Public train en route to Chicago, Illinois - 2:20 AM

Despite being much smaller than what I was used to, the private room on the public train was cozy enough. The one I purchased a ticket for came with its own bathroom and shower, though nothing to do laundry with. There were two beds, one that pulled out from the wall around chest height and another that was made by laying down the two chairs by the window.

I missed my luxury sleeper car, but this would do for now.

Staring out of the window, I sipped from a water bottle as I watched the scenery pass by. Several cities and towns weren’t available as destinations just yet, though there were a few along our route that had had been unlocked. Cleveland and Toledo, the biggest cities on this route to Chicago, both had their transportation hub bosses defeated, amongst others.

Any place that did were options passengers could choose as a destination. While the Angel Express could go anywhere with a track thanks to it being a private vehicle, the transportation hubs were different. The best you could do was leave a train early if there was a place you wanted to go to that wasn’t unlocked yet, but that came with its own set of problems.

Putting my hand over the table, I summoned the Fruit from the Tree of Life out of my inventory. I had expected Entwined With The System would take me longer to get used to, but it had been incredibly intuitive so far. Perhaps it was because I was used to giving mental orders to the world as a Warmind, though that hadn’t been easy to get used to at all.

After giving it some thought, I figured that must have been it. The skill literally said the system and I were hardwired together, so it was no different than interpreting my thoughts to make objects move with my mind..

But I shoved that thought aside for now. Even though it had the possibility of further benefits, I didn’t even have an inkling of an idea on what those could be or how to unlock them. That was for Future Anthony to figure out.

For now, I stared at the apple on the small table. It was a perfect, healthy specimen with a reflective red luster and a stem with two leaves on it. Now that I was taking my time and in a better frame of mind, I could see that it was damn near picturesque. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it was what I had to work with.

It wasn’t as though the fruit was weak. Far from it, in fact; the +50 Constitution buff was insane. Any single Patron would kill to get their hands on this holy relic if only because it made their avatars so much harder to kill. However, that was the problem; I could only barter with it once.

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to trade it to the biblical Patrons as a group with just the one. Not in the way I wanted to, anyway. If it were the Forbidden Fruit that came from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, then I would have been able to mobilize Heaven itself for my purposes.

It wasn’t just because the item was powerful. Instead, it was because they received a ton of accolades, points, and gifts from the system for following their roles. And, for the biblical Patrons, keeping the Forbidden Fruit out of human hands was a role for everyone on the side of good from that faction.

I tapped the apple and thought about the circumstances. The event that I wanted to rally the avatars of the Angels for was still a long way off. If left unattended, the war between Ottawa and Washington D.C. would last for almost 9 months with Heaven eventually pulling off a win, albeit with heavy casualties.

When I’m intervening, the Demons quickly lose. This is due to flawless intelligence, a few hints here and there, and partaking in several gruesome battles. Even though I couldn’t usually take them on, the side of good prevails thanks to the Angelic Templars canceling out the Demon Lords.

Then, after their victory, the avatars of the biblical Patrons scatter. Even though I try to warn them, they don’t listen to me. Not only did they think they know best whether their avatars want to listen or not, they have their own Patronly duties to attend to after the Templars return to Heaven because they’re too powerful to stay on Earth and help out.

A couple of months later, the Demons inevitably attempt to try again.

As far into the scenarios as their second invasion is, the beings in the hierarchy under Demon Lords are allowed onto Earth with only a relatively small hit to their power. Zalzarog was usually the first to regain his strength due to his captured souls empowering him, but others could be just as destructive in the meantime. The Angels, assuming they had won, only act when it’s too late despite the constant warnings.

But, with the Forbidden Fruit, I could force them to reunite with me long enough to seal the oversized Hell gate the Demons make to get their revenge. This was, by far, the path of least resistance.

And I was expecting a lot more resistance this time around. Not only was a Demon Lord dead, but it happened in their own domain. That was just like walking into a king’s throne room and killing him in cold blood. If I went on a successful rampage in Washington D.C., they’d have to be absolutely livid. Especially if they found out that I was the main cause of both big losses.

Tilting the apple until it fell over, I continued staring. Thanks to Aaron’s sudden appearance and foiling of my plans, I needed to change gears. With Sara, I may still be able to barter for the respect of the Patrons of Heaven. She had already given me the Staff of Raphael somehow, which was a huge get. That particular Archangel might be willing to work with us if we both asked.

I wasn’t going to hold my breath about it though. If I attacked for the sole purpose of pushing Angelic Ascent to its limits, then I wouldn’t require Ottawa’s Angelic army at all. All I needed was a Demon to open up the barrier for me and help bring Hell to Earth. That required a very powerful ritual, but the beings stuck inside would take care of that once they got their hands on it. They’d jump on it.

All I needed was someone willing to go in there and give it to them.

“Jeremiah Wilson,” I decided. “He's a Demon, so he's probably not Aaron's actual choice of avatar.”

“Unless he is,” I countered. “You can’t think you can predict what this bastard’s going to do. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

“True,” I sighed. “But then I'll need him for other reasons. Either way, reaching out to him helps me.”

It wasn’t as though I trusted the Shadow Sniper, but he was someone who knew my reputation. Jeremiah had also risked himself to deliver information about Pustibule’s plans. I wouldn’t count him as a true ally, but I felt as though I could persuade him to join my side for a job or two provided that the price was right and he had assurances that I wouldn’t kill him once it was all over unless he did something horrendous.

Luckily, I had a Dealer who could help with such system-binding assurances.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The hard part would be figuring out where the sniper fled to. He could have gone anywhere in the western hemisphere while I was asleep. If I were Jeremiah, I would have gotten as far away from Pittsburgh as I could as quickly as possible. Perhaps even out of the country.

Once I was back on the Angel Express and worked out the details with Sara, I decided to have the alligator look for him. The treasure hunter would be able to find Jeremiah easier than I could and act as a mediator between the two of us.

Not only that, but the Dealer would probably have some of the Hell Gate ritual materials on hand and could get the rest for me. Unlike the last time I had put in an order, there wouldn’t be any big rush. The Patron’s Ball was still a ways off.

My tentative to-do list was now to gather the things that were needed to rip open a portal and turn a piece of Earth into Hell. I was up for a tour around North America to get what I needed. It would basically be a glorified series of fetch quests that I gave myself, but it gave me a chance to visit places I didn’t often go.

If only I could actually give myself quests, that would make my life a whole lot easier. I paused briefly, considering it.

“System, give myself a quest: make it to Chicago in one piece,” I said aloud. “Reward: 100 points.”

No screens popped up in front of me, not that the attempt was serious. If Entwined With The System could evolve to let me give myself quests, that certainly wasn’t how to activate it.

A bright light flashed across the window, causing me to have to shield my eyes for a moment. When I next blinked, it was gone. It had gone from the back of the train to the front, but when I got up to check what it was, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“It’s always something,” I muttered before sitting back down.

Grabbing the Fruit of the Tree of Life, I returned it to my inventory. My thoughts went to the mysterious secret weapon my reptilian friend alluded to. Whatever it was, I was intrigued. If it was something that the Archangel Michael was interested in, it had to be some kind of tool of war.

I thought back to the various wars I had fought with his avatar. He had chosen a man named Michael, which I always thought was a confusing choice. He had been a good guy, very willing to help as long as the net gain was positive for the people, but not very bright when put up against my current team. Still, he was fun to be around.

Michael, the avatar, had been given so many different weapons that I couldn’t think of what the Dealer might have been planning. From flaming swords to biblical slings to spells that turned sinners into pillars of salt, it could have been damn near anything. It didn’t take me long to give up trying to guess.

Pulling up my status, I checked my points again.

“29,627. Not enough for the Patron's car,” I sighed. “I’m going to have to dig into my bank account to make up the difference.”

The Patron's car was an expensive addition I normally didn’t purchase, but it was one that I wanted this time around. For one hour a day, it could summon a holographic image of a person’s Patron. Jamie would be the avatar of Ares at this point so she could use it to meet with him, but if Kayla or, later on, I used it, we could see Sara.

Not physically, much to my dismay. That could only happen at the Patron’s Ball, which would happen later and then be scheduled yearly. While it meant I could only see and chat with Sara, that would be enough for me if only because of the car’s secondary perk.

When an avatar was with their benefactor, the administrators weren’t allowed to observe the meeting due to Patron’s privilege. This perk wasn’t nearly as important since Aaron continued to increase my Administrator’s Black-out without my consent, but it would allow me to talk to my friends more candidly. They would have a lot of Patrons and administrators watching them at this point, so having a safe space would never be a bad idea.

Especially when talking about things as sensitive as destroying several scenarios worth of work by summoning Hell and wiping its Demons off the face of the planet.

The announcement system of the train quietly rang. “We are approaching the Cleveland Train Station,” a pleasant female voice said. “I repeat, we are approaching the Cleveland Train Station. If this is your stop, please prepare to disembark. Stowaways will be punished. Remember to take all of your belongings with you when you leave. Thank you!”

Settling into my chair, I kicked my feet up and relaxed. This was only the first irrelevant stop on my journey and it would take several more hours to get to Chicago. The public trains had the same system as the Angel Express where it traveled in a pocket dimension to bypass everything that was broken down on the rails.

However, it was much slower and could potentially spawn raid bosses that occasionally stopped the trip. That kind of event was fairly rare this early on and not at all consistent. It was usually set up specifically by administrators if someone they or Patrons didn’t like were on board.

Still, it beat running.

The train started to slow as it came into the station. I couldn’t hear anyone outside of my private room, but I imagined a few people from the public cars would be getting off here. There were always at least a few, even this late.

One thing I did have to give the system credit for was that it made traveling a lot less expensive. Many of the people I had met on the train before were those suffering from wanderlust. With significantly reduced responsibilities wherever they came from, it allowed them to go wherever they wanted to. It helped if they had reached a certain power threshold, but even those who didn’t such as merchants and craftsmen found great success moving to new places.

I really couldn’t blame them, either. Monsters and administrators aside, it was an eye opening experience. They got to see more of the world in exchange for fighting or selling the things they picked up. For the independent wanderers out there that didn’t mind near constant adventure or getting their hands dirty, it was almost perfect.

The train platform was well lit, but something caught my eye. A tall man in white armor with a glowing hat and a bulky backpack. He stared at my car as it passed him by. Standing up, I went to the window.

I narrowed my eyes. As much as I wanted to trick myself into thinking things weren’t as they seemed, I knew better. Total Awareness wouldn’t allow me to see something incorrectly.

That wasn’t a glowing hat, it was a halo and short, flaming hair. He wasn’t wearing a bulky backpack, but had wings folded against him.

When the train stopped, the Angel was back with supernatural speed. He stared down at me from the window, his angular face tense from the scowl he wore, as if he was looking at something a cat just threw up.

“Nephilim!” he roared, apparently angry for no discernible reason.

“Half-Angel, actually!” I helpfully yelled back through the window. His eyes narrowed. I didn’t want to deal with this.

When I discussed my new heritage with Kayla and Jeff back in Cordele, she had asked me why I was called a Half-Angel instead of a Nephilim, which was the offspring of an Angel and Human. My answer had been one of ignorance because I had never heard of anyone being either.

Based on the look of fury on this Angel’s face, I had a pretty good thought on why I never had. He looked like he was ready to destroy the train if it meant he could get to me. The only reason why he was being civil was because he was going to give me the chance to surrender.

I had planned on going to Los Angeles on my trip around the states. Suddenly, going to the City of Angels didn’t seem like such a good idea.

“Nephilim!” he repeated. “Step out of the train!”

“Not a Nephilim,” I said again. “And no thank you. I have a date with an Angel much more powerful than you in Chicago.”

His scowl deepened. “There are no Angels in Chicago.”

“I’m going there to meet the Angel of the End, Esaraphe-”

Before I could finish name dropping my girlfriend, the Angel’s massive hand broke through the window and grabbed me by the collar of my Ringmaster’s Hoodie. It had happened quickly, and I hadn’t been able to react as quickly as I had hoped. A part of me wondered if it was because of my peaceful sabbatical or if he was simply stronger than I anticipated.

Regardless, I was forcefully pulled out of the train and tossed onto the ground. The few people who had stumbled off of the vehicle fled at the sight of the Angel flexing his wings as he walked towards me.

Whether I liked it or not, it seemed as though I had a fight on my hands.