Zoe fell to her knees. A silent scream stretched her mouth as her eyes rolled white in the back of her head. Aura unstable as any newly integrated world.

Rue smiled as the technique blossomed in her chest.

How very interesting.

He sat on his lounge. Silk curtains hung from an ivory frame, draped like walls to provide privacy, but the roof remained open to show a view of the new world. The ruby floor of the Bloody Eye throbbed beneath his feet, ancient crystal, worn, but soothing. On the table before him, now cleared of alcohol, hovered a multi-angled projection of Zoe.

Each scrap of metal in the dungeon served as a camera. Her image was more complete than a low Insighter could handle. He sat alone, beneath the stars of this frontier system, and watched his latest project.

He wasn’t quite bored; he didn’t quite wish it was all over, in fact…

Someone smacked the back of his head with a blow that would shatter mountains. He glanced back and raised an eyebrow.

“Something to say, Lorrilla?”

Lorrilla, The Goddess of Love, The Blood Gorgon Princess, The Cascade Enchanter, stood behind his lounge with her hands on her hips.

“You’re being cruel,” she said. “Goading this woman into consuming a dungeon pillar.”

He turned and leaned on the lounge’s backrest.

“I warned her.”

"You did no such thing. And what if the dungeon collapses?"

"Our cohort is more than enough to suppress a Black Star incursion. The Admiralty will never know," he smiled. "After all, what happens on the frontier stays on the frontier…"

She crossed her arms.

“You would have us fight on our vacation?”

“You know the others miss it.”

“Then why not go back?”

Rue rolled his eyes.

“I’ll not have this argument again.”

"Then tell me, how will your little pet project survive the incursion at ground level? What purpose does this serve at all?”

Rue shrugged.

"She's proven resilient so far. Hey, she even incorporated Blood! You should be happy —"

Lorrilla moved.

Her hand superheated the air into streaming plasma. Implosions sucked the curtains inwards. Rue’s wrist stood like titanic steel against her palm. The explosive collision stripped the curtains from their rods and flung them toward the horizon of the blood-red planetoid.

Lorilla scowled.

“Please, don’t block me when I slap you.”

“Please, don’t slap me.”

Her other hand vanished. Thunder rocked the viewing chamber as a handprint glowed into place on Rue’s cheek.

“Stop tormenting her. It is beneath you.”

Rue rubbed his cheek as blood leaked from the imprint.

“You misunderstand… Is it torment to hammer the sword you forge? To plunge it into flame until it becomes malleable?”

“Your metaphor falls apart when you compare a living being to an inanimate object.”

He smirked.

“How like the Blood Gorgon Princess to assume Metal is not alive, and besides,” his smile faded, sinking away into his tired depths. “Is this any worse than what you and yours did when they trained me?”

Lorrilla shook her head.

“Just because it happened to you doesn’t make it right.”

He turned from her and faced the projection of the brown-skinned woman as she formed her first technique.

“Who cares if it’s right?” he whispered. “It’s interesting.”

###

Zoe wanted to die.

She was exploding. Skin swelling like a balloon. Buttons popping from her shirt. Ribs cracking to stretch. Making room for the new organ gestating in her chest. For a hysterical moment, she thought her implants might explode.

She reached for her Skein, but it was not there.

[Refrain from accessing Skein or performing other activities until Technique crystalizes.]

Despite the fear, Zoe reached again. If she could draw on her metal, she could harden her body, and maybe she could end this rollercoaster of pain.

[Be still.]

Lightning struck her between the eyes.

Thick. Discordant. Rainbow.

Her skin blackened as the lightning poured into her body. She couldn’t move, but her muscles twitched in the force's grip. Nothing to do but think through the horror she could not escape like a passenger on a runaway train.

And then — with the help of the Mirror still inside her — clarity bloomed.

As her chest expanded, and her skin tore, she understood. Increasing Willpower helped her commit. Too much Willpower and she committed before reflecting upon her choices. Was this wrong? Her organs floated and shifted through space. Something cold wrapped around her heart.

Wrong?

Look where it got her.

Lightning coursed through her flesh. Pain and shock receded from one another. She floated in darkness, begging for unconsciousness. If she lived through this, she would increase her Insight.

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The terrible grasping force vanished. Her chest shuddered and retracted until she cowered on the ground a normal woman with a deep desire to curl up and cry. The lightning retreated. She twitched, sparks ran down her hair, and the world fell still.

[Technique crystalized: Our Hearts Toll As One]

[User can link and listen to the heartbeat of party members. Skein cost depends on party size and distance between members.]

She laid there as new knowledge settled into her mind. The cold thing wrapped around her heart warmed. Fingers probing her chest felt nothing. No aberration. She sat against a headstone. No pain besides her flaming lips.

The energies inside lay tepid. A slow, almost imperceptible roiling, as befitted Metal and Mirror. She certainly felt lighter after burning through the essence inside her, though she wished she had known what was going to happen.

What was this technique that consumed the essence inside her? She did not know if it was something to be expected or an anomaly. But instead of cursing her lack of knowledge, excitement rippled through her. The System answered her desires. This one time, it listened and gave something.

She wanted to unwrap her gift.

With a mental nudge, she activated the Technique.

It felt like a new muscle in her chest, as though she could control her heart. Flex, and manipulate its motion. The second she applied mental pressure, Skein threaded through her heart, and it tolled.

The sound rang through her whole body. It passed beyond her, an invisible aura of faith and sound that expanded out and faded away a few feet from her body. She laughed like a child learning to ride a bike.

[Skein 40/96]

She immediately dumped her three free points into Insight, bringing it up to 15 with the boost from Gluttony, and tolled her heart once more as her skin cooled.

[Skein 38/99]

The invisible bubble burned five Skein and raced fifty feet away from her in all directions. A muted extension of her senses as it passed over gravestones and dust, like picking up a penny with thick velvet gloves. But the second the bubble passed over the campsite, and the other members of her party, raw sensation shook her.

[Skein 33/99]

Bella admired her sword in the firelight. Her pulse slowed as the adrenaline from her level-up faded.

[Skein 28/99]

Anton noticed the bubble and stared straight back at her. His heart steady as a clock.

[Skein 23/99]

[Skein 18/99]

Joel and Cassy huddled together. His heart ponderous while holding her, and her heart racing while she laid limp.

Racing?

Zoe frowned.

Each heartbeat offered a slight insight into the mood of her party members. She focused through the percussion on Cassy’s pulse. Erratic. A hummingbird missing strokes.

What caused that?

And Rue’s warning came back to her. Her eyes widened. Judging by the other’s steady pulses, they thought nothing was wrong. She leaped to her feet. Pain and punishment forgotten as she sprinted toward the campfire.

Headstones blurred past, and in her ears, Cassy’s heart rate soared.

Skipped a beat and —

[Connection severed. The observed individual is no longer a member of your party.]

###

Joel stared at the fire as he held Cassy. He felt a hollowness in his chest and soul. Was it this level-up emptiness the others spoke about? Or was it just staring down at the love of his life as she…

Slept…

He stroked a strand of hair from her face. How did it keep getting into her eyes while she lay still? It seemed impossible.

He wanted to laugh at the word, but nothing passed his lips. The fire warmed him, and the System notification niggled at the back of his mind, but he ignored it all and stroked the strand of hair out of Cassy’s face.

Maybe if he prayed really hard, she would —

Cassy shivered in his arms.

“Babe?” How cruel that hope kept sparking. “Are you alright?”

Bella hurried over.

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” he checked Cassy’s pulse. “I don’t know what I’m doing. Is this too fast?”

Bella checked. She frowned down at Cassy and placed two fingers on her forehead.

“She’s burning up.”

Anton continued staring into the graveyard. What could he see in that utter darkness?

“Here comes the boss,” Anton said.

Zoe emerged from the dark. Black gunk and blood smeared across her face. Hair wild, eyes wilder. Livid burns on her lips. What happened to her? She strode toward him, and he pulled Cassy into his arms instinctively.

“Get away!”

Zoe grabbed his wrist. Her grip squeezed his bones. How was she so strong? She pushed him out of the way and crouched beside Cassy. She brushed the back of her hand against Cassy’s eyes and flinched.

She looked at Joel.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

“What are you talking about? Help her! Cassy? Cassy can you hear —”

Cassy’s eyes exploded.

Black gunk spouted out from her sockets and spattered the dusty ground. Droplets landed in the fire and squealed like trapped rabbits. Joel rushed over to Cassy, but Zoe shoved him.

“Stay back.”

He tumbled backward and struck the wall. Gazing in terror as Zoe towered above Cassy, staring down at her as though she wasn’t human.

“What are you doing?” he yelled. “We have to help her!”

“This isn’t Cassy anymore. Remember the plane? She’s one of them…”

Cassy’s body twitched. Squirmed. Zoe kicked, but Cassy jerked out of the way. Her limbs bent, crinkled, and she clambered onto all fours. Black gunk trickled from the empty holes of her eyes. She grinned.

Too wide a smile. Too many tombstone teeth. Her face twisted into a perversion of the woman he loved, but he couldn’t look away. Couldn’t stop staring at the end of his world.

Zoe’s foot lashed out. The kick cracked Cassy’s ribs and blew her into the church wall. Cassy struck the wood and twisted. Fingers and toes dug into the wall and she scampered away like a lizard. At the peak of the roof, she turned and cackled, before crawling out of sight.

Joel stared at that empty spot of darkness until tears blinded him.

“Why?” he said. “What did we do wrong?”

Zoe crouched before him, her hands on her knees.

“The void consumed her. That hunger you feel when you level up?” she pointed at the roof. “That’s what happens when you wait too long.”

Bella placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Joel. Cassy was —”

He pushed her aside.

“Cassy isn’t gone,” he wiped away tears and stood. “I’m going to find her. We’ll solve this. Anything can happen in this world. This has to be reversible.” He strode to the edge of the firelight and gazed into the dark beyond. “Don’t follow me.”

And he walked away.

###

Zoe watched Joel leave, still listening, waiting for the notification that promptly occurred.

[Connection severed. The observed individual is no longer a member of your party.]

She sighed and turned to Bella and Anton.

“What do you think we should do?”

Anton shrugged.

“He doesn’t want our help. Any minute now we’ll hear a horrible scream and then we won’t have to worry about his dead weight ever again. I say we head toward the gate and get a head start on the dungeon.”

Bella shoved him.

“You prick! He doesn’t want our help? His fiance just died!” she turned to Zoe. “We have to help him. What’s the point of us coming here if we let each other die?”

Zoe nodded and strolled over to the swept dirt where Cassy lay just minutes ago. The imprint of a woman in repose remained in the dust. She had no love lost for Joel, but did that mean he deserved to die? Even by his own foolish actions?

Inside her chest, three hearts beat. Two waiting for the third to lead. She stared out into the darkness and listened. No screams yet, but what did that mean?

It could already be too late.

The quest ticked away at the back of her mind. Did she want to waste time rescuing him?

Zoe gritted her teeth and stood.

“I can’t decide, and I don’t….” she almost said she didn’t trust her decisions, but should a leader admit that in a moment of crisis? “Let’s flip a coin. Who has one?”

Anton produced a nickel from somewhere. His eyes gleamed approvingly, while Bella looked sick.

“Call it boss,” he said.

Zoe sighed.

“Heads we save him.”

Anton flicked the coin, and it spun high into the air.