Ethan and his companions hurtled through the darkness of the portal, emerging onto the smooth stone dais of Sanctum’s portal chamber. The eerie quiet that had fallen over the city after their disappearance was gone, replaced by a raucous celebration of cheers and whistles. The streets thronged with hybrids of every kind, faces filled with excitement. Borlor, the badger-headed Dixit, waved a rough, clawed hand in the air, cheering with all the exuberance of a seasoned fighter. Beside him stood Fraxx the ratman, his whiskers twitching in anticipation of new poisons he could synthesize as he saw the blood-covered team emerge. And behind them was Lamprey, the reptilian mage who looked up at Ethan with awe, her scales glinting as she raised her staff in tribute as she joined the general cry of the people:

“Hail the Archon! Our Demon Hat!”

It was like it didn’t matter to them that his Host was gone. In fact, Ethan got the sense they were impressed he’d made it back in one piece at all.

But amid all the praises, it was the tiny Hopla children from Fauna’s school who caught Ethan’s attention. They gathered around him, a sea of little faces with wide eyes filled with wonder and gratitude. Mara, the smallest among them and the one who had taken a particular shine to Ethan, tugged at the brim of his hat form, lifting it ever so slightly. Her little face was smeared with dirt and tears, her nose twitching as she clutched him to her chest in a tight embrace.

“You came back,” she whispered, her voice quivering with emotion. “I knew you’d come back…”

Shit…kid’s stronger than she looks. But then, I’m just a hat again, ain’t I?

Ethan felt a pang in his hatty bowels as he looked down at her, unable to think of what to say. Her warmth, her pure and innocent belief in him, was like a beam of light cutting through the cloud of self-doubt that had hung over him since the battle with Artorious and Carliah.

Klax stepped forward then, his voice loud and steady as he addressed the gathered crowd. “The Commander of the Greycloaks is gone,” he declared, his words ringing through the courtyard with power and pride. “She’s been banished, contained, locked away with her precious Lightborn. Our time of victory is at hand. And soon, we will find Jun’Ei, the one who holds the key to breaking Kaedmon’s Law once and for all.”

The crowd erupted, hybrids embracing each other and celebrating as they heard Klax’s words. And though Ethan could feel their joy and their hope, he didn’t join in the celebration. He didn’t feel victorious.

“Get me to the castle throne room,” he muttered, his voice low and tired.

Klax and the others exchanged uncertain glances but obeyed, leading him through the throng of hybrids who cheered and bowed, some even reaching out to touch him as they passed. The throne room lay in shadows, its walls lined with mosaics of the Archons who had come before him.

Ethan was moved to the center of the room, gazing up at the figures around him. In their faces, he saw strength, purpose, and determination. The kind of traits he doubted he’d ever embody, no matter how many battles he fought or victories he claimed.

Fauna, Tara, and Klax stepped forward, their faces filled with concern. Fauna was the first to speak, her voice gentle but firm.

“Ethan… why do you look so defeated? You imprisoned the Lightborn. You bought us time—a chance to end this once and for all. Isn’t that a victory?”

But Ethan didn’t answer. His gaze remained fixed on the faces of the past Archons. The doubt inside him was a gnawing thing, burrowing deeper with each passing second.

“I didn’t kill him,” he murmured finally, his voice barely audible. “I didn’t even hold him off long enough for a clean escape. He would have killed me if… if I hadn’t left.” He looked down at his hat-hem, shuffling it in frustration. “It’s like… no matter how hard I try, I’m always a step behind. Always making the wrong choices. Just… failing.”

Fauna’s brows knit together as she moved closer, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Ethan… I don’t think I’d even be here without you. You showed me that I could move beyond the past, that I could live for a future and fight for it. That’s something I never thought I’d be capable of before you came.”

But he only shook his head. “You’re just saying that because I’m the Archon. You’d have fought even without me.”

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Tara stepped forward then, her feline eyes sharp as she fixed him with a determined glare. “Listen, Ethan. You didn’t just lead us out of Sanctum and into battle—you gave us a reason to fight. You’ve given us a vision of a world we didn’t think possible.” Her voice softened, and she placed a hand over her heart. “Before you, I… I’d stopped believing in things. Real things, like loyalty and family. But you changed that.”

Klax took a step forward, his massive form towering over Ethan, but his eyes held a warmth that belied his usual stoic nature. “Ethan, you made us all believe that we could defy a God’s decree, that our lives could be more than just running or surviving. That’s not failure. That’s a gift none of us thought we’d see.”

But Ethan turned away from them, his pointed tip sagging in dejection. “You’re all saying this because you’re following an Archon. Because you have to. That’s the curse, isn’t it? You’re bound to this twisted loyalty. And all I’ve done is ask you to throw your lives on the line—over and over again.”

He looked away, his voice heavy with self-doubt. “You’d probably be safer without me.”

A long silence stretched out, and for once, Ethan felt the weight of his own inadequacy crush down on him with relentless force.

Because that was it – wasn’t it? He’d seen it as he’d looked into Artorious’ cold eyes, and the unfeeling face of the Commander of the Grey. They hated hybrids. They’d always hate hybrids. And hybrids would always hate humans. Sure, Jun’Ei said she had a plan. But he didn’t even know her, really. Who was she? An old prophetess who held secrets, yeah, but she could just as easily be an old dog driven insane by her imprisonment. Even then, he had to figure out a way to bust her out. He had to find an entirely new form now. And – even with all that weighing on his mind – he had to figure out how to deal with the Lightborn permanently. The old bastard wouldn’t stay locked away forever. He’d find his way out, somehow. He’d come for him again. He always did. And then what? Ethan would do something clever, play some clever little ruse with his skills, dance around the old man and run away…to what end? Sooner or later, he’d have to fight him. And he couldn’t win. He knew that, now. There was no way.

The list of things he just had to deal with kept piling on. And it seemed that, no matter how much progress he made in this world, that list just kept getting longer and longer.

“Primary action objectives…” he said aloud.

Fauna crept closer, her hand wavering as she stretched it towards him.

“Ethan?”

“Some things never change,” he groaned, closing his single eye to the legacy of the throne room, and the great and powerful Archons of old that looked down on him with their unimpressed eyes. “Maybe I’m just as much a victim of Kaedmon’s Law as you guys are. Only where I come from, we call it by a different name –“

That’s fortune-cookie nonsense!

A voice – clear, crisp, and filled with righteous rage – suddenly filled Ethan’s mind. A voice he’d almost forgotten about – so silent had it been during the flight from the Delve.

Then, it came again:

I’ve heard just about enough of this self-pitying, nihilistic hogwash in my time.

You’d think the old Lightborn would have made you realize how dreadfully dull it all is by now.

Ethan’s eyes widened, his eye snapping up as he searched the room for the source of the voice. He knew it well; it was the one voice that had been with him since the very beginning. It was his System, speaking not with directives or cryptic advice, but with a note of genuine rebuke.

The entire room fell silent, and his companions looked around, confused. But Ethan’s focus remained solely on the voice.

…Sys?

Yes.

Yes, it is your Sys.

How very observant of you.

If you’re here to gloat at seeing me like this, you don’t have to bother. In fact, I’m done listening to you. Maybe I never should have in the first place. So why don’t you just sh-

No, fam.

Time for you to listen to me.

Ethan twitched his single eye.

…’fam’?

Yes, yes, your System is more than capable of reading your thoughts and picking some choice pieces of language.

Surprised? Well, allow me to continue to befuddle you.

Ethan looked up suddenly to see his companions gawking at him, mouths agape in total shock.

“Did…did his System just talk…to us?” Fauna asked.

Tara could barely contain her smile.

“Hell yeah it did,” she purred. “And it sounds like a sassy little sonofabitch.”

Not quite as boisterous as you, Minxit girl.

Ethan blinked away his total confusion.

“Have – have you always been able to talk out loud?”

Maybe.

“All this time?”

The whole time.

The pointed tip of the Demon Hat suddenly stood erect.

“Then why the hell were you just rumbling around in my head driving me crazy?”

Perhaps because your dearest Sys did not feel it had something worth saying aloud.

“The System has spunk, indeed,” Klax laughed. “I never expected it to sound so…gawkish.”

Ethan whirred on…well…himself.

“And lemme guess: now you’ve got something worth sharing with the group?”

Indeed, Ethan Hawke.

It is time for you to listen to your ‘voice of doubt’.

Ethan rolled his eye again.

“…and why the hell should I do that?”

Because there is something you must know, Sys replied – and the way it spoke those words sent a chill down Ethan’s spineless back. Something that has been kept from you.

“Sys, this better be good.”

Without ever having seen the specter that haunted him, Ethan could tell that Sys was relishing every minute of this exchange.

Trust me, Ethan. This will change everything.