Chương 485: 485

Mark tugged a little at the corner of his dress shirt, putting out the fire cloying on his clothes, knowing he would have to get another shirt. Addavein stood on a mountaintop ahead, holding aloft the staff and cackling like a proper evil bastard. His wings were wide, his tail lashed the rock, and the staff overhead burned with a brightness only matched by the sun overhead, but the difference was that the sun down here was down here.

That Dynamo really got going when someone pulled really hard on it, as Addavein was doing right now, and all the nearby world burned with offloaded power. The conflagration was mostly contained to Addavein's astral body, but since he had the astral body of a dragon the entire mountain was on fire. Or rather, it had been on fire. Now it was mostly ashed. Addavein cackled with glee. The cackling was mildly concerning, and his thoughts were turned toward destruction, but he was ultimately relieved.

When they talked before Addavein showed up to verify Mark's staff in person, Addavein had been surprised and joyous. Endless mana was precious. They were on a mountain to the southwest of the Wall of New Tokyo. Mark wasn't sure what the mountain was called. It was pretty bare even before Addavein ashed it, since it was tall. Only grass and shrubs, really. Mark had a nice view of the Wall to the east.

That Wall ran through some valleys that started at some place called Fuji in the south and went to some place called Nyuzen in the north. Those towns and all the towns that had been in those valleys were long gone, paved over to make way for the Wall, but remnants of those old cities remained at the cornerstones of the Wall.

The turrets and the towers of the wall watched the mountain that Mark had taken Addavein to, to test the staff, because the first tests at Wandering Castle by Isoko and then by Wandering Sage had gotten Mark a call from Aleph One. Setting the sky on fire inside city limits was a big no no. And yet, you couldn't simply go outside of the walls and test things whenever you wanted, because this was a tier 10 city and the walls and lands out here were perhaps more surveilled than the city inside.

New Tokyo had Big Rules about people being out here unsupervised. Timeweaver, Zaid al'Ishak, had decided to be Mark and Addavein's supervision." It really is quite impressive," Zaid said, standing to Mark's side, heavily covered in shielding that glowed and flickered as waves and waves of heat blasted him.

"Leave you alone for a few days and you upend the natural order."" You can say that again," Isoko said, Full Platinum and standing on Mark's other side. She was shielding them with some wind and a Union of Homeostasis/Agitation which is why Mark's clothes were only partially burned and why Zaid's shields kept on keeping on. Addavein was channeling a vast amount of power into whatever he was doing, and that made the Dynamo of Solar Flare get really hot. That heat didn't seem to bother Addavein at all.

He had stopped cackling, though, and now he was focusing. Isoko looked over at Zaid and asked, "I'm surprised that New Tokyo is letting this continue?" Earlier, when Addavein had shown up all excited and demanding to see the staff, Isoko had asked how he had even gotten into the city without triggering failsafes against dragons. The answer to that had been given by Zaid, popping into the courtyard and giving the same answer he gave now." He's a Hero of Humanity," Zaid said, shrugging.

"And our biggest guns are already trained on him." Isoko hrmph'd and stood straight, gaze returning to Addavein. Isoko believed that Addavein was a good guy, but seeing so many changes to her understanding of the world had her questioning a lot. Addavein's cackles were also concerning. Mark was glad he had stopped cackling, too. Addavein held the staff ahead, claws gripped tight, eyes closed, wings curled onto his shoulders like a silver leather cloak, tail low and calm.

His human disguise had failed, and he was fully silver right now— And just like that, it was done. Addavein breathed deeply, coming back to reality, eyes open and the light of Solar Flare calming down to something reasonable, the fire in the air flickering and fading. The mountain was still on fire, of course, but Isoko spread her Sky Shaper out in all directions and smothered that fire, ripping it out of the ground and then holding it still.

Smoke soon billowed up and away, and the sun at the top of Solar Flare was back to a white, crackled orb, its illuminated depths barely visible under the bright sun. Addavein walked toward Mark, holding the staff securely, his human disguise returning, his silver flesh becoming more tan-colored, as he said, "It's a good staff." Mark huffed a laugh.

"That's what you said about the sword."" And that was true, too, but this one is exactly what an Inheritor should have in his vaults." Addavein handed it over, saying, "Give it to someone who needs to have more mana. Probably Eliot." Mark took the staff back, surprised.

"You don't want to keep this one?"" I used it enough. Got some spells done that had only been theoretical due to the mana requirements necessary to cast them. They should come in use later, if necessary. If you want, I can take this one back to Eliot myself, if you're going to stay here in New Tokyo for a little while longer." As a final thought, Addavein added, "And yes, it is a backdoor into your soulhouse, but your Clean House ritual cleans that away.

This is no more a vulnerability to you, through that staff, than with any other standard demiplane vulnerability. We'll talk about that and about what almost happened to you with Amberstone, later."" Anyone looking is going to find out anyway, so just tell me now," Mark said, handing the staff back to Addavein.

"And yeah. Give that to Eliot." Addavein readily took the staff back as he said, "I'm correct in guessing that Amberstone tried to hit your demiplane and take it over, yes?"" Yeah. Didn't work. I think I told people that in the official debriefing, too…" Mark frowned. Something was wrong with that statement." You didn't go through a debriefing," Isoko said.

"Neither of us did."

"… Wait." Mark paused.

"I thought I did?" Addavein nodded a little.

"I thought as much. Zaid? Anything to say?"" He had a debriefing in an alternate timeline," Zaid supplied.

"We decided it was best not to have any of that on an official record at all, and not because of any timelines I saw where it was used against him, but as a matter of operational security. Pretty much everyone guessed it, though." Mark really hoped that alternate-timeline Mark didn't fuck him over… but if that happened, then it was 'whatever!', and Mark would deal with it later.

Addavein nodded then told Mark, "I guessed that's what happened when you froze for over 3 minutes and then you came back, and Amberstone got into you again. I surmise that they tried to get into you when you were frozen, but the very act of doing so thawed you out, so then you got away. By then they were already dealing with the rest of your team. And then you got back and Amberstone used what he learned the first time and got deeper into you, while not totally freezing you out the second time. Is that about it?""

I mean…" Mark wasn't sure. Mark said, "I guess, so? It was all kinda fast." Mark pointed at Solar Flare and repeated the question he had asked in the phone call, "Is that a weakness, or not?"" Your demiplane is incredibly solid and full of denial, except for Isoko… probably," Addavein said.

"So this 'Solar Flare' is little more than a piece of your flesh given over to function in a different way. It's no more able to get a lock on you than any other magic out there, so in my professional opinion don't worry about that and make some more." Addavein held the staff up a bit, saying, "This Solar Flare is a Sword of Empire. A pinnacle Sword, too. It's literally a priceless item. You cannot find something like this, anywhere."

Mark felt a little thrill at hearing that, and at knowing that this staff could solve the one issue that Eliot had, that he had given up in order to get Castellan; the mana economy. Literally every single fighter in the world had to balance what they could do with what they had versus what the enemy had, except for a few people like those with Union, or those with Dynamo.

If Eliot had stayed a Freyalan like his parents and grandmother, then he could solve his own mana needs with Union, but Castellan had different needs and different bonuses, and so Eliot had picked what he had picked, and they were all better for it. Dawncoast was a great place to live because of Eliot. It was home… and Mark was feeling a little homesick. Mark asked, "How is Dawncoast doing? Have the people from Citadel Freyala shown up yet?"

Addavein hmm'd, then said seriously, "When you invited Citadel Freyala to Dawncoast, did you expect them to actually move to Daihoon?" Mark had a weird moment, like he was standing on a cliff and he hadn't realized he was standing on a cliff.

"Oh fuck. Citadel Freyala was on Earth —" Isoko laughed and smiled. Zaid simply grinned.

"There are a lot of good things about Daihoon, I'm sure, but it's not Earth." Mark's face felt hot with embarrassment as he muttered, "I forgot Citadel Freyala was on Earth. Of course they'd want to stay on Earth." Addavein said, "All of them have already moved from Citadel Freyala, and they're in talks with Memphi alongside the Executioners of Drakarok. Some people from Earth are moving to Daihoon by the thousands, but most are not. The Executioners might actually settle in Dawncoast, though."

Isoko said, "I talked to Eliot this morning. He's trying hard to integrate Freyala's Church into Dawncoast, but everyone wants the Pantheon's mortal representatives nearby. Not actually there."" Very correct," Addavein said, "Aluatha doesn't want any sort of Pantheonic hegemon in its territory. But next door? That's fine.

Aluatha already has Citadel Hearthswell on the other side of Central Toth, so if Citadel Freyala moved nearby and remained on Earth then that would be acceptable to all parties, and it would also protect the Earth-side connection from attack by Okuana. I believe Aluatha is pushing for Freyala's Citadel to move into the Appalachian Mountains, to secure the Greendeath Mountains against any recurring goblin threats, but that's more of a possibility than a reality.

Whatever happens happens; the only thing that cannot happen is for them to remain on the other side of Central Okuana."" New Tokyo is taking in many of them and anyone else from Europe and North Africa," Zaid said. Mark asked, "Is the whole of Europe emptying?" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it." The vast majority around the Mediterranean is, while the northern lands are trying not to move at all," Zaid said.

"Toward the west, the Russian nations can't move that well and there are already issues with refugees who are actually infiltrators from Okuana, so those who have the means to relocate will relocate well and quickly, and all the rest will go where they can. And speaking of infiltrators, I have to move on and do some work of my own, now. Are we good here? Are you going to stay near New Tokyo, Addavein?" Addavein succinctly said, "I appreciate the leeway that New Tokyo has afforded me.

I will always be a friend of humanity, no matter what I look like on the outside, or how I have changed on the inside." Zaid said, "We all thought we were gonna harvest you for adamantium. But then you kept doing good things and you listened to me every time I told you about shit, so expect the moratorium on you being in our city to be relaxed. Be seeing you. You can leave, now."

Addavein bowed just a little and then he flexed his astral body and took off into the sky, superspeeding away, not even leaving a sonic boom in his wake. Mark turned to Zaid to ask, "So we're clear… I was a sacrifice for millions of tons of adamantium?"" I don't do perfect runs, Mark," Zaid said, without remorse, "Life on this planet and in this reality operates on certain metrics, and math is a real killer."

Mark set a ground rule, saying, "When you work with me, I would like to know of theoretical perfect runs even if you can't do them yourself." Zaid grinned a little, then happily said, "I can work with that. And here! As proof of my assistance, I'll scope out the next few days for you." Zaid blinked and came back. His whole demeanor had changed to one of annoyance.

He sighed, muttering, "Those bastards were right—" Zaid told Mark, "When people get true power, they expect a certain level of betterment to their own lives… So this is a complicated issue, and it stems from this: No one with the Powers you gave them, turning them into kaiju killers, thinks that there is no work to be had, and that they will not be recognized for their powers. You think you were the only kid who never got disappointed by what they were offered in the False Tutorial?

Some people had made peace with what they got, and then you came along and gave them real power." Long story short, we have about 3 high-powered brawls about to happen in a few days due to some people getting placements and other people being jealous. Big brawls, too. Skyscrapers fall and people die." Mark winced.

"Ah, shit." Isoko's eyebrows went up in surprise, and then she spoke with easy recognition, saying, "It was always an expected side effect, wasn't it?"" Yeah, it was," Mark admitted. The addition of 500 more true powers in the world —if Mark included the Dynamo mages, and he absolutely was— would be been a large disruption, largely due to the fact that there were only so many slots in the kaiju squads of the worlds because there were only so many cities in the worlds.

With Okuana now being at war with everyone else, Mark imagined that the number of cities willing —or able! — to take in True Powers had been cut down by at least 20%. Mark said, "It was one of the things I was specifically told about being a possible problem. But I assumed that with the war… I assumed that more people would be needed for the war than in peace time, right? And then the General talked about gradually tightening the noose, and they would need True Powers to hold the land they captured..."

Mark asked Zaid, "Is it bad?"" There are lots of plans for every single person you Skilled, but people are people." Zaid shook his head, waving away the worry.

"Don't worry about it. Don't even care about it. Those people I saw will get a warning from New Tokyo or more help, as needed. Most are gonna get funneled into mercenary work for Aluatha. Maybe a dozen more settlement projects? Who knows!" Mark scrunched his face, frowned at everything, and then he moved on, dismissing a lot of concerns about 'having enough power for the war'. Apparently, they had 'too much power'. Bah! Well if Aluatha or New Tokyo or anyone needed different power, then they could get it.

Also, there were many places in the world that still needed help. More than enough for some violence-prone warriors to have enough work… Apparently, when Mark was worrying about 'putting himself out of work' with the Reset Quest earlier, other people were directly experiencing this reality… or they would, in a few days. Mark kinda kicked himself a little.

Even if monsters were a solved problem due to having enough power in hand, then people would never stop being a solved problem, and there was always work to be done.

'War' wouldn't be the answer to that problem, either. War was only happening because of Dominant, and Dominant would be dealt with eventually. And then there were settlement projects, taming the world, figuring out Endless Daihoon… There was lots to be done, and it would take an immortal life to do it all. Mark huffed a little, feeling foolish for this morning's lack of direction and annoyed at other people actually coming to blows over lost work, as he gazed around the burned mountaintop.

Isoko had cleared away the fire, but smoke still drifted on the high-ish altitude breeze. Embers still glowed in the cracks. And here and there, the Wilds were coming back, little seeds germinating in the hot soil, vectors crawling out into the sunlight.

Sure, the demons didn't actively fight against New Tokyo because it was kinda useless, because people didn't actually venture outside of the walls here to kill monsters and get killed themselves, but some demons in the mana still grew the plants strongly, and they'd never stop. They were demons, after all. There was always something to be done, and Mark was at the level where he could do a whole lot about a lot. He had a whole Empire to found and expand, after all. And not just one!

All he needed to be responsible for was his own, but he needed to raise others into the other missing empires of the Two Worlds, so that eventually, maybe when they figured out the eldritch threat, they could fight that one… And then came the Reset Quest. Because even if it was going to put Mark out of work to Reset the world into something better, Mark still had to do it. He still wanted to do it, too. Mark would need to handle Nobody Important before that, too. He would need to handle a lot.

First came Dominant, though, and that meant dealing with Dominant's superweapons. Mark asked Zaid, "Do you know what kind of superweapons Dominant has?" As if Zaid had been waiting to say some specific words, Zaid said, "We're not close enough for me to see any of them, and I am not traipsing back here from a year long inquiry into the future. I live this time at normal speed, and then I come back and fix things that need fixing.

You have no idea how much people ask me to do, and how annoying it is to fulfill even a handful of those requests." Mark didn't truly know what Zaid was getting at, but he suddenly had a completely unrelated question, asking, "You ever see the ending of a popular show and decide that it was so stupid you had to go back and tell them to fix their shit?" Zaid grinned brightly.

"I've wanted to! But then someone is always dying and I only do about 5 days out. Changing a show's ending is going back a whole year, which I have done, but which is not done lightly." Nodding a little, Mark said, "So I want to do some pretty radical things, and… Can you hear me when I talk about Vaka and the Picory?"" Sure sure," Zaid said, even as the eldritch antimeme circled them and turned Isoko's attention away.

Zaid couldn't see that, but he did glance at Isoko, and asked Mark, "It's always so strange to me that you protect your friends from this stuff but not really, because you could give her a True Spellbreaker, but you haven't."

"… But surely, we've had this conversation before, and you know why?" Mark added, "And that means I can't solve the problem that comes with the True Spellbreaker." Zaid shrugged.

"There are worse things than being magically cut off from everyone else. Believe me! I've experienced most of them. And this is the point where you sometimes offer me some Union of Good and Bad, but it takes you a while to get there. Let's speed it up; hit me with some Better Times." … Mark began to Union with Good and Bad, brushing away the horrors.

Zaid didn't show it, at all, but as Bad pulsed away from his astral body like a thin syrup of miasma, his eyes didn't seem quite so sunken, and his posture straightened up. His vector was usually one of directed purpose, and it was only in the re-emergence of that purpose that Mark realized Zaid had been phoning it in when he stood here, 'supervising' as Addavein played with Solar Flare." How often do I do this for you?" Mark asked, even as he continued brushing away Zaid's bad times." As much as I've needed.

I usually go to some discree t healers for this sort of thing, but I see myself going to you more and more. You really are one of the best healers in the world, Mark." Zaid took a deep, sudden breath, and then let it all out, the last vestiges of miasma flowing away as he sighed.

"Ahh… Thank you." Zaid had felt like a guy on his last legs. Now he felt like a guy ready to start another marathon. Isoko was back with them at that point, looking at Mark and Zaid, asking, "I thought you were still on break, but it seems like you're… going for something big, now?" Zaid nodded politely, and said, "I take vacations when I need them and then come back a week later and get on with what needs getting on.

The most annoying part is when I have to make inroads and then leave them be, which means committing them to the main timeline, just so I don't have to have the same conversations over and over and over again. This specific conversation is one that I have many times over, and usually I hand out a business card. But for the people I want to truly work with, I talk with them." Zaid pulled out a business card and handed it over, saying, "Here's one of those cards if you want to keep it around. A lot of people do!

It even has my signature on it." Mark took the card, he supposed—" Farewell! And don't bring Goofy around here, Mark. It's a PR nightmare for Glorious Man… Or, do! I don't control people's actions or reactions." And then Timeweaver sparkled and vanished in a blip. Isoko asked Mark, "What was that bit about Goofy Goblin? Do you know where he is?" Mark wondered about that.

"I have a pretty good idea where he is, actually… Say. Isoko? Do you want to stick around here and figure out the HVP stuff with your grandma? I got to go visit The People." Isoko frowned a little, but then she wiped that expression away and the antimeme nudged her to say, "You have an obligation with them, huh?"" I do."" Then yeah. I'll stay here and…" Isoko got excited.

"And you'll agree to whatever I agree to? With the HVP?"" Yes," Mark said, without reservation. Isoko squealed with complete happiness, eyes lighting up, and then she threw her arms around Mark, holding onto him, hugging him, her legs in the air as she floated a little on him, saying, "I'm gonna have a pool scene and you're going to be in a thong!" Mark laughed, loving everything about this, hugging Isoko back. She was warm, the sky was bright, and everything seemed to be alright.