For a single, staggering second, the words didn't make sense. Then, its meaning finally hit Reidar. The crushing weight on his chest vanished, to the point that it left him lightheaded.

His lungs expanded, pulling in a breath that felt sharp and real for the first time in seven days. The dread that had kept him paralyzed in his room was replaced by a jolt of adrenaline that made his hands shake.

His hand was sweating as he reached out and took the device from Xy'tharr's chitinous grip.

The device nearly slipped through his fingers. He wiped his hand on his trousers, gripped the comms unit tight, and brought it to his ear.

"Martha? Is that really you?"

"Reidar?" "Reidar?" The voice was tinny, distorted by distance and interference, but it was hers. It was undeniably hers. A sob caught in his throat.

"Oh God, Reidar."

They spoke over each other for a second, a jumbled mess of "Are you okay?" and "Are you safe?"

"We're alive," she said. Her voice wasn't the soft one he remembered. It was rougher. "We're inside the Aegis perimeter near Kingsgate. It's... Reidar, it's a nightmare here."

"I know. I got told. How are you? Is Marcus safe?"

"We are fine," Martha said. "It had been a hell of a year, but all in all we are still here in one piece."

The two kept talking, and as Reidar listened, his grip tightened on the device as she explained her last few months.

She'd reached Level 50. It had been a brutal, grinding slog. Every point came from a fight, which was often a desperate struggle to kill things often stronger than her while keeping Marcus hidden and quiet.

She described how they had to barricade themselves in a basement for a week while Rift-Sprites prowled the streets above. She'd run out of food twice.

All of that made a surge of guilt spike inside of him, because he hadn't been there to stand in front of her.

Reidar wanted to tell her everything that had happened to him too. About his levels, his trait, and about Lena, Jake, and his parents.

But It was too much for him to recount, because he didn't hide as she did. So he swallowed it all down and settled for the simplest truth. "I'm okay," he said, and then he paused.

"I'm coming to get you," Reidar said. "Both of you."

"No," Martha said, almost panicking. She didn't want her husband to have survived until now, just for him to die now, just to go take them. "Don't. The soldiers said nothing can get in or out. The sky is black with the monsters, Reidar. If you try to come here, you'll die. Just stay safe. Knowing you're alive is enough."

"It's not enough," Reidar said. "I'm coming regardless. I'm not the same as I was, Martha. I can fight them. I'm coming."

"Reidar, please—"

But Reidar didn't reply, and a long silence ensued. "Can you put Marcus through?" She said nothing, but the silence was followed by a shuffling sound. Then a smaller, younger voice, trying too hard to sound brave, came on the line. "Dad?"

The sound of his son's voice, older and more weary than any child's should be, cracked something open in Reidar's chest. "Hey, buddy."

"DADDY!"

Marcus' laughter followed.

"Where are you, Dad? Mom says you're far away." Marcus was… weird… He didn't sound like the child who used to run around the backyard screaming about dinosaurs. He sounded cautious. Controlled. The apocalypse had taken his childhood away, as it did with Jake, but the young man was at least a little bit older.

"I am," Reidar said. "But I'm going to fix that. I'm going to come pick you up. I promise."

"Okay," Marcus said. "Bring the big swords. The monsters here have thick skin."

"I will," Reidar said, forcing his voice to stay steady. "I'll bring everything."

"Are you really coming?"

"I promise," Reidar said, putting every ounce of conviction he possessed into the words. "I'm going to pick you up. I just need you to be brave for a little while longer. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah," Marcus said, and Reidar could almost hear the small, determined nod. The simple happiness of that one word was a balm. After a moment, Marcus handed the device back to his mother.

Martha was crying now, despite her trying not to.

"I love you," Reidar said. "Stay with the Aegis Phalanx. Do whatever they say. They'll keep you safe until I get there." He looked up, his eyes finding Xy'tharr's gaze. The Kytinn warrior gave a single, firm nod of confirmation.

"And you," Martha said, "Please... be careful."

"I will."

The conversation ended, the silence it left behind feeling both peaceful and charged. Reidar handed the device back to Xy'tharr. The relief was already cooling, hardening into something else: purpose.

"You said you would take care of the church," Xy'tharr said. "You made a promise, Reidar Miller; we hold the line. You cut the head off the snake."

Reidar nodded. The fear that had paralyzed him was gone, burned away by the sound of his son's voice. In its place was a cold clarity. He couldn't fly to Kingsgate because of the monsters. The monsters were there because of the portals. The portals were there because of the Church.

The logic was a straight line. To save his family, he had to destroy the Church.

Reidar nodded.

"I will. I'm going to destroy all of them," Reidar said.

The buzzing awareness that connected him to the Vorathid Foragers told him Silas was still moving. The man was covering a vast distance, which meant the Church's main base was far.

Reidar would need to cross a monster-infested country now as large as a continent to reach Kingsgate. The Church, by opening portals and making the journey even more deadly, was the primary obstacle.

He had no choice. If he wanted to save his wife and son, he had to clear the path.

Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room. Lena and Jake, who had been waiting silently nearby, fell into step behind him. The dread that had kept him paralyzed for a week was gone and got replaced by a cold purpose.

"What's the plan?" Lena asked as they descended the stairs.

"We move," Reidar said. "Silas is strong, but he's not invincible. We're going to hunt him down."

Reidar didn't break his stride. "I'm going to the vendor. I need supplies. A lot of them."

He needed potions to restore his mana faster, rations that wouldn't spoil, and anything that could give him an edge in a long campaign. He needed to check what the vendors had for someone of his level, something that could help him fight against such powerful monsters.

"Good," Lena said. A grim smile touched her lips. "I need something that hurts more than steel."

"Me too," Jake said. "Let's go shopping."

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