Nightmare Realm Summoner

Liam was unsurprised to find that Stargazer was waiting in his room. The man had a nasty habit of popping up whenever and wherever he wanted. It was the pack at Stargazer’s side that gave Liam far more pause than the unwelcome presence of the other man in his room.

“You headed somewhere?” Liam asked, narrowing his eyes as he made his way over to stand across from where Stargazer had sat down at his desk. “Can’t remember the last time I saw you carrying anything other than your ego around.”

Stargazer let out a small snort. “It happens. On occasion. But, yes. We’re going to be heading out. How long did you think we could possibly spend just killing time in the Empty Court? As great of a training ground as this place is, it has its limits. We can’t sit around and let people pass us up.”

“You know, I somehow get the feeling that it would take a long time for anyone from 274-50 to start getting to the point where they’re threatening to pass you,” Liam said dryly. He rolled his neck. “But with paranoid bastards like you, I suppose there’s always a bigger threat, right?”

“There is,” Stargazer replied. He slung the pack over his shoulder. “And that has nothing to do with paranoia. Thee moment someone goes thinking that their victory is already inevitable and that they’ve already won is when their defeat becomes inevitable.”

“You know,” Liam drawled. “That sounds a little bit familiar to a certain individual we’re both familiar with. Have you looked in a mirror?”

“I do not believe myself to be infallible,” Teddy said. He reached down to his feet and pulled up another pack from where it had been hidden behind the desk. The enigmatic man then plopped it down in front of Liam. “I am just aware of my own abilities and have confidence in my ability to execute with specifically measured constraints.”

“That’s a lot of words to say you think you’re hot shit but don’t actually want to up and say it out of fear of pissing off some goddess of luck,” Liam drawled. He picked the pack up and peered inside it. Dry food, several daggers, and an assortment of camping gear filled its insides. He arched an eyebrow. “Any reason you’re giving me this? You realize I’ve got an equivalent in my spatial ring, right?”

“It’s about the spirit of things,” Teddy said. His pack vanished into his ring in a blur of magical energy. “Trust me. You’re going to need it. Never know when you’ll run out.”

Liam stared at Teddy. His eyes narrowed. Then he tossed it into his Spatial Ring. “What’s the point? I have no plans of going to 274-50. That planet is a graveyard for greedy fools. It’s stuffed to the brim with bloodthirsty monsters and every single powerful influence in the Infinium right now. And I don’t think your bullshit future-controlling abilities are going to be enough to keep the Starfallen from chopping me in half.”

Stargazer pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an irritated sigh. “I cannot control the future. How many times do I have to tell people this? I — for fuck’s sake. You know what I do? It’s basically just predicting a stock market. I just have insider information.”

Liam squinted. “The hell is a stock market?”

Stargazer sighed. “Okay. Take that bag of yours, for example. Why do you think I said you should take it?”

“Because you plan on somehow stranding me on a planet for a very long time without any access to resources? Which I will not appreciate, I should say.”

“No,” Stargazer said. “Because if I have prepared for a future in which that happens, the results will be far more likely to be in our favor. I don’t know if it’ll happen. I can’t see that far ahead. And even if I could, the future is constantly changing. Nobody can say for certain exactly what will happen. But you can sure as hell make some good predictions and try to account for some of what could go wrong before it does. Sure, I can influence a few things, but nobody is truly unique in this world.”

“What’s that mean?” Liam asked. He flashed Stargazer a grin. “My mom always told me I’m one of a kind.”

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Stargazer sighed. “It means I’m not the only one with the ability to fiddle with what is to come. There’s a saying back from Earth that I’ve always been a pretty big fan of. When adapted to the situation, it would roughly translate to: if everyone controls the future… then nobody does.”

Liam pondered his words for a few seconds. Then he grunted. “So, in short, you’re making excuses for why your powers don’t work when they don’t, but until then, you’ll keep controlling shit and pretending that you have less influence than you actually do?”

“I do not control,” Stargazer said stiffly. “It’s in the name, Liam. I see. If I could control the future, do you really think we’d be having this very conversation? You’d have taken the damn pack, stuffed it in your ring, and already been prepared to head out.”

Liam’s eyes lit up with realization. He nodded. “Okay. I think I’m getting it a bit more, now. You should have just led with that.”

“If I had, then the point wouldn’t have made sense,” Stargazer pointed out. “Because you wouldn’t have irritated me. And if you hadn’t irritated me, then you’d still be under the impression that you couldn’t.”

Liam blinked. His brow furrowed. “Goddamn. That’s confusing.”

“So… are you ready?”

“I haven’t agreed to go yet.”

Stargazer stared at him. At least, Liam was pretty sure the other man was staring at him. It was impossible to tell with the mask on… but it was probably a safe bet.

“You haven’t,” Stargazer repeated. “But you will.”

“Why?” Liam asked.

“Because you’re going to get very rich if you do,” Stargazer replied. “And you’re a greedy bastard.”

Liam hesitated for a moment. Then his eyes narrowed. “And why is that? There are other ways to get rich. Ones that don’t involve sticking myself into the ring with the Starfallen, among all the other little ghouls running around there right now.”

“Because 274-50 is going to undergo its Awakening Phase soon,” Stargazer said, crossing his arms behind his back. “The Starfallen have an Armageddon Call. They’re finishing preparations on their city. That’s the only thing holding them back. Once its ready, they’re going to bring all hell down… and the cities that survive the wreckage are going to become the bastions of 274-50. What kind of rewards do you think the System is going to give for a challenge like that?”

Liam’s hesitation cracked slightly. “You mean you don’t plan to go up against the Starfallen? You just want to set up in a city and defend it to get your share of the loot?”

“The only interest I have is in advancing my own goals,” Stargazer said. “The Starfallen are not my primary target. They’re just another one of the Great Families. One that happens to be quite powerful.”

After another second of hesitation, Liam let out a groan.

“Oh, fine. I have been hoping to go get a good workout in. It’s been a while since I was on a newly-formed planet. I’m not really looking forward to getting suppressed down. Are you going to pay the costs to get me in? Entry to a Tier 1 world isn’t going to come cheap.”

Even through the mask covering Stargazer’s face, Liam could feel the disdainful look that came his way.

“No. Who do you think I am? I’m not swimming in resources. I’m from 274-50. Don’t confuse my ability for something else. I’m not rich. Pay it yourself. You can afford it, you miser. It’ll be worth your time.”

“You’re a cheap-ass,” Liam informed Stargazer. “Custom is that you pay entry for hired help. What am I even going to get out of this?”

“I suppose you’ll have to find out,” Stargazer replied, striding past Liam and pulling the door open. “Up to you. Just don’t come complaining to me if you miss the show and can’t do anything but watch it from the stands. I certainly won’t be sharing with you at that point. I’m many things… but generous is not one of them.”

Stargazer stepped out of the room.

Liam hesitated for a second. 274-50 wasn’t an easy planet. Tier 1 worlds were relatively rare. There were a lot of different ways this could go wrong. But he’d been training at Empty Court for quite some time, now. He couldn’t stay here forever. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do at the moment.

Even though Stargazer was clearly screwing with him… this was probably the best option he had for the time being. At least the infuriating seer probably had some idea of where to be for the best possible rewards. That counted for something. So long as they avoided direct conflict with the Great Families and kept their focus on killing monsters and surviving the Awakening Phase, this could be pretty profitable.

But I’m not delusional. He’s clearly planning on meddling well beyond that. Given this guy’s obsession… I’d be willing to bet this has something to do with Alex.

Liam grimaced. Personal ties always made things messy. It wasn’t a good idea to get involved.

I do like rewards, though. And money. This will bring both. Maybe death, too. But that’s just the way of things. Sure, the risk is high, but so is the potential payout.

It had been many years since he’d last faced down an Awakening Event. But if he could get his hands on any part of the Subsector-Tier items that the System would inevitably give out in reward to the most resilient towns and individuals at the end of the event…

Goddamn it. I can’t turn the opportunity down. Especially not when that smug bastard is totally going to fucking cheat.

Liam’s finger twitched. Then, suppressing a curse, he strode to catch up with Stargazer.