The rest of the week just flew by. My stockpile of wishes grew, and I marveled at how convenient the whole thing was. Using the rings would help maximize the power, since the scrolls wouldn’t need to transport any physical items for payment, and automating part of the process was ridiculously useful.

I had fifty six scrolls total for the week, and I passed them all to Callie for distribution, though I gave six to Abel, since he’d be leaving the group to train with Lark. He didn’t want them on hand, but I insisted he have at least some just in case.

One of them we tried out, passing it to Celine so she could pay out of pocket (25 E-ranked chits), just to see what it did. It was extremely jarring to see the purple flames of my ability roll across my vision unprompted, but it was a nice tidy note in the same style as usual, with an added commentary on what the wish was about.

Whoever created this process was a genius, it was so convenient. I suspected it was probably the original Wishmaster, given what I knew about him.

And then…it was time to say goodbye. Callie, Chelsea, Benny, all my friends came with me to meet up with Celia, who would be taking me to a staging point to explain the plan. My wife wrapped her arms around me, clinging to me tightly as if I was a life raft on a stormy sea. I held her back just as tight.

I WAS excited about this, going out on my own as a D-ranker…but I was also going to miss my friends. My family. I was so used to them having my back, Callie most of all.

She leaned up to press a hard kiss to my mouth (I’d taken to not wearing my mask when I didn’t have to, ever since Black Sorrow changed it I didn’t feel right in the thing). We stayed like that for a minute, then she pulled back and glared at me. “If you get yourself killed, Shane Wyndham, I’m going to shift my path to some kind of ghost conjuration just so I can call you back from wherever you end up and kick your ass.”

“I love you too, Cal.” I said with a laugh, pressing my forehead to hers. “Take care of our family, ok? I’ll be back annoying you before you know it.”

I pulled away, hugging Benny, Bethy, Chelsea, and everyone else one by one. Finally, I turned to Celia. “Alright, I figure we do the gear thing on the ship. What’s my mode of transportation?”

She smiled warmly. “You’ll be taking my personal transport.” She snapped her fingers, and a ship appeared behind her, floating in the air. It was hard to look at. A strange dark shape that seemed to eat light. It was like I was looking at a black hole, but Eye of Revelation showed me the form of a sleek, edgy metal vessel about the size of a bus.

“This is the Acheron.” She said proudly. She put a hand on my shoulder, and we were suddenly consumed by shadows. The darkness that carried us was thicker than Callie’s, but also deeper and more peaceful than the Enshrining Darkness of Black Sorrow. Drowning Shade had changed her ability, which didn’t surprise me, she was S-rank and that was when the Path became part of you and bloodlines were created.

As we came out of the dark, we were standing in a large, metallic hallway. There were branches in three directions, and the ground was subtly humming under my feet. The ship was obviously much bigger on the inside, but it was still much smaller than the Necromedes. “What rank is this?” I asked as she led me down one of the halls.

“S.” She said simply. “The Acheron is made from Stygian Starsteel, death infused metal forged by the dying gutters of an undead sun. It’s understandably difficult to source, hence its conservative size. Most S-rank ships are much smaller by necessity. Proper S-ranked materials are a challenge to acquire. It is, of course, much faster than any A-rank ship, and will provide you will all necessary amenities for your journey, such as it is.”

She led me to an open chamber where a small crew of people were waiting. The first one to see us was a woman in silvery armor with a white cloak. She bowed deeply to my grandmother. “Madam. Welcome back. The arrangements have been made to your specifications.”

“Well done.” She beamed. “Now, why don’t you show us the new outfit I got for my grandson.”

The woman nodded. She turned and clapped her hands, and a wardrobe materialized in the air beside her. Reaching up, she unlatched the thing, then pulled it open.

“Out of necessity we needed to change your style.” My grandmother explained as I took in the new gear. “The samples of your pseudo Domain, your dark flames, your corrosion, and the combination thereof were all given to our finest smiths. As a Master, you’re capable of withstanding C-ranked artifacts, and this armor should last you quite a while.”

The new suit was…big. I was a big guy, but my previous armor was specced for mobility and finesse. My large form came across more lithe in most of my gear, and I actually kind of preferred that.

That was no longer the case. My new gear was a massive thick suit of heavy plate armor. The black metal was shot through with veins of green, giving it a sinister and terrifying look, and I knew that on my six foot four frame, I would look like a fucking colossus wearing this suit. Combined with the creepy new mask, it cut a VERY different picture than my current regal attire.

“The plate is Nightiron.” My grandmother announced. “We sourced it from a particularly corrupted demonic volcano, so the compatibility with your attributes is off the charts. This suit will massively boost your raw destructive power, as well as resisting any form of corruption or corrosion. Less versatile than your previous accouterments, I admit, but what it loses in versatility it makes up for in raw force. For your assumed identity, it will be perfect.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Speaking of my assumed identity.” I said cautiously. “What kind of name should I use? I’m guessing Solomon is out.”

She nodded. “We assumed you might just like to call yourself by one of your form names. It will be your decision which to use, of course. Any of them should feed you stats more easily. Having multiple identities is a known phenomena, but in this case it’s a temporary measure.”

“Mephistopheles it is then.” I said with a grim smile. “It suits this beast of a suit best I think. So I need to change my weapon?”

“Unlikely.” She said with a shake of her head. “Your weapon is perfectly fine. It’s relatively new, from what I understand, and not to be indelicate but…it’s a stick.” At my mutinous look she held up her hands. “A very nice stick, to be sure, but still a stick. People can’t really tell one stick from another, especially not based on stories, so your staff won’t be a danger.”

I considered complaining, but in the end I just sighed. “Fine, at least I don’t have to learn a new weapon. I’m pretty good at using…a stick.” I said, putting a bit of acid into the last word.

She rolled her eyes, easily the most human thing I’d seen her do. “I swear. You and your grandfather get so out of sorts about the most inane things. He once sulked for over a decade because I told him his boots were too gaudy. He STILL brings it up when he’s in a bad mood.” She smiled sadly. “It heartens me to see you inherited so much from him, even if you were kept away from us.”

In the week I’d known my grandmother, we hadn’t interacted all that much. When I heard her sad tone, it occurred to me that she had been staying away out of a misunderstanding. “I don’t blame you.” I said bluntly. “For the way my childhood turned out.”

“You should.” She responded in a tired tone. “It’s my fault. I was a reckless and selfish girl who threw away the dreams of many people to be with the one I loved. I won’t ever regret that, but I will always regret the damage it did to those who cared for me.” At my surprised look, she chuckled. “Yes, even HER.”

She shook her head. “I won’t ask you to forgive or understand her. She’s done more to you than can be easily overlooked. But to me she’s just my mama. She gave me everything I ever wanted, loved me unconditionally, and I spat in her face. Honestly, I expected her to be angrier at me. But even in this, she couldn’t bear to turn her anger on me. So if you have to hate someone for the way things went. Hate me.”

“That’s dumb.” I said bluntly. “And you’re dumb for saying it.”

Her mouth dropped open, the shock of my words completely cutting through her pity party. So I kept talking. “I don’t hate her. I don’t LIKE her, but she’s a god. It’s like hating a hurricane for blowing your house down. Huge waste of energy. And I don’t hate you either. We have a chance to fix our family here, and I’m going to take it. I’m not wasting my energy seething over shit I can’t control that happened decades ago. Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

She stared at me for a minute, then burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she almost fell over, then pulled me into a tight hug. “By the gods, you really are just like my Nicky in so many ways. You’re right. I’m feeling sorry for myself. We’ve got work to do.” She snapped her fingers and that model of Rackham came up again.

“You’ll be entering the planet on the Acheron, and it’ll wait for you there. Chances are good you may be moved if you win the selection. I’ve placed a starpluck anchor on the ship, and there’s another in your armor. In case of an emergency your wife can retrieve you and bring you back to Rackham to escape. I can’t promise it’ll work perfectly if you reach the world you’re assigned to find, so do try not to require rescue.”

“Plan B stands for barely feasible.” I said with a grin. “Got it. Anything else I need to know?”

She shook her head. “Not as such. There are some geographical surveys of Rackham on the ship servers, feel free to peruse them at your leisure. Sadly there isn’t much cultural or historical data, the place is very new as these things go. Other than that, I can only say that we aren’t sure of the details of the selection. Judgement only noted that success will lead you toward the thing you seek. Karma is vague like that.”

“Check and check.” I hugged her again. “Thanks grandma. Take care of my wife for me will you? In a perfect world, I’d come back to find her with a Solid Path of her own.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” She said with amusement. “Be safe, grandson. Or as safe as you can be in the ludicrously dangerous place we’re sending you.” She paused. “I think I might be a bad grandmother.”

I shrugged. “If it helps.” I said with a grin. “You’re definitely the least terrible grandmother I’ve ever had. I’ve never met the other one, but she had a kid with a sociopath, so chances are good she’s probably kind of an asshole. Although if that’s my metric, I guess I’m kind of smack talking mom a little too. Forget I said anything.” I winked and she started laughing again. Then she left, and I was alone with the crew and my suit. “Do you guys have a room for me?” I asked eventually. “I need to get changed.”