“Let’s look at everything else first, but I’m sure we can work out something with that crystal.” I halfway surprised myself when the words came out of my mouth. We weren’t going to stay here, so it was only logical for it to go to Clay, especially since it could be used once a week and would be a huge boon to the guild whether they kept it or traded it. Yet I had experienced enough since getting introduced to the system that I wouldn’t hand assets away without thinking through the ramifications.

  I moved on to the next item.

  Phasing Leather Armor (Legendary)

  Charged, Ambient, three hour recharge

  Agility +25, Perception +25

  This item possesses the Phased State trait. By channeling ten levels of mana into the item every minute, you may enter a state which is out of phase with the rest of the world. In that state, you will be undetectable by normal physical senses, able to pass through physical objects if you will it, and immune to all physical and elemental damage. You will also be unable to interact with the physical world, other than the ground beneath your feet and the pull of gravity.

  This item allows the wearer to cast the Line of Sight Teleportation spell twice per charge. The user may instantly transport themselves to any location they can physically see, taking up to four other people with them, or other matter of equivalent mass.

  The armor also provides enhanced protection to the user. It will prevent damage from attacks lower than level 90 and will deflect at least half of any attack up to level 150.

  Once again, Clay’s eyes bulged as if he had just looked into the face of the Great System. This was obviously an ideal item for a rogue. I asked the other two in group chat if they had any interest in it, and as I expected, they didn’t. It didn’t match either of their training styles, and the stat buffs were ridiculously low for a piece of gear at that level. Any legendary piece we had gave us hundreds of stat points.

  “That’s all yours, man. None of us can use it, and we tend to prefer a ‘need before greed’ concept of loot distribution.”

  He thanked me. “Most established groups are like that, but we don’t really know each other yet, so I would have understood if you wanted to roll for the items. I carry a set of dice around for just such contingencies.”

  I moved on to the next item in the chest.

  Necklace of Adaptation (Legendary)

  Charged, Ambient, six-hour recharge

  Durability +50

  This item possesses the Affinity for Spatial Magic trait. As long as you channel ten levels of mana into it every minute, your ability to use Spatial Magic while within the Fey System will be increased by 100%, effectively eliminating any resistance that someone from beyond might feel while further boosting their power within this realm.

  This item allows the user to cast the Total Adaptation spell on themselves or an ally up to three times per charge, with a three-hour duration for each casting. The target of this spell will automatically adapt to any plane of existence or realm as though they were a native of that realm. This will apply to damage immunities and resistances common to natives. Further, the target will be known as a non-native, but will start with at least a neutral status with any natives they encounter for the first time while the spell is active.

  As a necklace, it could be thrown around one of our necks and stack with any others, just like we could wear multiple rings. I was pretty sure that Selena already had three different necklaces on, not that this item was destined for her. We all immediately agreed it should go to Samvek, and I once again found myself pleased with the degree of specialization available.

  The next item I pulled out was a smooth, orange, oval gem about three quarters of an inch long. It pulsed in my hand, then floated up a few inches above my palm. I could feel the reality mana oozing from it, and I didn’t have the slightest affinity for that type of mana. This was something like an engine, actively pulling in the ambient mana around it in order to convert it to refined reality mana, but something was still off about it.

  Reality Link (Artifact)

  Ambient, constant

  Perception +100

  This item is normally reserved for fey royalty, but has been custom created for Selena Turga, as by system assessment she fulfills the requirements of royalty within the Heavens System. It is not an item which can be used as a tool, but something which will over time change the nature and power of the one who wears it. This power will enhance the user’s connection to the physical reality around them, along with their ability to alter it. The full extent of what this item can do for the user is dependent upon the effort put into mastering it. It could merely grant a small boost to related spells and abilities, or it could result in a massive upgrade, equivalent to increasing in tier.

  If there had been any doubt where the gem was going, it was gone after we read the description. The dungeon was clearly tailoring its rewards to our individual needs, which of course made me as giddy as a schoolboy in anticipation of the next item. I wondered if the Fey System or the Endless Dungeon was pulling things out of my memory. I realized that rather than the lame MCU version of the reality gem, the coloration of the one I held was more consistent with the comics. My dad had made me read the original crossover before he’d let me watch the movie version because, in his words, he ‘wanted me to realize just how much they’d broken’.

  The thought made the blue gem that was sitting in the bottom of the chest that much more tantalizing, but I forced myself to wait. I picked up the scroll first.

  A Letter of Introduction (Unique)

  This item is single-use and will provide an introduction to Tad Ocean for Silas Renner and allies. The purpose of this item is to create a relationship which may foster the true ambitions of the Fey System and the Ways.

  Notice: This item will disintegrate within 24 hours.

  Well, apparently my instincts had been correct. The dungeon did want something. And just as well, because I had to assume that this Tad Ocean was the same Tad from Tad’s Magical Inventory. Admittedly, I didn’t know how common that name was here, but it was too big of a coincidence otherwise.

  But what did it mean by the ‘true ambitions of the Fey System and the Ways’? I’d heard that name—the Ways—earlier in another notification. It seemed to have something to do with the Endless Dungeon. I shook my head. I already had to worry about helping the Heavens System with its true purpose. I began to wonder if it was my lot in life to end up being an errand boy, traipsing across the multiverse at the whims of different systems.

  I looked around. I took in Selena, who had already attached the orange gem to her forehead. I looked to Samvek, then Clay, then observed the current floor of the dungeon we were in. I decided then and there that it might not be so bad. I’d get to experience parts of the multiverse that I couldn’t yet conceive of. I would meet cultures and see sights that before had only been possible in science fiction movies. I felt the beginnings of wanderlust seeping into my blood.

  I smiled at my bride-to-be. Her mouth made a moue. “What? Does it look silly?”

  I held in a laugh at her concern. It decidedly did not look silly. I wasn’t sure she could look silly even in a clown suit. In the back of my head, I heard my sister’s voice in a sing-song tone saying, “Oh, somebody’s got it bad.” And the worst part? She would be right.

  “No, not at all. Sorry if I grin sometimes when I look at you. If I do, it’s because I’m feeling so lucky. You really are gorgeous. I can’t wait to get to know you even better.”

  Her skin tone flickered for just a second in what I recognized as embarrassment, and she looked down at her feet. “Oh…”

  Samvek coughed. “Unless there’s a private room and a king-size bed at the bottom of that chest, I suggest we move on to the next item. I’m kinda anxious to see what the dungeon wants from you next.”

  “Fine, but I have a question first. After I pick up this item, I’m pretty sure we’re going to be teleported somewhere else. I’d like to know if this is normal for Aerth.” With that, all of us turned our eyes toward Clay.

  “Uh, I’ve never heard of a quest that teleports you places. Honestly, this entire trip has been out of my comfort zone. There are some hints in ancient books that my friend Oliver would talk about which indicated that the Endless Dungeon is sentient or even sapient, but I already told you that. I’ve never seen it interact so directly with someone. All I can say is, you all must be extremely special.”

  Selena and Samvek both groaned, then looked at me.

  I ignored them. “So you don’t think there’s any risk in accepting this next quest?” I shared the description so he could read it over.

  “Nah. I’m assuming this Tad Ocean is the guy whose company has been putting out all the magical items for the past month. Some of them are groundbreaking, and I know every guild master in the empire is trying to find him.”

  “Okay, so it’s probably safe territory—unknown, but probably beneficial. And as with anything I’ve come in contact with in any system, suspiciously short on details.”

  Without further hesitation, I grabbed the blue gem.

  Time Link (Artifact)

  Ambient, Constant

  Perception +100

  This item is normally reserved for fey royalty, but has been custom created for Silas Renner, as by system assessment he fulfills the requirements of royalty within the Heavens System. It is not an item which can be used as a tool, but something which will over time change the nature and power of the one who wears it. This power will enhance the user’s connection to time, along with their ability to manipulate it. The full extent of what this item can do for the user is dependent upon the effort put into mastering it. It could merely grant a small boost to related spells and abilities, or it could result in a massive upgrade, equivalent to increasing in tier.

  A notification about the new quest started to show up, but disappeared as an all-too-familiar sensation struck me. The next words could only have come from the Heavens.

  You have become Unmoored in Time.

  Chapter Fourteen: Futures Possible

  The vision seized me without warning. There was that sense of emptiness, and behind it a presence I couldn’t quite feel but somehow knew was there. An instant of peace passed through me, bringing with it such absolute contentment that if given the choice I would have been unwilling to ever leave that place. It was perfection, and all that was missing in my life. Luckily, I wasn’t given the option to stay.

  A moment later, a familiar room took shape. I’d seen it in plans, but never in reality. This was meant to be the new headquarters for the Unified Earth Government. I stood on a platform looking down on the various leaders representing a dozen different races, multiple clans, numerous corporations, and various other organizations, all with some claim to Earth.

  Jiang stood beside me. His face looked older, which told me this must be many years in the future, because Forerunners age at a snail’s pace. Not that he was old. More mature, perhaps, or more worn down by responsibilities. “Try to go easy on them,” he murmured to me. “They don’t really know what they’re doing. They haven’t seen what we’ve seen, and some things just can’t be learned second-hand.”

  I’m sure the me in that moment would have had something to say to Jiang, but whatever it was, I never heard the words. Simone stood on my other side.

  There was no way I could react quickly enough to save her.

  The explosion came from nowhere. Light and pressure slammed into the room, shattering glass and folding sound into a single concussive roar. Space twisted, and the chamber tore itself apart as though reality had decided we no longer belonged in it. In the blink of an eye, Jiang and I were wrenched away from the world, thrown into a pocket dimension that felt unfinished and hostile. It was more than spatial manipulation, as I would have simply undone it if that had been the case. The confidence I felt in my ability was far beyond what I felt in my present. Still, there was fury and sadness fighting within my heart, as I realized that Simone hadn’t survived the transfer. I looked down at her hand, which I still grasped in mine. It was the only part of her that had made it to this pocket dimension. I slowly let it drop to the floor.

  The ground beneath us was matte black and faintly reflective, like obsidian dust fused into a single plane. There was no sky, only a shifting ceiling of shadow that pulsed with dim, unhealthy light. I felt cut off. The flow of my mana was significantly restricted, and the atmosphere seemed devoid of it, though my cores were hungrily trying to pull in more. But the greater divide was what I felt from the rest of reality. It was unlike being in the Void. This was a place of containment, one prepared by our foes. Jiang’s eyes were wide, searching for a threat. He didn’t have long to wait.

  They emerged silently. Three figures peeled themselves out of the shadows—humanoid shapes wrapped in black cloth that drank in what little light existed. Their bodies were wrong, edges blurring as though they were not fully committed to physical form. I could smell blood and cold iron as they advanced, blades already in motion.

  I met them head-on. Force snapped into existence around my fists and forearms, constructs forming faster than conscious thought as the first assassin struck. The impact rang through my bones, solid and real, and I answered with a crushing blow that shattered its guard and sent it skidding back across the sleek ground. The second came in low, blade whispering toward my legs, and I tore space sideways with Here Not Here, reappearing a step behind it and driving a force spike clean through its torso. Each use of my abilities was far more difficult than it should have been.

  But Jiang and I knew how to fight together. I was once again glad for the man’s trust and friendship. These enemies were moving faster than even I could, which should have been frightening enough, but it was how they seemed to flit through time as if it were nothing but a gentle breeze that bothered me more. But for warnings that I received in the form of Lilly’s voice inside my head, I would have been skewered more than once.

  Jiang wasn’t so lucky. He took a blade to the gut, and an insidious rot began to spread immediately, beyond his body’s ability to heal itself. I knew I wouldn’t be able to defeat these foes, certainly not in this trap of theirs, and not while protecting Jiang.

  My mind rippled, and an ability I didn’t know I possessed triggered. There was a flash of the infinity symbol in my eyes, but somehow shaped into a key. Then this pocket dimension parted, and I moved through the Void, holding Jiang upright with one arm. But the Void wasn’t my destination. I traced the thick silver cord which represented my connection to Urg.

  A moment later, I found myself in the astral plane, but my three attackers had followed me. It was a mistake they wouldn’t live to regret.

  Urg was there. He was everywhere. His presence laid heavy on me. This was the real him, or at least a portion of it. He couldn’t bring all of himself to the physical world, as limited by our bond as he was. But here, there were no such constraints. He’d begun to realize his fullness, and the assassins never stood a chance.

  He moved once, a blur of white and void, and the first assassin ceased to exist. In this realm of thought, Urg’s imagination held sway. The second tried to flee and was caught mid-motion, crushed into nothing by a snap of a massive wolflike mouth Urg manifested.

  The third did not even get to scream. Urg’s claw passed through it, and whatever held the thing together unraveled instantly, shadow dispersing like smoke in a storm. Silence followed, vast and reverent, and the astral plane settled as though it approved of the correction.

  I dropped to my knees beside Jiang, hands already glowing as Celestial Restoration poured into his wounds. Urg lowered his head near us, eyes ancient and knowing, and for a moment I felt very small, and very seen. The vision began to fade then, edges dissolving as time pulled me backward, and I was flung into another place.

  It arrived like a breath drawn in slowly rather than a gasp. I stood in a forest bathed in late afternoon light, tall trees rising around me with leaves that glowed green and gold as the sun filtered through them. The air was warm and alive, heavy with the scent of summer blossoms and rich earth. Every sound felt softened, as if the world were making sure not to disturb something sacred.

  She stood among the trees, alone. Her beauty was impossible to quantify, not sharp or striking, but inevitable, the kind that felt woven through the forest rather than placed within it. Reddish-golden hair spilled down her back like captured sunlight, falling between gossamer fairy wings of the same color, and when the breeze moved those locks, petals stirred in sympathy. Her face refused to settle in my mind, features blurring the moment I tried to fix them, but the emotion she radiated was unmistakable.

  Power flowed from her in quiet, endless waves. It felt divine, vast enough to make me aware of just how small I was, yet there was no threat in it at all. Warmth wrapped around me, gentle and steady, like the memory of being held when the world still made sense. I realized with a sudden ache that this was a mother’s presence, distilled into something timeless.

  She looked at me then, and the sorrow in her eyes nearly brought me to my knees. When she spoke, her voice carried the weight of seasons passing and love held back for far too long. “He’ll listen to you. Tell him to come home. A mother shouldn’t be robbed of her child. I see in you that you know what it is to lose family, but also that you have a deep love for your mother. Tell him. Tell Tad I love him.”

  The forest held its breath after that until once again the vision faded into another.

  This time, the image was one of bitter cold, mountains of ice, and a rugged land where only the strong survived. Another beautiful woman appeared, but older. Whereas the first woman had been warm and inviting, with fairy wings spread wide, this woman, well… wasn’t.

  Again, I couldn’t quite latch on to her face, but her words echoed in my head. I realized that winter wasn’t bad. But for cold days, what reason would there be to cuddle by a roaring fire or to sip hot cocoa or spiced cider? As always, the sensory impressions with these visions were bold, and I realized that days would come when I would do those very things.