Sedona, Arizona - 2:00 AM


    I stepped out of the glowing door of a random house to see Della looking around. “We’re back home,” she marveled.


    “I did say that we were going back to the city,” I replied as something caught my attention nearby. “Glaraphel, I’d appreciate it if you could escort Della back to the safe zone. After that, you’re free to return to your duties.”


    “It shall be done,” he replied before reaching above him and removing his halo.


    I gave him a thin smile. “That’s not really necessary, you know? You don’t have to remain in my service.”


    “But I would like to, not only for my penance but also because I believe I can learn a lot from you,” Glaraphel said. “Not just about Earth, but about combat. It became very clear to me when we fought that your skill far outstrips my own. If it’s not too much trouble, I would prefer to continue fighting at your side.”


    He offered me his halo, and I sighed. “Yeah, alright,” I conceded, taking the glowing hoop and putting it in my inventory. “But don’t expect it to be a regular occurrence, okay? This was a special event.”


    Glaraphel smiled. “Of course. I understand.”


    When I turned to Della, she took a step forward and wrapped her arms around me. It didn’t seem she was grossed out by the dried blood on my clothes. “Thank you so much for everything,” she said. “For protecting me and teaching me. You could stay… you know, if you wanted. Teach me more tricks while we get everyone out of Sedona.”


    “Tempting, but there’s other places that need me,” I told her, returning the hug for a moment. When I pulled away, she did the same. “Here, go ahead and use this when you need to.”


    Before she could ask what I meant, I pulled the Friend Bangle from my inventory. It appeared to be the same kind of material that Talafraxis was made out of, and I offered it to her. She hesitantly tapped it, pulling up the description.


    “Didn’t you get this for being the MVP?” she asked, her eyes scanning a text box in front of her. “Why would you give it to me?”


    “As you can read, it allows you to summon a Tulpa for your own personal use,” I explained. “As a Warmind, you’re going to want someone or something to hide behind until you get used to your abilities. This will give you your own personal tank. Just, don’t get too attached to your imaginary friends.”


    Della hesitated to take it. “You’re just giving it to me?” she asked, tucking a strand of dark, messy hair behind her ear as she looked up at me. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay, Anthony? There’s nothing I can do to keep you here?”


    I shook my head. “Nah. I really do have to get back to my team and you’ve got to stay here and help protect your people,” I said firmly before gesturing for her to take it.


    With a nod, she took it. “Will you at least come back some time?”


    “It’s highly unlikely, sorry.”


    “Alright, then I guess this is goodbye,” Della said, patting me on the chest with her free hand. Her eyes lingered on my face, which was still dirty and bloody from the surprise sand spray at the end of the fight, before she gave me a strained smile. “Be safe, Anthony.”


    “And you do the same. Use those Tulpas as best you can,” I replied.


    “I will. I’m going to have a very strong imaginary friend. I know just who to think of,” she claimed as she backed away from me. It took her a few steps before turning around and heading back towards the Sedona Airport, slipping her hand into the Friend Bangle.


    Glaraphel nodded to me before following Della. Once she was safe, he would return to Heaven or wherever it was I had summoned him from. I hoped he wasn’t just going to be sitting around waiting for me to call him, because that seemed like a waste.


    <<<>>>


    [[Patron Message]]


    I’m glad they’re both safe and sound. You weren’t looking to train somebody today, but I think Della’s going to be just fine.


    And it seems as though you’ve impressed Glaraphel. That can only mean good things with Heaven in the future. If all goes well, you may even be invited there.


    <<<>>>


    “I think she’ll do just fine, too, but she’s in for a huge crash the moment all that adrenaline wears off,” I said with a chuckle. “As for Heaven, well, I’ve never been. The only ones that do get invited are those with Angelic Patrons. It would be nice if they’ll count you, but you’re also hidden. Either way, it could be a nice place to visit if there’s time.”


    Removing a damp cloth from my inventory, I wiped down my face. It was completely healed while other parts of my body suffered, but that was fine. I stretched, feeling where I was still injured. A few more minutes and I’d be topped off. There was just one more thing to deal with before then. Someone wasn’t hiding from my senses.


    “You going to keep skulking about, Louise?” I called, turning around. “I don’t need much time to heal, you know.”


    The Red Oracle stepped out from behind one of the houses down the road and approached me. “I don’t think I’ve seen Coyote this pleased since he became my Patron,” she said. “You’ve done well, Mr. Franklin. I give you our thanks.”


    I shrugged. “All in a week’s work. Though it was only a few hours for us.”


    “But now it’s time to go off, back into the world, right?” Louise asked.


    “Almost. I still need to get that orb from Antonio before I return to Flagstaff to the train.”


    The Red Oracle swiped the air in front of her and pulled a glowing ball the size of her fist from her inventory. “About that,” she chuckled. “Antonio knew I’d come and see you, so I talked him into letting me deliver it.”


    I eyed the orb for a moment, watching the red and black swirls spin around on the surface. It reminded me of Jupiter. The planet, not the Patron. Even though I thought it necessary, I still wasn’t happy to see it.


    “They succeeded, then.”


    “Thanks to your advice, yes,” she confirmed.


    “I was going to pay him for that.”


    “He knows,” Louise replied. “But he would settle for his niece becoming strong enough to take care of herself. You gave up a lot to make sure that she would be in the best position to grow. Perhaps not a lot to you, but a lot to almost everyone else.”


    “It’s just a Tuesday,” I said with a shrug.


    <<<>>>


    [[Patron Message]]


    I think you were making a nonchalant joke, but in case you weren’t I’d like to remind you that it’s actually Monday today.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    <<<>>>


    “Thanks, Sara,” I replied with a smile. “It’s actually Monday, if you’d believe it. So, it’s just a Monday.”


    Reaching out, I Pulled the orb from Louise’s hand. She didn’t try to keep it away from me, and let go the moment she felt a tug. I unceremoniously tossed it into my inventory after a quick check to make sure it was what I was looking for.


    To cheer myself up, I pulled out a scroll from my inventory and removed my crown from my head. The bones rattled lightly as I did, and I held the two of them in my hand.


    “Scroll of Item Metamorphosis,” I explained to the Red Oracle, who was watching with interest. “I was able to nab some from one of my recent conquests. The crown takes the same slot as the cowl I got, but I really like its stats and spells. So, I just need to change it from one accessory slot to another.”


    “Fascinating,” she said.


    Nodding, I activated the spell. The Crown of Broken Bones became slightly transparent before it began to shift. It became smaller, the materials changing to suit its new form. The process didn’t last long, leaving me with a leather strap running through dangling, broken bones. I tucked it under the sleeve of my Blackbird’s Overcoat, but not before checking its description.


    <<<>>>


    [[Equipped]]


    Wristlet of Broken Bones


    (+12 Wisdom, +12 Willpower, Boneshake spell acquired, Boneshatter spell acquired)


    [[Spell]]


    Boneshake


    Target one creature with a skeleton when you activate this spell. All of the bones in its body vibrate violently, causing damage equal to your Willpower stat and debuffing Strength and Dexterity for Wisdom*0.5 seconds. The duration of this effect will be lowered by enemies with a sufficiently high Constitution stat. Cost: 150 Mental Points.


    [[Spell]]


    Boneshatter


    Target one piece of bone, cartilage, or similar material within sight and shatter it. The efficacy of this spell is based on the difference between your Willpower stat and their Constitution stat. Some bones will be harder to break than others. Cost: 80 Mental Points.


    <<<>>>


    In its place I retrieved the rosewood red cloth I had picked up from Talafraxis’ body. The cowl came with a hood and was meant to cover my shoulders and part of my chest. It was trimmed with gold and had a backwards 3 with sharp corners stitched in. That was the Nordic rune of Sowilo, symbolizing the sun and representing a state of completeness, and when the hood was up it would rest over my forehead.


    Excited, I put it on.


    <<<>>>


    [[Equipped]]


    Cowl of the Warmongering Mystic


    (Set Item 3/6; Growth Item, kill 5 bosses to upgrade; +40 Mental Points, +10 Wisdom, +10 Willpower, Extra Focus ability augment acquired, Strengthened Mental Link ability augment acquired)


    [[Ability Augment]]


    Extra Focus


    Treat Split as one level higher.


    [[Ability Augment]]


    Strengthened Mental Link


    When using Mental Link, you may connect with one additional ally. In addition, treat your Willpower as 20% higher when determining the distance this ability can be sustained.


    <<<>>>


    Split was such a hassle to level up. It wasn’t something I could put points into and it could only increase when Push, Pull, Lift, and Drop became more powerful. It wouldn’t increase every time the item was enhanced but the fact that I could naturally move four things with my Warmind abilities instead of three was very nice.


    “Oh yeah, that’s the ticket,” I muttered as I tucked the cowl under my coat. There was a time and place for putting the hood up, but until then it was a liability. I checked the other text box that popped up.


    <<<>>>


    [[Notice]]


    The Gloves of the Warmongering Mystic have detected a new set item. They can be upgraded to +4 after fifteen boss kills.


    [[Notice]]


    You are wearing multiple Items from the Warmongering Mystic set. You will receive the following set bonuses.


    Two Items: Increase your Mental Point pool by 50.


    Three Items: You can comprehend the speech of any creature with some level of intelligence even if you don’t speak the language, and they are able to understand you in return. This ability does not work through a medium.


    <<<>>>


    Even though the ability wouldn’t allow me to read Enochian and I still wouldn’t know the full extent of Esaraphelscion’s Love’s description, this was an absolute game changer. Language wasn’t the barrier it used to be. Creatures that would never even attempt to understand me would be forced to listen to my words. Tyrant’s and Peacekeeper’s Will got the point across in most cases, but they weren’t so good beyond that.


    And it was something that was going to be almost immediately useful. The Atlanteans had their own language. There were some who had learned the ones we spoke on land, but they were few and far between. This would give us a second avenue to communicate since Kayla’s Part of the Crowd ability would allow her access to new languages at level 5 in addition to changing her appearance.


    The only thing left was the skill book, but I was saving that for Mercury. It gave the skill Dimensional Breach, which allowed someone to very briefly move their body out of our reality. They could still be seen, but they could walk through walls or attacks without harm for a few seconds before bouncing back.


    As Sol Ligatus’ resident stealth expert, he would be able to put it to good use.


    I turned my attention back to the Red Oracle and offered her a smile. “Is there anything else?”


    Louise nodded and came to me. She pulled her gloves off of her hands, revealing dark, wrinkled skin, and held them up. “We’re going to need skin contact for this.”


    Blinking, I hesitated at the offer. “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, feeling the hair on the back of my neck raise. “You know that it’s going to be hard for you if you use your Oracle abilities on me, right?”


    “If I don’t use them, then what good are they?” she asked. “And if I don’t use them for someone who is trying so hard to save the world, then what good am I?”


    I wanted to argue, but took a breath instead. Oracles could see into people’s thoughts and past without much issue. Louise could see mine back to when the system started, but no more than that. If it weren’t for the fact that the System Black-out was still keeping information from the administrators, I would have been very worried about her.


    This, however, was about the future.


    Enough had changed that I was really curious as to what we’d see, even if I was hesitant to show her. Between Aaron and his Avatar, what would happen with Hell and Washington D.C., and the inclusion of Kayla and Jeff, there were certainly enough variables that it would be good to have some kind of warning of the future no matter how brief or enigmatic.


    Making the decision, I recalled the Gloves of the Warmongering Mystic into my inventory and took her hands. The moment we touched, I felt energy draining out of me and into her. If I hadn’t expected it, I might have thought she was attacking me, but I knew it was standard procedure.


    “It looks as though I was right to call you Mr. Franklin,” Louise said. She had her eyes closed as she swayed on her feet, but we remained in contact. “You’re much older than you let on, playing with and against beings you think you know the strength of but cannot possibly comprehend. How can you, when you are not the equivalent of a god. One of them wants nothing more than to hold you, while the other desperately wants to humble you.”


    I said nothing, pursing my lips.


    “Your challenges have shifted, but not all the ones you think,” she stated. “The Town of James will face more tribulation than you are used to. You are not prepared for the unexpected that lurks in the depths. Something both old and new, and your enemies have harnessed it. They seek to release it.”


    “Release what?” I asked.


    Before she could answer, Louise began to convulse. I immediately let go of her hands and grabbed her arm so she wouldn’t fall. “I’ve got you, Louise, I got you,” I said, glancing up at the sky.


    “Oh, those gorgeous black wings,” she said, her body still seizing. The Red Oracle clutched at my coat as she wailed. “That dashing man with his beautiful, cold halo. How could you… how could you possibly win? She gives so much, but all he does is take. The balance will… the…”


    Louise fell unconscious. I didn’t look down at her, but instead kept my focus on the sky. “Sara? What’s this about balance and give and take?”


    <<<>>>


    [[Patron Message]]


    There’s not much I can say here, Ant. You warned her.


    She should be okay, though. You’ll have to take her back to the airport, which I know you were avoiding, but with enough time to rest she’ll recover. Being an Oracle isn’t easy on the body or mind.


    <<<>>>


    “No, it seems like it is not,” I grumbled. Picking up the unconscious Oracle in my arms, I started walking towards the airport. “Well, at least we have some really fucking ominous warnings. Guess we’ll have to see what new surprises the Atlanteans throw at us this time.”


    More worried than I allowed myself to show; I didn’t let Sara see that. Instead, I mulled Louise’s warning over and over again in my mind.


    Against my better judgment, a part of me was excited.