Part Ways

The members of what used to be the Hand of Styx were sitting at their new dining room table, eating pizza. Fate didn't know how pizza was a thing in this corner of the multiverse, but he decided not to question it.

Out of nowhere, Maya said, "I'm leaving this afternoon."

"Where to?" Nikolas asked, his hand, holding a slice of pizza, pausing a few inches from his mouth.

"I don't know. I'll be exploring, mostly. I feel like I need some time alone to figure out what my Manifestation truly means."

"What does that mean?" Tom asked, reaching for another slice.

"I'm not sure. I just know that I need to reflect on some things."

There was a small silence before Fate spoke up.

"I think that's a good idea. Back in Solynus, we were the strongest ones around. We didn't need to worry about guns, ships, or even the Cragost. Nothing could stop us. Now, we're only two steps from the bottom of the hierarchy.

"We irritate the wrong person, and all of us could be snuffed out with a thought. I don't know about you guys, but I don't find that acceptable. So, when Maya leaves, I'm leaving too. We don't need to pay rent or anything, our 'jobs' are strictly voluntary, and there's only so much that secondhand information from the PPK can teach us."

Cait looked up from her pizza. "The Advanced are still out there somewhere," she told them, "And I'm convinced they know what we are. They know that these Embodiments exist, that we're among them, and I don't believe for a second that their Prodigy awakening surgery was just blind stumbling.

"As spread out as they are, they have to have dozens of Embodiments at the Exemplar Level or higher, and likely more than that. I'm not planning on going back to a life of servitude and fear, cowering every time someone raises a clipboard. I like this new life, and I have no intention of going back. So I'm leaving too, so I can get stronger."

She suddenly realized the others were staring at her, and her cheeks darkened in a slight blush. "What?" She said snippily.

"That's the most words you've ever said to us," said Fate.

Autumn, who was sitting next to Cait, wiped her hands on a napkin quickly and wrapped Cait in a bear hug. "About time you opened up to us! We thought you'd be a brooding sourpuss forever!"

Cait let out a small squeal, a few audible cracks resounding.

"Let her go, Autumn! You're gonna break the poor girl!" Nikolas exclaimed.

Autumn released her death grip on Cait, sinking back into her chair with a sulky expression on her face.

"Anyway, I see what you guys mean. Sitting around in a house, taking the occasional job here and there, we're just asking to get wiped out by some pretentious Personification." Tom took another bite of pizza, chewing and swallowing before he continued.

"The whole thing about these Manifestations is that you deepen your understanding of them for greater power. We can't see new things and learn and grow if we stay like this. Stagnancy could very well be the death of us. I guess what I'm saying is, I'll leave as well. Some time to myself might help my comprehension."

"I'm going to go as well. It sounds interesting to look at worlds ravaged by war and stuff and learn new things about Destruction," Autumn said.

Nikolas chuckled. "Well, if everyone else is doing it… The only problem is, Cait here doesn't have a ship."

"I can drop her off at Frakar to get one built. With how quick they made this house, she shouldn't be waiting too long. It may even end up better than our ships." Maya looked at Cait. "That sound good to you?"

Cait nodded, grabbing a slice of pizza.

A few hours later, they stood in the hangar, and the hatch opened above them. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now," Fate said. "Don't be strangers."

"Don't get killed," retorted Nikolas.

"No promises."

"It's a good thing we did so many jobs," Tom said. "We should be able to tide ourselves over for at least a couple of years each."

The group had been taking job after job for the past few months, quickly accruing a substantial sum of funds. Combined with the Shills they still had, which they could pop into the Solynus galaxy and use for food, they had more than enough to last several years.

They finished saying their goodbyes and boarded their respective ships, Cait getting on Maya's.

The ships took off, the hatch closing below them. Each went in different directions, going wherever they felt they should.

'Y'know, Cait could've just taken the teleporter.' Fate thought idly, steering his ship in a random direction.

Months later, on a somewhat classy planet called Gandra, several hundred galaxies away from the seemingly infinite influence of the EPF, Fate was sitting at a table outside of a coffee shop near the city's thick, towering wall, sipping a macchiato.

Around him, at their own tables, were several men and women dressed in the powdered, petticoats, and dresses popular in the 1700s of the Milky Way galaxy, long before it became a barren wasteland. It was clothing so outdated and ancient, Fate only recognized it from a painting the Ancestors had managed to salvage during their exodus.

On the street, people went in and out of the various stores on the block, checking stalls selling exotic jewelry or expensive foreign cuisine and fighting with their spoiled children that demanded a particular mirror or dagger.

The other coffee shop-goers were currently laughing at a joke one of them said at the expense of their waiter. Said waiter appeared calm, but Fate noticed a vein protruding from his temple as the people he was serving guffawing haughtily; the kind of snooty laugh Fate attributed to rich teenage girls with hair drills from the otome games Nikolas used to play.

Fate supposed it couldn't be helped; the waiter was a mortal while the customers were Prodigies each. On this planet, just being a psychic was enough to be lauded as a once-in-a-generation genius, let alone Prodigies, which had the potential to become a god of this planet, ruling over it with the others that reached the level of Personification or higher.

Such gifted people were almost always directly subordinated to the god worshipped by whatever city they called home. Surprisingly, there were over thirty Personifications, dozens of Avatars, and several thousand Exemplars on this planet alone. In the few days he had been here, Fate had even heard tell of an Incarnation or two.

These weren't even the most interesting things to Fate. What truly caught his attention was that the names for these Levels were the same here, on a planet that had never even heard of the EPF. His first thought was that it was a coincidence, but he quickly dismissed that notion. He remembered how the names of each Level were latched onto by his mind, almost subconsciously, refusing to let go.

No, it couldn't be a coincidence. Maybe… Maybe there was something more to these names, something so fundamental that even someone who had never heard them before could instantly strike upon them. That was the only explanation for both his feelings back then, along with this planet's knowledge of these names.

Fate's musings were cut short, however, when a loud BOOM sounded down the street. Looking up, he found the city's gates had been blown off their hinges, a man in resplendent golden armor marching through. He had long, flowing blonde hair that looked well taken care of, and pupils a dark red.

In his right hand was a sword made of a strange red crystal, a gorgeous work of art with a golden hilt to match. In his left hand, he held a ball made of golden energy, proudly holding it out to his side at chest height for all to see. Behind the man was an entire army, clad entirely in plate armor and wielding shields and swords. Fate estimated at least three thousand soldiers.

The haughty laughter around Fate stopped, the noblemen and women staring at the new arrivals with dread. The golden-armored man pointed his left hand at one of the men in powdered wigs, the ball of energy in his handing launching out and striking the noble in the face. In an instant, he withered away until he was nothing but a desiccated mummy, his skin flaking off and his clothing reduced to dust.

The corpse collapsed out of its chair, and the crowd screamed in fear.

The man leading the army started shouting, his voice so loud that Fate was sure the entire city heard. "I am Timathol, envoy of Avatar Trithmund! For too long, Avatar Renli has insulted the honor of my liege, sullying his name and raiding his cities! Consider this a declaration of war!"

Fate downed the rest of his coffee and set the empty cup down. He stood, placing his hands on his back and bending backward until he heard a pop. He grabbed his Endon Mask off the table and put it on, striding toward the golden-armored man. 'This should be fun,' he thought.