Well shit. No free rides. I would have mulled that over more, but a few things interfered with the process. The first was the constant acidic suffering from the Mana Bleed Condition. Then the upsetting constant flow of blood from my tattered wounded neck. The last bit was just… I was tired. Running on adrenaline and desperate terror burns you out. I could be wrong, but everyone on the other side of the Veil looked like they were going to survive. Aiko, Brand, and I seemed to not be in immediate danger. That was leading to a crash.

Long term we looked to be in mortal danger but that was fairly constant.

Also Debbie seemed… not psychotic. The output could absolutely be the same, but I was happy to deal with inaction instead of malicious attention.

“Why would I be mad?” I asked. Again I am sure our situation was desperate but it wasn’t immediate, besides it cost nothing to be polite.

Debbie blinked. “You know, that could be on me. I just assumed you were going to go down the ‘begone foul specter!’ or the ‘You shall not take them!’ or ‘Take me instead!’ route. I am sorry for making assumptions.” she considered for a moment, “you’re not gonna try and put me in a headlock are you?”

I stared at her. That last question threw me for a loop. I just stood there bleeding.

Debbie clearly wanted an answer about potential wrestling events. She watched me warily as she kept her hands on Granny Mabel.

“Doug, we need to get out of here,” Brand managed. His voice was tinted with barely contained panic. He was clinging to me. Brand was terrified. Don’t get me wrong, things could be better, but that was dramatic for Brand.

I looked at Aiko. She was still using me as a human…Titan Spawn shield, but she seemed calm.

“I believe Brand is suffering from a fear effect caused by this place. For some reason I am not,” Aiko said.

“Yeah, this place is pretty scary to most people,” Debbie said. She considered for a moment, “Contact with me does let me block the effect.”

Then why wasn’t Aiko… the Ablative Shell. It was titanic scale. Before transferring the shell Brand had been clear minded, and even had the idea to give Angelica a layer of protection.

Angelica was looking around. Brunhilda was casting healing spells on Angelica. Rachel was gazing in my general direction. Could she sense me? Was she just ignoring Angelica? Philip seemed to be trying to speak to Rachel as she gazed roughly in our direction but past our relative location.

That looked stable… for now… kinda. I hoped it stayed peaceful.

I withdrew the Ablative shell ability from Angelica and transferred a layer to Brand. Angelica jerked and looked quite agitated.

Brand calmed almost immediately. He took a breath, and then another before letting go of me, “Apologies. I am being rude.”

“It’s alright,” Granny Mabel said. He hooked a thumb at Debbie, “This one is ghoulishly wearing the face of my Grandmother.”

Debbie considered, “I could change. Would you prefer your mother, or father, or your brother? I try to avoid spouses. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who upon seeing their husband or wife go straight for the…” Debbie stopped talking, “It is best to be as platonic as possible.”

“I would prefer you not wear the skin of my loved ones,” Granny Mabel said flatly.

“You could just wear your face,” I pointed out.

Debbie paused, “I don’t remember my face.”

Things went quiet for several deeply uncomfortable moments, “Could you elaborate?” I asked eventually. Brand was back to trying to pack my neck wound.

“Oh I died as the system came.” Debbie explained like she was discussing the weather. “I got a prompt telling me to pay it forward. I did that, then died, then I was elevated to Divine scale. So I spent most of my existence on this side of the Veil. There aren’t a lot of mirrors here. Then I got a perk that let me shapeshift and…” she shrugged.

“Wait, you got the prompt? Was it the one from the Titan?” I asked.

“Yeah, I am pretty sure I was one of the first three to get the message,” Debbie nodded. She turned to where the Titan had loomed, “He shows up from time to time. For a while there it was just me and him on this side of the Veil.” She sighed wistfully, “It was a simpler time.”

“Wait, that means I know you!” I said, wracking my brain. Who could she be?

“Yeah, silly we met at the courthouse,” Debbie said.

“No, I mean the Titan knew you in the world that was. How'd you know him?”

“Oh,” Debbie said, “Sorry I spend so much of my day dealing with people who tend to be confused.” Her smile turned into a somewhat panicked look as she gaze passed me, “Go around!”

I turned and saw a group of I think sailors. Two of them were dressed like stereotypical pirates. One had a big tricorn hat and a cutlass, the other a peg leg. A being that was constantly shifting shapes was guiding them through the dark faded landscape. They were all holding hands like small kids in a museum. The shapeshifter paused, waved back and called in Debbie’s voice, “Sorry.” The shifting shape then took a hard right to avoid us. Some of the pirates looked a little confused as they walked around our group.

“The hell was that?” Granny Mabel and I asked at the same time.

“Oh that was the crew of the Public Privateer,” our Debbie said. “They sank a few years back fighting fishmen. They were haunting the boat since. The bottom of the ocean is weird. I am multitasking so sorry if I seem a little unfocused.”

Granny Mabel turned her attention onto Angelica, “She’s seen better days.” Granny Mabel blinked. “First thing first. Your actual face. Put that on please.”

“Like I said, I forgot,” Debbie said.

“I might be able to help if you tell me how you know the Titan,” I offered.

Debbie considered. “See that is the tricky bit. I don’t think we, the Titan and I, ever exchanged names. The Titan was the sad man in the hospital. I wandered into the room one day. His leg was hurt. He and his daughter were watching one of the Star Trek movies. He let me sit in a chair and watch it with them. My folks had been fighting, apparently I was very sick, but I thought they were mad at me.” Debbie smiled and gazed toward where the Titan had been, “I can still see him, propped up in the hospital bed, his daughter asleep leaning on his chest. He was very kind to me that day. He didn’t have to be but he was.”

I remembered her. She had been a short girl, and clearly a bit too thin. She had been in the room opposite mine. I was pretty sure her parents were divorced. I could still see her curly black hair, wide owlish brown eyes. She was wearing a shirt with the avengers on it. She was maybe the same age as Kate. I was high on pain meds. I was pretty sure after Mark helped me escape to see Marnie, I got put on some sort of list. He had been kicked out all together. Like she said her parents were fighting. Custody probably became a hot button issue when time became overtly limited. I told her her parents weren’t mad at her. I could see her sitting in the chair kicking her little legs throwing the not so furtive look to the dumb little teddy bear Mark had given me. It had a pink ribbon. When Jo arrived I -the Titan- told her to give the bear to the girl.

“Are you the girl with the Avenger’s shirt?” I asked.

Debbie smiled genuinely, “Yeah… well I lost the shirt, but I do still have the bear… most of it. There was a tragic sandbox incident.” she hesitated for a moment, when she asked, her voice was quiet, almost afraid she wouldn’t get the answer, “What did I look like?”

I told her, and almost instantly Debbie blurred. A brief moment later Debbie's appearance coalesced. Rather than look like a child, Debbie looked like the girl I remember all grown up. She looked like a woman in her forties. She had the faint hint of crows feet by her now wise eyes. Laugh lines framed her genuine smile. She was wearing an oversized hoodie with a stylized pattern depicting Ironman’s face on the front. She stopped smiling and then said, “Oh god, I have probably just turned into my mother?” she waited for a beat, “I am just kidding that would be cool.”

“Now that you are done masquerading as my loved ones, do you mind telling me, what you are doing to me?” Granny Mabel asked.

Debbie did not have a poker face. Her face scrunched the way someone caught doing something dumb did, “I was guiding you to the afterlife. One of the ways up is…” she pointed vaguely north, “We then got distracted when you saw Angelica De Leon.”

“Well of course I would get distracted. One of my kids is in trouble,” Granny Mabel said sternly. She looked at Angelica, “Just look at her. I never should have let her go to the tower alone.” her voice softened, “I don’t think she means to come back.”

“Wait, Angelica is one of your kids?” I asked.

Granny Mabel studied me more closely. She seemed to pick up on me being gigantic. She also seemed to find my constant fountain-like bleeding less than charming. “And you are?”

“I am Doug,” I said. I offered a hand to shake, but it was soaked in gore. I withdrew it again sheepishly

“He is the Left Hand of the Titan,” Debbie added. “He’s a good guy.”

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“That is not as persuasive as you may think,” Granny Mabel told Debbie, “Not to be rude, but I don’t quite trust you as far as I can throw you.”

She said that, but at the same time she didn’t let go of Debbie’s arm.

Debbie nodded, “I do try and get folks to their final destination before this sort of thing happens?”

“Why?” I asked. The constant pain from the Mana Bleed Condition was clearly blunting my focus. While I really did want to find a way out of here back to the living side of the Veil, I was also just kinda drifting in the conversation.

Debbie was juggling untold alter egos, and clearly just enjoying having the opportunity to talk to others, “Ephemeral Dissipation. Souls left on this side of the Veil will eventually degrade into a ghost that haunts and targets living loved ones. If left unchecked for long enough they will tear through the Veil spilling a bunch of unlife into the realm of the living. That can kill a lot of people. The Demon of Frost pulled you all in with a small hole and you can see how hard Brunhilda is having to work.”

We all looked to Brunhilda. She was still trying to heal Angelica. The first time we met, it was a matter of one spell. Now though she was still at work. I couldn’t tell you how many spells she had cast. Checking my menu I could see she was burning though the MP in the well.

“She is one of my favorites,” Debbie confided, “I love every healer, but she is one that beat me several times. Like I said, I cheer every time life wins.” She turned to Granny Mabel, “Don’t worry Angelica will be fine.”

“I will always worry for my kids,” Granny Mabel said still watching Angelica. “She just shut us all out after her brother died. I’ll never stop worrying about any of them.”

“If I can get back, I will do what I can to watch her back,” I promised.

“She is traveling with others again?” Granny Mabel asked.

“Yeah with Brand and I,” I answered.

Granny Mabel didn’t look impressed. Eventually she shook her head, “It takes all kinds to make a world, and Angelica is in a rough spot.”

“We probably should get you upstairs,” Debbie said. “You do have people waiting for you.”

“They can keep waiting. I need to know my kids are okay. I died in a pretty rough situation.” Granny Mabel said.

“Bobby and Luna are okay. Lagrang died with you. The Great vault fell on him,” I said not really thinking through what I was saying.

Granny Mabel went from not really impressed with me to extremely suspicious.

Complaint Ticket Filed: Metagaming

Ticket will be resolved after current scene

“And how do you know so much about me?” Granny Mabel pressed.

“I am a Titan Spawn…” I offered just barely avoiding turning the statement into a question.

Granny Mabel studied me for a very long time, “I believe you. Is my husband waiting for me?”

“By the gate if I am not mistaken,” Debbie said.

“Let’s go then,” Granny Mabel said allowing herself to be guided away.

Debbie… split in two. One version of her leading Granny Mabel away. Another stay with us.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“Hang out?” Debbie offered.

“We can’t stay here forever,” Brand insisted.

“Oh don’t worry, I will guide you to the appropriate afterlife when you die,” Debbie replied. She seemed to think that was comforting.

“I would prefer to not die,” I started.

“Oh you probably won’t.” Debbie said with a smile. Her smile faded, “The others… they have a shelf life.”

“I thought you said you always cheer life on?” Aiko asked.

“I do,” Debbie said unbothered by the accusation in Aiko’s words, “But I can’t sustain life, and I am not going to tear the Veil. It could kill hundreds.”

“Are there any other options?” Brand asked. He immediately added, “To get back into the land of the living.”

Debbie considered, “You could hop through the gate in the Demon’s Tower, but that seems risky.”

“How do Angel’s cross the Veil?” I asked. Angelica was talking with Rachel. Hurray, progress. Rachel pointed at me.

“Oh Angels have this sort of micro domain around them. It lets them pop through the veil without tearing it. Trouble is though that won’t let them pull you through,” Debbie said. She gazed past Angelica and spoke to Celeste, “I won’t let you tear the Veil either.”

Angelica paused. Celeste and her were having some sort of conversation.

“Wait, domains. Like a god’s domain. Those can be used to move across the Veil?” I asked.

“Yeah, well no.” Debbie said. She looked at me, “the domain will push back the anti-life of this realm.”

“I think I do have one,” I looked through my inventory and found the Dungeon Core. I pulled it out of my inventory and into my hand.

You are now in the Domain of the Snow Lion

This is your Domain.

I started healing. I missed you old friend, health regen. Let us never part again. Seriously, don’t go.

The dungeon core was a large sphere that looked like clouded glass. Inside it was the cat’s eye shape staring out at me. The domain it exuded was maybe a ten foot radius. The area around gained color which was mostly the bright red of my blood. That said, Brand and Aiko’s eyes regained their hue as well.

“Um why aren’t we on the other side of the Veil?” I asked.

“The Veil is basically a membrane. It lets life flow from the land of the living without allowing death to flow the other way. Think like osmosis. The water crosses the barrier without breaking it. Your domain will let reverse osmosis occur. It should work. If an Angel on the side of the living and Titan Spawn on the side of the dead were to push someone through the veil in a divine domain… no problem.” Debbie nodded to herself.

That was too convenient. Which narrator had planned for this?

“What about Doug then?” Brand asked.

Debbie frowned, “okay one small problem.”

Expend Free action? Yes/No

Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.

I stopped time again.

“Celeste, can we talk this out?” I asked.

Angelica’s blazed with white light, “Thank you for your help.”

“Why didn’t you step in to help Angelica?” I asked.

“I would have but she told me not to, then when I was going to anyways someone gave us a Cosmic Martial Art.” Celeste explained.

“Couldn’t you have just crushed them?” I asked.

“No doubt,” Celeste looked to Debbie, “The trick when dealing with gods and demons is that it isn’t just the current fight you need to win but the next one also.”

“Makes sense,” Debbie said. She was completely unintimidated and unbothered by the idea of Celeste attacking her.

Please select an action…

“Okay for today, let’s get Brand and Aiko in the land of the living. We can figure out what to do about me later.” I said.

Celeste frowned. She hated that idea. It was written all over her face, “Okay.”

“How do gods get people back?” I asked Debbie.

“That vast majority don’t. It takes two Divine scale players on both sides of the veil to slip someone past without tearing it. Most of the time they just make a deal with one of the devil’s and use a gate to hell. That is also uncommon. Most gods don’t like lowering themselves to making deals.” Debbie considered. “Let me give you some perspective. Those two crossing back will make the number of living people to come back from the land of the dead go up by a double digit percentage. It will also triple the number of people to manage that trick in the last hundred years.”

“Three people in a hundred years?” Celeste asked.

Debbie nodded, “Yep counting those two. I have gotten pretty good at my job. So long as we ignore that Nadia incident.”

“The time they crossed over and restrained you as part of the plan to stop the nuclear holocaust?” Celeste asked.

“Yeah that one. That was not my best day.” Debbie snapped her focus onto me. “I have gotten much better at wrestling since then.”

Not sure what that meant…

Please select an action…

I shrugged, “Are we good to go.”

“Yes,” Celeste said.

“I am glad to be a part of this,” Debbie said. She did a little excited dance, “I am doing something with people.” she went still and continued in a serious voice, “But if I think the veil is in danger I am going to shut this down.

I stopped ignoring the muted condition. It cleared instantly now that my throat was healed. Okay not instantly there was a coughing bout and a wad of … I am going to call it mucus but I am pretty sure it was cartilage.

Time started.

Angelica stood and limped toward us.

Brunhilda almost followed after her. She paused and her eyes drifted fairly close to Debbie’s location.

“Ladies first?” Brand asked.

“I would prefer you go first.” Aiko said, stepping back from me.

“Certainly,” Brand nodded.

Celeste shown with divine light. Holy energy radiated off of her. Even through the shrouding cover of the Veil she was crisp and clearly visible. Celeste reached for Brand. They stood less than an arms length apart but somehow the space between them expanded. Ancient Greek philosopher talked about idea. In order to pick a cup. Your hand must travel half the distance between it and the cup. Then half again, and then half again again. The trouble is halving the distance infinitely means that you can never pick up the cup. This isn’t true for most situations, but it was here with the veil in the way.

I gently placed my hand on Brand’s back and pushed him closer to Celeste. For one infinitesimal moment Brand was both in the land of the living and the land of the dead. Then something clicked and the distance between him and my hand expanded infinitely. Celeste had him. Despite standing next to me in the domain his colors were faded. He crossed the veil.

Getting Aiko across was the same non-effort.

Once they were both on the other side I cleared my throat to say… I don’t know what I was going to say to Celeste. Goodbye felt wrong. See you soon, felt over optimistic. It was odd. I spent so little time with her but every moment felt so much more real. I knew so little about her, but at the same time I felt like I knew her.

That may sound stupid to you, but just to toss a small piece of evidence to our connection, dubious though it may be. When I decided to just try and make a grab for her she was already reaching out to me to snatch back to the land of the live.

Shame that space simply would not cooperate. The tiny distance between us expanded unendingly. So close, yet so far away. I could see the veil, and I could feel Celeste burning some angelic energy trying to rupture it. The veil was nothing more than the faint strings of a divine connection. It was barely the idea of division between life and death. It shouldn’t matter at all. I could sense Celeste radiance burning away at the edge of the veil. I even felt my hand press against something integral to the veil. It was the same as the Grond’s domain in the dungeon. I should have been able to break it like the titan had but something, a greater will, held it firm.

“I told you I wouldn’t let you tear the veil,” Debbie said, not quite disappointed. She put a hand on my shoulder. I couldn’t move. Celeste was also statue still. “Since you are new to the whole god thing I am going to tell you something important. You need to act within your purview or it will get out of whack and rebound on you. The trick is to guide a little here and there but let it be for the most part. I’ll see you later, buddy.” Then gently, ever so gently Debbie Goddess of Death pushed me into Celeste’s arms.

It was life stepping out of a freezer. The air felt different. Celeste held me like she thought i was going to fall.

I looked over my shoulder. I wanted to thank her. She didn’t have to do that. I couldn’t see her though. I couldn’t see her through the veil. All I saw was a snow lion mid leap.

The rotten bastard bit me on the face.