“Yes,” Mom replied, looking straight at me. “Merlin was unstable. Once I had you, I knew I had to keep you safe from him. At least until you were old enough to know the truth. So, I spoke to Lavender and we came up with a plan to protect you until you were old enough to fulfill your destiny. I trust you to make the right decision, whatever that ends up being.”

I gaped at her. How could she say that with a straight face? On the one hand, I was thrilled that Mom trusted me. Isn’t that what all kids want? On the other, it was way too much responsibility for one kid to manage. I didn’t want to be the guy that blew up the universe. Since when was that cool?

Lavender spoke from her cage. “This day has been etched in destiny since long before you were born. It’s either the day Merlin destroys everything or the day that you save it. One of those things will happen.”

“You’re mistaken, Lavender Witch,” Merlin spat, glaring at her. “You’ve always meddled even though your predecessor told you not to. Every time you get involved, calamity follows. Do you remember the dark ages?”

Lavender sighed. “You were just as much to blame for that as I was. He was your apprentice.”

I looked back at my friends as Merlin and Lavender argued. Wendy was up but nursing her left arm. Joe seemed to be okay but Shara was still missing. Kalli was right next to me and had just gotten her breath back.

I checked the system for access and pulled up Merlin’s menu.

Name

Merlin Wyllt

Class

System Administrator

Level

???

Affection Level

Blocked

At least I still had access, but I was unsure how that would help. Mom stood. She only came up to Merlin’s chest but seemed to tower over him with her hands on her hips. I always thought of it as her superpower. Whenever she was angry, she could make me feel like I was about an inch tall without saying a word.

“Do you love me?” She asked, staring him down. “I mean, do you truly love me?”

Merlin wasn’t backing down though. “Of course, I do. Which is why I have to do this. You could never understand how it feels to watch you die.”

She sighed. “If you love me as you say you do, you would never do anything to me against my will. I do not want this. Not if the risk is destroying everything.”

“That won’t happen!” Merlin shouted. “I won’t allow it.”

“You can’t control everything,” Lavender said.

“Watch me,” Merlin growled, strutting around Mom and behind the throne.

He began chanting a spell I didn’t recognize. Runes lit up on the floor in a dull red glow. Mom fell back against the throne and let out a yelp. I jumped to my feet to rush to her but that magnet was back at work again pushing me away from the throne.

I tried to DELETE the runes, and then the throne itself. Nothing worked. Everything in the room was protected. Even Lavender’s cage. Mom sat restlessly on the throne while Merlin circled the room while continuing to chant.

I looked over at Joe and Wendy to see if they had any ideas but they were all sprawled out on the floor, struggling to get to their feet. The only two of us who were standing were Kalli and I, but we couldn’t get close enough to Mom or the throne to do anything at all.

Lavender ??? has invited you to join a group.

I blinked. Of course! I had system access. I could join groups again. Through my bond, I noticed Kalli had also received an invite.

You have joined the group.

Kalliphae Murphy has joined the group.

Listen carefully and don’t think a word.

I turned to stare at Lavender. She stood in the cage, gripping the bars with a look of determination on her face. Merlin was so wrapped up in his ritual that he didn’t pay any attention to anything else. I thought that was a little arrogant of him considering he didn’t bother to lock any of us up. Just Lavender.

She continued. I am going to buy you a small window to get to the throne. The two of you must complete the registration process.

I pushed against the field that kept me from the throne.

I know but where do you put that much mana? It’s in the billions now. Won’t setting it loose destroy the universe?

Lavender closed her eyes. Not exactly. The ritual he’s performing on the system is what will cause the apocalypse. You must assign an artifact and remove the mana from the equation. Preferably something he can’t access. I don’t know the answer, but I am confident you will.

I wanted to ask so many more questions, but Lavender didn’t wait. The bars of her cage began to frost over. She thrust her hand out and the frozen metal shattered, shards conveniently flying straight at Merlin. He ducked under his cloak just in time to not get peppered with the sharp slivers of metal.

In that moment of distraction, Lavender was gone. She reappeared in front of the throne and grabbed Mom by the wrists, hoisting her off the throne. Mom yelped and Lavender folded mana over herself. Only she didn’t vanish. She flickered for a second and Merlin appeared beside her, grabbing her by the throat. “No, you don’t! Not this time.”

Lavender clutched at his hands, unable to pry them off. Instead, she leaned into Merlin, kicking off of the ground and jumping. They both flew back into the darkness, leaving Mom behind.

Go now! Lavender’s voice sounded strained, even through group chat. I won’t be able to hold him for long.

What is the blood key for? Kalli asked in desperation as we both lurched for the throne.

Mom stood there, not moving, as we each grasped an arm of the tall backed throne. It looked as though she’d been stunned.

Would you like to assign an artifact? Y/N

The system waited patiently for us to make a decision. What could we use? Where could we put over a billion mana? Would the system accept my fanny pack? Perhaps the blood key? We tried some of the options as we came up with them.

Error: Fanny Pack of Nil Space cannot contain mana.

Error: Blood Key[Melvin Murphy] not compatible.

What else was there? The void? The artifact I made out of Kalli’s wand? Wendy screamed at me. Hurry! Lavender’s dying!

Error: The Void cannot be used like that.

Error: Kalliphae’s Training wand not compatible.

I groaned and tried to pull away from the throne so I could think. It was no good. I was still stuck to the throne.

CRUNCH!

Wendy and Shara screamed and our eyes were drawn to Lavender whose head was bent at an unnatural angle. A strong wave of conviction came from Kalli, focusing my mind back on our task. You know what we have to do, Mel.

The sad truth was, I did know. There was only one choice. There had only ever been one choice.

But we’ll die!

She let out a slow sigh. At least we’re together.

At the same time, we focused on the menu and assigned an artifact.

Option accepted…

Preparing for data transfer…

A jolt went through us like someone flipped the switch while we were connected to a battery. Mana flooded through us, disregarding the fact that we were already filled to capacity. I reached out for Kalli, who did the same, and we clasped hands. I felt nothing at that moment but love. It was a pressure that welled inside me and had been desperate to break loose since the day I met her. I told myself that the pain I felt was just the build-up to the bliss we would feel when we could finally be together.

Kalli squeezed my hand. I wish I could have spent forever with you.

You will. I don’t care where you go after this. I will follow you.

She squeezed her eyes shut and I did mine as well. My thoughts became fuzzy as I wondered what would happen to the leftover mana after we exploded. Surely, we couldn’t absorb billions of mana. Not before it killed us. Would there still be enough left over for Merlin to destroy everything with? Was there a chance he could succeed and make Mom immortal? Perhaps Lavender was wrong? Then I remembered Lavender was dead, and my heart broke.

Something else broke at that same moment. We both felt it. Something inside of us ruptured and mana began pouring through the gap like water through the side of a punctured swimming pool. It was going somewhere and neither of us knew where. I thought my existence would cease to exist at that point but instead, I felt something else. Relief. I heaved a sigh and pulled my consciousness within, trying to figure out what was happening. Instinctively, I knew Kalli was still alive, though neither knew for how long.

One look from inside told us that mana was flooding through our cores down the tether that connected us. Only it was flowing from both sides and disappearing into the gap between us. Rather than the barrier that had been there when we were separated by Merlin, the golden light shone like the sun as it fed on the mana like a hungry infant.

“No! Don’t eat that!” Kalli screamed as she launched herself toward the light.

I rushed over from my side and we met at Sindra. For the first time since we created her, she didn’t attempt to evade our touch. She pulsed happily as mana flooded into her from both sides.

“How is she doing that?” I asked, running my hand through the mana as it passed.

Kalli shrugged. “I don’t know but I think Lavender foresaw this.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Kalli blushed. “She was a little too interested in whether or not we did it.”

“Oh, right,” I replied, feeling a little embarrassed that I hadn’t noticed Lavender’s interest in our love life at the time. “Do you think she knew Sin could do this?”

“Sin? I like that,” Kalli replied with a smile. “Do you think she can handle all the mana?”

“I don’t think we have a choice,” I replied. “It’s either that or we die.”

“Or worse,” Kalli said. “The whole universe blows up.”

“Or that,” I conceded.

It felt like an eternity passed as Sindra absorbed all of the mana from the system. While the ball of golden light did grow, it wasn’t nearly as big as I thought it should be with over a billion mana.

Just as it began, the process ended with a system notification.

System transfer complete…