The atmosphere was thick with unspoken questions as Chase led Nick, Ayaka, and Luna through the grand mahogany doors of the mansion. As they entered the foyer, they were met by a woman with flowing white hair and eyes that seemed to hold the weight of entire civilizations.
Nick and Luna froze. The air around the woman shimmered with a power that made the onstraints of the world feel like thin glass.
"Welcome home, Chase," the woman said, her voice like a choir of silver bells.
"Nick, Luna... meet The Goddess," Chase said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "In our world, she was the one who oversaw the balance. Here, she's... well, she's the one who keeps the house running."
"A literal god?" Luna whispered, her tentacles retreating into her hoodie in an instinctive show of submission. "I thought the vampire coven theory was a stretch, but this is way out of my league."
"Sit down," Chase commanded, gesturing to the living room. "It's time for the truth."
Once everyone was seated—including a very uncomfortable Nick—Chase began to point out the inhabitants of the house as they trickled into the room.
"You already know Blood Eye," Chase began. "In the Old World, he was the 'God of Assassins,' a man who could end a war with a single shadow. Ayaka was his vessel, his eyes and ears."
He gestured to a tall man leaning against the doorframe, his hand never far from the hilt of a heavy broadsword. "That's Vincent. He was the 'Iron Commander,' a general who led the vanguard against the Essence beasts for a hundred years."
Kaelen stepped out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron. "And I'm Kaelen. I was the 'Saint of the Silver Flame.' I spent my life healing the wounds men like Vincent and Blood Eye inflicted."
"And me?"
Chase looked at Nick. "I was the 'Void Surgeon.' I didn't just heal bodies; I manipulated the very essence of life and death to keep these monsters standing, and eleminated any one i was contracted. To whith well sergical persition. "
"The 'Old World' isn't a country, Nick," Chase explained, his voice low and serious. "It was a different reality—a place where the laws of physics were governed by Essence. We were brought here by the Corpse Stealer or our gods after we died. This world, , is a sanctuary—or a prison, depending on who you ask. The 'Gods' who built this place put the limit in effect to keep us from destroying this world like we did our own."
Nick sat in silence, his mind—the mind of a billionaire contractor—trying to process the sheer scale of the revelation.
"So, the 'Ascended'... they're people from your world who want their power back?"
"Exactly," Chase nodded. "And they'll break this world to get it."
Ayaka looked at her hands, then at Blood Eye. "So we're all just ghosts in a machine?"
"No," Luna said, reaching out to take Ayaka's hand. "We're people who finally have a choice. Even if we're living in Nick's guest room."
Nick let out a long, shaky breath. "I think I need a much stronger drink. And a bigger contract."
The heavy silence of the room was shattered by a sharp, rhythmic pounding on the front door. It wasn't the frantic scratching of a fanatic, but the measured, authoritative knock of a professional.
Chase opened the door to find two women standing on the porch. Both radiated a cold, clinical competence that rivaled his own.
Sara was Clad in a sharp black suit with golden accents, she stood with a posture that suggested she was used to giving orders and having them followed instantly. Her golden eyes swept the room with predatory efficiency.
Olivia the woman standing next to her was Dressed in a white athletic top and dark tactical gear, her bright green eyes were sharp and observant. She looked like she could move from a standstill to a lethal strike in less than a second.
"Aegis Group?" Sara asked, her voice like cracking ice. "I'm Agent Sara, and this is Agent Olivia. We're with the Government's Special Task Force."
"We're here about the man you just 'neutralized' in the Diamond District," Olivia added, her gaze landing on Luna's retreating tentacles. "And the fact that you have a high-value government contractor sitting in a room full of... 'undocumented' power signatures."
Nick stood up, his face pale. "Sara? Olivia? What are you doing here?"
"Doing our jobs, Nick," Sara replied, stepping into the foyer. "The Government knows about the 'Old World' residents. We've been monitoring the Lattice signatures. We're here to make sure this 'mansion' doesn't become the epicenter of a civil war."