Maxwell sits across from Lana and leans back on the sofa, a small circle of glass in his hand.

  “So… this one works best, you think?” he asks as he grabs a small cloth from the table.

  “Yeah, I… I think so. How long do you think it’ll take until you have the glasses ready?” Lana adds, watching as he begins to clean it with the cloth.

  “I’ll need to make a frame for them, as well as make a much larger version of the one you chose, so it might take me all night. Do you think you’ll be fine without them today?”

  “I… I can still see okay, as long as there aren't any puzzles super far away it should be fine.” Maxwell glances at the hall as Amber steps from it and takes a slow breath.

  “Good morning,” Amber remarks. Lana turns to him, squinting her eyes slightly as she answers.

  “Good morning. How… did you sleep?” Amber glances down at the crown, then back up at her.

  “I slept okay, and I think I'm a bit better now,” he answers, the gold on his palm now gone, the skin beneath where it was fully healed. “I… woke up and the burns on my hand were gone, but I still can't move my arm much.”

  “Much? You- shouldn't be able to move it at all yet, not for a day or two,” Maxwell responds, setting the glass down on top of the cloth.

  “I mean… it’s odd, but I’d say the burns on my hand being gone is the weirdest part.”

  “I just saw it more fit to question the much harsher injury.” Amber flexes his right hand slightly, taking a deep breath.

  “So you’re getting the glasses?” He asks, turning to Lana as she turns to him.

  “Yeah, it’s… my eyesight’s getting worse pretty fast, I might not be able to see clearly at all by the next few days.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re finally getting them,” he adds, turning to Maxwell. “I’m assuming you’ve already told her about Gorlac and the stuff from her guitar?” Maxwell nods, turning back to Lana.

  “Yeah, I have. We’ve come up with an idea. You wanna tell him?” Lana glances between the two of them before her gaze meets with Amber’s.

  “We’ve decided… that if we fail, and Gorlac comes before we manage to get the Golden Star, I’ll wait, and try to surprise him.”

  “He… was able to get into my head, though. He knew my name and where to find us. How do we know he won’t be able to do the same to you?” Amber asks as Maxwell leans forward, answering for her.

  “We don't, but… it might be our only chance if things go wrong. However, I do have some good news,” he adds, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the map. “I have been talking with Lux some more, and she told me that there are descriptions on each reality that Athrin, the people who made Lux, have logged, and it includes the… trials, as she calls them.” he spreads the map out onto the table before pressing his fingers against it, the surface pulsing under his touch.

  “I have also memorized all the commands and shapes we need, so we won’t be relying on Lux anymore,” he adds, his fingers moving to random positions as lines are drawn between them, creating a jagged shape. “Description, speaker,” he demands, the shape sliding to the center of the map, the hologram shining through it, the image locking onto a singular spot as the dots around it move in random directions. A voice then starts to speak, the sound incredibly robotic and linear.

  “Description for reality trial starting point. Empty world that has been repurposed by Athrin to hold valuable data about Athrin’s home reality. Data includes information on things such as Variants, human history, Gorlac, other threats, and the coordinates, all held by Pala, the founder of Guardian Assembly and Research. Gaar was founded about four hundred years ago, and-” The voice begins, being cut off as Maxwell removes his hand.

  “The rest of the description just continues to talk about whoever this ‘Pala’ is, but it repeats the same points over and over. It essentially says that Pala was considered a close friend of Athrin, and now greets people who want to begin the trials, refusing whoever he deems ‘unfit to wield the Golden Star,’ which is everyone so far… according to the description. What this recording seems to imply is that this world is purely an intermission, and shouldn’t require any fighting.” Maxwell leans back, glancing at Amber as the sound of a door opening echoes from behind him. He turns as Shari steps out from the bathroom, glancing at them.

  “So, have you told them about the description yet?” she asks as she turns to Maxwell.

  “I just finished, they should be all caught up,” Maxwell answers as Shari approaches, leaning against the back of the couch.

  “So… Amber, how’s your arm?” she asks.

  “It’s better, it’s stopped hurting, just feels numb now,” Amber replies.

  “Well, it’s good that the pain is gone,” she adds, turning to Maxwell. “When do you think we’ll leave?”

  “We can leave whenever. I’ve got the supplies ready, are you ready to go, Amber?” he asks, turning to him. Amber nods, his eyes drifting to look at the map.

  “Yeah, I’m ready.” Maxwell places his hand back against it, clearing his throat as he adjusts his hands to make another shape. He taps his thumb against the surface four times, causing all of their eyes to flicker with purple light sequentially for a moment. Amber furrows his brow slightly as he notices before Maxwell slides his fingers to meet in the center.

  “Also, it appears that the map knocks us out for about ten seconds during and after transportation. Apparently, they decided to go with a system that teleports you one atom at a time and just made it incredibly fast. I personally believe that a wormhole system would be both more efficient and cheaper, but I need to study the map quite a bit more before I'm confident that I can alter it without causing issues. I might just make my own from scratch to avoid any issues,” he remarks before lifting his hand away from the surface, causing them all to vanish in a flash of purple light.

  Amber opens his eyes, sitting upright as he glances at the landscape around him, which is obscured by a heavy cloud of sand being thrown around by the strong winds. He glances to his side, watching as Lana sits up before grabbing her head, squinting her eyes, and using her arm to shield them from the sand.

  “You okay?” he shouts over the sound of the powerful winds, turning as Maxwell and Shari do the same.

  “I’m alright!” Lana calls back. Amber pulls himself to his paws, nearly slipping as the shand shifts beneath him. Lana, Maxwell, and Shari stand soon after, looking around at the landscape, the ground covered in sand with a couple of human skeletons scattered through the small circle of visible land around them.

  “Are you… sure the description was accurate?” Lana asks, her gaze locking onto a humanoid silhouette that slowly approaches, the sand making it impossible to see them clearly. “I see someone!” The others turn to look in the same direction as her.

  “Who do you think it is?” Maxwell calls, his eyes opening fully as the cloud of sand starts to dissipate, the figure becoming more visible, their purple eyes shining through the remaining sand in the air. Amber watches as Maxwell steps forward, shoving the map into his pocket. He raises his hand to his mouth before shouting.

  “Hey! Are you pala?” he calls, watching as they stop moving forward, the remaining pollution in the air fading, revealing them. They wear a fancy, black tuxedo, a white shirt beneath it with a purple tie. They stand up straight, holding their hands behind their back. They have dark skin and a shorter frame, their stance incredibly professional.

  “That is correct. Who are you?” he asks, his voice sounding as if it has a slight robotic filter. Amber stares at him, standing slightly behind Maxwell, the crown being blocked from their sight.

  “I’m Maxwell,” he answers before gesturing to the others. “This is Shari, Lana, and Amber.”

  “I see,” Pala adds, vanishing before reappearing much closer, causing them to step back. Pala then glances at Amber’s arm, then at Lana and Shari’s faces. “If you’re here for the coordinates, you’ll have a hard time convincing me when even one of your own appears to be injured. These trials are not made for just anyone. Once you begin a trial, there is no way to opt out, and I don't enjoy sending people to their deaths.”

  “I promise you, Amber can fend for himself,” Maxwell adds, watching as Pala slides across the ground, moving back.

  “Then he should be able to speak for himself. All of you don't appear too strong, and a simple scan tells me that only two of you have enhancements, one of which being injured. Most enhanced with… more than subpar abilities are also granted some sort of regeneration. Can you tell me what makes you think you’ll be able to succeed where hundreds of others have failed? Do you have a plan? Are you more special than all the others before you?” he leans forward, raising an eyebrow as he speaks. “Having a group of only Variants is quite bold, most bring some humans with them. Variants aren't often too keen on violence, based on what I’ve seen… though they do tend to have the best enhancements. I once saw a woman who could control shadows, though she was a double variation, which is a very rare condition. It did make the enhancements twice as strong, however. Anyways, I’m rambling… convince me that I should let you be the hundred and fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth person to enter the trials.” Maxwell clears his throat, taking a step forward.

  “Well, what would it take to convince you? I’m sure we could come to an agreement.” Pala raises his hand, cutting Maxwell off.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “There is nothing you have that I could want, because I don’t have a physical form. I cannot eat, cannot interact with any gadgets you have to offer, and don't wish to trade your life for a promise you’ll never be able to keep. I am a hologram, an artificial intelligence made to ‘bring Pala back to life.’ I’m quite proud of how accurately they managed to recreate a human brain using only machines, and how well they captured my likeness. There is nothing you could offer me, because a hologram cannot interact with the world around it. I cannot alter anything beyond the data that Athrin gave me access to before disappearing about… seventy years ago, I think. When I say you need to convince me, I mean you need to convince me that you won't die, and that you can be trusted with a weapon of such power in the very unlikely scenario that you make it through.”

  “What… do you think we would do with it? Why would we even keep it after?” Maxwell asks, causing Pala to back up slightly, furrowing his brows.

  “What world are you from?”

  “What? We… well, I don't remember the exact string of numbers, but it ended with var.”

  “That’s the one, Athrin decided to contact you? That goes directly against my advice, but whatever. If so, that gives me a bit more confidence.” Maxwell continues to stare at Pala, taking a step forward.

  “Nobody… no one contacted us. I built my own stargate, and-” Maxwell begins, being cut off by Pala, who stares into his eyes.

  “Built your own? How would someone like you do that? If you’re from the world you claim to be from, then you would have no way to access the materials needed to breach through the vast.”

  “I don't think it matters how we got here, what matters is that we have something to protect from someone we can’t protect it from.” Pala straightens his stance again, rolling his eyes.

  “I’m sure whoever’s threatening you does not need to be banished to the void for all of eternity. The Golden Star is meant for gods and other beings that can traverse reality. I’m sure you could just throw your enemy into another world and call it a day.”

  “From what I heard, Gorlac has been threatening you people for a long while. I’m sure that you know what he is capable of, and now that he’s angry, and Keven gave us the crown, I don't think we can fight back.” Pala raises an eyebrow, sliding closer before Maxwell steps back.

  “Gorlac? Keven? And surely you couldn't mean the crown of saviors. The crown has been under Athrin’s close watch. Nothing, and I mean nothing, gets past him. Not only him, but you’d have to get past thousands of guards, and hundreds of automated systems… not to mention the field around it. Echor reported to us that Keven had killed himself, so it’s impossible that you met him.” Maxwell turns to Amber, stepping aside to allow Pala to see the crown clipped to his belt. Pala slides back, coming to a stop as he stares at the crown.

  “I… don't understand. I should have been able to read the crown’s demonic power while scanning you, and I can still see the energy pulsing around it,” Pala remarks, staring at the crown as energy pulses along the black surface. “The only kind of power that our systems cannot read is celestial energy, which, if the crown has reached, would mean that… I might have to trust you. If the crown has reached a level of potency to where we can no longer read its energy, then it’s impossible to know how powerful Gorlac will become if he gets it. It already seemed like it was close, flickering in and out of being scannable, but this is the first time it has remained completely unreadable for more than a few seconds.

  “So you’ll give us the coordinates?” Maxwell asks.

  “I… you don't understand. This is… something you shouldn’t have. There is no way that Keven was allowed back into the organization, and Athrin did stop contacting me. If they’re gone, then I might have to trust you to deal with this. I would be unable to protect it, and I would never trust Keven to do so. Do you have any clue why he gave it to you? He was obsessed with it, so there’s no way he would decide it’s not worth it, not after only eighty years, that’s nothing compared to his lifespan.” Amber’s hand remains clamped around the crown, his breathing quickening. “Not only all that, but… You, with the crown… What’s your name?” he asks.

  “My… my name is Amber.”

  “Alright, Amber. How do you ignore the crown calling your name? Being so close to it, it starts to mess with your mind. Even the strongest of us could not handle being in close proximity for more than twenty minutes at a time. The voices build up until it’s all you can hear.”

  Lana looks down at her hand, then looks back up at Pala as Amber answers.

  “It… doesn't call out to me anymore. After I put it on-” he begins, getting cut off by Pala.

  “You shouldn't be alive if you put it on. I don't even sense much power from you, definitely not enough to survive the crown. Even the strongest enhanced we had could only survive a few minutes with no outside help. Did Keven offer you some of the serum? Did he complete it?” Pala asks, getting closer.

  “He- he didn’t offer me anything. I found the crown on the ground while I was being attacked, and it kept promising things, so I put it on,” Amber answers, his grip on the crown tightening as he takes another step back. “And then Fuerza told me they wanted me to take Gorlac’s place as their master, and in exchange, they would fight for me whenever I needed.” Pala exhales silently as he looks up into Amber’s eyes.

  “This is unheard of. I have a hard time believing you, but if it’s true, then this could mean… that Keven was right… or at least partially right. What are your enhancements? Your biometric scans tell me you have radiation from the Crystalline, is this right?” Amber swallows nervously, turning to look at Lana before turning back to Pala, who is much closer when he looks back.

  “I… I don't know. I think so, Lux seems to think so, but Maxwell told me I… Can he explain? I’m not good at explaining things.” Pala turns to Maxwell, who sighs before speaking.

  “We don't know much about his enhancements yet. So far, I have seen, and heard about… a kind of teleportation, and pretty… moderate strength…”

  “That doesn't explain how he would be able to handle the crown. We’ve had subjects able to do much more impressive things that were killed by the crown in seconds.” Lana glances around, raising her hand slightly before putting it down. She then opens her mouth to speak.

  “You… said that only two of us had enhancements, and I know that Lux also didn't sense anything from me, but I assumed it was just broken,” she announces, causing Pala to turn to her.

  “What do you mean? I don't detect anything coming off you.” Lana glances away, taking a slow breath.

  “You mentioned that you couldn't detect… celestial energy. Does that mean… power that comes from celestials? I’m assuming so, but I- I just wanted to make sure.”

  “That’s… yeah, that’s what I mean. What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that I got my abilities,” she begins, her guitar appearing in her grasp. “From someone called Puerza… or at least what’s left of her.”

  “Puerza? You’re not talking about the god, right?”

  “I am, I… I went to the place in the legend, and found whatever it was talking about. My guitar absorbed most of the energy, but I also got some abilities.”

  “But… then why aren't you the one able to use the crown? The crown showed a negative response to the very little celestial energy we had, and much less to the energy we extracted from it that we could replicate. If anyone would be able to use the crown, I would expect it to be someone with this energy.” he takes a step back, glancing between them. “You… You can have the coordinates, but you need to understand something. Amber, the crown is not a toy. The way it works is by pulling a quarter of the user’s soul, converting it into demonic energy, which it uses to amplify your abilities to their very highest current potential, bypassing any possible limits. Most cannot live with less than their full soul, but in the very few people we’ve managed to have take off the crown and put it back on using the serum, it stacked the effects. None of our subjects have survived losing a quarter for more than a few hours, and losing half killed them the instant the crown was removed. We don't know what the permanent effects are, because nobody has lived long enough to experience them. I… I don't know how many times you’ve put it on, but every time you do, if you experienced any side effects, it will multiply each time you wear it, and losing your soul completely would be an instantaneous death. You cannot wear it more than three times, doing so is guaranteed to kill you. Each time you wear it, Fuerza’s power will also multiply, because it will have taken more of your soul. Even with one more use at most, I still don't think that you’ll be able to do the trials, because so many of the guardians’ minds have been broken. They were left running so long that their AIs have completely deteriorated into delusion. The next trial takes place in a world we offered protection, a guardian able to defend against creatures over half a kilometer in height. Golem has completely lost its mind, and any connection I had to it back when I made it is gone. If it attacks, then I don't think that Fuerza, even at the most powerful state we’ve seen them, would be capable of even harming it.” Pala takes a silent breath, looking around at the sandy landscape. He then glances at Maxwell. “I’m assuming that Keven was the one who gave you Lux.” Maxwell nods. Pala then raises his hand before snapping his fingers, causing Lux to chime.

  “You don't need to search for the coordinates, I’ve just transferred the information into Lux directly.” Maxwell’s ears twitch as Lux starts to speak.

  “One new file has been added.” Maxwell stares at Pala.

  “So you… are going to trust us with the Golden Star?” he asks.

  “I wish I didn't have to, but a lot of things line up, and if Athrin isn't here to protect the crown anymore, then this might be the only option.” Maxwell takes a slow breath, glancing down at the map sticking slightly from his pocket.

  “How about this? When we’re done, I’ll still make you A physical body. I’m sure you must be… beyond bored here. I can make it look exactly the same as you look right now, and I could drop you off in a place of your choosing.”

  “I would like that,” Pala begins, glancing around. “However, I do need to watch over this place… The body would still be greatly appreciated… and I could change my mind about the second part. However, to do that, you’ll first need a computer capable of downloading a literal simulation of consciousness, which there are only a few of in existence. You’d need to create the equivalent of a Variant soul.”

  I’m sure I could figure something out. I could even alter things about the form if there’s anything you’d like to change. Being able to interact with the world around you would already be an improvement, I’d imagine.”

  “It would be. If you don't mind me asking, what’s your plan? After you banish Gorlac, there must be something you hope to accomplish next.”

  “I’m not sure. We’ll have a lot to do. After everything, there’s not that many of us left.” Shari steps around Maxwell, looking at Pala, who turns to her. Shari stares at him, exhaling.

  “You’re… one of the first humans I've seen in around ten years,” she adds, gently gripping her shoulder.

  “I’m only based after a human, I'm more of a robot, but I’m advanced enough to where I feel human. Is there anything you’d like to ask before continuing?”

  “Yeah, I… I wanted to ask about a building me, Mark, and… Maroon found a bunch of years back. It has this strange, black orb that powers the entire thing, and it’s where we found the Crystalline… it matched the description of something Amber found in one of your bases.”

  “Sounds like one of our research facilities. Athrin found that many worlds’ Americas happen to be built on top of a cave filled with crystallines, so we pay them hundreds of billions to set up those buildings and give us all the information they can on them.” Shari nods, stepping back as Maxwell glances around.

  “Well, I think we got everything we need here. Once we’re home, I’ll add making you a new body to my list of things to do. You think you’ll be okay here for a little while?”

  “A little while? You think you could build an entire body in a short amount of time?” Pala asks as Maxwell pulls the map from his pocket.

  “I’m sure I can get it done in a few months, and if you decide you want to leave early, before I even finish the body, I can try to find a way to do that first. I’ll come back right after we finish with Gorlac to ask if you want me to do that. Does that sound good?” Pala nods, watching as Maxwell tightly grips the map. “So you think you’ll be good until I come back?”

  “I’ll be just fine. I’ve been here for eighty years, what’s a few more?” Maxwell nods, glancing around at the others.

  “Alright, ya’ll ready to go?” he asks. They all confirm as he turns back to Pala.

  “Take care, I’ll be back in not too long,” Maxwell adds, glancing down at the map in his hand. “Lux, take us home.” Lux chimes, small black wires slithering from Maxwell’s hand before they vanish with a loud crack, throwing around sand.