PftA Book 4 - Chapter 49 - Entering the Rift

Moving to a new apartment took hardly any effort at all. Within an hour, my new ‘residence’ was already set up, including the anchor that would allow me to link a hidden micro-portal when I was inside my demesne.

Setting up the anchor had actually taken more time than everything else combined. It wasn’t because the anchor was inherently difficult to create, it was because I took great lengths to ensure the micro-portal would be as hidden as possible.

I didn’t want some other Space Mage to recognize what I’d done, even if they wouldn’t be able to follow me back into my demesne. I really was almost like a god in my little private dimension.

Aside from the occasional break to teach a class or eat a meal with family, I spent most of the next two weeks taking advantage of the extreme time dilation of my demesne to pick apart Bell’s draft time-travel formation.

Something about it continued to nag at me, but after a thorough review, I still couldn’t find anything to justify my unease. Since I knew that Bell would not accept my vague sense of worry as a reason to delay any longer, I begrudgingly approved the design and sent the blueprint back to my sister-in-law.

I knew that she’d start work on the formation right away. Though her stated goal was to use it within a year, I knew Bell enough to know that she wouldn’t wait a moment longer than necessary.

I was honestly a little surprised she’d waited for me to escape from the rift in the first place. Her original working design would have probably worked without my input, though the soul damage would have been much more significant.

But I didn’t get the sense that Bell cared much about that.

“It’s good?” Bell asked excitedly as soon as the call connected.

The incoming call had automatically altered the time dilation in my demesne, so I no longer had as much time to prepare for my delve as I expected.

“It’s as good as it’s going to get,” I told her before adding, “I still feel like I’m missing something important, but I can’t figure out what it is.”

“But it will work without outright killing me,” Bell said.

“It should,” I said, hedging a little.

“Awesome. I’m going to get started on it while you do your thing with the manipulator,” she said. I could hear the smile in her voice. “We can schedule the activation for after you finish the delve. You were still going to have a Soul Healer on hand, right?”

“That was the plan,” I agreed, feeling pit of dread at the thought of the soul damage she’d experience. The pain wasn’t something I’d wish on my worst enemies.

Kill them? Sure. But soul damage was just torturous. Hopefully, she’d be mostly recovered by the time her soul shard was absorbed into her past self.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take one last vacation before you use it?” I asked. “We could go see the rest of the Alliance worlds… see what they have to offer?”

It was a long shot, and I already knew what she’d say.

“No. Why don’t we take a vacation after I heal? I’m sure I’ll want something to take my mind off the fact that the me still here has to move on.”

I frowned, but couldn’t really argue the point. Thankfully, we were just on a voice call, so my sister-in-law didn’t see my expression.

“We can discuss plans when I finish the delve. It should only take a few days, so don’t get impatient. I’ll be back in time to help you with the Time runes. You still wanted me to craft those, right?”

“No. I was actually thinking it would be better for me to do it all myself. I’ve got the Time crystal you gave me. It should have plenty of mana for the enchanting process, especially since I’ll be diluting the mana to match the rest of the reagents.”

Once again, I found myself struggling to come up with an articulate argument to her point. Having a single Enchanter craft the whole item was always going to be better than having multiple, especially when the person in question was so intricately tied to the intent behind the formation.

But I still wanted to be useful. I didn’t like being told that my assistance wasn’t necessary, even if it was the better option.

“Okay, then. Just don’t rush. Take your time.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know, Mom,” Bell said jokingly. “I’m going to get started. Be safe on your delve!”

Before I could reply, Bell cut the connection. I wasn’t worried about her using the formation before I returned. Unless something went drastically wrong in the rift, I’d be out in a few days. It would take a few weeks – minimum – for Bell to finish the formation, and that was if she worked on it without taking breaks.

A glance at the time had me quickly equipping my delving gear before teleporting to Sira. Once I arrived, it took just moments to locate the correct rift beacon and make my way to the rendezvous location.

Anya was already waiting there for me, as was a contingent of guards. I raised a brow at the sight.

“It’s just going to be us, right?” I asked skeptically. “Nobody else was included in the contract.”

We’d ironed out the details and signed the paperwork shortly after I scheduled the delve, so there should have been no misunderstandings.

“It’s just us,” Anya assured me. “They are just escorting me into and out of the rift. We’ll be alone inside. The mutual protection clause is enough for Lance to feel confident I’ll come home safely. And speaking of…”

Anya held out a hand. On it was a familiar ring with a lone purple crystal.

“You should really do better with obscuring yourself from Fate magic whenever you leave whatever privacy barrier you’ve erected. I can’t see you at all when you’re behind it, but as soon as you leave, you are so easy to scry. Until you make a mobile version of it, you can wear this.”

I smiled and slipped the ring onto my hand. I hadn’t forgotten how helpful such an item had been before I’d been abducted. Even then, the ring had alerted Anya when it was removed. It had allowed her to know what had happened, and ultimately led to Kai locating the rift I’d been tossed into.

I’d follow Anya’s advice and create my own Fate obscuring artifact later. But for now, the ring would suffice. Honestly, I should have already addressed the weakness, especially given recent events.

With a nod toward the closest guard, I stepped up to the security door. The rift was inside a bunker, and only those scheduled for access could enter the premises.

It was one of the many ways the Adventurers’ Guild secured rifts, both from unauthorized access and in the event of a rift break.

Lisa did whatever virtual handshake was necessary for us to gain access, and the door slid open. Anya said something to her bodyguards before following me inside.

Even without spatial expansion, the space appeared larger once we were inside.

In the center of the cavernous opening, a swirling portal of black mana marked the opening of the separate dimensional space. Beside it, stood a lone guard. I suspected they were there to collect the Adventurers’ Guild’s cut of the loot.

I’d been exempted from paying a portion of my loot the last time since the Assassin’s challenge rift had not been ‘owned’ by the Adventurers’ Guild when I entered.

“Anything I should know before we enter?” I asked Anya after accepting her request to join my ‘party.’

Anya tapped her lips in thought for a moment.

“Though it’s listed as a challenge rift, it isn’t a true one since we’ll be able to leave by backtracking to the entrance. The goal is to find our way through the maze, which includes several puzzles and combat scenarios. This one is almost a hybrid rift, since it doesn’t full fit into any particular category.”

“So, a maze with puzzles and mandatory fights,” I summarized. “Is there a boss?”

“Of course! What rift would be complete without a boss?” she asked with a grin. It was obvious that the Fate Mage was looking forward to the delve.

I nodded absently as I eyed the portal, not feeling the same excitement.

Instead, I felt a rush of trepidation as I stepped toward the rift. The last time I’d entered such a portal, I’d been frozen in time and stuck inside for decades. This time, I was entering of my own free will, but I still couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Tamping down on the unwelcome emotion, I forced myself to confidently step through the swirling portal. Anya appeared beside me several seconds later.

“The design is reminiscent of an SEF spaceship,” Anya informed me as she took in our surroundings with a satisfied expression. “It is one of the rarer layouts for this rift.”

“It changes?” I asked curiously.

“Yes. The layout is based on the affinities of the first person who enters. Someone with an Earth affinity would likely manifest underground tunnels, Fire or Magma would create volcanic tunnels… you get the idea,” Anya said. “For more esoteric affinities, the layout can be pretty random.”

“You said you’ve challenged this rift before,” I said leadingly.

“Yes, but I’ve never been the first one to enter. Nobody wants to find out what a Fate-based rift scenario would look like. At least, I certainly don’t,” she added. “I’ve never gotten a good feeling about entering this rift first, and I tend to trust my instincts.”

“Is that how your affinity works? You have a sort of Danger Sense?” I asked.

“It is one of my passives, but there’s a lot more to Fate magic than just anticipating danger. It’s probably one of the better aspects of the affinity, though. It’s certainly saved my life more than once.”

I glanced around what appeared to be the control center of the ship. I thought it might be called a bridge, but I wasn’t sure.

“So, where do we go from here?” I asked, motioning toward the two doors on the opposite side of the room.

The portal was still swirling behind us, which was comforting. Had it disappeared, I probably would have been far more anxious.

Clearly, I still wasn’t over the whole ‘stuck in a rift’ ordeal.

“We go left,” Anya said confidently. “Both doors will ultimately take us where we want to go, but I figured you’d like to start with a puzzle instead of jumping right into combat. If you’d rather kill things, we can go right instead.”

“Left is fine,” I said. “I’ll take the lead since it’s technically my delve and you’re a bit under-leveled. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, even if I can revert the damages.”

“I appreciate that,” Anya said. “I’m also wearing the escape talisman you created. The matching beacon is outside the rift, obviously, but I’ve been told it will teleport me back to the starting portal if the enchantment is triggered inside a rift.”

“That’s right. I think the Enchanters at the sect actually did some testing to make sure everything worked properly outside of the dungeon.”

“Well, I certainly feel more confident wearing it,” the Fate Mage commented. “I’m sure a lot of delvers feel the same way.”

I felt my lips twitch into a small smile at the compliment before I remembered that the talisman hadn’t saved my brother’s life.

It wasn’t because a defect in the item, it was because he’d used it to heal someone else (and transport them back to the entrance) when his healing wand ran out of mana.

No party needed a Fire Mage with a weak affinity – the cost of spells was just too high. Instead, he’d relied on the manatech to bridge the gap, and part of that included serving as a Healer when none was available.

I’d made the E3 talismans as last-ditch escape/healing items. They were never meant to be used multiple times without recharging.

I’d never gotten a clear explanation of what happened after Justin used his talisman to save his teammate, but I knew an investigation of some sort was done, and the surviving party members were cleared of any fault in his death.

Not that it brought him back.

“Hey. Where’d you go just now?” Anya asked with a concerned expression when she noticed that I’d paused at the door.

I sighed and turned to face the woman.

“Your comment just made me think about my brother. He had an E3 talisman when he went into the rift that killed him.”

My statement wasn’t accusatory, but Anya must have felt some level of guilt based on the shift in her expression. Thankfully, she didn’t bother commenting. I really didn’t want to hear her explain how my brother’s death was fated.

I’d mostly accepted it, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t still angry and upset about the whole situation.

Clearing her throat, Anya said, “So, would you rather we take the other door? We’ll have to fight eventually, but I thought a slower start might be better.”

I shook my head and tried to suppress my negative thoughts. Bell would try to save him again. It was all we could do.

“No, I’m fine. I’m curious about what kind of puzzles this rift has for us anyway.”