The Moravian’s temple wasn’t hard to find. In fact, knowing where it was, I couldn’t have missed it if I tried. Not because it was some big flashy palace, but because it was literally the opposite of that. The temple looked…old. Like seriously old. It was built from weathered stones stacked on top of each other in an almost crude version of a log cabin.

Externally, the building was probably fifteen feet high and ten feet wide. It looked more like a tool shed than a temple in some ways.

But in others, it was truly staggering. Impact. The building was so far past anything else on the planet I could barely process it. Not D-rank, not quite, but right on the edge of the watershed. Ninety nine points of Impact. I wondered how he’d been able to make this, what process allowed him to create this building.

Sadly, my curiosity would have to wait. I had a meeting. I walked up to the metal door of the temple, rapping on it gently.

“Enter.” Came a solemn voice. I glanced around, looking for any traps just in case, but Eye of Revelation was mostly silent. Pushing open the door, I stepped into the temple proper, unsurprisingly quite a bit bigger on the inside.

Still, not a huge building, even with spatial expansion. The interior was maybe a hundred feet by a hundred feet. The layout was simple, open air, with actual waterfalls on each side creating a sort of lake moat around a single central stone island. The floor of the island was covered with a soft, spongy carpet of moss.

In the center, sitting at a rough wooden table, was an old man. He wasn’t ancient, or wizened, more stout than anything. The Moravian was a large man, about seven feet tall, with iron grey hair and a close cut beard. His long locks were bound up in an artless ponytail and his clothes were roughspun cloth.

Despite the mundane appearance of everything there, including his apparel, I could practically smell the enchantments coming off them. Not runes, not exactly. More like man made formations. It was like every thread was carefully chosen to create a pattern that baked magic into every inch of his clothing.

He smiled gently at me as he gestured to the table. “Please.” He said serenely. “Have a seat. I’m brewing tea. I grow it myself, you know.”

Not wanting to be rude, I crossed the small bridge of stones leading across the moat. The waterfall on the front wall poured down over it, the stream shattering when it hit the large stone archway, not actually touching anyone entering, but creating fractals of light as it broke outward into banks of mist that floated above the island and temple.

Reaching the island, I sat in the hand carved chair across from him, and he slowly filled a porcelain cup with tea from a clay pot. As it hit the cup, small waves of steam came up, shifting and forming into strange patterns. “You’re a formation Master, I take it?”

He smiled gently. “I’ve always felt a pull to the mysteries of the natural world. I travelled extensively in my youth, and was lucky enough to refine my soul, severing my shackles. When I returned home and realized I could never reach D-rank here, I wasn’t discouraged. I simply realized I was gifted the chance to reach beyond what I was.”

“This whole place is a formation.” I said without any doubt. “A Grandmaster level formation?”

The Moravian smiled. “All things are born of the world, and in their birth enter the pattern. To return to oneness, to become a part of that whole once more, that is simply a state of grace. Grace can be powerful, if you let it.”

“The Impact.” I said with a nod. “You’re collecting it. Why? You can’t reach D-rank, not without destroying the planet. I assume the same issue would apply to the temple.”

“Ah, and yet, one can surpass the limit and not reach heaven in a single step. Should the building pierce the veil without reaching the next rank, what would happen?” His eyes sharpened, despite his vagaries.

I was following though. “You’re saying if you pass one hundred Impact without actually breaking into D-rank it would be enough to push the planet to D-rank?”

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“Perhaps not all the way.” He admitted. “But momentum is a curious thing. A little goes a long way. It would begin the process, at least. But you aren’t here about me, or about my power. At least not this aspect of it.”

“I need backup.” I admitted. “My mom and uncle say they know you. That you’re good people. They said you’ll help me.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. Even one such as I doesn’t reach my age in an environment like this without acting in my own interests. There may be power in grace, but there is rarely fairness. For the sake of my own goals, I cannot extend a hand in aid without expecting silver to grace my palm. So to speak.”

“Yeah, you want to get paid.” I said with an eye roll. “I know how my role in the WCP works. I can afford to pay, but not everyone. I don’t have the cash to hire this many E-rankers, at least not long term. That’s why I came to you. This isn’t exactly part of the candidacy.”

Sighing, the big man shook his head. “Symbolism, my boy. I seek payment not in coin, but in virtue.”

“Can you talk like a normal fucking person please?” I snapped. “I’m on a schedule, and your cryptic bullshit is wasting time. Can you help me or not? And what will it cost me?”

Another sigh. “So impatient. My speech aligns with the world, as does all things. But very well. I shall be brief. This temple IS a formation. It gathers minute traces of Impact from across the planet. However, this occupation has shifted Callus into an unbalanced state. The natural formation of which this temple is a linchpin is out of balance.”

“So you want me to…what? Go leave some rocks in a special place to fix it?” I asked cautiously. “Because time constraints aside I don’t know formations.”

He shook his head. “Unnecessary. In all Chaos there is Cosmos. What could be seen as a trial may also be an opportunity.” At my impatient growl he sighed again, clarifying. “Formations are about patterns amid patterns. We are restrained. Kept captive on our own world. The planet itself is subjugated and under rule. To break free of one set of chains may symbolize freedom from another.”

“You’re talking about breaking through to D-rank?” I said with wide eyes. “The whole planet?”

“Even so.” He nodded. “But what happens in the larger scheme must mirror the minimal. To break the shackles of E-rank is an opportunity I had thought wouldn’t come for centuries yet. To seize this opportunity we must walk the path arrayed before us. Free the world and you will free the world. This is payment. Balance. Do you accept?”

“I mean…sure?” I said in confusion. “I was going to do that anyway. It’s literally why I’m here.”

He shook his head. “Intent is paramount. To free the world from its bonds is an act of deliberation. So too must your act of liberating us all. If you simply accomplish the goal with no intention, it lacks the trappings of ritual. Even the self begets the pattern. You must accept with knowledge. Move with purpose.”

“Talking to you gives me a headache.” I said bluntly. “Fine. Help me rally the rest of the E-rankers and I’ll liberate the planet. Completing your little formation can only be a good thing for me. I want my loved ones to be safe.” I paused. “What’s going to happen when the planet breaks through, exactly?”

“The rest will follow.” He said bluntly. “So many of us are on the edge of Ascension. With room to breathe we’ll all reach the peak in a single exhalation. I imagine the phenomena will be quite spectacular. Perhaps not all one hundred, but certainly dozens at least. I imagine you will benefit quite immensely yourself.”

I didn’t doubt it. Renown was weighted by rank. A hundred fresh D-rankers pouring all their attention onto us was bound to be a big bump. Probably not enough to get me the rest of the way to D-rank, I wasn’t delusional, but it would help me get closer for sure. Not just me either. Callie, Jessie, Benny, we’d all get a ton of renown off this. Hell, if we involved the cold storage crew it would be even more.

“We need you to get up into the Unity building and liberate the executives up there.” I told him. “Will they accept your help?”

I was relieved by his nod. “I am not at the mercy of a faction. Unity, Palace, I simply am. I have been of great assistance to most on this planet. Becoming part of the fabric of this world, making this temple the eye of a planetary formation, required a colossal effort of amalgamation. They know me. Will trust me. Worry not.”

“Fine.” I said with a sigh. “That’s one thing taken care of. I’ll be with you all, at least for most of it. Though we’ll have to go slow. Traps and all.”

Chuckling, the big man shook his head. “Traps I can deal with. As mentioned, all things are within the pattern. Disruptions are notable. To constrain me with passive defenses is beyond the skill of any on this world. Especially so close to my own seat of power. I know this corner of the world.”

“Really?” I blinked. “You can just sense traps through the formation Skill? I guess Grandmaster is nothing to sneeze at.” Honestly, he was kind of giving me a headache just being around him. His every movement seemed to be in harmony with nature, like he WAS a formation, and it kind of hurt to look at. I got the feeling that trying to fight him here would be a VERY bad idea, despite the lack of active or passive defenses.

Luckily, he was friendly, if a little abstruse and irritating. I supposed spending three thousand years studying naturally occurring magic in a hermit temple underground would make my social Skills rusty too.

Standing, I offered a hand. “I appreciate the help, in any case. I have to get going, we’ll be heading up soon and I need to make sure my people are ready. If you could spread the word about us all leaving I’d appreciate it.”

“It shall be done.” He said solemnly, taking my hand. It was an odd sensation, like I suddenly became part of something larger. Then he let go and I was back to being normal me. I picked up the tea, quaffing it before I left. It was pretty good. Weirdly it seemed to kickstart my fate sense.

Once I was outside, I found Bethy waiting, alongside Abel, Gabe, and Chelsea. “We good to go?”

I explained the whole thing to them. Chelsea looked fascinated. “That’s amazing. So if we can get through this the whole world will rank up?”

“Apparently.” I said with a shrug. “I didn’t follow all of it. He’s not exactly the picture of clarity. Anyway, we have our backup. Between our own people, the people down here, and the E-rankers we have left over from mom’s people, we have about a hundred even. With another twenty or so upstairs to be rescued, once we’ve got them we should be able to start planning the attack on Wintervale.”

We just needed enough people to get into the cold storage. Luckily, gaining new people wasn’t the only reason I came here. I mentally checked on my clones, grinning at the progress. If I had my way, not only would our forces grow, theirs would shrink. It would all happen in G-district. We just had to get Callie’s family out first, then my grand plan could begin.