“Hello,” she says.
“Hello.”
Then there is silence. Neither of us seems to want to break it. She probably wants me to ask first or react to her appearance, but I also know that’s what she wants, and I don't want to give her the satisfaction of doing so. So I stay quiet as our allocated time here ticks down.
In the end, it's she who breaks the silence, all the while trying to act nonchalant about it.
“I have a Beyond quest for you. It’s an eradication-type quest. You and a few other attendees will be dropped at a specific location to search and destroy. It is very dangerous, but the rewards are equally great and given according to performance, and split between the attendees.”
“A Champion could probably deal with a thing like that much quicker and easier.”
“Look at it as an opportunity to gain experience and either make connections with your fellow attendees while gathering more information. The duration is one week, and it will count toward the remaining time of your current 45 days in Beyond.”
“I see. How the fuck do you have so much time to mess around? Aren't you supposed to be busy or something?” I ask, unable to resist any longer.
“After my warning from the last time, you don’t have enough information allocation for me to answer that question.”
"I don't think so. Lately, it feels like you guys just bullshit your way through and make up the rules on the spot just to fuck around even more."
“While there are loopholes and ways to twist the rules around the access given to us, there are things even we don't mess with. Either because we can't, or because they tend to be soft rules we’ve set among ourselves, and simply breaking them means the others will break them as well. We risk everything falling down like a house of cards once too many of them go ignored.”
“Great. I need to let Weslin know that I’ll be gone if I accept this quest. I’m already late as it is.”
“You don’t have to worry about it. I’ll be sending someone to inform your guild. The rest will be up to you to deal with.”
“Damn it. Is it at least a good quest?”
“It is.”
“Tell me what it’s about.”
“I’m glad you’ve decided to accept it. The eradication quest is a mission to destroy one of the smaller bases of the Last Elf. Your goal will be to eradicate any of his replicas that happen to be present, down to the last one. Anything else is free game. You can explore the base. You can loot it. We don’t have enough time here for me to explain, but one of the A-ranks, a thylarin called Io, will be there to lead the Beyond quest. He will share more information with you and the others.”
As much as I want to be angry, the quest does sound interesting, so I can't bring myself to feel too mad about it. And this redhead in front of me, of course, sees that, much to her satisfaction.
“But allow me to leave you with a warning. The people going with you are all powerful, Champion candidates at minimum. Io came close to advancing to S-rank multiple times. The only things that held him back were a few very specific shortcomings.”
And of course, she times it so that as she speaks these words, the door appears nearby. The same hole in space, leading to somewhere unknown, likely lightyears away, yet seemingly so easily bridged.
And despite the beyond-insane levels of energy it must require, I can’t feel even a speck of mana radiating from it. Even now, after seeing it a few times, it sends shivers down my spine.
“Why did you drop the mask so soon?” I ask, stopping a bit from the door.
My handler smiles.
“I’ve mentioned it before. Once one of us breaks the rules, the others follow. There are currently seven Rulers who, either out of boredom or some hidden goal, have become Handlers. One of them broke our informal rule and revealed themselves to the attendee they were handling.”
“I see.”
She seems to be checking something before she gestures for me to sit on the chair opposite her.
When I glance at the portal, she says, “It’s okay, we’re still waiting for the last member. She’s a bit... difficult to work with. Until then, we can talk.”
As I sit down, I ask, “You said my information allocation is nonexistent.”
“A normal conversation is fine.”
I just shrug and take the opportunity, “I’ve heard it’s difficult to be in the presence of a Ruler. Something about them needing to stay on powerful planets, using vessels as proxies and stuff.”
“You should have known that there are ways to work around those things and there are exceptions to every rule.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is not,” she confirms.
“So either you’re using something to limit your presence, or this place is special—oh, are we even in Beyond?—or it’s not even you. Possibly a projection, like my Minion mentioned, or maybe you’ve been speaking to me through a Vessel from the start.”
“If you try to get an answer by watching for my reaction to gather information, I will render you unconscious until the others arrive and then throw you through the portal.”
“How was your day?”
Leaning back in her chair, she looks at me very intently.
“I don’t think small talk counts toward the information limit.” I defend myself.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“That might be true, but you don’t seem like the type to enjoy it. And you don’t seem particularly fond of me either, as unfortunate as that is. We seemed to get along pretty well on the second floor.”
“And I’ll say it again. The Ruby I knew is dead, you aren’t her. I don’t know how much time has passed since then, but no matter how hard you try, you’ve grown into someone else entirely.”
“Other people would jump at the chance to form a good relationship with me, you know. For the possible information or favors I could give them.”
“Isn’t that what I’m trying to do?” I answer.
She stares at me for a moment, as if trying to figure out whether I’m serious or not, and I return the gaze.
In the end, she looks to the side and falls into deep thought. “I haven’t been asked that kind of question in a long time. So, how was my day? I wonder what I would have answered back then? It sucked? It could’ve been better?”
A smile grows on her face. “Or maybe: It would’ve been better if I had been able to embezzle more gold from Master Lissandra? That sounds like something I used to say a lot. It was a nice feeling, being richer than most of the Champions.”
“I’d like to think she was easy to fool because the original Lissandra was clueless when it came to money. But more realistically, it seems like she just didn’t care.”
“She didn’t care about the money at all. She even went entirely hands-off hundreds of years before the fall of Eladore, leaving the planet to her grandson Keiron and Champion Tristan. It was up to them to deal with the Mind Mage Emperor.”
“And they failed.”
“They did,” she nods. “Even though her grandson was resourceful, and even though Champion Tristan was one of those people she felt was capable of becoming an Absolute. She gave everyone on the planet freedom to act, to live their lives without her constant watch. All, so they could finally grow up and step out from under her shadow. And you saw what happened. But I think it’s time for you to leave.”
I stand up and give her one last look before turning toward the portal. She doesn't say anything, and neither do I. There's nothing left to add, no parting wisdom or final comment that would make a difference.
The portal hums quietly ahead, steady and waiting. I take a breath, and I pass through as it closes behind me.
POV Nathaniel’s Handler
The redheaded woman watches the portal close behind the young man, and for a moment, she looks at the place where it once stood.
Then she looks into the space in front of her, and even though she’s still alone, she starts talking.
“Yes, it’s me. Send someone to the Black Tower branch of the Primordial Knights. Tell them their new recruit, Nathaniel Gwyn, has been sent on a Beyond quest for a week.”
She goes silent, listening to something.
“No, simply say it’s information from his handler.”
The conversation cuts off, and she is left in silence again. Her face looks deep in thought as she weighs the pros and cons of a difficult decision.
Making her decision, her body changes. Her hair turns black with streaks of red, her eyes turn brown, and even her face shifts.
Then she speaks again, this time in a different voice than before. “Irun.”
It takes only a moment for her to get a response, and she says, “There’s no need to be such an ass. I won that last game fairly.”
Getting another answer, she nods, barely hiding a smug smile, even though no one sees it. “Anyway, I want to congratulate your Luan on becoming an S-rank. Everyone says it was about time.”
After a short pause, she shakes her head. “While I agree that you, as his handler, had something to do with it, saying it's fifty percent your merit might be pushing it.”
A longer silence.
Then she speaks again. “Yes, there is something I want. Not from you, but from Luan.”
She listens and nods. “Obviously, I'm not shameless enough to ask for it for free. I'll make it worth your while. I think you wanted a better temporary residence permit for your attendees on the fourth floor? I could get you one in the inner city.”
While listening to the answer, she plays with her hair absentmindedly, coiling it around her finger.
The never-ending space around her is filled with a quiet hum, and myriads of stars cast an unearthly light on her face.
And she nods. “We have a deal, then. I want him to return to the first floor in a week or two. I’ll specify the time and location he should appear at later. He doesn’t have to do much. I might even prefer if he stays hands-off. But I want him to bring that feylith mind mage with him.”
There is one more reply she listens to, and then the conversation ends.
With that dealt with, she looks toward the sky. She knows Wrath is watching because of that petite girl, and she knows Diligence dislikes this sort of interference. But with Kindness supporting her and Envy missing from the roster of five Rulers managing this Beyond cycle, any votes would end in a tie—until someone calls in one of the other Rulers to participate. But no one’s going to bother over such minor interference.
POV Nathaniel
After passing through, I see six other people appear with me, their portals closing at the same time as mine. With the portals gone, the place we’ve found ourselves in fades into darkness until ember-like sparks form around a thylarin with six arms and float into the air, generating light and almost perfectly illuminating the room.
A simple, not even particularly large room, but it is a very long one, with walls made of rough light gray stone, a single metal door waits nearby, and a long window looks out of the room, covered in dust. There are vibrations running through the entire place, almost as if the space is moving. Maybe we’re in an airship, or on a floating island, or a submarine?
I watch as a man with a tall, slim figure, almost gray skin, and long limbs reaches for the window and starts wiping the dust from it.
Others in the room are also examining the space, but they do so carefully, always pulling back their scans if they think they might be detected.
“Fuck me,” the gray, lanky man groans, and all eyes turn to him, except for the thylarin’s.
The freshly cleaned section of the window reveals a view, opening out to the blackness of space and glowing stars. Then we see a planet in the distance, red, enormous, and covered in shifting clouds. The planet stays in place while we continue moving, and the view pans over its surface.
The thylarin, who I assume is Io, coughs to draw attention to himself. His arms are folded, and unlike many thylarin I’ve met, he seems to be a bit on the shorter side, with slender limbs, all coming together to give him a nimble appearance.
“Welcome to what remains of one of the smaller examples of the Last Elf’s asteroid bases. We believe it's been moving through space on its own, using the gravitational pull of the planets around it and occasional bursts from its main engine to travel, heading in an unknown direction.”
He turns, letting all six arms fall loosely behind him.
“As with every sighting of a Last Elf replica, this mission has one objective: eradicate every single replica in the area.”
Io is about to say something else, but a human woman starts moving off to the side, and his words cut off. He watches as she almost playfully walks toward the window, her steps long and smooth.
She moves with silent, effortless grace, not making a single sound. Messy brown hair falls into her face as she reaches the window and, with the tip of a finger, draws a shape in the dust covering it.
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