The next week flew by. As usual, I made sure to grind out my wishes with the help of whoever I had handy. I’d have liked to help my friends, but honestly I was starting to worry about falling behind. I got four hundred ninety points from the wishes, and a trickle in from my renown of two hundred and ten, for a grand total of seven hundred points (four hundred in Focus and three hundred in Perception).

Despite that, none of it seemed like enough. I felt…small. Slow. For my own rank I knew objectively I was pretty strong, but it didn’t feel like enough. So, I went to go see someone who I thought might be able to actually help. I went to see my mom.

Of course, I was allowed entry without any trouble. People may not know about our relationship, but my mom had given standing orders that I was allowed to visit whenever I wanted, and had told me as much when she did it. I knew she wanted to encourage me to come see her when I had the time.

I found her sitting by the lake in her embassy, peacefully enjoying the fake sunshine and sipping a glass of iced tea. When she saw me, her face lit up. “Shane!” She said happily as she rushed to stand and hug me. “I’m so glad you came to visit. It’s always nice to see you and your friends but we never seem to have any quality time.”

My stomach twisted, and I felt a flash of guilt at that. I’d come here to ask her for information on cultivation, I hadn’t even considered visiting her. I hadn’t been spending much time with my mom since we’d reunited, and while intellectually I knew that was perfectly fine and that I had other things to do, emotionally it felt wrong.

There were a lot of weird feelings mixed in there. Guilt, resentment, anger. But I still wished I had the time to just come over to visit. It was clear she’d been trying so hard to be there for me however I needed her to be, and it just felt wrong not to reciprocate.

Curiously, she seemed to notice my discomfort and chuckled, ruffling my hair. “Here for some training tips then? It’s fine.” Her smile wilted, eyes flashing with pain. “I owe you at least that much. What can I help you with?” She gestured to the seat opposite her and pulled an empty glass from a spatial ring. “Would you like some tea?”

Her being supportive of me not being around honestly made it that much worse, but I powered through it because I knew that the reason I was here was important. I’d have to deal with trying to build a relationship with her later, but for the moment I needed her advice as one of the few A-rankers I had access to not bound by the rules of the contest or my dad’s obnoxious geas.

Sitting, I shook my head. “No thanks. And yeah, I had some stuff I needed to talk about. Some cultivation, some just…stuff I’m feeling.” I felt oddly vulnerable as I asked. “Is that ok?”

Her smile came back, bursting through the cloud of sadness with the megawatt intensity of a supernova. “Of course it is! I’m happy to listen. Maybe I can be of some help. I’ve been through a thing or two in my time.”

“It’s just…” I trailed off. “Hallow. Specifically, the people who take it. I was confident in myself, and I think I’ve done pretty well for an E-ranker at my level. My extra Impact makes everything I do a bit heavier hitting, my versatility and adaptability are both pretty damned good. All my power gives me a fighting chance even against E-rankers with twice my stats.”

She sighed. “But it’s not enough.” She finished.

“It’s not.” I agreed. “They were fielding Master Candidates. People like Abel. Maybe not quite as dangerous, but they can MASS produce them. Those Master level Skills were somewhat offsetting my Impact. I need more.”

The power I’d seen from those fighters had terrified me, because it had been pushed in a direction I couldn’t follow. I had no Skills I could push to master. My most used was DS Mastery, but while adding it as my Solid Path had been beneficial in so many ways by allowing me to ensure it ranked up and letting me create my staff forms, it precluded me pushing it past Expert. I had no other Skills I could polish.

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“It’s one of the limits you’ll face as a candidate.” She shrugged. “I know it isn’t ideal, and you defy the norm in many ways, but there’s only so much stronger you can reasonably get. That’s why you have a team. To cover your weaknesses as you cover theirs. You’ve simply gotten too wrapped up in being able to counter any threat and react to any situation. It’s ok to need help, Shane.”

I groaned aloud. “I know that, but this isn’t about needing help, this is about being able to pull my own weight. Everyone is getting more powerful. Abel is a monster, Callie killed a god, Benny has his new stat boosters, Bethy is Bethy, Chelsea has two insane powers that explode in a cascade of death if they combine, and I’ve never even seen her USE Enshrining Darkness. I’m falling behind.”

“I know it probably seems like that.” She said sympathetically. “Though I would disagree. But I can understand the frustration of being surrounded by amazing, terrifying people. Believe it or not, I’ve been there before.”

I grimaced. “Then what do I DO?” I growled in frustration. “How am I supposed to keep up with a bunch of crazy cultists that can manufacture monsters?” I considered all my options, ways I could get stronger or obtain power, and I finally hit on one I hadn’t considered before. “Hey…what about a Domain?” I asked with excitement. “Bethy has one, so I’m pretty sure you can have a Job and a Domain, which means Heroic Cultivation should be compatible too.”

She gave me a considering look. “You could make a Domain.” She admitted. “But you shouldn’t.”

That was vague enough that I assumed there was more, but as I waited for her to elaborate, she didn’t. I raised an eyebrow, deciding to press. “Why not?” I asked cautiously. “Bethy has one and it works great.”

“Bethany’s racial trait, mutation though it might be, aligns her quite strongly with her father.” She explained. “Morgan Lark is not a typical being. Her Domain is based on his story, and that makes it unique in some ways.” At my blank look, she sighed. “Have you ever considered what a Domain is?”

I just shrugged. “It’s an area of effect based on a story. Like a sphere of influence kind of. I’ve seen Bethy use hers a bunch and it’s really effective.”

“It’s a shortcut.” Said my mother bluntly. “Bethany’s is more powerful than it should be for multiple reasons. A domain is a territory you open to bring a story to life. Consider what that means when weighed against what you know of how people progress in cultivation.”

Thinking about it…I could see where the seemingly disparate Domain element could fit into the way cultivation worked. If you made a Domain using someone elses story, you could borrow that power. But if mom said I shouldn’t do it…I considered what I knew about Chronicles. I didn’t have all the information about what happened after that, but I could come to an obvious conclusion.

“It’s skipping a step.” I finally said. “Domains get stronger if they’re based on your story?” I hazarded a guess.

She waggled a hand. “Domains get stronger a few ways. But deep relationships with the story and fewer people using it add weight to that power. That’s why Bethany’s is so effective for her level. Morgan Lark guards his story jealously, sharing it with very few.”

“Is that why he did it?” I asked cautiously. “Wiped out all the other Vampires? I know he hunted them all down, everyone except his own family.”

“Among other things.” She said with a nod. “Morgan’s power is…intimidating. You have to understand something important. Morgan successfully fought against, and bested, The Unity. He fought a GOD. Not a weakened god starving for years, but a true deity in the fullness of his power.” At my lack of response she smiled lightly. “Keep in mind, Shane, that one reaches godhood at a thousand Impact. Remember what happens at a hundred Impact?”

I blinked in shock. “Wait…he fought up a rank against someone past a watershed?” My tone was a mixture of horror and awe. “So…basically beating a D-ranker at E-rank?”

“Much harder.” She said with a laugh. “Godhood is a much bigger jump in life state. His ability to do so involves some secrets related to his ability to consume stats. It’s complicated, but suffice to say, Morgan Lark is the most powerful S-ranker alive, and it is NOT close. Most people don’t even believe the story about him fighting The Unity, but I happen to know it’s true. That and that alone allows him to share his Domain with his daughter and allow her to flourish.”

It had always been academic, hearing about Bethy’s dad. Hearing how fucking monstrous he was. Like someone telling you about a really nice restaurant in another city you’ll never go to. This though, gave me context. Gave me a measuring stick to use to compare myself to him.

And I didn’t measure up. Which made things WORSE. “If I can’t improve my soul, and I can’t make a Domain, what am I supposed to do?” I growled in desperation. “I’m getting MARRIED mom. I’m going to have a wife soon. Maybe kids someday not too long after that. I can’t just keep being a puppet. The Conclave starts tomorrow, how many more powerful people will see me and notice how weak I am?”

It wasn’t even just that. I was losing momentum. Slow and steady felt fine before, but seeing what was coming…I needed to go faster, to make a bigger splash. It would snowball, help me advance quicker.

Staring at me, I saw my mother’s face twist in heartbroken empathy. Reaching over, she stood and pulled me into a hug. “My poor boy.” She murmured. “What did we do to you? How much did we take away by bringing you into this shattered family.” I could hear the rawness and agony in her voice as she struggled not to cry, and it broke MY heart to be the cause of that.

“It’s not…” I pulled away, frantically trying to comfort her. “I don’t resent you. I love my life. You didn’t cause this war. Didn’t cause the danger. You’ve done everything you can to help me, to prepare me for this, ever since we met.”

Closing her eyes, she took a long, ragged breath. When she opened them the blue of her irises was colder somehow. Deadlier. “Not everything.” She said bluntly. “I know about your forms. I can’t do much for most of them, but your Mephistopheles is close enough to the way I wield my flames in combat that I can help you refine it.”

Stepping back, she smoothed her hands over the place my cape attached at the shoulders. She stared into my blank mask for a moment, then nodded, face firming. “Yes. The conclave is tomorrow, and outside of testifying and meeting with other up and comers, you’ll train with me. By the time I finish with you, it won’t matter how many fake Master Candidates they send.” Somewhere, deep down inside, I felt a spark begin to burn, one I hadn’t felt since a year ago when I was starting my training with Abel. I couldn’t wait to see what she had to teach.