[Your father,] it said. [...I think.]

  "You think?”

  [Hey, it's not like I've met the man! I simply woke up one day and got all this information jumbled up inside my head.] He grumbled the next part. [Invasion of privacy, if you ask me.]

  Damien's mind froze for a second, anxiety stirring within. It took a lot to truly unsettle him. The number of things that could truly catch him off guard kept dwindling the further he grew. Most things, he was already aware of, or they were so within his range of prediction that he was unsurprised when he was proven right.

  What the man—Minder thing had just said was so out of the blue that it took his mind a moment to process it.

  The mystery about where he came from had been his frontline problem for as long as he had been alive, so much so that over the years, he'd come up with no small number of theories, most of which had been disproven when he failed to produce any facts to weigh them on.

  He'd once thought himself a lost prince from a faraway kingdom. Ambitious? Yeah, he knew. He and Keilan had searched library records for any royal lines that had any features resembling his. They'd also combed through other knowledge centers for long lost lines, but had still come up with nothing, not even a line with grey hairs as a major feature had come up.

  He'd thought maybe his parents were the sort of secret, powerful types, those powerful shadow families who manipulated world events from behind the scenes, with grey destructive powers at their fingertips. That had also come up with nothing, made all the more worse when he failed to find anyone who wielded the same affinity as his.

  He'd checked the records of lots of kingdoms. Discreetly of course, but the results had still come up the same, nothing. He'd asked some of his contacts in some of the most powerful organizations in the world to search for any lost records or something. In the end, it all ended in a negative.

  Damien knew that the answers to his origin could be found somewhere and it was just a matter of time before he found it, but he'd never predicted that the answers would just appear right on his lap like that.

  Afraid to hope but still basking in the rays of sunshine that had just shone on him, he leaned forward and asked the question that had been on his mind for years.

  "Who are my parents?"

  [Sorry, I can't tell you that.]

  And that was how thick clouds of darkness blocked out his ray of sunshine.

  "Come again."

  [I don't know,] the thing quickly backtracked. [I do not know who they are.]

  "Then how do you know they sent you on this... Task to Mind me?"

  [Well, like I said earlier. I woke up one day and the information was just in my mind. Poof! Go to my son and assist him, that sort of thing.]

  Damien's eyes twitched. "Be serious."

  [I am,] it sighed. [You have to understand; I am an artificial construct, I was not born, I was created... Alongside my assignment. I do not know my creator... only the task I have been assigned to carry out.]

  Damien paused, pushing back the anger that had been rearing up. He let out a heavy sigh. "I... I didn't know that. I apologize."

  [It's alright. Besides, it would be a terrible idea if you knew.]

  Damien blinked and Keilan swore. "You've got to be kidding me. Dame, I suggest we chuck it out straight into the ocean. I bet you ten thousand gold coins that it'll go past the five hundred miles mark within the next two minutes." He raised his book, pausing when Daimen gestured.

  "Explain," Damien said.

  [I do not know your father, but I can summarize that he is someone of great renown, to be able to create an exquisite work of art like me.] It coughed when Damien's face remained unamused. [Whatever led to your... Abandonment and my assignment to protect you must have been really serious, which means he—they—don't want their karmic ties tracing directly back to you.]

  Fear and surprise gripped Damien in equal measure.

  "Wait, doesn't his karmic line automatically connect at birth?" Keilan said.

  The thing shrugged. [It should, and you should be dead by now. The only thing I can think of that prevents this is if the only parent that set eyes on you is dead, or some Karmic mumbo jumbo was done to sever ties between you.]

  Ahh, Damien understood then. "So if I uncover their identity..."

  [You'll be reconnecting those lines, which will in turn light you into a shining star for anyone who's looking. And I bet you my handsome suit that they will be hostile.]

  Daimen sighed and raised his hands in exasperation. "How am I then supposed to know who my father is then?"

  [Easy; you grow in power, charge up your muscles so big that when you eventually find out who your parents are, any hostile force that attempts to take you out gets a taste of your fist.]

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  Keilan snorted. "Like it's so easy. Our ascension through Spirit lord is costing us more gold than we can scrounge up. And that's discounting the fact that we don't even know where to begin on our step towards the next Realm. Those aren't our main issues, in fact. We—"

  "I think you should shut up now, Keilan," Damien said, capping his palm over his brother's mouth. The Minder thingy had been cordial so far, if a little bit crass, but he wasn't ready for it to know all their secrets.

  In the meantime, since they had hit a dead end concerning what he truly wanted to know, he decided to change the topic.

  "What's your name? I can't keep thinking of you as the "thing" or "it" or worse, "grey man"."

  Keilan eyed Damien as he pulled back his hand. "Grey man sounds good, in my opinion... Encapsulates its... Appearance."

  The Minder sniffed. [You're rotten.]

  "Like an egg infused fart," Keilan bared his teeth.

  The thing sighed, shaking its head as it turned to Damien.

  [You were supposed to give me a name.]

  Damien frowned. "Why? Can't you choose one for yourself?"

  [Sure, but it would be better if you did it.]

  "Trust me, you don't want the ideas running through my head," Damien said. "What does Minder even mean? What do you do?"

  [I am a butler, except I don't serve you tea. I am a well of knowledge on things esoteric which, and I kid you not, is one of the most important criteria needed to walk in any hallowed ranks, not the average you surround yourself with,] it said with a glance at Keilan. [Those are one of the few things my task carries.]

  "I've been doing well by myself. And forgive my boast, but I believe I can find any knowledge I need, eventually. I don't see why I need any assistance from you."

  [Trust me, you'll need it.]

  Damien frowned. "To be frank with you, I do not trust you. And I do not allow those I do not trust anywhere near my person. I hope you understand where my issue stems from now?"

  [I do,] it nodded. [But what can we do? The alternative is me letting you off and then you stumbling and getting yourself into big trouble, eventually, trouble that'll then get a lot of extremely powerful people after you. I may not be exactly forthcoming, but my job is to keep you from all paths that lead to your demise. Eventually, you will find all the answers to your questions, and when you do, another of my jobs is to help you survive them.]

  Damien leaned back. "By what, fighting my battles?"

  The gray thing chortled. [Heck no! One of the things I'm unallowed to do is engage in any form of physical altercation on your behalf. I wouldn't want to either way. That'll be dangerous for my handsome suit. Besides, fighting is not the only way to resolve issues, a belief I hope you shall take on. There are other means to get results.

  Damien nodded. He had heard all he needed to know... For now. Something told him that those means the Minder spoke off carried more consequence than a simple fight.

  "Are you sure you don't want to name yourself?"

  [I am.]

  "Okay," he nodded. "How does Gray sound then?"

  It narrowed its eyes, peering at him. [Who are you and what have you done to Damien? Keilan, I know this is your work. I banish you! Get out!"

  Damien rolled his eyes, waving off the thing as it attempted to lay tiny hands on him. "It was all my idea. There was nothing else that I could think of."

  [Nothing else aside from Gray?]

  Behind him, Keilan chuckled, not bothering to hide it, much to the disgruntlement of the Minder.

  "If you don't want to, you can name yourself," he offered.

  "You could always pick 'little man' as an option," Keilan smiled with a mischievous light in his eyes.

  The Minder sighed dejectedly. [I feel bullied.]

  "Don't mind Keilan," Damien said, once more cupping his hand over his brother's mouth. "He's just jealous of your exquisite handsomeness."

  [You think?] The creature looked at him with hope.

  Damien nodded and smiled when the creature sniffed haughtily towards Keilan. [Gray it is, then. I'm only taking it because you offered, Damien.]

  "Now that we're done with the terrible naming ceremony, let's move on to the more important things." He said to Gray. "You said you're some kind of assistant with other features, can you explain more?"

  Gray rubbed his tiny chin with equally tiny fingers. [Like I showed you earlier, which you weren't paying attention to by the way. As you get stronger and venture out into the wider community, you will encounter powerful foes, some at the same stage as you, while the others might be higher. It is an inevitable right of passage that anyone of great note must pass through.

  [Most of those you meet will have guards, Warders of a more powerful Realm. It is very paramount that you do not pick a fight with them. On the occasion that you do, my services shall be of help in closing that gap.}

  Now Damien was intrigued. He leaned forward. "Tell me more."

  Gray grinned. [First, answer me this question: have you ever had a soul-bonded weapon before?]

  Damien's face scrunched up. The answer was no. Unlike normal weapons, soul bonded weapons were a vast deal greater, with more esoteric enchantments that couldn't fit into ordinary weapons, mostly because of their material.

  Damien had contemplated getting one, but the cost was certain to leave him dead broke. There was only one person capable of forging one in the entire world, and he wasn't someone who was easily impressed by power, considering he was powerful himself, with a vast army at his beck and call.

  It was sad, though. Damien had always wanted a weapon that would grow with him, that he wouldn't have to change at every Realm.

  He said as much to Gray, who nodded, oddly with a relieving look. [Good, 'cause I would have had you throw it away in an instant.] Before Damien could ask what that meant, Gray continued. [Now that we've made certain you don't have one, would you be interested in one? I know the answer but I'd like to hear it from your mouth.] He smiled knowingly.

  Damien narrowed his eyes and drew his hand up, pinching his thumb and index finger just enough to capture the figuring's size. "Um, I don't think you're exactly the type of weapon I wield, size and all.]

  [Pfft, if size is your issue, I can be as big as you want,] Gray waved off his concern. [See!] It melted into a gooey kind of liquid, like liquid silver. When it took shape again, a War Spear hovered in the air.

  Damien's jaw dropped at the sight, his eyes blinking continuously to make sure he was seeing right. Even Keilan that had chosen to return to his book reading, only keeping one suspicious eye on Gray, was completely awed.

  The spear was eleven feet long, with a grey thick shaft. It was clearly made from some kind of unknown metal, durable, given how Damien's knuckles ached when he knocked against it. At both ends of the shaft was a two-foot-long blade, wide at the base and tapering to a deadly point at the tip. The edges were jagged, made to render flesh asunder with an almost harsh silvery glow. He didn't need to test it, there was no doubt of the weapon's capabilities. It made his previous weapon, which could sheer through even Spirit lord material, look tame in comparison.

  Gray turned back into his human form, much to Damien's sadness. [See, no problem with the mass; I could even become an armor if you want, but I don't think you can handle that, yet.]

  Damien blinked, about to argue, before he stopped. "Why?"

  [I'm not just any soul bonded weapon, I'm the best!] Gray said smugly. [Which means I'm not so easily wielded.]

  "Hmm," Keilan said skeptically. "So tell us then; can Damien cut through Spirit Kings?”