Galen whistled as he and his two captors doubling as guards walked through the underground passageway. It was lit by lamps that had orange-yellow Ether crystals rather than light bulbs. As he’d come to discover, those crystals gave off quite a bit of light.

  The high pitched sound of his whistling echoed throughout the tunnel.

  “Damn! You spared no expense making this,” he noted.

  Morpheus chuckled. “Of course.”

  “How much did this cost to make?” he asked.

  The Shadow had been about to answer before a thought seemed to occur to him. “We hardly went over economics during your studies, didn’t we?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. And?”

  “Even if I were to tell you, I don’t think you’d understand. Let’s just say it cost quite a bit of DuraiNotes to make this.”

  Galen’s brow twitched. Of course the man who calls himself a god would also name the currency after himself…

  Out loud he asked, “Were slaves used to make the tunnel?”

  “Oh, void no! I wouldn’t trust those tree huggers- I mean, those elves with such an important task. No, I hired workers. Some were even dwarves.”

  Galen blinked. “I thought all the races besides humans were slaves.”

  “Most,” the Shadow admitted. “But not all. Dwarves, you see, are quite the craftsmen. They have an innate, inborn talent, for the most part, when it comes to building and making things. We humans have gotten very good at cultivating those skills, but on average we still fall short. So, some of the dwarf slaves were given an offer. In exchange for some measure of freedom, they work for us, and I do mean actual work. As in they get paid and everything.”

  “Let me guess. They’re Second Circle citizens?” Galen asked. “Wait… no, you lot would consider that FAR too good for them. So, Third Circle then?”

  The Shadow shrugged. “Pretty much. Those that took the offer were better off for it, however.”

  “And those that didn’t were left as slaves to do menial and hard labor,” he finished before saying sarcastically. “How generous of you lot.”

  Morpheus sighed. “I really don’t know why you’re so bothered by the fact that we have slaves. I’ll have you know the other races have enslaved humans in the past.”

  “And they’re just as reprehensible for it,” Galen countered. “What, did you think I’d change my mind just because others did it too? Just because everyone is doing something doesn’t automatically make it right, Morpheus.”

  “Do you mean to tell me that your world didn’t have slaves? At all? In all of its history?” the Shadow challenged.

  Galen paused, then reluctantly admitted. “Yes, it did. The era I grew up in was one of if not the most peaceful time in my world’s history. Before that, however… yes, slavery was a legal thing. Heck, an entire civil war was fought in my home nation hundreds of years ago over the matter.”

  Morpheus mulled that over, then asked. “Did it ever occur to you, Champion, that perhaps your era was an outlier? That perhaps slavery, victors dominating and ruling over the defeated, is just the natural way of things?”

  He hesitated, because it was true to a certain extent. Modern day Earth really was an outlier in a lot of cases. However…

  “Maybe so, but I’ll have you know in my world, in my era, slavery had been outlawed by just about every nation on the planet. That proves that, despite whatever established history there is, people can be better, Morpheus. You all CAN be better.”

  The Shadow visibly frowned, but not in an upset way. More of a contemplative one.

  Galen glanced to Callista behind him, who also had a thoughtful expression.

  “That line of reasoning is very idealistic of you, Champion,” Morpheus finally said after a long pause.

  “You don’t think it can be done?” he asked.

  The Shadow thought about it before slowly shaking his head. “No… I don’t think it’s possible.”

  “It is,” he insisted. “My world proved it. You just have to be willing to try. Any monumental change always starts somewhere.”

  Neither Shadow said anything further, with the remainder of the walk in the tunnel being done in silence.

  After some time, Morpheus suddenly stopped.

  Galen frowned as he stopped next to the Shadow. “What’s wrong?”

  “This should be a good spot,” Morpheus muttered as he turned to a wall next to them. “Watch this.”

  “Ah, so this is the part where you push a specific brick, which opens another secret door.”

  The Shadow frowned, “It’s no fun if you spoil the surprise.”

  He then proceeded to do just as Galen predicted.

  As a part of the wall slid open, revealing a hidden ladder, he couldn’t help but smirk at the Shadow’s irritation.

  “It’s not much of a surprise if I can guess what’s about to happen,” he jabbed.

  Callista merely rolled her eyes at their bantering. She ushered them forward, saying, “Come on! Let’s get a move on.”

  “What’s the rush?” Galen inquired. “I’m pretty sure that airship isn’t going anywhere. The sailor pilot isn’t here right now, right?”

  “He isn’t,” Morpheus confirmed.

  “Well, there you go. Actually, while we’re on the topic, why the heck do you guys call them ‘sailor pilots?’ That’s pretty lame if you ask me.”

  Morpheus frowned. “I think its fine. It communicates what their purpose is and their skillset rather well.”

  Galen shook his head. “Yeah but… the name sucks! Airships are super cool! How are you going to besmirch their awesomeness by giving the people who use them such a stupid name?”

  “I’ll have you know the First Champion was the one who coined the term,” Morpheus argued.

  “And?” Galen raised a brow. “The name still sucks. I would hope my predecessor had a better taste in names than that. Although…”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  A thought struck him. One that he voiced. “It wouldn’t happen to be the case that he just mentioned ‘sailor pilot’ off handedly and the yes men around him just ran with it? And that, by the time he realized what was going on, the name had stuck, making it a pain to change it?”

  Morpheus raised a finger to object, but seemed to hesitate.

  “You don’t know?” Galen snickered. “In that case, until I’m proven wrong, I’m going to go with that explanation.”

  Morpheus likely would’ve argued further, but Callista, having run out of patience, pushed Galen, and by extension Morpheus, rather harshly.

  “Will you two stop yapping and get moving already?!” she snapped. “I want to get out of this tunnel already.”

  Relenting, they each climbed the ladder, with Morpheus once more in front of him, and Callista behind him. Galen had to strain his eyes to see, as there were no Ether crystals to light up the narrow, vertical passageway.

  He nearly ran into Morpheus as the Shadow stopped in front of him. Galen heard a grunt from him, and then the sound of scraping.

  Light suddenly began to pour down. He squinted his eyes and raised a hand to shield them as daylight surged in.

  The Shadow in front finished climbing, before turning and helping Galen up, then Callista.

  Galen looked around to see they were in an alleyway, with a large, square, piece of cement having been the cover to the ladder that Morpheus had moved.

  The Shadow promptly returned the cover to its original spot, and had he not known where to look, he wouldn’t have noticed anything odd with the cement flooring.

  “So… where are we?” he asked.

  Rather than answering, the couple ushered him in the direction of their choosing.

  Man, they really are in a rush, he thought as they walked in a semi brisk pace through town. No one paid them any mind, and seemed to think of them as ordinary citizens.

  Granted, the cloaks they wore had their hoods up, so their faces couldn’t be seen. Galen briefly thought about lowering his hood so that the people here would recognize his face as that of the Champion’s. He dismissed the thought.

  At least, for now.

  I’ll need to time it right, he thought. Otherwise, I can easily see these two either threatening into silence or outright killing whoever sees my face as to not cause a ruckus throughout town.

  Galen looked around, not having had much of an opportunity to see area given his captivity. The buildings here were akin to that of Ignis, with the architecture being a strange mix of medieval and modern. The town, being a town, wasn’t close to the size that the now destroyed capital of the Realm had been. He only now noted a lack of the massive, circular walls that separated the different Circles back in that city.

  “I’m just now realizing there are no huge, circular walls here,” he pointed out. “Besides the smaller one at the entrance of this town, I mean.”

  Morpheus glanced back at him, then shook his head. “No. Structures like that are a privilege reserved for cities that have become large enough to warrant it.”

  Galen raised a brow. That’s a privilege? Not how I’d put it…

  Out loud, he asked, “So, how do you differentiate people belonging to different Circles?”

  “Oh, people can normally tell. The Firsts tend to mostly be in the cities, but the rare few who choose to stay in a smaller settlement tend to self segregate.”

  “Like you?” he asked. “I noticed your mansion is towards the edge of town.”

  Morpheus nodded in confirmation. “Seconds tend to stick together, and occupy the nicer homes in areas like these. The rest would obviously be Thirds. Though each of the classes tends to create and occupy their own sections, there is some level of interaction between all the Circles. Back in Ignis… well, BEFORE it was destroyed, you’d even have some Firsts travel down to the Third Circle every now and again.”

  “And people segregate themselves… of their own will?” Galen asked.

  “Of course,” Callista cut in, seeming confused by his tone. “Being promoted to the Second, and especially the First, is an incredible honor. People are given marks to distinguish which caste they belong to. Of course, we don’t discriminate against the Thirds. They are the backbone of the Dominion after all.”

  Galen wasn’t sure he believed her, but for the sake of the people of the Third Circle, he hoped it was true.

  As the three of them continued their silent march, he wondered where Eshu and Agnar were. He voiced the question aloud. “Where are the other two Shadows?”

  “Scouting. Making sure nothing will get in our way,” Morpheus answered vaguely.

  “Again, I don’t know what you expect to happen,” Galen sighed, trying not to sound like he knew something they didn’t.

  Morpheus shrugged. “I’d rather not tempt fate.”

  Galen blinked, a thought occurring. “You believe in fate? Hold on, does Athurai say anything about predestination?”

  The Shadow chuckled. “I’m surprised the topic never came up. To answer your question, Athurai teaches that the future is not set in stone. It is for this reason why Lord Athanasius, in all his vast, infinite wisdom, pushes for humanity to evolve ever closer to our full potential. He teaches us that our privilege as the chosen race is not irrevocable. Should we fail him, he may just choose another race to be his chosen, if not leave Avani behind completely.”

  And by saying that, he makes sure his subjects never get too complacent and always strive to do better. At least, I think that’s the idea, Galen figured.

  He smiled, then jabbed. “Your god sure sounds fickle.”

  He was proud that the normally graceful Shadows both seemed to nearly stumble at his jab.

  Morpheus scowled, and scoffed. “Hmph! And what of your God, Champion?”

  “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. My God is unchanging, Morpheus. Seems I can’t say the same about yours, and that’s all the more reason why I will never worship him. A god prone to frequent and fickle change is no god at all in my eyes.”

  He was hitting a sore spot, he knew, but he just couldn’t help it. He’d warned them that he would be obstinate, and he was nothing if not a man of his word.

  Neither Shadow uttered a word in response, but Galen could sense the anger underneath their calm masks.

  He also noted they’d increased their pace.

  Sure hope this doesn’t interfere with whatever Aleksi has planned, he thought nervously, having not thought things through in the heat of the moment.

  “We’re almost there,” Morpheus announced after some time. “Once we’ve arrived, we’ll go in, inquire as to the status of the airship’s maintenance, and then we’ll…”

  The Shadow trailed off as he slowly stopped walking, looking slowly upwards.

  Galen frowned, stopping next to him. “What’s wro-”

  A large shadow passed over them.

  He looked up, and saw a zeppelin like machine with a boat like bottom floating upwards in the air, slowly gaining height.

  “Uh… is that… an airship? Is that THE airship we were heading towards?” Galen asked, chuckling nervously.

  “Yes…” Morpheus growled, growing visibly irate. “Its repairs aren’t supposed to be done yet! Why in Athanasius’s name is it going airborne already?!”

  Callista appeared next to them, and shouted to Morpheus, “We have to stop it! We won’t be able to commandeer it if it takes off!”

  “You guys can run that fast?” Galen asked, trying to distract them and buy time.

  For what, he didn’t know. But if it upset his captors, then all the better.

  “Speed isn’t the issue,” Morpheus snarled. “It’s the voiding height! Venus! Guard the Champion, and contact Eshu and Agnar. I’m going to try to reach that airship before it takes off too far!”

  With that command, the Shadow threw off his cloak and took off so fast he seemed to vanish out of Galen’s sight, a burst of wind stemming from the force and speed of his movements billowing his own cloak.

  “Void!” Callista hissed as she had a finger to one of her ears. “Eshu! Agnar! Do you hear me?!”

  Galen, noting how flustered the female Shadow was, wondered if this was his chance to try and sneak off. He didn’t try it yet, however, as he noted how whenever he made a move of any kind, even just scratching his head, Callista would immediately glance to him, even when her back was to him.

  She’s too on guard. The airship’s unexpected take off has her shaken, but it’s not enough. Oh, Lord… please. Just one more push-

  Just as he thought that, a distant boom was heard, making him flinch. Callista snapped her head in the direction of the noise. “Did something happen at the town gates?! Void, don’t tell me the Rebellion is making their move?!”

  Galen had begun to quietly sneak away, walking backwards as to keep an eye on the Shadow. The people around them, thankfully, had begun to panic and run at the distant explosion. The noise and moving bodies had thankfully provided him enough cover to get to a nearby alleyway. The moment he made it there, he turned and began to run.

  It didn’t take long before he heard Callista’s roar of indignation upon noticing his disappearance.

  In spite of the terror and adrenaline rushing through is veins, he couldn’t help but smile.

  Next chapter will be released Monday, March 9th, 2026 at 3:00 PM PST.

  A huge thank you and special shoutout to my Page Turner tier Patron, LOOKOUT, and my Lore Master tier Patrons, Mountain Knight, Conman2731, ThoMiCroN, MCE 2 Munchen 2, Voltrus, biburussus, and Daniel Krol. Your support is sincerely and greatly appreciated.