Clover hovered over me, her eyes dark with worry. Behind her, a fire crackled, bathing the room in orange light and stretching our shadows along the walls. She’d laid out her bedroll and set both our packs aside, leaving the center circle around the fire clear.

A burnt scent lingered in the air, likely from whatever she'd used to start the fire. More pressing was the deep furrow between her brows and the worry lines etched into her forehead. The fire cast an almost ethereal light around her, highlighting every dip and hollow of her features.

I must have been out of it for a while for her to be that concerned. An ember of warmth ignited in my chest, and I smiled to reassure her. “Sorry if I was out of it for long.”

She waved off the apology and settled next to me, curiosity replacing her concern. “It's fine; you probably had a lot to discuss with your spirit. Which brings me to my next question: who are they?” She leaned forward, attentive and eager, almost squirming in place. It was endearing, though I'd never say so out loud.

She was fierce, and the last thing I wanted was to offend her off by calling her ‘cute’. I might not wake up tomorrow if she took offense.

I rubbed the back of my head and sighed. “They didn't tell me, but it wouldn't matter if they had. They said they don't have tomes or orders for me to learn from.”

Instead of groaning or finding a way around it as I expected, Clover paled. The curiosity iced over, replaced by a dawning realization. “Frederick, describe this spirit in as much detail as possible.”

Her tone was deadly serious, each word enunciated clearly as if it were vital I understood. A chill ran down my spine at the shift. This wasn't like her. Since we'd met, she had been light hearted, teasing, even flirtatious.

What could she suspect that would put her so on edge?

Ignoring the unease welling in my chest, I answered. “They've always appeared as a being made entirely of light. I can't see any defining features through it. Their voice is basically the same.”

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She stared for a long second, the silence raking against my nerves like a dagger. After what felt like an eternity, she tipped her head back and laughed. It…wasn't her usual one. This was sharper, almost hysterical.

She laughed until her sides hurt, arms pressing against them, and tears trailed down her cheeks. The entire time, I waited for some kind of answer as to what was so funny. For the usually composed woman to fall into laughter like this…Something wasn't right here.

When she didn't pull herself together after a second, I nudged her shoulder warily. “Care to tell me what's so funny?”

She took a deep breath and steadied herself, flicking away the tears before shaking her head with sheer disbelief.

“You, a man who's been tucked away from most of the world since birth, managed to not only contact but make a pact with one of the Old Ones. The primordial spirits that predate Nexus itself. The very ones who were there when the old gods died out and the world, no, probably the entire universe, was created.”

She gestured around the room. “Do you know when was the last time any of these spirits were heard from? A millennium. It's been a whole fucking millennium! And you contacted one–without meaning to, might I add!–and made a pact with them. I'm well within my rights to laugh at the sheer impossibility of such a thing.”

As if to prove her point, a shuddering laugh–a ghost of the one she'd let out before–escaped her, and she shook her head again, as if trying to make sense of it all.

As she came to terms with it, so did I. Her words echoed in my mind. I'd…made a pact with a being older than the entire universe. The floor dropped out from under me as the thought sank in.

I'd waved at one of the original spirits of Nexus, who had been missing for longer than most countries had existed. No wonder the spirit didn't have any orders or tomes. They were older than Nexus itself. Tomes and such were probably new to them!

For all I knew, I could be the first paladin they ever had! No…they'd mentioned ‘few’ marching under their sigil, but not none. I wasn't the first, but it could very well have been centuries since anyone had been in my place.

It was mind-boggling to think that a being who had remained relatively removed from mortals this long would suddenly take a paladin–and me, at that!

But they had chosen me. They answered my call for help when the hundreds of other spirits hadn’t. Nexus was filled with entities beyond my understanding, hundreds of spirits and who knows what else.

But this spirit, this ancient being who was there when the gods fell, had answered. Yes, they wanted me to take down King Lazuris in exchange for using their power, but the facts remained the same.

They'd chosen a nobody town guard, and suddenly, Clover’s hysterical laughter made perfect sense.

Right about now, I wanted to join her in it.