The sand that the avatar of Order dissolved into did not go to waste. Matthias meticulously gathered it up. He had one more item he wanted to craft today, and having a bit of Order would help in crafting it.

  He began to walk towards his dungeon, for once not rushing. Now that he was ascendant, he did not feel the need to hurry.

  "Father," Vicky called out, hesitation in her voice as she also hesitated to touch him.

  With a soft smile, he turned and took her hand in his. He gave her his full attention.

  "What do you need, Vicky?" he asked patiently.

  Her eyes searched him and relaxed as she saw no exasperation or negativity on his face.

  "What do we do with the rest of the invaders?" she asked once she was satisfied.

  "Let nothing go to waste," Matthias instructed. "They offered us this meal; it would be unkind to send leftovers home."

  Vicky grinned viciously before nodding, as if he had revealed some cosmic truth.

  "You are right, now that I think about it," she mused. "It would be rude not to accept a gift, no matter what spirit it was given in."

  "Do ensure you have fun," Matthias warmly suggested. "Also, if you happen to see Xalt, send him my way. I am making something for him."

  "I can do that," Vicky agreed before vanishing in a puff of autumn leaves.

  Matthias gave up on returning to his crafting room. He instead conjured a table and sat down while thinking about what he should craft. He had a goal of what he wanted it to do, but no idea what artifact could achieve it. He then had a flash of inspiration and got to work.

  First, he gathered some of the sand and began mixing it with water. He worked and mixed until it was of a thick enough consistency to mold with his hands. He hummed idly as he molded it into a rough approximation of a cup. He smirked as he used his new domain of the hearth and craftsmanship to fire the piece. As that happened, he decided to fold a bit of narrative into the cup to help guide its formation in the direction he hoped it would follow. He could feel his domains working in an interesting harmony as he crafted with his hands rather than using one of his limited daily miracles to summon an item.

  When the cup was solid, he was left with a rather humble and simple-looking cup. It looked to be made of clay or a poor facsimile of porcelain. It looked a lot like another cup from an old movie he used to love watching. So much power contained within such a simple-looking object. It made him grin with a sense of accomplishment.

  "I hope that is not what you called me over to see," Xalt teased as he walked up to the table. "I came all this way and you don't even have refreshments?"

  "What if I told you that this cup could completely free you from the system?" Matthias asked.

  Xalt's eyes opened wide and locked onto Matthias. He held so still that Matthias began to worry that Xalt may have forgotten how to breathe.

  "Do not play such games with me," Xalt warned, but there was yearning in his eyes.

  "I call this humble little cup the Holy Grail," Matthias explained as he held up the cup. "Made from the remains of Order's avatar."

  "What are its effects?" Xalt asked, entranced.

  "It takes the mantle of energy that the leveling system rests upon an individual and pulls it into their body," Matthias explained. "Then one of three things happens. Either your body can't handle it and you die, your body integrates it and you become what I am going to call a Remnant, or it converts all your levels into cultivation ranks."

  "No downside for me, then," Xalt proclaimed as he snatched the cup from Matthias and filled it with fruit juice. Before Matthias could say more, Xalt shotgunned the entire glass. Xalt's eyes unfocused for a few seconds before Matthias felt all of Xalt's levels condense into a cultivation core.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Looks like a success to me," Matthias noted.

  "Not as painful as I thought it would be," Xalt admitted. "It numbs you first. Like you are already dead before it does the integration."

  "Makes sense," Matthias mused. "Death is the only way to get the system's hooks to let go freely."

  "That makes too much sense," Xalt agreed. "But what are these Remnants you speak of?"

  "They would be individuals that are highly reinforced," Matthias tried to explain. "Think of it as their biology absorbing all the power instead of a cultivation core."

  "So they are immortal but capped at their current power level?" Xalt asked.

  "More or less," Matthias admitted. "They can still train and learn new techniques. But their foundation is forever set."

  "I honestly know a few individuals that would prefer that outcome," Xalt pointed out. "But it would be a dead end for anyone that craves power. What is your intention with this cup?"

  "To kill the system," Matthias admitted. "To remove that vestigial limb and let it rot away. That way the world can move on."

  "It will kill people," Xalt pointed out.

  "I won't force anyone to use it," Matthias quipped back. "At a certain point people need to take responsibility. Drinking from a cup that can kill you is one of those decisions."

  "A very mature outlook," Xalt allowed. "Once cleanup is done, what do we do next?"

  "I figured you would be hunting dungeon cores," Matthias offered.

  Xalt gave him a puzzled look. "Only a dungeon or its mobs can kill a dungeon."

  "And you just raised an entire army of dungeon mobs," Matthias pointed out.

  "It can't be that simple," Xalt protested.

  "You are friends with me," Matthias pointed out. "My domains include narrative. I think it is narratively fitting that it does work that way. Especially since the old ritual that created and protected dungeons is gone."

  Xalt's eyes shimmered. "You mean I can just go and collect them? Study them?"

  "The world spirit needs all the current dungeons gone other than three," Matthias explained. "Nefertut, the turtle dungeon, and myself. All other dungeons must go. I also hear that dungeon cores function much like an empty cultivation core mixed with a stone meant to contain a soul."

  That information seemed too much for Xalt. The necromantic falcon man shot to his feet.

  "There are specimens to collect and study," he declared. "I will be very upset if you lied to me," Xalt warned before sprinting away with a fire burning in his eyes.

  Matthias grinned as he watched Xalt leave. Matthias sighed as he stood up and weighed his options for what to do next. He was no longer bound to the borders of his dungeon, which opened almost too many possibilities. With a nod, he reached out with his power in search of a particular dungeon.

  Upon finding his target, he used his power to knock on the bubble of influence that surrounded the dungeon he wanted to visit. The response he got was the equivalent of someone opening a door a crack to spy on who was there.

  With a chuckle, Matthias snatched up his Holy Grail and stepped to the edge of the dungeon's influence. There stood a nervous-looking Nefertut.

  "Imagine finding you here," Matthias greeted.

  "How?" Nefertut asked in shock.

  "Turns out I am something like a world spirit now," Matthias explained. "So I am not bound to the limits of my influence any longer."

  "Then why are you here?" Nefertut asked nervously.

  "I am here to offer you the opportunity to be free of the system," Matthias explained.

  A pained look crossed Nefertut's face.

  "If only it were that simple," he sighed. "I can't be free of the system without risking the one I love."

  "Oh?" Matthias asked, his interest piqued. "I just removed an avatar of Order. Is it something I can help with?"

  Nefertut's mouth flapped open and closed a few times before he collected himself.

  "Maybe," he admitted, a spark of hope in his eyes. "It is a mix of a brand and a curse," he explained.

  "I can't diagnose if you don't show me," Matthias pointed out.

  "It would be faster, yes," Nefertut agreed. He offered a hand to Matthias, who took it.

  They were suddenly in a very old room set up like a tomb. In the center of the room was a coffin, and resting in it was a fairy the size of a fully grown woman. Matthias could see the celestial brand from where he stood.

  Slowly, Matthias circled the coffin. He studied the brand while running all his domains over it and the fairy.

  "What do you think?" Nefertut asked, his hands wringing and his hope beginning to erode under the weight of worry.

  "There are two ways I can deal with this," Matthias offered. "I can try to sever the mark and possibly poison Order's true body. Or I could attempt a divine intervention—a miracle as it were. Pit my divinity directly against Order's and see who wins."

  "What has the best chance of working?" Nefertut asked. "Which poses the least risk to Isabella?"

  "The second option," Matthias offered with a warm but pained smile. "If it works, Order can't mess her up on the way out. The first option could end up with several things going wrong."

  "Then do it, please," Nefertut fell to his knees and begged. "The second option. I don't need vengeance. I just want her back."

  Matthias nodded and placed his hand upon the mark seared into Isabella's abdomen. He surrounded it in his domains, settling in for resistance. But the moment his power touched the brand, Order's power in the brand recoiled. It pulled away from him as though terrified. Matthias was so stunned that his hand was still on Isabella's abdomen when she began to stir.

  Nefertut wept tears of joy as he scooped up Isabella and held her close. She was disoriented for only a moment before recognizing Nefertut. Wordlessly, she molded to his body and returned the hug.

  Matthias watched with warmth blooming in his chest as his domain of the hearth sang in joy at the reunion before him.