with interest at the various stat values. "Oh wow nice. Your Focus is almost three quarters of a million. And you have two Grandmaster crafting skills, I'm jealous. I got Beast taming and Lifeweaving to Grandmaster, but only because I cheated with my trait." She pulled out a piece of paper, writing everything down. "Got a few new masteries too, but that's all on Alyssa. She's been SO patient helping me learn about plants and nature." Her smile was wide and happy as she talked about her girlfriend, and I was so happy for her, knowing how it felt to find someone who meant that much to you. She passed us the paper, and we all leaned over to peruse.

Jessica Evans- C-rank. Ability- Grandmaster Trait: Undying Lifestorm Thirionad. A spirit of the wild, bonded deeply with the Undying Lifestorm Ursa Randall. The beginning of a line.

Might-1,355,625 (x 2 effective multiplier from racial trait)

Impact-155

Fantasy-222,758

Vitality-3,409,587 (x 3 effective multiplier from racial trait)

Focus-219,755

Perception-225,765

Creation-123,958

Progress to next rank: 5,557,603/10,000,000

Pathath of the Green Sun- Solid

Lifebound partner: Undying Lifestorm Ursa- Randall

Soul strength: Tanzanite Soul Body

Skills: Grandmastery of Lifeweaving, Intermediate Horticulture, Mastery of First Aid, Mastery of Herbalism, Expert Flower Arrangement, Grandmastery of Beast Taming, Grandmaster Path of the Green Sun

That one surprised me less. Benny had undershot her total development by a bit, but not much. She was about halfway through C-rank, and her Vitality was effectively into the B-rank range on its own. I couldn't help but glance up at her in shock. "Damn, you stayed VERY focused. Your whole rep is feeding into Vitality. Though it looks like you still have Might creeping up behind, side effects of Randall being your bond I'm guessing. Speaking of, how is he?" Randall had already been C-rank last time I'd seen him, and I doubted he'd already broken through again, but I doubted he was lagging too far behind.

Grinning, Jessie reached into a two sided pocket of her hoodie tucked around he belly and presented the miniaturized bear, still shrunk as usual with the device Jessie had wished for back at the ruined soul temple. "He hungry?" I asked with a laugh. "I did make extras."

She snorted. "Don't tempt him. He'll clean your whole kitchen out. He can eat his weight in food even in this form. His ACTUAL weight. Plus he's been hungry. Alyssa has decided he's going to try to go vegetarian. She's had him on a strict diet of fruit and nuts. She says it's for his own good, but I'm pretty sure it's because he ate the goat she was raising. She can be petty like that."

"Is that healthy?" I asked worriedly. "Aren't bears carnivores?"

She shook her head. "Bears are Omnivorous. Even if he was a normal animal it wouldn't hurt him. Besides, he's a Lifestorm Ursa. Between his own Vitality and our bond he could survive or rocks and twigs for the next hundred years. But don't worry. She's over it by this point and is mostly just messing with him. She's planning to slow cook a whole cow for him for his next birthday." She grinned down at the soundly sleeping bear. "He has no idea, and he's been pouting for a month about it."

I probably should have been outraged about the bullying, but Randall could be a bit of a diva, and the fact that Alyssa had found a punishment that was so obviously effective while not having a real downside made me smile.

"So," I turned to Celine. "What about you? You hit C-rank? I'm not prying, I know stats are personal for most people, but are you going to try the legacy trial with us? The noncombat route?" I wasn't sure what professions were available, but Celine was an expert at woodcraft and forestry, and if she'd hit C-rank I was sure she'd be up for the challenge."

"I have," she smiled happily. "Thanks to the stipend I receive from the Empire from governing your territory. As for the legacy, there is a ranger trial apparently, according to some of the rejected applicants, and I'm going to at least attempt it. I'm just not sure of the results."

That made two of us. Even beyond actually passing, there was more to consider. How would the legacy trial work if the trial had non-combatants. I'd expected it to be similar to the ruined soul temple, lots of competitions for rankings with rewards at the end. It still might be like that, but that would mean that there would be separate tracks for the two types of professions, and that didn't feel right.

Whatever was going to happen, I was excited to find out what it would be like. We'd be going in together this time, and my gut was telling me we'd be able to stay teamed up. It would be a nice change of pace from my semi solo adventure in the Void.

All of us fell into deep thought about the coming challenges, returning to our meals, and I tried my best to rouse myself from the reverie and focus on the food and the company. There would always be another crisis, but moments like these, a good breakfast with my best friends…those were hard to come by, and I suspected they'd get harder still in the not too distant future.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Once my time with my friends was over, it was time for politics. Harrison was running things on the war front with Aiden supporting, but as the current Wishmaster, I was technically the highest ranking official at the base. That meant I was now in charge of said base, and would be expected to at least pretend to participate in the day to day, even if it was just to pay lip service to the plans of whoever I had actually running things.

It ALSO meant that I was expected to meet with the lords and ladies of the various nearby clans who had been in talks for or already entered into truces. Joy.

And so, I was escorted deep into the base, into a throne room that had apparently never been used before, and plopped on a throne to sit and look pretty (or intimidating) while people cycled through the room to kiss my boots. While I was sure that would sound entertaining to some, I definitely wasn't on that list. I hated all the formal ass kissing aspects of my job.

Callie, happily, had a seat right beside me, so we could at least entertain each other with chatter while we waited for new visitors to show up.

It was inconvenient, but I had decided to hold off on my breakthrough to B-rank until after holding court. The more people who saw me at C-rank, the less concerned people were likely to be about me. While C-rankers with Chronicles HAPPENED, they weren't so common as to be expected. Since a Chronicle was a requirement to hit B-rank, me being at peak C-rank and not breaking through would imply that I lacked the ability to do so.

Of course, plenty of people knew about my Domain, but they were mostly internal. Being underestimated by outsiders was unlikely to be a bad thing in any scenario I could imagine.

But before we got to the outsiders, we had to get through the insiders, and that meant listening to Harrison debrief us. About everything. Every. Single. Thing. He talked about the current force limits, about the premises, about the fucking PLUMBING. Logistics, supply chains, VENDOR CONTRACTS. It had been a straight hour since he arrived, his mouth hadn't stopped moving, and I had internalized literally zero useful information.

My cabinet, standing behind me, listened intently to relevant sections of the report, but as for myself, I barely heard a word that came out of his mouth. I was so bored that I didn't even notice he had stopped talking until Callie reached over and pinched me, at which point I turned slowly to regard the elder. He looked resigned. "I was asking, my lord, if you had any questions regarding the arrangements on the warfront. May I take your silence as a no?"

"You may," I said, not letting any chagrin into my voice. "I'm meeting with the local clans and factions we already have treaties with now, right?"

He nodded. "Your first meeting is with the Extreme Emptiness Mansion. Their current Patriarch has some concerns about the troop distribution on the western flank. He feels he's being targeted unfairly by factions inside the palace."

"Is he?" I asked bluntly.

"Possibly," he admitted. "Carnas Dellifer is a powerful S-ranker in his own right, and his sister Lilah married Warren Wyndham shortly before his appointment to the position of Wishmaster. During her tenure as first lady of the palace, Lilah was known to favor her brother's organization. Carnas is a deadly warrior, so most overlooked the nepotism, but there were a few vassal organizations that might have felt slighted, and during my son's tenure as Wishmaster, he didn't bother upholding many of Warren's rulings when they were challenged."

I sighed. "So it's possible some of his rivals ended up in a position to pressure the officer in charge of whatever our dispersal looks like. Who was that?"

"Dominic," he said politely. "A second cousin of yours, my lord. He has a natural gift for tactics. My son uses him to arrange the troops when he can't be bothered. Would you like me to call him before the seat?"

I shook my head. "Sure, he can sit in during my meeting with Carnas. I'll be able to smell if he's lying anyway. Send them both in."

He nodded solemnly, gesturing for the nearby guards to summon the two parties involved.

First into the room was Carnas Dellifer. Carnas was…big. A lot of Ascendants were tall. I suspected it was a recursion thing based on us seeming so larger than life, but Carnas was easily the tallest person I'd seen aside from my recently resurrected father in law. Seven and a half feet with piercing blue eyes and blood red hair that erupted around his head like a lions man, fading into an equally untamed beard. He met my eyes, nodding deeply but never breaking contact. "Your excellency," he said, in a deeply accented brogue I couldn't place.

"Lord Dellifer," I responded respectfully. "I hear you have worries about the safety of your men on the front lines. Would you be so kind as to share your concerns?"

"Of course," he said cordially. "As you know, the majority of the major factions have agreed to a temporary truce, but this has mostly affected the upper ranks. C and D-ranked parties and legions have been sortying out to do battle semi regularly in an effort to keep the stationed armies from getting too…boisterous. Supporting a force of S or even A-rankers requires exponentially larger numbers of weaker Ascendants for supply and logistics positions, among other things. Keeping our high rankers quiet is simple, given their lifespans and limited numbers, but entertaining the tens or hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers was…a concern."

I nodded. That was why Callie had been able to continue her combat training. The lower ranked soldiers from the major factions, not to mention smaller factions that weren't as concerned with the legacy trial as the rest of us. I'd noted the continued skirmishes from the latter, and the former's activities had been explained during the briefing, even if I'd only been half listening.

"Naturally," I confirmed. "The problem lies with one of your C-rank legions?"

"The Favored Sons," he confirmed. "A C-rank unit commanded by my youngest great grandchild, Edmund. He's an excitable lad, but he's got a good head on his shoulders. He'd taken control of our section of the western flank, coordinating with several units nearby. He arranged a brilliant pincer formation attack on an incoming raid force from the Dead Cavern Marauders, but at the last second, one of the prongs of his pincer broke off to engage the Demons of the Setting Sun."

"A necessary departure," came a crisp voice as another man entered the room. "Considering the collapse of the Dawn Hierarchy on the eastern front. Their defense folded, and the Demons spearheaded right through our front line. If they'd broken through entirely they'd have been fully behind our lines and free to unleash hell on our back lines."

Carnas snarled at him. "The Fourteenth Pax Demonica regiment was stationed on that front. Your dispatch of the Blood Pact Raiders was an unnecessary excess!"

The shorter but still sizable man who had entered looked…like a Wyndham. Sandy hair, green eyes. The standard family template. He was also lying. Not through all of it. But I knew enough about what it sounded like when people avoided the truth on purpose to have a pretty good idea. I also had no desire to mince words. "Dominic," I cut off his defense. "Yes or no, the dispatch of pincer forces was an absolute necessity that was in no way related to Lord Dellifer's identity?"

He froze, clearly uncomfortable. I could see him consider lying, but eventually he just sighed. "I can't say it was in NO way related," he hedged. "There were other regiments that could have been sent to support, but they would have been less…politically neutral choices."

I sighed deeply. "You lose anyone?" I asked Carnas.

"We did," he said immediately. Then added grudgingly. "But…no more than usual. We were forced to give ground, but there weren't any more deaths than the average engagement." He glared at Dominic. "We're willing to accept compensation."

I turned to Dominic. "What are you willing to offer to make this right?"

"My lord," he protested. "I was simply following the wishes of the commanders in the field. Tactical deployment is a complex and nuanced field that involves a great many interests. It's my job to make sure that the various vassal forces intermingle seamlessly and avoid potential friction!"

I frowned, because that had been a digression, but not a lie. He wasn't saying everything. "You mean that if you'd allowed the pincer attack to continue you had reason to believe someone might have attacked Lord Dellifer's people?"

"Perhaps," he shrugged. "Or perhaps through inaction allowed them to come to harm. The Fourteenth Pax Demonica is the personal force of Delroy Camlan. Delroy's brother Matthew recently married Lady Elara Phelod, who brother is-"

"Revan Phelod," spat Carnas. "I wasn't aware of the marriage. How did you hear about it?"

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "Lord Dellifer, it is my JOB to hear about such matters. Knowing the facts, do you still believe I targeted you unfairly?"

"No," he sighed. "I killed Revan Phelod's brother in a duel three hundred years ago. He's almost pathologically devoted to the deaths of myself and all my blood relatives. Nothing Revan does that could harm the Extreme Emptiness Mansion is a coincidence. You were right to suspect treachery, and inconvenience aside I appreciate your foresight."

How did these people all have so much FREE TIME? I was so fucking busy every day even before I became the Wishmaster. Who the hell had time for three hundred year blood feuds and political treachery marriages and troop maneuvers. The two men shook hands and left, and I just glared at Harrison. "Exactly how many of these meetings are going to be entirely pointless and have a completely net zero result?"

His smile was practically vulpine. "Oh, most of them, my lord. Welcome to leadership. Isn't it grand?"

Closing my eyes, I counted to ten. "So, I take it that particular meeting happened for a reason? His grandson will be accompanying us into the trial then?" It was the only reason I could think of that any of that would have been necessary.

That got a pleased nod. "Indeed, my Lord," he said encouragingly. "From our research up to this point, we've become aware that once you've all passed the trials and entered the legacy, there will be a chance to regroup. The larger your faction within the legacy the safer you'll be. Your guards will, of course, be afforded the chance to attempt the entry trial as well."

Fade, Alanna, and Ellie then. I'd planned to bring them with me anyway. Still, he seemed hesitant to continue, which didn't bode well. "What are you not saying?" I asked grimly.

"As a member of your cabinet, Lady Lark will, of course, accompany you," he said slowly. "However, her father has expressed concerns for her safety. As such, he's sending two of her siblings to act as personal protection. We tried to inform him that it was unnecessary, but apparently he doesn't care what we think."

"Ok…" I said slowly. "Missing the bad part."

Bethy sighed from behind me. "The bad part is that the only two siblings I have that haven't completely authored their Chronicles who would be USEFUL as protection are Will and Tamsin, and they're both huge jerks."

I raised an eyebrow. "I doubt Harrison is worried about your siblings being jerks," I reassured her.

"No, she's right," he clarified. "That's exactly what I'm worried about. However, I think Lady Lark might be somewhat understating the issue. My worry is less about them being "jerks" and more about them being cannibalistic lunatics who have been known to go blood mad and eat their teammates." My jaw fell open and I turned to stare at him in horror. Yeah…that seemed about right.

 

[Vongrak]

"No, she's right," he clarified. "That's exactly what I'm worried about. However, I think Lady Lark might be somewhat understating the issue. My worry is less about them being "jerks" and more about them being cannibalistic lunatics who have been known to go blood mad and eat their teammates." My jaw fell open and I turned to stare at him in horror. Yeah…that seemed about right.

Click to shrink...

Politely ask Bethy to show them who the top Vampire is. Sure they're not quite vampires but... well... Bethy is Bethy and obviously the best. So give her two minions to reform and tell her to make sure the idiots have no say in the matter.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

After sitting through about two dozen meetings, I was finally able to get away from the throne room. Callie trailed behind me, obviously trying not to laugh at my sour disposition. "What?' I demanded. "I hate politics. You know that."

"Oh I know," she said with a laugh. "Everyone knows. I think the other council members know and they're not even in the same galaxy. How you managed to radiate an AURA of pure discontent that profound while completely silent and wearing a full face mask and suit of armor I have no idea. It was like performance art."

I did not pout. I may have made a slightly unhappy face behind my mask, but I didn't pout, no matter what strongly amused assumptions I could feel through the bond. "I might have been a bit impatient," I finally admitted. "After all, I'm preparing for my rank up. B-rank is…a big deal.

B-rank. It didn't seem like that big of a change, honestly. I had my Chronicle and Domain already, it was just another rank. But in a lot of ways, it really wasn't. B-rank was the beginning of the upper tiers of power. There was a reason my guardian back when I had unlocked my powers was a B-ranker, and why B-rankers had enough reputation to be known intergalactically. People had HEARD of Zeke, even in a nowhere backwater like Callus.

The upper three ranks of Ascendance before godhood were the collective instruments the five factions used to wage their wars. Once you hit D-rank, you were relevant, but once you hit B-rank, you were respected. It was an accomplishment, a rite of passage.

And it was finally time. I was graduating from being a nobody for real. Even after becoming the Wishmaster, I hadn't really FELT like I was a power player. I felt like the jr. boss, like a CEO's kid or something. I wasn't actively dangerous in a way most people would respect. Not before. But this would change all that.

"You've really got to stop hyping yourself up about this," my wife chuckled wryly. "Not that it's not a big accomplishment, it obviously is and I'm proud. But you won't feel any different in an hour than you do now. This isn't a real watershed. Just a moment of emotional catharsis. If you blow it out of proportion you're just going to be disappointed."

Laughing, I stepped into the suite behind her. "Alright, give me some space. Been a while since I've done this. And never with a Domain."

"Oh, good point," she frowned. "Not sure how that'll affect things." Stepping back, she let me head to the center of the room so I'd have some clearance. Then I reached into myself, flexing my soul, and allowed the flood of renown to enter.

I'd expected drama, suppression, maybe some kind of pressure like normal. This time though, it felt…relaxing. Rather than having the Impact poured into me and overflow, forcibly expanding me, this time when it overflowed it seemed to pour out into my Domain. It was like water seeping into the thirsty sand of the plains outside Gehenna, soaking deep into my soul through the Domain without needing to put so much strain on my spirit.

My body began to change, as usual, but this was smoother, more gradual, almost pleasant. I felt like my consciousness was a network of plants waiting under the sand and the Impact had watered and germinated them, unleashing my inner growth. Once it ended, I pulled up my stats, half convinced I'd failed somehow, but sure enough…it was done.

Wishmaster status. B-rank. Ability: Legendary Wish- Ten times a day grant a Legendary 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.

Legendary Path of the Demonbinder- The Domain of a Great King.

Wishmaster candidate points-1000

Might-2,641,421

Impact-215

Fantasy-1,823,568

Vitality-1,921,871 ()

Focus-1,724,853

Perception-1,641,640

Creation-1,981,143

Progress to next rank:11,734,711/100,000,000

Soul strength- Obsidian Soul Body

Body Forging: Nine Phoenix Reincarnation Art- 13/81 drops- First Layer (Life Nova) 9/9, Second Layer ( Cosmic Phoenix) 1/9

Chronicle: Ten Demons Tome (pages bound:5- 4 Zagan, 1 Leviathan)

wish scrolls stockpiled: 845 (5 in the possession of friends to be used over time)

Bonded companion: Archimedes (Life Nova Phoenix)

Weapon: Ten Demons Tree (reincarnation tree staff that lets him simulate alternate lives to perfect his forms, and when combined with the library lets him simulate and deduce techniques in a process called the "Wisdom of Solomon")

Stored: 10 Adherent Fire, 7 shadow attacks, 10 shadow jump (seven in reserve), 10 Stealth charges,10 triple strength tranq blows (ten in reserve), 10 spider leg attacks (ten in reserve), 3 gravity attacks, 1 shadow clone, 18 scan heals (I-rank ability so Shane can hold more)

Financial resources: 0 B-ranked, 0 C-ranked, 0 D-ranked(worth 100 E-ranked, past master rank is a watershed)

Court of Gehenna:

1.Doom Sovereign- Tier 8

2.Valtek- Tier 2

3.Cooking- Tier 7

4.Inventing- Tier 2

5.Balam- Tier 3

6.Nine Phoenix Reincarnation Art- Tier 4

7.Piano- Tier 1

8.Guitar- Tier 1

9.First Aid- Tier 1

10.Angelic Bond- Tier 7

11.Dust Construction- Tier 5

12. Stone Limb- Tier 6

13.Moonlit Night- Tier 4

14.Consecration of Flame- Tier 6

15.Ripple Running- Tier 3

16.State of Grace- Tier 4

17.Steam Arrow- Tier 4

18.Afterburner- Tier 6

19.Pit of Despair- Tier 6

20.Mountain Stance- Tier 6

21.Heart over Body- Tier 6

22.Mercy Kill- Tier 5

23.Double Trouble- Tier 6

24.Touch of Tears- Tier 5

25.Flurry of Blows- Tier 3

26.Heavy Hands- Tier 2

27.Marked for Death- Tier 4

28.False Fatality- Tier 3

29.Blood Curse- Tier 4

30.Creeping Darkness- Tier 2

31.Final Strike- Tier 6

32.Overlay- Tier 4

33.Song of the Soil- Tier 3

34.Rhythm of the Wild- Tier 2

35.Eye of Revelation- Tier 6

36.Danger Sense- Tier 6

37.Piece of Mind- Tier 6

38.Empty Spirit- Tier 6

39.Belial- Tier 7

40.Abomination Engine- Tier 6

41.Mephistopheles- Tier 7

42.Cosmic Collapse- Tier 6

43.Circle of Damnation- Tier 6

44.Mephisto's Waltz- Tier 6

45.Mornax- Tier 7

46.Zagan- Tier 7

47.Life Nova- Tier 8

48.Genesis Burst- Tier 6

49.Bael- Tier 7

50.Beelzebub- Tier 7

51.Agares- Tier 7

52.Dantalion- Tier 7

53.Sammael- Tier 8

54.Limbo- Tier 7

55.Gluttony- Tier 7

56.Wrath- Tier 6

57.Pride- Tier 7

58.Retribution- Tier 7

59.Murmur- Tier 7

60.Leviathan- Tier 7

61.Behemoth- Tier 7

62.Glory- Tier 7

63.Abaddon -Tier 7

64.Wisdom of Solomon- Tier 7

65.Promethean Fire Soul Body- Tier 6

66.Fate Sense- Tier 7

67.Scent of Truth- Tier 6

68.Damnatio Memoriae- Tier 6

69.Dark Reflection- Tier 6

70. Asmodeus- Tier 7

71. Astaroth- Tier 7

72. Azazel- Tier 8

It was…beautiful. Obviously the stat gain was nice, and Sammael, Doom Sovereign, and Life Nova all ranking up was excellent, but more than that…it was my soul. The Obsidian Soul Body. The final state of a soul before the ascension to Mercury and Mirror. The last mortal soul stage. And now I was there. It wasn't the end, but it was such a huge step.

Even the stat requirement didn't seem so bad anymore. I was already a tenth of the way there. Eleven million plus. I just felt so…strong. And the ability. Legendary. It felt so much more solid than grandmaster. And I was up to ten wishes now. It was all just so consequential in a lot of strange ways that barely made sense to me.

When I opened my eyes, Callie was grinning at me. "That was less dramatic than expected," she said cheerfully. "Think it'll be that easy for me?"

"It might," I said slowly. "If you open your Domain. I think…I think ranking up is supposed to BE like projecting a Domain. That dropping in of Impact, the overflow, the way it pours into you. It's all…it's not supposed to hurt or feel uncomfortable. It's supposed to prepare your body. And now that my Domain has been condensed, the level just pours into it like it's supposed to. I'm truly ready for the next rank for the first time since this whole thing started."

Looking inward, I could see that my Domain had changed. It wasn't bigger, but after the influx of Impact, it felt more…real. Like something vital and precious had been added to a painting that had elevated it from a work of art to something closer to a photo or even a window to another place. I also felt a lot more comfortable now. I could feel the spots where the Tier 8 demons had been putting stress on my soul, and now that minor strain was completely vanished.

Callie listened raptly, feeling the sensations as I did through the bond even as I described them. She nodded slowly. "I really need to consider my Domain," she said after a moment. "I have a Chronicle condensed, and I have my own soul weapon I can use to help the process. Maybe not quite the same way yours did, but I have faith Gossamer can help me establish a unique Domain that's all my own. Something to do with my Adherent Fire, maybe."

I nodded, but I had to admit I didn't envy her the attempt. Domains were complicated, serious business. I had built mine step by step, but it had been mostly unconscious. The Ten Demons Tree had been watered and fed on my actions and progress, and bloomed into Gehenna through our connection to each other. If someone had asked me to try to condense my OWN Domain, I would have no clue where to start. Which meant my experiences wouldn't be any help to her at all.

Luckily, I wasn't the only one here. My own experience of Domain projection might be atypical, but my parents, my uncle, my grandparents, and even Callie's sister had all condensed theirs the normal way, and would have plenty of insight into the process to share with her.

Of course, she understood all this too, but she didn't seem to mind. She just enjoyed my own reaction to my Ascension, happy for my contentment. Pulling me over to the bed she flopped down and cuddled against me happily. "Tomorrow we can do some wishes," I told her emphatically. I knew she wasn't upset or anything, but I still felt bad breaking through without her. At the very least, once I'd completed my rank up, my Wishes should be even MORE effective in terms of stat gain.

She laughed. "It's FINE, Shane," she assured me. "I knew you'd break through before me. Given how large a chasm B-rank is, I'm not worried about catching up. Besides, I'm actually glad I won't be up to B-rank when we enter. We know we'll all rejoin each other after the entry trial, but we don't know how long that'll take or what form. As a C-ranker, I have a better chance of getting back to Benny and Jessie sooner, and I'll be able to look out for them until we're all reunited."

That…was a good point. However people were separated, there had to be some rank component. Everything Ascendants did had rank components. Maybe her being C-rank would be a good thing after all.

"Fine," I sighed. "But still, wishes tomorrow. I want you to at the very least be the strongest C-ranker possible." She rolled her eyes, but I felt a surge of warmth through the bond as she nodded her head. Then the two of us curled up and closed our eyes, settling down for bed after a long day. I'd never slept so soundly in my life.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

After my rank-up, I called a meeting of my closest allies. My cabinet, my close friends, my bodyguards, my parents, everyone who was relevant to my future plans. They all filed into the meeting room I'd borrowed, then took their places at the massive wooden table. I sat down, admiring the dark, heavy wood. I knocked on it lightly, and there was a small click. Several round sections of table lowered, one in front of each person, and when they raised back up they each had an ice cold drink on them.

"Does this table have a built in drink dispenser?" I asked in wonder. "How did they even know I was going to knock on it?"

"It's wood," my wife pointed out. "What else would you do with it?"

Picking up the drink, I took a long, slow pull, humming with joy at the lovely vanilla undertones of the sweet and fizzy root beer. "Fantastic," I said cheerfully. "I love this table. Remind me to get one of these."

"You can just keep this one," my mom said with a shrug. "It IS WCP property. But now probably isn't the time. Let's talk about the mission. You realize going in there is dangerous?"

"Not going in there is MORE dangerous," I fired back. "We don't know what's inside, but we DO know it's valuable enough that we're going to see forces from higher planes descending to enter. Hell, some of them might have already gotten inside, it's not like we know exactly who is on those other trial chambers. Which means we need to get in there and see who and what we're dealing with. Not to mention that Deveskane thought this place was important enough to his eventual Ascension to World God that he chose to possess a B-ranker and sacrifice a shot at resurrection to enter."

It had become clear in retrospect that Deveskane never expected me to bring him back. There were plenty of things he could have done to streamline the process if he had, but he didn't bother. He'd been aiming for exactly the result he got. Which was both scary and worrying, for a whole bunch of different reasons.

Alara nodded. "He's right," she confirmed. "Missing this opportunity would be the height of foolishness."

"Agreed," Zeke said solemnly. "But going in underprepared would be just as bad. Which is why we're not proposing you skip the trial. We're proposing something a little more…prepatory. We want to put you kids through a training camp. Especially you, Shane. B-rank is a whole new ballgame. You need to learn to apply your abilities more…finely."

I nodded slowly. "I did notice that I've never seen you manifest your Domain before," I admitted. "I mean, even fighting A-rankers, you were using Path attacks. I don't even know what your Domain is."

"There's a certain amount of risk with Domain projection," he confirmed. "Same reason your parents don't usually use theirs. The Path is the lever between the soul and the Domain, and using it to exert force is one of the more economical ways to achieve combat in the higher ranks. I can teach you that, though I think that the unique nature of YOUR Domain and your connection to your soul weapon mean that direct projection is a more stable option for you."

"Speaking of," I nodded to Callie. "A training camp might be just what the doctor ordered. Callie has been thinking of trying to condense her Domain, but given the off the wall nature of mine, I have no clue what advice to give her. We were hoping you might be able to offer some advice on the subject."

My mom smiled warmly at Callie. "Of course we can," she said cheerfully. "Calliope is family. In fact, we can help Jessica and Benicio as well. It's a bit early for Domain condensation, but both of them could benefit from access to a Chronicle early on in their path."

I beamed at her. That was exactly what I wanted to hear. Callie still needed to get those wishes out of the way, but we could start her training easily enough tomorrow. As for mine…I was curious to see what kind of Path related shenanigans I could get upto without needing to use my actual Domain. Granted, my demons probably counted, since some of them were techniques, but I was pretty sure I could figure out some fun uses for my Legendary Path of the Demonbinder.

On top of that, I was excited to finally get a potential look at Zeke and my parent's Domains. I had no illusions about being able to actually keep UP with them, given that they were all A-rankers and my parents had been there for a while, but I was only one rank down now, and while I couldn't beat them, I was betting I could give them at least a show. I couldn't wait to try.

The rest of the meeting was a bit of a blur. I was so excited about the training camp it was hard to focus on what anyone was saying, despite Callie pinching me a few times to get me to focus. Finally, after twenty minutes of my distraction, my mother noticed and decided to call the meeting to an early end. "Alright," she sighed. "I can see you're all too agitated for a drawn out discussion. Meet at the west training hall tomorrow at eight AM sharp."

I hissed through my teeth. "Ooooh, eight is BAD for us," I explained. "Callie doesn't like to be awake before ten. Can we do it…not then?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's training, Shane, not a visit to a day spa. We don't do reservations. Set an alarm and get there on time, or we'll come GET you. I'm sure Calliope is more than up to an early morning."

Based on the simmering discontentment coming through the bond, I was much LESS sure of that than she seemed to be, but it wasn't like I could say that.

I grabbed Callie's hand and all but sprinted from the room, ready to get started on preparing for my big training opportunity. I'd done some training with my mom back in the day, but that had been with a much bigger gap separating us. Training with Zeke, my mom, my dad, and even Aiden as a B-ranker meant I needed to put my best foot forward. Which meant I needed a trump card. Luckily, I had EXACTLY the card I needed in mind, and my wife was the perfect person to help me.

Callie was laughing as I pulled her along, and when we stepped into the suite, she pulled her hand free as I all but stumbled to a stop. "Whoa there!' she cackled. "What's got you in such a hurry?"

"Wishes!" I said with a grin. "I had an idea. An AMAZING idea. You down to pay with your wishes with attacks again?"

"I assumed I would," she said slowly. "Why? What is this about?"

I waved a hand, and a colossal man appeared beside us. Huge and imposing with curved horns and a body made of dense stone, Abaddon towered over both of us. "This," I introduced her. "Is Abaddon. Abaddon's whole powerset is converting energy sources to physical power. I normally pair him with Zagan because he has the highest energy conversion ratio, especially combined with Beelzebub to ramp up the numbers. But I was thinking, YOU'VE got an absurd amount of energy flowing through those Adherent flames of yours. Probably more than I've ever seen in an attack."

Her lips peeled back in a sharklike smile. "You want me to pay for my wishes with power and pump it all into Abaddon here. What do you think it'll do?"

"Honestly," I said confidently. "I THINK it'll rank him up. It wouldn't be possible with any of the other demons, but Abaddon's entire power set it about converting energy. His progress is directly tied to his physical strength in a way that's unique among my demons, and having one my tier 8 up my sleeve will be a game changer in training." I turned to the massive demon. "Do you think that'll work?"

He stood there, unblinking, eyes locked on the wall. After what felt like an hour but was probably closer to thirty seconds, he nodded pensively. "It may," he boomed in a voice deeper than the Chaos Chasm.

I waited. "Oh, that was it," I noted after no more was forthcoming. "Noted. How about you, you ready for this?" I asked Callie without really worrying about it. After my rank up, my limit for stat wishes should have spiked. I couldn't be SURE, but I was pretty positive it was around twenty five hundred. With eight hundred fifty four scrolls, we were looking at over two MILLION points. But it wouldn't be cheap. There wouldn't be any multi payment wishes here. It would be one to one, which meant we'd need to pace ourselves.

I was just glad that while I couldn't tell people what to wish for unless it was stat for stat, asking for specific payments was still considered a legitimate transaction. At Callie's nod, I gestured to the titanic form of my demonic friend. "Alright Abe, get ready. This is going to be a long process."

Fishing out a scroll, I tossed it to my wife. She popped up, and I immediately saw the familiar rush of violet flame across my eyes. A wish request. I accept, and there was a flare of energy as the powerful burst of flames infused Abaddon. She broke open another scroll, and another line of fire appeared.

One by one, we worked through the whole stockpile. I was glad I'd ranked up, because besides having to grant almost a thousand wishes, I had also needed to summon Zagan to pour energy into Callie to keep her going through the process. Eight hundred and fifty four full strength energy bursts was taxing to even an Archangel, and we needed to stop multiple times to let her catch her breath even with Zagan's help.

Finally, after about nine hours, we finished up the last scroll. I slumped back, panting, and Callie groaned and slipped limply to the floor. Abaddon was all but vibrating with his enhanced power, and sure enough, he HAD reached tier 8, and gone a decent way into that tier besides. More than that, he'd become infused with Adherent Fire through the rank up. Not enough to be able to generate the stuff, but I should be able to tap him for a few uses in an emergency, at least until he burned it all off.

Callie, meanwhile, looked radiant. She was exhausted, but I could tell how proud she was of the effort she put in, and how excited she was by her growth. Two million one hundred thirty five thousand points. All of it poured directly into Vitality, to take advantage of her three times modifier in the stat.

Almost three million Vitality, and only about seventy thousand short of B-rank. I'd wanted to get her to the peak of her rank before entry, and I'd damn well pulled it off. I helped her up. "You sure you don't want to hit B-rank?" I asked worriedly. "You're so close. You could do it in a few days with the right push."

"No," she said firmly. "You were right. We're almost definitely going to be separated. Better I can stick with the others to protect them. I can always break through inside. It'll work better this way. Besides, I'm planning to establish my Domain first. Based on what you said, it makes the breakthrough process a lot easier."

That was true. It would probably be to her benefit to do it how I had. It seemed like the earlier you formed a Domain, the more refined it became through the introduction of Impact. Considering the requirements for forming a Saga and becoming a god, that made sense in retrospect. I knew that most people couldn't form a proper Domain as early as I had and took shortcuts that hamstrung them, but doing it the right way early clearly had benefits nobody was talking about. Laughing, I pulled her into my arms, lifting her into a princess carry. "Alright, then lets head to bed. We have to be up early tomorrow." There was a lot of work to be done.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The next morning we were up and ready by six AM. After stockpiling my scrolls (ten now, which was a lot more pleasing to look at than nine) we headed for the training hall to meet up with everyone for our training camp.

When I arrived, I was excited to get started. The energy was flooding through my body, wings tucked behind my back and horns curling on my head. Abaddon and Sammael seemed like the best possible combo going into this little assessment. Raw unfiltered physical power was easily the most useful application of my powers for frontal combat.

Of course, I might have been assuming that I'd be engaging in frontal combat, but in my experience, Ascendant training usually involved hitting things with a big stick.

When we arrived, we found my parents and Zeke lined up at the edge of the room, standing outside the perimeter of some kind of huge complicated obstacle course they appeared to have built from scratch. Towers, bridges, spinning logs, blades, ropes, it was all in constant motion and all of it was set up with the same suppression mechanism I remembered from training equipment back on Callus in our early days.

My friends had all arrived, gathered opposite my folks and all looking ready to work out. Close cropped pants and sleeveless shorts, the occasional pair of shorts or compression tee, everyone was in their workout best, and they were mostly warming up to get started.

Bethy was flitting back and forth, shadow boxing so fast she was almost teleporting. Benny was doing pushups while Randall sprawled on his back, sleeping and so big he was about to fall off. Jessie was jumping rope, Abel was sparring with Dante, and everyone else was paired or grouped off chattering excitedly about what was coming.

As soon as we arrived, all motion stopped, and I rolled my eyes at the silence. "You all just HAD to show up even earlier than we did, huh? I made a point to come in well before go time, and you STILL made me look bad."

"Shane, you're here!" Bethy cheered. "This is gonna be so fun. We're gonna get in shape. Get fit or get bit, WHOO!"

"Honey, you can't bite anyone who slacks," Chelsea said gently. "We discussed this. Mindnumbing agony is not a motivational tool, no matter what your dad says. We use verbal encouragement and positive verbal messaging. Torture is low down the list."

Bethy pouted. "I wasn't going to SNACK on anyone. Just a nibble. It's not even real agony. Just a twinge of discomfort. Like a shot. Or two shots. In the neck. That inject liquid fire directly into your veins. Daddy says it's important to set realistic expectations. I don't want to hurt any friends, but if you hold back during training it can get people killed in real life."

"That's a valid concern," my mom says as she strolled over to join the conversation. She had her long blonde hair up in a tight ponytail, framing her face in a more severe cast than I'd ever seen it. My usually warm and enthusiastic mother looked positively icy, and it really underscored how serious she was about this training. "But you don't need to worry about that here Bethany. We'll be handling motivation and difficulty scaling. All you need to worry about is getting the most out of this experience. Can you do that for me?"

Bethy clapped excitedly. "Of COURSE! This is gonna be so fun! Can I go first? I want to set the record!"

My mom finally cracked a smile, even her new somber demeanor unable to withstand Bethy's exuberance. "You may. Follow me and I'll explain how it works." She led us over to the entrance to the obstacle course. "This is The Gauntlet. It's a special course we designed personally. It suppresses your parameters to the absolute limit. Namely, one point in each stat. The Gauntlet, coincidentally, is set to be functionally impossible with a single stat point. Can you guess why we would do this?"

"Because you're training us to use our Paths more," Bethy said excitedly. "Without stats, the only thing we can rely on is finding a way to make our Paths affect the world around us to bridge the gap."

"Correct," my mother nodded. "And your Paths will be at their absolute weakest. With only a single point of Impact and no stats to empower your will, even the strongest soul will have difficulty mobilizing much power. This kind of resistance training is critical for learning fine control of your Paths for combat. Shane, I would ask that you not manifest your Domain or any of your demons directly during the exercise. We're teaching you an alternative combat method."

I nodded slowly. I could understand why they would want me to have another option in battle. Thinking back to the Quiet Room during my trial, Roland had all but shattered my Domain. Without my dad's backup plan, I'd have taken months to heal that kind of damage. Not many things could cause that kind of harm to my Domain, especially after my rank up, but if there was a way to directly attack while minimizing the risk to Gehenna, it was definitely worth learning, just to have the option.

Honestly, it felt almost nostalgic. It had been quite some time since I'd worked on any direct Path techniques. I had some demons based on ones I'd created, but I'd been using forms and pseudo Domains since well before I condensed my Chronicle. It would be interesting to see what my Legendary Path could do.

Of course, I'd need to wait my turn. First, Bethy was up. I got in line to go second, but I didn't argue with the chance to see what the course was like before I took my turn.

Stepping over the starting line, Bethy took up a position inside the course. The beginning was a low, smooth path leading towards a vaulting horse, up onto a balance beam with an overhanging construct that swung sharp blades are regular intervals. My mom counted it down, and I saw Bethy's body relax, her face smoothing as all the enthusiasm and sunny energy drained away, leaving her still and empty, a predator on the hunt. My mom called for her to start, and Bethy took off like a shot.

It was, honestly, awe inspiring. Bethy's initial launch was picture perfect. So fast and leaning so far forward she was almost parallel to the ground. She hit the vaulting horse and whipper her legs, her feet all but floating off the ground as she snapped her body into a picture perfect gainer, corkscrewing in the air between the blades.

Her form blurred slightly, becoming insubstantial as she flowed across the beam, then up onto a series of handholds along a mostly sheer rock wall over a large pit. She scaled it like a spider, her limbs twisting almost unnaturally, and I saw a slight crimson glow emanate from her eyes as she took the course one obstacle at a time, pushing herself beyond what should have been possible, tapping into the Path of vampirism even with almost no power at her disposal.

Frankly, it was mesmerizing to watch. Like watching someone paint a masterpiece with the EXACT right amount of paint. Not a drop left over. Perfect economy of power, motion, and intent. It was like performance art.

When she reached the end, she landed, silently, not moving of even breathing as she stood stone still. There was a beat, then, slowly, we all started clapping. My mother was the first, then Chelsea, then the rest of us. It had been a performance worthy of applause. "That was absolutely breathtaking," my mom said enthusiastically. "Your application of intent through your Path was flawless. Just enough to affect your body and the world around you with no wasted energy."

Bethy took a deep bow, beaming as she raised her head to show that she was back to normal. "Thanks, Mrs. W! Or should I call you mom?"

"I'd like that," my mother laughed. "I tried to get Calliope to do it, but she never quite took to the term." She winked at my wife to show she didn't mean anything by it. "Now, Shane, I believe you're next? Care to show us what you've got?"

I nodded, stepping over the line. Once I was within the course, I felt like someone dropped an anvil on my head. All my power, my strength, my Impact, it was all….gone. I was just a human being again. Just a person. My wings and horns dissolved, and I realized I might have made some assumptions. I was sure it would come in handy later, but for now, none of my powers except my Path mattered here.

I didn't start. Instead, I took mental stock of my assets. I was strong. Well trained, muscular, physically active. The fact that I'd done most of my training with stats didn't change that my body had been forged in combat and repaired with power and regeneration beyond what most people ever saw. Especially with my bloodline.

Taking a deep breath, I considered my options, then I took off. I hit the path at a run, launching myself forward at top speed, taking advantage of my long legs. My palms hit the vaulting horse and I sprang up into the air toward the balance beam at top speed, all in one smooth motion.

I wasn't Bethy. I wasn't super graceful or inhumanly elegant. I was just in good shape and had a lot of practice moving my body. My incarnations helped quite a bit, but it wasn't enough to offset that "impossible with these stats" difference. Which was where my Path came in. I focused as I flew, eyes narrowing as I brought my soul and will to bear through the Path of the Demonbinder.

Binding. It was a simple concept. Too simple in some ways. But it was widely applicable and endlessly useful. Binding could mean many things. Subjugation, suppression, even just waylaying.

My soul brought the concept of the Demonbinder into the world, manifesting my will as I bound the path of the swinging blades. It didn't work too well, just barely causing a hiccup in the movement, but it DID work. Enough for me to slip between the blades and hit the beam running, bouncing around to avoid the rest of the attacks.

I kept running, but it wasn't right. That had been too…overt. It wasn't enough to strain my soul much, but not much was still a bit. That had been hamfisted. My next attempt was more subtle. Rather than bind the world, I bound myself. As I leapt up onto the rock face, I treated myself as a demon, binding my hands more securely to the stone.

This one was easier, allowing me to scale the pit more easily and avoid any slips as I climbed across. I gained confidence, applying those lessons to my next obstacle. Each one pushed me a little further, made me strain a bit more. Not just my soul, but my imagination. I was learning how to embody the Path of the Demonbinder in ways beyond just smashing people with my Domain, and I was sure this would come in handy.

I considered the applications combined with my demons too. The demonbinder didn't just bind and command. He was the perfect master of demonkind. Making the best use of my demons was the true and ultimate use of this Path, even without using my Domain directly, and I knew I could put this training to use that way.

But that was for later. For now I needed to complete my course. So I focused up, poured on the speed, and put my ass in gear. I didn't beat Bethy's time (seven minutes and three seconds), but I did pretty well (eight minutes and ten seconds). Well enough to be pretty proud of myself as I slumped down on the ground to watch the others take their turns. I was looking forward to seeing what they could all do. Not to mention resting up a bit. Today was definitely nowhere close to over.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I spent the rest of the day repeating that course, trying to improve my time. It felt…terrible. Exhausting, painful, straining to the soul after a long enough period. But I didn't stop. If normal soul strain was lifting heavy weights, this was more like lifting light weights for a very long time. Rather than teach me how to output more energy, this was refining my fine control over my Path.

Beyond that, it was also improving my ability to interact with my Domain. Pulling things in and out, accessing the powers of my demons, I was learning as I went. After hours of constant training though, I was starting to flag, and I decided to take a break to sit in on Callie's training session.

I wandered into the room where my parents, Zeke, and Alara were discussing the details of Domain condensation with her.

"So, how does this work exactly?" I asked as I flopped down on a chair I pulled from my space ring. "Mine just kind of…happened. How does one condense a Domain the normal way? I assume based on my own experiences that having a soul space helps?"

Soul spaces were…odd. I had learned early on that most people didn't have them. Not the way Callie and I did. Mine was spawned from my Great Book Heavenly Library. Which was…I wasn't sure, really. It was hard to categorize that power. It wasn't an ability, a technique, a skill, anything that showed up on my stat sheet. It seemed related to my Domain, and my dad had been very clear how vital it was to maximizing my progress. His claims had certainly been confirmed by how easily Gehenna was established, but that didn't explain what it WAS.

Seeing my uncertainty, my mom chimed in. "It does. The soul space is…well not unique, but difficult to condense. You can think of it as a pseudo Domain Seed. There are certain processes and coincidental encounters that can lead to their formation, and they act as a sort of roadmap to Domain condensation. Calliope's soul space is what gives her the possibility of forming her Domain before attempting the legacy trial at all. If she didn't have it, I would have no hope for her accomplishing something like this in such a short time."

Domains were a complicated concept. My mother had explained ages ago that having a Domain too early was a bad thing. That was because it was impossible for lower ranked Ascendants to condense their own Domains. Even I couldn't have done it before getting my Chronicle, which meant any Domain you integrated before that point would be someone else's.

In order to properly integrate a Domain Seed, you needed to have the soul strength to withstand doing so. To make it part of you. While you could bind a Domain Seed to you without going through that process, the Domain wouldn't be yours, and would prevent the later formation of a personal Domain, and in most cases, the Chronicle itself, if not a Solid Path in general. Even then, if the source of your Domain Seed was still active, their larger mythological footprint would soak up too much of your renown and prevent you from being able to progress.

There were a few caveats to that rule, of course. Dead gods weren't a drain on renown because they didn't exist to pull focus anymore. A Domain Seed that was custom designed for the person by a more powerful Ascendant seemed to be POSSIBLE (like Bethy had), but I had no idea how or why it worked, and I suspected Lark had cheated somehow to make it possible.

Which begged the obvious question. "If the Great Book Heavenly Library can help someone condense a pseudo Domain Seed, why doesn't the old man TEACH it to people?"

"Because he can't," my mother explained. "Your father's ability to pass that on had a lot of requirements. Firstly he had to basically reconstruct it, secondly he had to prepare you to be able to use it. Without your absurd talent for techniques it wouldn't be possible, and if you remember you paid with eighteen years of bloodline access for that. Without Elijah's wish devil abilities none of it would have worked."

"Well what about Callie?" I protested. "Clearly Atlas was able to create something similar."

Zeke snorted. "It would probably be a good idea not to base your assessments on what is and isn't possible on things that Atlas does. From what Alara's told us, he's VERY old, and knows more about being a god than anyone I can name. Beyond that, he used a fragment of one of his objects of power when he was creating that sword, and the sword is connected to the soul space. I don't know what the process for it was, but if you tried to tell me it wasn't related, I wouldn't believe you."

That did make sense. The gem was one of his foundational pillars, and they could be used to make shallowings, which were sort of proto void realms. Soul spaces were proto domains, so maybe Atlas really had taken a shortcut.

"Alright, so how does the soul space help?" I said after a minute or two of thought. "You said it's a pseudo Domain Seed? So how does she make it grow?"

I considered having her interface with the staff, but it wouldn't work as well for her I didn't think. In fact, it might not work at all. I'd needed to water the tree with all my experiences. My Domain condensation had actually been a deeply involved and complicated process, I just hadn't been doing the complicated part.

Callie's head snapped up. "Wait…that's it!" we all turned to look at her. "The center of the soul space is the soul weapon. At least for me. The soul space was created to house Gossamer. Normally that wouldn't help me much, but my Adherent form gives me other options. I should be able to…no, that won't work. It won't stabilize. Unless…" her eyes shot to me. "Come with me!" she said excitedly, then closed her eyes.

Knowing what she meant, I followed her into the cathedral, arriving among the pews with interest. She sprinted down the aisle, snatching up Gossamer, and her wings and hair blazed blue as she accessed her Adherent form.

The inside of the sword began to glow. Gossamer was named what it was because it reminded us of a soap bubble. It was a dark crystalline exterior with an empty inside that could be filled with flame. And that's what Callie was doing. Filling it with flame. Not a little bit either. A LOT of flame. Her practice yesterday outputting fire constantly to empower Abaddon was clearly coming in handy.

"Mind explaining this to me?" I asked wryly. "Because I can tell you have some crazy idea, but I don't know what it is."

"Shallowings," she said excitedly. "The pseudo Domain Seed reminds me of a shallowing."

I nodded. "Yeah, I got there too. It's a similar concept, but I don't see how it's useful in this scenario."

"Because I can CREATE shallowings," she stated bluntly. "Or something like them. I can open space in the Void directly with my Adherent Fire. Like that shadow area I created in The Quiet Room. I can expand space with my flames by casting shadows on the Void itself. They aren't actual Void areas or real worlds, but they're Void adjacent, just like a Domain."

I blinked at her. "I…well I guess they are. So you're planning to what? Rip open your soul space around the edges to try to expand it by force? Because that sounds REALLY dangerous."

"It would be," she acknowledged. "If I was doing it alone. There's no catalyst to bridge the gap between the imaginary space and the actual Void aside from me personally, and I don't think that would work. I need a secondary energy source that counters what I'm doing with my Adherent Fire, and for this particular use, my Heretic Fire won't work. It's more adjacent than opposite. We need a different energy. Something designed for the purpose of stabilizing space."

My eyes widened as I realized what she had in mind. I grinned at her. "It won't be fast. I can't bring the ember in here. I've condensed a few drops of bloodline, and I can use those to channel the flame, but I'll have to stop and wait for it to recover every time."

The Cosmic Phoenix Fire. It was perfect for this. The whole point of it was to expand the Domain by stabilizing space. Of course, Callie wasn't using an actual Domain, but the imaginary space she could create by using her Adherent Fire should work as a base, especially built on top of the soul space Atlas had designed specifically to house the sword.

After about twenty minutes, the sword was shuddering. Callie had been pouring in power since we arrived, and even Gossamer was starting to strain to contain it all. Her Adherent Fire, as I'd mentioned when she helped me rank up Abaddon, was one of the highest energy abilities I'd ever seen. "Alright, are you ready?" she asked me, voice tight with strain. "Because if you don't fix this as soon as I finish, I have a feeling something very bad will happen."

"Wait, what, no don't-" I yelped as I realized she wasn't going to wait for use to make a more detailed plan. Sadly, I was too late. Callie spun on her heel, whipping her sword first one way then the other, cutting an X shape in the air and neatly quadrisecting the wall.

I stared in horror at my wife, then at the wall, which was slowly being consumed by blue black fire. On the other side of the wall was…nothing. A huge sucking void (lowercase v). Yelping, I surged forward, reaching into my body to ignite the four drops of Cosmic Phoenix bloodline I had sleeping inside me. Slamming my hands down, I poured it out through my hands, burning my blood to channel that stabilizing phoenix flame in a way that I had only done in body tempering up to this point.

A wall of flames erupted from my palms, pouring out into the dark and melting away the lack of light as the fire stabilized the imaginary space, refining the nothingness into the same form as the initial soul space…a church.

It took me about thirty minutes, and by the time I finished, I could barely breathe. "Can you NOT?" I demanded as I collapsed against the wall. "I need some damn warning Cal. What the shit? You can't just-" My words were cut off by her lips mashing against mine fiercely as she wrapped herself around me. I stopped complaining. Or thinking at all really. By the time she pulled back to grin up at me I couldn't remember what I'd been complaining about. "What's happening?"

She gestured to the massive new open space in the church. "It WORKED," she crowed. "It worked perfectly."

"It worked a LITTLE," I corrected her. "It was increasing in difficulty as I went along. I won't be able to stabilize this much next time. The bigger it gets the harder it'll be to expand. If we switch sides we can probably start over, but we're going to run out of room soon."

"Doesn't matter," she said confidently. "It'll be enough. I can feel it. This is working. This is my Domain. We're carving it out one cut at a time. It's perfect. Just what a proper swordmistress needs." She kissed me again fiercely. Her eyes were alight with fiery passion and determination so bright and alive I felt like I was cooking in the heat of it. Her lips peeled back as she grinned up at me with the most brilliant smile I'd ever seen. "Rest up babe, we've got some renovations to do."

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I spent HOURS reinforcing Callie's Domain. Over and over, I burned my blood, slowly refining my body as I went. It wasn't particularly quick work, considering how little power I was using and how little pain I was in, but it was something. Enough that my count of blood drops rose from four to five, bringing me to a grand total of fourteen.

Once I'd helped expand each wall as far out as it could go, my work was sadly at an end. Callie informed me that I needed to leave after that so she could infuse every inch of the Domain with her heretic fire. We'd opened up the space, but now she needed to water the ground. The process seemed similar to the natural enhancement to Domain's that Impact gave on rank ups, and I suspected hearing about my experiences had inspired her.

When I opened my eyes, I found my parents, Zeke, and Alara all watching me intently, clearly waiting for one of us to awaken. "So?" my mom demanded excitedly. "How did she do?"

"No way to be sure," I admitted. "But I think she did it. We'll have to wait and see."

Aside from condensing the Domain, the next big hurdle was projection. Once Callie completed the melding process and infused her whole Domain with the Adherent Fire, it would quickly become obvious how things had gone. I removed my mask as I sat back to wait, considering what might be coming.

I was particularly interested to see how it ended up. Domains were deeply personal and important things, and they revealed a lot about a person. Mine was a reflection of my diverse skillset and my dogged pursuit of power as I attempted to become the Wishmaster. There were other factors, but mostly that was the core reason. Despite knowing my wife better than anyone, I wouldn't have dreamed of trying to guess what her Domain would be. People were too complicated.

We waited for about two more hours. None of us spoke, or even fidgeted. It felt…wrong. This moment seemed special. Sacred. I didn't even know why I felt that way, I hadn't really during my own Domain condensation, but Callie's was different. I'd just tripped into mine, but my wife had forged hers with her own hands. She'd used her unique advantages to make something totally new. Maybe it wouldn't be as dramatically unusual as Gehenna, but she was walking a path that belonged only to her. I was damned proud.

After the second hour ticked down, I felt a change in the bond. The connection between my wife and I was always warm and reassuring, but it was JUST warm. Calming. Soothing. But bearable. Now though, something changed. That ethereal connection between us ignited. Flames roared down the bond, calling out for power from the bloodline in my body even as my burgeoning trait cried out for the strength of my wife's angelic flame.

Around us, the room began to twist and warp, reality shifting as the Domain inside my wife's soul began to project itself out into reality. A ring of flames exploded from Callie's body expanding out to cover the whole room, burning away reality itself until the room had dissolved into a completely new sight.

I blinked at the changes as I looked around, and after a brief glance, I started laughing. "Of COURSE," I teased as I turned to see my wife open her eyes. "Of COURSE your Domain would be based on loot."

"It is not BASED on loot," she said acidly. "It's based on my abilities. Welcome, one and all…to the Shadowvault!" She stood, gesturing grandly around the room to demonstrate her new Domain. "The crystallization of my path up to this point. It's pretty, right?" She beamed around the room, and I followed her gaze, taking it all in.

It was pretty. I noticed a few things about Callie's Domain right off the bat. First, it was small. That wasn't bad, exactly, and it might even be preferable. She had Gossamer to bear some of the weight, but Gossamer wasn't my staff. It wasn't a living being in the same way. Smaller would make it easier for her to mobilize her power.

Aside from the size, the second thing I noticed was the wealth. Callie's entire collection of items was inside the vault. Piles of assorted artifacts, metals, objects, furniture, and anything else I could imagine, neatly stacked and sorted into special areas to make them easier to find and display. She must have been scavenging on the front lines, because there was far more wealth in here than I'd expected.

Surrounding the wealth were the walls. Towering bulwarks of marble, the veins crackling with the blue flame of the Adherent fire, pulsing like a beating heart. There were two entrances to the vault, and each was guarded by a statue. One was Callie in her Heretic form, the other Adherent Callie. Each gate had a unique pattern, and I knew exactly what would happen if anything passed through them.

I'd been wondering what my wife would do with her Domain, what unique or special ability she would choose. The Domain provided a tangible and manifestable boost to whatever power it was based on. Most weren't so scattershot as mine, either. If she'd chosen to base her Domain on her Heretic Fire, it would have been a powerful anti-Void Domain. If she'd based it on her Adherent Fire it would have had strong spatial properties.

Callie had gone in another direction though. The Shadowvault included both of those aspects, but they weren't its core. Instead, Callie had created something wholly her own. She'd based the Vault on the conceptual shadow ability she'd used to CREATE her Adherent form.

The Shadowvault was a place of duality. The Adherent Flame, the Heretic Fire, these things were opposites, contradictory elements that shouldn't exist in the same place, and the Shadowvault was a testament to that. It was a place of quantum uncertainty. Anything removed from the vault would emerge not from one gate, but from BOTH. One in its primary state, and one in a shadow form that was its exact opposite.

The Shadowvault was the ultimate expression of my wife's nature. Not just her power, but her love for treasure too. She grinned at me as she flicked both hands out, and there was a powerful flash.

A pair of blades appeared in her hands, the wings of the two guardian statues spreading as the gates flared to life. The blades themselves were particularly eye catching. One was familiar. Pitch black, containing roiling flame that flickered inside like light trapped in a soap bubble. The second was brilliant azure blue, a crystalline blade of deep sapphire with a vein of the darkest night shot right through the middle. The blades danced around her as she spun, bringing them to bear with deadly precision as she got accustomed to her new dual wielded weapons. Weapons plural.

Because thanks to her Domain, my wife had created a DUPLICATE of her soul weapon. A powerful blade she shouldn't have been capable of recreating at all, and not only that, she'd changed its essential nature. "This," she said smugly. "Is Oblique. My new sword."

We all stared at her, and she dismissed the blades smugly. "And that's just the most obvious advantage." She snapped her fingers and the vault dissolved. Once it was gone, she flicked her fingers, and a pair of miniature gates appeared over each shoulder. One spat out a black spear I'd seen lying around in the vault, emitting some kind of corrosive gas, and the other was a shining white javelin that let off a feeling of solidity.

Both were real. Of course, they couldn't be maintained long term. The items inside the vault could only be duplicated as long as they BELONGED to the vault. She could take them out, but they needed to be put back eventually.

Flicking her fingers again, the gates closed, spears vanishing, and she raised her chin smugly. "What do you think of THAT?"

I let my head tip back as laughter erupted from me. Deep, happy, enthusiastic belly laughter as I stepped forward and swept her up into a twirling kiss before I set her down gently, turning to grin at my parents. "Well? She asked a question."

My mother rolled her eyes, smiling at my cocksure attitude. "It's very impressive," she said with a smile. "I'm especially impressed at your decision to lean into your natural gifts, Calliope. It would have been very easy to try to capitalize on the advantages your father gave you, but ultimately, the path to divinity is one you need to walk yourself. If you follow in someone else's footsteps you'll never reach the peak and become a god."

To my surprise, Alara nodded. "It's a fascinating power. One I hope to see you explore at length. I'm also excited to see your next rank up. Given the intermingling of your Heretic trait with the Domain, and the changes you've made, I wouldn't be surprised if you saw a mutation in your archangel nature."

Callie looked a little surprised. "I…hadn't considered that. You're not mad at the possibility?"

"Animals go mad, people get UPSET," Alara corrected her with amusement. "But of course not. You are my sister. I wish you power and adventure. Contrary to what some might suspect, father had no intention of hamstringing your growth when he gifted you that trait. Rather, I believe it was a vote of confidence. Unearned power of that magnitude could easily ruin the path of a lesser Ascendant, but he obviously had faith you would be able to find your way despite the shortcut. It is clear to me that his confidence was well placed. I believe today I have seen the birth of a mighty force."

I…hadn't actually thought of it like that. Seeing what Callie had become firsthand, I had always been impressed and maybe even a bit jealous. She'd had strength handed to her more than once, and for a while, it had seemed like it might define her completely. In retrospect, that had been a hidden danger I'd never even considered, and I could see how taking the wrong step at any point could have potentially ruined her future.

That did a bit to explain how Atlas had managed to shower her with so much power seemingly without cost. In my experience, power came at a price. It was the core tenant of the Wish ability, but more than that, it was a fact of nature that I believed was universal.

Now that I thought about it though, part of the price for Callie's extensive power was the test inherent in that gift. How to use it. How to grow past it. It said so much about who my wife was as a person that she hadn't taken it for granted, that she'd been driven to find her own way to advance.

I leaned down and kissed her again, letting the warmth of my adoration flow through the bond. Her own love and affection answered in kind, and we smiled at each other happily.

This was a big step. Not just for her, but for us. We were BOTH Domain users now. Both of us having embarked on the true path that would lead to divinity. Callie's advancement to B-rank would be smooth as glass now, and I doubted she would have much problem reaching A-rank after that.

"Alright you two," Zeke said with an eyeroll. "I'm not sitting around while you make moon eyes at each other, I get enough of that nonsense from Eli and Sasha. Get your asses up. I'm taking everyone out to dinner to celebrate. My treat." He stood, clapping a hand on each of our shoulders, and I grinned at him happily. I couldn't think of anything I'd like more in that moment, and through the bond, I could feel Callie felt the same way. There was nothing more enjoyable after a big triumph than time with friends and family, and this was one of our biggest.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I stepped back smoothly, staff flicking up to deflect a swing at my head, then whirling back around to knock aside another with the other end. "CUT HIS HEAD OFF!" howled a gleeful voice from the stands. I rolled my eyes and stepped under a scything cut, sweeping my staff behind my opponents ankles to drop her flat on her back with cough of air as the wind was knocked out of her.

"You want to be next?" I demanded as I wheeled to glare at my sister. "Because I somehow doubt you're going to do quite as well as Callie has!"

Chelsea just snickered, and I rolled my eyes to turn and pull my wife up to her feet by one arm. "Nice workout," I grinned at her. "How's it feeling? Using your Domain like that?" My eyes flicked down to the twin greatswords in her hands.

Callie's Shadowvault ability let her make duplicates of the opposite alignment of any item she summoned out of it. Based on what I could tell, in fact, BOTH items were duplicates, with the real blade being safely tucked inside her Domain, but that wasn't important to her combat ability, so I didn't bring it up.

"Well, like your parents said, I'm avoiding projection," she said as she dismissed the blades. "Luckily, my Domain seems more normal than yours. I can access it in easy to digest ways like summoning the blades and calling for weapons. I'm just sad this place is so tiny, I've been dreaming about flying around above the heads of my enemies raining down weapon duplicates like a hail of terrible death."

Apparently, projecting your Domain fully out like I did to mine was dangerous for most people. My staff and demons made it feasible for me, but most Ascendants didn't have Domains like mine, so they avoided projection, leveraging their Domain in subtler ways. That was part of what I'd been leaning on the obstacle course in training, but it seemed like it was actually easier for Callie than doing it my way. Guess Gehenna wasn't ALL upside.

In response to her comment, I rolled my eyes. "Gossamer is the only B-rank item you have on you," I pointed out. "You're going to need to fill that vault up with more items if you want to take advantage of it." I grimaced, glancing down at my staff where small scuffs and nicks were visible. "Speaking of, my own gear is starting to fall behind now." I shot a glance over at Bethy. "How would you feel about brewing up a little wine for my staff? It shouldn't be too far from ranking up at this point."

The Ten Demons Tree was planted in my soul, and in my Domain. It was part of me, but also part of all my demons. All their growth, all their renown, it all fed the tree, which gave it a steady way to accrue power even beyond my own growth, which definitely fed it.

Bethy surged to her feet, clapping gleefully. "Oooh yes! I have the perfect brew! It's called Malevolent Muse, and it's made from special grapes that I've been growing with my own blood! Plants love it! Or explode. But only like…ten percent."

"Ten percent of the time it makes plants explode?" I asked warily.

She giggled. "Don't be silly, of course not. That would be terrible. One hundred percent of the time ten percent of the PLANT explodes."

"How is that useful?" I demanded with exasperation.

"Because the REST of the plant gets ten percent more powerful. Qualitatively," she grinned viciously. "I've been using it on my grape vines. Plus, it imbues them with vampiric powers, so they can drink blood directly!"

"I don't WANT it to drink blood," I said in exasperation. "And I don't need it to be ten percent stronger, I need it to be EXPONENTIALLY stronger, and I can accomplish that by ranking it up."

She pouted at me. "You have no heart for science."

"You don't DO science," I protested. "You just do random stuff over and over and see what works. And even if you DID do science, I wouldn't let you run experiments on the tree growing into my fucking SOUL!"

"She gets it," Callie snickered. "Calm down. Just Bethy being Bethy. It's vampire stuff."

"It is most certainly NOT 'vampire stuff'," Alara said primly from nearby. "Vampires do not drink wine."

Bethy glared at the older woman. "Don't YOU start. You're just a big fake. You're not a REAL vampire, and you don't get to tell me what to do. I'll totally kick your ass if you don't start being nicer to me!"

Callie sighed. "Bethy, my sister is S-rank, and at least a demigod. You can't beat her in a fight. I don't think your DAD could beat her in a fight." She must have seen Bethy's eyes narrow because she hastily added. "NOT that we want to see him try, so please don't mention that to him!"

"Alright," I said with a laugh, cutting them off. "We're all friends here. Bethy, you should get to know Alara better. She's Callie's sister and she knows a lot of stuff. She could probably teach you tons about being a vampire."

"Daddy taught me everything I need to know, thank you," she said primly. "I don't need advice from a fake old lady who stole my friend's face."

"It was MY face first," snapped Alara waspishly. "And I am NOT old. I was dead for most of the time after I reached S-rank. Chronologically I'm only a century or two old, if that. But fine," she stepped down from the stands gracefully, and as I watched, her Impact diminished in real time. I'd seen that before, Zeke had done it when I was starting out. This seemed more…real, though. Like she was actually becoming weaker. It must be some kind of advanced self suppression technique. "Let us see exactly how much your 'daddy' taught you about your powers, little girl."

My face drained of color. "Um, Alara, Bethy is our friend, we don't want her-"

"Peace, little brother," she said soothingly. "I shan't hurt the brat. Fledglings are unruly things, regardless of species. Sometimes they require correction. I'll maintain my power at the C-rank ceiling for the duration of this battle, and any unsealing of my abilities will be considered my loss."

Bethy's eyes began to glow. "You know what, fine. I don't believe some fake old lady can take me down at the same level. Even daddy wasn't as strong as me at C-rank. You've had your pointy nose in the air since you got here and I'm sick of it. Let's see what you can do. No Domains, obviously."

Smiling serenely, Alara nodded. "Of course. Should I win, I shall have you as my handmaid. I lack a proper attendant since arrival, and you would be…acceptable."

"And WHEN I kick your ass," Bethy hissed in annoyance. "You have to apologize and declare to the ENTIRE warfront that you're inferior to my dad and are an incompetent vampire. And then you have to do a dance. About rabbits. I'll write out the steps for you."

"I really don't think this is wise," I tried to interject feebly, but they both turned gleaming red eyes on me and I sighed, raising my hands in surrender. "Nevermind. Do you need a judge?"

The two of them flickered, appearing on the floor about twenty feet apart in the middle of the training room we'd been using. I sighed, sitting down next to Callie on the stands where they'd been watching. I turned to Chelsea with a raised eyebrow. "You couldn't have stopped this?" I asked dryly.

"She's just feeling insecure," my sister sighed. "Alara is old and strong. That's a hot button thing for vampires. Bethy has always been kind of…arrogant. Not in a mean way, but just in the way that she knows she's the best. Alara being here makes her doubt herself. She's experienced self doubt before, but never about THIS. Her power is the one thing she's always been sure of. And it doesn't help that Alara and Callie are sisters. She considers you two family, and she's feeling like she's been replaced."

"No one is REPLACING her," I protested. "She's our friend. Hell, she's a member of my cabinet. She's part of my damned ADMINISTRATION, what part of that makes her seem disposable?"

Chelsea shrugged. "I didn't say it was rational, I just said that's what she feels. Also, I think there's something else there. She seems more hostile to Alara than I expected, like there's some kind of natural instinct to defend her territory. It's possible Lark didn't JUST kill all the other vampires to make a name for himself. I think different lines of descent aggravate each other."

"Alara might not even be aware of it," I winced. "She hasn't had much practice at being a vampire. At least not around OTHER vampires. The individual mechanics she has a handle on, but interpersonal stuff…shit. Do you think she'll go overboard?"

Callie shook her head. "She's not the type. I don't think she's actually mad about Bethy's sniping. I think she just knows Bethy needs an outlet to get past all this drama. But if she offered her an olive branch, it would hurt her pride, and she still wouldn't be convinced. Alara wants to ease the tension by just ripping off the bandage. Besides, there's no world where Bethy is able to put enough pressure on my sister to force her to get serious, even at the same rank. She's not…even without the Impact, you know the differences in control and precision that come from understanding your abilities that deeply."

I conceded the point. Bethy was strong, but she was strong for a C-ranker. I wasn't sure I could take her in a straight fight with only a small gap between our stats, even at the next rank. But Alara? Alara was strong for an S-ranker. I didn't know if she could actually take Lark in a fight, but I did know that she had KILLED a god. Lark was universally recognized as the next best thing to invincible for having fought one to a draw, and Alara was a legitimate godslayer.

Of course, I knew better than anyone how easy it was for those stories to get out of hand. Technically CALLIE was a godslayer, so I wouldn't assume that Alara was untouchable, but I had to at least figure that she was competent. Her ability to shred through an army of Asura solo even when out of her mind with bloodlust made that point clear.

"It's fine," a casual voice said as my grandfather sat down beside me. "Moon and I are here if it gets out of hand. She might be dangerous, but we're strong enough to break things up if necessary."

I wasn't entirely sure that was true, but I knew bringing it up would just be pointlessly antagonistic. If Alara was stronger than Lark and went crazy here, no one besides one of the six was going to be able to stop her. At that point, I might as well just discount it as a possibility. It was like worrying about being in a crash when you were riding in a car. Thinking about it wasn't going to change anything.


"Alright," I called down to the two combatants. "I want a clean fight. No Domains, at least not projected. And no one is allowed to breach the threshold of C-rank. That means neither total stats nor Impact can exceed the limit. Similarly, if anyone surrenders, the fight will immediately cease, and anyone who continues will be considered to have automatically forfeited the match, even if they would otherwise have won. Is that understood?"

Both of them nodded, red eyes locked on each other with obvious intent to battle. I took one last look at my friend and sister in law and let out a long sigh. "Fine. Let the fight…begin." Both of them vanished, and the battle was on.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

It had been quite a while since I had seen Bethy fight. The last time had been a duel against Abel, if I remembered correctly, and it had been months ago. I knew she had reached the peak of C-rank, though she obviously hadn't ranked up. Still, given the relatively small gap between peak C and B-rank (aside from Impact), I had assumed she wouldn't be TOO much more powerful than I was in a straight fight.

I was wrong.

Bethy had clearly been refining her techniques during my trip to the Void. As my Master of Challenge, I knew that she'd had plenty of fights, but I hadn't realized how SERIOUSLY she was taking them. The way she moved, stepped, breathed, it was all different now. Smoother. More refined.

In my memory, Bethy was graceful and dangerous, but it was a natural grace. Like a deadly panther, she moved like liquid smoke and struck like a viper, but it was all predatory instinct and deadly talent.

As someone who had trained extensively in combat, both as myself and as multiple demons at this point, I could see through the flaws in that approach. For normal people, reflex fighting made you predictable and easy to counter. That was why martial arts and fighting styles existed. To overcome the limitations of human instinct.

Bethy, however, was NOT human, and neither were her instincts. Her natural gift for violence was beyond what I'd seen in almost anyone except maybe Dayna, and her absurd physical parameters made up for even that slight lack. Beyond that, Bethy was exceptionally gifted at mental manipulation and hypnotism, to the extent that even in her family, where such powers were an inborn part of their trait, she was considered to be a prodigy.

All this was to say that Bethy had been dangerous and terrifying in a fight before, but that danger and terror stemmed from prodigious natural gifts.

Now though, her style had changed. She still fought in a graceful, sort of formless dance of instinctive violence, but there was…polish on it. Her combat abilities hadn't been improved so much as they'd been honed, and I knew exactly how. Combat. This was what happened when you took someone with absurd natural talent and seasoned that talent with EXPERIENCE.

Bethy the last time I'd seen her fight was a panther, a deadly, graceful beast, but now she fought more like a ballerina. Her movements were light and graceful and deceptively flowing. I had thought before that even at B-rank I wasn't sure I could take her, and now I knew without a doubt that I absolutely couldn't. The way she moved, the intensity of her attacks, they were beyond what I thought possible for a C-ranker.

And they were doing absolutely NOTHING.

Claws struck, kicks scythed, fangs snapped, she was a tornado of terror, a symphony of slaughter, and she unleashed every ounce of latent ferocity and rage on her opponent. Bethy freed the beast inside her, but for the first time, she reigned it in enough that she could think. Reason. She was at her peak, fighting with both the power and technique that she could usually only use interchangeably, and she was getting fucking DEMOLISHED.

It wasn't like Alara was beating her. There were no punishing blows or brutal slashes. Instead, the other vampire seemed to engage her in her deadly dance as a partner. Spinning and flowing and swirling around the younger vampire in a macabre foxtrot, Alara was so overwhelmingly skilled that she wasn't just beating Bethy. She was LEADING her.

I couldn't imagine it. Being so far ahead of someone like Bethy that you could turn their most explosive attacks into a choreographed dance.

But that was what she was doing. Every slash, every step, every kick, it all looked harmless. Wherever Bethy was, Alara wasn't, and vice versa. It wasn't mocking, or derisive, it wasn't even malicious. Alara wasn't even paying ATTENTION to her. Bethy was set dressing. Background. She was the lighting on the stage, and it was so much worse than any insult or curse I could have imagined.

My friend began to lose her composure. Her eyes started to glint, her lips peeled back, and her movements became faster and sharper. I could see it in real time, the bloodlust overtaking her, and I started to stand up, calling for Zagan as I prepared to intervene.

An arm blocked my way, and I looked down to see my Grandfather barring me from approaching. "Not unless she surrenders," he said quietly.

"She's losing it," I snapped. "I need to go help her. She'll never forgive herself if something happens!"

He shook his head sadly. "It's not your place. Not yet. But don't worry. Even with the bloodlust fueling her, she has no chance at seriously harming Alara. In fact, I suspect she was looking for this exact outcome. She wouldn't have baited Bethany into that state if she didn't have some kind of countermeasure prepared."

Gritting my teeth, I sat back down, my eyes fixed on my friend as she continued her descent into madness. It was infuriating. Bethy HATED being like this. She wouldn't want us to leave her in this state, no matter how much she disliked Alara, not to mention it wasn't working.

Alara danced around her almost lazily, but as Bethy became more aggressive, her focus sharpened. Not in the sense that she seemed to need more effort, but in the sense that she was clearly invested in the fight now. "Shameful," she said casually as they blurred back and forth. "Is this the vampirism your father taught you? Rabid blood madness? You had so much promise a moment ago. Now you're just an animal. A warrior vampire may have given me pause, but I need no special effort to outthink a beast."

Bethy's eyes brightened, the glow becoming a more intense red as she snarled and redoubled her attack. Alara just sighed, and for the first time in the entire fight, went on the offensive. Her hands blurred, claws flickering, and a few thin lines of blood appeared on Bethy's pale skin. The scent of her own blood seemed to drive her even deeper into frenzy, and she got even faster, screaming in wordless hate and rage as her body became a blur.

I expected more taunting, but to my surprise, Alara didn't look smug. She looked sad. "Look what you've done to yourself, girl," she said in a voice that all but dripped compassion. "So afraid of your own nature you'd rather drive yourself to death like a monster than face that it's a part of you."

As she spoke, she continued to attack, claws laying open Bethy's flesh in a hundred places. As Bethy lost herself more, her wounds began to close at a faster rate, the bloodlust somehow increasing her regeneration, but no matter how she attacked or how angry she got, she couldn't touch the older woman at all.

"Stop it!" I heard from beside me. I turned to see Chelsea on her feet, tears in her eyes and fists clenched so hard blood dripped down her fingers. As the drops splattered to the ground beneath her though, Bethy just…stopped. Her eyes, still red and unblinking, never left Alara, but she didn't move another inch. "Please stop," Chelsea said softly. "You're killing yourself."

Bethy blinked. Then again. And each blink was like hitting the dimmer switch on a light. The red faded from her eyes. Slowly. Gradually. She was left swaying on her feet. "You wanted me to come out the other side?" she asked Alara in confusion, her voice hoarse.

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself," the older vampire said kindly. "It's not a monster, Bethany. It's part of you. It's only a beast because you treat it like one."

"Maybe yours is," Bethy said sadly. "But I'm different. I'm not just a vampire."

"I know," Alara nodded. "But you were still almost through it, weren't you? You were almost at the bottom. Do you think it was enough?"

My friend shook her head. "I don't. I don't think it would have been either way. But…thank you. For trying. That isn't a solution for me. But it might be part of one. Maybe given how much progress I've made, I can learn to embrace it."

"If you don't, you can always count on others to pull you back," Alara smiled. "Love is a powerful force. In all its many forms. Friends. Soulmates. Family. You're a powerful woman, Bethany."

I knew from the way she said that she wasn't talking about physical strength or technique. Bethy just beamed at her, face lighting up with a billion megawatt smile so blinding it almost left spots on the back of my eyelids. "I know," she said warmly. "I'm pretty lucky, too." She winked at the ancient vampire with luck powers, and Alara tipped back her head and laughed boisterously at the younger girl.

"Agreed," she said as she approached. Reaching down, she cut her finger as her Impact came flooding back. The energy that flowed into her returned to all of her at once, but it seemed to drain partly into the blood drop on her thumb. She flicked the ruby droplet off her thumb and it shot into Bethy's mouth. The energy infused Bethy, seeming to almost reinflate her body from where it had started to flag under the blood loss.

Bethy was so thrown she barely had time to catch my sister and Gabe as the two of them tackled her from either side, clinging to her in fear. Gabe hadn't yelled for the fight to stop, but I knew he never would. My sister was more concerned about Bethy's safety than anything, but Gabe was an adamant. He knew what a loss could cost.

"I don't know what you just did," my sister hissed. "But if you hurt her in any way that doesn't heal, I'm going to carve out your tongue and nail it to your forehead. I don't care how long it takes me to reach your rank."

Bethy giggled. "It's FINE babe," she assured my sister. "She was helping me. It was…I needed that. I didn't even know how much." She nodded to Alara. "I'll be your handmaid or whatever, it's cool. I owe you one."

Alara grinned wickedly. "Apologies, but I'm afraid this was a draw. I used my full power to infuse that drop of blood before the battle had been officially declared. Given your state, I can't in good conscience consider that a victory, but I definitely didn't win. We'll have to call it a tie I'm afraid, and schedule another fight some other time to decide the victor."

Everyone just blinked, staring at her in complete disbelief as we considered everything that had just happened. Bethy stared at her in shock for a few seconds, then all but doubled over laughing, relying on Gabe and Chelsea to hold her up. "Th-thats…" she gasped as she tried to regain her breath. "Oh my gods, that's brilliant." She beamed up at Alara. "I changed my mind. You're pretty damned awesome. I'm super jealous of Callie now. I wish I had a sister like you."

Alara smiled warmly, then brought a claw to her mouth and licked it daintily. "You've tasted my blood and I yours. In a way, that makes us blood sisters, no?"

Bethy squealed excitedly, bouncing up and down a bit. "Oh my gods we totally ARE!" She darted forward, grabbing the older girl by an arm and dragging her towards the stands. "Callie, we're totally sisters now! Come on! We can go out to celebrate, we just have to stop at my place to pick you guys outfits!"

My wife's face, which had been fixed in a soft smile, froze, blood draining from her cheeks, but Bethy was already there and grabbing her. She shot me a pleading look as our friend dragged her off to play dress up doll, but I looked away, deliberately not seeing anything. It helped hide the huge grin on my face too.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The next day started just like any other. Another run through the obstacle course, this time with the difficulty turned up even higher. Every time I'd get used to it my parents would increase the difficulty. Speed up the swinging blades, destabilize the balance points, remove handholds from the climbing walls. It seemed like they could tell exactly how far to push me to take the difficulty JUST beyond what I could comfortably achieve.

After my fifteenth run of the day, I collapsed onto my side, gasping for breath. No matter how often I went through it, the course never ceased to make me feel like I was dying. "You look rough," Zeke said as he lounged nearby, sipping a colorful drink from a wide bottomed glass. He was sitting on a long chair like you see on beaches, and had, for some reason, chosen to wear a woven straw hat, sunglasses, and a smidge of sunscreen on his nose.

"I hate you," I wheezed. "So much."

"It's not my fault you're out of shape," he said far too gleefully. He took a long, loud slurp of his drink as he grinned down at me.

I glared up at him pointlessly. "I am wearing FULL plate armor," I hissed. "Speaking of which, have the materials for my upgrade come in yet?" Despite access to more than a few powerful Wish users, I unfortunately lacked the means to PAY for the materials to craft my upgraded armor. I'd decided to buy them with the points left over from the succession war, but I couldn't use them as direct payment for the wish because no one who was powerful enough to get me those materials NEEDED the damned things.

Still, they were currency, and I was able to redeem them for the metals that I required, I just had to wait until the damned things showed up.

Zeke smirked. "Nope. You just have to be patient. You're still waiting on Bethany to finish that new wine recipe anyway, right? Personally, I think her first offer was pretty neat, vampire trees sound awesome."

"You do NOT think that," I snapped. "Nobody thinks that except Bethy, because it's ridiculous. And don't say it in front of her, because she'll probably try to get Alyssa to help her make a bunch to keep in her Domain, and those poor animals have suffered enough." I slumped onto my back with a groan. "Gods I'm sore." I whimpered. "I'm just glad nobody has used this method on me in combat." I paused for a moment. "Actually why DON'T people use Impact suppression in combat?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't work. Impact is the manifestation of reality. Reality itself is the only reasonable way of suppressing it for long. Basically, the reason some planets suppress Impact is a natural phenomena. It's been studied, and replicated, but never actually reproduced. Suppression like that isn't REAL suppression, it's just simulated pressure. In the same way you can suppress your own Impact voluntarily to look weaker, you can project it outward too, and even a brief flare of that breaks the suppression."

I hadn't noticed that, actually, but it made sense. Sadly, it wouldn't be of much use to me since I was willingly participating in this madness, but it was nice to know how it worked at least.

After a minute or two, I was recovered enough to stand. Once I was out of the course, my life nova regeneration and triple Vitality kicked in nicely, and my flagging energy and sore muscles melted away like ice cream in the hot sun. It was like getting a good night's sleep in the span of two minutes, and honestly felt so nice it ALMOST made the training worth it on its own. Almost.

Popping to my feet, I felt almost ready to take on the world, but my nascent plans of global domination were interrupted by a pulse through the bond. I blinked and looked up and across the room, eyes fixed on a point on the wall through which my wife was waiting. "Something's happening," I said to Zeke immediately. "Let's go." I bolted for the door, aiming for where Callie was waiting for me at what felt like the front entrance of the palace.

Zeke kept pace effortlessly, easily matching my steps without any sign of hurry or rush. We arrived at the palace entrance in about ten minutes, and I found Callie there waiting. I stopped next to her, threading my fingers through hers as I took up position on her left side. Callie was right handed, so I made sure to leave that one open for her to summon her blade if needed.

"What's going on?" I asked as I stared out into the blackness of space. The building was sat atop a huge chunk of black stone, and past the edge was just the endless expanse of the gaps between the stars. I tried not to look down.

The most terrifying thing about outer space, and the one that no one ever mentions to you when describing it, is that space is not a SHEET. It's a sphere, and that means the endless expanse of darkness doesn't just expand outwards, it also expands DOWN, and even with no gravity to enforce the drop, there's something viscerally terrifying about looking over a cliff to see a drop that goes on for eternity.

Luckily, I wasn't doing that now, because my attention was being drawn in the exact opposite direction. I'd asked what was happening, but that question turned out to be unnecessary to answer, because one look up at the sky made it obvious.

Above our heads, cracks were forming. Like the starry sky was a sheet of glass struck with a mallet, lines of blazing light were expanding from a single point, radiating out from a spot that looked like the center of a shattered vase. Through the cracks, I could see a strange multicolored riot of cascading strangeness. A familiar multicolored riot. It reminded me vaguely of the Chaos Chasm.

Then, with a piercing howl, the air shook, and the cracks widened as a massive shape punched right through, burst out into the lower world in a shower of radiant spatial shards, all of which dissolved into soap bubbles of strange energy as soon as they got far enough from the opening they spawned from.

"What the hell is THAT?" I asked in awe. The object was…immense. Not the physical size, more like the power, I could feel a tremendous Impact from it, far beyond what I'd sensed from my grandmother's ship, the Acheron. Which could only mean-

"It's a Divine warship," came the disgusted voice of Alara from behind us. "And one I recognize. That's the Bloodraven."

I blinked, then spun to stare at her. "What? But you said they wouldn't send gods!"

"I doubt they did," she said with a sigh. "No reason to bother dispatching a ship that powerful if you have a god onboard. I'd imagine he gave it to his heirs as protection. He always was annoyingly cautious."

"He who?" I asked slowly. "It's been a long time since you were alive, I assume whoever this person is was a god when you knew them?"

She nodded. "A contemporary of my father's, a thief god named Selwyn. They were on passingly good terms. Selwyn was slippery and hard to pin down, and he did his best to stay out of everyone's way. Not surprising he survived this long. I suppose he Ascended personally. Seems he's done well for himself up there."

"So I take it Divine materials don't count towards the limits of the Universe in terms of Ascension?" I asked worriedly. I was still stuck on the fact that someone had built a fucking SHIP out of god ranked mats. The Acheron was one of the few S-ranked vessels I was aware of, and it was unspeakably valuable. I didn't even know divine materials existed. Was it forged from melted down artifacts or something?

Alara shook her head. "It doesn't. Materials are…complicated. Divine ranked artifacts aren't really godly. They're just naturally occurring items that have passed the thousand point threshold. They don't possess inherent world connection like a god does. Without an imbued Domain seed, their power is pretty much hollow. They have god bark but not god bite, so to speak."

"So it can't hurt us?" I asked hopefully, knowing the answer before I said it.

"Oh it can DEFINITELY hurt us," she warned. "I told you, it's got a thousand Impact. A heavy ball rolling off a table and landing on an insect might not have the same force or intention as a human foot stomping on one, but it'll be just as dead either way."

I winced, staring up at the massive ship in trepidation. But it wasn't over. The destroyed space behind the ship had started to mend, but it was once again forced open as something else shoved its way through. This one was only S-ranked, and it wasn't a ship, but a flying city made of red glass. From behind that emerged a colossal wooden horse, and then a floating spinning wheel the size of a small moon.

It took me a moment to really process the scope of what I was seeing, given the distance, but the size of every single entrant was bigger than most cities I'd visited. "Don't suppose those are ALSO old friends of yours?" I asked hopefully.

She shook her head. "No idea. Selwyn's presence is already quite a coincidence, though hopefully a lucky one. I was never a fan, but he and my father had a rapport. Bloodraven being the only Divine ranked vehicle is also a potential benefit for us. Assuming it wasn't taken from him by force and is now filled with his enemies, of course."

"Of course," I said dryly. "But maybe let's not borrow trouble when we already have so much. If they're enemies we'll find out soon enough. Doesn't hurt to have a little hope."

"It can actually hurt quite a bit to have hope, little or otherwise," my sister in law said dryly. "But I find it refreshing that you have such a positive outlook. It speaks well of your character. You are an adequate husband for my little sister."

Callie sighed. "Ali, sweetheart, do you remember that talk we had about the way you phrase things? You said you wanted to be more accessible, right?"

"Yes," she agreed. "And you said that my demeanor is often condescending or patronizing. You said it is poor form to act like I know better than everyone. But I DO know better than everyone, and they often ask me to share my wisdom, so I'm not sure what I should do about it."

"Yeah," my wife sighed. "We'll work on it. As of right now though, we have bigger problems than you being a little aloof. We have no clue what the protocols are for interacting with forces like this. If you know the people on the Bloodraven can you act as a point of contact?" her eyes flicked to me. "Unless you were planning to send a diplomat?"

I shook my head. "I mean, Harrison might be an effective negotiator, but he has no leverage here. Even a tangential connection to one of the factions is better than nothing. Are you willing to make contact for us, Alara?"

"I would be happy to do so," she nodded gracefully. "I am fascinated to learn more of these higher beings. The forces they come from may represent Overgods or even Worldgods. It might even make up for my disappointment at missing the legacy trial. Now, how are we to get their attention?"

She stared out across the vast distance consideringly, but finally decided to just go for it. Closing her eyes, she focused on…something, and there was a ripple in the space. Above us, a massive manifestation of Alara appeared in space, staring across the void. "I seek a meeting with the captain of the Bloodraven," she intoned in a voice composed of intent rather than sound. There was a brief pause, and then the ship began to move. Apparently they'd heard her, and now they were coming. Here's hoping they were friendly.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

It didn't take long for the ambassador from the ship to show up. I assumed, based on Alara's request, the S-ranker who showed up was the captain, though I had no way to be sure. He came like the wind, stepping on starlight, and arrived in the time it took me to blink twice. Alara dissolved her manifestation, stepping forward to meet him calmly, clearly not even remotely worried about any violence, despite the super weapon behind him.

"Greetings," said the man warily. "I am Seth, captain of the Bloodraven. I confess, we were led to believe that none in the lower world remembered our father or his legend. How is it that you recognize his personal vessel on sight?"

"Who wouldn't know the story of the Bloodraven," Alara said politely. "A great warship built from the stolen wealth of a thousand divine kingdoms. A magnificent vessel that vanished among the stars one day, never to be seen again. Of course, I've seen it before in person, those many eons ago when it was still new."

Seth's eyes narrowed warily. "You claim to be as ancient as a Divine vessel? Are you a devolved god of some kind? Perhaps you've undergone a sundering?"

"Nothing so pedestrian," grinned Alara wolfishly. "I simply died."

That seemed to intrigue the man. "An S-rank resurrection. Fascinating. They're so rare. While many S-rankers have Mirror Souls, I'm sure you're aware that before passing the Divine watershed, the soul is fragile. It can be done, of course, especially with expedience, but shattering a soul at S-rank is dangerous indeed. May I ask your esteemed name, lady? I can feel your power even from here, I doubt one such as yourself was unknown even in those ancient days where gods outnumbered stars. My father has told me quite a few stories of his youth, perhaps I know of you."

Alara gave an elegant curtsy. "I am Alara Atlas, daughter of the Heretic God. In my day, they called me many things. The Star of Misfortune, the Skyripper, and the Heretic Princess."

His face went pale. "The Skyripper? The S-ranker who murdered the sky god Deltora?"

"Even so," my sister in law said with her most charming smile. "It's lovely to hear that my reputation precedes me. I always did like Selwyn. He used to tell me such wonderful stories as a child. He and my father were fast friends, you see. I consider myself quite lucky you decided to grace us with your presence."

The way she said that implied heavily that it was HER fault it had happened. Which, come to think of it, it might have been. I wasn't sure about the limits of Alara's luck power, but it was significant enough that Atlas thought it was noteworthy, and it had already created several nearly impossible situations to allow her to navigate danger. Exactly how much any of us were affected by it was anyone's guess, but taking credit for it was a good way to inflate her reputation either way.

"I heard many stories of my father's friendship with Adam Atlas," Seth said respectfully. "He was a mighty god, and my father was greatly saddened to hear of his passing."

"Then he'll be overjoyed to hear of his return," Alara said brightly.

The man froze. "A-Adam Atlas is alive?" he all but squeaked. "That's…wonderful news. I'm so happy."

Based on the terrified crack in his voice, he definitely wasn't, but it was kind of funny watching an S-ranker try not to piss himself in fear. "Of course," purred Alara, her red eyes gleaming in a predatory way that had nothing to do with drinking blood and everything to do with smelling it in the metaphorical water. "I'm sure he would be thrilled to make your acquaintance as well, Seth. I just know our families strong alliance will weather the sands of time and extend into the present generation. I believe we will be great friends."

That, to my surprise, didn't seem to terrify him as much as the Atlas talk. In fact, he looked a little intrigued. I very decidedly did not choose to think about my sister in law's romantic life, focusing instead on the moment. I cleared my throat, and Alara glanced at me for a moment before putting a hand on my shoulder and pushing me forward. "Ah, how rude of me. Seth, this is my new little brother, Solomon. He married my sister not long ago, and they're very happy together, so treat him well for me, won't you?"

Seth straightened, looking me over. "A strapping young man," he said approvingly. "And already B-rank at such a young age. Such talent is rare." He held out his hand. "Greetings, Solomon, I am Seth, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. As a visitor to your lands, I'll be relying on you to help me get the lay of the land."

"Of course," I said enthusiastically. "You'll be our guests during your stay!"

He froze. "O-our?" he said quickly, having just realized something was off. His eyes flicked to Alara, who was smiling beatifically.

"Oh yes," my sister in law said in a saccharine voice. "My little brother is quite the up and comer in these parts. He's the current head of one of the six major divine factions that are currently extant in realspace."

He flinched. "Ah," he said as he released my hand. "How wonderful." His voice sounded more annoyed than anything else, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. I was a B-ranker, and therefore, a nobody. As a random footsoldier, a request to be a tour guide was a favor to Alara, taking care of her kid brother when it was convenient.

However, I was the Wishmaster, and I represented a Divine faction. As the current leader of HIS faction on this plane, Seth presumably had decision making power in regards to the formation of alliances and treaties. Guest rights were an old concept, but still very much honored among those of political power. By offering to let me host and being claimed by me as a guest, Seth had essentially agreed to an alliance with the WCP.

It was clear he hadn't intended to do that, though he didn't seem upset enough to imply he had bad intentions. He was just obviously unhappy that he'd been tricked so cleanly and quickly. I could see his mind trying to pick apart the interaction and figure out how much of it was Alara's ability influencing things in her favor and how much was her just outsmarting him. Hell, I was trying to pick that apart.

I could see now why Atlas was so impressed with Alara's abilities. They were so…insidious. Luck was such a nebulous concept, and it was possible to make your own, in a way. Alara was clearly a master as manipulating situations to her advantage, and capitalizing on not only her ability but her own innate skills and intelligence to expand her reputation. I could see why they'd called her The Star of Misfortune.

Seth was a professional, of course. He looked annoyed for a moment but quickly moved past it. "Well, I suppose I should take advantage of your hospitality if it's offered," he said smoothly. "Is this your base of operations?" His eyes flicked up to the palace, though he seemed mostly underwhelmed by the display.

"It is," I said cheerfully. "I welcome yourself and your traveling companions to my home. Please, enjoy your stay. I'm afraid we don't have anywhere you can park your ship. I suspect our hangars have neither the size nor the Impact to withstand an entry from such a powerful machine."

"Of course," he said proudly. "The Bloodraven nests wherever she might lie. None can threaten her."

I made the correct noises of awe and appreciation, but gestured to the other arrivals. "And the others? If we're to be allies, I would love to hear more about our new arrivals. I'm sure you're well informed about any number of powerful forces. You're all here for the legacy trial, yes?"

He immediately latched onto the last question, obviously pleased to be on expected ground. "Very much so. This particular inheritance belongs to an exceptionally well traveled Overgod who called himself The Hourglass Bodach." At our obvious disappointment, he laughed. "You suspected a Worldgod inheritance? I can understand the error, but don't be disappointed too fast. While the Bodach wasn't a Worldgod, he traveled for many years through many planes. Overgods, Worldgods, he visited legacies and ruins from any number of great powers, collecting techniques and materials unseen in the modern world."

His eyes locked on the clocktower in the distance, shining with fanatical avarice. "The secrets to Overgod and even Worldgod reside in that tower." His gaze flicked to Alara and I. "As fellow natives of this plane, I'm not against working together, if you have that ability. I would need proof of your capability before I could commit to anything indepth, you understand."

I nodded. An alliance like the one we made before was mostly a non-agression pact. He'd essentially been tricked into agreeing to play nice, but that didn't mean he was actually willing to work with us in the legacy. Now though, he was open to hearing us out. I wasn't sure why, honestly. Maybe he saw something in me like he said, or more likely, maybe Alara was so scary the rest of us became monsters by association. Whatever the case, I wouldn't waste the opportunity.

Diplomacy wasn't a natural game for me, but I had people for that. And more importantly, I didn't believe anyone would be unmoved by the wish power. My family had depended on the power of the wish to maintain a monopoly in this universe for millennia. These people might not know what wishes were capable of, but when they saw the manifestation of the ultimate support power there was no way they'd be unmoved.

Seth made a hand gesture, and the ship behind him flickered. There was a sudden curtain of darkness falling over us, and when I looked up, I was unsurprised to see the Bloodraven hovering above the palace. Behind it, the other arrival vessels appeared to retreat slightly, taking up a holding pattern as they no doubt attempted to figure out what was happening on this plane. I imagined the other factions would be attempting to make contact, but without a ringer like Alara to smooth things over, I suspected it would be a drawn out and complicated process of bribery and courtship.

"If you wouldn't mind," Seth said politely. "I'd like to bring some of my juniors down off the ship. Just the ones who will be entering the legacy with you. You ARE going to be attending in person, aren't you?"

"We wouldn't mind at all," I said. "And yes, we will be attempting the trial. Wouldn't miss it for a world. Or two. Maybe for three, but we'd need to haggle on rank."

He laughed, making another gesture. There was a shift and suddenly, a small crowd of people appeared behind Seth. They all wore dark cloaks with hoods (Ascendants LOVED hoods, they were very dramatic and made people curious about your face) and there was about twelve of them. I nodded to them politely, then gestured for everyone to follow me inside.

Callie squeezed my hand as we headed into the base. I squeezed back. She hadn't wanted to intrude on the negotiations aloud, though I'd received a few bursts of emotion through the body giving her opinion on the proceedings. My wife wasn't the type to just keep quiet and let other people do her talking, but she didn't feel the need to make her contribution known either. She was happy to advise in the background, even if I didn't always take that advice.

I glanced back over my shoulder surreptitiously. Seth and the others being here was a good sign, and we owed Alara and Atlas for it, but we still had to stick the landing. We had information to get out of them, and if we wanted an active alliance with their trial takers, we needed to fight for one. I hoped Crell had his negotiating pants on, because this was going to be a doozy.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I sat in silence. Or almost. Drips of water, the tick of the clock, slight brushes on the ground. There was sound, but it wasn't exclusive of quietude. It was more…encompassed. The sound was part of the silence. Like seasoning in food. It added depth. Flavor. It made the silence more complete.

Outside, people bustled, politics raged, treaties were negotiated, but I was just here, alone with the quiet. I had excused myself while my cabinet dealt with Seth and company. I had things to consider.

Power. I had ruminated on its nature so many times, and so many times I came to new conclusions, new realizations. Power was like the proverbial elephant, and I was the blind men feeling along its surface. A snake, a rope, a tree. Power was all of these things and none of them. Power encompassed the entirety of creation, but was simultaneously missing from all things.

I felt it now. That lack. I had climbed so high, reached a goal that should have been unattainable, and yet, here I was back at the bottom. Once again I numbered among the weak.

And it was…exhilirating. It felt so freeing, being unburdened of the great destiny. My responsibility was still there, but at the same time I felt so weightless. Knowing there were so many above me, that even the old man was just an ant in the grand scheme of things was a breath of fresh air.

I had become so complacent with my goals. After reaching Wishmaster status, I needed to reach godhood. And then…I'd be done. I'd have completed everything I set out to do and…what? I'd just live out forever bored. That was what happened to the old man. To Black Sorrow. I could see it clearer and clearer as I climbed. Nothing mattered to them anymore because there was nowhere else to go. They stopped dreaming. Stopped caring. Stopped living.

All this time I assumed it was the power that made them so inhuman. It wasn't. It was its ABSENCE. They dedicated their whole lives to progress, to growth, and then, suddenly, it was gone. Like being on an endless staircase and getting to the top only to realize there's no next floor, just a bottomless chasm and no further to climb.

It had been happening to me too. Not quickly, or even severely. But it had been happening. With my whole path mapped out and my big milestone achieved, everything seemed so monotonous. I had achieved my dream, and now all that was left was living it, and how much did THAT suck?

But now I could see further. Beyond the old man, beyond godhood. Overgod, Worldgod, maybe further, who knew?

The fire in my gut was back, ignited again by the spark of humility, and it was roaring up for nourishment. It cried out for me to swallow down adventure and danger so it could refine a destiny fit for a god. I found myself standing, moving, and I realized before long that I was practicing the Cosmic Phoenix chapter of the Nine Phoenix Reincarnation Art. The movements were almost instinctive, building off the epiphany I'd just had. Nothing spurs growth like seeing the immensity of the universe. Nothing makes you want to push yourself like seeing the gap between you and the strong,.

I withdrew the ember from my ring, not wielding it, just inserting it into the ground as I moved, letting the fire spit forth and envelop me as the pattern of the skill wound its way through my body.

Pain washed through me, but it wasn't limiting. It was invigorating. The burn of a good workout, only very literal. As I moved, I considered my path forward. My destiny had been written before this. It wasn't complete, but I had seen the horizon, glimpsed the shore, whatever metaphor you liked for viewing my final destination, and it had robbed me. I'd lost my drive, my need to grow. Somewhere along the way, my advancement had become an inevitability instead of a vague possibility, and I had lost my motivation to fight.

My movements became sharper. Fiercer. This template was different than the last one. The Life Nova was easy because of Archie. I could tap into his nature, and life wasn't a tough thing to envision anyway. I had been Zagan a thousand times, I'd even incarnated him. And more than that, all things lived. The template was just kind of…neutral.

This one though, this one was different. The Cosmic Phoenix Template had a mind of its own. It had a nature, and I had stumbled ass backwards into the right mindset to pour on the gas. Fire blazed through me, consuming and expanding as it poured out of the ember. It had formed a sort of connection with my template, and the rotation was acting like a vortex, siphoning fire from the glowing blade and pulling it into my body faster and faster.

The deeper I got, the more I saw. I was glimpsing the universe through the eyes of the phoenix. I saw a million worlds like grains of sand in a vast desert, like drops of water in an endless ocean of shining stars. Cosmic waves too vast to even be perceived by the mortal mind whipped and raged across the face of reality, unseen tides that steered us all without us even knowing.

And above it all, a phoenix. A noble, majestic bird born from the first spark of creation when the universe was formed. A guardian beast that stood atop the plane and looked down on the forming universe like a proud mother.

Behind the bird, I saw another form, too vast and grand too even contemplate. All I could make out was a human shape, but I knew, knew in my BONES who it was. The Worldgod who had created this universe. The Cosmic Phoenix had been his. Not THIS Cosmic Phoenix, obviously. The one from my vision had a wingspan that stretched over galaxies. Its smallest feather would be bigger than this star system. But A Cosmic Phoenix. The first. The founder of the bloodline.

And then the vision ended, and I collapsed. I was on the ground, wheezing, blood leaking from my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. I coughed wetly, and I was pretty sure my lungs had collapsed. My bones felt broken, my brain scoured nearly clean. My soul was strained, though not too severely. My Domain was covered in cracks that I hadn't even felt happening.

But my lips were peeled back in a triumphant smile. I needed to keep that. Needed to nurture it. That experience was foundational to my path forward. And I knew an easy way to do that. I closed my eyes and focused into my Domain, into the castle and into my throne room where my Chronicle sat on a pedestal.

Focusing on the experience I just had, I started to inscribe it. Binding the visions to a page would keep them accessible and fresh, and HAVING them was a huge and earthshaking achievement in itself. It was the perfect solution. I described it all, pouring not just words but images and sounds and emotion into the binding. One page. Two. They kept filling, and I was starting to get worried about whether I could actually DO this. If I tried to bind too many at once it could backlash and hurt me.

Finally, it stopped at eight. Eight pages bound into my Chronicle, all of them anchored to the Nine Phoenix Reincarnation Art.

Beyond that, I saw that the art itself was up to EIGHT drops. I was only one away from completing the template. I grinned weakly. That was a staggering amount of progress for one training session. And I knew it wasn't over. I could refer back to my Chronicle and read those pages for inspiration. The last drop wouldn't be EASY, but it wouldn't take months like they had been.

Next came the rough part. I pushed my consciousness into my Domain, manifesting inside to check on my demons and assess the damage. The palace was fine. Still in one piece if a little banged up. Cracks covered the ground across the plains and the walls of the building. Deep inside them though, I could see something new when I knelt down to check. Fire. A very special and familiar type of fire.

The vision had deeply injured my body and soul, but it also carried little bits of Cosmic Phoenix fire deeper within me. I realized that this was a test. Destruction preceded creation. The advancement of my skill and the power seeping into my Domain wouldn't be possible without the damage that had happened. The phoenix was a creature of rebirth, and that carried certain meaning, especially for someone like me who had already condensed one of the nine templates.

I checked on my demons, and they all seemed perfectly fine, if somewhat disgruntled. Apparently there had been an earthquake in the Domain, and since there was no EARTH in here to quake, they hadn't been prepared for that. Which was fair.

As I emerged from the Domain, I reached out to pull myself up, forcing my body upright to a sitting position. I had just made it when the door to my room burst open and a terrified Callie blurred inside, eyes raking over the room to find me. "SHANE!" she screamed when she saw me.

I realized a bit late that I was leaning tiredly against a wall in a sitting position in my room, covered in blood that had been pouring out of my head. "Hey Cal," I croaked sheepishly. "I did a thing."

She hit me like a bulldozer, shoulder crashing into me as she wrapped her arms tight around my body. "You absolute moron!" she sobbed. "I felt like you were dying. It was like something…ate you. The other end of the bond went completely dead. What the hell were you thinking? I'm so glad you're ok."

"Alright, this one wasn't my fault," I argued. "It was an epiphany. Like the one you had about the abyss back in the day. I was training and I just…saw. I can't explain it. Even if I could I probably wouldn't because I'm afraid your brain might leak out your ears. Still, I'm fine, and the results were great." I tried to give her a reassuring smile, and realized that my mask was in the way. I took it off so she could see, but I'd forgotten all the blood on my face, and that kind of just made it worse.

I didn't try to explain further, or talk her out of her panic. I understood how upset she was, and I knew it wouldn't go away just because I said so. I just held her and let her cling to me like I might vanish if she let go. I just lay there and let her feel my presence. I knew that was what she needed most right then, and honestly, it wasn't exactly hurting my state of mind either.

Once she was feeling centered we got up and walked to the bed. My triple Vitality and regeneration fixed up the physical injuries easy enough, even if the soul damage would probably take all night. I pulled off my armor and slumped into my bed, and she covered me with a blanket. As I fell asleep, I saw her between my fluttering eyelids, sitting in a chair beside the bed, watching over me, and I couldn't help but smile.

I drifted off, and my dreams were full of huge majestic birds and a sea of endless planets. It was funny, seeing that unceasing horizon would have terrified me before, back when I had no dreams left to push me onwards. Now though, all I could see in the neverending universe was an endless expanse of possibility. It was one of the best dreams I'd ever had.

 

[Hyperion47]

I do believe he saw Mt. Tai

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The next morning I awoke with a long, slow stretch. I felt…transcendent. The eight hours of sleep had been more than enough to heal the cracks in my soul and Domain apparently. That wasn't exactly normal, but neither had the damage been, and considering Genesis Burst lived in the Domain, I suspected I'd had some help from my court with the cleanup.

Either way, I felt like I could take on the whole universe with one hand behind my back. Ten more scrolls joined my count, and I felt almost smug about the round number thirty on my stat sheet. The constantly shifting uneven numbers there before had been far more annoying than I had let myself dwell on, and seeing multiples of ten constantly was weirdly soothing. Hopping out of bed, I stepped into my armor, slipped on my mask, and prepared to head out to talk to my uncle.

The materials for my armor and the wine to grow my staff should be here, or at least there should be some progress. I was excited to see exactly what my gear would look like once it took the next step.

I ran my fingers over the armor, examining the smooth lines. Solomon's Seal was a unique set of gear hand forged by Donovan Redfellow, founder of the Hall of Steel and Fade's martial uncle. He was technically at B-rank, but he was a Mythical blacksmith, and he was MUCH deeper into the rank than I was. In terms of crafting seniority, he was probably the most skilled craftsman I had ever met.

He hadn't come with us this time, but considering the legacy trial, I had sent for him not long ago. He was traveling with my materials, and I was sure he'd have plenty of fascinating options for what to do with my armor when he arrived.

"Must you make so much noise in the morning," groaned my rumpled wife from where she lay curled up in the chair next to the bed. She looked…well, flawless, as always, but tired. I frowned and leaned down, lifting her easily and carrying her to the bed, she pouted but didn't resist as I tucked her in.

"You look tired," I said gently. "Thank you for staying up to watch over me. Get some rest, ok? I'll make sure no one disturbs you."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't need you to baby m-" her sentence was cut off by an expansive yawn. "Also shut up. But fine. I'll sleep. But I expect breakfast when I wake up. No matter how late it is. I want fritatas. And hashbrowns. And fresh squeezed orange juice."

I leaned down, pulling off my mask to brush her forehead with a quick kiss. "As my lady desires. Now rest."

She snorted, but her lips quirked up in a smile as she snuggled under the covers. I turned and stepped out of the room, careful to close the door carefully so as not to disturb her. I was surprised to find Benny outside, leaning against the wall. "If these rooms weren't soundproofed that would be super creepy," I informed him bluntly.

He rolled his eyes. "Sure, because I'm positive you two were getting busy after she ran in there panicked like you were being murdered. I just wanted to check in, make sure you weren't dead. You're going to be my best man, and I expect a bachelor party as great as the one I threw you. Your death would deeply inconvenience me. And I guess it would be a little sad."

"Someday, someone will give you what you deserve," I told him acidly. "And on that day, I will laugh, and point, and call you mean names while it happens."

He sniffed loftily. "Sounds like you, always letting everyone else do all the work."

"Die in a hole," I said with an eye roll. "I have no idea why I put up with you, dick. And thanks for checking on me, I appreciate it."

I set off at a brisk walk down a random hallway. It took me about ten minutes to realize I had no destination, and another five for Benny to notice the same thing. He stopped where he'd been trailing behind me. "You have no idea where you're going, do you?"

"All within the palace belongs to the Wishmaster," I said pompously. "Any destination would be acceptable."

"That's not what I asked," he snickered. "You got a place in mind?"

I sighed. "Looking for Zeke, and then Bethy, in that order. Planning to get my gear upgraded while the politicos handle the politicking. I am SO glad I have a Master of Treaties, because negotiating with those overworlders sounds exhausting. Now, where the hell is my uncle, I need to check in about my armor?"

"He was in the loading bay last I saw." He sighed. "Some kind of shipment came in, and NO I don't know what kind or if it was your stuff. What did you get anyway?"

I shrugged. "I let Donovan pick. He knows what kind of upgrades would work best for my armor better than I do. I made sure to fill him in on the details of Gehenna, but other than that it's out of my hands. If there's one thing being Wishmaster has taught me it's not to micromanage talented subordinates. I only have to ride herd on incompetent idiots…and friends, like you."

My comment was as blithe and neutral as possible, but Benny knew me well enough to catch the dig and rolled his eyes. He led me off to one side and down a hallway. We took a few turns before arriving at a pair of small doors set into a pair of much bigger doors. We pushed them open, heading inside to find Zeke poring over some kind of clipboard. "No, no, no," he snapped. "I asked for twenty pounds of Astrellan Star Wood and TEN pounds of Daryan Bog Pine. You CHARGED me for those values, despite bringing me the inverse. Bog Pine is worth a fifth what Star Wood is. I'm not paying for this. And why the hell are my Cave Demon Blood Paints all in abyssal black? I'm an artist not a calligrapher, you don't think I'd like some variance? I told them I'd accept black as a substitute but I didn't want ALL black paint."

The poor guy standing opposite him appeared to be getting smaller and smaller as my uncle talked, and I was starting to worry he might melt into a terrified puddle if it went on much longer. "I think he gets it," I said as I ambled up. "I'm sure this nice gentleman will be happy to make note of all your grievances and contact his employers for a refund. Won't you?"

"Of course," the terrified man squeaked. "Right away sir," and then he scurried off into the loading bay.

"Must you ruin my fun," Zeke sighed in annoyance. "That little twit isn't as innocent as he looks. I KNOW they sent at least a bottle of blue ink, and it's not listed. I'm positive the little troll stole it. I'd have beaten it out of him, but his uncle is relatively high up in the merchant's guild."

The Merchant's Guild was one of the major economic bodies in the universe. They possessed the ability to mint chits, coins of concentrated Creation that were useful for crafters and businessmen alike. They basically propped up the economy for the entire plane, which meant they had an inordinate amount of control over it.

Luckily, the WCP had access to methods of duplication that meant we were capable of eating into their market if they pushed it. As such, we were given priority treatment on shipping and first purchase rights on many unique goods in exchange for refusing any wishes that involved pure chit manifestation. We had a LOT of deals like that in place. The WCP was an economic powerhouse, and I was still scratching the surface of what that meant.

"Talk to Peter," I shrugged. "He can use it to leverage them into something juicy I'm sure. I have a Master of Banking for a reason."

He blinked. "I…could do that. I keep forgetting you're in charge. Being able to just…go talk to someone who can fix my problems is so weird. And I don't even need to schedule a meeting. Your cabinet members are all eager to get in my good books. Huh."

"Yes, congratulations on your newly discovered ability to abuse your power," I said dryly. "Now, does the clipboard have a certain bitter old smith on it?" I felt a twinge of Danger Sense and snapped quickly. "Donovan if you hit me with that fucking vegetable I'm going to have you assigned to the most remote outpost I can find, where you'll spend the next two hundred years making pipe fittings you will PERSONALLY install in every broken toilet in my territories."

A dry voice chuckled as I turned around to see the old smith, wire framed glasses over golden eyes, grinning at me. "No more idle threats for you, eh boy?"

Zeke raised an eyebrow. "Been a while since I saw an employee call the Wishmaster BOY. Last time someone did it was the first week of Aiden's rule. I think they've almost found the last piece of him."

Donovan snorted. "Don't mind me, sir. Just an old fool too long from his forge. If you want to kill this old man over an ill chosen phrase you just go ahead, won't bother me none. I'm sure you have other Mythic Blacksmiths on hand who can perfectly redesign the Lord's armor for him. We grow on trees, after all."

My uncle stared at the old red haired smith for a moment before barking out a laugh. "Oh I LIKE him. Fair enough, old man. If my nephew doesn't mind the mouthing off I won't bother with it either."

"Lovely, now that no one is going to be murdered, can we focus on my gear," I said impatiently. "Donovan, you picked out the materials, right? Show me what we're working with."

He nodded amiably. "Of course, brought some lovely specimens. I'll need to borrow a forge, but I'm sure someone here has a functional one." He led me across the dock to a contained loaded with a series of small boxes on plinths with plenty of room between them. There were a LOT of boxes.

"Seventy two main materials," he grinned. "Most of them not too expensive or rare, mostly there for the synergy. But if we're going to make what I plan to make we'll need them."

Zeke's eyes widened. "You're going to make him a Domain Anchor?" he gaped. "At B-rank?"

"It's not like it's that difficult," Donovan shrugged. "If you recognize what I'm doing I'm guessing you can make them too."

Zeke shook his head. "Not for a manifested Domain. I made him a proto Domain Anchor a few ranks ago to stabilize his soul from consistent pseudo Domain abuse, but that's not the same as a long term anchoring construct. Especially not for a Domain like his. It's completely unique. Stabilizing something like that would be…ambitious."

I finally caught up. I remembered the mask Zeke gave me ages ago that could act as a sort of stabilizer for my soul when I used my pseudo Domains. This was before I had a Chronicle and it had been dangerous to use them at all. The mask had helped me offset the strain.

Donovan looked smug. "Well, then it's a good thing I won't be working alone on this, isn't it. I hear you're a crafter of some repute yourself. How about it. Want to make something… ambitious?" He held out his hand to shake, eyes blazing with confidence and excitement. He was clearly looking forward to the effort.

Zeke stared down at the hand with interest, before finally nodding with a low chuckle. "Alright, fine. Let's make something earthshaking." And I could already tell they would.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The first thing they had me do when we reached the forge was strip. I was wearing boxers, obviously, but it still wasn't a pleasant feeling being almost literally naked on an actual battlefront. At the very least, I wasn't cold or anything, because the heat from the forge was perfectly suitable for keeping me warm.

"Alright, so, you have seventy two materials here," I said slowly. "But how are these supposed to represent my demons exactly? I assume that's the goal. But you don't have a list of my demons and their abilities, so how were you able to choose materials to represent them?"

He walked over and opened a box. "I didn't," he clarified. "I got a few stable elements based on the obvious demons you've shown in public, but for the most part, these are unstable mutagenic reflectors." At my uncomprehending silence, he sighed. "It means they're reactive elements that reconfigure themselves to reflect the energetic properties of whatever they're exposed to."

I blinked. "Oh. That explains how you got so many of them with only a thousand points. I take it the actual materials would have been more expensive?"

"Depends on the material," he shrugged. "But for the most part. I trust you remember how this process goes?" His voice was sly and amused, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. He didn't have to enjoy the impending pain so much.

"I do, but I'm not sure that we should do this here," I looked around, measuring the space mentally as I tried to figure out the best way to do this. "If I can bring this forge into my Domain, would you be able to do the crafting in there? I'm just getting this feeling that it would work better that way."

He blinked. "I…well yes, that would probably work perfectly. Assuming your Domain can withstand such a crafting at B-rank."

"Don't worry about that," I told him with a chuckle. "My Domain is sturdy as hell."

Zeke nodded. "He's right. It'll hold. He's not supporting it alone. And forging a Domain Anchor inside the Domain itself will strengthen the connection. Projecting it isn't a problem, but he's been running into problems with secondary manifestation. Trying to incarnate more than a few of those demons causes undue strain. Not to mention the reactive materials require reactions. Channeling them one by one is inefficient, if we bring him inside to work he can have the demons react with their materials internally."

"I take it you're a prop based crafter?" Donovan asked with interest.

Zeke waggled a hand, "I can do a fair bit with hand tools. But at higher levels, ritual is just more convenient, especially for larger projects." At my curious head tilt he explained. "At a certain level of proficiency, different crafting disciplines tend to bleed together. I've mentioned this to you before. My Voltomancy includes several subdisciplines, and one of those is formations. Working with souls is tricky and dangerous, and formation crafting is all about precision and setup. It minimizes risk."

"I'm guessing this is recent?" I asked curiously. "I remember you working on masks by hand when I was a kid."

"A-rank was when I started making changes," he acknowledged. "Mythic crafting skills are…complicated. Regardless, I think I can help improve this suit of armor. And more than that, I'm planning to create a new mask for you to complement and stabilize it."

I blinked at that. "Really? I thought this one would continue to upgrade as I did? You built it sealed right?"

"You haven't noticed yet?" he chuckled. "I guess I should be glad you don't get hit in the face much. I made that mask at B-rank, the same rank you're at now. It's long since reached the limitations of its growth. I never expected you to improve at such a staggering pace. Even for an Ascendant it's unbelievable."

I felt a rush of pride at that. It felt good to be acknowledged by someone as impressive as Zeke. "Alright, well then I'll bring this all inside. Give me a minute to get this setup."

Closing my eyes, I reached out for the forge and all the tools in the room and pulled them with me and the two crafters into Gehenna. We appeared in the throne room, in an empty space in the center, and I glanced around at my court as they watched from their places surrounding us, all clearly excited by the visitors.

Donovan looked around with interest. "Fascinating," he said slowly. "This place feels far more solid than it should. I've been in plenty of Domains, though I haven't condensed my own yet. This doesn't feel like the Domain of a B-ranker."

"He cheats," Zeke shrugged. "First of all, he formed the damned thing at C-rank, which means his B-rank Impact reinforced it when he ranked up. He also did something else I can't put my finger on. It's new. Besides, he has a soul weapon that helps prop the place up, that's it over there." He gestured toward the tree manifestation of my staff.

Donovan stared at it for a moment. "Some kind of hybrid reincarnation tree? Those are rare as hens teeth. The more time I spend around you the less sense you make, boy. I'm even more convinced you need an anchor for this now."

"It'll stabilize it exponentially better than the current setup, even after the tree ranks up," Zeke agreed excitedly. "Three points of stability will be more solid. I can't wait to see what you're capable of after both upgrades. Now, this armor is your creation, so why don't you take the lead. My mask crafting needs to be interwoven through your process, which means I'll need to piggyback on your session."

"Understood," Donovan said pensively. "In that case, line up the most powerful of the demons and have the rest set out the boxes of material at these points," he scribbled down a quick diagram and passed it to me, and I immediately passed it on to Dom.

The lesser demons started to spread out, carrying the boxes to specific places. Meanwhile, Donovan took out his blue leek and began smacking demons one by one, feeling out their energy as he had done to me all those months ago when he made the seal.

He got through them relatively fast, and as he finished checking each one he sent them to a specific box. Apparently the adaptive materials worked best for specific constitutions, because he was very exacting in their placement. Once that was done, he approached me and smacked me several times with the leek. I was pretty sure he didn't need to do it so much but, I wasn't going to complain if it got me a new set of gear.

As he was working, I saw Zeke kneel down and take out a bag I'd seen before. It was the black canvas bag he kept his masks in. He started digging around inside, pulling out bottles and pieces of wood and metal and glass. Finally, he stood up and walked briskly to a few of the boxes, setting thirteen materials on top of the thirteen boxes near the most powerful demons. When he was done, he nodded at Donovan, who walked over to the forge in the middle of the room and began to stoke it. He added my armor into it as he worked, piece by piece, and I couldn't see what happened to it as he did.

It took about fifteen minutes to bring it to temperature, though I wasn't sure if that was because it was a great forge or because of Donovan himself. Once it began, he walked over to the nearest demon, placed his hand on top of the box…and then stabbed him through the hand.

The demon, namely Dantalion, hissed as the knife punched through his palm and into the box. Donovan withdrew the knife, carried the box over to the forge, and then threw the whole thing inside. He tossed the knife to Dan. "Take this around the room and stab each of them the same way I stabbed you. Then have them step back."

Dan looked at me, and I nodded, so he hastened to obey. As he did, the forge flared ominously, black smoke billowing from the mouth of it. Donovan turned and tapped his leek on the side of it and then began conducting with it like he was directing an orchestra. As he moved, the black smoke swirled and funneled down, condensing into an image of me. As I watched, black metal flowed out of the forge to begin to cover the smoky figure.

Donovan tapped again, and a line of smoke shot out of the figure, spearing into the bloody hole in the top of the nearest box. The smoke glowed orange as a blaze of heat poured down it, and another stream of smoke shot out. One by one, they connected, until seventy one streams of smoke connected every box in the room. Donovan swung the leek at the smoke, and with a blaze of blue electricity it was gone, replaced by that same long handled ballpeen hammer. He hauled back and struck the figure. Once. Twice. Three times. On the third strike the first box exploded, and a cloud of molten metal flowed down the smoke tendril to join the stuff beginning to coat the figure.

Before it could go much further, I heard Zeke begin to mutter. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but the light in the room flickered. Shadows danced and spun along the walls as all thirteen mask ingredients caught fire at the same time, the light from them exploding towards the head of the smoke mannequin.

Donovan sped up, striking faster, and the room became a blur of shadows and flames and smoke as the two crafters intertwined their process, blending and melding the ritual crafting to create something more than the sum of its parts.

My demons had fallen to their knees, faces pale, not from the stabbing but from whatever the materials had absorbed from them through the blood connection. Whatever it was, it wasn't something easily shrugged off.

Finally, after what felt like an hour, Donovan whirled his hammer one last time and smashed it into the back of the smoke figure. It exploded forward into a cloud of rushing smoke. The smoke consumed me, covering my body and face, wrapping me in a suffocating cocoon of stifling heat, and then, as quickly as it had started, it was over. I was fine. I couldn't even feel the mask on my face, though I could see the new armor adorning my body.

I triggered Double Trouble, turning to face the illusory copy of me, and froze. I looked…terrifying. A midnight black suit of intricately articulated plate armor gleamed across my body, traceries of gold, silver, and bronze worked through the plates in complicated traceries that reminded me of a cross between enchanting symbols and circuitry. Flickers of the various powers of my demons danced through the shining filigree like sparks over exposed wire, there one moment and gone the next.

The mask was a shining porcelain facial construct with no eyes or mouth, inscribed with almost microscopic black symbols that had been filled in with some kind of black resin. The designs were more artistic than magical from what I could tell (which wasn't much), but they looked fierce.

"It's done," my uncle said tiredly as he walked up to clap a hand on my shoulder. "Now we just need to see how it works. But before we put it through its paces, I think we should shore up the third leg of this tripod. I think it's time that we contact your Master of Challenge and ask her about the progress of that wine." I stared at my image for a few more seconds and then nodded. I couldn't wait to see exactly what my staff was going to become after its rank up. Only one more piece of the puzzle and then I would be ready. I couldn't wait to take that entrance trial. I would be ready for anything.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Bethy, as it turned out, had been busy. After I gave her the assignment, she had wandered off, and I hadn't really heard anything from her. I had expected her to sort out her plants, maybe have a pot or two stashed away that she could hybridize for some results.

It turned out, she thought a LOT bigger than that. My jaw dropped as I stepped into the large open room where her orchard was planted. A huge, full sized orchard. That appeared to have been grown here. "Um…wow," I said slowly as I looked around. "Was this here a week ago? Because I feel like someone would have mentioned it."

"Shane!" Bethy shouted excitedly as she appeared in front of me. "You came to see me! I mean…greetings boss." She gave a sloppy salute, her face taking on a stoic, imperious expression before melting back into her usual exuberant grin. "You're here for the wine, right?"

I nodded as I looked around. That chamber was huge, and more importantly, it LOOKED even bigger. The walls were painted with scenes of endless sprawling fields and rolling hills from the countryside. There was a sun peeking over one of the hilltops, and whatever paint had been used for it was emitting actual sunlight that fell on the carefully curated vines dotting the field beside what looked like some kind of villa. "This is…a lot. How did you get all this here?"

"Hm?" she asked with interest. "Oh, I carry most of my vines around with me in my Domain. But you wanted me to do some tinkering so I just ordered a bunch of A-rankers to bring me the stuff I needed. Since I'm on your cabinet everybody has to do whatever I say, even if it doesn't make sense." She paused, her brow furrowing before she yelled over her shoulder. "Chelsea! Can you send someone to hallway sixty four to tell that guy to stop doing jumping jacks? I forgot!"

There was a weary sigh from the villa before my sister called back. "I already did! Please stop ordering people to do punitive workouts and forgetting about them. People have started avoiding us!"

"Well, good to see you're not abusing your power," I said wryly. "But since I'm here, why don't you show me around?"

She perked up. "Oh, that sounds amazing, come on!" she grabbed my arm, dragging me out towards the fields where rows of trellises held up winding vines covered with multi colored grapes. "So, I've been working on so many different varieties of wine," she confided as she pulled me towards the closest trellis. "Ever since I started working on my grapes I've realized how soothing it is. I love it so much. And I have this natural gift for it from my mom that just makes it so easy to find good combinations."

I stepped forward to squint at a vine nearby, reaching up to touch the silvery blue grapes hanging from it. "Ok, so…what are these?"

"Sword grapes," she said immediately. I blinked at her, and she smiled. "The iron in the soil comes from ground up sword shards imbued with sword power. I used the broken swords your Uncle Moon made training with Callie. He couldn't exactly spar with her using S-rank blades, and the C-ranked weapons he was using tended to…well, disintegrate."

"Sword energy?" I asked with interest as I sniffed a grape. "I didn't know you could harvest energy like that." Then I paused, my eyes widening. "Vampirism. You can siphon off mythology, not just stats."

She beamed and nodded. "Yup! Pretty cool, huh? It was a pain to learn how to do it, and I needed Alyssa's help to figure out how to get it into the plants. Usually I use my blood, but I've been experimenting with alternative methods, like the sword dust. I'm trying to bottle sword mythology for Callie, but so far it just tastes kind of sharp."

"Mind if I try one?" I asked, and she gestured for me to go ahead. I popped one in my mouth and winced. "That's…interesting," I said with a grimace. "Sharp is a good term. It's like sourness without the sour. The muscles in my face are buzzing."

Bethy giggled. "Yup, it's not done yet. But I have a bunch of different varietals cooking. I've been getting mythology from all over the place. For your grapes, I repurposed some I got from Nat and crossbred it with one I made from Killian's shadows. The ones he uses for soul stitching. I think they turned out well, but I wasn't able to REALLY nail the mixture until I mixed some dust from a use wish scroll into the soil."

"How did you make them GROW so fast?" I asked, impressed at her work ethic. "When you said you were planning to make a new strain of grapes for me I didn't realize quite how involved it all was."

"My vines are a part of me," she shrugged. "The vampiric vines I told you about internalized it the most, but they can all grow from absorbing my blood. Most of them just don't actually incorporate it into the fruit. I promise, no blood taste in the wine I make for your tree. It'll be the most delicious fertilizer ever."

I snorted at that. "When you say it that way I feel kind of stupid for being so weird about that. But also I don't, so let's continue the tour."

"Sure thing boss man," she saluted, skipping to the next trellis. "These are pretty cool. They're life grapes. Jessie helped me make them. Her lifestorm ursa powers are SUPER compatible with plants, as you might imagine. These are actually AMAZING. Try one."

I plucked a grape, shocked at how light and airy it was to hold, I popped it in my mouth and hummed in pleasure as I bit down. Grapes had always been a favorite food of mine, especially green grapes. There were very few things as delicious as a crisp, fresh grape. When they were at their peak it felt almost like cracking glass when you bit into them, minus the pain or discomfort. Just a rush of cold sweet flesh and delicious juice.

This particular grape was infused with life force that poured into my body when I swallowed, resonating with my Life Nova blood drops and filling me with a pleasant, happy warmth.

"Can I get some of these to bring back to Callie?" I asked brightly. "She'll love this. And I guess I want to reserve a bottle when you finally…wine it? Vint it? I have no idea whatsoever what the verb form of making wine is."

She shrugged. "I don't know. I have people for all that boring sciencey stuff. I just do grapes until it gets boozy."

Benny groaned from behind us, and I turned to raise an eyebrow. "What, you want a grape?"

"I mean…yes, but I was groaning because you two are weirdly similar sometimes, even if you don't want to admit it. You both have the subtlety of a ten ton hammer."

"Hey, I'm as subtle as a much smaller hammer than that," I protested. "One ton. Tops."

I turned back to my Master of Challenge. "So, where are the grapes we're using for the ritual? And do you need time to make the wine? I know it usually has to ferment and stuff, but you didn't seem to need to last time."

"Oh, nothing like that," she shrugged. "I just need to stomp on the grapes and then the wine happens. It's actually super fun."

I only vaguely remembered her process from last time but that sounded about right. Not to mention that was several ranks ago. Bethy had probably refined the whole thing since then, in her own Bethy way.

"So, do you want to get this out of the way now?" she chirped. "I can mix up the wine and we can get started on feeding your tree buddy." She looked down at my stomach, poking my armor with a finger. "Whose a hungry little plant being, you are, yes you are!" I stared down at her in complete perplexity.

"Bethy, why are you talking to my stomach? You know that isn't how Domains work." My voice was exasperated, but I couldn't help but be a bit amused.

She shrugged. "Your tree wasn't in your Domain to start with right? Anyway, come on, let's get started! I love catering parties. Oooh, maybe I can make your tree a hat. Do you think you could put a hat on that spiritual tree avatar in your Domain?"

"I do not, no," I sighed with a rueful chuckle. "But yes, we can get it out of the way, do you have everything ready?"

I had to admit I was excited. Not as excited as when I reached B-rank, but I knew the utility my staff could bring to bear. Having it at A-rank was going to be damned useful. Not least because it would restore my ability to rank up my skills temporarily, which I hadn't been able to use since I hit B-rank and achieved parity with the ten demons tree.

More than that though, the tree was a pillar of my fighting style and Domain, its silent support gave me the confidence to fight above my level and to face anything that came my way. It ALSO kept me from feeling the pinch from my demons ranking up, which while not a problem yet, I was worried about.

In fact, I suspected several of my lesser demon court members had been sandbagging so as not to unduly strain my Domain. Well, that and I was pretty sure some of them were hoping to get reincarnated. After Brad had joined the court, a lot of the weaker members seemed to find lots of reasons to express their openness to change, it was amusing, but a tad obvious. Regardless, with the tree at A-rank I could support a bunch of tier 9 demons if it became necessary, and any number of tier 8s would be child's play.

I followed Bethy along the rows until we reached a trellis that stood out from the others, mainly because it looked so new and unsullied. The vine wrapped around it was fresh and bright green and looked much more vital than the other, steadier plants. Bethy picked up a wooden bucket, passed it to me, then passed another to Benny. After grabbing a third she quickly and expertly plucked MANY more grapes than I had expected to be on the vine, filling the buckets with a pile of juicy looking black fruits that I had to resist the urge to try for myself.

Once we had them all collected, she gestured for us to follow and carried the buckets to a back room of the villa where another, larger wooden tub waited. She had us pour them all out before gesturing for me to take out the Ten Demons Tree and drive it into the pile in the center of the tub.

She slipped on a pair of shoes that looked like they were specially made, cleaned them off, and then jumped in and started stomping, holding up the staff as she did. The movements were…alien, almost painful to watch. I knew that it wasn't just normal steps. It was a dance. The dance of the maenad. With each crash of her foot the tides of dark juice changed slightly. I could smell the scent of ozone filling the room, like a storm was brewing.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, she lifted the staff and slammed it down again, driving it through the bottom of the tub and into the floor. As she stepped out of the tub she stumbled, my sister appearing to catch her, and we all watched as the staff began to absorb the wine directly, like tree roots drinking up fresh rain. But that was just the beginning, because inside my Domain, changes had already begun.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I didn't bother with subtlety or asking permission. I projected my Domain immediately once I felt the alterations begin. In the blink of an eye we found ourselves standing in my throne room, at the base of the steps, staring up at my staff and the tree that represented it.

It looked…weird. The trunk was warping and bowing in odd ways, seemingly trying to tear itself open, and in the few places it succeeded I saw strange snapping mouths full of fangs. I was briefly concerned that vampirism had carried through the wine somehow, but between one moment and the next the mouths snapped shut, blinking back open as eyes that stared out around the room.

Seventy two eyes. I studied them intently, clearly picking out familiar irises, like the glowing green of Zagan and the black of Mephistopheles. I was briefly confused as to what was happening, but after thinking it through, I finally figured it out.

My soul. My Domain was part of me, as was the tree. As my soul weapon the tree grew as I grew, and that was how it had created Gehenna for me, but as I was changed by the tree so too must the tree have been changed by me. It had spent the last year or two internalizing my mythology, but moreso, internalizing the demons. Simulating their lives, living them. Becoming them.

All that growth was important. It was vital nutrients the plant had used to get stronger. Bethy's wine could help accelerate that growth, but it couldn't REPLACE it. The tree needed something to burn to fuel its growth, and what it had was the lives and experiences of seventy two powerful demons.

Azazel appeared at my side, looking tense. "My lord, I bid you welcome to your court. A small question, was this, perhaps, your doing?"

"Of course," I nodded confidently. "No need to worry, everything is fine."

"That's lovely," he said dryly. "But perhaps in the future it might behoove you to WARN us when you're planning multiple fundamental shifts in the foundation of the realm from which we draw our very existence?"

I paused. "Ok, so I would have done that…" I said slowly. "But I didn't think of it."

He chuckled. "I assumed as much. But it would be nice of you to remember that we are PEOPLE as well as demons. I realize this is your Domain, and I have no right to instruct you in its care, but it is also our home. We need no consideration beyond acknowledgement, my lord, and I hesitate-"

"No," I cut him off. "Don't hesitate. You're right. This involved you and I took that for granted. I needed to do this, but I could have spaced it out, let you in on things. Instead I just ran amok without letting you in the loop. I get so used to us acting as a single unit I forget that some measure of communication is necessary. It won't happen again."

He nodded, relieved. "Now, as you have no doubt surmised, the ten demons tree has begun a qualitative evolution. Beyond what would be represented by a rank up, I mean. It is becoming an entirely different tree. This is important because of exactly where the tree is ROOTED." He gestured at the writhing tree image, the roots of which squirmed deeper and deeper into…the ten demons TOME. My chronicle and the tree were deeply intertwined, hence their shared name.

My eyes widened. "Is that…will that be safe? I've never heard that Chronicles can do that."

"They can," Bethy chirped from nearby. I turned to find her sitting up on one of the stands, legs swinging in a carefree back and forth rhythm. "I mean, Chronicles are condensed from Solid Skills and Solid Skills can upgrade on a rank up, so why wouldn't a Chronicle. I mean I've never heard of it happening either, but it makes sense huh?"

Put that way it actually did. I mean, Path of the Demonbinder was intricately connected to my Chronicle and my ability, and it was going to rank up when I did. I was honestly kind of curious. I'd seen skills before and after rank up, and I'd FELT skills rank up, but I'd never SEEN it happen before. I wasn't sure anyone had, at least not in this specific way. I turned to stare at the changing tree. It would rank up, and change my Chronicle when it did. Obviously it wouldn't drag ME to A-rank, but I was fascinated to see what my ten demons tome would become, not to mention the staff itself.

A pulse rocked the room. I frowned up at the tree. That was…not ideal. Azazel noticed my face. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

"It's not enough," I grimaced. "It needs more. The tree is too far from A-rank, the wine didn't bridge the gap. It's been growing, but it's still a little short. The advancement is going to fail." And something was going to happen to my staff when it did. The tree COULD communicate with me. Had done so before. But not like this. This was sharp and urgent, very much not its style. It was afraid.

The only reason things weren't worse was because of the armor. I could feel it like a lodestone, anchoring the whole Domain with the sheer weight of its presence. This armor was a genuine A-ranked artifact and it was designed to hold this place together, which was taking a ton of pressure off the tree so it could work.

Closing my eyes, I ran through my options. I needed power. Immediately. Wine wouldn't work, it had started things off but it wouldn't carry us over. I needed something more substantial something weighty…something like stats.

I blinked up at the tree, sending it a question. The response was a jumble of enthusiasm and acceptance. I nodded. "Alright, I have a plan. It's been a few weeks since my last influx of stats, not to mention there was that whole big scene with me greeting the higher dimensional visitors in the middle of the war front. The tree needs to grow, which means it needs power, and the easiest way for me to get that is to process my stat points."

Benny nodded along. "Right, the mythology should act as nutrients right? I mean the thing is growing out of your Chronicle, which is a condensation of one of your abilities."

"That's the hope," I said wryly. "Not sure if it'll work but it's all we've got. Might as well give it a shot. Here's hoping it's enough to bridge the gap." I wasn't sure how many points I had coming. It hadn't been that long since my last update, and while I HAD done some impressive shit, I wasn't sure how well word had gotten out yet.

Either way, Benny was right. It was a viable plan. The tree had grown to this point on my mythology and used it to form Gehenna. So I closed my eyes and accepted the influx of stats.

I had never actually DONE this inside of my Domain before. Every time I processed stats I did it in a private out of the way place where I wouldn't be disturbed. As soon as I relaxed my soul, I felt the stats descend into me, washing over the domain. A foiling curtain of energy. Green, red, blue, gold, black, a myriad of shades each representing something different. I hadn't ever seen raw stats like this before. Not…physically? They didn't stick around, and honestly I couldn't tell if the colors were real or just my mind trying to process something unintelligible.

As each one hit, the tree shook, shedding the old leaves, and new ones grew in its place. Leaves of rainbow and shadow and fog. Seventy two branches of leaves, each one dedicated to a different demon. Some only had a single leaf, some had eight. But the leaves were all important, I could tell.

The ground shook as the power flooded in, and I felt it settle over me. It wasn't painful. It was a few million points, but it wasn't even thirty percent of the total. As it was absorbed by the tree, the flames and fog and all the forces represented roiled down through the roots and into my Chronicle, and the book…caught fire. I felt a flash of incredible force surge through me that drove me to my knees. Benny and Bethy caught me, helping me keep from falling over.

And then it was done, and I was looking at my stat screen. I ignored the majority of it, not needing to check on my demons, and focused specifically on my stats and the entries for my soul weapon.

Wishmaster status. B-rank. Ability: Legendary Wish- Ten times a day grant a Legendary 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.

Legendary Path of the Demonbinder- The Domain of a Great King.

Might-3,125,421

Impact-215

Fantasy-2,433,568

Vitality-2,221,871 ()

Focus-2,124,853

Perception-1,641,640

Creation-1,981,143

Progress to next rank:13,528,711/100,000,000

Soul strength- Obsidian Soul Body

Body Forging: Nine Phoenix Reincarnation Art- 17/81 drops- First Layer (Life Nova) 9/9, Second Layer ( Cosmic Phoenix) 8/9

Chronicle: Myriad Demons Manual (pages bound:13- 4 Zagan, 1 Leviathan, 8 Nine Phoenix Reincarnation Art)

wish scrolls stockpiled: 30 (5 in the possession of friends to be used over time)

Bonded companion: Archimedes (Life Nova Phoenix)

Weapon: Pillar of Goetia

The shuddering stopped, and I felt a flood of Impact pour through the tree and into the Domain, strengthening it further in a way I'd only experienced one other time. Apparently the shared connection meant that the tree's rank up enhanced my Domain the same way mine did. I thought back to the Dryad homeworld, where I'd first found it, and the prediction that it could carry me to godhood. It was looking more likely by the day.

I checked my stats, happy to see the enhancement was decent. I wasn't even close to the end of B-rank, obviously, but a few million regularly dropping in was going to make the process faster than I had hoped. Sure enough, becoming the Wishmaster had its perks.

"Thirteen million points," murmured Azazel when I told him about my status. "What an auspicious number. What are the effects on your Chronicle?"

"Unknown," I admitted. "It feels…different. Not sure how different. My pages are intact and it's a stable core for this place again. The armor and the tree are working in perfect sync now, with only my lower rank dragging them down. Combined with the enhancement from its rank up, this place can support far more power being utilized in realspace. Not to mention it'll be MUCH less vulnerable during projection. I don't think anything short of an S-ranker is going to damage it the way Roland did."

Combined with all my recent training, my combat style was going to be just as flexible and even more precise. I wouldn't need to hamstring myself in fights like so many others did for fear of soul injury.

Finally, it was time for the last step. I reached out a hand and called to my staff. I thumped solidly into my palm, almost vibrating with power. Life and strength flooded into my from where I gripped it, and I could see seventy two sigils twisting themselves along the wood as I watched the grain. Like an optical illusion, there one moment, gone the next.

With a grin, I allowed my Domain to recede, and I was standing in the winery with Benny, Bethy, and Azazel. "I can't wait to find out what I can do now," I said with an eager smile. "And I know just how to do it, too. What better way to assess progress than a test. Put the word out. Tomorrow night, we enter the Legacy Trial. I want to see what kind of assessment that old Overgod left in his house." Because I didn't believe anything my level could stop me now.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

We stood at the base of the tower, staring up the building, and I was kind of blown away. I wasn't the only one either. "Ok…so I've seen some ridiculous places. Castles, sky cities, palaces. But this…this is nuts. I bet this building wouldn't even be STANDING if we weren't in space. Also, how is there grass here? I'm guessing the plains around this place have some kind of life support domain or something? It's fascinating," Benny gushed as he examined the colossal tower.

Which was fair, because holy shit was it big. It was so big that standing in front of it, I couldn't see the edges if I looked in either direction. I chuckled at my friend's enthusiasm. "Alright, everyone remembers the plan?" I asked as I looked around to check with my companions. Dayna's brother Marius, Ellie, Fade, Alanna, Rosaline from Mourne Kayze, Crell, and any number of new faces from nearby forces that were allied with us were all grouped up around me. The C-rankers, including most of my cabinet and friends, were all standing not far away, orbiting my wife as we all prepared for entry.

"We know," Callie said reassuringly. "Don't worry, Bethy and I will keep an eye on them. Just stay safe until we can meet back up, ok?"

Through a variety of very specific wishes, the WCP had confirmed a few VERY basic facts about the tower. It had taken them quite some time, because apparently the place was mostly shielded, but my grandfather had contacted the Judgement Pope for advice, and with a little karmic bullshit, they'd found a workaround with the wishes that got them SOME info.

Firstly, the trials would separate not just by combat and support but by rank, as expected, but the different ranks would end up in the same place, simply in different areas. We WOULD be able to reunite after accomplishing some tasks, though what tasks exactly were unclear.

"Alright," I said slowly. "Keep your wits about you. These trials aren't lethal, if you can't handle it, just leave. The Legacy might be important, but it's not worth your life. No matter WHAT your god might have told you." I raised an eyebrow at my cabinet members. "Which goes double for you. I know the old man met with all of you to reiterate how important this is. Ignore him. If you can't make it through, give up. You dying in the test isn't a gain for us in any way."

They nodded solemnly, and I turned towards the door nearest me. It was a large empty archway full of black so deep it looked like mud. "See you on the other side," I muttered, then stepped forward into the darkness.

The first thing I felt when I entered the tower was cold. The second thing was heat. The third thing was spiders, and I MIGHT have screamed a little, but they went away in a few seconds and I was left standing alone in the center of a huge lavish room. I looked around, trying to find some sign of my next steps, and I found a man sitting at a small table nearby.

I HAD been alone, and now I wasn't, so I was understandably suspicious. I approached the man, and he looked up, his eyes metallic orbs with no iris or pupil. "Greetings applicant," he said in a neutral tone. "State your specialty."

"Combat," I said after a moment.

He nodded, writing down my name, age, and a bunch of other information I definitely hadn't given him on the paper in front of him. "The test will begin in ten minutes. Should you require food or beverage please imbibe immediately."

I blinked, expecting more information. Apparently it wasn't to be, because the man just went silent, staring ahead blankly like I wasn't there. I waited for further instructions, but none were forthcoming. Finally, after ten minutes, a door opened behind the man and I stepped through into a large empty chamber.

Across from me, a single figure stood. It looked like…well, a clock. But in the shape of a person. Gears and machinery was densely packed together inside of a clear glass shell, with the only deviation being the clock face in place of an actual expression. It wore a loose fitting pair of pants and stood completely still as if waiting.

When I stepped forward, it mirrored the motion, and when I stopped it did the same. I considered destroying it with my Domain or incarnations, but honestly…I wanted to see what I could do now. I called my staff to my hand, whirling it around my body in a figure eight.

Stepping forward, I waited for the clock golem to approach. It did so, and when it got close enough, it lunged for me. Even without my demons, I still had access to my passively accumulated skills. Danger Sense and Azazel warned me of an attack, and I effortlessly stepped under a swipe and slammed the staff into the back of its knees, dumping it to the floor. A quick smash into the face plate saw the automaton go still, and I grinned, cracking my neck. "Easy," I bragged aloud.

My smug grin lasted about ten seconds. Because after I finished saying it, the body of the robot vanished, replaced by…ten more robots. I raised an eyebrow at them, noting a slight difference in these ten, or at least eight of them. Aside from the normal robots, there were five that were wearing a robe and a pointy hat, and three that had helmets and swords.

"Ah," I said slowly. "That…makes sense, yeah."

The robots surged forward. Or five of them did. The caster-bots fell back and started gesturing at me dramatically, throwing huge blasts of fire across the chamber. Meanwhile, the two normal bots hurled themselves at me and tried to hang off my body while the three warriors encircled me, drawing their swords.

Snorting, I triggered Double Trouble, appearing behind one of the mages, and spun to smash my staff into the back of its head. My Pillar of Goetia was A-rank now, and the butt cap smashed clean through the head just as easily as it had the last one. The head burst, exploding outward and scattering broken clock face and gears across the chamber in a shower, but I was already moving. A burst of flames and I was at the next one, Mephisto's Waltz moving me to my target instantly.

To my shock, when I arrived, I was intercepted directly by the two blank faced robots, both of which were now wearing fucking MASKS and twirling staves suspiciously similar to my own. Their attacks pincered me, forcing me to deflect them in quick succession with either side of my weapon, and my Danger Sense blared as I did, causing me to trigger Double Trouble a second time, using the reflection of the furthest mage in the reflective glass of the one I had attacked to appear further away.

"Oh hey, you learn," I said acidly to no one in particular. "That's fan-fucking-tastic. Fine. You two are first." I called on Sammael, my wings unfurling as I blurred forward into another waltz, disarming the two staff wielders and smashing them apart like cheap toys, though I was forced to waltz away to avoid the barrage of fireballs from the casters.

I started to relax as I landed, but my Danger Sense blared out a warning and I waltzed again, appearing ten feet ahead as a trio of razor sharp blades sang through the air where I'd been standing. The three warrior robots streaked towards me like a bronze wind, and I grimaced as I triggered Mephistopheles. The waltz was a subskill under Mephistopheles himself, and he would enhance the speed, especially combined with Sammael, whose power already did that.

Roaring in outrage, I blurred towards the sworsmen, my staff whirling. I danced between them, leveraging the blows away from me and deflecting all their attacks as precisely as possible. I remained in motion, using them to block the fire blasts, and the mages actually took one of them out by accident. Taking advantage of the gap, I rushed the next closest, but had to dodge away to avoid the rain of fireballs from the mages, who seemed to be learning my damned patterns.

Growling in annoyance, I incarnated my fourth demon (still doing fine with the strain), Limbo. All around me, I caught glimpses of possible futures, attacks the mages could make, formations the warriors could take. I started lashing out at high speed, destroying them to narrow down the possibilities.

My staff flowed through the motions, deflecting blades as I slid between fireblasts. I couldn't react fast enough to destroy every harmful timeline, but I was able to avoid the last few well enough not to get tagged more than once or twice by the fireballs. Soon enough, I had completely destroyed each and every one of the robots, and I was watching for the next batch. Nothing happened for a moment, then a calm, clear voice announced "Congratulations, you've completed the Frozen Moment Academy outer student trial. Would you like to proceed to the academy, or continue with the assessment?"

I blinked up at the ceiling. "I…passed?"

"Congratulations," repeated the voice. "You've completed the Frozen Moment Academy outer student trial. Would you like to proceed to the academy, or continue with the assessment?"

That was annoying. It could only say that one thing? Wait, no I had asked it to confirm I had passed. Maybe it said other stuff. "What do I get for continuing?" I asked suspiciously.

"If you complete the next trial," the voice informed stoically. "Your outer student status will be upgraded to the inner school, and you will be granted one credit point! Would you like to proceed to the academy, or continue with the assessment?"

I continued asking questions, trying to gauge more about the school, the credit situation, what exactly those points could do, what was the NEXT level of the assessment, etc. Unfortunately, while the current level was apparently one of the preprogrammed responses, none of the rest of it was, and every single question past that was met with "Would you like to proceed to the academy, or continue with the assessment?"

Finally, I decided to move on. I could have just advanced, but since I didn't know what credit points did, it seemed stupid to give up on getting one. My only question was how many would I have to fight next round. It could be twenty, or even nineteen, if it increased by nine every time, or it could be thirty if it increased the same way Impact did. Of course, there was another possibility, but I was trying hard not to think about it too much.

Whatever the case, I decided to rest up a bit before I started. The voice hadn't mentioned a timer, and when it didn't react to me sitting down and taking a drink, I decided that this was a hidden benefit of the trial. I could rest between each round, which would definitely be helpful if I kept at it.

Finally, I stood and called. "I'd like to continue with the assessment."

There was no confirmation, I just felt a slight shift in the air behind me. I turned to look at the robots who had appeared…and paled. Of all the potential configurations of enemies for the next round, this had been the most likely, and also the one I LEAST wanted to see. The trial didn't ADD ten enemies. It MULTIPLIED the enemy count by ten. I stared across the room at the one hundred robots of various types and took a long, slow breath.

I spun my staff up, then called several of my demons out of my Domain to physical form beside me. "Alright boys," I said coldly. "Why don't you help me even up the score a little?" And then the battle was on.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I groaned and slumped to my knees, my whole body felt like a bruise. Around me, my demons all knelt in various states of exhaustion, dozens of them out and helping as I muscled my way through two more trials. The hundred robot trial had been rough until I got the hang of it, and the thousand trial had been only marginally easier after we developed strategies for each of the robot types.

The TEN thousand robot trial had been borderline impossible. I had almost quit a dozen times. The only reason I'd made it at all was by incarnating Zagan and leveraging my staff and Chronicle upgrades to literally COVER my people with Vitality fire, amplified by my triple Vitality and phoenix template. It took hours. At the end of it, that same voice repeated its infuriating message with only a slight alteration. "Congratulations," it said smoothly. "You've completed the Frozen Moment Academy intermediate student trial. You have been awarded one hundred credit points. Would you like to proceed to the academy, or continue with the assessment?"

I didn't want to continue. I was positive I couldn't complete it if I did, but a part of me couldn't resist hearing the details. "What's the next level?"

"The next level of the assessment is the advanced student trial, victory awards one thousand credit points, as well as guaranteed enrollment in the major of your choice." It might have been my imagination, but that had sounded more…well, just more than the previous responses. More inflection. More understanding.

I decided to push it. "What are majors?"

"The Frozen Moment Academy possesses a variety of powerful legacies and schools of development. Each school of development is a complete system for advancement, and a major must be chosen to access related sublegacies." Yeah. That hadn't been a stock answer. I sat down to rest. It wasn't rushing me, and I had more questions. Apparently my identity as an intermediate student entitled me to some real responses. Yay.

"What are the majors," I asked. "How do you register for one? And how were they developed?"

The voice responded casually. "Each major was presided over by a Dean at the Overgod rank. There are twelve majors, each a complete system of advancement, and requirements for each major vary."

I was blown away. That was…a lot. Overgods weren't the peak of the food chain, but they were definitely important. Twelve Overgods joining together for the purpose of creating the academy was pretty impressive. "What about The Hourglass Bodach? Was he one of the Deans? What major was he in charge of?"

"Samuel P. Gibbons, also known as The Hourglass Bodach, founder of the Frozen Moment Academy, head of the department of temporal studies." I admit I was a little excited. "What are the other majors?"

There was a slight pause. "Insufficient access."

That made me frown. "What? Why am I allowed to know about the department of temporal studies but not the others? Wait. Are there any other departments I'm allowed to hear about?"

"Department of applied biology, Dean: Theodora Newman, also known as the Sister of the World Tree. Department of spatial anomalies, Dean: Simon Desmond, also known as the Worldwalker." The voice responded immediately, but then fell silent.

It took me a second to put it all together. Space and Life. My bloodlines. As for time…Limbo? Apparently the requirements for that major were less strict. Or maybe just so rare they took what they could get. I was pretty sure I got the gist of it though. "Those are departments I already qualify to join, aren't they?"

I couldn't help but grimace even before the voice confirmed. That meant I could theoretically have earned my way into some other department if I had focused harder on those abilities. But sadly the only way to change that would be to do another trial, and I knew I couldn't possibly win against a hundred thousand robots. Ten thousand had taken everything I had. No wonder they just directly gave access to all the majors to advanced students.

"Correct. Would you like to proceed to the academy, or continue with the assessment?" There wasn't any of the earlier life or inflection in the question. This part was just rote programming.

"How do the majors work?" I asked, trying to get it back into question and answer mode. "Like who teaches the classes? Are there classes? How do I earn more credits? How do I spend my credits?"

There was a slight pause. "Credit points can be earned by attending classes, undertaking practical projects pertaining to your major, or accomplishing tasks for the faculty related to the expansion or upkeep of the academy. Credit points may only be spent on general studies requirements or major related materials, techniques, or enhancements."

"And the teachers?' I asked again. "Who teaches the classes? Are the Deans still around?"

I was betting they weren't. If there were whole Overgods in here the place most likely wouldn't have been sealed in the Chasm to begin with. But I knew of at least one way that portions of their attention could have been allowed to remain, and I was betting-

"Classes and discipline are overseen by divine fragments of the staff," the voice responded.

There it was. Divine fragments. This place was similar to Atlas's graveyard. I was betting the fragments were a lot more comfortable and functional, especially the Overgod fragments, but still, it explained a lot about the way it operated. I considered what I was supposed to do from here. I had one option, in terms of my next move. Enter the academy. But when I DID that I was going to have to make a choice, most likely. I had to pick a major.

I asked the voice more questions, trying to weasel out more information about the various majors, but I hit a wall. It wouldn't tell me about the others, and wouldn't tell me more about the three I qualified for. Space. Time. Life. Those were my options.

It was a hard call. Life was the safe choice, given my Nine Phoenix Art. I was sure I could learn a ton and get a lot of powerful materials. Probably a lot of phoenix related ones that would enhance my ability to grow. The Cosmic Phoenix ember had allowed me to tap into a primordial power, but it had also taken MONTHS compared to the weeks Life Nova had taken. Doubling down on life related templates would presumably help me advance faster.

On the other hand, Space would almost definitely help me improve my Domain in both size and application. It would also help me help Callie, and was most likely where my wife was going to end up, even if I suspected the majors were subdivided by rank.

But the last one…Time. Time was a biggie. I couldn't learn about that anywhere else. Limbo was one of my most dangerous techniques, and the Dean of that major was the original founder of the tower. I could learn more about this place from him, not to mention it would enable me to improve in ways I couldn't get anywhere else. Which…kind of answered the question for itself, didn't it?

"I want to enter the academy," I finally said.

"Confirmed," the voice acknowledged. Please choose your course of study. Options: Department of temporal studies, Department of applied biology, Department of spatial anomalies."

I took a deep breath. Time to take a risk. "Department of temporal studies."

"Confirmed," it said again. "Welcome, Intermediate Student Shane Wyndham, to the Frozen Moment Academy. Generating student identification. Credit point balance: 100. Course of study: Department of temporal studies. Student identification number: 5510.5H. Four thousand nine hundred and fifty eighth academy intake ranking: 32. A student advisor will be assigned based on your rank and privileges. Please wait for the inner door to open fully before passing through."

I stepped back, turning to my demons. "Alright, everyone ok? I'm sending you all back into my Domain before I enter, just in case. But if anyone is hurt I can patch them up with Zagan while I'm still incarnating him."

Azazel popped up, eyes almost fanatically wide. "No one is hurt, you can go!"

I raised a brow at him. "I take it you approve of my choice of major?" I said wryly. "Hoping to pick up some tricks?"

"I'm hoping to pick up ALL the tricks," he grinned. "I'm going to receive training from a TIME GOD. Or you are. But that's close enough. I'm going to have so much fun with this. I should check with Limbo and try to come up with a game plan once we know more about the situation."

I chuckled at the enthusiasm, but was distracted by a slight hiss. I turned to find the door opening, the gap slowly expanding as it revealed more and more of what was on the other side. I frowned, trying to figure out what was happening. I knew I'd been in some kind of temporal stasis before, just like everyone else who entered the tower, but I wasn't sure exactly how it worked.

In fact, the name of the academy made me wonder if we had been unfrozen at all. Was it possible the whole tower was taking place inside one collective shared moment of frozen time? Or was it just a name? I didn't understand enough about time to know how any of this worked, so I supposed I'd have to wait and see.

Turning, I stared through the door and into the tower. On the other side of the slowly widening portal I could see…well, a world. I should have assumed, they had a spatial god on the faculty and the tower was already huge. If there was a forest in the lodge why not a world in the tower?

It was gorgeous, too. A sunny blue sky hanging over an endless plain of rolling green hills. Off in the distance, on top of a towering mountain, a brilliant white castle with blue turrets pierced the clouds like the upthrust blade of an inspiring titan. I had the urge to head for it immediately, but the voice had warned me not to go through the door until it finished opening. I didn't know what kind of time warping was going on, but I'd be an idiot to jump through a spatial portal after being warned not to.

Pulling the demons back inside, I prepared to set off. Except I didn't end up needing to. At least not how I'd thought. As the door approached being fully open, the view of the portal began to shift, it drifted closer to the castle, then sped up, then the sights in front of me blurred as it flashed across the countryside. It was dizzying, and more than that, it revealed exactly how far away I'd been. No wonder the voice said to wait, based on the speed of movement, I had MASSIVELY underestimated even my grandiose estimates of the size of that mountain and the castle on top of it.

Finally, the door shot through a window, letting out inside an upper floor of the castle, where a whole city appeared to be sitting inside a huge chamber. I waited for it to stop, and then confirmed the door was fully open before stepping through.

When I arrived on the other side, I looked for anyone else. I wasn't sure where everyone was, and for a moment I thought I was alone, but eventually I found one other person. Someone from the crew of B-rankers that had come with the Bloodraven, a tall aqua haired girl with lavender eyes and pointed ears. She spotted me and lit up with enthusiasm. "Oh! Another student from my major. You're that Wishmaster, right? The leader from the lower realm faction?"

"Solomon," I said bluntly. "Nice to meet you."

She bowed formally. "Sorwen, at your service. I doubt we're the only ones in this major, but perhaps the others have already gone ahead. I'm not sure where we're supposed to go, are you?" As soon as she finished speaking, the road beneath us lit up, a small section of cobblestones forming a subpath that led off into the city below. "Oh, I suppose that answers that then." She said cheerfully. "Shall we?" I nodded, and we headed down the cobbled hill towards the city, and towards answers to questions I had never even imagined.

 

[Vongrak]

We've hit the school arc! I have no idea what that's going to mean or if it's going to be an extra arc but I really want to see what Bethy gets up to.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I stuck close to Sorwen as we headed into the city. I didn't know her, but I knew everyone else even LESS. Of the few dozen people I could see, only she was a member of the forces I'd already observed up to this point. The others were most likely selected from among the nine thousand plus applicants who had been frozen in the rooms of the tower we'd observed from outside, though I admit none of them looked especially strange or alien to me.

"So, what was your trick?" I asked her as we walked. "Or what is your ability? Whatever gave you the opportunity to enter this major?"

Based on my experience, I assumed you needed some kind of time related power. It was strange, because I had created mine easily enough, so it was curious more people didn't do the same. Then again, techniques had always come easy to me, so maybe time powers were too difficult for most people. My ability to create the Great Book Heavenly Library alone outstripped the technique abilities shown by most people I'd met.

She raised an eyebrow at me suspiciously, but eventually shrugged. "I have kind of a precognition power. I can predict attacks before they happen. Plus I got to intermediate. That was a pain."

"Me too," I said with a chuckle. "It's possible that having a time related ability might not be enough. Maybe you have to reach at least intermediate to qualify. Still, it doesn't seem like many people made the cut. There were, based on the windows outside, nearly ten thousand applicants, and I only see maybe thirty people nearby."

She nodded. "Yeah, seems slim. A third of a percent isn't much. Although clearly we're not the only group. These are all B-rankers."

"Yeah, the majors are subdivided," I confirmed. "At least as far as I saw. But I'm not sure there'll be as many C-rankers if you need to hit intermediate to qualify. I can't imagine many people that rank being able to take on ten thousand robots."

Even if the robots themselves were C-rank, it was unlikely. Most C-rankers didn't have a Domain like I did. Without Gehenna's particular brand of bullshit, I was doubting I would be capable of taking on an army that size. Then again, that was the combat assessment. Who knew what the support assessment would be like. Not to mention I had no idea if the supporters even had the same majors as us. Were there twelve others? Were six of the twelve support? Three? Honestly I was blown away by the scale of this whole place.

Which wasn't helped by arriving at a massive amphitheater that everyone seemed to be guided towards. The lighted cobblestones led us right to the door, and a quick glance at Sorwen to confirm saw us entering cautiously, ready for some kind of trap.

Of course, there was no trap. They didn't need to trap us if they wanted us dead. We were entirely at the mercy of the faculty of this place, assuming what the voice had said was true. Outside the chasm, without the suppression of the vortex, I doubted anyone here could stand up to even a fragment of a god.

When we entered the amphitheater, I was surprised to find that the intimidating show of force I had expected was nowhere to be seen. Based on the city outside and the fancy stone path, I had expected some grand opera hall or something where someone would lord their power over us. To my surprise, the inside of the theater was almost cozy. Plush red carpet, comfortable built in seating, and a relatively short stage with thick curtains around it that made it feel more confined, but in a comfortable, homey way.

Sorwen and I headed down the gently sloping aisle to grab seats near the stage and sat down to wait as everyone else filed in and found chairs. Eventually, when all the movement had stopped, the dark stage lit up. A single beam of brilliant light illuminated the form of a calm, reassuring man with salt and pepper hair sitting on a tall stool.

He smiled blandly at us. "Welcome, children of time," he boomed. His voice was deep and resonant, but also cold. That declaration should have sounded cocky or condescending, but he mostly just came off like an executioner reading off our death order. "My name is Samuel P. Gibbons. My official title outside these walls is "The Hourglass Bodach", but in Frozen Moment, we don't much hold with fancy designations. We prefer to base our internal reputations on skill and intellect. You may simply call me Dean Gibbons."

His eyes were an intense swirling silver, shot with flecks of obsidian that danced around his pupils like leaves in a storm. They scanned the amphitheater slowly as he spoke, taking in every detail of his audience. "You have all been invited to attend classes under my department, and while that is an honor, it is also a privilege. The department of temporal studies is the most select and exclusive major at Frozen Moment Academy. You can learn things studying here that you can't learn anywhere else. Each of you are elites among this group of applicants, and you have earned a place here through luck and skill…but that place is not a right.

"You can and will lose your access to this major should I believe you are not worthy of my consideration. Do not allow yourselves to fall behind, or you will be ejected from this major." His eyes narrowed coldly, the approachable demeanor being shrugged off like a cloak, showing just a flash of something darker beneath, like the shadow of a monster swimming beneath a ship on calm waters. "Should that happen, you may be allowed to select a new course of study, or you may be expelled. Circumstances will dictate. Now. I will be accepting three questions."

One of the seated students raised a hand, Dean Gibbons gestured to him calmly. "Yes, hello, Dellos Veck, I was wondering if you'll be teaching any of the classes personally? I heard there were instructors that did most of the hands on stuff."

"A good question," the Dean nodded. "No, I will not be personally instructing you for the majority of your courses. There are some advanced classes and lectures I conduct myself, but those cost credit points rather than awarding them. Similarly, you can spend credit points directly to arrange a sit down meeting with me. This is a one time opportunity granted to new arrivals, and will only be available for the first month. It will cost one hundred credit points, and will last one hour. I make no promises about the effectiveness or contents of these meetings, I only offer them as they are. Whether to avail yourself of this service is your own decision."

Another hand went up and he gestured to a smaller girl with hair that looked like actual seaweed. "Alverra Delnock," she said, announcing her name like the last one had. "Can credit points be traded directly between students? Is there some kind of marketplace where we can sell things for credits? Can students post missions like the ones mentioned in the assessment, or is it only teachers who have that ability?"

Dean Gibbons narrowed his eyes and her mouth snapped shut instantly. Sighing, he leaned back. "That was more than one question, but they were thematically similar, so I shall allow it just this once. Don't do it again. Credit points are awarded for completing courses, winning competitions, attending lectures, or accomplishing tasks set by the faculty. Tasks CAN be set by students, but credit points will be required to post them, and task payments must be covered by the poster in addition to payment for the service.

"Credit points can be SPENT on advanced courses and lectures, material goods, special events and competitions, and the entry to special environments and beneficial locations that can aid in comprehension and advancement." his expression softened back to the approachable mentor. "So no, I'm afraid there's no direct trading of credits, though you CAN use the task postings as a point of sale if you can get enough credits in exchange for whatever you're selling to offset the service fee. One more question, and then we move on. You." He pointed at Sorwen, who had raised her hand without me noticing.

"Sorwen Ard," she said cheerfully. "Will our residences cost credit points?"

He grinned at her. "There was an implied secondary question in there, but since you didn't technically break my rule I'll answer both. No, they will not. You will be given residences as befits your status as intermediate students. There are three residence halls. Once for B-rankers, one for C-rankers, and one for A-rankers. Due to the academy's focus on mythcrafting, those who have completed their Chronicle and reached S-rank need not apply."

I frowned at that term, wanting to raise my hand to ask what mythcrafting was. It clearly had something to do with authoring pages, but it wasn't a term I'd heard before from any of my family. The idea that I might be learning something GODS didn't know was somewhat intoxicating, so I could only wait for someone to explain it to me.

"Now, with that out of the way, we can move onto the information you'll need to make best use of your time here," he gestured out the door. "This is Moment City. It is the residence hall allocated to B-rankers of this major. Moment City is NOT unoccupied, and should you anger the residents, we will not be responsible for what happens to you. Learn more about this place on your own time.

"Should you wish to associated with other majors, you can purchase transportation to Common City, a shared space accessible to all majors." his voice was casual as he filled us in. "As intermediate students, you are only eligible for two days of common time per week, regardless of credit points. Beginner students have one day. Outer students and below measure their common time in HOURS."

He looked around the room. "At any time, any student may apply for the advancement trial to advanced student. Should you succeed, you will be granted an audience with me directly, free of charge. The one hour limitation will still apply.

"That should be almost everything you need. Your identification numbers can be used to look up your residence in the city in the book behind me on the stage." he gestured behind him into the dark. "There will be an introductory course offered as a one time benefit for newcomers later tonight in this amphitheater. It rewards no credits. I highly suggest you attend. Welcome to the department of temporal studies. Good luck." The light went out, thensmaller lamps illuminated the whole theater, revealing Dean Gibbons was gone.

"Well, that was dramatic," Sorwen said brightly. "I have to admit, this place isn't what I thought it would be. I was expecting challenges and death battles, not classes and worksheets."

I snorted. "This is an ascendant academy. There will be challenges and death battles. I'm more interested in what he said about mythcrafting. I've never heard that term before. Do you know what it is? I take it that's something to do with authoring a chronicle."

Sorwen raised an eyebrow at me. "I knew your plane was underdeveloped in some respects, but that's just absurd. Yes. Mythcrafting has to do with-" she stopped, looking around warily. "Look, let's go find out where our residences are and we can talk while we walk. Maybe they'll be close together, and if not we can find a park or something, this won't be a quick conversation."

She stood and headed up to the stage and I followed after her. I didn't mind her taking the lead, she clearly knew more about what was going on than me. Still, I reached out through the bond to check on Callie as I walked, happy to receive a warm pulse of reassurance from my wife. Knowing she was ok and presumably hadn't seen any evidence of the others having trouble, I sped up my walk towards the book. I had a feeling this conversation would be an important one.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Sorwen and I were not staying close together, so we decided to stop at a local park to have our conversation after getting our room assignments. I was almost vibrating with the need to ask question, but I knew that seeming too eager was likely to backfire. Sorwen didn't know me, and if she thought she had leverage she could decide to use it. So I just forced myself to look relaxed as we walked together.

Finally, we arrived at the park and I sat down on the edge of a fountain, glancing at the higher dimensional woman without saying anything until she took a seat herself and shot me an amused smile. "So, you have questions."

Apparently my attempts to play it cool weren't going to work, but I decided it didn't matter at this point. I got straight to the heart of the matter. "Mythcrafting," I said simply. "Dean Gibbons said the school is based on it. I've never heard the term before. Is it something we don't have access to here?"

She shook her head. "No, you have it. You have to. It's an integral part of the Ascension process. It's just hard to…how to explain this? It's like someone asking you what air is. You can TELL them it's an invisible substance that sustains the body, but without knowing how it works they won't really understand. Mythcrafting is something everyone learns, though how much you understand varies. I suppose it's easier to start at the beginning. Or maybe the end. Do you know what Worldforce is?"

"I do," I nodded. "It's the substance gods use to fill their realms. It can be infused into divine artifacts and gives them their power."

"That's…technically accurate," she allowed. "But it's not really relevant to the question. I asked if you know what it IS, not what it does. Based on your response, I suspect you do not. But it is important in this case. You know what Mythology is, of course."

"Obviously," I nodded. "It's the force that composes stats. The finer and more detailed power that makes up everything about an Ascendant."

She beamed. "Much more accurate, yes. This is important because the path of Worldforce begins with Mythology. Or rather with stats. As you know, from the very beginning of an Ascendant's journey, they need to learn to use stats. That's what skills are. You can combine them and reshape them but you need the stats to make them work. At higher levels you learn to more delicately craft skills, rearranging stats to form complex mechanisms."

I nodded, because that was all obvious, and she continued. "But you probably noticed that the higher you climb, the less useful skills actually are. Techniques become the bread and butter of higher level Ascendants, and the mechanism for utilizing those is very different."

"It's more intuitive," I acknowledged. "Emotions and imagery are important to techniques, as opposed to delicate structural engineering."

"That is incorrect," she denied. "It is more accurate to say that you aren't CAPABLE of delicate structural engineering. The creation of techniques is the manipulation of Mythology in its purest form. Or, in the common parlance of the higher planes: Mythcrafting."

I frowned at that. "That's…wait, that doesn't make sense. I do that already, and I do it all the time. I mean, sure it's useful, but my ancestor based his whole empire on a skill, so it's not like mythology is just qualitatively better. Learning to make better techniques would be great, but I don't see how it's like…linear. They're just different approaches."

"They aren't," she assured me. "And I can tell you that for sure. Do you remember where I started this explanation?"

"Worldforce," I said immediately. "How are they related?"

She grinned at me. "Qualitatively. See, the process of Ascension isn't just random and pointless. It's delicate and complicated, but at the end of the day, it's an evolution. It's a growth mechanism. Start with an ability to get you used to stats, introduce skills that let you alter said ability, learn to condense and refine those skills moving into Paths, and then step from those Paths into techniques.

"Stats are the largest and most cumbersome delineation of force for an Ascendant," she lectured. "Mythology makes up those stats, so learning to manipulate stats is learning to manipulate mythology. Eventually, the training wheels come off, and you learn to make techniques using mythology in a more basic form, and THAT transitions into authoring pages in a Chronicle, which teaches you how to more delicately craft with Mythology by letting you rewrite pieces of your own legend. Something you can FEEL on a visceral level."

That made sense. It was a lot more cohesive than it had felt when I was DOING it, but I hadn't exactly taken the traditional road to get here. "And Worldforce?"

"Worldforce is the next step," she clarified. "Mythology is created by the thoughts and opinions of others. You can weave it together however you like, but techniques are still heavily informed by recursion. Contrary to the way it sounds, Worldforce isn't spatial. Not inherently. Worldforce is a unique force that you create from different mythologies. A special crafted energy that belongs only to you. Mythology is the legend of a person. Worldforce is the legend of a WORLD."

I frowned at that. "Wait…so it's just like…a technique but stronger?"

"Worldforce is…you could consider it a template," she clarified. "Once you form your Worldforce, which can be done at Demigod, recursion ceases to be an issue. All the renown that pours into you homogenizes with your Worldforce and becomes a part of the story YOU want to tell. It seeps into your realm, watering it and helping it grow. In order to MAKE Worldforce, however, Mythcrafting is essential."

"So all the gods have to be doing it?" I asked angrily. "And they just never mentioned it?"

She shrugged. "They're probably doing it the same way you are. Instinctively. You'll notice that there are far FEWER gods than there used to be in this plane? Less than a dozen over the span of millennia is a vanishingly small amount. That's easily explained if there's just a much higher talent requirement to get there."

But that didn't explain how Atlas hadn't mentioned it. I was sure he had to know, being from a time when there were so many gods. Why hadn't he…and then it hit me. Because he thought we already KNEW. These gods and overgods were talking about Mythcrafting like it was some basic knowledge everyone had. Atlas had seen me use complicated forms and techniques. He probably just assumed I knew what I was doing. It was like Sorwen's oxygen metaphor earlier. There was no reason to just start telling someone how to breathe when you could see them inhaling right in front of you.

"Alright," I said slowly, wrapping my head around all this. "So…Mythcrafting is about techniques." That meant my talent was Mythcrafting. Had always been Mythcrafting. It was kind of frustrating to think about, but at least I had some idea what I'd been doing now. Hell, knowing THIS might be enough of a leg up for the WCP from the whole damned legacy. Not to mention learning how to do it. "How does this work then? Because techniques are like…easy? Anyone can do a technique for anything, right?"

She snorted. "Spoken like a natural. No. Techniques can't just "do anything". Mythcrafting works on Mythology. Mythology has certain attributes. I'm sure you've noticed that all your techniques have some kind of BASIS. You make them from skills, abilities, things you can observe. In order to create a technique, you need a combination of attributes that fit the effect.

"Of course, not all types of mythology work well together," she clarified. "That depends on the myths that make it up. Certain stories are more deeply entrenched in certain cultures, and the mythology of those attributes takes to certain forms more smoothly. Fire is often associated with rebirth across multiple planes, and that makes things like phoenixes a good element to tie together flame and healing attributes. You can fudge it a little by creating your own story, of course, the more detailed it is the more compelling to the attributes involved, but ultimately, some combinations are just more effective. That's what Mythcrafting is all about."

I blinked at that. "That's why we got the invite to this major," I said with dawning realization. "People need certain kinds of Mythology to Mythcraft certain things. We have time attributes in our skills, which means we have access to time related techniques and, eventually, time related Worldforce."

"That's overstating it a bit," she warned. "We have the POTENTIAL for time related Worldforce. But it's a rare attribute, yes. Time related skills are uncommon. Collecting attributes is hard to steer or control. They're based on your Mythology, which tends to take on a mind of its own, so unless you're born with a time related ability, getting the attribute introduced into your stats is exceptionally difficult. Speaking of, where did yours come from, if you don't mind me asking. Your ability is complicated, but I don't think it has an inherent time attribute to it."

I didn't have any idea, not at first, but then I realized what it had been with a start and I couldn't help but start laughing. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Diviner," I chuckled. "I have a skill that lets me access powers from a videogame I grew up playing. My class was Fatewalker. It's a hybrid of Monk, Rogue, and Diviner. One of the first Diviner abilities I got was an attack prediction overlay."

It had been the earliest subskill DS Mastery had granted me, and one of my most useful in the early levels, but it had sort of fallen by the wayside. I'd gotten others, of course, and much more powerful ones, but something about knowing that my overlay had brought me here, had unlocked this path for me…it made me smile. Like a part of that old power was still with me, even after all this time.

I made a mental note to track down the demon for the Overlay and talk to him about all this. I was betting that his involvement with this whole thing would be deeper going forward than any of us would have expected. He was only tier 4, which meant reincarnation would be easier. I couldn't help but wonder if the fate adjacent demon had picked up something important without noticing it.

Sorwen was grinning too. "Video games," she said in exasperation. "I don't know whether to be horrified or impressed. Remind me to introduce you to my brother Winston. You would get along."

I laughed at that, but my face quickly smoothed into seriousness. "Not that I don't appreciate the help, and this has taught me a lot, but…why are you helping me?"

"This is going to be a complicated and difficult journey," she admitted. "Having a friendly face around to help can't hurt anything. Besides, your sister-in-law is an old friend of my ancestor. Us local factions need to stick together if we want to make it through this."

I stared into her eyes for a moment, trying to see any deception, but Scent of Truth caught nothing. She actually meant that. I laughed and held out a hand for her to shake. "Alright then, guess we can look out for each other while we're here. You know my name already, but it's polite to introduce yourself to new friends. Shane Wyndham, at your service."

"Sorwen Ard," she grinned. "Though I'm not much into the servant thing. Nice to meet you, though."

Laughing, we both stood up. The conversation was over, and I had learned quite a bit. Now it was time to head back to my room and figure out where the hell I wanted to GO with all this. I had a lot to think about, and I got the impression the decisions I made in the coming days would decide the upper limit of what I could accomplish in this life. I couldn't wait to get started.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

My mind was whirling with all the new information as I let myself into my residence. Without much preamble, I flopped into my bed and descended into Gehenna to consult with my court. I might not be able to work through all the angles all at once, but I wasn't alone. This information concerned everything that had happened to me since I had started my journey, and I wasn't planning to ignore the implications of everything I'd learned.

Sure enough, Oz, Dom, and Sam, my three ministers, were waiting for me on arrival. Alongside them was another figure, and it took me a moment to realize exactly why it was, because I was so unfamiliar with the features after all this time.

"Overlay," I said after a moment of searching the face. "Yeah, you should probably be involved in this chat."

Overlay looked…like me. Honestly, most of my demons KIND of looked like me. Some were bigger, or mutated, or older, because they had been changed by living full lives of their own, but they still looked a little like I did in some way. Overlay though, Overlay looked like ME. Like the me I used to be.

He was a little shorter than me, not having traded for the extra inch of height, and his features were softer. He didn't have the same air of command or combat experience either. He just looked like an eighteen year old kid who grew up in an apartment in Valen.

It was honestly kind of jarring. Looking at him like this I almost couldn't see myself. I hadn't thought I'd changed that much in just a few years. Sure I was stronger, and more ruthless, and maybe more confident. But we looked more like siblings or cousins than the same person. Comparing the two of us was like comparing night and day, and I wasn't sure which was which.

Of course, he was more than I had been. Overlay (Owen for short, it always felt impersonal referring to them by skill names) was a tier four demon. He hadn't grown much, which went to show how little he'd been training. Gehenna made advancement easy at low levels, and the only demons that remained stuck there were the ones who were angling for reincarnation to become something more effective.

"Walk with me," I told the others as I headed into the chamber behind my throne room. "Now, I assume you all heard all that? I'm not sure exactly how much you perceive from in here, but I think Azazel has access to my senses unless I block it."

Oz nodded. "I do. And a general sense of when it's appropriate to access them. This meeting was portentous, so yes, I was listening. I filled the others in as well."

Sam hummed with interest. "Yeah, it was definitely fascinating to listen to, but I'm not sure how applicable it is to me specifically. You DID design me based on a powerful racial trait. Speaking of, how does that work? She said skills are just like…a lesser tier of power, right? What about the old men, and other bloodlines?"

"I've been thinking about that," Oz said cautiously. "I believe this is a matter of pure instinct. Powerful skillcrafters like the ancestor have an innate understanding of the mythology of their skills. I believe, and this is pure speculation, that the powerful bloodline meta skills of people like the Wishmaster serve as a sort of proto Worldforce. An accidental template that steers the power into the form that the ascendant wishes. There are other complications to the theory, such as Domain seeds, but all in all it does hold water."

"Assuming the old man and the other gods aren't keeping their mouths shut about Mythcrafting to prevent the proliferation of more gods, which is a possibility, there has to be some way to brute force the creation of your own Worldforce." I mused. "Not that I have any interest in DOING that. Now that we're here, we can learn to Mythcraft properly. Considering that Mythcrafting is how you author pages from your Chronicle, I have a feeling we want to make sure each of them is as well constructed as possible. Speaking of which, Oz, did you finish that project I set you?"

My first minister nodded excitedly. "Thirty miles," he said confidently. "Almost exactly. Sadly we weren't able to measure before the rank ups. My best estimate is that entry to B-rank pushed you to twenty, and the other ten were from a combination of cosmic phoenix strengthening and the rank up from the Pillar of Goetia. I don't have many other Domains to compare it to, so my math is somewhat half baked, but I would probably assume based on Callie's Vault that your Domain is unusually large for your rank."

"I figured," I said with a wry smile. "And denser too. Having an A-ranked pillar supporting it, not to mention whatever benefits the Myriad Demons Manual gives now, makes it safer to use my Domain in battle, and that'll only continue to be the case as it expands. Were you able to get any definitive information on the benefits of that?"

"Nothing specific," he grimaced. "Best I can tell it aids the creation of a Domain Seed somehow. My only source for the knowledge would be Dantalion, and only what he managed to pick up passively during our travels. He's been working with Pride to construct and ACTUAL library in the castle, though I've been asked to invite you down to peruse the royal collection. Apparently all seventy two of us are still linked to the library, and each of us still has a book."

I blinked in surprise. "I…kind of assumed the library was gone after the Domain condensed," I said blankly. "That could be incredibly useful though. The old man's library was a skill crafting technique, but mine was aimed more at Mythcrafting, even if I didn't know it. I bet I can learn more about attributes by studying the books, and I'm sure the Mythcrafting techniques I'm going to learn will help me improve the foundations of the various demons manually."

One of the first things I'd learned about my Domain was that the demons could still be altered just as easily as they could grow. I didn't do that, because the staff's simulation made stronger and more lifelike constructs. Knowing what I did about Mythcrafting, that was probably to do with the well worn intent behind them and the firm foundation of the story, but even if that was true, the staff and I were connected. Learning Mythcrafting would help optimize ITS abilities as well as my own.

That was a matter for another time, though. Once I'd actually LEARNED some Mythcrafting. Speaking of, I turned to Doom Sovereign. "What are the chances we can get a complete list of all the attributes I have access to?"

Dom, ever the taciturn member of my council, just shrugged. "Not great. There's a lot we don't understand. So far the only real confirmation we have is time, and it's only really our assumption it comes from Overlay. We have a few strong guesses, like Destruction for Mephistopheles, and we know at least a couple for sure, like Purification from your grandfather. But all in all, there are seventy two of us, and not all of us were even formed exclusively from your own skills. You mixed in a bunch of stored techniques during creation."

I sighed deeply. "Yeah, I was afraid you were gonna say that. It's fine, this is a Mythcrafting school, there almost HAS to be some kind of identification method for attributes. We know I have Space and Life because of the major invites at least. Maybe more if you need more than a single attribute to be invited. Which I have to assume you do, because time can't be THAT rare."

"Speaking of," I turned to look at Owen. "Are you sure you want to be involved in this? There are other options. Limbo could take your place, I'm almost positive. I figured it was fair to give you first shot at being my go to demon for this course, given you've been stuck at tier four and clearly want an upgrade. Plus I like the symmetry. But you don't HAVE to do anything. This is entirely up to you."

Most of the people here were working with a totally different system than I was. They all had abilities and skills with time attributes, and were going to be using that to make techniques. For me, the better call was to incarnate one of my demons with time attributes and treat them like a form, learning to manipulate time more directly and maybe even baking that into the demon as I went. It had advantages and disadvantages, but I suspected it would allow me to wield my time attribute with less training.

Owen, for his part, didn't even flinch. His eyes locked with mine, and I saw a stubborn set to his jaw that I recognized from the mirror AND from seeing it on my mother and sister. "I want to be stronger," he said firmly. "I want to be more. You don't need me, not the way I am. Haven't for a long time. But now I can DO something. Be important. Be honest, do you really think I'll ever achieve godhood at this rate?"

I thought it through. He was right. Theoretically, all my demons could be gods, and they could grow passively so they would mostly get there eventually…but realistically, tiers became exponentially harder to get through as you went up. It had taken me months to push my top demons to tier eight. And that was with direct intervention. That was why so many of the lesser demons were keeping their ranks low in hopes of reincarnating. They could all be gods eventually…but eventually was longer for some than others.

"No," I admitted. "Not anytime soon. Even if you started training as hard as you could, you'd hit a wall at rank seven or so. The Pillar only has so much processing power, even at A-rank, and it gets prioritized by utility. The demons that I work with the most need that processing power to keep up with the demands I put on them."

"I know," he shrugged. "That's why me and the others have been waiting. We all want to find a purpose, something unique and powerful that will make us necessary. Will push us to grow. This is mine, I can feel it. So, how does this work? You just…reincarnate me?"

I shook my head. "Nah. No catalyst. I need to learn some Mythcrafting, and then we can consult your book in the library. We'll take it slow. You don't have to have a qualitative upgrade like Brad or the Nine Phoenix Art. My talent in Mythcrafting is immense. It's the deal my dad made with me in exchange for eighteen years of my power. He didn't even know what he was doing, but I'll be damned if I'm going to waste that kind of ability.

"I have faith that a gradual iteration process with intent and knowledge will eventually push you to heights well past where a freak accident or a powerful material could get you," I assured him as his shoulders drooped. "Mythcrafting is going to be integral to my progress to godhood, and you and I are gonna go on that journey together, ok?"

I held out a hand, and I saw the look of determination kindle in his eye as he reached out to shake. It was hard not to admire the kid, and then it was hard not to wonder if that was egotistical because he was kind of me, but I decided I'd never been shy about my ego anyway. "Alright," I said with a laugh. "Now, I need to head out and check in with Callie, I want to hear all about her trial." I was pretty sure I knew what major she had picked, at least.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Callie, naturally, had way more information about the academy than I did (though the Mythcrafting stuff WAS new to her, fortunately, so I contributed something). She'd made friends immediately, with more than just one person, and her first order of business had been to figure out what all twelve of the majors were. She'd managed to gather a shocking amount of information over the short time we'd been here, and I was once again both in awe of and deeply grateful she'd been willing to marry a schmuck like me.

"So, do we know where the others ended up?" I asked first thing. "I assume Jessie ended up in the Biology department, given I got offered the choice based on my Life attribute."

"A few of them," she confirmed. "Benny probably ended up in the Department of Peculiar Mechanisms. It's the catch all for crafters, with the exception of Alchemy and Enchanting which seem to each have their own departments. Fade and Alanna probably ended up in the Department of Martial Excellence under Dean Corey Dowd, also called the Unrelenting Edge. That one is for weapon masters I think, because it was one of the three I was offered."

I nodded along. "Ok, what was the third?"

"Department of Atypical Phsicality," she said with a shrug. We were inside her vault at the moment, having decided a face to face would make things easier and was just more enjoyable. "Bethy is almost definitely in that one. As far as I can tell it's some kind of catch all for students with traits. The Dean's name is Wallace Harper, and apparently his divine soubriquet is "The Monstrosity", which admittedly made me a bit less inclined to pick it, but will probably make him sound like a favorite uncle to Bethy."

I snorted at that mostly accurate assessment. "So that's eight down, then? What about the last four?"

"Department of Business Engagement, Department of Stellar Studies, Department of the Lost, and Department of Cryodynamics," she listed off immediately. At my strange look she smirked. "Yeah the last one threw me off too. Apparently the Dean of Cryodynamics and the Dean of Temporal Studies founded the academy together. Frozen Moment. Dean Sela Windermere, also known as the Permafrost Priestess. Apparently she and Gibbons are married. Apart from them, the other Deans are mostly unrelated, except Alchemy and Runes, who are ACTUALLY related, as far as I can tell Preston and Alvira Willow are twins. The Concoction King and the Polyglot are the respective heads of the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Language Studies."

I blinked at her in opermouthed shock. "How could you POSSIBLY have learned that much information in just a couple of hours," I demanded. "You're some kind of gossip savant! It's not fair that I'm a LITERAL politician getting tons of politics related recursion and you're still so much better at this."

"You're an intergalactic despot," she giggled. "I don't think anyone expects the Wishmaster to do actual politics. You've become a much more confident leader and much more charismatic dealing with dignitaries, if it helps. Anyway, I didn't do anything special. I just caught a few people alone and leveraged the information I had that they didn't to trade for knowledge. I MIGHT have used Murmur to make sure I wasn't overheard so I could trade the same info more than once, but that was just common sense."

"I'm surprised you didn't get invited to the business major," I snarked. "Speaking of, I wonder what they learn there? Like do they just spend all their time trading credits and buying stuff?"

She shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. I know the names and the deans, but they didn't offer much extra information. The two pieces of data I had was enough to roughly figure out what each major does, but the in depth mechanisms are probably only known to the students themselves."

"Did you get to Intermediate by the way?" I asked with interest. "I don't know about your department but our time in Common City is dependent on rank. Intermediates get a weekend, Beginners a day, and any lower…well, I can't imagine you got lower than Beginner. I'd be shocked if you didn't get as far as me."

"I got to Intermediate," she laughed. "I passed on trying the Advanced trial. A hundred thousand robots was WAY too much. I only barely managed the ten thousand. I'm betting Abel is Advanced if he didn't get bounced. Possibly Bethy too, but it's hard to say with her. She might just have not cared enough to try."

I snorted at that. "I'm guessing she did. I'm curious where my sister ended up. My cousin probably went with Benny to the crafting department, but Chelsea's abilities are more esoteric than most. Department of the Lost, maybe? Assuming that's what it sounds like."

"Assuming is basically ALL we can do," she acknowledged. "But yeah, I came to the same conclusion. That Department is probably for Miscellaneous applicants who don't fit in the other boxes. The Dean, Kell Drave, is also called the Silent Seeker, which is both mysterious and supremely unhelpful when it comes to giving us any information."

I huffed out a laugh. "Fair. Anyway, I think we have enough information to make assumptions about everyone, but we'll need to wait for our Common City visit to confirm. I take it you were ALSO told that you had to wait three days?"

"Yup," she agreed. "I think they pushed it back so that all of us would end up there at the same time when we first went. When some people only have hours and some people have days, if they let people just pick at random with no method of contact they're going to miss each other. Speaking of, methods of contact can be purchased with credits, but I think we could do a bit better."

That got a grin from me. "Just a bit. Not sure Wishcrafted gear would be able to outdo some of the high end shit the real artisans here can make, but in terms of custom work I don't see anyone beating me for utility. I wonder if the Wish scrolls can bypass the limitation in direct credit transfer? It would be pretty fantastic if they could, though if not I bet we can still make some money through the postings, just at a markup."

"Now who should have been in the business major," she teased with a laugh. "But there's definitely some room to look around. Have you checked in at the credit exchange yet? Everything is done through there, including signing up for classes. Speaking of, are you going to take any of those? Or just use the time to gather resources. I think the competitions were the potential boost to binding our pages that someone mentioned."

"Agreed," I nodded. "But I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Honestly, given the Mythcrafting angle, I'm leaning towards possibly doing the one hour counseling session with the Dean. The way he phrased it made it seem like a hidden benefit that will pay huge dividends. Azazel is pushing me in the same direction. How about you, did you get the same offer?"

"Dean Desmond did offer," she confirmed. "I'm not sure about it though. I can take classes for spatial knowledge, and I'm already kind of naturally suited for it. Not to mention my whole thing is kind of off brand for spatial manipulation. I'm not sure how much help he would be. I think I'm better off spending my credits on a few high end lectures and maybe some of the unique environments they mentioned. If I'm parsing that right, they're like…special places that have special kinds of power and insight and can help with getting new attributes and refining concepts."

I snorted at that. "More attributes isn't something I'm worried about at the moment. I do get your point though. I considered trying some of them out, but I think passing up the chance to understand my time attribute would kind of fuck me over. Limbo is one of my most effective abilities, and that moment chop from the lemur king on the dryad planet made a big impact. Time is fascinating and deadly."

"So we do different things," she giggled. "I'll check out some of the special locations and let you know how they turn out. If I run out of credits though, I'll have to borrow some. As your wife, I AM entitled to half of everything you own."

"I knew you married me for my money," I teased. "The truth finally comes out."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't HAVE any money. You're the brokest intergalactic crime boss I've ever heard of."

"Well, I didn't say you were a genius," I shrugged, my eyes sparkling with mischief.

That got another eye roll, but I could tell from the way her lips twitched she was suppressing a laugh. "You're an idiot," she said fondly. "Try to be on your toes, ok? This place is fascinating, but it's not HOME. We don't know how safe we are here."

"I'm good," I said confidently. "Besides, I did make at least one friend. Sorwen said she has my back and my scent of truth didn't pick up any deception."

"Ah yes," she said archly. "The pretty elf girl with the blue hair. Not super thrilled you've been SMELLING her, but it's nice to know you aren't out there alone. I can't wait to meet her, we have so much to talk about, I'm sure."

I raised a brow at her steely tone. "Is this really something that bothers you?" I asked slowly. "Because you know I'd never-"

"Of course I know that," she said immediately. "You're not my dad, and my issues with him don't impact the way I see our marriage. I'm not JEALOUS. Well, I'm not VERY jealous. I'm concerned she might be using you. Your powers are…unique. We're all pretty used to the wish thing, but for the higher dimensional crowd it's probably pretty novel. I just want to make sure she doesn't have bad intentions. You have a blind spot for people you consider friends. It's something I love about you, but I worry."

I grimaced, but she wasn't wrong. It had gotten me into trouble before, with Travis, and again with Roland. I tried not to let bad experiences color the way I interacted with new people, but I had to admit I was somewhat wary of my own judgement.

She must have caught that over the bond, because she grabbed my hands tightly. "Hey, that's not what I meant," she said sternly. "You have AMAZING judgement. You've put together a group of some of the most wonderful people I've ever met, and I'm so proud of your taste in friends. I'm just being paranoid because we're in a new place and this is a chance to slip in under your radar. If it's a big deal, I don't need to meet her. I trust you. Completely."

"No, you're right," I said immediately. "Having a second opinion never hurt anything, and besides, I'm always happy to show you off," I winked. "I clearly married up."

She beamed, buffing her nails on her dress after blowing on them. "It's true, I am VERY impressive. You're ok too I guess. I'll have to introduce you to all my new friends at the spatial department. Did you know I met a SPACE elf?"

"What even IS that?" I asked in confusion. "All elves are from space, right? That's where the planets are."

I managed to hold my face in a mask of confusion for a few seconds before it cracked and we both burst out laughing. Then Callie told me all about her new friends, including the space elf. We didn't end up going out to check the credit exchange, just spent the evening together in her vault. I couldn't have thought of a better first night at a new place.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The next morning I went through my usual ritual. Wake up, make scrolls, make breakfast, check in with Callie. Once I was done with that I was surprised to hear a knock at my door, and opened it to find Sorwen waiting with a bright smile and a cup of…"Is that coffee?" I asked with interest as I took it from her.

"There's a cafe not far from here," she chirped excitedly. "It's amazing! Their coffee is amazing! This city is amazing!"

I squinted at her, deciding that was too much pep for just a morning person. "How many cups of this have you had?" I asked warily as I noted her hands shaking so fast that they were almost vibrating.

"Psh, not many, just one, plus nine, so ten, but not counting this one, or the other twelve." She babbled excitedly. "They opened so early and they had so many flavors and I tried them all and some of them twice an- hey!"

I snatched the cup from her remaining hand as I turned around to keep it out of her reach. "Nope. You don't need any more, and you would be of no use to me if you spontaneously combusted yourself from twitching too fast. Hold still." I triggered Zagan, setting down the coffee and putting a hand on her shoulder and flooding her body with green flame. Not too much, just enough to cleanse her system and put a bit of extra pep in her step.

"Oh WOW," she gasped in surprise. "That's…wow, that's way better. That's fantastic. You should bottle that." She paused, eyes cutting to my hand. "Speaking of things that go in bottles, would you mind…"

I rolled my eyes, passing the cup back. "Fine, but last one. You're clean now, so another shouldn't hurt anything, but this stuff is clearly strong. How did you pay or these, anyway? Did they charge credits?" I hadn't really considered how the payment system would work in the city, since not everything would be inside the credit exchange.

She nodded as she took the cup and sipped it happily. "Yeah, but just the one. Most of the businesses in town take credits from what I can tell. Also, I met some of the locals the Dean mentioned."

"I assume you didn't provoke them?" I asked wryly.

"They're S-ranker fragments," she said with a grimace. "I'm tough for a B-ranker, but even a shard of mirror soul isn't something I want to mess with."

I whistled at that. I had considered that possibility, but the sheer scale of it was kind of intimidating. Having access to enough S-rankers to fill thirty seven ENTIRE cities was…staggering. That was more S-rankers than we had in the entire plane, and by a large margin.

I supposed that given wherever these people came from could support Overgods in multitude, reaching S-rank or even god rank wasn't too impressive. Still, given there were twelve different majors and multiple teachers in each one, I wouldn't be surprised if this place had a few dozen gods. It was sobering to see the difference between my own realm and the place the academy had originated, wherever that was.

"So, you interested in checking out the credit exchange?" I asked as I sipped my own coffee. She'd been right, it was excellent. Coffee wasn't my favorite drink, but I liked it well enough with cream and sugar, and this was fantastic.

We headed out into the city at a brisk walk, taking in the sights and sounds. Moment City was…idyllic. The ceiling above us reflected the sky outside, which wasn't a real sky because this whole thing was in a giant tower but I didn't want to think about that right now. Still, it was pleasant. Dappled sunlight, tinkling fountains, wind through the unnaturally green trees. I could even smell fresh bread on the air as we passed the picturesque buildings.

That impression lasted right up until we reached the steps of the exchange, where it immediately cut off like someone was flipping a switch. Between one step and the next, the air chilled, the dappled sunlight faded to a cold blue glare, and the wind became biting and carried only the scent of dead leaves/.

I raised a brow, looking around. "Really?' I asked sourly. "Is that necessary?"

A man appeared beside us, tall and gaunt with a stovepipe hat and a monocle, and smiled at me winningly. "Quite so, I'm afraid. We've found that students have a tendency to loiter around the exchange. As such we've imbued the area with a bit of a trial. It's nothing serious, simply an aura of temporal ennui that drains motivation. You'll wander off after a while, bored and confused as to what you were doing. A bit of focus on your task can offset the effect easily enough, it simply prevents unnecessary lingering."

I considered that for a moment, then focused on one of my demons, calling out for aid as I triggered Leviathan. A surge of warm protection rolled through me, chasing off the cold easily. I just grinned at the man as he raised a brow at me. "Fascinating," he said dryly. "Not many have spiritual protections for such specific effects. Remarkable foresight, young man."

"I take it you're one of the teachers?" I asked the fragment of a god I had never met.

He doffed his stovepipe hat, fluttering it cheekily as he bowed over it. "Chester T. Pettigrew, at your most humble and efficacious service, master and madam. I am the instructor of record in matters of temporal fold resonance." At my blank stare he chuckled. "Stacking time echoes, my boy. It's a somewhat esoteric field, but a surprisingly popular method of empowerment within the major."

I blinked at that. It took me a second to puzzle out what he meant. "Wait…you mean like overlaying potential futures into yourself to empower you?"

"Precisely," he beamed. "A difficult and complex application of temporal dynamics, but a central bit of Mythcrafting for any temporal enhancement technique. You sound like you have some experience?"

"Nothing like that," I said with a headshake. "I have a similar skill that isn't involved in with my time attribute, and one that does basically the opposite. Destroys potential futures to force my opponent to do certain things."

His already mobile eyebrows climbed up into his hairline. "Timeline pruning," he said in an impressed voice. "The Dean instructs that course, and it's usually an advanced lecture series. You've never had formal instruction in temporal mechanics?" I shook my head and he let out a huff of laughter. "A natural then. Pruning timelines is technically an aspect of temporal divination, but there's some overlap with combat mechanics. I would be careful, however, pruning is an exceptionally dangerous principle."

I wasn't sure what he meant by that, I'd never had any problems with it, but I was sure he knew what he was talking about. I hadn't even known it had a name before now, so clearly I was out of my depth.

"Anyway," Sorwen cut in cheerfully. "It was nice to meet you, Professor Pettigrew. We need to head inside before all our motivation is wicked away. Or mine at least. Solomon may be protected from the aura around here but I'm not so lucky."

"Of course," he nodded cordially. "I hope to see you in one of my courses. Perhaps we might find a way to combine your disparate techniques into a powerful temporal resonance ability."

I nodded along, not really convinced I needed that given my current skillset, and then we headed into the large empty hall where the merit exchange was situated. As we entered, I took in the empty expanse of cold marble surrounding a large circular counter. Behind the counter stood several employees, and above them hung signs covered with words written in lightly pulsing red light.

Meadow of Lost Moments- 1hr -62,000 credits

Timekeeper Treasure Tome- 1st chapter- 40,000 credits

Horus Hourglass- 25,000 credits

Scythe of Aeons- 21,000 credits

Temporal Lockdown Lecture- 10,000 credits

I gaped at the values. They were all so expensive. Considering the payout for an advanced student designation was a thousand credits, that meant taking on presumably a MILLION robots was the equivalent of that ONE lecture. If there was even a trial past advanced.

"That's just…ridiculous," I said in an appalled tone.

"You're on the wrong screen," Sorwen said dryly. "Try the next one over, maybe? It's a bit more our speed."

I shifted my gaze as she suggested, and I felt my climbing blood pressure even out a bit.

Timeslip Identification and Preparedness Lecture- 20 credits

Lost Moment Lantern -single use- 10 credits

Overlapping Temporal Fluctuation Tracker- 5 credits

Second Sand- one gram- 1 credit

That was definitely better. Below that, to my surprise, I caught sight of another sign, this one glowing with green light.

Mobius Mechanisms Lecture- rewards 10 credits

Minute Sparrow Migration tracking- rewards 50 credits

1 year of time- rewards 100 credits

"Wait…is that last one literal?" I asked. "People just…buy a year of your time? Like you work for them or they actually TAKE time from you?"

I addressed the question to the calm looking girl with aquamarine eyes behind the counter. She smiled placidly. "The latter. Time transplants is a service offered by the faculty. You can have the transplanted time directly added to your lifespan or stored in a dedicated device that can be used to accrue and pass on temporal stockpiles. It's the most valuable mission available to new students."

That was both interesting and unsettling. I knew my wishes could extend lifespan, though it was an inefficient use of the ability. Still, this seemed like a much larger scale operation. Clearing my throat, I glanced back up at the boards. "I was hoping to exchange for the Dean meeting? I was told it was an option for me."

"Your identification number?" she asked politely. I rattled it off and she started tapping on a smooth pane of glass that I hadn't noticed set into the counter in front of her. "Ah, here we are. Shane Wyndham. I see that you ARE eligible, though it will wipe out your entire credit stockpile. Are you sure you want to commit to such a course of action?"

"I do," I assured her. "And thank you for the help by the way miss…" after talking to Callie I'd decided that I should try to make some friends of my own here. It didn't hurt to be nice to the staff either.

She gave a small but surprised smile. "Elonwy," she informed me with a graceful bow. "One of the proud and noble clerks of the temporal sciences department. You have to say the whole thing every time, or else we consider it a deadly insult." Her face was solemn, but her eyes were twinkling.

Since I was a good sport, I played along. "Really?" I asked her innocently.

"No, but it's sweet that you considered it," she chuckled. After tapping her screen a few times, she reached under the desk and removed a long, thin strip of red silk with a golden hourglass stitched into it. "Now, this marker will lead you to your meeting with the Dean. Please be aware that it functions in time as well as space, and as such the journey will not begin until the appointed time."

I took it and tucked it into the belt of my armor. "Noted, and appreciated. It was nice to meet you Elonwy, I'll be sure to check in when I come back in here. I plan to post a few things on the boards myself. Sadly, I'm flat broke now, so that'll have to wait until next time. Sorwen, want me to stay while you pick?" She did, and so I settled back to watch her scan the lists, interested in what she would pick. Once we finished, we headed out to find some food before my appointment with the Dean. I had a feeling I'd want to go in well fed.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The bookmark caught fire a few hours later. It happened out of nowhere, but it floated up into the air before lighting up, so I supposed they had at least thought it through. After that it blew away, though not fast enough to actually escape, and I followed behind it casually, being led down one alley and up the next until I came to a small, charming little house. I stopped, waiting for it to continue on, but the bookmark just flew over and hovered in front of the door.

Approaching, I looked around the area. The house was…cozy. Smallish and perfectlycube shaped, it gave the impression of profound solidity. In fact, it felt TOO solid. I frowned a bit, trying to figure out what I was sensing. I caught a flash of…something. Narrowing my eyes, I triggered Dantalion and-

I blinked. I was staring up into the sky above, the unusually blue stretch of space gazing back at me peacefully. I groaned and sat up. My head was pounding.

"What the fuck?" I muttered, staring up at the house worriedly. "What just happened?"

"You stuck your nose where it didn't belong," came an amused voice. "And almost lost it. Impressive that you have a temporal component to that information scanning ability, but deeply unfortunate in this instance."

I looked up, and up, and up, to find a man leaning casually out the window on the second story of the house. The Dean. "Why is your house…this?"

He snorted. "I am the Dean of an entire department. I preside over three different cities, as does my wife. As such, it behooves us to be accessible FROM each of those cities, and to that effect, we constructed our house to exacting specifications. I can explain it if you'd lik-"

"No," I cut him off, holding up a hand. I was parsing the information I'd gotten from Dantalion still. It had been THERE all along, it had just been way too dense for me to understand. Luckily, I had a lot of heads to bang against the problem, and Dan had been hard at work with several of my other demons trying to make sense of what we'd gotten.

I furrowed my brow, going over what little I could understand. "Eight," I said slowly. "Cubes. Why does that sound familiar?" It hit me and I perked up. "Tesseract! Your house is a tesseract. A hypercube made of cubes built in four dimensions. One of which, I assume, is time."

He looked surprised. "It is," he admitted slowly. "That's remarkably insightful of you. Most assume that my temporal specialization means I am lacking in spatial ability."

"That's stupid," I said bluntly. "Space and time are incredibly intertwined, right? How would you be good at one without at least a basic understanding of the other?" I groaned as I got to my feet. "Sorry, can I come in? As nice as your front yard is, I think I've gotten enough of a view of it during my impromptu nap."

He raised a brow at that. "That was almost coherent. Better than most beginners. Very well, come inside then. I suppose you paid for it. Though I wasn't expecting much when I noticed the only student to pay for the consultation didn't attend the introductory lecture."

I winced. "Ah, sorry. I learned some interesting things about Mythcrafting and needed to share them with my wife. Got a bit caught up with our discussion and by the time I remembered it had already ended." I approached the door carefully, worried something might happen again, but it just swung open, admitting me to a large entry chamber far too big for the cube shaped home I'd entered.

To my surprise, I wasn't alone. The Dean hadn't arrived, but there was someone else sitting in a stately chair near the entrance to a foyer off to the side of the huge double staircase. A woman with silver hair and crystal blue eyes, sipping a cold glass of some kind of juice. She gave me a serene nod. Based on Callie's comments and the Dean's mention of his wife, I was pretty sure I knew who this was.

I bowed politely. "Dean Windermere, I presume?"

She grinned. "Polite and well informed. I like you already. I'm glad to see at least one of you understood the underlying meaning of the consultation offer. There's usually one, but some crops don't have anyone who bothers."

"I mean…isn't it kind of obvious?" I asked in surprise. "You're Overgods, right? You must know a ton."

"Knowledge is hard to quantify, that's why it isn't a stat" she shrugged. "I think you will find that it, in fact, quite difficult to measure out a ton of knowledge. It is, however, incredibly EASY to measure out a ton of, say, mythical metals that can be used to build a temporal ship. Most students have a limited number of credits, and they can be used for an endless number of things. Giving up so much potential tangible benefit for an unknown possible gain isn't in the nature of most Ascendants."

That made a lot of sense, actually. As a Wishmaster, I had always been a bit unconcerned with things like money and material wealth. If I needed something I could just get it as payment or trade a scroll for it. I guess that was why I hadn't really considered wasting my credits on stuff without actually needing it.

"Anyway, you can head up," she said casually. "Samuel's office is the first door on the right up the left staircase. Usually. It moves sometimes. But that room is almost always safe. Except on the third friday of the month. Then it eats people."

"It's Tuesday," I said after a moment of thought. I didn't usually keep track.

She shrugged. "Probably. It's not always consistent in here. I'm sure you'll be fine. Mind the steps."

I frowned but took her word for it, heading up the left side of the steps and knocking on the door in question. I very specifically did not enter until the Dean's voice called for me to enter. I noted as I did that the room position was nowhere near the window the Dean had used to talk to me earlier.

Samuel P. Gibbons, the Hourglass Bodach, sat at his desk reading. He closed the book as I entered, examining me as I stepped inside. "So," he said slowly. "Shane Wyndham. You're certainly…interesting. Your Domain is…"

"Unique?" I grinned ruefully, hoping he was going to say something complimentary.

"A mess," he finished. "How many attributes do you even HAVE? You realize you need to learn how they actually work in order to weave Worldforce? You can't just slap things together and hope they function. Not if you want your Worldforce to be WORTH anything. Trial and error is possible but exponentially more difficult than a solid Mythcrafting foundation."

"I did not realize that," I admitted. "Mostly because I had no idea Mythcrafting existed until last night. That was the information I was sharing with my wife. And I don't know how many attributes I have, honestly. I was hoping you had a way to check."

He leaned back in his chair. "Well you have a few interesting ones, at least. Not sure how the hell you got a cosmic flame attribute, I haven't seen one of those in millennia. Time, obviously, space, information. All useful starting points. But that's the problem, isn't it? Starting points. You have far too many. What are you hoping to accomplish here?"

I stepped forward, and at his nod sat in the chair across from him. "I've always been talented at Mythcrafting," I told him slowly. "Even before I knew what it was. It just…works. I put together techniques and forms and abilities, and it's just easy. I just get it. But I actually don't. I have all these tools at my disposal and no idea how to wield them. I can learn to use fire from other people. Learn to use ice, or space, or darkness, or destruction. But I can't learn to manipulate the time attribute anywhere else. I can get knowledge here no one else can give me, knowledge that I hope will carry over into other Mythcrafting attributes."

"Well, you're not stupid, at least," he acknowledged. "And that body refinement technique is an excellent shortcut. Burning an attribute into your physical form is an excellent way to achieve a deeper level of resonance."

My head jerked up at that. "I wasn't aware of that," I said hopefully. "Is that something that could help me HERE?" I had one more drop left on the cosmic phoenix template. Once that was done, I could pick another one. I informed him of the details, hoping he had some idea of a time based technique I could use for my next template.

"We might have something," he mused. "And IF you managed to acquire it, you could hypothetically be worth teaching. Talent or no, the level of familiarity you would require to properly harness your temporal attribute is not something you can achieve in a short amount of time. This might be a method."

"You have a phoenix material that could help?" I asked hopefully.

He nodded. "I do. Attributes are complex, and not all of them are individualized. Like your cosmic flame. It's a unique mixture of space, flame, creation, and a few more esoteric attributes I won't bother going into right now. Phoenixes, as a rule, do not traditionally bother with temporal attribute affinities. They are eternal creatures, and their rebirth is more based in life than time. However, not all phoenixes are creative. Some are destructive. The Ruin Phoenix is one such beast."

"Ruin, I'm guessing that's time and…darkness maybe?" I said, trying to puzzle that out.

"Destruction," he corrected. "Ruin Phoenixes are something of an antithesis to their more life aligned cousins. A dark mirror. Ruin is a mixture of time and destruction, for ruin comes to all things eventually, and it is pervasive and deadly."

I nodded slowly. "Wouldn't that be like…entropy?"

"Entropy is atemporal," he corrected without thinking, then stopped and shook his head. "Forget I said that. It's not important and you shouldn't be worrying about it right now. You will most likely never meet a being with an entropy attribute affinity. If you do, you should run away, assuming you survive long enough to do so. Attributes are, for the most part, neutral forces, but there are a few that can twist their users. Entropy is one of those."

I could see he didn't want to talk about this, so I moved on. "Ok, Ruin Phoenix. I need a sample of the flame. Preferably a source, actually. Do you happen to have a feather?"

"A candle," he corrected. "But it should work fine for your purposes."

"Excellent," I grinned. "Thank you so much, I really appreciate this. Now where should I pick it up?" He just stared at me, and my shoulders slumped. "It's in the credit exchange, isn't it?" I asked dully.

"It is," he nodded. "Fortunately for you, it isn't particularly useful to most people. It's only nine thousand credits."

I choked. "Nine thousand?" I coughed. "That's…I'd have to hit advanced nine different times."

"That particular reward only applies once, I'm afraid," he said cheerfully. "But I'm sure you'll find some method of meeting your goal. If you don't acquire and integrate the flame within the year, you will be asked to change majors." He looked at his empty wrist. "Oh, look at the time. It seems your hour is at an end. Perhaps next time don't knock yourself unconscious and spend forty minutes passed out in my yard."

I tried to protest, but from one blink to the next, the world changed, and suddenly I was standing outside, pointedly fact the path OUT of the yard, the door to my back. I considered trying to get back in, but decided I had gotten all I needed from him. As for the rest…I'd better find Sorwen and ask her about the introduction lecture. I just hope she'd bothered to go.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

I spent the rest of the day considering my options and making preparations, eventually settling on my next course of action about the time I headed to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, after stockpiling my scrolls, I was ready for step one of my master plan. Which was…finish condensing my template.

Since my next template would need an empty spot to take up, which meant that I needed to complete the current one. Not to mention that now that I'd measured my Domain, I could finally attempt to expand it and see exactly how effective my new completed template would be.

So, down I went into my Domain to meet with the demons about my final push and unlocking my next template.

This one, I was a little worried about. It was a long time coming, having taken more effort than the previous by several folds, and now that I knew more about Mythcrafting, I wanted to try to do this one with more…intention. I had my goals for this bloodline solidification, and I wanted to try to funnel as much of the changes in the direction I needed them, rather than just letting them follow their own charted path like the Life Nova template had.

Of course, I couldn't just decide that. While I knew Mythcrafting existed, I didn't know how it was done, or what I was doing myself, or even really what result I wanted. I knew what I'd like to happen and what might happen, and I had to work backwards from there.

And to do that, I needed help. So I called together my best and brightest. Dantalion, Beelzebub Piece of Mind, my ministers, and I sat them all down with one specific goal.

"I want to make this place bigger," I informed them directly. "With the Life Nova bloodline establishment, I got not just regeneration enhancement, but a three times boost to Vitality. That's probably on the table again, only instead of Vitality it'll be Might or something."

"What about an Impact boost?" Owen (as I'd taken to calling Overlay) asked excitedly. "Considering how important Impact is, a multiplier for that could be game changing."

I grimaced. "It could," I allowed. "But I think it's TOO game changing. There's no chance at all that we're getting a three times Impact modifier. Or even a two times. You have to remember that Mythcrafting might be something new, but it still follows the rules of reality. Recursion MATTERS, and Impact is too notorious as a difficult to raise stat."

Oz nodded. "He's right. We'd get MAYBE a twenty percent boost out of that. Not enough to count as even another rank. The fact that the Dean went out of his way to comment on the cosmic flame attribute tells us that it's rare and powerful, and if we want to get the most out of it we need to make sure it's aimed where it needs to go. The cosmic flame creates worlds, that was the point of the vision that we got, and a blueprint for the function we want from it."

"The issue isn't the concern that it won't do what we want," I clarified to the others. "It's that it'll do too much. Life Nova was fine, we got what we needed from that. It was an open ended pick to achieve a long term result and that worked. But the cosmic flame is special. I picked it with a vision, and now that I know there's a way to try to curve that vision more in the direction I wanted, that's what we're here to do. I'm sure that the cosmic flame template is bound to have positive results on expanding the limits of my Domain either way, I just want to make sure that we don't waste some of those results on some nonsense secondary boost we don't care about."

We all glanced at the Nine Phoenix Reincarnation Art, who sat thoughtfully sipping a cup of tea he'd gotten from Cooking. At our glances, he took one more sip and sighed, placing the cup down. "If you're asking me to come up with a plan to try to shape the next upgrade, it would take me months of trial and error."

"It would take YOU months," I said bluntly. "That's why all of us are here. Wisdom of Solomon, the Pillar of Goetia itself, Angelic Bond. We have so many resources to draw from in order to crunch the numbers here. And more than that, I have a theory. One that Azazel agrees with."

Oz nodded. "We think the key is the Domain itself," he said excitedly. "The Domain is a manifestation of the story of an Ascendant. It's the concrete realization of the path we've taken to get here. Mythcrafting, Worldforce, it all makes perfect sense, but the Domain is almost an afterthought based on what we know. But we don't think that's true. We think that its impact is minimized when they're teaching people at this rank because the Domain is not usually condensed until later."

"It can't be a coincidence that Worldforce is a physical manifestation of a legend that features heavily in the creation of a realm," I clarified. "If the Worldforce can effect the world, than the world should be able to affect the Worldforce. And since Mythcrafting is just an earlier form of Worldforce…"

"So, what are we supposed to do with that?" Sam asked thoughtfully. "Because if accomplishing any task was as easy as redecorating your Domain, everyone would do it. Maybe Mythcrafting is symbolic and making changes here would be useful, but how do we know what changes to make?"

I pointed to Wisdom of Solomon. "Same way as always. Trial and error. In order to get the best bang for our buck, we need the demons to incarnate. Wisdom of Solomon, Piece of Mind, Beelzebub, Angelic Bond, Dantalion. Five demons at once, with the Pillar of Goetia and the Seal helping me bear the load. Wisdom can crunch the numbers, Piece helps me distribute the task, Beel gives me other bodies to work through, Dan gives me feedback, and Angelic Bond lets me bring in Callie for help, and her Adeherent Flame is the closest to this cosmic flame attribute that we've seen."

"What about the rest of us?" asked Owen. "You didn't call us here to watch."

"That's exactly why I called you here," I said bluntly. "I don't know what I don't know. Wisdom will let us brute force the problem, but who knows what form that takes. I need you on standby and ready to react to whatever the hell we're supposed to be doing here. Nine Phoenix, I need one thing from you before we start though. I need to know exactly what you remember about what happened in here when the Life Nova bloodline condensed. I was a bit preoccupied at the time."

We went over the details, Dantalion helping as best he could with recollection. It took quite a bit of study and backtracking to figure out the likely path the energy had taken in here. Then it was time to begin our trial and error. Incarnating the five demons, I headed out to the throne room to grasp the Pillar of Goetia, triggering its boosting ability on Wisdom of Solomon for best results.

It was like a whole new world. I was glad I had thought to arrange for redundancies, because the sheer amount of information I could process with Wisdom at A-rank and backed by the pillar was beyond anything I could have used by myself. Twelve copies of me manifested, twelve new minds slotting into place, each of them manifesting Dantalion as strongly as possible, and we began the process of testing.

Outside, my body, or at least a parallel with help from Callie through Angelic Bond, began the process of funneling the cosmic phoenix fire through us. Using the vision we'd had as a guide, and the processing power of Wisdom as for calculation, we began to trace possible outcomes.

That was when we hit the first snag. I didn't have a method of controlling which outcomes we would get the most use out of. Luckily I'd summoned more than just the few demons I'd needed. Limbo stepped in, one of my parallels incarnating him directly like I would have, and using his powers we began to cull timelines that weren't useful. There were a LOT of them.

One by one, we pared them back, cutting away at the unnecessary bloat. I started giving orders, sending demons like Brad to certain places. Destroy a piece of landscape, carve a channel and have Agares fill in another, we reshaped the very plains of Gehenna to prepare and focus the energy in exactly the way we needed it. Finally, we reached the last stages. "Alright people, let's do this!" I called as we all headed outside. "Is everyone ready?"

Angelic Bond manifested in all his power, preparing to direct the strength that was incoming in just the way we needed. His wings spread as he soared up over Gehenna. Finally, I sent a thought to the parallel controlling my body and he pushed that last little bit over the edge.

In the sky above us, and explosion of world creating fire erupted in reverse, like a big bag happening backwards, collecting into a fucking PILLAR of creation fire that plummeted towards Gehenna. It was one of many possible internal manifestations, and one we needed to manage very carefully.

As it struck, Angelic Bond flexed his power, and through it, my wife's. As the fire hit, it poured through him into her vault and then back out the other side, its essential nature changing subtly in ways we'd only managed to get right because of brute forcing repetition with the Pillar's processing.

As it came back out, it hit the palace and rolled down the walls, sticking in an unusual way that I recognized from Belial's corruption mechanism as it streaked along the whole domain like an endless tide, following the prepared routes and slamming into the walls of the Domain itself, bound to the specific formation we'd needed by the change in nature.

The flames hit the walls of my Domain, the very edges of my soul, and I dropped to my knees with a groan as I felt something within me shake and tremble. My Domain began to expand, slowly, painfully. Like a stretch that goes too far but doesn't stop. I felt like I was being torn apart, but I ignored it, gritting my teeth and focusing.

This was the only way it worked. Through thousands of iterations and potential failures, this was the one that gave the result I wanted. No modifier, just pure expansion, the complete integration of this power into the bedrock of my Domain itself, preparing the way for my to continue to expand indefinitely. This template would do one thing and do it well. This. Exactly what I was experiencing now.

It went on for what felt like hours, and by the time it ended, I was curled up on the ground panting, but I was alive. It was done, safely and carefully (for me) and I sent the others to check the results.

Thirty three miles. A ten percent increase. Naturally, it wouldn't be that simple every time, but I could continue to expand it slowly by practicing the Body Refining Technique. It was a unique advantage no one else had, and one that I had envisioned a thousand times as I worked tirelessly to get here.

Lying there on my back inside my Domain, head pounding from the effort and soul burning from the strain, I threw my head back and started to laugh hysterically. This was the kind of shit I lived for. I just hoped that learning what I was actually DOING wouldn't take all the fun out of my crazy experiments. Either way, today had been a big step. Tomorrow would be another, as I figured out how the hell to get the credits I needed for the next step in this insane plan.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

When I returned to the real world, it took me a minute to process what was happening. Despite not having any special modifiers on my stats now, the sensations of being changed by the template were VERY noticeable.

I felt…heavy. Not in a restrictive way, but in a useful way. There was a sort of heft to my Impact now, not like there was more of it, but like…it was like I had the same amount of metaphysical mass but I had suddenly learned to use it better. Like I had an intuitive grasp of how to leverage my weight and control my center of gravity, but spiritually.

The sensation made me almost positive I would be able to wield most of my powers more skillfully, bring my path to bear more reliably, and expand my Domain when I projected almost exponentially more quickly.

Honestly, it was kind of frustrating. For someone like me, who had all their stats laid out in hard numbers, this unusual enhancement was like an itch in the back of my brain. I was different, but it wasn't quantifiable to me. I had no idea where to learn more about this, or even to find out what it WAS so I could learn to enhance it.

Still, it was kind of nice to know there had been tangible results to my gamble beyond what I'd expected, especially the kind that didn't take away from my original goals. I bounced a bit, enjoying the paradoxical lightness the extra weight conveyed, somehow putting more intention behind my movements than normal to balance out the heft. Fascinating. Sadly, it wasn't a priority to explore it right this moment. I had other things to worry about. Namely, credits.

I had one more day before the meeting in Common City, and I wanted to use it wisely, so I needed to figure out a way to gather a lot of credits fast.

Part of me wanted to immediately try using my scrolls as bartering chips, but I didn't know enough about how posting or sales worked to trust I would get the best value there. Which meant I needed to take on a mission or do a competition.

So I decided to head back to the exchange and take a look at what was available. Elonwy was happy to see me again and welcome me politely as I arrived at the desk. "So, I'm interested in taking on a couple of jobs or possibly participating in a competition, but I don't know what's useful or worthwhile to do. I don't want to take some job to retrieve a grain of magic sand from an evil hate oyster at the bottom of an acid sea for one credit and accidentally pass over picking a single flower that grows outside the door for fifty."

"Oh, the traps," she grinned. "Those DO usually get a few of the newcomers. Pro tip, under no circumstances take any job involving Time Minks. They sound cute and cuddly, but they are among the most vicious animals I've ever had the misfortune to learn about. They tag you with a scent pheromone that NEVER washes off, and you'll be harassed and attacked for the rest of your life."

I grinned back. "Good to know. I do have some more specific questions though, let's talk about the elephant in the room." I got the impression she was pleased to see me. I imagined boredom was a real problem in her line of work. Her response kind of threw me though.

"You can see that?" she asked in surprise. "The cloaking spell usually keeps people from noticing."

I frowned, looking around the large chamber. "I…what? No, It's a saying, I wasn't-" I caught her slight smirk and narrowed my eyes at her. "You're fucking with me, aren't you?" I asked accusingly.

"Me?" she said. "I would never do such a thing."

"Right," I said skeptically. "Anyway, I was talking, in this case, about the whole, one year of lifespan for one credit thing. Is it worth doing?"

It FELT like it might be. I needed nine thousand credits to get the candle, which would be nine hundred years. That wasn't anything to sneeze at, but at my current rank my lifespan was over twenty thousand years.

Her face became serious. "I would advise against it," she warned. "I realize it may seem simple, but losing lifespan…you can regain it through certain means, but almost every method of gaining lifespan directly causes instability. It's like gaining stats directly, it creates weaknesses and unstable points that can be fatal on rank up. You'd be sacrificing your future potential for short term gains.

"More than that," she continued. "Taking those kinds of shortcuts is habit forming. A year or two or even a century might not matter, but I assume you're saving for something specific. Once you've got it, who's to say you don't need something else. And then a third thing. It gets easier and easier to justify giving up years until suddenly you're fresh out of time."

I frowned, but she wasn't wrong. I knew myself well enough to know that my self control could be a slippery slope. Avoiding temptation was a better route to take than resisting it. Can't miss what you never had. So I sighed, turning back to the green board.

"Alright, so no Time Minks and no years," I said slowly, studying the list. "What about tracking the migrations of the minute sparrow? That seems easy enough."

"Minute sparrows fly between instants, their wingbeats span a hundred years," she said dryly. "It takes a millennia to completely map a migration. There are advanced temporal applications that can condense the time needed, but they're mostly not worth the effort they take. That's why that particular task is still there, despite having been posted since long before I began this task."

I frowned at that. "I'd have assumed you'd been with the tower since it was created. Did you join later?"

"Indeed," she confirmed. "I was a student myself. Many of the locals joined with later crops of students. It is not unusual for those of us who reach S-rank to sunder ourselves and travel to further our studies. You could consider it a type of…postgraduate course. The mechanisms are complex, and I won't bore you, but it's a fascinating experience."

I blinked at that. I kind of…hadn't noticed her rank. Like yes, she was a fragment of S-ranker like the rest of the locals, but I hadn't really equated her presence with an actual S-ranker, because she was just a fragment, and she didn't have that sense of overwhelming pressure. Since she said that though…"I did have a question, about something that happened to me. Are you allowed to answer questions? Or do I need to pay credits for that?"

"I can do whatever I want," she snickered. "But I usually wouldn't give a response for free. I suppose, since you actually bothered to try to get to know the help while CLEARLY being ignorant of any benefits, I can indulge you. Ask away."

So I told her an abridged version of what had happened to me. I told her all about the feeling I'd been experiencing since the template condensed, and asked her what it was.

"Oh, you increased your momentum," she said when I finished. "That's uncommon at lower ranks. Mostly you only get more of that from forming Domain seeds. It's one of the major reasons to make them. Don't worry about it too much. It'll improve your Mythcrafting and just general energy usage, but it's not really applicable to your current situation."

I frowned, but I didn't push for more info. It was clear she was being nice even giving me that much, and I could ask around about momentum later. For now, I needed some kind of task, just to get a feel for how this all worked. Speaking of which…"So, where do I GO for all this stuff?" I asked, pointing up at the board. "Do we just have bird habitats for time birds?"

She shrugged. "Something like that. You see the mention of special places, right? The Meadow of Lost Moments, for instance?" I nodded. "Well, those are special collection points of specific attributed mythology. I'm sure you've seen people experience epiphanies in certain special places before? Well, there's ways to improve the odds of that. But in order to do it, ecosystems of energy are necessary.

"Bird habitats, temporal meadows, time deserts, all of these things are intertwined," she explained. "The tower is a fully functioning self-contained ecosystem, with attributes overlapping and feeding into each other, creating materials, specialized training locations, and even animals that the students harvest and take care of to maintain the balance."

"So the time birds flap their wings and generate time wind that carries time pollen to the time meadow, and we need to pick the flowers that germinate the pollen to feed to the birds to keep it all running?" I asked, positing a hypothetical that seemed like it covered everything.

She chuckled at that. "Not quite that simple, but yes, essentially. You're the caretakers of this place. The mechanisms that govern the passage of time are, of course, far more complicated than you can imagine, so I wouldn't say it's anything as straightforward as us getting new crops of students just for the upkeep, but we usually try to keep at least some of them around. Not that we'd stop you from leaving, of course, but some do choose to stay here indefinitely and pass of old age. In fact, those years they purchase are mostly for such people."

I nodded along as she explained, knowing this was information most people probably didn't have access to. I wondered how many even bothered to ask. Everyone here seemed so obsessed with getting the absolute most out of the offered benefits, it was almost sad that no one wanted to…well, learn.

But ultimately, I was here for the benefits too. So I brought the subject back to the matter at hand. "So, knowing all that, what do I need to know about the missions? What to avoid, what to focus on? I'm sure you know."

"Well, I did say I would help," she laughed. "Fine. If, and I do mean if, I were to pick one of these missions, I might start with some of the utility tasks. They pay less, but you can take several of them at once, and they add up." She gestured for me to follow her around the counter to stand below another sign.

The green text on the sign was simple and direct. Purification, healing, crafting, preparation, just mostly simple jobs that seemed like they needed doing repeatedly for very low amounts of credits. They were, of course, time sinks, one and all. I was sure that doing them would be a huge waste of energy for most people. But I wasn't most people. I was, essentially, seventy three people. And while some of those people were weak enough to make them useless here, at least fifty of them were not.

I had a brief vision of my court flooding the city, sweeping up hordes of credits doing menial jobs and raking in hundreds per day…but I cooled my jets. Like I had JUST been thinking, I needed to get a feel for how all this worked before instituting any crazy plans. Walk before I run and all that.

Zeroing in on one of the jobs, I pointed to it. "That one. Twenty credits for cleaning out the filtration system at the water treatment plant. Can I take that one?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you can. It's disgusting and time consuming, but if you can get it done it's a steady bit of income. You sure?" I nodded, and she sighed, asking for my identification number. Once that was done, she smiled wryly. "I'll have one of the couriers run you over and give you the details. Good luck."

Despite the rueful words, I thought I saw a shimmer of approval in her eye at my actions, and it felt good to know someone who had any idea what was going on approved of my plans even if I didn't know them. Now, I just needed to go clean out those filters. I wasn't too worried though, after all, Zagan was perfect for this. Once that was done, I could start making credits on a larger scale, and I'd hit my goal in no time.


AN:// Early chapter because I prewrote to take a 3 day weekend. This is friday's chapter btw, in case you're in a different timezome. Enjoy.

 

[Vongrak]

Ah yes, my master plan. The plan that I have mastered. The one you approve of. That master plan. Do let me know when you work out what it is because I haven't come up with it yet.