Logan, followed by Alden, raced over to the gnome, who faced away from them and waved his hands frantically at an upper shelf.

Gauntlets at the ready, Logan reached the gnome. "What is it, Mariv?"

"That bottle's about to fall!"

Logan glanced up, and a glass container the size of a mason jar teetered and wobbled on the shelf edge. He arched a brow, not understanding the gnome's distress. He had magic, and surely that wasn't that big of a problem.

Alden reached them and shared a confused look with Logan.

"Oh," said Logan. "Sure." He stood on his tiptoes and reached for the glass.

"Thank the spheres that I have you two here. I have the Dream affinity and if I touch that jar, it will be a disaster."

Mariv only said this with Logan's fingers a hair's breadth away from touching it. He quickly swerved on one leg, pivoting to grab Alden's cloak at the neck and yanking on the elf's garb to swap places.

"Logan! Get off! This is my only clean cloak!"

"I have the Dream affinity too!"

Logan grabbed Alden's wrist and thrust both their hands upward so the heel of Alden's palm caught the glass jar. The elf secured the container then yanked himself free of Logan's grip.

"I thought you had the Void affinity," said Mariv, confused.

Alden just sputtered. "You took something from that gardener, didn't you?" Even before Logan had gained this third affinity, the fact he had two affinities when Alden had not gained a single one had been a sore spot for the mage, and for all his attempts at composure, he seemed on the verge of a breakdown.

Logan flashed them both a grin, quickly catching Mariv up to how he had gained the Life affinity. It was pretty quick since Mariv already knew about his Rotational Affinity strength (and weakness), but just hadn't known the exact mechanics behind how it worked.

And so Logan explained how he could rotate to another affinity as long as he had something that proved to be a touchpoint. So far, that seemed to include enchanted items with a particular affinity, specific objects scattered throughout the world like the gemstone eyes of the Void Sage dragon statue in the Cave of Cursed Music, and monster cores.

Monster cores didn't seem reliable ways to shift affinities, though, but only to gain them in the first place. When Logan had cracked open the frostfire elemental core in Farrowstead, he had the Life affinity at the time, which is why it granted him the Invigorating Flame skill. That monster, though, had been a Void-aligned monster and it had not automatically changed his affinity. The only times monster cores triggered a change was when Logan lacked the affinity in the first place.

The other component was the 24-hour time limit between switches. Logan checked his status and saw he had 22 hours before he could return to the Void affinity, and 23 before he could return to the Life affinity. He had actually been curious about how that would work. Assuming he could get the five affinities of Life, Void, Dream, Cosmic, and Time, he hadn't known if he could only switch between one every 24 hours or if they staggered. Apparently, the latter was the case, which was useful information to tuck away.

Alden looked glum. The chances of finding affinity drops from monsters was extremely rare, and some of the most reliable ways to gain one outside of battling monsters was through reaching specific ranks in a guild.

"Hey, Alden," said Logan, "we'll get you one." The mage wanted the Life affinity. With his natural aptitude for necrotic mana, Life offered great offensive and defensive combinations.

Alden exhaled to compose himself, then gave Logan a small appreciative smile before gently setting the jar down. The mage was trying not to let his annoyance show, which Logan understood.

Logan faced Mariv. "What would have happened if someone with the Dream affinity had opened this?"

Still holding a hand to his heart, Mariv finally regained his composure. "It would have disintegrated the herbs inside."

Logan glanced nervously to Razor. "Are the herbs are important to help her?"

Mariv followed his gaze and seemed confused. "What? Oh, no. I've finished with her concoctions. I just adore this drink and was saving it for a special occasion. I put it in that jar just to make sure I didn't break into it." The gnome looked hungrily at the contents.

Logan sagged back. All that nervousness for nothing. But he recalled gnomes in this world had a weakness for exotic beverages. It still seemed like a weird detail to him.

At the gnome's bidding, Alden opened the lid and a floral scent filled the room.

"Ah… Isn't that just delightful?"

Alden tipped the jar, spilling the herb mix onto the counter, where Mariv carefully swept them into his palm and gingerly set them into a mortar and pestle. His excitement was clear in how he hummed as he prepared the ingredients and added liquid.

The gnome poured them each a glass, insisting over their reluctance. It was clear the drink was precious to the gnome, but it wasn't in Mariv's nature to be stingy.

The drink tasted like sun-warmed petals and crisp orchard fruit, with a silky sweetness that lingered on the tongue and a faint, cooling bite at the end that made Logan's eyes water pleasantly.

From down the spiral stairs, the door was heard opening, indicating Cassandra and Avalyn's arrival.

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"So, you wiped their memories?" Logan asked. He had a funny image of Cassandra and Avalyn in black suits next to Will Smith holding up a laser-pointer-like mind eraser. Also, he had no idea how that was possible, especially considering all the destruction was still plenty visible.

"Only one specific memory," Avalyn replied. "Namely, that Razor is a dragon."

"Huh. So what do they think happened then?"

"They still remember everything else. The Void fissures, the fires, the reavers. But they believe it was the reavers who started the chaos." She folded her wings. "My intent is not to blind anyone to the danger of the reavers, but only to protect Razor's identity." With a thoughtful and sympathetic look at Razor, her eyes softened. "I tried to lead her back to you through the great rupture in the ground, but a fissure had blocked it off. We tried to find another way down, but then the reavers arrived. I received a brief version of Razor's account from her and Mariv. Enough to understand the essentials."

She explained that the villagers knew about the Devouring Coil, and that this was why all the void fissures appeared. But now, their memories had been adjusted to recall Avalyn taking charge during the reaver attack.

Only a small reaver scouting force had struck, and Avalyn believed it was not meant to be a full-scale attack. From her time among the gobles, she knew the goble warlock was trying to gain an edge over the reavers. They had likely suspected as much, too, and sent scouts to investigate. If so, they would have arrived to discover the signs of the Devouring Coil awakened.

"But when their scouts don't return," Alden asked, "won't they send others here?"

The aerudine glanced to Cassandra, who lifted a bag and placed it on the table. It wasn't an interdimensional storage bag, but just a standard sack, and Cassandra took a few items out. One was the reaver blade Logan had used against it. Another was the strange medallion that had been on its breastplate. The last thing, though, was a device that looked like something from World War II, mixed in with bits of shining chromatic metal that gave it a futuristic look.

"This," explained Avalyn, "is a transponder. Since this was a scouting party, yes, I imagine the reavers will expect communication, but I have seen devices like this before and they usually are not intended for immediate communication." She turned to Mariv and asked the gnome if he could study the device alongside her over the next day or so. Time was going to be important because she wasn't sure when the reavers at their headquarters would try to open communication. Mariv agreed without hesitation.

She then addressed Logan, Cassandra, and Alden. "My wish is to keep the reavers from learning of Razor's involvement." She eyed Nugget, then Logan. "They ought not be made aware of any dragons. We still do not know why they sought to eradicate dragonkind, but I am sure it will not end well if any are discovered."

Nugget flitted over and landed on Logan's shoulder, so he patted his small golden snout. "We'll make sure to stay safe." That was probably a lot easier said than done, but it felt comforting to say it at least. "Also… after this will you be heading back to Kural?"

Avalyn tilted her head, clearly intrigued. "I'm surprised you know about Kural." To Mariv she explained it was across the Ruined Wilds, which he nodded to thoughtfully. She turned back to Logan. "But yes."

His hunch about where she was from had been correct, then. "Does everything there have the Dream affinity?"

"No, but it is the prominent affinity throughout the entire region. In the Fold, I understand affinities are sometimes stronger in certain locations than others. Life is the dominant affinity here, from what I gathered from the guild."

Logan, Alden and Cassandra took turns explaining what had happened in the Kalashi Citadel, between waking a defunct version of Luvania the guardian, her broken throne room that sealed the exits leading back into the Fold, and finally their unexpected arrival in Kural and the gardener ghost.

"Senna and Bromlin are still there," Cassandra said.

Logan caught a thread of nervousness in her voice, which Alden mirrored in his expression.

Avalyn looked mildly surprised but nodded. "That does make sense. There is a legend of the Gardener of the Kalashi Citadel."

The aerudine confirmed what the gardener had said about dungeons, and that monster cores only gave stat points.

"The gardener," Logan continued, "said there was a skewed balance cursing the region, and incidentally her and her plot of land. She accused me—well, the Exalted Kin—of being responsible for that."

Avalyn frowned. "Meeting you is the first I have even heard of the Exalted Kin. It is possible my Paragon will know more."

Cassandra pressed into that. "We've heard that term before from Mishki. He says the reavers have a paragon they serve too. Is this a deity?"

With a light laugh, Avalyn flexed her wings. "No, he is more of a mentor. Paragons come and go from the System, and are enlightened. They accept students into their number to reach Paragon status, until one day they vanish."

Even Mariv had questions. "Would this be related to the Life Sentinel Luvania the children encountered?"

Logan cocked a brow at the term children, but he also realized he had no idea how old the gnome actually was. It actually even made him smile, somehow sounding endearing from a friendly fantasy being half his size.

"There are sentinels of all affinities—Life, Dream, and the others—but no, a paragon is separate. Simply put, a paragon is someone who has forged their body past the five tiers into level 500."

While everyone's jaws dropped, Alden audibly sputtered. "500?"

Logan analyzed Avalyn. Her level didn't show. He saw something more in Avalyn's eyes too. It wasn't anything malicious, but there was more to the story. Maybe it would be better to keep his tongue still, but he couldn't hold back. He was too curious. He wanted to lean into this Perception strength of his.

"And which tier have you unlocked so far?"

She opened her mouth and then, with her lips parted, still smiled. "Two. I am level 253."

Even Mariv listened intently, drinking it all in.

"What," asked Alden, "comes after paragon?"

There was a hunger in everyone's eyes, and Logan suspected his too. He had come so far since arriving in a cave. Some of his advancements had happened gradually, but as he reflected on it now, breathing came easier, his feet never ached, and he had a good bit of energy overall.

Avalyn smiled. "That is something neither I nor even my Paragon know. None have ever passed 500, although he has said there is something deeper that happens within him to grow stronger besides level gains."

Mariv's clock chimed, and they turned to more immediate business.

Logan had a lot to unpack regarding thoughts on these power levels. He was still trying to figure out threshold perks.

To get Senna and Bromlin back here, they needed the Void stones charged. Nugget would go with him, since the dragon didn't seem to need the stones to pass the barrier. The best guess anyone had as to why was that it had to do with the dragon being hatched beyond the Boundary. Razor was still constrained, after all.

Avalyn had freedom to pass the Boundary, too, due to a blessing from her paragon. Since she could cover ground easily, she offered to charge the Void Stones against the Dragon Sage Totem and return them to Logan. From there, he could return with Senna and Bromlin. He figured they should all anticipate at least 2 days for him to travel there and back in case journeying through the Ruined Wilds made time go screwy again.

Cassandra and Alden, meanwhile, would help the Adventurer's Guild rebuild some semblance of order, and gather more details about this "missing half" quest. By the time Logan returned, the guild would hopefully be in order, and could upgrade Logan's Quest Board too.

After Avalyn took off, Mariv turned to Logan.

"So, my boy, you have the Dream affinity, and therefore, some new skills you would probably like to test. While we wait for our friend to return and while Razor and Mishki rest, how would you like to practice with me?"

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