Aiden's heart hiccupped, then went back to racing double-time.

For a tense moment, his mind went blank. It was a rare phenomenon. He was typically a quick thinker, but this was so unprecedented that he was stunned motionless.

He ventured to ask a question, What do you want from me?

<Oh, come now, Archmage. This is more about what you want from me. After all, you're the one who initiated this delightful little link in my mind that enables us to talk in private. >

That made no sense. The link Aiden had made on the Island didn't seem like it worked, and even if it worked, it certainly wouldn't work over that distance. He'd recently tested it with Lexie, and the link hadn't lasted past a kilometer. It also hadn't lasted longer than an hour at a time. It certainly couldn't have remained active all this time since he last saw the Alchemist, who was on the other side of the world…

Aiden paused. Unless he wasn't on the other side of the world.

Aiden quickly went to Tate and snapped his fingers to get his attention. Once Tate looked, Aiden continued gesturing wildly. He didn't want to talk in case the Alchemist could hear him, so he decided to use hand signals to warn Tate to be on guard.

Tate frowned in confusion, but he was even tenser than before. He probably didn't understand exactly what Aiden was saying, but he knew there was danger afoot.

Aiden walked out through the front doors and glanced around. Nothing jumped out as abnormal to him. He tried to do a mana search, reaching out to check mana signatures in his immediate environment. This was a new skill he was learning, but for now, he wasn't sensing anything.

Where are you? Aiden asked.

<The same place you left me.>

Then how are you able to talk to me? This channel shouldn't reach that far.

<It can reach as far as I want. You see, you're very clever, Archmage, but I've been doing this for much longer than you've been alive. Once I had your link in my head, all I had to do was amplify it and reverse it. I can speak to you from anywhere I want.>

How? The abundant silvers should be suppressing his ability. Why weren't they?

<I cannot tell you my secret just yet. What I will say is that alchemy is a wonderful thing once you let it take control of you. I think that's the problem you're going to face, Archmage.>

Is that so?

<Yes. You're far too smitten with the idea of self-control. I don't blame you. Most humans are. It terrifies you to think that there might be something more worthy of being in charge than your own feeble human mind. Even if your mind constantly leads you astray, you would rather hold onto that flawed system than let a superior force rule. >

And that superior force is…alchemy?

<Yes. If you let it. >

That is the very same thing that drove you mad. Aiden continued to walk as he talked, reaching out to feel the mana signatures around him. He headed for the forest behind the Green Fox home.

<Do I sound mad right now, Archmage? >The Alchemist chuckled. <Or do I sound like the most sane man in the universe?>

So what exactly do you want from me?

<Again, you are the one who reached out to me first. You clearly want something from me. I wanted to let you voice your questions frankly.>

Does this mean you're going to tell me the truth? Aiden found nothing up to the lake. There was no one there as well.

<I have always been truthful. I am such a kind and truthful man.>

Right. Aiden debated what to do next. On the one hand, he did want to have a private conversation with the Alchemist, and this was one way to do it.

However, he didn't trust the Alchemist's intentions. He wasn't going through all this trouble just to help Aiden. He had an ulterior motive here, and he was working with Vulcan. Aiden had to figure out why.

The man whose picture I showed you. Do you know him?

The Alchemist was quiet, as though in thought, but he ultimately said <No>

Are you lying to me?

<No, I am not lying. I do not know that man. But if you tell me about him, perhaps I can help you find him. >

The unsettled feeling resonated in his stomach. There were so many things wrong with this. The proper thing to do would be to call Vacek right now and tell him that the Alchemist could still perform such powerful feats even with the silver. But he could do that later, when Vacek arrived on Earth.

The question was, should Aiden tell the Alchemist what he knew about Vulcan? Perhaps Vulcan was using the Alchemist to see how much Aiden had discovered.

Then again, if the man truly could see the future like Aiden thought, it meant that he probably already knew that Aiden knew about him, which meant…what exactly?

It was difficult trying to catch a man who could see the future. Aiden couldn't employ tactics that would lead to other people's deaths, and he couldn't hide the investigation either. His hands were tied. Oftentimes, he felt like a sitting duck, waiting for something to happen so he could react to it.

Naem suggested, though, that there was a weakness in the man's powers. Since he clearly could not predict Lexie very well, Naem thought it might be a chaos component of her soul messing with the predictions.

Chaos, by its very nature, made things hard to predict, which was part of what made what the Vulcan was doing so incredible. His actions led to controlled chaos.

Like the ISTS.

Somehow Lexie defied that, perhaps because her soul presented too much chaos to be predicted.

The Alchemist was also the embodiment of chaos. So that meant that the Vulcan may not be able to predict him well either. He may not know that the Alchemist would be talking to Aiden right now.

Therefore, the Alchemist might be just the chaos Aiden needs to get the upper hand.

If he could trust the man, that is.

Aiden decided to try with a half-truth. The man I'm looking for can see the future.

<Oh ho. What a useful skill. Can he travel through time?>

I'm not sure. Aiden lied. I haven't figured out the intricacies of his skill yet.

<Are you sure? You're usually such a clever man. Are you sure you can't figure out how he's doing it?>

I might be able to if you help me.

<Of course.>

Do you have golems in Old Moulding that perform experiments on people?

<No. All my Golems were confiscated.>

The same answer he'd given in the cell. Aiden was disappointed that the Alchemist was successfully lying to him. Maybe Aiden would have to work smarter then.

Let's say you did have a golem, and it was roaming about in Old Moulding. What would it be doing?

<Interesting hypothetical. Well, I suppose this golem would be continuing my experiments to advance the human race.>

Now they were getting somewhere. I see. And if this golem did somehow meet this man with future sight, what purpose would their meeting serve?

<That would depend on too many factors. How did they meet? What relationship do they have? How interesting is this individual?>

He's very interesting. Do you know what a Chosen is?

This caused the Alchemist to pause. <Oh ho. You have raised a very interesting question.>

Do you or do you not?

<Is the sly fox still running that program? How amusing. I wonder if it will yield him the result he wants this time.>

What result?

<Oh no, I could not possibly share that. This is not about him. This is about me and you, Aiden Sparrowfoot.>

Every time he said his name, Aiden's skin crawled, and he felt like a thousand ghoulish eyes were staring right at him.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Well, I cannot have a partnership with a man who is aiding another man in trying to kill my daughter. Aiden said

<You have a daughter? How delightful. How old is she?>

Aiden ignored his question and said, You didn't answer my question. In case you met such a person, what would you want from them?

<I suppose our goals would have to align. We would both want the advancement of the human race.>

Even if it meant harming humans in the process.

<Every good experiment has casualties. You should know that Archmage.>

The statement reminded Aiden of the conversation he'd had with Lexie; the anger and disgust that had grown in her eyes after she realized that his crime was more destructive than she'd thought.

After she'd realized that opening so many dungeons denatured just as many creatures, she'd fought to control her expression, but in that unguarded moment of loathing, it had been like someone plunged a knife into his gut and twisted.

Aiden couldn't blame her. He knew that with Naem's training, Lexie would probably become more sympathetic toward the Eldritch, just like Aiden himself had become after meeting and interacting with Naem.

It still hadn't stopped him from doing what he did. Neither had he cared how many people he'd hurt, accidentally or not, on his quest to save Lara. He was the last person to lecture anyone about the dangers of experimentation.

<You know I've always admired you, Archmage> the Alchemist said. <For your single-minded devotion to your cause. Out of your cohort of heroes, only you seemed like you had a good grasp of the true nature of this world we're living in and what it means to not adapt to change. Because change will happen whether we like it or not. Things have already been put into motion that cannot be stopped. One can only adapt or die.>

Aiden's blood grew cold at what the Alchemist was saying. What are you talking about?

<We'll speak later. I must go now.>

Wait, Aiden said. When were you really born?

<You never ask an old man his age, Archmage. That is quite rude of you to do.>

What would it take for you to tell me?

<Come talk to me again, and I might. Oh, and about this person you're looking for…perhaps you should think less of what I want from them and more of what they want from me. That might give you your answer. Good luck.>

With that, his presence was gone from Aiden's mind.

His last words lingered in the air, and Aiden remained frozen, trying to figure it out.

What would the Vulcan want from the Alchemist?

Vulcan likely got his powers as an Accursed from the Guardians. But it was said that those powers were flawed and could reduce lifespan.

So maybe he needed the Alchemist to increase his lifespan somehow? By making golems?

Was that it?

No. The Alchemist wasn't an easy man to find or work with. There were easier targets who could help Vulcan increase his lifespan. There had to be something else. Something only the Alchemist could do.

The wheels in Aiden's mind continued to turn. He compartmentalized everything he knew about the Vulcan.

The man ran models that told the future rather than going back in time. Aiden wasn't sure how it worked, but Vulcan would probably need time and space to run those models. After all, time didn't stop turning just because he wanted to look into the future. While he ran the models, he probably wasn't active. Every action of his would impact the model, so either that was a factor he couldn't account for, or the model would continuously be changing.

Come to think of it, every second that passed unaccounted for was also a second he couldn't include in the model.

So he needed to run the model somewhere isolated from time and space.

For example, a pocket dimension.

It hit him like a bolt.

That was why he needed the Alchemist. A man who could create spaces that bent reality could probably create one that didn't abide by time and space. At least for a moment.

Of course. Why on Earth had he never thought about this before?

Perhaps because he didn't want to think that the Alchemist had truly gotten that powerful, even while in captivity and under all their noses.

How?

A light sound rustled behind him, and Aiden spun around to see Tate approaching him with a wild look in his eye and a kitchen knife in his hand.

"Where did it go?" he demanded. "I searched around and couldn't find it."

"Where did what go?"

"Whatever you were looking for that snuck up on us."

Aiden looked down at the kitchen knife in amusement. "You were going to defend me with my kitchen knife?"

Tate's face reddened. "Well, I don't have access to any of my other weapons. They got stolen."

"Hm." Well, the boy might be a lot of things, but coward wasn't one of them.

Aiden chuckled and walked back to him, ruffling Tate's hair and placing his arm around his shoulder. He steered them back in the direction of the cottage, and he suggested they have some soothing tea before Aiden left.

Despite his stiffening, Tate did not protest.

***

Lexie was nervous as she and Torin walked towards the Shadowsbanes. She'd already rehearsed her greeting in her head, but for some reason, she thought they might shun her. Maybe they were the high society types who didn't talk to lower-class people. Maybe they wouldn't like her because of Aiden.

Lexie told herself that she didn't care. She didn't actually need them to like her for real; she just wanted to win them over so they would talk to her about their powers and how they worked. What she'd learned over her many days of research was that each elemental group guarded the secrets of its power, and she figured the only way to get it was by befriending them.

It'll work, Lexie pep-talked herself. You have that high charisma going for you, remember.

Speaking of which, she didn't know if her charisma had increased since the pre-awakened days. It didn't show up on her system screen, and she didn't see system calculations anymore, but Aiden might know another way to check.

They finally reached, and Torin cleared his throat loudly.

Mane, who had been smiling at whatever Lucian was saying, turned his attention to Torin.

"Lucian," he said. "I believe you must have met my son Torin at some point, haven't you? "

"No, I haven't had the pleasure," Lucian responded and held out his hand. Torin shook it and said, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"And this is Stella's goddaughter," Mane continued. "Lexie."

The group switched their attention to Lexie, simultaneously, and Lucian narrowed his eyes. "She looks familiar."

"She's Aiden's Sparrowfoot's daughter," the teenage boy said in a neutral tone.

"Oh," one of the adult women spoke up. "You mean the Archmage?"

"You're his daughter?" Lucian asked.

"Yes," Lexie said.

"You're younger than I thought," Lucian said. "I thought you would be at least twelve years old."

Lexie blushed. "I am twelve. I'm just small for my age. Well, not small. Almost average. In the 35th percentile."

"I see." Lucian reached into his pocket, and at first, Lexie thought it was just to adjust his stance, but then he pulled out a red and green wrapped orb. "A sweet for the holiday?"

"Oh." It was a nice gesture. It was tradition for adults to give children candy on Ansing, but typically it was given to very young kids.

"Thanks," Lexie said as she took it.

The boy snickered. Even Torin cracked a smile.

Lexie didn't let it bother her. It was showtime.

"I'm very happy to meet you both," she said. "Especially you, Professor Shadowbane?"

"Me?" The woman turned her pupilless eyes to Lexie.

"Yes. I know you teach at the Highwater District Academy, and I was very fascinated by your research on the mana relativity and the invisible string of connections from our pathways to the metaphysical world."

"Oh." The small crowd of people was clearly surprised. They weren't expecting that from Lexie.

That was what made it such a good trump card.

During her research, Lexie found out that Lucian's wife, Darina, was a Researcher-Mage and taught at the most famous University in District 8.

Lexie had pulled up a few of her papers and read them when she had time.

The research, in its most dumbed-down version, was about connections from pathways across different dimensions and their relation to a grand theory of being.

It was complicated at first, but then Lexie likened it to string theory, which made it make more sense.

Her Earth 2 mother had been a physicist, so Lexie had listened to one or two lectures about string theory, enough, at least, to impress the tall woman.

If there was one thing Lexie also learned from college applications, it was the art of kissing up to an admission team made up of academics. She was a pro at that by now.

"Oh my." Darina smiled, and her heart fluttered over her chest. "I didn't think one as young as you would know about that."

"She's very smart," Mane said.

"She's a genius," Torin clarified.

Lexie took the compliments with a nod. "I'd love to talk about it some more in private."

"Of course," the woman beamed, then glanced at her husband. "You don't mind, do you, dear?"

"No."

"I'll be back then." She took Lexie's hand, and they drifted away. "Okay, adorable one. Tell me more about what you know about my research?"

Ha. That was easy. Thank you, high charisma.

Lexie recited her knowledge as they walked around the party searching for a private patch of grass.

They were getting even more stares than before, but Lexie didn't care. She kept going, and Darina had to correct her here and there for a few things she got wrong, including one thing about the nature of the pathway connections.

"No, it is not the pathways that connect us to the other world," Darina clarified. "Rather, it is the other world that originates the pathways."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know there is an invisible magical plane, correct?"

Lexie nodded. Aiden had told her about this when they'd first started learning card magic years ago.

"That is a different realm. Access to that magical plane is what gives rise to the pathways in our body. I believe the structural differences in pathways depend on how easily one can access this realm. Of course, it's only a theory for now, but with time, I might be able to prove it."

"I see." Lexie's mind was working. "Does this also apply to the Shadow realm?"

This woman's eyes flared wide. "How do you know about the Shadow Realm?"

"My necromancy professor told me about it. I was interested in how Shadows are created."

"I see. Well, that is a bit more complex. Shadows are created from nothing."

"I thought they were created from the Shadow realm?"

"Yes. In the Shadow Realm, there is the concept of nothing." She chuckled at Lexie's confused face. "Just as death is the absence of life, yet exists as a separate entity, so does nothing. And what is nothing? It is the inverse mirror of something. Human beings are something, defined by their existence. Their inverse mirror is the shadow, which is nothing. The Shadow realm is the home of nothing."

"Okay," Lexie said slowly, trying to wrap her head around it. "And this coexists with the concepts of ghosts and such?"

"Yes. They also come from the source of nothing. And based on this theory, we are all connected to nothing by a string, which is why we cast shadows, but not everyone can create or control nothing. It's a delicate power to wield, and it's a source that's far from our being, at the end of the tentative string that links us to everything. Only in the absence of something can we access or create nothing. Once it is accessed, it can be controlled."

"Uh huh." Lexie didn't understand a lot of what the woman was saying, but she did understand one thing.

Seize the end.

Lexie suddenly knew how to make the void card.

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