The Newt and Demon-8.80 - You Were Never Meant To

“What exactly is going on here?” Theo asked, squinting down at the “fight” taking place in the arena below.

“Uh… what’s the word?” Tresk tapped her chin, leaning over the desk to upset the elven commentator. “Oh, you’d say something like ‘interpretive dance.’”

“Yeah, but why?”

Tresk shrugged. “Some people just like dancing!” She wiggled a bit, imitating a dance. It wasn’t good, but she tried.

Everything was lined up as well as it could’ve been. The reset could happen today, and Theo would be happy with their progress. He had the potions prepared that he needed for the swap, and could merge with Tresk and Alex at a moment’s notice to get the job done. He had promises from the system and the heavens that the remaining souls would be brought along while the planet reformed. And there were a bunch of uncoordinated people dancing in the arena below.

One of them was apparently winning.

This was a sign that it was just about time to go. Since the arena games had wrapped up the main fights, there were only a few stragglers left to take care of. Dancing, crafting, a few more rounds of cooking, and that’d be everything. Theo didn’t care if they did the awards on the mortal plane or on Tero’gal, as he doubted it would make much of a difference. The only thing he waited for was the return of Fenian and… whatever dragons he had created.

The alchemist let out a labored sigh, walking from the viewing window and plopping onto a sofa. Tresk was quick to follow, doing a cannonball and letting out an equally dramatic sigh. “Copper for your thoughts?”

“I expected you to use an Earth idiom.” Theo shook his head, regarding the concerned look on his companion’s face. “Everything is fine. I’m just eager to get going.”

“Let’s go now!” Tresk said, licking her lips. “Why not!? How long will it take you to reforge everyone? Might as well start now.”

“Fenian. He’s an ass, sure, but that guy has helped us more than I’d like to admit.”

“Bah.”

Over the next few days, Theo lit a fire under the butts of the administrators. This would’ve been a good move during an emergency with a normal population. But the booze… The alchemist had underestimated how much liquor they could drink. Things were getting more rowdy by the hour, with roving parties working their way through the Southlands Alliance. They held “doomsday” parties, where people got so drunk they could hardly stand.

One morning, Theo walked through the sprawling buildings Ziz and his boys had constructed, looking at the piles of hungover people scattered around. It wasn’t just Broken Tuskers who were going all out. No, it was just about everyone that had come to watch the arena games. Elves, lizard-folk, dwarves, half-ogres, and even little broglings had consumed more than their fair share. He had to consider what their motives were.

“Are they doing this to endure the thought of the reset?” Theo asked, scratching his head as Sarisa and Rowan walked alongside him. “And why aren’t you guys similarly blitzed?”

Sarisa was the first to shrug. “We’ve got a job to do. Can’t go getting drunker than a goblin in a tavern just because stuff gets hard.”

“I think they’re coping well, considering all the facts.” Rowan shrugged, kicking gently at a prone elf. “But I have to admit… This is hard to look at.”

Theo grumbled, not sure how he should take the fact that his plan had backfired. At first, he had suspected the citizens of Broken Tusk couldn’t be trusted with liquor. Now he had learned they’d be completely fine with it, so long as they had a job to do the next day. Breaking him from his thoughts, a strange shiver ran up his spine. The alchemist stopped, tilting his head to one side as he examined the sensation.

Somewhere distant, a gong sounded.

“That’s odd.” Extending his senses as far as they would go, Theo sensed nothing but the background noise of the world. “Something changed.”

“Something?” Rowan asked nervously. “Sounds ominous.”

“Should we sound the alarm?” Sarisa asked.

Theo scratched his head. Jumping like a scared cat at everything that was odd wasn’t a good way to go about life. But with the current circumstances…

“Yeah. Just in case.” Theo took a breath to examine the feeling, finally finding some words to express the sensation. “Something is pushing. Maybe against my authority?”

“Don’t look at me.” Sarisa slapped her brother on the back. “Come on. Let’s put everyone on alert.”

Watching as his companions went, Theo just stood there to figure out what the hell was going on. It didn’t take long for both Alex and Tresk to approach from the sky. They had been flying around, doing their own thing all morning.

“Did you feel it?” Tresk asked.

“Yeah. What was it?”

“We’re unsure. Perhaps it is time to check in with the Arbiter,” Alex said.

Theo only nodded, wrapping everyone in his aura before folding the void. The instant they had passed through that conceptual place, the alchemist got a better idea of what was happening. And he didn’t like it. Something was knocking.

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The Arbiter’s chambers at the top of his citadel were big. But not quite large enough for a full-sized dragon to roam around. Theo and Tresk left Alex outside before taking the elevator. Although it felt quite silly, they knocked on his massive door and waited for the voice from within to call them. It didn’t take long, and the moment Khahar spoke the words, “Enter,” the doors swung inward.

“Took you two long enough,” Khahar said, shaking his head in disappointment. “Looks like we have a situation brewing.”

“A knock, right?” Theo asked.

“More like a battering ram slamming against the outside of the bubble.”

“Hold up,” Tresk said. “How that work? Time stuff be weird.”

“I don’t know how that works.” Khahar projected some spell arrays in the air. “I’m going to guess the system is dialing down the time dilation of our bubble.”

“Ah. So, we have visitors.” Theo chuckled wryly. “As expected.”

“We’ll need to check with the system, but that seems to be the case.” Khahar circled through the arrays, but eventually gave up. “I’m talking with Elrin’s people, so we’ll have a coordinated defense. But, there is a minor problem.”

Of course, it wasn’t a “minor” problem. Theo expected something horrible. “What is it?”

“From what I understand, the mortal world is important.” Khahar reclined in his chair, letting out a heavy sigh. “The academy world, as unprepared as it is, should catch most invaders. But if some slip through, they’ll go for the mortal world.”

“Great. So, we need to defend it.” Tresk said. “Easy mode.”

“Maybe. Depending on the size of the force.” Khahar scratched his chin as though this was all too much to process. “Theo, I want you to leave this stuff to me. Okay? I think I can handle it… so long as I can go back to the mortal plane.”

Theo winced. They hadn’t fully tested Khahar’s new abilities and he wasn’t on the level he needed to repel something like that. But if the alchemist remembered anything of the old Yuri, it was that he didn’t take on a job he couldn’t do.

“Think the authority of the Arbiter is enough?” Theo asked.

“Don’t forget I have my own forces. With my authority, I think I can transport fighters to the mortal plane.” Khahar finally stood. “I can finally serve as the leader of the throne holders, now that I can travel. Theo, I want you to coordinate with the system. Tresk, I want you and Alex with me so we can coordinate our forces. Theo will run between the heavens and the system to relay information. I know Broken Tusk is precious to you, so I’ll ensure you get the signal to move it before the fighting starts.”

Theo nodded. The plan wasn’t bad, and it fell in line with their roles. Tresk would fill Fenian’s role as defender of the mortal realm, which made a lot of sense. Elrin had also volunteered to be part of that effort, so that was good. The Warriors of the Shard would handle Leon’s planet. Khahar filled his role as the Arbiter, deflecting attacks from outside the sector. And Theo would simply do the thing his throne was meant for, traveling the void to offer a supportive role.

“That works for me.” Theo let out a heavy sigh. “Can’t believe we’re finally at this point.”

“Nothing to worry about.” Khahar waved a dismissive hand. “We’re prepared for this. Even without Fenian, we’ll be fine.”

Theo didn’t want to voice his doubts, instead just nodding and falling through the void. He trusted Tresk to do her best to defend the mortal realm. It wouldn’t be easy, but as long as Khahar had the forces he promised, it should be possible. The important part, as far as the alchemist understood, was to ensure the safety of the Shards. Those were the world anchors which literally held the planet together. Now that they were playing by sector rules, those shards had to stay in place.

Arriving at the system’s snowy area a few moments later, Theo approached the raised platform. He wasn’t surprised to see all the gods assembled there, chattering away about something.

“We must remember that without the help of the Warriors, we would’ve been unprepared,” Silver said, crossing her arms as she looked toward the other, high-realm gods.

“Indeed. You’ve done well to thwart it, Shadow.”

“My pleasure,” the amalgam of darkness said, his voice sounding more like that of a snake’s.

“What happened?” Theo asked, clearing his throat to gain their attention.

“Ah, perfect,” Death said, clapping his hands together. “We were attacked. A god from outside the sector broke through the time barrier.”

The system turned, regarding Theo with a placid expression. “As expected,” she said. “It seems these gods will retain their places.”

“Bah! Whole lot of nonsense.” Void crossed his arms. “Release the Seal of Passage and I’ll have this sorted in a minute.”

Theo tuned the gods out when they argued. The system noticed this, smiling at him and reaching out to press some invisible button. All at once, the gods went silent. Their mouths still moved, and they still gestured at each other, but he simply couldn’t hear them.

“The time dilation finally reached a point where those outside the sector can attack.” The system released something that sounded like a disappointed sigh. “Which means my calculations were incorrect.”

“Are you falling apart?” Theo asked. He didn’t want to sugarcoat his words on the matter. He needed answers.

“Indeed. It won’t be long until this form is gone.”

Theo nodded. “We’ll miss you.”

“You won’t. But you were never meant to.” She messed with some invisible buttons some more, eventually regarding Theo with something of a smile.

“Okay. So, what’s the score? How long do we have?” Theo asked. “And where is Fenian.”

The system turned to Death, pressing another button. “Where is the wayward elf?”

“On his way back.” Death said, bowing his head. “Something happened when he got to the start of the queue. He has a favor from the bird deities, and I expected him to teleport his way out… But he didn’t. He’s returning by foot, killing my creations along the way.”

Theo laughed in spite of himself. “He’s getting stronger, isn’t he?”

“Too strong.” The system shook her head. “I’ll need to start the reset the moment he comes back.”

“Really?” Theo asked. “How is that possible?”

Death raised his brows at the system, and she nodded. He bowed his head. “Fenian is traveling through Death’s Gate, which is a representation of the queue. It covers about 60,350 years of souls. Each year is given a distance to accommodate the souls, so he’s spent a long time there. Too much time with advanced Celestial and Draconic Cultivation techniques.”

“My bad.”

“A lot of souls avoided the queue, but many are still there. I’ve created a different pocket version of the gate for all those souls.” Death winked.

Theo relayed the information back to Tresk, who told Khahar. They had made to the mortal world, only because of Khahar’s authority as the arbiter. The only thing Theo could think about was the length of Death’s queue. It was long enough for her to be there, as much as he didn’t want to think about it.

When all this was over, he was in for a few awkward moments with his long-dead love. Eventually, the alchemist clapped his hands together.

“Excellent. I’m going to get to work!”