Glenn mindlessly picked Pebble up and threw him away, sitting on a bench in the mansion's garden. The twin moons were hanging high in the sky, shining soft light on the ground. The dragon happily rolled like a bowling ball, before returning to Glenn's hands. Even though he had four small legs and a pair of tiny wings, Pebble preferred moving around by coiling itself in a ball and rolling around.

"I became an Expert Magi, and Archmagi isn't too far, according to my gut feelings..." Glenn patted the one-eyed dragon, leaning his chin on his clenched fist. "Diamanes, do you think I'm strong enough to contend against Count Mortelli, the bastard who helped with Redan's death?"

Diamanes clicked his tongue. "Your training with Gundam made you strong enough to contend with weaker Archmagis, and nothing pointed at the Count to be that strong. But on the other hand, we also have literally no information about him. So...maybe? Just go ahead, I'll enjoy the show."

"Very helpful, as always..." Glenn rubbed his forehead. Pebble bounced around him, unaware of his master's worries. "I also need to look into the Occult Wanderers and figure out what the hell is up with them."

"Don't forget about our best friends, the Thorns Church!" Diamanes happily chipped in. Glenn gritted his teeth at the mention of the damned cult. Stormblade was part of the Thorns Church, and he was helping the Baron. Baron who, also, was also a vampire. Perhaps looking into the connection between these two threats would be a good idea.

"What did he call himself...? A descendant of Nosferatu?" Glenn pinched his nose. "Wasn't Nosferatu a vampire on Earth too? Don't tell me whoever created the vampires was an Earthling too."

"I mean, everything is possible. Sevirox was a dragon and an Earthling. So why couldn't a movie-inspired vampire exist too?"

Glenn sighed, the burden of his life suddenly weighing on him. Well, it was always weighing him down, but whenever he had the time to think for a second and take a step back, he couldn’t help but realize how insane his existence was.

He buried his face in his hands and exhaled heavily. War, adventures, dragons, gods, ancient monsters, and secrets on secrets…

“When will it stop…?”

Glenn rubbed the back of his head as he looked at the twin moons in the sky, his heart heavy.

“When?” Diamanes repeated with mocking laughter.

“As all mortals, there are only two ways to escape Fate. You can die, or become strong enough to ignore Fate.”

Glenn scoffed. “Yeah, yeah, I know, I need to reach…whatever Circle you want me to get to, so that I can get some real answers instead of some cryptic shit.”

Diamanes cleared his throat. “Mana, Aura, Divinity…You are aware that these powers are unnatural, correct?”

“How would I know?” shrugged Glenn as he played with Pebble. Diamanes continued, undeterred.

“Reality exists because a set of rules maintain it in place. And all these energies defy the rules in place. Creating things out of nowhere technically breaks reality.”

Glenn paused and gently dropped Pebble on his head. Diamanes wasn’t on one of his random rants… This was important, he could feel it.

“Mages, Aura knights, Priests…They’re rule-breakers. Thugs.” Diamanes licked his lips loudly. “But reality isn’t really a fan of that. So it created Fate.”

‘Rules…’ A shiver crept up Glenn’s spine. This was echoing the discussion he had with Doyle Malory.

“And Fate isn’t kind to rule-breakers. So it tries to get rid of them. Everyone who holds the power to change the world is under Fate’s watch.”

“You speak of Fate like an actual entity…Is it a God?” Glenn asked hesitantly.

Diamanes laughed wickedly. “What even are Gods?”

Glenn opened his mouth to reply but found himself lacking. This was a good question. What were gods? Strong, powerful beings? Entities created out of the beliefs of millions of people? Administrators of the world?

“The only way to know is to ask them…” Diamanes smile grew from his thumb to the pinky. “...Or become one. But good luck with that!”

Glenn grabbed Pebble and placed him on his head, the dragon nestling comfortably in his hair. He then headed in to join the rest for supper in the dining hall. The room was bustling with activity—Sahro was devouring braised pork like a starving man while Milena and Liara were whispering in hushed tones. Ary and Lina were excitedly talking about butchering a dragon, and Manalok Tuleam was five feet deep in his food, shoving one plate after the other down his throat. Janica and Liam were also there, but the two love birds only had eyes for each other.

In the end, it was Pebble himself who announced his presence with a sharp shriek, shutting up the conversations and stopping everyone in their actions, except for Manalok.

“Everyone…” Glenn rubbed Pebble in between the ears, the dragon purring happily, “This is Pebble.”

“A…A baby dragon?” Milena blurted out as she rushed out of her chair. Liara closely followed, her eyes shining with a burning desire for the cute one-eyed beast.

“Oh my God, he’s adorable. So cute! Can I pet him? Of course, I can—” Milena reached for the creature without thinking, only for Pebble’s jaw to snap on her fingers, pinching her. Milena yelped and hurriedly pulled her hand back, tears welling up in her eyes.

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“Why wouldn’t he let me pet him? This is so cruel!”

Liara followed her example, but Pebble showed himself unbiased, biting down on her fingers as well. But instead of flinching back from the pain, the Black Heiress carefully scooped the dragon up and took him in her arms, hugging it happily.

Pebble growled but still refused to let go of her fingers. Liara’s lips curved in a heart-snatching smile, blinding Glenn.

“Wait,” Milena suddenly snapped in Glenn’s direction. “Pebble? Pebble?!? You named a dragon Pebble?” she cried.

Glenn licked his lips. “Well, he was just a stone when I first got him. I never expected him to become a cat-sized dragon.”

“I think Pebble is a perfectly fitting name,” said Sahro supportingly. Lina and Ary approached the creature, their mouths opened in amazement.

“A baby dragon…” Lina couldn’t help but try to pet him. Pebble didn’t react as the girl ran her fingers on his scales, amazed. Ary also tried to approach him, but one deathly glare from the one-eyed beast was enough to discourage him.

“Of course, he likes your sister…” Milena grumbled to Glenn. The latter simply grinned with an idiot look, watching his happy sister.

A flash of light suddenly blinded everyone in the dining hall. Pebble let go of Liara’s fingers and jumped out of her arms, at her greatest dismay. He phased out of reality and reappeared in steel-clad arms, shining under the soft magic lights. The shining gauntlet rubbed Pebble’s scaled back slowly.

A knightly-armored copy of Glenn had appeared in the room, carrying Pebble with unfakeable naturality. Nelg made his best impression of Glenn’s devilish grin, smiling from one ear to the other.

“What’s up?”

A crack of red lightning flashed through the room, crashing against Glenn’s hastily raised shield. A sword covered in white Aura stabbed into the shield while Milena appeared behind Nelg, one palm against his head and another seizing Pebble against his will. The dragon snarled and teleported back on Glenn’s head, hissing at Milena.

“Stop!” A shockwave exploded out of Glenn, freezing everyone in their places. Glenn slowly rubbed his forehead before dismissing his magic.

“Oh, so that’s how it feels to be in Milena’s magic… Interesting. Oh…Oh!” Nelg laughed excitedly. Milena’s face flushed red and slapped the back of Nelg’s head, sending him tumbling forward.

“P- Pervert! Glenn, this pervert is wearing your face!”

"Hmm...I think I should pretend to be hurt. Ahh~ what a pain..." Glenn's copy rubbed the back of his head with a deadpan expression. Sahro pointed his sword at him and gritted his teeth.

“What the hell are you? Another ruh sayiya?!”

Nelg cleared his throat and waved his hand happily. "Hey everyone! I'm Nelg—Glenn's Soul Weapon!"

Manalok suddenly looked up from his plate of pasta. "Soul Weapon? Where?"

Glenn sighed heavily, struggling to contain a flurry of insults. 'I would have rather done this in a less...unexpected way, but what can I say...'

'This is so unfair...' Diamanes grumbled, 'How come this idiot can manifest in reality and I can't?'

Glenn collapsed on his seat, exhaling a tired breath. Manalok was there, but...well, what did it matter? What would the odd man do? Report it? It's not like anyone could take Nelg from him anyway.

'Besides for the Devil's Eye,' Diamanes cleared his throat. Nelg froze, and sweat beaded off his face.

'Oh, I think he heard that.'

***

“Your Soul Weapon was sentient? Glenn, how many voices exactly do you have in your head?” exclaimed Milena in disbelief. Ary and Manalok frowned confusedly, the only ones unaware of Diamanes' existence. Sahro went and poked Nelg in the face. The weapon grinned dumbly, letting himself be treated as a zoo's beast.

"The same exact face...And you're thinking like him?" Sahro verified. Nelg nodded frantically.

"Yep. Everything Glenn knows, I know. Ah, man, you have no idea how happy I am! I can finally talk to you all! This is great!"

Sahro frowned and glanced at Glenn. "He doesn't really sound like you, though."

Liara was rubbing her chin, pondering as she stared at Nelg. Lina was clenching her head in despair.

"Two brothers...two Glenn. How am I going to survive this?"

Ary grabbed her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry Lina. If winning your heart means squaring up with your brothers, then consider me a champion in training."

He kept the same idiotic grin even after Lina punched him in the face. Manalok Tuleam was looking at Nelg from all angles, taking notes and muttering to himself as he did so.

"Hmm...Very, very interesting, yes...He has his own Mana Heart and seems capable of progressing like a human. Hmm..."

“Oh, yes, yes, please, give me your attention!” Nelg laughed broadly, ecstatic. “Wanna see my Mana Heart? Look, I called it the Black Sun!”

Nelg amazed the gallery as he Projected his Mana Heart, babbling like an excited kid. Glenn watched him with a lost look until a discreet voice nudged him out of his catatonic state.

//Descendant.

Gundam's voice whispered out of the bracelet so that only Glenn would hear it. He glanced at the communication device. If Gundam whispered this way, it meant he didn't want to share whatever he was going to say.

“...and look, I can also transform back into a weapon!” Nelg emitted a bright flash of white, before returning to his sword shape. Glenn discreetly used the commotion to head out of the room, ending up on a balcony overlooking the gardens.

//Descendant. Gundam's voice was almost emotional. The Initialization is complete, all thanks to you.

"...You're welcome?" hesitantly replied Glenn. He still had no idea what the Initialization was about, but as long as Gundam was thankful for him, it had to be positive, right?

//I won’t be able to communicate with you for a long time, and I fear I am obligated to destroy the communication devices. But if one day you come across the Core again, then…

//Don’t hesitate to visit.

Glenn frowned. “Gundam, you’re surprisingly talkative and…emotional. Are you okay? Can’t you tell me what the Initialization is?”

//Farewell, Descendant. Gundam’s voice sizzled out one instant before the bracelet suddenly disintegrated into dust. Glenn looked at his wrist with a growing headache.

“What the hell is up with today?” He muttered as he leaned on the balcony. The twin moons were hanging high in the sky, at equal distance from each other.

"Glenn," Diamanes spoke with palpable dread, something Glenn had never expected to find in the ancient entity. "This day isn't over yet. Look up."

On the largest moon, a pristine canvas of white, a minuscule red spot had appeared, a tumor infecting the magnificent astral body. This insignificant spot of red was growing, propagating across the moon's surface like an infection, pushing away the white and replacing it with red.

A red so dark it could be mistaken for blood.