As I looked into Richard’s confused eyes, I finally understood what my angst had been all about. It wasn’t keeping my origins a secret that had bothered me. Not when it had been necessary.

The difference was that it no longer was. I’d seen it with my own eyes, hadn’t I? How Passion hadn’t even been able to sniff me out, despite standing right next to me?

The gods couldn’t identify other Champions. The revelation was like a bombshell for me. Why hadn’t I realized it earlier? Granted, between the fight with Cyrus, Cosmo’s Hawaiian retreat with coconut bikini Aerion—I glanced at the drunk elf beside me, but quickly averted my eyes, as did she for some reason—and the shenanigans with Dominion, Eskil and Passion?

Yeah, I’d had my hands full.

Now that I had a moment to think, though… Only one thought came to mind.

Weird.

Why in the world would the gods be unable to sense other Champions? Especially when they seemed content parading their Champions like trophies? Even laypeople could identify them.

The inevitable conclusion was that the gods were not omnipotent. In fact, it appeared more and more like they were all limited in various ways. Maybe even the same ways Cosmo was bound by.

That was an interesting thought, but not immediately relevant. The fact was that Passion didn’t know who I was. Which meant she hadn’t been snooping in on our conversations. Whether because she truly respected Richard’s privacy, as he claimed, or because she couldn’t—as he had also mentioned—I didn’t know.

But I did feel reasonably confident that I could tell him without her learning. That was, of course, assuming he didn’t go and spill the beans. After fighting with him and getting to know him, though, I wasn’t even the least bit worried about that.

I took a breath and went for it.

“I’m a Champion,” I said, continuing when he didn’t reply. “I lied to you about my ability, Richard. I’m not a Boonworthy. Spatial Inventory is just one of my abilities. I can bestow powers to armor and weapons. That’s my real ability. It’s why Light of the Fearless has two powers. The inventory is just one of the abilities I got for ranking up to Emergence.”

“Emergence,” Richard muttered. “Not Foundation, then, as you’d said.”

“Er, actually… I just ranked up again after we came out of that dungeon. I’m Divergence now.”

Richard laughed, glancing between me and Aerion. He wore an awkward smile, as if he wasn’t quite sure whether to laugh or be shocked. Or both. “You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”

“Would I know details from Episode IV if I were? Want me to list off more? Tattooine’s two suns? X Wings, Alderaan, Yavin? Vader’s true identity? I can do this all night.”

Richard, mouth open in shock, looked at Aerion, who nodded grimly.

“Good god,” Richard said, recoiling. He clutched his hair with both hands. “It’s true, then. You’re… Really a Champion. I… I don’t know what to say. So I didn’t mishear. You really did say ‘Christ’ back in the dungeon, yeah? That wasn’t just me falling off my rocker?”

“No, you’re still sane,” I said with a sigh. “To tell you the truth, I’d been trying to hide my Earth idioms as much as possible. Turns out I’m not very good at it.”

Aerion rolled her eyes.

“Bugger it all. Now I feel silly for asking you to keep my identity under wraps. You’ve pulled one over me all along, haven’t you? Why, though?” Richard asked. “Why hide it at all?”

“Well, first off, allow me to apologize. I lied to you, and believe me, I feel like shit that I did. Just… I have reasons why I want to lay low.”

“Why?” Richard asked in exasperation. “I’ve reaped so many benefits from being Passion’s Champion! From the money to the training to the gear… I want for nothing!”

Aerion bit her lip. “It’s not so simple, Richard. Greg is…” her eyes met mine, searching.

I nodded.

“He’s the Champion of… of Order,” she said, lowering her voice.

“Of Order?” Richard frowned. “Hang on. Passion said Order doesn’t summon Champions. That the cycle of Cataclysms persists precisely because he treats this whole thing as a joke.”

“That was true,” I said. “Until now. You’re looking at the first actual Champion Order’s ever summoned.”

“That’s…” Richard’s eyes flew open. “She doesn’t know!”

“No,” I said. “No, she does not. Nor do any of the other gods, from what I can tell.”

“Bollocks! This is… You’ve any clue what this means, Greg?”

I grimaced. “Wish I did, Richard.”

Richard frowned in confusion. “It means we can end the cycles! Once and for all!”

I just gave him a pained smile. “Uh, yeah. Seems that way.” One bombshell was enough… For now.

“And yet, you feel the need to hide,” Richard said.

“I do,” I replied, matching his gaze. “Order isn’t like the other gods, Richard. He doesn’t help me. He doesn’t descend from the heavens and shower me with gifts. If I revealed I was Order’s Champion… Sure, people might be happy I was finally here to end the cycle, but I’d be willing to bet I’d have my fair share of assassins, too. People with grudges that run millennia long. I’d have to flee to Order’s territory.”

“And that’s a bad thing, because…”

“Because the elf who governs Order’s territory will shackle Greg and use him for his own ends,” Aerion replied. “I’ve lived there. I would know. Besides, Order’s territory has neither Trials nor Cataclysm Dungeons. His territory has always been immune. No one knows why. And that means Greg cannot grow stronger there.”

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“I see,” Richard said, downing his mug of ale and leaning back in his chair. “Quite a pickle you’ve gotten yourself into, eh?”

I smirked. “Tell me about it.”

Richard stared off into the distance for a long while, and a silence fell upon the table as Aerion and I sipped our drinks, waiting for Richard to make the next move.

Just when the silence was beginning to grow awkward, Richard slammed his mug on the table and turned to me.

“Right then. Your secret’s safe with me, Greg. I’ll admit, I’m a little peeved you thought to hide it from me for so long—thought we were closer than that—but I realize this could not have been easy for you to divulge, and so I thank you. Thank you for trusting me now.”

“You’re… not angry?” I asked. Was this guy for real?

“Why would I be angry?” Richard asked. “You came out and said it yourself, didn’t you?”

“Well, sure, but—”

“Then it’s all water under the bridge! Now, I’ll admit, I thought there was something a little fishy going on, at first. Your mannerisms struck me as… a little different from everyone I’ve seen here. Not anything that stuck out, mind you. Just a feeling. And then you and Aerion happened upon me together. Now that’s a puzzle I’ve yet to unravel. How’d you do it?”

“Oh, that?” I said, my voice coming out higher than I’d intended. “I, er…”

Ah, fuck it. I’d been stupid to think a guy like Richard would hold my secret against me. The guy had a heart bigger than the moon.

“I told you I could initialize armor and weapons, yeah?”

“Yeah…?”

“Well, my power counts Aerion as a weapon. One thing led to another, and… yeah. She’s considered an extension of my Blessing now.”

“It’s true,” Aerion said when Richard gave her an inquisitive glance. “I’ll not lie. I’ve mixed feelings on the matter, but it is true that I’ve benefited greatly from this arrangement. My [Sylvan Reaver] Blessing was bestowed upon me by Greg, after all.”

“Remarkable,” Richard said, shaking his head in wonder. “Truly remarkable. Never in a million years would I have dreamed of ever coming across a world filled with such wonder.”

“You and me both, friend,” I said.

“Hang on,” Richard said, leaning in. “You from the states, then?”

“I am.”

“What year?”

“Your future. 2030’s.”

“Wicked!” Richard cried, slamming his palm on the table. “You’ve any idea what this means?”

“Uh, it means I could give you investment advice that would make you a millionaire?” I said cheekily.

“No! Well, yes. Holy mother of god!” Richard said, seemingly having an epiphany. “You could, couldn’t you!? I could be rich! My kids could go to Oxford!”

I was suddenly starting to regret this idea. What if we really could go back? What if Richard permanently altered Earth’s history? And what if that meant I never existed? Or that my situation was totally different? Butterfly effect and all.

Eh, fuck it. I’d cross that bridge when I got to it. One existential crisis at a time.

“Sorry, went off on a tangent there,” Richard said, returning from his daydream. “Greg… We can talk shop! Chat about the world. Gossip! Movies! Fashion! You’ve no idea how tough it’s been. Nobody gets my references!”

“Brother,” I said, clasping his hand. “I completely understand.”

This was the main reason I’d let him in on my secret. Sure, secrets between friends were bad and all, but was there really any satisfaction greater than shooting the breeze with someone who ‘got it’?

No. No, I didn’t think there was. The look of abject horror on Aerion’s face was just icing on the cake.

----------------------------------------

We spent the next six hours chatting of home. Everything from movies, as Richard seemed to enjoy, to politics, to me filling Richard in on history and technology. He was just as flabbergasted as Aerion when I started talking about computers, mobile phones, the internet, and of course, Artificial Intelligence that was steadily replacing humanity, chipping away at our place in the universe.

Even Aerion, who’d initially tuned out to our nerd talk, grew more and more interested with each new thing she learned about Earth.

“Earth sounds so beautiful,” Aerion—now thoroughly drunk—said, tears streaming down her face. “It’s so magical! If only I could see it! All I ever wanted… Was to see the world, y’know? Is that too much to ask?”

She sniffled, her emotions pouring out of her like a tsunami.

“That it is,” Richard said. “It’s a beautiful world with a whole lot of problems, but it’s still beautiful. And it’s home… I swear, you can’t know how much I appreciate you telling me all this, you two. It’s just so important to have people around you you can trust.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t trust Passion’s people?”

Richard extended a hand, palm up. “Either people place me on a pedestal I’ve not earned,” he said, extending his other palm, “or they keep secrets and pretend otherwise. I feel like nobody tells me what’s really going on.”

“Huh,” I said, wondering what Passion’s agenda was there. Or was it something her priests were doing without her knowledge? I’d have scoffed at the idea some time ago. Knowing what I now knew of the gods’ reach—and their limitations—I wasn’t so sure.

The Champion raised his mug. “To home!”

Aerion raised hers, but I hesitated.

“What’s the matter, friend?”

“Home, huh?” I said. “I’m a little envious of you, Richard.”

“What for! You live in the literal future, mate! Sounds like a world I’d scarcely even recognize!”

“Yeah, well… My life wasn’t all sunshine and roses, if you know what I mean… Say, Richard. You think we’ll keep our powers if we return?”

“Well, I…” Richard hesitated, lowering his mug. “I dunno, really. Never thought much about it.”

“Yeah, well, I have. Someone with superhuman powers would be a headline in minutes.”

“Reckon you’re right,” Richard said. “And what of it? What need have we of powers that bursts’ peoples’ hearts or gives us super strength? We’ve other means to defend our families, back on Earth.”

I grimaced. “It’s not just the destructive power, Richard. You’re still physically weak, but you’ll see, once you level—er, once you progress. Moving faster than any human… Falling from great heights without getting hurt… It’s intoxicating. You’ll miss it. A lot.”

“Perhaps you’re right. Maybe I will miss that. Tell you what, though. I’ll miss my family more. And if you give me that choice, I choose my family, each and every time.”

“That’s why I said I’m envious. I don’t have a family back home, Richard. Got a sister who cut me off years ago, and a father I wouldn’t shed a tear for if I heard he’d died in a ditch somewhere.”

“You don’t mean that,” Richard said, his voice hoarse.

“No, Richard, I really fucking do. I’ve got no job. No family. Nothing to return to. But here?”

I glanced at Aerion, who lowered her eyes and fiddled with her mug, face scrunched up in anguish.

“Here, I’ve got people I care about. People I’m proud to call friends. I have power, and more importantly, I have purpose. Something I never found back on Earth.”

“You’re young, Greg. You’ve got all the time in the world to find all of that, y’know?” Richard said softly.

“Sure. But I’d have to give up everything I had here, first. Let me ask you this, Richard. If you met your wife here in Axius… If you had your family here, instead of on Earth… Would you want to go back?”

Richard pursed his lips and frowned, looking like he’d just swallowed something bitter. “No. No, I don’t reckon I would.”