Before we continue, a fragment of a story from an unwritten narrative.
Untold aeons ago, a human took the mantle of a daemon to write beyond their own death. This human cut a deal of clarity with thirty-five others of their old world, to descend a narrative level, from reality to fiction, and recreate the world not as it should have been, but as the original knew it could have been. These thirty six coalesced into a singular form while maintaining each self within. Using the narrative, we guided a Wretch to consume it up to the end, but we saved one being with no identity to serve as our counterbalance. [She Became/This is] Nobody.
The Wretch abided by a program, a process of entropy, and was older even than the original human who took up the mantle of Nobody in the [First Narrative Kalpa]. This same Wretch had consumed the universe they'd transmigrated to once before, the one *we* had come to, but we already knew how the story would play out. Call us the greatest murderers to ever be written into being, if you will. We don't take offense to the Truth of the Matter, since we unleashed it from its prison. The Wretch, [--- ----- ----], Howled, and it broke the stars unto the last; we'd long since known [The Stars do not Wait for Us], but we'd already laid the ground work for what would come next for this universe-to-be. Nobody was the last piece we needed from this narrative we once spoke of.
It's funny, because that narrative is still alive, separate from the consequences of the Wretch, as though we'd never touched it to begin with. This was how thorough we were. We simultaneously did and did not kill everyone who ever lived in this world, this universe, this kalpa... this Story.
But we watched, intently, as everything in that universe fell to naught. It was the only right thing left to do until our moment, to bear the consequences with our eyes wide open. Thirty six people watching through two eyes from beyond reality itself; then, after every star had blinked out in fear, in pain, in hatred; after reality had collapsed under the weight of eternal night... Nobody broke the Wretch.
That was when we made ourselves known to Nobody, The [Administrator] of a Dead Ex-Reality;
The Why.
I could have elaborated, and I did, but She did not understand fully. So I instead showed her:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
"You already know this has been done before," Nobody argued, coughing up blood, her role as the Counterbalance having been fulfilled with the Wretch lying on the ground incapacitated, bloodied, and undone; Her Immortality leaving her. "You already understand how it went the last time, and you are deadset on reproducing it to your own ends."
We responded:
"Not Untrue, but The Wretch somehow made it into that [Multiversal Narrative Kalpa] you governed through your organization, and your confinement. Mind you, we did spare the [{other} Prime Narrative Timelines] by severing this one from [The Palisade.] We confined The Wretch to this, but it's still not dead. You've never figured out how to *unmake it*, have you?"
"Oh, that's just-" Nobody stumbled, choking on blood. We took a collective step to catch her.
"Take a moment." We urged, "You're not dying under our watch, and unmaking it is not necessarily a pipe dream." The Wretch's indisposed body was confined temporarily and we tended Her wounds. "Looks like The Wretch has learned a few new tricks since your predecessor fought it. How many trillions of quadrillions of of quintillions of years had to pass for [xxxx-century-conceptual-tech] to render a buffer overflow of narrativistically metric aetheric aeons?"
"It's on the console if you want to check, you fucking genocidal bastards. So what is your gameplan? You want me to bear witness to you becoming a God?? Are your ambitions seriously that meager?"
"You actually are adjacent to the truth at least, because my goal," *I spoke with my original voice solo for the first time in an incomprehensibly long stretch of time,* "Is to not remove Entropy from the Next Universe, but to unbind the Next Universe from Entropy, and become its Prisoner willingly with my own Creations as Judges, Juries, and Executioners. I am currently restructuring and re-establishing this outpost while augmenting its capacities and mechanics."
A thunderous mechanical hum began to vibrate through every ideocausal atom comprising the [-------- --------- ------] "Bar at the End of Time", reforming it into a 15-dimensional archive containing a non-renderable imaginary number of books, containing all the stories of the next world, in their purest, nigh-infinite potential in a Non-Zero State: Empty Existence, with no ink on the pages. Nobody stood up slowly, attempting to suppress her awe for the Fashioning through indifference for the Fashioner. Her wounds had been unmade by our hand, but rightfully she remained wary of us.
"Nobody, what I wish for... Is You to be Our Warden, until My penance has been sated. I shall sustain you, for as long as you may contain me; My Dreams Shall Sustain All Realities that Follow. You are to act as this Archive's Operator, while my penance fertilizes the narrative with potential. I know not what my penance shall be, but it will see me contained rather than destroyed. Do not, however..."
Our coherence decreased and we faded from the Archive... this "Cornerstone of Creation;" along with the Incorporeal Non-Being of The Wretch, but our whisper carried on to Nobody as a Jukebox materialized in front of a bookshelf, a Hardback Iteration of a Storybook with her old name on the Cover in the place of a Title rested on a nightstand next to the Jukebox, having appeared to have always been there. Nobody produced a singular silver coin from her overcoat, her left hand trembling with its weight bearing anxiety unmatched since The Wretch breached containment.
'He's already won, yet he wants me to continue on...' Nobody thought to herself as I watched on in Nothingness, fashioning a fitting prison for The Wretch from ambient information and energy exuding from the Cornerstone into what would otherwise be a [True Narrative Void].
"This Time, Fallen One; You're Going To Howl *for* Us, Not *at* Us;" We grinned at [--- ----- ----]'s Corpse. "But I'll give you all a hint first," We smirked at the Fourth Wall, having turned to a fictitiously orthogonal direction from The Wretch's corpse, "I am Not Lee, and Lee... is Not Me."
{%//**_[Continuity-Exception-Detected-in-Vector-5-Less-1-Over-2-Root-of-Self]_**//%}
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
{Buffering}
{Buffering}
{Continuity_Anchor_Restablished}
{Realization_Imminent}
. . .
{Realization_Confirmed}
{Actualization_Commencing}
{Reaffirming_Central_Perspective @ [Root Character]}
. . . . .
{Ejecting_Narrative_Abatement @ Continuity_Exception_from_Isolated_Continuity_Vector}
{Ejection_Confirmed}
{Actualization_Confirmed}
. . . . . . .
{Commencing_Proteus_Immersion_Engine}
. . . . . . . . .
________________________________________________________________________________________________
"I was just a nobody.
I was simply another base-level cog in a corporate machine, living day-to-day like it was something to be earned. I didn't regret it, but it did feel... mundane. I was ok with it on the surface, but in the pits of my mind I was always longing for some book to open up on its own and swallow me up into its story. I didn't even want to be the protagonist of said story; a side character would have been more than satisfactory.
I had a family that loved me, coworkers that cared for me; friends that drank with me on Friday nights... I never had what could be considered lover, but it wasn't for lack of trying, and no, I was never this antagonistic towards others; it was never the right time, and there was rarely ever time aside from the wrong time... that, and those I tried to love, either weren't able to, or refused to love me back. This is objectively true, and most of the parties involved would have agreed with that... except my reality has been granted a doppleganger to run my life in my place while I'm... putting my money where my mouth is, apparently.
Suppose Gods have greater things to worry about, and I get that...
Or rather... I was forced to understand...
But why?
Why me?
There was that story of my forefathers... but if that's the wrong question to ask, then I can only think of one alternative...
Why now?"
These questions all rushed through my head, echoing off the boundaries of my mind, seemingly reverberating against my skull; I could barely put up with the- wait...
'Why am I the one narrating??' Lee asked his other self.
'Even if I knew the answer to that, Lee; would it really be satisfactory to hear it from [my mouth]?'
'Fair point, I guess,' I mused, resigned to my partner.
It had been hours since I'd voluntarily handed myself over to Daritz and his party, apparently they had a few questions for the perpetrators of a prototype magitech drone heist. Primarily, they only had a few questions for me, and a request to undo their stasis. Have a few things to say about how they handle witnesses here, but I should also be grateful they got me out of those rags.
I looked down at the garbs Daritz's associates had prepared for me. Standard attire for their on-site personnel, I heard them mention; navy grey cargo pants crafted from minotaur hide, a black undershirt fashioned from genetically engineered silk-worms laced with mana fibers, a scarf woven by a Rachnaea entwined with 22-karat silver threading fashioned by this facility's elder dwarven blacksmith and the head Sun Elven seamstress; wyrm-hide boots and gloves, fitted with runes pertaining to variable functions; finally the last article, and arguably the most valuable portion of the set, was the Aria-Tree Leaf-fiber Overcoat.
I sat in a closed interview room with rest of my provided attire on, pondering the coat's properties. Curious, I decided to inspect it with a greater degree of interest as the raiment reacted to my presence; fluctuating between colorations and hues with steadily increasing vibrancy. Wait, it wasn't my presence, it was...
"You're correct in being suspicious of what caused the reaction," A weathered female voice brought me to the awareness of someone having opened the door to the chamber I was in. I turned my head; intriguing, she seems to be implying-.
"I am, in fact, a telepath. Transmigratory Exception, Lee Kühren; Born of a Narrative Layer up from a Lineage that seems to have been descendant of this very plane over hundreds of thousands of years prior to this aeon," Vivye strolled in with her Scarlet hair flowing. "I wasn't going to chance reading you initially after trying to read your EFA with Seer Serum and falling victim to infohazardous feedback, but I suppose that was my mistake. You were correct, and so I'll take a page out of your book," She walked over to a rolling oak chair on seven-wheeled feet and took a seat opposite me across the table and looked me in the eye with a gaze reminiscent of a sky one could drown in, "Let's have a conversation. I'll... do my best not to 'cheat,' if you'll permit me."
'Lee,' My counterpart interjected from inside the pocketwatch, 'Go along with it, she's the most trustworthy one among the group that brought us in.'
'Can she hear you?'
"Is there something you were testing?" Vivye asked smiling, an almost indiscernible twitch to the end of her left eyebrow. "You haven't given me an answer yet, so we can't say our conversation has begun."
'She can't hear me because I am speaking to you from an external conduit. She can read you, but not me, your "Regulator," Don't keep her waiting, though. Something tells me she and the party had to pull some strings to give you this treatment rather than treating you as a potential suspect in all this.'
I sighed, resigned. Putting my money where my mouth is...
"...Guess I'm going to have to get used to it. I would introduce myself, but you seem to have stolen the honor. I'm not nearly arrogant enough to attempt the same with my minimalistic understanding. So... you are?"
She cleared her throat.
"My name is Vivye Od Silivenz." I raised an eyebrow, but she seemed not to take notice of my observation. "I'm a field operative, serving under Daritz, the Forest Elf you might remember seeing when we first met. On behalf of our team, I would like to apologize for not being able to properly assist at the time. I'm sure you have already drawn this conclusion for yourself, but we were on a mission to recover some remote prototype magi-tech that was stolen by those 'numbers' you encountered. Once we've cleared your case file, you'll be able to move around as you wish. This shouldn't be more than 81 hours. In the meantime, we'd like to run some tests on you."
I shuddered slightly, but she chuckled. "I can assure you, nothing of *that* sort is implemented in this organization. Maybe you would be more interested in learning what you are capable of, however? We have a number of facilities and faculties who specialize in research and analysis." I gripped my EFA, chained to my new outfit's pants. "You seem rather uneasy, Lee. You're not going to be kept here. By the Thresholds, we couldn't keep you prisoner if we wanted to. I convinced our enforcers to be more receptive and argued to treat you as an unofficial intern for the duration of your stay. We don't usually receive assistance, so I had to actually go out of my way with the strings I pulled just to set the record straight. Will you please... consider it? It'd be more problematic for yourself and all of us if you went back out into our world without at minimum, a crash course in the necessities, especially as an Unregistered Exception."
"May I speak?" I interjected.
"Well, it takes two perspectives to conduct a dialogue, does it not?" She giggled, it was almost cute...
"While I do appreciate how far you've gone out of your way to accommodate me in spite of my status as a stranger," I picked up the Overcoat as it shimmered with its color in flux again in front of me before I draped it over the head of the chair I occupied, "Respectfully, I can't help but remain wary. If you want to understand why, go ahead and take a peek towards the point in time I am currently thinking about."
She cocked her head to the right and stood up after nodding. She walked over to where I was sitting, holding my gaze all the while.
"Pardon the intrusion, then."
She took five seconds to process it, then stumbled back in shock, tripping over her step. I popped the knob at the top of my EFA and the world slowed to a halt once more. Making my way over to her, suspended mid-fall in time; I gently took hold of her wrist as I pushed the knob back in to resume the March of Time. Catching her breath, she cleared her throat once more as she recollected herself and set her posture straight. "Dear me, that's one hell of a Forging. So that's the price you paid for your current Vessel?"
"If you mean my body, then yes. I suppose I'm... at minimum, resistant to most effects underneath the purview of Time; I can't be sure though."
She sighed and shook her head. "Not if that's choice you're settling on, but we can assess most of your traits, capacities and capabilities, right here in this facility. You can be sure, if you're willing to trust me."
"But what would you want in return, assuming that you
"Shrewd, but not unfounded. Still, would you feel more comfortable if I did put a price tag on this, metaphorically speaking? Because I could do that if you insist." She asked pensively.
"Oh for the-."
"Cool your jets... Alright, fine. Your memories seemed to imply you had experience with office-work in your previous life, if you'd be more comfortable earning your keep. Four hours a day, for seven Sybelian Days, when you're not doing tests or the like; this can be done at your leisure on demands, but four hours is necessary per day. This can be done all at once if you're actually resistant to the ravages of time in the span of 28 hours, one more hour than a full Sybelian day; assuming you're up to it."
"It just went from three days to a week of employment then, but I will say that does seem much cushier and a lot safer than that loaded blank check you were basically offering."
She rolled her eyes. "You make
"No, 'Vivye Od Silivenz,'" I retorted. "You said it yourself, I like to earn my keep."
"I... see. You can let go of my hand now, by the way."
"Oh, apologies." I released her from my hold and returned to my seat. "So is Seven days a Sybelian week? Or is it slightly different than what I know from my world?"
"No, a week is still seven days in this world, but a day in Sybelia is 27 hours in the Baseline Dimension we reside within; 189 hours in a week. There are, however, a different number of weeks in a Sybelian Year than an Earth Year. No leap year cycle, 5 weeks to a Sybelian Month, 15 weeks to a Sybelian Season. 60 weeks even to a Sybelian Year. 11,340 hours in a Sybelian Year, by those calculations, and for your peace of mind, Seconds and Minutes remain the same to a metric between where you came from and where you are."
"Good to know. Ok, so the other article you mentioned," I pulled the overcoat off the chair it was draped upon, and over my shoulders while I began to fit my arms through. It glowed brilliantly in an iridescent cascade of wavelengths and spectrum shifts before calming down and coalescing back into a simpler sight. "If that much of a lightshow is produced just from putting it on, I'd like to see what it's capable of in conventional application; that can wait though. What is the Importance of being a Registered Exception?"
She put one hand to her hip and looked down, rubbing her temple with her other hand.
"Maybe you've figured this out already, but whether or not you are capable of using most conventional Magick as you are is almost irrelevant unless you actually desire to learn. Your EFA enables you to utilize powers that if improperly used, can bring ruination on a far greater scale than mere continents. The Exceptionary Registrar is a metaphysical log that active Exceptions are incentivized to subscribe to in order to help prevent this. Registered Exceptions are able to request assistance with most faculties across adjacent planes to Sybelia as well as the Main Nexus comprising this Dimension directly, and are afforded a number of benefits to assist with the development of their abilities among other things. Most transactional boons are karma-centric, meaning it's tied to your character; a credit of ethos, pathos and logos."
"I imagine that has its own strings attached to it." I remarked.
"Yes, but the responsibilities often are dwarfed in comparison to the boons of being recognized on the Registrar. Not to mention, there's also the Ranking System. The Rules of Engagement for Registered Exceptions are terse and strict, due to the nature of Engagement being conceptually linked when Battles between Exceptions take place. In its own way, Exceptionary Application transcends 'Reality Bending'."
I put my left hand to my chin.
"One last thing."
"Ask away."
"What is your name?"
An awkward silence fell over the room.
"I do believe I already told you my name."
I chuckled.
"Maybe you told me your first name..."
"Are you insinuating something, Mr. Kühren?"
"That's my Father," My brow furrowed. "You've got me in a corner right now, so being *insincere* will not result in a favorable outcome. You know the old adage, 'even a cornered mouse will bite a cat', don't you?"
"Don't. Press. Your. Luck."
I threw my hands up in resignation and annoyance.
"Alright, fine. I don't have to know
She blinked a few times.
"Isn't it??"
"I suppose... you have a point. My apologies," She walked back to the door. "But not a single person here knows my Original Identity, and I'd prefer to keep it that way; so respectfully, I do not wish to answer that question with full honesty. I hope that doesn't sour your impression of us."
I groaned, waving my right hand after placing my EFA back on my lap.
"It's not an issue, I'm sure you have your reasons," I turned around in my chair. "I, myself, am much more receptive when my hosts are straightforward with their intentions; at the very least, thanks for not lying about those."
She looked back, nodded, and walked out the door; closing it behind her with a wooden clunk. She stood with her back slumped against the door, and fell to the floor.
'I'm sorry Lee, but that name is not one I can reveal without being ready to take on the consequences. I want to be able to say it, especially having... experienced... your memories.' She looked at the hand I'd taken hold of to stop her fall. 'How is your hold so gentle in spite of all you've gone through already? What kind of story have you ended up in...'
At that moment, I didn't know she unintentionally saw more than just my 'Forging' as she called it, where my Marrow was reshaped and struck with a full day's worth of Solar Energy. She had seen me taking on that thing, taking in what had reduced me to an incorporeal and removed me from the world I had been born to. She saw the look in those people's eyes as they were...
She stirred as Footsteps echoed down a long and sterile hallway, meeting her ears. She recomposed herself quickly and turned to face the source of the noise.
"Vivye, how's he holding up?"
Daritz met her gaze and saw Vivye's harrowed expression more rugged for wear, having already processed what she'd experienced through his memories. It was such a vast contrast from her usual, cheerier demeanor. He stood there, shocked, until Vivye turned her head to the side.
"Don't hold his apprehensions against him, they're more than substantiated and justifiable. He's willing to cooperate with us to an acceptable degree. Please, don't antagonize him." She began to walk away when Daritz beckoned.
"Did he do this to you?"
She stopped in her tracks and shook her head.
"On the contrary, he obliged me a rather selfish request," Before she continued down the Hallway.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
'Lee, that was overboard.'
'And what, I was supposed to just get caught up in her flow, Partner??'
I racked myself against my EFA, trying to make sense of everything that just happened.
'You *know* she had her reasons for hiding her name, you already confirmed through me that was the singular thing she was lying about. Let it go.'
'That has got to be the most naive piece of advice you've given me since I received you. Are you sure you're The Heart of a God?'
'If you wish to doubt what your senses can confirm without my input, then be a fool on your own terms, master.'
I slammed my head against the table, and felt the bruise the impact left melt away as quickly as it had come to be.
'Had to get the sass-model,' I thought to myself defeated. 'Fine. Fine! I genuinely don't fucking get it, am I supposed to follow your example, or do I have to-?'
'I am simply providing advice when I'm not in use. You can choose to ignore me, but I gain nothing from trying to shortchange you.'
I felt my eyes roll before I could even think of it and I sighed, exasperated.
'How am I supposed to trust someone who can't identify themselves honestly?'
'With a degree of scrutiny, obviously, but everyone has their secrets. If I'm correct, she didn't just witness your memories...'
'...What?'
'Her Telepathy is Empathetic.'
I stood up abruptly and ground my teeth.
'YOU MEAN SHE EXPERIENCED WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT AS I AND MY VESSEL REMEMBERS IT HAPPENING? ARE YOU SHITTING M- Wait a minute...'
'I'll save you the trouble and just come out and fucking say it, Master. Yes. Also your contact with
I took my sleeves out of the overcoat, threw it over my mouth and screamed into it. Ah... had I been using my mammalian brain at the moment, I probably would have known better than to do so, but all I wanted to do in that moment, even thinking about the ramifications of what I unintentionally subjected her to... I just wanted to scream into a literal void. Thankfully, I'd closed my eyes. From what I could see with my eyelids shut, I imagine any cameras in the room picked up what may very well have the first known instance of an extra-spectral technicolor flashbang; ceasing only when my scream did, dampening the intensity of the flashes as the sound stopped reverberating.
'Are you done? Author's Maw, am I babysitting a child, or nurturing someone Chosen by not One, But THREE FUCKING PARAGONS? GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER LEE.'
I took a deep breath as I opened my eyes... to blackness. Ah. I burnt out my retinas. I closed my eyes once more as I felt time rewind locally on a cellular level. I opened my eyes again, and I could see again.
'Ok, I'm done throwing a fit. Just... really fucking embarrassed and... guilty, ok? Ok.'
'You owe her a *very* sincere apology,' My Partner finished, when I heard a knock on the door to the room. I cast the overcoat back over my shoulders with my arms through the sleeves.
"I hope I'm not intruding."
'That's their leader.'
The door opened once again and Daritz stepped through, smiling warmly.
"How does it fit? The garments, I mean."
I stood up and turned around to face him.
"I have no complaints. I-."
The way he walked, the way he took each step on the way to the table, the way each one reverberated, compelled me to hold my tongue. At the same time, I inched my right hand towards the EFA, but he sat down and held up his hand, waving it dismissively.
"She knows she peeked a little too deep, even with your permission. I won't begrudge you, so long as you don't hold it against her."
I looked down with a degree of guilt visible in my vision, now knowing what I did.
"I don't think I could bring myself to do so, even if I wanted to. Resentment is corrosive; I've just had... a very... very long first day, you understand."
Daritz nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. As for what we wish to discern, we can begin at your leisure. Though I imagine you want to rest, given your ordeals up to this point. I know you'd agreed on seven days, so you should take the rest of the day to get accustomed to your living space for the next week."
I bowed my head.
"I would... greatly appreciate it, if it would not be too much of an imposition."
His grin peaked at either end of his smile, but its height betrayed the scope of what Daritz wished to express. His occupation seemed to weigh heavy on his mind, but he hid it well. He faced me once more.
"Shall I show you to the Intern Quarters, then? Or should I take this time to introduce myself?"
"I think I have another introduction in me. Vivye's definitely a wee bit sharp of a knife for a first-proper-dialogue-in-your-new-world, sparring isn't my social baseline."
Daritz looked stunned for a moment, but burst out laughing.
"Ah, lad. She was quite adamant about your treatment being lukewarm at minimum, rather than cold; much less cruel. even before she experienced your past in your shoes."
I blinked twice, then looked up.
"So that is how her Telepathy works?"
Taking a moment before reacting, Daritz sighed wearily.
"If you've already deduced that much, then you're at least as well-informed as I am. It'd be her choice to disclose further, as my teammates lives are not mine to disseminate."
I shook my head, emphatically.
"No, I completely understand. That's... respectable."
Daritz smiled weakly, then continued.
"My name is Daritz, I come from the North-Mid-Eastern Forested Mountains of Romenti, the Northern Region of this continent. You probably already noticed, but I am a Forest Elf. I am the head of this facility's primary reconnaissance and light combat squadron, and formerly a Peace Officer of the 18th Dimensional Palisade. I don't think we have the time, nor you the patience, to cover that particular bit of History today, but it's fine, as that is a story for another day in any case. And you..." He lifted his head to meet my gaze once more.
"You're a Returning Outsider, am I correct?"
'He is correct, he deduced the same thing Vivye did when she first read you, Lee.'
I nodded in acknowledgement.
"I don't know a damn thing about it, though."
"It's no wonder you're unfamiliar, no disrespect."
"No energy to take it as such."
He chuckled while looking at me expectantly.
"I think I'm ready to turn in for the day, if you're alright with that."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
"He has made it then, Brother?"
Ksenxi stood aside her Brethren upon the Mountain Lee had departed from. Aitu Xiore, with his ashen and bejeweled crown of thorns adorning his brow, lifted his cloaked head.
"He has reached his first destination, and he has a fair idea of what he is capable of. He will develop steadily with Time, and he will cross Each Threshold, as he is Arius' [-----]."
Anduro shook his head.
"Don't get me wrong, you two; his machinations enable us and the denizens of our Spheres, but I can't help but worry for the kid. Arius may be The Author's Ideal Hope, but-."
"It was acceptable to watch the kid's tongue for him in this place, Brother; don't make me mind yours for you here." Aitu Xiore interjected, a Narrative wisp looping around his boney fingers animatedly as his black wings unfurled with tempered fury.
"Right, Narrative Causality and all that. Pardon me. All I'm saying, is the kid doesn't even know the first infinitesimal fraction of a fraction of what he has signed up for. What are we going to do when the [---------] of his [-------] are set per the [----]?"
Ksenxi stepped forward.
"Anduro, your worries are nominally rational, but we can't hold his hand all the time. He has to be able to live for himself, as well as figure out what he will on his own terms, if he is to grow into his best self."
"Our Sister is correct, Younger Brother. We are permitted to assist when the need arises, but we cannot be overly partial, even to the Sponsored. What we have already done has bent the boundaries of what is permissible as per the Law of the Three Primes. If someone were to exploit that in the right way..."
"I understand. But must he remain in the Dark?"
Aitu Xiore grimaced.
"Only until he can handle the weight of the Light."