Chương 90: Vigil

Light erupted in the center of the living room. Talia materialized in a flash, katana sheathed at her hip, drone hovering at her shoulder. The disorientation lasted only a moment before her senses adjusted to the familiar surroundings. Movement on the couch caught her attention. The tentacled alien rose quickly, gesturing with several appendages.

"Talia! You return!" The words came in broken English, enthusiastic despite the awkward pronunciation. She nodded, scanning the rest of the open space. Empty. No one else. The alien continued, tentacles fidgeting.

"We... taking turns. Watch for... you all." It gestured toward the couch, where the holo displayed a paused frame of Barkforce. A guilty pause, like it had been caught doing something it shouldn't. Given that she knew they were all watching together, she could guess he was sneaking an extra episode in. Talia glanced toward the terrace doors. Still dark. She frowned and pulled up her System interface, checking the time. It had been two hours since the challenge was initiated. Her frown deepened.

The entire fight had been under ten minutes. Maybe seven at most. The countdown, the brief exchange with Sir Garret, the combat itself ending almost as soon as it began. Even claiming the prize and watching the cathedral dissolve around her hadn't taken long. But two hours had passed here.

"System say... fights are... broadcast?" The alien's voice pulled her from her thoughts. Its tentacles gestured uncertainly.

"Everywhere. All can watch." A pause.

"We... not watch. Wait for you instead." Talia's surprise must have shown on her face. She pulled up the System announcement that had been withheld while in the arena and scanned over it. Her mind immediately began cataloging implications. Broadcasting to all realities meant multiversal exposure. Not just Earth_1, but every reality the System could reach. Their powers and techniques had all been on display for anyone watching. And that last line about awakening Dreams... that changed everything.

If true, it meant that powers were no longer limited to serum injections. Just being around those who had already awakened could trigger it. The rate of power proliferation would accelerate exponentially over time. Social structures across every affected world would destabilize. The galactic community's response would be unpredictable at best. She closed the interface and looked at the empty living room again. We'll need to discuss this. Her eyes lingered on the space where they'd departed.

Where Alexander, Annie, and Augustus should be returning. After everyone's back. She moved toward the kitchen with purposeful strides, setting her weapons carefully on the counter. Her drone settled beside them with a soft hum. She reached for the coffee maker, hand hovering over the controls, and paused. Then she opened the refrigerator instead, scanning Augustus's carefully organized beer selection. She deliberated for exactly two seconds before grabbing something Belgian. He'll forgive me.

Talia sat on a stool at the kitchen island, positioning herself to face the living room with a clear view of where they'd departed. Where they'd return. She opened the beer and took a sip. The sound of the ocean waves breaking against the shore drifted up from the beach. In the living room, the alien had restarted Barkforce, the holo murmuring softly in the background. The light from the kitchen reflected off the glass walls. Her eyes fixed on the empty space where they'd all departed from.

She wouldn't think about the knight's impossible memories. Twenty-three winters in a fifteen-year-old world. She wouldn't think about what that meant for the System's true nature. She wouldn't think about being the only one back. She wouldn't calculate the odds or consider what it might mean. She just... Waited.

Light erupted in the center of the living room again. Augustus materialized with a slight stumble, catching himself before he fully lost balance. His ribs screamed in protest at the sudden movement. He straightened carefully, scanning the space with practiced efficiency. His drone hovered in place, waiting for a command. Talia sat at the kitchen island, beer in hand. Relief crossed her face the moment she saw him. The tentacled alien rose from the couch, tentacles gesturing excitedly.

Augustus nodded in acknowledgment but didn't break stride toward the kitchen. His eyes landed on the bottle in Talia's hand. A Belgian. One of the good ones. He raised an eyebrow, mock-offense settling into his expression.

"My victory beer!" Talia glanced down at the bottle, then back at him.

"I'm sorry, I—" Augustus smiled, waving it off.

"I'm just kidding." He flicked his wand in a casual arc. An ethereal hand materialized in shimmering blue, drifting toward the refrigerator. It pulled the door open, selected another Belgian from his carefully organized collection, then pushed the door closed. The angle was slightly off, the spectral fingers pressing sideways against the surface, but the door shut anyway. The beer floated across the kitchen toward him. While it traveled, Augustus scanned the rooms again, as though he might have missed something.

It was still empty except for Talia and their alien friend. His shoulders sagged slightly.

"The others aren't back yet," he said, stating the obvious. The spectral hand arrived with his beer. He plucked it from the ethereal grip, and the hand vanished. Talia shook her head.

"I got back just over five minutes ago." She paused.

"But it's been over two hours since it started." Augustus frowned at that. Two hours. His fight with Erasmus must have been longer than Talia's, but it was still nowhere near that long. Time dilation between arenas, then. Or something stranger. He popped the cap off with a practiced flick of his thumb. Then he tilted his head back and drank deeply, the cold liquid cutting through the exhaustion settling into his bones. When he lowered the bottle, he let out a satisfied sigh. You could be reading stolen content.

Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Did you get what you needed?" he asked.

"Not sure yet." Talia's fingers traced the condensation on her bottle.

"Haven't tested it." Her eyes met his.

"You?" Augustus held his beer up. The spectral hand reappeared and took it from him with care. Then he snapped his left hand out dramatically, palm up, wand still gripped in his right. A thick leather-bound book materialized above his palm with a satisfying weight to its appearance. It snapped open, pages spreading to reveal... blank, white, space. The book simply floated there, hovering in place like Erasmus's had. Augustus shrugged.

"Don't know how to use it yet." He studied the pages for a moment.

"The wizard's book responded to his thoughts, but he also knew actual magic. Probably had spell circles and formations already written in his." He looked up from the floating tome.

"I'll figure it out." The spectral hand returned his beer before vanishing again. He took it, the book still hovering beside him. His drone drifted over to settle near Talia's on the counter. He joined her at the kitchen island, but remained standing. Augustus shifted his weight carefully, favoring his left side where the ribs ached worst. His eyes drifted to the center of the living room, to the empty space where they'd all departed together. Where Annie and Alexander should be returning. Would be.

Talia's gaze followed his. The worry neither of them would voice hung in the air between them, unspoken but understood. They waited.

Light erupted in the center of the living room for a third time. Annie materialized with a stagger, her glitter-drone hovering in the air beside her. Her legs shook, managed two steps, then gave up. She let herself fall, twisting and sprawling across the cool tile. Blood smeared across the floor where she fell. Most of it wasn't hers. Her jacket hung in tatters, soaked through with gore and swamp muck. She just lay there, staring at the ceiling. Breathing. Talia and Augustus rose from their vigil.

The tentacled alien made a worried sound from the couch, rising and moving closer to hover anxiously near Annie.

"I killed a fucking dinosaur." Annie's voice came out somewhere between a laugh and a sob. Talia dropped to her knees beside her. Augustus moved close.

"Where are you hurt?" Talia asked.

"Ribs. Keeping them phased out." Annie spat blood.

"And my fucking mouth."

"Open." Annie complied. Talia examined her tongue, quick and clinical.

"You bit it. Deep. You'll be fine. It will be painful but not serious." Her eyes shifted lower.

"The leg?"

"Landed hard when it broke my ribs. I was trying to do something cool." Augustus was already moving. Spectral hands materialized without any wave of his wand. One opened the freezer. Another pulled a towel from a drawer. A third got water. He didn't seem to notice the magic flowing, too focused on Annie to register anything else. Talia pressed gently against Annie's leg. Annie hissed.

"Let's get you up," Augustus said. She accepted his help without protest. He lifted her carefully, one arm supporting her weight, and guided her to a stool at the kitchen island. She settled with a groan, leg extended. Talia examined more thoroughly now. Annie hissed again when she pressed a particular spot.

"Doesn't feel broken. Likely a deep bone bruise." Talia looked up.

"Can you phase it out?" Annie shook her head.

"Running on empty. Can barely keep the ribs dealt with."

"Ice and elevation then. We'll get you to a healer at Astra Omnia tomorrow." The tentacled alien made a pleased sound, tentacles settling from their worried fidgeting.

"Good. Annie will be well." It turned toward the stairs.

"I tell others. Almost all back now." Annie smiled at her henchman with bloodied teeth. Augustus knelt with the icepack and towel in his hands. The spectral ones had already delivered everything he needed. He wrapped the icepack around her leg with care, with the efficient motions of someone who'd done field medicine before. Her drone settled on the counter near the others with a whir.

"This'll help until we can get you proper treatment." Annie nodded. Then the words spilled out.

"It ate my fucking arm. I mean, it was only a metal one, but it just bit it off and ate it. I watched it chew." Her voice cracked.

"Then it chased me up the building. Kept climbing like some kind of gorilla-dinosaur hybrid. I dropped it down at least eight floors, and it got back up." The words came faster. Shakier.

"Had to ride the drone down, turned myself into a spike, and—" Her voice broke.

"I thought I was dead." Talia's hand touched her shoulder, offering quiet comfort.

"But you're not," Augustus said.

"You're here." Annie pulled in a shaky breath. Forced herself together. Some of her usual bravado tried to return, but something had changed. They could see it in her eyes. Neither of them coddled her. They knew she'd just survived crazy odds. They all had. And there was only respect in the silent acceptance. Annie straightened slightly, then looked around, seeing only three of them were there. Her eyes fixed on the empty space where they'd all departed.

"Alexander's still out there?" she asked. The question hung in the air for a moment.

"He'll make it back," Talia said quietly. Annie felt doubt creep into her thoughts. After everything she'd gone through evading the dinosaur, then killing it, and finally digging through the muck to find her prize, it had seemed obvious she'd be the last one to return.

"He will," Augustus said. Annie stayed on her stool, leg elevated and wrapped in the icepack. Talia stood nearby, close enough to help if needed. Augustus returned to where he'd been waiting when Annie returned. Their eyes fixed on the empty space where Alexander should appear. How long had it been? How long was too long? None of them voiced their concerns. They just waited. Together. For the last member of their crazy little family.

Lightning erupted in the center of the living room. Not just light. Actual lightning, crackling and arcing through the air in jagged branches. Alexander materialized in the flash, boots hitting the tiles with shaky legs. Every light in the house dimmed. The overhead fixtures, the holo display, even the tiny LEDs on appliances. Darkness pressed in around them for a heartbeat. Then everything surged back brighter, almost painful, before normalizing. Alexander stood there, chest heaving.

Lightning still arced inside his eyes, visible to anyone looking. Gold mixed with white-blue, crackling in miniature storms behind his pupils. The three drones on the counter all beeped in unison. They spun up and rose toward the ceiling, forming up beneath Droney in formation. His drone hovered at the apex, scarred and rebuilt. It beeped once. Twice. Three times. The others settled into a holding pattern, acknowledging the command. Talia, Augustus, and Annie stared at him. The tension in the room was palpable.

Something about him was different. Wrong. Or maybe right in a way that merely felt wrong. Alexander met their eyes, trying for a smile. His vision blurred. The lightning in his eyes snapped out as they returned to normal. His knees buckled. Augustus moved first, crossing the distance in two strides. One arm caught Alexander across the chest and shoulders, wincing from his own damaged ribs but holding steady.

"Whoa there. We got you." Talia was there a second later. Annie slammed into him from the side, arms wrapping tight around his torso.

"Ow," Alexander managed, the sound half-groan, half-laugh.

"Sorry!" Annie didn't let go. They guided him to the sofa. He sank into it gratefully, every muscle screaming. Augustus stayed close, one hand on his shoulder. Talia knelt beside him, already examining. Her hands moved efficiently. Checking pulse, pupils, responses. She paused when she looked at his eyes, studying them for a long moment. Looking for something but not finding it. Her frown deepened slightly before she continued the assessment.

"You're okay," she said finally. Not a question. A declaration based on evidence. Alexander took them all in. Talia kneeling beside him, her concern barely masking relief. Augustus standing close, protective even while injured himself. Annie sat next to him, refusing to give him space. He smiled, tired but genuine.

"Glad everyone made it back." His voice came out rougher than intended.

"Not that I had any doubts." His eyes found Annie. The smirk tugged at his lips.

"Well. Mostly."

"Asshole," Annie muttered, but her mock glare couldn't quite hide the happiness at everyone returning safely. Thunder echoed from the stairs. All four of them turned as the aliens came stampeding down, the tentacled one leading the way, all calling out in broken English and harmonious tones, glad to see Grimnir had returned.