Others claimed he had crossed into a higher psychic plane—ascended, they said—and simply chose not to return.
Now, his name was spoken with reverence and fear. In their circle he was known as the Mindsmith, a ghost in the machine. A madman who whispered to the void and sometimes, it whispered back.
Rumors placed him in the ruins of the Mindvault Spire, or wandering the Ashen Belt, speaking to voices no one else could hear. Some claimed he could still be summoned—if you knew the right frequency, the right offering, the right madness.
And yet…
Yu Xi's grandfather had him on speed dial. It was unthinkable. Unbelievable.
And yet, there it was—Morpheus Vantrel, listed in the contact log and an address behind a fucking sex toy shop.
"You don't know who he is, do you?" Jian Wei asked, staring at Yu Xi like he had grown a second head. "And you called him a quack."
Yu Xi blinked. "That is what my grandpa called him."
