II-37 More

Many strategists and military intellectuals like to proclaim gates as hard points of significant difficulty. I disagree. I think gates are logistical and structural vulnerabilities. 

Most of them, anyway.

Most military people like to think of a situation as a clash of forces, flinging Pathbearers against heavily armed defenses and adversaries. Of course you will lose many Pathbearers this way. Of course the losses will be severe. That’s why you don’t fight this way.

You know the gate has a major direct force advantage. You know its mana core could fuel the defenders and make sure that it is empowering them at every second, constantly replenishing them, offering them new facilities, new powers that they can direct against you.

It is the same way as trying to bring down a monster, even as a Master-Tier. A Master-Tier individual does not have the same skills as a Master-Tier monster. Without any equipment, a proper strategy, or a specialized skill, you’re going to get torn apart. It’s evolved to be brutal, it’s evolved to be strong, to be overwhelming. That is the nature of a monster. It cannot think originally, it cannot conceive, it cannot plan, it cannot be creative, and it lacks tools.

We are people. We are a thinking people, and I would demand that we do some thinking when fighting something that is clearly, clearly not meant to be taken by force.

You don’t take a gate from the outside, you do it from within. You optimally get the gate sealed from the outside. You choke them. You choke them of whatever supplies they need.

Pathbearers don’t need to feed very much. They don’t need sleep very much after a certain point. But still, eventually, they will starve. They will run out of air. They will need water. They will need rest.

And this can be exacerbated. You can remove all the supplies going into the gate. You can destroy their stores while inside. You can spread plagues while inside. You can create disorder and pit the internal government while inside.

A gate is a fragile thing. It’s fragile because its governed and houses people. It’s fragile because it requires so much to sustain and function. It’s not a world of its own. It’s only a pale shadow of one. A connector. A bridge.

It can someday become a full thing. But until then, a gate needs traffic to flow through it. Because a clogged artery will eventually and inevitably burst.

And when it does, you get to keep the mana core intact and take the gate for your own. Ha, you won’t even need to waste an army to take it…

-Lady Eileen Harkness, Owl of Aviary

II-37

More

Shiv stared out at the horizon and let out a deep breath. “Well. We beat twelve, so we just need to do this around ten more times.”

The Weaveresses were throwing their invisibility cloaks over themselves and taking defense positions. Adam was glaring hard at something unseen, his expression tense and curses spilling out under his breath.

Uva pulled her mana strands back for a moment. She stared at Shiv and pressed her lips together. “I… think you are a bit too optimistic sometimes, my dear brute.”

“Heh. Helps when you can’t die.” Shiv laughed.

“Well, I suppose I’ll get to sample more sleeves.”

“Yeah, you might scare Adam if you keep talking that way.”

“Yes, but it might attract someone else I have in mind.”

And it worked. Shiv barely suppressed a growl. 

“Please—we’re about to fight potentially a hundred more dragon-knights and get horribly butchered… Can you two please not do this right now?” Adam cried, his eyes burning. He had a Veilpiercer arrow prepared, then paused. The Young Lord lowered his bow and frowned. “They’re slowing down…”

“They’re probably not reinforcements, then,” Uva said with a breath. Her strands brushed something, and one recoiled violently. “The Composer only said there was one rogue lance. This… this might be someone hunting them. This might be—

“HEAR ME!” A loud bellow detonated through the air. The world shook. Adam clenched his ears, and Uva stumbled back. 

And Shiv—Shiv knew that voice.

“Oh, good,” Shiv said. “I was wondering if I was going to run into him again.”

“Hear me now! It is I, Sir Marikos! Sir-Legend Marikos of the Descenders Union! Traitors, scum, and scoundrels—beware! Oathbreakers, fall upon thy swords! I have come to redeem my honor, and I will use your blood to rewrite my shame!”

Sir Marikos looked much as before. His dense layer of rock-like armor shrouded his body. A great axe made of bone hovered in his hand—bound by enchantment rather than by grip. His eyes gleamed bright, and behind him, a small army of smaller dragon-knights approached.

Shiv didn’t fully appreciate how big Sir Marikos was the first time he met him. Then Sir Marikos flicked his hand, and a ball of fire appeared—brighter than all other flames, scorching the land as if by radiance alone. 

Both Adam and Uva flinched back with shared hisses. Uva promptly cast every thread of her mana into Shiv’s mind and gradually wove herself in. Adam simply turned away, using his Legendary armor as a shield. 

Inside Shiv’s mind, Uva let out a low groan of frustration. “I did not appreciate that at all,” she growled.

He enjoyed her presence there, but also grew faintly aware of how closely their consciousnesses were tied together, and how easy it would be for her to seize control. The feeling was dangerous. And Shiv found it irresistible. 

“Sir Marikos isn’t exactly the thinking and considerate kind of dragon,” Shiv replied. “He kind of did blow up a mountain and get me in the process.”

Uva paused, a funny feeling rippling through her. “Shiv, did you just call someone else ‘not thinking or considerate’?”

“Why?” Shiv said.

The other dragons hovered in the air, their army composed of twelve dragon lances. Sir Marikos, once at their forefront, descended hard and fast with his colossal bulk. As he struck the ground the world shook—not a small tremor, but a massive quake. Several invisible Weaveresses were launched from their feet. Valor held his ground with his Necromancy, the earth shattering against him as a tide of stone clashed with his corrosion and turned to dust.

Shiv stepped in front of Adam and shoulder-charged through one of the earthen tides. He blasted through without difficulty, and Adam smacked him on the back with a brief mutter of thanks. 

Sir Marikos then slid before them, his black plated armor aglow with magical fire, his eyes smouldering, his features a vicious scowl. He looked at the dragon Dynamancer. “Traitor!” he roared. The Dynamancer flinched, unable to meet Sir Marikos’ gaze. And in the corner, Shiv saw Liquid Serpent loudly proclaiming how she was still standing to a prone Spark Ripper. “I have come to… to…ha?

Marikos’s gaze turned away from the Dynomancer and turned to another person in particular: Valor Thann.

“You…” Marikos breathed. His body began to shake. His features contorted with pure fury.

“Oh, damnation,” Valor sighed.

“You!” Marikos raised his sphere of magical, preparing to slam it down on Valor.

Shiv tore off his helmet. “Marikos, stop! Don’t burn us!” Shiv cried. “You already did it to me once. Don’t do it again.”

Marikos froze, staring at Shiv. “You! You were the one who listened! You were the one near the passage at the—at the passage to Weave.” He turned away Valor. “My friend, my attentive, caring friend, how strange it is to see you here. I thought you would have tried to find your way back to the surface by now.”

“Yeah, kind of in the process of that,” Shiv said, cocking his head toward the beaten Dynamancer. “We had to intercept some of your traitors. There’s a gate we needed to access, and they were going to make the crossing hard. They also had something else we needed—Valor’s arm.”

Sir Marikos grunted in acknowledgement and waved a hand. Three dragons descended, slamming around the Dynamancer and securing him with adamantine chains. “Once more, you have my great and glorious gratitude. Your noble heart shines again, my little friend.” Marikos’s eyes flashed as he Analyzed Shiv. “My impressive little friend. You have Adamanatine Adaption… A rare skill for a human. You must be very hardy. You have grown substantially since last time.”

“Yeah,” Shiv smiled slightly. “Life came at me hard. I went back at it harder.”

Marikos laughed. “You must be system-favored.” He laid his axe on his back. “Might you, perchance, be interested in a friendly duel when things are settled.”

Suddenly, Valor’s voice cut through the air like a whip-crack. “Marikos. Please…”

Marikos’s demeanor broke as he turned to him. “You! How dare you speak to me after—”

“Marikos, we are trying to stop Sullain.”

Marikos paused. “Sullain?” His voice dropped to a growl. “Yes, that vermin. I told you, Valor—I told you we should have finished him. I told you to let me do the job. He was a broken dog after the loss of his city, a broken man, and now a broken thing, dragging us into another war we cannot afford.”

“And you were right,” Valor said, frustrated. “But that is the past; now we have to deal with the present.”

“We wouldn’t have to deal with the present if you’d heard my wisdom.”

“Your blood-thirst, you mean,” Valor snapped. “Your solution to everything is ‘kill him, behead her.’”

“And it would have worked!” Marikos shouted.

“You always say that,” Valor scoffed.

Marikos went on. “‘Yes, because if you kill everyone that’s wrong and evil, they will go away, and the world will be peaceful.’” His voice held the certitude of someone who never slowed to think about their words.

Shiv watched, uncomfortable. “Is this what I’m like sometimes?”

“You’re not that bad,” Uva said. 

Adam leaned close. “Please. Never become this creature. I beg you, Shiv. I beg.”

“Regardless, I pledge myself to another now. I work for the Composer, at least until I am reunited and restored,” Valor said.

“The Composer,” Sir Marikos said, head high, “yes: one of the few noble demigods among the faiths. The Elector-Lords will recognize her merit and honor in sending you”—he gestured to the Weaveresses—“brave Weaveresses, hidden daggers of justice, to apprehend this vile traitor. You and…” Marikos squinted. “Ah? Master Shiv. You have someone hiding in your head. And behind your back.”

“They’re with me,” Shiv said. “They’re… friends. And more.”

“Good,” Marikos said. He drew in a long breath. “Reliable friends are hard to find.” He then sneered at Valor. “And you should guard yourself against those who plan deceit when you have only offered them honor and kidness.”

Marikos glared at the Dynamancer thereafter. “You are unworthy of the title dragon-knight. Unworthy of Dragon Matrimony. You have shamed us. You have betrayed us. Where is the Aviary scum you spirited away?”

Sir Marikos stomped over, the ground cracking beneath him wtih every step. Shiv blinked at how much larger Marikos was compared to the other dragon. It flinched away.

“They’re dead. We killed them. We killed them when they realized they were all…” The dragon cried as Marikos grabbed him by the head and lifted it like a sack of grain.

Flame surged around Marikos’s hand and, to Shiv’s astonishment, the dragon combusted—scales boiling, melting. Shiv felt a spike of pain until his body adapted. Adam looked away as his armor heated.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” Adam groaned.

Shiv cried, “Marikos, if you’re going to do this, maybe do it somewhere else—it’s affecting other people!”

Marikos paused, then offered Shiv a sheepish look. “Ah, sorry. My heart is one of blood and battle. I have been honed by struggle, and sometimes I forget myself. I apologize, my glorious young friend.”

Shiv nodded. “Well, at least you listened.”

“Yes,” Valor said, eyeing Shiv. “He listens to you more than anyone else I’ve seen.”

“Because he listened first,” Marikos said. “When I was at my lowest outside Weave, he spoke to me. He heard my shame and did not judge me.”

“Hear me now,” Marikos cried to his dragon-knights. Then, he paused and looked at Shiv. “Is your high skill Master-Tier.”

Shiv nodded. It was technically a lie, but he didn’t want people to know too much about him. Especially those that might end up facing him down the line. “Yeah—”

Marikos immediately continued with his proclamation. “Master Shiv—a paragon from the surface. Despite the war between us, anyone can seek virtue and walk a higher path. Hear my praise: Hail Shiv! Hail Shiv the Listener! Hail Shiv who has risen beyond the light-cursed surface! Hail, hail, hail!”

The dragons cheered. Shiv didn’t know how to feel, but praise was nice after a lifetime of scorn. Adam shuddered at each cheer, holding his head. “I am in one of the worst fever dreams of my life,” he complained.

As the cheering died, Sir Marikos looked down at Shiv. “And the other traitors—what of them?”

“Slain,” Shiv said with a grin. “They put up a hell of a fight.”

Marikos grumbled. “Traitor or not, they were once dragon-knights—few adversaries match our caliber. Still, to best twelve dragon knights in battle… Truly remarkable. If you ever seek to join a worthy order, I will support your entrance to any brotherhood you wish to join as dragon-knight squire. You would make a formidable dragon, Shiv. I will see you to your matrimony. In fact, you can venture to the Abyss’s depths where the body of the Great One bleeds, and challenge its greatest gates right now. Just say the word, and I will—”

“We won’t have time for that,” Valor interrupted. “We must get through a gate. We need to intercept Vicar Sullain before he gains a weapon.”

“What kind of weapon?” Sir Marikos asked. “What requires such urgency that I cannot even—”

“An Animancy Core.”

“”Animancy Core!” he roared. “How can he possess such a thing? You… another one of your foolish mistakes has returned to haunt us. I told you it was honorless. I told you not to create such a thing.”

“Create such a thing?” Adam stared at Valor.

“It was a long time ago, and we were desperate,” Valor said. “Right now, we need to solve this. Help me, Marikos. Behave like a knight and let go of our grievance for now. I need—”

“You murdered my wife!” Marikos roared. “And—and you think I can just let that go?”

“She was going to kill you! She was going to kill—”

“She was my wife.” Marikos’s final roar sent everyone except Shiv and Valor sprawling. Can Hu toppled over. His dimensional shrank back into the seed.

“That was a hell of a yell,” Shiv muttered, shaking off the concussion. “Adam? Are you—oh.” Adam clutched his head and groaned. “Oh shit.” The Young Lord’s eardrums had burst. Shiv was probably going to need to fix that.

“My wife…” Marikos said, near tears. “You could have told me. I would have done right, but you didn’t trust me and you murdered her. Then you left. Coward. Vermin. Assassin. And you didn’t even face me.”

“I didn’t have the courage to hurt you,” Valor admitted.

“But you did,” Marikos said, voice breaking. “You still did. You called yourself my friend and you couldn’t even talk to me.” He held out a hand; the flames and rage that once burned bright were gone. “I trusted you.”

“I’m sorry,” Valor replied. “Marikos. Listen to me.”

“No,” Marikos shook his head roughly. “It will never be the same again. I will never trust you again—”

“And I will live with that.” Valor actually sounded hurt.

“No,” Marikos growled. “When you are whole, we will finish this.”

“Marikos…”

“We will finish this. You owe me this.” Marikos slammed his axe into the ground, splitting the very earth asunder.”

“Composer!” Weaveress cried. “Stop it! Stop making earthquakes!”

But Marikos simply glared at Valor, and Valor stared back. Marikos lowered his head. “I have spoken my peace. We will take this traitor back. We send the Composer a boon; our business will settle with the Composer. She will receive a writ of our shame, treasures, and forces for her next campaign—whatever, whenever. We are the Descenders. Our honor is ironclad beyond these traitors’ sins.”

“I know. I see your honor,” Valor said quietly. “We depart for Gate Theborn soon.”

“Theborn?” Marikos snarled. “Ah yes—the slave-running gates. Compact. Filthy dogs. Parasites feeding on the Great One’s power. For what? Foul means. We should have seared them from this world.”

“And for once, we agree,” Valor said.

Marikos regarded the Legendary Pathbearer and sighed. He seemed like he wanted to say something else, but stopped himself. “This traitor no longer your concern. Give the Composer my honor and well-wishes. If I prevail against you eventually, I will seek a noble end at her hand. If nothing else, we will be joined in the afterworld. If there is one.”

“She won’t give it to you,” Valor said. “She has no interest in killing you, Marikos.”

Marikos shrugged. “I will insist upon it. No will surpasses Sir-Legend Marikos Valdemar’s.” He raised a fist to Shiv. “Fight well, Master Shiv, and remember my offer. I would be honored to call you a brother-knight.”

Shiv chuckled. “How about we discuss it over dinner sometime?”

“Ah—you cook too?”

“Yeah, I cook pretty good,” Shiv said.

“Then I look forward to our next meeting. For now, let me carry this creature of sin and shame away! Lances! RETURN!”

But before Marikos rose, he casually backhanded the traitor. This time, Shiv was blasted off his feet by the shockwave barely stopped himself from sliding across the ground. When Marikos was done, the traitor lay limp, barely breathing. A new crater stretched out for a full kilometer.

Shiv blinked. “He just… flicked his wrist! That’s all!”

“I had to do that,” Marikos said, exhaling. “My honor demanded it.”

He picked up the traitor by the chains and launched up into the air. Shiv blinked as Marikos soared dragging the massive Dynamancer behind him like it weighted barely more than a feather. “Farewell, friends—farewell! You fought this day with honor—farewell! Come, brothers, sisters, join our song.”

As one, the dragons sang and blasted off toward the horizon. Their collective acceleration was jaw-dropping as well. They were all Master-Tier in terms of Reflexes.

From everywhere, Weaveresses groaned. Adam whimpered beneath a massive pile of rubble, and Can Hu was half buried in the dirt. Inside Shiv’s mind, Uva sighed. “Okay, I understand why you cursed Sir Marikos now. We are facing an angry child in the body that can break the world.”

“Well,” Shiv said, “I think we should go back to Weave and inform the Composer about what we got done.” He looked to Valor. “And there might be a few things we should talk about.”

Valor nodded. “There might be.”

“I won’t force you, Valor, but that between you and Marikos… Do we need to worry about more people holding grudges against you?

“It is rather common,” Valor said with a slight sigh. “It happens when you live long enough. But the Animancy Core… I would tell you more but…” Valor hesitated. “Let us be away from here first.”

After his magic recovered enough, Shiv healed the Weaveress and Adam. Everyone prepared for a long walk back—until Adam spoke.

“We’re not doing that,” Adam said, nocking an arrow. “Not when I can make it a straight shot back.”

Shiv laughed as he realized what the Young Lord was about to do. “This was almost worth getting my ass kicked by all those dragons.”

“What do you mean, almost?” Adam smirked. “It was part of the reward for me.” 

Then he loosed the arrow and a rupture formed.

They made it back to Weave within five minutes.

***

The Composer’s song echoed all across Weave, welcoming their return. Its notes were high, victorious, valiant, joyous, and also sorrowful, but the music came fast—like the notes of a heroic ballad.

As they arrived at the Symposium to inform her of their success, the Compsoser proclaimed Shiv, Adam, Uva, Can Hu, and her Weaveresses as heroes all across the city. A magical song was composed, commemorating the names of the lost, and a declaration of grand revelry was to follow. The city descended into wild celebrations for the next two days as the Composer declared another crisis thwarted, and advances in relations between Weave and the Descenders Union.

But after that fight with the dragons, all Shiv wanted to do was cook and then… something else.

As soon as they were dismissed, Adam flew back to the apartment and told them not to bother him for at least a day as he slept off his pain and exhaustion. Uva and Shiv, experienced a bit of cooking and some other delights besides.

After two days respite and recovery, a small gathering of people found themselves in Uva’s apartment.

Can Hu was the first to arrive, carrying itself via Geomancy, and constructing stone limbs to help Uva tidy her rooms. The Umbral claimed it wasn’t necessary, but the automaton wanted to be of service since it came. It also promised to reinforce the walls at some point, in case Uva and Shiv did some more “impromptu sparring” in the living room.

Both of them just coughed in response.

Meanwhile, Shiv cooked. He cooked a full course of different meals. He cooked joyously. He cooked with a carefree heart and a feeling of building excitement in his veins.

They had just beaten a lance of dragon-knights—a rogue lance, but a full lance nonetheless. It took the lives of over fifty Weavers. It took him dying to achieve this victory. But Uva and Adam and he… they all prevailed. Can Hu prevailed. Valor an arm and a soul fragment back, and they were stronger than ever. And now, rather than the gate seeming like an insurmountable challenge, it was a place for Shiv and his companions to wreak havoc and unleash their new power.

Confriga wasn’t going to know what hit him.

But that was the challenge to come. For now, they indulged in leisure as Uva’s team arrived thereafter, followed by Adam, the Slayers, Siggy, Valor, Fel, a few more of Uva’s sisters, and Still Water and her team.

The room grew alive with activity.

Off by the side, the Young Lord told Uva’s team and the Slayers about his fight with Tarlow, making light of how desperately he struggled, how close to death he came. By the door, Uva argued with Fel about something or another, the other Umbral chiding about being unreachable for two whole days—that she had to find out Uva was a Hero now from a public announcement. Can Hu and several Uva’s sister debated over the best aesthetics across the pre-integration periodics.

And through it all, Shiv’s joy only climbed. Despite everything he suffered, despite all it took to win, he was the happiest he’d ever been. This place was more than he could have ever dreamed.

“You seem quite happy, Master Shiv.” Shiv laughed as he turned to stare at Valor. The skull was hovering. No longer was his necromantic power activated, but still his limbs hovered in about the right place. His right arm was dormant—its power held back, and for good reason. No one needed to experience what happened when Shiv came into contact with Necromancy.

Shiv flipped a fish over and began to do its other side. It was going to be pretty well fried, crispy, but that was just what Ikki liked. And Shiv was going to make the girl a very, very well-fed Umbral by the end of tonight.

“You know something, Valor,” Shiv began, “when I was hunting lesser vampires all those years in the ruins, I had a dream. A dream some nights when I hid in the buildings looking up at the broken moon. That dream was I would walk the world. I’d go all across the land as a path-bearer, not bound to anyone, not condemned by my own weakness, by my own inability to advance my skills, not damned by Roland Arrow.”

As he said Roland’s name, Adam briefly looked at him but went back to his conversation. “That was the extent of my dream. I thought it would make me the happiest person in the world to be free and powerful, an answer to no one.”

“I might start a wandering kitchen of some kind once I got strong or rich enough,” Shiv laughed. “I do love cooking, about as much as I enjoy fighting things and deseperate struggles.”

Valor hummed. “But you’ve found something else now.”

“Yeah,” Shiv said. He gave everyone in the room a brief look. “I think you don’t realize how lonely you are until you aren’t anymore.”

Valor laughed. “I had the same realization as you when I was about…” he paused. “Well, when I was forty years older than you are now.”

He stared at Valor. “You were alone for that long?”

“I was troubled for that long,” Valor said. “You are… I’ve told you this before, but you are remarkably well-adjusted for everything that’s happened to you, for everything you continue to suffer.”

Valor paused. “You… you are sloppy at times, Shiv. Careless. Perhaps you don’t think certain things through, and you tunnel-vision when you fight your enemies. You are raw, you are primal, guided by instinct more than rationality sometimes. But you are not stupid. There’s an animal cunning to the way you act. And there is also a hidden hand of control inside you. Like you are a…” Valor paused as he searched for the words. “Like you have a pillar that stops you from doing anything too drastic. 

Pillar.

And there was that word again. Georges would be pleased, Shiv thought.

“Yeah,” Shiv said, pressing his lips together as he searched for his own words. “I think that it’s my way of taking revenge on the world.”

“Revenge?” Valor asked.

“I’m kind of a petty bastard too,” Shiv said. “I don’t let things go. That’s why I had so much trouble with Heather and Tran. That’s why I nearly attacked them while I was inside the gate. Because I was angry. The orcish skill just made it worse.”

He finished the fish and placed it on the plate. It glistened. It shone. “When Ichi eats this, she might be able to lift a whole house on her back once the benefits hit.”

“I decide who I am,” Shiv said. “And I don’t want to be a bastard. I want to be a War Priest, just a coward that hurts the weak. I don’t want to be Roland who can’t seem to make up his mind. I don’t want to be a Slayer that’s just stuck in town, stuck in place. I wanted to live my own way. And I wanted to be stronger than anyone who’s ever doubted me, who’s ever tried to hurt me, or has hurt me. I want to go further and see it all. Live it all.”

“And you have lived up to this dream?” Valor asked.

Shiv paused. “Sometimes it’s a work in progress.”

“It is always a work in progress,” Valor said. “My history with Marikos… I should have told you at some point sooner.”

Shiv shrugged. “Adam might be more bothered about that than I am. It is a hidden danger. The last thing we need is to run into one of your old enemies. And frankly, I don’t think a fight between me and Marikos would end very well. I might get more than a few levels from it, though. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to fight Marikos. But I just don’t think it’s going to be much of a fight.”

“Not right now,” Valor replied. “Give yourself a century. Maybe a few decades if you are truly favored by the system. Marikos—he is quite powerful. I do not dare say if I could prevail against him in a direct duel. 

Shiv chuckled. “I still can believe he blasted me off my feet by slapping someone else. I feel like Adam.”

“Shut up, you bastard,” Adam shouted from across the room. People laughed. Shiv chuckled. 

“Broken moon,” Shiv said. “You Legendary Pathbearers are on a whole other level, huh?”

“Yes,” Valor said. “We are… capable of great things. But it is more than that. There are legends beyond legends. And there is something beyond legend. And you understand this more than anyone else. You—when you first got your first Master Tier, what was that like? What were you like then? And think of who you are now.”

She paused. “If I fought myself when I first got my Momentum Core, I’d tear myself in half in a second.”

“Exactly. The title is of Master is more an acknowledgement that a full and complete measurement. But the truth is, the more skills you have at higher tiers, the more everything about you compounds. Think of your Deepest Edge. It would only be merely dangerous on its own. Combined your other skills, and you can cut a mountain in half within minutes. Frankly, sometimes I think we should do away with the measurement entirely. A five-skill Master is more dangerous than a one-skill Hero, after all—especially if that skill is not in combat.”

Shiv considered that for a moment. “Maybe. I think it depends on the situation.”

“Ah, and there you see another problem with the measurement. Someone like you, I would drop onto a battlefield and tell you to ripo and tear and look away. But Adam—Adam will win me the war.”

Shiv smiled. “So you have an all-seeing, long-shooting dimensional archer; an unkillable, undying monster; and a body-jumping, mind-breaking Psychomancer with a long reach. And then there’s also Can Hu, who’s got us covered with crafting. I don’t know about you, Valor, but between us and a gate, I’ll bet on us. I’ll bet on us against a thousand enemy Pathbearers.”

“Still too few,” Valor laughed. “A thousand for one of you, perhaps. But a team is an exponentially powerful thing. Now you also have me what little me we have recovered,” Valor replied. Then paused. “There is something I did not admit to you initially, Shiv. It is not out of necessity, but embarrassment.”

“What?” Shiv said.

“I have my own pride. I was a Legendary Pathbearer. I was powerful, Shiv. Power you cannot imagine. Power that you might someday reach, but… Valor spoke with such intensity and passion that Shiv briefly stopped cooking. “And I lost it. I broke. I was betrayed by my own blood, and for something I…” Valor held back a snarl. “It was my fault. I do not blame my son. I do not blame my son—he did only what I taught him to, only what his heart demanded of him. He did that because I couldn’t give him. I couldn’t give him what he wanted…” 

Valor didn’t finish. Shiv didn’t press.

Valor continued after a second. “But my mind broke too. A great deal of me—my experiences and memories—were scattered along with my power. I didn’t tell you certain things because… I don’t remember anymore. I don’t remember so much. My soul is in pieces, and your soul…it is all of you, Shiv, you understand? All of you. It is not the same for you, though. You… I don’t think you can shatter. At least, if you shatter, I think that will kill you for good, because your vitality and your foundational soul are so bound together.”

“But… but think of it. Think of becoming a path-bearer and losing yourself. Think of the pain it would cause… The harm it will do.”

Shiv thought of it, and it seemed like a fate worse than death. “Yeah,” Shiv said, “I don’t ever want to learn what that’s like.”

“Then look to my example and keep this close to your heart.” Valor pressed a hand against Shiv’s shoulder— not the right hand, not the one with Necromancy, but his hand of bone and gleaming metal. “Think. Think deeper. This world is not a simple one. Rarely does someone do things for a simple, fundamental, primal reason. You are pure and raw, in a sense, right now, Shiv. And you have done things that I did not expect. I did not expect all of you to survive, let alone reach hero. But you must be more. More than who you were, just like they are more than who they were. Do not neglect your mind. You are a good cook. More than a brute. Live it all. Be greater than you dared to imagine before.”

Shiv regarded Valor and nodded. “Right. Think more.”

“You have the mind for it,” Valor continued. “You just need to culture it. You have time. Now give it your focus—just like with your cooking.”

Valor stared down at Shiv’s cooking and his shoulders turned in depression. “Just like the cooking… I cannot taste. Another thing my failures have inflicted upon me.”

Shiv winced. “We’ll find you a stomach soon, Valor. I promise.”

“I hope so,” Valor replied.

Shiv looked at Can Hu, seeing the machine jab its tasting apparatus into a piece of steak. Valor turned away before he had a complete breakdown. “The system does not mock only you. Sometimes being favored means taking the greatest wounds.”

“Valor,” Shiv said.

“Yes, Shiv?”

“You’re kind of dramatic sometimes, you know that?”

Valor stared at him. “I have been criticized that way before.”

Shiv laughed. “You must have been pretty good friends with Marikos once, huh?”

“Yeah,” Valor said, “once. 

“I remind you of him.” Valor paused, but Shiv continued. “And was he the greatest idiot you’ve ever met?”

Valor’s jaw dropped. “How did you—”

“I thought you were talking about me for a moment. But Marikos—he’s different from the other dragons. I can feel it. In everything he does, he’s stronger by far. And that could only mean one thing.”

Valor laughed. “I didn’t mean for you to start using your head so soon, Shiv.”

Shiv grunted. “It wasn’t my head, it was just my gut. And sometimes instinct leads you down a pretty good road.”

“Shivvvv,” Ikki cried. “Fish! I’m going to die from hunger.”

“Coming, Ikki.”