The Achievement Junkie

"Save that for pillow talk, Jack. I'm just glad to see that the replication was successful!" Daruun reached out and hugged both Jacks, sighing, "I can't wait to see what you do…"

Jack opened his mouth to reply but a telepathic message stopped him.

'Jack, Lyrun wants to talk with you.'

Replying to Moranti, Jack stated, 'I'll be there in a minute. Let me finish something really quick.'

'No, Lyrun wants to schedule a time to talk,' added Moranti. 'He wants to know if you'll be able to speak with him in thirty minutes.'

'Sure, that's easy.'

'Great. I can't wait to see what you two come up with!'

"So, are you excited to finally get involved with Lyrun's plans?" asked Daruun, catching the women off guard.

"Then Lyrun should be the new ally you talked about?" Jack replied with a question and a smile.

"I'll allow you four to get back to business. Don't worry about visiting me unless you're desperate for advice or there's an unforeseen emergency. My seventh body has already entered a meeting with Silas and the other two district leaders of the Resolute Enterprise," added Daruun. "I'll be heading back home so I won't be nearby to help you."

"If anything comes up, then we'll let you know. I think we already understand enough to make things work for now. Thanks, Gramps!" Jack hugged Daruun again, saying goodbye.

Daruun hugged each of his granddaughters as well, elated to see them desirous to grow stronger alongside Jack. After finishing his goodbyes, Daruun parted with a final wave as he entered the spatial gate.

Jack let his wives get a closer look at his second body while they had a few minutes alone. Eliza was the first to feel up the new body, verifying that it was indeed a second Jack in every way. Maura blushed as she felt the new body's shoulders and arms. Daliea, on the other hand, kept the touching to a minimum but was blushing more than anyone.

Soon, Jack made his second body became invisible and took his wives back to the guild. Jack was going to need to hold a meeting and explain the concept of the void to the others, excluding Sterfen's origin for the time being. But that would be after his auditory meeting with Lyrun.

Maura hurried home to prepare lunch with Daliea and Eliza left to visit Argyle, leaving Jack alone to pay a visit to Moranti in their conference room.

They patiently waited until the precise moment a half-hour had passed. At that moment, Moranti chuckled and passed the contact crystal to Jack.

"Hello?"

"Jack, it's nice to speak with you again. I hope you're doing well after your encounter with Halmut."

Chuckling, Jack replied, "Don't worry about that. I'm doing fine. Mind telling me why you're breaking ranks to contact me?"

"Getting right to the point, huh…" Lyrun casually sighed. "There are three of us legendary gods that seek refuge with the Leisure Guild. I'm reaching out in hope of becoming allies private so that we can soon become allies in public."

"I agree that we should be allies. It's something that Moranti, Sterfen, and Daruun are very adamant about."

"Then how can we make it happen?" asked Lyrun. "What would you suggest?"

Jack answered, "There are a few things that are on our immediate to-do list. One is to get the final enchantment key from Kylon."

"You know that she has it? Might I ask how?"

"Daruun. But I've also verified it myself," Jack chuckled, proud to have his system.

"Fair… Are you asking for us to retrieve it for you?"

"Would that be possible?" asked Jack.

Sighing, Lyrun stated, "Sorry, Jack, but I doubt we could pull that off without getting caught. And if we get caught, then we'll lose our contracts and our lives."

"Who's we?"

"Perchet and Oosam are also seeking refuge with the Leisure Guild. But we won't be able to get you the enchantment key. At least, we can't get it ourselves. We may be able to help coordinate its retrieval."

"So you'll keep us informed about the moves of the Legendary Gods and you'll look for the best opportunity to steal the key?" Jack questioned.

"That much is simple to do. Consider it done." Lyrun added, "Just know that Oosam's contract can kill him. Even if halmut learns of mine and Perchet's actions, there's still a chance that Moranti and Sterfen could help us escape with our lives but that's not true for Oosam. The only way to free him is to destroy the contract."

"Hmm… I don't think getting it is impossible but that makes things much more difficult…"

"Also, I have a request for Trodar," continued Lyrun. "I want you to visit Korten and discuss their integration into Trodar."

"That--"

"Please, Jack. If not now, then there's a chance that they'll become Halmut's pawns yet again. I'd much rather see them fight for their freedom than see them fight for the perverted justice that Halmut seeks for himself."

"Well… It's easier than getting the contracts," stated Jack.

"Please, Jack. I'm sure Eedaj would wish the best for them as well. You should bring him with you, the sooner the better."

"Hmmmmm… Give me a moment to think…" Jack sighed.

Silence passed for more than five minutes as Lyrun patiently waited for Jack.

"So… I think I have an idea about how to do this," Jack spoke up. "It will probably be riskier than you'd want, but I think it's our best shot at getting the key and getting you three freed from your contracts."

"At the same time?" asked Lyrun.

"Yup, at the same time."

The Elf God sat in his silenced, sealed room, tapping his fingers on his staff. "How certain is success?"

"I'd say… So long as a few key things happen… more than eighty percent."

A moment passed as Lyrun mumbled into the contact crystal as if consulting those around him. Finally, Lyrun responded, "We're in."

"Then I'll let me explain. Ask questions the moment you have them."