Jenna gave a glance at the scroll Eleazar was showing her and speed-read it in a second. Then she looked at Eleazar with new eyes, as its contents thundered in her head.

  I am Governance, last ruler of the Old Empire, first Omega of its people, doomed to die in three days at the hands of the very same Coven who ascended me to godhood. I write these lines to you, Eleazar, knowing that sooner or later they will find you, and change your heart.

  Evolution came to our world seven years ago. No one asked for it. It was imposed on us as an unwanted gift at a wedding. We fooled ourselves into thinking it was a blessing, and we paid a heavy price to enjoy it in full.

  We were told that focusing on a single Intent would turn us away from being human, but would grant us greater power, and foolishly, some of us took the bait.

  I chose governing as my sole Intent; not ruling, not commanding, not leading. Governing—the art of making societies functional by understanding how they work. I stopped seeing the Empire as the sum of its people; it became a living organism for me, made up of multiple cells, an organism I could breed, tame, and help reach maturity.

  I ceased caring for it on an emotional level. I did it because it became my function.

  I stopped being the player and became the music. That sounds lofty and grand, but it comes with a price. I gave up the ability to appreciate its beauty.

  However, my Intent allows me to fully understand the human mind, and I will change my thought patterns to those of the Eleal you knew. The following lines you read will not come from Governance. They would be the ones Eleal would have written if he had not given away his humanity to protect his people.

  “Eleazar, my dear son: I know these lines will come to you in your moment of greatest darkness. There is not much I can safely tell you; revealing too much about what is to come could set you on a dark path.”

  “I know that foul Coven leader has tricked you. You accepted his not-truths, believing you were taking the rest of your people to a new land, and have just discovered that you are to be a weapon in the destruction of two worlds.

  You are to release an army of Tribulations in Belona, just to satisfy the petty need for revenge of a godling. And you will never be the new Omega. Andara or Boral will occupy that role, and Earthlings will suffer because of it. They will be ruled either by a tyrant or a zealot.”

  “There is hope yet, Eleazar. You and your followers are still mostly human. You chose to keep the most precious parts of you, and I am not talking about your shape or your abilities.

  When a mother decides to protect her sick child, even knowing that he will not make it to maturity, or when a man sacrifices his life so that others may live, that is what being human means. They are not adapting. They are not evolving. They are not ensuring the survival of their species.”

  “Instead, they choose to transcend nature and embrace higher truths, those not based on natural selection, but on generosity and doing what is right. That is what we gave away, for two or three more points in a stupid stat or a shorter cooldown in a silly power.”

  “I am proud of you three. You chose not to imitate my mistakes and kept most of the memories and feelings that defined you as you were.”

  “You knew me well, Eleazar, and thus know these words come from me and are told from the heart. So I trust you will accept these instructions:

  -Help these people, called the Losers, in whatever they need to end this war. All resources must be at their disposal.

  They are wonderful people, Eleazar, with wonderful friends, some of whom took the opposite route we followed: they were forged as tools and chose to become persons. Individuals meant to be a minor challenge in one of the Coven’s silly dungeons rose to the task of being heroes. Humanity can be lost, Eleazar, but it can also be regained.

  I want you to be human.

  -Never separate from the Scrollbearer. He is much more than the carrier of this message. He is a creature of wonder and mystery, and when the time comes, he will become your greatest weapon, one that can neither be resisted nor denied.”

  “Do this, and I promise you that you will regain your lost honor and be remembered as a hero.”

  “Do this, and your people will have a home. Their own home, not one stolen from others.”

  “Do this, and know that my pride goes with you, my son. Pride for the man you were, pride for the man you are about to become, and pride for what you will do when the dark days come.”

  Your loving father,

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Eleal”

  Eleazar looked at Jenna, not one whiff of emotion on his face.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

  Three hours later, when the Imperial family had returned home and Pob had gone to bed, the Losers debated the events of the day.

  “What is on your mind, Bob?” Jenna asked. “You have been awfully quiet all evening.”

  “It is because of that creature, the Scrollbearer, the one that kept following Eleazar all the time,” Bob answered thoughtfully, while he caressed his beard.

  “The one the Scroll described as the ultimate weapon or whatever?” Jenna asked.

  “The very same. I am pretty certain it comes from Pantea,” Bob answered.

  “What!” said Billy and Jenna almost at once. “How do you know that?” Billy asked.

  “He spent all the evening passing that metal ball from one hand to the other, doing strange wrist movements,” Bob said.

  “So?” asked Jenna.

  “That is a technique called Threading the Needle. It is used in Palooga to strengthen the wrists,” explained Bob.

  “That is significant,” conceded Jenna. “You are the only person alive with knowledge of Palooga techniques, and you have never met this creature before.”

  “But what we do know about Pantea?” Billy asked. “We all assumed it was some kind of fantasy world with inhabitants similar to us. But we have no proof of that, do we? For all we know, they could be an insectoid race.”

  “That could well be the case,” Bob admitted. “Perhaps that is the reason it is so tough to unlock new Pantean skills. We got Harmony and Disassembling by chance in the last dungeon. I assumed all the skills were based on human equivalents. Perhaps I was wrong.”

  “You are not going to start laying eggs or whatever to unlock a new skill, are you, Bob?” Billy asked worriedly. He was only half-joking; Bob knew the art of Fleshshaping. Billy was sure he could end up laying eggs if he put his mind to it.

  “Could we try to communicate with it?” asked Bob. “Its mind seems broken, but perhaps Jenna could use Spirit to mend it.”

  “I don't think that's a good idea, Bob,” she replied. “The Imperials seem to view it as some kind of holy creature. I doubt they would allow me to experiment on it. Additionally, we could be interfering with Governance’s cryptic prophecies. He emphasized the importance of not tampering with the Scrollbearer. The Scrollbearer is meant to be an extra, not a protagonist—at least for now.”

  "Let’s focus on the war at hand. Much as I am loath to admit it, Eleazar has provided us with valuable intelligence," Jenna stated. "He believes that Andara plans to kill the River Dragon, which would effectively split Belona into seven separate cities, hundreds of miles apart. We can turn this situation to our benefit."

  “We no longer have to worry about the eight dungeons currently controlled by the Unfocused; they will do our job for us. That leaves us with the task of infiltrating the five dungeons controlled by the Fluids and the six held by the Committed,” she continued.

  “Has anyone considered warning the Fluids and the Committed that the dungeons they are creating are ticking time bombs?” asked Billy.

  "Eleon thinks that would only worsen the situation. Both factions are preparing for a long war, believing they have ample time to train their Postulants. If they become desperate, they will only accelerate their efforts to acquire more cores as quickly as possible,” Jenna replied.

  “If they realize they can’t rely on Belona as their second home, they will focus even harder on Earth. Only their Postulants will be able to reach it, but if they rank up enough of them, they do not really need the rest of their forces to conquer us.”

  “They do not give a damn about what happens to the Beli, do they?” Billy was amazed at how callous the invaders had become.

  “I have been analyzing possible options,” Jenna announced. There is only one way this could work, given the short time we have. Both of you are going to have to do the heavy lifting, as you are the ones with shapeshifting powers.”

  “I could probably infiltrate a Committed dungeon, as their forms appear to be fairly stable,” Bob mused, “but the Fluids are in a state of constant flux. I would need a Fleshshaping perk of much higher rank than the ones I have. It could take months to train one, and that is even taking Alchemy into account.”

  “I have much the same limitations Bob has, which is not surprising, as our powers are based on the same skill. There is an alternative, however,” Billy said softly. Too softly.

  “I am not going to like it, am I?” Jenna already knew the answer to that.

  “If I kill one of these fluids, I can use my Revenant power to return as one of them. I think the final result would be much more credible than anything I can do with Whisper’s powers,” Billy explained.

  “You were right,” Jenna assented. “I do not like it. You all read Governance’s scroll, and know the number Evolution did on his mind. You could even join the enemy.”

  “Jenna, give me some credit,” Billy said. “I have come back four times as a Core. One of them was a Tribulation, and the last one, a centuries-old alchemy master.”

  “Yes, that last one went famously well,” Jenna added sarcastically. “Knowing that really eases my mind, if you come back as a humanoid cockroach or whatever. Maybe Bob is not the one we need to worry about laying eggs around the house.”

  “I do not suppose it matters,” she finally sighed. “We do not have any other choice, anyway.”

  “Okay, that settles it,” Bob finished. “We rest tonight, and tomorrow we go hunting. One Committed for me, and one Fluid for Billy.”

  “You rest tonight,” Jenna corrected him. “I have things to do.”

  “What can you possibly have to do at this hour, Jenna?” Billy asked, exasperated.

  “Using Transference to teach you both Old Imperial while you sleep. You had both forgotten that small detail, didn't you?” she asked. “You were about to infiltrate several enemy bases without speaking their language.”

  Bob and Billy looked at each other, both clearly embarrassed.

  “Oh, boy. This starts well,” said Jenna, holding her head between her hands.