In fact, Matthias had not chosen to vanish at that moment. He had been whisked away. One moment he was passing the Holy Grail to Maximus; the next, he was once again in the ascension cabin. He was honestly confused about why he was back here.

  "How novel," came Xalt's voice from the kitchen.

  Turning, Matthias saw Xalt examining the gas-powered stove.

  "Look, let me cook something while we process what is going on here," Matthias said with a sigh.

  "I too would like to know what is going on," Xalt agreed. "How did you get here? Where is here?"

  "This place now seems to just be our communal ascension space," Matthias noted with another sigh. "I am honestly surprised that you ascended."

  "I did have nearly four thousand levels before you let me drink from the cup," Xalt noted. "I had just captured my fifth dungeon core, and I was given a choice."

  "Oh?" Matthias asked as he began rooting around in the fridge. To his surprise, there was a trick to it. The moment you desired something, it would simply appear. So Matthias began pulling out what he needed to make crepes.

  "I had many options," Xalt continued. "But they amounted to striking out on my own, throwing in with the old gods, or throwing in with you lot."

  "I am flattered and shocked that you chose to bind your fate to ours," Matthias teased as he placed a large pan down to heat.

  "You are actively restoring the world," Xalt pointed out. "I am sure plenty will choose to make their own domains. I just knew that you would need my support again. Besides, I cannot really repay you for that curse of vitality if I did not join your little group."

  Matthias rolled his eyes as he added butter to the pan. The smell slowly filled the space.

  "We really are just waiting on the world spirit," Matthias confessed as he began to pour and spread the batter as thinly as he could.

  Xalt watched keenly with interest.

  "I have a vague idea of what I need to do, but some explanation would be appreciated," he confessed. "Maybe I can write a book about what this process actually entails. Maybe give a copy to those who might actually ascend, to help them make choices."

  "Some people should not get their hands on that kind of information," Matthias warned. "In a world where might makes right, only the most ambitious will rise. If the wrong kind of person ascends, that is a problem for all of us." As he spoke, he removed the first crepe and began cooking a second.

  "Duly noted," Xalt accepted. "I mean, I kind of am the wrong kind of person."

  "What even happened with you?" Matthias asked. "We have not had much time to really talk."

  "Maximus killed my children by proxy," Xalt admitted.

  That gave Matthias pause.

  "He made a law that necromancers needed to be lobotomized," Xalt explained. "Ambition is a dangerous thing for a necromancer to have. Too many wanted to make their own necropolis. I understood and was exempt from the ruling. I was the head necromancer. Mind you, this was during the time when the Empire was still expanding. We needed necromancers to keep the dead in the ground."

  "Sounds rough," Matthias admitted as he pulled the second crepe from the pan and started a third.

  "It was," Xalt admitted. "Like I said, I was exempt—but not my children. I fought for them, but it was too late. One in ten people did not survive the procedure. Neither of my children survived."

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "Surprised Maximus is still alive," Matthias admitted, unable to look at Xalt.

  "I had an oath," Xalt sighed. "Even in death I could not harm him. So I became a blight upon the land. I am the reason he had to give up his ambition to conquer the whole continent."

  "It seems like a really shortsighted decision," Matthias pointed out as he turned off the heat and pulled the third crepe from the pan.

  "It was," Xalt acknowledged. "From both of us. We were both so headstrong when we were younger."

  Matthias placed the first crepe on a plate and began filling it with diced fruit, berries, and whipped cream before topping it all with a chocolate drizzle. He had just finished rolling it into a cone around the fillings when the world spirit arrived.

  "Someone's late," Matthias teased, diverting the heavy conversation from before as he slid the plate to Xalt.

  For his part, Xalt picked it up and took his first bite with a soft moan.

  "I want one!" the world spirit pouted. "I could not help it. Growing a planet is a bit more involved than you might think."

  "Yeah, yeah," Matthias continued to tease with a smirk as he began preparing one for her. He used bananas, strawberries, peanut butter, marshmallows, and chocolate.

  "So it is Xalt ascending this time?" she asked as she impatiently watched Matthias. She bounced on the balls of her feet.

  "Going to tell him his domains?" Matthias asked.

  "His are weirder than yours," she pointed out. "He has domain over death, the dead, the undead, and souls."

  "That all seems tied together," Matthias pointed out.

  "Death and undeath are normally opposites," she tried to argue.

  Matthias passed her the crepe he made for her before turning to make his own.

  "I actually prefer it that way," Matthias said. "This way, both death and undeath fall under a single entity. No rivalry for no real gain. It also keeps the magic simpler. We do not have to worry about undead diseases or blights."

  "But I can feel that I am supposed to make a domain," Xalt admitted. "I am supposed to designate a place for dead souls to go and be sorted."

  "Just make a moon," Matthias offered.

  "Oh, I like that idea," the world spirit added before taking a bite of her crepe. She moaned in delight. "I like this just a bit more, though."

  Matthias began adding lemon custard, a few berries, a drizzle of honey, and a drizzle of caramel to his crepe.

  "Okay, but what do we do with the souls?" Xalt asked.

  "Maybe have a really big bowl," Matthias offered. "Have it filled with a liquid that slowly washes away the power and identity within the souls. The souls ready to reincarnate will float to the top. The liquid can be used to return the power those souls had back to the world—specifically the mortal continent. That way, natural treasures and such can regrow."

  "Natural treasures?" both Xalt and the world spirit asked.

  "Something I have been experimenting with," Matthias confessed. "I could start making them once I hit the Mythic tier. They are fruits, plants, and minerals that augment cultivation in some way. The most common ones give a small boost."

  "Is there a safeguard to stop people from—" the world spirit began.

  "Limited shelf life," Matthias said before she could finish. "They also cause a buildup of toxicity. You can only take so many over the course of your life. Cultivation gets harder the more of them you take without purging the toxicity. And purging the toxicity removes about ninety percent of the benefit with it. The rarer natural treasures can only be used once. After that, they give no further benefit, so people cannot simply stack the same effect repeatedly."

  "Good enough for now," Xalt permitted. "I also like that bowl idea. But we cannot just call it a bowl."

  "We can call it the Well of Souls," Matthias offered. "But we should also make a hell at some point."

  "Hell?" Xalt asked.

  "A furnace to throw evil people into," Matthias replied. "I know it sounds bad, but do you want a twisted soul—one more akin to a demon—reincarnating with everyone else?"

  "I cannot make a hell," Xalt admitted with a sigh. "I can make a moon and use it as the Well of Souls, though. I can feel potential in the direction you are talking about. I think we need another entity with the right aspect."

  Matthias shrugged. "If you have the basics of your domain set up, all that is left is maybe making soul collectors, building your castle on the moon, and choosing where the rest of your ascension energy goes."

  "I do have quite a bit left," Xalt admitted.

  "Can I have some?" the world spirit asked, her eyes sparkling.

  "I would suggest putting as much as possible into your own power first," Matthias advised.

  "You are no fun," the world spirit pouted.

  "Look, we ousted the old gods," Matthias pointed out. "Only a fool would not expect another group to come along and try to do the same to us. We all need to be as secure in our positions as possible."

  And so their banter continued. But in the night sky of the world below, the mortals basked in a miracle. A silvery moon slowly began to expand in the darkness. Its pale light bathed the land, leaving those it touched with a sense of calm one normally finds only at a grave.