I had never been on a helicopter before today, nor had I ever seen an offshore oilfield. Honestly, it wouldn't have been nearly as overwhelming if either of those elements were missing. At first, the vibrations, the noise, and the altitude made me anxious—but once I got used to it, gazing down at manmade islands in the sea became an entirely new kind of experience.

  The oilfield followed Ainsworth's signature minimalist aesthetic: exposed steel structures sprawling over the water like a colossal beast. Otto, ever the coward, refused to jump out of the helicopter—probably scared more by the noise or the ocean than the height. Rafe looked both embarrassed and annoyed as he gave the dog’s rump a quick pat.

  “Don’t be like that. You expect too much from a dog.” I cradled Otto in my arms and hopped off the nearly one-meter-high helicopter. “Now, where’s the data you promised me?”

  “In the office—where else would people keep files, on the helipad?” Rafe had to raise his voice over the deafening blades. “Can’t you wait two minutes?”

  If the files were Rafe’s alone, I wouldn’t be so concerned. But Ainsworth had agreed too readily, and that was what made me uneasy. If I didn’t see the information immediately, my mind would spiral through a dozen worst-case scenarios.

  “Your diamond and the oilfield documents have always been here,” Rafe said, clearly uncomfortable being this far from land. “Take your time, no rush at all. I’m more worried about you getting into trouble than waiting a few minutes.”

  “It’s just a Collection. I can’t think of anything that could go wrong.”

  I wasn’t the same person I was eight hours ago. That piece of writing—something that nearly turned me into someone else—had triggered a significant shift in my Skill and Path. Now, not only what I write, but even what I say can carry the weight of Skill.

  With a few words, I briefly turned water into wine and stood on the surface of a bathtub. You have to admit—it’s a perfect satire of the Bible.

  As for my Path, it had become something entirely different, more dangerous. To access it, I had to enter the paint-like state from the second test. Following Tuesday’s advice, I decided not to use it until I fully understood that transformation and could control it at will. Until then, I’d stick with Hoffman’s Path to get in and out of Nowhere.

  The marine scientist had crawled out of the urn, now a creature of pitch-black goo. Under pressure from both Tuesday and me, he reluctantly agreed to a compromise: most of him would enter the activated Life Furnace, and a smaller portion would stay with me for protection until I returned to Nowhere.

  I didn’t understand how a Resident could split into “most” and “the rest,” but I wasn’t about to turn down extra insurance. Still, Rafe’s powers of observation were lacking—he hadn’t even noticed how my hair had grown darker and thicker after my bath.

  Two masked men holding assault rifles appeared at the door—one opened it for us, the other handed me a file folder.

  “Quite the dramatic welcome. Was it necessary?” I eyed the black rifle, suddenly tempted to get one for myself—not now, of course.

  “Sorry, it’s not about you. We’ve had some unwanted attention lately. Just a precaution,” said the man in front. He sounded civil enough. At least I didn’t sense a desire to shoot me. “What you’re looking for is in the sublevel. We’re only authorized to escort you this far.”

  “Thanks. You—something wrong?” I noticed the serious look on Rafe’s face.

  “Just a minor issue. We’re not the only two Hunters in the Ainsworth clade. Someone else will take care of it. Honestly, you’re in the safest place right now—especially with the Life Furnace nearby.” Rafe kept a firm grip on my shoulder as he guided me, as if afraid I’d bolt while reading the documents. “I found something out: someone signed a hedge agreement on this oilfield, tied to an eight-hundred-million-dollar valuation shift. Congrats.”

  “Congrats? Am I getting a bigger cut?”

  I had lost all sense of what these things were worth. I wasn’t even surprised. No wonder people were willing to pour so many resources into this.

  “Yeah.” Rafe didn’t hesitate. “Since the stakes changed, you’re totally within your rights to renegotiate—even if only because the risks are higher now. Just name the price, you will get paid.”

  I didn’t want to name a price, mainly because I doubted Ainsworth could give me what I really wanted. But I would take Rafe’s advice—mostly as an excuse to draw closer to him.

  “There is one thing I want.” I glanced at the masked man silently following us. “About him.”

  Rafe flinched. “Absolutely not! Ainsworth clade does not condone random executions! What, you think we’re slavers?”

  “What the fuck are you talking about, bro?” I was baffled. “What would I gain from killing a stranger?”

  “Oh? Just so you know, they’re not Hunters. With Hunters, you can do whatever, as long as it doesn’t attract too much legal attention. But once civilians are involved—just calm down.” Rafe whispered urgently in my ear.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I gave the man another long look—and liked what I saw. “Nice chest. Let me touch those pecs, and I’ll keep working.”

  Rafe froze.

  “Fuck—fuck fuck fuck! Why him? You… you…” Rafe looked like someone had stabbed him in the brainstem. “Why? Why!”

  “You’re being ridiculous. You told me to raise the price, not kill anyone. I did both. Now you’re upset again. Whatever, forget it. I don’t want anything.”

  I tried to shake off his hand, but he had a surprisingly strong grip. Struggling only made the pressure on my collarbone worse.

  “What now?”

  Rafe sighed so deeply it sounded like his soul was leaving his body. “I mean—do you want a higher rank?”

  “In the Ainsworth clade? Honestly, I don’t want any rank. Ideally, I’d never deal with anyone from Ainsworth again—except maybe you, since you’re Otto’s guardian.” A bad feeling crept up my spine. “If I don’t even get the ring…”

  Rafe shoved a small box into my hand, then whispered so close it was like his tongue was in my ear. “I can give you the ring right now. A clade with this much history has all kinds of valuable assets. I guarantee you’ll be interested. Ainsworth isn’t what you think it is. No matter what happens—”

  “Keep moving ladies, it’s not chat time now.” The man with the perfect chest barked from the narrow hallway ahead, both guards keeping their eyes on us.

  “Heh, I like his voice too.” The more I looked at those solid pecs, the more intrigued I became. I was already imagining how good they’d feel. “Don’t be upset. Just because I don’t want to touch you doesn’t mean your body’s not great. It’s just that when I look at you, I always think of Otto—doing anything with you would feel weird.”

  “Ainsworth isn’t a strip club! Can you be serious for five seconds?” Rafe wrapped his arm around my shoulder and practically dragged me forward. I’d never seen him this stressed.

  “You know him? Like him? Relax. I just want to touch his chest, not carve out his heart.” Something felt off. “What’s really going on?”

  “Oh… let’s not complicate this any further.” Rafe gently patted my head. “Let’s just add Eternity’s remaining time to the Life Furnace. And remember, I’d never hurt you. Okay?”

  “You two—got a problem?” The man who had opened the door earlier now approached, rifle at the ready.

  I didn’t like this feeling. But when I opened the box and saw the diamond, its brilliance instantly extinguished my anger. I walked forward down the corridor, lined on all sides with thick metal mesh, until we were stopped by a massive iron door.

  Rafe opened the heavy door for me—and in that moment, my breath caught. The entire world seemed to freeze.

  It was the most beautiful and surreal thing I’d ever seen: a hundred-meter-tall space enclosed within a towering structure, eternally dark even at the brightest hour of the day. Only starlike spotlights trickled down from the ceiling. But not even the dimmest lighting could diminish the glow of the figure suspended at the center.

  A woman’s body, curled up like a fetus, floated in the darkness as if frozen in eternity. Every inch of her shimmered with cosmic radiance, like the birth of some supreme being born of the universe itself. I had never seen anything that resembled a god more.

  Black droplets rose one by one from the sea below, spinning slowly around the Life Furnace. Mesmerized, I noticed that the ones rising up were much smaller than the ones falling back down.

  “…Liv?”

  “Sorry. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.” For once, I replied without looking at Rafe. “I know what to do.”

  Like a child reaching out to touch stars on a summer night, I extended my fingers—now bearing Eternity’s power—toward my universe.

  The black droplets spun faster. More rose from the ocean below, like a rainstorm in reverse. Power flowed out of me. I knew Rafe saw the streak of black droplets dripping from my hair, but he did nothing—not pushing me, not opening the door to let those assault rifles tear me apart.

  My deal with the Resident from the sea was complete. Most of him had entered the chamber filled with ancient corpses—not quite as delicious as human meat, perhaps, but certainly a better place to live than the dead seafloor.

  The power once nestled in my left index finger vanished. A black rain poured upward, slamming into the metal panels with a deep, echoing boom, dimming the light of the cosmos and turning the space into a celestial bell tower.

  “This is how crude oil is made. Time to go—unless you want to drown in it,” Rafe said, tugging me away from the edge and toward the iron door. “On behalf of the Ainsworth clade, thank you for your contribution.”

  As the roaring sound grew louder, I saw Rafe open the door—then suddenly double over, clutching his stomach. A splash of red bloomed across his pristine white shirt.

  “Rafe!”

  I couldn’t hear my own voice. I didn’t know what I did—something struck my head with force, and the world plunged into a storm of darkness.