The formal dining table sat in what was perhaps one of the most spectacular dining settings I had ever seen. Settings, and not a room, because the entire second story of the penthouse was built like a loft.

  It was a circular ring that wrapped around the gigantic central support column of the skyscraper, ending at about half the diameter of the first floor, which gave you views down to not just the floor below, but to all of Tokyo thanks to the he two-and-a-half-story floor-to-ceiling windows that ringed the entire perimeter.

  The dining area itself was on an extended walkway jutting outward from the second-floor ring, reaching all the way to a floating platform by the windows, where a slightly curved rectangular table had been positioned right up against the glass. As if that weren’t enough, the floor beneath the table was also glass, giving everyone a dizzying view straight down to the penthouse’s first floor and beyond, to the city’s streets.

  It felt a bit like those glass-bottom observatories, suspended in midair.

  I had to say, it was still shocking to see just how good the rich had it.

  But even I had to admit this wasn’t merely wealth. This was wealth with exquisite taste. An honestly overpowered combination. Then again, this was a culture that infused art into even the most mundane things. I supposed this was the inevitable result.

  “I admit,” Arianna said softly as she settled into her seat, “I am somewhat breathless at this opulence. I have toiled away to bring down those with this sort of wealth… I never thought I would partake in it.”

  “At least you hail from a time somewhat close to this wondrous age,” Yashas said. “Imagine how I felt!”

  “It is modern, yes,” Arianna replied with a small smile. “But not quite this modern. This is marvelous. It is itself a marvel. Though what I see is perhaps different from what you people see.”

  “Oh?” Richard asked as he unfolded his napkin and laid it across his lap. “And what is it you see?”

  “Democratic glory,” she said. “The possibilities of freedom.”

  Richard raised a brow, then nodded slowly. “Ah. Yes. That does make sense, considering where—and when—you’re from.”

  “And where are you from?” Yashas asked. “Please. We have fought together, but I know so little about the two of you. Why not use this opportunity to introduce ourselves?”

  “Very well,” Arianna said, clearing her throat. “My name is Arianna Durais. I hail from a country called Brasil, from the early 1970s. For the Axians among us, my country was ruled by a military dictatorship during that time.”

  Her jaw clenched and I could almost hear her gnashing her teeth.

  “I am, to put it simply, an agent of the Tiradentes Revolutionaries. A rebel, if you will. I lived in a time when the most basic of rights were endangered, where people were killed without rhyme or justice. But I was not always a rebel. I was a schoolteacher, once. Until… until I lost my son to that senselessness.”

  She paused, staring into the deep red wine Yashas was in the middle of pouring. The table fell silent.

  “We each think ourselves immune to political happenings,” she continued softly. “That such things would never happen to us. Lord knows, I certainly did. My son was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was his only crime. For that, he died. There would be no justice for him. No justice for any of the thousands like him, senselessly killed by the regime. So I took up arms. I swore I would not rest until…”

  She looked down.

  “I was in the middle of an operation when I was summoned here. It would likely have been my last.”

  The silence that followed was both long and heavy, and in many ways, I felt like her story let me finally understand her. Her stoic exterior, the relentless drive and the refusal to give up… her complete lack of fear, even in the middle of the worst zombie nightmare one could imagine. It made sense now.

  I’d felt she had embodied her god’s trait well, but maybe that was simply because Vigor had chosen his Champion well. Someone who espoused her virtue to a T.

  After all, revenge was certainly invigorating… until one burned out. Or died. Which is what it sounded like she’d come awfully close to.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I know your time well,” Richard said quietly, his voice tinged with a deep, knowing grief only someone as kind and caring as he could convey.

  “And I am aware of the atrocities Médici committed,” Richard said softly. “But know this, Arianna. His reign will end, and democracy will restore itself. And when it happens, it will have been because of people like you. People with the backbone to stand up and fight.”

  Arianna managed a tight smile. “Thank you. And I apologize. I did not mean to darken the mood of this celebration. And I must say that witnessing this city and hearing your words… it makes me optimistic for my country’s future. For the future of the world.”

  Oh, if only she knew.

  If only she knew about the wars still yet to come. Of how many people would lose their jobs and their livelihoods to a force that didn’t bleed and couldn’t be touched.

  She came from a simpler time. An era where humans believed they could never be made obsolete.

  And maybe that's how everyone felt about the past, but I almost envied her. At least she was at the center of something important. A movement that had real meaning. Something like what I'd found here on Axius.

  Richard continued speaking, consoling her while simultaneously encouraging her about what she’d find when she returned home, but I tried to tune that out.

  I’d be lying if I said a part of me didn’t feel relief when Cosmo said I couldn’t go back. And now, after all this time, I fully believed him. His words rang truer than those of Richard’s or Arianna’s patron gods. I didn’t know why their gods would lie to their own Champions, but I now felt that they were.

  All that remained was figuring out that why.

  “Thank you, Arianna, for sharing so much. I suppose it is only proper that I go next,” Yashas said, clearing his throat. “My name is Yashas Gupta. I come to you as a general of the great king Ashoka of the Magadha Empire.”

  Richard nearly choked. “Ashoka? Hold it, you don’t mean the ancient Indian king? Of the Mauryan dynasty?”

  Yashas blinked. “I do not know of this ‘Indian’ you speak of. But yes. My king belonged to the Mauryan line. You have heard of us, then?”

  He practically rose from his seat in excitement.

  “I have,” Richard said with a nod. “If I recall correctly, Ashoka’s empire was one of the greatest of its age. He united much of the subcontinent.”

  Yashas’s eyes lit up, a broad grin spreading across his face. “You cannot know how happy it makes me to hear of this! To serve such a glorious leader has been the honor of my lifetime. He is great, I tell you. Fearless! It has been the greatest privilege, and I cannot wait to return to his side bearing tales of this world’s marvels.”

  Richard chuckled. “I imagine you’ll have quite the stories to tell, mate.”

  The conversation struck all sorts of weird notes with me. This was exactly why I’d come to doubt their gods, after all.

  Because there was a critical flaw in their reasoning. One I’d have noticed even without Cosmo telling me I couldn’t return.

  If Champions always returned to their home planets after their Trials, if Yashas returned to his time and told his king about skyscrapers and electricity and automatic rifles, and if Arianna spoke of Axius and magic and monsters…

  Wouldn’t history reflect that? Wouldn’t someone have recorded such a thing at some point?

  And considering how often Earth Champions had apparently been summoned—Axius’s naming conventions alone proved that—it seemed impossible that humanity would never have noticed.

  It just didn’t compute. Not unless this was one of those branching timeline situations, or they returned to alternate Earths or something. I felt like Occam’s Razor would have a thing or two to say about those explanations though.

  Yashas went on, speaking fondly of his empire, though he grew sheepish when he realized everyone else at the table came from far more advanced eras.

  I didn’t agree. His time had a lot of advantages. Spirituality. Privacy. A sense of connection long since choked out of modern society by addiction to toxic algorithms and predatory capitalism.

  All that said, when he casually talked about spilling the blood of enemies, or of plagues wiping out entire villages overnight, I quickly remembered the value of perspective.

  It’d probably be a nightmare to live in his time, just as he would’ve been equally horrified to live in mine.

  Richard went on to introduce himself. Starting, of course, with his son, daughter, and wife, and by the time he’d finished, we’d learned all about them, their quirks, desires, and lives, and next to nothing about himself.

  It would have been a masterclass in misdirection… if it’d been intentional. Knowing Richard, though, and seeing his eyes light up as he went on and on about Miranda, Michael, and Matilda, there wasn’t a trace of manipulation on his mind. He really did just love them that much. It was honestly sweet.

  “Well then,” Yashas said, cutting Richard off before he could talk about Matilda’s recent exams, “I suppose that just leaves us with Order’s Champion. Tell me, Aerion, from where do you hail?”

  Arianna’s eyes narrowed.

  Aerion glanced nervously at me, unsure of what to do.

  A gesture that Yashas, being the ever-observant prick he was, noticed immediately. This, plus my display against the helicopters earlier, and I wasn’t fooling anyone.

  More than that, though, I trusted them now. We’d fought together. We’d risked our lives together. That formed a sort of bond that wasn’t easily broken.

  Maybe they’d tell their gods. Maybe they’d betray me. But I had a feeling I was in the company of good people, and I refused to live my life like a coward.

  The time was right. It had to be said.

  That didn’t make it any easier, though…

  I sighed. “Well, I suppose one cat’s already out. Might as well bring out the other.”

  “Thank god! About bloody time, mate,” Richard muttered, giving me the most fatherly look of disapproval I’d ever seen. Far more than my own father had ever managed. But Richard getting angry for my sake was a bit like watching a teddy bear get upset. It just made you warm and fuzzy inside.

  Arianna frowned. “I’m afraid I do not understand.”

  “Arianna, we lied. Aerion and I are not mercenaries from Axius. Yashas? Aerion isn’t Order’s Champion…” I said.

  “I-I’m sorry? Then who is?” Arianna replied.

  I took a deep breath, but someone beat me to the punch.

  “He is,” Yashas said, giving me an unreadable look.

  All eyes locked on me and Yashas, and the room fell completely silent.