When I opened my eyes, a trio of blinking notifications filled my vision, obscuring the rest of the world until I mentally pushed them aside. Sitting up, I found a dog-sized Raiju resting on my legs while Ylsa stood a few yards away speaking with Volta animatedly. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but from what it looked like, Ylsa was pissed off and Volta was trying to talk her down.

She’s probably got that. Probably.

“Hey.” I ran a hand through Raiju’s fur. “How long was I out this time?”

She raised her head and lolled out her tongue as she laid it down in my lap. “Ten minutes, tops.” She sighed and flicked her gaze over to the irate goliath. “Fair warning, Ylsa took a ton of damage and Volta had to feed her that special potion you gave her or she would have died. She’s been arguing with Volta about how much of a waste it was for five minutes or so.”

“Ylsa, Volta, get over here.” I barked at the pair arguing, surprising even myself. “Please?” I added lamely.

The pairstarted at my assertion before complying, though I could have sworn I caught a hint of a smile on Volta’s face for half a second before it disappeared like a mirage. The pair saluted me when they stopped a few feet away from me.

“Volta, good work. My biggest priority is always going to be keeping everyone alive,” I winced, “which is why I’ll be resummoning your brother as soon as I can.” She nodded appreciatively. “It appears the Tower didn’t like me summoning more help, so it’s blocked my ability even on this floor. I’ll try again in the safe room on the next floor.”

I turned my gaze to Ylsa. “If you insist on arguing I’ve wasted a potion on you, I’ll dump another one on the ground right now.” I thumbed the top of a vial in my bandolier. “Things can be replaced, and I didn’t even pay for those, so don’t feel bad. Auntie Meg will make me more if I send her a letter or a [Sending]. I’ll just have to have Grandpa or Mom deliver it when we get to Sunhome.” I stared her straight in the eye as I drew out the Pseudo-Legendary potion and started to tip it. “Am I clear?”

She hesitated a moment and I tipped it farther, the vibrant red liquid inside forming a bead on the lip that threatened to fall to the ground. “I agree, now please–” I tipped the vial back level, corked it, and tossed it to her.

“You used the last one, so here’s another. I’ve still got two more, so don’t be afraid to use it.”

Raiju took that moment to stand up and stretch, finally freeing me. I clambered to my feet, twisting my torso this way and that to limber up. “What exactly happened after I blacked out? The last thing I remember was Quaddy screaming in my face as he started to explode.”

Ylsa was still holding the potion like it was a newborn baby that had flown through the air, not a potion, so Volta helped me out.

“The whole floor blew up, give or take. It was only Ylsa using [Bloodsplitter] and channeling [Frost Blade] through it that let us deflect the worst of the blast. It still leaked through and injured her quite severely, but the aforementioned potion took care of that.” She saluted again. “According to the Tower, we’re good to move onto the next floor, Pactlord.”

A quick glance at my notifications told me she was correct, including a big bonus for killing all of the demons instead of just five percent as was required. The other was interesting, if not unexpected.

[Edge of Spring Acquired with Skill Dominance]

The other was a bit more interesting, if a bit touchy if I was being honest with myself.

I never used Dad’s gift, [Night’s Fury], so I haven’t learned [Assassinate] yet. The odds of it being available when I evolve [Backstab] are really good. I wonder…

“Ylsa.”

My voice snapped her out of her stupor as she snapped to attention. “Yes, Storm-Blessed?”

“Is there a way to delay a Skill evolution without having the stupid notification blinking in the corner of my vision until I go through with it?”

She looked at me like I was crazy. “Why would you want to delay something like that? Skill evolutions are rare…for everyone but you.” She sighed. “Not that I know of. Everyone I’ve ever met has just taken care of it the next time they rested for a level up.”

“Thought that might be the case.” I shrugged and mentally blocked out the blinking Skill evolution notification as I looked at my party. Let’s be honest, we were kind of a hot mess at that point.

Trying to distract myself I checked my combat log, a minute long ritual I’d never really spent much time going through and found that, apparently, [Hydra’s Regeneration] had kicked in and started its one minute full heal the moment I passed out, which saved my life.

“Nothing left to do but go up a floor and take a rest so we can all level up before the boss. Any objections?”

A few seconds of silence later, I had my answer. “Time to go then.” With a mental flick, I hit the button to take us up a floor and the world devolved into white light.

A few seconds later, I blinked away the tears to take in the Safe Room.

The grand entranceway was a sight to behold. A sweeping white marble staircase ascended majestically towards a set of imposing bronze double doors, their surface adorned with intricate carvings of the Tower’s exterior. Where we rested at the base of the staircase, a spacious twenty-foot area was paved with gleaming silver tiles, reflecting the light from the overhead chandeliers. Flanking the entranceway stood pairs of elegant marble columns, their capitals adorned with intricate details. The Tower walls beyond the columns were a stark contrast to the ornate entranceway, their smooth, grey stone surface devoid of any decoration.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

A closer inspection found the gold line that denoted a Safe Room wrapping around the silver tiled area all the way up to the walls and stairs. “[Trap Master] didn’t trigger and the gold line’s there, so we should be safe. I’ll cook us some dinner and then we’ll take a well deserved rest so we can apply our levels. After that? We stomp the boss’ ass and get back out into the world.”

Dinner was a solemn affair, with just Ylsa, Raiju, and I eating. I missed Jaegan’s effortless way of getting us to talk more than I could say and the only thing that made it go away, even a little bit, was resting his staff across my knees as I cooked and ate. Just having it nearby was comforting, though I wasn’t sure if it was because of the increase it gave me to my destructive potential, or the fact that my mentor used to bear it.

Once we all finished dinner, Raiju and Ylsa both took two heaping portions of the pork fried rice I made, and we all got ready for bed. Ylsa set out her bedroll and I pulled out the [Cloud Carpet]. The moment I got settled on it, Raiju hopped up and curled up by my feet before immediately passing out. I stroked her fur a few times to calm my nerves and let myself drift off to sleep.

***

“Four levels at one time?” Dominus’ dulcet voice filled my ears. “You spoil me.”

Smiling despite myself, I opened my eyes to find myself in the parlor I grew up playing in. Dominus was sitting where I usually did on the long tan leather couch with her long legs curled under her and to one side. She wore a tightly fitted set of violet robes any female [Mage] would kill for as they accentuated her divine figure just so. Her flowing blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun with what looked like a pair of kunai holding it in place. The eyes of the throwing blades had gemstones matching the opposite eye of the goddess, cerulean lapis lazuli on one side and smokey topaz on the other.

It was her smile that really caught my eye though, it was just so inviting. Gone were her attempts to seduce me, revealing a woman who was just excited to have someone to talk to.

Phenomenal cosmic power and an itty bitty living space…I mean, relatively. She chose this place to put me at ease and it’s definitely working.

“I like what you did with the place.” I padded over to join her on the couch and when I sat down beside her I was genuinely surprised to find myself wearing a set of my favorite green [Demonsilk] pajamas. I leaned against her and let my body relax for the first time in a few weeks. “It’s nice to be home, even if it’s only a reflection.”

“What did I get wrong?” The goddess practically pouted, though she did her best to hide her irritation. “Was it the clock?”

“It’s the smell.” I took a deep sniff and sighed deeply. “It’s fall right now, so Momo would be working on her breadmaking, filling the entire house with the heady scent of fresh bread. Right now, it smells like summer, when she works on her pie making. Hence the smell of apple pie in the air.”

“You’ve got me there, I only really got to look at the house on your System Day.” She waved a hand and the smell shifted to match what I’d described. “Better?”

“It was good either way, but I do love this smell so thank you for that.” I reached for her hand and pulled it into both of mine. “I appreciate the effort. Thank you.”

Dominus looked away and coughed once. “It was the least I could do. You’re out there doing exactly what I wanted and all I could give you was–”

“A SSS-ranked Class and your blessing?” I snorted. “You’ve done more than enough.”

Surprising me, she shook her head. “If I were a bit more powerful, I could have saved–”

“Stop it.” I cut her off before she could finish. “Jaegan’s sacrifice was his choice.”

She looked down at me in confusion. “I was talking about Arlian. Jaegan’s…” Her eyes lit up. “Have you actually checked the description on Jaegan’s staff since he died?”

“No.” I narrowed my eyes. “Why would I?”

“Have I led you wrong yet? Please check.”

She waved her hand and Jaegan’s staff appeared in a metal rack that looked like it was meant for swords or umbrellas, depending on the household. Turning my gaze upon it, I felt [Essence Reading] trigger, something that usually happened in the background so often I put a filter in my System settings to block out all but the most important notifications from.

[Staff of the Wallbreaker - Unique

Awakened - Stirring

Durability - */* - Cannot break while Jaegan’s soul persists within

Description - Originally crafted from a thousand year old oak with a sliver of Jaegan “Wallbreaker” Toretto’s soul in a moment of need, this staff drastically enhances offensive magic. All Spells cast by the wielder have their damage amplified three-fold. The wielders’ area of effect Spells do not harm those they consider allies. The wielder of this staff can use [Wallbreaker], the Unique Skill of the original bearer. If this staff is taken from Arthur Neilson, it reappears in his grasp a minute later.

In Jaegan’s final moments, he poured the shattered remnants of his soul into this staff. Each soul snuffed out by the wielder will be siphoned, strained, and fed to the remnant until it is fully healed. At that point, Jaegan’s soul remnant will be able to communicate with the wielder.]

“A soul remnant?” My eyes were wide as I turned to find Dominus beaming. “What does this–”

“Jaegan isn’t gone!” She couldn’t contain herself. “His body may have disintegrated, but it was only a few years from dying anyway. Now, he’ll live on with you for the rest of time.”

I was equal parts excited and horrified at what I’d just heard. Though I was leaning toward excitement, I had to ask. “Did he know this was going to happen?”

She nodded, catching on that I had mixed feelings for what had happened. “He knew because he asked me how to do it. He could feel his soul and body both degrading at a frightening clip and didn’t want to let his soul vanish, losing him access to the afterlife. Instead, I taught him to bind himself to the tiny sliver of his soul already in his staff.”

“Is he OK with that though? He won’t have arms or legs, or…anything anymore.” The mere thought of complete lack of bodily control gave me goosebumps. “Wasn’t there any other way?”

“I’m sorry.” She rubbed her thumb on the back of one of my hands. “With your location, there was nothing that could have been, even if you’d used my Fury on the spike, I wouldn’t have been able to save him at that point. Honestly, I’m not great at fixing things, I’m much more the ‘build a new one’ kind of goddess. To be clear, Jaegan chose his fate. He’s excited to see how you develop as a caster and should be able to guide you on that path far better than most of those hacks who call themselves [Mages].”

We sat there, just chatting about what I’d gone through since we last spoke, for the better part of two hours. She didn’t agree with everything I did, but didn’t admonish me for my choices either. She said, “What good is having a Chosen if you have to tell them what to do all the time,” when I asked her why that was. I wasn’t able to refute her, so I let the point drop. When we got to the part where Arlian sacrificed himself for me, I wept and she held me tight.

“He was almost as old as my youngest child, Wild, if you’d believe that.” She hummed comfortingly. “He’d been stuck as an [Obsidian Knight] since before the System came to Genovia. Imagine that, a being with so much skill and knowledge bound to the form of a B-ranked elemental when he had the potential to be the next Lava Duke? It was pure torture. His sacrifice was a release, plain and simple. Never question what happened, it was the best outcome…trust me.”