Braided Sky

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 52 - That's Not Good

I only stayed a single night at the underwater hotel in Hawaii. I’d chosen that one because the use of [Barriers] was so much more interesting than upgrading mundane engineering, and I thought Bell would get a kick out of it.

I was right.

Bell took a break from working on the numerous reagents she was prepping to enjoy the niche locale – which she was positively enamored by – but it didn’t take long before we were both ready to start crafting.

I’d never been one fo...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 51 - Mixed Feelings

“Wow. That was faster than I expected,” Bell said when she opened the door and saw me standing outside of her small apartment.

“I told you it wouldn’t take long,” I commented as I stepped inside. “The compound time dilation on Sira is no joke.”

“Clearly,” Bell said as she shut the door behind me. “I actually just started on the first set of reagents if you want to give me a hand.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Actually, it would be better if we co...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 50 - Anya's Hope

I watched carefully as Anya slid the last piece into place on the framed wall. It was more than just fitting the correctly-shaped piece into a slot; there was a mana component to the challenge as well.

This wasn’t the first such puzzle we’d encountered during our delve, though each was different enough that previous encounters didn’t provide any real advantage.

In many ways, the puzzles were harder than the combat encounters. Those were fairly easy: kill the monsters, find t...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 49 - Entering the Rift

Moving to a new apartment took hardly any effort at all. Within an hour, my new ‘residence’ was already set up, including the anchor that would allow me to link a hidden micro-portal when I was inside my demesne.

Setting up the anchor had actually taken more time than everything else combined. It wasn’t because the anchor was inherently difficult to create, it was because I took great lengths to ensure the micro-portal would be as hidden as possible.

I didn’t want some oth...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 48 - Making Plans

“Why are you even helping her?” Bell asked with a mix of anger and frustration when I told her about Anya’s request. “It’s obvious that she’s a schemer. I’m starting to think that everyone with a Fate affinity is.”

I pressed my lips together at her reaction. I understood why Bell might react that way toward Anya, especially knowing that the Fate Mage had foreseen Justin’s death and said nothing.

“I’m helping her because it’s the right thing to do,” I said...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 47 - Anya's Request

“Welcome to my home,” Anya said with a smile.

I was a little surprised that she’d been the one to answer the door, given the size of the estate. I’d expected to be greeted by a butler or servant.

“Thank you,” I said as I stepped through the threshold.

The foyer was decorated with a variety of art from different sectors of the Alliance. Most of it was made from mid or high-tier materials, as opposed to the peak-tier materials I expected to find on Sira.

“I...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 46 - What Are Friends For?

The ‘ball’ dragged on for hours, though not once did I see anyone actually dancing.

By the end of the gathering, I’d met almost everyone in attendance, though it was not through any initiative of my own. It was almost like they’d drawn numbers and were taking turns approaching me.

Having my mentor standing next to me for most of the evening helped to buffer some of the more… enthusiastic attendees, though nobody did anything that was overtly untoward.

One of the mo...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 45 - Demigods of the Alliance

“I still don’t know why I was invited to something like this,” I whispered as I looked around the opulent hall. Everything I could see was made from Tier Ten materials, making each piece of furniture worth more than entire mid-tier worlds.

“You are a powerful individual with more sway than you think,” Kai responded with equally measured tones. “Soon, you will be a Pinnacle yourself. I can understand the Council’s desire to form a positive relationship.”

While I und...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 44 - Reminders

A/N: Parts of this might seem a little odd, but I'm writing it with the supplemental chapters (that I have yet to write) in mind. She would have met up with Ava and Jacob during those chapters.

Seeing the frost-covered flowers in my garden made me think of the ice sculptures that Riley used to make, which immediately made me wonder how the Ice Mage and his girlfriend were doing. They should have left the dungeon already if they were only aiming for Tier Eight. 2025-03-07 22:28:45 +0000 UTC View Post

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 43 - Planning for the Future

Mom accepted her part in the adventure without comment the following day – a concession I suspected was due to my planned three-hour absence when I left to teach my class.

It still felt weird to think of myself as having something worth teaching to the disciples of the sect. I often found myself feeling like an imposter when I stood in front of the ‘students.’

Mom and Kaylee stayed at the ridiculously expensive resort in the Maldives while I was gone. The cost for Mom and Ka...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 42 - A Tour of Earth

“Well? Are you two going to say anything, or are you going to just sit there staring at each other?” Mom asked as Kaylee and I sat awkwardly at the table, picking at our food.

Though she was twenty-eight, the blonde-haired woman could have probably passed as a high school senior or a freshman in college.

I saw echoes of myself in my sister’s appearance. We shared the same eyes and forehead, for example. Her hair also looked similar to mine when I was in my late teens.

...

Interlude 5 - Progress

“She accepted,” Councilor Farrah informed the gathered Council members and trusted advisors. There were very few of the latter, and they had no real say in matters, but for less formal meetings such as this, it was acceptable to include them.

“That was prompt,” Arbiter Eskin’s secretary said approvingly. “Shall I depart to complete the arrangements, then?” he asked, turning toward his boss.

Arbiter Eskin nodded, and the younger elf silently departed, taking his belon...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 41- Auctions and Invitations

“The next item up for bid is a glaive crafted by Master Smith Kineis of the Hephaistos Sect,” the smartly dressed auctioneer declared. “The metal used in its construction was donated by Marchioness Adamsteel and has been enchanted with [Durability], [Self-Repair], and [Perpetual Sharpness.] The bidding with start…”

I glanced at Zavira and her date, the Marchioness’s son. They’d joined us in the private booth I’d been given as one of the event’s special guests.

�...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 40 - Formal Occasions

“I don’t understand your dilemma,” Zavira said as she stepped beside me.

On my bed were two piles of cloth that presumably comprised two separate sets of elaborate robes: one in black and one in white. The fact that they appeared to be little more than strips of cloth wasn’t the issue; it was what they represented.

Having seen the finished product, I knew that both garments were far fancier than what I was used to wearing. They were even more elaborate than the formal Elde...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 39 - Family

“How was your class?” Bell asked without looking up from the parchment she was studying when I arrived at her apartment.

“It was better. Teleporting away right at the end prevented me from getting stuck there for hours while dozens of disciples tried to make a connection.”

That had happened after the first class I’d held at the request of Patriarch Fora. It really had taken hours for me to break away from the disciples and contracted Enchanters who were eager to talk to ...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 38 - Justice and Arranged Marriages

“I was wondering about something,” I said to Kai as we prepared to teleport to Zavira’s location. “You mentioned at some point that the Sovereignty Sect’s leader was only Tier Eight. Do they not have stronger members? I’d expect at least a few, considering they have disciples challenging the dungeon.”

“Not active members, no,” Kai replied. “Sovereignty disciples who challenge the dungeon are encouraged to ascend as quickly as possible. They might occasionally have on...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 37 - Hints of Fate

Patriarch Torand Fora stood to greet me as I entered his comfortably appointed office. The furniture and décor had all been updated since Kai relinquished control, but the style was still much the same.

The man himself wore white robes embroidered with the markings of a Patriarch, though his embroidery was done in teal to represent his secondary affinity for Life magic. Time and Life were an excellent combination for a Healer, which was the man’s primary profession.

Like the fo...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 36 - Interior Designs

“I can see why you asked Bell to design the space for you. I never realized you were so bad and interior decorating!” Zavira laughed as she looked around the barely furnished living space within my pocket dimension.

“Yeah, yeah. What can I say? I was working with limited resources.”

I hadn’t bought any furniture since escaping from the rift, so the only things present were the items I’d been using for decades.

“Surely your mentor would have given you some furni...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 35 - The Second Secret

“What was the second secret you mentioned?” Bell asked a short while later.

“Compared to the time travel bomb, this one is pretty tame. I’d still prefer the details not be shared,” I said, glancing between my mentor and my sister-in-law. “I mentioned to Zavira that my rift reward was an upgrade to my inventory, but that isn’t the whole truth.”

I’d need to bring Zavira in on the secret now that I was telling Bell and Kai. She was one of my most trusted friends. Sh...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 34 - Oaths and Secrets

The power-leveling trip went smoothly once we worked out a method of retrieving the defeated rift beasts. At first, I handled their acquisition myself, but that quickly became tedious. It also took far too much of my attention with four people actively killing them.

I didn’t want to say anything since I’d been the one to push for the trip, but Bell noticed what was happening and offered to craft a solution. Since the solution relied on Space mana to function, I still needed to fuel ...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 33 - The Pocket Dimension

“If you’re still not ready to be alone yet, you can hang out with me until it’s time to meet your family,” Zavira offered when we arrived a short distance away from the main gate to her sect compound.

We’d been teleporting all over the Alliance, so it made more sense to take her home than to force her to deal with portaling back.

I smiled at the offer but shook my head. “I’ll be fine,” I promised. “I could use a little time by myself, and it’s only a handful of...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 32 - Healing

As if they coordinated it, both of my parents arrived within a few minutes of each other the following day. It almost had to have been planned since Mom was coming from Earth while Dad and his new family lived in a different city on Hadier.

Things were less awkward than I expected, which was a welcome surprise. Mom seemed pretty familiar with Dad’s new wife Caesi and their three very young children. Having Bell there as a bit of a buffer probably helped as well.

Even knowing how...

Internet problems

I just wanted to give everyone an update. The chapter is ready, but I haven’t had internet in days. It may be the snow… my area isn’t used to so much snow, so it probably messed up something.

My service provider says there is no outage, but obviously something is going on. Hopefully it will be resolved soon. If not, I’ll retype the chapter on my laptop and head somewhere with free wifi.

Sorry for the delay, and thanks for your patience!

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 31 - Bell's Request

Bell was the first one to arrive at the hotel suite that Master Kairos had rented for me.

Though we’d returned to Aspirant City, home of the Hadier Branch of the Epikairos Sect, I no longer had a place to call my own after being gone for so long.

We could have easily obtained accommodations within the sect, even as inactive members. However, since I anticipated having several non-sect visitors, it made more sense to obtain lodging outside the confines of the sect.

I consid...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 30 - A Necessary Discussion

My mind struggled to process everything Master Kairos had told me. Strangely, it was my parents’ divorce that really stumped me.

Though Justin’s death was horrible and I certainly wanted to find a way to reverse it, death was something easy to grasp. It had happened before, so the thought of it happening again wasn’t a shock so much as it was unwelcome news.

The divorce, though… I couldn’t wrap my brain around how my parents – my happily married parents – could have ...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 29 - After 26 Years

I’d done the math several times.

According to the rift’s logs, by the time the spell holding me in stasis expired, I’d already been in the rift for right at twenty-five Alliance Standard Years. It took me seventeen years to kill the first boss, plus another eleven to tier up and kill the rest of them.

Twenty-eight rift years was less than a single Alliance Standard Year.

It felt like a really long time. But in reality, even subjectively, it was faster than I would have...

PftA Book 4 - Chapter 28 - Just One More Step

My target’s steps faltered and its eyes unfocused as it fell forward.

It wasn’t exactly like cutting the strings on a marionette, but it was close enough. The fact that the mob had already been in motion probably had something to do with it, considering the signals had already been sent from the creature’s now-missing brain to the rest of its body.

The creature’s brain was now safely stored within my storage ring. Its former shell would join it as soon as the system inform...