We were standing outside, and I po store my house. I looked at the monstrosity and didn’t want to store it as-is. It was so BIG. I had left enough height, but it was still imposing.

  “You told me the core could shrink the house. If it does that and absorbs the materials, do you think I’ll get them back?” I asked Mahya, gng at the t structure.

  “We won’t know if we don’t try,” Mahya replied, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

  “Yeah, but I wonder if I’ll get my stuff back. I don’t want to lose anything in the house, especially not the books,” I said, feeling a knot of worry tighten in my stomach.

  “We test it with something you don’t mind losing,” she suggested.

  I nodded and put a box of small shampoo bottles with the Wynn Las Vegas logo on the deck. “Shrink the box, but don’t absorb the material for your use,” I ahe core out loud so Mahya could hear.

  The box got smaller by about ten pert or even less. I scratched my head, puzzled by the minimal ge.

  “Tell the core to absorb it, a’s see if you get it back,” Mahya said, watg ily.

  “Absorb the box,” I instructed. The deck sucked in the box.

  “Give me the box back,” I tihe box reappeared on the deck.

  I opened and ied it. Everything looked fine. I opened otle, smelled it, and poured a small amount into my palm. It felt normal, like a regur shampoo. An idea sparked in my mind.

  “Absorb the box,” I anded again. The deck sucked in the box.

  “Give me the box back, but with pin bottles, without text or pictures.” The box reappeared. I opened and ied it. Everything looked the same, except the bottles were noin cream color, with o.

  Mahya whooped with excitement.

  I still wao experiment with something more plicated, so I went to the third floor and took a fi book I had already read. Back outside, I put it on the ded said, “Absorb the book.”

  The deck sucked in the book.

  “Give me the book back.” The book returo the deck. I opened and ied it, even reading a few pages as a spot-check. Everything looked fine.

  Mahya and I exged smiles.

  “Shrink the house to the smallest size you ,” I told the core.

  First, the house started l slowly; I could barely see it happening at first. It was freaky—like an accordion being pressed down, each part of the house squeezing smoothly. The roof buckled a bit, folding onto the upper floor while the walls started pulling in. The windows shimmered, looking like they were stretg and ing, but still keeping their shape as they shrank.

  The shrinking became more apparent when the house reached about half its height. The entire building looked like it was rippling, each floor colpsing into the one below it. Ihe furniture shifted and adjusted, fitting into the smaller space without a problem. The front door, which used to be pretty big, now looked like a mini version of itself, perfectly proportioned but way smaller.

  Then the core started pulling harder, and the house got sucked into it.

  “I didn’t tell it to absorb it, just shrink it,” I said in a panic, but Mahya stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

  “You said the smallest size it ,” she reminded me, her calm demeanor soothing my nerves—a little.

  As the structure moved toward the core, it did so in a smooth, steady motion, almost as if an invisible hand was guiding it. The walls and roof stayed intaot breaking apart. The entire house underwent a remarkable transformation, densing without breaking apart. First, the lower floor vanished into the core, then the middle se, and st, the roof elegantly folded into itself.

  Ihan five mihe core absorbed the entire house and now rested on the grass, appearing unged—a small, unassuming sphere about the size of a medium watermelon, with no indication of the massive structure it had absorbed. I picked it up and exami. It looked the same—about 30-32 timeters in diameter. It also didn’t feel heavier.

  I put it ba the grass and said, “Please return the house with all its tents.”

  The house emerged from the core, and it was even freakier in reverse. First, the sphere shimmered, and theop of the house materialized. The roof seemed to unfold gracefully, almost like it was blooming. Then, the walls reappeared, stretg outward from the core as if invisible strings were pulling them.

  It was truly mesmerizing. The house grew steadily, each floor stag on top of the other seamlessly. The windows, which had shimmered and ed as they shrank, now did the opposite. They seemed to stretd expand, returning to their inal shape and size. The gss looked like it was being infted, but kept its clear, solid form.

  Ihe furniture shifted bato pce like it was on some smooth veyor belt. Chairs, tables, and shelves all expanded aled into their spots without a hitch. The front door, which had been a tiny replica, swelled back to its full size.

  The entire house tio grow and expand, the walls solidifying and the roof rising higher and higher. It was like watg a time-pse video of a building being structed, but in fast-forward. The floors emerged one by ohe structure being more familiar and solid with each passing sed.

  Finally, the house stood fully formed, just as it had been before. It looked as if it had never been pressed at all. The whole thing took less than five minutes, but it felt like we were witnessing something from a sci-fi movie.

  Mahya and I ran into the house and ied everything. I checked every cupboard and shelf, and she went to the spell room.

  Wheurned, she said, “All the runes and crystals are in pce, and everything looks fine,” She was obviously relieved. I looked at her suspiciously. Outside, she made me believe all would be fine.

  Together, we went to the third floor and checked the library. We didn’t check every book, just looked at the shelves to see if they had the same number of books on them and did an occasional spot-che books we were familiar with. Everything looked fine.

  We went to the sed floor and checked our bedrooms. Everything was still okay. After over an hour of cheg everything, we met in the living room with huge, mirr smiles and high-fived.

  “That was amazing!” Mahya said, her eyes still wide with excitement. “I ’t believe it worked so perfectly.”

  “Yeah, it’s an enormous relief,” I agreed, leaning bato the coud feeling exhaustion wash over me. During the entire process, I was a nervous wreck.

  “What should we try ?” she asked, her mind rag ahead.

  “Let’s take a break first. I o process all of this,” I said with a chuckle. “But I’m looking forward to more experiments, just not today. My heart won’t be able to take it.”

  She ughed at me, but nodded.

  We went back outside, and just in case, I used precisely the same w: “Shrink the house to the smallest size you .”

  After five minutes, a core y on the grass. I picked it up and said, “Give me the book The Warded Man.”

  The book appeared ao the ground.

  “What is it?” Mahya asked, looking curiously at the book.

  I picked it up and stored it. “A fantasy book I’m reading.”

  “Is it any good?”

  “It’s great.”

  “Give it to me after you’re done.”

  “Sure.”

  I told the core, “Disguise yourself as something else.” Nothing happened. I repeated it, and still nothing happened.

  Mahya hit the bay head pyfully and grinned. “I told you it’s not se, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, I know. What’s the problem?” I asked, rubbing the spot where she hit me.

  “To be ‘something else,’ one o think about what to be. It ’t. You o tell it what to be,” she expined, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms like she was dealing with a child.

  “Oh.” I felt sheepish, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, but then remembered something. “When we fed it the eleics, and I told it to make something of them, I didn’t tell it what to make of them.”

  “Did you know what you wa to make?” she asked, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes at me.

  “Well, I didly know. I hoped for music, TV, and game soles, so we wouldn’t lose all the games we fed it.” I scratched the bay neck, realizing how vague that must’ve sounded.

  “Exactly.” She nodded knowingly. “Now, did you know what you wa to bee?”

  “Yeah, okay, I get your point.” I sighed i. She was right. I said ‘something’ because I didn’t know what I wanted.

  I turo the core. “Disguise yourself as a woode.”

  A woode grew around it. I opehe chest and found the core inside. Looking at Mahya, her smile mirrored mine. As one, we turned and looked at the boat, still in the middle of the ke. We looked back at each other, then at the boat, and back at each ain, shaking our heads simultaneously.

  “Too small,” Mahya said with a sigh.

  “Yep,” I agreed, nodding. “Soon.”

  She nodded enthusiastically, looking like a dashboard bobblehead.

  When I tried to store the boat, I couldn’t; it felt like something was blog it. I tried again and again without success while Mahya ughed her ass off.

  “What’s so funny?” I grumbled.

  “You ’t store the boat; it’s not yours anymore. It’s mine,” she managed between fits of giggles, wiping tears of ughter from her eyes.

  “Yeah, but I stored your stuff in the past,” I retorted, crossing my arms defensively.

  “Not with a core, you didn’t.”

  “Oh.” I blihe realization sinking in.

  She ughed again, her eyes twinkling with mischief. I suspected she made me try to store it just so she could have fun at my expense.

  I gestured at the boat, and snapped, “Store your damn boat; we o go.”

  She ughed again, and I thought it was at my grumpy expression this time, but she stored the boat, her body still shaking with ughter. After st everything and ensuring we were ready to go, I did o tour through the valley and collected thirteen more crystals.

  I g Rue and asked, “Are there more cats?”

  He shook his head. “No. John collected all bad cats.”

  “Thanks, buddy. Let’s go.”

  We crossed the gate back to Earth. It felt like no matter what I did, I couldn’t escape this pce. Oh’s side, the su was beginning, casting a warm glow across the whole area. With no one around, we became visible. Mahya pulled out her phone and checked the date. “August 11th.”

  “Is that all? I thought more time had passed with all we’ve done.”

  Mahya shrugged. “No, it makes sehe jump is almost a month to a day.”

  She dialed Al and spoke to him. After a few minutes, she hung up and turo me. “He has two st deliveries due tomorrow, and then he’ll be ready to go.”

  “Is he joining us now?”

  Mahya shook her head. “No, he’s with a new friend.”

  “What do you want to do in the meantime?”

  “You have a lot of free spa the Ste,” Mahya said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Let’s go and fill it with metal from the junkyard. I’m sure the metal will be more expensive in Lumis.”

  We ran to the junkyard. Mahya and I jumped over the fence while Rue stood guard outside, invisible and ready to warn us if anyone approached. I started st cars when aruck me. While the house was in my Ste, I could ihe pontoons—perhaps I could and the core to “eat” the metal? I moved the core o the st car I had stored and instructed it to absorb the car. To my amazement, the core absorbed the car. The meics of the Ste still baffled me. The Ste was supposed to hold everything in suspension, but somehow, I could do stuff in it. I shook my head—I didn’t have the strength tue with facts and cim that it made little sense.

  I moved from oion of the junkyard to another, direg the core to absorb each item. It was slower than just st them directly; I had to wait for the materials to be absorbed into the core. Yet, bit by bit, I cleared zoer zone.

  Mahya approached me. “How do you have so much space?”

  “Because the core absorbs what I store,” I expined, fog oask.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? We’re doing experiments together!”

  I pressed a fio my lips. “Shhh, don’t shout. Someone might hear us. Sorry, I would have told you sooner, but I was too absorbed in what was happening.”

  We stayed at the junkyard until sunrise, and this time, I cleared out over half of its tents. My core absorbed everything effortlessly, showing no signs of saturation. After leaving a h additional payment, we went for breakfast and then to a nearby hotel to sleep for a few hours.

  Whe up, Mahya called Al to tell him where we were, and within half an hour, we both felt his presence approag. The air seemed to hum with energy, ah jumped in our seats. He felt stronger.

  Wheered the room, a smirk tugging at his lips, I couldn’t help but blurt out, “What happened? How are you stronger?”

  “My level has increased by four,” he said, leaning against the doorframe with a very smug expression.

  “How? Where did you find monsters? Are there already monsters oh? Did you find a dungeon? Were you in a fight? What exactly happened—” I bombarded him with questions, my curiosity spiraling out of trol, before he cut me off mid-sentence.

  “If you pause briefly, I offer an expnation.”

  “Sorry.” I sat back, trying to rein in my excitement.

  “I pleted transas involving the sale of potions to New Age shops,” he expined, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

  “You sold magical potions to a shop oh?” I asked, staring at him, bewildered.

  “Indeed, but they are unaware of the magical aspect. They believe those are highly effective herbal remedies.”

  “What kind of potions did you sell them?” Mahya asked.

  “I mao sell potions designed for people with headaches, colds, muscle aches, and oher type,” he admitted, looking away and blushing.

  “What’s the other type?” I asked, narrowing my eyes as I noted his rea, feeling my suspi grow.

  “For endurance,” he replied, still avoiding eye tad staring off to the side.

  “Like for sports?” I asked, trying to piece it together, but Mahya’s snicker beside me made it clear I was missing something.

  “Not precisely,” he muttered, the er of his mouth twitg in a faint smile.

  “Oh.” The realization hit me, and I gnced between them, feeling a little slow oake.

  He looked unfortable, so I said, “That’s great! Give me one in case I meet another iing dy.”

  He visibly rexed. Mahya gave me a death gre and said telepathically, “Spoilsport.”

  “You just want to see him squirm.”

  “Yeah. Usually, he doesn’t care what ahinks. This is a golden opportunity.”

  “Don’t be mean.”

  I asked Al, “Are you ready to go, or do you need more time?”

  “I am ready.”

  We went back to the Gate and crossed over. I took the core and instructed it to deploy the house. When the house emerged from the core, Al dropped on his butt and stared at it, sck-jawed.

  “You see, my way is more fun,” I sent to Mahya.

  She stuck her to at me. Still, I felt like the winner in that exge.

  Yay me!