Chapter 557 - Yachts and clubbing by the sea.

It was only after enjoying a leisurely walk through the nearby park, ice cream cone in hand that tasted so much like a classic waffle cone w

It was only after enjoying a leisurely walk through the nearby park, ice cream cone in hand that tasted so much like a classic waffle cone while laughing at Rachel’s humorous quips and wild tales that he realized something had gone seriously wrong.

He was no longer walking confidently by her side, wearing comfortable clothes in the park.

Now, she was yelling at him from the other side of a sigil-covered electromana holographic projector that was basically a camera, and he was, for some reason, wearing gold filigreed pants and a sleeveless leather jacket in a room with a dozen glaring lights. Only then did he fully appreciate that Rachel’s breezy manner and teasing smile had been lures set to catch rubes like Eric, as she was now glaring at him with hands on hips.

“No, Eric. Bedroom eyes! Imagine the camera is your date and you want nothing more than to wrap her up in your arms! But don’t make it cheap. Look like a million golden bank notes while you try to win her heart.”

“Who’s heart?”

“The camera’s”

Eric broke out in laughter. He couldn’t help it. “Fuck, I forgot how much I hate photo shoots!”

“Too late to back out now. You shook hands with a lady,” Rachel quipped with a teasing glint in her eyes that was somehow also dead serious, before her features grew rock hard once more.

If he had one tiny bit of consolation, it was her agreeing to him also recording the shoot, though she had clearly been skeptical about the tablet one of her assistants was dutifully keeping trained on him the entire time.

Because for some idiotic reason, he thought this would actually be—

“Strut, Eric. Walk like you own the block! Like you’re a shaker… no, a breaker with a score to settle. Now put your arm around Song’s shoulder. Don’t worry, she won’t break, Eric. You look way too worried. Not enough like the tough badass you know you are. Okay… yes! Perfect!”

Eric could imagine Bunbun chortling at him once more for faking a performance, even if he didn’t have to say a word and he would never again forget his lines. So he did what he always did when he didn’t want his performance to be complete crap. He was, very carefully, embracing the role. In fact, all he had to do was remember the expressions of a handful of toughs that had thought him an easy mark to intimidate.

The look on their faces when they realized just how outclassed they were. The obnoxious smirk that had been reflected from their gazes… that was the look, the feel, he was trying to capture.

No, no, don’t think about just how hot and furious Rat-face’s sneering threat had been, the bastard’s eyes glittering with malice, making it clear that yes, he would most definitely come for Louise just to hurt Eric for humiliating him, even if everything else was resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and all parties consider the matter over. For Ku, it wouldn’t have been. He would have been waiting in the wings like a ticking time bomb, and Louise would have been in his sights until he had finally embraced his twisted satisfaction. And somehow, Eric was horrifically certain she would have been found in a ditch somewhere after Ku was long gone, setting himself up in another city, chortling as he imagined Eric’s despairing screams... like the twisted fuck he was.

So Eric had neutralized that threat.

Forever.

And if Tory didn’t keep to his word…

He’d decapitate every last stomping shithead in that cannery, no matter who they were.

No matter how confused and terrified the look in their gazes…

It didn’t fucking matter.

No one he loved would ever die for his mistakes again. And if that meant taking on a lifetime’s worth of guilt embracing wholesale slaughter that would never have been necessary, if he had just kowtowed before his would-be masters? So fucking be it.

Just one more river of blood under the bridge.

Rachel’s eyes widened with excitement. “Yes. Yes! That look. That ‘I own the world and if you don’t like it, I’ll stomp your face in’ look while Song leans into you like you’re her lover. Her hero. Her man. That’s it!”

And seconds later, it was over.

“Beautiful job, Eric. That pout, those muscles, that devilishly handsome face?” She applauded, including the model who slipped right out of Eric’s arm with Rachel’s nod. “Those were perfect shots!”

Eric took a relieved breath. He hadn’t wanted to get in that mindset. Not really. But if it got the photoshoot done that much quicker…

Rachel solemnly handed Eric back his tablet. “Tell me that toy of yours isn’t actually a priceless artifact that shouldn’t even work here, and I’ll call you a liar.”

Eric smirked. “No comment.”

“Good. Now let’s grab a bite to eat. I’m famished.”

Eric chuckled at that. “Let me slip into something more comfortable, and I’ll join you.”

“Damn right you will. And no need to change! You look good, and it’s time you made friends with some of our classmates. So come on, we’re going clubbing!”

*

“So who’s the new model?”

“Handsome boy. Have you claimed him yet?”

Eric, eyes closed and arms crossed behind his head in the backseat of the levimobile now zipping along the boulevard, couldn’t help smiling at the comments, even as Rachel feigned outrage, though the flush in her cheeks that he sensed so clearly with his Infravision, no matter the makeup she wore, made it clear that she wasn’t quite as adept at washing off her friend’s teasing as she pretended.

“He’s my business partner, Lena. And my classmate. And he’s far too young for you.”

This earned a snort. “If he’s in your class, he’s old enough to swim with the sharks.”

“Like you?”

“Ha. I’d make a man of him with a night he’d never forget.”

“He’s your business partner, Rachel? Not your employee?” Said a girl with curly dark hair and bedroom eyes presently wearing a satin kimono that displayed all her curves, which seemed to be a thing among young twenty-somethings in this time and place, as Lena was dressed much the same, though she had dyed her hair with streaks of pink, and immediately smiled when Eric opened his eyes to take in the view of beautiful women with their hair blowing in the wind as Rachel drove like a madwoman.

“We came to a mutually beneficial arrangement, Hai!” Rachel shot back. “He doesn’t get a single copper, unless Legendware really takes off. So let’s be honest, odds are that I’m not paying him a penny!”

She flashed him a wicked grin through the rearview. “Isn’t that right, sleeping beauty?”

Eric grinned. “You know it, but I’m all about beating the odds.” Eric blinked, nostrils flaring as he recognized the scent. “So, this club is near the pier?”

“You know it! As if half the city isn’t on massive pilons,” Hai quipped, her crimson satin dress flowing over her curves like a sensual serpent as she eased herself right next to Eric, leaning her head against his chest.

“Hi handsome! Enjoy your power nap?” She said with a cheeky, teasing smile. “I’m Hai, and Rachel hasn’t told me nearly enough about you.” Her finger twirled a lock of his hair. “Like how did you get locks so silky and gold and fuck!” Her eyes widened in momentary dismay that instantly became a look of pity.

“Oh. Sorry. I… I didn’t know.”

Eric snorted at that. “Didn’t know what?”

“That you, um… had a hormonal imbalance?”

Eric quirked an eyebrow. “What the fuck’s she talking about, Rachel?”

Rachel laughed, eyes twinkling before she took a hard right, levi motor humming as they nearly bit the curve. “Your horns, beautiful. She can’t get over them!”

“I don’t have any horns.”

“Exactly.”

Hai and Lena shared a pitying glance.

“Poor darling.”

“Never know what he’s missing.”

Eric furrowed his brow, not caring that the girls were speaking in a sibilant dialect that was most definitely not NanDushi.

“I’m not missing anything,” he said pointedly. “Everything works just fine. Trust me.”

Rachel scowled. “What are you two muttering about?”

But Hai and Lena were gazing at Eric in wide-eyed disbelief. “How?”

Eric blinked. “How what?”

“How do you know our clan dialect?”

Eric grinned, tapping his ear. “I’m a very good listener.”

Hai scowled. “That’s not how languages work!”

Eric shrugged. “It does for me.”

Lena blinked at this. She turned to Rachel as they came to a hard stop in front of a vast, warehouse-sized club thrumming with a bassy beat. “Rachel, what the hell’s up with this kid?”

Rachel flashed Eric a teasing grin. “Turns out, I netted me an actual underworld elf to do my modeling for me. Tell me that exotic-looking face won’t get people staring at our posters and adverts, whether they’re into fashion or not!”

Eric grinned, feeling an intense frisson of energy with the thrumming beat of the club. Yet it couldn’t drown out the song of nearby seagulls and the crashing waves of the sea, just a short distance away.

Rachel gave Eric a playful poke. She winced momentarily, as if she had stubbed her finger against a slab of concrete. “So… yeah. My classmate’s an elf. Probably a Contender, too.”

Hai’s beautiful purple-hued eyes widened. “No kidding! What’s it like dating a Contender?”

Eric chuckled, making sure to keep his stance and posture relaxed and easygoing. “Business partner, remember? And why am I a Contender again?”

Rachel laughed as she hopped out of the car, exchanging nods and smiles with a couple fashionably dressed young scions who were also slipping into the club that was guarded by an imposing-looking bouncer.

A bouncer who stared right at Eric with a look of bug-eyed disbelief that Rachel paid no mind to, having turned back around to brush her fingertips against Eric’s cheek. “...Because you’re an exotically handsome elf popping up out of nowhere with features so freekin’ perfect its like you’re some ascended cultivator. But everyone knows that only True-Bloods can cultivate so…”

Rachel shrugged, filling the air with a throaty chuckle. “Don’t sweat it, Eric,”

She happily claimed his arm, wrapping it about her naked shoulder, her strapless dress held up by nothing but nature’s gifts and clever tailoring. “It’s part of your mystique. Your charm. It’s how we’re going to sell Legendware like hotcakes… and how you’ll be getting your twenty percent!”

Eric chuckled at that. “Alright, fair enough, I guess,” he said, as Lena and Hai exchanged looks.

“Rachel?”

“What’s up, Hai?”

“Why is the bouncer stomping our way with murder in his eyes?”

Rachel frowned. “Fuck if I know.” She paled. “Shit. He is coming right for us.”

“You!” The halfstep Bronze in the ill-fitting suit roared, jabbing a fat finger in Eric’s face.

Eric grinned, not phased in the least. “That’s right, Sausage. It’s me.”

“My names not Sausage!”

“It is to me.”

The man clenched his jaw, snarling at a smirking Eric. “I should pound the fucking shit out of you!”

Rachel paled. A horrified Lena and Hai stumbled back, tripping over their platform shoes.

“He’s a serious stomper. I can feel his killing intent! Shit, Rachel, we need to leave!” Hai quailed.

Eric gazed at the looming giant curiously. “Seriously?”

“Damn right!” Sausage snarled, cracking his oversized sausage fingers.

Eric snorted. “Well sure, you can give it your best shot. But um… you might want to clear it with Malcom, first.”

His would-be opponent stiffened at Eric’s casual name drop.

Eric’s wicked smile grew. “In fact, now that I think about it, I’m almost certain that your boss and I came to an understanding. Or am I wrong about that, Sausage?”

“My name is—”

“Sausage. I know. Point is, Sausage, if you start shit with me here and now… if you’re telling me, telling the world that Tory’s word doesn’t mean shit… what do you think happens to you, even if you can beat the crap out of fragile little me, just an innocent academy student and part-time model?”

Sausage’s eyes bulged in outrage. “You’re no fucking innocent student!”

“Tell that to Tory. Then come back here. And you tell me what he says when you do.”

Sausage blanched.

Eric winked. “Yeah. That’s what I thought. See you around, Sausage.” A smirking Eric then walked right past the flummoxed bouncer, an awed-looking Rachel and nervous Lena and Hai just a step behind, ignoring the hushed whispers of the well-dressed party-goers who had been waiting in a line that for Eric, wasn’t.

“Did you fucking see that?”

“Who is that kid?”

“Wait, he knows Tory? Who is he again?”

“He’s with Rachel Dominus. Must be one of theirs.”

“Kid better watch it. You do not name drop a stomper kingpin!”

“Not unless you want to feed the fishes.”

Eric let loose the pent-up breath he had been holding, glad Sausage had backed own. He really did want to keep what he thought of as his work and school life separate, for any number of reasons. And the look in Rachel’s awed gaze when she sidled up to him and slid under his arm again… it wasn’t going to be easy.

“Eric!” She shouted over the music. The strobe lights flashed and it seemed that the entire vast warehouse filled with youth in glittering attire spun and danced to the beat.

“What’s up?” he asked, making a beeline for the elevated bar.

“What just happened?”

“We’re about to enjoy some dancing?”

She gave him a pointed look. “The bouncer!”

“What about him?”

“He looked like he wanted to pound your face in!”

Eric nodded. “He did look mad.”

“So, what happened?”

Eric met her gaze, lips just inches from his own. “We got in the club?”

Her crimson-dyed lips curved in a pout. “Don’t fuck with me, Eric.”

“You sure? I thought we were all about cultural exchanges.”

She flushed at that, eyes twinkling dangerously. “We can cultural exchange later.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he grinned.

She smirked, claimed the back of his neck, and kissed him hot and sweet.

“There!” She said breathlessly, pupils dilated. “Now, what’s up with you and that bouncer?”

Eric chuckled. “You mean me and Sausage.”

Lena and Hai, now just inches away, nodded as well. “Yeah, Eric, how the fuck did you put fear in the eyes of a made man?” Hai asked breathlessly. “I could feel his killing intent. He’s near ascending!”

Eric waved off her enthusiasm. “Half-step loser. Permanently bottle-necked. Not worth ogling. Trust me.”

Hai glared at him like a hawk. “How the fuck would you even know that, kid?”

Eric forced a chuckle. “I mean… it stands to reason? If he weren’t stuck or bottle-necked or broken… why is he here and not training for a breakthrough up on cultivation-city plateau?”

Hai scowled, crossing her arms. “It’s not actually ‘cultivation city,’” she huffed. “And things are complicated, up there. Some families choose to progress down here, where it’s safer.”

Eric nodded solemnly, already having sensed her fully intact set of meridians that she was clearly in the process of clearing, already enjoying a Vitality and Strength Eric sensed she did her best to hold back from revealing to her far more mortal friends. “Fair point.”

“So, how did you cow a halfstep Bronze?”

Eric suppressed a scowl that Hai wouldn’t let it go, and her smirk made it clear she knew he wanted to her to let it go, and he was pretty sure that with another kiss, Rachel would have let it go… but no.

“Let’s say that I had a misunderstanding with someone important. We cleared the air and came to a mutual accord. Obviously, someone forgot to fill Sausage in… or he thinks he can cow me like I’m nothing, even though we both know that the deal is set.”

Rachel peered hard at Eric who smiled innocently. “What would you like to drink?”

“A seabreeze.”

Her friends nodded in accord.

Eric held out four fingers to the bartender. “Four seabreezes, please!”

The mustachioed man wearing a vest with even more flash than Eric’s attire smiled and dipped his head. “That will be—” His words cut off when he caught Rachel’s crooked eyebrow. “On the house!”

Eric slammed down a silver, regardless. “For great service in advance!”

The man smiled, flashing perfect teeth as he made a show of pouring their drinks, juggling all four cups as rum, seltzer, tangerine, and several bottles Eric didn’t recognize were all put into play.

The girls gave the bartender polite claps before saluting Eric with their drinks, Eric smiling and clinking glasses, tasting a too sweet concoction that nonetheless did leave a cool aftertaste that did indeed remind him of a sea breeze, of all things.

“Careful, Eric, seabreezes are strong!” Rachel brightly declared, smiling right at him as she sipped her drink. “Have too many of those, and you might not be able to resist my cultural exchange.”

Eric laughed. “No worries there, beautiful. I’m nothing but smooth control.”

Hai grinned. “It’s cool. As the only real cultivator among us, I’ll be designated driver when you three pass your limit.”

Eric blinked at that, before raising his glass. “To beauty cultivators in all their glory!”

Hai flashed a saucy grin. “You know it!” At which point a sleek looking man with Han features slid in behind her, wrapping her in his arms.

For a heartbeat, time crashed to near stillness as Eric analyzed the situation, but Hai’s lips were curving with clear excitement, and Lena’s look of surprise had softened to fascination. Clearly, the man was both known, and welcome. So a smiling Eric dipped his head in polite greeting.

“Someone’s looking stylish. Is that a Legendware changshan?”

The young man laughed, smiling down at his well cut glossy black shirt before wrapping his arms fully around Hai who leaned into him with the satisfied grin of a happy cat. “You know it! Rachel’s hooked all her closest friends with the good stuff. And the cut’s definite quality.” He held out his hand. “Name’s Vu.”

“Eric,” Eric said, drink downed already, hands free to politely shake the man’s own.

“Rachel’s got a great eye for fashion.”

“Agreed,” Eric said, deciding that now was not the time to tell the guy that his flashy gold link necklace was 8 karat, at best. It was pretty and shiny and matched his nose studs and ear rings, which were 24 karat and an interesting contrast from an otherwise perfectly preppy and handsome face.

Eric then frowned, realizing that his newest acquaintance hadn’t surrendered his hand yet. Was this a NanDushi thing? He sensed the man subtly increase his pressure. Eric didn’t want to offend, so he made sure to match it, and not an iota more, when Vu’s smile turned to a fierce, competitive grin, then a look of disbelief.

“Seriously? Just how fucking strong…” Vu abruptly broke into a laugh, dipping his head in unexpected approval. “Fellow body cultivator. Am I right?”

He then winced. “Yeah, you can let go of my hand now.”

Eric blinked, then immediately did so, earning a surprised chuckle from Rachel and a pout from Hai.

“Unexpected twist?” Rachel snarked.

Hai frowned, poking her man’s chest. “Seriously, babe?”

Lena blinked, her eyes darting between Vu and Eric. “Wait, you’re saying this kid beat you in the grip? Our famed body cultivator that stole straight-laced Hai’s heart?”

Vu rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward chuckle. “Yeah, I guess I met another brother in beastly builds, am I right?”

Vu then smacked Eric’s carefully relaxed shoulder. But not enough, perhaps, when the man paled and winced. “Shit, just how jacked are you? And more to the point…” His playful smile turned to an oddly intent look. “How’d you like to make some serious gold?”

Eric forced a laugh as all three girls peered a bit too intently at him. “Honestly, all I do is work out on the regular… but what’s this about gold?”

Vu smirked. “No worries, bro. Family secrets and confidences, am I right?” He kept his voice low, despite the bass beat thrumming through the entire club. “Seriously, man. I think our families should maybe get together and share a meal or two. Know what I mean? It’s a hard fucking world, this far from the top, and clans like ours have to stick together.”

Eric was surprised by Hai’s solemn nod. “Vu’s right, Eric. My family doesn’t walk a body cultivation path. But if yours does… there’s no shame in learning each other’s techniques, because we ascend as a community, even if we fell as individuals too proud to do what needs doing.”

Eric took a thoughtful sip of a fresh drink the bartender slid his way as he mulled over what his newly met acquaintances were saying. It seemed that beneath the smiles and glamour and hedonistic escapism or material wealth favored by most lowland mortals, there were at least a few cultivating clans that were still focused on the most important prizes of all: Their own advancement. And they were willing to do whatever it took to get ahead. So much so, that they were willing to talk up chance-met acquaintances in a noisy nightclub after a single drink, throwing promises of alliance, shared knowledge, and last but not least…

“And did Vu tell you that his family’s rich?” Hai said the last with a teasing laugh, though her eyes were dead serious.

Vu dipped his head. “Whole clan of factors. If your family’s facing hard times… we can definitely be your friends in need.”

Eric flashed a genuinely apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Vu. It’s not that I’m not into friendships and gold. Both are high on my list of things to acquire…”

“Damn right,” Vu said with a somewhat forced laugh.

Lena crossed her arms, staring at Eric. “Wait, now it makes sense! Why the bouncer looked like he was about to shit bricks! You’re a body cultivator like Vu, and that sausage-fingered creep totally underestimated you!”

Vu’s grin widened. “You’re the reason why Guong Sai looked like he was about to piss himself? Oh that’s fucking epic to hear!” He laughed, clapping Eric’s shoulder. “We definitely need to get together and compare notes. Who knows? My uncle might be making your family an offer that will earn your entire clan’s praise! So come on, I was just getting the girls ready for the boat party. You should head to the yacht and join us.”

Eric blinked at this as Hai squealed. “Yay! We’ll be enjoying seabreezes for real!”

“Damn right. I even have a bartender and a DJ this time. And if we’re feeling daring, we’ll be looking right at the Black Sea with drinks in hand!”

Lena’s excitement turned to a nervous wince. “I don’t know if I’m up for that, Vu.”

Vu, sensing the sudden change in mood, quickly laughed it off. “No worries. We’ll stay close to the sandy beaches. Promise! Now let’s get out of here. Everyone’s already waiting for us!”

A bemused Eric soon found himself being led back out the club, past a flinching Sausage and down to the docks proper, where a number of fancy looking yachts were presently moored, quite a bit different from the fishing vessels his hawklike gaze spotted at a distant peer, some ways away.

Of course their destination was obvious, the sleek glossy black yacht with the golden letters. “Yuri Yuri Consortium” blazoned upon both the stern and the prow.

The music pumping from the 200 foot yacht was every bit as loud as in the club with an even deeper base.

Eric gazed Rachel’s way and saw only excitement in her pretty pink eyes.

“Come on, Eric. You’re going to love this!”

Eric grinned despite himself. Truth was, he loved the smell of sea spray blowing in the ocean breeze and he was eager to admire the shoreline and take in this beautiful world from an entirely new vantage point.

And the fact that his new friends and acquaintances were obviously happy to party when it was still daylight just meant that the views would be all the sweeter.

“Sure, why not?” he said, happy enough to join his new friends in the boat, Vu welcoming him with a clap on the back.

“Here’s our newest crewmate and party-goer, Eric! Rachel’s latest addition, and the boy who’s going to put her clothing line on the map. So let’s make him feel welcome!”

Eric grinned before the tipsy smiles and raised drinks he saw nearly everyone holding, wondering how surprised he should be that Rachel had of course filled everyone in… or Hai had filled her lover in when her friend spilled the tea. Either way, it was clear that family connections and gossip flowed fast and deep in NanDushi currents. And why wouldn’t it? Elites sticking together and surviving together was what kept them elites… and kept them afloat.

And if the measuring smile Rachel was now giving him was anything to go by… she didn’t believe his bullshit about Sausage for a second. Especially after Vu took a sharp interest in him, after a single stupid handshake.

Still, the view was beautiful, Eric decided as they got going, and having a girl point out interesting sites by the shoreline while wrapping his arm around her as the sea crashed against the bow of the ship now going a good sixty knots wasn’t a bad way to enjoy the afternoon either.

“And there’s the oceanside sports complex, where you can bet on the most spectacular fights you’ll see anywhere, here on the lowlands. Sometimes they even have death matches!”

Eric blinked at that before his enthusiastic companion pointed to an absolutely massive domed structure that Eric thought could fit the entire Westwind campus. “And that’s where Emperor Gong established the first wholesale consortium!”

Eric frowned, pointing a bit farther off. “And that crackling rift of ebony darkness that somehow isn’t tearing free our atmosphere and asphyxiating us all?”

“You guessed it, that’s the physical manifestation of the underworld gate!” She enthused. “Looks pretty wicked from here, doesn’t it? But nope, our analysts have checked very carefully for decades. The air pressure and content is the same as it ever was. It’s just… I don’t recommend flying toward it, unless you’re okay not coming back.”

Eric blinked. “Seriously?”

“Yup!” She nodded brightly. “Don’t worry, you won’t feel a breeze sucking you in, but once someone enters, they don’t come back. Not unless they take the proper path. Maybe there’s a guardian?”

Eric snorted. “Or maybe it pops out close to Proxima IV in airless space and people lacking power, life support, or a space ship will just die rather horribly… but maybe not now, since it’s all but encased by the space station tunnel transport system.”

“Mmm.” Rachel looked up at him, smiling so brightly as her left hand stroked the ship rail. Nearby passengers were filling the air with their conversation and laughter, more than a few delighting in the ship crashing through the waves, though without too much rocking, seeing as they were a 200 foot long vessel.

“So, what’s is like?”

“What’s what like?”

“Living in the underworld! You know, with space ships and jump gates between realms and magic and planets blossoming like fruit before exploding in unchecked power and cataclysmic destruction. With exotic weaponry everywhere like shooting beams of indestructible light using rules of physics that don’t work here in the real world… or exotic laws of magic that let you control reality with a shout. Wielding such fearsome powers without having to ascend as a cultivator at all.”

Eric blinked at that, before shrugging. “Honestly, it was both beautiful and terrible. With all the wonders you could imagine… and horrors as well.”

He flashed a bittersweet smile. “Don’t get me wrong, the ability to control the elements and harness magic… the ability to use a quantifying System to level up and get incredibly powerful, is an awesome thing. Yet for all that my planet had blossomed with miracles, those miracles had also planted the seeds of its own destruction. A fate that was only narrowly avoided.”

He sighed, gazing out at the beautiful shoreline of crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches, and plenty of beach goers near the shoreline. “And now, at the end of a crazy couple of years where I came so close to dying that it’s not even funny, here I am. Exiled from my home and starting life over once more.”

Rachel tutted, stroking his cheek. “I’m truly sorry, Eric. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you to be torn away from everyone and everything you ever loved.”

Eric forced a chuckle. “That’s okay. At least I get to wear some cool threads and feel the magical wonderfulness of Spiritual Energy tingling through my frame. That has to count for something, right?”

Rachel nodded, her hand squeezing his own as the thrumming music and energy of the ship washed over them. “It does.” She gently stroked his brow. “I think what you need is a chance to savor just how sweet life in your new home can be.”

He laughed at that. “Maybe,” he said, turning his gaze back to the shoreline growing ever fainter in the distance.

He sensed Rachel’s furrowed brow, the confused look she gave him before putting on a cheerful grin. “You’re going to look absolutely killer in those adds, Eric.”

“Only because I had an awesome set of photographers and a top notch director,” he shot back with a chuckle, tilting his head. “So, where do you see yourself in five years?”

She blinked, then snorted. “That’s not how these trips go, Eric. We savor the moment and let the future take care of itself. Because for most of us here… it’s already written. According to my mother, I’ll probably be married to the head of the Fung clan with a pair of cute little babies tying our clans together for all time.”

Eric blinked at that. “I mean… sure, if that’s what you want, go for it.”

She laughed bitterly, her now undyed curls blowing in the breeze. “If that’s what I want.” She gave her hair an angry tug, glaring out into the distance, before deflating with a bitter smile. “It must be nice to get to decide your own future.”

Eric gave a careful nod. “Personally, I’m all about choosing my own adventure in life.” He winked. “I highly recommend it.”

She gave him a bitter smile, the odd gloomy light giving a haunting cast to her features as the boat took on choppier waves. Eric ignored the excitement of the passengers as their voyage grew increasingly bumpy. All his focus was on Rachel, riding out the waves like a pro.

“Not all of us get to choose our path, Eric. We lost that right when we fell from the mountain. That was made pretty damn clear to me, since I was five.”

Eric blinked. “I’m sorry?”

Rachel blinked, suddenly remembering herself. “Sorry. I… that probably made no sense to you. But if you’re from a family of former cultivators and present day merchants scrabbling for whatever advantage they can... Anyway, what about yourself? Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Eric’s lips curved in a bemused smile as he gazed back at the increasingly wild sea. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll have a business of my own by that point. Or, you know…”

“Maybe you’ll have ascended to the highlands, living a life of legend and adventure, after taking up the gauntlet?”

Eric smirked. “Now you make me sound like one of those Contenders.”

“Aren’t you?”

Eric laughed. “What I am is curious about what a gauntlet actually is.”

Rachel shrugged, turning to gaze at the turbulent sea by his side. “I was a little girl when the last one was called. So I don’t really know that much. But supposedly… supposedly, the masters on high open nethergates that only certain people can step through.”

Eric blinked at this. “Nethergates.”

Rachel nodded. “You know, gates to the underworld. Where you’re from.”

Eric smirked. “The universe where I’m from considers this place an anomalous world that might or might not be its own plane of existence, since no one’s ever measured the curvature accurately, and there’s no way in hell the gravity should be so close to 1G.” His brow furrowed. “And just how far is your friend taking us out past the shoreline?”

Rachel’s smile stiffened. “The waves are getting pretty choppy. But we’re perfectly safe. The water’s perfectly normal, as long as we don’t go out past—”

Her eyes widened, her features taking on a ghastly pallor in the now eerie twilight. “Shit. No, he better now be going where he’s… Vu!” Rachel turned away from the railing and what really was a striking view of the roiling ocean waves crashing against a massive sea of ebony that rippled so strangely that it sent chills down Eric’s spine as he stared passed the surprisingly abrupt demarcation between oceans.

Eric’s nostrils curled as he caught scents of methane, ammonia, and stranger compounds too, floating through the air.

“Vu! Where the fuck are you taking us?” Rachel shouted through the still deafening music as she stomped off toward her friend who was surrounded by passengers and partiers.

Vu, with hearing clearly sharper than most mortals, flashed a cheeky grin as Rachel put her hands on her hips, looking so fetching as she pouted and glared with the increasingly wild winds whipping her hair. “What the fuck, Vu?”

Vu laughed, saluting her with his drink. “Awesome, isn’t it?”

“Not if we cross the barrier, it isn’t!”

Vu winked. “No chance it’ll happen. My captain’s a pro. And look at the fucking view!”

Half his friends reflexively turned at that, Eric noting that more than a few of them paled and flinched, only a handful looking genuinely excited when the air filled with a discordant cry.

“What the fuck’s up with this shit beat?” Glared one of the guys, looking at the dj jamming away on her rig.

The girl in jet black shades looked up, the music fading, yet the warbling cry increased in pitch. “Not my fucking beat,” she said with a shrug.

The man paled. “Shit! What the fuck is it?”

Eric frowned, glaring off into the distance while Rachel continued shouting at a completely unapologetic Vu.

“I came out to get my mind off shit, not skirt the black fucking sea, Vu! What the fuck!”

“Chill, girl! There’s a method to my madness. We’re going someplace special, and I think you’re friend’s going to love it!”

He flashed a wolfish smile, catching Eric’s gaze and saluting him with his drink.

Eric smirked and nodded back, both fascinated and wondering if the guy, no older than Rachel, was an idiot.

Hai gave an excited squeal. “Oh, you’re taking us to the rig. Aren’t you babe?”

Vu flashed a smug grin. “Damn right, I am. And our boy Eric’s going to love it!”

Eric blinked, scowling as he stared off into the distance. The eerie sonorous cry that reminded him of whale song recordings had already died off, yet he did finally catch sight of something in the distance that they were rapidly approaching.

Eric whistled, more than a little bit impressed at the sight of a massive deep water ocean rig… only this one was at a scale that was downright titanic, with the bright orange central platform nestled above wildly chopping waves that all but kissed the inky black sea of alien mercurial fluids just beyond.

It was all he could do not to take to the air and get an immediate close look at the soaring tower of girders and exotic steel alloys, painted bright, corrosion resistance colors and looking like a glaring beacon at ocean’s edge.

“Fucking epic,” Eric shouted, earning a relieved grin from Vu.

“I know, isn’t it? And if you want to know where the action really happens around here…” He smirked at a few of the guys drinking beside him, all of them flashing the same cocky grins.

Eric suppressed a groan. “Your friends. They’re all…”

“Yup! My peeps. My clan. And their mates, of course,” he said offhandedly, earning agreeable nods from what were, admittedly, women both beautiful and voluptuous. And now that he thought of it, the guys who didn’t look like close kin to Vu were hovering protectively around girls who did.

Rachel groaned. “Fuck, Vu. You’re using me for cover, aren’t you.”

Vu laughed. “Relax, Rachel. You know we love your club for all the right reasons. Excellent cover is just a bonus!”

“But the counsel edict now forbids all trade with those unorthodox hunters.”

Vu’s easygoing smile warped into a hot glare. “Fuck the city counsel, Rachel. You know who they really work for.”

“This is our chance, Rachel. Before it’s too late!” Hai gushed, eyes lit with a hungry fire so similar to her lover’s. “You know what that corrupt shitty excuse for a city counsel is like! Too many factions against our own, sabotaging all our attempts at a real academy, because the assholes on high only want their favored spawn here to prosper. Don’t give me that look, Rachel. You fucking know it’s true.”

Rachel groaned, before turning to Eric and a horrified-looking Lena. “Sorry to get you two caught up in this… are you okay?”

A visibly trembling Lena’s eyes were red with unshed tears.

“I want to go home,” she whispered so softly only Eric and Rachel could hear.

Eric gently lifted the frightened girl’s chin to meet his gaze. He winked. “Don’t worry, Lena. It’s going to be fine. And no matter what, you’re going to get home safely. That’s a promise.”

Lena blinked, staring at him incredulously. “We’re fifty miles out from the safety of the shoreline, kissing the Black Sea where titans live, and we’re heading right to a crazy nest of cultivators that NanDushi city counsel would have purged long ago, if any stomper was willing to risk being one of the ones to die, confronting wild wujen in the middle of a stormy sea!”

Eric nodded. “In other words, good times! I mean sure, we’re courting death in perilous seas and all that… but it’s already a hell of a lot more interesting than a classroom lecture.”

Vu roared with laughter at that, along with his kin. “I knew you were a good fit for our crew! It will be good times. For all of us!”

Lena broke down in tears. Eric whispered words of reassurance in her ear.

She jerked away and glared. “Bullshit. No one can… oh, fuck, an actual flying elf!”

Eric winced when too many eyes turned his way. But monstrous quickness meant he was already standing flat on the deck once more, no matter how saucer-like Lena and Rachel’s eyes had grown.

“What was that?” Vu scowled.

“Too much to drink. Maybe Lena should lie down?”

Vu’s expression eased into that of friendly host once more. “Fuck, you’re right. Sorry, Lena! Rachel, could you take her down to the back bedroom? Fully soundproofed with a full entertainment system. Just lie down, drift off, and you’ll wake up good as new.”

Lena crossed her arms and glared. “And my dad’s job application?”

Vu rolled his eyes. “Fine, Lena. I’ll make sure he’s…” His words cut off with a mock oof when Lena skipped up and gave him a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Hai gave her friend a fond smile. “I told you you should come with us! Only good things happen for our friends here. And if you let the elders on the rig test you—”

Her words cut off when Eric coolly shook his head. She scowled.

But there was no point. Eric couldn’t sense any meridian gates to open in Lena at all. Unlike most of the other passengers, interestingly enough, who definitely gave him a very different sense of their potential than he recalled being able to sense so distinctly back on Terra. Maybe not surprising in a mystical world where 4-D meridian gates might actually be a thing. Though it had certainly come as a surprise to find out that commanding over 3 million Bronze-tier revenants had tallied up a massive bill that he had been completely unprepared to pay.

“But I still got peripherals to clean, and my lymphatic system is still top notch,” he thought to himself as bleak comfort, knowing he had absolutely no reason to complain. Not about anything.

“Babe?” Vu gave Hai a smile. She nodded, gathering Lena in her arms. “Come on, let’s get you comfy. Vu and the boys will do some trading, which means plenty of profit to expand our business with good employees.”

“Like my dad.”

“Exactly.”

Rachel pinned Eric with her stare while he kept his eyes glued on the massive rig they were rapidly approaching.

Vu whooped with excitement. “Pump it up, triple M! Let the seas sing with the song of success!”

“You got it, Vu!” Their DJ pumped her fist and the night rang with the techno beats that brought an odd melancholic smile to Eric’s features, his ears inundated by shitty club music he thought he’d never get to hear again.

“Eric? What the fuck did you just do?”

Eric blinked, turning away from the view of the massive rig now soaring above them, to give Rachel his most innocent smile. “Sorry?”

The girl beside him punched his carefully relaxed chest. “Don’t ‘sorry,’ me… you were flying!”

Eric tilted his head. “Was I?”

“Yes, of course you—” Her brow furrowed.

Eric winked, his empty hand suddenly displaying a full hand of jokers.

“How the… wait, you’re a magician?”

Eric laughed. “Some call it slight-of-hand. Others magic. But if it can bring a little bit of joy and wonder into someone’s life, especially children’s parties that pay out-of-work college students enough to cover room and board… why not?”

Rachel just stared at him. “I saw you step on air.”

Eric winked. “Exactly. I ‘stepped’ on air.”

Her eyes widened. “Fuck… you weren’t bobbing or weaving or flapping any wings… you—it was a magic trick!”

Eric shrugged. “Who can say? Maybe I was flying. A magician never gives away his secrets. Now pick a card.”

Rachel snorted, before plucking a card that evaporated in a poof of fire no hotter than a cool breeze.

Vu whistled. “Our boy’s a magician. Sweet! But just you wait. Soon you’ll see some real—”

His words were cut off by the whale song once more. Only now it wasn’t a far off cry… it was a titanic roar sufficient to have half the passengers crash to their knees.

Their DJ screamed and collapsed, blood leaking out of her ears.