Percy stood before the purple pentapus once again, this time wearing Gabe’s flesh. Depending on what the titan wanted from him, this meeting would either mark the end of this trip to the Vault, or its extension.

  “You’ve been quite busy lately. I trust that you’ve had a fruitful time in my world?” Metatron asked, a meaningful grin finding its way into his eyes.

  There were many fitting answers for that question, from Percy expressing his displeasure at constantly being spied upon, to pointing out that Metatron had benefited just as much, his army of two-cored test subjects having only grown larger and stronger thanks to Percy.

  “Indeed. Thank you for everything you’ve given me,” he ultimately said, opting to stick with respectful gratitude for now, seeing no reason to rub the pentapus’s suction cups the wrong way.

  Besides, he genuinely meant it. As cruel as Metatron was to the Vault’s residents, Percy couldn’t deny how much he had earned – not just during his latest visit, but ever since his first meeting with his current host. Pretending otherwise would be hypocritical.

  His balance was down to a hundred and thirty thousand credits after spending most of his earnings. Even so, he felt wealthier than ever before, itching to bring the latest batch of rewards back to his main body.

  “I’m glad to hear it, though I hope that your recent gains haven’t quelled your appetite. After all, they aren’t even worth mentioning compared to the opportunity that lies before us,” the god said.

  Percy was intrigued, though he tried to not let it show too much on his borrowed face.

  “If you just want to sell my ticket to the highest bidder and split the profits, you can cut through the chase. It’s not like I have a better use for it,” he tentatively offered.

  Metatron chuckled. “Sell it? And miss out on some of the greatest prizes in existence? What a terrible waste that would be…”

  Percy didn’t disagree with the god’s assessment, but what was the alternative?

  “Surely, you’re not planning to infiltrate the void tournament…?”

  He wasn’t looking down on the Vault or Metatron, but there was no denying the colossal gap between the artificial world – which didn’t even qualify as a true greater spring – and one of the top factions in the universe – matched only by the Moirai and Sixiang.

  Yet the titan didn’t seem fazed by his doubts in the slightest.

  “Not me,” he said, performing a gesture akin to a shrug. “It would be remiss of me to cut you out after all the trouble that you’ve gone through to open this rare door for us. Normally, this is the kind of collaboration that I would avoid bringing up until you officially join me, but you’ve already contributed plenty to this mission. Tell me, how would you feel about participating in another tournament? A much more competitive one?”

  Gabe’s features twisted into a strange expression as Percy regarded the god carefully. “Seriously? How would this even work? The tickets are only awarded to members of the Void Hand. You can’t expect them to let an outsider enter with a stolen ticket.”

  “Naturally not. Which is why we’ll be sending its legitimate owner – the very person who won it fairly and squarely. Well… as far as they can tell…”

  Percy frowned, not pleased with Metatron’s insinuation. He didn’t want to even look at his back-stabbing former host, let alone possess him again. However, that wasn’t even the biggest issue with the titan’s plan.

  “I’m still not seeing it. For argument’s sake, let’s say that I can work with Kassorith without throwing up and that we can make him powerful enough to fight people two grades above his own. How are we going to explain his sudden return?”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  The treacherous Blue had been at the height of his fame right after winning the regional tournament, only to vanish off the face of Thess’kala for years. To make matters worse, his fellow sect members were bound to have found half of Syrreneth’s mutilated body right where Percy had left it.

  “None of these obstacles are insurmountable. I admit that I’ve yet to flesh out the details, but we already have all the key components to make it happen: the participant, the ticket, and the escort,” Metatron explained.

  “The escort?”

  Metatron nodded. “The big guys with the horns that I’m sure you’ve seen around the Vault. Where do you think they’re from?”

  Percy gasped, having not expected that. “The Void Hand?”

  The glint in the titan’s eyes grew a touch sharper. “Indeed. They’re from Tauros – another lesser member of the alliance, not that different from Thess’kala. A few of their gods defected to the Vault a long time ago. I’ll have one of them bring you there.”

  “This still doesn’t add up…” Percy protested, creasing his host’s forehead. “Wouldn’t the tournament’s organizers know the faces of the gods who have betrayed them?”

  “That’s the best part, actually,” the titan said. “The Void Hand doesn’t even know that they’ve been betrayed. The top factions spy on each other all the time, and the Vault is no different. Many of my subordinates pretend to work for their worlds – at least those that haven’t been discovered and ousted yet – while secretly feeding me information. Going through with this will probably compromise one of them, but it’s a small price to pay.”

  “But why would a god from Tauros escort a Thess’kalan mortal?”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m sure your friend has mentioned that the Void Hand isn’t very united. There is internal strife in every major faction, especially a grand alliance of that size,” Metatron replied.

  “Doesn’t that make it even less likely for members of different species to work together?”

  The titan shook his head. “Internal strife brings about chaos, and chaos is something that we can easily exploit. The Void Hand’s members regularly bribe, kidnap or even assassinate promising talents from one another. It shouldn’t be too difficult to come up with a story that explains the Blue’s defection and the Violet’s death. Like I said, the exact plan isn’t finalized yet, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something airtight by the time we’re ready.”

  “How do you know that your gods are loyal to you?” Percy asked, seeing a potential flaw in the titan’s assumptions. “Maybe you’re the one being spied upon.”

  He didn’t doubt the deity’s craftiness or competence, but this was too serious a matter to dive head-first into without any assurances. If things went south, Percy could easily lose a clone – at best. At worst, he might end up provoking some terrible enemies.

  Luckily, Metatron didn’t appear to take offense at his question.

  “Caution is not a bad trait, Percy, but you’re a few eras too young to be sticking your nose into my affairs. If you must know, I hold so much leverage over their heads that none of them would dare double-cross me. I’ve also offered them resources that their home worlds can simply not provide. Just leave the details of the operation to me. I only need an answer from you.”

  “Alright. That settles the ‘how’, but not the ‘why’,” Percy said. “Are we doing all of this just to earn a few first-generation leaves?”

  “Leaves?” Metatron gave him an odd look, scratching his head with a tentacle as he seemingly considered what Percy meant. “Ah, right. I almost forgot that you’re searching for ways to extend your lifespan. I thought that you would have given up on becoming a god by now. Then again, that would have only made your finite time even more valuable.”

  Percy ignored the titan’s jab, latching onto something else. “What, do they give the winners anything better than the leaves?”

  Metatron examined him once more, his expression shifting to disbelief this time. “Kassorith didn’t tell you… I suppose that the topic didn’t come up, since you avoided mentioning his new core…”

  “Tell me what? What topic?”

  The titan sighed. “To answer your previous question first, I wouldn’t mind getting a couple of leaves to study if you can bring me some. I’ll even trade you something valuable for them. However, that isn’t our goal. I’m after the tournament’s main prize. Luckily, you don’t have to win the whole thing to earn it. If I’m not mistaken, reaching the quarterfinals should suffice.”

  Percy already had plenty of questions, but he allowed the titan to continue.

  “Long story short, there are only two Decrees in existence capable of granting a second core to a mortal. I obviously don’t have to tell you about the better of the pair, but there is only one way to get your hands on its cheaper imitation: through this very event.”

  Gabe’s mouth dried up. Percy wasn’t sure whether that was his doing or his host’s – who was naturally following the conversation – but this was the kind of prize that would get everyone’s blood boiling. Oblivious to his thoughts, the god spoke again.

  “It’s called the Void Decree.”

  Books 1 & 2 on at no extra cost, grab copies for your shelf, or listen to the audiobooks on .