“This is not the end,” Shi grunted as she rolled up her own version of the contract.

Jack resisted the urge to sigh as Ren rolled up her version of the document they’d just spent the last few days quibbling over with the Imperial Delegation. Honestly, having been forced to sit and watch it, Jack thought it was almost a shame that Ren hadn’t been born back on Earth. She could have given a few corporate sharks a run for their money with the way she argued.

Which was not to say that Shi hadn’t given as good as she’d gotten. For one thing, Jack apparently hadn’t conquered Ten Huo.

He’d bought it.

And the cost of that purchase would be paid in food over the next hundred years. Non-perishable canned food. Tons of it each month, to be shipped east, where it would be picked up at the border and then distributed across the empire – or sent straight to the front.

It was a not insignificant expense even for him.

Just about anything else he’d have been able to summon with a wave of his hand. Not food though. And unfortunately for him, food was what the Empire wanted.

Desperately.

Well, they wanted one other thing too, but there was no chance I was giving them that, he thought as he reclined in his command chair, glancing up at the stone ceiling of the fortresses’ command center.

No, as much as it pained him to admit it, of the things he was willing to trade for peace, food was just about the only thing the Empire was willing to accept to back off.

Which said a lot about their internal situation.

Unfortunately for him, his own wasn’t that much better. Barely a fraction of the province’s populace had returned to the fields – and even then, only those fields closest to either Ten Huo or the Jiangshi fort-town network. And while his hydroponics farms beneath both places were slowly growing, they were still in their nascent stages.

No, the province’s days of rationing have just been extended by years with this move, he thought as both women slid their signed documents into equally fancy looking containers. With that said, it’s a small price to pay for peace.

And an even smaller price to pay not to have to supply his weapons to the Empire. No matter how stridently Shi argued for it, that had been one of the few details he’d refused to budge on.

Once upon a time he’d supplied the sects of Ten Huo with weapons because he hadn’t truly been capable of stopping them from taking them.

As he gazed at a nearby monitor displaying a live feed of a spot in the distance where a mountain now no longer stood, he knew that was not the case now.

Oh, he had no doubt they’d get some in the end. Shi certainly hadn’t given up the one she had in her possession, and he hadn’t asked for it.

And more would clandestinely slip through the net later down the line.

But there was a world of difference between a few stolen examples of technology and enough to outfit an army.

“It is,” he responded finally. “Today the Empire managed to spare an arm to swipe at me and mine, despite the Instinctive Horde bearing down on it. Tomorrow though? It will require both arms merely to survive.”

Shi sniffed at his words, but said nothing else.

Much of that might have been to do with the fact that Yating was glaring at her from the back of the room. As he had been doing for much of the past few days’ worth of negotiations. A task that Jack hadn’t asked the divinity to perform, but had been thankful for nonetheless.

He well knew how difficult it was to negotiate with someone when you had the magical equivalent of a walking nuke staring you down.

Especially when you lacked nukes of your own to stare back. The Imperial Divinities had left days ago. Called back to the war. And no doubt they were even now being forced to make up for losses incurred in their absence.

Not that he had much sympathy for either of them, given that they’d revealed themselves to be just as culpable in the enslavement of their fellows as the Empress herself.

“Perhaps,” Shi allowed finally. “Though I would do well to remind you for both our sakes. A word of the Rooster’s release. To anyone. Or a hint of her inside the borders of the Empire, and we will come for you. In full. Consequences be damned.”

Jack believed her. It would be mutually assured destruction of course, but it wasn’t like he alone held a monopoly on that concept.

If the Empire’s other Divinities broke free of the Empress’s control, the only question that remained would be what destroyed it first.

The Instinctive Horde or the rage of just under a dozen angry goddesses.

Neither situation was particularly appealing to him. Currently the Empire and Horde were in a semi-deadlock that kept either of them from truly focusing on him.

That was a set of circumstances he wanted to prolong for as long as possible. Which was a large part of the reason why he was humouring Shi’s demands that he pay for the province rather than just outright threatening her with annihilation to leave him alone.

Because as much as the Empire was a threat to him, he’d be fucked the moment they folded.

It was a complicated situation.

Yating growled at Shi’s words.

Jack just shrugged though. “As you said. Repeatedly. I have what I want. If Yating chooses to void our agreement, she’ll receive no support from me.”

For just a moment, the topic of the god’s ire shifted direction, but ultimately he said nothing. The Rooster’s displeasure at Jack’s refusal to commit elaborate suicide by going on a crusade to free his brethren was well trodden ground at this point. Shi hadn’t been the only one he’d been arguing with lately.

Then again, arguments are superior to certain other behaviours, he thought, but as he glanced around, a certain diminutive figure remained stubbornly absent.

“And as disappointing to me as that lukewarm response is, I can see it’s the best I will receive.” Shi muttered. “With that done, I bid you farewell.”

Jack waved her off absently. “My people will escort you to the border. You’ll go straight there. No deviations.”

It was a little amusing, the minute twitch of irritation that slipped across the woman’s frame at his words, but she continued her march to the exit, her aides close behind. Only at the threshold of the doorway did she stop though.

“Jack Johansen,” she breathed. “Though I know you have little love for me and mine, I also know you have a weakness for the common man and woman. To that end, know that the Empire is not simply a collection of cultivators. For every one of us, there’s a thousand peasants.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Your point?”

“Murm claimed you weren’t a divinity,” she continued, making him twitch. “That you weren’t even a cultivator. To tell you the truth, I struggle to understand the notion. Given the things you can do.”

The miner said nothing. The topic had definitely come up a few times in recent days. And he’d successfully put it off each time. Oh sure, he’d given some generalities to the people closest to him, but that was it. To that end, he got the feeling that confusion was the pervading sentiment regarding him amongst his own people.

Someone had called him a mortal and he hadn’t argued. But he could do things mortals couldn’t do. That was a paradox. One that couldn’t be reconciled without a decent understanding of what technology was truly capable of.

An understanding that just didn’t come anything close to naturally for a society that had yet to figure out even the steam engine, let alone the computer.

Shi continued. “Truth be told, the reality of what you are matters little to me. All that matters is that a time may come where the Empire may… ask you for aid. And though your antipathy towards my mother may compel you not to act, know that the brunt of that decision will not necessarily fall on us, but the people under our stewardship.”

As surprised as he was at the words, he resisted the urge to point out that the Instinctives were people too. Fucked up people, but people all the same. Sure, he had little enough sympathy for cannibals, but to hear Baidar – his resident Instinctive prisoner - talk about her people, a quarter of them would be vegetarian.

That was not a small number.

…Less than the Empire though. And the Empire isn’t the aggressor here, he thought. At least, as far as I’m aware.

Though he wouldn’t exactly be surprised if he learned that was not the case. Even if it was, though, it didn’t change the fact that the Instinctives were barbarians in the truest sense of the word. Barbarians that slaughtered entire cities when given the opportunity.

“Is this some roundabout way of begging me for help in advance, Madam Inquisitor?” He smirked, trying not to show just how uncomfortable the thought of just letting the Empire fall made him.

He had a feeling he wasn’t as successful as he hoped, even as his words made the woman huff irritably. “Simply keep my words in mind. Please.”

Ugh, he’d been hoping for a slightly more animated reaction from his needling. He’d definitely have gotten one from Huang back in the day. Frowning, he leaned back in his seat.

“Noted. Now get the fuck out of my province.”

Even as her escorts scowled, the blonde woman simply nodded before leaving. And with her disappearance, the almost palpable air of tension that had pervaded the room seemed to lessen just a bit.

Not entirely though.

Because there was another elephant in the room.

An elephant he knew it was well past time to address.

“Our lord is tired,” Ren intoned after a few pregnant moments. “Your work is done for the day. You may depart early.”

There was no mistaking the suggestion as anything other than an order for everyone to vacate the room. Which most people did.

Quickly.

Before long it was just Ren, Gao and Yating left alongside himself.

The room was silent, but for the whirring of machines and the faint hum of monitors. Yet even as Ren regarded him carefully from across the room, Jack felt his microbots tense in preparation for conflict.

A conflict he wasn’t entirely sure wasn’t forthcoming.

“I suppose this is it then,” he said, cracking his back as he rose from his chair. “Is it time for my reckoning?” He regarded Ren in turn. “The Empire is sated. The contract’s ink is dry. And you’re alone with me.”

For a given value of the word.

“Is this the moment you turn on me for deceiving you about what I am, Ren?”

The woman cocked her head. “Turn on you? Is that what you expect me to do? Even with a goddess backing you?”

Jack glanced back at Yating. “Meh, our relationship is pretty fraught at the minute. If you could make her a better offer than me, she might support you as my replacement.”

Yating said nothing.

Still, Jack wasn’t worried. For all that he’d joked about the god abandoning him, he was pretty sure the divine being was still on his side. Even if the Rooster ignored that Jack had freed him from slavery, the god still needed him if he truly wished to free the others.

A motive that Jack was reasonably sure was genuine.

He’d half expected the ancient being to tear off around the planet on a journey of discovery. The Rooster had certainly spoken of wanting to do so once or twice in wistful tones.

And now that he didn’t have a brand keeping him within the confines of the empire, he could.

Yet he hadn’t done that. He was still sticking around – specifically, he was sticking to Jack like glue. Likely searching for an opportunity to free his brethren. And while that was an opportunity that might not come for years or decades… that was a gnat’s fart to an immortal.

No, he didn’t think Yating would turn on him. Not now.

And though Ren likely knew that, he also knew that the ambition of cultivators often outpaced their good sense.

“Perhaps,” Ren allowed. “You are a mortal after all.”

It was funny, the words weren’t accusatory. If anything, it was like she was seeking confirmation.

In other words, it was a tacit opening to lie.

…One he didn’t take.

If there was ever going to be a moment for this reckoning, now was it.

“I am.”

Ren regarded him for a moment longer, before sagging. “I see. Your refusal to show your ki openly certainly makes sense now. I admit, sometimes I suspected you of being some manner of being akin to Elwin. A magister of a different ilk.”

He said nothing.

“Yet it seems those suspicions fell short.” Ren glanced at a nearby tablet. “It would have taken a great leap in logic for me to think that you were in fact devoid of any manner of esoteric energy, and were in fact merely a mortal using some manner of mystic tool. Even now, the idea of that… some part of me finds it hard to fathom.”

He just shrugged.

The sight actually made Ren chuckle. “With that said, those same goddesses who accused you of being a mortal ran from your power.”

He felt her eyes on him as she regarded him seriously.

“I’m a merchant, Jack.” He couldn’t help but note the lack of ‘master’ or ‘lord’. ”Unlike… certain members of our company, I’m more than familiar with notions of power beyond those held in one’s arm. If… you are a mortal who just so happened to stumble across some… all powerful mystical tool…” She took a breath. “So be it. You’ve leveraged it in a manner that would make even my own master weep with envy.”

The sudden admittance and the relief it gave him nearly made Jack laugh out loud – though he stifled the urge at the last second. His humor wasn’t entirely derived from relief. Ren was laying her compliments on a bit thick there.

He’d made plenty of missteps.

“I arrived with it actually.” He smiled warmly. “The tool. It, and I, are from another plane of existence entirely.”

Gao laughed, the first noise he’d made since arriving in this room, before choking as realized Jack wasn’t joking.

Ren and Yating said nothing. Ren because she seemed beyond any kind of surprise at this point, and the goddess because she already knew.

“Uh, this another lie boss?” Gao asked.

Jack smirked.

“There exists more between heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy.” Sure, he was an uneducated miner, but he’d seen Hamlet 7: The Vengeance. And he’d liked that quote once it was explained to him.

Twice.

“No, this is no lie,” he continued. “The truth is simply less believable than the lie.”

Ren looked considering though. “I… see. Which then begs the question… is the tool the cause of your strange ability to nullify ki?”

“And magic,” a familiar voice said.

All three residents of the room glanced up in alarm as Elwin strode in.

“There were guards on that door,” Gao grunted dangerously. “They wouldn’t have just let you in.”

The elf simply waved the implied threat away. “They're fine. Just taking a quick nap.”

Jack spoke up before Gao could say more. “Elwin, how nice to see you. Here to kill me?”

The woman shrugged. “I was considering it.” She completely ignored the way both Ren and Gao bristled at her words. “Because as amusing as all this has been, you did both deceive me and waste my time. Be glad you were on the other side of the province when that local goddess announced your true nature.”

Yes, the broadcasts. Another part of the reason why he wasn’t trying to cover his true nature up. The idea was out now, and one way or another, his political rivals would quickly start putting his authenticity to the test.

Before, he’d taken refuge in the idea of him being a mortal as quite literally inconceivable.

Now, that was no longer the case. The ‘how’ would no doubt be in question, but the very idea that he wasn’t what he claimed to be was now a consideration in the minds of many.

Indeed to that end, he was expecting to deal with some manner of rebellion when he got back.

Fortunately, Shui’s still with us in Jiangshi, he thought.

She was the most immediate figurehead the sects would have championed to replace him, and without her in the city, they’d either be waiting for her to return or squabbling over who to use in her place.

Still, that was a mess for the future.

“And has anything changed?” Jack asked casually, even a mental thumb hovered over a button that would summon his hand-cannon.

He really didn’t want to kill Elwin. She was odd, but useful. And despite being insanely arrogant and forward, she had attempted to help him in her own way in the past.

With that said, he’d gun her down in a heartbeat if he saw so much as a spark leave her fingertips.

And that assumed Yating didn’t get to her first.

“It depends.” The Elf smiled wolfishly. “I still need to hear the last part of your statement. Is your tool the cause of your ability to nullify magic? Or is that something native to the people of your dimension.”

“The latter,” he breathed.

Though he still had no idea why – and likely never would.

Elwin drew herself up for half a second, before she seemed to deflate in relief, her righteous fury fleeing her. “I see… that’s good.”

She smiled, even as she leaned on a nearby workstation for support. “Then all is fine. Our deal remains.”

The woman patted down her dress. “Now, I nearly killed myself flying over here to lambast you, so I’m going to go collapse in another room now.”

With those words, the woman left as quickly as she arrived.

“Strange woman,” Gao muttered after a few stilted moments.

Jack couldn’t argue. Elwin was indeed strange. Though he still didn’t know whether that was an Elf thing or an Elwin thing.

“Anyone know what that was about?” he asked finally.

Ren glanced at him. “I would have thought the answer obvious. Your ability to nullify ki is inborn. Ignoring everything else, that means your body is still valuable.”

“Really?”

The dog-woman looked incredulous. “Of course. Magistrates across the Empire would beggar themselves for a courtier capable of such. Curses. Bindings. Even some of the more esoteric poisons. The ability to nullify ki is a boon not easily discarded!”

“At the cost of the ability to manipulate it,” Jack pointed out, only to feel even more incredulous as Ren waved a hand dismissively.

“A disadvantage yes, but ki-use is something every family has. The ability to ignore it though? That’s unique as far as I am aware. Our progeny could not be combatants, but as you have proven, a lack of combat power can be supplemented through the aid of others.”

Ren paused in consideration. “And that assumes that our progeny wouldn’t gain the benefits of both. Your people’s and mine.”

‘Or neither,’ Jack resisted the urge to say, mostly because he was caught up on the woman’s continuing use of ‘our’ when he thought she’d been describing Elwin’s interest.

The woman continued on. “And that’s ignoring the fact that this… tool of yours can seemingly be shared.” She waved her hand at her tablet, seemingly getting more excited as she spoke. “As I, and others, have already been doing. Each of us could be guaranteed to have your power.”

Jack nodded.

“Still not tempted to try and steal it?”

The blonde scoffed. “I barely understand it. Could I use it even if I took the… core from you?”

“No.” His answer was instant, because it was true.

His gear was gene-locked. It only worked so long as his neural interface was active. The moment that stopped being the case, everything he’d built would go into standby mode.

“Now, you could be lying,” Ren continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “But I wouldn’t take the risk. No, I have much to lose by turning on you. For better or worse, Ten Huo is an independent province now. And it will not survive without you. ‘Mortal’ or not.”

It was actually kind of scary how hyped up she was getting.

He coughed. “So, uh.”

“Things will continue as they have before. Albeit, with a bit more honesty in regards to your capabilities on your part.” She eyed him. “I assume that’s fine with you?”

He nodded slowly. “More than fine.”

The merchant’s smile actually hurt to look at she grabbed the tube holding their contract with the Imperials and stood up. “Well, now that’s all out of the way, I have a document to prepare for our return to Ten Huo.”

She moved to leave, only to stop at the door. When she turned back, her cheeks looked a little pink. “Actually, in light of recent events, is that why you always insisted upon…”

“Yes.” Jack interrupted, before Ren could say any more in front of Gao, who looked curiously onward.

“Huh…” That actually seemed to surprise the woman. More than anything else that had been said that day. “Some part of me is a little disappointed by that… but on another level. It’s rather exciting. To be pinned down by a ‘lesser’…”

“Just go!” Jack grunted, looking away to hide his own flushed cheeks.

Sure, he was no shrinking violet, but there were certain things that just weren’t discussed in front of your subordinates.

Ren chuckled throatily, blushing a little herself, before she wandered off.

It was a striking reminder that while the woman was a bit of a ‘sub’ in the bedroom, that was only because she was a ‘dom’ in just about every other aspect of her life.

And it seemed, if he hadn’t badly misread that last comment, that would continue to be the place.

It was actually a little… sad, how relieved he was by that. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

Only some of it though, he thought, rubbing his brow. One big ass stone remains.

“What about you?” he asked, turning to a puzzled looking Gao. “Plotting a rebellion now that you know your boss is just as mortal as you?”

The man looked puzzled for a moment, before shaking his head. “No.”

Jack waited for some kind of elaboration, but the scarred man simply stood there.

“That’s it? Nothing else to say.”

“Nope.”

Gods, even Gao was teasing him – in an admittedly Gao-like fashion.

Jack leaned back in his seat. “Ok then. I guess.”

Gao chuckled as he moved to leave. “Just… keep doing what you’re doing boss. Do that and I’ll follow you into hell itself if need be. Mortal or not.”

Then he was gone.

And Jack could only stare after him in puzzlement.

Keep doing what he was doing? Amassing power and generally satisfying his ego at the expense of others?

Man, the indoctrination goes deep, he thought, almost pitying the scarred man.

Sighing, he turned to the last occupant of the room. “And what about y- and you’re gone.”

Sure enough, the God had disappeared at some point.

“Just great,” he muttered.

Still, that was one of his cultivator lovers down.

“Just one more to go.”

And he had a feeling the second wouldn’t be quite as accepting as the first.