“This world is doomed,” Dawn muttered.
“It'll be fine,” Jason said. “I'm great at fighting evil. I mean, did I hurt the bad guy? No. Did he kill me? Yes, he did. But we won! Will I get credit? Probably not. All the women will be like ‘hey, Humphrey, your shoulders are obviously so large because of a glandular condition, but we’re totally into that.’ Then Humphrey will be all ‘sorry, gaggle of women, but I have to mourn my even more handsome friend,’ and they’ll be all ‘hey, we’re super ready to comfort you,’ and he’ll be all ‘well, I suppose my handsome friend did show me how to whip cream.’ Then they’ll go off to a local purveyor of dairy goods and—”
“I think I can feel myself becoming lactose intolerant,” Erika said.
“I think it may be time to go,” Dawn said. “You now know the task ahead of you and the agenda of the World-Phoenix that has been concerning you. All she wants is to protect your world, and for you to be her instrument.”
“Was that a knob joke?” Jason asked.
“No,” Dawn said flatly. “Now that events surrounding your return have largely settled, it was time to show you the path forward. It’s possible my timing was not ideal.”
“It’s fine,” Jason said. “To be honest, I’d be way more suspicious sober.”
“When we’re done, can the World-Phoenix send us home?” Farrah asked.
“The objective is also the reward,” Dawn said. “You will return home before your task is done.”
“Well, this is a sobering conversation,” Jason said. “Literally; I think I do need another drink. Dawn, you don't know anywhere I can stock up on bronze-rank booze, do you? I'm running low. Actually, at this point, I need to start in on the silver-rank stuff. I don't want to go collaring myself every time I drink. I lost the key for a while. It was in the component bowl with the sheep tokens, which is why it took me so long to find. Nobody wants sheep.”
Dawn shook her head.
“There’s an alchemist in the Network’s Stuttgart branch,” she said. “I’m sure your Network allies can make a connection.”
“Oh, nice,” Jason said. “Thanks, dimensional space lady.”
“You know what you have to do now,” Dawn said.
“Sure,” Jason said. “I would like to know why you don’t do it yourself, though.”
“Several reasons,” Dawn said. “For one thing, there are rules about how much the great astral beings and their higher agents can intervene in physical realities. If the World-Phoenix had servants native to this world it would be possible, but this world does not produce high-rankers. Also, you see how little power I have.”
“I thought you were just hiding it,” Farrah said.
“If I were here in person, the disparity between my power and the lack of magic in this world would be crippling, spirit coins or not. This is only an avatar I am projecting from outside your reality. You lack the knowledge to understand how impressive that is, so let me assure you that the answer is very. Even if either I or my dimensional vessel breached the dimensional membrane of your world, in its delicate state, the raw power would be like dropping a stone on a pane of glass. The best I can do is share knowledge.”
As Jason and Farrah were showing Dawn off the houseboat, she paused on the lower deck before stepping onto the dock.
“May I ask a question for my own edification, Mr Asano?”
“Go for it,” Jason said.
“You knew the vessel that the Builder took in Pallimustus, yes?”
“Actually, there were two and I knew them both,” Jason said. “The first I didn’t know well, although he did knock me unconscious with a shovel several times.”
“Wait, the shovel guy?” Farrah asked.
“Yep,” Jason said. “The second was Thadwick, who I knew a bit better. Dated his sister for a while. I did, I mean; he didn’t date his own sister. That would be weird. Why do you ask?”
“When great astral beings interact with physical beings, or even each other, they use living vessels,” Dawn explained. “Unlike temporary, lower-rank vessels, long-term vessels such as myself do not burn out. The astral being can possess and release us harmlessly many times, over many years. It takes decades, often centuries, before the strain threatens permanent damage and a new vessel must be arranged.”
“Sure,” Jason said.
“One of the side effects of inhabiting physical bodies is that the astral beings have to operate by the same means the bodies do,” Dawn said. “The result is that we vessels shape the behaviour of the great astral beings while they inhabit us. Permanent vessels are carefully chosen, while temporary vessels pose a choice. Either sacrifice a follower who thinks exactly the way they want their followers to think, or use an expendable vessel.”
“Ooh,” Jason said. “That explains why the Builder was such a tool bag.”
“In the case of very strong personalities,” Dawn said, “rapidly switching from one vessel to the next can create a lingering effect, where the first vessel’s personality affects the second one.”
“I think I see where this is going,” Jason said with a chortle.
“Those of us who serve as vessels like to stay in touch because there are few who truly understand our experiences,” Dawn said. “A man named Shako is the primary vessel of the Builder in this region of the cosmos, as I am for the World-Phoenix. He described his last experience of being the Builder’s vessel like having a toddler running around in his head making all the decisions. I was curious as to what manner of man was the vessel that prompted such a reaction.”
“He was the worst,” Jason said. “Literally the worst. There's a guy punching a baby who's all ‘take that, baby,’ yet can still console himself with not being Thadwick. Thadwick sold out his friends, his family, and his entire world. That guy sucked. His whole family did, to be honest, except for his mum and his sister, but a bloke doesn't kiss and tell. His sister, I mean. I didn't sleep with his mum, although she's very attractive. Like, very, but she does have the silver-rank thing going on.”
“That’s quite enough information, thank you,” Dawn said. “The issue of the vessel was a matter of some curiosity in our little circle.”
“Can I ask you a question?” Jason said.
“Certainly,” Dawn said.
“You seem to know a lot,” Jason said. “Did you know that Farrah was in this world and where to find her?”
“Ah,” Dawn said, making an apologetic expression. “Yes, but—”
Jason’s fist crashed into her nose, sending her crashing over the rail and into the water.
“Yeah, she’s definitely dead,” Jason said. Using his cloak’s weight-lowering power, he was standing on the water over her corpse.
“You killed her?” Erika asked in horror.
“This was just an avatar projection,” Jason said. “I doubt I could hurt her actual self with a magic rocket launcher.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to loot her,” Jason said. “She should have told me about you.”