The Newt and Demon - Book 8 Chapters 79,80,81

Chapter 79

Seriously, More Eggs

“An egg?” Tresk asked, scratching her head. “What the hell is he doing with an egg?”

The projected image lingered there in the portal, but no matter how long Theo watched Fenian perform his feats of valor, he couldn’t figure out what the egg was for. “No living things exist in Death’s Gate, right?” he asked.

“Correct. He brought it from outside,” Death said. “Despite this information, I don’t know what he’s doing with it.”

“Drop the temporal field,” Theo said, clearing his throat after he remembered who he was talking to. “Please drop the field. I’d like to see if anything changes on his end.”

Death smiled, waving a lazy hand through the air. “He’s had the egg for a while. Things might not change as quickly as you think.”

“Kinda looks like a dragon egg,” Tresk said.

Theo shared a look with his companion. They didn’t need words, and without uttering another sound, the marshling folded the void on itself. The pair shared a few choice thoughts, some of concern, and others of interest. For now, the alchemist would temper his expectations. Depending on what Fenian’s plan was, this could be interesting. It could also be horrific, holding a lot of negative impacts for their relationship with the dragons.

“I find it hard to be around you two,” Death said. “How insufferable it is that you don’t need to speak.”

"Our bond is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal," Theo said, reading Tresk's thoughts as she had a conversation with Pogo. “Even now, I can split my conversation between here and where Tresk is. I can kind of participate in both at the same time, but that's mostly thanks to Alex. She acts as something of a brain buffer for us.”

"Your souls are intertwined on a conceptual level," Death said. "I wonder if it would be possible to expand your capabilities even more."

Theo released an involuntary laugh. He turned, cocking his head to one side as he looked upon the face of Death. It was a person he had considered a potential enemy for so long. Now he was trying to tell the alchemist how to get more powerful. That just showed that his perception of the man had been wrong this entire time.

"That's an interesting proposal. What do you have in mind?"

Death revealed just how deep his knowledge of the soul went. Theo’s claim to fame was his mastery of the Reforge Soul technique, but that was only scratching the surface when compared to the god’s knowledge of souls and soul-based magic. Most of the concepts Death put forward were over Theo's head, but he did his best to follow along and offer counterarguments when necessary. It didn't take long for Tresk to return from her mission. She approached the gate with Pogo in tow. The dragon had a confusing mix of emotions playing across her face, and the alchemist wasn't certain he could exactly read her right now.

"Show me this interloper," Pogo said, hands on her hips as she glared at Death. "I don't care who you are. Show me what happened."  

Death only offered a faint shrug, waving his hand through the air as he created the temporal bubble once again. "I had nothing to do with this. Fenian acted on his own. I assume this means he stole an egg from your clutch."  

"That's right, he did, but the eggs weren't viable. We couldn't get a dragon soul to be imparted into them." Pogo looked slightly less annoyed and more curious. “He stole a few from the Storm Flight. Not sure how or why, but he did.”

Death frowned, looking at his gate with disappointment. “My gate is having trouble producing the image. Hold on…”

Theo witnessed godly tech support in real time. Death did a bunch of things, which involved quite a lot of magical incantations and bursts of power, but the thing that worked was a firm smack on the side of Death’s Gate. He had to stop and start the temporal field a few times before the image came back. When it did, the group uttered a collective gasp. Except for Alex, she blew a small ball of fire.

The clear image that appeared in the gate showed Fenian with his two crystal swords, still finding his way through the endless landscape. What was different, though, was the dragon-whelp fighting alongside him. Pogo was the first to react, throwing her hands up in the air, screaming, crying for a bit, and then laughing like an insane person.

“What an absolute madman!” Pogo shouted, grabbing Death by the shoulders and shaking him. “Do you have any idea what he just did?!”

“Unfortunately, I do,” Death grumbled, looking back at the image and scoffing. “I wish that it violated some rules, but it doesn’t.”

"For those of us who aren't up on our soul magic, could you tell us what happened?" you asked. "Did he really bind a soul to the dragon egg and then hatch it?"  

"That's exactly what he did," Pogo said. "I think he used some kind of necromancy, but that's basically what happened.  “

“I didn't think that a normal mortal soul would accept a binding to something like a dragon's egg. There are some questions of biology that just don't make sense, here,” Death said. “Is that another egg?”

“Balls,” Theo said. “I think I know which souls he’s after. You said the queue stretches out back to the past, right?”

“Correct.”

“Look how fast he’s moving,” Theo said. “He’s gaining power as he goes along, so he’s hitting the different eras quicker.”

“He could’ve just asked me for the souls,” Death said.

“Would you have given them to him, though?” Tresk asked.

“No, likely not,” Death said. “But it would’ve been polite to ask.”

Theo rubbed his face, trying to look at the upside of this whole ordeal. Fenian was robbing Death’s Gate, but it wasn’t against the rules. The mechanism that kept the gate functioning said nothing about a mortal going inside to grab some souls. The mortal in question should’ve died from the guardians. Instead, the mortal in question, a very motivated elf, was gaining an absurd amount of power and leaving with a few souls…

The problem was that those souls were being implanted into dragon whelps. Well, the young dragons weren’t the problem. It was the fact that by the time those dragons came out of the gate, they would be fully grown. Fenian would have an army of dragons when he emerged, and it was anyone’s guess as to what his intentions were. The other upside was that Pogo was happy about this. They weren’t true dragon souls, but she would have a few more dragons for her Dragon Flights.

“This is fantastic,” Pogo said, clasping her hands together. “We’ll have too many dragons before long.”

“He’s only bringing back a few,” Theo said. He found himself transfixed by the images within the gate. “My concern is him. That can’t be good for his psyche.”

“No kidding. Do you see how he’s tearing those monsters apart?” Tresk asked. “He’s on a different level.”

Theo thought about it for a moment, listening passively as the conversation rolled on with the others. Eventually, he nodded to himself. “Can you keep an eye on him, Death?”

“I certainly will,” Death said. “Anything I should look for in particular?”

“Can you talk him down from his insane bloodlust?” Theo asked.

Death took a breath, then shook his head. “I don’t think we’ll need to. He’s talking to the whelp.”

***

The haze was impenetrable. The marks on the handle of his sword were completely unreadable. Fenian didn’t know how long he had been in the blood haze, but his muscles swelled with unimaginable power. It wasn’t his goal to get strong within Death’s Gate. His only intention had been to find Tinesa, and now her soul was saved. A familiar sensation had spread through him a few times during the haze, but he could hardly recognize it.

Then came the concept of something to protect, and the long road required to get another person as strong as he was. It had been hundreds of years after that sensation came that he was brought somewhat to his senses, and another few hundred before he snapped to reality. Fenian stopped, skidding along the ground as something landed next to him. Memories of the whelp came back in a nauseating wave. He fell to his knees, feeling the millennia of battle shake his body all at once.

“What, you’re resting now?” a familiar voice asked from behind. “Done muttering about saving some idiots you don’t even know.”

Fenian’s voice came out as a rasping thing he hardly recognized. “I made a promise.”

“And look where that promise got you,” Tinesa said. “By the Lady’s light, you have a beard! I’ve always hated when you grow a beard. Don’t get me started on mustaches.”

Fenian turned. Although he had expected to see the lovely face of sweet, demure Tinesa, he found a dragon. A fully grown dragon, with scales the color of a frozen lake on a snowy day. Radiating from her came a power that could only be that of an ancient dragon. How long had it been since her soul had bound to the egg? The blood haze threatened to take over him again, but there she was.

“Up on your feet,” Tinesa said, blowing a puff of icy breath. “Unless you’re finally slowing down, old man.”

Fenian rose, his twin crystal swords catching what little light there was. In an instant, a thousand years of insanity flushed from his mind. “Not to worry, my darling,” he said, withdrawing a new hat from his inventory. His hair was a mess, but this would have to do for now. “We’re nearing our destination. Then, we can leave with haste.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Tinesa asked. “Your cursed plan worked.”

“Everything according to plan, my flower,” Fenian said, bowing and sweeping his swords behind him. “I’m afraid you have about a century of things to catch up on. And, if you don’t mind me saying, you simply must master the shifting ability. This form doesn’t suit you.”

Tinesa spread her wings wide, shards of ice falling to the ground as she flexed. “Dragons aren’t your thing? Come on. What’s more powerful than a dragon?”

“All the same. You won’t fit in the house,” Fenian said. Looking down at the state of his clothes, he was surprised to see them in rags. With how hard he had been fighting, he had expected them to be shredded to atoms. But the self-repair enchantment had done its job well enough to keep them intact. What he didn’t mind seeing was the light race just underneath his skin. Along with a bulkier physique, he had also infused himself with enough celestial energy to blur the lines between a mortal and otherworldly body.

“What was the name of the first target?” Tinesa asked.

“Sargeant Bawa,” Fenian said. “I think we’re close. Perhaps a few thousand years off, based on the lack of spirits here.”

“Flying might be faster,” Tinesa teased. “You wingless whelp.”

“Oh, my. Do you think you can keep up with me?” Fenian teased right back. “Let’s see how well you know your new body.”

The dragon shot forward like a bolt, stirring up a hurricane that sent chimeric horrors flying for miles around. Fenian braced himself against the winds, coiling on the spot as he shot forward. The madness wouldn’t return to him again. Not after hearing her voice. It was a sound he had dreamed about since she had died, and her soul was an all-consuming thought. He had been ready to watch worlds burn to find her. Instead, it had only required the most hardened of wills.

That willpower was fading fast, but that didn’t mean Fenian was without recourse. Doing the dirty work of some awful bird-thing was rough, and his plan had been to use that favor, currently resting in his inventory, to teleport out of Death’s hell. Now, with the insane gains both he and his wife had made by fighting endless waves of chimera, he had a different thought.

What if that favor was used to hold his mind together? What if, instead of retreating from this difficult situation, he exploited it? Perhaps it was finally his turn to bend the system over his knee and give it a good spanking.

Fenian Feintleaf, born 4823 years after the founding of Kuzan’s original kingdom as Ivaran Vieux, had finally recovered the soul of his wife, Tinesa Vieux. There existed no god in the universe strong enough to pull them apart now. After giving her a body suitable for one so skilled in magic, they barreled toward the souls of Morales, Bawa, Balchev, and another. He knew the dawn of a new Dragon Flight was just over the horizon.

His debt to Yuri Valkov would be paid in full and the Herald would return before the reset to fulfill his duties to the sector.

Chapter 80

You Were Never Meant To

“What exactly is going on here?” Theo asked, squinting down at the “fight” taking place in the arena below.

“Uh… what’s the word?” Tresk tapped her chin, leaning over the desk to upset the elven commentator. “Oh, you’d say something like ‘interpretive dance.’”

“Yeah, but why?”

Tresk shrugged. “Some people just like dancing!” She wiggled a bit, imitating a dance. It wasn’t good, but she tried.

Everything was lined up as well as it could’ve been. The reset could happen today, and Theo would be happy with their progress. He had the potions prepared that he needed for the swap, and could merge with Tresk and Alex at a moment’s notice to get the job done. He had promises from the system and the heavens that the remaining souls would be brought along while the planet reformed. And there were a bunch of uncoordinated people dancing in the arena below.

One of them was apparently winning.

This was a sign that it was just about time to go. Since the arena games had wrapped up the main fights, there were only a few stragglers left to take care of. Dancing, crafting, a few more rounds of cooking, and that’d be everything. Theo didn’t care if they did the awards on the mortal plane or on Tero’gal, as he doubted it would make much of a difference. The only thing he waited for was the return of Fenian and… whatever dragons he had created.

The alchemist let out a labored sigh, walking from the viewing window and plopping onto a sofa. Tresk was quick to follow, doing a cannonball and letting out an equally dramatic sigh. “Copper for your thoughts?”

“I expected you to use an Earth idiom.” Theo shook his head, regarding the concerned look on his companion’s face. “Everything is fine. I’m just eager to get going.”

“Let’s go now!” Tresk said, licking her lips. “Why not!? How long will it take you to reforge everyone? Might as well start now.”

“Fenian. He’s an ass, sure, but that guy has helped us more than I’d like to admit.”

“Bah.”

Over the next few days, Theo lit a fire under the butts of the administrators. This would’ve been a good move during an emergency with a normal population. But the booze… The alchemist had underestimated how much liquor they could drink. Things were getting more rowdy by the hour, with roving parties working their way through the Southlands Alliance. They held “doomsday” parties, where people got so drunk they could hardly stand.

One morning, Theo walked through the sprawling buildings Ziz and his boys had constructed, looking at the piles of hungover people scattered around. It wasn’t just Broken Tuskers who were going all out. No, it was just about everyone that had come to watch the arena games. Elves, lizard-folk, dwarves, half-ogres, and even little broglings had consumed more than their fair share. He had to consider what their motives were.

“Are they doing this to endure the thought of the reset?” Theo asked, scratching his head as Sarisa and Rowan walked alongside him. “And why aren’t you guys similarly blitzed?”

Sarisa was the first to shrug. “We’ve got a job to do. Can’t go getting drunker than a goblin in a tavern just because stuff gets hard.”

“I think they’re coping well, considering all the facts.” Rowan shrugged, kicking gently at a prone elf. “But I have to admit… This is hard to look at.”

Theo grumbled, not sure how he should take the fact that his plan had backfired. At first, he had suspected the citizens of Broken Tusk couldn’t be trusted with liquor. Now he had learned they’d be completely fine with it, so long as they had a job to do the next day. Breaking him from his thoughts, a strange shiver ran up his spine. The alchemist stopped, tilting his head to one side as he examined the sensation.

Somewhere distant, a gong sounded.

“That’s odd.” Extending his senses as far as they would go, Theo sensed nothing but the background noise of the world. “Something changed.”

“Something?” Rowan asked nervously. “Sounds ominous.”

“Should we sound the alarm?” Sarisa asked.

Theo scratched his head. Jumping like a scared cat at everything that was odd wasn’t a good way to go about life. But with the current circumstances…

“Yeah. Just in case.” Theo took a breath to examine the feeling, finally finding some words to express the sensation. “Something is pushing. Maybe against my authority?”

“Don’t look at me.” Sarisa slapped her brother on the back. “Come on. Let’s put everyone on alert.”

Watching as his companions went, Theo just stood there to figure out what the hell was going on. It didn’t take long for both Alex and Tresk to approach from the sky. They had been flying around, doing their own thing all morning.

“Did you feel it?” Tresk asked.

“Yeah. What was it?”

“We’re unsure. Perhaps it is time to check in with the Arbiter,” Alex said.

Theo only nodded, wrapping everyone in his aura before folding the void. The instant they had passed through that conceptual place, the alchemist got a better idea of what was happening. And he didn’t like it. Something was knocking.

The Arbiter’s chambers at the top of his citadel were big. But not quite large enough for a full-sized dragon to roam around. Theo and Tresk left Alex outside before taking the elevator. Although it felt quite silly, they knocked on his massive door and waited for the voice from within to call them. It didn’t take long, and the moment Khahar spoke the words, “Enter,” the doors swung inward.

“Took you two long enough,” Khahar said, shaking his head in disappointment. “Looks like we have a situation brewing.”

“A knock, right?” Theo asked.

“More like a battering ram slamming against the outside of the bubble.”

“Hold up,” Tresk said. “How that work? Time stuff be weird.”

“I don’t know how that works.” Khahar projected some spell arrays in the air. “I’m going to guess the system is dialing down the time dilation of our bubble.”

“Ah. So, we have visitors.” Theo chuckled wryly. “As expected.”

“We’ll need to check with the system, but that seems to be the case.” Khahar circled through the arrays, but eventually gave up. “I’m talking with Elrin’s people, so we’ll have a coordinated defense. But, there is a minor problem.”

Of course, it wasn’t a “minor” problem. Theo expected something horrible. “What is it?”

“From what I understand, the mortal world is important.” Khahar reclined in his chair, letting out a heavy sigh. “The academy world, as unprepared as it is, should catch most invaders. But if some slip through, they’ll go for the mortal world.”

“Great. So, we need to defend it.” Tresk said. “Easy mode.”

“Maybe. Depending on the size of the force.” Khahar scratched his chin as though this was all too much to process. “Theo, I want you to leave this stuff to me. Okay? I think I can handle it… so long as I can go back to the mortal plane.”

Theo winced. They hadn’t fully tested Khahar’s new abilities and he wasn’t on the level he needed to repel something like that. But if the alchemist remembered anything of the old Yuri, it was that he didn’t take on a job he couldn’t do.

“Think the authority of the Arbiter is enough?” Theo asked.

“Don’t forget I have my own forces. With my authority, I think I can transport fighters to the mortal plane.” Khahar finally stood. “I can finally serve as the leader of the throne holders, now that I can travel. Theo, I want you to coordinate with the system. Tresk, I want you and Alex with me so we can coordinate our forces. Theo will run between the heavens and the system to relay information. I know Broken Tusk is precious to you, so I’ll ensure you get the signal to move it before the fighting starts.”

Theo nodded. The plan wasn’t bad, and it fell in line with their roles. Tresk would fill Fenian’s role as defender of the mortal realm, which made a lot of sense. Elrin had also volunteered to be part of that effort, so that was good. The Warriors of the Shard would handle Leon’s planet. Khahar filled his role as the Arbiter, deflecting attacks from outside the sector. And Theo would simply do the thing his throne was meant for, traveling the void to offer a supportive role.

“That works for me.” Theo let out a heavy sigh. “Can’t believe we’re finally at this point.”

“Nothing to worry about.” Khahar waved a dismissive hand. “We’re prepared for this. Even without Fenian, we’ll be fine.”

Theo didn’t want to voice his doubts, instead just nodding and falling through the void. He trusted Tresk to do her best to defend the mortal realm. It wouldn’t be easy, but as long as Khahar had the forces he promised, it should be possible. The important part, as far as the alchemist understood, was to ensure the safety of the Shards. Those were the world anchors which literally held the planet together. Now that they were playing by sector rules, those shards had to stay in place.

Arriving at the system’s snowy area a few moments later, Theo approached the raised platform. He wasn’t surprised to see all the gods assembled there, chattering away about something.

“We must remember that without the help of the Warriors, we would’ve been unprepared,” Silver said, crossing her arms as she looked toward the other, high-realm gods.

“Indeed. You’ve done well to thwart it, Shadow.”

“My pleasure,” the amalgam of darkness said, his voice sounding more like that of a snake’s.

“What happened?” Theo asked, clearing his throat to gain their attention.

“Ah, perfect,” Death said, clapping his hands together. “We were attacked. A god from outside the sector broke through the time barrier.”

The system turned, regarding Theo with a placid expression. “As expected,” she said. “It seems these gods will retain their places.”

“Bah! Whole lot of nonsense.” Void crossed his arms. “Release the Seal of Passage and I’ll have this sorted in a minute.”

Theo tuned the gods out when they argued. The system noticed this, smiling at him and reaching out to press some invisible button. All at once, the gods went silent. Their mouths still moved, and they still gestured at each other, but he simply couldn’t hear them.

“The time dilation finally reached a point where those outside the sector can attack.” The system released something that sounded like a disappointed sigh. “Which means my calculations were incorrect.”

“Are you falling apart?” Theo asked. He didn’t want to sugarcoat his words on the matter. He needed answers.

“Indeed. It won’t be long until this form is gone.”

Theo nodded. “We’ll miss you.”

“You won’t. But you were never meant to.” She messed with some invisible buttons some more, eventually regarding Theo with something of a smile.

“Okay. So, what’s the score? How long do we have?” Theo asked. “And where is Fenian.”

The system turned to Death, pressing another button. “Where is the wayward elf?”

“On his way back.” Death said, bowing his head. “Something happened when he got to the start of the queue. He has a favor from the bird deities, and I expected him to teleport his way out… But he didn’t. He’s returning by foot, killing my creations along the way.”

Theo laughed in spite of himself. “He’s getting stronger, isn’t he?”

“Too strong.” The system shook her head. “I’ll need to start the reset the moment he comes back.”

“Really?” Theo asked. “How is that possible?”

Death raised his brows at the system, and she nodded. He bowed his head. “Fenian is traveling through Death’s Gate, which is a representation of the queue. It covers about 60,350 years of souls. Each year is given a distance to accommodate the souls, so he’s spent a long time there. Too much time with advanced Celestial and Draconic Cultivation techniques.”

“My bad.”

“A lot of souls avoided the queue, but many are still there. I’ve created a different pocket version of the gate for all those souls.” Death winked.

Theo relayed the information back to Tresk, who told Khahar. They had made to the mortal world, only because of Khahar’s authority as the arbiter. The only thing Theo could think about was the length of Death’s queue. It was long enough for her to be there, as much as he didn’t want to think about it.

When all this was over, he was in for a few awkward moments with his long-dead love. Eventually, the alchemist clapped his hands together.

“Excellent. I’m going to get to work!”

Chapter 81

The Final Reforge

Gathering everyone at the square in Broken Tusk was out of the question. There were simply too many people. Instead, Theo had the idea to gather them in the arena, which worked perfectly! The stands had enough space to seat just about everyone comfortably, and every single visitor if they crowded. Thanks to the arena’s sound-enhancement enchantments, his voice would carry to all of them.

There had been a painting competition going on when he had arrived, and some people were quite upset about that. Most people in the stands were happy to see anything other than literal paint drying. Thanks to the help of the administrators, almost everyone was gathered in the arena within a few hours. During that time, Tresk and Khahar got up to some interesting adventures.

But Theo focused on his task, clearing his throat once everyone had gathered.

“We’re going,” Theo said, keeping his tone even. “The games can continue once we’re on the other side, but for now we need to leave.”

Voices rose from the crowd. There was uncertainty, anger, concern, and so on. But it hardly mattered. Theo was excited. He could abandon his plan to move in a rush, and could take his time. So long as he had enough time, he was positive he could make the move. His plan involved using a Shadow-infused Greater Aura Potion, infusing his willpower with more of Shadow’s power, wrapping the entire region in his aura, and teleporting.

Easy, right?

“I don’t know how long this will take me,” Theo said, listening to his voice echo through the arena. “But, I’m sure there’s enough time for you to get out. If you’re outside of my range during the reset, I can’t say what’ll happen. Likely, you’ll enter the queue for rebirth. You might just get teleported, but I don’t know.”

Sarisa placed a hand on Theo’s shoulder. “You got a lot of work to do. Leave the rest to us.”

“Yeah, we can wrangle these people.” Rowan cracked his knuckles.

“Okay. I’m going to Xol’sa’s tower.” Theo turned, considering walking. Eventually, he just folded the void. That was a power he would miss, but it had to be done. An instant later, he was standing on the tower’s second-highest floor. He settled onto a nearby sofa.

Theo closed his eyes, spreading his aura as far as it would go. Unenhanced, he could reach all of Broken Tusk, and some of Qavell. That was a feat in itself, but he needed more. Not only to cover a bit more area, but to do the jump. That was the hard part. He quaffed his Greater Aura Potion, infused himself with Shadow’s power, and spread his aura again.

This time, it went well beyond his previous bounds, but he dialed it back. Theo surrounded the total area he could handle. Now came the arduous task of clearing the way between Iaredin and Tero’gal. It was impossible to know how hard the task would be, so the alchemist fumbled through it. After some time, the amount of which he couldn’t have judged, he realized it was like digging a tunnel. He widened the path, locking onto a point just above Boar Hollow.

“Okay.” Theo wiped sweat from his brow. “This might take a while.”

***

The fight had already started in Leon’s world. The Warriors of the Shard had responded. Tresk got all this information from Khahar, who stood like the big grump he was. Theo had been doing his aura thing for about a day while she was with the Arbiter. Sure enough, not only could he travel to the mortal world, but he could also bring along a bunch of cat people. Those guys got temporary authority to fight, since someone had breached the local sector space.

It was all very technical and Tresk didn’t care much for technical things. She was driven by vibes, and the current mood was stabbing a bunch of weird-looking elves and monsters. As expected, the invaders went straight for the shards. It seemed as though they knew exactly where they were going and what to do. But they got stabbed all the same.

Looking out over a field, where far in the distance Alex shot enormous balls of fire that made some pretty cool explosions, Tresk sighed. This truly was the best day ever.

“What are you standing around for?” Khahar asked.

“I’m guarding the thing!” Tresk said, gesturing toward the shard tower behind her.

Khahar smiled. “We’ll have to move. I don’t think our attackers expected us to be prepared at all, so they’re targeting another anchor.”

Tresk clapped. “Let’s clean up and get to it!”

***

The ground beneath Sarisa’s feet rumbled. The crowd of revelers cheered with excitement. She grumbled, shooting a look at her brother. “Do they have any idea what’s going on?”

Rowan laughed, shaking his head. “I don’t think they care.”

Keeping everyone under control had been a monumental task. All the administrators were working overtime to keep things together, but that wasn’t the worst part. Theo was taking forever to teleport them to their destination, and people were getting more rowdy by the moment. Near the edge of the aura, cracks had appeared in the ground as though the alchemist was ready to take them away. But those cracks had appeared a day ago, and showed no signs of advancing to the next stage… whatever that was.

“Okay everyone!” Sarisa shouted, her voice booming over the crowd. “Let’s sing another round of Dearest Mine Maiden!”

“Oh, I like that one,” Rowan said, clapping with excitement.

Sarisa sighed again, moving off from the crowd as the bellowed the song. She found Alise eventually, and dragged the poor woman to the side, far enough away from the song to have a conversation. “We’re going to have a riot soon.”

Alise laughed nervously. “You’re telling me?!” Her voice was absolutely manic. “Keeping these folks in line… It must be harder than holding the entire world together!”

“Woah!” Sarisa said as the ground rumbled hard. Everyone in the crowd went pitching to one side, most of them falling over. “Are we moving?”

Reports came in that the earthquake wasn’t from Theo moving them. Sarisa bit her lip, trying to keep calm as the situation got worse. Just when she thought she couldn’t take it any longer, she felt a strange energy racing through her chest. It took a moment, but the feeling of being pulled through something reminded her of what had happened before. She remembered the times that Theo had brought her to the other worlds, and a bright smile spread across her face.

Without wasting time, Sarisa dashed through the town. The sky above them flashed, going from the last vestiges of light for the day, to brilliant midday in an instant. She felt sick to her stomach, but trudged through the swamp with her brother close behind. Before long, she burst into the tower, taking stairs three at a time before reaching the spot Theo had built his little nest in.

The alchemist was on the ground, panting for breath. Sarisa waited for a moment, feeling to see if they were falling from the air. But there was nothing. Everyone felt stable.

“Hey, you okay?” Sarisa asked, pulling Theo to a seated position. “Are we good?”

Theo blinked a few times, eventually shaking his head. “Tero’gal accepted my idea for a floating landmass, so… yeah. I think we’re going.”

“We’re here?” Rowan said, coming up and panting for breath. “For real?”

Theo nodded weakly. “We’re here. Someone help me up, I need to reforge everyone.”

There were dark circles under his eyes and he was covered in a layer of sweat. Sarisa held his hand form, even if it was slick, and brought him to his feet. “Lean on me, big guy.”

Theo chuckled at that, swallowing hard. “If anyone had some watered wine…”

Rowan produced a wineskin before the words had fully left Theo’s mouth, and the alchemist drank deeply. He smiled, nodding with approval before handing it back.

“Thought I said ‘watered.’”

“Hey, you should see what the others are drinking. This is watered by comparison.” Rowan laughed nervously, helping guide him down the stairs.

It was hard to get Theo through the swamp path. Not because it was hard to traverse, but because the man was heavy and hardly seemed able to move. With time, they reached the area where most people had gathered. Apparently, the alchemist didn’t need all of them in one place. But he did need to recover, which resulted in him having a seat by the statue of Xol’sa and Zarali.

“The swamp is draining,” one adventurer said, coming and shouting over to Aarok.

“Yeah. We’re a floating damn city now,” Aarok grumbled. “Just check the edges of the island. Get Ziz and his crew to reinforce it.”

“Crumbling island and all that,” Rowan said idly.

How the island was floating was anyone’s guess. They just had to rely on the power of the planet to keep things working. Sarisa turned her attention to her charge, not relying on alchemical means to help Theo out, but mundane ones. She pressed a wet cloth against his forehead, checking his pulse and poking him a bit. The alchemist grumbled up at her, saying something about needing a few minutes to rest.

Those minutes expanded out until she carried him to the manor, tucking him into bed for a few hours of rest. From experience, she knew a couple of hours wouldn’t kill Tero’gal’s new residents. They might feel sick, depending on how strong they were, but they’d live. And there was no way Theo could do anything for them in his state.

A loud pop came from the room’s corner, Tresk appearing with twin daggers dripping with a thick ichor. She was pale, with a haunted look on her face. “Fenian came. He… uh… yeah…” After shaking her head, she regained some composure. “Surprised Theo lived…”

“What do you mean?” Sarisa asked.

Tresk shrugged, returning her blades to dimensional storage and scampering over. “He thought we needed to combine to move everything. I think he drew on too much of his own power to make that happen.”

“But we need to fix these people…”

“Can’t be that hard, can it?” Tresk said, cracking her knuckles. “I can replicate his power without stealing it. I think. Maybe—who cares?”

Sarisa felt her soul burning in her chest before she realized Tresk had even extended her aura. Falling to the ground, she gritted her teeth. The pain was only temporary, finally ending only after a second or two and resulting in the appearance of a novel system message.

[Reforged Soul]

Your soul has been reforged, pending a full system reboot. During this time, you will retain your general strength and power, but will not have access to your system-based skills, abilities, spells, etc.

Please stand by…

“Looks like the system is working with him.” Sarisa groaned as she rolled onto her stomach. Her arms shook as she pushed herself to her feet, the pain in her chest still lingering slightly. “Come on. We need to make sure your reforge thing worked on everyone. Rowan, stay with the infirmed man.”

“Gotcha.”