I cracked my neck as I walked. It was only today, after I was no longer forced to deal with a Blight Swarm, the Nether Vein, a crazy Paragon, and a bastard noble wanting to steal my home from me, that I could finally focus on my progression.

  My mana core whirred within my body. I realized that I didn’t have a single sign of a second mana core manifesting, but I supposed I’d get to that eventually. Step by step.

  “I’m sorry Starforged Firmament,” I said softly. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. I’ve just been a little preoccupied.”

  Hamsik gave me a look like he was sad he was going to have to put a bullet through my brain to put me out of my misery. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you talk to yourself so ridiculously before.”

  I tutted. “Don’t act like you hang around by my side all the time, Hamsik.”

  “Fair enough. But are you sure you don’t wish to accompany me to the estate?”

  “I’m busy, my friend. Plus, isn’t Thefris coming?”

  “What kind of a question is that?”

  I looked at him. Was he… blushing? “I was just curious. Since, you know, you neglected to tell me you’re mar—”

  “That’s none of your business!”

  His neck was definitely turning a shade similar to that of a tomato.

  I laughed softly. “I’ll meet you there, alright? Soon as I finish.”

  “I’ll hold you to it.”

  I rolled my eyes. It made me once again wonder what the deal was between him and his wife. A lot of things had fallen into place since I had learned of Thefris’s existence.

  Where Hamsik spent all his time since he never stayed at the cult temple. How he had come to know about Zoltan being in the undercity. Honestly, I was more surprised Thefris hadn’t popped up earlier. Her investigative powers would have been pretty handy in getting to the bottom of whoever was behind the Scarthrall business.

  Of course, that had cleared up over time. Still. I had to wonder what the deal between Hamsik and Thefris really was.

  We walked through Ring Three in companionable silence for a while till we had to part. Hamsik was heading higher, about to take a proper look at the estate that was now legally his. Meanwhile, I was headed over to the remains of Eversight Dungeon.

  Or rather, to the gate that led into the Nether Vein.

  It didn’t take long for me to reach my destination. The first telltale signs that I was getting closer was the fortified presence around it.

  Military personnel surrounded the entirety of the area around the former dungeon’s entrance. A wide chunk of Zairgon mountain had been cordoned off, surrounded by makeshift barricades that were slowly being built up as well as professional, powerful warriors from Zairgon’s army.

  “Are you Ross Moreland?” the uniformed Plumefolk who looked like he was in charge asked. I didn’t know what had tipped him off as to my identity, but then it became clear. “The Cultist?”

  Right. Silly me. I was wearing the cult robes I always did.

  “I am.” I tried to look past him, but he was a big fellow. “I was asked to meet Councillor Lassikhio.”

  The Plumefolk grunted in a strange, squawking way. That pretty much showed what he thought of some random cultists meeting a Councillor of Zairgon. “Right this way.”

  We headed through the defences. Patrols wended their way between trenches, some engineers were still erecting watchtowers, and at certain points, people channelled Aspects that got me kind of curious to know what those were. Everyone we came across made way for us, several saluting the Plumefolk. I got a lot of stares too.

  Not that I cared. The closer I got to the Nether Vein, the more I felt my mana core whirring faster in my chest.

  I knew what I had to do. I even had the Aspect I needed. Question was, would it be effective like I thought?

  “You’ve arrived.” It was the Ogre Councillor, not the Scalekin one, who greeted me. He stroked his huge beard as I appeared, his tusks baring some more, although I knew he was smiling at me. “Good. We’re waiting to see if your little experiment will work.”

  If the Councillor’s familiarity with me surprised the Plumefolk who had led me here, he didn’t show it. Or he tried not to show it. I didn’t fail to note how his feathers bristled a bit.

  “Got here as fast as I could, Councillor,” I said. “It will work. Of that I’m sure. I just don’t know how useful it will be in perpetuity.”

  His eyes twinkled. “Don’t you?”

  Uh oh. He suspected something.

  “Well… I might have some ideas. But I need to decide what’s right for me, and I need to see if my little idea works in the first place.”

  “Of course.” He started moving, and I and the Plumefolk followed. “Come.”

  I never got to the Nether Vein itself. My services were needed well before we got that far. Honestly, that was a bit concerning.

  “What say thee, Cultist?” Councillor Lassikhio asked. We were standing on a platform overlooking the giant pit deep within the dungeon, falling through which would lead us to the actual Nether Vein. Except, there was nothing but a sea of writhing dark threads. “Can thy dark-eradicating strength pierce through the miasma before us?”

  “Guess I can give it a shot, at least,” I said.

  Channelling Gravity with Siphon, I slowly lowered myself off the platform until I was hovering a few feet above the frothing blackness. I tried not to wince. The threads were a lot livider than I remembered. I hadn’t even known they had regenerated.

  Though, I supposed it was na?ve of me to think that my actions inside the Nether Vein had destroyed its strange black threads completely.

  As if sensing my presence, some of the threads were slowly trying to rise up, like antennae tentatively trying to touch me. I closed my eyes and focused on the newest Aspect I had acquired within the Nether Vein itself, the one that had helped fight back the Netherthreads and its dark storm.

  Of course, first I had to call on Illumination with my Manifestation Augmentation before sinking the summoned light into the tendrils with Imbuement. As the light grew within the nearest tendrils, I channelled my newest Aspect.

  Over the last day or two, I had practiced controlling the rate of output some more. Even now, that burst I had unleashed against Zoltan made me cringe a little. Losing control like that was terrible.

  Nothing of the sort happened now. The tendrils slowly disintegrated into fading light second after second.

  But that alone wasn’t enough. The excursion of the Netherthreads this far away from the Nether Vein’s gate meant that even if I destroyed the ones here, they’d simply resurge and recover all lost ground. Then continued expanding outwards until they had overtaken the entirety of Zairgon. Or so the Councillors feared.

  Of course, I wasn’t the only one making progress against the Netherthreads. Se-Vigilance was developing her feathers to counter the Nether Vein’s powers too. I recalled seeing how they had helped repel the dark energy a few days ago. Not as good as my Reflection, but it wasn’t bad.

  “Thy efforts have borne fruit,” Lassikhio said from the edge of the pit.

  “Yes,” Wargrog said. “Quite impressive.”

  “Indeed. But for how long?”

  That was the question, wasn’t it? How long could we keep the Nether Vein at bay.

  “I’m not done,” I said.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  I knew what I could do with Entropy. That wasn’t what I had come here to test. Instead, I focused on my real goal here.

  It wasn’t a new Aspect that I was seeking. The hollowness left by the Path Evolution wasn’t filled yet. The puzzle that represented my life and my being had expanded, and I’d eventually need to find the new piece that would complete the new me. I’d need a scene that would fit in my growing tapestry.

  But not right now.

  I focused on what I needed here. The darkness that I could repel was around me.

  The reason the Councillors had called me in was to find a more permanent solution, if possible.

  Permanent. Permanence.

  It wasn’t just my Augmentation I focused on, though. It was that plus my Ignition Charge working on my latest Aspect.

  [ Ignition Charge

  Ignition Charge empowers Aspect of Entropy. Charges remaining: 1

  Entropy: Framework ]

  [ Rank Up!

  Your Thauma and Spirit Attributes have risen by one Rank.

  Your Entropy Aspect has risen by one Rank.

  Your Path of the Starforged Firmament has risen by one Rank.

  Thauma: Silver II

  Spirit: Gold II

  Entropy: Iron IV

  Path of the Starforged Firmament: Gold II ]

  A strange construct of mana raced out of me to sink through the entire pit. And as it did so, it tugged on my soul.

  I gasped a little where I floated. The mana core was whirring so fast, spitting out so much magical energy, I was starting to feel like every cell in my body was moments away from sparking into energy before dissipating just as the Netherthreads had done.

  The lines of Threaded Reinforcement within me turned solid and rigid as iron, so much so that I was partly afraid I’d have trouble moving after this. But I didn’t relent. As mana burned out of me, the framework of entropic mana descended through the pit, lit up as lines of Illumination running along its entire length.

  “What… has thy done?” Lassikhio asked, a note of reluctant approval in his tone.

  I shivered in place, needing a moment to gather myself. The mana drain was intense. Especially thanks to Permanence. In fact, with how much mana Permanence was constantly guzzling, it felt like I was perpetually running my mana core at its highest gear.

  Could I even spare much mana for all my other Aspects when needed? Could I perform the incredible feats I had performed against the Blight Swarm if I was using this mana constantly here?

  “I used my Core Aspect and my Aspect of Illumination to create an entropic framework,” I said. “So now, anything that touches the framework will get imbued with volatile light.”

  Lassikhio needed a moment to absorb that. “Ah, I believe I see now. Thy chosen way is indeed potent. Kudos, Cultist Moreland. But wilt thou be able to maintain this for eternity?”

  “With Permanence, yes.” I didn’t tell him the mana cost just yet. Because there was a workaround to my little issue. “Especially once I manifest my second mana core.”

  That made both Councillors’ eyes widen. Was a second mana core that uncommon?

  Lassikhio turned to Wargrog. “Did thee not proclaim this one was a mere Gold?” He scowled at me. “At best?”

  Councillor Wargrog laughed softly, his beard bristling with air. “Well, Cultist Moreland is certainly a very accomplished Gold.”

  “You know, keeping this up forever is going to cost me an incredible amount of mana,” I said.

  I didn’t want to sound like a slimy merchant, but at the same time, free labour wasn’t exactly something I jived with. It was one thing to help save all of Zairgon. It was wholly another to take all my efforts for granted.

  “We’re aware,” Wargrog said. “Expecting anyone to keep up free effort permanently is a fool’s errand. But my precaution should be ready soon, so your efforts won’t be necessary forever. Not that it isn’t appreciated.”

  “What’s your precaution?” I asked. I knew about Se-Vigilance’s efforts, but it looked like the Ogre Councillor was working on his own measures against the Netherthreads. He just hadn’t explained what they were yet.

  “Ah, it’s merely my Aspect of Advantage finishing up its preparation phase before I activate its deployment phase.” Wargrog took on a temporary air that reminded me a lot of the academy professors I had interacted with. “Essentially, it’s an Aspect that can both find and create weaknesses for anything it comes into contact with.”

  I blinked. “That’s... really unique.”

  “Why, thank you.”

  “Thou may speake freely as thou wish,” Lassikhio said, already turning away. “But I shall take my leave to attend to matters of true import. Thy assistance is greatly appreciated, Cultist.”

  With a flap of his broad, draconic wings Lassikhio took off, my hair ruffling as he disappeared.

  “You’re making progress, Ross!” Wargrog said. “Lassikhio actually thanked you this time.”

  I laughed. “Looks like I am.”

  Brasvay was having a bit of difficulty staying on topic. His efforts were made harder by his father’s inebriated state. The man raged at no one and everyone about the injustices that Zairgon had dealt to House Brasvay.

  He and Shagor were getting better at ignoring it though.

  “They’re convinced he’s not dead?” the half-Scalekin, half-Rakshasa asked. “Are you certain, my lord?”

  Brasvay scowled. An underling questioning him? How unseemly.

  “Zoltan Kalnislaw’s fate is none of our concern any longer,” he said. And good riddance to that. That tool had lost its edge far too long ago. Not that it had ever been sharp to begin with. “We must look to the future.”

  They didn’t have a choice but to work towards what lay ahead.

  “But what about your investment into Kalnislaw?” Shagor asked. “What about—”

  “Let me worry about my House, Shagor.”

  The undercity crook had a propensity to imagine that Ring Two matters were actually of concern to him. Honestly, Brasvay was starting to think Shagor was losing his edge too.

  Shame, really. Another tool he’d have to discard. Not just yet, though.

  “Yes, yes,” old Lord Brasvay slurred from the other end of the room. “Let my boy handle this. We’re not the Kalnislaws. I raised my son to deal with anything!”

  Brasvay sighed. “Please, father. Our Vaunted guest will be here soon.”

  No sooner had he spoken before the familiar knock of House Brasvay’s butler sounded on the chamber doors.

  “My lords,” Usvara said. The butler’s voice was muffled behind the door. “I have brought the guest.”

  He had been pre-warned that an illustrious visitor would be arriving soon. It had been necessary to ensure a smooth entry for the last member of this little gathering. Usually, anyone arriving at the Brasvay estate has to go through many more obstacles.

  “Enter,” Brasvay said.

  The doors opened, admitting a cloaked and hooded figure. It was only after Usvara had bowed and left that the figure removed the hood.

  Brasvay frowned. “Forgive me, my lady, but you’re not the Senator.”

  The human woman’s grin looked like it had been carved on her face with a knife. “Considering your recent… failures, my lord, you’re lucky you’re getting a visit from me. A Senator has no need to step foot in a city that doesn’t have even a single Sovereign.”

  Brasvay wanted to scowl again. The truth of the situation hurt. But that was it, wasn’t it? The truth. Scowling at it wasn’t going to make it go away.

  “I see the Senator sends his best negotiator,” Brasvay said.

  The woman’s laughter, admittedly, was rather enchanting.

  “Fear not, Lord Brasvay.” The woman tapped the little stiletto in her hairband. “I am Vaunted as well. You need one now that you have a Nether Vein open in your lands…”

  Brasvay had wanted to harrumph when the woman had proclaimed herself a Vaunted just like the Senator was, but that desire faded at the mention of Nether Vein. “It merely accelerates the plan.”

  “Yes. That’s why Claderov will take a direct hand when our last two indirect measures failed.”

  “Don’t blame me for your first gambit. I never even met that rogue Scarseeker of yours.”

  The woman tutted. “And here the Senator assured me you were a dependable ally.”

  This time, Brasvay had a lot of trouble keeping his scowl to himself.

  The tension was broken by old Lord Brasvay laughing drunkenly. “My boy is forgetting his manners, my lady! Please, share this drink with me. We might not have anyone who’s Sovereign-ranked, but I assure you, this wine is absolutely Paragon-ranked at least!”

  “Father!” Brasvay admonished. “Now is not the time, please.”

  The Vaunted woman ignored Brasvay, which maddened him greatly. She sauntered over to the older Lord Brasvay before gracefully accepting the glass of wine to take a delicate sip.

  “This is indeed a wine fit for Paragons,” she said. “I am in awe of your taste, Lord Brasvay.”

  Brasvay’s father guffawed.

  “Ranks aren’t everything,” Brasvay said. By the time he realized he was starting to sound petulant, his mouth ran away from him. “Just because you have one or two Sovereign-ranked Senators doesn’t mean our Councillors wouldn’t be able to stop them.”

  “Really?” The Vaunted raised a sharp eyebrow in his direction. “Patriotism? From you, my lord?”

  Brasvay flushed.

  “He’s right, though,” Shagor said. “Ranks are merely the power on paper.”

  The Vaunted looked like she couldn’t believe she was being spoken to by a lowlife. Honestly, Brasvay didn’t blame her for the look one bit.

  “Fine.” She left the wine and walked back to them. “Let’s do a little test.”

  She brought out a small, translucent cube of what looked like glass. Brasvay was familiar with that kind of testing device. They used it at Xokrist academy and the Mage Guild. But the one that the Vaunted held was a little different. Its corners were pure metal.

  “I got this fun little contraption a few years ago,” she said. “The auction was one of the most fun I’ve ever had. Anyway, do you know what this does, my lord?”

  Brasvay smoothed the frown he hadn’t realized had arisen on his face. “This is… a peak indicator. A specialized tester that indicates what’s the highest rank in a given vicinity.”

  “Correct!” The patronizing look on her face, like she couldn’t believe he knew what it was, made Brasvay want to puke. Sadly, it was unseemly. “This one is powerful. Its radius covers a few hundred leagues. More than enough to see the highest rank in all of Zairgon, wouldn’t you agree? I’ll make it easy for you and check not just Paths, but Aspects too.”

  Brasvay grunted. It wasn’t like he could refuse his guest’s little game.

  “Now,” the Vaunted said. “Let us see what it says…”

  She held the cube out. It immediately began blinking, running through the colours of different ranks in order as the radius of its search expanded second after second. Grey, Silver, Gold, pearlescent Opal, jet-black Onyx, then the shining green of Jade…

  “Such bravado,” the Vaunted said with a growing grin. “You really think your Jade-ranked—”

  Her words cut off when the cube did something strange. It didn’t settle on Jade. Instead, it flashed through Sovereign’s colour—the lurid red of a ruby—far, far faster than it had run through the earlier colours.

  What it settled on was the next colour. The depthless, glimmering blue of a sapphire.

  With a slow turn of her head, the Vaunted looked straight at Brasvay, who was just as shocked and nonplussed as her. “Who—” she choked out. “You’re not supposed to have any actual ones, so… so who in the entire Pits is Paragon-ranked in Zairgon?”