City Lord Cosgrave stomped into her office, stating loudly in a tone devoid of levity, “Well, that could have gone better.”

  Behind her, Jessica Chandler, her aide, and Head Guard Dalton filed into the room with equally blank expressions on their faces. Neither of them said anything, not wanting to upset her further. As city lord, she had to maintain her public persona of control, so they were used to seeing her vent her emotions like this in private. For them, it was an honor to be considered a confidant.

  Collapsing into her office chair, City Lord Cosgrave rubbed her palms over her eyes to alleviate the headache she was suffering. The silence in the room hung heavily over everyone present.

  After releasing a long breath to calm herself down, she gestured to both of them to sit. “Alright, we’ve done all we can to placate the nobles for the time being. Jessica, how is Lord Bennings doing with the paperwork?”

  Jessica, her link lit on her temple, responded quickly, “She’s had people on it since she’d discovered the issue, and personally been overseeing the work since the events at House Walker’s oath-giving ceremony. According to her, in order to handle it here in Dorchester without involving the capital, we’ll need House Walker’s cooperation. They need to agree to backdate the transfer of the mountain.”

  Scoffing in annoyance, City Lord Cosgrave replied angrily, “That shouldn’t be an issue. Lord Walker made it perfectly clear that he was willing to let the matter go. And how have the dwarves been handling the aftermath of Lord Walker’s public declaration?”

  Jessica held up her hands in surrender. “Not so fast, my lord. There is another issue you’ll have to speak with Lord Bennings about. If you recall, when Lord Walker was rewarded the mountain and the mining city, it was due to his success in the noble war with House Dorchen.”

  Waving her hand as if she wanted her aide to get to the point, City Lord Cosgrave replied, “Yes, I remember. What about it?”

  Jessica, awkwardly shifting in her seat coughed into her hand. “Well, it seems that when the mountain was evaluated for its worth, no one took into account that the village had been wiped out and its ore production halted. However, the kingdom will only be compensating the city for its current worth. Therefore, we’ll have to cover the difference ourselves.”

  City Lord Cosgrave’s expression remained for the most part blank. However, both Jessica and Dalton could tell she was privately fuming in anger. It had been she who had worked behind the scenes to overvalue the mountain so as to limit how much Lord Walker received as his award. It had been just one of the ways that she’d secretly worked against the young lord. If that fact were discovered, it could lead to some extremely unpleasant accusations.

  Gritting her teeth, City Lord Cosgrave said, “Do it. We need this matter over with as soon as possible. Make sure to ensure that Lord Bennings knows that it was just a mistake, and not to bother looking into it any further.”

  Jessica, understanding the situation, along with everything that was not being said, replied, “Of course, my lord. In that case, Lord Bennings should have everything handled in a few more hours.”

  Turning to address Head Guard Dalton, City Lord Cosgrave asked, “Are the nobles causing any trouble?”

  The man sat at attention in his chair, looking every bit the formidable warrior that he was. “Nothing serious, my lord. Your efforts to calm them down after we left the ceremony seemed to have worked. They aren’t taking to the Thought Hub to express their grievances, and no one seems to be gathering their forces.”

  Pushing for further clarification, City Lord Cosgrave asked, “No one has applied for any duels, or taken any economic actions against House Walker or House Verena?”

  Shaking his head slightly, he replied, “Not as far as I can tell, my lord.”

  Leaning back in her seat, she replied tiredly, “Well, that’s something at least. And what about the dwarves? How are they handling the situation?”

  Head Guard Dalton’s stoic expression broke for an instant, a slight grimace appearing on his face. “They’ve holed up in their rooms. The guards I’ve had watching over them aren’t able to tell me anything more. But I believe they may now be less interested in working with us. On the way back to the keep, several guards overheard them speaking in less than flattering terms about our city’s honor.”

  Waving a hand dismissively in the air, she replied, “That’s to be expected. The situation we’ve found ourselves in doesn’t exactly paint the local nobility in the best light. However, all relationships can be mended with time and patience. Have you completed a threat assessment on them now that they’ve arrived?”

  Nodding his head, he said, “Yes and no. We’ve based everything we know about them on the information we’ve received from the capital. We know they don’t level like us, fight like us, or even age like us. As far as we’ve been able to tell, many of the dwarves who are here are older than everyone in Dorchester… including the archmage. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are as powerful or dangerous as he is. Taking into account the records of human interactions with the dwarves, we believe that if it came down to it, with the archmage's help… we could handle them.”

  Lord Cosgrave replied icily, “So with the help of the most powerful mage in Oglivarch, you believe you can handle them. That’s not as encouraging to hear as you probably intended it to be.”

  Shrugging lightly, he replied, “Without seeing them in action, we just don’t know enough about what they’re capable of. We know they’re very physical fighters, weak in magic and large-scale warfare, but powerful in individual combat and technological levels. Simply put, they fight too differently from us to make an accurate threat assessment beyond what I’ve already told you.”

  Jessica chimed in, “I doubt very much that they’ll resort to confrontation. They have no interest in war with a city above ground. They just want their mountain. We’re more use to them alive and as trading partners than as adversaries.”

  Lord Cosgrave replied, “Yes, that may be true. However, it also puts us at a disadvantage in the upcoming negotiations. We won’t be dealing with them from a position of strength. And in time, our city may become nothing more than a gateway to trade with the disproportionally more powerful dwarven city they’ll eventually build in their mountains.”

  While everyone sat in silence, contemplating their city’s future, City Lord Cosgrave released another long breath in exasperation… extremely unhappy with how things were going.

  —--

  Following Jennings to one of the tables, Nero jumped into one of the chairs and collapsed in an overly dramatic display of his disinterest in the upcoming subject. Waving one hand languidly in the air, he said, “OK, old man. Let me have it. What world-shattering information have I been ignoring? Have you discovered which powerful assholes are working against me? Or are you going to lecture me again about how I almost accidentally unraveled reality with my spell bomb? Don’t tell me it's about the dwarves? I was merely avoiding them being pissed at me. If those assholes in the keep have a problem with it, they can suck my left nut. And, I swear to whatever gods you believe in that if you mention the words ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’ I’m going to do something very unpleasant to you.”

  Archmage Jennings took a seat across from him at the table with a slight smile on his face. “Nothing like that I’m afraid. I still haven’t been able to discover who is behind those rumors coming out of the Faith district. And I believe you couldn’t achieve a similar spell result if you tried. And I don’t particularly care about your game with the dwarves and nobles at the moment. No, what I’d like to talk with you about is how you survived your ‘spell bomb’.”

  Nero, already only half-listening to the old mage looked in confusion back at the door they’d come from. ‘Where did Ms. Davis go? She better not have forgotten about the coffee and finger sandwiches,’ he thought to himself.

  Jennings, annoyed at Nero’s wandering attention snapped, “Nero! This is important!”

  Turning his stare away from the door and returning it to the old mage, Nero replied, “Of course. I’m all ears. Fire away!”

  Sighing, Jennings began, “Nero, what do you recall from the moments directly after your ‘spell bomb’ went off?”

  Nero, confused, replied, “Nothing… why? And why are you bringing this up now? That was practically a week ago… I think. I don’t know, days are so long here that it’s hard to keep track. What does it matter?”

  The archmage, looking for the moment as every bit the thousand-year-old mage that he was, kept his expression calm. “I’m bringing this up now because I’ve had time to thoroughly investigate the event through multiple delves. I’ve been able to piece together what happened, and what you did. Now, I’d like to discuss with you what you remember from your point of view, and what the implications of what I discovered mean for your continued progress along your path.”

  Nero, trying to follow the man’s overly-formal tone, replied, “Very well. I’m not sure what exactly happened. From my point of view, when the spell bomb went off, everything just stopped… and then I blacked out. When I came to, everything in the area felt weird, and the essence in the ether felt sluggish and odd. I’m not sure how, but I could just tell that casting any magic there would have been a bad idea. Beyond that, I’ve got nothing. Why? What did you find out? And what do you mean you ‘delved’ for answers? How does that work?”

  Patiently, Jennings replied, “Delving into the local essence flows is difficult, but not impossible. It allows for a mage to see what has happened in an area. To experience what the world has witnessed. It’s very similar to what you’ve been experiencing in your dreams.”

  Nero, shocked for a moment, before immediately remembering that the old man was always watching him, replied, “Of course you knew about that. You were probably peeping on my conversation with Nick and Quincy when I told them about it.”

  Unashamed, Jennings replied, “Yes, I was. You have a natural inclination for delving, which I believe is due to the nature of your soul and is connected to what I want to discuss with you.”

  Curious, Nero waved a hand, urging him to get to his point.

  Jennings folded his hands on the table and said, “Nero, when you set off what you call your ‘spell bomb’, I’ve already discussed with you how it affected the essence flows in the area. What I did not tell you was that, at the time, you were within the affected area, and what that meant for your physical body. Since then, I’ve confirmed that you suffered exactly the same fate as everything else in the area… your physical form was unraveled, its essence set free from the identity it had been given. In short, you died.”

  Nero, not nearly as surprised as he probably should have been, replied, “Figures. I didn’t exactly look all that healthy when I woke up afterward.”

  Jennings, frowning slightly at the fact that Nero didn’t seem to be understanding what he was trying to tell him, tried again. “Nero, you didn’t just die as in your heart stopped beating and your body stopped working. Your physical form was unmade. Disintegrated. Destroyed. Gone.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Nero, returning the man’s frown, replied, “Then how am I here?”

  Jennings, nodded once in acceptance of Nero finally grasping how important what he was telling was, and replied, “That was the question I’ve been working on answering. While the rest of the essence in the area broke apart into its simplest flows, your body managed to maintain an echo of its identity, held together by the power of your soul. To put it another way, your soul used your center to carve yourself back into existence.”

  Mildly confused, Nero responded as if his guess was actually a question, “So, I looked like a starving meth addict afterward because my soul cast the body creation spell poorly?”

  Not willing to get into Nero’s odd way of describing his state, Jennings ignored him. “Your soul is powerful and incomprehensibly self-aware. We’ve discussed how you are, in a way, just possessing the body you are using, but we’ve never discussed the greater implications of that fact, and what it means for your future.”

  Nero, already guessing where he thought Jennings was going with this, replied, “Yeah, I’ve already figured out that I could probably body jack another dead body if I want. When I accidentally left this body behind and sent myself into that essence disturbance I was playing with, I figured that part out. Although, I still haven’t figured out why I remember that out-of-body experience while forgetting most of the other ones. You solve that particular riddle yet?”

  Jennings, shook his head sharply, frowning at Nero’s misunderstanding. “No, Nero. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the fact that your soul is currently no longer using the body you had possessed. That body is gone, remember? Disintergrated?”

  Confused, Nero asked, “OK. Then what’s wrong with the meat suit I’m currently wearing? It feels the same as the one I was using before.” As he spoke, he patted his chest firmly, as if demonstrating that everything was working the way it was supposed to.

  “The body you’re currently using is a copy, one made by you. You built it based on the identity pattern of the one you were using before. Your soul has adopted it as your physical embodiment. You self-actualized your presence here in the material plane,” Jennings declared in a tone that sounded rather ominous.

  Nero, not understanding what had Jennings acting so seriously, replied, “That’s cool, I guess. I’m in a build-a-body based on the one I previously body-jacked. So that means I don’t have to worry about dying to disintegration rays and stuff, right?”

  Jennings, clenching his hands together as if he were praying for the strength to put up with the young man in front of him, replied, “Yes, but not just that. Don’t you see? You’ve managed to self-actualize your presence while not having achieved unity! If I can discover how you did it, then people who’ve reached level 100 may not have to leave this plane of existence. We won’t have to rely on the associated planes of heaven to still interact with this world. We could become truly immortal!”

  Nero, trying to keep up with what Jennings was saying, looked at the man like he was crazy. “I thought you said that once people reach level 100 they move on to another plane of existence?”

  Jennings ran a hand through his hair, replying quickly, “Usually, yes. Although very few people actually make it to level 100, when they do they don’t have many choices. Either they have prepared well enough to take over a personal plane closely associated with this one, becoming a god. Or they try and maintain their identity and survive the dimensional sheer, making their way to a higher plane of physical existence. If they fail, they die, shedding their experiences and returning as a blank soul like everyone else.”

  Nero, nodding in understanding, replied, “Bummer. So, figuring out how I did what I did can help you with that? I’m guessing you’re interested because you’re coming up on level 100 and looking to avoid that fate. Not interested in becoming a god?”

  Jennings, with a slight smirk on his face, replied, “I had no interest in becoming a god. They have very little power to affect this plane and rely too much on their followers for my liking. For the past several hundred years I’ve been focusing on learning about the interactions between the planes of existence, trying to improve my chances of surviving the upcoming transition. I may not have any desire to stay on this material plane, but studying you can still help me. That’s why your arrival is so important to me. Understanding how you survived the void with your personality intact is vital to my success at moving on with my mind intact.”

  Nero, feeling surprisingly happy with the fact that Jennings’ interest in him had a self-centered reason, replied easily, “I always knew there must be a reason why you were so interested in me. I never bought the whole I’m-only-interested-in-studying-you-for-the-sake-of-science spiel.” Leaning forward in his seat, Nero asked seriously, “So, how can I help? I’m telling you now that I won’t be letting myself get continually vaporized so that you can study how I put myself back together. If you blow my ass up, I’m taking my soul and fucking off someplace you’ll never find me… So, keep your requests reasonable, old man!”

  Chucking, Jennings was about to reply when the doors to the library opened. In came Ms. Davis with two other servants, each carrying shining silver trays. Without a word, they delivered several platters of finger sandwiches and a delightfully arranged coffee service.

  Imitating the assholes he used to see on the shows he watched back on Earth, Nero raised his chin into the air and said in an exaggerated manner, “Thank you, Ms. Davis. That will be all.”

  While he’d been trying to be funny, the woman merely bowed with a smile and led the two servants away. Apparently, she’d thought he was being serious and acted accordingly.

  Before he could call her back, Nero bit back the words and resigned himself to living with his newfound status. ‘I’m just going to have to get used to it,’ he told himself while pouring himself a cup of coffee.

  Jennings, waiting patiently for them to leave, followed suit.

  When the doors closed, Jennings turned his raptor-like gaze back to Nero and said, “I’m not intending to do any invasive studies, so there’s no need to worry. Besides, I agree that your soul most likely wouldn’t willingly cooperate with anything like that. Remember, your soul is still you, more so for you than anyone else in fact. This body and mind that you have created are just vessels for your soul to interact with this material plane. Honestly, I still don’t understand how you’ve harmonized your aspects so well.”

  Nero, latching onto the word, replied quickly, “Harmonization! I got a pillar effect that mentions that, but I don’t really understand it. Can you explain to me what it means? Hopefully using small words that don’t require me having to suffer through complicated translation magic interpreting things for me?”

  Interested, Jennings asked, “What does your identity tell you exactly about your pillar effect?”

  Nero opened up his identity, reading off what the pillar effect said, “It says, Increased ability to harmonize your attributes. It’s got one star put into the effect at the moment. You should know that I don’t remember actually choosing to put a star into it. Like that one time before, it happened without me willing it to.”

  “Nero, I’m sure you’ve come to guess by now that you are the one who is making those decisions whether you realize it or not,” Jennings said firmly.

  Nero, nodding in understanding, replied, “Like my subconscious or something. Right. That makes sense.”

  Jennings scoffed. “No, Nero. Not your subconscious… your soul. The you that is at the core of who you are. Remember, unlike everyone else on this plane, your soul has an identity that is carried over from wherever you came from. Your mind is just a projection of your soul’s existence. It is the driving force behind the choices you don’t remember making.”

  Nero rubbed the back of his neck and replied, “Well, that’s kind of a mind-fuck… isn’t it? I mean, the me that I am is just an expression of the me that is my soul. I guess I can kinda understand that. Where most people are creating their identity as they age and experience stuff, I already have a save file stored somewhere in my soul which is being updated by my experiences here. That’s probably the answer to your question right there. Regardless, I want to know what that harmonization thing you were talking about means.”

  Jennings, ignoring Nero’s inquiry, replied with razor-sharp interest, “Wait. What do you mean about the answer to my question?”

  Nero, blinking a few times to register what Jennings was asking about, replied with confusion, “Oh, I was talking about the answer about how to rebuild a body or whatever. You just need to update your soul’s save file or whatever you want to call it. I have no idea how to do it, but I’m guessing you’ll probably be able to figure it out. Once you do that, your soul will be able to act independently, just like mine. From what I read about how you all have studied the afterlife, it’s the mind’s imprint that is sent on to your great reward. Souls here typically don’t have updated identities, they’re more like temporary files. Wait, is that what harmonization means? Like does increased harmonization have to do with my mind interacting with my soul?”

  Jennings, deep in thought, once again ignored Nero’s question, muttering to himself, “Could it be that simple? But how would I accomplish something like that?”

  Clapping his hands to force Jennings to snap out of it, Nero said loudly, “Hey! Focus, man. Harmonization… make with the explainy!”

  Jennings, still looking mostly lost in thought replied with a wave of his hand as if the subject wasn’t worth getting into, “Harmonization of attributes is similar in function to confluence. Where confluence is the ease at which attributes work together to form a whole, harmonization is about the fluidity of essence collaboration. It’s a concept covering the interaction speed rather than the compatibility. It’s not actually a stat or something so easily measured.”

  Nero, while munching on a finger sandwich, replied with a mouth full of food, “Oh, that makes sense. Without a good connection, transfer speeds between the two files would suck. I bet that’s why souls don’t have enough time to form their own identity here. I bet it takes a long time to imprint a soul with a personality. Although, you’d think 1000 years would be enough.”

  Jennings, coming out of his thoughts widened his eyes in sudden understanding. “What did you just say?”

  Nero, washing down the last of his chewed food with some more coffee, looked over at the old mage in confusion. “What do you mean? The transfer speed thing, or the comment about 1000 years being long enough for the soul imprint?”

  Jennings, practically sitting on the edge of his chair asked, “What did you mean about the transfer speed and files and such? It sounded like you were talking about memory engrams, but different.”

  Nero, nodding in understanding, tried to explain the concept of computers by relating them to the Thought Hub. Before he even got to the concept of the internet, Jenning had stood up and begun pacing while furiously rubbing his chin in thought.

  Interrupting Nero, he said excitedly, “So, you believe that your soul’s mental imprint, as the driving force behind your existence, has harmonized itself to a sufficient level that it can actively interact with your mind! Then, through that, it can interact with the local essence to affect your body. By reversing that line of thought, I can forcefully create a link to my soul, imprinting my mind’s engram more firmly onto my soul… ensuring that it survives the destabilization effect of the void!”

  Nero, once again munching on a sandwich replied offhandedly, “Sure. That’s what I meant. One body, one mind, one soul, and all that. Seems kinda obvious when you think about how annoyingly cliche this world is I still don’t understand why it doesn’t automatically happen to people here, but whatever. It’s probably some asshole in the higher planes interfering with the process if you ask me… there’s always someone to blame for shit like this.”

  Rolling his eyes hard, Jennings replied, “No, Nero, no one is to blame for it. The process doesn’t happen because souls aren’t meant to hold a permanent imprint by their very nature, at least not in this world. I can only assume that where you come from is somehow different. Otherwise, your soul’s mental imprint would have been wiped away like everyone else's when you went through the void. All I need to do is figure out how to copy that aspect onto myself, and I’ll be able to ensure that I survive the transfer to the next plane of existence with my identity intact. Don’t you understand what that means? I can survive the transfer without suffering a complete personality collapse!”

  Nero, dusting off his hands of the clinging crumbs, replied, “Yeah, that’s great. Good for you. But I don’t see what you’re so happy about, you still have no idea how to do it.”

  Jennings, suddenly feeling an overwhelming urge to blast Nero into temporary nonexistence took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Yes, thank you for pointing that out. But at least now I have a direction of study to pursue.”

  Nero, happy to be of help, asked, “By the way, what does any of this have to do with my future? Wasn’t that what you wanted to talk with me about?”

  Jennings, smirking evilly, replied, “Well, I was initially intending to speak with you about the possibility of you working toward joining Oglivarch’s pantheon, and the challenges your unique soul will face, but I don’t think that is likely anymore as when… or if you reach level 100 you will most likely choose to move on to a higher plane without issue.”

  Nero, not fully understanding what Jennings was talking about, gestured with his hand his disinterest. “Yeah, I’m not cut out for godhood. I’m sure it’s great and all, but I’d rather just stick to living if that’s all right with you. Besides, I’ve got plenty of time before I have to think about any of that, right? What’s the point in worrying about it now?”

  Jennings, now standing across from Nero after having been pacing, replied, “Of course, why think about the future when you have so much going on at the moment? Kobalds, dwarves, war, and politics, are all vying for your attention. Declaring yourself an ‘adventurer’ is quite the apt name for what kind of lord you’re becoming. Just keep yourself safe. I’ll be in touch.”

  In a flash of golden light, Jennings vanished, leaving Nero blinking in confusion at the old mage’s abrupt exit. Muttering in annoyance, Nero said, “I never got a chance to ask him about my mage armor… what an asshole.”