“A dungeon is where people go to fight monsters,” Rodrick said. “I’m going to do it some day.”

  “Good, then it’s not a torture tower.” He’d been worried about that.

  Zelda sniffed. “No one has torture towers.”

  “The guy I dreamed spent time in one, so they do exist.”

  “Xian are no better than beasts,” Rodrick muttered. “Present company excluded.”

  “So I walk into this dungeon and they have me fight a monster? That doesn’t seem like a good way of doing things. Why not kill it when it arrives instead of putting it in a dungeon for later?”

  Zelda took the empty pouch her sour crystals had come in and placed it in the middle of their table. “The entire table top is the world of Union Central. That pouch is one of their dungeons.” She extended the pointer finger of one hand and began bringing it down onto the table. “When miasma enters their universe, a sophisticated mechanism forces it to manifest in the dungeon.” Her fingers skidded across the table as if they were a rock skipping across a pond and then stopped on the pouch. “The monsters appear in a militarized zone surrounded by teams of warriors.”

  “They need to do this on every world,” Hector said on impulse.

  Malachi snickered. “That’s like saying Tian should raise every single Xian to the level of a lord.”

  That certainly put things into perspective. Resources were always scarce. Economics won over naive idealism every time. “What makes a dungeon so expensive to build?”

  “Please, no one tell him anything else. It will be hilarious when he gets his first notification.” Sometimes it felt like being friends with Malachi meant agreeing to be the butt of a joke. Usually Malachi’s jests were directed at other targets, though.

  “It took the Arahant and the Jinn working together to build the framework,” Rodrick said. “A Yazata sacrificed itself to make this possible. You wouldn’t know of them, but they are holy messengers.”

  “Created by the Garuda,” Hector said. “They have glowing eyes.”

  Rodrick’s brows raised. “I’m surprised you know even that much. The Yazata were killed almost everywhere they went. They claim to have found Tian particularly unwelcoming.”

  “I met one once. Not me, it was in my dreams.”

  Zelda reached across the table and seized his hand. “What era was this meeting?”

  “A little less zeal would be nice, Zelda,” Vivian muttered. “This isn’t a church service.”

  “Don’t you understand? There might be another one out there. Hector remembers being in a torture tower. What if there’s a Yazata imprisoned on Tian?” A fire had been lit within Zelda and she looked ready to fight an entire army.

  “It wasn’t on Tian.” Hector had never told anyone more than snippets of Volithur’s life. Certainly he had kept quiet on the darker bits. It felt like a gross betrayal to bring attention to the most shameful era. “My memories… they ended somewhere outside of Tian. Outside of everywhere, actually. I witnessed them starting the Dream Engine.”

  Three disbelieving faces regarded him. And also Zelda, who hung on every word. “Did the Yazata sacrifice itself for the Dream Engine?”

  “It was going to. They couldn’t find a Xian lord to donate cosmic energy.”

  Zelda’s hands balled into fists.

  “So the creators of the engine paid to buy a Xian prisoner. After talking to the Yazata, he took its place. The last dream I ever had ended with the Dream Engine siphoning my soul dry.”

  Rodrick whistled. “Man, who did you dream of? He knew the Lord General, had an insight to cheat cultivation, met with a Yazata, and powered up the Dream Engine? He should be famous.”

  Hector forced a smile. “Instead I drank the last remnants of him.”

  “If you saw it in the company of Arahants, then there is no hidden Yazata. Mithra truly is the last of its kind.” Zelda deflated, her righteous crusade ended before it could begin.

  Malachi flashed his most dazzling smile. “Let’s talk about happy things. I’ve heard that coming back to Maya after being away feels amazing. After you get used to surviving on dribbles of energy, the floodgates open. They actually have gate employees whose whole job is to carry people who feel so overwhelmed they can’t walk right. Sounds like something to look forward to, right?”

  Zelda frowned. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Malachi, not all of us are eager to go home.”

  “Refresh my memory, didn’t we just rush to the mess hall to eat cheap candy from home?”

  “So now you’re happy about returning?”

  “I would rather things were different, but this is happening. Quit being negative.” Malachi gestured at Rodrick. “Other people are handling it better.”

  Rodrick pushed back from the table abruptly. “This stopped being fun a while ago.” Vivian followed his example, though she left without any declarations. Malachi and Zelda glared at each other for a few beats before Malachi ditched them as well.

  Hector was plotting his own retreat when Zelda spoke. “I’m not trying to be negative.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Malachi can be an asshole sometimes.”

  “Giving up has been hard. I always believed I could succeed at anything. Everything I touched turned to gold, Hector. So I thought ‘why not do something meaningful with my life?’ and decided to become the kind of person that makes history. An epic warrior who can defend the worlds of humanity from their doom.”

  She hung her head. “After I get home, most of my work will be in the entertainment industry. Floating stages, visual clarification, things like that. Gaudy spectacles. It pays well. That’s what everyone tells me. So what? I don’t want the meaning of my life to be that I made a lot of money.”

  “Zelda?”

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  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t go home.”

  The words seemed to shock Zelda. “It would take me at least a year to restore to full capacity anywhere outside of Maya.”

  “Then that’s the price you need to pay for your dreams.”

  “What would I do?”

  Hector shook his head. “I can’t answer your questions. I’m just telling you that if you’re not ready to give up, then you shouldn’t.”

  “But Foresight saw no chance of me gaining an insight.”

  “Trust me when I say that Evelyn’s ability has a lot of limitations. Even if that wasn’t the case, I would still give you the same advice. Do you really want to be a person who settled in life?”

  “I just stay on Union Central? Do dungeon runs to pay the bills? Hope I bumble my way into an insight?”

  Hector shrugged. “I have no answers, remember?”

  “Hypothetically, would you be on my dungeon crew?”

  “Sure. I’m just as clueless about my future as you are right now.”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes?”

  Zelda laughed. “Yes. I’m not going home. Not yet, at least.”

  Returning to his bunk, Hector felt like he had done more good in one conversation than in days of rat killing. In many ways, he’d just walked Zelda through the same realizations he came to for his own life. Quitting the job that had structured his life and given him a purpose had been hard but necessary. He’d been able to dedicate himself to an epic mission and succeed. Now he could chart his destiny according to whatever whim caught his fancy in a multiverse filled with choices. As overwhelming as it felt at times not knowing the shape of his future, Hector was coming to like it.

  “Hey, Xian,” Commander Duran called to him.

  “What is it?”

  “The Jinn say you are from the same world as the new Foresight.”

  “And?”

  “You friends with her?”

  Hector laughed. “Duran, we used to be lovers.”

  That was all he needed to say to earn some peace. The Arahant yokels didn’t bother him again. Whatever their thoughts were, they felt no need to share them with him. Hector concentrated on cultivation, mental strengthening, and working his calisthenics.

  The days passed until finally they received the long anticipated announcement.

  “Two hours until we reach Union Central. All non-Jinn should be ready for departure at that time. The stop after that is Terra orbit for refueling and maintenance.”

  Hector joined off-duty Jinn before a window to watch the journey through the singularity. It would likely be his last one ever. Once he leveled up a bit, he wouldn’t need any help to move between worlds. He was currently at ninety percent capacity in his soul. Soon he would need to decide if he wanted to advance or have that energy available for use. Unfortunately, he couldn’t have his cake and eat it too.

  The star field warped. Everything went dark. Some time passed. Then streaks appeared, heralding their entrance to a new universe had begun. The streaks shrank rapidly into pinpricks of light and they were once more in normal space.

  An announcement came over the speakers. “We have arrived at our destination. All guests should move to the launch bay at this time. Again, we are en route to Terra for an extended stay after the Union Central drop-off.”

  Hector smiled as he collected his bag. Kevin really wanted to get rid of his guests. He couldn’t blame the Jinn war barge. The Arahant could be a real headache. So could he, come to think of it.

  He reached the launch bay before his friends, given the proximity of his inferior berth assignment to the working areas of the vessel. The Arahant patrol members kept their distance from him while Jinn flight crews began prepping several of their shuttles.

  “Sir, do you have a specific destination you wish to request?”

  “I’ve never been to Union Central, corporal, so I guess I’ll go where everyone else does.”

  “They’re going to the gate, sir. You won’t be permitted to go through.”

  “I’m sure I’ll figure something out.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  A few minutes later, the others began to arrive. Leading them was Rodrick, who entered at a full run. He charged forward like he planned to run right through Hector. The threat seemed serious enough that Hector prepared to flare his aura in defense.

  Instead, Rodrick skidded to a halt and held out both arms. “Get in here, Hector!”

  Hector awkwardly stepped into the offered embrace. He wasn’t big on hugging, but this was likely the last time they would see each other in this vast multiverse. Rodrick’s massive arms squeezed in a bear hug and he leaned back to lift Hector into the air. “We’re going to slay so many monsters!”

  He squirmed until Rodrick put him back down. “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, right. I’m staying behind with you and Zelda. For the dungeons. I should have led with that. Hector, I’ve wanted to go into one since the first time I heard they existed.”

  The Jinn corporal cleared his throat. “Excuse me, sirs. Are you going to need dropped near the dungeon instead of the Maya gate? Those two features are on opposite sides of the city.”

  “Yes!” Rodrick answered for them.

  The Jinn snapped a salute and spun on his heels. He was immediately talking into a com, requesting an additional shuttle launch to accommodate departure requests. Hector felt a presence behind him and turned in expectation of his friends. Instead, he found himself facing Conflagration. Hector gulped reflexively. Even empty of illusory energy, this man carried himself like he was an unstoppable force of nature, his muscular back hunched forward like he was ready to explode in animalistic fury, eyes piercing in their insane intensity.

  “I wish you well, Hector of the Xian. Though I did not care for you when we first met, you proved yourself an honorable ally.”

  “Thank you, Sage.” Hector bobbed an awkward bow.

  Conflagration inclined his head a fraction of an inch in response and moved past him. Then came Persuasion. She saluted with fist to heart. “You did a great service to the coalition by returning Foresight to us. The saving of your world was the only payment you ever asked for, but I’m inclined to smooth your transition to Union Central. Enjoy your small fortune on Union Central, Hector.”

  He returned the fist to heart salute. Then came the final Sage.

  Evelyn wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “Be careful out there, big man. You’ll always have a friend in Evie Tricks.”

  He studied the girl turned Arahant leader as she stepped back. The goth look was long gone. She was still pale-skinned and raven-haired, but her wardrobe fell into the category of ‘woman business professional’ now. Today it was a gray jacket over top of a white shirt, with navy blue slacks and matching red shoes and belt. She even had a hint of red on her lips instead of the dark shade he’d been used to. She remained as beautiful as ever to him.

  “Thanks for bringing me water that day, Evie. The ‘save the world’ campaign was the most meaningful chapter of my life. I guess you’re being recruited onto the ‘save the multiverse’ campaign now. They say the punishment for doing a good job is more work.”

  She smiled at him. “I think we both know I bumbled my way to success on Earth. But I’ll certainly try my best. I just need to find the next ‘Hector’ to save the multiverse.”

  He laughed. “Don’t look at me. I only do planets.”

  Then the Sages were gone, escorted into a shuttle.

  Next in line were the remainder of his friends. Zelda nodded to him in greeting and stepped aside. Vivian opened her mouth to speak but was preempted by Malachi.

  “Did it happen yet?”

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