I reappeared in Hano, just outside the Temple gates, the familiar warmth of the city brushing against my skin like a welcome home.

  A teenager with sun-bleached hair was sweeping the Gateyard with more enthusiasm than skill. I approached, offering a smile.

  “Excuse me, do you know where I can find Lady Sana or Sir Gray?”

  He blinked at me, then pointed toward the front building. “First floor, ma’am. To the left. He is with his wife, I think.”

  I nodded my thanks and made my way inside, the polished stone underfoot a soft contrast to the mountain grit I’d grown used to in the Reach.

  Sir Gray’s office smelled faintly of sandalwood and ink. He looked up as I entered and smiled. Camille was beside him, growing more visibly pregnant each day and radiating a calm, regal energy that she always carried. Lady Sana stood near the window, arms crossed, watching the sunlight filter through the stained-glass.

  “The girl of limitless knowledge,” Gray greeted, rising with a spark of pride in his voice.

  I laughed. “Limitless is a bit much. I’m still figuring out half of what I do.”

  “You’ve helped us identify an unseen enemy that’s been at war with humanity for thousands of years,” he countered.

  “I suppose that’s fair,” I admitted. “Though… there’s another layer you need to be aware of.”

  All three turned their attention to me.

  “Remember the microscope I showed you? The one that lets you see tiny living things, bacteria?”

  Gray nodded. Sana tilted her head, curious. Camille sat forward slightly, her hands resting over her belly.

  “Well… bacteria are just the beginning. There’s another type of threat, smaller than bacteria. So small, even a microscope can’t see them. They’re called viruses.”

  Sana frowned. “How can we fight something we can’t see?”

  “You don’t have to see them to know they’re real,” I said, stepping closer. “You can observe their effects.”

  I pulled out my journal, flipped to an empty page, and started sketching a basic experiment.

  “Here’s what you can do. Take two samples of living cells, nose lining scrapings from a healthy person. Place each one in a separate container with a nutrient-rich medium, such as broth or damp cotton. Label them A and B.” I talked while sketching.

  They nodded along, listening closely.

  “Then, from someone who’s sick with a cold or similar illness, collect a bit of their mucus or saliva. Add that to Container A. Leave B alone.”

  “Then what?” Camille asked softly.

  “Keep both warm, near body temperature. After a day or two, observe them under the microscope. You won’t see the virus itself, but you’ll see its aftermath. In Sample A, infected cells will look damaged, shrunken, ruptured, and maybe even detached. Sample B should stay intact and healthy.”

  Sana raised a hand to her mouth. “So we can still infer its presence.”

  “Exactly,” I said. “Viruses don’t leave footprints; they leave craters.”

  “And what about the cure?” Gray asked. “Can you make a vaccine without ever seeing the virus?”

  “It’s harder,” I admitted. “But it’s possible. In a way, it’s similar to what you did for the green fever. Here’s the basic idea: find people who are recovering, those whose bodies are already winning the fight. Use small samples from their mucus, blood, or even scabs if it’s a skin virus, depending on the type of illness.”

  Camille wrinkled her nose slightly.

  “You let the samples weaken over time, maybe leave them out for a day or two, or heat them gently. The goal is to damage the virus just enough that it can’t cause illness but still trains the body to recognize and fight it.”

  “And you’re sure that works?” Sana asked, skeptical but intrigued.

  “Of course, it will work on some illnesses; others would be harder. That’s why we don’t test directly on people. There are a lot of patient observations and careful testing, and on animals first, yes, it can work here too. But you’ll need rigorous trials. Side-by-side comparisons. Multiple samples. And above all… time.”

  They were silent for a long moment.

  Then Sana nodded slowly. “You’ve just given us decades of work.”

  “Better than decades of death,” Gray murmured, his expression unusually serious.

  I glanced at Camille, who gave me a gentle smile.

  “You’ll be saving more than just lives,” she said. “You’re saving the future.”

  I spent a few more minutes answering questions, mostly technical ones about heat exposure, safe samples, and how to identify infection patterns. Lady Sana took careful notes. Gray asked twice about testing protocols. Camille mostly watched, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, as if amused by the way I casually handed out world-shifting knowledge like candy.

  Once I was sure they were all on the same page, I shifted gears.

  “There’s something else,” I said. “The real reason I came today.”

  That got their attention.

  “Remember what I told you when I first arrived?” I asked. “How it was a teleportation accident?”

  Sana nodded. Gray leaned forward, eyes narrowing with interest. Camille’s expression softened.

  “I made a wish on the stars,” I continued, “from the bottom of my heart. I asked for more magic.”

  “A wish-based magic,” Camille murmured. “That sounds like Mythic magic. Like Fairy deals.”

  “But the star’s aspect,” Sana said, glancing at her, “and her strong sky affinity, it resonates more with bloodline abilities.”

  “No,” Gray countered. “The teleportation aspect? That’s not Bloodline. That’s ancient. Something closer to the rift gate, what scholars associate with the Silent One and the Contested Realm.”

  I let them argue for a beat before raising my hand.

  “I don’t know where it comes from. Not really. But I’ve been testing it, refining it. And... I think I may have stumbled onto something major.”

  I reached into my bag of holding and gently withdrew the book. The moment it touched the table, the room changed.

  The air itself seemed to be still. You could’ve heard a pin drop.

  I opened the cover slowly, letting them read the embossed title with their own eyes.

  The Memoirs of Sara the Wise, close friend of the trio of destiny: The Holy of Holies Lord Kain the Unshaken, High Paladin: Lady Laurel the Fair, and Sir Kurt the Forgotten.

  Gray’s lips moved as he read it aloud, reverently. “The memoir of Saint Sara... who vanished during the reign of Lord Kain, before Lady Laurel’s ascension…”

  Camille gasped. “Where did you find it?”

  “Is it real?” Sana asked sharply, her healer’s pragmatism kicking in.

  Gray pressed his fingers lightly to the page. “It’s real,” he said, voice subdued. “The book doesn’t trigger my detect lies miracle.”

  I nodded. “I didn’t just find it, I wished for it.”

  They all turned toward me, stunned.

  “My wish was this: I wish to be standing near a document that combines the ancient language and a language still spoken today. Someplace near enough within my mana capacity.”

  Camille covered her mouth. Sana stared. Gray’s knuckles went white.

  “I landed in what looked like a study. There were two bookshelves, a lantern, and a book on the desk. Half the pages were in Holy Script, the other half in those ancient curling glyphs we’ve seen on ruins.”

  I paused. “And there was a woman.”

  They leaned forward.

  “She was... radiant. Middle-aged, with red golden hair. Lying on a bed, glowing with a full-body healing miracle. Dead. Preserved. Untouched.”

  Gray stood abruptly. “That means... Is Saint Sara’s tomb here? In the Contested Realm?”

  Camille clutched her robes. “We need to organize a pilgrimage. Immediately.”

  “Wait.” I raised both hands. “You can’t. Not yet.”

  The three of them looked at me.

  “The tomb is next to something massive,” I said. “A being bigger than any giant I’ve seen or read about. I only saw part of it, its leg was taller than a cathedral. Every step caused tremors. The ruins around it were completely flattened, except for the room holding the body.”

  Their momentum collapsed, like puppets whose strings had been cut. Sana’s face had gone extra pale.

  “Of course,” Gray whispered, sinking back into his chair. “The Colossus.”

  I frowned. “The what now?”

  “There are several dead zones across the Seven Realms,” he explained. “Areas where magic behaves erratically. Most were caused by ancient weapons or terrible monster beings. But the Colossus? That one’s different.”

  “What is it?” I whispered.

  Gray looked grim. “It’s the pinnacle of Earth mana. A creature so vast and potent, it helped end the era of the ancient telepaths three thousand years ago. It’s indestructible, unmovable, and ageless. Luckily for the Seven Realms, it’s no longer sentient, just a massive monster controlling a territory.”

  “No longer sentient?” I asked.

  “Legend has it that it used to be one of the Dravek, and it had a child called Yama, the indestructible founder of High Rock, who did something to it in the rebellion against Dravek. But the history of those times is full of propaganda.”

  “We’ve always assumed that Lady Sara’s resting place was in the Mythic Realm,” Sana said quietly. “We never thought it would be here, two realms away.”

  “Well, yeah, it is,” I said. “But I didn’t disturb it. I didn’t touch anything except this book.”

  “You did well,” Sana said, her voice tight with emotion. “And I must ask... please don’t go back there… Not unless absolutely necessary.”

  I nodded. “I wasn’t planning on it. I only took the book because it’s bilingual. It might help us decode the old tongue. And I thought… better to give it to the Temple than to Ko’i Outspring and the Soul Scribes.”

  “Thank you,” Gray said solemnly. “That was the right choice.”

  Sana exhaled slowly, then nodded in agreement. “We’ll read it carefully. Decide afterward whether it’s safe to share with the public. Some secrets could fracture the Faith if exposed too soon or to the wrong eyes.”

  I hesitated. “If you find it too sacred to circulate to the general public, would you at least consider letting Sara read it?”

  Both Camille and Gray blinked. Sana raised an eyebrow.

  “She’s one of your orphans,” I said. “Now working with Ko’i Outspring on deciphering the language. She’s smart, trustworthy, and most importantly, Faithful.”

  “I’ll pray to the Lady,” Sana said after a moment’s silence. “And I’ll let her guide my decision.”

  “Thank you, Alice,” bowed Gray. “Our debt to you grows even larger.”

  “No need for that,” I said with an awkward smile, not used to people treating me like that. “I value my friendship with the Temple, and you’re doing a lot of good. I’m always glad to be helpful to you.”

  I left the Temple hoping I hadn’t just triggered a holy pilgrimage that would march straight into a god-sized disaster. A religion built on free healing shouldn’t be throwing lives away… I hoped.

  There was nothing I could do about it for the time being. What I needed was something more grounded.

  I needed Nakera.

  The Freelancer Guild’s main hall was my first stop, but it was almost empty, peak working hours for most of Hano. The lounge had more traffic, mostly officers nursing drinks, but still no sign of her.

  I hesitated before trying her room.

  It was noon on a Waterday. She shouldn’t be asleep.

  As I approached her hallway, I spotted a girl I didn’t recognize quietly slipping out of Nakera’s room. Her clothes were crumpled, her hair messy. She didn’t meet my eyes, just hurried past me, a hasty exit down the corridor.

  I blinked, and as a memory hit me, my university days. The walk of shame. My old neighbor used to cycle through lovers with such consistency that I only ever met them while they were sneaking out, all wearing the same guilty face.

  I waited a few minutes, just long enough to make sure the girl was well out of earshot. Then I knocked.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Abby, did you forget something?” Nakera called from inside.

  “It’s Alice,” I answered, trying and failing to hide the grin in my voice.

  I heard a splash, some hurried cloth shuffling, and then the door cracked open. Nakera greeted me while still drying her hands on a towel, her hair damp and sticking to her neck.

  “Alice! What a surprise.”

  I gave her an exaggerated thumbs-up and grinned widely. “Nice.”

  We both burst into laughter.

  She waved me in and flopped backward onto her unmade bed like a warrior queen returning from battle. I took the chair by her desk, trying not to grin too much.

  “With you spending so much time at the Temple, I was worried you’d be offended,” she said, mock-solemn.

  “ThE tEmPlE iSn’T oFfEnDeD bY tHe UnHoLy. We ToLeRaTe It,” I replied in a sanctimonious, nasally voice.

  We cracked up again. I hadn’t laughed this freely in days.

  “I’ve heard that line too many times,” Nakera said, shaking her head. “Usually right before a girl ghosts me.”

  “To be fair, they’re probably afraid of losing their magic. Imagine giving up your camouflage for one night of fun.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but they’d gain a new path in return. My friend Sergeant Hans got an unholy buff just for being gay; he’s immune to all piercing damage now.”

  “Seriously? That’s overpowered.”

  “Right? He’s an archer! Bows, crossbows, and even thrown knives just plink off him now. It’s so unfair. I wish I could level up by getting laid.”

  I smirked. “Give it a few evolutions. Maybe you’ll unlock Physical Invincibility.”

  “Oh, please,” she groaned. “With how much chameleon meat I’ve been eating to improve my camouflage, I’m afraid I’d develop a prehensile tongue.”

  “Hey, I’m sure you could find a use for that too,” I said with a wiggled eyebrow.

  We shared one last laugh before she sat up, the towel now draped over her shoulders. “So, what brings you here, Saint Alice of the Stars?”

  “Ah. Business, actually,” I said, my tone sobering slightly. “I think I’ll be putting myself back on the cult’s radar.”

  Nakera blinked. “You what?”

  “I came into some coins. A lot of it. And I need to make a few deals with the merchant guild and deposit some of my new wealth at the bank. That alone might trigger interest... but I thought we could make it worse.”

  Her grin returned like the sun after an eclipse.

  “Do tell.”

  “I want to feed them disinformation,” I said. “I’ll say one thing at the merchant guild, and a completely different story at the bank. Then we watch which one gets leaked.”

  “Oh, I like this,” Nakera said, already reaching for a quill. “Kuru is shadowing the suspected gang leader you led us to. I’ll go relieve her and send her with you.”

  “Perfect,” I nodded. “Her psychic senses will pick up any attention spikes.”

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “At the merchant guild, I’ll say I’m going to hunt Nightmare Beasts for a soul-based crafting project. Something complicated and vague. Let it sound impressive.”

  “And the other?”

  “At the bank, I’ll say I’m heading to a sky island to train dream magic.”

  Nakera laughed. “Classic bait. I’ll be standing over the gang leader’s shoulder when he receives the report. Either way, we’ll catch the mole.”

  “Exactly,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Oh, and I figured I’d drop a location with the Nightmare story just to make it sound juicy.”

  “The Pikar Steppe is perfect,” she said immediately. “It’s the closest place to be known to be Nightmares’ grazing ground.”

  “Say the name again?” I asked.

  “The Pikar Steppe,” she repeated clearly. “Now let me go relieve Kuru and send her your way.”

  I nodded, my heart already thumping with anticipation. “Let’s catch ourselves a leak.”

  Nakera raised a fist. “May the cultists choke on their own lies.”

  I bumped it. “May their socks get wet and their blankets be slightly too short.”

  I met up with Kuru just outside the guild dorms. She gave me a silent nod. She looked a little under the weather, probably from too many nights spent spying. We set off toward the Merchant Guild together. The streets were busy but not unkind. It was Waterday noon, warm and loud, the kind of energy that made Hano feel alive.

  Since I wasn’t with Sir Gray this time, I had to enter through the standard line instead of the VIP shortcut. A few merchants ahead of me glanced back with curiosity, but no one said anything.

  When it was my turn, I leaned forward and spoke to the desk clerk.

  “Can you tell Tan Je’e that Alice is here? And let her know I have gemstones… and maybe something worth even more to her.”

  That got a reaction. The clerk raised an eyebrow, nodded, and sent in a runner boy who took off at a brisk pace. Kuru and I found a bench near the entrance, and I sat, trying to look casual while mentally rehearsing my bait lines.

  It didn’t take long.

  Je’e arrived with her usual grace and sharp eyes, but she wasn’t alone. Her younger sister Ja’a was with her, practically bouncing with curiosity. Kan trailed behind, quiet as ever. When she spotted me, Ja’a pouted dramatically.

  “Alice! I thought we were friends. You’re supposed to bring treasure to me first, not this old hag.”

  “Back off, little sis. I saw her first,” Je’e shot back without missing a beat.

  “Oh, come on! I saved you from that giant spider matriarch! That has to count for something.”

  I smirked. “If I remember correctly, it was Raik and Katar who did most of the fighting.”

  Ja’a stuck out her tongue. “Details.”

  “Let’s talk business,” Je’e said, waving us toward a private booth near the back. Kuru and Ja’a followed without hesitation. Kan lingered at the threshold until I nodded for her to join us.

  Once seated, Je’e leaned forward, eyes gleaming. “So what do you have for me, oh goddess of side hustles?”

  “How’s your gold belt business?” I asked instead, smiling innocently.

  Je’e sat back, smug. “Swimmingly. I must say, your idea was brilliant.”

  “No way. The belt thing was Alice’s idea?” Ja’a blurted.

  I reached into my new bag of holding with dramatic flair and pulled out the velvet pouch filled with ancient coins. I loosened the drawstring and let the gold glint in the booth’s dim light.

  “So... how much is this going to be worth to you?”

  Je’e practically leapt over the table. Ja’a craned her neck, nearly draped over her sister’s shoulder.

  “First-generation gold coins,” Je’e whispered. “At least fifteen hundred years old. You brought me a full pouch straight from the past.”

  “Where’d you even find these?” Ja’a asked.

  “Buried in some forgotten ruins,” I said with a shrug.

  “Not fair! You should have taken me with you!”

  “She did ask,” Kan said quietly.

  “Oh… right!” Ja’a’s eyes went wide. “You did invite us to go stargazing! I completely blew you off!”

  “Three times the gold weight value,” Je’e interrupted, eyes still locked on the coins. “That’s my offer.”

  I sighed. “And here I am without Sir Gray to haggle for me.”

  Je’e gave me a cheeky grin. “Should’ve brought your lawyer.”

  “How about this?” I said. “I’ll accept your offer if you agree to a favor.”

  Je’e narrowed her eyes. “What kind of favor?”

  “I know a girl named Louis. A Holy faithful with a good heart and an even better cook. She’s working on new recipes, but doesn’t have the backing to protect them. I told her that without a patron, some rich chef might steal her ideas.”

  “You want me to sponsor her?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Done,” Je’e said without hesitation.

  “Wait, you agreed without even tasting the food?” I asked, confused.

  “Alice, please.” She leaned back, looking satisfied. “After what you did for me with the belt idea, I’d jump on just about any business lead you throw my way.”

  “She’s really bad at this,” Ja’a laughed. “You should’ve haggled more before mentioning the cook. And then asked for a finder’s fee after.”

  “Fine, then,” I said, pretending to sigh. “Can I ask for another favor?”

  Je’e rolled her eyes. “Sure. Why stop now?”

  “I need Nightmare Souls and cores. I’ll pay, of course, I just don’t know where to start with ordering that sort of thing.”

  “Oh, Nightmare goods? Since the Soul Scribes can’t make Soulbooks from them yet, most of that stuff only gets bought for private research.”

  “That’s what I heard,” I said. “Still, I want them.”

  “I’ll handle it,” Je’e said. “When I get stock, I’ll send a runner to the guild for you.”

  I stood. “Thanks.”

  And now for the dramatic exit.

  As we left the booth and entered the main hall, I turned to Ja’a and Kan with perfect theater volume.

  “I’m probably heading to the Pikar Steppe for some Nightmare hunting,” I said. “Are you two interested in coming along?”

  “Hell yes!” Ja’a shouted. “Last time I said no, I missed out on a treasure hoard!”

  “Quiet, you idiot,” hissed Je’e, facepalming from behind.

  I stifled a smile. If that didn’t put a target on my back, nothing would.

  Once we were outside, Kuru finally spoke.

  “Ja’a and Je’e hold no ill will toward you,” she said softly. “Je’e even tried to give you a good deal from the start.”

  “Nice,” I said. “I knew I liked them.”

  “However…” Kuru’s eyes narrowed. “There was a lot of ill intent in that building. I can’t say if it’s cult-related or just the usual envy and greed. But it was focused on you.”

  “Lovely,” I muttered. “Hopefully, that means the bait is working.”

  The bank was less eventful.

  They scanned my badge and let me through without issue. I deposited my coin, minus the pouch Je’e had already claimed, and casually dropped my second bait.

  “I’m preparing for a long training trip,” I told the clerk while pretending to scroll through documents. “Heading up to a sky island to work on dreamer magic. Will my badge still work up there?”

  “Yes, of course,” the clerk replied with a nod. “All banks and licensed trade points across the Seven Realms use shared records.”

  “Good to know,” I said aloud, just in case anyone nearby was very interested in that detail.

  Kuru walked beside me in silence as we exited.

  “No hostile intent here,” she said at last. “None that stood out, at least.”

  “Let’s hope it stays that way,” I replied. “The last thing I want is my money handlers trying to kill me.”

  “Wise,” Kuru said with a faint smile.

  We stepped into the midday light. The trap was set.

  I said goodbye to Kuru and went to my next destination: Sara’s Soulbook shop. I keep referring to the place as Sara’s, even though she’s just a worker and doesn’t actually own it. It’s just that I’ve only ever interacted with her when going there.

  The door chimed as I entered.

  “Back again so soon?” Sara called from behind the counter.

  “Yeah,” I said, catching my breath. “This time I want something more cerebral.”

  She looked up, raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “Language upgrade?”

  “Exactly. Last time, you mentioned something that could upload knowledge directly into my head. I want that.”

  Sara leaned back in her chair. “Are you still subscribed to the Common Language Soulbook we sold to the Holy Temple?”

  “Yeah. But if I understand correctly, switching from a bound soulbook to a skillbook would free up that soul slot. And I’d still retain the knowledge, right?”

  “Correct. Most people can only have three active Soulbooks at once, and you’re already at capacity by locking in the Common Language, Dynamic Lightning, and Perfect State. Switching your Common to a skillbook would let you open a slot for something else.”

  I paused, narrowing my eyes. “Isn’t uploading something directly into your brain... dangerous? What’s stopping someone from slipping a little mind-control backdoor into the language script?”

  Sara rolled her eyes. “The maker is one of the most reputable in the Seven Realms. Plus,” she lowered her voice in mock conspiracy, “I asked Sir Gray to vet them before I tried it. He said it was clean.”

  “So you tried it already.”

  “Oh yeah. Since I’ve been helping Lord Ko’i Outspring with deciphering the ancient language, he covered the cost of uploading all available tongues.”

  I blinked. “All of them?”

  She started counting on her fingers. “Eight from the Soul Realm; two dead, six active. Five from the Kindred Realm and one from the Bloodline; I mean, all bloodlines speak Common, so that barely counts. Dreamer language? Only one too: the Father Tongue. Everything else is just dialect. Then we have Holy and Pantheonic from the Mythic Realm. And we’re still working on decoding that Fairy Tongue. We only recently hired an expert.”

  “And you can speak all of that?”

  “Yep,” she said proudly. “If Ko’i hadn’t shouldered the cost, it would’ve run me sixteen gold coins. But he wanted a useful assistant for the ancient language project.”

  I thought of the Rosetta diary I’d handed over to the Temple. Ko’i would probably throw gold away to study it. But that was the Temple’s can of worms to manage. I wasn’t opening it again.

  “So I want Holy and Common. How does it work?” I asked.

  “Well, we need to sever your current Common Soulbook connection,” she said. “Then a Soul Dealer performs the skillbook infusion.”

  “And you have a Soul Dealer?” I asked.

  Sara nodded. “Two, actually. Ki’i can administer the infusion. But we’ll need Lord Ko’i to sever your current Soulbook connection.”

  “I thought Ko’i was a Soul Scribe, not a Soul Dealer.”

  She grinned. “He’s both. Academic by day, soul sorcerer when needed.”

  She led me to a back office, where Lord Ko’i Outspring was hunched over a desk littered with charcoal rubbings of ancient script. He looked up as we entered, his expression brightening.

  He had the look of a man who hadn’t slept in two days but was too interested in his project to care.

  “Lord Ko’i, this is Alice,” Sara said. “She’s here for a Soul severing and two language skillbooks: Holy and Common.”

  “Ah! Alice,” he said. “Sara told me you’re also interested in the ancient language?”

  I nodded. “Not just seen, I explored a tower in the Sunless Reach. I even documented the constellations carved into the walls.”

  His eyes widened. “Did the text correspond to the constellations?”

  “Some of them. I made sketches. Wanna see?”

  We fell into a deep nerd spiral for the next hour. I couldn’t help but ask why telepaths would even invent writing. His theory was that they probably only developed written language after contact with the Soulit and Kindred peoples. He was more amiable than I expected, and I found myself telling him about my adventures in the towers, the planetary map, the carvings, and the elemental that nearly fried me.

  He was fascinated by the idea that constellation names could be used as a cipher to help decode the ancient language.

  Finally, he set down his rubbing and said, “Alright. Time to work.”

  I stood up and tried not to look nervous.

  “Sit. Relax,” he said. “You’ll need to allow me access to your soul thread.”

  His aura flared out, not aggressive, but firm and vast, like standing beside a deep canyon. He reached forward and touched my forehead.

  “Hm… I see three active links. Cheap Common Language, Dynamic Lightning, and... Perfect State? That’s it.”

  “Yeah,” I whispered. “I want the Common one gone.”

  “Understood. But you need to let me in. I can’t sever a link without consent.”

  I closed my eyes and forced my body to relax. I imagined Mark, my old archaeologist friend from back home, and Ko’i reminded me of him. He had the same wide-eyed curiosity. He wasn’t here to harm me.

  A strange snip echoed in my mind, like a taut thread suddenly gone slack. I gasped. A chunk of understanding vanished from my mental reach.

  “Kapancha nagali ampure,” Ko’i said.

  Crap. That sounded like ‘ready’... Maybe… I hoped.

  “Kipanati,” I replied, hoping that was the right affirmative.

  He smiled, satisfied.

  He withdrew a sealed vellum scroll, yellowed and pulsing faintly with a dormant glow. “Punga lami amda,” he said.

  “Amda…” That had to be blood.

  I pulled out a knife and a small bottle of disinfectant from my bag of holding. After cleaning it, I pricked my arm and let a drop of blood fall onto the scroll.

  Ko’i’s aura pulsed again. The blood shimmered and morphed into Alice Abbot, my full name in glowing English. The scroll caught fire, but not with normal flame, more like Ember Light that consumed it completely.

  Ko’i guided the resulting glowing fluid into the air. It floated for a second, then slammed into my chest and vanished.

  “How do you feel?” he asked.

  “Holy... I know it. Like, really know it. It’s not a translation spell for me anymore. I own the language.”

  He smiled, then produced the second scroll. “Ready for Holy?”

  We repeated the ritual, another prick of blood, another burning swirl of knowledge entering me like liquid into a sponge.

  When it was done, I exhaled. “Okay. Wow. That’s… intense.”

  Ko’i gave a brief, knowing smile.

  “How does it even work?” I asked.

  “We shape a monkey’s soul into the soul of a language scholar by adding drops of the scholar’s soul residue extracted from the blood directly into the monkey’s soul. Then bind the resulting soul into vellum made from the same monkey’s leather and use ink made from its brain.”

  “Poor monkey,” I murmured, awe and discomfort mingling.

  “Don’t worry. The monkey had a long and enriched life. The older the soul, the better it is for memory transmission.”

  I hesitated. “Doesn’t that mess with their afterlife?”

  I have no idea about the soul ecology in this world, but I needed to ask.

  Ko’i shook his head. “No. When a creature dies, the Ego, the true self, is released to whatever awaits them. We only work with the Id. It’s not consciousness we use, just memory, instinct, and residual skill.”

  “So the monkey’s already gone to… monkey heaven?”

  “Exactly. Well, reincarnated, most likely. Only Mythic people get to choose their afterlife.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  I stood slowly, my mind buzzing with strange new fluency. Words I hadn’t studied now clicked effortlessly into place. The curves of the Holy script made sense, and Common grammar felt native rather than translated.

  I walked out of the shop two gold coins lighter, but in exchange, I spoke two languages I hadn’t earned the hard way.

  Nah. Hard work is overrated.