They emerged from Cruiser Erin in the designated marching order. At the start, he felt a bit silly about the self-aggrandizing pomp on display. He wasn't a real Lord, no matter what people were calling him. Nor would he ever be one. Closer to the main house, it stopped feeling vain. The threat display made by his allies grew more and more comforting.

  Servants opened the doors and bowed deeply as they entered.

  Within the receiving hall, a small contingent awaited them. The Thrush family council was nowhere in evidence. Only the Lord Platinum, three of her retinue, and a couple of servants. Hector slowed his pace as he neared, stopping entirely when they were within speaking range.

  The woman raised a brow. “Dragonbane.”

  “Platinum,” he returned.

  “You’ve created quite a stir on Tian. Annihilator is losing his mind that someone else brought down a Dragon bigger than his. To say nothing of the fact that you did it alone. I must confess, I didn’t put much weight in Foresight’s predictions. Her claims did not seem credible. A Xian shattering the flesh of a Dragon into cosmic energy is material for a children’s story.

  “But given how events unfolded, I’m inclined to believe the other prediction. ‘The man who granted you the Mother needs raised to the peak of level nine to prevent the end of the multiverse.’ I wanted to skip this meeting and send a single level six silver elixir as punishment for killing my porter. But a dead Dragon makes quite the convincing argument.”

  The Lord Platinum eyed Hector. “You have come further than I ever imagined possible. Yet now I must remove your ignorance. It is impossible for you to survive a Tribulation. Level nine is where your advancement must end.”

  “I am aware,” he said.

  “Good. The improvements at Lord are immense, but they do not benefit a dead man.” The Lord gestured and one of her retinue began sliding heavy chests across the floor with his domain. “There are enough elixirs in here to raise someone from peak level eight to peak level nine. You’re further along than I expected, but that is for the best given all the extra muscle you carry.”

  Hector nodded. “Thank you for the gift.”

  “When I return to Tian, I’m supposed to spread word that the level nine dreamer Hector Thoreaux is claiming to be the Lord Dragonbane. Are you certain that is something you want? I may not be a seer, but I am confident the reaction will not be conducive to a long life.”

  Persuasion slid past Hector. “That is what must happen, Lord Platinum. Mercom and Svarga already search for him. Adding the Lords of Amarat to the mix benefits our cause by inciting violence between our pursuers.”

  The Lord Platinum raised a brow as she studied Hector.

  He gave a quick nod, certain he would regret signing off on this.

  “Then I will set the Lords of Amarat on your trail, Dragonbane. Be sure to make good use of these resources. I expect the multiverse to last for many thousands of years.”

  Another of Platinum’s retinue raised a transit sphere. Her party entered and within a minute the hall held only Hector’s people and a couple of servants of the Thrush family. Before anyone else moved, Isabel stalked forward and yanked open a chest. She lifted a vial free of the sawdust, cracked the seal, and sniffed the contents. “It appears safe. Are there Jinn methods of testing for poison?”

  “There is no poison,” Persuasion snapped. “Drink, Hector.”

  Isabel placed the vial in his hands and he drank. The level nine platinum elixir poured down his throat and immediately took effect. Energy began bonding to his body. Once he lowered the first vial, another was shoved into his hand. “You will need many of these,” Isabel explained.

  His eyes panned over the chests of level nine elixirs. He very deliberately did not try to calculate how many human lives were ended to speed up his body enhancement. “Why no level ten elixirs?” The obvious explanation would be that it was hard to kill Lords. He still thought it would be better to murder fewer people.

  “Because no corpse is left at level ten,” Isabel said.

  Hector’s brow shot up. “What was that?”

  “Keep drinking.” She handed him another vial before explaining. “During a Tribulation, the body is destroyed and rebuilds itself. So when an Immortal dies, their body reverts to cosmic energy and a slight bit of residue that is good for nothing. A violent death produces a core still, but the core cannot be paired with flesh from the same being. Thus no level ten elixirs.”

  “But I’ve seen level ten meat before. Zara bought some at auction.”

  Isabel shrugged. “It’s artificial. Level nine meat seasoned with level ten core dust. The result is better than level nine meat, but the density falls short of ten. There’s a reason the entire world of Tian only has two people at level eleven: the Emperor and the Ancestor.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Hector had to stop drinking elixirs before the first of the two chests was emptied. The liquid sloshing in his stomach did not sit peacefully. They packed away the remainder of the elixirs and carried them to Cruiser Erin.

  It took the rest of the day for the consumed resources to metabolize. Then he began a regimen of consuming one elixir every hour. His body rapidly enhanced, proving the enduring advantage of wealth. Most cultivators believed the body aperture the most difficult to improve, yet he quickly reached the peak of the penultimate level. All it took was a whole lot of money.

  And also the lives of forty-three human beings, each at level nine. Despite his resolve not to, he’d counted. Two vials remained unused after he reached the peak. Hector could have consumed them to restore his reserves, but he didn’t think that would be necessary. Given some miasma, he’d be able to get as much energy as he could ever want.

  He approached Riley and Darius with the final two elixirs.

  Darius refused to touch the one held before him. “I don’t need it.”

  He tried to force it into his friend’s hand anyway.

  “Quit being an idiot, Hector. I’m not despondent. I can’t have resources for now.”

  “You can’t have resources?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Why?”

  Darius smacked away Hector’s hand with the vial. “It’s not your concern.”

  “You really don’t want a platinum elixir?”

  “Give it to Riley,” the eunuch said.

  “I’m not taking two! Give the other one to Esther.”

  Yet minutes later, Esther took the vial from him and passed it directly to Isabel. “Body enhancement is automatic for me because of my insight into the human body. Isabel should take it.”

  Isabel popped the cork and drank without a moment of hesitation. As she licked her lips clean, she eyed Hector. “I was level seven when you were still level six. Now you are level nine and I am still level seven.”

  “Is that my fault?”

  “Your rapid progress? Who else would I blame?” Isabel nodded towards Esther. “Thank you for the elixir.”

  “Like I said, I don’t really need it. This impossible creature is going to drown us in cosmic energy for the next year anyway.” Esther wrinkled her nose. “Once Restoration is done with her charity work, maybe we can leave.”

  Hector returned to where Riley and Darius were playing a game remarkably similar to Go Fish. “Are you feeling the benefits?”

  “Yes,” Riley said. “I think I might get to the peak of level five.”

  Darius tossed the cards down. “Can we leave the vessel? I am tired of metal walls.”

  “You want to spend more time in that pavilion?”

  “Is there no other option? A whole world is out there.” The eunuch seemed so desperate for the sights of a world he didn’t seem to realize held significance to his family.

  Hector nodded. “Yes. Let’s go sightseeing.”

  Darius perked up. “About time we do something.”

  “Everyone who wants a day trip, come along. Cruiser Erin, we need a shuttle pilot.”

  It was the first time he’d flexed his authority with the Jinn. He wasn’t disappointed. In no time at all, he was standing inside a shuttle crammed full of his retinue, leaning over the shoulder of a pilot to direct their path. His memories of the world of New Mart did not include much geography. He still managed to puzzle out the rough direction of the Shaocheth fifth household once they were high enough in the sky. There were several landmarks present that gave him a rough idea. Then, as they came closer, he was able to spot the pyramid palace.

  The pilot took them down on the lawn, scaring away a flock of sheep. As everyone exited, they saw a couple of members from the family in the distance. Those individuals dared not approach once they ascertained the strength of their visitors. Hector waved, asked Conrad and Piercing to protect the shuttle, and guided the remainder of his retinue out towards the city.

  With him were Darius, Riley, Esther, Isabel, Ajax, and Zelda. The others were playing tourist as they wound through the narrow streets, gawking at the various sights. The city had once been an outgrowth of the estate, where those under the authority of the Shaocheth family kept their heads low lest they offend their betters. In the current age, the place was booming. Still primitive, though. Generations spent rejecting technology would do that to a place.

  Eventually the others caught on to the fact that Hector had a specific destination in mind. Zelda broached the subject first. “Where are you taking us?”

  “To visit with a friend from another life.”

  “From your memories?” Zelda shook her head. “This person will not know you.”

  Darius huffed in annoyance. “Will they know me? I do not wish to be known as his child.”

  To the unspoken question on everyone’s faces, Riley provided an understated explanation. “Hector’s memories come from the father of Darius. He doesn’t like talking about him.”

  “Darius… can you put up with a short visit to a distillery?”

  After a few seconds, the man shrugged. “A distillery is not so terrible.”

  They turned one final corner and faced a familiar building. An expansion lengthened the original structure, so business must be good. The logo of a tap pouring liquid down a man’s upturned face was still there, though it had been stylized with colored chalk. A hubbub of voices came from within the tap room.

  That noise cut off as they entered. Most of the people were unempowered and could not sense the strength of his retinue. That didn’t mean they were blind. A Titan might as well be a giant of legend. The rest of them in no way looked soft either.

  A heavyset woman with white hair was behind the bar. She came forward and bowed deeply. “Hello, visitors. Are you foreigners? I can fetch me husband if one of you has memories?”

  “Your husband is Thassily?”

  Something crashed to the ground in a back room and a form rushed out. The man was older, a tad gray, but perfectly identifiable. Thassily jerked a hasty bow towards Hector, his eyes darting past the entire party. Then they froze on Darius.

  “By the gods! Was Harridan a father?”