The New World
Chapter 444: Rituals and Cultures

I took a breath.

"Then let'em rip."

Shalahora placed a fingertip on his forehead before pulling a strand of mana from his head. It swirled as if alive, reminding me of a glowing jellyfish. He pulled it towards me before tapping my forehead. As it flowed into my head, I blinked, and a series of images flashed through my mind.

"This...This is-" I gasped before my shoulders dropped. "This is a bunch of animated series from Batman and Spiderman. Wait...It's especially about Venom and Inque. Honestly, any blurry and dark character in general."

A silence passed over us, heavy like a lie on the tongue. Shalahora's body condensed into a smaller shape.

"This...Is the wrong batch of memories."

Shalahora sorted out the pocketed memories, the depth of his darkness dimming. After a few minutes, he translated, inscribed, and pulled out another set of recollections. He handed them over, letting me hold the floating batch of memory ichor. I marveled at the beautiful strands while they swam around over my hand.

"Man. Who'd of guessed the incarnation of someone's memories and experiences would be so stunning."

Having collected himself after his blunder, Shalahora murmured,

"Though they are derived from evil, grace exists in everyone."

I squeezed my hand around the floating strands and assimilated the memories with my other minds.

"It's good to know at least someone's not always a pessimist."

Shalahora let out a sigh.

"Time ages the most naive and hopeful into the begrudging and wary. This is the fate of any ancient entity, as history is a cycle of repeated mistakes. That's why time wears down morale. It exposes how futile our mortal existences are as they fade into the fabric of larger, macroscopic trends."

Shalahora peered away.

"It's as if arrogance is the source of these mistakes, and caution is its antidote. We are born with one of those characteristics, while the other is formed by an endless series of failures."

As Shalahora spoke, the conditioned memories came in one at a time in small, well-sliced bits. He hadn't carved the guarantors' minds apart, opting for a more surgical approach. Even the portions around the animated shows were taken by inference, as Shalahora had checked thousands of minds. It let me rest easier, considering how morally dubious the shadow's methods could be.

I listened to portions of the memories as I spoke.

"I don't think people are born arrogant. I think people find power intoxicating, regardless of whether its source is real or not."

I went through a batch of the memories. My psyches took the experiences apart, finding the most useful aspects and disseminating them through the rest of my consciousness. As I took it in, I turned to the other partygoers.

"This is going to get messy, isn't it?"

"It will."

We stepped out of our privacy sphere built by Shalahora's magic. After rolling my fingers in my hands, I spread them wide.

"Everybody, we've got an issue."

A wave of my aura gained their attention. I raised a fist.

"Apparently, we've uncovered some galactic organization that's trying to tear reality apart. Again."

Torix interlocked his hands behind himself.

"Par for the course, really."

Diesel rubbed his temples.

"What kind of pay grade would someone even need for this to be the expectation anyway?"

I let my primordial aura manifest over them, wanting to draw out their skepticism. I began pacing to the side.

"We'll need to unravel the organization's secrets, avoid showing ourselves more than we have, and put a stop to them, preferably all at once. The issue is learning how they're trying to destroy dimensions and then intervening where we need to. Does anyone have any clues on how that's done?"

My guild broke into a discussion. Amara stepped forward.

"I know of many, though my memories are...Splintered."

Amara's words arrested Plazia's attention. I raised my brow.

"What do you mean?"

Amara made eye contact using her palms.

"You remember where we met?"

I peered off in the distance, grabbing the recollections from a far away, back shelf of my mind.

"Yeah. It was...In Yawm's glass palace. You were a servant of his."

She shivered at his name. It took a long while before I hadn't done the same. Amara's fingers curled inward.

"I wasn't born under his service. I was made before then, and I lived for many years under the tutelage of the Builders. I cannot remember the fullest parts of those experiences as someone tampered with my mind long ago. I had always thought it was Yawm, but that fool lacked the psionics for the task."

Yawm hadn't even used mind magic when we fought. Considering the sorcery's ubiquity at higher levels of galactic magic, the porytian was pretty lucky he hadn't had his mind peeled apart by a particular kind of mercenary. It was well worth remembering that Yawm had been a shell, his insanity having eroded him long before he met us.

But still, a very, very scary shell at the time.

Amara tilted her hands.

"I never knew why my mind was ravaged as it was. It was first torn apart when I became an eldritch. Then I was psionically gored by someone from my past. That is why I am broken like shattered glass, but I will still cut at my using the shards I have left."

Her eyes turned to slits, her rage palpable.

"I remember the planet that Yawm stole me from. I can guide us there, and we may find the secrets behind whoever it was that robbed me of myself. They were makers of Schema, and considering the AI's use of spatial magic, we may uncover something about the rupturing in spacetime...And maybe the pieces of myself along the way."

Plazia stepped up to her, his normal derisive glower gone. Amara snarled at him.

"What? Will you mock me like some tortured jester once more?"

The hivemind opened his dimensional storage, taking out a vial of shimmering blood. It glistened like crystals, many patterns swirling under the sanguine surface. He handed it to Amara, and Plazia kept his head low.

"I know what it is to live as a splinter of your former glory. It is a terrible thing to know what you once were and be unable to regain it."

He cackled, a sadness in his sardonic laugh.

"As you are, I, too, am broken, and as you have, I will maim my corruptors with what is left of me."

Amara took the blood, stashing it in her robes.

"Hm...We are imprisoned in our flesh."

Plazia walked away, his voice an omen.

"But we will rage and rage against our cages, won't we?"

Amara smiled, her teeth rotting. Despite her form, it was a rare shade of joy, like a haunted warrior watching a sunset after battle. The somber moment passed over us all, and we let it soak in out of respect. Florence began speaking at the perfect moment afterward, not too late or too soon.

"Well done, you two. Absolutely splendid."

I smiled.

"We'll get those coordinates and get a team to search out whatever information is left."

Althea raised a brow.

"Oh, so it won't just be you?"

I scoffed.

"I'm a fighter, not a detective. I can't close a case unless that involves breaking something."

Helios tilted his head at us.

"We'll need the cities built before then. If possible."

I walked forward, my temporal dilation turning the jot into a jog. Wind billowed off me as I faced Helios.

"We also need to finish the terraforming of Blegara. We'll probably need cities on Earth and to close a few rips in spacetime as well. It will stop the bleeding, and I'll probably need a few months before I can even head out to this planet with you guys."

Shalahora's voice trembled the air as if his voice was swirling it.

"We have time. There isn't such a rush that we need to abandon what we must do here."

I gave everyone a look of confidence.

"Then I'm going to get to it."

We finished the catchup, everyone enjoying the company of friends who were caught up in a rising guild. After handling all of my chats, I organized a list of pressing activities. Firstly, I established a cipheric study group based around Amara. She worked with others interested in the odd linguistic field, along with individuals who didn't mind risking banishment from Schema's system.

Stunningly, it was a growing crowd. Leveling required people to go out into dungeons and slay monsters. While not the only method of advancement, it led to the greatest overall improvement in strength. However, it carried unrealistic amounts of danger. I learned that from Jasmine, Jamal, and Nissa.

It was a fact of life: dungeoneers knew of death. They basked in it like a gialgathen soaking in the sun. With low survival rates, the dungeoneering corps lacked consistent recruits at times. My guild changed that with many of our policies, but there was only so much that could be done. In my case, I could dish out rings, amulets, and shards of my armor along with my legacy, but that didn't mean people used them to full effect.

E.g., taking guild supplies and going on a trip to see the seven world wonders.

Regardless of how people used them, my benefit package dwarfed what most people could achieve by leveling with Schema's system. Many people in our guild had stopped even trying to level, choosing to wait for my legacy's stats to advance them or have my average tier of gear improve. A part of me felt like I was being taken advantage of. Another part beamed with pride as I gave my people a better life. It was a complex batch of emotions I still hadn't sorted through.

Regardless of my own thoughts or feelings, the effects of my resources changed our guild's culture. A growing number of people circumvented the leveling process altogether. They would reach level 100 through assistance before gearing up for other lines of work. It gave my guild a surplus of tradesmen and workers outside of monster slayers.

That supplied us with quite a few people who didn't mind the risk of being taken out of Schema's system. We got in touch with many of those scholars who thirsted for knowledge. The runic inscription organization I established acted as the bulk of those contacts, and it brought a smile to my face. I hadn't wasted my time while healing from Marcella's death.

Those trained enchanters would help Amara, but they, in turn, required help as well. That's why I squared away a few hours from my schedule to create a new hub underneath the landscape of Mt. Verner. The sprawling underground complex gave room and fortifications for various experiments, along with many open areas ready for cipheric carving.

At its center, I carved out a hub for the facility. It held many tools along with many thin plates of my dimensional fabric and several golems that could carve into the sheets. The last touch involved tunnels and spaces for adding ventilation and runes to purify the air, give water, and several elevators leading to the surface. They also managed the temperature and pressure, which built to uncomfortable levels at these depths.

Handling that, I moved on to the next task. Over the next few days, I warped around North America and a few population centers around the world. In a blurred state of frenetic activity, I established many cities while getting a handle on problem spots in reality. To speed things along, I got Helios to help me out.

We took Florence with us, and the suave diplomat smoothed relations over to save us time as we expanded the operations of my guild. Florence also helped me stomach all of Helios's complaints about how long this took. At one such time, I erected a city at the center of old-world Cairo. Under an oppressive slice of the sun's gaze, I toiled over a monolith that matched the famous architecture of Egypt.

Well, it was glowing metal and covered in complex sigils, but it was close enough.

While I carved runes, Helios gazed at me with pale eyes full of disdain.

"You always seem to find a way to favor your own species. It seems as though your arguments against Obolis and his favoritism aren't grounded in genuine beliefs, were they?"

Florence put a hand over his brother's shoulder.

"Now we both know the reasoning behind Daniel's actions. He's establishing resource links for his entire guild, including our own kin. As an example, we'll need to import vast amounts of magically derived goods to foster and promote our new economy along with the planet's raw materials. If anything, Daniel's rush behind this construction is a testament to his deference."

I carved into a dozen spots at once, my eyes glassy yet honed in. Helios gazed at his claws.

"Ah, yes, deference. A deference to his own kind."

Florence's smile grew strained.

"Helios. He's already established the city center of Cairo. This is for a skeptilian city."

I finished the sigils before pulling out a normal blue core. We gained a large supply of them from raiding the Infinity Plaza's many upper-tier dungeons. I slotted the glowing orb into the cipheric capsule, the runes as complex as a circuit board at this point. They rivaled complex machinery, the many layers of runes coming together in a display of intricate craftsmanship.

Florence leaned over it.

"You should learn about computers and their code. It might give you some insight into the cipher."

I tilted my head.

"It's difficult to connect the two. Coding requires an adherence to logic that is absolute. The cipher is the opposite, oftentimes having different results depending on where, when, and how you carve it. No two sigils are the same, making it more of an artistic endeavor."

Helios raised his brow at the complex sigils.

"My banter aside, I will admit that you've become a preeminent expert on the archaic language. Compared to even Obolis and his many treasures, your knowledge and ability exceed his easily."

I got the monolith at the city's center online; its boons basked over the skeptilian encampment. I wiped my brow of imaginary sweat before turning to the brother albony.

"That lets you know how little we really know about the language. I'm only a child rummaging through the secrets of the universe, yet I'm an expert to most. It makes you wonder what the remnants or the Builders understood."

Florence let out a whooping breath.

"You're a child surrounded by infants then because this makes absolutely no sense to me."

Helios watched the pillar power itself with the blue dungeon heart.

"You throw those resources wherever now, don't you?"

I smiled.

"They're not exactly a limited asset anymore. Though Earth's position on a dimensional fault line came with dangers, the sheer volume of resources the planet generated rivaled any world, even veritable mines like Gypsum. This overwhelming supply enabled us to keep creating core-powered cities and golems, and the L-7 cores weren't as scarce anymore.

I say that, but whenever I went back to L-7, I'd be harvesting tens of thousands of blue cores at the bare minimum. I would be a harvester with a scythe, and my field of wheat would be blue, glowing, and have scarecrows made of end-state eldritch. Ok, not my best metaphor, but I digress.

I took out the last core for Cairo and slid it into the final rune-laden chamber. Wiping yet more imaginary sweat from my brow, I powered another town in the Middle East. It had been a kind of cultural revolution for me, the sheer volume of exploration exceeding all my previous journeys combined.

Though I wouldn't call this genuine exploration. This rivaled quick sightseeing that lacked the time or attention needed to truly understand a city. A great example of that was actually Springfield. I founded the city and rebuilt it from the ground up, but I didn't know the city until I lived there. Every town or population center I visited was the same.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Interrupting my thoughts, Helios snapped his fingers, a portal opening towards a city with a tremendous view of space. Helios gestured to it.

"After you, your majesty."

Knowing where it went, I took a deep breath of Earth's air one last time before stepping through the veil. Florence gave my shoulder a pat.

"Don't worry. We'll be back, and Earth'll be waiting for you."

I peered back behind me.

"Maybe a bit changed, but with open arms, I hope."

From an ancient desert city to a minted garden one, we stepped through the portal and onto the lunar settlement. It carried the signs of an albony society, from individuals wearing masks to an emphasis on expansive areas. That was despite the size constraints of a confined metropolis. My cities still had hard limits on their size, and the albony made the most of it.

Lanterns lit wide walkways with metallic embroidery, adding a Renaissance feel interposed by late-era steampunk ingenuity. The walkways used luxurious stone like marble instead of granite, and they put flecks of gold within as if stars lit the ground. The ambient lighting gave way to stylized homes that emphasized space and broad, sweeping vistas.

Even after an apocalypse, the sheer wealth of the people remained front and center. They opened designer shops, cafes, entertainment centers, and schools. Their society moved into this confined space without so much as a hitch, something Florence and Helios likely had a heavy hand in.

As we walked by the luxury, banisters of cloth hung down each lantern. They draped between each light, connecting them and creating an unbroken chain that lined every cobbled street. Upon every thread, different colors wove together in beautiful demonstrations of color. I nodded in approval.

"Wow. Majestic, some might even say."

Florence waved a hand over them.

"They carry the history and stories of our people, something we don't want to forget after being usurped onto this new world."

I stepped up to the fabric and grasped a tapestry, inspecting it closer. Florence hadn't exaggerated. The threads held stories on them, from terrifying monsters to battles waged upon seas of blood. After following a line of them, I found one tapestry that stood out.

"This one shows bondage."

Helios sighed.

"It was a part of our people. To my distaste, it's not something that is so easily purged."

I shook my head.

"We both know it's not your entire kind. It was a practice by your people, but you all will rise above it. After all, neither of you has asked me to use Schema's systems for subservience, and you've helped the skeptiles earnestly despite getting more than a few stones thrown your way."

Florence rubbed the back of his head.

"We're far too high a level for stones to hurt, but why must they put fresh paint on them? It's so difficult to get out of my fur."

Helios glowered.

"Then why do you urge them on?"

Florence laughed in a good-natured chuckle.

"To hit you, of course. I'll take a few patches of cerulean and maroon if that's all it takes to see you covered in multi-colored polka dots."

Helios glared at Florence, several uncleaned patches of paint spread over his fur.

"Are you mocking my blindness?"

Florence gave him a shake.

"Only when I can."

They laughed, and I held a complex emotion. I was happy for them, but I also envied their brotherhood. The camaraderie between the brothers helped carry their hardships. It reminded me of long days at the gym Outlast way back in Springfield. There was an unspoken competition to be the last to leave, and I had my fair share of late nights trying to win that nameless accolade.

A few regulars beat me most days, though I had to get up early for school. My excuses aside, they were a tenacious group of people from Phil to Alison. I smiled. Alison always brought these grotesque, homemade protein bars. Every time I tried one, I nearly choked from how dry they were. It was like chalk dust drizzled over a pile of powdered peanut butter.

I held down a laugh before I frowned. For a moment, I wondered where they were. It made me wish I'd searched them out before Yawm razed Springfield to the ground. I grew silent as I pondered, but we all kept walking and talking. Florence covered any lulls in the conversation with interesting facts about the albony or by bringing up good-natured memories between us.

As always, Florence set everyone around him at ease, his manner and bearing like that of a generous prince. In many respects, he was one, though his kingdom had fallen while his bearing hadn't. After walking down the meandering paths, we arrived at the capitol building of New Olstatia.

It was a grand building of red marble, with many patterned mosaics lining it in wide angular patterns. The polygonic structure reminded me of Russian cathedrals but with sweeping edges and more flowing floral arrangements over them. However, the best parts came from their uses of magic, each inventive and inviting.

An ethereal waterfall fell from the top of the building, the mana surging as a persistent cascade. As I walked through the translucent, cerulean hue, a wave of refreshing cool passed over me. Behind it, a palpable aura bled out of the many tapestries hanging from the walls. These flowing images gave life to the stories of their people, from albony first finding fire to their battles against Elysium.

As we reached the building's entrance, two guards stepped aside at the sight of the albony and me. They gave a curt nod, and Florence returned the gesture. Florence smiled.

"It's good to see you, Noel. Please, do say high to Marge for me."

I marveled at the diplomat.

"How in the hell do you guys have guards already?"

We pushed the doors made of aged oak aside, the wood polished and imported from Earth. Florence spread his hands.

"There are times were productivity trumps all, but we are a broken people. We need pieces of our traditions to hold us together and to take pride in. By having our kind continue our best practices, we'll be able to better transition into our new role by retaining pieces of what we were. Of course, we'll do so while abandoning the worst parts of our people."

I hardly listened as I observed the room around us. I peered at the mosaics and murals lining the entire expanse, their majesty like the Sistine Chapel. Weapons, armor, and relics from their most famous battles lined this capitol building, and the dome above held the persistent sound of classical music.

The orchestrations came together in strange yet melodic harmonies, like a mixture of Gaelic chanting and Bach's complex symphonies. A series of trees lined the room, each detailing a mask of wood at their front alongside the status behind them. At the center rested a black tree of crystallized obsidian. It bloomed violet apples that burned in magenta fire.

They carried the smell of cedar and Earth while basking the entire expanse in something...Primal. It was as if I walked into the garden of Eden, and this tree was the forbidden fruit. Walking up to it, Helios gestured to the pearlescent bark and leaves.

"It's an homage to our past. While the masks were a tradition basked in classism, the craftsmanship of the masks acted as a ladder to a higher status for the low borne. It gave them a way out of the abject poverty, and it was a sign of our humility. While we may no longer defer to Obolis who instituted the system, we still respect the centuries our people lived under the system."

I put a hand on the bark. It felt like glossy chitin.

"It's amazing."

Above us, ambient lighting changed as a rotating, artificial sun shined through stained glass. Helios sighed.

"We'll have enough time to marvel at our architecture later. We've waited long enough, and displaced albony need homes."

I nodded.

"Good point."

We passed the large domed room. It held six hallways to different rooms and spaces, with paintings and artifacts lining the hallways all the while. Helios sighed at it all.

"Diesel mentioned something about beauty, and I must agree. It gives people a reason to live."

Florence grinned.

"I must find time to sit down and have a meal with him. He's wise well beyond his years, and I'd learn much from him and his perspective."

We stepped through a series of hallways and paths, with many statues, ornate paintings, and luxurious masonry covering the walls. I shook my head in disbelief.

"How in the world did you do all of this in a few weeks?"

Helios stared at his claws.

"To no one's surprise, our species's priorities didn't revolve around retaining our culture. Many fought over the most valuable and decadent supplies that revolved around raw power. Our artwork and sculptures were far from that survival-oriented focus, and it resulted in the absolute desolation of our museums."

Florence peered up, a glint in his eye.

"That's where I came in. I've been hoarding artwork for decades, and my collection includes many portions of our artwork from across the old empire. I bought these collections from various artists by exchanging them for them for various schools revolving around their chosen masteries. These are a few of their choice works."

I put my hands on my hips as we reached another gorgeous doorway.

"When did you find time for all of this?"

Florence furrowed his brow.

"I haven't been leveling at all. My focus has been on retaining the best parts of my kind and giving them a new home."

At that moment, a spike of shame washed over me. I hadn't done anything of the sort, and their grand ambitions and ideals made me feel small. It reminded me that they were older than me, even if our levels didn't reflect that. If anything, the more time I spent beside these two, the more I felt the difference in how we were raised.

These two were princes, and their perspectives matched. Their schooling, associates, and general resources exceeded my own by leaps and bounds. Perhaps not militarily, but in terms of how many competent people they actually knew, and that came from Obolis and the Empire. On the other hand, I was born in a trailer because an ER visit cost too much to even consider, health insurance or not.

Despite that personal turmoil, I smiled, and it was genuine and pure. I had pride in my friends and what they'd done.

"Excellent work. I'm proud to know you two."

Helios flushed under his fur.

"Oh, cease with your flattery. We live by your mercy, so it's shameful to compliment us for simply trying to do something with our people as we use resources you gave us."

Florence scoffed.

"What he meant to say was, thank you, Daniel. Sincerely, you are a great friend."

Helios put a hand on Florence's shoulder. Ice spread from the Fringe Walker's palm.

"I'll kill you if you don't be quiet."

Florence put a hand on the doorway.

"That is to say, I've been attempting to massage out the worst parts of our kind, but certain concessions have been necessary up until now. Do avoid tearing anyone's head off, Daniel."

I raised my hands in my defense.

"Oh, come on, we're going to be fine."

Florence gave me a knowing smile.

"It's not us that I'm worried about."

We stepped into a rounded oratory, pews set onto the sides and full to the brink with elaborately dressed albony. They spoke and discussed various topics, from politics to reforging the moon into a new home. These long-backed benches lined the entire room until they reached an elevated podium.

Atop it, a monocled albony stared down at us with a sharp, steely glare. He wore a fashioned suit, one of Victorian sensibilities mixed with more modern tastes. He opened a pocket watch to his side before snapping it shut. He gave Helios a toothy smile.

"Ah. Helios. You're late."

Helios smiled back, the expression lifeless.

"Oh, Alfonso. Of course I am. How else would I get under your skin?"

Alfonso tilted his head, gray streaks tracing the white fur across his face.

"The same way you always have. By lacking dignity and grace."

Florence walked up to Alonfonso. Florence said,

"Come now. We're among more than friends. We're survivors of a tragedy. All of us. I believe that even breathing alone is a testament to that."

Alfonso's face softened.

"That isn't inaccurate. Then, are we ready for the proceedings?"

I raised a hand.

"Yup. I'm here to build cities."

Alfonso gave me a slight bow.

"Ah, The Harbinger of Cataclysm. It's good to finally make your acquaintance. I'd first like to state my utmost respect for you and your kind. You've given us a home despite Obolis's treatment of you. We will never be able to repay you in turn."

I scoffed.

"There's no need to repay me. You guys have been through more than enough already."

Alfonso raised his head, adjusting his monocle.

"Thank you, but I'm not one to allow debts to lie unattended to. Every credit shall be exchanged until we have demonstrated our gratitude. Now, let us begin with the first order of business. City structures and alignment."

Alfonso spread his hands to the other diplomats and us.

"As all here are aware, many civil engineers have helped us in organizing where and when we'll be constructing various cities. This is for the purpose of having albony taken from our current refuge. We've moved along in a timely manner, but our cities are now bursting at the seams."

I remembered the wide, meandering walkways and emphasis on gardens throughout our walk here. Alfonso continued.

"For this reason, we'll be asking for the assistance of the Harbinger and his abilities. He will erect the following twenty cities across this planet."

I tilted my head to the door.

"We called it the Moon."

Alfonso raised his hands.

"That's sensible. It is the first moon your species knew of, but it is a similar naming scheme to calling Earth 'the planet.' It operates well until an entire people live there."

I nodded. Alfonso swung a hand.

"That is why we shall name it something more appropriate for us in time, but that will come later. Now, once these cities are to be constructed, we'll need the assistance of the Harbinger once more in order to fully terraform this desolate land. Once he is through with this task, we'll begin the resettlement of the entire area, including dungeon handling and economic developments."

Many of the albony gave nods along with the low rumbling of the crowd. Alfonso settled them down with a downward wave of his hands.

"Are there any questions?"

A pelting of inquiries and disputes ran through the room, but Alfonso set up a system for answering them, beginning with the most obvious ones. In the meantime, another gray-haired albony turned to me, gave a bow, and turned a hand.

"We would all like to know precisely how you intend to terraform the planet. Would you mind illuminating us?"

I shrugged.

"No clue."

Florence swung a hand.

"As of yet, that is. Our guildleader is an extraordinarily busy individual, as you may well imagine. In this instance, he's been working diligently on repairing the destroyed surface of Blegara. He and the other officers of the guild have already made enormous strides in restoring the oceans after saving the planet from a Hybrid Star."

Florence squeezed a hand into a fist.

"He's developing strategies with the local populace along with resources from his guild. This allows him to adapt to the situation at hand rather than attempting to bulldoze through a tumultuous situation. Though he may appear uninvolved, I may promise you that he is nothing of the sort."

I scratched my cheek.

"I guess you could say that. Actually, yeah, sure. We'll go with that."

Florence swiveled his head, his smile sharp enough to cut iron.

"Could you allow me to handle the majority of this discussion?"

I let out a laugh before patting his shoulder.

"I'm joking." I looked up to everybody. "He's right. I've been working with experienced terraformers while I develop sustainable, low-maintenance strategies for maintaining the planets under my care. I'll be doing the same here after I build your cities and repair Blegara."

I gave the council a confident smile.

"I'm certain the cities are up to your expectations?"

I already knew the answer. My cities exceeded even the century-old fortresses built in their old capital, Olstatia, and the barriers prevented Elysium from being a pressing threat to anyone in these domains. They even included magical infrastructure, though it lacked the refinement of their society. Still, the raw sustainability dwarfed anything they could muster as of yet.

That assumed they were fine with feeding on several dark gods' gifts. Hm. We really needed to do something about the Old Ones and them being the source of all mana. Before handling that existential threat, the albony needed solace. They needed someone competent, confident, and capable. I would present myself as such regardless of the reality.

Alfonso gave me a raised brow.

"They lack many of our refinements, but the general foundation of each structure is beyond anything we've ever seen. To derive this much effect from a single blue core is beyond anything I've ever researched or heard of. Tell us, how did you accomplish so much with so little?"

I gave him a tight grin.

"It's a trade secret."

Alfonso gestured to the council.

"Then please excuse my probing question. Let us continue to other concerns."

We answered many of their worries, and we settled many of their doubts. Being a usurped people, the albony wanted stability and safety above all else. They willingly offered my guild many rights and freedoms, but we took none of them. In time, my guild would use their artistic excellence, developed technologies, and economic understanding, but it would be between equals.

As they leaned on us, we would lean on them.

The topics changed. We returned to the point about terraforming, and many of the albony councilors wondered how it would be done. I spread my hands.

"It will be handled by a group of technicians, meteorologists, and spiritualists."

Alfonso set his eyes on me with a glare.

"Spiritualists are hardly necessary. We already have our spiritual leaders and own beliefs."

I waved a hand.

"These aren't spiritualists in a religious sense. We're talking about specialists with advanced consciousness imbueing magic."

Alfonso's brow raised, his lips thin.

"It sounds like an energy-intensive process."

I raised a palm, mana shining upward in dark blue dollops.

"It depends on who you ask."

Alfonso gave a quick nod.

"Ah. Then I'll assume you'll be handling it with other humans?"

"We'll be including the skeptiles and a few of their rituals."

A wave of murmurs crawled through the crowd like a dense fog low to the ground. I turned to them.

"What's wrong?"

An albony with a sick mustache raised a hand.

"We appreciate your help, but the skeptiles? They've been, ahem, how can I say this politely?"

Alfonso gave the mustached albony a smile.

"Primitive."

The mustached albony swung his hand.

"Indeed. Primitive."

I stepped over and leaned onto the podium from the floor, my size dwarfing everyone.

"What makes any of you think they're primitive? Do you even have the right to say so, given your fallen society?"

Florence stepped forward, but I raised a hand to him. This idea of superiority would be torn out of them, and regardless of how gentle I was, this would hurt. That's why I'd skip the gentle part.

Alfonso adjusted his monocle.

"We've developed a society far more advanced than your current humanity and most other developed galactic races. Our artworks are desired across the cosmos, along with our wines and sculptures. We're a proud people. The skeptiles. They, they-"

He swung his hands.

"They live in molded dirt in wastelands. We're supposed to entrust our entire planet's ecosystem to them?"

A wicked smile ran up my lips.

"Your planet? Its mine. Don't forget that, councilor."

Alfonso coughed into a hand.

"But of course."

Event Horizon pressed onto them as gently as I could manage.

"The skeptiles know what it means to live somewhere desolate. They've been a people who thrive in wastelands. Despite that, they were a population of millions."

My eyes narrowed to slits.

"Who better to show you the way of rising from ash than the people who have lived in it? Who have thrived in it? Who bore the weight of another people as they starved and worked themselves to the bone."

A painful silence answered me. I murmured my words, but they traveled like the bellows of a primordial force.

"That's why you all will respect my guildmates, or you will no longer be among them. Am I understood?"

Alfonso took out a cloth and polished his monocle. Sweat beaded around his brow, turning his long streaks of fur into wet, clumped lines.

"Ahem. Clearly. But also, if I may, I would like to offer a wager of sorts?"

I pushed myself upright.

"Bold, but sure. Why not?"

Alfonso walked over, his steps measured and far more composed.

"I'd imagine we could come to grips on various terms. I'll offer my skills to your guild if we lose, and you'll grant us the secret behind these blue cores if we win."

I walked over to him, a tower of metal.

"What do your skills amount to?"

Alfonso rose a single brow.

"I acted as the head councilor for the economy of Olstatia for over a hundred years. I helped evolve the economy into a more diverse and robust entity while preventing the sieges by Elysium from ravaging our core cultural pillars. All of this was done without missing deadlines for various debts despite the wartime demands therein."

I scoffed.

"Then you're really, really good at handling annoying busy work?"

Alfonso smiled.

"I've made quite the career of it. Have you heard of an audit? The word is like music to my ears."

I crossed my arms.

"Hmm. I do hate me some busy work, but I'll need to do some research on my own first."

Florence walked over.

"He's speaking the truth. Alfonso is grating, but there's a reason we prioritized him as the one to lead this meeting. He is a stickler for the rules, and that means he makes any good system great."

Alfonso clasped his hands behind himself.

"It's a simple process. Corruption is the primary poison of any great bureaucracy, and legitimacy with concision is its cure. I simply hold those principles in the highest of esteems, and one principle fixes the other."

Alfonso stood tall.

"With some added gumption when necessary, of course."

I shrugged.

"Then the terms of the bet would be your skills for a secret that allows me to protect and raise entire societies?"

Alfonso shrugged.

"If you weren't confident, then why join in a wager?"

I grabbed my chin.

"What's the wager about?"

Alfonso spread his hands and smiled at the other albony.

"We'll orient it around the skeptile's abilities. If they are able to control the terraforming to a resplendent standard, then we shall lose. Otherwise, we win. How does that sound?"

I peered at the tapestries around us, one image of the skeptiles under a baking sun standing out.

"Sure. Let's do it."

Alfonso adjusted his monocle.

"Excellent. How do you feel now that our bet has been placed?"

I stepped away, gazing at a painting.

"To the contrary, I'm very confident in what they've done. I'm worried you're not offering something of equal exchange for what I've put up as collateral. How about this. We change the terms from your services to a team that you build to help manage different operations of my guild. It will need a thousand members hand-chosen by you."

A councilor in the back swung a fist at Alfonso.

"Now is not the time to be bartering your services. We need every competent Albony we can get."

Alfonso put a hand to his chest, his claws polished and sharp.

"One day, I wish to spread the albony throughout the cosmos once more. The Harbinger is offering to give us the secrets of how that's done with these majestic constructs. It's a risk I must take."

A part of me felt bad for them. They wouldn't be able to use the radiant blue cores without access to L-7 any more than I could. Knowing where the cores came from didn't make them any easier to access. It didn't give them the runic knowledge, access to my dimensional fabric, or even the expertise to use the ideas I'd provide. This was a one-way transaction where only I could benefit.

Despite my misgivings, our guild could use another logistician, one with experience. Aside from that, I owed Torix. Having him handle the logistics of the guild had caused his arcane talents to suffer, and he wasted away his potential. I would take Alfonso's services if that meant I could give Torix his agency and gusto back.

I'd do it while crushing their casual dismissal of a species as well. I gave them a nod.

"Then it's settled. I'll bet the skeptiles will help with the terraforming. If they don't, I'll give you the secrets around the blue cores and my cities."

Alfonso sent a sharp glare my way.

"Let's be more specific about the deal's demands. Anyone may help with terraforming. It requires as little as an old shovel and rolled-up sleeves."

My runes hummed from mana circulating through them.

"Then let's make it so that the skeptiles have to be crucial to the terraforming process. If they're not absolutely necessary, then you win."

Alfonso scoffed.

"You could simply puppeteer the process so that they seem to be at its center."

I turned a hand to him.

"In good faith, I'll let you all decide if they've assisted enough."

A set of rambling echoes reverberated throughout the crowd. Alfonso gave me an evil grin.

"Those terms are acceptable."

Florence dragged a hand down his face.

"The man was an accountant, lawyer, judge, and auditor, yet you've given him the right to decide who is the winner? You might as well announce that you never intended on winning in the first place."

I beamed with confidence.

"Tera was able to take over an entire planet without spilling a drop of blood. What makes you think his entire species can't fix a wound on one measly world?"

Helios let out a long, grating sigh.

"Once more, boldness without caution. I suppose we should simply embrace the insanity."

I put my hands on my hips.

"You just wait. They'll handle this with ease. Just watch."