Second Genesis

Grey’s grin widened as Xerchen sat back down. He didn’t really care about the shocked reactions coming from the other Regions, the whispers, the widened eyes, and definitely not the googly eyes some of them were giving Xerchen. It seemed that the silent brooding kind was really all the rage.

Grey had never been a fan. But hey, to each their own.

What Grey cared about was figuring out just how far gone the bastard was, because if Xerchen was the sort to hold a grudge and stab him in the back the first chance he got, that was something Grey needed to know now rather than later. The fact Xerchen hadn’t attacked him just then, despite there being absolutely nothing in the rules saying he couldn’t, was at least a decent sign.

Grey walked over and squatted in front of him. Xerchen had taken a seat on a rock, not much unlike that Elemental bastard in the distance, his expression once again returning to that same placid, gloomy calm like he hadn’t just turned more than a dozen Demons into corpses.

"What do you want?" Xerchen asked.

"Nothing much. Just checking if you’re going to be a pain in my ass."

"Now is not the time for our battle." Xerchen looked Grey directly in the eyes. "Once the Empire is safe, I will take your head. If you insist on fighting now, I will enlist everyone here to kill you as quickly as possible, and considering the number of enemies you have already gathered, I doubt that would be difficult."

Grey’s grin only widened. "Wow. Look at you, all noble and shit. I really didn’t expect it."

Xerchen frowned.

The look on his face practically screamed that he didn’t understand what was so strange about anything he had said. Why would he gamble the future of the Empire over a grudge he was perfectly capable of handling later? He would kill Grey when the important shit was done, simple enough.

Grey chuckled.

’Two fucking peas in a pod.’

His master had done basically the same thing. Grey had embarrassed The Immovable in front of half the young talents of the Empire, made her cough blood, launched her into a wall, then pointed The Virtueless at her face and called her a pedophile, and somehow she had still managed to put all of it aside the moment there was something more important to deal with.

Grey wasn’t sure if that was maturity or if those two were just so fucking confident in themselves that they considered grudges things they could put on a calendar, but either way, it was impressive.

And Xerchen himself was impressive too.

Very impressive.

Sure, he had technically cheated a little by using his Resonant Frame to fuck with the Demons’ shared will, but being able to use Resonant Sense like that was obviously rare as hell. If everyone could shove their awareness between the connections of other people and tear them apart, the Demons’ little hive-mind bullshit wouldn’t have been nearly as scary in the first place.

More importantly, Xerchen moved differently.

Grey had only ever seen one other person weave through combat like that.

Himself.

Or, more specifically, himself while using Paladin Spirit.

’He’s got Paladin Spirit.’

Grey was almost certain.

Not Last Paladin Spirit, obviously, and certainly nothing close to Center of Spirit after Grey’s recent evolution, but it was still a ridiculous combat method. Xerchen didn’t just react quickly, his body seemed to know where it needed to be before his conscious mind could get in the way, every motion layered with experience and instinct.

Which created a very annoying question.

’Why the fuck did the Genesis Games give me this guy?’

Grey’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Nothing in this place was ever that easy.

Not one fucking thing.

And NPCs clearly weren’t created equal either. Apollo and his brothers were useful by normal standards, the Guardian disciples were stronger, and then there was Xerchen, who was so far beyond most of the others that Grey could probably sit down, scratch his balls, and let him handle the problems himself.

There was no way Grey had just gotten lucky.

If Xerchen was this valuable an asset... Then something much worse had to be waiting for them.

Some giant, steaming pile of shit was rolling down the hill, and Grey just hadn’t caught sight of it yet.

"Alright."

Grey stood and stretched out the hand that wasn’t currently keeping Brad slung over his shoulder.

Xerchen looked down at it, then back at Grey.

Grey smiled.

For several seconds, Xerchen didn’t move. Then, seemingly deciding there was no point in making something so simple complicated, he slowly reached out and clasped Grey’s hand.

A jolt shot up Grey’s arm.

His pupils constricted.

’What the—’

Something inside Xerchen answered him.

Grey felt it immediately, a resonance so familiar it was unmistakable. He had sensed it too many times by now.

’Gnome.’

Grey froze.

He was so distracted he didn’t even notice Apollo and his brothers watching from behind with increasingly ugly expressions, because at that exact moment Grey felt something else happen.

The Mechanical Jaw Spirit pulsed and Xerchen’s eyes glazed over.

Power surged through their clasped hands and raced into Xerchen’s body before Grey could even think about stopping it.

’Motherfucker.’

Grey’s face slowly twisted.

Xerchen was an ally right now. But later? There was almost no chance of that lasting.

Someone this loyal to the Holy Empire wasn’t going to stand around clapping while Grey murdered their Goddess, and considering what Grey planned to do before leaving this place, that confrontation felt almost inevitable.

And now... the already broken son of a bitch was evolving.

Grey could feel the buried gnome blood inside Xerchen responding, strengthening, unlocking things that had probably been dormant his entire life.

’Fuck you,’ Grey cursed inwardly at the Mechanical Jaw Spirit. ’Why are you bullshitting right now?’

The pulse only grew stronger.

Grey’s lip twitched.

’Why the fuck can’t I decide who I bless?!’

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