“Your ability defines the general parameters,” Shade said. “Within those parameters, the choice of form is mine to make. In the astral space, for example, I could transform into anything suited to jungle travel, even if something that I know and you do not. I chose the mantis beetles, but could have easily taken the form of a large serpent or an arboreal climber.”
“My original intention was to try portalling directly to Sydney to look for my uncle,” Jason said. “Since I have you, I think I might head back to my hometown and check on the family. The question is whether I portal straight there or catch a ride. What kind of mount is appropriate to a hospital environment? You’re not going to turn into an ambulance, are you?”
Three of Shade’s bodies emerged from Jason shadow and melded together into the form of a sleek, black two-door sports car.
“Strewth,” Jason said. “Shade, you look like a space ninja’s car. Is this an actual car that exists somewhere?”
“So long as I adhere to the basic properties of the conveyance ascribed by your ability, I am able to conform to my own sense of design aesthetics,” Shade the car said. “I have drawn heavily from another world I have visited for this form. Does it meet with your approval?”
“Does the super-sweet talking car meet with my approval? Shade, you may be the single greatest thing on this planet. That definitely answers whether I’m going to ride or try a portal.”
The car transformed to a cloud of shadows that returned to Jason’s own shadow.
“That’s going to make parking easy,” Jason said. “I think it’s time to get out of here.”
From his inventory, he retrieved his magic umbrella. It could shield him from water when he was completely submerged, so it would be more than up to the task of handling the rain. He leapt through the window as he opened the umbrella, his shadow cloak appearing around him as he drifted to the ground like Mary Poppins.
He followed a concrete path through the overgrown grass of the hospital grounds to the street, not bothering to hold the umbrella that floated dutifully behind him. He popped a bronze spirit coin into his mouth to normalise his recovery rates as he gently expanded his aura. Not sensing any other auras within it, he had Shade once again take the form of a car. Slipping inside, he settled luxuriously into the soft, shadow-stuff seats.
The interior was opulent, in Shade’s usual colourations of black and white. Looking over the dash, he noticed it appeared to have the full functionality of a car.
“Shade, is that a sound system?” Jason asked.
“I adhere to the parameters of the form I have taken. That includes something called Bluetooth functionality, which does not appear to involve teeth or the colour blue.”
“Nice. Can you drive yourself?”
“I can.”
“Maybe I should have had you turn into an ’81 Trans Am.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s for making a shadowy flight into the world of a man who does not exist.”
“That has not alleviated my confusion.”
“Do you have a turbo boost button?”
“I do not.”
“Oh well,” Jason said. “Let’s hit the road.”
“I need to work on my driving skills,” Jason said as he drove through the rain. It was a short half-hour to his hometown of Casselton Beach, the wet conditions only adding a few minutes.
There was nothing wrong with Jason’s abilities as a driver, if his only concerns were driving like a normal person. His problem was the speed and power he could feel within Shade’s car form. Despite it making very little noise, Jason could feel the potential, itching to be unleashed. It was a hunting cat, poised and eager to pounce. The potential of it taunted Jason’s ordinary driving skills, which would definitely not be able to handle them.
“I am perfectly capable of moving effectively and efficiently at speed without requiring input from a driver,” Shade said.
“Says the guy with no turbo boost button,” Jason said.
“I do not see how that is relevant,” Shade said.
“Maybe I could find a driving skill book. No, that’s pretty unlikely.”
Jason had used some skill books to give him basic proficiency with alchemy and artifice. Anything he made would be laughable to an expert like Jory, but he could make some basic consumable items, if he could find the materials. They would be of low quality, but a mediocre healing potion was still better than no healing potion.
The impressive features of Shade’s car form included projecting a heads-up display on the windscreen. That gave him his first taste of hard information regarding his return, including the date and time.
“It’s my sister’s birthday next week,” Jason said. “How did you even get this information? Do you have wi-fi or something?”
“I will remind you that it is your ability that is responsible for my shape-changing,” Shade said. “Do you have wi-fi?”
Jason thought back to his old quest ability and its power to sense things from the world around him that he otherwise could not.
“I actually might,” Jason said thoughtfully. “Magic wi-fi. It’s probably not Windows-compatible. I’m definitely running under a proprietary OS.”
It had been late November when Jason left and now it was early June, a year and a half later. It was fully dark but, a little before nine, not too late. He wasn’t sure what he would do when he arrived at his parents’ house. He still intended to get more information before making his grand reappearance.
“There is something I think you should know,” Shade said. “You asked if you missed anything while your soul was traversing the astral. The Reaper placed another soul alongside yours, which accompanied it into this world. It was not a soul I recognised, but I believe this soul is most likely now an outworlder, here on your world.”
“I think I knew that,” Jason mused. “I arrived with this lingering sense that someone else should have been there with me. Finding out who they are and why they are here should be at the top of my priority list. Why would your dad send a soul my way? Isn’t that antithetical to his whole purpose?”
“It is,” Shade said. “It was the price the Reaper paid to curtail your own future revivals.”
“Some minion of the World-Phoenix, maybe? Someone to keep me on track?”
“Possibly. As I said, it was not a soul I recognised.”
“I guess we’ll find out sooner or later. Any ideas on how we can find this outworlder?”
“It would depend on the conditions by which they were inserted into the world,” Shade said. “The World-Phoenix token placed you at the spot you were born, but this other soul is likely to have appeared at a random location.”
“Well, an outworlder should stand out at least. How hard can it be to find one weird person using the internet?”
Jason received a startling message as he reached the outskirts of his hometown.
Contact [Erika Asano] has entered communication range.
Contact [Ian Evans] has entered communication range.
Contact [Emi Evans-Asano] has entered communication range.
Jason took in a sharp breath. The names of Jason’s sister and her family had been darkened on his contact list since it appeared with his evolved interface. They lived in Melbourne and had most likely come north to visit. They probably had some time off and had come back to Erika’s hometown for her birthday next week.