Ian stepped out of the Cuna for the first time one week later. The inland air was dry, but pleasantly so, and a soft breeze played with his hair. Cold weather usually came early to the northern part of Selejo, reaching its peak when fall transitioned to winter. It was currently late winter, and the weather usually hovered around fifty degrees. Today was an unseasonably warm day at sixty-five.

Ian smiled and closed his eyes as he basked in the sun.

Maria closed the wide double doors behind them. They’d taken one of the back exits that led to a secluded overlook. From the steep heights, the city of Cunabulus stretched before them, disappearing into the yellowed winter grass. Souls of all colors danced above the metropolis like glass balloons. Sights like this were such a rarity in Eternity, where souls were far scarcer. He thought he could stare at the city for hours.

“Less humid than Zukal’iss, right?” Maria said. Her face was obscured by a pair of sunglasses and a wide brim hat that also hid her azure diadem.

“I don’t really notice humidity,” Ian said.

Maria rolled her eyes. “If you had long hair, you would.” She pointed off in the distance. “That way lies your old university.”

Ian scoffed. Academia Hector was a relatively short distance to the northeast. “In case you forgot, I’m a dropout.”

She chuckled. “I mean, if you showed up now, as you are... I’m sure they’d issue you an honorary degree.”

Ian laughed. “Probably.” He pulled her closer so that her head rested under his chin. “Maria.”

“Ian.”

He pressed his chin into her head. Then, he switched to speaking into her mind for privacy, having re-opened their lich bond. “The Darkseers are closing in on every Infinity Loop program. It won’t be long until we can destroy all traces of its existence at once.”

“Including all Beginning practitioners working on the programs,” Maria added. They couldn’t take the risk that Beginning practitioners would be able to perfectly recreate any Infinity Loop information or data that they’d seen. They theoretically wouldn’t need to kill every Beginning practitioner, but it was difficult to make sure every trace of Infinity Loop information was erased without powerful Remorse practitioners doing memory wipes.

Ian wouldn’t be in charge of that–his Remorse wasn’t good enough, and he didn’t have the time. From what he understood, Ezenti was in charge of the memory erase effort, and they had a few other Remorse practitioners in the Darkseers who could help... But Ian still assumed that many Beginning practitioners would end up dead for lack of other options.

Their overall goal was to kill as few people as possible, simply removing all traces of the technology and relying on the influential Darkseers members to remain vigilant over the coming decades. Ian wasn’t exactly optimistic.

“That’s in Euryphel’s hands,” he said. “For now, our only concern is Achemiss.”

He’d made significant progress over the previous week, running countless tests to deconstruct Achemiss’s necromantic construct.

“We need to move soon, before he accelerates his efforts even further.” She sighed. “How many constructs have I needed to destroy over the Bay of Ramsay this week?”

“Twenty,” Ian said. “Not enough to complain about.”

“Sure, but you’re not counting all the ones stopped by my End array networks. Thousands of weaker constructs must have been destroyed.”

End arrays didn’t work well on inanimate objects. Oaths could only be formed between ensouled beings–sapients. Necromantic constructs were vulnerable, however. For any decemantic constructs Achemiss sent, they had Selejo’s automated defense systems.

“When are you thinking?” Maria asked. It was the metaphorical elephant in the room. Nobody had asked Ian directly when he planned to act on the rift location information.

Him leaving the Cuna’s secret basement chamber was a turning point.

“I need a week to prepare,” he said, “then we can move.” He squeezed Maria tighter against his chest. “There’s only one thing on my agenda for today, though.”

“What?”

“I want you to show me Selejo.”

Maria’s laughter bubbled up. “You’re looking at it. Besides, you’ve lived here for years while in school.”

“I don’t know it like you do,” Ian replied.

“No one knows Selejo like I do,” she retorted.

“Exactly.”

She twisted so that she looked up at him, the brim of her hat hitting Ian’s lips. She grabbed his hand and stepped over the low earthen balcony, pulling him behind her. They bounded down the red clay overlook, ultimately dropping onto the roof of a residential building, one of thousands.

“I can’t show you everything in a day,” she said out loud. “A day isn’t even enough for Cunabulus, and you have the gall to say you want me to show you all of Selejo?”

Ian grinned. “You like a good challenge.”

She huffed.

“You don’t have to show me all of Selejo,” he amended. “We can come back when everything is settled. Maybe we can even bring Eury along.”

“Are you really inviting the Crowned Executor to third wheel?”

“… Yes?”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “You are such a fascinating man. Yeah, whatever, we can figure out the logistics later. For now… Let me show you Cunabulus.”

All Ian really knew of Cunabulus was that it was an earth elementalist city, fairly brutal and stark in construction. Much of the city structures were made of red earth stolen from the Vermuthi Desert. The further out Ian looked, the more modern the buildings appeared. The entire outer sprawl of the city lacked red earth altogether.

The city was designed to be flat so it could sink into the ground. Such a defense mechanism had been triggered in the hours leading up to Ari’s descent.

Ian found it refreshing. It was so different from the city he’d grown up in, Jupiter, and Zukal’iss. Jupiter was filled by modern skyscrapers, while Zukal’iss was older and grittier, but oozing character in its old buildings and the colored lanterns that danced above the city.

Cunabulus wasn’t the most aesthetic city, but at least it was unique. People were healthy here–Ian could sense it–and they all seemed to feel… safe. He saw kids roaming around on their own, racing through the streets on skateboards and even independently entering hovergloss cars to get around. Members of the Eldemari’s Guard—though he wasn’t sure if they were still called that—patrolled the streets as peacekeepers.

Maria led him up to one of the large, elevated pedestrian crossings, a bridge that spanned two separate quarters of the city, continuing past the primary city boundary–a red clay fortification–and out into the greater Cunabulus area of Magnestria Province. As they walked its length, they were just one couple of many enjoying the warm day.

Ian didn’t regret a moment.

When they reached the end of the bridge, Maria led him away from the main pedestrian areas and into the wild grass. She moved quickly, empowering her legs. Ian glided behind her.

Before long, a body of water stretched out before them. Not the Bay of Ramsay, but Lake Magnestria. Maria led him to the shore, and they walked along the perimeter. Many areas lacked good foot paths, but that didn’t stop them. Even though it was winter, the lake region was dominated by evergreens and the grass was greener, probably due to the lake’s proximity.

It was easy to forget it wasn’t spring.

“I used to take Zilverna picnicking here,” Maria said, stopping by a large rock. She stepped onto it and walked to the edge, her feet dangling toward the water. “You know he used to complain?”

Ian laughed. “Zilverna, complaining? I’d never guess.”

She smirked. “He’s a city boy. Likes being around people–being near important things. He always liked the idea of adventure. He always wanted to help people. Going somewhere outside the city, away from civilization, was his idea of torture.”

“When was the last time you brought him here?” Ian asked, sitting down beside her.

She shrugged and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Five years ago, maybe? Relative to his frame of reference.”

“Have you thought of taking him back here again?”

“No.”

“A lot has changed,” Ian pointed out. “He might see a place like this in a different light, now.”

“Ian,” she began, hesitating. “Can you fix me?”

His heart nearly skipped a beat. “Fix you?”

“Make me feel the way I used to,” she continued. “Make me love the way I should. The way a mother should.”

It was a cruel question, one they both already knew the answer to. “This motherly love you’re placing on a pedestal is just the product of hormones, driving you to love your progeny, to care for them and further your bloodline.” He sighed. “Survival.”

She responded by squeezing his hand and holding it tight.

“You don’t need a biological crutch to love deeply, Maria.” He turned and cupped her face. “I know you don’t.”

Her response was barely audible. “I know.”

They took their time by the lake. When they finally returned to Cunabulus, Maria took Ian to one of her favorite restaurants. They were able to sit outside since the upscale establishment had a patio with heating arrays.

When they returned to the Cuna, the world was dark, illuminated only by the moon.

Ian wished he could extend the day forever and put off what needed to be done. Time marched on without his consent, plunging him back into a new day.

He woke up with Maria beside him. She was just staring at him, smiling softly. They were in one of the sumptuous guest rooms within the Cuna, the chamber ironically not at all furnished to her austere tastes. “It’s a new day,” she murmured.

Ian groaned and sat up on his elbows, resting his head on the headboard. “Y’jeni.”

She chuckled. “That’s all you have to say? Have I really rendered you speechless?”

“Ugh.” He got out of bed, took a shower, and met Maria and the others for a quiet breakfast in a parlor room within the palace. Euryphel had returned to Ichormai days ago, so it was just Zilverna and Kaiwen who joined them. Maria just watched everyone eating while Kaiwen picked at a bun filled with sour cheese. Zilverna had scrambled eggs next to a thin, crispy strudel that Ian was pretty sure he could buy in any normal grocery store.

“So…” Zilverna began, “you’re gonna… do the thing?”

Ian nearly gagged on his juice. “You really have no filter.”

The teen took a bit of the mass-produced pastry, sending crumbs everywhere. “I’m just trying to make sure I don’t say something sensitive!”

Kaiwen and Maria shared a knowing look.

Ian sighed. “I’ll be doing the thing if the workshop space I’ve requested is ready.”

Zilverna grinned. “I checked it out yesterday night. It extends from Mom’s secret room and it’s like, four times bigger, with tables and actual chairs.” He gave Maria a disapproving look.

“Did you get the materials I asked for?” Ian asked.

“Wood, check. Pretty sure that’s it.”

“I specifically asked for mannequins.”

“Exactly. Wood.” Zilverna paused. “Don’t you need other things, though?”

“I have everything else with me.”

Zilverna lowered his voice. “But, like, souls.”

“Y’jeni, Zilverna,” Ian said, chuckling, “I have what I need.”

After finishing up breakfast and imbibing a healthy dose of caffeine, Zilverna and Kaiwen led them to the secret lift. Where before the lift only led to the tiny safe room, now there was another room next door, this one much larger, as reported. Ian walked inside and nodded at the twelve mannequins lined up on the wall. Two for each of the five new rifts, then an extra two as spares.

He pulled out the Blade of Revelation and drew it to his heart, initiating the transformation. Just a few short weeks ago, before his return, he’d only been able to function when either transformed by the Blade of Revelation or while wearing Maria in her regalia form. He was doing much better now thanks to Soolemar’s help in reforming his soul’s anchor points. Even so, the solution wasn’t perfect. He would only be able to do his best necromancy work while in this form, his soul better stabilized.

Zilverna stared at him in speechless awe, while Kaiwen’s expression was inscrutable, though Ian sensed a mix of fear and disgust oozing out of her mental defenses. He was used to his transformation but understood why it might strike someone as freakish.

He sheathed the blade and walked to the first mannequin, feeling it over and getting a tactile sense of it to enhance his vital perception. He then set aside an apple. He’d tethered Over a thousand souls to it, to the extent that he could barely see the apple with his eyes open. Was he going to need so many souls?

He hoped not.

But since he’d resigned himself to not leave his new workshop until he was done, he erred on the side of caution. Whatever he didn’t use now, he could release later.

“Is there… a soul… trapped inside the apple?” Zilverna asked. “Mom said you sometimes put them in random objects.”

Ian raised an eyebrow. “You could say that.”

“Let the Skai’aren work,” Kaiwen said, tugging Zilverna away. “We’ll check on you in a few hours to see if you need anything.”

Ian gave her a small smile. “I won’t, but do as you please.”

Maria settled in a chair as the two departed.

Then, Ian snagged a soul and got to work.