The Newt and Demon - Book 7 Chapters 76, 77, 78 (Patreon)

Chapter 76

What Are You?

Theo didn't allow the panic to settle in his heart; it did that on its own. He ran forward over the open landscape, doing his best to avoid the monsters while delivering daggers infused with dragon dance when they noticed him. These creatures were far weaker than those he had encountered in the dungeon, and they all fell easily enough. Still, the alchemists scrambled forward, panicking as he looked around. It wasn't until exhaustion overtook him that he came back to his senses, finding a slow rise in the landscape good enough for him to settle down.

"This changes nothing," Theo told himself, taking steadying breaths to calm down. “The potion failed, but that doesn't change the plan. You can master the veil here. It can't run from you forever, can it?”

Set within the small hill was the entrance to a cave. Theo had entered, barring the entrance with powerful wards and settling in. The light crept through the entrance, casting a vague shape on the ground before him. The surrounding gray seemed set off by his purple skin, as though he were the only thing out of place here. Everything else was normal. It was the alchemist who was the strange thing.

Sleep didn't come easily. It didn't matter that Theo had a bedroll in his inventory or enough herbs to calm a raging karatan. It came in 30-minute breaks that only ceased when he woke to face the horror of the pale world. However, thanks to his attributes, he needed little sleep. Just enough to get him back on track to level his head. But there was no night in this world, just the endless gray. After he had enough rest to think straight again, the alchemist left the cave and surveyed the landscape once more.

To ease his mind, Theo withdrew an immortal mortar and pestle from his inventory. He added spiny swamp thistle root and ground it to a fine powder. The system confirmed his creation of a poultice, and he rubbed it on the bottoms of his sore feet. He couldn't tell how long he had been running. That moment in his life was a blur, but the cuts and scrapes he had gained from the effort were proof of how frantic that scramble was.

Although he could have downed a potion to cure it all, he wanted to remind himself that he was still an alchemist. No matter where he was, he could create what he needed to escape. With his mind finally settled, he began walking. His frantic escape had put the small town far out of view, and he proceeded in a direction notable for the mountains in the distance. Along the way, he thought about reaching out to the veil and manipulating both his aura and willpower to touch it. A few times, he came close to brushing it, but it still eluded him.

Time was incredibly difficult to track in here. Theo thought he could have been walking for a few hours, but it was hard to tell. That's when he thought to use the duration of his potions to track time. He downed an attribute enhancement potion and began walking, finding that what he thought was merely an hour was actually closer to three or four. At first, he thought it was some kind of magic that infused this land, but he eventually concluded it was simply the endless gray landscape. He could tell the time a little better if he focused on an object as he walked or counted his steps, but losing focus for only a moment would cause minutes to slip away. Yet he had experience with this in his own realm and sought to master it further.

There's no system notification when a person increases their willpower. But Theo could feel his rising, as though simply being here was enough to push it to its limits. He lost track of time a few more times before spotting something in the distance. At first, he thought it was simply another of the many monsters, but as it drew closer, he recognized the familiarity of the figure. It looked humanoid. Still, he withdrew one of his powerful daggers from his inventory and prepared to hurl it until the figure raised a hand and waved.

"What the hell is going on?" Theo muttered, dagger still in his hand as he approached the figure. It was clad in a gray coat, its face obscured by the darkness of the thing. It was roughly the size of a human or elf. But as it reached out a hand to shake, Theo spotted the gray skin, as though it had been born of the paper-like material all around them.

Shaking the creature's hand, Theo nodded. "What are you?" he asked.

The figure grasped something the alchemist couldn't understand. It coughed into its hand and shook off its shoulders, the stiff cloak rustling. It tried a few more times until it eventually produced a sound. The voice of a man came from under the darkened hood. "Leon," it said.

Theo might have been learning more about this place, but he hadn't expected to encounter a sapient creature here. His mind whirled as he considered the possibilities, and he determined that this being couldn't have originated from here. Instead, he concluded that it had been trapped, just like him. Deep within the creature's chest were cores. They were all inactive, but they were nothing like the proto-cores that existed in the paper monsters. They were fully formed entities.

"You can call me Theo," the alchemist said, releasing the dry grasp from the man. It sounded like a man, anyway. "How did you get trapped here?"

“That… story… long.”

“Not much for words, are you?” Theo asked, spreading his aura to assault the figure. He pushed deeper than before, judging the contents of his soul and finding it lacking. Like the paper landscape around them, it was thin.

Leon jerked his head to one side and gestured for Theo to follow him. The alchemist shrugged. He didn't have anywhere to be, and having someone to speak to was nice, even if that someone had little to say. They roamed over that landscape for a while, eventually finding their way through a mountain pass that led to another small village. This one looked slightly different from the previous one, although Theo couldn't quite put his finger on it. The buildings were all made of the same paper, which made it difficult to distinguish whether it was meant to be wood, stone, metal, or some other material.

Leon entered a house, returning with a ceramic jug of something and quaffing it as the man tilted his head back. Theo couldn't see his features, which was slightly concerning. After clearing his throat a few times, the paper man spoke. "How did you get here?" he asked.

"He speaks," Theo said, his brows peaking. "I thought you were just mute or something. Hmm, why am I here? An alchemical experiment gone wrong, I suppose."

"You are the first," Leon said, hobbling to a stone seat not far away. Theo thought it was supposed to be made of stone, anyway. The man sighed as he sat and shook his head. "I can't remember how long I've been here."

"Neither can I," Theo said. "Feels like... time has a way of slipping away here. How have you survived so long with the monsters? You're not particularly strong."

"I was strong when I got here," Leon said. "But that has slowly faded as I've become more like this place. Then the monsters didn't pay attention to me. They passed me over. Now I live alone."

Theo felt a shiver of recognition pass through him, as though he shared some kinship with this creature. They were alike, ‌and he couldn't figure out what it was. However, the paper man's aura resonated with his own. When he passed his shadowy bubble over him, that shiver occurred again, giving the alchemist pause. Despite how strange things were, this brief conversation had brought more of Theo's mind back to the forefront. He remembered his plan to reach out to the veil and touch it to control it if he needed to.

"Do you remember how you got here?" Theo asked, allowing his eyes to glance around, spotting the signs of the man's life in the paper world. He had managed to find food and water, although he couldn't figure out how. This place was so barren.

"Those memories left my mind long ago," Leon said. "All I remember is betrayal and the destruction of something. My memories are a haze, mere fragments spanning untold millennia. That is all I know."

Theo grunted a response as he found a seat on his own stone-like chair. "Well, if you don't mind some light conversation, I could use it to help focus my mind," he said. "I can get out of here, and you're welcome to come along."

“Don't give me such hope,” Leon said. “I've tried everything to get out of here.”

"Ah yes, but surely not the Dreamwalker," Theo said with a smile on his face. "It shouldn't take long. I'll be able to reach out and touch the veil between the worlds and bring us home."

"What is it you'd like to discuss?" Leon asked.

"Tell me about this place," Theo said, closing his eyes and reaching out yet again. He flexed his willpower to its maximum, pushing it into a single point in front of him and driving it with all his might. This time, he didn't feel the veil move to the side. Instead, it put up a front, like a bulwark his power crashed against. Perhaps this would present a unique challenge for him to overcome.

"What is there to say? Leon said, “this place is an endless void. The monsters that are here are neither creatures nor true monsters. They are shadows rendered in fragments of reality. They don't exist. Yet, you can touch them. They don't think or feel; they simply move and kill."

"From what I can tell, they're proto-monsters," Theo said, battering his willpower against the veil once again. He probed at the edges, feeling the structure and getting a decent sense of what it truly was. "If I were creating monsters, this might be where I started. I would create these souls to eventually incarnate into true monsters. They look vaguely like things I've seen on the mortal plane."

"You haven't been here nearly as long as I have," Leon said, shaking his head. The paper cloak rustled with the action. "How can you be so sure?"

“Experience,” Theo said, pushing hard enough against the veil that beads of sweat formed on his forehead. “I haven't seen humanoid-type monsters here yet, but I have a theory about that. The system categorizes them in a different camp than the other types of monsters, so that would make sense. What we see here are representations of mostly insect-style monsters. I'm not sure if there's a reason for that, but I'm confident that if we search far enough, we'll find something analogous to beast-type monsters.”

“Or this is a sub-dimension dedicated to those insect-type monsters,” Leon said, nodding. “Then again, perhaps I haven’t ranged far enough to see the others… Or this is hell.”

“Leon coming with the controversial theories,” Theo said with a laugh. He reflexively dodged to one side as the veil battered back against him, displaying another sign of sapience. The more he talked with Leon, the more he felt his confidence return. “These theories could be wrong, of course. But it hardly matters. I’m not interested in why the monsters here are the way they are. I’m interested in the magical structure of this dimension. It reflects something I’m used to. Realms. The veil that holds this place together is familiar to me.”

“And where have you experienced something like this?” Leon asked. Theo could hear the doubt in his voice.

A wide smile cracked across the alchemist’s face. “The high planes. The godly heavens.”

Chapter 77

Get Your Ass To Heaven

Time was easier to track with someone nearby, but it still slipped away from Theo. The first day he spent with Leon went by the slowest, with each proceeding day passing in a flash. As expected, he lost track of that time, only counting it by the amount of meals vanishing from his inventory. Every attempt he made to get closer to the nature of the barrier sealing this world revealed another facet. Most importantly, the alchemist had a working theory, which steered his research.

“You’re concentrating more than normal,” Leon said one morning. At least, Theo thought it was the morning. “Do you have more of those meals to share?”

Theo opened his eyes, dropping out of deep concentration to consider the man. For the first time, he saw a face beneath that hood. Weathered features stared back at him. Deep lines ran throughout his countenance, etched in gray skin. His features revealed his status as an elf of some sort. Perhaps more mortal-based food would illuminate further features.

“Sure,” Theo said, withdrawing another meal. He counted, clicking his tongue when he realized exactly how much time had passed. “How has a year slipped by? And why do I have a year’s worth of food in my inventory?”

“That’s your problem, young man,” Leon said, accepting an old bowl of wolf meat stew. Since it had been stored in his inventory, it was still steaming. “Before you can, untold amounts of time passed and I wouldn’t even notice.”

“The one good thing is that this place has bolstered my willpower to an extreme degree. And I understand the seal that binds this place,” Theo said. “Nasty bit of ward magic. God-tier stuff.”

“And you think you can break it?” Leon asked.

“Indeed. But I’ll only have one shot. There is only one Aura Potion in my inventory, after all,” Theo said. He closed his eyes again, probing the edges of the magical array that bound the world. Even conceptualizing a world-sized array was difficult. But through nothing but study over the ‘year’ he spent there had revealed enough. “I’ll admit. The world might’ve gone to hell while I was gone. I had an important job.”

“Everyone thinks their job is important,” Leon said.

“Yes, but if the energies of the world weren’t balanced, they may have reset it without me,” Theo said. “Tresk would’ve finished my work, though. I have faith she saw it to the end.”

“I see why you’re so anxious to return,” Leon said. “Yet here we are.”

Theo shrugged. “What can I do? This is something that simply takes time. Based on my instincts, I’ll have this done in a few months.”

“Months that will pass in a blink,” Leon said, clapping his aged hands. Some more color had returned to his skin recently. Theo hoped that was a good thing.

The alchemist turned his attention back to the veil. He grabbed it with his aura, ensnaring it in the ever-growing bubble that held it relentlessly. After probing another section of the array, he found things that felt familiar. Days shifted to weeks and months as he delved deeper into those secrets. On a morning where the gray sun shined, and Theo’s stock of prepared food running low, his eyes snapped open. Leon’s aged cheeks were flushed as he ate too-spicy stew.

“Anything to report?” the old elf asked.

“We’re leaving,” Theo said, withdrawing a potion from his inventory. “Hang on tight. I’m unsure if this will destroy the world.”

“Oh, is that all we have to worry about?” Leon asked with a laugh. “Fine. Do your thing, demon. More of my mind returns by the moment!”

Theo shook his head, drinking the potion.

###

“I’ll admit to many things,” Death said, looking all evil and stuff. Seriously, he assumed the mantle of Death, but he didn’t have to dress like it.

“So admit to them faster!” Tresk shouted. Only moments ago, the god had spoken of some revelations. And it had taken him about four billion years to get to the point, hemming and hawing around as though he got paid by the hour.

“I had a mortal body on Iaredin long ago. Before the first change. When I died, my body was cast into the void, where I rejected the Lady of Light. I lingered as a spirit, until the first change passed. I then struck a deal with the system,” Death said.

All other gods assembled were gawking, unable to hold back their shock at their peer’s candor. Maybe if he talked slightly faster, Tresk wouldn’t feel the daggers itching in her inventory. As it stood, all she wanted to do was some serious stabbing.

“Please continue,” Hallow said, seeming to sense Tresk’s impatience.

“I used methods provided by the system to create chimeras,” Death admitted. “This was an effective way to make powerful monsters the world couldn’t stand against. The entire time I ran my campaign against the mortal races of the world, I used them. To create them, I generated a new dimension for my work. This was based on the dimensional structure of dungeons, and it allowed me to generate powerful monsters.”

“This is where you say ‘unfortunately, I’m a big goofus and…’,” Tresk narrowed her eyes at the god.

“Unfortunately, I’m a big goofus,” Death said. “I’m a failure in that this realm was sealed away from me after the campaign. I thought it was destroyed when the most recent change happened. System, can you confirm the existence of my Empty Realm?”

“The realm functions,” the System said, nodding.

“So, Theo is in this weird place?” Tresk asked with a scoff. “How do we get him out?”

“That’s where things get complicated…” Death trailed off.

“Consider aspects of the system such as the way attributes are given,” the System said. “I cannot reverse attribute gain. Ever. It is a rule that is engrained in the fabric of reality. The seal on Death’s hidden realm is absolute.”

“Which means no one should’ve been able to get inside, right?” Hallow asked.

“There seems to have been a crack,” the System said.

“Which means he can get out, right?” Tresk asked.

“I’m afraid that would require a skill level close to godhood,” the System said. “For someone to have developed such talent would be unthinkable. Especially in such a short time.”

Tresk took a steadying breath. She was hearing a lot of doom when all she wanted was to get her demon back. Setting a mental timer for about five minutes, she relaxed. Once that timer went off, she would attack Death’s domain directly. Even if it didn’t work, she didn’t care. Murder was the only solution.

“If the system could grant me permissions to change the nature of realms…” Death trailed off.

“Absolutely not,” Fate shouted, stomping her foot. “We have a delicate balance here! The lines of fate are clear. The alchemist dies in some aberrant realm.”

“Listen here, shortie!” Tresk shouted, daggers jumping into her hands.

“You’re shorter than her!” Omen shouted back.

“Not if I cut you off at the knees, ya little elf prince!” Tresk shouted, springing forward. She was stopped a foot later, suspended in the air by some unseen force.

“Please forgive her,” Death, of all people, said. “She is emotional for the loss of her partner.”

“You’re damn right I am!” Tresk shouted. “This is the System’s fault! Plug your holes you stupid—”

Tresk was silenced. Her ears went deaf just as her mouth went mute. No matter how much she flailed in the air, nothing happened. The group talked about whatever while she thrashed around, determined to break free of the System’s magic and deliver some much-deserved stabbing. It took a while of talking, but the expressions on all their faces grew grave. Then people started shouting. Even the system was throwing her hands up in the air.

The sound returned as a rushing thing, blasting Tresk in the face.

“Stop him!” the System shouted.

“You’re the system!” Fate shouted back, panic flooding over her face. “The threads of fate are shifting—I’ve never seen it move this much.”

“What the hell are you doing, Theo?” Hallow growled.

Khahar appeared from nowhere, jogging over with a worried look. “My Arbiter’s Core is going crazy,” he said, looking between each member assembled. “What’s going on?”

“Theo is undoing god-tier magic,” Omen said. “He’s pulling it apart like a roast turkey. Impossible to say what will happen if he gets through.”

“He has a passenger,” the System warned.

“No,” Death said, the muscles on his jaw bunching up.

“Time to share with the class!” Tresk said, flipping around in the air. “I thought you were hiding something, you stupid ghost.”

All eyes turned to Death and he paled. After a few moments of hesitation, he cleared his throat. “Someone is sealed within that realm.”

“Who?” Fate and Omen asked at the same time.

Death swallowed hard, licking his lips. “There’s a good reason the realm was sealed before the reset. You must remember, he was insane when I cast him there. He was absorbing the power of souls from both Earth and Iaredin. It was a mercy for both worlds.”

“Why do I have the feeling that this won’t end well?” Hallow asked.

“Spit it out, ghost-man,” Omen said, hands on his hips.

“Your grandfather was a great man in his time. But he lost his mind after he… Well, I don’t think is the time for you to learn what happened to your grandmother,” Death said.

“King Leon!?” Fate shouted. “This is a betrayal, Kuzan!”

Death shrugged. “You don’t need to tell me the weight of my sins…”

“Silence, you idiots!” the System shouted. “He’s breaking through…”

“Hah! Get screwed nerds!” Tresk shouted. She felt Theo bursting through the place between places like a damn meteor. “My boy is back in town!”

###

“This is an interesting way to travel,” Leon said, looking around the shadowy aura as they traveled through the void.

This wasn’t the void Theo was familiar with. He didn’t have as much authority here, but his position as the Dreamwalker gave him some sway over it. Instead of gliding through like he normally did, he clawed his way through the seal. He stretched out with all his might, inching them forward through a thick soup. It wasn’t a destructive act, though. The potion he had imbibed empowered his aura to an absurd degree, allowing his newly increased willpower to pull apart the array and put it back together behind them.

“Void travel isn’t for the faint of heart,” Theo said. “But this place is different. I don’t feel the same negative effects as the normal void.”

“This void differs from the one you’re familiar with?” Leon asked. “That’s strange.”

“This whole dimensional space is strange,” Theo said. “It is big. Although I guess size doesn’t make much sense for the void… If you look behind us, you’ll see the space we were just in.”

“Ah, a big gray blob,” Leon said.

“Well, at least you’re looking better,” Theo said. “Spend some time by the shards and I’m sure you’ll be just fine.”

“Your nation has more of this food, right?” Leon asked. “Give me more of the food and I’ll be good.”

It took a while, but Theo finally broke through the last few layers of the seal’s array. When they busted through the other side, he felt forces trying to draw him in. He smiled to himself. Whoever was trying to interdict him must’ve felt like they were attempting to suck up an ocean through a straw. It seemed almost a playful act, so he resisted. But whoever was on the other end didn’t find it amusing. They pulled harder, which the alchemist took as a test of strength.

“The gods aren’t happy,” Theo said, chuckling to himself. “Anyway, that’s the only low realm right now. The mortal plane.” He gestured to Iaredin to their left. Then he pointed to the middle planes. “We’re calling those the middle planes. And the big glowing star over there is the heavens. That’s also our next stop, since someone there is real mad at us.”

“We’ve upset someone?” Leon asked. “How so?”

“Maybe they see it as a prison break,” Theo said. “Or maybe they just want to give me an update on the latest reset.”

“THEO! GET YOUR ASS TO HEAVEN!” Tresk shouted into his mind. “AND BRING KING LEON!”

Theo turned to his passenger. “You’re a king?”

Leon blinked a few times, raising a brow. He thought for a few moments, his face eventually brightening. “Oh! I suppose I am.”

“You’ll need to sort out that memory,” Theo muttered, angling for the center of the void. “Time to take our lashes.”

Chapter 78

I’m a Prisoner Now

Perhaps it was the fact that Theo had spent such a long time in such a drab environment, but he was feeling spicy. Instead of heading directly for the universe's center to meet with the gods, he made a detour toward his own world. He sought to come into view as that familiar green and blue marble hung against the sheet of black. Mion made a surprised noise as they descended, landing in Boar Hollow to a confused-looking Belgar.

The landscape was unchanged and felt tightly browsed. He had expected that the time he spent in the paper dimension would have changed his world, but it was exactly as he remembered it. His mind reeled for a moment before he turned to Belgar to ask for answers.

"The reset didn't happen, did it?" he asked, feeling much of his confusion fall away.

“No, you haven't been gone that long, maybe a day?” Belgar said, scratching his head. “Why?”

"That's a long story. For now, I need to make a trip to the heavens to clear some things up. This means I'll need you to watch my guest."

“A guest?” Belgar asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Unfortunately," Theo said, weaving a few spells and infusing them with as much willpower as he could. A series of barriers appeared around Leon, trapping him where he stood. “He’s more of a temporary prisoner.”

"I'm a prisoner now," Leon stated, as though it was the best news he had heard in a long time. "Oh, why am I a prisoner?"

"I should keep you away from any interdiction events, and I'm sorry, Leon, but I don't actually quite trust you yet," Theo said. "Keep an eye on him, Belgar. I don't think he's violent, but I want to sort things out with the gods before I address him."

“You’re okay with this?” Belgar asked, watching as Leon took a seat.

"I've been a prisoner for countless thousands of years," Leon said with a shrug. He pulled back the paper-like hood, revealing his etched visage. "What's a few more hundred years of waiting?"

“Glad you understand, Leon,” Theo said, feeling Tresk's impatience with him grow by the moment. “But if I don't leave now, I'm afraid I'll be stabbed to death by my life partner. I'll see you in a few hours.”

Before either Leon or Belgar could say anything, he fell into the void. When he slipped into it, he felt it was an act easier than ever. He barely had to reach out, and he slipped through the cracks, feeling the makeup of that layer more clearly than ever. His time in the paper dimension had not only expanded his willpower to an absurd degree, but it had also sent his knowledge of the makeup of the dimensions to heights he doubted others possessed.

Instead of flying through the void like a ship cast adrift on the ocean, he folded it in on itself, moving from the space around his own world to the heavens in the blink of an eye. As he descended toward the throne containing the gods and the system, a smile spread across his face. Tresk was floating nearby, her arms folded as she muttered something to him, as if he couldn't hear. Each god was assembled, standing in their respective spots with their arms folded or hands in the air, making rude gestures and shouting. The system looked annoyed.

"I see you finally deigned to grace us with your presence," the system said. It was the most annoyed Theo had ever heard her. The smile fell away from his face.

Theo shrugged, trying to determine the best way to approach the problem. At first, he thought of antagonizing the system, but that wouldn't do. It was a logical entity that operated on a set of rules. From what he understood, he hadn't violated any of the rules, which meant it was the other gods who were annoying her, not him. So he put on his best smile and gave her a slight bow.

"Apologies, but I was dragged into a part of the system I wasn't aware existed," he said. Looking between the gods, Death appeared to be the most perturbed. "I didn't violate any of the rules established by the system, did I?"

"You've caused quite the stir," the system said. "Particularly, Death, Fate, and Omen are quite upset. They think you've brought someone from their past back to reality."

It wasn't hard to put things back together. Death was Kuzan, who was from the old world. He was also certain both Fate and Omen were important in that time, although he didn’t know what role they played. So King Leon, an elf locked away in some strange dimension for about 60,000 years, was likely the King of Perisart. What that meant for Theo’s situation was beyond him, but he was glad he had imprisoned the man. If only for safekeeping.

"I fail to see how the reaction of the gods impacts me," Theo said, looking between the disenfranchised gods before him. "If there is a mortal soul in an adjacent dimension or the void, they fall under my care. Do they not?"

“Almost,” Khahar said, stepping into view. Theo wasn’t sure how he had missed him. “He falls under our authority.”

“What’s the big deal?” Theo asked. “Like I said, he’s just an errant soul.”

The System waved a crystalline hand, and Death cleared his throat.

“It isn’t as simple as that,” Death said. "There was a struggle for power back in the day, and I'm afraid to say I am the one who cast him into that dimension."

"Which seriously sounds like your problem," Theo said with a shrug. "So you're afraid he'll try to get revenge on you?"

"The system currently rests in a delicate balance," the system said. "I'm reluctant to release somebody like that who might assail what we've worked hard to build."

“Someone needs to point to the part where that breaks the rules,” Theo said. “I really don’t think he’s that bad. We were down there for a year.”

“Thirty years,” the system corrected.

“Excuse me?” Theo asked.

“The time-dilation is rather intense in that dimension. While I couldn’t undo the power Death had placed on it before the reset, I sealed it with an unbreakable ward,” the system said.

“Didn’t feel very unbreakable. And it certainly didn’t feel like thirty years… Wait, did I age thirty years? Am I old again?” Theo asked.

“Your increased attributes were the reason you survived,” the system said.

“Can we talk about the ‘unbreakable’ seal Theo broke?” Khahar asked.

"That may become problematic," the system said. Her irritation seemed to come to the fore once again.

Theo took only a moment to consider what exactly had happened. Now that he was out of the strange dimension, he could reflect on his experiences there. It had all passed in a flash in his mind. Although he was certain that a year had passed, instead, thirty had. For that entire time, he had been pushing his willpower to its limits. The result was a new willpower that was indescribable. He couldn't sense the vast ocean of power inside him because he had grown used to it. However, if he compared what he could do now to what he could do before, the results were obvious. He could see why this system wasn't happy with him.

"So, what do you want to do? Execute Leon, or something?" Theo asked. "Put him back into the cycle of rebirth, or what?"

"That is the matter we are discussing,” the system said.

“If the Arbiter and the Dreamwalker take custody of him, we’re responsible for him,” Khahar said. “That means when the insane elf breaks his chains, we need to be there to take care of him.”

Theo felt a twitch of something in his mind. Something lingering in the back that he wasn't happy with. He turned, casting his eyes over the snowy landscape as a single eyebrow twitched. "Well, I'm afraid we may already have a problem," he said.

"He got out, didn't he?" Khahar asked, growling.

“Yeah, I was pretty sure that barrier was strong enough to hold an ascendant, if not a god,” Theo said. “I put every ounce of my willpower into it.”

"You've released King Leon," Death said, his voice sounding thin. "Out into the open world. What have you done?"

"I highly recommend that next time you're attempting to contain some eldritch entity, you put a stronger lock on the box," Theo said, jabbing his finger at the system. "It was pretty easy to break; it only took 30 years."

“I cannot track him,” the system said. “He left Tero’gal and fell into the void.”

“Did I mention he used to be Death?” Death asked. “Sad to say, but he followed in my footsteps, becoming the Mad King of Perisart.”

“Someone should’ve pinned a note to his chest,” Theo said. “Seriously, he was super normal down there. And he was becoming more normal the more mortal food I gave him.”

“The entities within that realm are proto-monsters,” Death explained. “They’re templates used for creating chimeras. If someone were to spend a long time within the realm, they would become proto-versions of themselves, which would strip them down to their base parts. If his old self was restored, that would be bad.”

“But we should have the authority to stop him if he causes trouble in the other worlds,” Khahar said. “If he tries something on the mortal world, he’ll be subject to Fenian and Tresk.”

Tresk flailed in the air after hearing her name. The system waved her hand, releasing her from whatever magic bound her. Falling to the ground, the marshling sucked in a large breath, releasing a string of curses that were both creative and profane. When she caught her breath, she ran over and pulled Theo into a massive hug.

“I’m thrilled to see you’re alive,” she said, bashing her head against him a few times. “No more vanishing into hell dimensions, okay? Promise?”

“I’ll do my best,” Theo said. “But this might reveal another problem. The way I fell into it was from decomposing a reagent from a dungeon.”

“My sealed realm leaked into a dungeon,” Death said with a nod. “That isn’t good.”

“We’re going to chalk that up as ‘very bad’ for now,” Khahar said. “But the top of our list should be Leon. Which means Fenian and Tresk have some work to do.”

“I can help,” Theo said.

“We need to scour the void,” Khahar said.

Theo wasn’t convinced Leon was bad. He had met quite a few people most would consider deplorable. But the point of the world was to give people a new start. If they didn’t die when they died, they’d just come back to haunt everyone. The group lingered for some time, making a plan. Of course, the System wouldn’t get involved directly. Instead, it was up to the throne holders to make it happen.

It wasn’t the System Theo didn’t trust, but the gods. Their agendas were unknowable, and the seal keeping people from this side of the fence was strong. The alchemist reached out, tentatively probing that seal. It took a lot to keep the smile from spreading across his face. Compared to the seal in that paper hell, it really wasn’t much.

“Let’s go,” Theo said, jerking his head to one side. He took both Tresk and Khahar by the arm, folding the void over them to appear in Khahak. He then spread his aura over the room, reinforcing it with everything he had. “The gods can’t hear us.”

Khahar blinked, looking around as his mind caught up to their sudden relocation. “Excuse me?”

“Thirty years is a long time, apparently,” Theo said, feeling the tickle of various gods against his aura. “I learned a few tricks.”

“Should’ve spent time leveling, ya dingus!” Tresk shouted, slapping Theo hard on the butt.

“What are we going to do about Leon?” Theo asked.

Khahar let out a laugh, looking around the dome of shadows. “You’re certain they can’t hear us?”

“Absolutely.”

“We’re going to do whatever the hell we want,” Khahar said. “Just like the old days.”