A mingled sense of vertigo and paranoia overtook me then as Traver’s words hit me like a truck. I hunched over with widened eyes as I felt my heartbeat in my ears as loud as a thundering drum.

  He’d what?!

  The…the sum total of…

  Even though I was nearly overwhelmed by the implications of what the departed Lich was saying, I still managed to retain enough presence of mind to focus as he continued speaking.

  “Well, as much as I have access to and could gather on short notice, that is,” The image of Travers admitted ruefully. “You wouldn’t believe the damage that five millennia of quite literally cursed degradation will do to electronic archives. And while I was this particular facility’s primary physician, that doesn’t give me the highest clearance for data access. Actually, wait a second,” He paused. “That just gave me an idea. I’ll be right back.” The screen cut out, but only for a second. I was barely able to blink before Travers was back, and this time he was holding up a familiar keycard.

  Cecily’s.

  “Good thing you’re keeping Harlow occupied, right now,” Travers smirked at me from beyond the grave. “Not only will this help us down in the core, but it also lets me access deeper archives through my terminal. Cecily had a greater level of access as the head of the Engineering department. Congratulations are in order. Still, it’s not like she was the Head of the facility in general. I wouldn’t get my hopes up for our most closely guarded secrets when it comes to Netherim technology. Maybe you’ll get lucky, though. It’s not like I was very selective when I initiated the data transfer. However…I’ve deliberately chosen not to add something to this last archive. You’ll be getting no historical data from me, pretender.”

  I couldn’t help myself. “You prick!” I veritably gasped out, only remembering that Aveline was next to me the moment the word left my lips. I winced as I heard her gasp, turning to face her.

  “You said a bad word!” Aveline said, sounding almost disappointed in me. I smiled guiltily at the little girl and mouthed an apology before focusing back on the screen. I still glowered at the image of the smirking Lich, though.

  You knew that was what I was most personally invested in, you bastard. Even though you were just handing me frankly invaluable knowledge, I was still pissed about it.

  “Find answers to your questions elsewhere,” Travers said smugly. “And if you’re thinking it’ll be easy to parse our knowledge, think again. I know the Terran era you were pulled from. Understanding Netherim Science with your knowledge base will be the equivalent of an ape trying to build a chemical slug thrower with nothing but twigs and stones. I doubt the Generim will be much help, either. They can’t have progressed that far. I’ve transferred ownership of the Gleam to you, pretender, so you can act as a steward for the collective knowledge of my civilization. As it is, though, that’s all that I have for you. Try not to die and leave Aveline alone out in the Garden. I’ll find you in the beyond and eat your soul if you let harm come to her.”

  Without another word, the screen on the Gleam went dark as the message from Aveline’s father ended. Moments later, the small screen on top of the floating UFO-like device retracted jerkily, disappearing seamlessly into its metallic shell. Surprisingly, the power to it seemed to die out and it began to drop out of the air from its floating position, and I had to dart one hand out to catch it before it hit the deck of the ship.

  Even if it was unlikely to be damaged by that, the Gleam was now too valuable to allow any damage to it. I drew it closer to stare down at the children’s tutoring device, with no small measure of awe in my gaze. My hands were trembling slightly, I noticed.

  This…if it could be leveraged properly… it would change the future of Vereden forever. I…

  This was too big for me. It really was.

  Maybe it was an abdication of responsibility, but I had to get to this Grey. Even if I had some small doubts about my mentor these days, that didn’t mean I didn’t trust him. The man was literally centuries older than I was and probably one of the foremost experts on Aetherological science on the face of the planet.

  Surely he would know better than I did what to do with…this.

  “Mr. Hart?” A young voice said from my side, youthful concern evident in it. I dragged my eyes away from the literally invaluable archive over to Aveline, to see that the little girl was gazing at me in concern. “Are you alright?”

  I drew in a shuddering breath and did my best to smile at Aveline, shoving down all of the vertigo this revelation had inflicted on me. “Ah…yes, Lina, I’m fine,” My use of her nickname caused the child to smile at me brightly, and I returned it. Mine was a bit more rueful, though. “I’m afraid I’ll have to hang onto Glee for a bit. He’s…a great deal more important, now, and I have to keep him safe. Besides…” I forced a laugh for her benefit. “I’m not sure why he dropped out of the air like that. Something might be wrong with him.”

  To my surprise, Aveline actually had an answer to that. She shook her head. “No, I think he’s just out of power,” She said confidently. Aveline reached over and flipped Glee over in my hands, before her dainty little fingers found a slight seam and opened it. What was revealed looked suspiciously like a charging port of some kind, three small holes in a triangular formation with some kind of…checkered contact in the center. She pointed to it. “When Glee gets like this, Mama told me I’m supposed to put him on the dock. That way, he’ll be back to normal in no time.”

  My smile withered at that. “And…I’m guessing all the charging docks are back in the bunker.”

  The bunker that had been destroyed in a magically fueled nuclear explosion.

  My words caused Aveline’s own smile to die. Now she just looked downcast as she nodded despondently. “Uh-huh,” I heard her mumble.

  I took a deep breath and then reached behind me to place Glee into my still-empty supply pouch at the small of my back. Making sure the latch was firmly in place, I slipped my hands under Aveline’s armpits and drew her up into a standing position. I smiled at her startlement and put my hands on her shoulders. “Glee will be fine,” I said, with a confidence not entirely truthful. “My mentor and I will magic up a way to charge him, you’ll see. He’s a kind, wise man, and there’s nobody else in the world better suited to the task. You’ll like him, I promise.”

  Aveline gave me a wan smile in return for my attempts at cheering her up. I was still worried about her, though. However, I’d spotted something that might just do a better job of distracting her. Shooting my eyebrows up, I pointed behind the child and dramatically gasped. “Aveline, look! Dolphins!”

  Curiously, my charge turned around to follow my finger to find I was telling the truth. Swimming alongside the length of the Kaminari Maru was a pod of dolphins native to the seas around Kawamara. Similar to those back on Earth in general shape, they were nonetheless different in one distinctive way.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  They were a pale, coral pink in color.

  As I’d hoped, Aveline’s eyes widened in a glee of her own at the sight, and she scampered over to clutch at the bars of the railing, nearly pushing her face through it to see the admittedly beautiful creatures clearly. I heard her laugh in delight as one of the pod leapt out of the water in a graceful arc close enough to the ship that its landing sprayed her.

  I crossed my arms in contentment and thought at the sight, but my attention was elsewhere. The entire time I’d been speaking with Aveline, all the way back to before Traver’s message, I’d noticed a presence with my blood sense lingering nearby. I wasn’t worried, though. The fact I felt it at all told me they had wanted me to know they were there.

  “Liora, a word if you will,” I said quietly, eyes trained on the leaping dolphins and delighted child. Moments later, I felt the presence of my fellow former Agent appear to my right. Shifting my eyes her way, I noticed the Gnoll woman was also watching the scene before us with a small smile on her furry face.

  We stood together and watched Aveline’s delight for a time, but eventually got to business. “Twas very interesting to watch an illusioned image displayed in such a manner,” Liora said quietly. Her violet eyes shifted curiously my way. “Was it a message of some kind? Perhaps one of…import?”

  I met her gaze and nodded. “Yes,” I said, matching her volume. “Liora, I need you to understand something. That device you saw…please consider it as a priority A-One artifact.”

  My Gnollish companion’s lips curved down as she understood my words. The term I’d just used was part of Nocturne operational procedures, meant to designate items, weapons, and artifacts of such monumental importance to not only Herztal, but Vereden itself, that they were invaluable. Of such importance that the individual Agent’s lives were of…marginal consequence, in relation to the importance of the item.

  My understanding was that the exact term and designation had never been used in an operation. It had been mostly theoretical. Hook hadn’t been flippant enough to ever use it.

  “Truly?” Liora asked me seriously.

  I maintained our eye contact and nodded wordlessly to her.

  Liora was quiet for a moment as she absorbed that. “Very well,” She eventually whispered, looking away from me. “Be careful, Nathan. Something tells me we live in the calm before the storm. Too many things are…strange, at the moment. The order that has ruled Vereden for so many centuries feels fragile. Take care, and be vigilant.”

  With that, Liora wandered away from the bow, looking strangely contemplative. As she did, I crossed my arms and shifted my gaze over to watch as Aveline laughed in delight at the near performance the dolphins were putting on for her.

  I couldn’t help but feel Liora was right. Something in me felt rumblings on the horizon.

  But, for now at least…

  I would take what joy I could find.

  ………………………………….

  The journey back to Hinaga was slightly faster than the one we took to the island originally. Then, Captain Satoru had taken a mostly leisurely pace to reach the former seat of Tatsugan’s power. However, I think General Hisakane was very impatient to get back to the capital city so he could inform the Emperor what exactly had occurred on the now-liberated island. Not only that, but all of the careful sailing involved in navigating the old Oni ocean roads was no longer needed, with the death of Tatsugan.

  I was too preoccupied on the trip to be bothered by the familiar, irritating ritualism that I found on the Maru. Too much was running through my head, not to mention how I was busy spending time with Aveline, and to a lesser extent, my friends.

  Bella, for one.

  What a fucking mess that was. I can’t believe she had just…ran like that. I had always been aware that the ‘relationship’ we had was meant to be casual and with a definitive end date. But goddamnit, she could have at least had the decency to tell me she was leaving to my fucking face. This was even worse than getting dumped through text or something, like I’d experienced once back on Earth. There, at least, I’d had the ability to reply back and ask for an explanation.

  Even if I never got one.

  I had no way of either contacting or tracking down Bella. You took for granted what modern Terran communication networks were capable of until you suddenly ran into issues where they would help. Frankly, it made me want to expand on the ideas I’d had about recreating the old Nocturne messaging system. But when would I have the time? There were so many other research projects I was interested in pursuing, once I actually reached the Academy and resumed my apprenticeship under Grey. Not to mention, I suddenly had a child to look after.

  Well, that at least had an easy-to-solve solution. My newest powerful Skill, granted to me by the System as payment for another sliver of Divinity, would make sure I never had to worry about Aveline while I was in class or working.

  It…had its drawbacks, of course. But the positives of Umbra Gemina Exactoris far outweighed them.

  In the end, it only took two days for our little formation to reach the shores of Hinaga. Once there, Captain Satoru didn’t make for the main docks we had initially set off from. Instead, he followed the General’s flagship to a far more isolated and protected private port that resided in the shadow of the Imperial palace. The tall, white and gold structure cast an almost ominous shadow over the waters of the bay, as our two ships came to a halt at the lavish docks.

  However, what was far more ominous was the large platoon of Kawamaran soldiers waiting to receive us, standing at attention with upright spears glinting in the sun. I frowned at the sight and made a split-second decision. I made eye contact with the fully armed and armored Azarus standing to my left and nodded at him. He understood me, from long experience, and I received a nod of my own.

  With his acknowledgment, I wandered away from the group waiting on deck to be granted leave to set foot on the docks.

  It was time to make sure Aveline was watched over while I was busy up in the palace. And there was no better way to do that than with my new Skill.

  First, though, preparations.

  Once I had reached the forecastle of the Kaminari Maru where the room Aveline and I were using resided, I stopped just inside without opening our door just yet. I took a deep breath and called for a Skill.

  Starfire Veiling.

  Carefully, I applied it to Arboreal Channeling and felt it as the enhanced Talent lashed out and drew Bloodroot Resilience into its net. Once the conflux of abilities was in place, I was almost disappointed when I didn’t hear Anima’s voice once more. But that was to be expected. I hadn’t heard her since that first time I’d discovered this combination in the bunker.

  For now, she was silent to me, though it was a puzzle why I’d heard her in the first place.

  No matter, though. Since I could more easily feel my Mana and direct it now, it was time to get this show on the road.

  I reached out for one more ability and grasped it in my soul.

  Umbra Gemina Exactoris.

  And to my right popped into being a familiar sight.

  The azure flame and crimson thorned form of my Sprite. Honestly, it didn’t look very different at all from its original manifestation. Maybe a little more detailed, maybe a little more…menacing looking. There was now a core of shadow visible beneath the flame, after all.

  But the Sprite form wasn’t the point of this Skill, now.

  Eagerly, before I could even prompt it to, my Core ring leaped over into the hovering form of the Sprite.

  And it changed.

  The dormant shadow inside the Sprite exploded to cover the flame and thorns and began to multiply. In moments, it had grown to a mass akin to the size of a man, writhing and undulating in the open space of the hallway I stood inside. Slowly, though, the shadows thickened and elongated, shaping themselves into multiple distinct shapes. First arms, and then legs. A defined torso, upon which a head sat. In no time at all, I stood next to a featureless shadow in the shape of a man.

  Then a pair of oh-so-familiar green eyes swam to the surface of the shadow-man, and that shadow became featureless no more. In a startling move, it somehow snapped into focus…

  And I saw standing next to me a complete clone of myself, the core of which was shadow, thorn, and flame. It was completely indistinguishable from me in every way. Whatever I had on me at the moment of the cast was copied as well, so it was just as armed and armored as I was.

  There was a cost, however. I grimaced as I felt half of my strength vanish in an instant. The largest downside of casting the clone was that individually, each of us received half of our total Virtues. We still retained our level to an Observe, I’d discovered.

  And hadn’t that been weird, to Observe ourself.

  But we were altogether weaker separately.

  Still.

  The utility was worth it.

  The two of us exchanged wordless nods, each Ring now separated but understanding their role. The Core approached the door to our room with Aveline, while I stepped back out into the Hinagan sunlight.

  Time to see what the judgment of Emperor Seimei was.