The twins were waiting outside of City N’s military administration building. The compound had been closed indefinitely, and few were past the fences. Some birds were singing from the trees—maybe the ones that had learned over time about the protection of the bubbles dotting Aurra.

  N had been unusually quiet ever since the Guard all but abandoned it. The group had arrived hours after the last convoy pulled out, and they couldn’t get a clear answer from anyone just where they had gone. The City’s entire military had been put on leave, and many of the non-Guard personnel were wandering the streets and markets. Inside, Linsky cleaned Rivia’s office as usual, while Lechi and Temki took care of his two Danes.

  “It’s been day four for about sixteen hours now…” Garder said as he looked over at a nearby clock tower. “Hope something isn’t keeping them.”

  “Wonder where Osk is. I’d imagine there’s at least one City out there where a battle is taking place. Hopefully it’s not nearby.”

  “Kind of weird seeing no Guardsmen around.”

  “Hey—is that them?” Milla noticed two familiar figures approaching out from beneath an underpass. “It must be… Hey! Over here!”

  Upon catching sight of them, Shin and Verim quickened their pace and met up enthusiastically. Before anyone had a moment to greet one another, Garder took out the two swords he had been carrying around and handed them to Verim, who took them excitedly.

  “I held on to them for ya, bud,” he said.

  “Thanks. Thanks a lot—I’ve been carrying just a dagger for the past few days. These are my favorite two blades… Won’t use any other.”

  “So how are you doing, Shin?” Milla asked. “What’s Hold been like?”

  “Busy. Crazy. Escellé could barely handle the influx of ‘visitors.’”

  “How’d you sort them out?”

  “It wasn’t too hard to distinguish them. Mostly Guardsmen. We’re releasing those who swear to help out your cause.”

  “That’s what we were saying you should do after you left us…”

  “Yeah—we were way ahead of you. Escellé had prepared for the day to come eventually, but we didn’t expect it to be so one-sided. Her temper pitched a few times.”

  “Um, Shin, I believe Jeryn sent you a pretorian,” Garder mentioned.

  “Oh—yes, him. Ah, why don’t we go inside and talk about that? Where is the rest of your group, anyway?”

  “Rivia’s office. Relaxing.”

  “N is free of the Guard and at total peace. You should feel lucky.”

  “Does… that mean things aren’t going well elsewhere?” Milla asked after a long pause.

  “They’ve been better. We’re going to go see Rivia next, right?”

  “So long as we can get there safely. I’m sure the Guard has realized what’s going on and has the portal site secured.”

  “They might, and they might not. We won’t know until we check. There’s been a lot of mobilization recently, but Point Trident might still be free of Guard presence for the moment.”

  “Sounds like bad news mostly…” Garder mumbled.

  The four took a quick look around at the quiet City and headed back up to Rivia’s office. Tanesh, who had grown over the journey, was tailing Rivia’s Danes around the office while Temki and Lechi read some of his library’s books in the corner and Jeryn and Simon had a discussion about alchemagi at the desk. Upon noticing the two Holdians walk in, they burst into the usual greetings and then settled down for the updates.

  Shin began, “Jeryn, congrats on defeating a pretorian. No easy feat.”

  “I was lucky… that’s all,” he replied indifferently.

  “Either way, he escaped Hold.”

  “What? How?” Milla asked. “Did anyone else make it out?”

  “No. Though he was without his gear and his strength was more… normalized, he still managed to overpower us and escape. It was obvious that he’d been to our kingdom before. He knew exactly where to go and how to work the instruments that allow us to return to our birth spots.”

  Garder muttered, “I didn’t want to worry about that guy anymore.”

  “Still, we do have plenty of Guardsmen in captivity. Some are willing to assist your cause from inside the Guard itself, as well. But getting them together will take time. Though really, it’s not much different elsewhere.”

  “What do you mean?” Lechi questioned.

  “I went to nearby City D as soon as I was reborn this morning to get Verim. When I got there, hell broke loose—the signal to begin the uprising went out. By the time we were on our way out, the place was in chaos. Its Guard presence was never high because it’s a generally untroubled City, but I have a feeling that within a few days, it’ll be a full-scale war zone.”

  “Is it like that elsewhere?” Garder asked. “N seems unaffected.”

  “The Guard moving out is telling,” Milla added. “It was like this when we got here. They must’ve predicted what would happen and repositioned. N isn’t as important a City to keep under protection.”

  “I don’t know yet. Personally, I’d be nervous to go to any City right now. You probably don’t know what a war is like—one stray arrow, from either side, can kill you for no reason at all. Then again, I may only be fearful because of the thought of returning to the wrong side of Hold…”

  “You should get over that fear, Shin,” Verim said. “We’re gonna be doing most of our fighting in Aurra from now on.”

  “Yeah. And I also know that we should strike now and damage the Guard as much as possible before they get that suppression network back up.” She looked at Simon, Lechi, and Temki. “Great job, by the way.”

  “It was a magma chamber,” Simon explained. “We encased the device library in molten rock and sealed the chamber as best we could.”

  “The Administration sure has interesting ways of doing things. Although there is a slight chance they’ll take a little longer than usual.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Well. They’ve always been at odds with the Guard—just neutral on the matter; never willing to totally back or go against them. What I’m saying is that if someone high up has any kind of agenda down there, they might… prolong the repair intentionally. But it’s a long shot, so don’t count on it.”

  “Shin, you know things about the Administration that I don’t,” Milla replied. “When I was a queen, I didn’t have any information about it at all.”

  “They might have been smaller and less influential. Our population was only in the millions back then, you know. I’ve run several missions in the depths for Escellé, so I’ve learned a few things about them along the way. Anyway, that basically sums up what’s going on. I’d like to hear about your experience, Simon, but I think we really should get going to Rivia.”

  Garder spoke up, “We met with Lontonkon… but he got away.”

  “I figured you would,” she sighed. “I still want to be the person who takes him down, but I doubt I would’ve been able to help you if he was ready and waiting, and then managed to escape.”

  “He could use the nova alignment,” Jeryn added. “Nearly destroyed us with one of its techniques.”

  “That’s not good to hear. He must’ve switched something in the suppression library. But I wonder why he’s had to go so far? He really must be attempting something big. Hey—Garder, that sword on your back…”

  “Oh, this?” He removed it from its straps. “Got it from Viveri. We used it to kill the demon with a powered vector attack.”

  “Wait—you killed that creature?”

  “Sure did. Guess we should’ve led off with that. Osk’s men got eleven pairs of the claws, and we got another pair for ourselves.”

  “Wow… I’m a little envious. Too bad I never got to see it myself.”

  “You want this sword, Shin? I don’t really need it anymore. I mean, I could use it, but it might serve you better.”

  “Nah, you can hold onto it. Watairres actually make best use of those blades. If you learn proper control over your alchemagi, you can slice air itself. The kind of attack is nearly invisible and almost impossible to avoid.”

  “Huh… Okay. I’ll hang onto it, then.”

  “Should we go?” Milla said and took out the older demirriage scroll.

  “Yeah, and about time.”

  Leaving Rivia’s dogs behind, everyone squeezed into the tight carriage and went back to Rivia’s villa at Point Trident. They exited quickly and carefully, expecting opposition. But Simon’s body didn’t even exude a sun bubble—there were already dozens of portable ones set up.

  Point Trident had turned into a military base of sorts, with his villa an obvious command center. The people there lowered their weapons upon noticing the group that had just appeared and gave their sighs of relief.

  “We were expecting you lot,” a mustached officer greeted.

  “Are you the rebels?” Shin asked.

  “Part of them, anyway,” he spoke in a British accent. “I suppose I’m relieved to see that it was your demirriage and not someone else’s.”

  “What are you doing here?” Milla continued. “Seen any fighting?”

  “Not yet—not out here, no.”

  “There are… so many of you,” Garder said as he looked around.

  Small armored vehicles covered the area, each with their own sunlamp. Out in the bay, crude warships patrolled, their bubbles following them and briefly purifying the water under each vessel. The rebels appeared to be motley, but already possessed a sense of dedication. The majority of them had on dull green trench coats. Some in the camp were practicing their alchemagi, while others were adjusting weaponry.

  “We’ve already worn out several basic synthids just to make all this,” the officer explained. “But we got the whole area covered. Anti-air, alchemagi bunkers, you name it.”

  “But what is going on?” Shin asked. “I mean, has everyone just condensed out here? As I was leaving City D, the place was at the beginning stages of turning into a battlefield.”

  “There have been some long-standing orders—orders which have gone through several generations in fact, to protect this exact place at all costs. Not much to see out here, but we have reports of mobilization, so we may see combat soon. And no, I have no idea why this rock is important.”

  “Any news about other places?” Garder asked.

  “I’ve heard things have gone to hell in D, G, and H as of this point. It’ll get worse, but as it does, I think more and more rebels will come out of hiding. We’ll need to get together if we want any chance at major victories.”

  “Killed anyone yet?”

  “Nah, but I won’t believe it until I see it. Be a sad thing for us to have all these weapons and not be able to fire them.”

  “No, it’s true,” Jeryn replied. “All Guardsmen are vulnerable.”

  “Heard anything from Captain Osk?” Verim questioned.

  “We’re in contact. He should be off in G right now, I believe. Also said you lot should assist D when you can—our forces are weak out there.”

  “Okay… Ah, what’s your name, officer?”

  “Sergeant Shiloh, East Onasia Division.”

  “You guys are really getting serious, huh?” Garder mumbled. “Shiloh, see that island out there? With the tall columns?”

  “My men were wondering what that was. Got some looking it over.”

  “It’s actually a portal of sorts, a weakened area of space. We use those claws you’ve probably heard about—and might even get to use some time—to open a tear there. It leads to a dimension where commander Rivia is. That’s why this area is important.”

  “Really, now? I suppose that’s why it was kept a secret, then. Should I have a patrol boat escort you?”

  “Thanks, Sergeant, but we’ll just use the carriage,” Milla replied.

  “Ah, of course. You’re lucky to have that.”

  “One more thing…” Garder added. “Time is different in that dimension, so we’ll probably be in there quite a while to you guys.”

  “Good to know. Well. While you see Rivia, my men will keep a close watch on this place and defend it as best we can.”

  “Be careful, Sergeant,” Milla said as she got the carriage powered up again. “They might send pretorians out here. And you might want to get a stronger presence out on the island, as well.”

  “I will take the advice to heart, Ms. Nolland.”

  Some handshakes were exchanged before the group departed again. For the soldiers on the island, it was quite an odd sight seeing a solid black tear open and then entered by an odder-looking bunch and their dog.

  The Fragmented City, unsurprisingly, hadn’t changed since their last visit—although there were even more people around the entrance. They again looked at the group with confusion, and none seemed brave enough to step forward. Perhaps the thought of freedom was so extravagant that they couldn’t quite comprehend it. Or maybe they really were tied to this place and would never find freedom until it was forced upon them.

  “We were all waiting for you to show up,” Norria said as she stepped out from the crowds. “Come on, this way! Rivia has almost become impatient. He wants to hear everything.”

  They followed Norria out into the streets, and then into an ancient Aurrian museum. Inside the parthenon-styled building were relics from thousands of years back, once considered new finds. Among them were some of the first synthesizers, the simple things they created, the first artificial suns, and very old paintings of royals and aristocrats.

  They went into a separate room, where sitting in a large chair behind a round, marble table was Rivia. At his side were the three paradigms of the lost City—Victor, Masayuki, and Tabi. The visitors seemed to have interrupted an informal meeting, as the three were each without their armor from before. Norria left the two groups by themselves, closing the door of the small conference room on the way out.

  “You were gone for quite a while that time,” Rivia said with a small smile. “I trust you have much to tell us.”

  “We… didn’t barge in on anything, did we?” Shin asked as she took a seat with the others.

  “Not at all—just another light discussion to pass the time.”

  “Did anything work out?” Tabi asked in a rather coy manner.

  “Sort of. We won the battle, killed the demon, and disabled the suppression device,” Garder said with false modesty.

  Viktor laughed. “Ha. That is quite a set of victories.”

  “Figured we’d have to make it up to you after screwing up in I.”

  “Also, the rebellion has started,” Shin added. “There’s a brigade right on the other side of the portal. Osk has eleven pairs of the claws, and Jeryn managed to take down Palar—although he soon after escape from Hold.”

  “So… it seems that you have succeeded with honors,” Rivia replied.

  “Do they have time to go into details?” Masayuki asked. “I would very much like to hear of the things they’ve experienced.”

  “Yes, yes. This time, I would like to hear everything. And then I’ll divulge the final truths that I have held from them.”

  “Final truths?” Lechi wondered.

  “Everything I know. Most of which, you wouldn’t have understood prior. But with all that you eight have gone through, perhaps now you can sort it all out. For the moment, disregard anything I might be holding from you. Tell us everything—we will listen without interruption.”

  “Where to begin…” Garder sighed.

  “We’ll go first,” Simon replied. “So, for the record, Lechi, Temki and myself were chosen to go after the suppression device. We had been in an Administration complex before, so we knew what to expect. Kind of.

  “There wasn’t an exact location of where it might be, so I assumed it moved around every so often. We passed under a tunnel, endlessly long, and empty. But it was filled with the moving spirits of people—at least, that’s what Temki said. We took a demirriage scroll from down there and were attacked by a rairer, which Lechi spoke to and even got to help City I, hopefully. Depends on how they interpret Temki’s scarf on its neck.

  “The suppression library was in a cave filled with flowing magma—actually under the magma itself. After we removed the tablets giving the Guard their invulnerability, we damaged the gates and flooded the chamber. With no magma flow, it should cool and encase the archives in rock for a while. Shin suggested that the Administration might even delay the repair, if they’ve been waiting for a moment to knock the Guard down a peg.

  “Oh, and one more thing. We needed a password to work the gates down there, and with my help, Temki figured that it was ‘renascence’.” He looked at him. “Some kind of project you heard about while captive, right?”

  Temki nodded in reply.

  “Yeah, so… That’s about it. I worked the technical stuff, he was on alert for any oncoming danger, and then worked with Lechi to magnify her powers and help seal the chamber. Even Tanesh got us through the vents with his nose… So, I guess we got the job done. We made a good team.”

  Rivia simply nodded, and eyes shifted to Milla and Garder. They went right into their slightly more straightforward and less mysterious story, apart from why the Guard sacrificed men in a poorly coordinated attack on Earth, and why they had a device to summon the demon between dimensions. Lontonkon possessing nova capabilities and powering up the claws to allow the Palm to pass through a giant portal were added at the end, almost as side notes. Summarizing the events, Milla and Garder were suddenly unsure if they had actually scored a real victory. They had possibly only played into the Guard’s hands for some long-term ordeal. Jeryn added little to the tellings. He seemed to still be far from his previous self.

  “I see…” Rivia rested his hands after a long pause. “A few things I expected, a few things I did not. Taking down the Palm and the creature they were hoping to summon was a brilliant, very lucky thing. The claws will help Osk’s men sneak around Aurra with the ease of multi-dimensional access. And the damage to the suppression device means a lengthy, careful repair and relocation. I’d give us a month before their protection returns. We should try to secure the suppression archive somehow by then.”

  “Is that our next mission?” Verim asked.

  “No. Far from it—I’ve got special assignments for your group. Leave the fighting to others out there, some of which have waited for generations. I believe you will need to be split up into three teams this time around.”

  “That’ll thin us out. We’ve been doing well together,” Garder replied.

  “Allow me to explain what may be happening in our two worlds… To start off, I believe that they are beginning to merge with one another.”

  “Merge? What, how?” Milla questioned.

  “Whether or not they can completely combine, I can’t be sure. But if it did happen, it would certainly be the end of our people. We’d go nowhere when we die. Not to mention the devastation such a process would wield.”

  “What are you basing this theory off of?”

  “Don’t you find it peculiar that you can use alchemagi on Earth, even though you need to make it seem more real? By saying spell words instead of just thinking them, you put them in a more ‘physical’ form. And even so, they don’t have the strength they do on Aurra. Meanwhile in our world, we have the haze, a substance theorized to have a connection to the negative feelings on Earth. This is a relationship shared between the worlds. Look at Simon—a newsoul from Earth, fully capable of using alchemagi. Simply because he realized its existence once he stepped into its sister world.

  “Performing alchemagi on Earth has been a rather secretive subject since its discovery. Thousands of years ago, when aristocrats revisited their hometowns on Earth using demirriages, they found that they were able to use alchemagi, if only minimally. Now, it can be a powerful weapon on Earth. The shift dampening has been reduced so much over the last few centuries, that alchemagi has maybe four-fifths its true strength on Earth.

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  “The thing of it is, alchemagi is part of Aurra’s, well, physiology. It is part of the matter in the air, tiny molecules energized with varying elemental alignments—aechens, elementary particles that make alchemagi possible. But on Earth, there is no alchemagi except what we create for brief periods of time. When you use any technique on Earth, you’re somehow able to siphon aechens from Aurra. There must be holes in the dimensional fabric, as something in Earth’s atmosphere—perhaps you could call it the aura of emotion—also flows through and reacts differently here. Hence, the haze is created. Yet apart from the physical and mental shift, and the haze and alchemagi as worldly components, the two worlds are very similar.”

  “I get what you’re saying…” Shin replied. “But the haze has virtually always been bad. I mean, it gets worse during wars and times of strife, but it’s been around for tens of thousands of years, if not more.”

  “But there was a time when it didn’t exist, and the Original One didn’t make the haze right away, if he made it at all,” Milla said. “Someone had to discover the sunlamp and use it before they burned up in the stuff.”

  “The haze goes back far into the past,” Rivia continued. “But not quite to humanity’s awakening. So why did the Original make alchemagi? He made it so that some Aurrians could have power over others.”

  “But how do you just up and ‘make’ something so complex?”

  “Back then, weapons were primitive. They couldn’t command over hundreds or thousands of people who threatened revolt. Today, synthids make our weapons from nothing, so something more powerful must exist to counter them. We have alchemagi so that we can use elements already in Aurra like a form of magic. Some are born with much more natural talent than others—and are often be recruited by the Guard. The One couldn’t know exactly how the future generations would use alchemagi, but it was a simple creation that gave humans a form of true, incredible strength.

  “Maybe the creation of alchemagi was related to the haze. Maybe the One has since done other things over his eons of hiding to damage the dimensional fabric. Or, it could be the Guard or even Administration that started this process. As for the haze, I can’t be sure why it has remained essentially the same on Aurra, and why alchemagi has strengthened over time on Earth as the worlds merge in some way. Regardless, I doubt the cause is natural; as such things tend to work themselves out alone. Someone is causing this slow collision, and perhaps they are doing it on purpose.

  “Simon, about your expedition… The Administration has actually grown little since the days when I snuck around in their complexes.”

  “I kept forgetting to ask—were you a solar back then?”

  “Yes, I was. I used a cloaking spell and my instincts to avoid capture. While the Guard frequently works in sectors of Administration complexes, they are typically not allowed to the lower levels. They are a neutral entity; they simply keep everything running in Aurra, and maintain its laws. But the Guard has forced both sides closer. In fact, they and the Administration had little contact in the last century until Lontonkon’s father began demanding to tighten the relationship between rulers and overseers.”

  “So that’s where it began?” Milla replied. “Is that why even as ruler of Aurra, I had almost no knowledge of those literally under us?”

  “Yes, Milla. And now Lontonkon likely wants to overtake the Administration completely. They are the only ones standing in their way of ruling both worlds. It is probably why Guardsmen have been taught once forbidden techniques, and why the Administration ceased production of demirriages and ordered as many destroyed as possible on the surface.”

  “The scroll we found looked brand new,” Simon noted.

  “They probably still make them, to get around their networks.”

  “And what about Cities I and C?” Garder asked. “It sounds like C’s spirit tunnel or whatever it’s called is damaged, and I’s complex is in ruins.”

  “Those Cities had their Administration staff relocated. C’s facility has been completely destroyed. I, on the other hand, has a bare minimal crew maintaining what’s left down there. They’re lucky they still receive rebirths.”

  “So how was C’s destroyed?”

  “Pangs has not told you?”

  “Not at all. He said he still doesn’t know why they have stillbirths.”

  “Then he decided not to tell you…” Rivia sighed. “The demon they made—that was the cause. The datastone they used to inscribe its very existence did something to the complex. Maybe it released an energy surge. He has yet to admit it, but I know it was that datastone’s doing.”

  “But a datastone is a simple object,” Lechi replied. “I mean, Pangs did say he was given one made out of a different material, but would it still be enough to destroy an entire complex like that? Those places are huge.”

  “Whatever happened, Pangs did tell us that they disposed of it with a portal,” Garder added. “It’d be somewhere in Maine, if no one found it.”

  “Rivia… do you know what that datastone was made of?” Shin asked.

  “I have a feeling. Temki, do you know much about Renascence?”

  “N-no… I just heard it mentioned a few times. I couldn’t make sense of what they were saying or anything.”

  “I’m not certain either, but it likely had something to do with what the Guard wanted to do with you.”

  “What do you mean? What did they want to do?”

  “What they did with the last mind paradigm. Turned into a synthid.”

  “They were turned into a synthesizer?” Shin exclaimed with doubt.

  “Do you remember Pangs’ research?”

  “Yeah…” Garder replied. “He said he put the spirit of a chicken into a screw or something once. Is that kind of what you’re getting at?”

  “Precisely. Did you ever wonder how most sunlamps work? Simon is a clue. They are souls, put into a raw energy form and trapped in a sphere.”

  The group didn’t know what to say after hearing what Rivia had just told them. Following a moment of stunned silence, he continued.

  “The Guard has done this since the haze appeared. It had to be less lethal once. Maybe more like a sting in the air. The details have been mostly lost in time, but there are a few out there who know how to synthesize sunlamps properly. The process has been passed down in underground circles for a long time, and there are even some longstanding societies that live solely to sacrifice themselves and provide powered sunlamps to Aurra. I believe many consider the process a form of enlightenment.

  “Most lamps are small, and last for a few hundred years before the container holding someone’s soul wears out, and they are released back into the fabric. The larger ones that cover entire Cities—twenty-five suns in all, are made from groups of people. Long ago, I met with such a group. They traveled with top-ranking Guardsmen, and the operation was secretive but authorized. Today, they still fill demands and never make surplus lamps.

  “They use a variety of people. The worst of the criminals and those sent to City Z, but also themselves, and the respected who are considered ancients and have become tired of living and being reborn, but would like to still be able to support others in a way. The process is simple. Simply by touching an empty sunlamp upon death, your soul will be transferred inside of it. Your body dies, but your mind doesn’t move on.”

  “I… don’t know what to say,” Milla replied. “I’ve never really wondered about sunlamps. But I can see the connection through Simon.”

  “Since Earthens exude the emotions which affect Aurra, Simon’s body acts as a living sunlamp, right?” Shin asked. “But it shakes a bit… it’s unsteady. And what kind of existence would that be like?”

  “Probably a peaceful one. Without a physical mind for your soul to use as a vessel, you would be ‘purified’ of any thoughts whatsoever. It doesn’t matter if you were good or evil—your spirit reaches a point of zero entropy. It is sterile, elementary, and becomes a thing of great power.”

  “And when a lamp finally breaks…”

  “The cycle for that person continues. It’s almost like a very lengthy job. You’re providing a service, you could say.”

  “And you told us this because a person’s spirit could be put inside something else, couldn’t they?”

  “Correct. It’s taken time, but someone outside of the secretive sector of the Guard is beginning to discover the process—other than just Pangs. During Earth’s population boom in the twentieth century, it was theorized that if a person could be turned into a synthid, they’d become a powerful one. The mind paradigm of the time joined the experiment, which was successful. Temki’s mind is such that he can create simple objects by merely concentrating. Unhampered by a body, a mind paradigm turned into a synthid could be the strongest tool ever created on Aurra. This was all on records I discovered in my previous lifetime, and I believe they’re true. Over the course of the twentieth century, Cities grew in size so quickly that it seemed improbable that current synthids were behind the expansion.”

  “So… you’re saying that a mind paradigm turned into a synthesizer was used to expand Cities faster than ever before?” Garder summarized.

  “And he must’ve been under so much strain, that he eventually broke down—since if his soul were still here, Temki would’ve never replaced him. I found Temki first and put him somewhere where the rest of the Guard couldn’t touch him: the Administration’s lower levels. I didn’t have the power to keep him safe. I told the Administration about his importance and was forced to give him up—but that was for the better. And it meant a difficult retrieval. He could also get you to City I, so I had you break him out for two reasons instead of one.

  “There is every chance that the Guard infiltrated the complex under City N. Whoever did was likely behind this renascence project. What I find disturbing is that the name was used as a password in the Administration’s deepest, most secure place… Not to mention that Lontonkon was likely down there himself, so that he could unlock his nova techniques. It’s all connected somehow, and Temki was a part of it. And the most logical thing for the Guard to do, would be to turn him into a synthid.”

  “But why?” he asked meekly.

  “It could be for anything. Maybe they wanted to create a new, mighty weapon. Whatever the person or group behind this plan was thinking, the thought of the Guard in its current state possessing you is frightening.”

  “Looks like everything has come full circle,” Garder said. “With what you’re telling us and theorizing, most everything makes sense now.”

  “Hm… not quite,” Tabi spoke up—the first time any of the three paradigms had done so during the discussion. “Now that we’re all up to date, maybe Rivia can tell us what he thinks about the demon’s datastone.”

  “Yes… I believe that there is a strong chance that the datastone was made from a human soul.”

  “I was beginning to figure it was something like that,” Verim replied.

  “But there’s something else to it,” Rivia continued. “Lamps remain the same when they enter Earth. The datastone was different. The demon didn’t come into existence until after it had left Aurra. Earth doesn’t have the tools that would read the stone and create something based on its instructions. So… something had to have happened to it when it passed through. Furthermore, the demon didn’t appear until only three years ago. This fact simply compounds everything further. So, this may be my wildest theory yet, but I am beginning to believe it myself…”

  “What are you thinking?” Tabi asked.

  “There might be a chance that upon entering Earth, the datastone took on a life. In other words, it became someone. If that is true, then the person it created would have made the demon themselves. Maybe once their mind was fully developed.”

  “That doesn’t seem possible…” Milla replied.

  “It doesn’t, but it is something I want to disprove—or prove before I make any further assumptions. It is possible that the creator of the demon is still alive, and they may be able to create it again. The attack you described, of pure alchemagi mixed with some other energy is also very intriguing. The power the creature possessed…”

  “You’re talking about a living, walking datastone here,” Garder said.

  “And if it were an Aurrian soul, wouldn’t they just go to my kingdom if they were somehow released on Earth?” Shin added.

  “Unless… the soul itself was manufactured.” Milla thought. “Then maybe it wouldn’t technically have a body belonging to either side? But the possibility of such a thing would go beyond my understanding.”

  “Indeed. Any guess any of us might have couldn’t be explained by conventional Aurrian technology,” Masayuki added. “But if Rivia is right about this, whoever goes to Maine to search for what has become of that unique datastone may actually be searching for a person.”

  “Which is why I want Shin and Verim for this assignment,” Rivia said. “Verim is a tracker, and both primarily run Earth-based missions.”

  “Soul searching isn’t our specialty, but we can try,” Shin said. “We’ll need one of the two pairs of claws we have, though.”

  “If the stone became a person, I could still find ‘em,” Verim assured.

  “You’ll also need this.” Rivia reached into his robes and took out a demirriage scroll. “Be careful with it, it’s the only one in this place. I was holding onto it in case you really needed it. It looks like the time has come.”

  “Thank you,” Shin replied and pocketed the scroll carefully. “For a second there I thought we’d have to take a plane all the way to the States.”

  “This makes it much easier…” Verim added. “We can just warp straight to O and come out on the other side.”

  Rivia nodded. “I have a friend in O that does specialize in tracking down souls, and he should be waiting for you.” He turned to the rest of the group, “Temki, Lechi, Xavier, and Milla—return to City I and assist in the evacuation. This time, it must succeed. This is very important.”

  “U-us?” Xavier stuttered. “It’s cold up there, sir. And I’ve never visited. Maybe I’d be more useful at…”

  “Shut up and do what he says,” Garder sighed.

  “Lechi can speak with the rairer—both the one she sent to the City, and any the enemy may utilize. Temki is safer and easier to keep sheltered at home, and would feel more comfortable there. Milla is the only one you have that can properly counter the vector pretorian should she still be there, and Xavier… Well, I think you simply need another adult with you.”

  “Ah, Rivia, do you spend all day thinking about the most efficient teams and such?” Garder commented with a slight grin.

  “I guess we’ll just need a demirriage, then,” Milla said.

  “What about us?” Jeryn asked quietly.

  “Jeryn and Garder, go after Lontonkon and see what you can find out about his plans. Anything you can find on this renascence project would be beneficial. I know that your group is broken up quite a bit, but I still need someone performing the original task I gave you. Use the other demirriage and the claws—go everywhere and anywhere you need to.”

  “Got it…” Jeryn replied.

  “Yeah, we’ll keep on the trail, but what about Simon?”

  Simon looked up and awaited an answer.

  “As a solar, his abilities are too great to squander. I’d like him to remain here so that he can learn to properly use his alchemagi. I also want to endow him with the ability to use level three spells. As a former solar myself, I should be able to pass on some of my old techniques.”

  “Really? That’s awesome. But what about stones for the rest of us?”

  “Yes, Milla and Garder—I’ll provide you with the implants as well. But because of your limited time, you will have to forgo the proper training and wait until the stones adjust to your bodies and activate in the field.”

  “And about the others?” Milla asked.

  “Lechi is too young for the process. Xavier is already a level three.”

  “You’re kidding…” Garder groaned. “He was an alchemagi master? All this time? You could’ve gotten us out of some scrapes, bud.”

  “It is required for any officer’s bodyguard,” he explained. “I’m just not big on alchemagi… I’m decent, sure, but I’m also a silver.”

  “You say you’re decent, yet I’ve never even seen you use a spell.”

  “I use alchemagi when I need to; haven’t had much of a chance yet.”

  “How will I leave here if our claws are in use?” Simon questioned.

  “I’d expect the soldiers guarding this area on the outside will receive a pair due to the importance of their position. On your way out, instruct the lead officer to open the tear here once every three days or so. People react differently to the stones, and training time is highly variable, but once you are ready, Simon, you can wait by the opening and leave when you can.”

  “We’ll tell them,” Milla replied. “Anything else you wanted to share?”

  “Just that this may be the last time we see each other here. One of you will have to come back to tell to us that I is clear, but other than that, I’ll likely see you nine together again back in Aurra. There is a strong chance that the Five will fade away when they reenter Aurra, but I am sure they will be grateful to finally leave those ancient husks of theirs.”

  “We’ve gone through three displacements just talking here,” Garder said as he got up to stretch. “We’d better get those implants and get going.”

  “Right…” Rivia said tiredly. “Viktor, go with the twins and Simon.”

  Viktor nodded and went towards the door. Lechi woke up Tanesh as the group gathered to leave, but Rivia had one last thing to say first.

  “I haven’t had the chance to properly thank you for all you’ve done. I know I’ve dragged most of you into all this, and perhaps selfishly. But I think that by now, you’ve realized just what you’re fighting for. And if you can do anything at all, discover something and carry it with you to your next lifetimes. One of the many unknowns is just how long this will last. So, do what you can. Everyone is counting on you, even if they don’t know it yet.”

  “See you again soon, Rivia,” Milla replied with a confident smile. “I know we can free the people here. I’ll definitely see I’s evacuation through.”

  “And we’ll look for the origin of the demon,” Shin added.

  “Guess that leaves us with chasing Lontonkon,” Garder finished.

  Rivia gave a simple farewell wave, and the group departed. Upon exiting the museum, Jeryn paused in the road and turned to the others.

  “I’ll meet you at the portal area. I’ve got to take care of something.”

  “Okay, Jeryn…” Milla murmured back.

  She had a good idea of what he was planning, but knew she couldn’t stop him. He needed some clarity on whatever past he had left behind, and she didn’t want to interfere with his chances of finding it. He promptly left, and Viktor began guiding the group to the special location.

  Jeryn considered himself lucky; he had found the two he had been searching for rather quickly. Vadaka and Bired were speaking quietly with an older man at a corner, and upon seeing him come up, politely asked the man to leave for a moment. The two stood, adjusted their goggles, and looked at Jeryn in a professional manner.

  “You two,” he muttered. “You’re the two that took my memory…”

  “We sealed it,” Vadaka replied. “I assume some of it has come back to you. It was a new technique—perhaps not fully developed.”

  “Lontonkon knew who I was. He released the blocks you gave me.”

  “Do you want us to put them back? We lack the proper equipment here, but we could give it a try.”

  “I’m not asking for that. Look, I saw you two as we were leaving last time. And now I knew where I’ve seen you before. The thing is, I don’t have any exact memories of either of you, yet I seem to know you did this to me.”

  “I… see…”

  “I can’t remember the moments leading up to the operation. I don’t even remember deciding to have it, or whatever incident I had to forget.”

  “Maybe you just wanted to forget who you were altogether?”

  “No. Something must’ve happened. It might be a week of time that is still missing from my memory. I need to know what transpired—and why I had my memory altered. Or else… Well, nothing really changes.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If I lack that knowledge, I know what I must do, and who I still owe my allegiance to. But what if something happened to me before, or if I did something terrible and wanted out? Do my full memories still exist?”

  “No,” Bired replied. “You lost that week in the operation. It’s gone.”

  “We won’t tell you what to do, but I believe that yes, you should continue helping your friends,” Vadaka added. “They need you now.”

  “Just tell me—did you know?”

  “Did we know what?”

  “Who I was. You have connections. You had to know something.”

  Vadaka looked to the ground. “Yes… we know. But we didn’t tell your friend when she asked us.”

  “Then they have no idea…”

  “No. They trust you. They’d never suspect that you’re a…”

  “Was. I was a pretorian. Now, I don’t have any idea who I am. If I only knew why I did this to myself, maybe everything would be okay again.”

  “If you think you’re a threat to your friends, then leave them. There may be less pain that way,” Bired said.

  “I’m the reason you two were sent here, aren’t I? They would’ve caught you and sent you here—the ultimate punishment—for doing something as illegal as a spiritual memory alteration to a pretorian.”

  “We knew the risks,” Vadaka replied. “But it was demanded that we erase your past and give you a false one.”

  “My previous Earth life—was that at least real?”

  “Yes. And every one before that. Only this Aurrian life has been altered. We gave you someone else’s memories. We asked you if you wanted yours kept in a record. You said no, but you also said that you wanted to keep your memories, as well. We didn’t destroy any intentionally—we only tried to seal them. It is a slightly easier process, but if you were in so much pain, why did you want them sealed and not destroyed?”

  “The king…” Jeryn murmured. “He probably ordered it to happen this way. I could be used as a spy. He expects me to attack my squad. He expects me to take them down for him… But he did try to kill me, as well. Maybe he considers me a liability, but one that may yet be useful…”

  “You are jumping to conclusions. Do not forget the bonds you have formed, Jeryn. Your friends rely on you. I suppose you will have to decide what is more important to you. Who you were, or who you are. But that is your choice alone. We have nothing further we can tell you. So. Goodbye.”

  Bired gave a farewell nod, and the two left him alone. He felt anger, mostly coming from the fact that he simply couldn’t recollect why he had his memory altered. If he could just understand what he had done, he knew he’d make the right decision when a certain, unknown moment arrived.

  He could remember all of the pretorians so clearly, like they were old friends. Viveri was laid back and could be obnoxious, but when he really got into his swordplay, he was an impressive sight. He was in the circle for little more reason than that he liked the position. Trinqit, the only woman in the group at the time, was bossy and impish, but almost as powerful as a paradigm in her art. She was Aurra’s fastest known caster of vector spells.

  Then there was Breen, an older member always concealed within a large, living suit of armor. He suffered the same illness that afflicted all iron paradigms, giving a frail body with very weak bones as his body constantly sapped biological iron out of his system. And Palar, the pretorian closest in strength to Jeryn. His relationship with the ax-wielding berserker had always been a cold one; so much so that Palar had stated many times that he wanted to have a battle to the death sometime in the future.

  And he had been replaced by a girl no older than the twins. She had yet to exhibit any powers, so her alignment was unknown to him. She looked to be on the quiet and was held back by the others. An odd choice for a pretorian; there must have been another reason for her recruitment.

  Lastly, Drides. He was a mysterious young man that seemed close to the king himself, but not to his fellow pretorians. He only appeared when he had orders to pass on, and he never spoke more than he needed to. He never answered any unnecessary or “ignorant” questions, and never made small talk. But his abilities were frightening. Just by opening his mechanical eye patch and looking at someone in the eye, he could kill them. And his alchemagi was something else entirely. His origins, like his full capabilities, were hazy at best. Even so, he didn’t threaten his comrades, and might have had some respect for them—though he would never display it himself.

  There was one more thing on Jeryn’s mind: all of this time, he had the ability to attack almost anyone. His pretorian level implants had always allowed him to go against the common Aurrian or the Guard. It was only because he believed otherwise that he had to run and hide with the people who called him a friend during most of their journey together.

  He couldn’t be sure what he was supposed to do now, but until he figured out what it was, he knew that he would continue to tag along with the people who had seen him as a friend. Perhaps through their actions and words in the coming times, he could eventually realize his proper place.

  Garder looked at the back of his right hand—Milla, her left. The small stones they had received were glowing, as were their originals that gave them level two access. They would glow for a few hours until their bodies accepted them, and would glow again once fully activated. No matter how many levels up one had been in previous lives, the different makeup of each new body always made it necessary to relearn alchemagi.

  Milla hid her hand back in her glove and looked at Garder, who was quite pleased. He’d just been given a gift he would’ve had to wait to receive normally for several more lifetimes. Simon had yet to get his, as he still needed proper training first. But the group had high hopes for him. He already possessed talent, and was sure to rejoin his friends shortly.

  “We might have a chance against those pretorians now,” Garder said.

  “Don’t strain yourself,” one of the two elderly alchemagi engineers cautioned. “The stones will trigger when the time is right, and no sooner.”

  “You two are brothers, right?”

  The two old men looked at one another and laughed.

  “No, Garder. Father and son,” the shorter man replied. “Kerchief here just managed to evade capture for another twenty years before joining me here. It was an odd reunion.”

  “Nice to meet the real Vlad and Kerchief,” Milla said. “You go way back with Rivia, right?”

  “Yes, yes,” Kerchief answered. “But mostly on opposite sides. Back when we were working illegally. But we can still make a good pebble, even here, and have been outfitting this place’s people for years now.”

  “Sending people here was a mistake,” Shin stated. “To put all the undesirables in one prison like this to try and forget them… The resolve such an act must birth would be a mighty force by itself.”

  “They know you can free us now, and they are scared,” Vlad replied. “And you must, because the uprising will fail otherwise. But whatever you do, do not place the people in the City where this one once stood in any danger. Rivia would never want such a sacrifice.”

  “Did you know Rivia named his dogs after you?” Garder asked.

  “Really? What kinds of dogs does the old codger keep?”

  “Big old Danes.”

  “Ha. Not so bad. You go now—we will help again when we can.”

  “Can I see them off?” Simon asked.

  “Of course, but training must begin right after they depart.”

  “Yeah, got it.”

  The group gave some farewells before leaving the alchemagi training grounds. It looked like every person in the dimension stared with longing eyes as they passed, but there lingered some hope in them. And while not everything had been a success, the friends had much to be proud about at the moment, and some of that positive energy radiated out from them. Still, something was troubling Temki, and Milla was quick to take notice.

  “You all right?” she asked as they went down the monotone streets.

  “I think… I’m just thinking about what we were told. D-does the Guard really want to turn me into a synthid?”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me,” Garder replied. “They toy with the human spirit without boundaries. It’s obvious the majority mean little to them.”

  “We won’t let anything happen to you,” Milla assured. “Promise.”

  “Well, we are splitting up,” Shin reminded. “But let’s try to keep in close contact along the way, as if we’re still together.”

  “Yeah. And Xavier,” Garder said sternly, “you’d better act like a gentleman and follow Milla’s orders.”

  “Will do,” he replied. “I know I haven’t done much to help you guys, but maybe now I’ll get the chance, right?”

  “If you guys evacuate that City, then you’ll earn my respect, man.”

  “I hope Zalatrya is doing well,” Lechi murmured.

  Garder turned to Verim and Shin. “You got it easy. All you gotta do is find someone in Maine, who might even be just a seven-year-old kid.”

  “But that could be difficult,” Verim replied. “Even if we don’t get into any fights, it’s an important task and we will work hard to accomplish it.”

  “You two have worked in the States before, right?” Simon asked. “I’d help, but I know I have to do this training first.”

  “We’ve run missions there before,” Shin answered. “We’re up to speed on all the modern technologies, as well. Always have been. No need to worry about us, Simon.”

  “Right… Ah, well—here’s the portal.”

  Just ahead was the place where the two dimensions met. Once they stepped outside again, they’d split up the team, claws, and demirriages. It was a bit of a melancholy moment, but it looked like everyone was ready to continue their journeys, no matter how far apart they may become.

  “You ready, Jeryn?” Garder asked.

  He backed off from the pillar he had been leaning against, adjusted his goggles, and smiled lightly. “Off to find old Lontonkon,” he replied. “We’re counting on you to back us up, Simon.”

  “Yeah. I’ll show up as soon as I can.”

  “Well…” Garder turned to Milla. “Ah, see you around. Good luck and all that.”

  “Same to you,” she replied.

  They took in a last glimpse of the strange black and white world, and Simon watched as his eight new friends and their dog stepped through the portal and back to Aurra. He sighed to himself as it closed behind them, and then began his return trip to begin his training.

  An uprising against the ruling body of the place people go to when they die on Earth. A hidden kingdom in the world in between, and a dimension squeezed within the remaining space. Animalects, alchemagi, demirriages and a demon whose claws rip open the fabric of the universe. On Earth, business was life, and on Aurra, life was a business.

  Simon knew now, how complicated existence could be.