The Newt and Demon - Book 6 Chapters 55,56,57

Chapter 55

Throk’s Interesting Machines

“This is delicious,” Void said, holding up a jam-filled pastry.

Benton had invited Void and Theo into a longhouse, seating them right by the massive fire burning in the center. Other toora were gathered here, all sipping tea and warming themselves by the coals. The alchemist didn’t know how much more tea he could have today, but he would never refuse the tea Benton made. It was always good, as were the sweets.

“You’re getting along better than I expected, Benton,” Theo said.

“When given the choice to pick between Khahak and here, the choice was clear. I can’t live without mountains.”

Theo took a bite of his food, nodding to himself. It was as good as ever. “So, about the old world.”

“Right,” Void said. “Just so we’re clear, these meetings stop when the shards return to Iaredin. The gods will be sealed in the heavens after that. But right now, everything is technically in the void, so I can go anywhere.”

“Fancy loophole.”

“You would know,” Void said, the spiral in front of his face spinning faster. “Think of it like this. Earth and another world were connected way back when. We didn’t know how it happened or why, but there was a connection. They smashed together, monsters invaded the planet… it was a mess. Then this bird guy comes along, does some magic something, and everything is fixed.”

“Except it wasn’t. Earth was destroyed.”

“Well, the other world was fixed. Wasn’t it? I guess everything and everyone got sealed away, slowly trickling into this world, and here we are. I would wager the ascendants sealed away the true gods’ arrival until you messed with their plan.”

“The bird guy… It has to be the Harbinger.”

“I’m not aware of the name,” Void said, taking another bite.

“The sun ate Earth. When it did, there was a powerful bird guy there. We only had a few people left who could make the trip, so we went. Most didn’t make it, but here we are. Sixty-thousand years later.”

“Perhaps there was an issue with the way he sealed my world away,” Void said, humming to himself. He brought the pastry to his spiral. It vanished as he took a bite, withdrawing the confection with another bite removed. “I know it wasn’t supposed to work that way. Almost as though someone had mettled with the way things worked. Some sorcerer on Earth fiddled with reality. Or something.”

“Not possible. I’m almost certain there was no magic on Earth, and… Honestly, I can’t even believe the thing about the monsters. Surely there would have been some record of that.”

“And how good were the records on Earth in your time? Two-hundred years after the fact with a broken planet and a broken government. What little I knew of Earth was the reaction of the governments. They went into panic mode, squashing all mention of the Gates and rounding folks up. From what I remember, they even got Jan and a few of the others. That’s how Twist played his gambit.”

Theo rubbed his face. “How important was Jan?”

“Bah. You have too much information already. Figure it out on your own.”

Theo sipped his tea, taking bites from the treat. The mental image and timeline he had of Earth had already changed significantly. Based on what little information he could gather, he knew a few things. There was another world connected to Earth well before he was even born. Monsters came from the other world, attacking Earth thanks to Twist. Jan and a group of people saved the day, only to have the Harbinger screw it up for them, sealing everyone away. It was possible the previous Dreamer was from Earth, but he had no proof. The way Void did his best to avoid a certain topic lingered in his mind, supported by a Wisdom of the Soul message.

“Iaredin was the other world, wasn’t it? Our mortal world was your home.”

Void visibly winced. “I don’t like thinking about it.”

“I wouldn’t like it either. If people from Earth at the end were sent to ruin my planet. You were a mortal before you were a god, right? What happened?”

“You’re getting far too much information from me for free, Theo,” Void said, folding his arms. “Your treats are delicious though, Benton.”

“Come on. What would it matter if you told me? That world is gone.”

“True. None of that affects what’s going on now. Technically, I could tell you everything and not violate the rules. As a Throne Holder, you get special permissions.”

“So…?”

“My people, the maeth, were from a city called Whisperwood. We favored magic above all else, worshiping the spirits of the world rather than a deity. In my time, there was only one god people worshiped. The Goddess of Light. We had a system before Earth latched onto us, and a great reset threw the world into turmoil. The system tried to adapt, creating a council of the twelve greatest people on the planet. I’m not sure what happened, but not everyone came over.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your world,” Theo said, bowing his head in respect. “I’m sorry for what it became.”

“I visited the site of my once-city. The damn elves have taken residence. Of course they have,” Void grumbled.

“Tarantham?” Theo asked.

“That’s right. And that’s all the free questions you get, alchemist. Benton, could you bring me more sweet treats?” Void asked. “I love them.”

“Of course!” Benton said, not-so-subtly eavesdropping on the conversation. He rushed off, returning shortly after with a plate filled with more treats. “We’re honored to have you visit.”

“Might be the last time,” Void said, grabbing another jam-filled confection. “I must take advantage of it while I can.”

“So, are your realms filled with souls?”

“Absolutely not,” Void said. “That was never intended to be the case. The godly realms have a few members of staff, but that’s it. We’re supposed to do everything everywhere else through agents.”

“People who have your cores,” Theo said, nodding.

“Yes. I’ve heard a few people in the mortal world had their cores evolved, and…” Void stopped talking. The spiral in front of his face stopped spinning. “No more questions. How do you like the mountains, Benton?”

Benton found a seat at the long table, picking a pastry for himself. “Oh, we love it. Very similar to home, but different enough to be fresh.”

“How are you growing the grain to make this bread? And the sugar?” Theo asked, shaking his head.

“Trade, actually,” Benton said. “We have a few ore mines around here that we’re working. Traders come in on the road… There is a road that thaws out in spring.”

“Keep at it, Benton. These are otherworldly,” Void said.

Theo enjoyed his time at Benton’s place, but it was growing thin. He thought about the things he needed to accomplish back home. Sulvan needed a break from healing, and his latest batch of Lesser Healing Essence should have been done. The conversation in the room lingered on the toora people, sometimes drifting to the rules. The alchemist couldn’t help himself but ask about bringing people from Khahak or Tero’gal to the mortal world. It was forbidden to go that way, but mortals could come here. To stay. They couldn’t visit unless under special circumstances arose, and Void claimed he would crack down on it in the future.

“I must go,” Void said, springing up from his chair. He bowed his head before vanishing.

“That was abrupt,” Benton said.

“He’s a busy guy.”

Theo spent time in the mountains with the toora. It was interesting enough to see how they had conquered the frigid weather, but they had much more. And not all were the bear-people the alchemist knew from Whisper back in town. Several other races were represented, although all but the bearfolk were sequestered in homes, burning wood or coal to keep themselves warm. He had questions about how many resources the world had, but trusted in Tero’gal to sort itself out. Perhaps through some magical nonsense, it would be unending.

“I’ll try stopping in more often,” Theo said. He stood, groaning under the weight of too many sweets. “Maybe not that often.”

Theo zorped himself back to Broken Tusk, landing in the manor. After waking up that morning, he made his trip to Tero’gal after having breakfast. The few minutes that had passed saw the dining area cleared out, only an empty table behind. He sensed Tresk and Alex off training the goose’s dragon powers. Sarisa and Rowan were nearby, but they were harder to detect after their upgrade to Tero’gal cores. While he could extend his aura—thanks to Shadow’s core—he didn’t. There were potions to brew.

It was late enough in the morning that Salire was already at the shop. She greeted him on the first floor, sitting behind the counter. Although they had no customers, since there was nothing to sell.

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” Theo said, heading upstairs with his assistant.

“I was afraid of the reaction,” Salire said, giving a nervous laugh. “I think I could do it, but… Why risk it?”

“Five stills running fifty units. We should get fifty potions per still, but we’ll get twenty-five. Still, that’s not bad.”

“It could be far worse,” Salire said. “And this is some of the most pure essence I’ve ever seen.”

“Same here. Although we need to do a run from our aligned greenhouse. I’m sure the quality would go up from there.” Theo ascended the stairs to the lab, Salire following close behind. She hadn’t even been within the room this morning, but each still had clicked off on its own. Resting on a table near each still was a flask filled with essence. “Just like when I first arrived, potions that restore health are the most important.”

Salire chuckled to herself, a mischievous expression flashing across her face. “Since we’re producing less potions, I thought this would be neat…”

She produced a vial from her inventory, holding it out for Theo to see. He knew she got her hands on a printing press, but he never expected this. The vial was even more ornate than the ones she had produced from the Glassware Artifice. The body of the vial was squared off, sitting perfectly on the table. Setting off the base look of the vial was the stopper, which along with the plug had a newt-like creature with horns resting at the top. It was easy enough to grab, and made it look even more custom. But that wasn’t the only thing that she had done. A label rested on the front with the text The Newt and Demon, Broken Tusk. The script was ornate, appearing as though it were written by hand.

“You’ve reached a level of fanciness I can’t hope to match,” Theo said. He enjoyed the feel of the square vial more than the rounded one. It set better both in his hand and on the table. “How hard is it to print the labels and stick them to the vials?”

“I got the artifice’s adhesion made working. And it can cut them out based on whatever dimensions I give it.” Salire seemed especially proud about this, beaming at Theo with a permanent smile.

“These are awesome,” Theo said, placing the first vial in position for the reaction. He mixed the essence, water, and catalyst to invoke a reaction. The label and vial looked even better with the pale pink potion inside. “And the cost is minimal. Especially since the Glassware Artifice makes matter from energy.”

Salire clasped her hands together, bouncing with excitement. “I’m beyond happy to be involved at the start this time. I always felt like I was catching up before. But here we are!”

“Why don’t you try the next reaction,” Theo said, gesturing to the flask of essence on the table. “I’d do a mass reaction, but… I have a feeling that it won't end well.”

Salire nodded, withdrawing another labeled vial from her inventory. Theo watched closely, studying the way she measured the quantities out. She wouldn’t have a problem with the first tier. While he was eager to start research on the second tier, there were a few things he wanted to take care of first. Dripping the perfect amount of essence into the vial, followed by the perfect amount of Purified Water, she triggered the reaction. It kicked off perfectly, bubbling just the right amount and releasing enough steam. The scent also seemed right, like vaguely tart berries. That scent was apparently Qavelli Berries, which was a common way to compare things in this world. It smelled more like crushed raspberries to him.

“Looks perfect,” Theo said, studying the vial. “95% just like last time. That might be the theoretical maximum for us right now.”

“Any ideas for the next tier?” Salire asked.

“Yeah, centrifuges and pressure vessels.” Theo had put a lot of thought into this. Based on his experiment with the many stills Throk made for him, this might have been the way forward. He planned to explore every kind of manipulation of essence and mashed reagents as he could. Anything he could create as a parallel process would be ideal. But they would go through a few iterations before they had anything solid. “Don’t worry about that right now. Let’s get small-scale tier 1 potions rolling so our people don’t die.”

“I actually had a thought,” Salire said, gesturing to the vent above their head. “Speaking of theoretical maximums, I’ve got concerns.”

“About the ventilation?” Theo asked, considering it. His intuition said there could be a problem with poor ventilation during the distillation process. If the top fan couldn’t extract enough of the vaporized byproduct, they could run into problems. “If we run ten stills with fifty units each, we’ll put out the same amount as a single still before.”

“Sure, but our essences are more reactive. Shouldn’t we assume the vapors are more reactive?”

“Yeah, that might be a concern… But also consider the speed at which we’re distilling. I can’t reach a conclusion. Should we keep our runs low? We’re producing at a half-to-one ratio now, which sucks.”

For every fifty units of raw reagent and water they put in, they got about twenty-five out. It sucked, but there was nothing they could do about it for now. Introducing another bottleneck wasn’t something Theo was interested in. But there was nothing he could do about it.

“We should run five stills for now,” Salire said. “Give it a few days. Check the air quality while we’re working.”

“How do we check the air quality? Stick our faces above the stills and take a deep breath?”

“Oh, silly demon. You should know the solid relationship I’ve built with the artificers.”

Theo wasn’t surprised when Salire withdrew a device from her inventory. He shook his head, nodding. “Throk just keeps making more interesting stuff, doesn’t he?”

Chapter 56

Odd Properties

The device Salire withdrew from her inventory was interesting. It reminded Theo more of a handheld wind gauge back on earth. The top had a narrow opening with a fan inside while the bottom contained a simple screen. It displayed blocky letters, detailing what it sensed in the air. He inspected the item.

[Gas Detector]

[Artifice]

Rare

Created By: Throk

Detects all foreign gasses in the air, displaying their percentage of concentration on the attached screen.

Attachments:

[Gas Detector]

[Analyzer]

[Battery]

[Display Screen]

“We’re about one step away from computer games,” Theo said.

“I like games.” Salire looked too excited for that.

Theo and Salire got another simple run of Lesser Healing Essence going. Even before starting the run, they could feel how easy it would be to work with the reagents grown in the aligned greenhouse. It wasn’t just the purity of the items, but it was almost as though reagents grown there clicked better with Tero’gal’s alchemy.

“I have a feeling this is going to be way easier,” Theo said, adding the crushed reagents to yet another still. They were almost done filling the five they had, and had no intentions of filling more. They didn’t have more, so there was no choice. “I was thinking about this before, and I wanted to do it the hard way first.”

Salire nodded with excitement. “For the knowledge!”

“The knowledge!” Theo responded.

Salire had come a long way. The Gas Detector was a move that would prevent unexpected explosions, assuming it worked. Theo worked with her for a while, checking the notes she had taken and making adjustments as needed. They stood on a solid foundation now, having paved themselves a path from the start of Tero’gal’s alchemy. Now it was a matter of crawling forward, providing for Broken Tusk’s needs and discovering things along the way.

Instead of making his report into the town’s document interface, Theo left the Newt and Demon and headed for the town hall. Alise was always busy, but she cleared her schedule to get an update. They met in a meeting room with a north-facing window, providing a view of the town’s square, Xam’s tavern and bathhouse, and all the people traveling the road. The alchemist settled into his chair, writing a few numbers on parchment and sliding it across the table.

“Our theoretical maximum for producing potions is at about 125 per day,” Theo said with a shrug. “Which if we aren’t exporting is more than enough.”

Alise nodded, taking the sheet. She continued to nod for too long. “This is better than nothing. I was getting worried.”

“So were we. Worried about Sulvan, that is.”

“He’s been working very hard,” Alise said. She clicked her tongue. “But we got control of many issues that caused injuries. No dungeons waves in… how long?”

“A while.”

“And Xol’sa is spreading the strength of the dungeons between each one. The underground dungeon didn’t go rogue and your golems are holding back whatever creatures lurk in the dark down there. While we have a few missing pieces… we’re good!”

Theo nodded along as she spoke. “So, we’re moving to Tero’gal.”

“Okay. How does that work exactly?” Alise asked.

“I pick the alliance up,” Theo said, motioning as though to scoop some earth into his hands. He deposited the imaginary dirt in another spot. “And put it down.”

Alise gave Theo a withering glare. “You know what I mean. Are we gonna die? Is everyone still mortal or do we become spirits? So on.”

“Here’s the problem. The new gods are the old gods. I got one to talk, and this was their world an age ago. I thought a reset might happen, but now I’m certain of it. Khahar pushed for it, along with a lot of ascendants, but now we’re at the tipping point.”

“So, we just get reset. No big deal, right?”

“Yeah, except I don’t think we can stay during the reset. Void will likely offer us passage into the other worlds, but I don’t want to leave my town or my alliance. This will happen after I move the shards, I think.”

“And your plan is to scoop the land up, bringing it to Tero’gal. I need to know if this will affect our citizens.”

“They need to move anyway. This isn’t a choice they can make. Whatever the gods need to do while resetting the world won’t be pretty. At the least, they’ll have to shut the system down. But the system will remain intact within Tero’gal and Khahak.”

“Okay, why not?”

Theo smiled, happy to see she was mostly onboard. “Tero’gal already has at least a half-million residents. They’re building infrastructure, agriculture, and industry. By the time we arrive, I’m sure everyone will be excited to explore a new world.”

“Dragging everyone there won’t go off without an issue, though,” Alise said. “Is it an original system or the same system?”

“I think Tero’gal wants to make a new system, but that reset should be minor. It doesn’t have to reshape itself because it doesn’t have a system. The only ascendant I know of that retained their cores is Uz’Xulven. Everyone else is in a state of limbo where their cores work a little or not at all.”

“Not that I can argue. What am I going to do about it?” Alise asked.

“We can give everyone the choice to stay or go. If they want to stay here, we can send them off to the Khahari or wherever else they want to go.”

“I suppose that settles it,” Alise said, scribbling notes down. “While we just had a wedding, I wanted to make you aware of something…”

Theo snapped his fingers, nodding with excitement. “First wedding in Tero’gal!”

“What?”

“You want to marry Nira, right? Could you wait until we arrive in Tero’gal? You would be the first two people married in the realm as far as I know. Well, the first two people I care about. We could have a planet-wide celebration.”

Alise’s cheeks went pink as she looked down at her notes. “That might be cool,” she muttered.

“We’re gonna do it. The gods are readjusting the time soon, so everything is going to be weird for a while. I doubt this planet will have the same orbit as before, and… I just realized I don’t know how many days are in a year on Tero’gal. We might not even have months, yet. I’ll name our first month there Nirise.”

“Oh gods, please don’t.” Alise buried her face in her hands.

“I want you to purchase and store as much booze as you can. Enough to get about one-million people wasted.”

“That’s a lot of hooch…”

“Do you want a wedding, or do you want a wedding?”

“I think our meeting is over,” Alise said, standing and bowing slightly. She giggled nervously. “Gotta talk to Nira.”

Theo watched as Alise stormed from the room, a smile hanging on his face. Moving to Tero’gal was exciting. Because he knew the system there would kick off a reset when they moved there permanently. When everyone severed their ties to the mortal world, they would trap themselves in a new one. He was reminded of what the space elves had done to themselves in that pocket of the void. The alchemist still needed to heal them, but he would get to it. He withdrew a dragon’s bone from his inventory, shrugging.

“Why not?” he asked no one in particular. “Might as well figure out what properties a dragon’s bone can make… right?”

Before undertaking the task of destroying a piece of a not-god, Theo considered unexpected consequences. The Reagent Deconstruction ability wasn’t aligned with Tero’gal or Drogramath. Using it on the dragon bones should have been fine. But things going correctly hadn’t been in the cards lately, so he would treat the task with caution. He couldn’t think of a place in town suitable for an ascendant-level explosion, so wandered out the gate near Miana’s ranch. He always loved seeing several marshlings riding tamed Marsh Wolves. 

The train zipped off, heading north with a load of passengers and cargo. Angling northeast, the track followed the path of the river, fording its own path some ways in the unseeable distance. When there were no more shadows to cling to, Sarisa and Rowan came forth. Compared to their old Baelthar cores, the Tero’gal versions of their stealth ranger and guardian cores had a much more potent effect.

“We’re gonna blow something up, aren’t we?” Sarisa asked.

“I’ve made peace with my life. I’m ready to die,” Rowan said.

“You’ll be fine, stinky,” Theo said, picking a spot far away from anything important. These fields were open, rolling hills punctuated in very few places with minor stone formations.

“I don’t stink,” Rowan said, genuinely wounded.

“You do kinda stink, though.”

Theo withdrew a small segment of the dead ascendant dragon’s bones. He would love to pretend he could feel some radiating sense of divinity, but he didn’t. Instead, he compared it closer to some reanimated skeleton fragments he had deconstructed. But before getting to work, he created some shields that would catch errant explosions. Might as well take advantage of his Tero’gal Mage’s Core.

“Outside of the shield, right?” Rowan asked.

Sarisa rolled her eyes. “No, stand right next to the thing that might explode.”

“It’ll give you character,” Theo said, positioning himself behind the shimmering shield. The dragon’s bone rested on the ground, ready to be turned into primal essence. With his advanced control of his mana, he levitated some onto the other side of the protective shields. Mana dripped onto the white bone, sizzling on the surface. Steam rose from the points it touched, soon filling the open air a strange scent. “Try not to breathe that in.”

Sarisa and Rowan both held their breath.

Theo felt the bone’s properties through his senses. There was power within them—raw strength he could never hope to match. An undercurrent of a dynamic will was left behind, something like a building thunderstorm. These feelings he got from the bone’s deconstruction were vague, coming as ideas rather than defined things. He let the mana drip onto it, allowing the gasses to vent into the air. Dumping a puddle would’ve been too sudden, creating a violent reaction, but this seemed fine.

Rowan fell to the side, his face blue. He gasped for air, looking up with a fearful expression.

“There shouldn’t be enough vapor to harm you,” Theo said. “I guess this is what you would call impure essence, according to the system.”

Sarisa took a deep breath. “I win. Again,” she mocked, grinning down at her brother.

Even before the bones were done melting into dust, Theo could feel the significance of them. Between his intuition and experience, he knew a potion brewed from any of the revealed properties would be difficult to create. The first three properties rolled in without an issue, but the hidden one was stubborn. While the bone was ash, it refused to give up its secrets.

“That’s it,” Theo said, stepping into the protective barriers to collect the primal essence.

“Did you get something good?” Rowan asked, still on the ground.

“Hard to answer that question without doing some brewing,” Theo said. “But that third property is… weird. Actually, all of them are weird.”

“What are they?”

Theo pulled another bone from his inventory, examining it.

[Quindalias Bone]

[Alchemy Ingredient] [Dragon Ascendant Bone]

A piece of the Dragon Ascendant Quindalias’ skeleton.

Properties:

[Soar] [Lost Hope] [Dragon’s Insight]

“I’m not sure what I think about ‌Lost Hope. Think that’s a useless property?” Sarisa asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Theo said. “Sometimes I’ll get useless properties on reagents. Soar is likely a temporary flight power, and we can assume Dragon’s Insight gives you information. It might be like the Dragon Apple.”

Testing reagents for properties was one thing, but extracting them with the new alchemy system could be tricky. With Drogramath’s system, he expected something to happen but with Tero’gal’s system? The unexpected was almost guaranteed. Crushing the bones shouldn’t have been a problem, as they seemed more brittle than they should have been. But a system for experimenting with unknown materials was needed. And Theo didn’t want to spend his lab upgrades on the experimentation room.

That was a big problem with the way the buildings gained upgrades. The higher one went in the levels, the more enticed they were to take the newest upgrade. Those older features usually couldn’t hold a candle to the newer ones, resulting in them being left behind every time. But as Theo thought about it, he wouldn’t complain. A testing chamber under the lab was fine, but couldn’t Drogramathi Iron do the same thing? It wouldn’t even anger Throk, since the new resident smith Thim could handle the job.

Theo left the clearing, dismissing his barriers and heading off to the blacksmith’s workshop. He found the dwarf near the forge, pounding iron into shape and humming a tune.

“Been a while, Thim,” Theo said, bowing his head.

“Because you only show up when you need something.”

“Just because you took Throk’s job, doesn’t mean you need to absorb his personality.”

Thim gave him a flat look, pausing his work on the metal. “So you’re not here to demand some silly project?”

“Would you call safety silly?” Theo asked, placing his hands on his hips. “I think not. Anyway, I need about ten-thousand units of Drogramathi Iron or Azrugium formed into an experimentation chamber.”

Thim gestured with his hammer, narrowing his eyes. “Yeah, see? You like to pretend it isn’t weird, then you say stuff like that.” He paused for a few breaths before sighing. “How big?”

Theo explained his needs and the location he wanted the structure built. After Thim heard how simple it would be, he agreed. For a price. But the alchemist owned the chains that produced the metal, meaning it would cost him almost nothing. It was just the labor that needed time. But blacksmiths in this world could work wonders with metal. When they slammed their hammers into a bar, it deformed into a shape of their liking.

Yes, Theo could simply maintain barriers in an open field, but he wanted an extra layer of protection. Throk’s counterfeit coin operation had done well with physical barriers, and he’d feel better having a thick sheet between the ascendant’s bones and the wider world.

“This might take a few days,” Thim said. He gestured to the other anvils in the workshop. “But I have quite a few apprentices for the job.”

“Good,” Theo said, tossing Thim a few gold coins for the deposit. “I look forward to blowing the giant metal box up.”

Thim shook his head. “Alchemists…”

Chapter 57

Help for the Space Elves

Theo stepped through Xol’sa’s portal, standing awkwardly on the first floor antechamber. He had spent most of yesterday—the day he ordered the big metal box from Thim—actually relaxing. For once, he didn’t force himself to push harder, creating whatever land features the town needed, dealing with heavenly problems, or otherwise bogging himself down with concerns. He stood on the bottom floor of the tower, looking at the stairs and hesitating. The alchemist stepped outside, closed the door, and knocked.

It only took a few minutes of pounding for Xol’sa to come downstairs, opening the door with a confused look on his face. “Why are you out here?”

“I didn’t know if… You know.”

A smile spread across Xol’sa’s face. “We lock the door to our chambers, you know.”

“Right. I didn’t want to push, but have you made progress on the interdimensional beacon and tether?”

Xol’sa clasped his hands together, a look of excitement spreading across his features. “For once, I’m able to help you with otherworldly affairs. I have prototypes, and many problems. Let’s head up to my lab.”

Theo followed Xol’sa up the stairs, nodding to Zarali as they passed the sitting room on  a lower floor. They found their way to the lab, where several crystalline devices were sitting on a table. The power from within them was familiar, as though they held pieces of the void itself. The alchemist wouldn’t doubt if they did.

“The tether won’t be a problem. You only need to get the shards into the void,” Xol’sa said, gesturing to one device. It must have been the tether. “But you have a massive problem to overcome. Two of them, actually.”

“What might that be?”

“Your first problem is placing the beacons. They need to go to specific spots. That’s bad news, but I have worse news.”

“I love bad news.”

“Many of those locations are in Tarantham. A shockingly high number, actually.” Xol’sa gestured to a map of the world on the wall.

Theo grit his teeth as he looked. Xol’sa had marked eight points on the map for Tarantham, while there were only as many in other places of the world. “What’s up with the density of shards over there?”

“I can only cast the spell that finds their intended location,” Xol’sa said, shrugging. “After being clued into the signature they left, it is trivial for my class core. It does reveal a concerning question, though. You’re right about that. Who and why. Who placed them there, and why. Perhaps the old gods come to roost? I cannot say.”

“Hold on, what’s the second problem?”

“My people,” Xol’sa said plainly. “You’re not planning to abandon them, are you?”

“I have a loose plan.”

“No you don’t,” Xol’sa said, patting Theo on the shoulder. “I know that look in your eye. You’re intending to wing it.”

Theo clicked his tongue. The space elf wasn’t wrong. “I’m facing a difficult problem. I still don’t have a mortal cure. And with the new rules, I don’t know how they’ll react if I bring them to Tero’gal or Khahak. The Realm of Healing—Hallow’s world—is out of the question. That place is off-limits for all mortals. My Dreamwalker’s Core is kinda reluctant to even take me there.”

“You need to better understand the nature of the sickness,” Xol’sa said. “I think the gods have some responsibility in this. You should lodge a complaint.”

Theo offered a nervous smile. “Lodge a complaint with the gods…”

“What happened to you? You would have jumped at the chance to spit in Drogramath’s face.”

Theo thought about that for a moment. Xol’sa wasn’t wrong, but the alchemist had some idea about the true nature of the ascendants before he learned the truth. They seemed too unlike gods to be given the title. But these new gods were gods. Perhaps the space elf did have a point, though…

“I think we can petition Hallow for help. Maybe if I go to the Realm of Healing with Khahar. Actually, I don’t know if Glantheir calls it that anymore.”

“Put it this way. Don’t ask them for help curing the sickness. Ask the gods to tell you what the issue is, and we can work from there.” Xol’sa smacked Theo on the back. “You’re in the rare position to do this, my friend.”

“Okay,” Theo said, letting out a breath.

Before vanishing the way he normally did, Theo considered any chores he needed to do today. Salire could handle the stills for now. They would not jump to the next tier for a few days. Not until the experimentation chamber was completed. Reforming the landscape could also go on the back burner. That left this project. Saving the space elves.

“Fine. I’ll see what I can do. But you need to be on standby.”

“Oh, I won’t be leaving my tower for a few weeks,” Xol’sa said, winking.

Theo dropped through the veil in an instant. His Dreamwalker’s Core wrapped in him a bubble of protection as he considered his next destination. Khahak, the Realm of Healing, or… The alchemist angled himself to the bright formation at the center of the system. He sailed through the darkness of the void, almost blinded as he reached his destination. Driving snow assailed his senses as he landed, a raised platform of snow-dusted stone ahead. The twelve spots, representing twelve gods, sat empty. The system stood in the center.

“Hello,” Theo said, waving awkwardly.

“Permission granted,” the system said.

Theo froze, nodding to himself slowly. “I guess I don’t need to verbalize it, huh?”

“You do not.”

“And I’ll just get going now, if that’s okay…”

“It would be best if you did. Approach Hallow’s mark.”

So, instead of diving through the void to make his way to the Realm of Healing, he would dive into some circle on the ground. Whatever the system wanted, it got. Theo turned to look at the figure before stepping on the circle. His eyes glossed over the unoccupied spots. There were still godly positions up for grabs? Interesting.

Theo felt a strange sensation grab him by the navel and toss him through infinity. It was too different from passing through the void, feeling more like being ripped apart and put back together again. He felt his Dreamwalker’s Core keeping him together. A breath later, he was standing in the House of Healing, looking upon Glantheir… John… Hallow. A man of many names.

“The process is changing by the day,” Theo said, looking around. The realm seemed much as it was before. Perhaps it wasn’t the same exact realm, but it looked the same. The one thing it lacked was elves. A few mingled around the area, but not nearly as many as there were before.

“Nice to see you, Theo,” Hallow said, placing a hand on Theo’s shoulder. 

His smile was so warm and inviting, the alchemist considered staying in the realm forever. What did the mortal world matter, anyway? Theo shook his head, unable to dislodge the thought. Then the pressure subsided from the god… A true god.

“Sorry about that,” Hallow said, gesturing for Theo to head to a sitting area on a balcony. “I haven’t had an ascendant in my realm, yet. Not after the recent changes.”

Theo jabbed a thumb at himself. “Not an ascendant.”

Hallow smiled, pointing an opposing finger at him. “Yes, an ascendant. The true definition of the world.”

“Censure!” Void said, springing from nowhere. “I vote for censure.”

Hallow turned, narrowing his eyes at the spiral-faced god. “I’ll say no more. Can I give him the diagnosis for the lost elves?”

Void folded his arms, sighing. “Yeah.”

“They need new brains,” Hallow said with no fanfare.

“Well, that was a tad too specific,” Void said.

Hallow turned to Void, shaking his head. “Do you want the shards back in place, or what?”

“Yes, I would like them to go back.”

“Then let the man work. This will take forever if he has to figure out how to heal them without help.” Hallow looked slightly grumpy at the appearance of the other god.

Theo could tell things were still being ironed out here in the new heavens. They didn’t have decent organization or well-defined rules. The new gods were working things as they went out, and this period where the mortal world was without the shards served as a trial. At least this gave the alchemist wiggle room as he solved the problem plaguing Xol’sa’s people.

“Thanks for the information,” Theo said, bowing his head. “I hope things are going well here.”

“Censure!” Void shouted. “I vote to remove Theo from his position.”

“You can’t remove ascendants,” Hallow said. “That’s the point of the thrones.”

“We can go back to calling them throne-holders,” Theo said, unsure about the confusion the term ‘ascendants’ would cause. “I vote for that.”

“You don’t get a vote,” Void said. “You can leave, now.”

Theo looked around, shrugging. “I have permission to be here.”

“Don’t make me hate you, Theo.” Void glowered.

There was some more information Theo wanted about the old world. How everything had played out before his world was destroyed. Each step led to this new world, and the plots that came with it. Perhaps if he could understand why things had happened back then, he could come to terms with this world. It seemed to him two worlds had been destroyed. But if the restart for this planet went well, that would be the end of the cycle.

“Love you, Void,” Theo said, slipping through the cracks. He felt the god right on his tail, bringing with it an oppressive sense of power. The alchemist appeared in the system’s area, then dropped into the void. Void was right behind him, angling directly for the outer areas of the void. Some time later—it was hard to tell exactly how long—he set foot on the land haunted by space elves. “I really hate this place.”

“As do I, my boy,” Void said, elbowing Theo in the thigh. He couldn’t reach the alchemist’s ribs.

“Why are you talking like that?” Theo asked, patting Void on the head. “And why did you follow me?”

Void cast his spiraled face at the ground. “I admit. You might need help with this one, and it won’t break any rules for me to help you. I’ve said it before, but this place is the void. I have influence over it.”

“But you can’t cure their brain-meat?” Theo asked.

“Only mortal means can do that. I’m the master of the void, not the sicknesses it creates.”

“So, a regrowth potion?” Theo asked. Void shook his head. “Regeneration potion?”

“Nope. You got what you need, though… For now. Wink wink, nudge nudge.”

Theo’s intuition turned over like gears in a great machine. In a snap, he knew which potion he needed to craft to heal the statue-like elves. He spotted some near the forest, lurking around like stock-still goblins. The creepy factor never left.

“I could whip the correct potion up in half a day if I still had my Drogramath cores…”

“Woe is you. Let’s talk about your plan before you head back to the mortal world,” Void said, shaking his head. “You wanna gouge a section of the planet out and take it with you, huh?”

“I knew the new gods could hear better than the old ones.”

“I’m not opposed to it in principle. But it needs to go to a vote in the heavens. Just warning you.”

Theo wouldn’t say it aloud, but he was happy to have the favor of at least three gods. Assuming Void liked him, and wasn’t just putting on a show. With only a few other seats filled, he had nothing to worry about.

“The gods have agreed to do a reset?” Theo asked.

“It wouldn’t be the first reset of this world. Although, we hope it will be the last.”

Theo found his mind falling away from concerns related to moving his alliance. He knew he could do it, if there was enough cause for his Dreamwalker’s Core to bring the place with him. His mind instead swirled around the things he would need to craft a potion for the space elves. The one he had in mind was third tier… technically. Suffuse potions were hard to track, so it might be possible to craft one at the second tier. The process wouldn’t be pretty, and he couldn’t guarantee it would work.

“I’m just happy to have a stock of Troll Blood sitting around… Because who the hell needs Troll Blood?”

“That’s the spirit!” Void said, slapping Theo on the butt. “Sorry, meant to hit your leg. Ahem. Anyway, good luck with all that. Stay here much longer and you’ll be eaten by ravenous space elves.”

“Yeah, screw this place,” Theo said, falling into the void.

The trip back to the mortal world was simple. Theo built a list of things he needed in his mind to make this happen. Working with primal essences would make this easier, and he had a stock of LIghtning Poppy growing based on Tero’gal’s requirements. But his confidence in this plan wasn’t great. Before creating this new potion, he would need to get second tier Tero’gal alchemy working…

Theo landed back where he started, finding Salire working in the lab. As he had expected, she was tending to their new, smaller lab. She greeted him, watching as he rushed to go through their stock of reagents.

“What are you looking for?”

Theo held up a flask of Searing Regeneration Essence. “I found a cure for the space elves.”

“Hooray!”

“But we need to get second tier working now.”

“Boo!”

Theo already had an idea how to get it working. The clues were right before him, easy to pick up if one was experienced with alchemy. During his testing of stills to distill reagents, he noticed something strange. Only two types of stills made it to the final stages with any effectiveness. The one with the paddle, and the centrifuge.

“We’re talking about removing impurities from essence. What better way?”

“Oh. Throk made a few versions of those for you…” Salire dug through a nearby crate, pulling out a few 50-unit stills for him to check.

Now that Theo knew what he was looking for, he dismissed all but one. He wouldn’t use the heating feature on this one, only the spinning action. This was an iteration from the vertical and horizontal shaker. Those had the effect of agitating the contents, while those would have a separation effect. If everything went according to plan, they would squeeze a few more percentage points of purity out of the essence, resulting in a second tier essence.

“Let’s get this set up outside,” Theo said. “Bring some Lesser Healing Essence.”

“Let’s go!”