I look down at the long blue dress covered in flowers with a bemused expression. Audrey laid it out on the hospital bed after producing it from her inventory, looking victorious. However, the dress honestly doesn’t seem any different from a standard sundress. I mean, I find it hard to imagine Audrey wearing any kind of dress, given that she seems almost aggressively casual most of the time, but still.

  Looking up at Audrey, I gesture to the dress, “Here I thought you had something bad in mind. I don’t mind this at all.”

  Audrey shrugs, running a hand through her hair. “I figured you would like it, just wanted to mess with you a bit. It was, uh… well, Jessie bought it from a market while she was suffering from extreme mana toxicity a lot like yours. I stored it for her, and she died before she got a chance to wear it. I figure… she, uh… she’d want someone to enjoy it.”

  Once more, I look down at the dress — absently running my hand along the smooth blue material. It’s hard to reconcile the version of Audrey that would hang on to this dress for who knows how many years with the abrasive young woman I’ve come to know. She must have been hanging on to this in hopes of bringing Jessie back and giving it to her, so if she’s giving it to me now…

  “You talked to the Sanctum Collective, I take it?” I ask, taking a careful step back from the dress.

  Audrey nods, smiling softly. “I can’t slip anything past you, huh, kid. Well, yeah, I talked to them. I also talked to the council of A Ranks before going through with my ascension — that’s part of what took me so long. Both of them said the same thing: that, with our current understanding, it is impossible to bring back a fallen sentinel with our current healing techniques. They told me about attempts that seemed close; at one point, it was thought that we were on the precipice of a breakthrough. However, no one so far has been able to connect that final piece and take the last step — despite countless attempts.”

  “So, you’re giving up?!” I exclaim, taking a step in Audrey’s direction.

  Audrey puts her hands up defensively. “Hardly,” she says, “but… it’s time to start moving on. I turned away from my old path, and now it’s time for me to find a new way forward. I can’t do that if I’m living in the past.”

  Looking at Audrey, I have to admit that she does seem better. Not all the way, not yet, but she has improved from before. Now, Audrey seems willing to smile, willing to try and get better. Honestly, that’s the first step of any improvement — taking that initial leap and deciding to try.

  “That’s…” I start, almost tearing up. “That’s really strong of you. You should be proud.”

  Audrey gives me a flat look, “Just put on the stars-damned dress.”

  The second I walk in the front door of Baylee’s apartment, Akari practically tackles me in a hug, the taller girl holding me fiercely to her chest.

  Then, almost as abruptly, she steps back and gives me her most severe glare, “What were you thinking!” she exclaims. A moment later, I find myself being hugged again, Akari holding me tightly but gently.

  Gingerly, I return my friend’s hug. “I wasn’t really thinking,” I reply softly. “One moment, I was fighting; the next, I was waking up on the ground surrounded by volcora.”

  “Next time! I really will tie you up! Audrey gave me permission!” Akari sobs, having properly broken down now.

  “Heeey, it’s okay,” I say gently, holding her as tightly as I’m able with my trembling arms. “We’re safe now, it’s over.”

  Slowly, others make their way over to us from where they were relaxing on couches by the windows — all of Team Picnic is here, and nearly all of Team Firestorm as well.

  Of them all, it’s Claire who dashes over first, aggressively wrapping her arms — one still missing a hand — around both Akari and me. “Blue!” she exclaims, “You’re not allowed to scare us like that! I thought you were going to die!”

  “I think we all did,” Baylee says, her head bowed as she approaches. She looks rough, her eyes red-rimmed, and her immaculate appearance ruffled. If she received the same lecture Audrey gave me, she surely looks dower about it, and I can’t say that I blame her.

  “I’m so sorry, Serena,” she says softly, “I should never have let you fight… I shouldn’t have let any of us fight.”

  Wiggling free of Claire and Akari with some difficulty — stars, they’re strong — I move forward and gently wrap my arms around Baylee. “We all got caught up in the fight,” I tell her softly. “Don’t put this all on yourself.”

  “Serena is right,” Audrey states, striding in the still-open door behind me with the poise of a queen walking into her court. Her presence immediately demands the attention of everyone present, and her eyes are hard as she looks over us all.

  Eventually, those eyes land on Baylee and Troy — who’s standing slightly behind the group. “You all bear some weight of responsibility for what almost happened, so does the GDF, and so do I. Your team leaders do bear more responsibility than others, but not ultimate responsibility. If we point fingers, we can point them all day.”

  Stopping before us all, Audrey looks over us with a hard stare. “It’s time we stop dwelling on every close call. This is war, and we are all human — there will be a lot of mistakes and a lot of close calls. Until we’re dead, though, we need to keep moving.”

  Audrey pauses, waiting for her words to have the proper effect before continuing. “Now, how many of you are sitting on an ascension to D Rank?”

  Around the room, hands go up — all of Team Picnic, as well as Troy from Team Firestorm. That surprises me slightly as he wasn’t with us for our first incursion zone, but I guess he made up some of that gap by spending so much time awake and protecting Shirakaze.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Audrey claps her hands together and smiles, “That’s good! Now, let me give my ‘ascension is dangerous’ speech again, and let’s get on with it.”

  “Ma’am…” Baylee starts weakly, “Shouldn’t we wait until we’ve all recovered more to ascend?”

  Once more, Audrey gives us that wicked grin. “You all almost died a few hours ago; how many of you are itching to repeat that, would you say?”

  This statement is met with downcast eyes and shaking heads. No one is eager to jump back into the fray, not even the formerly battle-hungry Team Firestorm.

  “Good!” Audrey exclaims. “That means you’re not all insane. Listen, ascending will make you stronger, a lot stronger, and each ascension will compound further as long as you continue to follow your astral path. Every second you aren’t ascended, you are in danger. It’s time to cease the power on the table so you have it for the next emergency.”

  Within me, I feel something begin to stir, Celeste waking up. [Mmmm,] she hums in my mind. [Ascension will be good. I’ll be able to help you so much more when your D Rank.]

  I smile softly at the sound of her familiar voice in my mind. Orders or no orders, I’ll find the time to summon her physical form soon. “Not worried about the whole astral path thing?” I ask Celeste.

  Mentally, I receive an impression akin to a shaking head. [No…] she murmurs, still sounding sleepy. [We have… advantages. Remember? Normal sentinels have only to follow their path or turn away from it, but we are not so constricted. There is a third option for those lucky enough to have the proper heritage. Bloodline. It’s part of why my mother calls you daughter…]

  I blink, completely ignoring Audrey as she goes into her speech about turning toward or away from your astral path once more. “Bloodline? What does that mean?”

  [We are, in essence, the daughter of a deity,] Celeste says, becoming slowly more alert. [The far reaches of advancement can grant great power, not just to yourself but to your descendants. The fact that we are the daughter of Althia the Golden has weight. We are not just bound to our Dominion and Astral Path as normal sentinels are; we are also bound to the Celestial Truths, the concept my mother created. As such, we can choose to follow that instead.]

  My eyes go wide, and I nervously smooth the skirt of the dress Audrey borrowed me, “And the others on Team Picnic… they will have the same option? What does that mean for us? Is it even the right choice?”

  [Hmmm, how to explain...] Celeste considers. [Paths to power… they have tiers. Astral Paths that people are born with generally start at a very low tier, something like ‘heal others.’ However, as you follow your path, it can upgrade to a higher tier, like yours is now ‘heal the hidden wounds in others.’ Titles are also connected to this concept, but it is a bit more vague than that. To explain, our bloodline, though… hmm, mother, can you take over.]

  I startle as suddenly another voice appears in my head. [Of course, Celeste,] Althia whispers into my mind, and while her voice is quiet, it's louder than I expected. [Serena, our family is bound to the Celestial Truths, which you can think of as a set of laws to live by. These laws give us great power. If you think of your Astral Path as a lower-tier path to power, following the Celestial Truths is a much higher tier. You will gain more abilities more often, and they will be more powerful.]

  “But… that will also bind me to these laws in the same way I’d be bound to my astral path if I followed that, right?” I ask, throwing Akari a reassuring smile as she gives me a confused look — likely trying to figure out what startled me.

  [You would,] Althia confirms promptly. [However, I would argue that this is less restrictive. You won’t be constantly running off to heal every random civilian with a paper cut, at the very least. Just live within the Celestial Truths and find great power.]

  “So,” I say frankly, “you want me to bind myself to a set of laws that I know nothing about. I’d honestly want to just follow my astral path instead. I have no problem healing random strangers as long as I can keep it under control enough to not put my team in bad situations. People like Calan do it all the time, I’m sure.”

  Althia scoffs, [There are healers who can control the urge, but Calan is not one of them. Do you know why he rarely fights? It’s because he can hardly stop himself from making the same mistake you already did. Blue sentinels rarely make it past C Rank for this reason — unless they start turning away from their astral paths. This is a different option for you.]

  “Still, Audrey could control her path; why can’t I control mine?” I demand.

  Honestly, after everything Althia has told me, both about what her kind did to my world and what is coming, I’m not exactly feeling particularly friendly towards her at the moment. Her kind is literally responsible for causing this to happen, and the best solution she offers pushes all of the threat onto Australia. Innocent people will suffer nonetheless! So far as I can tell, Althia only seems to act “good” when it suits her. Like most political leaders, I suppose.

  [Perhaps you could, but you’d be weaker,] Althia whispers into my mind. [My daughters are among the most powerful of all Centurions. This is the power to save your home, to forge the world. You don’t like the way things are? Then get so powerful that no one can stop you from changing them.]

  I let out a long breath, “That’s a very self-centered pitch. What gives me the right to have that power? What gives you the right?”

  [No one was required to give me the right; I made it myself. This argument will take us in circles, however. During your ascension dream, just look over what the Celestial Truths are and what they bind you to. Look at the power they offer. Also… know that if you refuse your legacy, your teammates might not do the same with their own,] Althia says.

  I grimace, “I’ll look at things objectively in the moment, but I won’t choose your power just because you are the one who offers it.”

  At that, Althia gives a kind of mental shrug. [Very well, I hope that you find a path forward that suits you.]

  The air in which Althia says this gives me the impression that she’s confident in what I’ll pick, no matter what I say. Still, I feel her presence fade from my mind, leaving just Celeste and me once more.

  “Celeste…” I start hesitantly, “I can’t guarantee that I’ll pick the power that your mother wants. Yet, it isn’t only my choice; what do you want?”

  [My mother isn’t a perfect person, Serena,] Celeste says softly. [I think, in this instance, she is right, though. We’ll look at it together as soon as we start our ascension. Then, we’ll make a choice together.]

  “Sure, but…” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Celeste… have you ever considered what will happen if your mother’s vision does come to pass? What it will mean? Any normal human will be like an ant underfoot when compared to a centurion. Just because I would be treated as one of you… I-I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.”

  “Do you see why it’s so appealing for me to just follow my own path? Sure, I might just be chasing people around in an attempt to heal them, but at least that’s who I am,” I explain.

  Celeste pauses for a long moment, and I get the sense that she’s thinking — likely trying to come up with some kind of counterargument.

  Eventually, Celeste just asks, [Serena, you want to help people?]

  Instantly, I nod, “More than anything. I want people to be safe, happy, and free to live their lives away from fear. Sure, it’s na?ve, and I know that, but isn’t it an ideal worth fighting for?”

  [So, let’s fight for it!] Celeste exclaims, sounding excited. [We learned that just blindly healing the wounds caused by battle isn’t enough, and that’s exactly the direction our astral path will lead us down. We’ll just find ourselves exhausted and overwhelmed right before we die. Just… consider taking my mother’s power, her path. Just because we start down the path she walked doesn’t mean we can’t make it our own — all it means is that the way ahead has already been paved for us.]

  Finally, I nod, “I will agree to consider it. My vote will be for whatever path will save the most lives.”

  [Mine will be as well,] Celeste instantly agrees.

  “Perfect, I guess it’s time to see which path that will be.”