It had been painful to tear himself away from Hunter as the connection between them, which at times had been as weak as a thread, now stood unbreakable. It would take time to reconcile what the change would mean for them. Daniel could intrinsically tell they’d just gotten over the threshold thanks to signing the bond in blood. As far as what that could bring, he wasn’t worried. There was no pressure in his mind as there had been with the oath, and if the only risk was what breaking the bond would bring, what did he have to fear?

  Whatever time was left in this space should have been spent settling the bond, but Daniel had far too much to ask and no expectation of finding a way into his soul again. Unfortunately, “Error, unable to comply. Entity: Corrupted Spoke cannot suspend assignment of Bond: Benefits.”

  “Well then slow it down!”

  “Acknowledged. With minimum efficiency, time remaining until the dissolution of this space is ten minutes, relative to active time dilation.”

  “Will that change the bond?” Hunter asked with completely valid concern. The Spoke didn’t answer him, which ended up wasting 10 seconds as Daniel repeated the question.

  “No. Blood Bond: Brotherhood has been fully formed. Benefits: Bond have been generated according to input received from the associated Entities, as well as Fundamental Law: Karma. Delaying the encoding and impartment of these will not affect the final result.”

  Both breathing creatures sighed in relief at that. Mindful of Hunter, Daniel said, “Alright, if there’s anything you want to ask tell me, otherwise there’s so much stuff I need to figure out.” He grimaced and added, “I’m sorry this has to be now, but I don’t know if we’ll get another chance to do this.”

  “My only question is what the bond does.”

  “My first one too. Spoke?”

  “The three generated Bond: Benefits are Universal Link, Might and Magic, and Blood Union. Any previous Bond: Benefits from Bond: Friendship or Oath Bond: Memory will be lost.”

  That sucks. Two precious minutes were spent getting the details of the three benefits and an explanation of what they needed to do to finish the process of reviving Hunter, which was somewhat convoluted. While they’d no longer have some nice things, it couldn’t compare to living, and it wasn’t all bad. Daniel couldn’t linger on the details as every moment that passed by was a missed opportunity to reveal a secret of the Octyrrum, and he still had to explain what Hunter would be walking into when they got out.

  There were countless directions he could go, from what the Spoke could tell him about the Arcadian to the status of each god, but with Hunter standing next to him he knew what he had to ask first. “I want you to locate Evalyn Lasial, Tak Bentwing, Gadriel Cross, and Lograve… uh, him.” I don’t think he ever told me his last name.

  “The indicated Creatures are beyond the reach of the [Octyrrum].”

  Daniel’s blood froze. “They’re dead!?”

  “Unable to speculate with current data.”

  “He’s not dead,” Hunter said firmly, and Daniel nodded with that.

  “Yeah, that’s right. Murdon would probably have known too. When you died… Look, they disappeared during the fight. Spoke, what happened to them?”

  “The indicated Creatures were subject to an interaction between a Function: Spoke and Bond: Worl-“ The Spoke abruptly cut off what it was saying, leaving silence and a sense of foreboding.

  “What’s going on?”

  “This Entity is restricted from sharing that information. Interesting.”

  “It’s unidentified?” Daniel asked incredulously.

  “No. The information cannot be shared.”

  “I swear to god, if you have a list of things you can’t tell me… where are they!?” Time prevented Daniel from asking for more. It didn’t matter how it happened since he was pretty sure it couldn’t again unless he unlocked the Spoke powers. Another question for when this issue was settled.

  “Outside the auspice of System: Octyrrum.”

  “The Astral?”

  “No.”

  Some place like the Arcadian is still a possibility, but that doesn’t sound right. Wait, that bond it was talking about before it stopped talking… “They were sent to another world. Spoke, that bond, I don’t need to know about it, but were they sent to where the other end of that bond was?” Earth-Daniel had never mentioned anything like this, but then again everything eventually came back to the list where he was concerned.

  “Yes.”

  “Your world?” Hunter clarified, and Daniel nodded in confirmation. “Would they be alright there?”

  “Evalyn and I talked about this actually,” Daniel said distantly, for the first time in a while feeling a sense of deja vu that wasn’t tied to hidden memories. “As long as they weren’t dropped in a warzone or deep in the wilderness yeah, and even then Tak’d do fine in most places. I’d be more worried about… Hold on.” Evalyn’s sister. “Spoke, did Eido get sent there?”

  “Yes.”

  He knew he was letting precious seconds slip by, but Daniel had to stop and think about that. The other me never mentioned anything like that. Again, the list, but he couldn’t possibly have kept that completely under wraps. It’s been, what, a few months? Somewhere remote enough and they could’ve gone unnoticed. Holy fuck. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that revelation. Questions of how an entire city could be sent over while he couldn’t be aside, the Commander in Eido had been level 5. Would anything Earth’s combined military have worked on someone like that?

  Hunter nudged him with a serious look in his eyes. “Ask how we bring them back. This thing did it. It can undo it.”

  “Spoke? What he said.”

  “Assessing…”

  About half of their time had elapsed already, and Daniel got aggravated when the silence prolonged. “Answer me! At least tell me if you can’t say anything.”

  “Still assessing…”

  “You’re a fragment of a worldwide magical supercomputer, what would take you this long to-“

  “Assessment completed. Based on probability projections, the lingering Bond: Friendship between Creature: Hunter Brant and Creature: Tak Bentwing, currently available resources, and lingering Mana connections to the previously designated individuals, there is a nonzero chance of circumstances aligning to provide a favorable outcome.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “Under the theoretically best outcome, there is no action either Entity: Daniel Brant - Octyrrum or Creature: Hunter Brant could take to affect the results.”

  I’m starting to prefer the other me, Daniel thought. Though it makes sense if you consider this is the thing that set up how the Encyclopedia works. “Screw that. Hunter, if it’s something related to your bond, check your connection like you did ours.”

  “It is there. He is very far, though.” Hunter closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, tracking something only he could see. “I could find my way to you in the Astral, but if I had run to him for all the time I was there, I don’t think I would have found him.”

  “Then don’t think about going to him. Think about bringing him to you.” He wanted to see if it would work, but if there was one true thing the Spoke had said it was that he had little else he could do to influence that. Hunter had settled into something akin to meditation at his suggestion, leaving him only a couple of minutes left to ask favors from this demented search engine. “My Dad, is he in this world?”

  “Unknown Creature designated.”

  “Garret Brant!”

  “Unable to determine.”

  Come on! Maybe it can only sense people who’ve taken a class? “Is there any way for me to go back to the world I came from, Earth?”

  “No. The Entity: Corrupted Spoke you possess represents part of a greater System. A System, in part or whole, or one intrinsically bound to it cannot enter the auspice of another due to the potential hazards involved with System Conflict.”

  “But Earth doesn’t have a system!” The Spoke didn’t grace his shout with a reply. Fine, fine. “The monster domain that was incorporated into you, is that going to cause any problems I should know about? Can Monster Evolution be removed?”

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  “No. The addition of ~Domain: Unknown~ was allowed under a previous exception granted to Entity: Corrupted Spoke to possess domains other than those within System: Octyrrum, and made possible due to its entanglement with Entity: Daniel Brant - Octyrrum. Additionally, fully Awakened Powers cannot be removed or changed under normal conditions.”

  “Wait, what!?” The next loaded question in Daniel’s mind misfired as, while the disappointing answer was given, it had opened up a whole new tangent. “What exception? Explain.”

  “Upon creation of the Godseed the Entity: Corrupted Spoke originated from, the prime God arranged for underlying rules to be altered to create several exceptions, some of which are classified as restricted knowledge. This exception was first used to allow for the incorporation of Domain: Astral upon consolidation of Godseed into Spoke, which would otherwise not be allowed under general principles following the death of God: Grave.”

  “Why would Hammer do that?”

  “Unknown.”

  Daniel held his head in one hand as he tried to process everything he was hearing. So it was Hammer who Cloak was talking about? This seems like something way too sneaky to do right before a Collapse. “What other exceptions are there? Tell me everything you can about what happened when you were made.”

  “In addition to what has already been mentioned, the default System: Octyrrum rule set was implanted underneath the version active when Entity: Corrupted Spoke first became functional, an act requiring the presence of Domain: Astral. Other exceptions are restricted knowledge. Other topics are restricted knowledge. Upon seating of Corrupted Godseed into the proto-Region: Thormundz, a nonviable piece was separated and sent beyond the auspice of System: Octyrrum. Upon finalization of Corrupted Godseed to Entity: Corrupted Spoke, several exceptions manifested within Function: Glitch. This enables a low chance possibility of Awakening aspects from the original System: Octyrrum rule set, scaling with the degree of connection between Entity: Corrupted Spoke and the target Entity. Further influence from Affinity: Region created God Power: Stormborn, allowing control over weather with focus on Wind, Storm, and Lightning affinities.”

  Hunter opened one eye and looked at Daniel sideways. “You can control the weather?”

  “Only did it once.” That wasn’t the part Daniel was concerned with. Nonviable piece? Is it talking about that thing Earth-Daniel used to send me over? What the fuck is going on. How could Hammer set up me coming here and then not recognize me in Aughal? None of this was making sense and Daniel was running up against restricted knowledge whenever he tried to clarify things, which was a whole new fun thing apparently separate from unidentified knowledge. “I gained direct control of your functions and ‘God Powers’ earlier,” Daniel said, shifting tack back to helping Evalyn and company get home. “How did I do that? What does the thing around my heart do, and can I break it again?”

  “These topics are adjacent to the restricted function of Entity: Corrupted Spoke. Entity: Daniel Grant - Octyrrum successfully breached containment of this Entity due to the combined factors of a nearby Temporal Anomaly, semi-Awakening of the ability, and extreme Soul Trauma as a result of the loss of Bond: Friendship with Creature: Hunter Brant. Circumstances of similar magnitude are required to replicate this feat.”

  “So, not going to happen. How much time is left?”

  “One minute.”

  “Damn it!” The Spoke had droned on for so long that he had barely any time remaining. He could ask for clarification on the heart mana and how that worked, but honestly Daniel had figured out what he needed to know on that end. “What is the Arcadian? Talk faster.”

  “Unable to reply.”

  “Is it a ship?”

  “Unable to reply.”

  “What power did Soraso put on me? Who else on my team has it? How do I defend against it, and how do I remove it from other people?”

  “Creature: Soraso used Ability: Trust Me in tandem with Ability: Enforce Secret while maintaining Dual-channeling, allowing consent for one Power to transfer to the second. Entity: Daniel Brant - Octyrrum was the only target during the initial implantation of the effect. Feature: Conceal Influence, Feature: Deceiver, Feature: Reassuring Presence, and Feature: Airborne Facade further contributed passive Effects. Defense: Wisdom of at least Level: 2 is sufficient to defend against this Power unless consent is given, knowing or otherwise. Removal of the Effect under normal conditions requires a specialized Ability such as Ability: Cleanse Influence of at least equal Level to the originating Power.”

  Ok, Bards can have those kinds of powers, but no way someone playing things above board awakens that many. He really did make me trust him. “What about Flash Reset?”

  “If enough Mana is Channeled into the casting, this method would work so long as the Effect is actively provoked. Otherwise, the Effect will be concealed.”

  “Easy enough, just tell people Soraso’s a bastard.” Thirty seconds left, maybe. Do I ask about Khare? No, wait, I’m being an idiot. This should have been, like, my fourth question. “Cloak. You heard everything the god told me. Has he ever directly lied to me?”

  “No.” Final, unequivocal proof that Daniel couldn’t deny, as far as he could trust his Spoke. Then again he’d always said his Encyclopedia never lied, mistrusting it now really would put Daniel permanently on the road to paranoia.

  Good, that was fast. 22 seconds. Ask something I can’t ask Cloak later. “The man who allowed Hunter to advance, did he hide anything, do anything he didn’t tell us or we didn’t know about? Same question for Grave while Hunter was with him in the Astral.”

  “No.”

  Stick to yes or no questions. Sweat was beginning to bead on Daniel’s face despite it having no physical need to be there, brought on by his climbing anxiety. “Willow, any lingering influence from Grave beyond him assigning her her class?”

  “Aside from control of the source Domain, no.”

  That’s a relief. I should ask what Cloak wants with the Arcadian next. No, wait, not enough time for that. He could count the number of seconds left with two hands, and thus waste them by doing so. There was so much Daniel had left he wanted to question, from specifics on restoring spirits to just how long this war between the gods and monsters had been going on. Some of that he could probably get from Cloak later, but the god wasn’t one to readily answer questions on topics he didn’t bring up. He mourned that he couldn’t spend a year here. The realization that the timer running out also coincided with Hunter coming back to life buoyed those spirits and brought a kind of acceptance.

  “Last question. As just a percentage, what chance would you give us at ending the current Collapse with some or all of the Octyrrum’s society surviving?” It was a gamble. While this was a question with a short answer, if the Spoke took too long assessing he’d be kicked out without anything to show for it. On the other hand, knowing the answer would give him something constructive to bring back to Cloak as a means to try and start over. Daniel still felt the god hadn’t acted in good faith either, lies or not. Hell, one of the first things he’d done was remove memories from his friends, but the fact that he hadn’t lied at all despite everything gave him some hope they could work things out.

  As the edges of his vision began to grow fuzzy, reality around him dissolving, Daniel heard the words before darkness came. “Pulling from most recent statistical model. Probability of System: Octyrrum survival at 5.4% given current factors.”

  …

  Pouncer was nestled into the feathers of Tak’s chest, idly pawing at one that had gotten loose, when a gasp from the avianoid startled him. The pet truly had made no connection between the terrorspawn that had nearly frightened it to death, and the kind, gentle owner that had adopted it. That wasn’t to say its demeanor had changed, and it ran under the bed as Tak stood up.

  He spared a few seconds to make sure Pouncer was alright, had enough water and not too much food in his bowls, before closing the windows and leaving out the front door. Tak pushed the nail holding the sign in place with his thumb, confident the warning not to leave the door open wouldn’t fall off like last time. Then he took off running.

  It was over a month since the attack on Eido. As they’d been assured, no further strife had come even after they’d sent the crew of the first ship away. The ones that had fought them, killed Commander Marshall and others, remained in prison with only a few failed escape attempts marking their stay. During that time Gadriel and Lograve had assumed command. There were others of that level here, but it was hard to compete with the powers the two were able to wield, and the connections they had with the Brants.

  Lograve had bemoaned becoming Murdon in all but name and scale, but there was nothing for it. Masika still slept without waking or coming to her end, and so she still consumed the Hero. Not as much as when she’d first been maimed, but Gadriel spent as much time by her side now as he slept.

  None of that was important now, because something impossible had happened. Tak had felt something from a bond that had been severed. He knew for a fact that he hadn’t formed one with Pouncer, everyone had told him that powers didn’t work here and no one made bonds like that, which left only one possibility. As with most odd occurrences related to Hunter but with more urgency this time, the matter was brought to Lograve.

  The Arcanist pretended to not be in his office, Invisibility helping to no small degree, but he soon gave up. “Tak, I don’t want to crush your hopes, but it’s been over two months. There has never been a successful Resurrection in all of recorded history after that much time has passed. We don’t know what exactly happens to souls past this point, but we know they cannot come back.”

  Tak listened to the well-reasoned argument based on facts and science and nodded. “You are wrong. I can feel him.”

  Lograve gave an exasperated sigh and closed the magnetic case of the tablet he was half-reading, which to the unknowing eye appeared to float down onto the desk from the reading stand. “Alright, I believe you. Leave it to our Daniel to find a way. If only he’d turn his penchant for impossibility into getting us a way back to the Octyrrum.”

  Tak leaned forward and spoke in a conspiratorial half-whisper. “That is what I think he is doing! The bond, there is a pull to it.”

  The avianoid could hear Lograve’s eyebrow raising. “Well, tell me if it works.” His tone was interested but carried the same reserved sarcasm that implied ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ “In fact, if it does then I’ll completely forgive him for not bringing his Internet along with his nonsense when he first arrived. I still can’t believe the sheer volume of knowledge that’s available, or the fact that so many ignore it save for what’s just immediately relevant.”

  Tak politely waited for Lograve to stop pontificating, a word he wouldn’t use but the Arcanist would, confident in the fact that what he was feeling wasn’t weakening. “Yes, but why not do it yourself?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your ritual. You are using things tied to Daniel to try and make a way back.”

  “Fuh, that’s the idea.” The sound of leather being thrown half-aggrievedly onto the desk filled the room and Lograve sighed. “I’ve played with it as much as I can but there’s no arrangement of the items that perfectly fits. Honestly, I’m close to either giving up or trying to break some to see if that does anything.”

  “Why just use items? Daniel is connected to Hunter. Hunter is connected to me, and he is pulling at me. Use me in your ritual.”

  “But that wouldn’t-“ Lograve’s words cut off mid sentence, and the desk was thrown to the side with all the force level 3 strength, with some level disparity, could muster. “You featherbrained genius! Get in the middle of the room. I’m contacting everyone sent with us and the Brants for the hell of it. I don’t know if this will work, but if it doesn’t,” Lograve said with the ghost of a smile, “Then at least it was your idea.”