PftA Book 4 - Chapter 39 - Family

“How was your class?” Bell asked without looking up from the parchment she was studying when I arrived at her apartment.

“It was better. Teleporting away right at the end prevented me from getting stuck there for hours while dozens of disciples tried to make a connection.”

That had happened after the first class I’d held at the request of Patriarch Fora. It really had taken hours for me to break away from the disciples and contracted Enchanters who were eager to talk to me.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to get to know the disciples of my sect and those who were affiliated closely enough to gain access to my class; it was that the vast majority of attendees only really saw me as the Alliance’s newest tri-affinity mage.

Even after decades, there still hadn’t been another tri-affinity mage appear.

It was blatantly obvious that most of the people attending my class had no interest in using manatech as their primary weapon; they had only come in hopes of forging some kind of relationship with me.

There might have been a few who had a genuine interest in becoming the equivalent of Combat Enchanters, but they were overshadowed by the rest.

“You can’t really blame them,” Bell said, taking a break from the formation. “Having you there is like having a rock star teach a high school music class.”

I didn’t quite see the comparison.

When I agreed to teach classes, I thought I’d be teaching about surviving in the dungeon, Time magic, or something at least peripherally related to the sect’s affinity specialties.

But it turned out the Epikairos Sect didn’t need me for such lessons since they had plenty of capable Time Mages and very few individuals had any chance of challenging the dungeon.

Instead, I’d been asked to teach lessons on ‘Combat Enchanting.’ Basically, it was a class for affiliated Enchanters who wanted to use manatech weapons as their primary weapon type.

Regarding the dungeon, the new Patriarch had asked me to document my experiences, which he planned to eventually compile into a guidebook for sect members who wished to compete for a chance to enter the dungeon as a sect elite.

“What did you think about my recommendations?” I asked, motioning toward the draft blueprints on the table. My notes had been sent digitally, but I could see a few annotations on her hard copy showing where she’d made a few adjustments.

“I can see where you’re going with these—” she tapped a few of the updated sections “—but I’m not sure why you’d want me to double back here. Wouldn’t that cause the formation to get stuck in an endless loop?”

I shook my head. “No. You need the loop to empower the time branch unless you want to power it with your soul,” I said before pointing at a small change I’d made to one of the runes. “And it won’t continue indefinitely. This rune will fail once it reaches full capacity, at which point the formation will fully trigger, sending a copy of your memories back in time.”

“I don’t really care what happens to me here,” Bell said slowly. “But I do appreciate the foresight. Not dying is certainly better than the alternative.”

“I’m glad you think so,” I said with a smile. It was a small step, but an important one. “Have you been back to the Mind Healer yet?”

Bell’s eyes remained focused on the blueprint in front of her. “Not since you got back,” she admitted quietly.

“You should make an appointment,” I told her, feeling optimistic that my friend and sister-in-law might actually be able to move past my brother’s death. “I’ll help you gather the reagents needed in the meantime. What’s your target? Have you decided?”

Bell and I had discussed potential points in the timeline to aim for, but as far as I knew, she hadn’t firmly decided when to arrive yet.

“My awakening seems like the easiest target, but like I mentioned before, I’m worried that going that far back might interfere with the boys’ conception and birth.” She chewed her lower lip gently. “I think I’m going to shoot for the reintegration. It’s not a ripple in my personal timeline, but it was a large enough event that it should suffice as a target.”

She looked at me with a mix of apology and chagrin. It was almost like she thought I’d be upset by her decision.

“That’s a good target,” I said supportively. “It is far enough back to make some real changes without risking the boys. You’ll get more time with Justin, once he’s returned, that is. Honestly, me going to the dungeon is probably for the best.”

Strangely, I realized that I meant it. Even though it took me away from my family for an extended period of time, challenging the dungeon provided a lot of opportunities I probably wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

“Just be sure to warn me about all the things I told you,” I reminded her.

I’d already filled her in on everything that I could share about the dungeon. I told her about the attempted assassinations, the war, the duel, my retaliation against my attackers… To say Bell was surprised to learn some of the things I’d kept from everyone was an understatement.

She didn’t look at me like a murderer for my part in starting a war, nor did she judge me for defending myself, but I could tell that the knowledge had changed her perception of me.

It was one thing to read about a protagonist righteously killing those who crossed them in a fictional story. It was quite another to hear about how your sister-in-law and her best friend had killed real people in similar settings.

“I will,” she promised with a whisper.

“Good. Then, let’s finalize this blueprint so we can start obtaining the right reagents. Even if we wait until just before I reenter the dungeon to activate it, there’s no reason not to start preparing now.”

= = =

“Hey, Dad! Are you guys ready?” I called out as I arrived at my dad’s home.

“Hey, Emie. We’ll be ready in a moment. Caesi is just dropping the kids off at daycare. We didn’t think it would be a good idea to bring them along, even if you can keep them safe.”

“I get it, no worries.”

“Where’s your shadow?” Dad asked, looking around. “Is he hiding somewhere?”

My lips twitched at the question. “No. Kai has other things to do besides follow me around.”

“Oh really?” Dad asked playfully. “Kai does, does he?” he added, emphasizing my former Master’s preferred name.

I rolled my eyes. Dad had gotten a lot more childish since the reintegration. I wondered if it had to do with his rejuvenation treatments making him feel so much younger.

“Yes,” I replied. “He’s spending some time with Zavira’s ancestor. They’re friends.”

Bringing up Zavira made Dad’s expression shift into a genuine smile. He’d always liked the Force Smith, if only because she’d been a true friend for me while we were in the dungeon. The fact that she’d remained steadfast during my abduction only furthered his positive feelings toward her.

“And how is Zavira? You mentioned she might be getting married soon?”

I was trying to do better about keeping in touch with the important members of my family, but since it didn’t seem like much happened in my life, that usually meant I ended up sharing what was going on in the lives of those around me. It felt a little gossipy, but I didn’t really have anything else to talk about.

“Potentially,” I said. “It’s on the table, at least.”

“Good. That’s good for her,” Dad said before giving me an exaggerated look of resignation. “It’s too bad you have to go back to that place. I’d love to have some more grandbabies running around.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t you have babies of your own?”

“It’s not the same.”

We casually bantered back and forth for several minutes while we waited for my new stepmother to arrive. When she did finally appear, she was ready and eager to go.

“Thank you so much, Emie,” Caesi said with a bright smile. “You probably don’t realize what a pain it is to get through mid-tiers outside of the dungeon. A trip like this is worth years of experience, maybe more.”

“I’m glad to help,” I said a little stiffly. I didn’t have anything against the woman personally, but it was still a little weird to be around her.

I teleported us to one of the regions on Agirock that was virtually untouched by the Alliance's endeavors to subjugate the world.

Instead of making a platform of mana, I repurposed the Tier Eight pod I’d recently recovered and set it to float in a modified platform configuration.

“This is nice,” Dad commented as he walked the length of the platform. “The walls make it feel a lot more secure.”

“Thanks. If you like it, you guys can have it when we’re done,” I offered. “I don’t really need a Tier Eight pod now that I’ve reached Tier Nine. I was going to make a new backup pod anyway. This one was left in the apartment I was using when I was abducted. The new Patriarch returned it to me a couple of weeks ago.”

“You don’t have to do that, Emie,” Dad said, shaking his head. “It’s too valuable. Besides, I still have the one you gave me before you went into the dungeon.”

“That’s, like, Tier Two,” I said, aghast that he’d still be using such an outdated device. “It’s nowhere close to sufficient for someone living on a Tier Six world. Why hasn’t Bell made you a new one?”

“I don’t think she has a blueprint for something like this,” Dad replied hesitantly. “And it’s not like we need something stronger. Hadier is fully subjugated. Rift breaks are rare enough that there isn’t much of a threat from wild rift beasts. The one I have is more than enough to meet our needs on the rare occasions that we travel away from the city without using a portal.”

“Yeah, but there are other things out there that might pose a threat. As someone working in law enforcement, you should know that,” I pointed out.

Dad looked away sheepishly and shrugged. It wasn’t like he could argue about my claim. Investigators were in relatively high demand, even with the availability of magic to solve most crimes. There was a reason for that.

“We’d be happy to accept your gift,” Caesi interjected. “I know I’d feel safer traveling with the kids in a higher-tier chariot.”

Dad frowned but didn’t argue with his new wife. He wouldn’t when his children’s safety was involved.

With the issue resolved, I pulled out one of my older, more rugged chairs and settled in to provide overwatch. I also resigned myself to collecting the bodies below since neither my dad nor his new wife had a way of retrieving them from the platform.

I should have asked Bell for the [Recall] devices she’d crafted during the last trip. I could probably whip something up, but it didn’t really seem worth it when I could just borrow Bell’s when we went back at the end of the day.

Since it didn’t feel right to keep Dad and Caesi from their young children, we planned to return to Hadier each night instead of shifting the pod to a residential shelter like I’d done before.

I’d been eating dinner with Dad and his new family about once a week, so the kids weren’t completely unfamiliar with me by now. I was glad, though I had no illusions about my chances of developing a genuine, long-term relationship with my youngest siblings.

Even so, I hoped that the time spent together would lead to something more than I had with Kaylee and Ashlyn.  

Since I’d disappeared when those two were barely out of diapers, neither knew me beyond the stories they heard. Coupled with my status as a tri-affinity mage and ‘Honored Elder’ of the Epikairos Sect, it was a wonder that neither held any hostility toward their prodigal older sister.

At least, they hadn’t expressed any overt hostility.

Kaylee had politely declined my offer for her to come along on this trip, and Ashlyn couldn’t leave school. I didn’t hold it against either of them. It wasn’t their fault that they didn’t know me. Hopefully, that would change before I had to return to the dungeon.