Jason had gone through a change since Danielle had last seen him in Greenstone, yet many of the hallmarks were the same. He was noticeably taller, although still short by adventurer standards. His features had the usual smoothing out that came with rank, although his chin was still prominent under the neatly cropped beard. The wavy hair was still the same, black and glossy to the point of reflecting the dim light shining from the tunnel.

The big difference was in his eyes. They were the same glowing nebulas that had chased part of her group back up the shaft, and the single eye of the guardian creature floating by the door. It left no question as to whom the power guarding this place belonged.

That power tied into the supernatural changes Danielle saw in Jason, far more drastic than the physical ones. His aura was more powerful than anything Danielle had ever sensed in a silver-ranker; probably as strong as her own. More arresting than the raw power of it was the way it blended into the ambient magic of their surroundings.

Admittedly, the whole area was permeated with what she now recognised as Jason’s aura, but it was hard to tell where he ended and his surroundings began. Danielle had seen that before, from the Mirror King. Jason’s technique was definitely lesser but, to Danielle’s knowledge, the Mirror King was the most skilled aura master in the world. Being on the same scale as him would be a triumph for a gold-ranker. Doing so at silver was simply monstrous.

The group watched in silence as Jason made his slow passage down the long hallway. Occasionally someone would stir, as would the guardian creature floating in the doorway. Danielle cast the occasional glance at the diamond-rankers up the front, but they seemed content to wait.

“That’s him?” Gwydion asked in a whisper.

“That’s him,” Danielle confirmed.

“I think he might like to make an entrance more than my dad.”

As Jason was about to reach the shaft, Danielle was suddenly aware of a new presence nearby. The entire group felt the sudden rise in power, divine in strength and heinously corrupt in nature. The group scattered to the walls of the shaft, even the diamond-rankers, leaving the god of Undeath alone.

Danielle looked over the god. He was tall and corpse-pale, with dead eyes and limp, grey hair. There was a faint glow of purple in his milky corpse eyes, only visible in the darkness of the shaft. Jason wandered right up to the god, who was half again Jason’s height, and continued eating his sandwich.

“You devoured my avatar,” Undeath accused Jason. The god’s voice had the grinding quality of stone closing over a tomb. Jason held up one finger in a pausing gesture as he chewed his food.

“Do not try denying it,” Undeath warned Jason. “I can feel what you turned my power into.”

“You’re the one who left it sitting around,” Jason said after swallowing. “Things would have been a lot easier if you hadn’t chucked a bunch of your power in there with us. A lot was going on in there and having to clean up after you did not simplify things.”

“You have made powerful enemies here, Asano,” the god said. Just the sound of his voice made Danielle feel like she was being buried alive but Jason showed no sign of being intimidated by the figure looming over him.

“Maybe,” Jason suggested, “you and the god of Destruction should take a step back. Reassess things. Take a look at who won and who lost here, and start worrying about the enemy you’ve made.”

With one hand occupied by a glass of fruit juice, Jason gripped his half-eaten sandwich in his teeth to free up the other. He wiped his hand on his shirt and plucked a glowing purple marble from his pocket. Danielle felt a hideous power from it, an echo of that coming from the god. Jason tossed the marble up and the god caught it.

“You think tribute will spare you from my ire?” the god asked.

Jason took the sandwich out of his mouth.

“I just didn’t want it sitting around,” he said. “You know what renovating is like. You find a bunch of nasty stuff laying around and you get a guy in to chuck it all out. So, now that you’ve collected the garbage, your invitation to this domain is rescinded. Get out of my house, Steve.”

The god lingered for a moment, glaring at Jason, then was gone as if he’d never been.

“That guy sucks,” Jason announced to the room and cast his gaze over the people gathered around the edge of the shaft.

“Okay,” he called out. “My friend Shade will start approaching people. If he offers to take you inside, follow him. If he doesn’t, go away. I think you all know what not going away means, but let’s not make things any more unpleasant than necessary.”

Shadows started moving and Danielle realised that Jason’s shadowy familiar had been there the whole time. Far more numerous than before, and now able to hide from her senses, despite her own rank-up since last seeing the familiar. The shadows were barely perceptible in the dim light coming from the tunnel until they started partly glowing white. This made them more visible, as well as reflecting a design she found familiar.

Back in Greenstone, Jason had proven something of a social butterfly, particularly at the symphony. In typical Jason style, he’d foregone local formalwear fashion, although she could not blame him when she’d seen Greenstone fashion for herself. She recalled that he’d had one of the Bertinelli brothers make something based on designs from Jason’s homeworld. Her excellent gold-rank memory threw out the word ‘tuxedo.’

“Did he just call the god of Undeath ‘Steve?’” Gwydion whispered.

“Yes,” Danielle said.

“Why?”

“You’ll come to learn that, with Jason, it pays to let the incongruities pass.”

Danielle was not surprised that the first people Shade approached were the two most powerful diamond-rankers. She was a little surprised that they were old acquaintances.

“Lord Velius; Lady Raythe. If you would follow me, please.”

“Shade,” Velius said. “It’s been some time.”

“Indeed, Lord Velius. I was rather caught up in something your master had taken from the Builder and had been left long-abandoned.”

“I heard you’d been betrayed by your summoner. An unbecoming affair. You know it was Umber who—”

“I am quite aware, Lord Velius. Perhaps we shall talk as I show you around Mr Asano’s newest spirit domain. Lady Raythe?”

“Thank you, Shade,” she acknowledged and followed the familiar as he led them towards the tunnel.

Other Shade bodies approached others and likewise led them in that direction. After the god of Undeath left when told, no one else was stupid enough to think they knew better. Those that remained were mostly Adventure Society and Magic Society representatives, along with adventurers connected to those who went on the expedition with Jason.

Jason himself shadow jumped in the gloom, appearing in front of Danielle and Gwydion. He ignored the people watching them as he flashed Danielle a smile before turning to Gwydion.

“We haven’t met, but you remind me of someone,” Jason said.

“That was the god of Undeath, right?” Gwydion asked.

“Yep,” Jason confirmed.

“Why did you call him ‘Steve?’”

“I was concerned he would turn himself into a sexy version of himself called Stefan.”

“Funny you should say that. I was spying on some Undeath priests once when their god appeared before them,” Gwydion said. “He was a lot less growly and corpsy with his own people. Had kind of a handsome dad feel to him.”

“The god didn’t notice you spying?” Jason asked.

“Oh, he noticed,” Gwydion said with a laugh. “I was chased very far.”

Jason laughed with him as Danielle shook her head.

“You remind me of someone,” Jason said to Gwydion. “You’re more relaxed than the person I’m thinking of, but you have the same obnoxious level of handsomeness. Where did you get your training?”

“My family runs a school,” Gwydion said, his expression turning confused at Jason’s triumphant grin.

Jason shoved his drink and sandwich into his storage space and replaced them with a filled shot glass in each hand instead. He held one out for Danielle and kept the other for himself, looking at her expectantly. She held it in her fingers, rolling her eyes after reading the words printed on it. She gave Jason a look dripping with reluctant motherly indulgence, but still joined him as they drained their glasses in a gulp. Her face immediately took on a pinched expression.

“Oh, that is sickly sweet,” she complained. “I see there are ways you still haven’t changed, Jason.”

“Can someone please explain what’s going on?” Gwydion asked.

Danielle held out her now-empty glass so he could see the words ‘my family runs a school’ printed on the side.

“That,” Gwydion said, “leaves me with more questions, not fewer.”

“Allow me to introduce Jason Asano,” was Danielle’s only explanation. “Jason, you’ve clearly noted the family resemblance, but allow me to introduce Gwydion Remore.”

Jason chuckled as he took the empty glass from Danielle and stowed it with his own, back into his inventory. Now with his hands free, he held out one for Gwydion to shake.

“G’day mate.”

“A delight to meet you,” Gwydion said. “I must say, I wasn’t sure what to expect after all the rumours, but-”

“Excuse me,” a man cut into their conversation. He was gold-rank, but plainly through monster core use from his aura. Danielle and Gwydion shared a look of surprise while Jason just looked annoyed. Seemingly oblivious to their reaction, the man continued.

“You’re obviously ignorant of my identity as your servant has approached several people before me, but I can assure you that-”

He made a gurgled sound as his aura was crushed, not by Jason but by the ambient magic as it became significantly less placid. The man then shot up the shaft as if fired from a cannon.

“I think it’s me,” Jason said. “I think I attract them. Did that guy not see me tell the god of Undeath to sod off? And have him actually do it?”

He shook his head, the good mood gone from his expression. He gestured absently and a soul realm portal arch rose from the floor.

“I’m on a bit of a clock and have to go see some people out here, but I’ll send you into my soul realm to see your families.”

Danielle and Gwydion looked over the portal.

“This isn’t a normal portal,” observed Danielle, whose dimension essence left her extremely familiar with dimensional forces. “Where does it go?”

“My soul.”

Her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Really?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that. I do have to go, though.”

She shrugged and stepped through. Gwydion only hesitated a moment before following. The portal closed and a normal shadow portal appeared in its place. Jason stepped through, leaving people either standing around or being led through the large door by Shade. One of the men standing around looked at his friend.

“Reks, I don’t think we’re getting in.”

“No kidding.”

“Do you think the god of undeath’s name is really Steve?”

“No, Daniel. The god of undeath’s name is Undeath.”

“What if that’s more like a title?”

“You think his name is secretly Steve, Lord of Undeath?”

“It would explain why he just uses the title. You think that’s worse than Undeath, the god of undeath?”

“I’ll concede that’s not great, but yes, I do think it’s worse. You’re positing that all of the gods secretly have different names but are embarrassed about them?”

“I always imagined the goddess of wind as a Susan.”

“Susan?”

“It’s got that wooshing sound. SOO-san. Like the wind.”

“This conversation is going to get us both killed. Probably by the god of idiocy.”

“What do you think of Steve as a name for the god of idiocy?”

“I thought the idea was that Undeath’s real name was Steve.”

“There can be more than one Steve.”

***

Lorenn had been roaming through the new brightheart home, gathering her people together. It consisted of three main areas, one being the growth chambers in which she had awoken. A network of interconnected chambers, they were part hanging gardens, part water source and part orchard. The edible vegetables, fruit and fungus they produced would exceed the needs of the diminished brightheart population.

 There were animals, mostly birds and insects, as there had been before. She was pleasantly surprised they had made the transition from city to transformation zone and back. The growth chambers, especially these new ones, would have felt alien without their presence.

The second part of their new home was made up of chambers taking full advantage of the natural array. Where the growth chambers used the array for light and temperature regulation, these functional chambers employed it for more practical purposes. This included forges, hot springs, ceramic workshops and even quarries where high-quality stone was not just available but grew back like plants.

The final and most central part of the new subterranean realm was the main city. Lorenn had finally wandered into it while exploring their new realm, finding it the only place not teeming with life. It was made up of mostly stone in many varieties, from granite and sandstone to marble and quartz. The other main material was metal, also in various iterations.

There were some signs of life she found as she walked through the empty streets. She wasn’t entirely alone, with scattered members of her people also exploring the space. Some were gathering into groups while others remained solitary. Lorenn greeted everyone she met, sometimes moving with people until they formed groups of their own, but mostly moved alone.

She wandered through parks with ponds and plant life far more spread out than in the growth chambers. Little animals rustled through the bushes and skipped over the grass. She encountered an entire canal district where she could see fish swimming through the clear waters.

Unlike the growth chambers, there was no illusion of not being underground. Light came not dappling through jungle canopy but from two orbs of white fire, moving slowly across a ceiling two kilometres up.

The other thing dominating the skyline was a massive spherical building, suspended in the air. A single column held it up from below while a second affixed it to the ceiling above. The round building was reminiscent of the citadel, one of the most important buildings in the old brightheart city. It was not a recreation, however, the original building being a centuries-old mess. This was clean, new, and organised, with fresh stone and neat design. The exterior was covered with windows, balconies and landing platforms, with what looked like high-capacity air skimmers parked on them.

The city was not what the brightheart home had been, but this was no surprise. Aside from the citadel and one growth chamber, Jason Asano had only seen it in ruins, overrun by undead. It was no surprise that he’d not recreated the brightheart home but his own idea of it. Lorenn was grateful for what he’d done, but this was not the home she’d lost. She hoped that it would become home in time.

Her wanderings brought her to the base of the column leading up to the new citadel. It was made of white marble, streaked with grey. Archways were set into the column at even points, each containing a large elevating platform.

“I know the old citadel was in a separate chamber,” Jason said, startling her. She looked to find him standing beside her.

“Thank you,” she said. “This is more than we could have asked for.”

“But not what you lost,” Jason told her. “I can’t replace what was taken from you.”

“What about all the undeath energy?” she asked. “I know you dealt with the god’s avatar, but what about the energy from…”

She paused with a grimace.

“…from the city full of dead people. Before the transformation zone, almost everything was tainted. Many zones stayed that way, even after the priests and their avatar were dealt with.”

“I got rid of it,” Jason said. “It’s not coming back.”

“How?”

“I gave it to the god of undeath.”

Lorenn took several steps back from Jason, glaring at him with anger.

“You gave that power to him? After what he and his people did to us?”

“That power needed to go. Giving it to him was the only way to excise it cleanly. I could have destroyed it, but that would have left a mark. A taint on this place that is meant to be a new start for your people.”

“And a taint on this new territory of yours. Because that’s what this place is, isn’t it? Under everything, it belongs to you.”

“Yes.”

They stared at each other, Jason’s expression neutral. Lorenn’s was a mix of anger, hope and fear.

“I’d like to take you up into the citadel and show you around,” Jason said, “but I lack the time. There are a couple of things we need to talk about, like the people from the surface coming here. I’ve done my best to protect this place but people far stronger than I will take an interest in you now. You will need to decide how your people are going to handle diplomatic relations.”

“I don’t think we’re ready for that.”

“It’s been my experience that the world doesn’t care if you’re ready. There is one thing I should show you though, even if I can’t offer the full tour. We should go directly since I don’t have time to take the elevating platforms.”

He opened up a shadow portal and stepped through.