No one really knew how long the journey ahead of them was. The best they could do was to take that journey one step at a time—even as that one step became a hundred, and a hundred steps became a thousand.

What they were trying to do had never been done before. It wasn’t just that they had to cross the gap between realities with nothing more than an admittedly massive ship. It was the fact that they had to manage dozens of clashing cultures and species, from mundane ones to gods and demons and angels. It was the fact that they had to navigate through the wrecked ruins of realities not their own.

It was the fact that every single person that boarded that ship still had to contend with the idea that their home was gone, and that they would never see it again.

None of those facts stopped them, of course. It was nothing the Guild hadn’t dealt with before, and while the scale of the problem was far larger than it ever had been...

It didn’t change the approach. One step at a time. All that was different was that each step in this particular journey told a thousand stories, and a thousand steps told a thousand more; there was far too much that happened between one moment and the next.

No one story or step was more important than any other. But there were moments that resonated, changing the course of every step ahead.

It wasn’t long before the Guildmaster showed up, Max by her side and Xothok... pretending to be aloof in the distance? Sev eyed him curiously, wondering what was up with him.

“Guessing you guys have a plan?” Alyssa asked. “And I’m guessing you’re going to need our help.”

“Would be nice,” Sev said, grinning at her. “Even with help, it’s going to take a while.”

“You’d be surprised how good we’ve gotten at logistics,” Alyssa said. “Especially with Xothok here finding us the best path. Speaking of which: is that boat for what I think it’s for?”

“We’re evacuating this universe,” Sev confirmed. “We can’t fix Obreve. This universe is... it died a long time ago, and we can’t keep bringing it back. We have to move on.” He glanced around and gestured around them. “We’ve saved the people. It’ll have to be enough.”

Alyssa nodded, approving. “I would’ve done the same,” she said. “Though I don’t think it’s going to be quite so easy for a lot of people.”

“Easy for you, though?” Sev raised an eyebrow at her. Alyssa shrugged and smiled.

“The Guild is my home,” she said. “It’s the home I built for myself. And it’s coming with us, isn’t it?”

Sev glanced back to Derivan, Vex, and Misa. “Yeah,” he said, smiling. “I think I feel the same way.”

Everything was ready.

Getting everyone onto the boat had been... a process. Without the use of skills and magic, it probably would have taken them weeks. With those things, and with the help of a little bit of divine magic, it “only” took them a couple of days.

Sev was exhausted at the end of it all, but he was happy. The ship supported a few farms, important cultural artifacts and touchstones that they’d been asked to recreate, museums, a village or two.

It was a really big ship.

There was also a train. On the ship. Mostly because it was so big, it had required one to get around in a timely manner.

This was going to be their home for the next... however long it would take them to get through the Void. As far as temporary homes went, it was a pretty good one.

Derivan eyed the ship’s console with some wariness. It was a glowing orb attached to the ship—suspiciously similar to the Grand Anchors Sev had built before. It even gave him the same feeling. He wouldn’t have been surprised if it was one, albeit one that Sev hadn’t personally built.

Or maybe he had been the one to build it in the reality he’d Shifted this from.

Derivan placed his hand on the orb and focused.

He didn’t know what kind of universe he wanted. But that was, according to Sev, the whole point—everyone else did have some kind of idea on the way the universe needed to work, and their biases would make them find a universe best suited for them. Derivan had a true and vested interest in all forms of life, and he wanted...Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

He knew what he wanted, actually.

He wanted a world where he could keep exploring and adventuring with his friends. A world where everyone here could thrive.

The orb beneath his gauntlet grew warm, responding to that desire, and he felt it set a target.

“Done,” he said.

He was smiling. He wasn’t sure why. A part of him thought it was maybe because he caught a glimpse of where they were going, though the memory was so immense, it came and went in a fraction of a second. Still, it made a sort of warm contentment bloom in his chest.

What a pleasant feeling.

Now the choice was made, and their destination was set.

Even knowing where they were going, the journey wasn’t easy. The Void wasn’t as empty as it could’ve been—there were other universes here that had been consumed. There were dead stars and empty libraries, islands of strange matter floating in the dark. In the end, they needed Xothok’s help to navigate their way through the Void. Derivan had given them the destination—Xothok and his crew would handle the navigation.

“Raise the damn sails already!” Xothok called out.

“Fuck you!” Byrrhon responded, making a rude gesture at Xothok—but he went to raise the sails anyway. Xothok grinned at him.

Whatever those adventurers had done, it had brought back the old Byrrhon. Sort of. It hadn’t brought back the one that lived a life as a cruel and callous bandit, nor the one that had lived a life as a [Navigator]. This Byrrhon had both sets of memories, and he was... calmer, for lack of a better word. He had a sense of perspective he didn’t have before.

Xothok was just glad he had his best friend back and didn’t need to have Byrrhon’s blood on his hands. He was glad for a lot of things, really. Having a place he could call home, no matter how temporary; being reunited with Alyssa; no longer having to worry about his crew being able to eat their next meal...

Xothok knew there were things he had done he could never take back. But that was why he’d decided even before this journey had begun that no matter how far the people on this ship needed him to go, no matter how long they needed his services as their [Astral Navigator], he would be there to fulfil his duty.

So he led their journey through the Void. The direction and hope that had once been given to him was now his to give to others: though he grumbled about the work, in the quiet space between false dusk and illusory dawn, he searched tirelessly.

And in that search, he found strays and stragglers. He found survivors—remnants of universes and times long gone. The Void was not quite as empty as they had thought. Others had tried to fight it. Others had failed.

But they would not, and they would carry on with the legacy of all that remained. Xothok found a new goal for himself before he quite realized it.

No one left behind.

Sev would, in the following months and years, reflect on how the final segment of their journey felt like it both took too long and yet took no time at all.

“Finally, some solid fucking ground!”

Misa seemed... very pleased with herself for someone that had literally just thrown herself off the ship and onto solid land.

“We did it, guys,” she said with a broad grin. “We made it. Whole new universe. One we don’t have to worry about decaying.”

“Well,” Sev said awkwardly. “All universes decay. We’ll probably still have to figure something out. It’s not like we can keep running from the Void forever.”

“But we have time,” Misa argued. “Billions of years! And so much to explore, and time for our Grand Anchors to grow, and ourselves to grow with it...”

“Are you planning to live for billions of years?” Sev raised an eyebrow at her. Misa just grinned at him.

“I mean, I am,” Vex said, perfectly serious.

“We have a whole universe to explore,” she said. “You think a billion years is enough?”

“That depends, I suppose,” Sev said, smiling a slight smile. “Hope you brought us somewhere interesting, Derivan.”

Derivan considered the remark.

“I believe I have made a good choice,” he said after a moment. “But there is only one way to find out, yes?”

His hand wrapped around Vex’s, and the lizardkin smiled up at him happily. Vex spoke next. “I can’t wait to explore this one with you guys,” he said. “I wonder if there’s new magic here! And if the Grand Anchors are going to behave any differently. Oh, and I should do some research to see if this universe has its own unique forms of power...”

Derivan laughed, pulling Vex close. “We will have plenty of time for this,” he said. His voice took on a slightly teasing note. “But I suspect the Guildmaster will want us to help unload the people from the ship.”

“We could disappear,” Vex said mischievously. “Just for a while. We can come back and help after. But I kinda want to have an adventure with you guys. We’ll be the first ones to explore this place!”

“We should be responsible...” Sev said, glancing back up at the ship—but his lips twitched. He was tempted.

This was, of course, the moment Max popped up. “You guys have done plenty already,” she said with a grin. “Go! Explore. I’ll cover for you.”

Sev laughed. “You really know when to show up, don’t you?” he asked the receptionist. She grinned at him.

“It’s my job!” she said cheerfully. “Seriously, though, it’s fine. We’ll handle it. Go check things out and tell us if anything dangerous is out there. Have fun! And one more thing.”

“Yes?” Sev raised an eyebrow.

“Thank you.” Max grinned at all of them. “Seriously. Lots of people are gonna be pissed that our old world is gone, so I want to get this in before any of them get it in their heads to come give you shit. Also, call me if they show up; I’ll kick their ass.”

The four of them couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Well, how about it, guys?” Sev said once the laughter had died down a bit. “You heard her.

“Let’s kick things off with a new adventure.”