The elder’s house was just as improved on the inside as it had been outside. Every item and piece of furniture within view had been carefully mended, including a large carpet Dallion remembered ripping as a child by accident. The thing had been so old that just walking on it had caused a tear. Now it appeared brand new.

“You’ve been busy,” Dallion said, impressed.

“A bit.” Kraisten went to the living room table—another new addition, made entirely out of stone—and sat down. “Others did most of the work. I can’t improve much these days.”

“Can you still craft?” Dallion joined the elder.

“So you’ve heard that?”

“I saw a few things in the chief’s awakening room. A suit of armor told them to me.” He paused a moment. “He told me you were the reason the way things turned out around here. Is that right?”

“It is,” the elder replied with a sigh. “Aspion did a lot of crap, but he’s not wrong about this. I made the mistake that set things in motion. All because of a noble.”

A noble? Dallion thought that the Order of the Seven had punished them both. Well, all three of them—there was the matter of the chief’s sister, although by the way everyone referred to her she was likely dead.

“But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Tell me, grandson, how’s Earth these days?”

“Earth?” The only reason Dallion didn’t choke was because there wasn’t enough saliva in his mouth. Had the old man just said “Earth?”

“You didn’t think you were the only one who suddenly awakened here, did you?” Kraisten laughed. “I thought you’d have figured it out by now, especially with the hint I dropped last time we had a talk.”

Dallion thought back. The last time was after improving the well. It seemed like ages ago. What hint had his grandfather given him?

“Genetics.” Dallion shook his head. “Luck, genetics, or intense training,” he recited the phrase. How hadn’t he caught on until now? It was so obvious. Of course, there was no way anyone in this realm had heard the term.

The realization felt as if a huge weight had been taken off Dallion’s shoulders, a weight he didn’t know he had. He was no longer the only Earthling in this realm. Now he knew for certain that his memories weren’t a dream. Even better, there was someone with whom he could freely talk to about back home! Or could he? Kraisten had awakened in this world over fifty years ago. Back then Dallion wasn’t even more… heck, there were probably dozens of countries from that time that no longer existed, not to mention the leaps in technology…

“Yep, genetics.” Kraisten smiled. “A nice loophole. The echo limitation only lets me talk about things others already know, but it had difficulty catching certain terms as long I’m subtle about it. I knew you were from back home from the start, just as I know there are more like us.”

“There are?”

“Yeah, though I’ve only met one other, ages ago. Look for people who were confused after their awakening. It usually takes a few days for the mind to clear up. The Order calls it soul confusion. I tried asking them more about it, but they keep to their own. The only way they’d provide information to an outsider is if you joined them, and that’s something I’d advise against.”

“Because they’ll punish me if they learn that I’m not from here?”

“I can’t tell you.” The elder frowned. ”There are many reasons, but that’s a conclusion you’d have to come on your own.”

That was sadly convenient. At least Dallion knew for certain that there were others like him. And that meant…

“Is there a way back?” he asked.

“To Earth? If there is, no one has found it. You really want to go back there? Don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t. Even after everything that’s happened, I prefer it here. And by the look of it, so do you.” Kraisten rubbed his hands. “You’ve felt it, right? The power of awakening, the call of adventure, all the possibilities this world offers. Aspion couldn’t stomp it out of you with threats and echoes. He tried, but you ended up on top.”

Is that what you told him? Dallion thought. All those decades ago, his grandfather had something similar to Aspion. There was no way of knowing what went wrong—Kraisten either couldn’t or wouldn’t tell him.

“What about you?” Dallion asked. “Will you leave the village? The chief is no longer stopping you.”

“He’s not the one stopping me, but no.” The elder shook his head. “I’ve no intention of going. I’ve grown to like Dherma. Now that Aspion’s grandkids have taken over, we might even improve it a level or two. You’ll leave, though.”

“Oh? Why so certain?”

“Because you won’t find your answer here.”

“What’s the question.”

“What lies beyond?” Kraisten smiled. “That’s what makes us different. The question that drives us to reach the top just to take a look. My way didn’t work, but maybe yours will. Either way, it will be one heck of a ride getting there.”

The question that drives people to reach the top just to take a look… Dallion had never considered it this way. All he wanted to do was see what it was like in the city. He had no intention of joining the city guard, despite his experience in the hunting party, nor did he want to become a noble. He just wanted to see what it was like outside the village. Maybe that’s how it had started for his grandfather as well? The memory he’d seen made it appear that way, but Dallion wasn’t his grandfather, even if both of them came from Earth in a manner of speaking.

“So, finish everything you have to, say your goodbyes and get out of here. Carry only what you must, sleep in the awakened state as much as you could, be always ready to fight, and never trust anything with a dark star on it.”

The last sounded particularly specific, but Dallion nodded nonetheless.

“Thanks, Gramps.” He stood up. “I think I’ll learn a few things about this world. And when I get back, we’ll have a proper talk about it.”