Mat worriedly warned Spring about what George had told him the previous day.
“Great. That’s just what I need at the moment.” She had muttered.
The days passed by slowly, Mat never taking his eyes off Spring for more than a few minutes. When night came, they slept in the same bed, Mat holding onto her gently so as not to hurt her. He was terrified of Humphrey coming to finish the job.
Spring never left the room so she could Advance as soon as possible. The Toh rich environment was a great benefit to her, and to Mat and Sam; they were more worried about Spring, however. That isn’t to say they didn’t Cycle with her. Sam reached Ruby rank after two days, Mat reaching Sapphire only a few hours before. Spring, with her wound, needed longer to centre herself, so it took her three full days until she was finally able to reach Emerald.
“Are you ready?” Mat asked. Spring grinned at him.
“You don’t need to be so dramatic.” She teased. “I’ve done this before. It’ll be another walk in the park.”
Her voice was a little shaky, despite her words. Mat shared that. What if her arm didn’t regrow? What if they had taken too long and it was now permanent?
As Spring began the Advancement, her eyes glazed over and her body started shaking. Mat reached out and rested his hand on her chest.
“It’ll regrow.” Sam promised at his side. “There are no recorded cases of a limb not regrowing after Advancement.”
Mat hoped he was right.
***
Eritandellion had to cover the traces of his portal as he stepped through the multiverse. Light of every colour raged around him, but his Will held it back, keeping him safe. It took a few minutes to reach his destination, during which Eritandellion pulled out his new book. He had finished it by the time he arrived, slipping it back in his spatial storage.
Stepping out of the tear in the multiverse, he entered a huge domed room. It was so large that he couldn’t see any of the ends of it. He, like all the others were when they arrived, was in the direct centre of the room. Closing his eyes, he Willed himself to his seat. Sitting back comfortably, he waited for the meeting to start.
He wondered what it would be about this time. It had only been a thousand years since the last meeting. After hours, with which time Eritandellion napped during, the members had all arrived.
“Let’s begin.” A voice rang out.
“I’m concerned about the goings on of The Dominion.” A female voice declared. “They’re up to something. I don’t like it.”
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“If they are finally making a move against The Protectors,” The man’s voice mocked the last word, “then I say let them. If it is necessary, we can move in to finish them off.”
“No!” Eritandellion declared. “If we allow them to destroy The Protectors, countless worlds will fall.”
“And countless more will be freed. If we are discussing mere worlds being free, that could go on forever. You know there are some who believe the multiverse to be endless.”
Eritandellion was one of those people. Nobody had ever heard of a final universe. It kept going forever, as far as any knew. Still, some couldn’t see the cold truth – they were all just fish who came from puddles, not even ponds.
If millions of universes were eradicated, infinite more would remain. Out in the multiverse, there were likely several more factions that none knew of, and that knew of no others.
“Think it through.” Eritandellion commanded. “If we destroy both major societies keeping the multiverse together, it’ll be left to us to manage. We don’t have the resources for that.”
“Perhaps we would have more if somebody wasn’t so interested in growing their pet.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eritandellion asked.
“You spend too much time in Thelysium. If you are so concerned about resources, then you should be devoting far more time to this than a mere child.”
“You don’t understand. It’s necessary. I refuse to let that world die, no matter how much it tries to kill itself. Besides, I’m not fully involving myself. None of the Councils’ rules have been violated.”
Nobody in the room could say anything about that.
“I believe that the Dominion is trying to get their grubby hands on Thelysium. All I’m doing is preparing people to defend it in my absence.”
“Absence?” One of them asked.
“Yes. I can’t change anything, so I might as well leave my students with the ability to fend for themselves.”
“I see.” The woman replied. “This is an important revelation that must be thought upon. We will meet again soon.”
The room was quickly vacated, leaving only Eritandellion and Klaressi.
“Do you think you can save the world?” Klaressi asked. “That you can raise Celestium Ranked warriors without even being there?”
Eritandellion ran his hands down his face.
“For all of our sakes, we’d better hope so.”
***
The minutes slowly ticked by, feeling much more like hours. Mat held Spring's good arm tightly, trying to ground her in the real world. He could see that Spring’s arm was knitting itself back together gradually, the flesh literally reattaching itself. He felt some of his worry dissipate a little, and soon Spring opened her eyes, raising her arm slightly to make sure it still worked.
“See!” She exclaimed. “I told you everything would be okay.”
Before he could restrain himself, Mat grabbed her face and kissed her, all the relief he felt transferring in the one moment. He backed away, blushing deeply.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Mat said, laughing from relief.
***
Humphrey walked down the bare bones, poor staircase. The main staircase at home was much more beautiful and expensive.
He walked down the stairs and burst open the closest door, finding his mother knitting on a lavish armchair they had brought from home.
“Is something wrong my dear?” She asked.
“Yes!” He declared angrily. “Have you put a hit out on Spring?”
“Indeed I have. She disrespected you, meaning she disrespected the whole family. We can’t let this stand.”
“No!” Humphrey roared. “She’s mine.” A deep feeling of desire raged through his body. “She’s perfect. She’s beautiful. I need her. She will fully belong to me. All I need is more power.”
