There was a saying that big cities were the same everywhere. In many ways that held true, yet comparing a city on Earth to any of the cities in the awakened world was close to impossible. The greatest difference of all was the amount of decay that came with cities. Even with steel and glass, Dallion could see the cracks and wear all over the buildings. Humanity had done a good job of covering them up through one method or another, yet he could feel the imperfections. If this were the other world, every building realm would be full of crackling cities.

On a personal note, what Dallion still had difficulty getting used to was the city's silence. There was an abundance of voices, of course: people, construction, music, cars honking… yet no guardian chatter. The only time guardians spoke was after he’d speak to them first, and even then, they’d always be surprised at his ability to respond. It quickly became like having the same conversation over and over again.

Nah, haven’t seen anyone like you. The hotdog stand replied, while Dallion was enjoying a free hotdog thanks to the generosity of its owner, and Dallion’s music skills. Would be fun. Max is a good kid, but can’t say much.

“Max” as it turned out, was a man in his thirties who had reluctantly taken over the business from his father. Apparently, even here there were items who outlived their owners by far.

Finishing his hotdog, Dallion continued along the crowded street until he got to a small electronics shop. The place offered specialist equipment, along with the obligatory selection of late-model phones and accessories.

A bell attached to the door rang as Dallion pushed it open, causing the sales clerk to look up.

Lock, Dallion addressed the guardian. Can you please jam for a few minutes? I’d like to have some privacy.

Of course, dearie! The lock obliged, clicking the moment Dallion closed the door shut.

Such a polite boy you are. And you even learned my language. Very much the opposite of those hooligans that keep slamming things all the time.

Thank you, Dallion replied with a smile, then went straight to the store assistant.

“Hi,” he said.

This was the moment of truth. The person on the other side of the counter was someone he had history with. The last time the two met, they had fought to their mutual death. Dallion had won, though, at the price of his own life. It was only thanks to the Purple Moon that he’d cast off death that single time.

Don’t make a scene, Arthurows, Dallion thought.

There was enough electricity in the shop for him to cast any number of single circle spells. Even so, he preferred not to fight against a former star in the middle of New York. As he’d learned the last time, one could lose even if winning the fight.

The Arthurows of Earth was a lot younger than the one Dallion had faced in the awakened world. Not even in his late teens, he was just a high school part-timer, helping out in a shop belonging to his uncle.

“Hi…” Arthurows stared at Dallion intently, as if making up his mind whether to go all out or leave it for later. For almost three full seconds, no one said a word, until the teen finally continued. “Do I know you? You look kind of familiar.”

The reaction could be viewed as a positive, but Dallion didn’t feel so at all. Despite the danger, he was hoping that Arthurows would have memories of the awakened world. As a former Star and someone linked to the void, he was supposed to have kept them. Not only that, the Stars were the only one who had actually managed to transport items from Earth to the awakened world.

When Jenna had mentioned that Arthurows had been approached but refused to join the network, Dallion thought that it was because of his pride. The truth was that he simply didn’t remember his past, yet due to the abysmally large amount of void within him, no one from the network dared press the issue further.

“I just have one of those faces, I guess,” Dallion lied as he forced a smile. “I’m looking for a security camera. Have any of those?”

“Sure.” Arthurows rushed to one of the shelves behind him and took an old cheap-looking box. “I got this brand new. Has a series of ten transmitters. All you need is a phone and some phone batteries and you can see what’s going on twenty-four-seven.”

Dallion looked at the pictures at the back of the box. They looked exceedingly low quality.

“Do they have night vision?” he asked.

“Nah. Those are too expensive. We don’t keep any here, but we can order them, if interested. Want me to order it for you? All in advance, though. We’ve had too many jokers.”

“Not yet. I need to think a bit more.”

“Sure thing. We’re open every day except on Christmas.” Arthurows put the box away. “Are you sure we don’t know each other? You seem familiar somehow. Where did you go to school?”

“I’m not local.” A pity. He would have liked a chat. “Do you have a card? If I decide to order the camera.”

“Oh, right.” The teen reached under the counter, then grabbed a store card and a pen. “I don’t have personal ones, but I’ll give you my name and handle. Send a message if you want me to check anything.”

Dallion waited, then took the card.

“Arthur Rows,” he read. “Thanks, I’ll do that. Take care and don’t let the stress get you.” He used his music skill to nudge the teen into being more responsive. “Mental health is important.”

It wasn’t much, but hopefully that would be enough to make him consider getting in touch with the void network. They’d be able to take it from there.

Stolen story; please report.

I’m done, lock. You can open up now.

My pleasure, dearie. The lock guardian replied. Was a wonderful conversation. I hope you come back soon.

Another time and place, Dallion might have, but not here. He had come to have a talk with Arthurows but saw that the boy had nothing to offer. Hopefully, he’d be able to get most of the void out of him by the time he finished college. For someone of that nature, it wouldn’t be easy or pleasant.

There goes one lead, Dallion thought as he made his way through the street.

He had really hoped that he’d find the answer here. Thankfully, other options remained. As a big city, New York attracted the greatest number of awakened. Although, if Dallion failed to find anyone here, he’d have to return to his original plan and face the watcher organization in DC.

As Dallion was walking aimlessly along, a TV store caught his attention. To be exact, it wasn’t the store that was interesting, but the commercial running on the screens. At first glance, it was one of those cheaply made children’s commercials advertising a new chocolate product. What Dallion couldn’t ignore was that the product advertised had his name.

Splitting into instances, Dallion looked around, ready for combat.

The ad kept going on and on, clearly displaying Dallion’s name in an effort to gain his attention. When he came closer, the image changed.

Want to get the best deal? Call NOW!

A product developed by Alien Ltd.

“Alien,” Dallion relaxed, yet still kept his instances. That did seem like something Alien would do, unless there was another mage in the city. While most of the mages Dallion had dealings with weren’t otherworlders, all members of the Shimmering Circle were.

In any event, the best course of action was for him to get back to the hotel as quickly as possible.

Sprinting there would have been a breeze, but using any awakened skills would have called too much attention. Dallion was fortunate that only a handful of people were capable of combat splitting—and none of the watchers, from what it seemed.

In the end, it took him half an hour to get back. Upon entering the room, he found Alien and Katka there, along with a massive takeout order of pizza and sushi.

“Finally,” Alien said. “You’ve no idea how much energy I had to waste to grab your attention.”

Having a mobile phone would have been a lot faster. At the same time, it would have made them easy targets for the watchers.

“I found someone,” he said.

“Who?” Dallion asked the obvious question.

“Well… someone.”

“He’s not sure,” Katka clarified as she kept on eating a box of sushi rolls. “Whoever it is, he severed the connection before we could get a clear view of him. Actually, that’s the way we noticed him at all.”

“I tried going at it from different angles, but he’d block me at every turn.”

“A mage,” Dallion noted. “I thought you knew all of them.”

“I thought I knew all of them. They usually try to out-clever me with spells and blocks, not sever the entire link.”

“So, it’s not a mage?”

“Must be. Only mages are able to notice. Heck, even you aren’t that good.”

That much was true. Dallion needed a lot of time and concentration to reach Alien’s level. He suspected that even Katka would be better at it. In a direct spell competition, he was favored to win, yet when it came to the type of grit and net surveillance that the other was capable of, he was miles away.

“Can it be Jeremy?” Dallion asked.

The atmosphere suddenly changed, as unadulterated fear emanated from both Alien and Katka. The thought that the Tamin Emperor might be in the same city as them was only less terrifying than the realization that they had provoked him.

Instantly, the loom of magic threads vanished along with any illusions. The room returned to its standard sorry state, now made all the more terrible by all the takeaway cartons present.

“Shit.” Alien grabbed his head with both hands.

“There’s no guarantee it’s him,” Dallion was quick to say.

“Really? Who else can it be? Someone skilled in magic, fast enough to spot magic surveillance, and sever magic threads the moment they appear. And don’t forget, a large enough threat to keep the watchers at bay. The archbishop was crap at magic, so that leaves just…” He didn’t dare finish the sentence.

A meeting with Jeremy was never in the plans. Dallion had discussed it both with Alien and Jenna. The mage was terrified of the possibility, and Jenna hadn’t even heard of him. Both had sworn that they hadn’t been able to find any indication that the man was of this time period. Clearly, they were wrong. Or were they?

“What if it’s Adzorg’s mentor?” Dallion asked. “He was an otherworlder.”

“The old man’s teacher?” The thought caused Alien to calm down. Ten seconds later, he actually considered the possibility. “Not impossible, but that’s still like replacing one monster with another. I’ve heard the rumors about that maniac. He dragged his disciples to the Fallen South! Even the old man found him harsh.”

There was no denying that. From the memory fragment Dallion had seen, the old man was a bit extreme when it came to certain things. Still, he was a mage interested in Earth tech.

“Where did you see him?” Dallion asked.

“You’re thinking of going? You really are an idiot.”

“My life, my choice.” Dallion’s tone hardened. “Where?”

Alien froze up.

“It’s a construction site,” he said after a while. Pulling some energy from the air-con, he created an aether representation of the local area. “Somewhere there.”

“Alright. Stay low until I get back. If I’m not here by evening, you’re on your own.”

There was nothing more that could be said. As anxious as Dallion was feeling, he was also hopeful. In truth, he preferred if he came upon the emperor. It could be said that the man resembled him more than anyone else. If it wasn’t for Simon, their roles would be reversed right now: Jeremy would have been the Architect, and Dallion would be back in college. There even was a chance that he would have lost all his memories of the awakened world.

The trip to the construction site took fifteen minutes with a cab. Just as before, Dallion didn’t pay, and the cab driver felt that he had made a favor to a close friend. To a certain degree, Dallion understood why the watchers had formed. It was easy for awakened to abuse their power.

There were over fifty people present at the site as far as Dallion could see, and that didn’t include those in the management trailers. From what Alien had said, all attempts at spying had been interrupted, suggesting it had to be from someone on the scaffolding.

Taking a deep breath, Dallion concentrated on his magic vision. Nothing weird about the people in view jumped out. They were nothing but the average well-developed, non-awakened, doing work that most people preferred to avoid. One had to admit they were pretty good at it, too. The metal construction was close to flawless, which was a plus when constructing ten-story buildings.

Finishing with the top levels, Dallion focused on the people on the ground. All of them seemed pretty normal as well. Had the awakened left the scene? Or was someone just messing with Alien?

Then, Dallion felt it—the unmistakable sensation of someone splitting. Without thinking, he did so as well, leaping in two different directions. As he did, his effort was quickly interrupted, forcing all but one of his instances to fade away.

“It’s not polite to split before introducing yourself.” A heavy hand slammed onto Dallion’s shoulder and briskly turned him around. “Hello, grandson. How have you been?”