Chapter 239, 1/2

Chapter 239, 1/2

Adventure City had a real name long ago, but that name was lost to time, and little more than useless trivia these days, for the city had gone through a good hundred names or more. ‘The Cavern’. ‘Hope’. ‘The Illuminated Land’. Etcetera.

Located roughly a thousand kilometers up from the Core of Veird, and directly below Quintlan, the exact history of the place was as nebulous as the stories surrounding it, because until Erick came along, it was damned dangerous to get here. Level 90 monsters prowled this part of the Underworld regularly, and the [Ward]s of the place could only do so much, and even more problematic is that when the caster who made those defenses died, those defenses died with them. Many people survived those purges, though, but only for one reason. If you lived here, you were a powerhouse, willing to raise other powerhouses to glory, while doing your damnedest to escape death.

It was a journey of months, and sometimes years to get to Adventurer City, where a team of ruffians and ne'erdowells could come into their own, surviving in the Dark and becoming a team worthy of song when they finally made it to this base. And when they got there, they’d be an asset to those who lived there.

Most people just died on the journey.

Sometimes, people pilgrimaging to Adventurer City would get here and find it destroyed, and survivors trying to take it back. Most of the time, people would come here and rest up and make new friends and connections in order to go right back out, into the Dark, or deeper toward the Core. Or they’d work to build roads through the Dark, always looking for the real challenges.

And then there was the prestige of it all; of getting down here, and then surviving to tell others the way. The Adventurer’s Guild, as it exists today, was built upon the actions of people who did all of that, and more. The people who lived here could trace their history to those who had rescued the world from the Dark since the Sundering, and some people could trace even further back than that, to places and powers in the Old Cosmology.

These were people of courage and strength. Of power. Of drive.

Erick took the [Gate] network.

Granted, Erick did have to come down here on his own once before, to set up the Gates. He had even spent a few more hour-long visits beyond that to spend time with Jane. But he hadn’t stuck around at all. This was Jane’s home now, and Erick tried to respect that distance she had put up between them, even though it wasn’t any real distance at all.

But with Erick had come a connection to the Gate Network and a complete obliteration of the entire culture of this land.

It was a welcome change for many. There were only so many times that a starving and desperate adventurer could boil the green muck they find off of cave walls and eat that, before they went mad with the desire for a nice chicken sandwich. Or potatoes. Or fresh bread!

These days, millions of people the world over avoided all of that ‘adventurer nonsense’, as they called it whenever the adventurers weren’t around, to get right to this metropolis in the Underworld; the only place where the wrought were a side attraction, instead of the main defensive force. Or at least that’s what both the rulers of this land and the nearby wrought led people to believe.

According to Silverite, told to Erick in drunken confidence long ago, Adventurer City was kinda like the Sovereign Cities, before Erick came along. Adventurers are all kinda shadeling-shit crazy, after all. Those kinds of people did not make for great governors. But still it was better if this land was occupied than not, so the wrought tried to help from the shadows, when they could, for this land was very, very large, and it needed a lot of people to maintain it, and the nearest Geode was too far away to do it themselves.

In all the ways a society could be measured, Adventurer City was better as it was now, with the Gate Network, than it was before, with the vagaries of broken governance and otherwise that had plagued its existence for the last 1400-ish years.

Like a common tourist, Erick stepped out of a circle of white light, onto a white stone platform, directly into the city, into a land of light and stone under a stony sky, where unassailable [Ward]s marked the land with ultimate defense, and nothing crawled in any of the shadows, and the shadows weren’t real shadows anyway. Erick hadn’t been here in a long time, and the place was looking better than it had before. A lot more civilized. Amazing what some uninterrupted peace could do even for a place like this.

All around Erick lay the central Gatestation of Adventurer City, the central node of the Local Area Gate Network down here, in this part of the Underworld. Four other Gates held open across the square, with illuminated wardlights holding above those passageways into other lands, telling where they were connected. Those wardlights and their connected magitech could turn and show a different destination, while also shifting the other end of the [Gate] into the next land. All of that was under the control of the central waystation, where workers and guards stood watch over it all, shifting the Gates and hurrying people along to their destinations as necessary.

Those people instantly saw Erick, while Erick made a show of looking around, craning his neck as Ophiel flew away, into the [Ward]ed air. There were zones open to flight beyond the city in those [Ward]s out there, looking like open windows among the light, but the nearest open zone was several kilometers away, and highly guarded. So Ophiel just made himself some small [Gate]s to get past the barriers, into the grand cavern beyond.

All of the Underworld had caverns like the one down here, but not all of them were built the same, or uniform. Some places were passageways. Some were holding areas. As for the passages, there were intake going from Surface to Core, where thick air from [Cleanse] and otherwise sunk down, following paths of least resistance, following alongside water in some cases. There were also places where water and otherwise went up through the tunnels and canyons and empty spaces of the Underworld, up to the Surface; water springs the size of seas. Large open spaces abounded everywhere; from the massive ocean that lay just beneath Candlepoint, to the large open space below Ar’Kendrithyst, where the Living Geode Kendrithyst used to exist, but did no longer.

Adventurer City was an open space and downflow both.

The current iteration of the city was a large sphere, a hundred kilometers across, festooned with buildings and spires and otherwise, rising up from that sphere. The sphere itself floated off to the side of a large gap in the Underworld. To the north of the city was the downflow, where thick mana collected from holes all across the interior of the space, to flow together into a strand of thick air, down, down, down to the Core. Level 90 Domain monsters were located around 500 kilometers down that hole. Up here, by the city itself, the monsters were still level 90, but they didn’t have Domains.

Most of those monsters were inside the dark dungeon entrances scattered everywhere out there in the cavern, though. Not too many wandering around, these days. Not too many dangers out there, preying on people.

The city was protected, anyway. The node network that lit up this land like the Surface at noon had a lot to do with that. Adventurer City even had a dungeon, deep in the core of this 100 kilometer-wide stone sphere, which further protected this city by making sure no dungeon slimes extended their dungeons into this land.

Erick cast his gaze wide, to the edges of the cavern far, far away, to see black portals here and there amid the dark rock, and shadows. He flicked his All-Seeing Eye amulet wide, to pierce stone and [Ward] and all obscuring objects, to see the small hole in the very center of Adventurer City, where the dungeon portal of this city lay, mostly inactive.

He pulled his Absolute Sight back and saw bakeries and theaters and arenas and war halls and mercenary company houses of all kinds. The Adventurer’s Guildhouse down here, located way over there, looked nice. It was sort of like the United Nations, both in size and in effect, for the whole ‘Adventurer’s Guild’ was more like a series of loosely affiliated franchises than any true monolith of power, and meeting here was about as good as meeting anywhere these days. Mostly, there were no meetings. Most adventurers just used their guildhalls as drinking and story spots. When the only threats to the world were the constant, low level ones that always assailed the people of Veird, there wasn’t much to do but business as usual. The only realorganization that happened in that place was when real threats came about; the 9, 10, and 11-Star threats.

But Erick and House Benevolence took care of those ones these days. And since there were a lot fewer threats to the world these days, half of the Adventurer’s Guildhouse was empty.

The Dungeon Guild was absolutely packed, though. Looked like they were expanding, too—

And that was all Erick was able to see right now, for people were looking his way, and they were starting to freak out and get excited in unequal measure. Looked like more excitement than fear, but Erick could be wrong about that. He had been here for about 3 seconds so far, which was a decent enough response time. Could have been better, though.

“HOLY shit!” “FUCK is that who I—” “YES, that’s Flatt!” “The Guildmistress?” “No! The father the Wizard, you idiot!” “But isn’t he supposed to not be here?”

Erick smiled a little at that last line, because yes, he wasn’t supposed to be here. There wasn’t any official ruling or request for him to never come here, of course. But Erick had stepped away from this land because this was where Jane had decided to make her home. There had never been any official declaration of his reasoning for staying away, but people were not dumb.

But now that unspoken contract was broken, for Erick was making a public appearance.

That was because it was time to do some fathering.

Jane had been working with Melemizargo without telling him.

And probably for years!

Erick calmly walked toward the waystation filled with guards, smiled gently, and asked, “I haven’t been here in a long time. Got any problems you need a Wizard archmage to solve?” When everyone just stood there gobsmacked instead of answering, which was to be expected, Erick asked again, “Nothing at all? Surely there’s some crisis happening nearby that you’ve all heard about that needs actual solving, and soon?”

One brave traveler spoke up from the side, “They get some ol’ domainies encroaching on the north face!” The speaker was a young man with flour on his white apron, carrying what looked to be a whole bunch of paper-wrapped sandwiches. He had been caught up in his delivery to the waystation when Erick had appeared. The only reason he had spoken up was probably due to him being a Xoatist, what with that characteristic white-feather pin stuck on his chest, above his heart. Enthusiastically, he said, “All the ‘venturers talking ‘bout ‘em! Ain’t no one killin’ ‘em, and they need killin’! ... Er... Mister Xoat, sir.”

Erick would have cringed at the ‘Xoat’ comment if he wasn’t making a statement of his own right now. As it was, he pointed north, asking, “That way?”

“Yes sir!”

Erick smiled and nodded, as Ophiels beyond the [Ward]s headed toward the north. “I’ll have those cleared up in a snap, but for now, I must depart.” Illumination crowded around Erick as he turned on his Sun Form. Instantly, the air shook as the entire node network of the city fought against his Domain, but Erick shook right back, tuning himself quieter, toning down his power to just the soles of his feet and boots. There was no need to break any [Ward]s, after all. Erick said, “A pleasure to meet you all. I’m sure to leave some monsters for those who want them, and I won’t stay long.”

And then Erick stepped lively, nodding at the intake zones of the Gatehouse, filled with people who all stared at him, as he bypassed all security by just stepping through another [Gate] of his own, opening directly on the large courtyard outside of the Gatehouse, near the train station. People outside stared. Some screamed. Some shouted for ‘Xoat Reborn!’. Erick nodded professionally, and then bypassed the train station, to step onto the roads leading into the rest of Adventurer City.

There was a fast lane, filled with traffic, most of it with people moving fast, using whatever abilities they used to move fast. And there was a car lane. A few vehicles were on that road; some floating Platform spells, some actual cars. Erick noticed a shiny blue car that sped along under electric power; it was one of the cars from Ooloraptoor Industries, the grass traveler nation to which Erick had bequeathed the electric engine and the differential. Erick was a little surprised to see that car down here, but the grass travelers were doing very well with their electric car production.

Erick smiled as he walked on. The node network was less stringent down here, and so Erick enveloped himself in light, and began walking at a rather relaxed, quick pace, headed toward the Dungeon Guildhouse. He was in no rush, and he was splitting his attention with Ophiel outside the city [Ward]s, to locate and kill monsters here and there. As Erick surprised hundreds of people on the roads, he also surprised guards posted on the north side of the cavern.

Those people readily recognized Ophiel’s [Luminous Beam]s, as Ophiel killed monsters inside the tunnel. There might be lots of dungeons all around, and monsters might take refuge in those places primarily, but there was still a lot of mana in the air out in the tunnel, and the bigger monsters were drawn to drink deep from that well, whenever they could. People noticed when monsters and Ophiel fought.

It would be a matter of moments before Jane was notified of his presence, if Poi didn’t tell her what was happening already.

Erick had brought up the topic of Jane working with Melemizargo over a week ago; eleven days! But she cut communication down to nil after that, and Erick had let her have her space. Surely, she would want to talk on her own time. Surely, she would tell her father about how she was secretly a PALADIN FOR MELEMIZARGO—

Erick calmed himself.

He wished Jane would have talked to him, but she had deflected. And now, since all the gods were on Erick’s case about FINDING THE CAUSE OF THE SUNDERING...

Erick breathed as he lightwalked down the road, keeping his mind even and calm. No need to get upset, Erick! Everything was fine, Erick. Jane was a perfectly responsible adult able to make her own decisions.

Right?

Right.

- - - -

“Fuckfuckfuckfuck,” Jane muttered as she closed her office door, having sent the last of her help away for the day. She couldn’t send everyone home, for the guildhouse had about 1300 workers, but she could certainly send home everyone that worked directly in her offices, who could possibly enable her father to truly know what she had been up to for the last few years. It wasn’t anything bad, but... Jane calmed herself. She squared her shoulders, and she prepared. “I knew this was coming eventually... I have prepared for this.”

And she had—

Jane froze.

Andri Lightwalker, one of the more enthusiastic converts to Xoatism, and the head of the local branch, rushed into her offices, having come from the main guildhouse like a man seeking salvation. Jane liked Andri, but Andri was not someone who she wanted talking to her father right now. In fact, he needed to go.

Jane stepped through the world, to stand right before Andri.

Andri saw Jane, his face lighting up as though he had found his salvation. “Jane! I heard your father is in town and already cleaning up problems! Would you mind terribly giving him this?” He pulled out a packet of paper, and held it forward. “It’s a list of problems that he can fix, if he desires, ranked several ways; in order of importance, in order of ease, in order of minimal disruption to the current political landscape, and otherwise.”

“... You’re not going to try and talk to him yourself?” Jane asked, taking the papers, concern over Andri’s presence rapidly changing into concern over the papers. She began reading.

“Oh my no!” Andri said, “He’s obviously here to see you, and I don’t want to be here for that.”

Jane finished reading the papers. There was a lot there, from the warehouse district problems with embezzlement and missing goods, to the exiled noble’s district with their unfounded claims of thefts from lower ranked adventurers, to the vanishing of people who go down to southside. Jane frowned a little at all of that. All of this was completely out of her jurisdiction, so she couldn’t act on any of it, but... Her father could, if he wanted. More than that, though...

Jane looked up to Andri. “How the fuck did all this stuff pile up so fast?”

Andri smiled wide. “All the world changes when the Wizard is out of his tower.”

Jane kept her face schooled. “Nothing is happening, Andri.”

“Sure sure.” Andri continued, “I’ll be here in Adventurer City for a long time to come, working the good work and fighting the good fight, but I would like to know if there is anything I need to be ready for. Anything at all you might feel the need to tell me, to watch out for, or whatever.”

Andri always knew more than he should, for though he was a human, he had an orcol’s sense for prognostication. He reminded Jane a lot of Teressa in that way, and he had even helped Jane to understand Benevolence a bit more than she would have otherwise.

Jane was no longer that angry girl who had fallen to Veird and become jealous of her father’s rise to power, but she had still needed distance from her father to really understand who ‘Jane’ was, on her own in this world. Andri’s certain brand of irreverence for her father, and also praise, had helped a lot. Other Xoatists saw Erick as a mortal divine, but Andri just saw the good work he had done, and that he continued to do. Jane appreciated that a lot about him.

Living in a land of warriors and archmages had helped a lot, too. There was a lot of magic and power down here in Adventurer City, but there were no kings. No ultimate authorities...

Or at least none that showed themselves.

Jane said, “I’m probably going away for a while. I’ve left instructions with others, but the teams are going to be delving without a leader. Look after them, will you?”

Andri stood strong. “I will do this, and more.” And then he asked, “Are you finally following your own Worldly Path?”

Jane smiled softly. “Not if I can help it.”

“If you can’t help it, then step strongly, Jane.”

Jane chuckled— And then she stopped all of that, and ordered, “You should get out of here, Andri.”

Andri grinned, and then he bowed. “Till I see you again. Good luck.”

Jane watched Andri depart.

And then she went back to her office.

Erick was already there, waiting for her.

When had he shown up? Jane had no fucking clue. The manasphere was devoid of answers, for her father was clearing it away just as fast as he made impressions on it; whatever happened here was under a veil of Privacy that no one would be able to break.

Jane returned to what she had started, and failed to speak upon. “The first time I killed a dungeon core was like that time I killed the Amalgamation Slime; the Soul Ooze. It was a slime, though. Not an ooze. It had a core. ...When I killed it in Melemizargo’s name, I felt the world shift. It was all a part of discovering my Truth. The final step, I guess.

“And killing every dungeon core since then has been yet another step.

“I don’t experience it often, but I see a lot when I’m floating there in the Dark, where phantoms of the past and nightmares hold back absolute death, just long enough for me to flash around my team and keep them safe. And then it’s just me, a small ship in the middle of nothing, holding onto precious cargo to make sure they survive the trip out of the Dark.

“I’ve been in the Actual Dark before, dad.

“Not just the Near Dark.

“I only lived because Melemizargo allowed it.

“When that happens, and the shadows part, I see glimpses of other worlds past dark clouds. I see worlds burning. And worlds growing. Wizards standing on the precipice of armies and then wiping those armies out. And I see Wizards raising armies, to use them as pawns in intergalactic warfare. I see Creation, Destruction, and both at the same time. And I see weird, intangible spaces, a lot. It’s those last spaces that are the most dangerous.

“Almost everyone goes mad when they see those hidden spaces... My first experience with one of those hidden spaces was...

“It was like seeing the Moon Reachers that one time. That first time. I told you about that.

“I was a spider in the dark forest, watching the long-armed creatures walk through the moonlit land, casually plucking unsensing wildlife into their arms, to rip off legs and otherwise, torturing them while also trying to keep them alive, to eat them whole and wiggling. And screaming.

“I didn’t see those empty spaces in the Dark very often. I don’t ever see them alone, though. I only really notice them when a member of my team goes raving mad, and then I’m able to actually notice the hole in the Dark where there should be something, but instead there’s nothing. The others could see those spaces and go mad at them, but I could not.

“No one so far has been able to tell me what they’ve seen in those hollows. They all forget afterwards. Even had Ravan come with me once, to try and understand what was there. Had to go through seven dungeon core busts before she experienced that madness. But when we came back, and she recovered, she said she saw nothing. She was able to [Mind Heal] herself, so it wasn’t that bad.

“I have never gone mad, though. Probably because of my Truth.

“It’s honestly...” Jane paused, and then said, “It’s probably safer if you let me do a real exploration of the Dark. If you stay away, and do nothing at all. I’ll probably get a shadeling or three to follow me into core breaks and then... I’m not sure what else will happen.”

Erick took that in. And he thought.

Jane waited.

Erick ventured, “Based on previous happenings when it comes to Path-like ways, and looking at our timeline to the future... We probably end up seeing one of these hollows in the Dark and I end up going mad for a while, until someone subdues me. This is likely the cause of the Prophesized Storm that will hit Storm’s Edge.”

Jane had no reaction, but to simply nod.

She had seen the coming timeline, and figured the same thing.

Erick asked, “What sort of experience is it, for you, when you see the nothing? Or is it ‘The Nothing’? A proper noun?”

“I’m honestly not sure if it’s a real thing, or not. The Dark has lost more memories of the Old Cosmology than he has retained, causing a lot of holes in those memories. And not everyone has the same sort of freakout when they see those holes in the world. I would not call it a ‘Nothing’, because I don’t think it's a singular thing.”

Erick said, “Explain the different sorts of freakouts.”

“Well... There’s always a freakout for a new person, whenever I take someone new into a core smashing. Raised heart rate and wide eyes and catatonia, in some cases. If they make it out of the first core breaking, then that usually doesn’t happen to them again, and they can make it onto another team. But I always take people on their first break, because I can pull them back from those minor incidents.

“Those minor incidents usually involve them diving headfirst into the Dark, screaming about how they see something they want. In those cases I can see what they’re chasing when they see it, too. Usually it’s an idealized life, or a dead family member. Lotta dead loved ones in the Dark, calling for their living people to join them.

“Beyond those first incidents, people sometimes freakout later. It’s those later freakouts that are usually caused by the nothings.

“When people see the holes in the Dark, some people rip out their eyes and smash their ears. I’m pretty sure that’s seeing something they don’t want to see.

“Then there are the holes in the Dark where people just start screaming in terror.

“Then there’s a pure outpouring of absolute love. Those are among the weirder ones. It’s... Love can be a physical force when it’s in the Dark. It’s like a softness that calms and pulls...

“Then there are the angry nothings. People throw spells into the Dark when they see those nothings.

“Sometimes there’s a disgust-reaction so strong it makes people spew from every orifice.

“Four times now, four different people turned nudist for an entire week. Not sure what that one was about. They couldn’t tell me except that clothes just felt bad on them.

“Unknown zealotry has stuck around for a while, too.” Jane said, “Pretty sure those hollows were about Evil Gods, or something like that.”

Jane sat still, and Erick thought.

Erick said, “I agree that the hollows aren’t all of the same sort of thing.” He added, “And I think you’re physically incapable of seeing what’s down there.” He pulled the All-Seeing Eye from around his neck, saying, “But you could see what’s there. The problem with that, is that if you saw what was there, you would go crazy, too. I highly doubt you’re actually immune to it, Jane. The Dark is just protecting you. If you actually saw the horrors, then you’d go crazy.

“So, to me, and how I see this working out best, is that if I go into the Dark, and you join me as backup and to pull me out of it, because no matter how much I might turn mad or crazy, I highly doubt that I would ever wish to hurt you.” Jane almost objected, but Erick wasn’t finished. “And yet, that’s just my first instinct, and it might end up causing the Prophesized Storm. Truth is, we’re both talking without any true understanding of what searching for the Sundering actually means. All of that is up in the air, and I am sure that Melemizargo has some better words for how he actually wants to do this. And so, since I originally started this whole thing as a way to reseal Yggdrasil, I know where Melemizargo awaits. We continue on with the Path.” Erick stood. “We are going to Dungeon Island.”

“... Just like that?” Jane asked, “Have you finished with the list from Andri?”

“I’m not doing the semi-political stuff, but every physical thing from monster hunting to putting up a [Terraforming] for fresher local food at the farms, is done.” Erick asked, “Care to show me one of your favorite eateries before we head off for a month of Dark delving, or whatever?”

Jane stood, her shoulders tense, as she said, “I would love to do that. I need to swing by the house, too.”

Erick suddenly took Jane into his arms, saying, “I missed you.”

Jane froze again, and then she chuckled lightly onto Erick’s shoulder, her body relaxing. She suddenly held him tight. “I missed you, too. [Telepathy] isn’t enough.”

“Not enough at all,” Erick said, as a few tears fell.

- - - -

The next two hours were exactly what Erick was missing in his life. His daughter, there with him, or rather he with her, both of them eating at a restaurant where Jane ordered food that was way too spicy, but which Erick braved anyway, much to Jane’s gentle laughter. And then they were at Jane’s house, and she showed him around. She had a lot of hunting trophies, like the horn of a unicorn, but smaller than the one Erick had once eaten to get his [Lightwalk], and then there were full sets of Elemental Essence armor in every primary flavor. They kinda reminded Erick of power ranger suits, and Jane laughed, because yes, that’s exactly what she was going for when she made them, just because she could.

She showed off her enchanting workrooms, and her Familiar Form experimental rooms. And then she showed off some Familiar Forms that Erick had not seen before, proud of what she had made out of the hundred separate parts of different creatures and different monster Abilities.

Jane became a large grey spider with metallic everything, including a tank-like turret on her back, where her entire silk production system had been transformed into artillery workings. She was proud of her Form, but her tone was suddenly less than strong, “It’s not [Luminous Beam], of course, but it’s pretty good.”

Erick was smiling the entire time, extremely happy to see Jane be happy, but he had noticed that while she had been ‘the strong guilder’ in her offices, here, as they got ready to actually move on to Dungeon Island, she was a bit lesser, almost like there was a regression happening. Perhaps she was overwhelmed with this Sundering search, handed to them by Melemizargo and the Relevant Entities of the Script. Erick knew that he was feeling pretty weird about the whole thing, too. Or maybe Jane was getting weird about being near her father after all this time away. Jane only ever came home on holiday, and Erick only ever visited her for an hour or two at a time.

That was probably what was happening here. Jane was not regressing, for she had come into her own and was maintaining that power. But she knew who her father was, and so did every single other person she dealt with for her entire adult life.

Erick wanted to raise her up as much as he could, but she would still only ever accept so much help.

Erick said, “Your physical abilities are going to be much more important than my possibly-failing magic when we’re in the Dark. I’m going to be relying on you in a lot of ways, and I want you to rely on me in similar ways, okay?”

Jane stared at Erick with two great big grey eyes, and a lot of smaller ones, and then she transformed back into her human self, her clothes rapidly sliding back onto her body. She smiled softly, saying, “You can count on me, dad.”

“Good! Because I don’t want to go polymorphing unless I can help it.”

Jane laughed. “Don’t go telling me that you don’t prefer being a dragon. I’m calling bullshit on that right now.”

Erick mocked offense. “Do you know many dragons? We’re not all the same.”

“I do, actually. Every single one says that they prefer being a dragon. Even the Benevolence ones.”

“... Well that’s weird of them—”

“Bullshit,” Jane exclaimed.

“Okay fine. Being a dragon is a great experience, but it distorts how one views the world. All that inherent power distances you from other people.” Erick added, “I really do like eating food as a dragon, though. Tastebuds all the way down.”

Jane smiled, highly satisfied that she had successfully called her father on his bullshit. “Spiders get a lot of satisfaction from eating, too, but it’s not very tasty. I do and also do not like being able to taste things with my feet. A blood slime has a lot going for it in that direction. You can make your entire body into tastebuds that only work how you want them to work.”

“A blood slime? Seriously, Jane?”

Jane smiled, asking, “Are we going incognito into Dungeon Island? Like you did with Greensoil and Storm’s Edge?”

“Nope. Not this time. Why? Were you looking forward to doing this that way?”

“Heck no! I was gonna talk you out of it if that’s how you wanted to do this.” Jane asked, “It’s just you and me?”

“Correct.”

“Good. No one else needs to be subject to whatever horrors we’re about to face.”

Erick felt hope kindle in his heart as he heard his daughter’s conviction. She had grown a lot. Both of them had. And now was the time to test themselves against the greatest evil to ever befall Veird; the Sundering. Hopefully that great evil was easily found and contained in the depths of the Dark.

“I would have preferred if everyone would have moved past the trauma of the Sundering,” Erick said, “But I suppose when I’m a thousand years old I’ll have some deep trauma of my own to never get over.”

Jane chuckled at that.

Ophiel twittered brightly.

And Yggdrasil popped into the room, his big [Scry] eye looking rather small, as he said, “I’m not sure I want to be unsealed if it means endangering anyone, father. I rescind my request to be unsealed.”

Erick was a bit stunned by that.

Which is why Jane was able to respond first. “The Relevant Entities have spoken, and more importantly so has the Dark.” As though she was giving a solid speech that she had rehearsed, and only just now needed to use, Jane stated, “This is happening. You need not be unsealed at the end if you don’t desire it, but this is happening, Yggdrasil.”

Erick almost said something—

But Yggdrasil glared at Jane, and spat, “I’m sorry I ever asked!”

And then Yggdrasil vanished.

Erick said to Jane, “I need to talk to him—”

“I know. See you afterward.”

Erick nodded, then stepped through a portal, into Benevolence.