Luke glared up at the helicopter circling overhead. "I’m not waving at the helicopter," he muttered.

  Luke: "You have a division or department or whatever, trying to figure out what's happening with the integration and us Integrated, don’t you?"

  Johanson: "We do."

  Luke: "Have you found anything about why portals open up? Why do things happen in the places they happen?"

  Johanson: "The going theory is that they appear where Integrated go. Cities without orbs and without Integrated don’t see portals opening up."

  "So they do follow us," Luke said quietly.

  The Lizardmen came in hot, slashing at him, but Luke stopped them without much trouble. He killed one and pushed the others back with Threads of Mana, following up with forward thrusts, burying Needle of Life into their skulls.

  Luke: "So if we go to a small town and a portal opens up, it’s our fault."

  Johanson: "I wouldn’t say that. System events happen where Integrated congregate. So yes, this tells us that Integrated need to do their part. But if you go to a city and a monster appears, you alone are not the reason for that, at least not by yourself."

  Luke: "I’m not sure I agree. Any news on Relian?"

  Johanson: "Unfortunately, no. We have not been able to spot him again. And I must reiterate, it would be best for everyone if you returned home. Let us and our Integrated handle this situation."

  Luke: "That’s not going to happen. I was close to him a little while ago, in a way."

  Johanson: "You found him?"

  Luke: "No. It’s hard to explain, but I think he’s somewhere just east of Cleveland. Not far. Some sort of small community. I saw him surrounded by bodies."

  Johanson: "That narrows our search," Johanson said. "Thank you."

  More Lizardmen were moving through the debris as Luke trudged away from the worst of the wreckage, searching for the injured.

  The Lizard King's attacks on buildings and cars had left many civilians injured or dead. The screech hadn’t affected anyone who wasn’t Integrated, which was a small mercy. Non-Integrated were a little safer. Integrated or not, the Lizardmen didn't care. They attacked anyone and everyone. Luke continued toward Dot and Hiroki, killing and healing as he went until no more Lizardmen remained.

  Luke: "Curtis, I’m done over here. I’m heading back the way we came. Hiroki and Dot should be around here somewhere, hiding in a building."

  Curtis: "On my way. Also, I got an item from the King."

  Luke: "Anything good?"

  Curtis: "A letter."

  Luke stopped dead.

  Luke: "A letter?"

  Curtis: "A letter addressed to you. It's from Relian."

  Luke: "That makes no sense."

  Curtis: "I agree. But I'm holding it right now."

  Luke: "What does it say?"

  Curtis: "I'm not in the habit of reading letters not addressed to me."

  A little later, Luke and Curtis sat with Dot and Hiroki in the entryway of a modern apartment building, surrounded by gleaming white floors, bare walls, and glass fixtures.

  Curtis handed over the letter. Luke unfolded it and read aloud.

  If you are reading this, that means you have dispatched my little creation. It is obvious you have taken it upon yourself to follow me across this kingdom you have so aptly named the United States. It is an interesting world you have here, and it would be a shame if you were no longer in it, fellow Lifeweaver. There is much you could learn from me, and not just about The Greater System, but about the class you have chosen for yourself. And what a magnificent class it is, if properly utilized. You wear it like an old, stiff glove, satisfied to stitch a wound together now and then when it is meant for so much more. You have not yet scratched the surface. In the future, I will teach you. Now, I am quite busy preparing for the next step. There is much to do before your system opens up, and Earth needs to be ready. I will help you, but this means I am too busy to entertain you and your friends. Stay away, Lifeweaver, or suffer the consequences.

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Rambling asshole," Luke muttered as he folded the letter.

  Dot furrowed her brow. "That's it? 'Don't follow me, or else'?"

  "Well, we’re hunting him to kill him," Luke replied. "I’d expect nothing less."

  "True enough," Curtis scoffed. "How did he throw a Lizard King at us?"

  "I don’t know," Luke said. "Relian is right about one thing, though. He knows a lot more about Lifeweavers than I do. And about everything else."

  Curtis glanced at Hiroki. "You’ve been quiet. You look like you’re about to burst. What’s up?"

  Hiroki pulled at his sleeve and gave a hollow laugh. "All this destruction because you had to follow him… all this death." He held up his hand, feeling along his jaw. "I almost became a Lizardman myself. My teeth were jagged, and my fingernails turned to claws." Pointing at Dot, he added, "I tried to kill her. I almost succeeded."

  "But you didn’t," Dot said.

  "You stopped me," Hiroki spat, then breathed in, trying to steady himself. "I’m sorry, Dorothy." He turned to Luke. "I can’t do this. This isn’t what I signed up for."

  "This is exactly what you signed up for," Luke said. "You knew it wasn’t going to be all sunshine, rainbows, and bojutsu."

  Hiroki shook his head. "This is not what I imagined. It's too much. My strength is just... It sounds like Relian is trying to help."

  "Relian is evil, Hiroki. We have to stop him. This isn't about how strong you are. That's not why you're here. Not the lessons either."

  Hiroki looked at the staff Luke was holding.

  "You’re a friend," Luke said, pushing himself up with the staff. "The staff isn’t working for me. I don’t think I’m meant to fight with it, at least not the way you do. We can still continue lessons, focusing on agility. Even if I don’t use the staff in combat, the training will help."

  He stared at Luke for a long moment, his mouth a thin line. "I’m done," he said quietly.

  "Just like that?" Curtis asked.

  Hiroki faced Curtis. "What am I getting out of this? Reaver? Death? Mayhem?"

  Curtis, half-smiling, answered, "Better than my marketing job."

  Hiroki raised his hands. "I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. There are people who depend on me. Once I’ve rested a little, I’m heading back to Chicago."

  Luke leaned on his staff, taking in Hiroki’s words. He nodded and extended a hand. "Thank you for all you’ve done so far. Maybe I’ll look you up when you’re back in Chicago."

  "Please do," Hiroki said.

  With that, he was gone.

  "Now we’re going to need to get another car," Curtis grunted.

  "Are you always this callous?" Dot asked.

  "Yes," Curtis said. "Always." He turned to Luke. "We are getting low on firepower, though. Relian is going to be difficult."

  "Yeah," Luke agreed, looking out the way Hiroki left. "It’s going to be very difficult. Maybe his leaving is for the best."

  Dot raised her hand. "I’m not firepower."

  Luke extended his hand and helped her to her feet. "I know you’re not. But I’m impressed you managed to stave off the Lizard King’s attack."

  "I was scared. Working on Hiroki’s brain like that. Scared I’d hurt him, or that he’d hurt me if I wasn’t quick enough."

  "What about yourself?" Curtis asked.

  She turned to him. "I caught something being wrong with the sound almost right away. So I put my noise-canceling headphones in and just had to heal a little bit of that disgusting black stuff."

  "Noise-canceling headphones?" Luke asked. "Smart."

  "Thanks," she said, giving him a weak smile. "What do we do now?"

  "You still want to come?" Luke asked.

  She gave a slow nod, a tight smile spreading across her face. "You’re not getting rid of me with just some huge monster attacks."

  "Good thing," Luke said with a grin

  ***

  The trio sat in the outdoor section of a restaurant overlooking a park, eating in comfortable silence. All three were exhausted after the ordeal. All in all, more than forty Integrated were dead, and many more civilians. If Luke and the others hadn’t been there, who knew how far that thing could have gone, or how many lives it might have taken?

  Relian’s letter claimed the Fallen Shepherd had sent the monster somehow. Would it have appeared if Luke and the others hadn’t been nearby? The second-guessing made Luke’s head spin. He took a huge bite of his burger, trying to push the weight of it all off his shoulders.

  “Any ideas about finding more people?” Curtis asked, forking up a bite of lasagna.

  “A few,” Luke said. "You?"

  “Not my sort of thing,” Curtis said. “Never played well with others.”

  “No kidding,” Luke said, raising an eyebrow.

  Curtis grunted in reply.

  “We need to rent rooms after this,” Dot said around a mouthful of tacos.

  Luke sniffed the air. “Yeah, we do.”

  Dot punched him in the arm. “Shut up.”

  He laughed, rubbing the spot. “Ow.”

  Curtis made a get-on-with-it gesture.

  Luke leaned forward. “The DIA has an Integrated team ready to strike at Relian together with the military, or whatever they’re using. We should work with them.”

  “Fair enough,” Curtis said.

  “Also, I could try contacting Alan.”

  “Who?” Dot asked.

  “He’s a rich guy I healed. He's trying to start a guild. Knows a lot of Integrated, employs most of them, I think.”

  “Why would he help us?” Curtis asked.

  “He’s a good guy,” Luke said.

  Curtis raised an eyebrow. “Rich, old, white good guy, huh?”

  Luke sighed. “I don’t know. He also wants to recruit me for his guild.”

  “What’s the guild called?” Dot asked.

  “Can’t remember,” Luke said. “Something stupid and corporate.”

  “You should call him,” Curtis said, taking a long gulp of soda. “Can’t hurt, right?”

  “And then there’s Hannah,” Luke said.

  Curtis sat back in his chair. “Thought you said you couldn’t find her."

  “I hope she’s okay,” Dot murmured.

  “I can’t find her yet,” Luke admitted.

  “What about Penny?” Curtis asked.

  “Too young."

  "Nymh?"

  "Don't trust her."

  “Good call,” Curtis conceded.

  Dot held up her phone. “Can’t we just ask people for help on IntegratedNet?”

  Luke gave her a skeptical look. “Maybe. Let’s try the DIA and Alan first.”