Hallow’s realm hadn't just received an upgrade. Instead, it had been changed entirely. The moment Theo stepped foot into the halls of healing, he sensed that it was a different place altogether. That meant that somewhere in the void, his old realm still lingered. The new version was thick with godly energy but appeared much like the old one. The buildings were made from wood and often carved from the very trees themselves.

Elven residents of the heavenly realm walked here and there, only bowing their heads slightly as they passed. Hallow led the way forward, a smile hanging on his face the entire time they trod along the hard-packed earth path. One enormous building stood out among the others. It was grand in scale and was topped with a crystal that shone with a brilliant silver light.

“Love what you’ve done with the place,” Tresk said. “Very godly.”

“I do what I can,” Hallow said. “Honestly, things have been boring. We’re all waiting for the reset to see what truly happens. We’ve been told this will be hard for us. The system is preparing us for a war we know nothing about, and all we can do is wait.”

“Well, I’m happy to share information,” Theo said. “If you can cure Tresk’s brain.”

“I already did,” Hallow said, waving a dismissive hand. “What kind of information do you have?”

"I have a lot of suspicions, but I'm not sure if all of them are true. I'm sure you've been able to deduce that we're in some kind of bubble and there's something outside of that bubble. Can we assume we'll be attacked when the bubble falls after the reset?"

"I think that's the only logical course," Hallow said. "The way the system talked to us made it seem like we're in for a fight."

“Bring ‘em on!” Tresk shouted. Several nearby elves jumped in fright.

“I sense your power has grown significantly, Tresk,” Hallow said, all but confirming he couldn’t peer into Tero’gal. The mortal realm might’ve still been accessible to him, though.

“Yeah, I’m basically pretty strong now,” Tresk said.

They wove a path through the god's realm, eventually finding their way to one particular building. After ascending the steps, they entered, where a pot of tea was already on. The interior was sparse but decorated with eye-catching iconography of the god. There were tables, chairs, and comfortable-looking sofas, and the aroma of the tea was inviting. Theo and Tresk found seats while Hallow readied the tea.

As Hallow poured the tea into cups, the fragrance doubled, filling the room with a pleasant scent. Theo couldn't deny that it smelled like the best cup of tea he had ever encountered in his life and cursed the gods for their all-powerful tea-making skills.

"So," the god said, finding a seat after distributing the tea. "How have things been going?"

Theo took a sip of the tea and found that the taste was even better than the smell. It was sweet, although he doubted that any sugar had been added. He smacked his lips after the first sip and shook his head. “You know, if you ever want to have a disciple of tea-making back in the mortal plane, let me know.”

"Are you dodging my question?" Hallow asked with a wink. "That's fine. I get it. There's a separation between the mortal and heavenly realms now."

“No, he just really

likes the tea,” Tresk said with a laugh. She downed the entire cup in one go, no doubt burning herself in the process. “Things are good. We figured out some secrets. Wanna hear some secrets?”

Hallow leaned in. “I love secrets.”

Tresk explained how she had figured out how everything worked. She told him about the way that the magic provided by the system was only one piece of the puzzle and that everything else rested on her own ability. The celestial power that she had discovered was at the center of her theories.

“Took you long enough,” Hallow said. “That’s a requirement for ascension and something we were sealed from speaking of.”

Theo couldn’t blame anyone for not spilling the beans, then. They were sealed from talking about it, meaning they could never speak on it. This implied the system’s intervention early on, which he didn’t know the meaning of. All he knew was that this was good. They were on the right track to get more powerful before the reset.

“Can you tell us more secrets?” Theo asked with a wink. He took another sip of his tea, knowing the answer.

“Just that you’re on the right track. Since the system changed, you won’t ascend like we did.”

“Can you explain any of that process?” Theo asked. “I know you guys tricked the system into creating the ascendant system… And I guess I can guess that you tapped into this celestial power to do it.”

“I can’t say anything more,” Hallow said, waving a dismissive hand. “In truth, you’ll be ahead of us soon. Well, everyone but Khahar. He had more secrets than any of us can imagine.”

“I’m unsure how to handle the Khahar situation,” Theo said. “He wants to keep his secrets to himself. But some of those secrets might be useful.”

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“The great Theo Spencer asking me for advice?” Hallow asked with a laugh. “Never thought I’d see that. What you must remember is that his ‘secrets’ aren’t his to share. If he’s found information that might be useful to you, he might be bound by the system. She has been desperate to keep everything together, and things have finally gone her way. But she’s scared things will slip away if she blinks for even a moment.”

That made sense to Theo. He knew all about the way this place had been messed up by the ascendants. Did he blame Glantheir for what he had done back in the day? Yup. He was just as much at fault as the original gods who all sought power for themselves. Maybe that was a ploy to keep them from doing bad things or something, but they were still responsible. The only person who didn’t have blood on their hands was Khahar. Well, he had far less than all the others. He had spent his time meditating in the desert, waiting for the right time to strike to bring the gods down.

His plan had worked better than expected, resulting in the current reset they faced down. Once Theo moved all the shards to the mortal realm, it would start. Then the real challenge would begin.

“I appreciate the tips,” Theo said. “Got more tea?”

“And food, if you want,” Hallow said with a shrug.

“Yes, please.”

Hallow clapped his hands and a few moments later elven attendants were entering the room. They had plates loaded with food. Meat, cheese, fruits, and baked confections were spread across platters. The elves even brought in tables to set them upon and they all had smiles on their faces. The god of the world had gone with a white toga theme for his people, and Theo couldn’t deny that it looked incredibly comfortable. Sitting in the chair in his leather coat, thick boots, and gloves he thought more about comfort. But then again, no one was subject to random attack while within the Halls of Healing.

“From the Realm of Healing to the Halls of Healing,” Theo said to himself, plucking a grape from the plate and popping it in his mouth. “Did it ever have an elvish name?”

“Yeah, the Realm of Healing is the direct translation from the elven tongue,” Hallow said.

“Is this venison?” Tresk asked through a mouthful of meat. “Good stuff.”

“Indeed it is.”

“So, how does this work?” Theo asked. “Do you guys go hunting to get the meat? Or is it all magical?”

“Just like the middle realms, we have to produce our own food,” Hallow said. “The game is plentiful and our crops produce a bounty. But we still have to collect it.”

“And how big is the world?” Theo asked.

“Twice as large as the mortal realm, at least. We span several continents with a few large cities. Are you just making idle chat or what, Theo?”

Shrugging, the alchemist peered outside a nearby window. That was a good question. He had expected the godly worlds to be different from his own. But it really wasn’t. The people here were functionally immortal, so their lives were very different, but the mechanisms they lived by were much the same.

“Guess I just thought it’d be different,” Theo said. “I’m just happy the system let us in.”

“You’re valuable to it, now.”

“We like to think of the system as a girl, thank you very much,” Tresk said.

“Well, she is very fair,” Hallow said. “Perhaps she’ll let you visit these realms more often.”

”Depends,” Theo said with a shrug. “We were drawn into Silver’s realm before. I mean, think about it. We’re supposed to defend this place or whatever, so we need to work together.”

”Right!?” Tresk shouted. “How we gonna do our job if we can’t do our job?”

Hallow rubbed his chin, taking another sip of his tea. After a while, he chewed on a slice of apple. “We’ll make it work, because we need to.”

”On that front, how are the gods working together? Are you guys ready?” Theo asked.

Hallow shook his head. “No. We’re not working well together at all. But I’m working on it.”

“What are the chances you guys will kiss and make up?” Theo asked.

“There’s no choice,” Hallow said. “We’re going to work together or burn. There might be losses during the change, but it won’t be me. My bastion is secured.”

Theo had no doubt about that. When he was Glantheir, Hallow had done well to somehow be a pacifist and the strongest ascendant around. While the alchemist didn’t know about the specific dealings, he knew enough to have respect. Fortunately, shop talk was over. They instead shifted to subjects about the world and the various interesting features. It operated much like the mortal world, making it easy to relate to the beaches, mountain trails, and so on.

“We’re gonna head on out,” Theo said, standing after a while. “Been a long, weird day.”

“When one spends their ‘day’ in the span of a few years, things get weird,” Glantheir said with a chuckle. “Tresk had it even worse.”

“Yeah. I still miss Tommy,” she said, frowning.

“Wasn’t his name Jimmy?” Theo asked.

“Anyway, bye!” Tresk said, nudging Theo in the ribs with her elbow.

Theo felt as though he truly needed a break. Although he thought he could be away from the mortal realm forever, he wasn’t actually completely attuned to Tero’gal or the mortal realm. Folding the void on itself was harder from within Hallow’s world, but he managed to bring them both back to Tero’gal to pick up Alex and then to Broken Tusk without issue. Tresk’s gaze dragged over the landscape as she blinked slowly, seeming as though she’d fall asleep at any moment.

“Wanna go to bed?” Theo asked.

Tresk looked at the sky. “Dusk is pretty far off.”

“So, you’re not sleepy?”

“Sleepy? No. Mentally and physically exhausted? Yeah,” Tresk said.

After letting Sarisa and Rowan know they were back, Theo and Tresk instead retreated to the bath. Soaking in the restorative waters was amazing, and the alchemist felt much of himself coming back. The break would be woefully brief. Once they dropped into the Dreamwalk, Tresk planned to train him on absorbing that celestial energy. If he wanted to get the most out of the potions, he needed to increase his potential.

“Screw your potential, I’m relaxing,” Tresk said, up to her neck in the water. “We did too much. When do we tell Fenian about the potions being done?”

“Good question,” Theo said. “Do we trust him?”

Tresk shrugged. “Who cares? Aren’t we past that?”

“Yeah. Guess we’re in too deep to care about that… Although, that might be the exhaustion talking.”

“Exactly. Just shut up and soak up this magic water.”