“I noticed that,” Jason said. “When I was in the other world, I was constantly surprised when things matched up to my old world. Like the way we measure time. Wait, hold on. If the world just makes things happen, is that some kind of pre-destiny?”
“No,” Dawn said. “Think of it as a voice in the back of reality's head, pushing it in certain directions. This largely affects things without agency, such as geological forces, which is why the two worlds have similar size and geography. It will affect people as well, but this is extremely rare and always those who are susceptible, for whatever reason, to outside influence. Those who believe they see visions of the future or receive messages from a higher power. They are not, strictly speaking, incorrect. In a broad sense, at least. They have a habit of becoming invested in details largely conjured in their own minds.”
“Like how God hates gay people and poly-cotton blends,” Erika said.
“Something like that,” Dawn said.
“Are you following this okay?” Jason asked Erika.
“I think so,” Erika said. “It might go better if I hadn’t had so many cocktails.”
“Oh, hold on,” Jason said, then chanted a spell.
“Feed me your sins.”
Erika blinked as if she’d just stumbled into the light, shaking her head as the haziness of alcohol was drained away. Then she gave Jason a flat look.
“Feed me your sins?” she asked.
“So melodramatic,” Farrah said.
“It’s the chant for my spell,” Jason said. “I didn’t get to pick it.”
“The people we’re talking about have a habit of becoming invested in details largely conjured in their own minds,” Dawn said, looking pointedly at Jason.
“Bloody women,” Jason said. “I need to start hanging out with some dude-bros. I bet Kaito knows some.”
“You would hate hanging out with dude-bros,” Erika said. She got up and went behind the bar to mix herself another cocktail, now that she’d sobered up.
“No, it’ll be great,” Jason insisted. “I’m turning over a new leaf. I’m going to start talking about my man-cave and asking people how much they lift. It’ll be less than me because I’m super strong. Women are objects!”
“Might I remind you two that we’re talking about the end of the world?” Farrah said.
“And banter is how we save it,” Jason said. “Have you not seen a superhero movie?”
“No.”
“Oh, well, there's a big sky-beam or a magic rock everyone wants and we win through the power of quips.” Erika said. She finished making her cocktail, immediately drained half of it and started making another one. “Anyone else want one?”
Dawn looked at them like they were monkeys throwing their own poop.
“This is who the World-Phoenix is relying on to save the world,” she muttered.
“It’s fine,” Farrah assured her. “The day I met Jason, he saved my whole team pretty much by acting like this. So, how are we meant to save the world, exactly?”
“That’s a good point,” Jason said. “Emi thinks I’m a superhero, which is super adorable. I pretty much have to save the world now.”
“Around half a millennium ago,” Dawn said, “an outworlder came from this world to Pallimustus and fell into the service of a Pallimustus deity. When he acquired the means to return to his own world, he came back with tools and a mission from that deity. He set up a global magical infrastructure that would strengthen the bond between the two worlds. Over the centuries, more and more of the magic building up on Pallimustus was siphoned into this world.”
“The monster surges,” Farrah said. “That’s why they’ve been taking longer and longer. The magic that fuels them has been siphoned off to here, which siphons more and more as the dimensional membrane weakens.”
“What does that accomplish?” Jason asked.
“The current Builder is the original source of the magic techniques through which the link was strengthened,” Dawn said. “He passed that knowledge along to the deity behind all this. Much of which is now in your hands, Mr Asano.”
“I get it,” Jason said. “As soon as that knowledge entered Pallimustus, the goddess of knowledge had access to it. She found a reason to pass it to me, knowing that I would inevitably get home where I could do something about it.”
“The link is a threat to Pallimustus as well,” Dawn said, “but of a different nature. The delay in the monster surges also destabilises that world’s dimensional membrane. The longer the delay, the more dangerous the things that can finally make it through.”
“You’re talking about an increase in diamond-rank manifestations during the monster surge,” Farrah said.
“That is only a by-product,” Dawn said. “The goal is—”
“The invasion of Pallimustus,” Jason said. “Like your painting.”
“Yes. The god Purity has struck a bargain with the Builder. Purity lays the groundwork for the Builder and the Builder helps Purity cleanse the world of what Purity has come to see as the unclean elements. The Builder takes the world’s abundant astral spaces and leaves Purity to rebuild civilisation in his own image.”
“That’s insane,” Farrah said. “The other gods won’t stand for it.”
“There was already some kind of religious council formed to deal with the church of Purity when I left,” Jason said.
“Purity has long made preparations in secret for the invasion of your world,” Dawn told Farrah. “The church is more prepared than anyone realises, except for Knowledge. That goddess has likewise been making secret preparations to combat Purity.”
“Why not just warn everyone?” Farrah asked.
“She has rules,” Jason said. “I’m pretty sure telling everyone would be such a huge deal that it violates her central tenets. She’s big on people learning things for themselves.”
“Exactly right,” Dawn said. “Transcendent beings are power incarnate, but they have limitations that do not bind we physical beings. The most she can do is prepare to act once the knowledge is widespread. When the invasion begins and Purity reveals his hand in full, so shall she.”
“So, our part is to find this link enhancer and shut it down,” Farrah said.
“Yes,” Dawn said. “You have the tools.”
“I can learn the astral magic, given enough time,” Jason said. “How are we meant to find this link make-biggerer so we can turn it off?”
“She said a global magic infrastructure,” Farrah said to Jason. “Sound familiar?”
“The Network’s grid,” Jason said.
“Even if the two aren’t connected,” Farrah said, “I’ll bet we can use one to find the other. Once you figure out what it is we’re looking for.”
“I was already hitting the books,” Jason said. “I don’t have to change anything there. I definitely haven’t been slacking off to read Farrah’s sex magic book, especially not the thing on page forty-one with the chilled fruit.”