The Newt and Demon - Book 6 Chapters 67,68,69 (Patreon)

Chapter 67

We’re Gonna Make Another Planet

The massive metal cube constructed by Thim had a nasty echo. Theo stood inside, looking at the working stills he had installed there. At least the dwarf had the foresight to install ventilation methods. Artifices hummed, drawing the thick vapors from within to send them outside. As long as he didn’t aim for the second tier—without improving the process—no explosions should happen. If they did, the container should have contained it. The three stills running within the cube would produce properties from the Quindalias Bone reagent. Soar, Lost Hope, and Dragon’s Insight.

“We won’t mess around with fourth properties for now,” Theo said, crossing through the entrance and sliding it closed.

Of the three properties, Theo was most hopeful about Dragon’s Insight. Lost Hope might have been dangerous, but the system had a way of naming properties that made it hard to know what a property would do. It could have produced an amazing effect for all he knew. Before departing from the ominous cube, he took stock of the town’s potion supply. They were good. Better than they had been since the systems shifted away from aligned cores. The alliance could handle emergencies better, especially since Salire had crafted curative potions to handle standard status effects. Disease was still a thing, no matter how much they built the town.

“You!”

Theo turned, spotting Alise walking down the road. The alchemist had plans to head to his Herbalist’s Workshop, messing with his reagents to get more insight for the shift in his alchemy. “What did I do now?”

“Oh, nothing. I tried getting your attention through the administration interface but you wouldn’t answer. I have some early numbers on your ‘feed the world’ project.”

Theo brightened up, his tail swishing back and forth. “Sweet! How does it look?”

Alise shrugged. “We made projections for housing and feeding an amount of people for a season. Ah, well… There was some speculation at first, but we made some estimations on the amount of people that would come for the party.”

“How did you manage that?”

“I have some contacts in other nations. I forced them to take a survey.”

Theo tried not to laugh. He tried real hard. He coughed, failing to pretend his laughter was a coughing fit when she gave him a death stare. “I’m sorry. You’re just so on top of everything.”

Straightening her back, Alise smiled. “I pride myself on it. Well, the projections are interesting. You’ll be surprised to learn that not many people want to attend a party at the end of the world. Still, we’re looking at about ten-thousand people at most.”

That was less than Theo had expected, but it made sense. The reality of the party was that it was a place where people could make an easy transition to Tero’gal or Khahak. That got the alchemist thinking about something he needed to take care of. But that could wait until he was done with his meeting out on the streets of Broken Tusk.

“How does that reflect on our food production and housing situation?”

“We can do it. With stockpiling, and a fairly massive construction effort it wouldn’t be much of a problem.”

“I’m wondering… Did you include the part about this being the end of the mortal world to those polled?”

“Yes. I made it clear the world was ending, but I’m not sure if anyone believed me.”

Theo tapped his chin. There might be considerable panic if people learned this was actually the end of the world. Perhaps they would flood into Broken Tusk at the last minute,s training their resources.

“Change your projections for about one-hundred-thousand people.”

Alise blinked a few times, finally pinching her eyes closed for about five minutes. Theo stood there awkwardly as she took steady breaths. “Okay. We’ll clear some farm land between here and Rivers. The planes between Rivers and Gronro are expansive enough that we can build housing there. We can also add more lines to the train, allowing people easier access to each town in the alliance.”

“Wow. I’m surprised you didn’t push back against that.”

“I believe you when you say the world is ending, Theo. Well, we’re moving, aren’t we?” Alise nodded to herself, cupping her chin. “I plan to be the first bride on Tero’gal, so I’ll do anything to make that happen.”

“Speaking of,” Theo withdrew a communication crystal from his inventory. “I’ve got a call to make. Buy up everything you need to make this thing happen, okay? We’ll start the construction right away. I’m sure Ziz will take a paycut if we can’t afford it. I’ll give him something nice when everyone migrates to the Throneworld.”

Alise bowed her head, then ran off like a madwoman. Theo just hoped she was doing her best to rely on the other administrators that she had hired. Oh, well. She always sorted stuff out. The alchemist squeezed the crystal and waited, walking over to his Herbalist’s Workshop while he waited for a response.

“I’m busy,” Fenian said, hanging up.

Theo felt a rush spread through his mind, as though the sudden cut of the connection shocked his senses.

“Well, that was rude,” Theo said, turning his attention to his workshop.

While Theo had already learned the effects of his aligned greenhouses, he used the workshop to confirm a few things. The reagents grown in the aligned greenhouses were better because they were perfectly aligned to whatever environment they needed to grow. Each reagent had a preference for climates it grew in, including exposure to latent elemental energy in the air. This infused the reagent to become more pure, making it easier to work with when using Tero’gal’s alchemy. As he stood there, a message he hadn’t seen in a while popped up.

[Tero’gal Herbalist Core] received experience (0.2%).

[Tero’gal Herbalist Core] leveled up! Level 33.

“That’s been a long time coming,” Theo said with a sigh.

Theo’s Tero’gal Alchemy Core wouldn’t be too far behind that one. That would get him Level 33 for his personal level, adding another attribute point. Not that attribute points mattered much at this point. It was the skills he was after, and he would gain access to a free skill point at Level 35. While that might make things easier for the transition, investing into the town itself was a better idea.

The alchemist never had trouble finding things to do. Even back on Earth, he had a habit of running off to do anything to keep himself busy. Here in Iaredin, facing down the concept of moving his entire nation to another world, was no different. He selected samples of reagents from each aligned greenhouse, testing them in the workshop to confirm their purity. When he used the Research upgrade on each one, he confirmed they were all of excellent purity. Yet they still seemed lacking.

For all the efforts Theo had put into cultivating reagents that could hold up to this new form of alchemy, they still failed. Compared to those almost perfect samples he had discovered in the swamp, these were poor samples to compare. But the alliance didn’t need a single run of potions using those ultra-rare reagents. It needed a lot of potions. The greenhouse method would have to work for now.

As Theo turned away from his greenhouses, intent on taking care of other chores, he felt the familiar buzz in his mind. He withdrew the communication crystal from his inventory and squeezed it.

“Sorry about that, Theo. I was busy with… uh… something.”

“Well, now that’s not suspicious at all,” Theo said.

“You’re so nosy my dear alchemist. I was investigating a group of dronon that is known to me when I got distracted.”

Fenian’s ‘distractions’ often led to wars. Or undead armies…

“Did you kill Balkor’s shadow?”

“Me? Little old me? Your sweet and lovable Fenian? Absolutely not.” The elf’s words dripped with sarcasm, even in Theo’s mind. “I would never kill him.”

“So what did you do with him?”

“Nothing for you to worry about. I was busy because I was in Tarantham, trying to discover the source of some disturbances… Well, I found your errant Earthling.”

“You found Jan? Are you kidding?”

“I found both Jan and Twist. They’re working together as a team. I thought they would be at each other’s throats, but no. They were trying to kill a god or something.”

Of course Jan and Twist were working together. Why not? There was a lot of animosity between them, but they had apparently patched things up. This had to do with what happened on both Iaredin and Earth all those years ago. Theo viewed it as old scores he had no idea about. Well, while Fenian was in Tarantham he might as well do something helpful.

“I’m washing my hands of both of them. They’re not welcome back in the alliance without at least some explanation, but I don’t care to hunt them. While you’re in the elven empire, could you do me a favor?”

“You dismissed that rather quickly.” Fenian chuckled to himself, making sure to push as much mirth through the communication crystal as possible. “What do you need?”

“A survey of what people think about the world ending and if they’d want to attend a party.”

“No need for a survey there. Everyone believes it will happen here, and most are happy to die. They’ll get sent to Death’s realm, after all. You’ll be lucky to see a few thousand people attend from Tarantham.”

That shouldn’t have been unexpected. The elves were weird.

“Anyway, all this isn’t even why I’m calling. I think we need to do something drastic while the gods are sleeping,” Theo said.

“You naughty little demon. What is it?”

“We’re gonna make another planet.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s no reason you can’t form a planet. The system set a president for throne holders to create their own world. I don’t think Tresk can do it, since we’re tied so closely together, but I’d be more comfortable with three planets rather than two.”

“How would that work?”

Theo didn’t even have the idea of a plan. “I’ll talk to the system about it. The system should agree because it did it before.”

“I’ll trust you on this one, Theo. Ah, got to go. Jan is pointing a gun at me and screaming about grand betrayals. I think he wants to duel… or kiss. I cannot tell, but I’m happy to do either!”

Fenian cut the connection before Theo could say anything else. The elf’s most powerful core was his Parantheir’s Duelist Core, so he wondered how he had managed after the change. With a shrug, the alchemist fell through the veil. Visiting the system wasn’t a good idea just because he needed something to do. As the Dreamwalker, it was his job to interface between all the heavenly elements. If the gods had a problem with something, it was Theo’s job to relay that problem to the other throne holders. His domain might be the void, but his ability to travel through it freely meant he was the perfect messenger.

Landing in the snowy landscape, Theo dashed for the raised platform. It was too cold for him to linger very long. As he ascended the platform, he made note of the twelve spots. The way he always did. He knew of only a few gods so far. Hallow, Death, Void, Shadow, Fate, and Omen. With only half of the gods known to him, he wasn’t comfortable claiming to hold the Throne of the Dreamwalker.

“What is it?” the crystalline figure asked, appearing from nowhere.

Theo cleared his throat. “One realm, please.”

The features of the crystal woman were mostly indiscernible. For the first time, the alchemist noticed her brow furrowing, crinkling in a way impossible for such material. “You must repeat your request.”

“Tero’gal and Khahak are fine realms, but we need another. I’d like for you to grant Fenian a realm. The Herald needs a Throneworld.”

The system stood, looking at Theo as though he had just peed on her favorite bit of shag carpet. Her hard features softened in time. “I’ll allow it.”

“Oh, thanks. Is it just gonna be out there in the void?” Theo asked, jabbing his thumb behind him.

“He must form his own realm, then evolve it into a world,” the system said, waving a dismissive hand. “This must be done before the final seal is broken, otherwise I will not allow such a thing.”

More talk about a seal Theo knew nothing about. He cleared his throat, surprised she relented so quickly. But his logic was sound. “Any tips on that?”

“Use the same method Khahar used to form a world. The Herald’s power is tied to the mortal realm, meaning he should use the same method. Your partner—the Dreamer—may create an orbiting body to accompany Tero’gal, if you wish. You should know how to do that.”

Oddly, Theo felt as though he did know how to do that. Which was weird, considering he had never done it before. But he suspected Tresk had an idea on how it would work.

“I have a few more questions, if you don’t mind.”

“Questions are your right,” the system said, inclining her head. “There are some things I cannot answer, though.”

“Of course. First is about the time scale,” Theo said. “Are we working on that?”

“When the last seal is broken, time will be adjusted.”

“Any projection on what the scale will be?”

The system shrugged.

“Right. Of course. Next, I know about six of the current gods. Is it possible for me to meet the others?” Theo asked.

“You only know of five.”

Theo counted them off on his fingers aloud, holding up six fingers when he was done.

“Fate and Omen are like you and your Tara’hek partner. You only count as one person.”

 “Two sides of a coin?” Theo asked.

“That’s right.”

“Last question. When does the last seal break?”

“When you implant the shards onto the mortal realm.”

“And do I have a timetable for that?”

The system shook her head. “Please don’t take more than one more mortal season.”

“Sorry… Last-last question. Do I have your approval to bring my alliance to the ascendant realms?”

“You have my approval, but that hardly matters. You’ll need a majority vote with the gods.”

“Can I bypass them?”

“Perhaps. If you’re strong enough.”

Theo clicked his tongue. After a moment, he straightened himself up and bowed his head. “Thank you for answering my questions.”

“It is my duty.”

Theo turned, passing through reality and arriving in the mortal realm shortly after that. His to-do list was growing. Well, at least the next exciting thing for him to handle was the brewing of dragon bone potions. Until then, he would take it easy. Kinda. Tresk was gonna be mad when he told her she needed to form a moon around Tero’gal. Not because of the effort of creating the moon, but naming it. If he wasn’t careful, he would end up with a moon named Moony Moon Moon the Moon.

Chapter 68

Best Left Where They Are

Theo didn’t tell Tresk the ‘fun’ news yet. He had spent the rest of his day monitoring the stills in the metal cube and checking on people in town. Although they had lost access to the aligned metals in the mine, the extraction of the mythril was going well. The miners weren’t disturbing the beast that lived underground, and Nira was smelting all the new nuggets with joy. Ziz didn’t even wait for anyone’s approval to start work on paving the entire damn region. By the time Theo sat down for dinner, they had a few buildings constructed along the road heading north.

Theo and Tresk now stood in the Dreamwalk, looking over an imagined Tero’gal. The alchemist had waited for this moment to create a moon in the sky. “So, we have a job to do.”

“What?” Tresk asked. He felt her sense brush his mind. “I get to name a moon!?”

“You get to form a moon,” Theo corrected. “I already have a name.”

“Your name is lame.”

“It has significance,” Theo said, brushing his own senses against his companion’s mind. Tresk knew exactly what to do to make her moon and it wasn’t hard. They wouldn’t even need to split the thrones, only create a remote link between them. Since their connection was so strong, that part wouldn’t even be hard. “The hardest part is going to be getting Fenian to make his world.”

“Hmmm. A world filled with half-naked elven women and constant battle,” Tresk said, nodding. She imagined a long beard and mustache on her face. For some reason, the Dreamwalk accepted it, allowing her to stroke it like some old sage. “Very curious.”

“I can’t wait to see Elven Hottie World,” Theo said, shaking his head. “Not really. I just want another planet, just in case.”

“Three worlds are better than two, huh? Oh, what’s this I see in your little demon brain? We need the favor of the gods to move our alliance to the heavens?” Tresk snorted, blowing raspberries after. “Screw them.”

Theo shook his head. “They’ll only stop us if we want to take the landmass. I don’t think they can stop us if we want to take the mortal souls.”

“What gives you that idea?”

“Once that last seal breaks, I think chaos will consume the world. The gods aren’t merciless, though. Perhaps Death will want to reap the souls of his people, but would the other gods want that? They all have history. The others will vote to save the mortal souls, and what better way then sending them to an in-between spot?”

“Right. Wait, what are we calling Tero’gal and Khahak? Ascendant Words? Throne Worlds?”

“‘Ascendant Worlds’ is more accurate.”

“Right… I need to get my thoughts together on this,” Tresk said, waving Alex off. “Go do some goose stuff, okay?”

Alex flew off without another command. Tresk waddled over to a rock, taking a seat and assuming her best thinking pose.

Theo broke away from the weird marshling, focusing his efforts tonight on his alchemy. For the first time in a while, he was motivated to level his cores. His intent was to push the Dreamwalk as far as it would let him go. That meant experimenting with the areas of this new alchemy they didn’t understand. He started with fermentation.

The Dreamwalk allowed Theo to perform the first step of fermentation—which was to add items to an enchanted barrel as a mash, then inject mana. After that, it refused to let him move forward. Theo’s Drogramath Fermentation skill had evolved into Tero’gal Fermentation. He had already inspected the skill, but recalled it from memory.

[Tero’gal Fermentation]

Herbalism Skill

Epic

Fermentation allows an herbalist to extract even more from reagents. Accepting this skill allows you to understand the fine workings of reagents, pulling even more from the already useful plants.

Effect:

Fermentations you perform happen rapidly, compared to those without this skill.

Allows the modification of reagents to produce special modifier essences.

+12 Wisdom

“That’s some very specific wording on that skill,” Theo said.

At first, he considered the idea that this was a different way to process reagents. Perhaps a way to get them to the third tier. But the effects listed claimed it would still produce modifier essence. Well, perhaps it could do both but it wasn’t something he was willing to believe just yet. Fermentation was a fairly simple process, compared to the other facets of alchemy. Reagent mash, mana, and the right barrel were all one needed. What were the chances that Tero’gal would have such simple alchemy at this stage?

“Absolutely not,” Theo said, turning his attention elsewhere.

Instead of pushing forward into areas of Tero’gal alchemy he knew the Dreamwalk wouldn’t allow, he focused on refining the processes they already had. The alchemist created stills for him to work with, making note of each part of the process. There had to be a better way to handle the solid waste created by the tier one process, but he had some ideas on how to improve on where they were. When he turned his attention to injecting mana into everything—the still, water, air, and even the mashed reagents—he hit a roadblock.

When the Dreamwalk refused to let him go further, it might as well have told him he was on the right track. Mana injection was the way to go, as he had originally expected. The only thing he had injected with mana when using Drogramath’s alchemy was during fermentation, water, and the dilution for the fourth tier.

“And that’s what we’ll try on the mortal plane,” Theo said, rubbing his hands together. For now, he planned to grind experience.

When that notification finally appeared, Theo was left with a question that felt silly. Where should he put his single free point for hitting Level 33? Another point in wisdom wouldn’t do much. His only attributes not above at least 100 were Strength and Intelligence, and he couldn’t put a point into Intelligence. Not unless he wanted to lose his sense of self. Instead of going for Strength, he opted for Vigor. That would add some health, although not much. He placed the point, gaining 5 health points for his efforts.

“Hooray,” the alchemist said, inspecting his sheet.

Theo Spencer

Drogramath Dronon

Level 33

Alchemist

Core Slots: 7

Stats:

Health: 625

Mana: 230

Stamina: 635

Strength: 20 (+11)

Dexterity: 132 (+8)

Vigor: 124 (+8)

Intelligence: 30 (+9)

Wisdom: 342 (+7)

Points: 0

“Seven core slots,” he said to himself, looking over the sheet. “Five from leveling or my base slots, and two from special cores. But those attributes are absurd. I sure went heavy on the Wisdom, huh?”

“Hush! I’m thinking over here!” Tresk shouted.

Theo shrugged. He learned a few things about alchemy tonight. At least he understood how important mana infusions were going to be. With that in mind he practiced summoning his mana and controlling it once it was outside of his body. Mana was strange like that. He couldn’t really feel it moving around in his body. But once he brought it out in liquid form, he could feel it like it was an extension of himself. A glob of mana hovered in the air.

“Huh. Would ya look at that?” Theo asked, watching as the glob floated before him. It was slightly pink with a hint of purple running through it. “Is Tero’gal mana modeled after our skin tones? That’s kinda weird.”

Tresk shushed Theo again.

After his latest rebuke, the alchemist worked on his mana control. If he was right about how important this was for Tero’gal alchemy, any new alchemists would need to practice this from the jump. At least the Dreamwalk didn’t yell at him for getting better at mana control. The more he worked at it, the more he found how to weave his willpower into the act. Once he had that figured out, he had almost absolute control of the way his mana moved. He could pull it out from his body, creating impossibly small specks and controlling them in intricate ways. The only place the Dreamwalk drew the line was when applying the mana to do something.

He held his comment back as to not disturb Tresk, but the Dreamwalk couldn’t have made it more obvious. Mana control would be vital if he wanted to become better with Tero’gal Alchemy. Salire might be mad about it, since her mana control was decent but could be lacking compared to Theo. But without knowing how he would need to use his mana, he couldn’t say.

“I’m done,” Tresk said, springing up. “Gonna build a moon when we make up.

“Just make another small planet,” Theo said, folding his arms. “You can manage an atmosphere.”

“I got it worked out in my head, actually. Thanks to your little brain.”

“My brain is huge,” Theo countered, folding his arms.

“Uh-huh. If we move a chunk of Tero’gal to the edge of the void, we should be good.” Tresk nodded, confident in her assessment. “Then we fill it with a mix of energy from us and the thrones… Bam. Free planetoid.”

“I’m certain the system will limit us to one planetoid, though. Keep that in mind.”

“I’m not greedy! It only works because we can tie it to one or the other thrones. So we got a maximum of two planets or planetoids. I can work with this. Any idea how to get Fenian his planet?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna ask Khahar. Forming Khahak—I still hate that name—was done with a realm. Dunno if we can just push Fenian’s throne into the void and hope for the best or what. But I’m sure there was some trick that old goat used to make his world.”

“We got a plan! Let’s go!”

The dreamwalk ended without the consent of the other members. Theo started in his bed, looking toward the window. “Tresk, what time is it?”

“Some time after midnight,” Tresk said, giggling to herself. “Later, nerd.”

Theo pouted for about a breath before giving up. Tresk had already slipped into Tero’gal, apparently off to make a moon… Planetoid… whatever. There was no breakfast to be had. Theo stepped out onto the street outside, making sure to pull the door closed as quietly as he could. Although it was the middle of the night, several adventurers were on patrol. They held lanterns, bowing their heads as they passed the alchemist. At least the dragon bone essences were still brewing without issue. White smoke rose from the cube’s ventilation, but nothing more.

The Newt and Demon was silent at this hour. Salire had cleared out long ago, giving Theo pause at the threshold. He didn’t just see the new shop counter waiting for an attendant to sell potions. He saw the cramped experimentation area from when he first arrived in this world. He saw the eager marshling begging to undertake the Tara’hek. Those feelings came rushing back as he ascended the stairs to the second floor. Lights danced in the distance, filtering through what few trees grew within the town’s walls. Guards patrolled the wall of the harbor somewhere in that distance.

Perhaps the activity in the market area was still lively. Theo turned his attention to his storage crates, rummaging through until he found a few decent samples to work with. After adding those and some glassware to his inventory, he headed outside. Any explosions would be better conducted outside. The alchemist found himself heading toward the outside wall. He chugged a Potion of Limited Foresight just in case, but didn’t feel as though danger would find him that night. He instead found the cool night air and the sound of chatter just over the market wall.

From the battlements, he watched the people in the market. Lanterns hung from wooden posts—magical and mundane—illuminating the market. There were a few hawkers still awake, although they weren’t screaming like normal. Most surprising was the people buying things. They still haggled, getting good deals on whatever while others slept.

“Do they ever rest?” Theo asked no one in particular, pulling his first sample out. It was a length of Spiny Swamp Thistle Root in its raw form. Unprocessed and unbothered, this sample had been grown in the greenhouses before they were aligned. According to Tero’gal alchemy, it was an impure sample.

Drops of prismatic mana dripped from the alchemist’s palm. They hovered in the air, catching the light of distant lights to remind him of Toru’aun by the way they glittered. Theo slowed the mana down, breaking into many small parts as he injected it into the root. His mind flashed with information, like a blinding light turned on in a dark room. He didn’t gain specifics like he did with the Research upgrade in his Herbalist’s Workshop, only a sense for what was going on within the root. The mana wanted to spread out, becoming more a part of the root. He allowed it.

The gnarled root glowed a shifting shade of purple and pink. It put off a floral scent that stung the air at first. Once the wind caught most of the initial smell, it died down to a faintly pleasant scent. Theo knew this was an improved version of the original root. Tero’gal’s way of growing reagents made it hard to tell how much better it was than before. But after injecting his mana inside the root, the alchemist could estimate it was about as good as the stuff that grew in the aligned greenhouses. Applying this method to the ones grown there would only improve their purity.

The next experiment Theo wanted to try was to apply this method to the mash. He crushed some of the untouched roots with the back of his Drogramathi knife and tested his newest method. It was the same as before. The mana entered the mixture, seeming to find gaps to reinforce to make up for the lacking purity.

“Interesting reaction,” Theo said, moving on. “Last one…”

Theo watched as his spectral hands held mana over completed first tier essence. He watched still as that essence exploded, removing him from the wall and sending him sprawling to the ground below. While the blast wouldn’t kill him—thanks to his enhanced attributes—he didn’t care to be exploded in the middle of the night.

“Some things are best left where they are,” he said, returning the essence to his inventory.

This was a great place to start. Theo knew the raw reagent imbued with mana would run through the stills better. It might even create a higher purity of potion, based on the way the mana integrated itself with the reagent. If he was lucky, he could push this even further to enhance the other stages of the process. But with hours before sunrise, Theo couldn’t think of working. He wasn’t tired. He just wanted to watch the people below go about their nightly business. If he had his way, this place would be packed with people.

“Soon.”

Chapter 69

Chat with Death

“Pizzas not for breakfast!” Tresk shouted.

Sarisa and Rowan blinked a few times, looking over the marshling as she gawked at the provided dish. It wasn’t even remotely pizza. Not that either of them would know what pizza was, aside from the times when Theo might have told them. They were served flatbread with melted cheese and butter, which was as much like pizza as any tomato-based soup was. She must have been drawing from his mind for some joke no one but her got. And there was no way the marshling would elaborate.

“Yes, well,” Sarisa said, taking her seat and clearing her throat. “Thought we’d do something different.”

“Not that this is cultural or anything,” Rowan shrugged.

“I’m from here!” Tresk shouted back. “I am the culture!”

Theo nodded, ignoring Tresk’s outburst. He could feel her nervousness about creating a moon. She did well under pressure, but only when that pressure was immediate. When it was looming in the distance, she got nervous. Then as time marched toward when she had to deal with the problem, she got crazy. Like a cornered goblin.

“Who would have thought that Broken Tusk would have cheese,” Theo said, looking at the flatbread before him. It was even made with wheat, instead of zee meal. “I think we should form your planet today, Tresk.”

“Yeah, me too,” Tresk said, fidgeting. “I can’t think right.”

“I have something to take care of,” Sarisa said, nodding at Theo. “If that’s okay.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure how needed you two are anymore. For guard duty, I mean.”

“I refuse to do any other job,” Rowan said, folding his arms. “You can’t tear this away from me no matter how hard you try. I’ll kill ya.”

“I’m not sure the best move is to threaten the man you’re sworn to guard,” Sarisa said.

“Yeah, well… This job is the best. And I don’t wanna give it up.”

Theo didn’t expect he would let his guard down anytime soon, but he was powerful. The moment he dismissed Sarisa and Rowan, some unknown horror would come out of the ground and grab him by the tail. There weren’t many loose ends, but they were there. Balkor’s shadow, Kuzan’s followers, and whatever other gods in the heavens that wanted him out of his position. Then there was Jan and Twist, which… That was a can of worms he wasn’t willing to open. 

“No, I won’t dismiss either of you. But perhaps we can find a way to make you stronger.”

“Whatever you want, boss.” Rowan’s back was particularly straight today. “Shine your shoes? Fluff your pillow? Whatever you need.”

Sarisa didn’t have anything super important to do today. She wanted some time to sort affairs with someone afar. Which meant finding a merchant willing to send a message. Before they jumped to their new world, a lot of people wanted to get messages out. Most of those people weren’t locals, making Sarisa the minority among them. The people who were raised in Broken Tusk stayed in Broken Tusk. Whatever splinter half-ogres and marshlings that went elsewhere stayed splintered, never rejoining. Except Salire. She came back.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Theo said, grabbing Tresk by the wrist when she stood. Of course she had inhaled her meal. “We’re forming the moon today.”

“Planetoid,” Tresk corrected. “I’ll not have my realm as some lifeless moon.”

Theo shrugged. “Whatever you want to call it. Come on.”

“Wait. I wanna bring Alex.”

Theo grabbed his food, nodding to the half-ogres still eating at his table. They met Alex outside and fell through the barrier between worlds, revealing the solar system view that represented their new reality. A moment later, they were standing in the welcoming center of Tero’gal. It had been built up in recent days. A dronon the alchemist didn’t recognize dashed off. Likely to fetch Belgar. Sure enough, a few minutes later the defacto leader of the world came rushing over.

“We have some developments,” Belgar said, doubled over and out of breath.

“More war?” Theo asked.

“A group was expelled from the world,” Belgar said. “Some elves had created a small settlement, and they were conducting war. Tero’gal didn’t like that and ejected their souls into the void.”

Theo shook his head. “Perhaps they should have learned to behave before coming.”

“Yeah, screw ‘em.”

“It put the others in line very quickly. We don’t know what happens to a soul now, so the other settlements have calmed down.”

Tero’gal had been involved from the start. Once it gained Throneworld status, the planet wanted nothing to do with its denizens fighting. This might only be true for the transition period of the world, though.

“Oh, also the time changed again. We got a message,” Belgar said. “It went all the way down to two-to-one.”

“Really?” Theo asked, looking around. “Was that recent?”

“Yesterday, actually. We’re closer to the mortal timescale now. Is that good?”

“Hard to say. Tresk, how about you get working on the moon. I’ll have a chat with the system.” Theo turned away from the group, pausing before leaving. “Belgar, help her if you can. Or maybe pet the dragon-goose. Whatever.”

Passing through the cracks once again, Theo landed in the system’s little lobby. He rushed over to the platform, finding relief immediately. Ten of the twelve spots glowed when he stepped foot on the platform. The central spot for the system sparked to life, the crystalline entity fading into existence a moment later.

“Which gods are missing?” Theo asked, finding the question he arrived with far from his thoughts.

“That is to be determined,” the system said, her voice twinkling through the snowy landscape. It was feminine, so the alchemist thought of her as a woman.

“And which ones do we have?”

“The higher gods,” the system said, gesturing to five of the spots. “Hallow, Death, Fate and Omen, Shadow, and Void. The elemental gods. Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Arcane. And the lost gods…”

Theo bowed his head. Perhaps it was time to treat the system and the gods with respect. If they were willing to put what happened behind them, he should do the same. If only for the sake of his people, and those that would come with him once the world ended. “I would like to speak with Death.”

A hooded figure appeared on one of the marks. Kuzan—now Death—stood as menacing as ever.

“I shall moderate,” the system said.

“I’m not here to fight,” Theo said, bowing his head again.

“What is it, Dreamwalker?” Death asked.

“My Throneworld cast some souls into the void. I’d like to know where they went,” Theo said.

“They arrived at the Gate soon after they were cast away. They now await judgment.”

“If it wouldn’t be overstepping my bounds, could I ask what that entails?” Theo asked.

“You may,” the system said. “It is within your responsibilities.”

“As we are in a transition period, most souls are being held until the next shift,” Death said. “Those who die now, or are sent into the void through other means will be quite fortunate. They will have the ability to select where they want to go.”

“What are the options?”

“Any godly world that wants to accept them can. They may also petition the ascendant worlds if they like. Another option is reincarnation on the mortal world—once everything has settled down—or transmigration outside of this system.”

Theo’s eye twitched. Transmigration is an option? There was a connection there to the bird-person who had been there at the end on Earth. The alchemist was certain that this was another place altogether compared to Earth. Which meant that back in the day, during Jan’s time, there was a bridge connecting universes. Iaredin was connected to Earth, allowing people to travel between them somehow. The mechanism of that was beyond him, but it was an interesting bit of information.

“Those are favorable terms for the dead,” Theo said, bowing again to Death. “How would it work after the ‘shift?’”

Death looked at the system, who nodded.

“Much the same. System, may I speak more… freely?” Death asked.

“The Dreamwalker may know about the inner workings of souls. He might become something of a ferryman.”

Death cleared his throat. “The realm will gain a version of hell from your world’s lore. They will serve a term based on their crimes during life with a chance at the transmigration or reincarnation option.”

“Who decides that?” Theo asked.

“I decide for most minor issues. For major issues, a vote from all gods is required, along with the system.”

“That sounds oddly fair, considering what I know about you,” Theo said.

“Keep it civil,” the system warned.

“May I add one bit of personal opinion, system?” Death asked.

“I’ll censure you if you reveal anything related to the mortal world.”

“What about Iaredin before it was sealed?”

“That should be fine.”

Death nodded. “I was a ghost before Iaredin was sealed away. Driven mad by one-thousand years of wandering, I set myself upon the world. There was no shortage of destruction caused by my hands. But when the world was sealed, I was given the option to gain flesh.”

“That’s where you stop,” the system said.

“Just one more thing,” Death said, nodding to Theo. “He should know.”

“You were never meant to awaken when you did,” the system cut in. “As the Dreamwalker, it is your right to know. Another was meant to awaken in Broken Tusk, but there were issues caused by a group of mortals and ascendants. A man from Kuzan’s lineage was meant to wake, setting the world straight.”

“May I?” Death asked.

“Finish it,” the system said, her normally monotone voice sounding slightly annoyed.

“He was the one that beat me back before the change. He was strong enough to lead the world. But you were given an impossible role to fill. Perhaps you didn’t do it the way he would have, but you did it. You broke the seal.”

“Unintentionally,” Theo said, gazing at Kuzan with confusion. This wasn’t the big-bad he had expected. “So is this your repentance?” 

“It is,” Death said with a nod. “To shoulder the burden of my descendant.”

“That’s enough,” the system said. “Are you satisfied with his answers, Dreamwalker?”

“I’m surprised, but… Yeah. Thank you.”

“Adjourned,” the system said. Death vanished. “You may return to your work.”

Theo turned away from the platform, falling through the veil once again. That was illuminating. So Kuzan wasn’t as nefarious as people made him out to be. Evil? Absolutely. His method of keeping the world in balance was to have a war going on at all times, purging elven houses when they got too big. He might claim to want to change the world, but he was just feeding into the nonsense that kept the destruction going. Perhaps he was even the one to start that idea of constantly destroying everything to build it up. But what was that business about being a ghost in Old Iaredin?

“Given flesh, huh?” Theo asked, landing on Tero’gal once again. “Some weird stuff went down, huh?”

It was weird, but at least he knew that people would go through the right cycle when they died. The ascendants had it so people would go to their realms when they died… sometimes. There were problems when souls would get stuck in the void, or trapped in the mortal world after they died. The alchemist looked to the sky, spotting a new shape taking form. Tresk and Belgar weren’t near the welcoming center, so he wandered around for a bit before giving up. Instead, he took a seat and watched the show.

Tresk must have figured out how to channel the power of her throne, creating the moon. That or she just grabbed her throne and took it into space. Theo thought it was more likely for her to have done the second option, since it fell in line with the way she thought.

“Crazy little marshling,” he said, watching for a few more minutes before leaving. “I’m sure she’ll get it.”

Theo stepped foot in Drogramath’s village, far to the south. He stopped after his feet hit the wooden walkways, a smile spreading across his face. “Toru’aun,” he said, jogging over to catch up to the dronon woman. She was wearing a light dress with her hair done up in a bun. It was pretty hot in the swamp.

“Theo. Nice of you to drop by,” Toru’aun said. “Are you making a moon?”

“Yeah, what do you think?” Theo asked. “Tresk is working on it.”

Toru’aun considered the moon for a moment, finally nodding. “I’d like to live on the moon, if you don’t mind.”

“You don’t enjoy Drogramath’s company?” Theo asked.

“I think it will be nice up there. Perhaps you can find a mountain where I could live alone.”

Theo tried not to wince. She was a solitary person. “How many Toru’auni made the transition to this world?”

“A few hundred, but we’re all solitary,” Toru’aun said. “In all my years, I only created a few broods.”

“I’m sure Tresk will finish working on the moon soon enough. Let me go check…”

Theo zorped himself up to the moon, finding a barren landscape. He felt Tresk, Alex, and Belgar in the distance, so zorped himself over there next. He found himself at the foot of another massive building containing the Throne of the Dreamer. So she had used the throne itself as a catalyst to create the world. As he ascended the steps, he spotted all three of them inside, looking over the throne and discussing something.

“I don’t think it would be a good idea to fill the world with monsters,” Belgar said, holding his hands up. “Theo would certainly disagree.”

“Monsters are a bad idea, Tresk,” Theo said. “I don’t even think you have that kind of power.”

“Oh, come on,” Tresk groaned. “No monsters down there. Monsters up here. The plan is flawless!”

Unleashing monsters into the world might be a problem. Theo was certain it would work, but that might cause problems. It was hard to tell how the world would react if she generated anything, let alone monsters. At least she didn’t get the option to name the world. It had given itself a name, Tol’bak.

“Let’s worry about getting the world estbalished before you generate monsters. Okay?” Theo asked. “Now, are you going for a normal planet, or are you going to set the conditions the same all over?”

“Giant swamp world!” Tresk shouted, imparting her will onto the world. “Giant alligators everywhere.”

Belgar sighed. “How do you deal with this?”

“One day at a time.”