Hours disappeared as the two continued their talk. The storm raged outside, the winds spiralling drunkenly, the rain like thrown knives and lightning arcs whipping the lands like an abusive master.

  In stark contrast, the inside of the cottage was a picture of comfort and warmth. Not only in its material circumstances. The tension and undercurrent of hostility had faded between the two, replaced by a jovial and friendly atmosphere. Their exchange was no longer just an exchange of facts, but also jokes and quips.

  It was also enlightening.

  Xyn learned more about the multiverse and how the various universes had interacted with each other since the Great Shift. Important events and people were covered. The Void Prince couldn't get enough. He was enthralled.

  Each new revelation and tidbit somehow managed to be more interesting than the previous one. Questions burned his lips via friction alone. Cynthia answered his questions to the best of her ability and seemed to take a certain joy in getting his reaction.

  Xyn didn't fail to ask the important questions.

  "Who's the strongest in the multiverse?"

  "A difficult question to answer. Different people have different answers. If we go by those who are still living, the podium would be Ibra the Warlord from Brackridge, the Demon King, and the head of the Thenian Gods, the All-Father. Serabrim of Universe 7 is another contender. That teenager has been hyped up to be as strong as the Empress of Destruction. I have my doubts. She hasn't battled anyone. There are also the obscure powerhouses to consider. Starlight Cabrena is said to have the strongest attack in the multiverse. Curos, the one who splatted the God of Blood and Slaughter, still lives and wanders about. He gets sighted every few decades. Other names come to mind, but there's no telling for sure unless a competition is held. Now, if the question of who's the most powerful mage ever, then it would be rather straightforward."

  "Who? The Void Empress?"

  "Nope, though she was powerful enough to be considered comparable to the podium I mentioned. No, the figure that stands out above all others is...Euen, the Witch of Cypress Forest."

  A frown appeared on Xyn's face. The name didn't ring any bells, yet as it echoed in his head, he felt a sharp distaste.

  "She is as powerful as she is mysterious, seemingly popping out of nowhere, around the Great Shift, as though born from the entangling of the universes. Her origin and nature remain unknown. Some believe she's a Mystic. Others believe she's a Stranger."

  Agitation bubbled within the Void Prince, making it difficult to keep track of Cynthia's explanation.

  "You see, she wasn't human. She's a..."

  Dark Elf.

  "Dark Elf."

  Xyn didn't question his thoughts. Nor his rampaging emotions. He couldn't. And even if he could, he would find no satisfying answers.

  "The Elves don't claim her as one of their own, nor are there any other Dark Elves in recorded history. She is a unique existence."

  "Where is she now?"

  "Nobody knows. As I said, she's an enigma. She appeared in Machaeverosa shortly after the universes were all connected, lingered for a decade, then seemingly vanished into thin air, never to be seen again. Those ten years were spent making stuff. She was prolific, easily the greatest creator in the multiverse. Machaeverosa is filled with her wonders, for better and worse. The monsters that roam this forest, that die and transform into magical balls, are her doing. They come from Monster Dens, which she scattered to all parts of the world. There are several hundred, and they generate monsters without end."

  "Hmm, I see."

  Cynthia misinterpreted his subdued response and shook her head. "That's the tip of the iceberg. She made a ton of other things. The Flying Islands, the Warp Gates, the Wishing Well, the Combat Arena...oh, and most impactful of all, the Towers of Ascension. She made a hundred of them, and each one could turn a mundane into a Transcendent."

  Xyn's sombre mask cracked. "Really?"

  "Yeah. Ibra's status as the strongest is only held because he wields the Tower's Eye of Origin. Sadly, they have all been - no, wait, there's still one that remains unconquered."

  The Void Prince's heart leapt in his chest. "Where?"

  "Not that far from here. Jont. It's the landmass to Manx's north-west. I passed through it to get here. The Tower is near the centre, slightly underground."

  "Point it out on a map," Xyn said, his words more a command than a request as he vibrated with eagerness.

  Cynthia obliged after taking a pointlessly long sip of her juice. Nothing as pinpoint as GPS coordinates was given, but Xyn was satisfied with her directions, believing he could find the Tower. He followed up with more questions to which the female vampire answered with her usual easy-going air.

  The A-rank Adventurer explained the challenges the Tower presented to those who sought it. There were two. Reaching the entrance and the Tower's sole trial. Hearing them, Xyn understood why the Tower hadn't been conquered in over a millennium. Yet at the same time, he felt confident in besting them. Then, seconds later, this confidence became nigh-certainty as an exploit dawned on him.

  "A piece of cake," Xyn said with a grin as he held a slice of milktart.

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

  Cynthia chuckled. "So say so many."

  "I can do it."

  "Perhaps you will. If that doesn't work out, there are plenty of other ways to get stronger quickly. The best place would be the Forgotten Kingdom's Goblet of Power."

  This time, Cynthia had the map ready. She had it float with her blood and marked the Forgotten Kingdom's location. It was a long way north from Manx, which lay in the bottom left of the map.

  "The Forgotten Kingdom is an open-world-type dungeon, created by dwarves. It and the surrounding land were transported here during the Great Shift. It's great, the easiest power-up to gain. I'm a recipient of the Goblet of Power's boost myself."

  Details were given, and Xyn added another destination to his travel journal.

  So much to see. So much to do.

  Anticipation and excitement bubbled within the psionic. They were a tag team that dominated the stage that was his heart. The pair weren’t invincible, though. Machaeverosa was a wonderfully interesting place, but it wasn't to be mistaken for a paradise. Cynthia's coverage of the God of Seas soured everything on his tongue.

  Are all these Thenian Gods just a bunch of pricks? He's worse than Aeroes.

  Following that topic, the two shifted to questions about the other.

  "You don't need blood to survive, but do you like the taste of it?"

  "Are you offering me a drink?" Cynthia asked, fluttering her eyelashes at the young man.

  Xyn couldn't meet her gaze. "Maybe."

  "Hm, but from what I can sense, your body has barely enough to fill a glass."

  "You can sense blood to that degree, interesting. Can you manipulate the blood in someone's body?"

  "Not yours. There must be a significant mana output difference. I could do it to C-Rank individuals and lower."

  Their future plans came up.

  Cynthia explained that she planned to head to Renoron's remains after slaying the Blood Cardinal. She had wanted to explore the land of the dead for many moons, and only recently acquired the means to do so in the form of an amulet.

  The magical tool would encase her in a barrier that would shield her from the corrosive death aura that pervaded the defiled continent. A Warp Gate to the southeast connected the two landmasses and is what she would use to get there. When asked how long she would stay there, "a few months" was her reply.

  The proposition to travel with her never left Xyn's lips. He could tell. Beyond the fact that he had nothing to shield him from the death aura, it was clear to Xyn that Cynthia was a lone wolf type. She enjoyed their interaction, for sure, but she loved her own company above all others.

  Xyn's future plans were next on the menu.

  Cynthia's eyes flickered. "Another otherworlder, interesting. The timing is unusual. Then again, lightning has been known to strike the same spot on occasion. So, you're trying to meet up with them? And you just have a general direction? Nothing else?"

  "Nothing else," Xyn said, staring at his reflection in the silver of the rapier's blade. "Thoughts? Know a way to locate them? I'd rather reach them before some Radiant Knight shows up and puts a collar on them. By the way, what rank is Alison?"

  "High S-rank. I still can't believe you defeated the Impenetrable Shield. Radae won't be pleased. The king is notoriously shiftless, but he might actually put the goblet down long enough to make the effort of chasing you down. He and Alison were chums."

  "What rank is the king?" Xyn followed up, unworried.

  "On paper, he's a peak Ascendant. In reality, he's much stronger. Even after Rose's death, no small number of Transcendents have fallen in the land of radiance. Radae's strength has always been veiled under layers of mystery. Think twice about making them an enemy."

  "Too late for that."

  "I suppose that's true."

  "Hopefully, the other transmigrator hasn't been scooped up by them. Hopefully, they are still alive."

  "A lot of hopes. Actually, there's a way to answer your questions."

  "There is?"

  "There is. By asking the foremost information expert in the multiverse."

  Confusion tore at Xyn for a few seconds, not knowing who she was talking about until he recalled the start of their conversation.

  "Drazal?"

  "Bingo," the A-rank Adventurer snapped her fingers.

  "How? By phone? Last time I checked, there was no signal here."

  "Nope. A simpler method." A blank page was summoned, and Cynthia wrote a string of letters on them. The end result was long and nonsensical. "If you say that out loud, you can summon a phantom of his."

  "Really?" Xyn was incredulous.

  "Yeah. From anywhere in the multiverse, supposedly. Even if you accidentally sounded out the string, he would be summoned."

  "And he'll answer your questions?"

  "More likely than not. He's not all-knowing or all-present. Nor is he a tool to be used. He'll likely want something in return."

  "My soul?"

  "They call him the Fiend of Knowledge, but he's no devil," Cynthia said, showing a wry smile. "Information is his usual price. He will almost certainly know about you and the other transmigrator's arrival. Dimensional rifts would not escape his attention. He likely sent phantoms to investigate. One may have been watching you. Could be watching us now," Cynthia glanced around the room, as though trying to spot a voyeur.

  Xyn rolled his shoulders. "Doubt. I'd have sensed him."

  "I don't know. He's said to be next to impossible to detect. Well, I try not to think about him too much. Anyway, he's an option."

  "Hmm, tell me more about him."

  Cynthia did.

  Drazal was an enigma, second only to the likes of Euen Cypress. He was an ancient Mystic, who wielded a Karma that could be called Great. Equal parts playful and chaotic, he founded a newspaper company called Verity shortly after the Great Scramble, and assumed the vice-president title...just because. For over a thousand years, he had been reporting on whatever struck his fancy. By now, he was thoroughly embedded in the consciousness of the masses. Machaeverosa regarded him like the sun or moon.

  Powerful, but harmless.

  Combat-wise, his phantoms were no threats; they could be dispelled by E-rank mages. That said, while knowledge of how to summon him was widespread, few dared to utter the chant. There were theories that the summoner paid some unknown cost. This wasn't proven, but the idea made people cautious about calling upon the Karma user.

  "What if two or more people say the chant at the same time?"

  "Each one gets a phantom. Drazal can be split many ways. Case and point, the Society of Learning ran an experiment where they had ten thousand individuals perform the summoning. Drazal interacted with each of them without stuttering. He no doubt has a hard limit, but it's probably so high it might as well be infinite."

  "Interesting."

  Time raced by for the pair. If he hadn't had to replace the logs in the fireplace, Xyn would be none the wiser. Fun had that effect. But like all things, it had an end.

  "I should get going."

  "What? You just got here. It's still raining outside. What if you catch a cold? Do vampires get sick?"

  "Aha, you're adorable, Xyn. If only I were two hundred years younger." Cynthia stood up. "This was good. To meet the Void Prince in the flesh, how lucky I am." She thrust out her hand. "Let's meet up in a few months and trade tales of adventure. Sound good?"

  Xyn teleported to her front, to Cynthia's surprise, and clasped his hand around hers.

  "Sounds great," he flashed a cheeky smile.

  "You were holding out on me...well, I've not divulged all my secrets." Cynthia blinked. In the darkness hidden behind her eyelids, her eyes briefly flashed golden before returning to a bloody crimson. "Perhaps, you'll see another side of me next time."

  "I look forward to that."

  The handshake came undone with some reluctance. The door swung open with reluctance, and Xyn watched the vampire's figure slowly disappear behind the curtains of rain with reluctance.

  Alone...again.

  The door shut, and Xyn entered a noticeably colder lodge.