Chapter 665: We

Benn stared at Grey for a long moment, his fingers tapping against the head of his cane while nobody else around the table seemed willing to speak first. Grey had expected an argument, maybe Sabrina yelling at him for even considering something this dangerous, but his grandfather only leaned back in his chair and let out a slow breath.

"So what happens if you don’t do it?"

Grey’s lips pressed into a line. "That’s the fucking problem. The Genesis Council is already moving. Amunet thinks they’re looking for a way to use Earth to get at me, and right now this place doesn’t have enough standing in the Genesis System to stop them from doing whatever political bullshit they can justify."

Benn nodded toward the dark window, where the occasional red scan of another patrol machine still passed through the distance. "I have no idea what a Genesis Council is, but... you either move first or let them decide what Earth becomes."

"Pretty much."

"Then you don’t really have a choice, brat. Sitting here until someone else puts a collar around your neck is still a choice, it’s just the coward’s version."

"That’s surprisingly wise for a man whose dick apparently still works through sheer force of delusion."

"Keep talking and you’ll find out."

James coughed into his fist while Duke openly laughed, and Grey grinned for half a second before pushing away from the table. The answer didn’t solve anything, but it matched the conclusion Grey had already been circling around. The Genesis Council wanted leverage, and Grey had no intention of handing them an entire fucking planet full of it.

"I need to talk to Amunet first. She’s the one who warned me about this, and she understands what the Genesis Council can actually do better than I do."

Sabrina’s expression shifted immediately at the name, but before Grey could say anything she stood. "We’re coming."

"We?"

"Yes, we."

Grey looked around the table, only to find James and Duke already standing while Lilac calmly reached for her jacket. Benn pushed himself upright with his cane last, and the collective lack of hesitation made Grey wonder why he’d bothered asking.

"Fine. If you all die horribly, I’m telling everyone this was your idea."

The crimson fissure hadn’t disappeared. It still hung over the road where Kronos had shattered, thinner than before but stable enough that Grey could feel the temporal current on the other side. Grey extended four chains from his rings and wrapped them loosely around the group, then caught Sabrina by the wrist with his free hand.

"Nobody lets go, and if you see yourself from ten minutes ago or some shit, don’t touch yourself. You’ll explode."

Duke’s eyes widened. "Can that happen?"

"No idea."

"Grey."

He laughed and stepped through.

The world stretched around them, the road pulling into a thin ribbon before darkness swallowed everything, but Grey’s chains remained fixed around each of them. Recursive held onto the path he’d already travelled while Branching adjusted whenever the current split, and several uncomfortable seconds later stone appeared beneath Grey’s feet.

Amunet stood near the crimson crack overlooking the sea of chaos. She spun at their arrival, relief flashing across her face before fury buried it.

"You fucking asshole."

"Missed you too, princess."

Amunet crossed the distance and punched him in the chest. "I told you to take me with you."

"And I heroically ignored you for your own safety."

"You ran into an unknown breach after the Genesis System explicitly warned you that death inside might not even be recognized."

"When you say it like that, it sounds irresponsible, instead of what it actually is. You know. Valiant, grand, sexy."

"You are fucking irresponsible!"

Amunet looked ready to hit him again before her attention shifted past his shoulder. Grey followed her gaze and remembered that he’d brought half his childhood into an ancient ruin floating above chaos without introducing anyone.

"Right. Social skills. Old man is Benn, then James, Duke, Lilac, and the tall angry one is Sabrina."

Sabrina’s eyes had never left Amunet. The tension wasn’t subtle, especially after the broadcasts had dug through Grey and Amunet’s history, which made what Sabrina did next considerably more surprising.

She stepped forward. "Thank you."

Amunet blinked. "For what?"

"For helping him. I’ve watched enough to know you’ve saved his ass more than once, and considering how determined he is to die whenever someone points a camera at him, I’m guessing it wasn’t easy."

Grey raised an eyebrow. "What are you thanking this backstabber for?"

Both women turned toward him with a glare.

Grey paused. "Wow. Alright. That’s creepy. There are two of you now."

James snorted, but Sabrina looked back toward Amunet. "Anyway, thank you."

Amunet hesitated before nodding. "He’s made returning the favor difficult enough."

"Hey."

"She’s right," Lilac added.

Grey shook his head. "Wonderful. The women have unionized. Can we get back to the Genesis Council potentially using my entire planet as a hostage?"

Amunet’s expression sharpened. "What happened?"

Grey explained the prompt, the authority the Genesis System had apparently recognized in him, and where he’d stopped before coming back.

Amunet listened without interrupting. "Then this is probably the opening we needed."

"Probably isn’t my favorite word."

"If the Genesis Council establishes recognized interests here before Earth has its own standing, they can shape the terms of whatever comes next. Once those things exist inside the Genesis System, removing them becomes much harder."

Grey looked toward his grandfather.

Benn gave him a small nod. "Sometimes you’ve just gotta piss on your own grave."

Grey grinned.

—

[World Integration Request Pending]

[Would you like to initiate World Integration?]

[YES/DELAY]

—

Grey pressed YES.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the temple shook.

Dust spilled from the ceiling as the crimson crack over the sea of chaos began to pulse, and Grey spread his chains around everyone behind him while notifications assembled across his vision.

—

[WORLD INTEGRATION INITIATED]

[Locating World Earth...]

[Establishing Genesis Jurisdiction...]

[Registering Native Population...]

[ERROR]

—

Grey’s eyes narrowed.

—

[Earth-Origin Population Detected Outside World Earth]

[Recognized Sovereign Claims Detected]

[Multiple External Jurisdictions Identified]

[Normal World Integration Cannot Proceed]

—

Amunet’s face changed.

Grey slowly turned toward her.

"What the fuck does that mean?"