“When we all met, the worlds seemed so different,” Saith started. There was a tired bit of pain in his voice. “We thought we were going to ascend layer after layer and become immortal heroes alongside the Patrons. We trained hard, served loyally, and dreamed big. Me, Augustus… and Po.

“There came a time when we were all separated, working different missions which all turned out to be fake from the start. It was then that a champion approached us each individually. He represented Shen himself, the omnipotent god,” Saith sneered and shook his head. “Oh, we were so stupid. The man offered me everything I had ever wanted. Power, longevity, and a place by the side of those I’d spent my life worshipping.

“In exchange, I would only have to give up everything I held dear.” His expression grew angry. “To prove my loyalty to the gods, I was to make a sacrifice. But if I was to truly join them, then they could not accept half-measures, you see. No, they wanted everything. From the artifacts I’d collected, to the lives and souls of my every blood relative. If I was to become a god, I would need to rid myself of such earthly shackles.

“To be honest,” he whispered, “I wanted to do it. I told myself that I could do more good as a god than as a mere mortal cultivator. Even if it meant sacrificing a few thousand lives, I might enrich billions! But at the same time, I wondered: ‘Would the gods I worship truly ask this of me?’ No, I thought, they wouldn’t. And so, I was sure it was only a test. By declining, I’d assumed I had passed. When Shen’s champion disappeared it… took me far too long to realize the truth.”

“Your two friends, they received the same offer?”

Saith nodded slowly and stared out at the churning abyss. The shadows mixed and formed a fuzzy recreation of the man’s darkest memories. Flames like shadows covered men and women, obscuring all but the pain on their faces as they screamed. Even through thick windows, Gust felt those piecing wails in his bones.

“And one of them accepted,” Saith said eventually. “Augustus and I, we both headed back to the sect as soon as we realized what we’d declined. He was much farther away, however. By the time he returned, it was to a pile of ashes. I, on the other hand…”

The dark flames outside burned higher and higher as the people within stopped moving. Out of the shadows stepped a man with cold eyes. He held out a hand and his face twisted in agonizing pain as he absorbed the unseen fire. His arm shook and tears streamed down his face, but he never wavered.

“We fought, but the Voidflame was too much. I’d never seen anything like it. Used most of my qi simply protecting myself. I pulled someone free, but even their soul had been burned to the point that I had no idea who it was. When I…” he paused, “when he came after me, there was nothing I could do. The flames covered me, blocking out all light. All I saw were the faces of the friends and family who burned that day. It was all I could do to make it out alive with the hope that I might make things right. In time.

“And that was where the Subtleties came from.”

Gust listened in fear and awe as this ancient man recounted his greatest pain. Suddenly, his father’s serious demeanor made a lot more sense. He suspected this information was just the first piece of his father’s puzzle which might explain the man’s sudden death.

Given that this was the first time Gust heard about his father’s past, he chose his next words carefully. “Augustus was one of them, then?” The young man knew almost nothing about the Subtleties mentioned in his father’s journal, except that he was supposed to seek them out.

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Saith nodded slowly. “He was the first. The Subtle Bow. The August Archer. He didn’t see what happened. Only the aftermath. He didn’t understand how outclassed we were, nor quite how brutal our enemy had become. He started the work immediately, whereas I… lost myself for a while. A few decades passed before August reined me in, introduced me to the group he was forming. The idea was to create a sort of antithesis to the Patrons. A group of powerful men and women who might subtly influence the worlds around them. We were to provide a new example for people to follow. Something a little more real and present than the Patrons. Instead, we were labeled dangerous renegades, respected for nothing more than our abilities.”

“Where is he now?” Gust asked.

The old man shrugged. He looked more tired than Gust had ever seen him. “On the sixth layer, I imagine. While he spent countless years struggling to prevent the Patrons from devouring their way through the layers of this world, I left in search of something else, which never existed in the first place. My true self failed… but I cannot.” He reached over and enclosed Gust wrist in an iron grip. “You must understand. I cannot forget what he did to me. I cannot rest until Po has suffered for all that he has done. And Shen. And the Dreamweaver, the Chronarchon, Nahuallocoatl. All of them.”

Gust nodded until the man released his wrist. He didn’t think there was anything he could say which might fix anything that had happened, but he had to say something. At the very least, this explanation served as the fuel to a fire which had been dying in Gust’s heart.

More than anything else, Gust had lacked a purpose. He could never decide what to do with his life, much to his father’s disappointment. When Saith told him of this quest, Gust accepted it, but he never truly understood it. After all, what could have sent his father on a crusade lasting thousands of years?

Well, now he knew.

He stepped in front of Saith, but he spoke to his father. “You don’t have to worry anymore. I don’t know how, yet, but I will make sure you didn’t die in vain.”

Saith chuckled darkly and put a hand on Gust’s shoulder. He nodded and peered into the boy’s good eye with pride. “Ah, well, maybe I didn’t waste all that time, after all. The qi I have left will sustain me for several years, yet. I have but one great spell left in me. I don’t want to use it, you understand, but at the rate you’re progressing, perhaps I won’t need to.” He laughed suddenly. “Where did I find you, anyway? Was it your name that stuck out to me? I suppose I must have treated you well, otherwise why be so dedicated to finishing my work, eh?”

Gust smiled, but he shook his head. “You were… not easy to live with, but I always respected you. There was a lot going on behind those gray eyes, even if you never told us what it was.”

“Us?” The man asked. “Were you not my only disciple?”

Gust couldn’t help but smile. “There were two more, actually. Jason and Cleo.”

The man’s eyebrows rose. “It seems I was more generous than I thought! Here, I was a little shocked to hear that I’d chosen one! Never mind three! What were they like? Why are they not here?”

“They’re too young for… something like this.” Gust waved toward the open window. The images Saith conjured were already gone, but he knew what the boy was referring to. “Cleo was… like a little sister to me. She was annoying sometimes, and too quiet at others, but she was a good kid. She loved horror stories and drawing the monsters that haunted her dreams. As for Jason… you never got along quite as well with him. He was impulsive and rude and strangely serious… a lot like you actually.”

The old man laughed. “It sounds like I chose well! If they’re half as determined as you are, I might be a proud master, indeed. Are you okay?”

Gust’s eyes watered as told this sliver of his father’s soul about the children he never knew. He wanted to tell the man the truth, but Gust couldn’t shake a certain fear that it would change things. He would rather have a proud master than a disappointed father. The young man wiped his eyes and nodded.

Saith studied him for a few moments longer before deciding to move on. “Was there something you wanted to ask me? Or did you just come to give me an update on your cultivation state?”

After a moment of thought, Gust shook his head. There had been more, but the anxiety he felt over the decisions placed before him was suddenly gone. He didn’t know exactly what he was going to do, but he no longer worried about it.

“No, I guess I just wanted to talk for a while.”