The Newt and Demon - Book 8 Chapters 76,77,78

Chapter 76

Khahar’s Reprieve

As expected, it took Khahar a while to recover from the effects of the reforging. In truth, this was Theo’s first time reforging someone with a powerful soul. Not only was it powerful, but it was that of an Ascendant being. The complexities of his soul had brought forth a few problems. Then there was the entanglement to deal with. But the alchemist’s approach wasn’t one of finesse. He just smacked it with more energy before the pieces were ripped apart. Both a soul and a world were resilient things.

They’d get over it.

“It feels as though you’ve ripped my chest open and danced on my heart,” Khahar said, fist clutched over his chest. He paused, cupping his hand over his ear. “Well, that’s different.”

“What?” Theo asked, trying his best to be supportive and resist gloating.

“The voices are gone.”

Tresk blinked, slinking closer until she was almost face-to-face with Khahar. “You’ve been hearing voices this whole time? What kind of psychopath sits around with voices in their head and doesn’t try doing anything about it? Suffering in silence… Sounds familiar.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Theo said. “How are you feeling?”

Khahar released a sigh. “I’m feeling fine. Mostly. This is a new sensation for me… Being out of control of my world isn’t pleasant.”

It would take a while for Khahar to adjust fully, but there was nothing they could do about that. Both the new moon and Khahak had to adjust on their own. As this was another unique situation, they could only wait and see. Theo and Tresk dealt with a Dreamworld being stuffed with two thrones, which resulted in them splitting it into two Throneworlds. Now, they had to see what happened when an Ascendant world was split from a throne.

Fun times!

“We still have more stuff to test,” Theo said. “Spend a minute, and we’ll ensure the split worked the way we intended.”

“Rest?” Khahar asked, releasing a labored sigh. “I’ll need a week.”

“You have five minutes,” Tresk said, clapping a few times. “Come on. Let’s get this train moving.”

Once Khahar was able to stand, Theo was confident with the way the energies in his body were moving that he would be fine to travel. It was most likely something to do with the way his Arbiter’s Core was messing with his body. The alchemist suspected some fresh air would do him well.

“Hold onto your pants,” Theo said, wrapping them all in his aura. “We’re going somewhere quite familiar.”

“Please, just a moment,” Khahar said. “I cant…”

Theo didn’t wait. There had been enough waiting and there were experiments that needed to be done. He folded the void in on itself, dragging them to a location that would bring back some memories for the Arbiter. A moment later, and they were standing on the rolling dunes of the Khahak Desert. Somewhere distant was the city where Khahar had spent an absurd amount of his time on this world.

Khahar sucked in his first breath of mortal air in quite a while, and he pushed himself to his feet with great effort. “They cannot see me,” he said.

“We’re safe behind my aura,” Theo said. “The thing to take away from this is that you’re not dead. Looks like we’ve got the silent blessing of the system. More importantly, your soul is mortal again. Technically. I don’t know the details.”

Taking his first few steps in the sand, Khahar marveled at the landscape. It was desolate, but it had been his for so long. The people that he raised here were ready to leave the mortal world, starting again in the Middle Realms. Here he was, standing closer than he had ever hoped to stand.

“Compared to most of our plans, this one went really well,” Tresk said. “I mean, we still have to worry about the planets doing their thing, but he isn’t dead. Yay!”

“Hooray,” Theo said, mustering as much enthusiasm as he could. “What do you say, Khahar? Wanna walk around Broken Tusk again?”

Khahar only offered a somber nod.

Theo warped the void, grabbing the group and depositing them on the bank of the river, north of the bridge. They appeared amid the many buildings Ziz had created, rendering the scene completely different from what Khahar remembered. The action in the area was intense, even for the evening hours of the day. For his part, Khahar simply marveled as he looked around. Theo felt the man’s aura race out, taking in the details that would escape the naked eye.

“You’ve been busy,” Khahar said, nodding toward the harbor in the distance. “How has the harbor served you?”

Theo chuckled. “Just look at the masts. We’re at full capacity all the time to the point where we have quite a few anchored in the bay. Speaking of, do you want to see the bay?”

Khahar nodded, following along as Tresk and Theo led the way. Somewhere in the skies above, Alex flew circles with Pogo. When the ancient dragon had come back was beyond the alchemist, but he wouldn’t question it. More dragons was better, after all.

No one paid much attention to the group as they moved. There were plenty of khahari who were in town, so another one wasn’t anything wild. If this was before the games had begun, they would’ve certainly drawn some unwanted attention. Now, Broken Tusk was even more of a melting pot than ever before. Theo caught pieces of nearby conversations about the games. There were a few exciting fights that day, and even a competition between crafters. As always, it was great to see the buzz radiating throughout town without end.

“Now that’s an interesting addition,” Khahar said, nodding toward the City of Qavell. He then nodded to the arena. “And that. You guys have no sense for a good city layout, do you?”

Theo shrugged. “We’re moving soon. We can clean it up once we get to our new location.”

“Where might that be?” Khahar asked.

“The skies over Tero’gal. Somewhere near Boar Hollow, I think.”

“I suppose that’s the point of a flying city, huh?” Khahar asked. The smile spreading across his face seemed to widen by the moment. “Should we attend the games? Are they still going on?”

Theo nodded. “The organizers of the events are going crazy. We have a lot of exhibition matches running. Those don’t come with prizes, but people love watching them.”

Working their way to the arena, Khahar marveled at the impressive causeway. When he learned how it was constructed, he was even more impressed. “You moved quite a few rocks to build this. What’s going to happen to your Willpower after the reset?”

“That’s anyone’s guess,” Theo said. “Our little cadre will be balanced, I’m sure.”

“Wait, so why are we getting buff?” Tresk asked.

“For fun, of course.”

Heading in through the main entrance was out of the question. Theo led the way through the tunnels, and they eventually entered the commentator room. As expected, the elf and ogre were perched at their stations, screaming about the exhibition taking place below. This was another one-on-one fight between two elves who apparently had beef. The fight had been going on for at least an hour, and there was no point-based restriction since this wasn’t an official fight.

“Looks like we’re in for the long-haul, Jeb,” the elf said.

“That’s right. A grudge match to end all matches,” the ogre, apparently named Jeb, said.

“We should broadcast this,” Khahar said.

“If only we could figure out how,” Theo said. “Getting the printing press working was hard enough.”

Clicking his tongue, Khahar approached the window, leaning over the table to get a better look. The commentators didn’t seem to pay attention to him at all, continuing their coverage of the match.

All the while, Theo was observing Khahar with his senses. The changes to his soul had already taken hold completely. It was no longer a tangled web of confusing connections and nonsense energies. The place where his Arbiter’s Core rested put off a sense of authority. It was a feeling that proclaimed him as the master of his own soul, no longer bound to be the servant of some confused Throneworld-Ascendant hybrid.

“What are you thinking?” Tresk asked. “Your brain is jumbled. Your stuff is too confusing for me to understand.”

“Just reach into my brain and obtain the understanding,” Theo said. But he knew that wouldn’t be fun for her. Or perhaps she was just striking up a conversation to make him feel better. “I’m unraveling his soul in my mind, ensuring he’s cut from the realm. The only thing that’s left is the single connection to the realm and throne.”

“Which means it worked, right?” Tresk asked. “We split him without killing him.”

“Right. As predicted, things fell into place. His soul is chugging on its own.”

Yet Theo couldn’t help but worry about what would happen if he had miscalculated. There was something about combining his thoughts with Tresk and Alex that gave him a boost in both mental capacity and problem solving skills. Considering how chaotic both Tresk and Alex could be, it was surprising that two moderately insane minds could come together to create something that functioned at a higher level.

With the second experiment of the day sorted, Theo needed to check on his first experiment. He sent Tresk off to link with Sarisa and Rowan to sort dinner out, having no intentions of letting Khahar leave until he could be sure everything was perfect. The fight rolled on in the arena below, and Khahar’s excitement didn’t seem to wane. If anything, he got more excited when one fighter got closer to a victory.

Yet Theo knew it wouldn’t come to a close anytime soon.

“Let’s go grab some food,” Theo said, jerking his head to one side.

Khahar dragged his gaze away from the fight. “So long as we can take the long way. I want to see more of Broken Tusk.”

The duo took the path under the arena. After leaving, they toured a few places in the city that had changed since Khahar’s last visit. Qavell was the most interesting thing to him. Karasan’s old city was a marvel, and the fact that it was still somewhat intact was even more impressive to him. Of course, the damaged Kingdom Core was of interest to him. With the blessing of King Hanan, they headed down to the old ritual chamber and took some energy readings.

It turned out, Khahar knew a lot more about Kingdom Cores than Theo did. He had suggestions for repairing it, which might represent an independent Qavell some time in the future. That was assuming these cores held any power on Tero’gal after the switch.

It was far later than Theo had anticipated by the time they headed to the city. Sarisa, Rowan, and Tresk had ordered some food from Xam’s tavern. Somehow, Tresk had restrained herself long enough to wait for them to return before getting to work on the food. But it was only about five seconds after Theo and Khahar stepped through the door before she started shoving food down her throat.

After Theo and Khahar took their seats, they took a more conservative amount of food. The alchemist got a bowl of classic Broken Tusk wolf stew with a side of some roasted potato he didn’t recognize. Khahar went for only the soup, perhaps feeling some amount of nostalgia for the old way Xam used to make her food.

“Thanks for kidnapping me,” Khahar said, taking his first taste of the soup. “Just as I remembered it.”

“No problem!” Tresk shouted, perhaps a bit too loudly. “I’m all too happy to kidnap people. When needed, of course.”

“Of course,” Sarisa said with a soft chuckle.

Theo spread his senses over Sarisa, feeling the telltale sensation of Middle Realm energy still swirling around her soul. So, there was no option. Reforging a mortal’s soul was the only way to get them to adapt to the Middle Realms.

“At least we didn’t nuke your planet,” Theo said. “Well, we did nuke it. I just had a barrier that stopped it from destroying everything.”

“A fact I greatly appreciate,” Khahar said, holding his bowl of soup as though to toast.

Chapter 77

Fenian in Trouble… Again

Bringing Khahar back to the mortal realm was about more than just giving an old friend a trip down memory lane. If Theo dug deep into his thoughts and motivations, a task that was becoming more difficult by the day thanks to the Tara’hek, he would see the truth of his selfishness. The alchemist had peeled Khahar away from his world, granting him his “mortal” status once again, because he wanted to show that he could. A part of that was a need to shame the Middle Realms, just as the Warriors of the Shard had shamed the heavens.

Khahar’s lack of ability was set out for all to see, even if that group was only the three current Throne Holders. But Yuri wasn’t a man who took a kicking for long. He was the kind of guy that would take the beating, then formulate a plan to come back and kick twice as hard. After their dinner, he focused hard enough that Theo thought he might pop a blood vessel. Then, he folded the void in on itself, displaying the mastery that a man holding the title of Arbiter should’ve had.

“They grow up so fast!” Tresk had remarked.

Now, standing in the Dreamwalk, Theo reflected on where they were, and how far they still needed to go. It wasn’t enough that they should be strong when the change came. The Throne Holders needed to be competent. They couldn’t have the weird ties like Khahar had just severed. Each member had a job to do, and if they couldn’t do that job, they were dead weight. It was hard not to think about the idea that someone might one day come for his job, but the alchemist persisted.

"You're awfully pensive today," Tresk said. Approaching Theo, she had summoned an image of a generic scene. It was a forested landscape with snow-capped mountains visible in the distance.

"And you don't really need to ask me what I'm thinking about," Theo said, shaking his head. “I’m worried about Fenian. Not just because he's not here to fill his role as the Herald, but… What kind of trouble has he gotten himself into this time?”

"If there's one thing I know about Fenian, it is that he's always got a plan," Trask said. "I know. The last plan he had was a suicide mission, but maybe this time he's thought things out a little better."

There was only one reason Theo could think of for Fenian to disappear, and he really didn't want to consider the implications. There were too many problems when it came to reincarnating a soul. He knew that currently, Death held the power to make that happen. But it wasn't a secret that Death and Fenian weren't on the best of terms. That meant the elf would need to force the matter, and it was hard to see that scenario ending in anything but the most possible bloodshed.

"You need to stop thinking about Fenian as a damsel that needs rescuing," Tresk said. "If he got himself into this problem, he'll pull himself out, or we'll find ourselves a new Herald."

Theo nodded. It might’ve been a grim thought, but she was right. The sector would persist, and they needed someone to manage the mortal realm. It was the most important of all the planets in the sector. The alchemist stretched out, then reached his hand as though to pluck something from the air. Tresk gasped, but he just shrugged.

“It won’t let me,” Theo said, showing that nothing had appeared in his hand. “As much as I try, the Dreamwalk won’t let me imagine the power of that time realm.”

“Thank god for that,” Tresk said, huffing. “You wanna make the gods our enemies? Now that me and Fate are besties?”

“You’re not best friends with Fate.”

“Yeah, I am. We’re the same height.”

“And the same emotional maturity,” Theo said, a smile spreading across his face. “Actually, I think she might be more mature than you.”

“Maybe. But no one out stabs the Tresk.”

It had become a tradition in the Dreamwalk to attempt to push it further than ever before, but the personality of the imagined realm had grown completely rigid as of late. Theo had a few things he wanted to do the next day, and one of them involved a few wild stabs in the dark and then an attempt to retrieve Fenian from wherever he was. That first required them to terminate the dreamwalk early so they could catch him while sleeping.

After having a pleasant breakfast of leftovers, Theo and Tresk found a relatively quiet part in the city and sat upon a log. The marshling had already made vague efforts to locate the elf with no success. She claimed that, through great concentration, she might be able to figure out what she called "where his dream trails were." Apparently, people were constantly putting off a streak through space that she could see. Even if they weren’t dreaming, a part of their mind could be half-way between waking and sleeping.

“Daydreaming doesn’t count, does it?” Theo asked, trying to understand his companion’s logic.

“I dunno. Maybe if I try hard enough,” Tresk said, shaking her hands out. “Buckle up. Let’s see if we can’t follow the trail.”

Although Theo doubted the concept of a dream trail from the start, Tresk was like a bloodhound. She sniffed out a trail right away, following a strange strand of magical energy not unlike the way Fate plucked the golden threads. Unsurprisingly, that trail headed straight to the system’s seat, and then, more worryingly, into the heavens. With the alchemist’s help, they pinpointed the location he had arrived at. Both of them winced.

“Sometimes, I hate when you’re right,” Tresk said. “What the hell are we going to do?”

“Heh. You said what I was just thinking,” Theo said, scratching his chin. “Fenian went to hell. Can you lock onto him through Death’s Gate?”

Tresk thought about that for a while, but eventually just closed her eyes and gave it a try. She probed around the edges of the gate, then thrust her Dreamer’s senses into it. Even though he wasn’t looking with his own eyes, Theo immediately felt a burst of bright colors that nearly blinded him. Only when she had turned down the brightness, narrowing her senses to living mortals instead of the endless billions did they see a light on the horizon. 

“Woah,” Tresk said. “You see how far away he is?”

Looking around the scene as best he could, Theo nodded. The sea of potential dreamers, something he assumed were the dreams of lost souls, had spanned out into infinity. Now there was nothing but the darkness and the single point of light. Yet, Trask didn't wait for any command. She locked onto that thing and entered its dreams just as quickly. The haze that descended on them was punishing.

Tresk groaned under the weight of the consciousness, the dream swirling around her like a strung-out vortex. It took Theo a few moments to realize what was happening, and he pulled her out of the dream as quickly as he could. The marshling fell backwards over the log, landing with a thud on the ground.

“Time dilation,” Theo said, blinking away his stupor. “Maybe the most potent I’ve ever seen.”

“Ah, crap. That’s why everything looked like a confusing smear. We were watching Fenian’s dreams over the course of… how long was that?”

Theo rubbed his face, his mind having trouble parsing the images. But the longer he thought about it, the more they made sense. He remembered dreams of blood and battle, and of the haze that enshrouded the elf. Thousands of years of endless fighting against chimeric horrors and a goal that seemed to belong to another.

“I can’t tell,” Theo said. “The only thing I can parse from that smear is that Fenian is fighting in there. He’s in some kind of battle trance.”

“So, how are we going to pull him out?”

Theo was still doing his best to parse the information in his brain, even if he drew on the help of both Trask and Alex. He couldn't really understand everything that was going on. But a quick estimation would put the time dilation of Death's Gate as one of the most extreme he had ever heard of. It was far more potent than the paper world, meaning that Fenian had spent an ungodly amount of time there.

“I think he’s been there for a few thousand years,” Theo said, trying to make sense of his mental math. “At least a few, maybe way more.”

Tresk tapped her chin, doing her best to keep up. “Training montage?”

“We can’t even guess. I’m just going on the information we got from his battle trance,” Theo said. “I’m just assuming the passage of time based on the way time flowed in his dream. His motives are impossible to guess.”

As concerning as that was, at least they now knew that Fenian was alive. Well, mostly. It was hard to call a millennium-long battle trans as a good thing, but his heart was still beating, and he hadn't lost his mind entirely. Although the dream was chaotic and almost uninterpretable, it still seemed coherent enough to tell the alchemists that the Herald was alive and he still had his mind.

Trask didn't take the news so well. “o we can't even help him,” she asked. “Why wouldn't he ask for help with something like this? I'm sure we could have whipped him up something useful for the trip.”

Theo shrugged. “I did whip ‌up quite a few useful things for him, actually. Return potions, attribute potions, combat potions. A lot of stuff he took from my stocks.”

“And you didn’t think that was odd?”

“No. He’s always taking a few things here and there. 15 Return Potions was kinda weird, but whatever. Thought he was just preparing for death like he always does,” Theo said. “Since the Return property saved him before, I figured that’s what was on his mind.”

Tresk finally stood pacing on the spot as she shook her head furiously. “We gotta go talk to somebody. Maybe we can go see Death himself. We could use an excuse to get there. I say that we're checking on the progress the warriors of the Shard have made.”

Theo finally regarded the topic with the seriousness Tresk had been giving it. She was truly concerned about how Fenian was doing, and didn’t seem eager to let the topic go. He gave her a sharp nod, formulating a plan in his mind. Checking on the heavens was within his authority as the Dreamwalker, even if the Seal of Passage was created to prevent them from passing into the heavenly realms. He could request special passage from the system, and since he had done her a solid recently, he expected her to accept.

“Let’s go,” Theo said, sending a subtle mental message to Alex. It didn’t take the dragon but a few moments to descend from the skies overhead.

Without hesitating, Theo wrapped them in his aura and folded the void on itself. An instant later, they were standing on the system’s platform, looking upon the empty places where the gods should’ve been standing.

“Special passage request,” Theo said, barely waiting for the system to form before speaking. “I’d like to visit Death’s realm.”

The system regarded Theo with a confused expression. “An interesting request.”

“I believe a mortal is trespassing,” Theo explained.

“A mortal, or the Herald?” she asked.

Theo’s eyes twitched. So she already knew, which was pretty annoying. “By the authority of the Dreamwalker, I’m requesting passage to bring him back.”

“The Seal of Passage is still broken,” the system said. “You can just go.”

“We’re looking for permission, lady! We’re not bad boys!” Tresk shouted.

“Could’ve fooled me,” the system said with a shrug. “Fine. Go with my blessing. Bring your lost lamb back.”

“Thank you. We’re almost ready for the reset, by the way,” Theo said.

“Take your time,” the system said.

Theo and Tresk shared a look. They both nodded at the same time before the trio, including Alex, plunged through the Seal of Passage and angled for Death’s Realm.

Chapter 78

Fenian’s Egg

“Ew,” Tresk said, pointing a finger at a lumpen creature. “What’s that?”

Arriving in Death’s Realm was strange. Theo had expected something else, not an endless road that was practically exploding with magic. It wasn’t a road at all, but a concept that tested a person. A wisp of a ghost moved past them, the light from its body flashing over the lumped creature for only a moment, giving the alchemist a better view.

The beast itself was disgusting to see. It had blubbery flesh that made no sense for any logical skeletal structure. Its back rose and fell with its breaths, but other than that there were no signs of life.

“Death’s pet, maybe?” Theo asked with a shrug.

“Exactly right,” Death said, appearing near them in an instant. “That is my perfect creation.”

“Might wanna go back to the drawing board with that one, buddy,” Tresk said with a snort. “Cause there’s nothing perfect about it.”

Death’s eyes glittered from underneath his black hood. He dragged his gaze over to the beast. “When he finally awakens, he will help the spirits find their way to my gate. He shall also delve into hell, bringing back to souls ready for reincarnation.”

Theo wasn't sure what he expected in this realm. Maybe a battle, a couple of skeletons to add flavor to the scene. But he hadn't expected to see a pathetic creature and the cordial nature of death upon the road. Kuzan was being pleasant today, which meant that his training with the warriors of the Shard must have been going very well. So, since he was in a good mood, it was time to play nice.

"Sorry for the intrusion," he said, bowing his head slightly. "We think there may be a mortal soul in this realm that needs ejecting."

"We speak of Fenian, don't you?" Death asked with an amused chuckle. "I'm afraid to say that he dove headlong through Death's gate. By my estimation, he's been there for about 10,000 years. He hasn't died yet, though. He's still very much alive."

“What is he after?” Theo asked, cutting to the core of the problem.

Death simply turned, shaking his head. “If you haven’t figured that out, I’ve overestimated you by a large margin. Come, let’s view the gate.”

Theo, Trask, and Alex followed Death over his road. It was an apparently expansive thing, but the alchemists saw through the illusion. A person could walk forever. If they didn't conquer something they were being tested for, they would continue walking. Only when they overcame it would they be allowed to approach Death's gate. It was nice to hear that the lord of this realm had considered employing a beast to help those spirits along. That was a step in the right direction, anyway.

"How has the training been going?" Theo asked, understanding all too well that death was just delaying.

"Quite well, actually," Death responded. "Meya has been an excellent teacher. There was quite a lot that I didn't know I was missing. In my mind, I had served my penance at the head of Taranthum and paved the way for my success. Little did I know I was missing such a large piece of the puzzle."

"And how have you found the training?" Tresk asked, asking an uncharacteristically good question.

"I'll admit, it's been very tiresome. At first, I didn't have an aptitude for the celestial energies of the world, but as a True God now, different avenues have been opened for me. I can now cultivate it much quicker than before, and my instructor informs me I'll have enough power to serve this sector's death before long."

"There was a time that I'd really rather have seen you dead," Theo said, "but it's hard to deny that you're doing your job very well. I'm eager to take at least a sampling from the spirits within your gate to ensure there isn't anything untoward happening in there."

"Are you suggesting that I torture the spirits under my care?" 

“Well, one only has to look at your past to question your current motives,” Tresk said. “Which is why we brought the dragon.”

“You’re not the only one,” Death said with a chuckle. “You’ll find that I’m not as petty as you imagine. I see this sector as my new flock, and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt them. This is my chance to regain some of that authority I once had.”

"What was that like?" Theo asked. "I'm always interested to learn more about the way things worked during the time of the Warriors of the Shard. Unfortunately, I've only heard stories from Elrin. I have a feeling he's not a very good storyteller."

Death let out a wistful sigh. “Oh, it was a time to behold. The world was young, about five-thousand years before Elrin’s time. The elves, known as Pera’tal back then, had just crawled from the forests. I established the old kingdom, laying the foundation for my people. When they laid me to rest, I thought I had done a good job.”

“But you came back,” Theo said.

Death shook his head. “My people buried me in Old Hagan… Ah, I think you might know it as Karathima.”

“Nope,” Theo said. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

Death hummed to himself. Eventually, he snapped his fingers. “Calet. Does that mean anything to you?”

“Yep! I know that one,” Theo said with a laugh. He kicked himself for getting too giddy with Death. Holding back Tresk’s carefree nature was growing harder by the day. He cleared his throat. “Go on.”

“Well, I was buried there and given all the correct rites. But something happened, forcing my spirit back as a tortured shade.” Death seemed to shiver as he thought about it. “All I could imagine was an end to the pain. It didn’t come until the end of a war I orchestrated. You can imagine how I felt about that.”

"Must have been hard to be the unwitting bad guy for so long," Tresk said. "It doesn't mean I have to like you, but I understand what happened. How do you explain what you did in Tarantham?"

"I'll admit to the design of destruction in the Elven Empire," Death said without reservation. “I can’t blame others for my failing, but I was waiting for the seal to be destroyed.”

Theo nodded along. “The seal that the Ascendants created, right?”

"You understand more of the puzzle than I give you credit for," Death said. "That's right. Before the switch, pretender gods were allowed to flood our world, and when we transitioned over, those pretenders were nowhere to be seen. In their place rose the Ascendance, who seized realms of power that they had no right to. I had to wait, enacting the cycle of destruction to keep the Empire stable. Thanks to the stability of that empire, though, we staved off more disasters than I can count. Sixty thousand years of constantly waiting for the entire world to end because of the idiocy of others. But we made it in the end, didn't we?"

“By the skin of our teeth,” Tresk added.

“When King Leon took the Throne of Death in the old world, I had to act. I sealed him away, claimed the realm, and waited for the reset. Imagine my surprise when I couldn’t accept the throne by the time I woke. The Ascendants were already in place.” Death released a dramatic sigh. “Anyway, we’re nearly there.”

"What aspect of us are you testing?" Theo asked. “I know this isn't a normal road, and you've just been dragging the conversation on so you could test our mettle in some way. Might as well pull the curtain back since we're supposed to be on the same team.”

Death chuckled, turning back to shoot Theo a smile that was visible from beneath his hood. "And now I officially like you. You can think of it as a synergy of a soul. Sometimes there are conflicting elements within a soul which make them unsuitable for reincarnation. Those souls are marked, although I don't know what I'll do with them yet. All three of you are so completely in tune that at this point you're almost indistinguishable as individuals. That's slightly concerning but also a trait I highly prize."

“We are one,” Tresk said in a robotic voice.

They took another step, and then were standing before Death’s Gate. The massive archway seethed with magical energy. The power of the gate was such that Theo felt at awe. Pushing his senses into it, he felt complete rejection. This wasn’t an everyday artifact. It was the kind that held enough power to transcend the traditional concept of power in the sector. It was a one of a kind thing that was hard to look away from, and even harder not to fear.

“Ow, my brain,” Tresk said. “Can you turn down the psychic damage?”

“I’m afraid not. No mortal should stand before Death’s Gate. And for a mortal to delve inside? That’s complete madness,” Death said.

“Unless you’re a psychotic elf,” Theo said. “So, what are the chances he can actually bring her out?”

“Her? He’s going for about 10 souls. Only 5 are there, and he’s only found 2,” Death said. “Yes, of course he found his first target, but the gate is complicated on the inside, and he’s looking for a few of the oldest souls in there.”

“What does a soul’s age have to do with anything?” Theo asked.

“They’re in a queue,” Death said. “Which means the newest ones are closer to the front. He’ll need to travel a physical distance to reach the souls he’s looking for, which will take quite a long time.”

“Dangers?” Tresk asked.

“Swing a stick in there, and you’ll hit danger,” Death said. “As I said, no mortal is meant to go inside. The guardians are designed to thwart spiritual attacks, but they won’t hesitate to attack a mortal. And yet, he persists.”

“Imagine having that kind of love in your heart,” Tresk said, shaking her head. “Would you do that for me, Theo?”

Theo shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

“That didn’t sound honest,” Tresk said.

“I thought it was quite honest,” Alex said.

“As much as I’m entertained by your rambling, would you like to peer within?” Death asked. “I’ll need to wrap us in a temporary time-dilation field so we can make sense of the images.”

Tresk clapped with excitement. “Yeah! Let’s do it!”

With amusement in his voice, Death turned to the gate. “I’m not sure if you’ll like what you see…”

A bubble sprung up around the group, wrapping them in a time-dilation effect. Theo almost buckled under the pressure, the sudden change in the flow of time making him want to throw up. It was the highest intensity of dilation he had ever experienced, and even if he didn’t fall to the ground, he still felt incredibly dizzy. The portal shimmered, no longer holding the swirling power of a gate meant to change one’s location. Instead, an image appeared.

“Holy hell, is that Fenian?” Tresk asked, her eyes bugging out of her head.

The portal showed the image of a beefy elven figure. He had long, scraggly hair and a beard matted with mud and blood. The two swords he held in either hand were glowing with an intense blue energy, the blades themselves made out of what appeared to be crystals. Fenian wove a dance of death through a field of chimeric horrors. The creatures were all amalgams of other things, some displaying more beast-like traits while others seemed closer to artifice automation.

“Aren’t you pissed?” Tresk asked. “He’s killing your guys.”

Death shook his head. “He’s helping them. Death’s Gate has a way of adapting. Every time he kills a Guardian, they adapt, growing stronger. Of course, Fenian hasn’t slowed down. He’s processing celestial energy while increasing his own level with the local system. Basically, there’s a feedback loop and neither part will step down.”

That made sense. Death had to get something out of this, otherwise he would just eject Fenian from the gate. It was a great way to strengthen Death’s Gate, although the way the elf was fighting was frightening. Theo could still see the base of Fenian’s swordsmanship in there somewhere. But it had become savage, taking advantage of the waves of intense pressure created during a swing to slice through monsters from miles away.

“Is that even Fenian anymore?” Theo asked. “And what’s that on his back?”

Death pulled his hood back, revealing a crooked smile and the aged lines of a long-dead elven king. “An egg.”