— GREAT EDRYAN, YEAR: 7294. SEASON: COLOR FADING.

  “Does anyone know why they play a game?”

  Lawruthian’s voice questioned. Of course, there was the most obvious answer, one that came immediately from those present.

  “To avoid the destruction of the realm.”

  A God’s power was something that could affect reality itself. Lawruthian saw this when facing against Aspect Rasheed, and he wasn’t even a God. He only possessed the power of a God and a weak one at that. Lawruthian theorized that most of what Aspect Rasheed showed that day was likely spells by the former God of Knowledge.

  Aspect Rasheed cut the mortal realm from the Astral Above and blocked the gazes of the Gods. Lawruthian knew this from when he lost his connection with the Goddess Madris. It wasn’t reestablished until he awoke and stepped outside of G.E.N.E.S.I.S.

  “Is that really the case?”

  Ancient ruins depicting Realm Lord Elrunian flashed through his thoughts. Such a powerful being fell to an entity called Oblivion, and the Gods fought the remnants of such a creature as they rose to prosperity. All of this information gathered over the years told Lawruthian one thing.

  Isn’t the Elrunian Continent already destroyed?

  What remains is only remnants, like crumbs fallen from a pastry.

  Or a shattered ship with only a patchwork done to slow the sinking…

  “I believe that is only one aspect…,” Lawruthian responded. “ But ,” he paused, looking around. “That is only one aspect. We cannot comprehend the minds of Gods, but we can try to theorize with our own means their reasonings. Who can generate a theory for me?”

  He looked at the silent crowd. The people stayed quiet, unable to answer their Chosen. Lawruthian looked to those who held higher vantage points, Path Walkers who could see much further than those below.

  It was Camille Romus who eventually spoke, breaking the silence with an explosive theory.

  “We,” she gestured to other Path Walkers, “like to wager small items and trinkets as a form of entertainment and a method of solving disagreements outside of battle. If we were in the position of the Twelve Thrones…,” Camille looked around, mainly focusing on the former heroes of Edryan. “It’s likely we would use wagers, especially if we knew our fight would destroy a large area that would be detrimental to what we wish to accomplish.”

  Lawruthian smiled. “A wager… the game is played for a Wager. Can anyone tell me why that matters?”

  Lawruthian had begun to figure these things out from the information he picked up in the Mountain of Final Hope and general knowledge about the Twelve Thrones discovered over the years. The Twelve Thrones played a game for a wager, an obvious aspect when looked at from a macroscopic perspective, but easily overlooked, as not many mortals would question the Gods.

  Lawruthian wasn’t like many mortals.

  And, he wouldn’t allow those closest to him to be like them as well.

  Understanding their wager was key to understanding how their future would be shaped, but more importantly to Lawruthian, how his future would be shaped.

  What happened after the Game finished?

  One may think Lawruthian was looking towards the end goal and after events far too quickly, but Lawruthian didn’t think so. On this path, he constantly looked toward the future and tried to plan for events before they happened. His understanding of history, consolidation of Edryan, and many steps were for his future.

  A future when Madris held no sway over him.

  Understanding the wager, and perhaps… even joining the wager would allow Lawruthian to step outside of The Game. He would go from a chess piece to a Player. It would put him on an equal footing when facing the Twelve Thrones.

  Lawruthian paused, not paying attention to the Monarchy Branch as he felt a… tacit approval radiating from his sol—radiating from the piece of Goddess Madris connected to him.

  She approves?

  Of course, She would. Goddess Madris is the type to take what She needs, and She wants me to be that type of Chosen as well. A person who takes what’s needed, using any means, any resource to get ahead. She is not the type to wait for a hero or a miracle to save Her. She is the Miracle Maker.

  The approval seemed to double as those thoughts left him immediately. Lawruthian was surprised. It was a novel experience for him, receiving approval from the Goddess. It was very rare for Her to show such an emotion. It gave him the feeling that he was on the right path… but… he didn’t know if he should be proud, annoyed, or feel something else. His emotions surrounding the Goddess were always complicated.

  It doesn’t matter.

  “It matters because that gives us a direction to look when fulfilling your quest and conquering the continent,” Queen Titiana spoke. “It matters because it shows that there may be a key, or item searched for, and only the power of the entire world could accomplish the goal—it could be related to your quest, or another goal of the Goddess. Regardless, should you find this item early…”

  Queen Titiana’s voice trailed off, and murmurs erupted through the surrounding crowd. A conversation broke out, and Lawruthian didn’t stop it. This was a massive revelation to the people here. It would be major news across the entire continent if the word got out. It was easy to see but difficult to spot. It was something that was obvious when directly focused on, but when looking at the entire picture, it could be missed.

  Lawruthian looked at his mother and gave her a gentle smile. She followed his thoughts exactly and exposed the crux of the matter. Of course, it was his mom who was the first to reach the central point; she knew him best.

  The Gods have a Wager revolving around the Mortal Realm… if I can find the object of their desire or even gain hints…

  It would completely change the dynamic of his relationship with Goddess Madris. It could and would perhaps put him on an even playing field not just with Her, but whoever else desired such an object.

  *****

  A bustling train silently moved through the underground, making its way deep within the earth. Lawruthian sat, Minerva on his shoulder while the Goddess of Illusion, Kubrat, sat across from him. In another cart was his generals, the New Greats and a few other parties who were interested in developing his Golem Suits.

  Lawruthian studied Kubrat as she did him. She sat in the silence, quite comfortable as her magenta colored pupils lazily focused on him. Her eyes were half closed as if sleepy but a pleasant smile showed on her face. A bit of her majesty from before showed. Its recovery was slow, but seemed to grow with every passing minute.

  The reason was simple.

  Hope was a virtue most knew of but truly lacked. Many understood the concept, the emotion, but their hope usually failed. It fluttered and faltered at the first major sign of instability when their desire could not be accomplished.

  Kubrat’s original hope was the Goddess Madris. She once believed so long as she could contact the Goddess directly through Her Chosen of Madris, her life would be saved. It was hard after finding herself in such an unfamiliar time period, years after the second Great War.

  “Who was your Chosen of Madris?”

  Lawruthian’s voice was soft, curious. His face was lax but his body seemed a bit stiff as if he was unfamiliar with his environment. His eyes peered at Kubrat but his attention seemed only partially focused… as if he was looking at two different places.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  In fact, Lawruthian was doing just that. His skill, Duel Mind , gave him the ability to construct a golem and inhabit its body with a piece of his sol. The feeling was novel, like having two computer screens open with videos playing on both. Lawruthian had never felt anything like this before, even with Minerva.

  His connection with Minerva was like an extra limb but this limb was detached. It was like an external arm that could do certain task and had special abilities—a mind of its own. When Minerva was close, the special limb was attached to his back but when she was far, it was like the limb was taken away. The feeling was weird but not completely uncomfortable for shorter periods.

  This was not a detachable arm, it was a detachable brain. Two different streams of information was coming to him, both with visual cues, sounds, but only his main body had touch, taste, smell etc. That made it better as he had less information to sort through. The only problem he now faced was speaking and keeping the visual cues separate.

  Who was Kubrat’s Chosen of Madris?

  Lawruthian was curious. He only half believed Kubrat. His feelings on her had settled into something like an office coworker you only associate with at the office. At all other times he’d rather not have to deal with the woman. She opened up the world of demigods to him, truly expanding his mind and showing him some of the limits of the Mortal Realm.

  But… ignorance is bliss. It’s knowledge that is cursed.

  “Her name is Lora Meridian Kano Edryani,” Kubrat’s voice was soft, and she looked away at the passing lights of the underground passage. Her gaze landed on the window, but instead of seeing lights, she saw that distant past.

  “Lora Meridian Kano Edryani,” Kubrat repeated, stronger, “Step Below Gods.”

  “Step Below Gods,” Lawruthian said, musing over the title. “Impressive. Can you tell me about her?”

  “Lora was the daughter of King Darius, the Legend, rising to the throne after his fall. She was the slayer of Strongest Ever, guardian of Quinarax. The last time I saw her was at the steps of the Temple of the Sun, during the final battle between the forces of the Edryan Empire and Elysium.”

  “Where you died?”

  “Where I died,” Kubrat confirmed.

  “How much do you remember?”

  Kubrat returned her gaze to Lawruthian, a slight frown on her face. “I… I don’t know.”

  “Childhood, teenage years, your path to Godhood?”

  “Yes, somewhat,” Kubrat responded. “Why?”

  Lawruthian didn’t respond to her question immediately. He just mused over her words as he too looked at the window. He slowly relaxed his mind, attempting to theorize what it was that could make a demigoddess loose her memories.

  “Because,” he answered, turning back to her. “I want to know what it is that would make a demigoddess lose her memories. Either it was another powerful demigod, but at your previous level, a task that should be impossible… or a God interfered.”

  Kubrat frowned. She sat straighter. “A God? Its… possible… many were breaking through on that final battlefield but none a Gods power would be far to noticeable. The Twelve Thrones would not allow a God to breakthrough and cause havoc. Anytime one did breakthrough, they were taken away to the Astral Above before they could cause any trouble, received by the Twelve Thrones themselves.”

  “Interesting,” Lawruthian responded, cocking his head to the side. “King Darius fell in the late 5000s, battling Oogoon to save the Musa clan—I have never heard of him having a daughter.”

  Kubrat’s head jerked, taken aback. “Impossible, he lived in 3544 and fought against Oogoon then. That’s when the Goddess received her second domain of Wealth after slaying the demigods father.”

  “Your history seems to be different than mine.”

  Kubrat’s frown grew deeper, she had no response to Lawruthian and stayed quiet. She closed her eyes, brows furrowed, and chest rising up and down as if breathing. A dead woman had no need for breath but Kubrat’s actions had never stopped mimicking a living human.

  Lawruthian suddenly reached out a hand to touch her. He grabbed toward her arm but paused in surprise as his arm passed through. The woman opened her eyes and looked at him, silently shaking her head before closing them again while Lawruthian sat back and silently mused.

  An illusion…

  She’s truly an illusory being. What could cause her history to be different than ours outside the actions of Gods? But if its Gods involve, what type of domain, and how could the Twelve Thrones not be involve?

  …unless… its an action from the members of the Twelve Thrones themselves.

  Lawruthian looked inward, his eyes opening and looking toward the sky above his sky in his sol. He called out, his voice reserved and measured.

  “Goddess Madris… may I have a word?”

  The sky, his crafted sky, remained blue but the golden-brown above it that represented the Goddess shifted. A part of it condensed into the shape of an eye as Lawruthian’s call was answered. The Goddess didn’t verbally respond but this showed Lawruthian he held her attention.

  Lawruthian paused, slightly surprised at the appearance. He wasn’t certain if the Goddess would respond as but perhaps his latest actions had please her. Lawruthian carefully constructed his question. There were many, but from their prior conversations, Lawruthian understood the Goddess to rarely answer anything or provide him with guidance. It was only when he attempted to explore the mystery of his sol, the Prime System, and how classes were imbued into people that She gave him a word of warning.

  “Did the Twelve Thrones interfere with reality… altering it in some way?”

  If the Lawruthian from before facing Aspect Rasheed was present, it was likely he wouldn’t truly believe in the power of Gods to ask this question. But, after dying and repeating to achieve a certain outcome desired by Aspect Rasheed, Lawruthian understood the Gods likely had spells that could alter reality itself. If not affect Time and other elements of the world.

  Lawruthian paused…

  Time is an element?

  He realized he never once questioned the elements of this world.

  Elements… are… something… that can be… manipulated.

  “ No. ”

  A single response came from the sky above and the red-gold eye looking down slowly dispersed. Lawruthian stood there for sometime, his thoughts still on the Primary Ten Elements. His mind pointed in a direction for Kubrat’s predicament.

  It Time is an element that can be manipulated then… what would happen if someone traveled through time? Is it even possible? What if I could warn myself of all the future events happening before they happened?

  Lawruthian opened his eyes. His gaze was fixed on Kubrat Musa. She peered back, her eyes open as the train began to slow. They had arrived at their destination, the North American Research Center. Those aboard the RAIL began their departure.

  “ Minerva, ” Lawruthian mentally called, although he held no need to as she sat on the shoulder of his golem body.

  He’d been having a conversation with the three craftsman’s Houses underneath him about finding methods to pass on a lessor version of his class. It would be like building the Imperius archetype of classes but instead of using a base layout like a Knight or Spellsword class, they would be attempting to have students learn directly and mimic his skills until success. That was the most common way to develop new class-lines.

  She cocked her head and looked at the golem body.

  “Yes,” she responded, chirping so that only he could understand her. “By the way, we really should name your golem body.”

  “You can name it if you want,” Lawruthian said dismissively, “but anyway… what do you think of starting a program to research the Time element?”

  “You might as well start a program to research all the elements,” Minerva responded. “I’ve just called the graduated class of Imperius Academy over… you know… the ones who went to school with you.”

  Lawruthian gave a wry smile as he stepped off the train and looked toward his golem body and Minerva. He’d skipped out on his own education. His thoughts drifted to Imperius Academy and his fan club. He wondered how those group of girls and guys were doing now.

  “How about Atlas?”

  Minerva’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

  “What?”

  “How about calling your golem body Atlas ? After the Ancient Greek Titan who held up the sky.”