“Eric…”

Eric caught Mory’s abashed grimace and gave a quick shake of his head. Knowing that he needed to talk to his men, to reaffirm their status, their commitment, end the awkward tension now that everything had changed once again… but he had no time.

No time for Commander Valorn trying to pin him with her desperate eyes when she saluted him, requesting orders he absolutely refused to give. No time for his anxious looking adventuring companions slipping free of Yuki’s shadow abilities now that the worst had past, and thank goodness she had somehow managed to hide them all in an escape hatch that had never really been a part of the manor, but it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was finally getting a chance to talk to the one person whose happiness meant everything to him, their lives bound by a lifetime’s worth of memories and affection that had kept him from taking that final step that would have ended everything he had fought so hard to preserve.

At that moment there was only one person he wanted to see, as the corridors sped by in a blur, somehow knowing exactly where the most secure and fortified chamber in the entire palace happened to be, hardly panting when he was finally before the door of silver and iron radiating Sylvan runes that at any other time he would have been eager to study for insights and illumination.

Yet at that moment all he had eyes for was the girl smiling at him so warmly as multiple arcane traps and wards powered down, and then he was finally before the person who truly understood him who hadn’t been torn from his life. His twin sister, his boon companion and closest friend of the first seventeen years of his life, sobbing in his arms as he held her so gently, so carefully, so incredibly grateful to see her once more.

“Eric! You made it. God’s mercy, you actually got here in time!”

Eric found himself grinning like a fool, grateful only that it was a perfectly human grin, because of course he was a perfectly human and normal brother. He wanted to speak, but all he could get out was a stifled sob, cheeks flushing when he began crying like a baby as his sister held him close.

“Elonia. I was so fucking worried, so damned scared that Greed and Malice had finally gotten the last laugh… that I had come too late!”

“But you didn’t,” she assured, squeezing him tight before stepping back, flashing a rueful grin that he couldn’t’ for the life of him read. Yet her smile was as bright and hopeful as it had been with the release of her very first film, back when they had both been as young and innocent as they had ever been allowed to be. “You got here just in the nick of time. Like the final scene in one of mother’s movies.”

Eric laughed at that. Laughed so hard that tears were stinging his eyes and wetting his cheeks. Uncontrollable laughter as his sister’s rueful smile turned to a look of heartfelt concern. “Eric?”

Eric took a deep, shuddering breath, yet despite how bittersweet, tragic, and wonderful this endless night had been, he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, just so glad to see his sister safe once more. “Sorry. It’s been a really, really long night.”

Elonia’s smile grew pained. “So, you know.”

“About the Silver Phoenix in play? Yeah.”

She blinked in surprise. “Eric, I can’t even say the word! How is that you…” She froze, emerald green eyes widening with something close to wonder. “You’re a player. Aren’t you, brother? That’s the only…”

Eric smiled, showing her the ring that now felt so natural on his hand. “I took out a Bronze tier contender. Spared his life, which was probably a very smart move, since instead of executing me for my trouble, his uber-connected family that shouldn’t even have access to this virgin world yet somehow does, gave me a box of treats treats including ring and phoenix talismans.”

His sister gave him a long, searching look. “There’s so much I could say,” she said breathlessly. “So much Mother prepared me for. Playing this terrible game on so many levels… and she didn’t tell you a thing.” She shook her head in wry disbelief. “Not one goddamned thing to prepare you for what you would be forced to endure. What she’s trying to mould us both into becoming… Eric, what’s wrong?”

Eric gazed at his sister searchingly for long moments. “Elonia… you really don’t know?”

Her gaze hardened. “In case it wasn’t obvious, I’ve been desperately fighting for my life when I woke up to find myself utterly alone except for a desperate score of elves and your own companions when all of mother’s plans went to shit! I woke up feeling as brittle as glass, without counselor, aid, or the hundreds of thousands of loyal soldiers mother swore would make everything we had suffered worth it! That we’d actually have a chance. That humanity would actually have a chance!”

She shook her head in bitter regret. “Now my only reward for pushing myself so hard for so long was straining my fragile fucking foundation to the point that I’m a single stray breeze from cracking!”

Eric winced in sympathy, now seeing once more the brittle pain in her eyes that she was no longer holding back. Nowhere near as bad as what she had pretended to disarm their foes, but she was by no means the healthy, pain free ideal Eric had so desperately hoped she secretly was.

He hung his head, gently squeezing her hands with infinite care. “I’m sorry.”

Elonia gave a rueful chuckle. “And here I am, letting the pain take over and snapping at you like a complete… when I owe you my life! And Jeezus, Eric! Just how strong are you now?”

Eric immediately let go. “Oh no, Elonia, I didn’t meant to…”

She quickly shook her head. “No, Eric. You’re fine! You hugged me as if I were a fragile kitten in your arms. Perfectly gentle. And I can sense the incredible degree of Finesse you’ve got in play, and the sense that I could slug you with all my 20 Strength and you wouldn’t even feel it.”

Eric laughed. “I’ve got no reason to complain, sis. No worries there. I’m just so fucking relieved to see you in once piece!”

“And I’m still in a daze, never having expected to see you again,” Elonia said, tears leaking freely down her eyes as she flashed a bittersweet smile. “I guess I don’t have to tell you how absolutely and utterly fucked we are.”

Eric allowed his smile to harden. “Oh believe me, I know the score as well as anyone, sis.”

“Then you know we’re completely screwed.” She gave a helpless little laugh, before he could respond, leaning her head against his chest. “I have a confession to make, little brother, and I’m afraid… no, terrified, that you won’t exactly be happy with me when I do.”

Eric’s snarky rejoinder on his sibling status died on his lips, his gaze one of serious, heartfelt concern. “You can tell me anything, Elonia. I’d forgive you the world.”

Eric winced, exquisite Perception sensing the lurch in her chest, her heart pounding, as if she truly did fear the worst from him.

He held her close. “It’s okay. No one can blame you for taking medicine after what that essence did to you. That isn’t abuse, that’s pain management.”

“Eric… it’s not that.”

Eric kissed her forehead like he once had his daughter in a vision that was only a shadow existence, yet still left him with a father’s protective instincts as he gazed on her with the same gentle fondness he would for any loved one needing understanding, love, and counsel.

“I mean it, sis. You can tell me anything.”

His sister flashed an oddly vulnerable smile. “Okay, um… this is going to sound…” She lowered her gaze, cheeks ablaze. “Fuck. This isn’t easy.”

Now Eric was feeling the tension as an uncomfortable knot in his belly. “Elonia…”

“We’re down to Queensland, Eric. This is our final territory. The united alliance of asshole humanoids pretty much did us and Blue Corp in, in one fell swoop.”

Eric’s jaw clenched. “This is just the interim. It sure as hell isn’t the end of the script.”

This earned a sad snort from his sister. “They took over Ashland, Eric, and they completely overran Blue Quarter after poisoning the guards. All the guards. Most of that faction is either dead, in hiding, or under the goblin’s tender mercy. Never mind that dozens of treaties that were broken. The goblins know damn well how you-know-what works, and once dawn hits they’ll be smiling like assholes and will have somehow always owned the territories we fought and bled for with no trace left of Blue Corp or the bank that threatened their economic dominion here on Earth.”

“So that’s what all this was about,” Alex said with a bitter chuckle. “Why am I not fucking surprised?”

“It’s about a lot of things,” Elonia said ruefully. “Since you did sort of destroy their soul forges, get the entire Goblin faction censored by the System itself, at least temporarily, and shatter their economic interests. And believe you me, I did my part to make sure the world knew just how steep the cost of Goblin deals truly were. But somehow I feel all my words and warnings getting muffled, and have stopped even bothering to send out agents to spread the world since the trio I invested so much with ended up dead by freak accident or random acts of malice, and the guilt of their pointless deaths is something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.” She gave a bitter shake of her head. “It’s as if random chance itself is being manipulated by people who are most definitely not our friends.”

“Fate Cards are in play,” Eric acknowledged, earning another look from his sister.

“So you do know how things work… things that were secrets so deep that not even Mother told me, and I won’t bore you with how I found out what little I did. But the point is… we’re sort of fucked from every angle possible. Blue has no territories that aren’t in contention, we have no territories that aren’t in contention, and we’ll both probably be off the board before the night is through.”

“But the storm!” Eric urged. “That brilliant miracle of a storm you have protecting the and the grounds for several miles in all directions…”

His sister flashed a pained smile. “And casting that single mastered spell, because I did take your advice and master a handful of absolute fucking winners when last we spoke, had absolutely every last one of my meridian channels sending sharp shards of agony flaying my soul.”

Eric froze, chilled to hear those awful words. “Elonia, are you saying…”

His sister flashed a hope-filled smile. “No! No, I’m still intact. Thank the gods, by some miracle, I haven’t shattered under the fucking pressure Mother put me under. And here I am with fifty fucking points saved, compressing my core right before fiftieth level and I just know that…” She sobbed, shaking her head. “Alex, right now, I’m so fragile, so close to rupturing, that I don’t have a chance in hell of evolving my class.” She flashed a bitter smile. “And you were right. So fucking right that the path I’m on promises nothing but pain. I couldn’t have chosen a worst fit, trying to follow mother’s idealized path. Which means I’ll have to down grade to standard class and forget any chance of ever ascending to Silver.” She chuckled bitterly. “Hell, I might even be stuck on White tier, never even able to form a Bronze core! Not unless I can afford to sacrifice a full twenty years repairing my body while infusing my core.”

Alex blanched. “Wait, twenty years?!? How do you even…”

“I have outside resources at my disposal, now,” She said with a bitter smile. “The consolation prize all factions were supposedly given, in return for our fucking enemies now getting to flood the world with Bronze tier mercenaries!”

Eric blinked, heart hammering. “Wait, that’s only tonight, right?”

His sister sighed. “You recall the earth quakes that almost tore Earth apart? Yeah. Those. It panicked the entire Terran counsel, no corrupt northeast branch needed. They voted almost unanimously to give Bronze tier Mercs of a certain level unfettered access in clearing and stabilizing the rifts, so long as they don’t slaughter humans out of hand or try to grab territory for themselves.”

Eric froze. It was all he could do not to laugh aloud at the irony. His effort and struggle to save Earth had just been used by his enemies as a pretext to bring in serious muscle that he had absolutely no doubt would become little more than tools of his enemies. They might not be permitted to claim territories in their own name or massacre humans wholesale, but he had no doubt that humanity would still be feeling the pain.

“Fuck! This just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it? Because you know damn well those mercs will be backing their fat cat employers and even if they can’t shoot us on the spot, they can back up man-eating orcs who happily will.”

Elonia nodded. “Okay, you get it then. Good.” She held his gaze for long minutes. “Eric… the one who just set us up, who opened the way for those mercenaries to invade my home and capture us all?”

Eric’s gaze hardened. “Just tell me who it was, and what you want done to them.”

Elonia gazed at him for long moments. “Eric… it was me.”

Eric blinked, nonplussed. “What?”

She sighed. “Eric, our enemies have united with multiple companies of Bronze-tier heavy hitters at their beck and call that make those gnoll champions and goblin assassins you faced down before seem like a joke. We’re surrounded on all fronts, and after my last awful training session that I never should have let mother browbeat me into embracing, I don’t dare cast even one more ritual spell, lest my entire foundation crumble to shards that will grind against my soul for decades to come.”

“Elonia…”

“Which means, assuming I don’t want to shatter like glass and spend the rest of my life writhing in agony that my fucked up affinity now assures me that I’ll never be able to numb out completely, I need twenty years of peace. Either that… Or I need access to the most elite high end rejuvenation facilities and treatment centers available.” She flashed a sad smile. “Resources well beyond what Earth will ever be permitted to make use of. Not until the ascension is long past.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Eric gazed at Elonia for long moments before worldlessly wrapping her up in his arms. Her shoulders began to shake as she broke out in sobs. “Or Eric. I’m so sorry! After all you did for me, trying to rescue our entire faction after mother all but threw you under the bus multiple fucking times, and here I am, such a bitch that I can’t even…”

“It’s okay,” Eric said, rocking his sobbing sister close. “It’s alright.”

“No it isn’t, Eric. I swore to protect and defend!”

Eric snorted. “Well then, it’s a good thing that you were trying to do just that. Tell me you weren’t going to negotiate for safe passage for everyone in that room so they could all leave before the orc and goblin assholes took over everything.” His arms gently gripping her shoulders to smile inter her tear-filled eyes. “You did what mattered, even if I fucked up your play. You were trying to get out of hell to have a shot at healing, and I have the sneaking suspicion that you would have left only after everyone else was out of there as well. Because whether or not you agreed to Mother’s enticements from the start, it doesn’t change the fact that you were groomed your whole life for your role, as I was for mine, and you’ve already been forced to endure agony beyond what anyone should ever have to deal with, with a tyrant for a mother demanding absolute perfection every step of the way.”

Elonia chuckled bitterly. “You have no idea the promises she made… how understanding and sweet she seemed when I finally seemed to be accepting the madness she was spouting while you were still playing online games post holocaust so caught up in mother’s charms that you weren’t even worried about the incongruity of power or enchanted refrigerators.” She winced in apology. “I’m sorry, Eric. Even when she pointed at you with a sad smile and said your mind just couldn’t handle the truth and we shouldn’t trouble you while you were obsessing over hunting rats and finding food for survival after stuffing your belly with what amounted to a four course buffet you didn’t even recall eating… still, I should have told you what was going on.”

Eric flushed, chuckling ruefully. “Yeah, I can’t tell you what a shock it was when I finally woke up to the magic all around me. And none of that changes the fact that we both did the best we could, and I don’t blame you one bit for trying to get a red carpet ride to some high tech healing center, carried on the backs of mercenaries that in any other time and place wouldn’t be able or willing to do Jack shit for any of us, happy to let us rot and die here.”

Elonia gazed at Eric for long moments before squeezing him tight with relief. “Thank god you don’t hate me.”

Eric snorted. “Master Criminal here. Why would I hate someone clever enough to pull a sweet hustle on some Bronze tier assholes? So, tell big bro all about the play.”

“Little bro. And yeah. Let me show you.”

Within moments Elonia led a bemused Eric deep into her sanctum sanctorum that was decorated with happy kitty pillows and cashmere blankets the color of sunsets, just as warm and snug as her childhood bedroom, save for a sleek, high end cyberpunk interface port in addition to some sweet looking keyboards and forty inch screens.

Eric whistled. “Sweet setup!”

By way of answering she took a seat, plugged in her jack to a mithril band she had fastened to the back of her neck. Her eyes were now glowing with electromana discharges as the massive forty inch screen came alive.

Eric wasn’t exactly sure what he had been expecting, but certainly not a stream of buy and sell orders that reminded him of nothing so much as the Eve Jitan hub.

Eric whistled, feeling a sudden hunger to hop online and into his T-4 battlecruiser, yet knowing that would probably never come to pass again. Unless… He shook such thoughts away. Maybe after he had ascended to Bronze, then Silver, and Earth’s ascension was over, he could master Blue Corp high tech magitech and see if there were any System equivalents to the ‘leet ships he had gamed with back in the day.

“Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

Eric smiled at his sister, her flawless features and locks of lustrous golden hair more striking than it had ever been in the movies, even if the pain in her eyes was almost too much for Eric to bear.

“Yeah, it does,” he said, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Good. Because the market games you can play off the real life version… I swear, Eric, if you knew how to make a buck in Eve Space Explorers, you could make a killing in the real multiverse as well. Isn’t that just wild?”

Eric smiled. “Somehow I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone in the know seeded that game just like the goblins seeded predatory payday lending and Mother seeded so many awesome films.”

Elonia nodded. “Good. Now come over here. Let me show you something.”

After making sure that trouble was absolutely nowhere to be found, sensing no reds near the castle for at least the moment, Eric did just that, more than a bit impressed to see that his sister was manipulating the screens with her interface alone. Screens flashing so fast that did he not have such a monstrously high Quickness and advanced perks that let his thoughts keep up when he pushed himself, he would have been utterly confused if not nauseous with the massive stream of data flashing before their eyes. Fortunately, his personal evolutions meant that he could make sense of the rapidly flickering screens… if barely.

Then it all clicked, what all the screens, cutouts, and shadow accounts his sister was flickering through ultimately led to. “You put a buy order out for that Ascension core!”

Elonia’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “Damn right I did. And the hoops I had to jump through to do it. Of course humans still aren’t permitted to sell any unique items directly, since our would-be goblin overlords don’t want us having access to that kind of capital. Yet even so, there are ways. It was my leaking those rumors that got me a few nibbles about my miraculous ascension core that would allow anyone with the right setup, like my training pod, to evolve themselves with extreme efficiency, in whatever direction they desired. Of course using this damned device nearly killed me, but a System generated core like this is in extreme demand, especially for Bronze classers in our galactic cluster.

Fortunately, just playing information broker earned me a fat commission that was just enough for me to post the buy order as a private contract that tied it altogether. Then all I had to do was open this page here, listing all the Merc corpse Earth was now permitted access to, the lower end of Bronze, but still more than enough to obliterate all of us… and put out the word that I’d be willing to work as a fixer who could give them the inside scoop on the contract and the target, with the understanding that they’d be using kid gloves and that the target would in, all likelihood, surrender.”

Eric swallowed, cheeks flushing with shame. “And I fucked it all up.”

Elonia chuckled throatily. “Are you kidding? I was hoping for 500 million fixer’s cut as well as a red carpet lift to a very high end rejuvenation facility after, yeah, making puppy dog eyes at a certain Bronze tier bachelor looking to legitimize his position here on Earth.” Her eyes were shining with unmistakable joy when she gazed Eric’s way. “Yet you, you mad genius of a brother, put the squeeze on Jurgen so bad that he was willing to pay you half of what he was looking to make!”

Alex blinked at this. “Wait, so someone’s offering 10 billion?”

Elonia winked. “My cutout was offering a bit more, actually, making it clear to a certain merc crew that time was of the essence. Not that it matters when the offer disappears in smoke and electrons. Jurgen’s hardly holding worthless trash. Sell orders for 7.5 Bil are snapped up in a second! Or if he’s willing to wait a bit, he could go as high as 8.5. So no need to worry about him gunning for us later!”

Her cheerful smile turned to a scowl, as she flicked through half a dozen screens before receiving a blinking call. Her eyes widened. “Fuck.”

Eric frowned. “Elonia?”

Her eyes widened with dismay. “He’s not supposed to be able to worm in directly… fuck!”

Eric readied himself for anything when the screen suddenly flared to life, showing none other than a glaring Commander Jurgen filling up half the screen of what looked like a high end command center. Power armor had been traded for a tight-fitting buttoned shirt, the now clean-shaven and perfectly groomed man looked the spitting image of a pissed off captain, save for the slight purple tinge to his skin and the pair of girls sliding behind him to peer over his shoulder.

“So. You’re Black Cypher.”

Elonia winced. “Maybe?”

“Did you really think you could get the best of Bronze-tier hackers, girl? Your a White-tier child who isn’t even on a cyber path! You’re a classically trained mage, of all things.” His bemused head shake turned to a cold stare. “You made a mistake, thinking you could play us like fools.”

Elonia’s spine stiffened. Her awkward wince turned to a stiff back and a haughty gaze as she took on the demeanor of a ruler. A queen. Always in the right, even if various lackeys were too stupid to realize it.

“Tell me, captain, how much do Ascension cores normally go for in the Jitan sector?”

“That isn’t the point, girl!”

“7.5 Bil is what you could make with an immediate sale absolutely anywhere, if memory serves. And you could go 8.5 or more, if you have any degree of patience or a single rank in a trading skill.”

“You played us!”

Elonia smiled gently at the pair of wide-eyed girls gazing raptly at the byplay. “Your father says I played you. I say we played each other. In fact, I’ll even say we’re all on the same team. Because if we finish this play right… your family is up 3 billion credits over and above the cost of purchase. Now, if your father were to share a billion with you, Anna, and a billion with you, Emma, wouldn’t that be an absolutely wonderful end to the most exciting night of your lives? Best of all, he gets to keep a billion for himself!”

Anna and Emma were staring at a coolly smiling Elonia for long seconds before their gobsmacked expressions turned to awed grins.

“She’s right, dad! We’re all coming away filthy rich!” Emma cood.

“What?” Jurgen roared in disbelief at his suddenly wilting daughter.

“And if you cut us in for a fair share, we won’t tell mother anything except that we had a wonderful time,” Anna warned her suddenly pale-faced father, before squeezing his hand. “No, dad. Not a full billion… don’t give me that look, Emma. We’ll be fair to daddy! He’ll cut us in for the exact same share as Matilda and Kurt are getting… right, dad?”

Jurgen opened his mouth silently, then closed it and sighed, rubbing his temples. “Fuck.”

Elonia smiled. “I think this has been a profitable night for all of us, and who knows? Perhaps the start of a mutually beneficial relationship for all of us for many years to come.”

Jurgen’s half smile turned hard and cold. “You’re tactical position is shit, girl. And we both know it.”

A sudden tension filled the air.

“With our virgin-world status, there was no way we could legit use you as a middle man. But contracts are contracts, right? You just happened to pay us upfront first. And who the hell wouldn’t bear the cost of pickup if they’re going to be up 3 bil with just a week’s patience?” Eric shrugged. “It was the only way we could offload it, since we aren’t corrupt asshole goblins. And this way, we’re all rich. So everyone wins, wouldn’t you say?”

Jurgen turned to glare right at him. Eric’s cheeks flushed, wondering if maybe he shouldn’t have said a thing… and if maybe his ever useful social perks didn’t work quite as well if he wasn’t actually in the same area, or even the same planetary system, as a prospective hustler or mark.

Yet before Jurgen could say anything, the twin girls were filling up the screen once more. “You are so lucky to have such a hot brother, Elonia. Ours looks like a troll,” sighed Anna.

Emma looked right at Alex. “Would you have really…”

Eric winked. “I just had to set the stage so that the powers that be can’t say we sold it to you directly. The pieces just happened to land in a way that leaves us all a lot better off than we were before. No hard feelings, I hope?”

Emma and Anna exchanged a look. “We’re both up a Billion dollars.”

Their father scowled. “Hey, we agreed to a standard group cuts, right?”

The girls turned to their suddenly wincing father. “Yes we did, father!” Anna declared. “Now how about you pay up. We’re in desperate need of retail therapy after all that trauma!”

Jurgen sighed. He frowned at Elonia, ignoring her regal air. “You’re in way over your head, kid. So I’m going to let your bullshit slide. This once. Next time you hire us, you’re paying in full, up front. And I know you can afford it.” He flashed a hard smile. “And unless I miss my guess, you’re territory’s going to be completely overrun in less than 24 hours. So if you’d like to negotiate a portal jump to the rejuvenation center of your choice and safe passage for your friends… It’s going to cost you 500 million.”

He ignored the scowls this earned from his daughters. “Father…”

“This is business, girls. Now how about you join Matilda for some shopping?” He sighed. “On me.”

The girls squealed happily and slipped out of sight.

The man’s smile tightened. “Half a billion, kids. I won’t go any lower. But if you piss me off, I’ll go a hell of a lot higher.”

Elonia blinked. “We’ll keep that offer in mind, commander.”

The man smirked. “You do that. Jurgen out.”

The screen went dark.

Eric and Elonia exchanged a look.

“That could have gone bad… should have gone bad in so many ways,” Elonia whispered.

Eric solemnly nodded. “We probably shouldn’t have been looking at ascension orb postings. An earth-oriented buyer? That probably looked suspicious as hell.”

Elonia nodded, before she highlighted and enlarged the Sylvan Interface Map, a sight which instantly killed the exuberance they might have otherwise felt with their windfall. “It’s looking bad, Eric.”

Eric nodded at the wildly blinking crimson before flashing a fierce smile. “Bad for them.”

His sister gave him an unamused look. “Eric…”

“You recall the last time Queensland was in a bit of a tight spot don’t you? And didn’t we do the most fan-fucking-tastic turnaround you could hope for?”

“Eric, you already had thousands of troops under your command at the time. And the way mother painted it, now no necromancer will be allowed to embrace their skills on pain of death. From everyone! And that’s not even counting the Bronze tier mercenaries our enemies might have already brought into their employee.”

Eric nodded. “Well, It’s a good thing that I don’t give a fuck about corrupt council edicts. If they want to come after me? Good.” His gaze hardened. “I’ll gladly take their territory too.”

“Eric!”

He winked. “Silver Phoenix is still in play, little sis. Remember, there is no fight club.”

Her eyes widened. “Fuck, you’re right! Any revenants you raise now…” She then frowned. “Will you really destroy them with the first rays of dawn?”

Eric chuckled coldly. “Nope, never again. I’m done playing by the rules of smirking tyrants who will only use Terran strictures to strangle their competition while they get off scot-free. I’m just saying it to make you feel better.”

“Eric… mother also made me sign the pact.”

Eric raised a brow. “You’re oathsworn to kill me on sight if I actually use my class?”

“Of course not!”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Elonia groaned, rubbing her forehead in frustration before her eyes suddenly brightened as if she had had a revelation. Her lips suddenly curved in a fierce smile. Toothy. Much like his own sometimes was. “You know what? Nothing. FUCK THEM! They already broke all of their treaties, so why the hell should I be held to their accords if they’re at war with me?”

Eric nodded. “Exactly. They’re so confident that you and Blue will be off the map by dawn that they won’t ever have to pay for their mistakes. And you and I, sis? We’re going to show them what happens when things don’t go according to plan.”

“Alright, I’ll bite. how are we going to do that?”

“Well, you’re part will be leveling up your leadership and take charging of a panicked Valorn and our artillery boys, because we sure as fuck can pay them now. Hopefully my friends will be willing to stick around, those that didn’t join Lilly with her quest to reclaim the goblin’s gate-linked world with our own.”

Elonia nodded. “Good. And the wonderful thing is, if they’re willing to join now, when the chips are down and all odds seem against us, they’ll get some sweet System rewards. The interface is letting me know that like a happy promise even if it thinks I’ll probably be dead by first light. But Eric…”

He smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the rest.”