“Oh, good,” Yanily said, relief somehow seeping into his voice. “I was worried you were going to say they went on to become the Raze. Thought we might have to kill you before you went all evil-Hiral on us.” The spearman actually wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. “Phew.”

  “That’s your response?” Seeyela said. “He just implied—said?—he’s going to become an Edict.”

  “Which is better than becoming one of the Raze,” Yanily pointed out. “And, what’s the big deal about him turning into the Edict of Eclipse? I’m assuming it’s not going to happen today or anything like that, right?”

  “Probably not until I ‘die’,” Hiral said. “Or, maybe if I really, really, really will it to happen.”

  “And how do you know he’s going to become the Edict of Eclipse?” Seeyela pushed.

  “What?” Yanily looked her dead in the eye. “Do you expect him to become the Edict of Unbelievably Soft Coats instead?”

  “It’s my coat,” Amin Thett pointed out. “It’s in the name.”

  “Actually,” Hiral interrupted. “It’s not. Not anymore.”

  “What?” Amin Thett said, a look of surprise—or was it confusion?—on his face for the first time since the Progenitor had appeared in front of them.

  “Everybody, STOP!” Seena said, stepping into the center of the group and holding her hands out to either side of her. “Just. Stop. I love you all…” she looked at Amin Thett. “Maybe not you. I don’t know you. But, this isn’t the time for the usual banter.”

  “Says the one bantering with the dead Progenitor,” Yanily mumbled, then quickly shut his mouth when he got such a look from Seena.

  “Anybody else have a comment?” Seena asked, and even her more-than-slightly-terrifying sister shook her head in the negative. “Good. Now, you,” she turned and pointed at Hiral. “Explain.”

  Hiral licked his lips without taking his eyes off the party-leader trying to glare a hole in him. “Explain… which part?” he asked carefully.

  Seena’s eyes literally ignited, the flames leaking from the corners of her eyes to rise in lines a foot above her head before they vanished. “Start with the Edict part. When were you going to tell me that?”

  “I only just figured it out,” Hiral said. “Having this conversation about the cycles of Genesis.”

  “Not good enough,” Seena said.

  “… sorry?”

  “There’s no way it just came to you here. This was you putting the final piece in the puzzle, not seeing the puzzle for the first time.”

  “Really, I didn’t know,” Hiral said, but that didn’t ease Seena’s glare at all. “Look, I was starting to suspect something was going on. My PIM, it’s changing shape. Starting to look like Eclipse. I wasn’t entirely sure what it meant. Really. I thought maybe it was just my PIM better aligning with my concept for myself, or maybe with the rune, because of how connected I was to it.

  “It wasn’t until we came out here and started talking about the specifics of how the cycles might work that it occurred to me. That there were recurring plot points in the story of Genesis. The PIMP talking about trying to create a new Emperor. It made me think something like that happened in every cycle.

  “Something—or somebody—like me.”

  “And?” Seena said.

  “And…” Hiral ignited his pseudo-aspect. As soon as he did, his black coat exploded into white energy, holy flames flickering along its edges, while black lightning arced around his body. At his back, the Edicts tore into being, the temple around them rumbling, with cracks spreading across the air.

  “Careful,” Amin Thett said. “You’re straining the limits of what power I have left to maintain this space.”

  “It’s fine,” Hiral said. A snap of his fingers released a pulse of Sealing and Restoration, mending the pocket-realm Amin Thett had created. A touch of his time runes reinforced it even more, while a spark of Energy supplied it with some additional power.

  The Progenitor—the self-named god—stared at Hiral with wide eyes as his jaw dropped open. Then he blinked once, twice, and broke out into a full-bellied guffaw, even going so far as to slap his knee. “Amazing!”

  “And…?” Seena’s single word cut off even the Progenitor, her eyes having never left Hiral for a second.

  “And, these Edicts,” Hiral said, extending his hand in front of him. At the gesture, the small shapes normally circling at his back zipped over his shoulder and down his arm to rotate above his open palm. “Remember how I say they sometimes feel like they’re looking out for me? Like older siblings supporting me? I think it’s true.

  “My suspicion is there are three—let’s call them—levels of things. There are the big-picture Edicts. The rules of the universe, as they’ve been described. They are the forces. Like gravity or energy, or any of the other ones.

  “Then we’ve got the runes, like the ones on my body, or the ones a normal Builder would inscribe into a crystal construct. These are both commands and outlets for the Edicts. A faucet for the power the Edicts represent. Smaller in scope, and something more readily controlled.

  “With me so far?”

  Seena nodded.

  “Then there’s these,” Hiral said, nodding toward the small, black Edicts floating happily around his hand. “I think these are personifications of the Edicts. People who were so closely aligned with the purpose and power of the Edicts, they became something akin to avatars for them. They are still Edicts themselves, but not the Edicts. It’s a bit of a grey area I’m still trying to wrap my head around. They have a more direct connection, and in turn let me pull on the Edicts’ power.”

  “And this is what you’re going to become?” Seena said with a glance down to the twenty-three Edicts.

  “Maybe. Probably?” Hiral said. “It’s all still a theory, but it feels right. Each of these twenty-three represent a cycle of Genesis that’s passed. I’m the twenty-fourth. I think it’s also why I connected with these specific runes and Edicts, instead of, say, the Rune of Momentum.

  “These were the concepts the ones who came before me tried to use to break the cycle of Genesis. Whether they knew they were in a dungeon or not, they wanted to help the runes break free from being trapped. In doing so, they chose one of the Edicts—probably the one most closely aligned to them—and put their literal souls into using that power.

  “When they failed, this is what was left of them. A fragment of an Edict infused with just a little bit of human will.”

  “And when you appeared,” Li’l Ur said. “They felt a kindred spirit. They came to you, to help you succeed where they could not, thanks to your unique constitution.”

  “Exactly,” Hiral said. “Because I was already bound to the runes—by having them on my body as part of my strange PIM—they saw the opportunity. They could also bind to me. Lend me their strength.”

  “Can… I ask a question?” Yanily said, his hand in the air, but his eyes on Seena.

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  “In a second,” Seena said, stepping in closer to Hiral. The fire in her eyes vanished as she took his extended hand and pushed it down so she could stand in front of him. At her touch, the Edicts darted back to their usual spot behind him, and she was left holding his hand at his side, while the tips of her toes touched his. “When is this going to happen?

  “When are you going to… leave?”

  Ah.

  “Not anytime soon,” Hiral said softly. “We’re getting a dog, remember? I’m not going anywhere for a very long time.”

  “Mistress,” Li’l Ur said from her shoulder—which put him close enough he could reach out and poke Hiral in the cheek. “If my would-be-apprentice is correct… Edicts are eternal. Immortal. Even though this may put a wrinkle into my hopes for him, it means you potentially have a very long time together. Assuming he can control the final step of the transformation.”

  “Definitely don’t think I’m immortal yet,” Hiral said.

  “But you could be?” Seena said.

  “By Ur’s thinking, yeah.”

  Something about that seemed to make Seena sad, her face falling slightly.

  Sensing the change of his Mistress, Li’l Ur put his small hand against the side of her head, and leaned closer to whisper into her ear. “So are Progenitors. So are gods.”

  Seena started at the quiet words—something only she and Hiral had likely heard—and she turned her head to look at the little lich. “What?”

  “He’s saying,” Hiral said at the same time he reached up to gently grab her by the chin and turn her face to look at him. “Just become as powerful as a Progenitor—as a god—and we can stay together the whole time. Uh, I guess we’ll need to do something to find an immortal dog, or that could be awkward, but…”

  He didn’t get to finish his sentence, Seena leaning forward to cut off his words by placing her lips on his. It wasn’t a fiery, passionate kiss. In fact, it was little more than her soft lips on his, but it was comforting. A promise.

  She leaned back after only a few quick seconds. “Just become as powerful as a Progenitor, huh?”

  “We’re a lot of the way there already, I think,” Hiral said.

  “We all came from somewhere,” Amin Thett said, clearly having also been aware of the discussion. “I don’t believe we were simply born as gods, but instead struggled first as mortals before ascending. A similar path to the one you’re taking now. There is no guarantee you will reach this stage. Looking at each of you, there is certainly a good chance, at least.

  “If nothing else, with the power I see running through your bodies, I expect you could easily live a thousand years. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

  “I have no idea what an iceberg is,” Yanily said. “But I haven’t asked my question yet.” The spearman’s hand was still in the air.

  Seena chuckled and intertwined her fingers in Hiral’s, stepping to stand beside him instead of in front of him. “You’ve been very patient,” she said. “What’s your question?”

  Yanily dropped his hand and looked at Hiral. “Those Edicts that came before you, that you’re connected to, like gravity and energy, did they exist as forces before they became them?”

  “You mean, did gravity—and the big-picture Edict of Gravity—exist before this personification was formed?” Hiral clarified.

  “Yeah.”

  “Yes, I think so,” Hiral said. “Whoever that was, he—or she—tapped into the power of the Rune of Gravity to such an extent, they reached the Edict. Then they took that to such a pinnacle, it bound to their soul, resulting in this avatar when they eventually died. I think.”

  “Okay, then for my real question,” Yanily said. “Does the Edict of Eclipse already exist somewhere?”

  “Oh,” Hiral said. “Oh. No, it doesn’t. I’m sure of that.”

  At the words, Yanily held out his fist, a broad smile on his face, and waited for Hiral to bump his own against it. Which he very promptly did.

  “You’re a genius, Yan,” Hiral said. “You really are.”

  “Care to explain to the rest of the class?” Laseen said.

  “The Rune of Eclipse is more proof something about this cycle is different,” Hiral said. “Especially if I—in the very distant future—become an Edict of Eclipse. It didn’t already exist. I created it. I’m not leaning on an established rule of the universe to try and free the runes from Genesis. I’m trying something entirely new. Something the Raze haven’t seen before. And, something they hopefully won’t know how to counter.

  “It means we have a slightly better chance of success.”

  “Success at what, exactly?” Romin said. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Genesis being in a dungeon change things? So what if we poison the Raze and kill them, won’t things still reset on their own?”

  “Sounds to me like we need to get Genesis out of that dungeon,” Seena said matter-of-factly. “Like a Lost item.”

  “It won’t be so easy, girlie,” Laseen said.

  “Nothing ever is,” Seena said. “Anybody have any objections to doing that?”

  “Not an objection,” Seeyela said. “Just a question. How are we going to make that happen?”

  “No idea,” Seena said. Then she pointed at Hiral with her free hand. “He’ll figure it out.”

  “Can’t you at least say we’ll figure it out?” Hiral asked.

  “You do good work under pressure,” Seena said, turning her head away from him before he even had a chance to reply, to instead look at Amin Thett. “Hey, since you’re here, answer something for me.”

  “That didn’t sound like a request,” Amin Thett said with a raised eyebrow.

  “As much as you were my friend, and someone I respect,” Li’l Ur said. “You would do well to do as my Mistress expects.”

  “Don’t worry, no world domination necessary,” Seena said. “Hiral keeps talking about the runes escaping Genesis. Or, about how they’re trapped there. What will actually happen when they get out?”

  “Ah,” Amin Thett said. “About that…”

  “What about that?” Hiral asked.

  “Perhaps you haven’t noticed, since you’re confined within a time-paused domain of my creation, but, tell me, can you feel what is beyond these temple walls?”

  “Hiral?” Seena said.

  “One second,” Hiral said, noting that his sensory domain was in fact restrained by the boundaries of the structure around them. With everything going on—namely the dead Progenitor appearing in front of them—he’d been understandably distracted. Now, though? What was Amin Thett asking him to feel?

  Within the domain Amin Thett had erected, there wasn’t anything particularly out of the ordinary, if he didn’t count the black dungeon portal. Taking the second to concentrate on the energy of it confirmed it was indeed a Black Gate, even if it was in a different form. That couldn’t be what Amin Thett meant, though.

  So, what is…?

  Through the portal, Hiral’s funnel of runic energy flowed as he expected it to, filling the space they stood in, even if the energy lacked the same sort of purity he was used to. For that much to have gotten in before Amin Thett stopped time was almost unbelievable. Hiral’s funnel was working even better than he’d planned it would.

  Go me.

  The inside inspected, Hiral next turned his attention to what the Progenitor had specifically asked: outside the temple. Walls had always proven an effective block to his sensory domain, though he’d long since learned to look for the smallest cracks to squeeze his Rejection through it. Here, in the temple, he didn’t even need to look for a crack. The wide doors at the front of the building, and the high windows that showed the frozen lightning in the sky made it child’s play to push his sensory domain outside.

  It didn’t even take him a heartbeat to spread his senses thousands of feet in each direction, a quick tie of Connection linking him up to the falling rain to add that to his perception. And, what did he find? Not much, really.

  The temple had an interesting architecture that was somewhat familiar. Creepy would be one way to describe it, with statues perched on the corners, their ever-open eyes staring deep into the storm frozen around them. Where have I seen something like this before?

  Since that probably wasn’t the question Amin Thett was looking for an answer to, Hiral felt through the entirety of his domain for whatever had gotten the Progenitor’s attention. Physically, there was the remnant of some kind of road leading away from the temple, as well as the ruins of what could have only been smaller buildings around the main structure.

  The surrounding area had been both heavily damaged and heavily worn, from the feel of things. Craters marred the rising slope leading away from the temple area, while the buildings that had been blasted and battered had rounded edges, showing long exposure to the elements. Whatever had happened out there, it’d been one hell of a fight. It was honestly kind of a miracle the temple had survived.

  Or was it rebuilt?

  That could be it, with the structure not quite having the same feel the surrounding wreckage did. Still, there was no way Amin Thett wanted his attention on building materials or aging the structures. No, nothing physical stood out. What about energy?

  Despite the raging storm and the heavy clouds above charged with the electricity of unspent lightning, there was also a fair amount of solar energy present. The sun above the…?

  Hiral’s thought trailed off as his search for energy pulled his attention back down to the physical. Something he’d grown so accustomed to, he practically ignored it in his sensory domain these days.

  Roots along the ground carrying—and radiating—solar energy.

  Huh?

  Just sensing the familiar feature of the landscape had him doubling back on his own senses, throwing off all the blinders he’d learned through practice to put on himself. Suddenly, the world outside the temple bloomed in his senses like a rising sun. Everything was aglow, a cacophony of input he forced himself not to block out.

  Solar energy streamed through the clouds alongside the pouring rain. The roots on the ground, where they weren’t sucking up that energy, emitted it right back out as part of a constant cycle. A paused wind carried gusts of rain like sheets, filling the sky with a twisting dance. Runic energy ran thick through channels stretching out of the temple and into the distance, while a Primal Chord thundered along with the storm.

  Through it all, the world around him felt empty other than the natural fury. No life, other than the plants. No small—or large—animals. Nothing. It was…

  Hiral stopped, eyes widening as his senses went back to something he’d felt in passing. There it was again. That… that can’t be right. Blocking everything else out, he vaguely heard Amin Thett say something about getting it, and Hiral focused everything on just one thing his sensory domain had found.

  Runic energy.

  Thick pathways of it running away from the temple. Pathways far too complete to have been a result of the funnel he’d created.

  “We were wrong,” Hiral said. “I was wrong. The runes don’t need to escape Genesis. They’re already here.”

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