“Mr. Donner, if you could be any animal, what would it be?”

  “A human.”

  “Uh…”

  “I mean, definitely not a horse. You know what they do to horses in my position, right? The legs?”

  “Okay, moving on.”

  “Marin?”

  We entered the tent to find Tala Nez, the tan woman with the glasses–and the monkey and the wolf–from Chris’s team. She was wearing a surgical mask, her long hair in braids, and she was speaking calmly to Fu, who berated her and shook her pliers threateningly at the monkey, who cowered on the woman’s shoulders. Tala’s eyes grew wide as she noticed Wally and me. “Th-they can’t be in here, Miss Marin! We are not ready to report our findings yet! There’s so much–”

  “Shone’s sake, Tala,” said Marin, sounding especially tired. “They helped kill the thing. If anyone has a need to know, it’s them. I’ve already made the call.”

  Fu, seeming satisfied that she’d made her point, strode past us, but not before she gave Wally and me a parting hug. Now that Habby had brought it to my attention, I did notice that my hug was longer. “Catch ya later, you two. Hit me up after your shift and I’ll show you some good bars around HQ.”

  “Fulgen needs to stay close for now,” said Marin. “He’s still a mark, remember?”

  “Ah, shit. Soon as you’re off the leash then, Fireman. You and I are gonna paint Topside red. Red. Ha! You can come along too if you want, Sab! Hell, you leave it to me and I’ll get Bee-Ho to come along! We’ll make it a group date! All right Porter, take good care of my boys!”

  With that she left the tent. I tried to calculate who would be dating who in that scenario. Then I shrugged, and Wally and I turned to stare at the partly dissected, partly frozen cat carcass laid out on an oversized metal table.

  “Say, don’t you also have a wolf?” I asked Tala.

  “What? Oh. Sora is built more for combat. Kitchi is better suited to help in the workshop. I still bring Sora out sometimes so he doesn’t get lonely. But it’s a bit cramped back here, and he doesn’t like the smell of that thing.”

  I didn’t smell anything in particular; seemed a little early for rot to be setting in, especially if the creature was being kept cold. Of course, I wasn’t a dog. Or someone with sensory issues. Wally sniffed the air and gagged slightly. Noticing a container of surgical masks, he grabbed one.

  “Ah, right,” said Tala. “You should mask up too. And you, Marin.”

  I knew my Guardian’s Immunity skill probably protected me from whatever they were worried about, but I complied to be polite. I looked over the carcass. “Well. That’s freakin’ gross.”

  “Chris?” asked Wally. He was indicating portions of the creature that were encased in ice.

  “Yes, it’s very convenient,” said Tala. “And he has a method of freezing and thawing samples with almost no tissue damage. Speaking of, Miss Marin, please send Chris down here at the end of the day to freeze the specimen again. We can wheel it into the walk-in freezer if needed, but this is much easier.”

  “All right, so what gives?” I asked. “What’s got you guys so jumpy about this thing? I mean… there’s the obvious, yeah. But what am I missing?”

  “Give him the summary,” said Marin.

  Tala took a deep breath and looked at her clipboard while she spoke. Her monkey perched on her shoulder and also studied the clipboard, as if reading along. “It’s a true chimaera. An amalgam of several very different animals, with some bits that don’t match any known creature. It’s part cat, obviously, but also part reptile and even part insect, giving it a tough exoskeleton. And its DNA, it’s such a mish-mash. There’s no way such a thing should be alive, yet it is. These creatures don’t even have the same types of circulatory systems, let alone the same type of blood.”

  “Which means what?” I asked.

  Tala petted the monkey. “My animal companions are enhanced from their original forms by my aether, but they’re still ‘real.’ They would still survive if I unbound them. This thing… it needs aether to survive. It’s the only thing that would allow its disparate parts and systems to coexist. Otherwise it would die within minutes.”

  “So, it has an artifact?” asked Wally.

  “No. Non-sapient animals can’t make bound artifacts function. It has an ambience crystal deeply embedded in its body.”

  Wally and I blinked.

  “They’re extremely rare. They produce a small generalized field in which aether can be used without the need for an artifact, provided the person or… thing has an aether skill that can take advantage. It is believed such ambient aether existed across the entire planet before the Schism.” She turned to Marin. “What it means for us is that this is definitely part of one of the Projects. The Titan Project is real.”

  “The ‘Projects.’” I prompted.

  “They are a set of aetheric research projects the Anteschismatic Empire undertook near its end,” said Marin. “We have some scant records of their existence. Most of the Projects failed. Some succeeded but were never put to use for their original purpose, whatever it was. However, any that had any degree of success produced very powerful, very dangerous results. You, Mr. Fulgen, are the result of one of those projects. The Guardians as a whole are, I mean.”

  “Ok, so, tell me if I’m off base here. I am—no, this…” I held up the jewel on my amulet “... is the result of a prehistoric mad science experiment? And so is that thing?”

  “Not the term I would use, but I suppose you are close enough. And there’s more.” Tala began to point out parts of the partly disassembled creature. “Powerful muscles and highly elastic tendons for speed. Armored against blunt force attacks.”

  She put on a rubber glove and lifted up a thawed portion of the cat’s neck ruff. Underneath were many thin layers of red tissue riddled with blood vessels, like baklava from hell. “This frill was borrowed from lizards, then adapted further. Lots of blood runs to this tissue, and vasodilation increases it further. The creature basically had a radiator built into its head.”

  I remembered how it would open its frill after I torched it.

  “Hard pieces of exoskeleton on the face can be slammed shut over the mucous membranes, protecting them from flames.”

  “Are you a biologist?” Wally asked.

  Tala blushed. “Yes, I had my master’s and I worked as a zoo veterinarian before I bound my bracelet. Never thought I’d be applying it to something like this.”

  A little fiery chili pepper was inspecting the cat’s corpse. [Ask her about the creature’s affinities.]

  “I’m supposed to ask you about its affinities,” I said.

  Tala looked at me. “Your lecti wants to know? He’s…odd looking.”

  “What?”

  [What?!]

  “You can see him?” I asked.

  “I have a skill that allows me to see such spirits, yes,” said Tala, reaching out as if to touch him. Her finger passed right through, but Habby winced all the same. “My class is a summoner subclass, so it comes with several essence skills. Is his form a… vegetable?”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  I shrugged. “He’s a habanero pepper. Bit of a story there. Have you ever heard of the anime ‘Capsaiders?’”

  She gave me a flat look. “The kid’s show? My baby brother watches it.”

  “It is not a kid’s show! It’s just… family friendly!”

  “Isn’t one of the signature moves named after a butthole? I swear, if I heard my brother yell ‘Ring of Fire!’ one more time…”

  [No, no, no!] Habby wailed. [This is mortifying! This is your fault, Jett! I can’t be seen like this in front of a beautiful woman!]

  I cringed. “Can you hear him too?”

  “Uh, yes…” She took a step back, her eyes widening, but she seemed just as scandalized by me as by what Habby had said.

  Then I remembered: A lecti’s personality was usually influenced by their sorcerer.

  “Wait!” I said. “That’s not me! Habby, tell her! About the… the memories from Issa! Issa was the horndog! I’m normal!”

  Well okay, that was a stretch.

  “Jett?” Wally asked. “Everything okay?” He followed our gazes to the spot where Habby was hovering, but of course he couldn’t see anything.

  “What’s this?” asked Marin.

  “Tala can see and hear my lecti, and he’s… a handful. Damn it Habby, apologize!”

  [Fine.] Habby sniffed indignantly. [I’m sorry I called you beautiful, Tala. I promise I’ll never do it again. NO DON’T—]

  I zapped Habby into my tattoo before things got any worse. I tried to smile reassuringly at Tala, but I felt my face twist into a rictus. She took another step back.

  “I am very sorry about that,” I said slowly. “Habby came into being with some of the memories and habits of my predecessor. I understand that’s unusual?”

  “Uh, y-yes,” said Tala, relaxing almost imperceptibly. “My lecti doesn’t have much personality yet. She likes to hover near Sora and doesn’t like Kitchi so much. Some inflection to her voice. That’s about it. Your lecti seems interesting though. If you can make him a bit more… socially presentable, I’d be interested in interviewing and studying him.”

  “Yeah, ‘interesting’ is one way of putting it. The grass isn’t always greener. Again, I’m really, really sorry if he made you uncomfortable. I promise to work on it with him.”

  “S-sure. No worries. It just took me aback, is all.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out. “Habby does know a lot about aether stuff though, so I figure his question has merit. So, do you know anything about the creature’s affinities?”

  “Ah. Well, that’s difficult to tell once they’re dead. But there are some physical markers that could indicate water affinity. Perhaps even a skill or two that it could use thanks to the ambience crystal.”

  “That might have, say, made him more resilient against fire aether?”

  “Yes. With high water affinity the creature would have actually taken more damage from fire, but if it had a skill to heal that damage, mitigate its effects, or keep itself cool, it would have more than compensated.”

  I thought about how I’d actually seen steam shoot out from behind this creature’s neck frill. I looked from Marin, to Tala, and back again. “Let me see if I got this straight. This thing was basically… custom designed to kill me? To be able to chase me down and to resist my powers?”

  Marin nodded gravely.

  “Well,” I said with mock bravado, “at least now I know why it was able to beat me.”

  “It also means they have a library of these things available,” said Tala, “such that they were able to find a creature optimized for the situation. Either that or they’ve learned to make their own modifications. In either case, Miss Marin, I think it’s clear. They didn’t just stumble across a few titans. They’ve collected and have access to the whole Project.”

  “A few?” said Wally. “You’ve fought these things before?”

  “Yes,” said Tala, at the exact same time Marin said “No.”

  I leaned against a table, amused. “Probably no popcorn allowed in here, huh? Too bad. Anyway, one of you go on. Please. I don’t even care who.”

  “We,” said Marin, glaring at Tala, “have not personally fought a titan. G-Tech has not. Certain other parties have, at least according to rumor. Last night was the first time their existence was truly confirmed. And that really is all you’re getting at this time.”

  An alarm sounded in the distance then, and we heard murmuring outside the tent.

  “Wonderful,” said Marin. “Well, I think this concludes the tour. Thank you for your time, Tala. You two, with me, and stay close. That particular alarm doesn’t mean we’re in immediate danger, but something is definitely happening upstairs.”

  “Shit, man,” said Fu. She ran her hands through her purple hair.

  We were in the same conference room where we’d started this crazy day, having just watched the strange video that had broadcast to several hijacked screens throughout the building, and apparently to multiple TV stations throughout the city as well. Several employees from various departments had crowded in to view a replay of the broadcast. Marin had planted Wally and I here. Since the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, she gave the others assembled an abbreviated version of what we’d heard in the isolation tent, along with some token reassurances. Then she disappeared, presumably to wrestle a million other problems this debacle had caused.

  We sat in silence for a moment, digesting what we’ve seen. Through a window we could see the sun setting. The room started to empty.

  “Kind of lagged at the end,” I observed. “Shouldn’t he have done an evil laugh? I liked the parts that were about me, though. No such thing as bad press, right?”

  “We’re going to see more of those things?” said Wally.

  Fu shrugged. “Not a flood, from the sound of it. That guy with the mask, they call him Double M. He does that from time to time. Hacks screens, big scary dramatic reveal. It usually doesn’t mean too much. He just likes to keep the Garrison on the map.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “What the hell is the Garrison anyway?”

  Habby appeared beside me.

  “Uh,” Fu stood. “You’d better talk to Porter about that shit. I gotta go.”

  “But… Fu.” I rose and put a hand on her shoulder. She… seemed to enjoy that. “Listen, you’ve been really helpful, and truth be told this is a little freaky.”

  “I know. I’m sorry Fireman, but I’ve gotta get ready for—Bee-Ho? Bee-Ho!”

  She rushed over and hugged none other than Jessica Faxton, who had just appeared in the doorway with Chris Eisner.

  “Fu!” Jessie spoke with a slightly squeezed voice as Fu got exuberant with her hug. “Good to see you. I just got back to Topside, and we came to find you as soon as we heard.”

  Fu released her, and she stepped into the room. She nodded at me and Wally in turn. “How are you two holding up?”

  “I’d be great,” I said, “If someone would tell me what the hell the Garrison is.”

  Jessie’s eyes widened. “Straight to the point. Do we have a few minutes, Chris?”

  Chris shrugged. “You won’t onboard until tomorrow, Jessie. Bulwark’s on call at HQ tonight. Yeah Jett, let’s talk.”

  The five of us sat back down at the table. Wally, Jessie, Fu, Chris, and me.

  Jessie took the lead.

  “The Garrison is, well, basically a cult. Anyone involved with artifacts knows about them. They’re devoted to the Eternal Enemy, the force the Anteschismatic Empire is supposed to have battled and ultimately lost against.”

  Wally perked up. “Like… the Schism and the Scar and all of that?”

  “The very thing,” said Chris. “According to the few records we have from that time, the leaders of the old empire sacrificed half of the world itself to destroy the enemy. But they left troops behind, who eventually assimilated into our societies and became the Garrison. Allegedly. But whether the original Garrison actually existed or not, the modern Garrison is very real, and they claim to be the successors of those from thousands of years ago. They’re the ones responsible for the crew cases, the sleeper agent sorcerers, and apparently these titans. Some say they even control some of the world’s governments.

  ?Didn’t you mention something about a Garrison right after we first started talking.?

  [Yes. They are most certainly real. With these kinds of connections at their disposal, I don’t doubt that the modern day version is the same. We are most fortunate. We’ve connected with people who already understand the threat!]

  “My lecti says the Garrison is real,” I said. “The original Garrison, I mean.”

  Chris nodded, studying my appraisingly. “Your lecti has memories from… before?”

  I shrugged. “He claims he remembers a lot, and some of the memories are vivid enough that he practically remembers himself as Issa. Yours doesn’t?” I thought about what Marin had said that morning. That Cryos, the first Ice Guardian, had betrayed the others. “Guess it might suck if it did, huh?”

  Chris shook his head sadly. “Mine asked to be named Crystal, the same name as Cryos’s lecti before his betrayal. That seems to be all that was preserved. And you’re right, maybe that’s for the best. I have a theory that the manner of Cryos’s betrayal stunted his lecti, even broke it. Anyway, that’s interesting to hear. We may need to pick your lecti’s brain on this matter at a later date.”

  [Everyone wants to examine me now, it seems.]

  ?Now you know how I feel.?

  “So,” I said. “Not just a couple of sorcerers and their demon cat, but a whole shadow organization is hunting me? What does that mean? Am I screwed?”

  “Hell no!” said Fu. “First off, that’s exactly what G-Tech’s here to deal with! Second—”

  “Mr. Fulgen?”

  A woman stood in the doorway to the conference room. “My name is Natalie Whitcomb. I’m Isabel Marin’s secretary. She says she would like to speak with you, as soon as possible.”

  I stood. Wally got up too, but Natalie motioned him back.

  “Sorry, Mr. Donner. Just Mr. Fulgen this time. Follow me?”

  Jett Fulgen has started appearing on Royal Road’s Rising Stars lists under a few tags. Rising Stars highlights newer stories that are gaining traction through follows, ratings, and reader engagement—so if you’re enjoying the story, thank you.

  ?? Even gods need to be held sometimes

  What to Expect:

  - An epic, multi-book space opera with a large found family and multiple POVs.

  - A powerful but emotionally vulnerable protagonist with chaotic powers he struggles to control.

  - Strong, capable, and sometimes morally gray women.

  - High stakes, cosmic threats, and detailed world-building.

  What NOT to Expect:

  - LitRPG/System elements

  - Lone wolf power fantasy

  - A story that is only about romance

  This story contains mature themes, explicit sexual content, and graphic violence. It is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

  90+ Chapters in the first month

  500,000+ words already written and backlogged