The Path of Ascension

Matt was sick.

He didn’t know exactly what was wrong, but when his alarm went off for school, he barely heard it.

Sometime after that, his mother came into his room to see why he wasn’t awake yet, but he couldn’t make out her words.

He felt her shake him gently, but that just made him hurt even more, and he groaned.

As if trying to torture him, she turned on the lights, sending agonizing pain into his eyes.

He tried to burrow into the blankets to get away from the light, but his mother started screaming for his father, who was getting ready for work.

Matt could feel each of the booted footfalls in his bones, and knew that his father would be in trouble for walking in the house with his boots on.

Thankfully, his mother seemed to catch on that the light was hurting him, and the main light went off, so he was finally able to rest.

He was just about to fall back asleep when his father pulled him out of bed and pulled him into his arms, before they went running down the stairs while his father told him he needed to stay awake.

Before he knew it, they were outside, and he was enjoying the cool morning air when the flashing lights hit his eyes and seemed to set off every other pain in his body.

Trying to wiggle deeper into his father's embrace to get away from the lights, he groaned as he was pulled away and laid out on something.

Above him, people were talking, but he was too tired and hurt too much to really understand it. Before he knew it, someone was shining a light in his eyes despite him trying to pull away.

“I know it's uncomfortable, buddy, but I need you to hold still for me.” The voice was an authoritative man's voice that seemed to cut right through the pain Matt was feeling, and he forced himself to stay still, even as another light was shined into his eyes.

Once more, it felt like someone was driving nails into his eyes, and his vision seemed to split into a thousand facets, like the view from a fractured mirror.

Thankfully, it only lasted a few seconds, and then the light went out, and they were quickly in what Matt suspected was an ambulance.

Almost immediately, the overhead light was turned off, which helped alleviate most of his headache, but the light coming in from the open doors didn't help.

As he heard his parents' worried voices, a sharp pain in his arm was quickly followed up by a cool sensation that almost instantly knocked him out.

When he woke up, it was to the quiet whispering of rapid fire comments that he recognized as his parents arguing.

While they didn’t argue often, Matt knew better than to interrupt them. It would only mean that the argument was postponed until later, and then he would have to deal with the two of them pretending everything was normal.

It was better to just let them argue it out most of the time, but if they knew he was nearby, they would instantly stop.

“Clare, I didn't pick up anything or go anywhere strange. I told you a dozen times. Don't try and blame this on me.”

His mother's voice was tight and sounded hoarse, like she had been crying, which almost made Matt open his eyes. “Well, I haven’t been anywhere except for home and the bank, so I couldn’t have picked anything up. I work in a cubicle, not a graveyard.”

“Clare, I haven't been anywhere but the construction site and home. I didn’t even go to the bar last Friday cause your parents were in town. Don’t blame me. I would never hurt our son.”

Before their argument could circle back around, a quiet knock on the door stopped them, and a second later, the door opened. Matt heard a new voice say, “Matt’s vital signs are indicating that he’ll wake up in a few minutes. Do you mind if I sit here with you two while we wait?”

Matt almost smiled as he heard the tone of the doctor's voice. It was masculine, but held a tinge of humor when he said that Matt would be waking up soon.

It seemed his secret was out of the bag, at least for the doctor.

If his parents knew he had been listening to them argue, he’d get scolded for listening to adult things, but he was curious.

His mom was the first to speak. “Wonderful. Has there been any other news?”

The still unnamed doctor said, “Not yet. But I’d rather only go over this once when Matthew wakes up, if that's alright with you.”

His father immediately responded, “That's fine. Thank you.”

After counting to one hundred, Matt groaned and started to ‘wake up’.

Almost instantly, his parents were on him, and he felt exploring hands grasp his own. His mother kissed his forehead twice before the doctor coughed quietly and they backed up, giving the mystery man room to inspect Matt.

As his parents retreated, Matt got a good look at the doctor, who was a middle aged man that winked at him from the side his parents couldn't see.

Matt was barely able to repress his own smirk at their shared secret, but managed it with a herculean effort.

“My name is Healer Cox. C, O, X. Not quite as funny when it's spelled that way, is it?”

Matt didn’t understand, but his dad snorted, which seemed to be the reaction the Healer wanted.

“OK basic questions first. Just to see if you’re all there. What is your name?”

“Matt”

“How old are you?”

“Seven and a half”

“What year is it?”

“1747”

“Who is your elementary school teacher?”

“Miss Aberdeen.”

“Count back from 100 by 7’s.”

“100, 93, 86, 79, 73,...”

“72, but that’s close enough. What is 7 times 9?”

“63.”

“Smart for your age, aren’t you? I’m going to show you a list of letters. I want you to point out each letter A.”

This went on for a good while, until finally…

”List all the animals that start with the letter B.”

“Bee, Bear, Buffalo, Bison, Blue Whale, Beaver, Ba..”

“OK, that’s enough. Not sure if I should count ‘Blue Whale’. I’m going to show a picture of an animal and you tell me what it is.”

“That’s a fox. A white one!”

“Yep, cute little bugger. Well Mr. Matt, congratulations, you're neurologically intact.”

After that, the healer inspected his throat by pressing down on Matt’s tongue, but he didn’t seem to see anything noteworthy.

Once he was free, Matt asked, “What’s the difference between a Doctor and Healer?”

Healer Cox smiled. “Now, that is a good question. The main difference is that a doctor generally works with mundane medicine. Healers can do all of that, but we also have a little magic to help us as well.”

As the Healer said that, he raised a finger, and it started to glow slightly with light blue luminances.

Matt couldn’t help but gasp. “Wow! A real spell!”

Healer Cox smiled and winked at him. “Work hard, and you could do the same thing one day.” Then he pressed his glowing finger to Matt’s abdomen and stared off into space for a while.

When the man blinked back to the real world, he smiled at Matt. “Well you look nice and healthy now. The treatment was a complete success. I’ll cast [Healing Touch] so you can recover more easily from being bed bound these last few days.”

Matt shivered as what felt like goosebumps traveled from the healer’s touch all the way to his head and toes. It wasn’t pleasant, but Matt felt the need to rub the raised hairs back down on his forearms.

Before they could say anything else, there was another knock on the door.

Unlike Healer Cox, who had knocked softly, this knock was assertive and crisp.

Healer Cox rolled his eyes at the knock and said, “Well, you might as well come in. If you knock that hard, people might think you’re compensating for something.”

The woman who walked through the door looked like she was cut out from every military movie Matt had ever seen. She had a ramrod straight back with square shoulders, and the woman had a no-nonsense air about her that immediately shifted the atmosphere in the room.

She nodded to the Healer and his parents before looking at Matt with piercing silver eyes.

Matt swallowed like he had done something wrong, but knew he hadn't.

“Mr. Alexander, I need to interview you about your recent history. I am Imperial Investigator Rebecca Ignite, Tier 16, and under the jurisdiction of Count Allaway. Do you have any questions?”

Matt blinked. “A lot. What’s going on?”

Healer Cox didn’t seem amused, and in a much harsher tone than he used with Matt, said, “Some of us understand bedside manner, and try to give our patients time to acclimate and adjust before badgering them.”

Investigator Ignite didn’t look amused; she just stared at Healer Cox while they seemed to have a silent conversation.

Eventually, Healer Cox turned to Matt and said, “What happened, Matt, is that you were infected with a disease we only see from undead rifts. Which is concerning on its own, but that same disease has infected six other people. As far as we can tell, you were one of the first to be infected, so we need to get as much information as possible about who you talked to before you got sick. The others are still asleep so you are our only source of information.”

Investigator Ignite stepped in as Healer Cox took a breath. “Could you walk me through everything that happened the day before you fell ill?”

Matt nodded slowly, but couldn't think of anything odd. He had never been near a rift, though. Everyone knew they couldn't spawn in the five mile strip between the coast and land, and their city was built entirely inside that safe area.

Seeing the Investigator not taking her eyes off him, he shook his head. “Nothing really strange happened that day.”

Investigator Ignite seemed unhappy with that and said, “Matt, this is important. While we already found and destroyed the rift that had undead in it, we don't know how the disease got inside the city limits. What do you remember about that day? Start from the beginning. Every detail you can remember, I need you to tell me. We know you should have been infected the day before, so I just need you to think really hard about that day. But don't make anything up. If you don't know, just say so.”

Matt looked to his parents, who nodded, and he started reviewing his day.

“I woke up and got ready for the morning like usual—”

Investigator Ignite shook her head, interrupting him. “Matt, I need every little detail. Please, it's important.”

Trying to add every little detail he could remember, he restarted. When he mentioned his clothes, Investigator Ignite, who had been nodding along, asked. “Were the clothes clean?”

At his mother's outraged huff of air, the Investigator just shrugged a shoulder. “If they were old, it might change our time table.”

His mother nearly growled. “They were clean, thank you very much. I had just done laundry the day before, and I know his clothes very well.”

Investigator Ignite nodded for him to continue, so Matt did so.

After she once more reminded him to give more detail he added, he repeated and spelled out the entire list of words he had his mother had gone over this morning trying to annoy her but it didn’t seem to work.

“Rough, grudge, stunt, thumb, once, another, does, trouble, cousin, began.”

After describing how he went to school and the path they took, Matt shrugged. “There were a lot of people going in. I only knew Christie Miller and Rodric Sales, though. After I went to my classroom, Miss Aberdeen taught us math before giving us our spelling test.”

Matt went on to list everything else they went through that day, along with who he sat by during each period.

It was when he said he went to the bathroom that Investigator Ignite asked for more information.

“Did you see anyone in the hall when you walked there? Smell anything worse than usual? Did the water taste funny?”

Matt was going to shake his head, but paused as he remembered seeing a teacher talking to someone at one of the doors.

“Miss Harrowfall was talking to someone at the end of the hallway. They kissed before she shut the door, but the wind was blowing, and it didn’t smell good. Like old trash.”

Investigator Ignite’s eyes narrowed, and she asked, “Which door, and can you describe the man in question?”

Matt nodded. “The green door at the end of the ‘E’ hallway. The one that goes out to the back entrance next to the playground, but where we aren't supposed to go, since it’s where they bring in the food.”

“And what did he look like?”

Matt thought about it and tried to replay the moment, but nothing really came to him besides the smell… until he remembered the jacket that the man was wearing.

“The man was wearing a thick jacket with sleeves that were torn up. I remember thinking Mom would never let Dad leave the house with such a torn jacket. It was orange and brown, I think. He also had a bushy beard and had an earring in his left ear.” Matt smiled as more information came to him.

He was about to continue when Investigator Ignite's eyes narrowed to slits as she nodded once slowly.

“Do you think you can identify the man if you see him again?”

Matt chewed his lip, but nodded after a few seconds.

The image seemed pretty clear in his memory, now that he had thought about it.

Once he said that, Investigator Ignite turned to his parents and got their permission, seemed to pull a pad out of nowhere, and asked. “Can you read this outloud to me, please?”

“I hereby swear what I will say is the truth, to the best of my knowledge. If I” Matt looked up at his parents seeing the next word, as he didn’t recognize it.

His mother read it out loud for him. “Deliberately, honey. It means on purpose.”

“If I deliberately lie, I can be charged with—”

He looked up once more, but this time Investigator Ignite answered. “Perjury. It means lying after swearing to tell the truth.”

“If I deliberately lie, I can be charged with perjury.”

Investigator Ignite nodded once he finished. “If you don't know, just say so, and you won't be in any trouble, so don't worry. But if you recognize the man you saw, please just say so.”

Handing him the pad, Matt saw a man with brown hair and a beard, but the man's skin was more ruddy than the man he saw before, and the earring was the wrong shape.

Matt swiped through half a dozen people, not seeing anyone who matched the man in his memory, but Investigator Ignite didn’t seem worried, and just gave him another twelve people to look at.

This time, Matt stopped at person number four.

They weren't a perfect match, with the beard shorter and better groomed, but the earring was the same, and the look in the man's eyes was enough to make Matt certain he had the right man.

“It's this guy. I'm sure.”

Investigator Ignite caught his eyes and asked, “How sure are you Matt? This is important. Don't lie to make any of us happy.”

That made Matt question himself for a moment, but looking again, he was even more sure. “It's him.”

Investigator Ignite looked to Healer Cox, who nodded, but Matt wasn’t sure why he was important. She wasn’t asking him questions, after all.

After that, Investigator Ignite and he went through the rest of his day, but she was less picky about the small details that she had agonized over earlier.

Once he ended his recount of the day with his going to bed, she thanked him before leaving so quickly, he was pretty sure she had teleported, like from the movies.

Healer Cox patted Matt’s shoulder and said, “Well done, Matt. You did good work today. I’m sure you helped out a lot.”

Matt looked up between his parents and Healer Cox’s and asked, “Does the Investigator think it was that man who got me sick?”

Healer Cox looked to his parents, but eventually answered, “That would be my guess. Orange and brown are the Junipers colors, and the jacket sounds like their Deep County workers uniform, so he would have been outside the safe zone. As for anything beyond that, we'll have to wait for her investigation to be finished. If he did come in contact with an undead rift, and both didn’t report it and infected half a dozen people, he'll be in trouble, though.”

After Healer Cox checked a few more things, a nurse brought in food, which Matt hungrily scarfed down. Or tried to.

As the pasta hit his tongue and his brain registered the taste, he spit it back up immediately.

His parents were worried that something was wrong, but Healer Cox sighed and said. “This is unfortunate, but not unexpected. It's a side effect from one of the medicines we use to prevent the spreading of the disease. About ten percent of the recipients have an incredibly heightened sense of taste and smell for a while after. Nothing to worry about, though. It will fade in another three days or so. We’ll get some more bland food sent in.”

The Healer sent the nurse off with a flick of his finger and winked at Matt, who was trying to wipe the lingering taste off his tongue. “Sorry, kid, but if we warn you, you’re almost guaranteed to get the bad reaction.”

Matt shot him a glare but didn’t say anything.

That hadn’t been nice at all.

After Healer Cox left, Matt could hear his tone change, and he started yelling for others to start doing things, but the door shut before he could listen in. He was yelling at a door or somebody named door which Matt just found odd.

Now that they were alone, Matt’s parents rushed in close, each taking a side of the bed, and they started fussing over him.

No matter how many times Matt insisted he was fine, they kept adjusting his blankets or, in his mother's case, combing his hair.

“Oh honey, we were so worried about you.” His mother said as she pulled him into a hug.

His father looked at him with a shaky grin as he added, “I knew you would pull through, champ.”

That caused his mother to snort, but she didn’t say anything out loud despite having a smirk flirting around her lips.

Seeing that moment, things seemed to crystallize for Matt. In that moment, while things seemed so perfect, everything felt so wrong, and it was almost like he was a stranger inhabiting his body. Thankfully, the feeling passed as soon as the nurse came with the promised porridge.

With an effort of will bolstered by his parents' urging, he managed to choke down the bland food, but even that was a struggle, as the oats seemed overwhelming to his amplified senses.

Still, he managed it and quickly fell asleep with a full belly.

When he woke up, his parents were asleep on the couch and cuddling together, his father's arms wrapped around his mother.

Once more, that odd feeling of wrongness overwhelmed Matt, but it passed quickly as he shook it off.

He was stuck in the hospital for another two days as they observed him, but they finally let him go home on the third day of his being awake.

Things returned to normal for the three of them for the next two weeks, once his parents finally stopped worrying about him so much, and he was able to return to his normal routine of after school activities.

The sense of normalcy lasted until two weeks after the incident of the undead rift.

A massive news broadcast went out as Investigator Ignite made an announcement.

She had found in her investigation of the undead rift that the local Baron family, the Junipers, had their personnel creating rifts recklessly close to the inhabited cities. This had led to two cities being outright attacked before the undead sickness had alerted Imperial authorities.

The Junipers had both covered up the earlier incidents and done nothing to rectify the problem, which led to their house head being arrested publicly, while their family was stripped of their noble title.

It shocked the entire city, but Matt’s family in particular, as they had met the woman personally.

Not long after that, they were brought in with a collective lawsuit against the noble house and the Empire itself.

Matt found it weird that the Empire had represented them and everyone else with a Tier 25 lawyer to sue themselves, but when his parents tried to explain it to him, it just went over his head.

It took nearly five months, but eventually, the verdict was ruled that they and everyone else affected was eligible for both financial compensation and a public apology. The latter of which was given to them personally by Duke Fulton, who had been the Junipers’ many times removed liege.

Matt hated the entire thing, as his parents had forced him into a suit, and he had been forced to stand around all day during the ceremony, but they insisted he needed to be there with them.

After that, things seemed to return to normal. Matt went back to school and was about to enter the fourth grade when his parents sat him down, and his father asked. “Matt, how would you feel about a little brother or sister?”

Matt shrugged and looked at the door. He had hoped to join the other kids from his old class in a game of tag, but his parents were asking him weird questions instead.

There was that odd feeling of something not being right, but since this was the third time he had experienced it, it was easy to push away. He quickly said. “It’s fine, I guess. Can I go play with everyone else now?”

His mother put her hand over his fathers and said, “Sure, buddy. Just be careful and remember to be back before four. That means you need to leave at three forty five. Set your watch to it. You might not realize this now, but things will change.”

Doing so, and showing his parents he had done so, he ran out and went about his day.

***

Seven months later, just as his parents warned him, things did indeed change.

He was sitting in the waiting room with his grandparents, who had come in from the neighboring planet in the waiting room, while trying to get rid of the feeling that he didn’t know them.

It was odd because he did know them. He had only met them three times, but that was more than enough for him to remember them. He couldn't shake the feeling they weren’t supposed to be there though and should have died years before this.

That feeling was dispelled when his father came out and said. “All done and no issues. We have a baby girl!”

He seemed tired but excited, and Matt thought about what he said.

He now had a baby sister.

It seemed so odd, and that odd distorted feeling came back stronger than ever. It seemed like the world would collapse if he pushed that feeling.

That feeling remained until his father led the three of them to the room where his mother had been moved to, and in his mother's arms, he saw her.

All he could see on the large head was the wispy white hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to shock his soul as his mother presented the baby to everyone.

“Everyone, we'd like to introduce you to Aster Alexander. The newest member of our family.”

Once more, Matt felt the world seem to go out of sync, and this all seemed wrong, but he shoved that feeling away.

This was perfect.

And how could something so perfect be wrong? It couldn’t, obviously.

From his earlier indifference, Matt was suddenly infatuated with his little sister, and they were inseparable.

Deep inside himself, he knew he was her protector and shield. Nothing could hurt her because he would be there for her.

At the same time, he also started to help out around the house more.

With a newborn, things became hectic as they both finished their move to a larger apartment and settled in with Aster as their new addition.

Matt was pretty sure his parents didn’t sleep for more than a few hours a night, given how much Aster howled. It was like she was a fox rather than a human with how her wails could pierce everyone's eardrums. Being both high pitched and loud wasn’t a fair combination for anyone around her.

That phase only lasted a few weeks, thankfully, but as Matt’s father went back to work the following month, things got a little harder.

Matt asked why they didn’t just use the money they had gotten from the lawsuit to live off of as the stipend seemed like a lot, but his mother instantly shut that down, saying it was his money.

He tried to say they should use it as he didn’t need money, but his mother snapped at him that it wasn’t for him to decide.

He slunk away after being yelled at, to which she apologized for saying she was tired and didn’t mean to yell at him.

Wanting to help, he asked. “Why don't you take a nap. I can watch Aster while you do. And she's napping, so it's not like it's hard.”

“Are you sure, sweety?”

“Yeah mom. I have my homework to do, and she can sit on the table. If anything happens, I’ll wake you up, I promise.”

It seemed like a weight was lifted off her as she thanked him and then promptly fell asleep. Shutting the door, Matt went back out to the kitchen and did his homework until his father came home a few hours later.

His father looked surprised when Matt shushed him as he entered, but as his father looked around, Matt whispered, “Mom needed a nap, so I'm watching Aster. I even did my homework. See!”

Kissing Matt on the top of his head, he said, “Thanks, buddy. Your mom is working hard taking care of Aster.”

He leaned in and kissed Aster on the head as well as he picked her out of the carrier and sniffed her diaper.

“At least you didn’t make a stinky. What a good girl.”

Aster giggled at their father, and then as if right on cue, she laughed and let out a loud fart.

Matt laughed at their father's surprised face, then ran away as the smell hit him.

“I swear there is an undead rift inside you sweetie. That is rank.”

When she was cleaned up and the smell gone, he returned to the living room, where his father was on the floor playing with Aster and a kids show played quietly on the screen behind them.

His father patted the ground next to Matt and asked, “What do you want to do for dinner, buddy? I figured we can do something fun to surprise your mother.”

Matt perked up. After he had recovered from the awful medicine he’d been given for his illness, he’d found himself appreciating cooking and the food he ate far more than before.

Something he had never given a second thought to had become a hobby of his.

“We should make stuffed peppers. That's one of mom's favorites. She always says it takes too much work to make, and there are tomatoes we can make for me and you. We can do it for her!”

Matt’s father laughed and said. “That’s a good idea. Can you get started, or do you need help?”

Matt jumped up and raced to the kitchen, not wanting to let his father do everything.

It took him a little bit, but he had the rice cooking and all the ingredients out when his father walked in with Aster in her standing toy thing.

“You ready for my help now, buddy?”

Matt nodded, and his father helped him cut the onion and other ingredients while browning the ground beef, while Aster watched from the table where she had been placed in the stand up bouncer.

They were finishing up putting the stuffed peppers in the oven when his mother came out and asked, “What happened here? Surely I’m dreaming if we're eating stuffed peppers and I didn’t make them.”

Matt stuck out his tongue at his mother and said, “Dad and I made stuffed tomatoes for ourselves.”

His mother ruffled his hair as she kissed his father and wrinkled her nose. “Someone didn’t shower when they got home. And while I appreciate you not waking me up, everyone now needs to get out of the kitchen, and some of you need to shower.”

With a pointed look at his father, his mother started to clean up the few dishes they hadn’t yet gotten to.

When Matt tried to help, he was shooed away. “You cooked, so I’ll clean up. Don’t look at me like that, Matthew.”

Matt pouted his way to the living room with his mother and Aster’s laughter following him out.

From that day forward, he started to help with the cooking more and more as he grew older, and his parents slowly let him use more of the kitchen appliances and utensils without supervision.

It all came to a head, though, when he was thirteen, and his mother asked. “What's our ETA on dinner, Matt?”

Matt shook his head. “I need to recut the onions. They were too uneven for the—”

He was interrupted as his mother cut in after looking at his cutting board. “Matt, I know all the chefs on the show stress that, but we are simple people who need simple food. The onions are good enough. We just want to eat some time before dark.”

Matt froze as her words seemed to strike a chord with him.

Seeing his expression, his mother apologized, “I’m sorry, Matt, that was harsh, but if you want to take over cooking, we need to eat at a normal time. If you need some help, I’m—”

Matt shook his head. “No, that's not it. You are right. Home cooking is home cooking.”

What he didn’t say was he now had the beginnings of a plan stewing in his mind.

As they were finishing his dinner, he said, “I’d like to get a part time job as a cook. There is a part time gig being offered at this place called Benny’s that I could work at a little bit. It would look really good for when I try to get into a culinary school.”

What he didn’t say was that the place was on the outskirts of the city near the forest, where rifts might start appearing. That would end the argument right then and there because of the danger.

His mother shook her head vehemently. “Absolutely not. You’re only thirteen, Matt. And you don't need money.”

Aster also interjected. “No bwig browther. We play on the weekends!”

Matt rubbed the still white hair of his little sister and said, “Even if I get a job, that won't change. And if I get a job as a chef, I can bring you all kinds of good food.”

Hearing that, Aster immediately changed her tune. “Bwig browther should get a job!”

His mother mock glared at him and his sister, which sent them into a giggling fit before turning to his father, looking for backup that she didn’t get.

“Tell him he's too young, Blake.”

His father shook his head. “I think it's a good idea, actually. Not the job part, but the experience part. He clearly has the passion and drive to be a great chef. Why don’t we let him try it out?”

That seemed to surprise his mother, and her face turned from a mock glare to a real one as she said, “Kids, go play in the living room.”

Aster giggled as she slipped out of her chair. “Daddy’s in trouble!”

As she pattered out of the room, Matt tried to stay. “I thin—”

“Matthew! Out. Now.”

Hearing the tone of warning in his mother's voice, he went out and threw himself into the couch, where Aster then jumped on his legs, trying to get him to play.

Instead, he tried to listen in to his parent’s conversation, but one of them had turned on the water as they cleaned the dishes. That, combined with the clanking of the plates and utensils, made it impossible to hear what they were saying, but it turned out he didn’t need to.

After everything was clean, his parents called him into the kitchen, and he could see the defeated look on his mother's face.

“Your Father and I have decided to allow you to take an apprenticeship with a reputable restaurant that isn’t a shit hole at the edge of town.”

Those words seemed to be dragged out of his mother, and the glare she shot him told him she had looked up Benny’s.

His father seemed much more at ease as he said, “You will awaken in a year, so it's not too early for a part time job, and we know someone. Do you remember your Mother’s coworker, Janet? Her father lives here and has a small restaurant. I think he once owned a restaurant on a higher Tier planet. We talked to them, and he’s willing to give you a shot as a part time helper on the weekends.”

Hearing that, Matt jumped up and hugged his parents before racing around the kitchen.

That weekend couldn't come fast enough, and he eagerly awaited the next Saturday, where his parents woke him up and took the bus with him to the far side of town.

The restaurant was clearly new and called ‘Antonio’s’. Matt felt excitement as a short man opened the door and shook his parents hands before looking Matt up and down.

“They said you are thirteen? What kind of thirteen year old is that damn tall?”

Matt froze as he had no idea how to respond, but the man laughed and stuck out his hand. “Antonio, like the giant sign outside says. And you must be Matthew.”

Returning the hand shake, Matt was surprised at how firm the man's hand was. It was like his hand was made out of steel rather than flesh and blood. Matt also understood that if the man squeezed, his hand wouldn’t have survived, so he was glad he hadn’t tried to out squeeze the other man like some of his classmates liked to do.

Antonio led them back to the kitchen, where he threw Matt an apron and gave his parents and Aster a tour before politely yet firmly kicking them out.

Once they were alone, the man pulled a sack of potatoes out of a storage room and dropped them next to Matt.

“First, we start with cutting. Tonight, I'm serving roasted potatoes as a side to a tenderloin. That means we have more than a few potatoes to cook, and we need to prep them. Prep happens every morning before we cook. Do you understand?”

Matt nodded, to which Antonio sighed. “Kid, do you want to be a home cook who whips things together for themselves and a few guests, or do you want to be a proper cook?”

Matt shook his head. “I want to be a chef. A real one. Own my own restaurant someday.”

Antonio nodded. “Then you need to understand. Most of this you would learn in culinary school or, like here, working for a professional. I’m old and laid back nowadays, but in a proper kitchen in a big city on a high Tier planet, you’d get tossed out on your ear for not responding ‘Yes, Chef’. It might sound weird and military, but a good kitchen is like a military unit. I’ve seen and worked in restaurants where the hands were forced to stand at parade rest when not actively working. I'm not that strict, but I do expect a level of discipline in anyone working for me, and especially from someone who wants to ‘make it’. Do you understand?”

Matt wasn’t sure he actually understood everything, but nodded and said, “Yes, chef.”

That earned him a wink, and Antonio started showing him how to cut the potatoes into cubes the right size, and what to do with the leftovers that would be turned into mashed potatoes for tomorrow's dinner.

When Matt had a basic understanding of how to properly cube a potato, Antonio left Matt to practice while he started doing his own prep work. Matt had to stop and stare when he saw the man work. His hands were like something out of a movie as they blurred with his speed.

Even as his hands worked without pause, Antonio looked up and grinned. “With that expression, I assume you’ve never seen a Tier 10 work? If you think this is impressive, let me tell you. It ain't nothing. I worked for a Tier 30 chef on Old Rubarthan, and they would have all the prep done in about fifteen seconds. My paltry strength is nothing in comparison. And don't worry. A lot of this speed is from repetition. You do this long enough, and one day you’ll look back and wonder how you could ever be so slow.”

He paused his blurring blade and said, “Here’s some advice I once got that meant a lot to me. Going fast isn't about speed. It's about consistency. ‘Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.’ So if you want to be fast, you need to slow down.”

Matt mulled that over for a moment and nodded. It made sense, and he concentrated on his pile of potatoes, making each cut as perfect as possible, not worrying about trying to keep up.

As he deliberately slowed down, Matt found each cut a little easier, and before long, he fell into a rhythm.

For the rest of the morning and afternoon, he was shown how to prepare each ingredient for that night's dinner with Antonio. Around two, the rest of the small staff filtered in, and Matt met them all and was paired with the potager chef Martinez, who made the soups for Antonio’s.

Thankfully, the man was only Tier 3, and Matt could follow and actually help him with his job that evening.

It was nearly ten when they finished up the last order; Matt was wiped out like never before, but he felt good.

Even as he almost fell asleep on the bus home, he couldn't wait to do it again.

***

Matt waited outside the school and looked for a dot of white hair in the crowd of children.

The kids had been steaming out for a few minutes now, and his sister was still not out causing him to get annoyed.

He wasn’t worried, as he knew Aster's classroom was on the far side of the school, and it would take her a while to walk through the twisting halls of the building. No, he was annoyed, as he knew his sister all to well and she was probably chatting with some of her friends instead of walking.

Minutes later, he was proven right as a bob of white hair walked out of the school surrounded by five other kids.

Aster’s little pack of friends finally separated to their respective bus or guardian, and he saw the moment Aster noticed he was there picking her up instead of one of their parents.

Normally, it was their mother, as her job at the bank gave her a bit more flexibility, but his father always picked her up once a week. Though, his day was always random depending on what they were doing that week in the construction of the new skyscraper.

She rushed over and slammed into his leg before grabbing onto his hand that was reaching to ruffle her hair.

Holding his hand, she jumped up and down. “Oh! Why are you picking me up today? Can we go get ice cream?”

He saw the moment the thought came to her as she blurted out. “Aren't you supposed to be at work? Did you get fired for flirting with Leah again?”

Seeing the little monster was more concerned with getting ice cream rather than seeing him, he pushed past her futile defense and ruffled her hair.

“No, short stack. Mom and dad had to leave the city quickly, as Aunt Katya went into labor early. And unless you want to get on a six hour train and then spend the next two or more days helping them get settled in, I figured you might want to stay back.”

Aunt Katya was one of their mother's friends from the bank, and she had moved to the neighboring city for a promotion a few years ago. Despite that, she remained close with their mother.

She had gotten married and pregnant in short order, but her labor wasn’t supposed to happen for another week at the earliest, and her husband was on the neighboring planet, bringing his parents over.

Bad timing on the teleportation platforms meant there was no way he was getting back to be there for Katya, so his parents had called out of work earlier that afternoon and headed over to assist her as much as anyone that wasn’t a medical professional could.

Aster looked up at him as she started swinging their hands before observing. “I think you didn’t want to go, and used me as an excuse.”

Matt shamelessly nodded. “Yup! But at the same time, I know you didn’t want to go either. So really, we’re helping each other out here.”

Aster nodded back at that before saying with an evil grin, “Sure, but you owe me ice cream.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “We’re going to Mark’s Market, but we are not buying ice cream.”

Aster immediately went limp and started dragging her feet in protest.

Matt, now Tier 2, rolled his eyes and picked her off the ground where she dangled.

Aster giggled before pulling herself up and biting his hand.

It hurt.

Despite that, he pretended it didn’t and teased, “I don’t feel a thing with my higher Tier.”

That caused her to bite down harder and he had to hide a wince.

It worked.

In fact it worked too well, as Aster changed from biting his hand to licking it and he jerked to get her off him.

Landing on the ground with a giggle, the little terror laughed as Matt looked at the small half circle of teeth marks on his hand.

Wiping the saliva and indentations off, he groused, “I swear you got replaced at the hospital with a dog.”

Aster giggled even harder even as she dodged a patch of water on the sidewalk.

“I'm not a dog, I'd be a wolf!”

She growled for effect while Matt ignored her.

“As I was trying to say before you so rudely bit me, we aren't buying ice cream. We’re going to make it.”

Aster, who had started to pout once more, perked up and grabbed his hand, trying to race ahead.

Sadly for her, she was a little girl, and Matt was a six foot tall Tier 2.

“Come on! Hurry up, you slime! I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Matt pulled the little monster back to his side so they didn’t run over an older man and said, “First, we’re going to make dinner, which you need to eat all of if you want dessert.”

Aster wilted a little but peered up at him with puppy eyes. “What are we having?”

Matt grinned. “I thought it be fun to make stuffed shells together.”

Aster seemed to mull that offer over before nodding. “Ok but I want to pick out the ice cream flavors.”

Seeing Aster being all cute and trying to get her way, he jabbed her. “Hey, maybe seeing Aunt Katya having a kid will inspire mom and dad to get pregnant again.”

Aster shouted as if the idea was personally offensive. “No way! They can’t do that. If they do, I’ll be the middle child! And I’ve seen enough movies to know how that goes. I’ll become neglected and forgotten about!”

Seeing he had gotten back at her a little, Matt eased off the teasing and reassured her that they would always love her, even if they did eventually get a younger sibling.

What followed was a disaster of epic proportions, as the two of them trashed their tiny kitchen, making dinner and ice cream with two dozen different flavors ranging from various fruits to candy bars crushed in.

His little sister had somehow managed to get some of the fruit ice cream in her hair, which had dyed the usually white hair a motley assortment of the rainbow.

Burping, she rubbed her extended tummy and said, “Ok, maybe I can have enough ice cream in one night. I can’t tell if I need to fart or vomit.”

Knowing that meant it was time for them to finish up, he extended a hand to his sister who was laying on the tile floor.

“Ok, time to get up and in the shower.”

Aster pouted. “I can't move.”

“You’ll feel better with a nice warm shower.”

“The cold tiles feel better than a warm shower.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Ok short stack, you can lay on the floor all you want, but I’m going to mop the floor whether you’re on it or not.”

That got her up and he escorted her to the bathroom in case of any accidents, and once he heard her turn on the shower, he started to put dishes into the dishwasher.

Normally, he would have cleaned as he went, but he had been more concerned with letting Aster have a fun time, which meant he had at least three loads of dishes to do.

He wasn’t even done getting the first sinkfull ready for the next cycle when he heard the shower turn off.

As a now clean Aster came out, he washed his hands and joined her on the couch for a little time to watch something together.

It was well past her bedtime, but the two of them rarely got to spend time together alone like this, so he was willing to push it a bit.

And it was a Friday, so she didn’t even have school tomorrow and could sleep in.

Even then she was nodding off before the first commercial break so Matt prodded her into brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed.

After brushing their teeth together, Matt sent the tuckered out Aster to bed as he cleaned the apartment from top to bottom as best he could without running the vacuum.

His parents weren’t exactly on a vacation, and the last thing he would want to come home to was a messy house.

Just as he was dozing off on the couch with a cooking show rerun playing quietly, his pad pinged and he rubbed his eyes to clear them to find his mother’s profile calling him.

Yawning, he answered but sent the volume to next to nothing.

“Hey mom, how is it going with Aunt Katya?”

His mother looked tired but smiled. “She’s still in labor, but we wanted to check in on the two of you. How is your sister?”

Despite being tired, Matt didn’t fall for the trap. “Aster is already asleep. If you really want I can wake her up—”

“No, no that's fine.” His mother said, but he knew she was happy he had her settled in before ten.

Cracking open her door, Matt turned the camera on the pad to show Aster sprawled across her bed, clutching one of the stuffed animals that was nearly her size.

Quietly closing the door, Matt saw his father was now on the screen and said hello.

“Hey kiddo, thanks for looking after your sister. We really do appreciate it. We know you had that date planned for tonight.”

Matt dropped back into the couch and waved his father off. “I enjoy spending time with Aster. We made stuffed shells and then made some ice cream. It was fun.”

Matt could hear both his parents sigh and knew their pain. The kid would live off ice cream if no one made her eat normal food.

“Don't worry, I made her eat two stuffed shells and three scoops of mixed veggies before we even touched the ice cream. Really we spent more time making a mess of the kitchen than eating.”

Without being asked, he raised the pad so they could see the now clean kitchen and finished up. “We’re fine here. What about you two and Aunt Katya? I assume everything is ok? Isn’t ten hours of labor, like, long?”

Matt's mother snorted and shook her head. “It's not that long for a first time mother, but she's mostly fine, just tired and wanting it to be over. We just wanted to check in and say thank you.”

Rolling his eyes, Matt said, “It's not like she's in diapers. We’ll be fine. Antonio gave me the weekend off, and if you guys aren't back by Monday, he said he’ll make sure I’m out of there in time to pick up Aster from school. I’m thinking we’ll go to the new water park tomorrow or something fun. You guys worry about everything up there and we'll send pictures of our plans.”

Matt’s father yawned over his mothers shoulder, and that set Matt off, which then set his mother off. Once all three of them finished yawning, Matt waved them off.

“You two have fun and update me when everything is over. Take your time on our account.”

Saying their goodbyes, Matt flopped into his bed after showering himself and heard something crack underneath him.

Rolling away, he heard a crinkle and sighed.

Aster must have been drawing on his bed, again, and once he pulled back the covers, he saw the snapped colored pencils and crumpled sheets of paper.

Too tired to get mad, he scooped it all up and dropped it to the floor to deal with in the morning.

Really, Aster needed to learn to leave his bedroom alone. He didn’t care that it had better light for drawing after school, and that he had been spending more nights at Leah’s apartment, that didn’t mean it wasn’t his room still.

He also knew that breaking her colored pencils, intentional or not, would go over like a punch to the nose tomorrow.

Rolling over, he decided that was a problem for tomorrow Matt.

And screw that guy.

***

Matt ducked as Chef Abdul threw a pot across the kitchen.

“Carlos, if you ruin the scallions one more time tonight I swear by the Emperor's balls I will cut your fingers off. Test me!”

Matt looked to Eleanor Eskar, his good friend and sort of rival, and they both shared the same expression.

Chef Abdul wasn’t a bad man or boss. In fact, he was normally easy going and relaxed, but word had come in that there were Phoenix Hearth inspectors on the planet, and he was killing himself with stress.

And to be fair, it was a massive event for Chef Abdul.

It was the first time he was the owner and head chef of a restaurant that both rated a Red Feather, and had the possibility of actually getting one. If he did succeed in getting his first Red Feather, he would be one of the youngest chefs to earn the honor, and it would catapult him into instant stardom.

That turned the normally easy going chef into a monster. Some people just didn’t handle stress well, and Chef Abdul was one of them.

Matt kept that thought to himself and kept his spoon moving as he stirred the sauce in front of him, pouring in his Talent in a slow but steady stream.

Right as the sauce started to turn golden, he pulled it off the fire and slid it down to Sous Chef Annabelle.

She scooped the pan up and carefully drizzled the sauce over the plate in front of her, before plating the fish in a careful pyramid.

She then slid that down to Chef Abdul, who inspected it and then put it on the tray and said to the waiter standing by, “Third course for table seventeen.”

At the same time, another waiter, Alex, came into the kitchen and said, “Order for two ladies at table fifteen. They would like the fish and duck combo, no pepper in the glaze, extra pepper in the fry. Two orders of duck with lard instead of butter, one for each.”

The fact that Alex had read the order out said two things. One, the guests were suspicious, and might be Phoenix Hearth inspectors, and two, they had done at least one test the inspector group was known for, such as putting a utensil on the floor or tipping over a mostly empty glass of wine to test the front end service.

Everyone froze for a moment, but not for long, as Chef Abdul read the ticket back out to them and they all repeated their stations orders.

Personally, Matt was cursing inside, as one of those modifications was on his glaze.

The glaze wasn’t anything crazy, but with his Talent, he could bring the most out of the flavors, and freshly ground black pepper was one of those core ingredients.

Eleanor, his friend, was also panicking. As she was the chef rotisseur, she now needed to cook their duck in lard instead of butter, which would completely change the cooking temperature and time needed for the bird. That on its own would be hard, but when added with the fact that the guests were suspected to be Phoenix Hearth inspectors, it drove everyone's nerves to eleven.

Everyone but Sous Chef Annabelle, who was cool as she had been last month, before the rumors of Phoenix Hearth inspectors drove everyone else mad. She had good reason at least, as she had worked for a two time Red Feather recipient, and had worked through the inspection the second time.

Matt breathed out twice as he listened to Chef Abdul’s proposed modifications for the glaze to work without the black pepper, and got to work.

He was finishing up and had a lull in his orders when Eleanor started to get overwhelmed, and he stepped in to take over her less important dishes.

Not that any order would leave without being perfect, but most of her attention was and needed to be on the two custom orders. And Matt, while not a chef rotisseur, had enough experience in the position to fill in during a pinch.

He was just returning to his own station when his AI pinged half a dozen times from his sister.

Brushing the messages aside for the time being, he buckled down and focused on his work.

Phoenix Hearth inspectors didn’t just look at their own dishes. After all, their habits were known and well recorded, which meant they judged a restaurant by all the dishes that came out of the door through some stealthy uses of [Remote Taste]. More than one Phoenix Hearth inspectors had been served a perfect meal, only to deny the Red Feather because the other dishes that night came out sub par.

A Red Feather was a status symbol known across the Empire, and wasn’t given out lighty. Helen of Helen’s Hearth had rescinded more than one Red Feather if the standards of the head chef or restaurant slipped from excellence.

Finally Chef Abdul said the magic words. “The last ticket is closed. The kitchen is done for the night.” He took a breath before slowly letting it out as everyone else slumped or otherwise relaxed. “Thanks for all the hard work everyone. Whether we get the Red Feather or not, I'm proud of each and every one of the dishes that left our hands tonight.”

Matt slumped to the floor and was joined by Eleanor. “I’m so fucking beat tonight. Carry me home Matt.”

Matt didn’t open his eyes and stretched out his legs. “You're two Tiers higher than me. I’m going to have you carry me home tonight.”

Eleanor chuckled and slapped his arm. “Thanks for the cover earlier. I was going under there for a minute.”

“All good. All good.”

As he finally relaxed, Matt remembered the messages from his sister that had come through.

Jerking to his feet, he slammed his head onto the table and dropped to the ground, clutching his head.

That also had everyone's attention firmly on him, and Marco, the entremetier, asked, “What’s the big commotion? I don't have the energy to be that excited.”

Matt tried to wave him off, but he had already gathered everyone's attention, and Sous Chef Annabelle said, “Well now you have to share.”

Shrugging, as it was good news, Matt said. “My sister just signed an art deal with a Tier 40 children's channel on King Rusty’s capital planet. She’s getting to write two seasons of a new show, due to some of the art that she has done. They are even basing it off one of her characters.”

That took everyone aback, and even Chef Abdul pulled out an expensive bottle of Tier 15 wine and opened it up for the crew in celebration.

Ecstatic for his sister, Matt sent her a picture of the entire team congratulating her and paid the extra fee to have it sent express.

She had worked so hard, and it finally paid off.

Now it was just time for his own pay off.

***

Matt’s knife was a blur as he cut nearly a hundred onions into perfect cubes when the door opened. He expected sous chef Amanda or chef Jacque, but instead, a woman in a business suit walked in.

Stopping his blade mid-stroke, Matt said, “Ma'am I don't think you should be back here. The kitchen isn’t open for another three hours. The hotel staff will be more than happy to get you something from the buffet kitchen if you can't wait, but you can’t be back here.”

The woman smiled slightly and stuck out her hand. “I don't think Jacque will mind if I come in. I own the place, after all.”

Matt straightened up and apologized, and he checked her appearance with his AI. “Sorry Ma’am I didn’t realize you were Ms. Telkia.”

Whipping his hands off on a nearby rag, he shook the proffered hand and noted that the woman was definitely a Tier 38. Even as a Tier 12, his hand felt like soft puddy when compared to her own.

“No worries. It's good that you can stand up to any nosey guest who thinks they own the place. I just got out of my delve and saw that Jacque hired a new employee.”

She must have seen something in his face as she waved a hand. “I’m not questioning his hiring of you, but I like to meet all my staff. Normally we would have met during the interview process, but I was probably elbow deep in a monster at the time.”

Ms. Telkia led Matt out to the dining room and to a table that was off to the side, but well lit by the window, where she pulled out a black leather binder of all things.

“Your resume is impressive, Mr. Alexander, I must say. Top of your class at a respectable Tier 15 culinary school, and you came in second place at a Young Chef contest not long after that.”

She flipped one of the pages and showed a picture of himself and his friend Eleanor, who had taken the first place prize of that same tournament.

“You and Miss Eskar seem to have a rivalry. You both competed in the same tournament and seem to have a nearly equal chance of beating the other.”

As she paused and looked at him, Matt explained, “Eleanor and I are good friends and push each other. We like to keep each other on our toes, but it’s all in good fun. We’re even roommates whenever we’re on the same planet.”

Ms. Telkia nodded. “Yes, so my reports say. Having a friendly rival is a good thing, and it explains some of your achievements. Only one hundred and seventy years old with an impressive record behind you, and glowing recommendations from all your previous employers. Working for Chef Abdul when he earned his Feather says a lot about you as well. Can I ask why you chose to work for Jacque? We are a high Tier restaurant with a prodigious reputation, but after your last win, I see Burnets was courting you for a poissonier with a fast track to sous chef.”

Matt smiled his most charming smile to cover his awkwardness. “My Concept. I felt Chef Jacque resonated best with my Concept. My Phrase— ‘Good Food Takes Time’— allows me to enhance the effects of ingredients. An example would be anything that increases Strength will be more effective at doing so. Chef Jacque’s entire reputation is built around ‘making—’ he made air quotes '—simple recipes and elevating them to something exquisite’. And I felt that my Concept and Talent are well suited to that mindset. He’s also been a massive help with my professional progress, and has me floating around positions to get a feel for his style and all the positions of the kitchen, so I can step into sous chef sooner rather than later.”

Ms. Telkia nodded and changed the subject to something he expected earlier. “I hear you have a Talent for making things taste better. Can you demonstrate that for me please?”

Matt nodded and asked, “I can go get something whipped up in just a few minutes, if you like.”

Ms. Telkia shook her head. “I hear you can do it with anything. Can you demonstrate with this?”

With a wave of her hand, a store bought bar of chocolate appeared on the table.

Scooping the bar up, Matt snapped off two squares of chocolate and handed one to Ms. Telkia without doing anything. “If you could try this? At risk of overexplaining, my Talent allows me to imbue mana into food to enhance its properties, most notably taste.”

Sending 20 mana into the square of chocolate, he handed it to Ms. Telkia, who sniffed it with her eyes closed before gently biting off the corner.

As she worked her jaw, he continued, “It has seriously diminishing returns past a certain point— ten thousand mana is only about twice as effective as one thousand mana. Also the mana I put in fades over time and faster if put into a more processed product. So, that means the more involved I am in the process, or earlier in the process, the better the overall result for less mana. That's why I do all the prep for the kitchen. I can do lots of more interesting things, like making essence from monster meat easier to digest.”

Ms. Telkia ran her tongue over her teeth as he finished, before taking another bite of the square he hadn’t used his Talent on.

She didn’t frown, but she did pull out a bottle of water and took a large swig before nibbling on the other square once more.

Seeing she enjoyed the effect of his Talent, he enhanced the rest of the bar and slid it to her with a grin.

“Everything is properly licensed, and I have the certifications verifying my Talent is an alchemy talent, not a mental one. It’s an actual, physical change that works similarly to an innate [Enhance Reagent] or [Enhance Reaction] skill, but more efficient at a lower mana cost, though more specialized. It only works on food, for example. I’m not an alchemist, just a cook, ma’am.”

Ms. Telkia opened her eyes after finishing off the single square, waving away the rest of the bar.

“That is a useful Talent, Mr. Alexander.” She turned to the side, and Matt followed her gaze to see Chef Jacque walking out of the kitchen.

“Ahh it is good to see you, Ms. Telkia. It has been too long with your last delve. How have you been.”

For the first time, Ms. Telkia dropped some of her business persona and seemed genuinely happy to see Chef Jacque.

“I'm good. Better than good, now that I’ve met our newest employee. I saw business was up seven percent, but even his little demonstration with a bar of chocolate has me sold.”

Chef Jacque laughed and patted Matt on the shoulder before sliding into the chair next to him, forming a triangle with Matt and Ms. Telkia.

Ms. Telkia looked to Chef Jacque and said, “I hadn’t intended to eat in tonight, but after that demonstration, I simply must. Can you fit me in?”

Chef Jacque laughed. “I already told Alison to prepare for your party when I heard you were out. We have the private room set aside for you, and we can easily work a dozen extra tickets in.”

“Wonderful news Jacque, wonderful news.” As Ms. Telkia said that, she looked to Matt, “When is the next Young Chef tournament being held?”

Chef Jacque waved his hand. “Matt has outgrown them. I’m instead thinking we send him to represent us in the Tier 15 competition that the Duke holds every decade.”

Matt was startled, as that was the first he had heard of it, but Ms. Telkia nodded as if it made perfect sense.

“That's a good idea. It gives us more prep time, and we can abuse his Talent more.”

She looked to Matt as she explained, “The Tier 15 competition is different. While you cook there, you can bring your own ingredients. If I'm right, Jacque plans to use your Talent on growing every ingredient you would use to maximize its use.” She paused. “It will be expensive, but worth it if you can do well.”

As if out of nowhere, she changed the topic and asked, “Are your parents still alive?”

It took Matt a moment to register the sudden shift in conversation, but he nodded. “Yes, they are Tier 14. Mom has her Concept, but hasn’t advanced, as she’s waiting for Dad. I have a little sister, Aster, who is a successful artist-mage and got them carried to Tier 14.” Wanting to show off his sister a little he added. “She writes for a Tier 40 children's channel on King Rusty’s capital.”

Ms. Telkia nodded as if what he said was within her expectations.

“If you win the competition or even do well, there is a Shard of Reality in the Duke's personal vault. You said your father doesn't have a Concept yet, and this can solve that problem. Are you interested?”

Matt's mouth went dry, but he swallowed and nodded. “Very. But it seems expensive. I can't afford the cost to do what you said about growing the crops and such.”

Ms. Telkia waved her hand. “You wear my logo on your uniform when you compete, and that’s all the compensation I need. At my level of business, that kind of publicity is worth its weight in Tier 50 mana stones.”

After hashing out a few more details, they shook on it, and Matt walked back into the kitchen to finish prepping the food the kitchen would use that night.

Right as he was about to enter the swinging door, Ms. Telkia called out, “Also, I heard a rumor that Helen of Helen's Hearth will be there, if you need another reason to try for first.”

Hearing that, Matt froze as the world tilted on its side.

He had… he had met Helen. He should be calling her Aunt Helen. But that didn’t make sense, she was a legend. He’d never met her before. But…

He hadn’t experienced that since he was a child, but this time, he wasn’t a child, and knew this was something to explore. His Concept was still nascent, but he’d been taught the exercises. His Willpower flooded out from him, powerful and… Endless.

The world around him didn’t seem to notice, but Matt the chef was no more. Or perhaps, Matt the chef was far more, far more than he’d ever dreamed of, and had given way to Matt the Ascender.

His body didn’t seem to notice, though, and carried on talking and preparing food, unaware of the Folded Reflection-reality it was inhabiting.

Matt pushed himself into the controlling seat of the body, and using the AI, sent a message to his parents about how much he loved them and wished they would be at the competition he would take part in.

Then, before he could dwell on them being alive anymore than he was, he let himself drift back into the Folded Reflection life. Now that he had broken free, there was no risk of him losing his Concept, but he wanted to live his life as far as Minkalla would allow him.

Five years later, he went to the competition and won using his Talent and skills, and as Ms. Telkia had theorized, received the attention of the Duke. After a long ceremony, he was handed the Shard of Reality, which Matt was able to utilize to give his father a Concept.

Seeing his parents in person while he was in control felt… It felt like everything.

Matt had to go to the bathroom twice and cry his eyes out. Once when he was able to hug the two of them, and another time when he parents just gazed into each other's eyes and said how now that they were both Tier 15, they had eternity together.

It was just too perfect of a moment, and he wasn’t able to control himself.

Aster even caused him to cry a few times.

While she was and always would be part of his family in the real world, it felt extra special to have her been born as his literal sister.

He would be able to see her in the real world, so this life ending wasn’t such a devastating moment for him as losing his parents was, it just felt all too real to have her in this life as his sister.

It had been perfect. And would continue to be so until he hit Tier 15.

Now that he was in control, he could delay the life a little by prolonging the time until he hit Tier 15, but Matt didn’t choose to do so. Nor did he choose to rush to Tier 15 and end the life either.

Instead, he took a back seat during the remaining two hundred years while Chef Matt lived his life.

The only times he took over and interfered directly was when he talked to his parents.

Those moments were just too precious for him to pass up, and he ensured that Chef Matt met up with them at least once a year, just so he could bask in their presence just a moment longer.

Eventually, it came to an end, as all good things did.

Chef Matt was going to make Tiering up to Tier 15 a small affair of little note, but Matt took control and hosted a party with his friends and family so he could have one last moment with them before Folded Reflection life ended.

After saying goodbye one last time, he Tiered up to Tier 15 and felt the world starting to fade away.

Just as he felt the life ending, he pulled his parents and sister into one last hug as they faded away, wanting to savor the feel of them for even a moment longer.

***

Matt sat in the living room and looked at the empty tea cup in his hands, and started to cry uncontrollably.

His parents had been alive, and it had been fantastic.

Aster had even been his actual sister.

He just sat there and processed the life and its repercussions while it started to fade.

He could remember everything just as well as when he had been in the life, but now that he was out, it was like a dream he could remember. Clear, but obviously not real.

But he wished it was.

How he wished it was.

It had been a good life. Everything he could have ever asked for.

Idyllic.

Cleaning himself up, Matt sat and processed everything he had been through.

He couldn’t say he’d trade lives, but seeing his parents alive and well had been fantastic. If they were alive now, he knew they would be just as proud of him and his accomplishments as they had been in the Folded Reflection life.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough.

Seeing them happy together, even in a Minkalla alternative life, healed something deep inside him.

With a smile, he contemplated which tea to drink next.