Coordinating a mass reforging of souls was more difficult than Theo had expected. It wasn't gathering the people who wanted to move to his planet that proved to be challenging, but finding a spot in town where permanent residents wouldn't have their souls reforged for no reason. It was only thanks to Belgar's expert command of people that they could find an area large enough to take care of the remaining 133 people.

“Are we sure everything is clear this time?” Theo asked, arms folded as he looked over the gaggle of people in annoyance. “And are you sure you have enough food and space for them? I feel bad dropping so many people on your doorstep.”

“This gaggle is hardly a challenge for us. We're prepared for a few hundred thousand between the worlds. We won't have any trouble.” Belgar was preening with pride, and he deserved it. Dude worked harder than anyone else Theo knew.

"I'll begin then," Theo said, concentrating inward to summon the spell once again.

Like a cleansing tide, his flaming aura crossed over 133 people lying on the ground. The prone position was best for them, seeing as the area they eventually had to pick was an open field marked by rocks here and there. It contained enough hazards that if a person were to fall wrong, they could crack their head open even with a healer on standby. If it happened more than once, the alchemist feared they would lose someone to Death’s Gate.

"Looking good so far," Sulvan said from behind Theo. “I can't see their souls as well from here, but I don't sense anything negative happening."

Under the effects of his aura, Theo could feel the souls of everyone gathered changing ever so slightly. He raced his aura out as fast as he could, trying to give those in the front row the minimum exposure. When he had reached the end of the field of people, he drew it back and then watched as a scattering of flames remained. They weren't true flames, and he doubted they could actually catch something on fire. But that didn't mean the healer was any less concerned. Once it was safe to proceed into the open ground, they jogged together to investigate the source of the problem.

“You cooked this one for too long.” Sulvan knelt over one individual, shrugging after a moment. “I see no marks on the surface, and the inside is just as stable. It seems as though if you hold the Reforged Soul aura over any area for too long, it will create these strange flames.”

Theo passed his hand over one such flame and felt maybe the faintest of tickles. Nothing threatened to burn his skin, though. It was confusing and altogether magical. Since the spell was tied closely to properties related to heat and fire, he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Looks good to me,” he said, patting out the fire. He was surprised to see it actually work. “I guess we can just stamp the fires out.”

“Good enough for me!” Belgar said, already smothering a fire with a blanket. “No one is dead and you’ve summoned spectral fire. I’ve seen far worse reactions in alchemy. Back in the day, of course.”

Theo held back his excitement. He didn't want to admit to himself that this might have worked without a problem and kept looking for issues. More fire sprouted up among the group, starting with those who were closer to the front of the formation. If he wanted to do this again, he had to figure out a way to send his aura out quicker. When he had done it this time, he let it graze over those first few people in an attempt to ensure everyone got a nice, even baking. Now he realized that sending his aura out as quickly as it could go was the way forward.

Only when Sulvan gave the all-clear did anyone relax. Theo and Belgar found their way to a decent spot in the grass to sit. The alchemist released a heavy sigh. More than anything, he wanted to return to the mortal plane and check on Elrin's progress with the shards. He didn't know if their mission had been successful and could only assume that everything went well. But this world seemed to have a finite amount of luck, and Theo was often the one to collect it.

When people rose from the ground, the first of those who had had their souls successfully reforged, Belgar sent his people in. He had strategically placed 20 volunteers from town who would run in and take that person off to the side to explain what had happened. Theo could only imagine what this scene would look like when the transition happened in earnest. The first possibility was that nothing would happen and that their souls would naturally adjust to the environment thanks to the system. The second option was that they would begin fading immediately and would inevitably slip into the void and into Death's Gate. That was a reality he couldn't bear to see happen.

After all, why should such a weak god be in charge of something so powerful?

Theo shook away the thoughts of overthrowing gods again and instead focused on helping those who woke up. Without Belgar and his people, this would have been a nightmare. But with them, it was quite a simple process. People ran off. Some of them were eager to start their lives as bakers, miners, fishermen, or other professions they had in mind. There were those who were less directed and instead favored lingering in town, being steered around by whatever Belgar's officials told them to do. Theo couldn't help but wonder which path he would have fallen into and realized that, to an extent, he had been steered by unseen forces after his arrival.

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Sulvan fell to one side, only to be caught by an overly swift Belgar. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Sulvan said, shooting a concerned look at Theo. “If you wouldn’t mind sending me back. Hallow’s protection has left me, and the voice space is catching up with me.”

With the wave of his hand, spells sent the healer back to the mortal plane, hoping that his reverse interdiction event sent him exactly where he wanted to go. If there was one thing the alchemist prided himself on, it was his aim, and he doubted he would have missed Broken Tusk even from a distance.

Belgar clapped his hands together, breaking the silence in an instant. "That went better than expected," he said, a giddiness in his voice that was somehow contagious.

Theo couldn't help but smile to himself. Belgar was right. That went way better than he had expected. In his mind's eye, he had conjured images of those poor 133 people exploding in flames and dying. As with all things, when it came to somebody who worried far too much about nothing, the opposite had happened.

"I think we're pretty lucky," he said, eyes locked on the pale horizon. "Feels like I've been set up with the exact tools I needed to get this done, which makes me feel as though I'm being led around by a leash."

"Oh, come on," Belgar said. "Nobody likes a brooding protagonist, especially one as annoying as you.”

Theo offered Belgar a playful punch on the arm. Not hard enough to actually hurt him, but enough to say that jabs of endearment were more than welcome. "When you say we get a little something to drink," Theo asked, "I'm not sure I want to return to the mortal plane yet. Something tells me there will be an assembly of people expecting to be sent here."

Belgar laughed and was happy to lead the way back to town. "Well, you're probably right. Once people learn about something, they all pile on it like you wouldn't believe. Do you remember the roller-blading craze?" he asked.

"How could I forget it?" Theo asked. Seeing a bunch of mostly disembodied spirits roll around my planet was concerning.

"That's right. This must seem more like a pet than anything to you." He raised the planet. Since she was an infant.” Belgar scratched his chin, looking up to the sky idly as he walked. "Does that make you its parent?"

A shiver ran up Theo's spine, and he shot Belgar a severe look. "Don't say that word again. I'm not going to call an entire planet my daughter… or son, whatever it is."

Working their way through town and joking about the events that had just transpired, Theo and Belgar found their way to the cafe. The alchemist had never expected that he would desire to frequent a place such as this, but the food was seriously good. There was a severe lack of baking back in Broken Tusk, and he couldn't deny that the coffee was a welcome change from moss tea. Back on Earth, he had the synthesized instant coffee before, but he had never taken to it, not like the balanced coffee and milk drink he now enjoyed in the cafe.

Belgar shared the numbers for material production, including food, timber, stone, and ore. In a very short time, the denizens of this world had modeled themselves after the mortal plane. They wanted to be prepared in case the change brought more than just a shift in where people lived. It was entirely possible that some of the magical properties of the planet would fade. More than likely, it would operate closer to a true mortal world than anything else. That was a frightening thought that Belgar did not want to face unprepared.

"I'm just surprised you guys could get the world to agree with you in such a short amount of time," Theo said, nursing his coffee and watching the lively action of the cafe before him.

"But it wasn't just us who shaped the world," Belgar said with a nervous chuckle. "Unless you forgot about all the stuff you were doing in the early days."

"You're not suggesting I put us on this course?" Theo said with an amused chuckle.

"I mean, you said you had a perfect memory, so why don't you just think back?"

Theo did exactly that, sending his mind back to the early days of the world. It had first appeared as a cube with a small pond and a drop over the edge that led into an infinite sky. The size of the world changed, becoming larger until he was eventually given access to upgrades that made it into a spherical planet. When that happened, there were souls migrating to the planet. This was something he later learned. It was an effect of him as the holder of the Dreamwalker's Throne. He was a magnet for ghosts, like a ferryman, sent to usher everybody into the new world.

Eventually, the world grew to a point where he didn't want everybody to be reliant on the magic inside. He didn't make a decree requiring people to treat this as a real world. He instead created landscape features that made it logical for them to want to start working, and the inhabitants of this world didn't disappoint. The alchemist eventually released an amused chuckle.

"I didn’t think I had that much influence here,” Theo said. “But, when you’re right, you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right,” Belgar said. “Can’t you just pat yourself on the back for once? You don’t have to spend your life in self-imposed punishment like ‘those others.’ You can take a second, sipping coffee and chatting with your favorite demon pal.”

Theo couldn’t hide the amused smile from his face. “I’m almost there. Just another week of punishments, then I can rest. I’ll take a long vacation when this is all over. By the sea, I think.”

Belgar nodded. “I’ve always enjoyed spending time by the ocean. Something about that salt air really does it for me.” He paused for a few long beats, the smile of amusement on his face broadening. “Did I ever tell you about the time Zarali got swept away by the tide.”

Theo leaned in. “I need to know all the details.”

“So, we were running from Zagmoni assassins, and she had the bright idea to lose them on the beach,” Belgar said, pausing for a breath to laugh. “Anyway…”

The seals were all in place. Once the Shards had locked into their role as the World Anchors, everything would start. The system could finally rest, and the tide would come. At least the coffee was fresh.