The Newt and Demon - Book 8 Chapters 34,35,36 (Patreon)

Chapter 34

Dreaming Star

Of the many stars that glittered above Iaredin, there were some stranger than others. Theo had a lot on his plate. He had the migration and the tournament to consider. Yet there were times when he wanted nothing more than to go off and do something else. Something different that helped segment the endless roll of days that led to an inevitable change. With enough stuff lined up for future completion, he was taking some time for himself.

Some shining stars in the void were the souls of people locked away, waiting for reincarnation. Theo wasn’t sure of that mechanism. His thought was that Death handled all the souls within their immediate area. But some clung to the fabric of darkness, bound there by some magic he couldn’t understand.

“What about you?” Theo asked, floating closer to one star. The closer he drew, the more it appeared as a small glimmer of light rather than a star. “Where did you come from?”

The star twinkled back and Theo frowned. There was some amount of recognition in there, but he didn’t want to interact with it. The last time he had, the soul had fallen to Iaredin. Apparently, Tresk was watching the exchange from somewhere on the mortal plane.

“That star is dreaming,” she said. “You can go jump in their dreams.”

Theo’s brows creased more as his frown deepened. “This was a curiosity. I don’t think digging further is a good idea.”

“Bzzzt. Wrong. Dreamers answer questions like crazy,” Tresk said. “And I don’t think you’ll disturb the stasis of that soul. Feels stable to me, anyway.”

Theo grumbled, leaning close to the star. His nose almost pressed against the shimmering surface. He had awoken earlier than normal that morning and had gained a pleasant view of the stars. This star had spoken to him, shining in a way that drew him in. Perhaps it was instinct, or simply some energy signature he couldn’t truly understand, but this one called to him. The others, floating around in the void, certainly had an allure.

“Help me out with it,” Theo said, feeling how eager Tresk was to move forward with this venture. “I wanna talk with this star.”

“Ah, yes. A totally normal thing to say. Okay, hold onto your butt I think this should work.”

And it did. Immediately and violently. Theo felt himself being ripped from his body, as though he was being forced to fall asleep and thrust into a strangely blank dream. That lasted only for a moment as he was propelled into an oddly familiar landscape. The alchemist’s mouth dropped open as he spotted the landscape of a world he never expected to see with his own eyes. He had to remind himself that it was a dream of Earth, and not the real thing. It was a vision of paved streets and bustling cars, people walking here and there without a care in the world.

“The air isn’t poison,” Theo said with a laugh. “That’s novel.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” an angry voice shouted from the crowd.

Theo watched a short guy, maybe four-feet-tall with a pudgy belly and a ridiculous outfit. He had a pointed hat with a wide brim, tattered robes, and a wooden staff topped with a glowing gemstone. He looked so out of place in the city…

“Dream trespassing,” the man said, hands on his hips as he stood in traffic. The cars simply passed through him, or swerved around if they could. “Ya gotta leave me. I’m not done doing my little nap.”

“Nap?” Theo asked, looking around. He would never pretend to be several steps ahead of other people, but at least he picked up on that small hint. “Wait, you’re here on purpose?”

The little guy looked around with a shrug. “Yeah. Gotta stick to the plan, right?”

“What plan?”

Narrowing his eyes, the would-be mage leaned on his staff. “Elrin didn’t send you? Is he still on ice?”

“Not on ice. He’s very much running around and doing… things. I really don’t know what he’s doing.”

The man grumbled, squeezing his staff and turning away. The traffic cleared and all the pedestrians vanished from the road. “Means something went wrong. He should’ve awoken his warriors by now. What’s the moron thinking this time? Is he soloing gods again?”

Theo blinked a few times. “Does it count if he has the tiger with him?”

“Yeah, pets don’t count.”

“Then, yes. He’s kinda been soloing gods.”

Mumbling to himself, the man paced back and forth. Theo picked out a few phrases here and there, something about the new plan being the old plan and needing to adapt. Eventually, he looked up and gawked at the alchemist.

“Oh. Awkward. My name is Howd. Yes, like ‘how’d.’ Shut up. I know. Real name was Chris, but we took some pseudonyms when we crossed over to Iaredin during the war.” Thrusting his chest out, he tapped the butt of his staff into the ground. “Here’s the deal: I’m gonna need a runner. Me and the other warriors are all in stasis, dreaming so Leon doesn’t find us.”

Theo snapped his fingers. Leon used to be Death, but now Kuzan was. “Speaking of awkward…” he explained what had happened with the shuffled gods. Howd’s mouth dropped open, and he slapped his face a few times.

“Oh, great! We put a more evil guy on the Throne of Death? And what the hell is Elrin doing!? Smoking fat cigars on some beach with a few hotties?”

“I didn’t say anything about hotties,” Theo said.

“Yeah, but that’s what he’d do. I know him.” Howd took in a deep breath, eventually releasing it as raspberries. “‘Kay. He doesn’t do stuff without at least the idea of a plan, so he knows what’s going on. Guessing you’re undetected while doing this stuff… Maybe not from the System, but from the gods, right?”

Theo nodded. “Correct. They can’t tell what I’m doing. Not now, anyway. But that’s just for now, we’re expecting a change soon.”

“Yup, I’m aware. I’ve got a message for you to take to him,” Howd said. “You ready? Got something to write with?”

“This is a dream,” Theo said, gesturing around to the older version of Earth with a laugh. “And how am I supposed to find him? He never answers my calls.”

Howd gave him the thumbs-up. “I got you covered. Now, open your ears. This is important.”

***

Theo arrived in a snowy landscape, fresh from the dreams of someone he had just met. For a moment, he thought he had stepped foot into the domain of the System. Instead, it was a normal tundra, stretching in all directions with a blanket of white. The sound of the surrounding storm filled his ears, the Coat of Rake barely able to keep back the constant driving flurries. He forded a path through the snowdrifts, wrapping his arms around himself as he searched.

Why Howd knew Elrin would be here was beyond Theo, but he wasn’t about to doubt the little guy just yet. He scoured the area, only finding anything interesting as he extended his senses outward. A faint energy lingered in the distance, through a mound of snow. It would’ve obscured Theo’s vision, but the sheet of snow falling on his head was enough to do that. After he climbed over the snow, falling and feeling as though he would suffocate along the way, he felt the tower in the distance.

Theo stood atop the mound of snow, tripping as he made his way down and marveling. It didn’t even look like the Iaredin he knew. Sure, the Toora would’ve taken refuge in a place like this, but for it to exist north of Tarantham City was a shock. He heard a voice calling from below that broke him from his thoughts. The alchemist shook his head, stumbling down the hill as he approached the base of a crumbling tower. He ducked inside before the storm could rip away any more of his warmth.

“Cold enough for you?” Elrin asked. He crouched near a magical fire, warming his hands and shaking his head. Trevor was nowhere to be seen.

Which meant he was nearby.

Before Theo could say anything, Elrin rose to his feet and pulled his cloak tightly over his chest. “I doubt your senses are to the point where they could find me here. Which means someone told you this is where I’d be.”

Theo thought about his next words carefully. He didn’t think Elrin was one to lash out for no reason, but with the circumstances as they were… He wasn’t interested in taking chances. “I poked around. Perhaps in a place I should’ve left alone, but I spoke to Howd.”

Elrin scoffed, a smile crossing his features. Theo could barely see them under the flickering light of the fire. “Yeah, that makes sense. Trust a guy like that with a secret, and you’re bound to run into problems.”

Theo pursed his lips, pointing at Elrin. “Why here? Of all the places for you to bide your time, why here? This tower was important, wasn’t it? Or maybe there’s a power you’re siphoning off I can’t really understand.”

“You’re being more thoughtful than normal,” Elrin said with a shake of his head. There were a few hairs in his immaculate bun that were loose. They swayed as he moved to the other side of the fire. There he paced. “You’re incredibly helpful because you don’t really ask questions. Are you bored, or something?”

“Kinda,” Theo said with a shrug.

Elrin’s smile widened. “During the war, Kuzan staged a few attacks from here. The first attack was the easiest, but it brought the most fear. He assembled his monstrous army in Calet, starting from an abandoned city lost to time and the snow. I came here because during that march, there was one place they flowed over like a river over a boulder.”

“This tower?” Theo asked, taking a closer look at the stones that made up the structure. They didn’t look special to him.

“I hid out here a few times. Me and Trevor. We launched pre-emptive strikes on the orcish army, thinning their numbers. The funny thing is, during my time, this tower had a shard. The location has since shifted to account for the new World Anchor, but I can still feel something left behind. It feels like a piece of myself the System just couldn’t scour clean. A low-rank adventurer who was picked by the shards.”

“Now look at you,” Theo said, gesturing generally to the man. “You’re a powerhouse.”

Elrin barked out a laugh. “Wait until you see the rest of us.”

“Anyway… Howd had a few things to say about his situation.”

“Was it the fact that he couldn’t wait a week?” Elrin asked, cocking his head to one side. “Or that he forgot I told him our timetable?”

“No, he didn’t include that in his message. Just something about him being bored in his dream and that he’s ready to ‘rock and roll.’”

“While I appreciate you delivering the message, I won’t need help with this matter.” Elrin looked upon Theo as though he was viewing a lost puppy. He was obviously in a pensive mood. “It would be a shame for you to waste your trip, though. Come, I’ll show you some local flowers that grow beneath the snow.”

“How does that work?”

Elrin offered a sly smile, jerking his head to the side. “Come on. I have more than frozen flowers to show you in this region.”

Chapter 35

Snowfall

Theo didn’t know how anyone could survive in the tundra. He followed behind Elrin, who forded a path through the deep snow with ease. There might have been reagents buried under those layers of snow, but the alchemist wasn’t certain. There was a quality of the region he couldn’t quite explain. Of course, the man with the dragon was eager to dump some lore. This was, after all, his home from another time.

“Since I was a child, and indeed far back into the history of the Kingdom of Perisart, the Region of Calet has been inhospitable.”

“Ya don’t say,” Theo said, having to raise his voice above the sound of the driving wind. He extended his aura out, shrouding them and diminishing some of the endless drone.

“Just a moment.” Elrin blew the whistle hanging around his neck and a roar issued somewhere in the distance.

Theo felt a twinge of magic coming from the man, and a moment later the roar grew louder. It echoed over the snowy fields, barely quieted by the sheets of insulating snow. A breaths later, and the snow overhead stopped falling. It did nothing to solve the problem of the drifts, but at least the snow overhead had ceased.

“If you could’ve done that from the start…”

Elrin turned around, smiling and shrugging. “I like it, sometimes. I come here when I need to think.”

“Okay, so this place is horrible and no one has ever liked it. Carry on.”

Elrin resumed his journey through the tall drifts, rolling his shoulders. “In my time, orcs were the natural enemies of all elves. We fought each other since my people were scratching rocks together in the forests. Oddly, the orcs had an affinity for the snow. The cold didn’t bother them nearly as much as the elves.”

From what Theo understood, the Calet Region was north of Tarantham. On maps he had seen, it was separated by a strait, which connected with the continent in the east over a massive land bridge. He also knew that, somewhere nearby, was one of the few shards they had brought to Iaredin.

“During the war, I staged quite a few attacks from here. But there was something even more interesting.” Elrin gestured ahead, squinting against the endless white.

Trevor, in his dragon form, came swooping down to beat his wings. The snow was driven away by an intense gust, sloughing off hidden structures or otherwise being sent into the air. Theo watched, doing his best to keep his mouth closed as the dragon did its work. Three mighty beats of the beast’s wings and a pair of ruins appeared, still resting under some amount of snow. It was a stone block construction, worn from years of exposure by otherwise decently preserved for the many thousands of years it had been there.

Without investigating much, Theo felt the magic pulsing through the area. He got distracted for a moment, plucking a flower from the ground. The petals seemed made of ice, while the stem felt hollow, as though the plant had long-since died. “Found the flowers you were talking about,” he said, scooping a few more and adding them to his inventory. “They feel weird.”

“As they should. I told you this area was mostly untouched. Any region in this world that remains outside the attention of the players in this stupid game is rare.” Elrin pressed forward again. The deep breath he took didn’t go unnoticed by Theo. “There was a strange form of magic here back in my day. The orcs, which we had assumed migrated entirely to mountains to the south, remain.”

“Ghosts?” Theo asked, sending his senses further. He didn’t feel the telltale signature of ghosts. He had enough experience dealing with the damned things to pick them up from afar, but there was nothing. The only thing he could feel was the magical energies generated by the perpetual storm, the flowers beneath their feet, and the looming dragon. “I don’t feel anything.”

“Nor would you. They’re strange. And, as you might imagine, we didn’t have much time to study them during the war. These ghosts are more like echoes. They’re an after-image left by the thought of the ancient orcs, and something the Spectre used to harass us constantly.” Elrin approached the edge of the ruins, passing a tentative hand over the surface of one rock. “Something of Kuzan’s Creation Magic still lingers here.”

All this was very interesting, academic information. Which meant Theo had absolutely no use for it. He enjoyed magic that was practical, instead of theoretical. “I’m wondering what it is you want to show me,” the alchemist said. “Is this just an interesting thing, or do you need this?”

“I need it for my plan,” Elrin said. He gestured vaguely at the barrier around them. “This is preventing the gods from hearing us, right?”

Theo checked the quality of his barrier. He infused it with all of his will, something that he believed bordered on muting even the System itself. “It is now.”

“I need it for my attack on the heavens,” Elrin explained.

Theo stopped in his tracks, swallowing hard. That wasn’t going to work for him. The gentle balance they had fallen into with the gods was good for now. If everyone chilled out, they could get through the reset with minimal losses. Whatever losses they did have would fall into the cycle of reincarnation, meaning that exactly 0 people would die. The alchemist knew a few people who were hell-bent on being the masters of their own destiny, or whatever, but wasn’t being alive better than being dead?

He measured his response, not wanting to set Elrin off.

“Sorry, but are you an idiot?” Theo asked. “We just struck a deal with them. You have oversight over Death himself… Isn’t keeping Kuzan on a leash good enough for you?”

“Not by a longshot.” Elrin turned, his eyes flashing with a potential Theo couldn’t possibly understand. “I’ve put the pieces together. I know where this is going, and I can’t suffer in a world where the gods don’t do their part. A time will come when we’ll be assailed on two fronts. Both the mortals and the gods will have to do their fair share… If they don’t? We’ll all suffer for it.”

Theo rubbed his face, trying to see how any of this made sense. They had worked hard to create the stability they now enjoyed, but what about an attack after the fact? Elrin was saying the gods were wimps who needed to toughen up before the reset. Because after the reset, they expected an attack… Now they were expecting two attacks? Mortals on mortals and gods on gods?

“God, I hate you. I can’t imagine you had many friends back in the day.”

“No, but I had an army,” Elrin said. “I’ll have one again. Did you actually want to know the entire plan, or are you interested in more history?”

Elrin was giving him a way to excuse himself from the conversation politely. Theo pursed his lips, having an interest in both topics. “Give me both. History first, please.”

Elrin smiled, jerking his head to the side before leading the way through the ruined city. Theo wasn’t sure if he would classify it as a city or a town, as there weren’t many buildings remaining. There were a few that had kept their general shape, but none had roofs. Those had been eaten away at by time, rendering to dust where the stone still stood. But the workmanship of those stones was fine, resulting in mostly even blocks that stood strong. Even against the weight of the snow, some buildings held on.

“Orcs aren’t good at keeping their history,” Elrin said, approaching what once must have been a fountain. He knelt nearby, pressing his hand on the stone.

Without warning, the image of a few hundred orcs sprung up around them. The creatures were vile. Theo had trouble not hating them on sight, and had to force that reactionary thought away. The creatures were hunch-backed, almost doubled over with beady eyes and wide frames. Although the illusions lacked lustrous color, he could see their skin was tinged green. Assembled before the fountain, the orcs cheered for one figure, standing on a long-gone wooden platform.

“Behold, the source of my people’s shame,” Elrin said, gesturing as a figure appeared at the crowd’s edge. “Kuzan still hasn’t given me an answers as to why he was here. It was a few hundred years before my time, so there are no records.”

Sure enough, a regal-looking elf strode through the crowd of orcs. He had long, black hair and a swagger that meant business. Theo watched as the image of a young Kuzan approached the orc in charge. They exchanged words before turning to the crowd, which only made them more excited.

“Best I can tell is that Kuzan recruited the enemy to strengthen his people.” Elrin shrugged, pointing between the old king of the elves and the orcs. “Some staged attack to garner support. Can you imagine the result?”

“I’m guessing it isn’t good.”

“No. It wasn’t. The beastfolk of the world united, almost destroying civilization.” A shiver ran up Elrin’s spine, and he looked uncomfortable for a few long moments. “Only by the grace of the Archduke of Vesta did we survive. In my time, a similar event happened… Until the rifts to Earth appeared.”

Theo shook his head. “I’ve always had a problem with that. Nowhere in my history do people talk about the rifts. I’d like to meet someone with an answer.”

“From what I understand, a lot of time had passed. When Iaredin and Earth were slated to merge, the system flipped a coin. Earth died, and Iaredin survived. How does that cruelty make you feel?”

Theo shrugged. “Seems too random.”

“Yet, it really wasn’t. This is an entirely different story, so I won’t bore you. But Earth was at fault for the merge to begin with,” Elrin shook his head. “We could’ve avoided it all if not for some curious earthlings… Well, you can see the army moving out now. Kuzan recruited the orcs to attack my people back in his day, and when he came under the yoke of the system, he did the exact same things. Do you see why my plan is important, now?”

“Because history repeats. If a guy did it twice, he’ll do it again.”

“Exactly. But not if I inflict some pain on him first,” Elrin said. “If I drive a sword through his shriveled heart, he’ll think twice before betraying us again.”

Theo snapped his fingers. Maybe Elrin wasn’t a complete moron. “You want the gods to know they’re not safe. You want them to know you can wage war on them if you need to.”

Elrin smiled widely, nodding with approval. “No one should actually die. Not if my people are as strong as they should be. But a simultaneous attack on the heavens will make each god remember their purpose. Both sides are meant to help each-other. Especially those of us who have risen to absurd heights of power.”

“What about breaching the heavens? If you can go there, can’t they come here?”

“They’re already here,” Elrin corrected. “Both sides have a mechanism to influence the other. If a god has a faith-based system, they can recruit followers and give them orders. If they don’t rely on the faith of their people, they can select champions. We already have a few on Iaredin right now.”

“And what about the other way?”

“Veterans of system-based wars can interact with the system’s magic, declaring war on anything. Make no mistake, this action serves only to strengthen the gods and the mortal worlds.” Elrin paused for a few long moments, looking skyward. “I have two-thousand eager soldiers waiting for my orders. Hidden, perhaps even from you… Well, not all of them. Howd is a moron.”

“So, war games. That’s what this boils down to.”

“Correct.”

“And is the System aware of this?”

“I have the backing of the Shard Network, but I’m certain she could convince the system.”

Theo shrugged. It was a lot more logical than he had first expected. “Well, you have my blessing. Sounds like a bit of fighting will make everyone stronger. When does it start?”

Elrin flashed a devious smile. “Just infuse these stones with your will. I’ll guide you the rest of the way.”

Theo blinked a few times. “So… now?”

“Now.”

Chapter 36

Don’t Spill the Pie

System-based magic was a novel concept, but Theo was happy to help Elrin out with his attack. It turned out the stones in the ruins were alive with a form of magic he wasn’t familiar with. Since he often delayed studying and understanding magic, he had no intentions of getting a good feel for this. The stones needed his willpower, and his willpower they got.

“That should be good,” Elrin said, patting Theo on the shoulder.

The giant black tiger lingered nearby, prowling near the edges as though Trevor was ready to pounce at any moment.

“So, what do I do?” Theo asked.

“Not much. Make sure they’re infused and enjoy your flowers.” Elrin rubbed his hands together, looking to the sky occasionally.

The amount of willpower the stones wanted to drink was vast. Theo felt himself go slack a few times, and he had to allow some hidden facet of himself time to recharge. But the entire process only took an hour or so. By that time the stones were glowing with power, radiating that “system” magic Elrin had mentioned before.

“That’ll do,” Elrin said, producing the wicked halberd from nowhere. “Let the war games commence…"

Without warning, he vanished. There was no burst of energy as Theo had expected. Instead, the man was standing there one moment and gone the next. The alchemist was left with the snow and the glowing ruins. After a few awkward moments, he shrugged and turned his attention to the flowers he had been picking. Talking with Elrin had distracted him from what was important: alchemy reagents.

The flower itself was interesting enough. The frozen petals could be mistaken for water, but within it Theo could feel alchemical potential. But when he went to inspect the item, a frown crossed his face.

[????]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

????

Properties:

????

“Guess a visit to Broken Tusk’s favorite master of lore is in order.”

With nothing much left to do in the frozen tundra, and with his nose feeling frostbitten, Theo departed from Calet. He fell through the void, arriving back in the comforting warmth of Broken Tusk. He let out a long breath, pressing forward to Azrug’s little shop. It was decently busy today, with a group of people both outside and inside. The alchemist pushed his way past them, shaking his head when no one made way. Most were from out of town, likely coming for supplies to make their stay easier in the swamp city.

“Can you get your boss?” Theo asked, watching as the person behind the counter turned their head incredulously.

“Oh!” the young half-ogre woman said, straightening her back and perking up. “Just head into the back… I have a feeling things are only going to get busier.”

Theo nodded, allowing himself behind the counter. He made his way through the wooden door, finding a lot more building behind the counter than he had expected. What he did expect was how nice Azrug’s office was. The alchemist didn’t bother knocking, allowing himself in and ignoring the ‘do not disturb’ sign. Although the young man looked up in annoyance at first, his expression softened when he saw who his caller was.

“Though one of the customers broke in to get a refund or something,” Azrug said with a laugh. “What do you need, Theo?”

The alchemist produced one of the flowers from his inventory, placing it on the counter. “Can you identify this for me?”

Azrug frowned, looking down at the flower which melted on his nice desk. The water soaked into nearby papers. “Classic Theo. Brought me a melting rose…”

“I thought it might be interesting to you,” Theo said, having a seat on the opposite side of the desk and kicking back. “I have a feeling this item is from before the last reset.”

Azrug pinched the flower by the stem, holding it up and ignoring the damage to his papers. “It is really weird, isn’t it?” he asked, looking at it from different angles. “Good news is my core recognizes it as something I can identify. Bad news is, it doesn’t want to give me a lot of information.”

“What do you have?”

Azrug hummed to himself, pursing his lips. “There’s some existing lore about these being the tears of a dead goddess frozen on the throne of something. Another bit about monotheism. But that’s about it. Here, I’ll give it some flavorful text for you.”

“I appreciate it,” Theo said, withdrawing a few coins.

Azrug held up a halting hand. “No need, my friend. I’m swimming in cash.”

“Wow, we’re friends?” Theo asked.

“Depends on how fat my vault is. Anyway, here ya go.” Azrug handed the flower back, retrieving a rag from under his table and soaking up the water which had seeped into his papers. “This happens more often than you’d think.”

Theo accepted the flower and held it up to the light. It was still melting, but not as quickly as it should have if it were made of real ice. He was eager to see what kind of description the loremaster had given it, and summoned the system’s prompt right away.

[Frozen Tear]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

The tear of a long-forgotten goddess frozen into the shape of a flower.

Properties:

[????] [????] [????]

Theo smiled to himself, returning the flower to his inventory. Before Azrug had identified it, he didn’t have a good sense for what the item could do. Now he had a better idea, knowing that it would produce some unique magical effects. Finding stuff that had properties he hadn’t seen before was hard. As his knowledge of alchemy grew, the amount of novel things he encountered shrunk, so this would be a welcome break from the things he had been working on.

“So, how are the games going?” Azrug asked.

Theo couldn’t help himself but to laugh. “The admins are running that. I’m just expected to make some interesting prizes.”

“And? Have you?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve got some stuff that’s going to be the talk of the world. I only have a few more things to finish, then I’ll give the winners some of the best potions ever crafted in this world.”

Azrug raised a skeptical brow. “How good are these potions? Could I get some for my shop?”

“Didn’t you promise not to carry potions here?”

“I don’t remember making that promise. Maybe it was a dream. Maybe you’re having a nightmare.”

Theo laughed again. It was nice to see how Azrug had his feet beneath him, and even more satisfying to see that he was running at full speed. The guy was smart with a mind for being a merchant, so if there was anyone in Broken Tusk that would make this work, it was him.

“I really can’t reveal what the potions do. It would cause a panic,” Theo said with a dramatic sigh. “Anyway, thanks for the identification. I have a feeling this flower is gonna make some interesting potions…”

“Yeah, maybe I could get a few resulting potions for the shop!” Azrug shouted with another laugh. “Actually, scratch that. I’ve been making a fortune on merchandise for the games.”

Theo narrowed his eyes.

“What?” Azrug asked. “You didn’t see the dolls on your way in?”

Theo stood there for a few moments, but headed for the door. As promised, the storefront was filled with stuff related to the games. Dolls, toys, decorative mugs. Azrug had everything ready to make some serious money, and judging by the sparseness of the shelves, he couldn’t keep much of it in stock.

“Leave it to Azrug,” Theo said, leaving through the front door. “Time for some potions… Or maybe I’m supposed to do something else? Bah, who cares?”

***

Fate had spent most of her life as a ‘god,’ whatever that meant, following the threads. Darkness surrounded her as she tugged at the latest one that drew her interest. It edged her along the familiar path. She had observed the mortals calling physical space the Mortal Realm, and everything else was a void. Some were smart enough to understand that the void was a different place altogether, but none knew about the other space.

She simply called it the Path.

“I can’t see a thing, sister! You know I hate following the threads!” Omen shouted from somewhere behind. “And I cannot keep this pie from spilling. Why does a pie spill?”

“I did my best, okay?” Fate asked, scoffing as she wrapped her hand tighter around the thread. “Just grab my dress with your free hand and follow closely.”

“I have no free hand! The pie is sloshing!”

She had done her best with the pie, but Omen was right. It was watery, sloshing to either side when he took a step. “Give it to me,” she said, turning to find her frightened brother with red jam down his front. “Just don’t get lost. We’ll get in trouble.”

“That’s what I’ve always said! Yet here we are. Disobeying the System itself!”

It wasn’t strictly breaking the rules. Fate had done this many times before, and had never gained the attention of the system. Her domain wasn’t just that of the Shifting Thrones. Unlike the other gods, both her and Omen were in charge of facets outside of the godly thrones. Their domain wasn’t just the realms, but the places outside. Someone had once called these the Elderling Realms.

A flash of doubt spread through Fate’s mind, but she pushed it down. It didn’t matter what her grandfather had done. He always had his reasons for doing things, and she wanted to overlook such a terrible sin if only just to see him again. If atonement wasn’t possible for anyone, the world would be a much darker place, and she just couldn’t bring herself to accept that someone so dear had been lost forever.

“Are we almost there?” Omen asked with a groan.

“You have no pie to carry,” Fate said. “So shut it!”

Fate felt the familiar twinge of magic coming from her brother. He was reaching out to touch the disasters, foretelling whatever doom awaited them on the other side of the thread. She was shocked to hear him make a pleased sound behind her.

“That’s odd!” Omen said, shuffling closer to her and gripping her dress tightly. “I don’t see anything bad on the other side of this.”

“Really?” Fate asked, not believing it for a moment. She was going well outside of where she should be, piercing through some membrane she didn’t understand. “I expected at least a little trouble.”

“No, according to my powers, we’re looking at sunshine and roses on the other end!” Omen shouted. “Come, sister. Quicken your pace. Don’t spill the pie.”

Although it was impossible to know how far the Thread of Fate ran, Fate could feel the end drawing near. With Omen’s increased pace, it was easier to follow and they soon arrived at a door. Both stopped, sharing a look in the darkness and turning with confusion.

“Is it normally a door?” Omen asked, cocking his head to the side.

“No. Normally, I just spill out onto the ground,” Fate said. She knocked on the door a few times, but nothing happened. A moment later, she snapped her fingers. “I know what this is! A dimensional barrier.”

“A what?”

“When I went to Earth, I saw the same thing. This is the barrier between the local sector and the outside universe,” Fate said. She chuckled to herself. “My brain just imagines it as a door!”

“And what does that mean for us? We’ve barely got any pie left.”

Fate raised her hand again, this time knocking with a lot more force.

From the other side, a familiar voice called out. “Come in!”

“Just means we gotta use more force to get through,” Fate said with a wink.

“Was that who I think it was?” Omen asked.

Fate nodded eagerly, turning the brass knob on the otherwise unassuming door. “Yep. Let’s see how our grandfather is doing. If you mention grandmother, I’ll skin you alive. Just so you know.”

“Ah, right. The murder,” Omen said with a knowing nod. “Off we go, then… Into another dimension or something… Oh no… Sister, the visions are back!”

“Deal with those later,” Fate scolded. “Grandfather will want some watery pie.”

Omen lingered on the safe side of the door for a few moments. “Will he, though?”