Mor’vyre stood at the edge of the treeline, his eyes closed, breathing deeply. "The mana in this world is extraordinarily rich," he said, almost reverently. "I’m surprised we never discovered it during the Night Regalia’s expansion. Such a wellspring of magical energy, completely off our maps."
Kahdijah stretched her arms above her head, her chaotic energy already reaching out like invisible tendrils, tasting the air. "Soone on this planet is stirring things up. I can feel it. Beautiful, ssy, uncontrolled chaos." Her grin widened, sharp and eager. "I wonder if I should give them a little push. Help them along."
Adam held up a hand. "Alright, everyone. Pause. I didn’t actually invite most of you on this trip, but since you’re all here anyway, let’s establish so ground rules."
He pointed at Rebecca and Alex. "You two, with . We find Elizabeth, we grab her, we figure out how she got here." His finger shifted to Kahdijah. "You. I know you’re going to cause trouble the second I look away. That’s fine. Just don’t go extre. No collapsing civilizations, no rewriting local laws of physics. Moderate chaos only."
Kahdijah waved a dismissive hand, already fading from view. "You’re no fun. I’ll be back when I get bored." Her voice echoed, then vanished.
Adam sighed and turned to Mor’vyre. "You. Scouting. Learn what you can about this world. Political structures, major powers, any threats we should know about. Actual intelligence, not whatever Kahdijah considers ’research.’"
Mor’vyre inclined his head. "I will do so, Lord Adam. And while I perform my reconnaissance, I shall also endeavor to monitor Lady Kahdijah’s activities, to ensure she adheres to your guidelines."
Alex watched Mor’vyre stride into the forest. "He’s going to die, isn’t he."
Adam shrugged. "Probably."
"Should we stop him?"
"Nah. He’ll figure it out."
Rebecca, who had been silent, her eyes distant and focused, suddenly spoke. "I found her."
Adam and Alex turned. Rebecca’s expression was sharp with certainty.
"Elizabeth. I can sense her now that we’re in the sa dinsional layer. She’s in a city called Kandor, about fifty miles northeast. She’s with a local boy and a woman. Priestess, maybe. They’re moving toward the residential district."
"Then that’s where we go," Adam said. "Kandor it is."
---
The private room at the back of the cottage was small, lit only by a single candle. Gwendolyn sat on the edge of the bed, her hands clasped tightly together. Kelvin stood by the door, his broad fra blocking the exit. Not to trap, but to brace.
rlin faced them both.
"You can’t seriously be considering this," Gwendolyn said, her voice low and strained. "Going after the Dark Lord. Leaving this world. rlin, you’re seventeen years old."
"I know how old I am, Mom."
"Then you know how insane this sounds. You’re not a soldier. You’re not a general. You’re my son, and I will not stand here and watch you walk into sothing you can’t co back from."
rlin was quiet for a mont. Then he spoke, his voice calm, asured. "I have to go. Not because I want to. Not because of so prophecy. Because he’s never going to stop hunting . And if I stay here, if I keep hiding, he’ll find you. Both of you. And he’ll use you to get to . I won’t let that happen."
Gwendolyn shook her head. "We can run. We’ve done it before. We can go further north, into the wildlands. Find a place with no magic, no people, just us."
"He’ll still find us. Maybe not next week, maybe not next year. But he will. He has centuries to look. I won’t spend the rest of my life running, and I won’t make you spend yours hiding in caves."
Kelvin spoke, his voice rough. "And what about out there? Beyond this world. The girl said you could leave, go to other realities. You think it’s safer out there?"
"I think it’s different out there. Bigger." rlin t his father’s eyes. "And I think there are people out there who are like . Who understand what I am. Who can teach things I can’t learn here."
"You don’t need to learn anything," Gwendolyn said, her voice breaking. "You’re already too powerful. It’s the power that’s putting you in danger."
"No." rlin shook his head slowly. "The power is what’s going to keep alive. And that’s what I need to tell you. What I didn’t say in front of the others."
He took a breath.
"I can’t die."
The words hung in the small room, heavy and strange.
Gwendolin stared at him. Kelvin’s hand tightened on the doorfra.
"What do you an, you can’t die?" Kelvin asked slowly.
"I an exactly that. I’ve known since I was a kid. Not consciously, but deep down. The sa way I knew I could fix broken toys or make flowers bloom in winter." rlin looked at his hands. "I am Energy and Matter. Those things don’t cease to exist. They just change form. Transform. I can be unmade, scattered across a thousand dinsions, reduced to my base components. But I will always, eventually, co back. Reassemble. Reform."
He looked up at them. "I am not immortal because I’m too strong to be killed. I am immortal because death is just another state of being for . And I can always transition back."
Gwendolyn was crying now, silent tears streaming down her face. "That’s not living. That’s just... not dying."
"It’s more than most people get," rlin said gently. "And it ans you don’t have to worry about . Not like that. Whatever happens out there, wherever I go, whoever I fight... I will always co back. I will always find my way ho."
He knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. "You gave seventeen years of normal. Of love. Of being soone’s son instead of sothing’s vessel. That’s more than I ever expected to have. And I will carry that with forever, no matter how many forms I take or how many centuries pass."
Gwendolyn pulled her hands free and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. "You stupid, stupid boy," she whispered into his hair. "I didn’t raise you to be a god. I raised you to be my son."
"And I am," rlin said, his own voice finally cracking. "Always. No matter what else I am. I’m your son."
Kelvin moved from the door. He placed one heavy hand on rlin’s shoulder, then another, pulling both his wife and his son into his arms.
"Then you co back," Kelvin said, his voice thick. "You go do whatever it is you need to do. But you co back here, to this house, and you tell us about it. That’s not a request."
"It’s not a promise I can make," rlin said quietly. "Ti is different out there. I might be gone a day here and a century there. Or a century here and a day there. I don’t know."
"Then you promise to try," Kelvin said. "That’s enough."
rlin nodded against his mother’s shoulder. "I promise to try."
They stayed like that for a long mont, the candle burning low, the cottage settling around them with its familiar creaks and sighs. Outside, the village of Kandor continued its evening routine, unaware that a god was saying goodbye to his parents in a tiny back room.
Finally, rlin pulled back. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, a gesture so childish and human that it made Gwendolyn laugh once, a wet, broken sound.
"I should go," rlin said. "They’re waiting for . And I need to talk to Elizabeth again. There’s a lot I don’t know about what’s out there."
Gwendolyn nodded, unable to speak. Kelvin squeezed rlin’s shoulder one last ti and stepped back.
rlin walked to the door. He paused, his hand on the fra.
"Mom? Dad?"
They looked at him.
"Thank you. For finding . For keeping . For everything."
He didn’t wait for a response. He walked out into the darkening evening, leaving his parents alone in the candlelight, holding onto each other and the weight of letting go.
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