Hours later, the ground scrolled by far beneath Drake’s wings as the dracolich soared in the direction of Fallen Reach. On his back, Hiral sat with Loan and Drahn, the pair held in place by scarves of gentle energy. Around them, on Reflections or Skybikes, the other survivors of the trip to Terminus cut through the night sky.

  Conveniently—mainly so Seeyela didn’t start stabbing people—Fallen Reach was closer to where the party had arrived on Genesis than other locations, like the Cradle of Tomorrow or Trevallen. Both were places they needed to go, but getting Seeyela to her daughter was basically on the way. And, considering how much the woman had done getting the raid party—not to mention all of Genesis—out of the dungeon and back to someplace that wasn’t the “end of time”, nobody argued about prioritizing the reunion.

  Besides, really, Loan’s injuries were the priority, and the best place he could find the treatment he needed was probably on Fallen Reach.

  As for why Seeyela didn’t just use her Recall Token and instantly teleport herself back to Grandfather, even that was apparently too much for her stressed solar energy channels. In a rare display of courage, Wule had firmly put his foot down on her attempting it. He’d gone so far as to take the token from her clenched hand—with Nivian’s help acting as muscle—to make sure she didn’t try while he wasn’t looking. The glare she’d given him was enough to melt flesh, but he’d stood his ground.

  That he hadn’t backed down in front of Seeyela—probably a first—seemed to be enough to get her to recognize just how serious her condition was. After that, she’d called out Bliss—barely—and had gotten some help getting on the Nightmare’s back. Now, the Reflection galloped across the sky, her fiery hooves leaving a trail behind, while glancing back constantly in worry for her rider.

  To see Bliss, of all “people”, acting any way other than haughty was a new experience. One that further reinforced how close they’d come to losing Seeyela. If it wasn’t for her Last Stand ability…

  Hiral forced the thought out of his mind. He’d done everything he could to give her the best chance at getting back in one piece. And, really, his promise to her was as much to motivate her to keep herself going as it was an actual promise. They both knew stuff could happen. Just like it’d happened to Yully and Dole.

  Seeyela had made it though. At the speed they were traveling, it wouldn’t even be long before they arrived back at Fallen Reach. Minutes, at the most, considering how long they’d been flying. That knowledge seemed to be the only thing keeping Seeyela awake at the moment, the woman’s head bobbing slightly as she rode. Thankfully, the magic of her Reflection would keep her in place even if she dozed off, as she had in several short spurts over the course of the journey.

  Just in case, Seena was staying protectively close to her older sister.

  As for the rest of the group, they’d been mostly quiet. A few private conversations seemed to pass through the raid chat—which Hiral only knew because of his sensory domain—but he kept his nose out of those, making sure to give people their privacy. It was… hard to believe it was over. They’d won, though it somehow still felt like they’d lost.

  There was no climactic explosion this time. No body to stand over in proof they’d defeated their enemies. Instead, they returned to their world, in a lot of ways, like nothing had changed. Oh, things had most definitely changed. The longer Hiral was back on the world, the more his Touch of Genesis connected him with things.

  It wasn’t like he was omnipresent or anything on the world, but it felt like the entire planet was taking a deep breath for the first time in eons. Space and reality around it were stitching back together, as if there’d been a huge hole where Genesis should’ve been during the entirety of time. Now that it was back, things would begin to normalize.

  Begin, because he could still feel vague… thin spots around the planet. The best he could figure, these were remnants of how things like Tomorrow or the other Progenitors first came to Genesis, while it was in the dungeon. Somehow, the world had taken that quality with it when it had left.

  There would be more visitors accidently coming to their world in the coming years. Maybe The Archwizard would even make a return.

  If he wants a rematch, it’s not going to be the same outcome as last time…

  Really, it just meant Hiral and the others would need to be ready for unwelcome guests. That wasn’t to say they’d all be bad, but after everything Genesis had gone through with the Enemy, there was no way he was going to sit back and let anybody come in and push his people around. No matter how strong they thought they were.

  Then, of course, there was the other reason they didn’t feel like they’d won. The Raze were still out there, somewhere. On Terminus, the raid party couldn’t beat them, and that stung. They’d gotten so strong, but it still wasn’t enough.

  Unsurprisingly, Yanily was handling it the best. To him, it just meant they needed to get stronger. That they could get stronger. The spearman didn’t mind having those crystal bastards out there somewhere as a threat. It gave him a goal.

  It gave him a target.

  One way or another, he was going to track them down and make sure they couldn’t threaten or hurt any of his friends ever again. Which led to a very difficult question—and discussion they would need to have—about what it meant for their group. Who would go hunting the Raze?

  Who would leave Genesis?

  They could. Hiral could feel it in his bones. Now that they’d freed themselves from the dungeon, it felt like he’d broken loose from chains he didn’t realize were there. The stars in the sky above beckoned him. There was so much out there for him to explore, and he had the power to go.

  If Tomorrow could swim around in space, so could he. The Edicts at his back confirmed the same thing. And, like him, they wanted to explore. That wasn’t all, either. Finding the Avatar of Time bound as he was made them worry there might be others out there as well. Other brethren, trapped.

  As the Avatar of Eclipse, was it Hiral’s responsibility to look? His position made him unique amongst the Avatars. He was the only who’d created his own Edict, while the rest of them had tapped into something already in existence. It was why they’d bound themselves to him like they had.

  Thankfully, it wasn’t something Hiral had to decide at this exact moment. Li’l Ur had theorized he would live a very long time, so he didn’t need to rush. It was all something he’d need to discuss with the others, and especially Seena, after things settled down.

  First, Fallen Reach, then…

  “Hiral,” Nivian said over a private line of the raid chat, pulling him out of his quiet thoughts.

  “Yeah?” Hiral said.

  “We’ve been talking about it,” the Death Knight said. “And we’re going to absorb Drahn into our group. As a new Undead—an S-Rank one at that—I think it’s best he’s with us. We’ve all dealt with the Hunger, and we’re concerned how it will affect him.

  “As soon as he has legs again, we’ll be leaving to go find an S-Rank zone to feed him in. The last thing we need is an S-Rank vampire going crazy on Fallen Reach.”

  “I didn’t even think of the Hunger,” Hiral said, wincing at the thought of the damage Drahn could do if he lost control. “You had to Rank-up twice to beat it, is that even an option for him?”

  “You never beat the Hunger,” Nivian clarified. “Just learn to control it. It’s always there. That said, we all found a significant improvement in B-Rank. Whether it’s through some benefit of the Rank itself, or the amount of energy we consumed to get there, we don’t know yet. Our hope is that being S-Rank, or feeding on the energy of S-Rank creatures in a zone or dungeon, will help.”

  “Why not head right back to Ascender’s Tower?” Hiral suggested. “It’s got an S-Rank dungeon you can farm. Though…” Hiral trailed off, thinking about it. “Other than the sewers, there isn’t much he could really feed off.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Dungeon feeding also feels—How can I describe it?—thinner than real creatures,” Nivian said. “It certainly helps stave off the cravings in the short term, but it doesn’t last. I’m not sure if there are even S-Rank zones on Genesis, but we’ll look. If all else fails, I’m sure there are some A-Rank areas he can go devastate.

  “Whatever happens, we’ll be there for him. To guide him. To keep him safe. And, just as importantly, to keep everybody else safe from him.”

  “That all makes sense,” Hiral said. “You should all stay in the raid group, though, in case you need anything from us. Gives you access to Shared Storage, if nothing else.”

  “I appreciate the offer,” Nivian said. “I think we’ll do just that. There are two more things, though.”

  “Oh?”

  “The first is about the raid group. Are you sure we’ve dealt with the Raze?”

  “For now,” Hiral said. “When I was setting things up before, I added some runic equations to keep Genesis hidden from anything originating on Terminus. They won’t be able to find us with magic or teleportation. To get here, they’d need to physically make the journey. It won’t stop them forever, but it’ll delay them a long time.”

  “Then our raid group has served its purpose,” Nivian said.

  “It has,” Hiral said.

  Over the raid chat, Hiral heard Nivian let out a breath like he was relieved. “That’s good,” the tank said. “This was our hardest-fought victory, and though it didn’t come without a price, most of us made it through. I’m sure we’ll all have a debrief on everything—I know you did more than you’ve told us—but for now, it’s nice to know our part of it is done. That we can put down this task, and look to the next one.”

  “We’re losing one of our groups, aren’t we?” Hiral said, catching on to what Nivian was getting at.

  “We’ve already lost half of one,” Nivian said, voice solemn. “Drahn is joining my group. Devison, he is going to need time. We shouldn’t ask him to fight for a while. Possibly ever. The emotional wounds he suffered run far deeper than anything physical ever could.”

  Hiral looked over at the Grower on his Skybike, and he couldn’t argue Nivian’s point. Devison’s eyes lacked any of the spark he’d seen in the man before. He was going through the motions of following the rest of the group back to Fallen Reach, but he wasn’t there.

  “We’ll get him the help he needs,” Hiral said. “That still leaves…”

  “I spoke to Sera,” Nivian said. “I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds, but with what happened to Ilrolik, the group was without a party leader.”

  “Of course,” Hiral said. “Thank you for doing that. I… need to talk to Sera about what she did back on Terminus. How she put herself between the Raze and me, but I’m still not sure what to say. She was going to die to protect me. If Loan hadn’t put himself in the way, she would’ve, and for some reason, I’m not okay with that.

  “I’ve spent a lot of years hating her, then—more recently—tolerating her. Now? I’m not sure how I feel.”

  “Parents—and family in general—are a twisted mess of emotions,” Nivian said. “It’s part of the reason I spoke to her. Take all the time you need to figure things out, at your own pace, and nobody else’s.”

  “Thank you, Nivian, for always looking out for us. For me.”

  “I told you, I protect my friends,” Nivian said. “And you are very much one of those.”

  Hiral could only smile at the man’s words, despite everything else going on. Nivian was one of the good ones. “What did she say? Sera, I mean.”

  “At least for the time being, she will be leaving the raid group,” Nivian said. “She wants to spend time with her husband and daughters. Though she is S-Rank, she’s not a fighter. She plans to use her power and experience to help usher the next generation toward S-Rank.”

  Hiral nodded. It made sense. Sera was—first and foremost—an Artist. It was where her talents lay. And, if she took up a mentorship role, after everything she’d seen, she’d be able to bring both Artists and Academics into the fold like nobody else could. The threat of the Raze was dealt with, but that didn’t mean Genesis was magically a safe place now.

  They still had a world to retake, and there would need to be some people willing to put themselves in harm’s way to make that happen. Sera could help guide those people.

  “I’m sure Dad will be happy to have her close at hand and safe,” Hiral said.

  “Only until he hears the plans she’s already prepared, and the role she has laid out for him in all of it,” Nivian said with a laugh that spoke volumes of just how much he pitied poor Elezad. “If he thought he was busy with the Trust, he’s in for a surprise.”

  “Oh jeez,” Hiral said, then he chuckled. “No way I’m going to warn him. That’s definitely a them thing.”

  “Smart,” Nivian said. “Sera isn’t the only one turning her focus to the next generation.”

  “Oh?”

  “Finotol is planning to do something similar with the Bonders,” Nivian said. “She was a party leader before she joined up with us, and she’s looking to become one again. Except, unlike Sera, she is planning to focus on bringing up a single, powerful group.”

  “She’s going to start a new one?”

  “Hand-picked,” Nivian said. “Doesn’t matter their Rank, or so she says. She’s going to find five people who have the right skills to make a group as powerful as yours.”

  “Ours? Not yours?”

  “Your group—Seena’s group—is always going to be the bar people try to measure up to,” Nivian said. “We’re strong, sure, but we aren’t the ones who just moved an entire planet.”

  “It’s not like we got out and pushed,” Hiral joked.

  “Hiral, if I told you there was an imminent threat that would destroy Genesis, and the only way to save it was to physically move the whole world, could you do it?”

  Hiral opened his mouth to respond, but he could feel the Death Knight’s eyes on him through his sensory domain. It… actually wasn’t a joke-question. So, he ran the numbers in his head. Then, he got what Nivian was saying.

  “I could,” Hiral said. “It actually wouldn’t be that difficult. I’d probably want Gauto to help me make sure I didn’t miss anything important that had people falling off, but, yeah, I could do it.”

  “Then you understand why your group is the goal,” Nivian said. “The four of you especially—You, Seena, Seeyela, and Yanily—are what people imagine when they think S-Rank. I have no doubt you stand with the Progenitors now.”

  “Nivian, you’re no slouch yourself,” Hiral reminded the Death Knight. “You’re right there with us. You and Wule both.”

  “Maybe,” Nivian said. “But, you know why that is, don’t you? Because of how you stitched our PIMs to our souls. Because of the two improved evolutions you gave us. It all comes back to you.”

  “I… admit I may have had something to do with it,” Hiral said. “Okay, okay, I see your point,” he added after his sensory domain told him about a particular raised eyebrow. “Finotol starting her own group will leave a hole in your party. And, she’s going to get people from different races, right? Not just Bonders?”

  “She knows she needs at least one other race to get into dungeons,” Nivian said. “Her goal is to have one Bonder—herself—one Maker, one Grower, one Undead, one Possessed, and one Eidolon.”

  “Oh, wow,” Hiral said. “That’s ambitious, but I like it.”

  “Me too,” Nivian said. “As for the hole in our party, I’m not too worried about it. I’m sure we can handle most things with the five of us for the time being.”

  It was true, with their strength, it would take an earth-shattering amount of power to threaten them. There were still a few Progenitors walking around on Genesis—such as the Mother of Flame and the Void-Venom Empress—but as long as they avoided any throwdowns with them, the rest should be something they could handle. Then again, there was one other who might be interested in joining them. Especially with the third raid group dissolving.

  “Hey, Nivian,” Hiral said. “What would you think about Loan joining your group?”

  “Do you think he would want to?” Nivian asked, a small hint of intrigue at the thought leaking through his voice.

  “Once he recovers, I think so,” Hiral said. “You’d have to ask him, of course, but after what happened with Ilrolik, I don’t think anything on Fallen Reach will keep his interest.”

  “He’s always been a trainer,” Nivian said. “Are you sure he won’t go back to that?”

  “Hah, I would pity any new students he took on,” Hiral said, before he turned more serious again. “But, no. I could be wrong, but I think he’ll want to leave his mark, like Ilrolik did. To be legendary.”

  “With how he saved you and Sera, he already is,” Nivian said.

  “Just the beginning of his tale, then,” Hiral said.

  “I’ll extend the invitation,” Nivian said. “If he wants to come, I’d be happy to have him.”

  “Good,” Hiral said. “I was worried about how he would handle losing Ilrolik. This should help.”

  “Her loss was saddening,” Nivian said. “But, also inspiring. She went into it with her eyes open, and a willingness to give everything for what she believed in. When I tell her story—and I will—that will be the part I focus on.

  “Besides, did anybody see a body?”

  “Huh?” Hiral said, completely caught off-guard by the question while he was busy internalizing Nivian’s previous words.

  “Romin said he saw her not moving, but did he see her die? She could still be out there somewhere. Maybe here on Genesis. Perhaps on Terminus. Or… who knows, somewhere else? If the Urn of Ur’Thul got carried away by GG to some other time and place, who’s to say the same thing didn’t happen to her?

  “She was a powerful woman—even before the transformation—and I don’t know if I can actually believe she’s dead.”

  Much like when Hiral had realized he could bring Right and Left back, just the thought of Ilrolik being out there, somewhere, eased the hurt just a little bit. It meant there was still a chance they could meet again, and that was comforting.

  “There is one other thing I’d like your help with,” Nivian said.

  “It’s not about the raid group?” Hiral said.

  “No, it’s about the Eidolons,” Nivian said. “As their patriarch, I am responsible for them, and I am planning on stopping by Trevallen once Drahn is whole again, but…”

  “But you need to make sure a new S-Rank threat isn’t running around trying to eat everybody,” Hiral said.

  “Correct,” Nivian said. “Igwanda won’t leave his side, but I don’t think she would stop him from killing if she believed it was best for him. Wule and I need to stay close until that’s done.”

  “And you can’t do that in the middle of a city full of fresh snacks,” Hiral said.

  “Not the exact words I would’ve used to describe them,” Nivian chuckled. “Even though it’s pretty accurate. I’m hoping you can help me—you and Colos—to get the Possessed to allow them to stay in Trevallen until I get this sorted out.”

  “Hrm?” Hiral said. “No.”

  “I appreciate… wait, what?” the Death Knight actually sputtered.

  “Don’t you think the Eidolons deserve a bit more of a fresh start than that?” Hiral said. “Trevallen may not be full, but it’s not the same city the Eidolons lived in. They should have their own space.”

  “Do you have a place they can go?” Nivian said. “I admit, if they stayed in Trevallen, they would likely get put in wherever there was room, like refugees. It’s… not an ideal situation for them.”

  “I have an idea for a place they can go,” Hiral said. “I need a little time to work on it, though, so give me a bit to get it ready.”

  “Now you’ve got me curious,” Nivian said.

  “Afraid your curiosity will have to wait,” Hiral said, spotting something in the distance. “There’s Fallen Reach. It’s time to reunite a mother and her daughter.”

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