Arthur barely noticed the slam of the door as Indigo left him alone with a rather annoyed Epyrth. His attention focused on cataloging the recent changes to the office.

While most things remained the same, there were two key differences that caught his eye: the so-called goddess and the view from the massive windows. His gaze flicked between the two as he connected them. Epyrth’s once-pristine suit showed signs of creasing, as though she’d worn it for days on end without a break. That, combined with her messy golden curls and the bags under her eyes, made her appear as though she’d done little more than catch the occasional quick nap at her desk.

Even being in the same room was a different experience. No longer did he want to cower as though prey before a predator who wanted lunch. While she didn’t feel like an equal, instead of abject awe, he was now wary of her the same way he would be of anyone in a position of power.

A flick of his eyes took him back to the window, and the sight dampened the goddess’s power in his eyes. Gone were the piles of treasure, mounds of gold, and chests of gemstones. Instead, a black void gaped there as though he stared in between the stars. It pulled at him, as though daring for him to jump into the abyss where’ he’d fall forever.

Occasionally, a twinkling light he recognized as coins would appear above the hole and fall, vanishing into the darkness to be consumed. A shudder ran through him as he watched it happen. Thoughts of his own hoard vanishing the same way ran through his mind.

“Stop staring!” Epyrth snapped the words; no traces of her professional tone remaining. “I didn’t keep you here to discuss that.”

“That’s true,” Arthur said, doing his best not to return to watching the lights that were consumed by the void. “We both know where it went anyhow.”

Epyrth flinched, and he resisted the urge to nod in agreement.

“And I thought my taxes would become a problem,” he thought to himself as he watched her.

She sat, eyes blank, even as she glanced towards the hole outside the window. A shimmer of sympathy ran through him at that, but he pushed it down. Her previous statement held merit. The loss of her earnings wasn’t what they had come to discuss.

When it became clear she wouldn’t say more, Arthur took it on himself to start the conversation. A cough brought her attention back to him.

“Then what shall we talk about instead? I’m assuming something important if you made Indigo leave.”

He saw the slight curl of her lip, even as she reached up to twirl a lock of her hair around her finger. The golden strand glimmered in the overhead lights before she released it with an annoyed sigh.

“That’s simple,” she said with a wave of her hand across the desk. “You’ve done me a great service, even if mostly by accident. That deserves a reward. I would like to offer you a place here, taking over as my secretary, as the role has recently become available.”

When he opened his mouth to answer, she held up a hand. “It comes with a multitude of perks, a generous pay packet, and my personal protection. Of course, because of the actions of your predecessor, the role will have more scrutiny than it once did. However, I believe you can handle yourself. The position is one of great honor, Arthur.”

He nodded, remembering Pydes saying much the same thing once before. For a moment, he allowed himself to envision doing the work. He’d sit in an office somewhere, answering phones and sending out messages, all at the beck and call of the CEO herself. No more needing to deal with city politics, nor needing to worry about running his own business. It would, in some ways, be back to the basics.

“You would have time to read on the job if you’d like. From everything he did while working, it seems the role will give you plenty of free time.”

A part of him seriously considered it. The role wouldn’t be much, and he could go back to where he started, but better. He could simply mind the front desk again, but this time with benefits he’d never gotten before. With a smile, he looked at her and gave his answer.

“No.”

“No?” The sneer was back; this time it reached her eyes.

Arthur nodded. “No. I’m not coming to work for you, so you can hide me away because of what I know. I’ll take the reward, but not to move to head office.”

Epyrth locked eyes with him, and he stared back. Arthur had sat along with her through Indigo’s extensive report, which detailed most of his exploits. As much as fear, anxiety, and pain had followed his exploits, there had been plenty of good times to go along with them. People he’d befriended and ideas he wanted to see implemented were back in his home world—too many to abandon now.

He wanted to help Carly get her mutation, to see Hulvin get what he deserved, and to walk past the repaired buildings. Besides, he enjoyed working for himself, as stressful as it could be. Even if it were a CEO, her offer would still put him as nothing more than another cog in a massive machine. No. His time working for someone else was over. He was his own man, his own dragon, and he would not leave his hoard of friends, gold, and buildings for her.

A snort sent plumes of smoke toward the ceiling as she leaned back in her chair.

“I know those eyes.”

“Oh?” Arthur asked, wishing he had a coin to play with as he watched her.

She nodded. “Yes. I once decided I would not be one of the peons, and now I’m here. You won’t work for me, no matter how nice the offer is. Which leads us into a fine mess.”

“Which would be?”

“You know too much.” Her eyes narrowed. “But I can’t do to you what I plan on doing to Wilth and Rathnil. No. Neither execution nor a power-stripped exile would work for you. People would talk, and from what Indigo said, some of your people have put the pieces together. They could talk to Pydes, and then it would be everywhere.”

Arthur resisted the urge to smile as he nodded. “And why are you so worried? What would even happen if people found out?”

“They might try to do the same thing! Do you know what would happen if everyone tried to be like me? I need people like you at the bottom, or the system fails!” Her breathing was heavy as she expelled even more smoke, which was sucked up by a fan in the ceiling.

“And what happens if it fails?” He asked. “If you can’t pay your debts?”

Epyrth leaned forward, her words coming out as cold as ice. “Then everything I built goes away. No more system, no more mall, no more anything. I will not have that happen. I’ve lost too much to this.”

At those words, her eyes flicked to the window. Arthur did the same, but he was thinking of something—or someone—else. The image of Augustus laying on the ground after sacrificing himself forced its way into his mind, and he balled his hands into fists. Pain radiated through him, and he tried not to let it show.

She was right. If it all fell apart, any sacrifice would have been pointless, and he refused for that to happen. His eyes flicked over to her as she continued to stare out the window. While he wouldn’t let the system fall, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make sure she paid out the nose for what Augustus had done for her and for them all.

“I think we understand each other well enough,” Arthur said. “Now then, oh Mother of Dragons, Goddess of Trade, let’s make a deal to get us out of this mess.”

***

Arthur noticed she sat up straighter as a thrum of power filled the room.

A shiver ran up his spine as he watched the way she focused entirely on him now, her expression all business. With a smooth motion, she reached down and pulled out a set of papers from a desk drawer. He could see they were blank, though, as she traced a finger across them that changed. Before his eyes, a letterhead appeared, though in a language he couldn’t read.

“What deal could you offer me?” Her words were formal, almost polite, as she drew the letterheads on more of the paper. “I will not give you what Rathnil and Wilth wanted. Don’t even start there. Even if I had the power, I wouldn’t.”

Arthur paused, blinking as he thought it over. Then he shook his head. A promotion to do what she did wouldn’t solve any of the problems he had with taking over Wilth’s old position. He’d still be working for someone else in the end. No, he had a better idea.

“You’re in luck, then. I don’t want it.”

Her eyes narrowed as she finished with the papers in front of her. “You don’t? Why not?”

“Why would I?” Arthur asked. “It seems like a lot of work with little gain in the end.”

At his words, they both looked over at the window as another segment of coins poured into the void. Each vanished without leaving even a trace of light behind.

“So what do you want, then? I’m not exactly willing to let you run around with all my secrets.”

Arthur smiled. “I have a few different demands—nothing you haven’t proven capable of before. You fulfill those, and no one needs to know what I know.”

“And what’s stopping you from running your mouth off at the mall during your next visit?” She asked.

“Simple. I want to order from the mall remotely. A better system anyway. It saves me from needing to spend so much time running around, and it means I can delegate if I need to.”

“Done.”

One paper flared with light, and she turned it for him to see. This time English covered it, with a simple form designating his demands about the mall and the way the system would work. He skimmed it over, satisfied to see he, or anyone he designated, could purchase stock through any PC he had access to.

“Works for me,” Arthur nodded. “Now onto my next demand. Real-estate.”

“I can’t fix the entire city for you.” Epyrth said immediately, her arms folded in front of her.

He waved her words away. “I don’t expect you to, but you can manage a single building, right?”

“Sure.”

“Then there is a skyscraper I’d like you to refurbish for me. I have someone I can give the decorations to, but I want it fully furnished with the best you can provide.”

Epyrth nodded slowly. Her finger traced over the form with clear hesitation, a fact that made Arthur almost reconsider his next words.

“And I want heavy discounts on any building equipment and supplies purchased through your subsidiaries.”

“Oh, you have to be kidding me,” Epyrth said, and her finger stopped dead on the page. “I’m not allowing you to cut into my profits like this.”

Arthur shrugged. “I have a lot of city to rebuild. A city that your people destroyed, might I add? You can pay for some of it. I’m thinking of an eighty percent discount.”

“Please. Twenty.”

“Seventy.”

“Thirty.”

“Sixty-five, and that’s as low as I’m going,” Arthur said as he folded his arms.

Epyrth looked down at the page and nodded. “Fine. Fine! Anything else?”

“System perks,” Arthur mimed, tapping at a screen. “I want all of them.”

“Absolutely not,” Epyrth scoffed.

“Fine. How many will you give me?”

She grinned at him. “Two extra perk points a level.”

“With how leveling slows down?” He waved her away. “I want all the basic stuff unlocked.”

The way she gritted her teeth as she nodded made him sure that pushing further wasn’t a great idea.

“Done.”

Three more sheets added themselves to the pile, and then she started a new one. This one went quickly, and she flipped it around to let him read it. He did, surprised by the simplicity of it. Her demands for everything that he wanted turned out to be few.

1. He wasn’t allowed to leave his world.
2. He wasn’t to divulge anything he knew to anyone new and was to keep his people away from inter-dimensional travel, if possible.
3. Failure to comply with keeping her secrets would result in a messy, public death and the stripping of everything he had.

An ornate pen appeared in her hand, and she gestured to the bottom of the page before she handed it over.

“Sign.”

Her tone was curt, but he didn’t pay it much mind as he signed on the dotted line. When he finished, she took the papers and did the same. With a puff of flame, she burned them, and they turned into multicolored smoke that flew out of the room.

“My legal team will look over them and make sure everything is in order. However, there is one last thing we need to discuss before you leave.”

“And that would be?” Arthur asked, already both wanting and dreading the return home.

He needed to talk to Dr. Muriler about Augustus. The rat doctor had known him longer than Arthur had, and it felt right for him to be the one to tell him. Not to mention, he would bet people would be panicking that he’d vanished even while they celebrated not being destroyed.

“This shouldn’t take long. It’s about Rathnil and Wilth and what will happen to them.”

“What about them?” He asked as he repressed a shiver.

The way she’d mentioned those names reminded him of people talking about squashing bugs. There was no doubt in his mind that whatever she would do would be cruel. Not that he cared much for their plight. No. What concerned him was the obvious statement in all of this—double cross me and you’ll be next.

“I wanted your input on what happens to Wilth. Rathnil is too dangerous to live, and from Indigo’s reports, you’ll be happy to know he’s going to be dealt with.” A smile crossed her face, and her tone left him no doubt in his mind about what would happen to the purple-scaled dragon.

“Though, from what he was saying during my fight with Wilth, he might welcome it,” he thought before asking his next question.

“And Wilth?”

Her dark chuckle resonated around the room. “That is where I would like your opinion, if possible. He played me, Arthur. He betrayed me for a power he didn’t deserve. His punishment needs to be more than a swift end. Plus, I’m not the only one he hurt. Thus, I hoped, you might be more than willing to lend a hand by hearing me out.”

“Oh?” Arthur asked, not sure what else to say.

Epyrth smiled, showing off an impressive set of fangs. “Wilth wanted power and control. For too long, he used his position as my aid to lord it over others. Time at the bottom away from the multiverse and my powers will do him some good. The question is where to put him.”

“I have a place in mind,” Arthur said, showing off his own draconic smile. “Does the store I left so abruptly still need someone to watch the desk?”

That earned him a laugh as she pulled up a screen and checked around. After a few seconds, she nodded and flicked the screen away.

“You know what, Arthur? That, I can arrange.”