Right, I should probably explain some useful concepts you don’t seem to have and that are very useful, such as convergent evolution, survivor bias, scientific method, and tropes.

  — Excerpt from Notes For Newstar

  Day 1072, 12:30 PM

  “Thank you for saving his life, Sir,” I told the exalt, gazing at Newstar’s sooty body, new pinkish skin visible in patches underneath the blackened flesh he had shed.

  “I should be the one thanking you, Master Dandelion. You have saved a key member of my order with your timely intervention. And don’t think for one second that I believe your story about all this being a fortunate coincidence. I owe you and won’t harm you in any way, so would you consider joining my order?”

  Not entirely unexpected, if a bit distasteful given the circumstances. Still, the man was sincere and deserved some truth.

  “No, thank you for the offer, Sir. Just having Newstar with you is dangerous enough. He is a liability regardless of the benefits he will bring you, and trust me, the benefits won’t be small. Once he reaches his peak, you will be but a mere bonfire compared to the sun, and your order will stand above all others.”

  He stared at me, a strange look of avarice and hope in his eyes. It was understandable. The easiest way to grow in this world was to have someone stronger prop you up.

  “Are you telling me the truth?”

  “Yes, Sir. I have seen it with my own eyes. Once he comes into who he is and who he can become, the whole world, saurians and humans together, won’t be able to stop him. And speaking of saurians, I would like to help my old town for the inevitable onslaught. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to take my leave.”

  “Stop!” In his excitement, he had infused mana into his voice.

  The world stopped, but, strangely, his will held no sway over me. He was less than I was. More powerful certainly, but as an existence, he stood below me in the grand hierarchy of the universe. He could smite me, but not command me. And I showed it to him.

  His eyes went wide as I took a step. My control was abysmal compared to his, but the motes of mana coming into contact with me followed my will instead of his.

  “With all due respect, Sir, and trust me, I respect you for more reasons than just the bit of transient power you wield, don’t use that tone with me ever again.”

  I left without looking back, hopefully making a big enough impression on the superstitious near-immortal.

  Hailstown was my next destination, the two hundred and odd miles covered in some six hours of relaxed jog. There were still some three hours of sunlight left, and I didn’t actually know what to do with them.

  No, that wasn’t true. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. But having a nice dinner with Ruby and enjoying her company gave birth to conflicting feelings. Was it my weakness driving me, a natural desire to see a person dear to me, an old lover trying to rekindle what we had?

  What would meeting her make me, save for a pitiful little man moving towards a warm bosom, hoping she would accept me?

  Such acts were unbecoming of a demigod, yet perfectly in line with my own weak and fragile nature. That conflict showed me just how fractured I was, the dichotomy between what I was and what I should be.

  I tried to clear my head and consider things objectively. If I came into town and didn’t go to see Ruby, that would make me a major asshole. So, naturally, I had to see her. Just as naturally, we could share a meal, talk about whatever, but the thought of sharing a bed made something inside me knot up.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Whether it was the demigod part or something like self-respect or some other strange emotion I could not tell. Also, running to visit Ruby first rubbed me the wrong way. I was in town on official business, and the first item on the agenda should be concluding the official business.

  So, I went to the Townlord’s residence, my former home.

  It felt like ages since I had last seen it, even if the rest of the world viewed it as less than three years.

  “I would like to talk to the Townlord,” I told the guard as soon as I reached the citadel.

  The man gave me a weird look, obviously recognizing me. He wasn’t one of Blackfist’s former henchmen, so I didn’t know who he was.

  “I’m sorry, Sir, the townlord is busy.”

  I nodded. Not a hint of surprise there. “In that case, notify him I have spotted the first signs of the onslaught. It should start in a handful of days or weeks. I will be staying at Tickle and Giggle should anyone need me.”

  A bit of an odd choice, staying at a brothel, if one considered my state of mind, but since I pranked Newstar into staying there for the tournament, I didn’t mind it. Besides, Basil didn’t offer accommodations, just food, and Tickle and Giggle took the second place, right behind Basil’s, when it came to meals.

  A short while later, I entered the familiar establishment and approached the scandalously dressed bartender.

  “Good day, I would like to speak with the owner.”

  She took a fraction of a second to recognize me. When she did, her eyes went wide.

  “Yes, Sir. Right away, Sir.” She dropped a glass, but mana answered my call and a bit of wind caught it before it shattered into pieces.

  She didn’t even thank me as she moved to the back room. Perhaps she even failed to notice the glass had slipped between her fingers.

  A minute later, a very nervous madame came out of the back room, the bartender following behind her like a puppy.

  “Lord Blackfist, it’s a pleasure to have you here today. What may I do for you?” The woman in her late forties bowed. She had so much makeup on her face I was surprised it didn’t fall right off, like a poorly plastered ceiling.

  “Call me Dandelion, please. As for what I want you to do. I would like to rent your establishment for a moon. How much would that cost?”

  She looked up and stared at me, her body trembling. I could already see dark thoughts swarming her mind, no doubt caused by my old self’s depravity. For a moment, I wished to reassure her, but that would just make me appear more suspicious.

  “I will also need you to buy large quantities of food, things that keep well. The onslaught is about to start, and I wish to use your place to house helpless women and children, who will no doubt come flooding into the town soon enough.”

  The revelation apparently short-circuited her mind. Behind her, the bartender was no less shocked, but she gathered her wits first and lightly nudged her boss.

  “Yes,” the matron said. “We rent the space for private parties at five gold coins per day, girls’ services included. That would be one hundred and fifty for the entire moon.”

  I gave her two guild notes of one hundred gold denomination. “Use the rest to purchase food and supplies we would need to house people.”

  I had a feeling my biological half-brother and Hailstown’s current Townlord wouldn’t pay much attention to the wellbeing of the infirm and useless.

  “Let me know if you need more funds and if you run into any trouble. As long as you are acting within the bounds of the imperial law, I will give you all the protection you will need.”

  She stared at the guild notes and nodded after a moment.

  “In that case, I’ll take my leave. I expect the place to be void of customers by sundown.”

  I left for the library, wondering what I was doing. Certainly, once the saurian onslaught starts, refugees will flood the town, but by purchasing food now, I was reducing the available supplies everyone else had access to.

  As for wanting to prepare a refuge for the defenseless and helpless, it went against every principle of the Eternal Light empire, and yet, it felt like the right thing to do.

  Why am I even here?

  It was a good question, one I should ask myself more often. I came to Hailstown because I was worried about Ruby. The logical approach would be to buy her contract and leave the place with her in tow.

  The problem, besides whether she even wanted to leave the imperial service, was what would happen between us. I had joked about making her a sex slave, but the reality of us becoming master and slave after the relationship we shared would turn things awkward.

  Such thoughts and many others passed through my thick head as the library came into sight.

  I stopped in front of the door. Ruby was the person who helped me get a foothold in this world. Deep down, she was kind and scholarly, and didn’t really want to fight.

  And I’m about to make a mess of her life.

  I drew a deep breath and opened the door.