Amin Thett actually chuckled at Yanily’s question. “The short answer to that is no.”

  “What’s the longer answer?” Hiral prompted immediately.

  “Before you all break down in an existential crisis,” Amin Thett said. “Let me amend what I said earlier. Genesis is in a dungeon.”

  Hiral narrowed his eyes at the statement. It was almost identical. Genesis is a dungeon versus Genesis is in a dungeon. It was only a small difference… or… was it?

  “How does that change anything?” Romin said.

  “Because,” Hiral said when Amin Thett looked at him instead of answering. “If Genesis is a dungeon, that would mean none of us would be real. We would—as Yanily said—be NPCs. Dungeon constructs.”

  “Could we leave the dungeon if that were true?” Seena said.

  “Probably not,” Hiral said. “Which supports what Amin Thett said, about Genesis being in a dungeon, instead.”

  “I still don’t see how it makes a difference,” Romin said.

  “Genesis—the world—is real,” Hiral said. “The people who are born there—like us—aren’t dungeon constructs. But, for some reason, the whole world has been placed inside a dungeon. Or, maybe more accurately, trapped inside a dungeon.”

  “I agree with all of that,” Amin Thett said. “Though I didn’t realize any of it until I got here. Because Genesis was real, it was impossible to tell it was locked within a dungeon. It explains so much, though. I can’t believe I didn’t see it.” Amin Thett shook his head in disbelief. “Or, maybe that was part of the magic at play.”

  “Oh… hells,” Hiral said, his mind continuing to work through the ramifications of what Amin Thett was saying. Then he looked at the PIMP construct. “Did you know?”

  “… negative,” the construct said.

  “You hesitated before you answered,” Yanily said. “Why did you hesitate?”

  “Because it’s processing everything we’ve said,” Amin Thett said. “It’s running the numbers. The odds. And it’s coming to some of the same conclusions I did.”

  “Aspects of history—as told by the Progenitors—don’t make sense,” the PIMP said. “The things Tomorrow told you seem too complicated to be true. Also, too convenient.”

  “Hold on, though,” Seeyela said. “Doesn’t the PIMP only exist because of what you did?” Her question was directed at Amin Thett. “The thing that killed you.”

  “That… depends,” Li’l Ur said, himself deep in thought. “If Genesis does indeed exist within the cycles of a dungeon, complete with resets, does it also follow the rules of a normal dungeon?”

  “The rules?” Romin said.

  “The story,” Hiral said. “Every dungeon we’ve been in tells a story. The same story over and over. Whenever we repeat a dungeon, the same thing happens. It might a little different each time, but the same—let’s call them—story-beats happen each time.

  “Take The Final Sunrise as an example,” Hiral continued. “We always start on that airship. From there, the three Infested need to be killed before the story can progress. After that, it’s the Heart of the City, then Laapdoug. The fights in between—or even the people we talk to—might change from run to run, but the main points always occur.”

  “So?” Seeyela prompted.

  “So…” Hiral said. “What if Genesis, the world, is basically reliving the same story over and over? Like a… a time loop of some kind? Except on a huge, ten-thousand-year—or more—scale? Each time, the same major plot points occur, with variations on how the world gets there. It’s not just a reset, with the slate getting wiped clean and starting over.

  “Yes, there’s the reset, but instead of a blank slate, it’s like turning back to page one of a book to read it again. The same story will play out, with the same ending, before starting it all over again.”

  “And how does the PIMP play into that?” Seena said.

  “It’s one of the plot points,” Hiral said. “In every iteration of the story, it gets built.”

  “That’s not necessarily true,” Amin Thett said. “As a dungeon can be failed—and started over—there is a chance Genesis could follow a similar rule. If, in this example, somebody fails to create the PIMP, it could trigger a reset.”

  “Really?”

  “It’s just a theory,” Amin Thett said.

  “Does that mean Dr. Benza is in every version of the story?” Seena said. “That we are? How many times have we done this?”

  “Are you saying…” Yanily started, a little bit of anger in his voice. “That nothing we do matters? Because it’s all just going to end the same way?”

  “I…” Hiral started.

  “Nope,” Laseen said. “Something’s different this time.”

  “How can you say that so confidently?” Romin said.

  “Because of all my fate abilities,” Laseen said. “If what this guy here,” she thumbed at Amin Thett, “says is true, it explains how my abilities work. If the script is already written, then my ability is just connecting to what was there before. My ability knows the story, and it’s guiding me along. Except, it’s wonky right now. Like it doesn’t know which way things are going to go.”

  “That’s what’s got you so convinced?” Romin said.

  “That, kiddo, and the fact we’re standing outside the dungeon right now,” Laseen said, and this time she did cackle. “I doubt that’s part of the script.”

  “She’s right,” Hiral said. “Something is different this time. And, no, I don’t think we—or Dr. Benza—were in every version of the story. Just like different people can enter a dungeon and see the same story, it’s been different people every time. Somebody always builds the PIMP, but it was only Dr. Benza and his assistants this time.”

  “But, Tomorrow helped build the PIMP, didn’t she?” Seena said. “And the PIMP only worked because of what Amin Thett did. The pathways thing you were talking about.”

  “Yes, and no,” Hiral said. “Tomorrow helped build this version of the PIMP, and maybe it’s different—slightly—at some core level, but it was always going to be built, whether she was part of it or not. As for the pathways…” he trailed off and looked to the Progenitor sitting near them.

  “To use an analogy, I just paved the rough trails that were already there,” Amin Thett said. “I suspect there were echoes of the PIMP’s reach across Genesis, from all the different versions of it that had existed over the cycles. Each one, running a little deeper, left its mark. Like a path in the forest getting worn through repeated use.

  “When I took hold of the runic energy overflowing across Genesis—knowing it was what was attracting the Raze—I simply wanted to do something with it. To expend it all so the Raze would lose interest and leave. I didn’t have a plan for what I was going to use it for.”

  “You… didn’t?” Li’l Ur said. “We all believed you knew exactly what you were doing from the start.”

  “Glad I at least gave off that appearance,” Amin Thett laughed. “I was completely winging it. At first.” His smile vanished. “But, as I held the energy, it felt like it had an intent. A place it wanted to go. Things it wanted to do. In the moment, I figured it was part of it being contained, and wanting to escape. The idea of the pathways, the connections across the world, they came to me in a flash of insight.”

  “Except it might not have been insight,” Laseen said. “It might have been part of the script.”

  Amin Thett, Li’l Ur, Laseen—and maybe even the others—all said something to that, but Hiral had stopped listening. Something about that didn’t seem right. He could sort of believe the PIMP creation might be scripted, but he really didn’t think them being outside of the Genesis dungeon—if that was what it really was—could be part of the story.

  For dungeons, well, everything happened within the dungeon. Hrm, that wasn’t exactly true, Lost items could come out.

  “Hey,” Hiral said to the PIMP construct right beside him. “What’s different about Lost dungeons from normal dungeons? Why can we get stuff directly from the things we fight—like Seeyela’s Fangs of the Lady—in those kinds of dungeons?”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Normal dungeons can only award loot through story completion,” the little construct said. “The risk-reward programming set in place by my creator.”

  “And Lost dungeons?” Hiral prompted.

  “Lost dungeons are… an evolution of dungeon creation,” the construct said, hesitating again as it spoke. “While they may have been theorized by Dr. Benza and his team, they were not a programmed part of my capabilities. I needed to learn how to create them over time, using scenarios recorded in my memory banks.

  “The ability to directly bring in Lost ‘loot’—as you call it—was a result of my reward-algorithm evolving its capabilities, and being able to place real items within the dungeon creations’ possession. Defeat of said creation would meet the requirements of my risk-reward algorithm, and allow dungeon divers to keep what they found. However, not all items were eligible for becoming Lost items. Only certain items that were in my possession.”

  “And, to confirm, you didn’t create the Ascender’s Tower?” Hiral said. “That was all Tomorrow?”

  “My interfaces were placed within Ascender’s Tower, but I didn’t build it. Nor was I involved in the balancing of the challenges within. For your information, I was also not involved with the creation of the Cradle of Tomorrow, though I was aware of it being created. As such, The Archwizard was outside my purview, as were the rewards you initially received by defeating the Raid-Boss upon entering the Cradle.”

  “But we got normal achievements in there?” Hiral pointed out.

  “Tomorrow piggy-backed the ability to provide those on my established systems, likely because she had a hand in my creation.”

  “How?” Hiral pushed. “How did she piggy-back like that?”

  The PIMP construct lifted its arm to point at Amin Thett. “The pathways he created that allow my reach across Genesis and—again, as you call it—the folds of reality. Many of these pathways not only contain my systems, but the ability itself to mimic my functions.”

  “Suggesting my theory about the pathways already existing prior to what I did being correct,” Amin Thett said, the others having gone quiet to listen to Hiral and the PIMP.

  “And, Amin Thett,” Hiral said. “I think it was Tomorrow who said you’d been to Genesis before. Or, maybe it was Li’l Ur who said it? Either way, is that true?”

  “Yes,” Amin Thett said. “My final visit was my third time there.”

  “And this was during different cycles?” Hiral said.

  “Yes, my second visit seemed to occur before my first, though I now suspect that was due to the dungeon cycles,” Amin Thett said.

  “Somebody said you also saw a result of your previous visit still existing,” Hiral pushed, pieces beginning to click.

  “There was a particular plant I seeded…” Amin Thett said, then looked at Seena. “A plant The Archwizard defeated, though you claimed the core from. Or, technically, Tomorrow claimed it, but you absorbed it, either way.”

  “And both of those visits, they were short, weren’t they? Probably… early in a cycle? Relatively speaking.”

  “They were,” Amin Thett said, finally sitting up straight as he looked intently at Hiral. Gone was the casual interest, replaced instead by the genuine variety.

  “What are you getting at, Hiral?” Seena asked him.

  “Not yet,” Hiral said, holding up a hand as if to ward off the question while he kept putting the pieces together.

  “His process is very similar to Gauto’s when he gets like this,” Left said. “Let him work through the puzzle, then he’ll explain.”

  “The old goat—The Archwizard—he wasn’t a Progenitor, was he?” Hiral said to Amin Thett.

  “Only because he was banished by Tomorrow,” Amin Thett said. “He had the strength and knowledge to be one of us. No more or less bloodthirsty either. If he hadn’t expended so much of his energy uprooting my seedling, he might have even been able to defeat Tomorrow.”

  “Speaking of which,” Hiral said. “That plant, as well as the other two creatures our raid party fought—the Shaleclaw and the first elemental, whatever it was called—they were from Genesis, weren’t they?

  “Well, the plant was, because it grew after a reset, if my thinking is correct.”

  “Assuming that to be true,” Amin Thett said. “Then, yes, all three were from Genesis. They did not have the grey energy surrounding them that kept us there.”

  “Okay…” Hiral said, his words trailing off while he reviewed his thought process. Could it really be that straightforward?

  “Hiral?” Seena prompted again after a solid minute of silence.

  “I think this cycle is different,” he said.

  “Pretty sure we all figured that out already, boy,” Laseen said. “Care to elaborate, or was all that dramatic silence just that—dramatic?”

  “No, look, I think this cycle was different because of the Progenitors. Or, more specifically, things of their power level all finding their way to Genesis at the same time. Then, more specifically, by what Amin Thett did.”

  “How so?” Amin Thett asked.

  “Based on everything I’ve heard, the theory is the cycles normally end with the Raze making an appearance, right? And, when they came—when you fought them—you felt them getting ready to use or take the runic energy of Genesis for something. Instead, you used it yourself before they could.”

  “All true,” Amin Thett said.

  “Then, what if the previous cycle didn’t actually end like it was supposed to? Instead of a full reset, taking us back to the beginning of the story with brand new characters, it continued on with some of the cast still in place. Like your plant bridged a reset, all the Progenitors did the same thing.

  “Yes, whether you knew it or not, you still fulfilled some of the requirements of the plot, like creating the different races, but you did it your way, with a power normally outside what Genesis would produce.”

  “Why are the races important?” Seeyela said.

  “Because they were created in the original version of the story,” Hiral said. “Like the Lost dungeons we ran, that story happened at some point, and we were following in the footsteps. The same thing applies to Genesis. At some point, those races were birthed on Genesis. Maybe they were created by somebody, or maybe they came about spontaneously. I don’t know. Either way, they came. Hells, maybe they were part of the prologue, or the cycle is longer than we expected. Or, this one could be shorter, because it didn’t fully roll over last time.

  “Whatever. There are too many variables to be sure. But, the important part is Amin Thett’s meddling…”

  “Meddling?” Amin Thett and Li’l Ur said at the same time.

  “… broke the reset process. Let things carry over, and allowed deviations to occur in the plot. Yes, the major plot points must’ve still happened, but they also resulted in us being here.”

  “What are those major plot points?” Romin said.

  “I’m… not sure,” Hiral admitted. “The Fallen? Fallen Reach? The PIMP, definitely, and it needs those things to justify it being created.”

  “How do they Enemy fit into this?” Yanily asked. “There wouldn’t be any Fallen without the squids.”

  “But they work for the Raze, don’t they?” Seeyela said.

  “They do now,” Amin Thett said. “That’s not to say they always did.”

  “Earlier, you said you knew what role they played,” Hiral said. “What is it?”

  “Now? Now, I think, they’re playing your roles,” Amin Thett said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Laseen said. “Do all you Progenitors take classes in talking in riddles?”

  “They’re the dungeon party,” Yanily said, figuring it out before the rest of the group. “They’re entering the dungeons like we do. For experience and loot?”

  “For them, I suspect it’s more like a safari,” Amin Thett said. “They also do seem to feed and grow off exposure to the runic energy. Genesis is the best place they can get it.”

  “It’s not so much they work for the Raze, as they’re tourists?” Seena said.

  “One way to describe it,” Amin Thett said.

  “That’s… a lot to try and take in,” Romin said.

  Snuff.

  “Yes, I’m sure you’d already pieced all that together.”

  “There’s more, I think,” Hiral said. “Our Lost advanced classes, they’re only possible because of the Progenitors. We’re stronger than you expected us to be, aren’t we?” This last question made the PIMP construct wince.

  “Significantly stronger,” the construct said. “Some more than others.”

  “All your estimates, they only take normal advanced classes into account, don’t they?”

  “Correct.”

  “And these Lost advanced classes some of us have, they’re not granted by you, they’re reported by you.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Also correct. For some of you, your classes are granted by your association with Progenitors. Your abilities are natural results of that relationship, though they are integrated into the PIM through my expanding capabilities.”

  “Like you were able to bring the Undead under your system.”

  “Correct again,” the construct said.

  “What about Hiral’s classes?” Yanily said. “He doesn’t have a sponsor.”

  “The Runic Artificer was a standard Builder class,” the construct said. “The Lost Duelist of the Runic Cycle was not one I granted. The Runic General—despite the name—was my attempt to get him back on the path of my advanced classes to guide him to an eventual Emperor class.”

  “But he changed it,” Seena said. “Made it his Vanguard of the Runic Cycle. And his Seeker class?”

  “I… believe all of his Runic Cycle classes stem from direct interaction with the runic energy of Genesis,” the construct said with only a minor hesitation at the beginning. “His unique situation, with a Maker’s PIM combined with his nature as a Builder has created an opportunity—his direct interaction with runes.”

  “Part of that is thanks to the Regalia of Amin Thett,” Hiral said, giving the Progenitor a nod. “Each of the items has taught me a lot about how to use my runes.”

  “They worked far better than I expected they would,” Amin Thett admitted. “Your skill with them has far surpassed what I was capable of. Of what I dreamt I could be capable of.”

  “Back to my earlier question,” Yanily said after a few seconds of silence. “Does what we do matter?”

  “It does,” Hiral said. “Like I said before, I think having multiple people of the Progenitors’ power on Genesis all at once is what started this. Think of it like the artificial S-Rank Laseen said we’d find in The Final Sunrise. The dungeon Genesis is trapped within, it’s not up to handling actual S-Rank power.

  “In all the other past cycles, I bet there hasn’t been anybody like most of us. Nobody to get this far into the story, so to speak.”

  Seena’s eyes narrowed at Hiral. “Why did you say most of us?”

  Hiral blew out a breath while he debated whether he should speak what was on his mind. Looking at his friends, though, it wasn’t a debate. “I’ve… had a theory for a little while. Since I was A-Rank. All of this, with Genesis being trapped in a dungeon, and the same story playing out over and over, it just adds weight to that theory.”

  “And what is that theory?” Seena pressed.

  “I said before there weren’t versions of us in any of the previous cycles,” Hiral said. “I think I might be an exception to that, sort of.”

  “You’ve done this before?” Yanily said.

  “Project Emperor,” Laseen said. “Even if the PIMP wasn’t trying to create a new Emperor, you think it would try to create somebody who could use the runes.”

  “Yes,” Hiral said. “Because the runes themselves want to escape Genesis, in the same way a river wants to flow free. I think there were others like me who became focal points for the runic power of Genesis.”

  “Likely not as strong as you,” Amin Thett said. “Or as skilled.”

  “Possibly not,” Hiral said. “At least not as broadly. If my suspicion is correct, each of them… specialized. They were each an attempt to use a single focus to escape.”

  “What happened to them?” Seeyela asked. “I mean, clearly, they didn’t succeed, if the rest of this is true. Do you know what happened to them?”

  “I do know, in fact,” Hiral said. “The same thing that will probably happen to me eventually, as well.”

  “And what’s that?” Seena said.

  “They became Edicts.”

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