Arthur spent the entire trip back from The Greenhouse mulling over what he’d seen inside the cupboard during his visit to The Assembly. No matter how he came at it, it simply made no sense. Science and magic were a combination he’d read about in numerous novels. Seen, however? Not so much.

Rathnil, he knew, had ties to this somehow. That was at least a logical connection. The cultists, some of whom were ex-Genomian Inc. employees, having links to a dragon that wanted to combine magic and technology to make his demons, was too perfect a coincidence to seem accidental.

In the documents he’d read that mentioned The Greenhouse, they’d mentioned working towards things that would help after some sort of collapse. How did they know it was coming? Did the dragon, acting as a demon, push them onto a path that would guarantee it would happen? That didn’t explain why Rathnil would even want the world destroyed, or why they would go along with it.

"Though, as an ex-employee, Rathnil must have known that the goddess used worlds like this if he worked for her. Could this be some kind of long con set up? I still don’t understand the point."

Arthur’s anger deepened as he thought about the grove and the store structure the cultists had access to, not liking the idea he’d come up with.

"What if I wasn’t the first to come here? Though surely someone would have mentioned something by now. You don’t get a grove until level fifteen. That’s not exactly easy to do while keeping a low profile. Unless, of course, you only sold to a select crowd."

The heat filled him at the idea of Greenwire or someone like him manipulating some poor soul that the goddess had trapped here. They would have done to them what Riccardo tried to do to me. All Rathnil would have needed to have done was make it look like an accidental death, or maybe they’d taken the deal and scarpered.

Either would leave Rathnil with a box and access to the goddess’s system. Which might be all someone with insider knowledge needed to take it over.

"She-Demon!" Arthur swore, using one of the knight’s favorites.

From the seat beside him, Augustus let out a worried squeak. Theobold stayed quiet until he pulled them to a stop outside of Apocalypse Assortments.

"What’s wrong, boss?"

It took Arthur a moment to respond as he grappled with the potential implications. When he did, he fought to keep his voice calm.

"I may not be the first to be sent here to do what I’m doing. I’m heading to the roof."

Theobold sounded concerned as he dismounted from the bike.

"Do you want someone to come with you?"

Augustus’s squeak made Arthur assume he was parroting the question. Briefly, he considered saying yes. Perhaps asking for Nyssa to come with him if they could find her. He dismissed the thought. She would be busy, he was sure, and he didn’t know if the time stop would affect both of them when they got up there.

He could raise their clearance, but he decided against it. Arthur knew he could and should do this alone. If he was going to pry into the secrets of upper management, he should leave his employees out of it. At least for now. If something came up, he would bring them in.

For now, all he wanted were answers.

Like, am I the first, and if not, what happened to the last one? Pydes mentioned doing his thing for multiple people starting out, so he should know without needing to ask. If I’m right, I’m going to need to push this hard. I’m not taking any half-answers or excuses anymore."

He did his best to give a reassuring smile to both Augustus and Theobold as he collected his cane and briefcase from the rickshaw.

"No. Thank you, though. Please keep an eye on the store while I’m gone. I won’t be long."

"You got it, boss." Theobold saluted as Augustus squeaked in agreement.

Arthur watched them go before he turned towards the ladder. It wasn’t easy with his hands full, but he arrived at the roof without falling. When he arrived, water elements swarmed him, and he stood and enjoyed the pleasantly cool water they sprayed into his face. It was pleasantly cool compared to the heat and rage that filled him.

As he strode across the grass and around the trees, earth elementals joined in the games as well. They squeaked as they slid along, once or twice bumping into his legs as they went. Arthur couldn’t help but crack a smile at their antics.

Even his anger at what he’d guessed lessened as he watched them play and dance about. They were adorable and small, their very presence creating a peaceful feeling as he walked among them.

A feeling he bet he knew he’d need more of soon.

He spotted Pydes sitting on the edge of the roof. Sunlight glinted off his sapphire scales, and he seemed to once again have grown. Elementals played all around him, though they scattered when Arthur approached. Pydes didn’t so much as turn to look at him.

Together, they watched the city before Arthur spoke.

"We need to talk."

Beside him, Pydes stretched, his languid movements making the light ripple along his length like water. "We do. You have a new perk point to spend. Now, my suggestion would be—"

"Not about that." Arthur cut him off, his tone curt.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The dragon finally turned to him with annoyance in his large eyes. He found it didn’t frighten him the way it used to. This wasn’t the time for store business. He’d deal with that side of things later this afternoon. Besides, they both knew his advice would be to bank the point and wait. It was the only suggestion that made sense.

A plume of smoke wafted out of Pydes’ nose. "Oh? Then what?"

"Was I the first person the goddess sent to work on this world?"

He didn’t sugarcoat his words, and he refused to look away from Pydes. As he spoke, he could hear the elements around him go quiet, as though curious about the answer themselves. Pydes flinched, which was an answer in itself as far as he was concerned. Still, he wanted to hear the dragon say it. Arthur stared at the dragon, clutching his cane and briefcase tightly. He wouldn’t break the silence.

When the last squeaks of the elementals died away, Pydes sighed.

"Why does it matter?"

"Because I want to know how Rathnil got a hold of the goddess system. At first, I thought he was simply a powerful dragon and had given it over. Now I’m not so sure. I suspect he might have played a part in what broke this world, and it could have been to lure someone here to take their stuff."

"That’s a stretch, isn’t it?" Pydes started, but Arthur cut him off once again with a wave of his hand.

"No," he said, the heat in his voice making it come out like a growl. "Think about it? He wanted my boxes and store. Not me, not my life. Only the few magical items she gave me to help run the place. Rathnil had an orchard. A corrupted one, sure, but how did he have one without the goddess’s magic? You said yourself that her magic creates the elementals that maintain such a structure."

Pydes was looking at him now, a glimmer of fear in his eyes. Arthur pushed further.

"So, tell me. Did someone else come here before me?"

"Yes," Pydes whispered.

Arthur bared his teeth and clutched his cane tighter. "Who?"

"I don’t know," Pydes snapped. "Mother assigned me as she always did, but he never activated his store. Never named it to give me a place to arrive like you did. The items the goddess grants will lose their magical properties if left unused by their owner for too long. So, we didn't think anything about them going missing."

"Wait, what?" Arthur asked, aghast at the idea that he could have lost everything if he’d stayed in the sewers too long.

Pydes’s fear turned to annoyance to match his own. "Why did you think you were so boxed in when you arrived? She couldn’t afford to lose another one!"

Arthur stopped and simply sat down as understanding hit him at once. His suspicions had turned out to be true. He was number two in this world, and Rathnil had hoped to score himself another payday. Instead, he'd lost everything he'd built. Now he'd fled into The Pit to do, well, something. His goal down there was one of many questions that still remained.

One of the biggest was why the goddess's secretary had started blocking any message Pydes tried to send. Followed by how the goddess had risen to her divine heights. As he tried to figure out what he wanted to focus on next, Pydes paced around him, the dragon’s claws gouging into the grass and dirt.

With a sigh, Arthur leaned against a tree.

"Fine. So we can assume Rathnil killed or helped the previous managerial candidate out of town. It's good to know I was her second choice. I have another question, though."

"What?" Pydes asked, stopping and turning to Pydes.

"How did the goddess get to where she is, anyway?"

He’d expected the dragon to laugh, or maybe launch into a story that extolled her virtues and accomplishments. From the way he’d introduced himself, it wouldn’t have surprised him. What he got was something different entirely.

"Arthur? What are you talking about? She’d always been a goddess."

***

It took him a while to process that statement, but Pydes at least appeared happy to wait as he mulled those words over.

He shook his head. That made no sense. Rathnil had appeared entirely serious when he told Arthur he should try to find out how the goddess got her position. Unless, of course, Pydes simply meant that she’d always been a goddess since he’d been around. That would make more sense. Plenty of people never bothered to question established authority.

Still, it felt weird. In every book that he’d ever read, the gods had a creation myth. Sometimes multiple, depending on who you asked.

"So she has no origin story?" Arthur asked. "Not a one?"

"No," Pydes said, sounding sure.

Arthur couldn’t help but shake his head at that. The flat denial made him assume she was keeping it hidden, and he could only assume two reasons for that. Either whatever she’d done was easily repeatable, or fragile enough that anyone messing with it would mess it up. Perhaps it was an ongoing process?

"Of course, she might just have been a goddess since the world started, and I’m overthinking it," He thought to himself, but that didn’t seem right to him.

The way Rathnil had boasted about his discovery seemed genuine to Arthur. So he tried a different question.

"What can you tell me about the office I saw in my dream? The one they boarded up. Who did it belong to?"

"I’m not meant to speak about that," Pydes said.

Arthur gave him a hard look. "I need to know. As my assistant manager, it’s your job to help me. Knowing could do that."

He couldn’t deny that it felt a little good to pull rank on the dragon. Pydes didn’t appear to appreciate it, as he stiffened. Arthur ignored the aggressive movement and simply stared at him.

"Are you demanding I answer you, store manager?" Pydes sounded a mix of petty and proud as he asked and glared when Arthur nodded. "Fine. The goddess fired the owner of that office personally and had it boarded up as a warning to the rest of us."

Arthur didn’t miss the way the dragon’s eyes flicked to the elementals as he spoke and then back to him.

"And what was he fired for?" Arthur used his best stern tone as he asked the question.

"He was part of the Research and development team. Apparently, he was doing some questionable experiments. The goddess had all his research destroyed. But this was a long time ago. Two hundred years or so."

"Well, that lines up with Rathnil’s story. I suppose all that’s left is to confront the goddess directly. She might know what he was researching and be able to clue me in on what he’s doing in The Pit."

"And I suppose there is no way for you to tell the goddess about any of this, with Wilth blocking you?"

"No," Pydes said immediately. "I’ve been contacting friends. They have been having the same issues. She still has a few in-person meetings, but not with people like me."

He sounded bitter, and Arthur found he didn’t blame him.

"Then I suppose we’ll need to get her attention in another way."

As he spoke, he put the briefcase on the ground and snapped open the locks. While Pydes watched, he pulled out the dragon scale and laid it on the grass. A few elementals crept closer, but none came within arm’s length.

With his prize in view, he snapped the briefcase shut and stood up as he tucked his cane under his. Pydes backed away at the sight.

"This is not a good idea. She will not be happy you entered a restricted area, willingly or otherwise."

"Well, she can tell me that herself," Arthur snapped as he held the scale up to the sky.

"Hey! Epyrth! I need to speak with you about the scale I found in the restricted—"

The darkness claimed him before he could finish the sentence.