The sound of an engine stalled to a stop, shuddering a few times before going silent. Next came a door slamming closed, followed by the sound of hard-soled shoes echoing across the concrete. A key turned in a lock next, and then the door opened. Loosening her tie, she stepped into the house as a wave of exhaustion washed over her.

“Honey, I’m home!” Tresk shouted.

From deep within the bowels of the home came a familiar voice. “I’m in the living room,” it shouted back. A smile spread across Tresk’s face. Another day was done, and they were waiting for her. She walked through the home, popping off her dust shoes and hanging her jacket by the door. The sensation of the shag carpet under her toes was amazing. She found her family in the living room, sitting on the floor and playing a board game.

“Jimmy!” Tresk shouted, kneeling and holding our arms open. The purple-pink marshaling sprang from the ground, rushing over to embrace her. “How was your day?”

“Fine,” Jimmy said after a long pause. “Mom is very bad at Chutes and Ladders.”

“I let him win,” mouthed Maribel, still sitting on the ground and smiling up at her.

The days might have been exhausting, but they were good. Tresk had settled into a familiar routine, but she couldn’t deny there was something niggling at the back of her mind, trying to grab her attention. She had ignored it for the past 15 years and planned to continue doing so until she died. After all, tonight was family night, which meant going out for dinner to a place that Maribel would likely pick and enjoying themselves. What was the point of working so hard if they didn’t occasionally play?

As always, it took Jimmy forever to get ready. Maribel had already gotten dressed and was ready to head out the door, but the young marshal dragged his feet. It was about thirty minutes before they were in the car, heading to their favorite Italian place just down the street. Finding seating was easy enough, and they were soon all staring at the menu, waiting for the server to come back and take their order.

“I’m having pasketti,” Jimmy proclaimed.

“Are we ready to order?” the server asked.

Tresk looked up, her brows kitting. They had come to Big Tony’s Pastaria once a week for the past two months, but she had never seen the server. Almost everyone was a marshaling in town, but this guy was a dronon. His black hair was slicked back, and his horns gracefully traced the shape of his skull.

“Do I know you?” Tresk asked, her eyes darting to his nametag. It read, ‘Theo.’

“I’m new here,” Theo said, offering a soft smile and waving at young Jimmy. “Can I get you started with something to drink?”

“Oh, I’ll have the Ascendant Potion of Impossible Dexterity, please,” Maribel said, preening. She gave Tresk a knowing look. “We can afford it.”

“I would like a Greater Potion of Aura,” Jimmy said.

“Such a kid’s choice…” Maribel said, shaking her head.

“And for you?” Theo asked.

“Uh…” Tresk trailed off, blinking rapidly. Something was wrong. That sensation she had felt at the back of her mind was growing. Although she couldn’t place it, she could feel it. Looking down at the menu, she found something that caught her eye. “Guess I’ll have the Greater Venom.”

“Tresk!” Maribel said, elbowing her with a scandalized look. “You’re watching your weight, aren’t you? Remember what the doctor said.”

Tresk grumbled. “Fine. Just a Lesser Healing Potion for me.”

“I’ll be back in a moment,” Theo said, bowing his head slightly and departing.

“What’s wrong with you tonight?” Maribel asked, placing a comforting hand on Tresk’s shoulder. “You seem more distant. You love Big Tony’s, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do,” Tresk said, trying to shake away that thought, but it wouldn’t dislodge. “Just… Something feels weird.”

“We can go home if you want,” Maribel said. “There’s no reason to stick around if you’re feeling odd.”

But, there was no time to think. Theo was coming around the corner, holding a tray that held their orders. Of course, the portion that Maribel had ordered was glowing and bubbling within the tall vial. He placed them down on the table one by one and then stood at attention as though waiting to take their order.

“You really have a dangerously creative mind, Tresk,” Theo said, looking down at her and shaking his head. “But I think it’s time to get out of here.”

“Do you want us to leave Big Tony’s?” Tresk asked. “But I was going to order the spicy noodles.”

“Come on,” Theo said, extending his hand.

Tresk wasn’t sure why, but she trusted this guy. She had just met him, yet he radiated an aura that felt extremely familiar to her. She clenched her jaw while looking at her family before glancing back at the drone before her. She took his hand, and suddenly the world swirled. Big Tony’s collapsed into light and sound, and soon she found herself startling awake back in the real world.

***

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“What the HELL was that!?” Tresk shouted, looking around. “Where’s Jimmy!? Where’s my wife!?”

Theo slapped his face, shaking his head as he groaned. “What happened?” he asked. “Did you fall into another realm, or was that just some figment of your imagination?”

“This isn’t good,” Tresk said, shaking her head. “I’ve got to be back to work in the morning. Where am I?”

Searching Tresk’s memories caused Theo’s mouth to fall open. He scanned through them, finding about 28 years of memories that extended back to her birth in some facsimile of Earth. After a few minutes of scanning, he deduced that she had just had the most intense acid trip ever experienced, perhaps in the history of forever. The one silver lining was that the memories seemed to be partitioned, as though her mind was rejecting them as false.

“Let me take a look at that,” Theo said, kneeling near the bed and placing his hands on her head. She swatted them away at first, but eventually relented.

Theo figured that since he could create barriers in the real world, he could section these memories off. It was something he doubted he could do for anybody outside of their bond, but with it, he could seal them away or at least make it so this wasn’t part of her personality. It was effectively brainwashing that would delete the past 28 years of her life. There were some moral quandaries to consider, but he didn’t care. His power flared, and his aura extended, extinguishing the vestiges of a fake family.

Tresk blinked a few times, looking around with wide eyes. “That… was an experience.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Theo said.

“How long was I out?”

“About thirty seconds,” Theo said. “So, you had a wife? And a kid?”

“Yeah, Jimmy,” Tresk said. Theo could feel her probing those memories in her mind. “He was a good kid. Kinda dumb, but you know.”

“Well, we don’t have to do it again if you like,” Theo said. “We can postpone the next one until you’ve recovered.”

“Are you kidding? That was awesome!” Tresk shouted, jumping up from the bed and pumping her fist. “I want another family. Do you think it will be called Jimmy again?”

“You're psychotic. You want to go through that again?”

“Hells yeah I do! Wait, let me share the message I got…”

A message appeared in Theo’s vision. He gawked at it.

[Unknown Potion Consumed]

Calculating effects… Unknown effects… Finding nearest…

Dexterity attribute increased by 400.

You may not consume another of these potions until the cycle resets.

This permanent effect can only be granted once. 4 more Celestial Potions of Dexterity may be consumed in this sector. Reset in 20 cycles.

“400?” Theo asked, his mouth still hanging open. “I thought we’d get another 50 points…”

“Yeah, you thought wrong,” Tresk said. “We’re gonna catapult our dream team into SPACE!”

If one wanted to become overpowered, they only had to accept the idea of tripping out for about 28 years. Theo wasn’t sure why he didn’t experience something similar when he had consumed the Intelligence version of the potion, but Tresk’s mind was much weaker. Perhaps his enhanced willpower saw him through. Whatever the case, Tresk was happy to take another and he wouldn’t stop her.

“I’ll pull you out like last time,” Theo said, handing over the Strength potion.

“Oh, that was really you in Big Tony’s Pastaria?” Tresk asked.

“I took over the body at the end,” Theo said, pushing the potion further toward Tresk. “Drink up.”

Tresk drank the potion and fell back asleep right away. According to her memories, this would be the one she ran into problems with. She wouldn’t be able to go over her potential. Although it would still be a massive boost for her, she would be missing out on a couple of points from the potion. He probed her mind every two seconds, looking for an opening. It wouldn’t allow him to pull her out quickly, so he had to wait a bit. Eventually, he found an opening and inserted himself into some jet ski adventure she was on. This time, she was single and without family, somewhere in the Caribbean, having the time of her life.

“Don’t harsh my buzz, man! Where am I?” Tresk asked.

Theo slapped his face again. This time, he planned to put a seal on her mind before she went in. He patched up her brain, hoping there was no permanent damage. Her old personality returned immediately.

“That’s trippy,” Tresk said, rubbing her forehead.

“I’ll seal your mind off before you go in this time. What message did you get?”

“Here, let me share,” Tresk said, and the message flared in his vision.

[Unknown Potion Consumed]

Calculating effects… Unknown effects… Finding nearest…

Strength attribute increased by 280. Remaining points lost due to potential.

You may not consume another of these potions until the cycle resets.

This permanent effect can only be granted once. 4 more Celestial Potions of Strength may be consumed in this sector. Reset in 20 cycles.

“As expected,” Theo said, placing the seal on her brain. “Ready for the next round?”

“Let’s go.”

As expected, Tresk got to live a few more lives. She got the full 400 points for Vigor, only 180 points for Intelligence, and 250 for Wisdom. Gaining any permanent attributes was a boon, so she wasn’t about to complain. The lingering effects of those weird memories she held was a problem, though. Theo had a plan.

“Two ideas,” Theo said. “We can reforge your mind, or we can go visit Glantheir.”

“Think he’ll let us in?” Tresk asked.

Theo wasn’t planning on knocking, but realized that would be the polite thing. Silver had allowed them in her realm, so why couldn’t old Hallow do the same? The alchemist weighed his options, and decided it would be best if they did things the right way. Heading outside, they found most of Boar Hollow playing with Alex.

“We’ll come back to get you, okay?” Theo asked, patting the massive creature on the head.

“This is fine. I am having fun,” she said.

A moment later, Theo and Tresk were standing in the system’s meeting area. The crystalline figure flared to light in the center of the circle, making an annoyed groaning sound.

“You two are annoying,” she declared.

“Come on. We’ve been good lately,” Theo said.

“I guess! But not really. Whatever, let me call him.”

A moment later, Hallow appeared in his spot in the circle. He had a smile on his face. “Ah, someone needs a favor.”

“I broke my brain,” Tresk said, tapping her skull. “Can you un-break it?”

Hallow’s gaze shifted to the system, who nodded. “Finally. I can show you the new Halls of Healing.”

Theo smiled as they were drawn into the god’s power. He didn’t expect this realm to look much different, but he was excited to get some time in the heavens. The time dilation in there was pretty good. And the visit would be perfect if Hallow had some nice tea.