Chapter 438: The Crimson Ascension

Luke would return to Maine and stay with his family for a while, but he was already planning his way back to the New World. There was too much left unfinished here. He needed to level his Witch class, and now that the level cap had lifted, he could finally continue progressing both his first class and his profession.

And then there were Charlie and Angie. Their lives in modern society simply weren’t possible. Not in any normal sense. Angie had gray, stone textured skin and wings sprouting from her back. Charlie was a skeleton. There was no universe in which either of them could walk down a street on Earth and get a regular job.

When the group reached the teleportation hub, the place looked strangely familiar. It reminded Luke of a massive subway station… or maybe a shopping mall. A sprawling building with tall ceilings, echoing halls, and crowds of people from every imaginable background moving in every direction.

“Those are crossers,” Mason told them. “Or diplomats. Or just tourists coming to sightsee in the New World.”

“Crossers?” Jack asked.

“Diplomats?” Evangeline echoed.

Luke had questions too, but he was already starting to feel like he was interrogating the poor guy.

“Crossers are what we call people who bring goods from the New World into modern society,” Mason explained. “For example, someone on Earth who runs a meat company. Where can they get meat? Among several possible sources, one option is the New World. Same for mining companies; some of them might buy ore that’s extracted here.”

“And diplomats are people in government positions who maintain relations with the kingdoms in the New World,” Eleanor added. Her father probably fit into that category, though she didn’t talk much about her family.”

Luke nodded slowly, absorbing everything. The world, both worlds, were even more tangled than he had imagined.

***

They stood in a long line. The teleportation site was buried deep underground.

“I can only go this far,” Mason said. “And from there you’ll all be splitting up anyway.”

Ahead of them were several doors staffed by officials, each marked with the flag of a different country.

“I hate goodbyes, but at least we’ll see each other again soon,” Evangeline said.

“I’m not sure I’ll show up to the reunion,” Mason admitted. “But I’ll be here in the New World waiting for you if you ever want to visit.”

He shook each of their hands in turn.

“We’ll meet again eventually,” Eleanor said.

With that, Mason walked off, leaving only Luke, Jack, Eleanor, and Evangeline in the snaking line.

“I guess it’s our turn to say goodbye,” Evangeline said. “Even though we’re heading to the same country, it looks like we’re going to different ‘train platforms’.”

She abruptly pulled all three of them into a tight hug, catching Luke and the others off guard.

“I could lie and say I’ll miss our time in that tutorial hellhole, but I won’t,” she said. “So make sure you visit me in my mansion.”

“And come visit me in Washington,” Eleanor added.

“No, we won’t,” Evangeline shot back. “You live on the other side of the country. Too far.”

“Hey… I was having a sentimental moment,” Eleanor muttered.

Jack’s eyes were already watery. “Thank you for everything, friends.”

“Great, the little guy is crying. Now I feel awkward,” Evangeline sighed.

After a few more exchanges, Luke said his goodbyes. It wasn’t final, with any luck they’d meet again soon, and even if they didn’t, they all had phones now. A few messages would be enough to kill whatever nostalgia came their way.

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Once they handed over their forms, different staff members came to collect them. It turned out their paperwork marked them as VIPs, so they had priority. Even though teleportation was instantaneous, the line moved slowly; the entire world used that single facility. And there were inspections, document checks, scans to ensure no wanted criminal was being smuggled across borders via magic.

Luke was escorted down a hallway.

“As a VIP, you’re entitled to a waiting suite,” the staff member explained. “You also have access to complimentary snacks.”

“I just want to get to Maine, preferably as fast as humanly possible,” he joked.

He was taken to a room where other VIPs waited. Some were reading books. One man had a newspaper open, a local one, full of news from the region.

‘Dude, can you believe I’m nervous too?’ Artemis chimed in inside his mind. ‘I’m about to experience your primitive modern society. It’s like going on a safari.’

Luke tuned out her rambling, which had already descended into wanting to watch spicy HD videos without ads and insisting he take her to a movie theater.

I’m absolutely not taking this lunatic to a movie theater.

After living with her endless commentary for so long, he’d gotten better at closing off his thoughts.