She opened the door and bowed to Tad, who led the way inside. Thick walls enclosed the space, their surfaces scarred by years of use, with heavy beams overhead that swallowed the light. It felt solid, private, and intentionally forgotten, the kind of place people had stopped asking questions about a long time ago.

  I walked the perimeter slowly, letting my senses stretch out and take stock of the space. The floor was uneven stone, worn smooth in places, stained dark where heavy crates had been dragged or something unpleasant had leaked and never been cleaned. The air felt stale, but I figured we’d get it circulating soon enough.

  Tad watched me with a thoughtful expression, then nodded once as if coming to the same conclusion I had. He said Spot preferred a place like this, where the land wasn’t constantly shifting from water or construction. Fara lingered near the door out of habit, eyes tracking every sound from outside, while Lexa stood near the center of the room as if anchoring our presence. The rest of the group spread out naturally, each settling into the space in a way that made it feel occupied rather than crowded.

  I stopped near the center and took a slow breath, feeling anticipation coil in my chest. This wasn’t a battlefield, but it carried the same sense of consequence and inevitability as one. Whatever happened next would change this place, and probably all of us along with it. I met Tad’s gaze and gave a small nod, ready for whatever came next.

  Tad didn’t waste time once everyone had settled. He asked plainly who was willing to donate mana to Spot, his tone careful but hopeful, as if he already knew the answer and still felt the weight of asking.

  Selena stepped forward without hesitation. “We already discussed it. We are all willing. Silas has taken a shine to you, and that’s good enough for me, but this is a new procedure, so I’m going first. If everything goes okay, Samvek and Silas can join the party.”

  Tad nodded. “You have no idea how much of a relief it is to hear that. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if any of you would be willing to. Everything about you three is different, and to my senses, you don’t quite fit here.”

  Samvek looked at Selena. “I can go first.”

  “I’m not helpless, kitty cat. You’re only worried that Silas will get upset if something happens to me. But the same would be true if you got hurt. He’d be inconsolable.”

  He bared his teeth at the nickname but couldn’t argue with her reasoning. Before another word could be said, Tad pulled out the dungeon core and set it down on the floor. Selena sat down cross-legged in front of it, leaning forward enough to put her hand on it. “You did tell it that I’m an ally, right?”

  Tad nodded. “Spot can hear everything we’re saying. If he really wanted to, he could project a voice for everyone to hear, but he prefers speaking to me telepathically.”

  I wanted to balk, to stop her, but if I was going to truly treat Selena as an equal, that meant letting her take risks. It was difficult for me, but it made sense. I was our healer, so I should be the last one to do something new like this.

  I felt the mana start to flow from her, just a trickle at first. Then it expanded, her reality mana coming to bear, dense and uncompromising.

  The change was immediate and unmistakable as Selena’s mana asserted itself, a steady pressure radiating outward from her hand into the core. She was so very skilled, possessing a finesse I knew would take me years if not decades to achieve. I couldn’t be too hard on myself. When it came to manipulating mana, she was grace incarnate, while I was the proverbial bull in the china shop.

  I could feel the air around us subtly reorienting as Selena worked, like the world was adjusting its posture to accommodate her presence. Tad inhaled sharply and went very still, eyes unfocused as he tracked something only he could perceive. “That really does smell different from any of the magic I’ve experienced in this world. If I wasn’t convinced you three were from another universe, that would do it for me.”

  Spot responded with a soft pulse of light, slow and rhythmic, as if acknowledging her contribution and thanking her for it. The flow became a river, and Selena’s shoulders tensed as she leaned into the transfer, expression calm but intent. I watched her reserves dip, then stabilize, as she shifted into feeding only what she could adequately regenerate. Her control was precise enough that not a drop was wasted. Tad whispered something under his breath, awe bleeding into his voice. I wasn’t the magic eater here, but I could taste the pent-up potential for something amazing building within Spot with every second he absorbed reality mana from my bride-to-be.

  Selena finally eased back, giving a nod to Samvek. My mentor didn’t need a second invitation. He dropped to one knee beside her and placed his hand against the core, posture relaxed but focused. His mana hit differently, lightning crackling through the spatial tension with a darker undertone that made my skin prickle. The Hell System’s influence was unmistakable—hungry—and Spot’s light flickered faster in response before settling into a new cadence.

  There was a moment of dissonance where the order insisted on by Samvek’s Hell mana contrasted with the unburdened freedom of the dungeon core. It was inherently part of the Fey System, which, unlike the Hell System, was about chaos and growth. The balance came as Spot adapted to the flow, finding a commonality. Both systems were based on authority, after all. They could build off of that.

  Samvek grunted softly as the flow deepened, his jaw tightening as he pushed past his comfort point and into pure regeneration. Tad flinched this time, saying he could smell it, the sharpness of lightning and the bite of something predatory layered beneath it. I could feel the strain through our bond, but Samvek never wavered, holding steady until the core pulsed once in quiet approval. I watched silently as both continued to pour in their mana. Selena’s stream had slowed, and I knew she was probably keeping it just below her regeneration rate.

  At least that’s the sense I was getting. I opened the party interface, noting that her mana was sitting at fifty percent. Trust her to hedge her bets and not leave herself vulnerable, even now. It was another reminder that there was a lot she could teach me about reining myself in once in a while.

  I stepped forward and sat down cross-legged between the two of them, completing the circle. They barely noticed with how focused they were on the core, although I did feel a wave of welcoming spiritual energy from all the parties involved.

  My mana flowed out in layered currents, spatial distortion folding around lightning, the warmth of life threading through it, and beneath everything a faint trace of time that made my pulse hitch. I didn’t start out nearly as slowly as they had. They’d both proven that it was safe enough, so I dumped half of my mana supply, a rather prodigious amount at my level.

  We fed Spot together for a long while after that, each of us settling into the rhythm of giving only what we regenerated. The core’s glow brightened and steadied, its internal light no longer flickering but holding firm. At last, Tad lifted his hand and told us it was enough, his voice quiet and certain, and the moment the flow stopped, the warehouse seemed to exhale. Spot’s light remained warm and alive, and Tad closed his eyes as he turned inward to listen, leaving us to wait in charged silence.

  Selena and Samvek pulled back, but that sense of potential, of something that could be but wasn’t yet, was weighing on me. “I think there’s something more I’m supposed to try.”

  The mage—Oliver—asked what I was talking about at the same time that Samvek snorted in knowing amusement. Tad stayed still for a long moment, eyes closed, one hand hovering just above Spot. The glow within the core shifted subtly, not brighter or dimmer, but more complex, layered in a way that made my skin prickle. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I could feel intent radiating outward, choices being weighed and accepted.

  When Tad finally opened his eyes, the tension had drained from his face, replaced by something like resolve. He placed his hand on my shoulder. “A moment of inspiration?”

  I nodded. “Or potential.”

  I felt a pulse from the core as my hand touched it, and heard a voice in my mind. “You are touched by the primordial. That is ancient, as old as the Ways, and you are a traveler. What are the risks with what you’ll try?”

  Instinctively, I knew it was Spot speaking to me, but I felt Tad’s mind in the conversation. “Nothing is ever sure, but every great thing I’ve ever done has started like this.”

  “Tad trusts you. You may try.”

  I heard Selena’s voice, but it felt distant. “Remember what we talked about. If you’re going to do something stupid, do it with intent.”

  Someone else, I think Fara, laughed. “He really is just like Tad.”

  I opened myself up to the core once more, as completely as I knew how to. I felt the tremendous power inside of it, nearly bursting with ancient experience, and it was immediately clear this little core was a piece of something much greater. At last, the Ways made sense to me. There was a second layer to Spot’s power, another connection that bound the core to Tad. Even in that, there was power, and it went beyond what Tad brought to the table. That had to be the Void Court. That was what resonated with the primordial part of me—those connections, that power. Could there be a better pairing than the Ways and a Trailblazer?

  The seal on my primordial aspect felt weaker, more insubstantial, perhaps because the Heavens were further away. As tempting as it was to try to break the seal entirely, I didn’t doubt for a moment that the system thought it was helping me. Primordials were dangerous, and I wouldn’t do something like that blindly.

  The seal didn’t break, but it bent. That was good enough for a flow of primordial energy to pour out of my soul into the core. It created a suction effect, and soon it was like the core was dying of thirst, trying desperately to suck every last drop out of me. The dungeon core could not be sated, not now. At the last second, I pulled my hand away. I looked at the core, half-expecting it to grow a hand and grab me so it could continue its feast.

  The room spun around me, and I felt woozy. Notifications populated, but I couldn’t focus enough to read them. Selena’s hands were on my face, and Tad was mumbling something about Spot apologizing, but again, focus was a luxury at this point.

  I hadn’t passed out for a while, but apparently old habits died hard. But it was going to be completely worth it, of that I was certain. As I felt consciousness slipping away, only one thought filled my head—I was going to get a lecture from Selena for pushing myself too far.

  Chapter Thirty-Three: Primordial Core

  I found myself floating in what might have been clouds. There was light everywhere, but no source, and shadows filled just as much space. I knew I wasn’t Unmoored in Time. By this point, I knew what that felt like. For a fraction of a moment, I looked around for pearly gates, or flaming pits, but snorted in derision at myself. After all I’d seen, I knew one thing for sure. No one could know if there was an afterlife for humans. It was something you had to find out the hard way, which, if Grandma Renner had been right, was probably going to make a lot of people really regretful.

  But that snort was too physical. Even as I realized that I wasn’t really here, I knew that I was alive. That was when I felt it—a vast presence, equal in many ways to Gallarosa, but with a flavor that was closer to the Huntsman.

  “I’d ask if I was dead, but I’ve already figured that out. I’m not sure where this is, but it reminds me of the astral plane.”

  A deep voice spoke then, making my bones shake, even though they weren’t physically present. “No, little one, you are not in that place, although we can see why you might think that. Your connection with the young astral lord is strong. We are sorry that your companion is not allowed here. By decree of the three Courts, we are cut off from the realm of thought. Consider this a pocket dimension we have created for you.”

  “And you are?”

  “We have gone by many names, since long before the multiverse looked like it does now. We feel the touch of the Huntsman upon you. We once called him friend, as much as beings such as us have friends. That is a mortal concept, but we learn. We adapt. There is little else for us to do. You would know us as the Ways, although your interaction has mostly been with only one part of us.”

  “Okay. Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Ways. I thought you were part of the Fey System.”

  “We existed before this system. Before a Remnant of Eternity was used to create something stable in chaos. Before the fey had evolved beyond their primordial status, much like the dragons you know. And yes, your mind is open to us, but we will not pry. Some things simply stick out more than others.”

  “Then why do I get the feeling that you’re trapped here as much as I am?”

  “Compacts were made. The fey were thought to be the best way for us to spread. There was—no, there is compatibility. But every traveler has lost their way at some point or another. You are bound to them, though. You are a fulcrum within reality, complete with unrecognized potential. We could help bring that out. We would offer you much.”

  I spoke off the cuff as I was attempting to process what was being said. “I’m surprised you haven’t tried this before.”

  “It has been tried before. The results were less than desirable, but we have learned more about mortals, about humans. You have no connections to this place, no pre-existing motivations. Mortals are driven by concepts of justice and injustice, and even when they transcend mortality, they often bring such trappings with them. It takes an eternity to gain a different perspective, and the gods of this realm rarely live that long.”

  That threw me for a loop, but an idea came to me. “Who did you try this with?”

  “That information is protected by a compact. We will not speak of such things. Do you wish to hear our offer?”

  I went over what I knew. This being was some sort of primordial, but part of a system, and not a prisoner to it. But was I making assumptions? It was ancient and vast—I could feel that. It was also very powerful, but that power felt spread out, maybe even stunted in some ways. “Sure. It never hurts to listen.”

  “We would have you for our herald. We would imbue you with great power, raising you beyond the limits of mortal existence. Eventually, you would even be raised to be one with the divine, although we have learned from experience the dangers of doing so too quickly. Form a compact with us, and you could bypass the millennium of service the Heavens requires of all its ascendants. You would be able to shape the destiny of your world. Your family.”

  “Okay, so that’s the offer. Sounds very tempting on its face, but what’s the hook? I know there is one, so let’s deal fairly with one another.”

  “We would have it no other way, but mortals often focus upon the benefits, and minimize the responsibilities.”

  I laughed. Pegged humans in one go. “I’d still like to know.”

  “As our herald, you would be bound to serve our purpose, but you like to travel. We can see that much in you. You would be afforded time for your home as you see fit, but you will need to travel for us, to create new paths so we may expand. Is that not what you are meant to do as a Trailblazer? It seems we are only asking you to do what you would do anyway.”

  “It is. But I’m doing it for myself. Doing it for someone else changes all the variables. Let me ask you this. Would there be any planet-eating involved?”

  “A strange question. Ah, you make a reference to the imaginary culture of your world. This, too, is something new to us. Already you are proving useful. Understand, we would provide you with great power. You are already much stronger than your level would indicate, but with our aid, you would instantly reach beyond mortal existence, and your strength relative to your level would become even greater. You would be primordial, and of multiple systems.

  “Looking at the trajectory of your power so far, if you were to bind yourself to us by compact, you would soon be able to stand against the Architect of the Heavens, and join your friend in the Divided Realms to save him from what he cannot defeat on his own. All this and more we offer you. You only need to agree to be our herald, and follow your true nature as a Trailblazer.”

  I could feel how much the Ways desired for me to accept this. But I didn’t think I could. It was certainly tempting, but it didn’t feel right. That said, I also didn’t want to reject a being like this out of hand, and should probably talk to Selena and Samvek about a decision like this. “I need time to consider your offer.”

  “You have it. The offer remains open until you leave this universe, with or without a compact.”

  With that last word, everything faded to black. I was bombarded by notifications.

  You have altered the nature of a dungeon by granting it a share of your primordial energy. This has created a connection with you, while empowering the dungeon.

  This pleases the Ways. The Fey System is watching.

  For bringing new power into the Fey System, you are granted A new trait.

  Dungeon Ally: this trait grants you +5% to Mind and Perception (adapted to your current configuration). Loot and XP gains for you and your party will be increased by 100% as long as you are in a setting which is appropriate for your level.

  Further, you have been granted two new spells of your choice from the dungeon. You may also choose a single spell, upgraded to ascendant tier. You must enter the dungeon to collect this benefit, but the choices are as follows:

  Time Pool (Legendary): Manipulate a portion of the river of time into an eddy pool, so that it will move at a pace different from your surroundings. Mastery of this spell will allow you more control over the flow rate and the area affected. Cooldown: 72 hours.

  Repair (Legendary): Restores items and gear to pristine condition. It can affect items up to legendary tier or equivalent. This spell possesses a degree of spiritual energy, fed to the sprite inhabiting the item repaired. This results in a less-than-one-percent chance that the item will evolve a single tier. Cooldown: 24 hours.