80 Years Earlier

Zezog had mentioned the simple irritation one suffered while in the Ocean. It wasn’t better than the wind burns and dry air of the Sky, but she couldn’t say it was worse. If nothing else, it was equally as annoying.

The stairs down from the ninth floor were nearly impossible to see so far below. Alchemists didn’t bother with spells or abilities that created light. If she had wanted, she could have created an artificial light source in a bottle that would have lasted through the whole journey, but why waste the time?

Althowin’s eyes flashed, harnessing the kitsune’s ability to see everything, including things thought to be undetectable. It was her ability now, she had to remember. The kitsune had lost its independent thoughts a few months ago, now becoming perfectly in sync. They were one.

The layer of hydrophobic gel still held strong over her clothes, keeping them dry even after nine floors of the Ocean Dungeon. Unfortunately, the same thing had only lasted for an hour on her skin and hair, which were now bothered. She would need to air out after spending so long under water. Her drying lamps would come in handy, though those might make her into some leather-like preserved mummy if she wasn’t careful. They were helpful in alchemy, not in anything that was human-related.

“I’m distracted,” she said to herself, striding down the stairs and straight into the Void Nexus.

A domed room appeared. It wasn’t like a natural cave, as she had expected since traversing through the trench. This was an architectural wonder. Bright mosaics covered every inch of the dome, depicting kraken and snakes. Other mosaics along the walls all around the outside were colorful depictions of the coral reefs on the first and sixth floor, the shipwreck on the third, the olm twins on the fourth, and the bright hydrothermal vents of the seventh.

It was a monument to the dungeon itself. A carefully crafted piece of art that only one being could have created.

While the boss stood on the other side, waiting patiently, they weren’t who Althowin was eager to speak with. The boss would wait. They always did.

She reached inside her jacket and pulled out an oblong container. The pill-shaped hunk of metal was the only bomb she had left after her journey through the other nine floors. Of course, it was intentional. When the Boss Buster detonated, anything she was carrying was eviscerated, so holding onto extra bombs would only be a waste at that point.

The water shifted, as if preparing, before a shape dropped from above. A tall, unnatural man stood just before her. He had dark brown skin that glowed. Shining blue tattoos wrapped around his forearms, matching the two streaks on his face stretching from his lips to his hair, passing over his stark white eyes.

As he turned his head to face her, his eyes shifted to blue with faint yellow pupils, barely giving an idea of where he was looking. A snake tattoo slithered over his bicep, crawling down to his forearm, where it turned to acknowledge her.

“Lord Sloswen,” Althowin said, bowing her head.

“You have made a mockery of my dungeon.” His voice was deep and felt as though it reverberated through the water. He reached over and plucked the Boss Buster from her hand. He held it between two fingers as if it was a little pebble.

A Boss Buster weighed two hundred pounds.

“Chaudius, activate five shards.”

The boss nodded. A familiar humming started as each of the five shards in turn floated up from the boss’s back. It wouldn’t matter if Sloswen let the boss activate all seven.

Althowin was getting her sixth shard today.

“This,” Sloswen said, lifting the Boss Buster. “This is not how dungeons are meant to be completed.”

“How else would you expect an alchemist to proceed?”

The unnaturally tall man handed the bomb back, dropping it into Althowin’s arms. “We prefer combat. It gives our champions an opportunity to stretch their legs, at least. When you detonate this, what is it that you expect Chaudius to do?”

“Die.”

Sloswen crossed his arms. The snake tattoo slithered from his left hand onto his right. “Barbaric.”

“What did Zezog do?”

Sloswen almost looked annoyed. Some of the other gods wouldn’t have even bothered to stop to talk. Diphinadra hadn’t even bothered to appear until the fight was done, and even then all that happened was a quick, silent hand off of the shard.

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“Zezog cut my dear Chaudius in half. It was a swift, unsightly fight.”

Seeing the cetanthro destroyed by the Boss Buster wasn’t going to be any better.

“I have a question before the battle begins,” Althowin said.

“I assumed you did. I have been hearing your name quite frequently, you know. The next 7 Shard Hero, they say. Nehadya spoke highly of you. Even Eldtannatar was impressed.”

Althowin bowed her head again. “Thank you.”

“Ask your question.”

“How many 7 Shard Heroes have there been? How many before me?”

Sloswen smiled broadly. “What is it that you plan to wish for?”

“Fame. Success. I want to be the best alchemist in the world.”

Sloswen pointedly turned his attention to the Boss Buster. “And you don’t believe you are now?”

“I want everyone to know who I am, even those who don’t care about the towers. I want to be at a point where not even other heroes can challenge me. I want to truly be the best.”

Althowin only just noticed the seaweed growing between the stones beneath her feet. It wasn’t there when she had arrived. Before her eyes, seaweed grew underneath Sloswen, teeming with life just from his presence.

“You cannot wish to be the best to achieve your goals. It would make you the best at the time of the wish, but you already are. What alchemist could stand in your way?”

He was right about that. No other alchemist was capable of doing the things she had done. There was a reason most alchemists didn’t go for shards. Most didn’t even travel alone if they were entering any of the towers.

“Do you have a recommendation, Lord Sloswen?”

“If you want to be the best, to challenge even combat heroes, you will need to hone your craft beyond even the skills of Klatine, Eldtannatar, or Cassimarcia. You will need to rise above the gods, who have had eternity to practice. You will need—”

“Eternal life,” Althowin whispered.

“Fame, talent, and fortune come from effort. You earn them. Wishing for any would be useless for one such as you, Althowin Alegarra. You who have tamed the infamous kitsune, who have eliminated five bosses without true combat. You have not cheated, though you have made us feel inadequate, to an extent. You have already reached a level unlike anyone else currently on Verdantallis. Do not waste your seventh shard wish.”

“Thank you.”

Sloswen nodded. The water around him shivered.

“Wait!”

The god looked back down.

“How many—”

“You will learn more than you can imagine upon ascending to the seventh shard.” In an instant, Sloswen was gone. Only the seaweed that grew beneath his feet remained.

Chaudius, the final boss of the Ocean Dungeon, still stood on the other side of the room. It was a beautiful dome. Undoubtedly one of the best arenas Althowin had seen. Luckily, they were protected by the gods. She didn’t have to worry about ruining the art.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

Chaudius bowed their head.

The Boss Buster detonated, immediately turning all the water into steam before everything in sight was engulfed in hellfire.

***

Present Day

Katalin looked over Althowin’s shoulder, watching as Ernie suited up with gloves, a mask, and even goggles. Part of her felt bad. A very small, almost nonexistent part.

“If you miss even one speck, I will . . .” Althowin crossed her legs. “I don’t know. I’m not feeling all that angry. If I do get all riled up, I’ll let you know.”

“I know how to clean the terrarium,” Ernie said. He fit the goggles on and adjusted the strap normally sized for Katalin.

“Yeah, we’ll see.” Althowin continued shifting oddly, unable to find comfort, until Ernie was out of the room. She immediately leaned forward.

Katalin almost sat back because of Althowin’s intensity. “Are you okay?”

“Things are worse than I thought.”

“Things?” Katalin poured a glass of water from a nearby pitcher and handed it to Althowin. “What things?”

Althowin took the glass and immediately set it down. “I thought only the militaries were getting antsy about the goblin, but—”

“Owin.”

“But the hero companies are also watching Owin closely.”

“Is that why you had a Boss Buster?”

Althowin made a face. Specifically, the face she made when she knew she did something that would upset Katalin. Ernie, she was okay upsetting.

“Vephthru and Egnatia.”

Katalin’s eyes widened. “I—”

“Olena, Isaak, and Nastya were here yesterday,” Althowin said quickly.

“That’s all the big three! I thought you didn’t talk to the Three Heads!” Katalin tried thinking of smaller hero company leaders, but couldn’t make it past Chorsay. She couldn’t even remember the Golden Bull’s leader, and she had recently hired one of their heroes.

“They’re going to kill him.”

Katalin leaned back. The little room they were in was surrounded by labs and studios that Althowin hopped between on any normal day. Ernie, now inside the toad study room, looked out. He knew her well enough to read her body language. She needed to stay calm until Althowin finished what she was saying.

“The Three Heads?” Katalin asked.

“No. Maybe. The companies, Kat. All of them. Look.” She scooted forward and grabbed Katalin’s hand. “Owin isn’t just another hero. If everything you said is true, he has no limit. No levels to stop him or a class to follow. He can do anything, and that scares the world’s strongest.”

“Except for you.”

“I’ve detonated city level bombs in my own face. It’s difficult to scare me.”

Katalin squeezed her hand. “Then why are you so nervous?”

“I don’t want you two caught in the middle of this war.”

“But you’re the strongest.”

“I was.”