Jeff was happy for Kade.

He wouldn't lie to his best friend. Not about that.

But he was also frustrated. He'd had a long talk with his mom and dad, then another, and then dinner with them. And they'd—very, very gently—told him that he'd chosen this consequence. That he'd known what he was getting into. That they loved him, and they forgave him.

It was at that dinner—a chicken salad drowning in raspberry vinaigrette, toasted garlic bread, and a light red sauce over noodles—that Jeff finally started snapping out of it. Yasmin hadn't been able to help him. Neither had Sophia, Kade, or Ellen. But his mom and dad? They had him figured out. One more thing to regret about his choices. If he'd just…

No. There was nothing to regret. He'd made the right choices for himself and his friends. His decision to drag Kade into it had probably saved their lives.

Nothing to regret. But plenty to be frustrated about.

The B-Rank monster that, without help, would have worn him down far too much was one such thing. He blocked the thing's stone-fisted hammer-blow with his shield; the impact sent shockwaves down his arms to his shoulders. Then his sword flashed out. It cut into the monster, but only a few inches deep. Raul's spear did better, but neither blow killed the thing.

It took them the better part of twenty seconds of ferocious combat to do the job. Then Jeff had to watch Kade kill not one, but two of them, lightning chains pulling him back and forth between them as his new, fancy sword flashed and stabbed into each in turn. Stone blew out across the room with each thrust, and within a handful of seconds, both monsters were dead. Kade wiped his brow and turned, ready for more. But there weren't more. Jeff pushed himself, even though he was running on fumes. There couldn't be much more left of this portal.

And that meant that the first team had probably gotten to the boss.

A pair of the massive Feldspar Titans guarded what had to be the boss's lair.

They stood on either side of the almost-invisible, tiny tunnel, their six tree-trunk legs blocking the way forward. I pulled my head back around the corner, holding up two fingers. "Ellen, two big ones. Battle plan?"

She stared at me for a second. Then she shook her head. "You want to solo one again, right?"

I grinned sheepishly. I did. I really did. But then I shook my own. "No. No, I think that's the wrong choice. I want my resources for the boss instead."

"Great. Jeff, Sophia, you have the left Titan. Everyone else is on the right. When it dies, we switch to Jeff's. Can you handle it?" Ellen asked.

Jeff nodded. "Of course I can."

His armor was dented and covered in soot and burn marks. As I watched, the biggest one on his helmet popped out with a loud gong sound as the self-repair function on his armor kicked in. But the big tank himself was still intact. Sophia shrugged. "I'm at half Mana. Should be good for this and the boss, though. As long as you four make it quick."

"Got it," I said. I dropped into Thunderbolt Forms' one-handed stance, got ready to cast a Lightning Chain, and stepped around the corner.

A minute later, two Feldspar Titans were dead, my Stamina and Mana were both below a quarter full, and Jeff's armor had a pair of new dents that it was slowly working on repairing.

"Boss time, then?" I asked.

"Yeah," Yasmin agreed.

Sophia shook her head slowly, like she was trying to clear it. After a second or two, she stopped. "I'm not sure…if that other team's fighting the boss, what's with the two monsters outside its door? They shouldn't be there. Either the team would have killed them, or the two would have followed the team inside. Neither of those happened because the monsters are still there. So where's the team?"

"Huh," I said. She was right. We'd missed something. But what? This wasn't a Paragon portal, and the other team had been slightly stronger than us on paper. Granted, the GC's documentation didn't include Cheddar and Pepperoni's full firepower, or take into account how unusual my build was and how much damage I could output when I needed to, but even so, they shouldn't have had too much trouble in here.

Whatever we'd missed, though, there was only one good solution. The team was in here somewhere, and we had to get them out. "I don't think we'll find them by searching, Soph," I said softly. "Their best bet is for us to clear the portal and wait for it to spit them out when it's over."

She stiffened. I put a hand on her back. "I know it's not what you wanted. Hopefully, they're alive. This is our best option, though."

"Is it?"

"Yes, it is." Jeff walked past me, sword and shield ready. Anger rippled off of him in waves I could almost see; if he'd had an aura, it would have killed me just being near him. Then his armored bulk filled up the tunnel to the portal's boss, and I fell in behind him.

The rest of the team followed, and we headed for our final showdown.

Obsidian Golemite Monolith: B-Rank

The boss was by far the strangest monster I'd encountered.

It wasn't massive. It wasn't outwardly lethal-looking. It was just…a carved, smooth pillar of black stone in the middle of the room. I didn't see any clear way for it to move, much less attack. But it was B-Rank, and it was in the place I'd expect to find a boss. I just didn't know what it intended to do.

I fired a Lightning Chain toward it, intending to pull myself into battle and get the fight started. But the spell stopped halfway across the room, dissipating into nothing. I watched the lightning fizzle out, confused. Then the aura slammed into me. It wasn't a physical blow like Tathrix's had been, or a wave of anxiety and fear like Ellen's. But the moment it hit me, I realized how the fight was going to go.

The whole world shifted as the Obsidian Monolith's black mirror reflected over me. And then I was inside of it, with a trio of monsters.

Obsidian Reflection: B-Rank

Each of them stood at the center of the cavern, impossibly superimposed over each other. Each was tall, thin, and shining black. They reminded me of the Golemite Swordsmen I'd fought in my first Lithic portal, but perfected—fast-looking, with wicked-looking, serrated obsidian blades that dripped magma from their edges.

I readied myself.

The three monsters reacted instantly. They seemed to teleport across the room, splitting up to flank me evenly. Then they attacked. Their blades flashed. I parried the first, but the second and third caught me, cutting burn marks into my back and side, just under the Stormsteel breastplate. Stamina rushed toward the wounds.

I adjusted my stance. Lightning Chains fired, linking me to one as it dashed away from me so quickly I could barely see it. I pulled. The chain went taut, and I flew through the air after the Reflection. My sword stabbed out. It cut a thin slice from the perfect, mirrored surface. The Reflection warped, but it didn't explode or die.

But I had two Charges—Rainfall and Wind. I shifted back to Mistwalk's defensive stance, then used Windwalk. My own movement sped up, then sped up again as I activated my aura and charged the injured Reflection. Its sword came up to parry mine. I let it—then hammered a Slicing Bolt down. My Negative Space empowered it, and the first Reflection exploded into shards of glass that cut my face and arms as it died.

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The other two backed off, circling, precisely one hundred and eighty degrees apart from each other.

Both were inside my aura, but when I tried to close the gap, they moved. Even with all of the movement speed in the world—with Negative Space, Windwalk, and both my Script and Yasmin's—I couldn't keep up. They were fragile, but fast, and if I couldn't get a hold of them, I wouldn't be able to help the others—if that was an option.

I shifted to Thunderbolt's one-handed stance, then to its two-handed, power stance instead. It felt strange with the razor-thin, estoc-length blade in my hands, but I needed as much power as I could get for the next time—

Both Reflections warped space as they seemed to teleport in. This time, I didn't dodge. I pumped Stamina into the searing, cauterized wound in my right leg and across the back of my neck, then counterattacked with Rain-Slicked Blade. Stormsong sank into the first Reflection, and just like the first one, it shimmered and bent strangely as I pulled it free.

The two Reflections teleported away simultaneously. I let them and shifted stances again, this time to Cyclone. Lightning Strikes Twice activated as I cast Lightning Chain, not where the monsters had been, but where I thought they'd form.

The moment I did, I felt a familiar feeling—one I hadn't felt in a while—as Mistwalk Forms tried to push itself to B-Rank and the Law associated with it screamed to be learned and understood. I forced it down. It'd be one thing to accept it any other second, but right now? When I needed my timing and aim to be perfect? No. But it was a relief to be able to force Laws in combat again.

I refocused on my Lightning Chains just as the Reflections reappeared. Both hit. I stood in the center of the reflected aura-space. Stormsong vanished, and with one hand on each Lightning Chain, I pulled.

I couldn't move, so as I strained, both monsters were slowly dragged into the center of the room with me. I gritted my teeth and pulled until my muscles screamed and my Stamina dipped below ten percent. And then they were both close enough.

Darkness. Stormbreak. An explosion of undodgeable power that seemed to come from everywhere in the cloud of shadow. Even as the Lightning Chains faded, the two Obsidian Reflections tried to flee. But there was nowhere to flee to—and they had no idea where I was to attack me and stop the building thunderhead.

It hurt. I had no Mana left. But it didn't burn me, and it didn't shut me down.

It did kill the two Obsidian Reflections, though. They shattered around me, peppering me with shards as they died. I closed my eyes. Darkness faded.

Obsidian Reflection: B-Rank

Another one.

This one wasn't fighting cautiously, either.

Yasmin stood shakily, a spear in her hand, trying to fight the jet-black swordsman, but even with her Scripts, she didn't have a chance of beating the Reflection. I had no Mana, though that was changing. What I did have was Thunderbolt Forms and a Wind Charge.

I decided to save the Wind Charge for now. Instead, I one-handed Stormsong and rushed the monster. The lightning blade sliced into the monster's flank, warping it, and this time, I didn't have a second enemy to deal with. This time, I slammed my weight into the blow, driving the sword deeper and shattering glass across Yasmin's face and chest as the monster's 'front' side erupted outward.

Before Yasmin could say anything, the world vanished as the Obsidian Monolith's aura shifted.

When we reappeared, Sophia was down. Bleeding. But breathing. Two Reflections stood over her. Yasmin screamed. They turned. Vanished. My focus narrowed. Two monsters. Three swords. Two teammates who I couldn't let die. That was all that mattered.

Stamina: 38/440, Mana: 53/550

That wasn't enough. I fired up Shadowstorm Battery, pulling from Cheddar. From Ellen. From anywhere and everywhere I could. My increased Mana regen helped too, but even so, I needed more.

I needed enough to win.

The first Reflection appeared behind Yasmin. Its sword shot forward. I shoved her aside and threw Stormsong in the way. Cheddar wasn't here. He had his own battle to fight. I couldn't rely on him. The swords clashed. Focus. I needed to focus. I lashed out with my sword. It made contact, and the Obsidian Reflection warped.

Not enough. But something.

The second one appeared. They were off-balance. I hit it with a Lightning Chain. Didn't double it. Had to stay in Thunderbolt Stance. Couldn't shift off of it. I pulled myself through the air toward the Reflection. It tried to vanish, but couldn't do it fast enough. That one warped, too. Then it vanished.

Mana: 34/550

As the first one appeared over Sophia's body, I fired another Lightning Chain. Flew through the air. I led with my boots. They slammed into the Reflection, followed by my sword. It cut deep, and I pushed it deeper. The Reflection shattered. I hit the ground hard, rolled, and tried to recover. Yasmin screamed. Sophia gasped and sobbed. She was alive. My lungs burned. My Stamina was low. Too low. And I didn't have the Mana to use Lightning Chain again. My teammates were too far apart. I couldn't cover them both.

I chose Sophia. My sword hovered in front of her, waiting.

The Reflection appeared behind Yasmin.

And a wall of fear washed over the room as Ellen appeared. Shadow Shapes filled the room. Jeff launched himself at the Reflection, snarling, and Raul dashed to the flank. The Reflection tried to escape, but Shadow Shapes latched onto it, and a moment later, my friends' swords and spears slammed into its body. It couldn't defend itself.

The Obsidian Monolith's aura collapsed. The reflection we'd been caught in was gone. So was the smooth, unbroken 'body' of the Monolith. It was covered in white break marks and cracks that gave its mirrored form a multifaceted, kaleidoscope look.

Its aura tried to flare out again. For a moment, it felt like it would work. The beginnings of an Obsidian Reflection formed in front of me. I reached out and stuck Stormsong through its body, and it shattered.

So did the Monolith.

Portal Collapse In: 59:58

Six bodies appeared in the center of the room. Sophia groaned and rolled, then tried to push herself to her feet. I reached out to help her, but Yasmin was already there. She helped the wounded healer toward what was left of the first delver team, and I didn't try to stop her, even though the odds of any of them being alive weren't good. Sophia had the hardest job, and she had to give saving them her best shot.

Her face was a picture of agony. Some of that was from her wounds, but most of that was the horror the other team had run into, and the unhealed, bleeding wounds that covered their bodies.

We'd won. Now it was up to Yasmin and Sophia—and to whatever healers were waiting when the portal spat us back out.

Believing in higher powers was one thing.

As Deborah was finding out, contacting them was something else entirely.

She had limited access to the GC's upper-level archives. If Angelo had been out of the picture, she'd have the whole thing—even as it was, she knew the information existed, but not what it was. But even with her limited access, she'd learned about Paragons. That was her first proof that she'd been right, and that Kade had almost certainly contacted one of them.

From there, she focused in on the Archqueen of Madness. The Paragon was one of the most powerful beings that had ever set foot on Earth, and as Deborah read up on her more, she realized that the initial description of it was incorrect. It wasn't that the Archqueen's lack of mobility or the exclusion zone around it was keeping her from being a country-ending threat. It was that she had no interest in the nations around the Amazon. She was on Earth because she gained something from being here, and when she no longer did, she would either go on a rampage or leave. Or both.

Probably both.

Deborah's first instinct was to reach out to the Archqueen. But she tabled that thought with a little more research. No one had actually survived contact with her without a full S-Rank team, and even then, the best they'd been able to do was a draw. The Archqueen didn't talk. She only fought and cursed with her powerful, long-term magic.

So, with the most powerful entity—and only known Paragon that delvers hadn't killed—out of the picture, Deborah turned to the less scientific and more esoteric methods of contacting a higher power. It took her a long time to work through the process, and even longer to be sure it would work, but after days of double-checking, she was ready for the near-death experience that might link her to a Paragon and give her the power she craved—S-Rank.

An old reservoir had survived the Portal Blitz, then two decades of neglect. It sat far to the northeast, almost as far as Globe. But Deborah wasn't worried about the Monster Eaters, or about the two B-Rank portals near the lake. She needed the water.

It was almost impossible to kill an A-Rank delver. She could take cuts that'd bleed out a normal person in seconds and keep fighting. She'd pushed through broken bones and burns that had covered most of her body—not to mention radiation poisoning on the order of ten sieverts. That was double what would kill an unawakened man, and she'd shrugged it off with a little healing.

But she needed to die—or get close to it—if she wanted to contact a higher-ranked being.

So, when Deborah Callahan's silver sports car roared into the weed-choked, abandoned parking lot, she only stopped for a moment to stare at the water at the end of the boat ramp.

The moment only lasted for a few seconds. Her foot started to touch the gas pedal.

It never made it.

Instead, a massive—and familiar—aura slammed into her. Then another. And then a third. As her mind and body reeled from the sheer force of them and even more layered on top of them, Deborah reached out and pulled the handle, then fell out of her car and onto all fours. Judging by the strength of the auras and by their lack of lethal force, Deborah knew three things.

First, that she wasn't the target.

Second, the convoy's strike team was nearby, and they were fighting.

And third, they were losing.

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