"No," Tate said instantly.

"Why not?"

"What do you mean, why not? Why would I meet your dad?"

"Because you need help and he can help you," she said.

Tate let out a frustrated breath. "The only person who can help me is you. I just need to go to that dungeon a few times–"

"You said only once."

"Well..." He lingered on that last note, caught in a lie. "I'm hoping one time will do the trick, but if not, we might have to go back multiple times. You just need to be with me for the one, though, if that's what you want."

Of course, until I feel sorry for you and end up going back again. "That's not what I want. It's not safe, especially not when you're acting as desperate as you are. What if you get stuck there?"

"I won't."

"Sure. Everyone thinks they won't until they get unlucky. Just like my Uncle Max."

"Lexie, I'm sorry, but...this isn't the same situation with your Uncle. I'm only going into already raided dungeons."

"So?"

"So, according to the news, your Uncle got trapped because he stayed behind to fight a monster. He sacrificed himself for his team. But I don't have a team, and there are no monsters left in this dungeon. Only puzzles."

Lexie had a counter. "Bane, who was my Uncle's teammate, said that the dungeon tricked them into thinking they had more time than they did. That was why they ventured in deeper than they were supposed to and only had a little bit of time to escape. What if that happens to you?"

He was quiet for a second. "Well then, that's what I have you for, right?"

Hope hung onto the last syllable, and it was Lexie's turn to sigh out of frustration. "Tate, don't take this the wrong way, because I do like you against my better judgment, but I'm not willing to risk my life for you like that. Not again."

"Ouch." Though he said it wryly, like it was a joke, there were hints of hurt in his tone. "Although I can't say I blame you, what changed?"

"A lot."

"The Boris thing?"

"Not just that." But that did play a huge part in removing the wool from Lexie's eyes when it came to Tate. Up until that point, she'd largely regarded Tate as the same person she'd known on Earth 2: a victim of intense bullying, a smart, quiet kid like her who'd gotten the shorter end of the life stick.

Even after she'd discovered he was associated with criminals, that opinion of him hadn't changed. She hadn't listened to Shadow's warning for that very reason and had ignored all the times her gut told her that Tate was keeping stuff from her.

But after the thing with Boris…she realized how much she didn't know about Tate and how easily she could have gotten hurt hanging out with him.

For one thing, Tate was reckless. He acted like all the risks he took were calculated, but there was a wildness in his eyes that often scared her and made her feel like he would one day push things too far. He was also petty, vengeful, and selfish.

Lexie hadn't known those things about Tate in Earth 2. She also hadn't felt that darkness emanating from him. Now, just speaking to him roused many unsettling questions in her mind–questions like 'how did he die? and 'how long had he lived before he died?'.

But even if Tate was as nice and stable as she remembered, Lexie probably still wouldn't have gone delving with him. It was too dangerous, even for people who'd prepared their whole life for it.

The thing with Uncle Max further proved that point. Uncle Max had been prepared–he was the most careful delver she knew. But it hadn't mattered in the end because the dungeon hadn't played by the rules. It had tricked him and swallowed him up.

That could have happened to Lexie and Tate, too, no matter what tools or systems they'd had to help them. A dungeon was made out of Eldritch psyche, and the Eldritch mind craved devastation. Even denatured, it continued to fight for what it wanted in subtler ways.

"It's a lot of things, Tate," Lexie said. "But most of all, it's because I don't think you should be going into the dungeon secret levels at all, much less by yourself. What if there's more to it than you think?"

"Meaning what?"

"Eldritch beings exist as chaos, yet dungeons are somehow supposed to be stable. How do you think they manage that? Do you know?"

"The dungeons are denatured. And the Fae magic is used to stabilize it."

"Yes, but it can't be easy. The natural state of every dungeon is instability and pain and suffering..." She thought about her experience in the souls of the creatures she'd been experiencing and concluded. "You simply don't know what you're dealing with."

"And let me guess. You do?"

"No. Not entirely. But I know enough to know that it's way too risky to be playing this game with you. That's why I'm telling you that we need to go to my dad."

"Your dad can't help me."

"How do you know that?" Another thought occurred to Lexie. "Is it because you know how everything happens? Tell me, what role does my dad play in all this? How does this game end for him?"

Tate was silent for so long that Lexie got nervous.

Deep down in her fearful psyche, she thought she already knew the answer to that question, but she didn't want to accept it.

If Aiden had become a [supervillain] and he and Naem were the main antagonists of the game, then she couldn't imagine that this was supposed to end well for them.

"There are different endings," Tate said. "The Chosen determines the end, so it's hard to say what we'll get as well."

"And what end do you want?"

"Lexie, this has nothing to do with anything, and this conversation makes me very uncomfortable. Are you really not going to help me? Please?'

"I will help you. Just not how you want me to."

He muttered something unintelligible and said, "I'm not going to speak to your father."

Lexie raised an eyebrow. "You're life is on the line and you're not willing to take a chance on a solution outside of your narrow worldview?"

"It's not a narrow worldview. It's a fact. He literally can't help me unless he somehow knows one or two things about Alchemy."

Lexie wasn't willing to expose her dad's secret to Tate yet, in case he didn't already know, so she simply answered, "My dad knows something about everything. And whatever he doesn't know, he learns. Fast."

Tate's next bout of silence felt conflicted, and Lexie gentled her tone. "Come on, Tate. What do you have to lose?"

"A lot more than you can imagine."

"You only have to meet him for a few minutes. You can even talk to him on the System. My dad won't mind that you're a criminal if that's what you're worried about. He's an ex-villain, too."

Tate sighed. "I guess I'll think about it."

"You really should."

There was an awkward silence, and Tate asked, "How's hero school?"

Lexie looked for a word to describe it, but couldn't find one that could encapsulate the experience. "Let's just say, I'm glad the semester's over. What about you? Are you still going to keep up with the AFC?"

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"We'll see. If I manage not to die, maybe."

Lexie felt her heart pang with pity, despite herself. "I'm sorry, Tate."

She could practically hear him shrug. "It's whatever. I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay," she said, and he hung up.

Lexie felt conflicted about that whole conversation. On the one hand, she knew she'd done the right thing, but she still felt guilty, like she was forsaking him to his death.

God, it felt like Tate had the worst luck, like suffering and death stalked him in both earths.

Despite everything, Lexie wanted to save him. She knew Tate probably wouldn't agree to talk to her dad. Most likely, he would try to change her mind, and failing that, he was going to risk it and go into the dungeon himself.

Which left Lexie with a very uncomfortable decision to make.

Lexie hadn't told her father everything about Tate because she'd felt initially like it wasn't her secret to tell, and she hadn't had a reason to disclose it.

Tate had told her to keep it a secret, and despite their fall-out, she hadn't wanted to betray that.

But now might be the time to do so, especially since Tate had been working with the Alchemist. Maybe it would help her dad's investigation, too.

She tamped down any feeling of guilt and called her dad instantly, before Ava could come back.

"Hey, honeybee." He sounded like he was in his office. The echo was distinctive. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," Lexie said. "So, I wanted to talk to you about something."

She reactivated the sound muffling card again as her father said, "Of course. Go ahead."

"Remember that friend of mine from last year? The one who came to Hovelton with me?"

"The one that's not your boyfriend."

"Dad…"

"Sorry, couldn't resist. Yes, what about him?"

"Um…" Lexie suddenly and very sharply felt Tate's pain, because she didn't even know how to start telling her dad all this either. They hadn't spoken about Tate recently, and she felt like there was no good place to start without going all the way back to the beginning. "Did I ever tell you how I died?"

"Erm, no, not in detail," her father said after an awkward pause.

Yeah, Lexie could imagine why. Aiden probably hadn't wanted to hear it, and she herself had never wanted to talk about it. She still didn't, but it was necessary.

"Okay. Well, um, so I died saving this kid called Tate. Well, not really saving him. It's complicated to explain, but there was this idiot who had a gun, and he was pointing it at Tate. I thought he was gonna shoot Tate, so I came out of my hiding spot to intervene and ended up getting shot myself."

Lexie wished she could see her father's face after she told him the story. She only heard vaguely pained choking sounds, like he wanted to protest or scold her for what she'd done, but then realized it happened before they knew each other, and had it not happened, they wouldn't be here today.

"I see," Aiden finally said, clearing his throat. "I'm so sorry that happened, sweetheart. It must have been so painful and terrifying."

"It was, but no worries. It all worked out. Anyway, so that's how I ended up here. The funny thing is, Tate, the kid I saved, ended up here, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's part of the Chosen Program. Officially. His soul got implanted in the body of someone here who looks just like him."

"Oh. My word," Her father dragged out the last word to capitalize his astonishment. "That's unexpected. Why did you never tell me any of this before?"

"Honestly? I didn't believe it was my place to tell. I'm technically not supposed to have met Tate, and I'm not supposed to know he's here either. Our meeting can apparently cause a problem for the ISTS, and it might end up harming him in some way. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but he told me those were part of the Chosen rules." She thought about it. "Actually, his exact words were about how meeting me would cause too much 'uncontrolled chaos'."

"Uncontrolled chaos? The ISTS have controlled chaos?"

"I'm not sure, but I suppose, based on what he was saying. Okay, so that's how I know Tate, my not-boyfriend, as you call him. Now, keep in mind that I've known him a lot longer than it seems when I tell you this next part."

"Okay," her father's voice was suddenly cautious. "What's the next part?"

"Tate...uh...He's um…not exactly the most upstanding citizen, if you know what I mean?"

"He's a criminal?"

"Yeah."

A sharp intake of breath. "Lexie!"

"What? You can't be judgmental. Your best friend's an Eldritch, and mom killed someone, but you still married her."

"That's not…that's totally different! And you told me you didn't like him like that."

"I don't, I'm just saying," she sighed. "He was forced into it. He doesn't have parents and family to take care of him, and I don't think he had a choice."

"Everyone has a choice," Aiden said begrudgingly.

"Fair enough, but this is what he chose because his circumstances were so crappy, and his other options were probably crappier. I frankly don't think either of us has room to judge him for it."

Her father audibly held onto his indignation, the silence trembling with it. Then, suddenly, he released the breath he was holding, "You're right. I just…I don't know how I feel about you hanging out with a criminal that I don't already know."

"Yeah, and I get that." She held her breath. "To be honest, you're not going to like the rest of what I'm about to tell you even more."

"Oh my gosh. Hold on, let me sit down." She heard him walking and then heard the chair scraping against the wood as he settled in. "Alright. Tell me."

Lexie then launched into an explanation of everything she and Tate did last summer while exploring dungeons. She explained about the secret levels in the dungeons and how Tate suddenly got powers that he claimed were mechs, but were really from mana bouncing around outside of his pathways.

Finally, she told him about the alchemist and his experiments on humans. She also told him that Tate was dying as a result of those experiments.

Her father had been making horrified sounds throughout, but when Lexie brought up the Alchemist, he got deathly quiet. He barely let out a breath until she was finally done and prompted him with a "Dad?"

"Yes, I'm still here," he said. "Sorry. It's a lot to take in."

"I get that."

He said, "So he says in the future, the Alchemist creates an army of humans who can use magic?"

"Yeah, that's what he implied."

"He can see the future?"

"I don't think he can precisely. It's the fact that, in my world..." Lexie had to approach this part delicately. "Well, I don't know how to say it, but in my world, there's essentially a game version of this world, and it has you and a few other people in it. The storyline of the game reveals aspects of the future in this world, I think. "

This time, the silence lasted for almost a full minute.

"Dad?"

"Yes, honeybee. I'm here. This...I'm sorry, you said this world is a game in your world?"

"Yeah."

"But this world is real."

"I know it is. I don't know anything else about the game or how it ties into the Chosen program. But I do know that my brother, the one on Earth 2, used to play the demo version of the game, and he sent me character sheets on my other phone, the one you thought mom gave me. And those sheets had you in it, and Naem and a few other people. I think they're all important characters in the game."

"Okay." She heard him rub his face, and he repeated, "Okay. This is a lot to process. We'll talk about this game thing later. Back to the alchemist...you say he used Alchemy to imbue Tate with magic."

"Yes." Lexie was relieved that she was off the hook for now from explaining about the game thing. The whole topic unsettled her for a reason. "And now Tate's dying as a result. Can you help him?"

"I don't know, honeybee. I can take a look, but I'm still new at Alchemy, and it's something that varies wildly between different people. I guess it would depend on how bad the damage is, too."

"Pretty bad if he's dying. I'll try to convince him to see you."

"That would be for the best. In the meantime, I'll take this new development about the Alchemist up to Vacek."

"Wait, no. I don't want Tate to be exposed like that."

Aiden thought about it. "You might be right. I'll keep his name out of it. I just need some kind of leverage I can use against him." He sighed. "I went to see the Alchemist a few weeks ago with Vacek's permission. I just wanted to confirm a few things I'd discovered, but he refused to talk to me and kept on staring into space. We'll see if he wants to talk now."

"I thought he was in jail. Can he be in more than one place at once?"

"Apparently. Which means his powers have grown immensely beyond our imaginations."

A shiver ran down Lexie's spine. That was terrifying.

"The good thing is that I think I finally know what he wants," Aiden said.

"What? Mind-controlled minions? Magic-using humans?"

"No," he said. "Vindication and veneration."

Aiden didn't explain further than that, and their conversation soon concluded.

After it was done, Lexie lay back in bed, her mind was still racing. She couldn't tell if she'd done the right thing or not by telling her dad everything. But it was done, and there was no going back.

It would be time for dinner soon, and she'd done nothing but lie here most of the day. In fact, she hadn't done much card crafting or research for the past few weeks, either, too distracted with her Eldritch lessons with Naem. But now that she was on a break from that, it was the perfect time to go back to her origins and focus on why she came to this academy. To craft cards that mundanes could use.

Lexie opened her inventory again, and the soul card flashed at her. She considered it, wondering what she could do with it.

It would be difficult to figure out how it worked since it was the first of its kind. What exactly could she do with a soul card beyond its immediate function?

It could apparently somewhat control Eldritch beings by...sucking out the chaotic energy into a void? But it had also helped Lexie project her emotions and her human "magic" into the creature's soul. So that meant that the card could also put things into souls? Could it imbue things with magic?

Lexie's eyes popped open, and she inhaled sharply.

Imbuing things with magic.

Of course. Why hadn't she thought about that before?

Maybe because it was such a psychotic idea, and she would never have considered doing it until she'd just heard of the Alchemist giving people magic somehow.

Lexie remembered that was her initial goal: to give mundanes a way of using magic, primarily for healing but also for self-defense. This Alchemist guy might be a [Villain], but at least he had the right idea, and maybe he was the key to what she needed.

Everyone around her said mundanes couldn't use magic cards because the very nature of mundane pathways was inconducive to magic.

But what if they'd been thinking about it all wrong? What if she didn't need the pathways at all?

What if she could imbue magic into mundane souls by using cards that were attached to their souls, the same way her card was attached to hers?

The idea was far-fetched. It was crazy, and it probably wasn't possible.

Probably.

Yet, she couldn't let it go. The problem was that she wouldn't be able to experiment with this. She didn't know enough about soul magic to go meddling with people's souls, and even if she did, she doubted anyone would take the risk with her.

But before disappointment could take hold, Lexie thought about maybe starting small. What if, to start with, just to test out the idea, she could make a soul card, but for the body instead? She could make healing cards that were imbued with magic and attached to the body, the way this soul card was attached to her soul. The pathways for the cards could be made illness-specific and attached to the part of the body where the illness takes place, which could be used to heal chronic diseases. Would that be easier to make? Would it be possible?

Only one way to find out.

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