Jason thought he would never endure pain as prehensive as the Builder’s atta his soul. The ic Throne proved him to be profoundly mistaken. His true body was now aire universe, and only an avatar had sat ohrone. Even so, the agony was mind-bnking. He awoke, face down ohrone room’s grimy floor, having tumbled off the throne and dowairs of the dais.

  “Is it done?” he mao croak out.

  “It is done,” Raythe said.

  Jason rolled onto his back with a groan, then pushed himself to a sitting position. He looked around and saw that all the great astral beings were gone. Only Raythe remained, but her aura made clear that she was no longer possessed. The only other people in the room were Jason’s familiars and the avatar of the tree city.

  “How long was I out?” he asked.

  “That is plicated,” Raythe said. “We are at the boundary of reality and uy, where time is subjective at best and arguably does at all.”

  “Okay, that’s the long answer. Is there a short one?”

  “Approximately seven hours, if we leave this pce soon,” Shade said.

  “Which I highly reend,” Raythe said. “The time here is synised with your universe while this castle is still ected to it, which it will only be for a short amount of subjective time. It would be best if you don’t arrive ba your universe a year from now. Or a year before now. You don’t have to rush out the door, but don’t tarry lohan you o recover.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be doing any rushing,” Jason said. “The great astral beings didn’t gather dust, though, did they?”

  “When it was do was done,” Raythe said. “There was no purpose in lingering.”

  “They didn’t draw anything on my face before they left, did they?”

  “No.”

  Jason groaned again as he got unsteadily to his feet.

  “That shook my soul like it was a snow globe. Did it have any impay domains? More importantly, the people in them?”

  “No. It was your mortal aspect that was ie to ehe task. Your transdent aspect is a universe and soak up a few spiritual tremors.”

  “That’s good.”

  He winced as he rubbed his temples with the heels of his hand.

  “I don’t suppose you know a good hangover cure.”

  “For the backsh of setting the atus quo for the os while still mortal? I’m afraid you’ll o ride that o, Jason Asano.”

  “How bad did I mess it up?”

  “The great astral beings are satisfied. That is as much as any could ask from you, and more than we expected.”

  “All of them are satisfied? Or a motion-passing plurality, with the rest looking to hunt me down for revenge.”

  “The nameless are unhappy, as they would be with anything short of plete iarchy. They will not seek you out. The others are satisfied.”

  “Even the World-Phoenix?”

  “It would seem that the restoration of the thro a atus quo based on things as they were at the moment of restoration. The World-Phoenix in its current state is now its new baseline.”

  “Winners all around, then. Now, what did I get wrong?”

  “Wrong is not the right word. There were ges, and not all from you. After sundering the throhe great astral beings pced strictures on the ic order, to maintain stability. They are now releasing those strictures.”

  “Any of them I o know abht now?”

  “Not from what they have done.”

  “Meaning there’s something I did that I o know about.”

  “You will be able to se once your soul recovers from the shock. The throne could never be restored to what it art of you was imprinted upon it. An echo of you, spread across the os.”

  “Did I just make Airwolf real in every universe?”

  “No. You made your interface avaible to everyoh essences or the potential to get them.”

  “Huh. Is that with all the special features?”

  “Not as a default. It allows for people to view their own information and nothing more, but that has already started to ge. Species gift evolutions and even essence abilities are expanding the base effects, just as yours did.”

  “How did the os spring this on people? Just windows popping up in front of them?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did everyone freak out?”

  “Surprise was a oion, yes.”

  “Hoeople died?”

  “The interface, or the System, as it’s calling itself, appeared to wait for a moment of safety before revealing itself to individuals.”

  “So, no traffic acts because a window popped up in people’s faces?”

  “I won’t say there weren’t mishaps, but most of the deaths came from reas to the System, not the System itself. Religious furore, superstition. Mass killings to keep the new power from teag things to oppressed members of society.”

  Jason hung his head.

  “I got people killed, then.”

  “You may have reshaped the os, Asano, but do not sider yourself so grand as to own tribalism, greed and prejudice. People are responsible for their own as, and ignorance will take any excuse it get. I shouldn’t o tell you that.”

  “I suppose not.”

  Jason turo look down the hallway out.

  “We should probably head bay universe, right? I feel this pce detag itself.”

  ***

  Miles Cotezee, a senior Adventure Society official, hurried through the Vitesse campus of the Magic Research Association. The always busy grounds were even more so than normal in the wake of what had just happened. Fortunately, Vitesse had not fallen into chaos. It took more than an illusionary window that told you your essence advao upset the cart. In a major adventuring city, it was just the test oddity in a world full of bizarre events. If anything, it was refreshing that the new magic thing wasn’t actively trying to kill them.

  The nature of this new ‘System’ was not pletely alien to members of the majanisations in Vitesse and around the world. No small amount of analysis had been dedicated to Jason Asano’s abilities and the System was swiftly lio him. As such, the Adventure Society had deployed Miles to seek out Clive Standish.

  Miles had worked with Clive, Belinda and Sophie whehree of them were trag a portal magietwork the Builder cult had used. That was at a time when Asano was believed dead and their team was scattered in various pursuits.

  Standish had been silver rank when Miles worked with him, and was best known as a team member of Danielle Geller’s son. Things were very different now. From revealing the impending messenger invasion to building a rival to the Magic Society, Standish was well and truly famous in his ht.

  In just a handful of years sis iion, the Magical Research Association had exploded into prominence. While the Magic Society leveraged its researd secrets for political power, the MRA gave open access to records and research libraries. Many of the most promi academics tio side with the Magic Society for the greater personal gain. The MRA was, instead, a bastion for young, bold and innovative researchers.

  The openness of the research association plundered patrohat once would have goo the Magic Society. pared the society h their knowledge for political gain, anisations fuhe MRA knowing the results would be freely avaible. Gover authorities, the Adventure Society and a variety of Churches, especially that of Knowledge, all tributed. More than just funding, they were a shield against the Magic Society as it tried to crush its upstart rival.

  The future of the MRA looked bright, despite the Magic Society’s best efforts. They were already closely associated with the new sky unicatiowork, and there were rumours of a transportatiowork being quietly researched. This was the result of years of study into the same work Clive had been trag years earlier.

  Miles and Clive had remained friendly over the years, making him the natural person to send when the Adventure Society wanted something from Clive and his association. The MRA campus was swarming with people in the wake of what had happened, but Miles was a known factor. He ehe administration building and managed fight his way to Clive’s office through only a minimum of bureaucrati around.

  Miles ted nine people gathered in the spacious outer office. This included Clive’s assistant, Jeff, at his desk. Miles reised a few upper-eembers of the association, plus members of various other societies, associations and institutes. They were standing in sileh unfortable expressions on their faces. Miles realised why when moans of pleasure emahrough the closed door of the inner office.

  “Oh, yeah. That’s the stuff,” Clive’s voice came through the door. “I’ve been waiting for this for so long. Knowing I could do this and having it deo me was torturous. It’s like something that’s bee up for years has started gushing out of me.”

  Miles moved up to Jeff.

  “Who is he in there with?”

  “I have no idea, Mr Cotezee,” Jeff said. “No one came through this way, so they must have portalled in. His wife, maybe?”

  “Have you ever seen her?” Miles said. “The Adventure Society has been trying to identify her for years.”

  “No, I’ve just heard his friends talking about her, and he doesn’t like it when they do.”

  Jeff leaned in closer.

  “I don’t think the marriage is in the best shape,” he said in a spiratorial whisper. “They don’t seem to spend a lot of time together, and I’ve heard, she’s quite… free with her affes.”

  Aed noise came from the inner office.

  “Oh, wow! I didn’t think so much would e out just from rubbing the shaft!”

  Miles and Jeff shared a look until Clive’s door burst open and he emerged holding a magical staff. Sparks were streaming out from a metal cup set into the end.

  “Jeff! Get someone from the Item Catalogue Department over here. They wildly miscategorised what this thing does. And see if you find out where my party members are. I think we’ll be getting together soon.”

  Clive finally seemed to notice all the people, panning his gaze over them unhappily.

  “Yes, this was Jason,” he told them. “No, I don’t know how. Yes, I have guesses; no, I won’t tell you what they are. Now, all of you go away.”

  “Archcellor Standish, I o talk to about — AARGH!”

  The woman who spoke was sucked through a hole that appeared in the in the ceiling in a rush of air. Miles saw her hurtling skyward before the hole closed again. Clive swept bato his offid smmed the door as most of the others scrambled to leave. Only Miles and Jeff remained, looking up at the ceiling.

  “She was silver rank,” Miles observed. “She’ll be fine, right?”

  “The archcellor has the nding zone fenced off so no os nded on. I ’t believe he had all this installed and hasn’t gotten around to an automated privacy s.”

  ***

  Anna Tilden was in the home office of her New York apartment, looking out over tral Park. She was listening to her assistant, Michael Aram, as he summarised a report.

  “…firmed to be non-synous. That suggests there is an intelligence behind this ‘System,’ and that this intelligence is either benevolent or sees some be in minimising casualties from the event.”

  “But there were casualties.”

  “Most are reted to reas to the event, rather than the event itself. The death toll is surprisingly low, with stress-induced heart attacks being the main culprit.”

  “Small mercies. No bonus points fuessing who the intelligence behind this is. Have you formally firmed it?”

  “We’ve reached out to multiple tacts who have experienced Jason Asano’s interface. The formatting of the interface matches their recall exactly. It’s him, Ma’am.”

  Anna ran her hands over her tired face.

  “Remore was right,” she said. “If anything, he was uating it. When Asano es back — and we have to assume he will now, this world is going to ge. I want the transcripts of every word Remore is known to have uttered since arriving on this p, along with the test analysis on Boris Ketnd and the Taika Williams debrief files.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. And, if I may say, the world already has ged.”

  “I suppose so. Everyone oh who’s hit puberty just got a taste of magic.”

  “It’s more fual than that, Ma’am. This System will ge the way whole ses of societies operate. As an example, the ability to accurately assess one’s own dition will ge the faedie. A number of online diagnostic websites and alternative health anisations are assembling a css a suit against the Asano .”

  “It hasn’t even been a day.”

  “No, Ma’am.”

  “Who do they even io serve? The Asano have been buried under vampire territory for half a decade. We don’t know if they’re alive or dead.”

  “I believe they io serve the Japanese Asano , residing in Asano Vilge in Australia.”

  “I thought they and Jason had some kind of feud.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Speaking of vampires, do we know if this affected them?”

  “Not firmed, Ma’am, although early reports suggest no. It seems that the vampires are learning that something happeo the humans from their feeding stock.”

  “They’re people, Aram. Not feeding stock.”

  “Sorry, Ma’am.”

  “What do you think will happen with the vampires when Asaurns?”

  “Analysts have produced a number of potential sarios, Ma’am, but they are all wildly specutive due to ck of information. They’re basically saying it’s anyone’s guess.”

  “Then what’s yuess? You’ve met him.”

  “Ma’am, I oched a bronze-rank Jason Asano fight a silver rao a no-score draw. That was two ranks ago, minimum, and before he ged how the world works. If I were a vampire living on top of the nd Asano gave his family, I’d be looking into the viability of ising Mars.”

  “But Asano’s power hasn’t recimed his former territory?”

  “Not as of the st report I saw, Ma’am. That came in around two ho.”

  “Alright. Go get me those materials.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  He turo leave, but stopped at the door and turned around.

  “Ma’am, if Asano has the power to do this to everyone in the world, why ’t he restore his domains?”

  “I suspect that he . That leads me to the question of why he hasn’t.”