It’s obvious that Syvox isn’t used to waiting around on someone else’s terms, but he’s curious enough that he doesn’t complain as we stand together outside a thick stone door set into a strange combination of metal and other materials. It’s the only place I’ve ever seen this kind of architecture and interior, and it’s good to be back. I’m curious myself about what might come next.

  Eventually the door opens and a floating invertebrate with multiple eye stalks emerges from the door. Its eyes orient on us immediately and its body starts to quiver as it scuttles quickly away from us through the air and down the hall.

  “Come in, come in,” says a voice through the door. “I’ve already delayed my next visit.”

  We turn the corner to enter the room and Syvox stops dead in his tracks.

  “Keeper Coderkoll,” I greet the Protocol Sentinel with a nod and a smile. Coming here is a slight risk since he seemed pretty unpredictable last time I was here, but it’s not like I have a heap of connections in the SSA, especially ones that have been around a long, long time. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that Coderkoll will speak his mind. He still looks the same; bronze-like material that’s looked after but showing signs of wear and his thick, segmented limbs and rectangular torso have designs engraved on them that I now suspect are a lot more than meets the eye. HIs four squat, solid legs move him around in a way that makes you think he’s immovable. Mana is still rolling off him as extensively as last time and the advancements I’ve had in my Affinity mean I can feel it and even track it.

  “Bronwic!” he says with the enthusiasm he had when I last visited, and then Coderkoll nods at Syvox with much less familiarity. Syvox still hasn’t moved a muscle. “I must admit most people I never see twice. What do I owe this honor to?”

  “Are you…” Syvox starts, still staring at Coderkoll, and then trails off.

  “Don’t overload your processors, Syvox. Yes, I am,” responds Coderkoll, even though the question wasn’t directly pointed at him. “Now let me speak with Bronwic.”

  Syvox does, indeed, look like his in full on processing mode and although it’s clear he’s registered what Keeper Coderkoll has said, he doesn’t reply or make any moves.

  I wait patiently, interested in what happens, before Coderkoll reorients his attention on me before I continue.

  “I’m interested in your wisdom and opinions, Keeper Coderkoll,” I say respectfully. “I find myself in some strange situations with dynamics I can’t really fathom and nobody really to trust that has knowledge of these things.”

  “You think you can trust me?” Coderkoll says incredulously. I can’t really tell if he’s saying that because he isn’t trustworthy, or if it’s more basic and he is just never exposed to a situation where someone is invested in his opinion.

  “I think you will have a unique perspective that is extremely valuable and although potentially very different than mine, that’s a good thing,” I say truthfully, skirting around the edge of his question.

  “Not exactly answering my question, but a good answer anyway, my boy,” the Keeper replies good naturedly. “What’s on your mind?”

  “The Tuvvok Council,” I reply, wondering what reaction it might provoke.

  “Well! You’re straight into some pretty complex quantum circuits there, Bronwic! Hasn’t your world only been Mana saturated for a few years?”

  Coderkoll pauses for half a second, enough for me to notice.

  “Ah yes, Mana Influx… and two of them! Very rare. And your Class is unique… I guess it’s plausible.”

  “I’d like to get your opinion on whether I should attempt to Challenge to be part of the Council or not. And if there is any other way for me to secure a second world for humanity to expand to.”

  “How much help are you looking for, Bronwic?” he asks, suddenly no longer the jovial mechanised being. The runes on his surface glow with powerful Mana and I can feel it flowing out of him all over the room. Syvox takes a step back and I glance over at him, but he’s calm and not looking like he’s about to go anywhere.

  “As much as you can give me. As much as you’re willing to give,” I suggest, open to anything from full rejection to some useful information.

  The black chain that’s wound around him many times unfurls and whips through the air and descends to the ground quickly before it circles Keeper Coderkoll and I, then rises from the ground to the ceiling, leaving us inside a pitch black cylinder on all sides, lit only by the glow of Mana from the Keeper’s runes. Syvox is left outside and I don’t hear him or sense him trying to break me out of whatever I’m in. My Danger Sense is silent but I’m pretty sure based on my Affinities that we’re both in the room and not in the room in a way that makes me feel like I’m looking at a compass that’s spinning around and around. Maybe we’re flitting through the Multiverse or alternate realities and dimensions, or something else. Whatever it is, I count on Omnipresent to be able to get me back to where I want to go and focus my attention on Coderkoll.

  “You really are resilient, aren’t you?” he muses. “Even the most powerful Ascended have trouble with me here.”

  “Well, I’m not sure about my power compared to others, but this doesn’t seem too bad. Maybe it’s just my particular Class and Skills,” I suggest.

  “And that’s the key, isn’t it Bronwic?”

  He pauses for several seconds. I’m not sure what he’s talking about so I decide not to open my mouth and prove myself a fool.

  “To give you some real advice I need to know more. Can I have your Oath that you won’t attack me as long as nothing I do harms you? The experience of discovering what I need about you can be… disconcerting.”

  “I’m not in the habit of giving out binding Oaths like that, but I’ve no intention of attacking you Keeper Coderkoll. Besides, you seem to be able to take care of yourself?” I reply with a grin. I’m keen to hear what he says, but I’m not signing up for an Oath and I’ve seen what he’s done to other Ascended.

  “Trouble is, you’re not like the others, are you?”

  He pauses for a few more seconds and I wait patiently as he runs the calculations or talks to himself, or contacts an AI, or whatever it is he’s doing to make a decision.

  “Very well. I must admit I’m curious. Try to relax and not slay a poor old Keeper where he stands for trying to help you, ok?”

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  “Ok,” I agree, wondering what he has in store.

  A couple seconds after I agree, I start to feel a probing that almost feels like I’m activating my Skills and SMI even though I’m doing nothing. I get a rush and my instinct is to seize back control, to stop whatever it is from causing me to feel so disrupted and violated. I grit my teeth and clench my fists, then a few seconds later it stops. In a strangely human-like gesture, Coderkoll leans back and looks up slightly as if contemplating what he’s just absorbed. Then he speaks.

  “Well, I had a good idea about what you could do before but now it’s apparent you really are something special. Your physical regeneration is unheard of and the synergy of all your Skills is unique. Unique Class along with it, and I’ve never heard of the Skill point advantage you have. The number of Evolutions you have is already staggering and you’re going to be able to Evolve every single one of your Ascended Class Skills?”

  He pauses for a moment in thought and maybe to see if I agree with him, but it’s not new news and I give a little shrug.

  “Virtual immunity to mental manipulation, the ability to significantly slow time and multiply your Strength and Agility. Your Luck is off the charts, and that would bend fate away from you being killed quickly all by itself. And… oh, now I see what that one does - come back from the brink of death with only a one hour cooldown?”

  One again all I can do is give a little shrug. I wonder where he’s going with this.

  “Highly resistant to Stamina drain, Mana drain is pretty much inconsequential, physical resistances extremely high. Weapons that can cut through anything including inter-dimensional space. Find and instantly move to anyone, or pretty much anywhere. Scan the Universe for combat and useful or threatening situations. Advanced warning of any ambush or threat as set by you in thresholds. Danger Sense warning you of imminent threats to feed your reflexes. Move through space to attack while virtually invulnerable. Call upon ancient warriors, siphon vitality from your foes, judge and execute your enemies, disrupt anything with Resonant Strike. Put a Geas on your enemies or destroy their psyche. Anything I missed?”

  “Couple things,” I reply, then I shrug again and give him a little grin. “Been a hell of a ride.”

  “Bronwic, there are always variables we can’t account for but I would be surprised if you are not in the top 10 most dangerous and hard to kill people in the entire Universe. Give me a moment,” he says, and I contemplate that. I knew I had advantages and combat has come easier and easier to me, but I never really thought of that kind of a boost. Others like The Taskmaster and Tenebris seem much more powerful, but I guess I’m still here even after some hairy encounters.

  “I’ve run the probabilities with the AI and I can confirm that from a combat point of view, there are potentially only a few who could counter you or defeat you, and you still have six more Ascended Level Skills to Evolve. This is completely unprecedented. Remarkable. You are uniquely qualified to hunt down and kill the most powerful people in the Universe.”

  We stand there for a few seconds. I’m exactly sure what to say.

  “What would you suggest I do about it, Keeper Coderkoll?”

  “Nothing,” he replies.

  “Nothing?” I ask, and raise my eyebrow in doubt before I can help it. “I honestly didn’t expect you to say that. It’s not exactly natural for me to do nothing. That feels… wrong. If I have a good chance of winning some Challenges, shouldn’t I be trying to move up into the Council to give Earth a say in things and protect it?”

  “Maybe in a different circumstance, Bronwic. And you’re free to disregard my advice. But you’re much more dangerous by not joining the Council. Yes, it would give you more protection and give Earth a say it doesn’t currently have. However, physical combat between those in the Tuuvok Council is limited to Challenges through very powerful Geases that you must willingly accept in order to issue a Challenge. Your advantage right now is that if anyone crosses the line, you actually can confront and likely kill them if you choose to. Given humanity’s lack of scale in economic development or any of the other criteria which would make you meaningful, and that Earth is currently under the protection of the SSA for a number of years, it wouldn’t make any sense. Anyone in the Council wanting to take advantage of you would simply apply non-combat pressure and you would not have sufficient recourse to stop them other than a threat of lowering their Council Rank by defeating them in combat. I assure you the threat of death is much more… powerful.”

  I consider what he’s saying and who he is for a little bit and the Keeper stays silent, only the dark cylinder of his creation surrounding us. I roll around in my mind any biases he might have for a certain way of approaching things and the vast experience and knowledge Coderkoll speaks with.

  “How are the Tuuvok Council to know not to mess with me? A threat is only a deterrent if a threat is known.”

  “You may underestimate just how much the news of you turning Oblivion Shroud back rippled through the Council. It would not be something they worried themselves about, but certainly they would be aware that something about Earth and you makes it expensive and bothersome to attend to.”

  “How do I make sure they’re worried enough?”

  “Well, the AI and I agree that hostile action on your part would only rally the Council together to take you on because of concern about where you strike next. If, however, you are retaliating for action taken against you then we believe the message will be clear without causing a disproportionate response that may overwhelm you. They are somewhat tied by the SSA Protocols around Earth at the moment. Not ironclad, mind you, but overt action at this point would be more costly to them in a wider sense than any benefit they could get, other than ego and satisfaction.”

  We both pause and think, but he’s the first to speak, gesturing with one of his arms.

  “If you are concerned, and I think your concerns are fair, ask Tenebris to spread the word that you have chosen not to Challenge for a Council Rank, and instead act as guardian of your planet. That would probably be sufficient warning for them to put any plans regarding you to the side until, at least, the SSA protections for your planet have expired.”

  Tenebris again. I have complicated feelings about Tenebris, but there’s no doubting that he’s been a valuable ally in some respects. Not everything is black and white, and now that some time has passed since my last tense interaction with Taiwo I have had a chance to reflect on what he said. Even if it came off as harsh and got my back up, there was merit to it, and Taiwo cared enough to say it to me rather than just abandoning me to whatever decision I might make. Or maybe I’m better off making decisions without him.

  Fuck. Why can’t life just be full of easy choices with no downsides or mistakes?

  “Is there no way you know of that I can help humanity expand to another planet without putting us in even more danger?” I ask, hopeful.

  “Not while your world is stable,” Coderkoll replies. “If there was an inevitable cataclysmic event then there are some lesser known Protocols that would apply, but unless the AI’s calculations are wrong, you are not in that situation?”

  “Not that I know of,” I agree. Thankfully our planet seems to be remarkably stable and relatively safe at the moment. I’m more planning for the future than trying to rescue our present. Perhaps focusing on Earth for a while could be a good thing.

  “Do you have the answers you seek?” Coderkoll asks.

  “Thank you, Keeper Coderkoll. They weren’t the answers I thought I was seeking, but I very much appreciate your wisdom and perspective. Is there anything you need that might be within my power to help with?” I ask.

  “I’m glad you’ve chosen to heed my advice, at least for now. Not only will it be better for your species, it should also keep things a lot more interesting for me! So little holds the Tuuvok Council in check… but you’re a dangerous, unknown quantity as a High Enforcer roaming the Universe without being held in the bonds of their pact. Quite a weapon.”

  Keeper Coderkoll pauses for a few moments before dropping the cylinder all around us. Nothing’s changed; Syvox is waiting patiently and respectfully, a strange posture I’m not used to seeing him in.

  “Try not to get pointed in the wrong direction,” Coderkoll adds. “Now get out of here so I can keep on initiating more High Enforcers.”

  I open a Portal to Chiang Mai on a whim and step through; Syvox decides to follow. The rich agricultural basin surrounded by protective mountains have somehow avoided the attention of anything really powerful and a decent, thriving community has developed. I like it, but little enough that I don’t mind leaving Syvox here when we part ways. No need to lead him somewhere I really care about and then cut him loose.

  I take a deep, deep breath and try to reset my head. Time to switch gears, but not enough to stop Leveling. One of the most dangerous people in the Universe isn’t the most dangerous, and I have the feeling I could one day find myself in a situation where I’m significantly outnumbered by powerful individuals.