At first, Joe had no idea where the hell he was. When he opened his eyes, the whole world decided to take a spin, and nausea hit him like a freight train. As his senses slowly returned, he realized he was sprawled out on something soft. He patted it, trying to figure out what it was.

“Welcome back, sleepyhead,” a familiar voice said.

“Dawn? Where are…” His words came out thick, like his mouth was stuffed with cotton, and as he tried to sit up, it felt like someone had driven a hot poker straight through his skull.

“Take it easy,” she said with a calm that only made him more nervous. “It’ll take a minute to adjust.”

Joe froze. He wasn’t lying on a pillow. He was lying on Dawn. He scrambled back so fast he nearly fell over, hands flying up in a frantic apology.

“Sorry! I—I didn’t mean to—” His brain short-circuited, and his words got caught in a loop, stumbling over each other.

Dawn’s grin was easy, her laughter even easier. “The look on your face right now!” she teased, a lightness in her tone that somehow made him feel a little less like a complete idiot. “Most guys where I’m from wouldn’t even think to apologize.”

Like the truck that had hit him in his last life, memories of Dawn’s shared vision crashed through him. He looked at her again, noticing for the first time how pale she was, the green glow from the fire’s dying embers making her look almost ghostly. She glanced at the potion bottle lying on its side, and for a moment, Joe thought she might spin it and say “truth or dare,” but instead, she placed a hand on his.

Her smile turned grim. “Thanks for visiting my personal hell with me. Be honest, I need you to tell me what I saw was real—that gods are real, and I’ve made an oath with one by choosing the Paladin class.”

“Yes, it’s all real,” Joe said, placing his other hand on hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. “And I promise, however long I live, I’ll never tell a soul about what you went through. If you want people to believe you were a ratfolk in your last life, that’s fine by me.”

She tensed at the lie. “I was tired of living well before I died and came here. I thought this place would be a clean slate. I didn’t want anything to do with humans since there were so few I could trust in my old life, so I put up an extra barrier to protect myself. You understand?”

She pulled her hand free from his and looked away.

“I think we’re all wearing masks, Dawn,” Joe said softly. “And even if you hadn’t shared everything with me, I’d still understand. Sharing truths is deeply personal—it’s a privilege, not a right. Some people back home never understood that. They had no boundaries. Why did you choose ratfolk, by the way?”

Dawn slowly rose to her feet and extended a hand to him. He took it, feeling the softness of the lily pad cushions beneath him lose their soothing effect as he stood.

“I’ll tell you sometime,” she said. “But right now, I don’t know about you, but I feel like I just smoked ten doobies and have the biggest case of munchies ever.”

Nodding, Joe let out a slow breath, putting one wobbly foot in front of the other, and linked arms with Dawn as they left the log cabin’s sacred space behind. Outside, gravity felt heavier, making his whole body ache with every movement. “I feel like an old man.”

“You’ve got no idea.” Dawn winced as she stretched out her legs, which were clearly as cramped as his. “Let’s walk it off. By the time we reach the common room, you’ll feel less stiff.” She sounded like she knew exactly what she was talking about, which made Joe wonder again just how old she had been when she died. Not that it mattered—age is just a number, Joe, he could hear his granddad say.

Following that memory came the cheeky voice of his little sister. “And feet are just stinky!”

Her voice faded, but the memory didn’t, and it left him feeling happy and sad as they entered the common room. The others were waiting, keeping seats for them in the much busier eating area.

Joe didn’t waste any time, piling his plate with food and grabbing a tall glass of lemonade. One sip, and he knew—it was the most refreshing drink he’d had in ages. Dawn‌ looked downright content as she leaned back in her chair after devouring the last of her sandwich with stringy fries, washing it down with a steaming cup of herbal tea.

Around them, Joe noticed other ascenders huddled in their factions, going over strategies for entering the second floor.

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“While you were off on your little enlightenment trip with that god,” Rose said, leaning in with a knowing look, “the other factions caught wind of the alliance status notifications because the Lich made an announcement. Not only that, some have already entered the floor. Word is, it’s like a monster gold rush out there. You’d think time crystals were growing on trees, the way some of them are yelling out their alliance notifications.”

TJ looked like he had ants in his pants, his eyebrow twitching, fingers drumming a steady rhythm on the table. “I’ve run all the simulations I can. I don’t know about you guys, but it’s time to get real.”

Brian raised a finger, his expression serious. “You have read the stats on the twin Titans, right?”

“Eh…” TJ looked guilty for half a second before he broke into a grin. “Course I did, bro, just messing with you. Do I get brownie points for reading your updates in the party chat files about our plans to team up with Ryan’s Blanche Brigade? Oh, and heads up, Dawn—make sure you’ve got your map ready and drop a pin to our location as soon as we land on the floor.”

“I know, TJ,” Dawn said in a smooth voice. “I read it, and I’m happy to see you did too.”

TJ leaned back, arms crossed. “No point in letting the extra point I put into intelligence go to waste. Use it or lose it, I always say.”

Brian flashed an approving smile. “Glad to see all my hard work isn’t going to waste. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I’ve done a pretty decent job summarizing all that dense reading material and making it easy for you guys to digest.”

“You’ve got way more patience than me.” TJ grinned. “I’m all about action-adventure stuff—anything else just makes my eyes bleed. But that info you put in there from Lucky was really useful.”

“Wait, when was Lucky here?” Joe asked, realizing he’d last seen him following Andras out of the Orange Zone.

Brian’s expression turned apologetic. “Sorry, I was supposed to pass on his full congratulations for your win. He wanted to say more to you in person, but Andras sent him off to scout ahead on floor two while he was busy spouting propaganda here in the Orange Zone.”

“Wish there was something we could do to convince Lucky to join us,” TJ said, shaking his head. “Poor bastard doesn’t realize that fucking asshole Andras is using him.”

Joe’s shoulders tensed with the same frustration. He wanted to help Lucky, but he knew his charisma stats weren’t enough to sway him right now. Maybe putting more points into charisma would help, especially since his rogue class was well-aligned with that trait. Being human also gave him a racial boost in charisma, so he figured he’d bring it up with Ryan, who as a priest, should have a good level of charisma too.

But for now, Joe focused on what he could do—gathering more information. “I haven’t had a chance to read everything in the party chat updates. Can you give me the summary of the summary?” He tried not to sound too cheeky, and Brian’s eyes lit up.

“Of course!” Brian said with eagerness. “I talked to Lucky before he left. He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but he’s already been out on floor two—this was his second scouting mission. In a nutshell, the main environmental hazards are seismic activity—rockslides, earthquakes, and chasms filled with lava, that sort of thing.” He paused to let that sink in, then continued. “So far, he’s seen evidence of pyro wyrms, herons, lava slugs, grubs, and mites. There are also small, dense patches of ferns and cinder pines, plus some kind of fungi called puffballs.”

“Ugh, herons are the worst.” Dawn sighed. “I used to have a pond with lots of happy frogs and terrapins until they showed up.”

“Sounds like they’re the assholes of the bird world,” TJ said, not holding back. “Our verdant harriers were beautiful, but they’d pluck your eyes out and swallow them like grapes.”

Joe took a moment to process the information. Floor two sounded like a prehistoric nightmare—active volcanoes, rivers of molten lava, and toxic gases. “Do we have anything to protect us from poisons or treat us if we get exposed?”

“Way ahead of you,” Brian said, beaming with pride. “I took some time to dilute the Titan Tears with sodium and dry them inside hard molds.” He handed each of them a small tin.

When Joe opened his, it reminded him of the tins of mints his granddad used to love. It made him a little sad that he couldn’t remember the name, but the image of a fisherman with a pipe and a white beard next to a boat came to mind. He also remembered the first time he’d tried one, despite his granddad’s warning about the strong flavor. That was the first and last time—his mouth burned like it was on fire. Only an ice cream treat afterward had helped ease the pain.

“Man, these stink.” TJ snapped his tin shut, his eyes watering.

“Think of them as extra-strength healing against poison.” The ting of the tin echoed as Brian set his on the table. “Use them sparingly—I haven’t had a chance to test them for side effects.”

That made Joe think of those ads back home that rattled off side effects faster than you could process.

“It’s better than dying from poisoning, I guess.” Rose raised an eyebrow.

Brian nodded. “And if you notice any side effects, I’ve set up a section in the party chat where you can report them.”

Joe stifled a grin. Brian was always the careful one, like a human version of a bug report form.

They ran through their party formation again, making sure everyone knew where to stand when the monsters showed up. A quick health and mana check later, and they were testing the alliance chat linked to the Blanche Brigade. It reminded Joe of his granddad’s old pager—clunky, limited, and yet weirdly reliable. He mentally tapped out a message: See you soon. Watch for the pin drop — TS.

A moment later, Nick—Blanche Brigade’s map guy—pinged back with a simple: Stay safe.

That little exchange sent a surge of excitement through Joe as they finally stepped through the entrance to floor two. The heat hit them like a brick wall.