“What?” Elmer felt his mind cloud. He probably had not heard clearly. He was sure he had not heard clearly. “What did you say?” He tried to stand up, but his legs were still so weak that he fell back down.

“I shouldn’t have done this today. We should have waited until there was more time.” His landlord pointed at the window; darkness had taken the place of light. “Ya’ve got at least an hour.” He paced to his table, but he didn’t sit—he seemed somewhat nervous. “Losts attack at night. They’ll come for ya soon enough.”

Elmer shook his head and waved the man’s words away as he pushed lumps of saliva down his throat. “What pathway did you just say I’m an Ascender of?” His eyes narrowed into slits as his brows knitted.

The landlord took his gaze to Elmer and sighed in exasperation. “Souls.”

Elmer’s expression immediately went pale, his stomach clenching tightly as a follow up. “Impossible,” he voiced. “Don’t you dare lie to me.” He tried to stand again, but his legs gave out and he wobbled back to the floor once more. “That can’t be possible. It’s not.”

“But it is, tenant, look at the crest on yer chest, or ya don’t know nothing about that either? It’s a goblet turned upside down. That’s the crest of the Pathway of Souls.” his landlord uttered, his voice wavering. “Yer not an Ascender of the Pathway of Time, so ya can no longer remain in Ur. Ya have to leave this city now, tenant, or ya’ll die.”

Elmer’s body went numb as he deafened his ears to his landlord’s latter words and peered down into his palms. “That’s not possible,” he mumbled to himself between short, fast breaths. “No. What am I going to do now? Nothing’s working out the way I want.” Suddenly, he shouted, “Nothing! Why? Why is nothing going the way I want it to?”

He turned to his landlord who was staring at him with widened eyes. “Why? Tell me. You’re the alchemist, aren’t you? Tell me why nothing is working out the way I want,” he sobbed. Then with a sharp gasp, he fervently wiped his palms over his chest as if to clean off the crest that had been carved onto it. “I don’t want to,” Elmer mumbled crazily. “I don’t want to. Any pathway but his. I don’t want to. I don’t want to!”

“Have ya lost it, lad?!” his landlord screamed from where he was standing, forcing Elmer to cease his frantic scuffles. “This is why I don’t want to make elixirs any longer. If ya don’t turn into a Lost, ya lose ya mind. Thought ya were different, lad. Thought ya wanted to save ya sister?”

Mabel… Elmer’s chest stiffened.

“What does it matter the pathway ya get?” his landlord echoed, continuing. “Find a way to help her with what ya have.”

A way…? Yes… There had to be a way…

Elmer’s eyes flashed about the room wildly until it stopped upon the cauldron seated atop the stove beneath the window.

“Mister,” he took his eyes to his landlord while pointing at the cauldron. “What if I drink it again?” His landlord gasped at the question with a repulsed jerk of his head. “What if I drink the elixir again? It’s possible, isn’t it? Maybe it’ll overwrite this pathway with a new one. I did not see a staircase when I woke in the dream world, maybe if I go in again and climb a staircase I’ll get some other pathway.” Elmer tapped his chest with a disconcerting smile crawling up his face. “Right?”

The landlord fell onto his chair silently, his face painted with a pitiful expression. “Tenant,” he said in a quiet voice. “If ya drink that elixir one more time ya’ll no doubt die.”

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“But you don’t know that!” Elmer stretched out his arms. “We haven’t tried. Yes, let’s do that. One more time. Just one more time.” Elmer nodded, the energy his legs had lost returning as he jumped to his feet and hurried to the cauldron.

“Tenant!” The landlord screamed, putting a stop to Elmer’s lunacy. “Wha’d ya think is going to happen once ya take that thing? There’s no way ya going to survive. Think, lad. Think. Do ya want to die, or do ya want to help ya sister?”

Elmer’s breathing seized, then it slowly became agitated as he turned sharply at his landlord. “Then what would you have me do?!” His face squeezed as he slammed his palm on his chest and tears streamed out of his eyes. “This crest. This crest of souls, it’s the crest of the God who turned my sister into a shell.” His landlord’s visage went blank. “Do you think I’ll be able to sleep with this repulsive thing on my chest? Do you think I’ll be happy going near Mabel knowing I’m an Ascender of the God who turned her into that? It’s already bad enough that I had to become an Ascender, and now you’re telling me I’m stuck in this pathway?” Elmer fell to his knees, his heart aching as he bowed his spine. “He was right. The other me was right. I’m pathetic.”

“Ya’ve got to leave,” his landlord said after a moment of silence, drawing Elmer’s red and swollen eyes to him. “Ya presence here endangers me.”

“What?” Elmer’s voice cracked and his chin trembled.

“Leave Ur and go to Andhera right this instant. As long as ya on the train and out of this city, they won’t attack ya.” His landlord sounded so wary that tiny bits of it seeped out of him and made their way into Elmer.

“What won’t attack?” Elmer asked.

“Losts,” the landlord told him, his voice agitated. “An Ascender of the Pathway of Souls is meant to be in the city of the God of Souls. The more time ya spend in this city, the more ya put ya life and those around ya at risk. And if ya continue to stay here, in my room, then ya only going to lead them here.” The landlord’s voice caught in his throat for a moment. “So leave, please. I’ve done my part for ya, now do ya own.”

Elmer fell his prancing eyes to the floor as his brows pulled in.

What was he to do now? Run away from the city and go on living as an Ascender of the Pathway of Souls? Elmer shook his head indistinctly at that. No. There had to be some other way. There had to be—

I’ll be here if things do not turn out the way you want…

As if waiting for his moment of deep thought, those words suddenly blew through Elmer’s ears, widening his eyes with a sharp inhale and instinctively causing his body to be somewhat relieved of bits of its tension.

Was that the way? Elmer’s thoughts jumbled for a brief moment before he suddenly rose to his feet in a calm and collected manner as though he had not been cowling just a while back.

“No,” he told his landlord as he walked to where he had left his things on the floor. “I’m not leaving this city.”

“What?” The man coughed, jumping to his feet. “Ya remain here and death’s—”

“Don’t you worry, mister.” Elmer put on his clothes. “I won’t die and I won’t let myself remain as an Ascender of this stupid God’s pathway either. I’m going to find a way to become an Ascender of the Pathway of Time.” Elmer tapped his chest decisively after he was done buttoning his shirt up. “If nothing wants to willingly work out the way I want, then I’ll just have to force it to.” His resolve was palpable, but the deadness that tainted his eyes almost made it seem like he was lying to himself.

If this was all fate’s plan for him, then how was he going to force such an intangibility to twist everything in his favor? Was such an outcome even possible, or was he just going to end up compounding his current situation?

Although… was there even anything worse that could happen to him?

Elmer exhaled deeply at the thought, but his plan did not waver.

“Thank you for your help, good sir.” Elmer bowed as he arrived at the door. Then he patted his cap before putting it on and walking out, the silent wind of night brushing through him as he immediately felt lightheaded.