In that timeless expanse, with its ever creeping mists, the passage of time was illusive—unreliable. It could have been minutes or it could’ve been days—he had long since lost the knack of discerning between the two. His only thought to console her as best he knew how. Until, eventually, at last her muffled cries died down, and her heaving chest stilled. Voice raw from emotion, tone brash to mask her trembling, she spoke.

  “What,” her voice hitched. “What ever are you wearing?”

  Jun paused. Quickly glancing down at his customized outfit—a tasteful, if daring, amalgam of styles that took a dash of inspiration from each of the trial worlds he’d visited. A mix of traditional eastern garb, with its flowing robes and wide sashes, contrasted by a top hat, slacks, and monocle that wouldn’t have been out of place in anycourtly ballroom. All of it then given a subtle medieval spin—which of course meant heaps of gaudy jewelry beneath all manner of religious paraphernalia.

  Hmm… let’s see…

  Then there was the sleeve of glowing runic patterns that practically reeked of arcana…? Oh! And the flashing circuit patterns thrown into the mix to help give the whole ensemble a more techno-world feel. It was what he’d gotten in the habit of wearing whenever outside the trial space, to the point that he barely even noticed it anymore.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Oh, don’t play dumb. Tell me. Describe to me in great detail whoever it was thought it so very funny to play such a terrible practical joke at your expense! Tell me, and I shall box them about the ears something fierce. See if I don’t!”

  “But-”

  “Yes, yes. I know you simply want to protect them. But trust me, they aren’t worth your protection. They aren’t your friends Jun, no matter what they might’ve said. Believe me when I say this, no one capable of… that could possibly have your best interests at heart.”

  “I- I’ll have you know in certain circles, this is considered to be the height of fashion,” he protested.

  And it was true as well. Well, it was in the trial worlds at least. That still counted didn’t it? No, what was he saying? Of course it did! After all, he’d technically been the one to popularize it, so he was something of an expert on the subject.

  “No Jun,” she shook her head mournfully. “Whatever they told you, it’s nothing more than an blaring offense to all things visual. I swear. I take my eyes off you for one second! I- What’s that look? You want to say something, I can tell. Well? What is it?”

  He didn’t reply. He couldn’t bring himself to. And, as the awkward silence slowly dragged on, Ivory quickly came to understand the error inherent in her erstwhile assumptions. Her eyes shot wide in realization. Jun looked down at his gaudy ensemble with growing dismay.

  “Is it… is it really that bad?”

  “N-no! What? No! Of course not! What I meant to say was-! Well… uh, you know what they say right?”

  “No? What do they say?”

  She laughed somewhat mechanically—beads of sweat glistening on her brow.

  “Haha! Exactly! A-and, anyway, you really should take everything I say with a grain of salt. I mean, I’ve been away for so terribly long. I don’t even understand most of the things that come out of my mouth. And those designs! I mean… wow! They’re rather sharp now that I get a better look at them. Very… uh, expressive! Where is this place anyway, do you know?” she was quick to change the subject.

  A little downcast, he nevertheless explained to her in detail everything he knew about the strange space she now found herself in. Showing off some of the functionality of the workshop whenever her brow furrowed in confusion.

  “Okay…? But, hold on, if that is indeed the case, and this place really does mold itself to your preference, I must know. What possessed you to turn it into this dreary plain of fog strewn emptiness? Is everything alright? Should I be concerned? You know, I worry about you sometimes Jun, I really do.”

  “Oh, the environment doesn’t change. It’s just sort of stuck that way.”

  “Have you checked?”

  “I-! What? No. I mean I haven’t but that’s not… because you see, the thing is-!” he paused.

  With a thought the landscape abruptly transformed into a sunny springtime meadow at midday. He felt like kicking himself.

  “Hey, did you know about this?!” Jun called up to the sky, with its majestic flocks of geese skimming beneath magnificent scudding cloud banks.

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  Yes.

  “And you didn’t think to tell me?!”

  You didn’t ask.

  Jun growled his frustration, muttering in unintelligible outrage, held back from coarsely berating the stupid arbiter by Ivory’s presence alone. Breathing heavily, he plopped himself down beneath an apple tree and tried his best to calm down.

  “Twenty years…” his voice wavered. “Twenty fucking years…!”

  Technically

  “Not another word!”

  And somehow, miraculously, the knockoff system reject actually listened. Well. What do you know about that? It would appear sometimes wishes do come true. Jun sighed, resting his head against the rough bark of the tree.

  “Well, now you know my big secret,” he gestured at the picturesque meadow. “Mind telling me yours?”

  And, after only a moments hesitation. Ivory finally came clean about everything. About how they’d first come to meet. How her mother had effectively used her as a disposable cultivation resource. And then, to top it all off, some confirmation as to just what a bigwig her mother actually was.

  “An ascendant, huh…? So that’s like, what, a half step away from godhood?”

  That is not incorrect. They are on the path, and much further along than most.

  “Okay…? But, what I want to know is, why go to all the trouble? Why do all of that. All for the sake of me? That seems altogether implausible.”

  “If I knew, I might have done a better job of foiling her plans. Mother doesn’t really discuss her plans with us, so much as inform us where we are needed and supply transport if necessary. I only wish I could have told you all of this sooner.”

  “Don’t sweat it. Now that I know, I don’t really blame you. But seriously, messing with your kid’s mind, making it so that there were things you could and couldn’t say? That’s all kinds of messed up.”

  “It… it wasn’t easy. That’s why I developed a mental cast, you know. To hinder the effect, if only marginally. Come to find out all I’d really done was gain the stellar ability to talk to rats. I’d thought I was being so clever. And you know what? When she found out what I’d done, she didn’t even punish me for it. In fact she barely seemed to notice.”

  “Damn. And I thought my mum was cold.”

  Ivory grunted. Then, they just sat with that for a moment, taking in the peaceful tranquility of the simulated landscape.

  “So… about the, uhh, kind of, sort of killing some of your siblings thing? Sorry about that. I mean—and I don’t mean to shirk the responsibility or anything—there wasn’t really much I could’ve done, but still.”

  “Oh that. No, don’t worry. You’ll be happy to know I hate them nearly as much as they hate me. They think because mother gave me just a smidgen more of her attentions, that she ultimately cared for me. As if I somehow stole away all of her affections, leaving none for the rest of them. It’s laughable. As if mother is even capable of such a thing.”

  “Damn. So, no hard feelings then?”

  “No. If it wasn’t you, it would’ve been me, most likely. It’s an estranged relationship. Believe me, there’s no love lost on either side,” there was a brief lull, before Ivory continued. “She’ll be waiting for you, you know. On the other side of that rift. The fact that I’m here means she’s probably succeeded, though I very much doubt my surviving the ordeal ever factored into her plans.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. Mulling it over.”

  “What will you do?”

  “I’m not sure yet. This definitely alters my plans some, though not much, thankfully. Arbiter! How much time do you think we have before the rift they entered closes? If you had to wager a guess?”

  Given the rise in deterioration I’ve noted from the perforated anima, I believe there to be six hours, relative time, before the realm as a whole feels the first of its final death throes.

  “Which means we’ve got a few months at least to iron out some sort of plan.”

  “That much?!”

  “Yeah, the time dilation here is pretty unreal.”

  “Wait… Jun. When you said twenty years…? Just how long have you been in here?”

  Jun winced.

  “Later. We can get into the particulars later. For now…?” he turned to the small bundle in his lap. “Ivory, I need you to tell me everything you know about your mother’s strengths and, more importantly, any weaknesses. Her status too, if that’s at all possible.”

  “I-! Sure…? But, you can’t possibly be thinking of fighting her. Jun, that’s suicide!”

  “Maybe. I’m not so certain. Give me a quick rundown on her abilities and we’ll see.”

  “But-!”

  “Trust me. I’ve learned a lot since you’ve last seen me. Believe it or not, I’ve picked up a good number of tricks in the interim. Saved my skin on more than one occasion. Besides, I suspect that if our resident know it all thought I was risking myself unnecessarily, it wouldn’t just stand by and let me leave.”

  That is not incorrect.

  “See? Under promise of house arrest and everything. It’s perfectly safe.”

  “Huh. I had no idea. I suppose I owe this friend of yours my sincerest gratitude. For someone other than me to somehow keep you alive all this time. That can’t have been an easy task.”

  You are welcome. And it is good to know that at least someone understands my plight.

  “Don’t encourage it.”

  Eleanor giggled, and he could have sworn the purple screen winked.

  “Unbelievable, you two,” Jun sighed, before he continued. “Actually, at the risk of outnumbering myself here even further, there’s someone else I think should be in on this little war council. She’s more than earned her place, and it concerns her as well, so I honestly think she deserves to know.”

  Ivory seemed to bristle at this.

  “She? She who?”

  Unfortunately, Jun, already deep in concentration, failed to notice the rather ominous tone. Although, in all honesty, he wouldn’t have known what to do with it even if he had.

  If the trick is a binding connection between souls, then it should be possible to…

  On the outside, six hours remained before the astral realm truly verged on collapse. In here that meant months to converse, prepare, and strategize. A scant few months to figure out a way to kill an ascendant being on the mortal plane, the closest thing any one of them had seen to a god.