PftA Book 2 - Chapter 46

Chapter 46 – A Short Reprieve

I shuffled anxiously just inside the teleportation room. My family – including Bell – were just outside the room. I tried to hide my nervousness from them, and I was sure they were doing the same thing for me. But I knew I was failing miserably.

Would I even get to spend time with Justin before being taken away?

I’d already exchanged a heartfelt goodbye with Deni, Ger, Kevin, and Natalie. It would have been odd for them to be present for Justin’s return, even if it did coincide with my exit from Earth. However, Rhona, Stella, and Master Kairos had still come to see me off.

I was slightly annoyed by Master Kairos’s apparent lack of concern regarding my impending departure. I didn’t expect him to be upset or worried about it… but the almost smug satisfaction that radiated from the older Time Mage was off-putting.

Didn’t he care at all? Was it a difference in culture that I was failing to understand somehow? I really wasn’t sure.

Master Kairos had only recently informed me that I would have semi-regular access to messages from outside the dungeon. He’d been reminding me about his expectations and mentioned providing regular updates, which had been a shock. I’d been expecting to have no contact with the outside for potential decades, and he just casually mentioned it… like I should have known how the dungeon worked already.

How would I know something like that???

At the time, I’d been too excited to learn I’d be able to send and receive messages with my family to get mad, but with how erratic my emotions were? I regularly caught myself fuming at the man.

He expected me to know so much more than I did, even though I’d described how limited my experiences were in the other timeline. Working as a waitress and adventuring didn’t expose someone to nearly as much knowledge as he thought it did.

“Why can’t I sit with Emie?” my cute little niece asked from the other side of the entryway. We’d spent a lot of time together over the past fifteen days, and I suspected she knew that I was about to leave.

I glanced at the shadow on her wrist that represented the camouflaged Fitmon she still wore. I’d changed the settings on it a few days earlier since I wouldn’t be available to receive the alert if something happened. Rhona had promised to look after the kiddo, and I hoped the sentiment would carry over to Amie’s unborn siblings.

I expected it would, considering the woman’s obvious affection for young children.

“Aunt Emie is the only one who can be in there right now. She’s supposed to meet your Daddy in a little bit.”

Amie’s face shifted between sadness and excitement as if the emotions were warring for dominance. “But she’ll leave.”

“That’s right,” I said from nearby. “But I’ll see you again. And we’ll exchange messages every week. Remember? Time will go faster for me, so you’ll get a new message every five days unless I get really busy. Then it might take ten days.”

“You promise?” she asked.

Not wanting to jinx myself, I said, “I promise I’ll try my best to make sure I send a message to you every week. It might only be a short message, and it might be part of one big family message, but I’ll do my best. I’m not sure how any of that works—” I shot a semi-glare at Master Kairos before returning my focus to Amie “—but I’ll let everyone know what to expect once I figure it out.”

“Why don’t the Master just tell you?” Amie asked, making me suppress the reflexive urge to correct her grammar. I didn’t want that to be one of her last memories of me in person.

“I think maybe he wants me to figure some stuff out on my own. It’s important to learn how to do stuff without help sometimes. Help is good, but not all the time. Does that make sense?”

“Not really,” Amie replied.

I shrugged and glanced behind me, sensing a change in the mana. “Back up a little bit. I think he’s coming.” I stood quickly and grabbed the door. “I love you all. Stay safe,” I said before closing the door, not giving them a chance to reply.

As the door closed, Justin popped into existence in the center of the room, stumbling a bit as he regained his footing. He looked shaken and unsteady.

“Jay,” I breathed before rushing forward. It might have been a bit hypocritical, but I had no idea how much time I had before the elf was going to pull me away. “I’m so sorry you got stuck in [Stasis] for six months,” I said, not bothering to convert the time into Alliance Standard.

“Hey, Emie,” he replied. “It’s nice to see you too. I guess I have you to thank for getting to come back at all?”

I let go and stepped back. “It’s complicated,” I said uncomfortably.

“Sure it is. Here,” Justin said, withdrawing a crystal from his new [Inventory]. “That crazy old elf said for you to absorb this if you want some more time. He said he wanted to save you for last and that you could have a few more days since he’s so gracious.”

My brother made a face. “That old dude is freaking crazy. But he gave me an [Inventory], so I guess it’s not all bad.”

I was only half listening as my attention homed in on the small crystal. I carefully took it from his hand and instructed Lisa to absorb it, just like I would an augment.

“This is interesting,” Lisa commented. “It appears to be a combination monitor/authenticator. I believe this is how he keeps track of participants, as well as what allows them access to the dungeon… Or maybe not. I’ll have to examine it more carefully to be certain.”

Realizing there was no reason to keep the door closed since it seemed I wouldn’t be leaving immediately, I pushed my brother toward the door.

“Come on, everyone is waiting for you!”

When I exited the teleportation room, my eyes met Master Kairos’s, and he smiled proudly. Realizing he likely had something to do with my delayed departure, I mouthed “thank you” before turning my attention to the reunion occurring a few feet away.

Bell was crying tears of relief and joy as Justin fussed over her. Amie was also crying, as was Mom. Dad was the only one in the family with mostly dry eyes. Even my eyes had gone misty at his return.

“You have three days. It’s all I could get,” Master Kairos said as he stepped beside me. “Don’t worry about returning here. He’ll be able to retrieve you from wherever you are. Just don’t resist the [Teleport] when it comes. That might be seen as a breach in our agreement.”

Wiping away tears, I bowed low. “Thank you, Master Kairos.”

“The next time I see you in person, I expect you to be at the peak of Tier Ten.”

“I will do my best,” I replied sincerely.

I’d already said my goodbyes to Rhona and Stella, but I still gave them each one last hug before nudging my brother and nodding toward the exit.

= = =

The next three days were fun and stressful in equal parts. I’d already mentally prepared to leave, so suddenly having my departure delayed had thrown me for a bit of a loop. Everyone agreed to spend the next three days showing Justin some of our favorite things we’d seen during our vacation. He seemed floored by the changes Earth had undergone in the short time he’d been gone.

“Sir Eri’Non warned me when he pulled me out of [Stasis] and gave me the crystal for Emie, but I don’t think I really understood until just now,” Justin murmured as he collapsed into one of the chairs Bell had brought along.

I’d given him a variety of talismans and weapons, but it wasn’t until he saw the rifts in the small courtyard of our newly walled compound that he really grasped the fact that Earth had changed. He was still level zero, which was well behind most of the adults on Earth.

I could sense that he wanted to catch up to everyone else, but he didn’t mention it during the three days I was granted. Instead, he focused on enjoying the short vacation.

The morning I was scheduled to leave, Justin asked, “Why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Trade places,” he clarified. “The elf said you were special, but it doesn’t make sense for you to trade your life for mine. I’m the older brother. I’m supposed to protect you.”

I smiled sadly and pulled on the hem of my robe. I’d been wearing them since Justin’s return, just in case the elf summoned me without warning.

“There is so much that I wish I could tell you… but I can’t.” Our eyes met, and I silently asked him not to push. I didn’t want to lie or dance around the truth anymore. Sensing he wasn’t going to pry, I released a breath.

“What I can tell you is that my affinities are really strong,” I began. “I was the first native to awaken naturally, just a month after becoming a beta tester.”

Justin gasped. “That long?”

I nodded. “And I’ve had to keep it a secret, but I’ve been training and leveling this whole time,” I said. “Do the interface upgrade. Everything I put on the game guide is applicable. I made it to help once things started happening.”

“How did you keep it after the power went out?”

“I transferred the site to an Atlas server. They use manatech, so any Atlas Glass products can still access the site.”

A line appeared between my brother’s brows. “Didn’t you start the site before you awakened?” he asked. “It seemed a bit weird at the time, but now that I think about it…”

I shook my head. “Please don’t ask about things I can’t explain,” I replied before giving him a little hint. “You remember what my affinities are, right?”

“Space and Time…” he said as he processed the implications.

“Please don’t think about it too much. Just know that I’ll always have your best interests at heart, and I’m not going to throw my life away. I’ll be okay.”

“And you’ll keep in touch?” he asked sadly.

I nodded. “I will do my best. I’m not quite sure what to expect in the dungeon.”

“Well, if you’re anywhere close to as badass as you were in the game, I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Justin said lightly before extending a hand. “Come on. Everyone wants to spend some more time with you before you take off. I didn’t get the impression the elf was very patient—”

Space mana began building, warning me of the impending [Teleport].

“Not yet!” I called out anxiously. Sensing the mana thickening around me, I looked at Justin and started speaking rapidly. “Say goodbye for me. I can’t resist. Be safe. I’ll message—”

The familiar sense of movement cut me off, and my surroundings abruptly changed to feature an excited elf with wide eyes and an even wider grin. It seemed the real adventure was about to begin.