Even more armies gather at our mighty Anti-Mage fortress, beckoned from nearby by my otherworldly speech. Yet more are already converging on Central Spire, where Biden and his troops have made themselves an occupation capital.

Our final siege is imminent. And yet, before the attack, I have a few things left to address.

One of them is why Rare, Julie, and I are currently headed into the magical item cache.

“I saw Mestopholees,” I tell them. “She had a large group of monsters and system users gathered around her.”

“That was her enforcers, tasked with hunting down and destroying dissidents,” Rare says. “She surrendered to the U.S. just as I betrayed them.”

“You two can never be on the same side, can you?”

“It appears not. But she and I are allies once more. Our relationship has reset to zero and expanded from there as two of the three leaders of the Sleeper Slayer Coalition. We await your order, and then we will unleash all our hidden allies.”

“Wait, two of three? Who is the third?”

They tilt their head to the side. “Malia, of course. Haven’t you met her y—Oh, yes.” Suddenly a darkness falls over them.

Julie, mostly silent thus far, gazes at Rare with her unknowable yet piercing eyes. Concern, suspicion, surprise?

Rare simply sighs, then whispers, “Malia and Master Keitou have gone on an important, and most likely fatal mission of the utmost importance to our plan.”

“They... What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s top-secret. We know there are likely American spies among us, in the lower ranks. We can’t allow such a thing to get out.”

“A poor excuse for not letting me know,” I say.

“What is the plan?” Julie asks.

Rare shakes their head. “They did not even tell me. As of now, we are operating as if Malia is still here, and will continue to do so until the time is right. Some signal.”

“So I may never see her again?” I ask. “Malia? Or Master Keitou, even?”

“Most likely not.”

The mood is dampened beyond belief.

We enter the magical item cache room and find an absolute hoard of treasures.

I feel like a Maw Dragon the instant I see it all. I want to throw it all off the tables and fall asleep in a pile of items.

However, I resist the urge and continue to act like a mortal.

We come upon a pile of Sorting Scepters, the same ones that Rare mentioned to me before.

“We can use these to unlock both your true powers,” they say. “But first, Eryk, I have something even more important to show you.”

They wave their hands around and activate a magic spell. A secret door appears and opens itself automatically—the true wonders of magic—only to reveal a single pedestal.

And my disembodied ghost floating atop it.

Sleeping, eternally as it has done since the U.S. breached this world.

“I look very handsome,” he says.

“You always have.”

Julie tilts her head to the side. “Is this normal? Do I have a ghost on Mystix too?”

“No,” I tell her. “Because of my powers as Amaranth, leader of the Slayers, were too great and too cruel, my system was sealed and body treated it as if it died. So when I died for real, somehow it left a ghost behind. It was a very convoluted series of events I do not fully understand, but at this point in my life I have simply accepted that for many things I never will.”

“A good way to go about things,” Rare says. “Knowledge can poison the mind, when consumed in excess.”

“Now, to do what is most important.”

I reach my hand towards the ghost, and...

Woosh.

The ghost immediately absorbs itself into my body.

I shake.

Quiver.

My system HUD glitches out, then back in.

And now, in my character profile menu, I see something very important.

The [Demigod] class, Rank A, listed alongside my already existing [Adventurer] class, Rank A.

I am now double-classed. Most likely the first known instance in the entire history of this world.

I didn’t even need a Sorting Scepter for it.

And my stats explode as well.

Strength

507 (+100)

Speed

112 (+88)

Agility

49 (+7)

Wisdom

166 (+65)

Defense

528 (+392)

Charm

184 (+5)

Viscosity

139 (+30)

Deftness

91 (+11)

Charisma

69 (+4)

Manners

6 (-4)

Power

392 (+155)

Sturdiness

163 (+22)

It was all so easy, so simple. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it, really.

Rare examines me like they are suddenly even more proud of me than ever.

“Well?” I ask. “How do I look?”

“Exactly the same,” Julie says. “And yet your aura’s completely different.”

“Well then, I shall harness this aura to save the multiverse.”

And now we go to the Sorting Scepters, which will prove and even greater boon to us, I suspect.