For the umpteenth time, the video clip displaying the recent attack on the URI plays on the evening news. The camera pans slowly, taking in the chaos and damage inflicted on the site before focusing on a pair of figures brawling in front of an overturned bulldozer. A man and a woman, beating the living daylights out of each other. Though to be fair, its clear to any observer that its the man who is doing more of the beating. The woman is sent flying back from a savage blow and lands in a heap. The video cuts off at that point and the program returns focus on to the newscaster.

"Boss, your brother has gone completely out of control." Chance says while standing behind me, "Let me bring him back. I can end this."

I shut my eyes and try to ignore Chance's nagging. She had been harping non-stop about the need to take action quickly against Daffyd to the point where it had gotten annoying. That was the reason I ordered Chance to hang around that idol singer during the day. As long as Chance is out of my sight, she is welcome to go bother someone else.

"You're still using that walking stick." I remark flatly.

Chance draws a sharp breath but doesn't back down, "I can handle him boss. Your brother has no counter to the fire of perdition. With support from the rest of the men, we can have your brother will be back in Neo-Cardiff in no time."

"Why are you so obsessed with Daffyd anyway?" I ask, "I'm his sister and I'm not even half as worked up about it as you are."

Chance draws herself up to her full height and says, "He has sinned against the world. I cannot live under the same sky as him."

I face palm and turn away from Chance. Not this again. Chance a grown woman, lives her life according to an oath she made as part of a cosplay club. If Chance wasn't as powerful as she is, I would have sacked her without a second thought. I make a vague sound, hoping Chance gets the message and just shuts up.

"Boss, I know you don't take me seriously on this subject," Chance presses on heedless of my displeasure, "but please listen. Your brother has made himself an enemy of the world. He is both a danger to others and to himself."

I sigh and turn around to face Chance. "Alright fine. Tell me why Daffyd is the enemy of the world. Is it because of the murder and terrorism?" I challenge. Daffyd is already giving me enough of a headache. I don't need my bodyguard engaging in a sixth grade level fantasy thanks to my brother's antics.

To my surprise Chance shakes her head, her expression solemn. I was half expecting her to break out into a rant about justice this and vengeance that, but she throws something completely unexpected at me.

"Your brother, knowingly or not, has rejected his true destiny. He refuses to accept his rightful place in the world." Chance declares, "Just as he refused to accept his rightful place in your family boss."

"Explain." I snap at Chance, "Are you saying Daffyd's proper place is to be weak and powerless?" I may not see eye to eye with Daffyd, but I will never accept that proposition. Ever.

Chance shakes her head, issuing a denial, "No. What I mean is that man is not your brother, at least not anymore. Daffyd has abandoned the place destiny had allocated to him and is now recklessly trying to carve a new space for himself, regardless of the cost to others."

Chance's statement causes a lump to rise in my throat. That was the exact feeling I had when talking with Daffyd that night. As if he was a completely different person. Is this what Chance is going on about?

"Then how would you know that Daffyd has rejected his proper destiny?" I ask while looking at Chance in the eye, "Don't you dare try to bamboozle me on something so personal. I know my own brother."

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Chance smiles triumphantly, "Because you told me that yourself. Didn't you say that you felt no trace of your family magic when you tested Daffyd that night?"

I frown, that was something that had been bothering me as well, but I don't see how it ties into Chance's allegations against Daffyd.

"All that means is Daffyd trained under a different master." I dismiss, "He admitted that himself even."

Chance just keeps smiling, "Echoes. Did you sense any echoes of your father within Daffyd's spirit core? Boss, both of us have been in regular contact with each other. By now, I can recognize the feel of a soul born under the Gallant family. The unique pressure. I felt none of that when I fought Daffyd. It was as if he was completely unrelated to you."

My mouth goes dry. Spiritual traits are passed down from generation to generation. Effectively the spiritual equivalent of DNA. My spirit core bears identifying marks that came from Da. As my brother, Daffyd should also bear similar traits on his core. Chance is right. Training under a different master on its own would not have scrubbed those identifying marks from Daffyd's core. Whatever training Daffyd went through to awaken his power had to involve something else. Something that went deeper.

"None of that proves Daffyd has rejected destiny." I point out, "Much less him becoming an enemy of the world."

Chance rubs her temples in exasperation, "Boss, think! Can a spirit core ever lose its identifying traits?"

No. Its like your physical DNA. Totally permanent. I slump into the sofa as the implications of what Chance is hinting at become clear to me.

Its not Daffyd's spirit core both of us sensed.

And the spirit core is formed by the soul.

"Spell it out for me." I whisper. I don't dare make the final connection.

Chance lays her hand on my shoulder compassionately, "I've said it already boss. That man is not your brother. Not anymore."

"That's impossible. A soul cannot be removed from its body." I shoot back, grasping at any issue to prove Chance wrong. But her next reply dashes my hopes.

"A pact." she says, pausing for effect, "Someone else is sharing the body with Daffyd. Most likely with his consent."

My mind goes back to the stories of the early human mages and shamans, the risks they had to bear when casting their spells. A stroke of bad luck meant an indefinable, soul devouring horror being summoned. The modern casting system had relegated all of that into the past though.

But was Daffyd desperate enough to put his faith in the old traditions? Its possible. The weakness in his soul was something the modern system could not overcome. Daffyd might have been tempted to seek out older, less orthodox forms of magic.

"But Daffyd obviously recognized me." I point out to Chance, "He also clearly remembered our past together."

And Chance delivers the final blow as she explains, "Which is why its a pact instead of possession. Daffyd consented to the being he summoned taking up residence in his body in exchange for power. The Daffyd we saw is probably a gestalt entity, formed from the merger between your brother and whatever being he came into contact with."

Chance concludes, "When the new Daffyd was born, his true destiny would have fallen away. Without a destiny, your brother would have lost his rightful place in the world. Such an outcome would force Daffyd to naturally become the world's enemy in his quest to carve out a space within it for himself."

I glance up at Chance's solemn face and remark, "You're surprisingly knowledgeable. Not what I expected from an easily excitable muscle head."

Chance huffs in good humor at my jab, "The Path is after all a historical society boss. Beneath the cosplay and posturing, adherents are expected to have a thorough knowledge of the teachings left behind by Prince Enma. The Prince was one of his generation's greatest mages and I am his foremost disciple. Obscure knowledge concerning the old ways is kind of what I had been studying for the last several years."

I lean back into the sofa and instinctively grab on to Chance's hand. "Is there any chance I can save Daffyd?" I ask plaintively.

"It may be difficult." Chance says as gently as she can, "Daffyd might not want to be saved in the first place."

"But you can do it, if we manage to bring Daffyd in?" I insist, "You can get the real Daffyd back?"

Chance's voice wavers and her expression becomes unsure, "Uh, in theory, yes. But no one has actually tried something like this as far as I remember. The only thing we have are the reference materials left behind by the Prince. It also depends on how powerful the entity that Daffyd merged with is."

I stand up, patting Chance on the shoulder, "I have faith. After all you are the Master here, aren't you?"

Chance laughs ruefully, "Well, took you long enough to take my title seriously."

Wait for me Daffyd. I am going to get you back.

No matter the cost.