“Who needs Master Elvanis anyway?” Zu Mari muttered as he snapped his chains and vaulted over the railing, dropping to the ground far below. “His methods leave a lot to be desired.”

He glanced upward at the tower, at the distant window that he knew led to the serene spirit pool in its impossible room of twisted gravity. Despite everything, he still felt drawn to the place. For a few hours there, he’d truly believed that Master Elvanis could give him what he needed most.

Lies, of course. No one could give him what he needed. If his time under Elvanis’s control had taught him anything, it was that teachers were useless.

“What did he even teach me, anyway? Only that the power I need is within myself already. If he can do it, I can do it. I don’t need him. I don’t need his spirit pool. I’m invincible.”

He may have wasted decades of his life letting others define him, but that was the past. Zu was done letting what people said he couldn’t do define him. He’d proven to the universe that he was the one with the tenacity and will to deserve the Protagonist Fragment. He’d saved Luja Ni from her prison and had come here to save the Goddess Serena from her own looming demise.

In his excitement over his own potential personal gain, he’d forgotten his true purpose. He wasn’t here to learn the ways of the Green Flame, he was here to annihilate them.

Zu had been moving as he grumbled, making his way through the streets to the shop where he could retrieve Smoke of Progression. And perhaps the starsword while he was at it.

“Oy--"

Zu strode in past Scowler, who seemed to be positioned near the door, but before he could even get his "Serious purchasers--" out, Zu had strode past to the collection of swords on display by the counter.

"Ah, good day," the proprietor said, looking at Zu as though he knew he ought to recognize him but couldn't remember his name.

"I'm here to pick up my sword," Zu said, and unceremoniously grabbed Smoke of Progression.

"About time," grumbled the Godsword. "You have no idea how infuriating it was to live through the same day that many times with no idea what was happening."

"I tried talking to you several times and you ignored me," Zu admonished. "Now be good."

"Excuse me, but you weren't planning to leave without paying for that, were you?" the artisan asked, a bit uncertainly.

"Bill it to Master Elvanis if you must. I've no time for this." Zu grabbed the Starsword too, but its heat felt tamed and weak to him now, with his highly attuned senses. He tossed it back toward its place with a frown. "Inferior, shoddy craftsmanship."

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"Excuse me!!!!?"

Zu turned to leave, only to find Growler standing with his arms crossed, glowering quite aggressively, and Scowler standing with his pike raised to block Zu's path.

"Even if you find my craftsmanship inferior, I must insist you pay or at least provide proof that this Master Elvanis will--"

Zu took a breath, gripped the godsword, stilled himself, and became stone. Their words did not reach him, and their attempts to pry his fingers loose were as ineffective as sneezing at a mountain. He stood until he felt calmer and less inclined to kill them all - as much as it would be cathartic, he suspected it would set his Protagonist Fragment's work back by several days to initiate active violence.

Instead, he silently communed with Smoke of Progression, informing him of the progress Zu had made, and his decision to forget Master Elvanis and his nonsense teachings and instead focus on destroying the city as he was meant to.

"I feel you're underestimating the amount of damage you could do following this Elvanis's plans," Smoke of Progression said, once Zu was done recounting the events. "Remember, he is among the weakest of the Green Flame's children. If any of them decides to do away with you for good, even Luja Ni cannot protect you forever."

"I will not be stopped," Zu boldly declared. "Nothing has ever stopped me. I'm not about to start being stopped now."

"Ah, right. Let me rephrase." Smoke of Progression fell silent a moment, then spoke with a bright and excited voice unlike anything Zu had heard from him before. "Imagine how much damage you could do by pretending to be Elvanis's disciple, and then wreaking havoc upon his family members at his command! You could even frame other annoying Green Flame higher-ups, start a war within their faction! Imagine if they started fighting each other. You could tear them apart and bring them down without risking perpetual torture once they inevitably seize control of the loop from you!"

Zu's eyes lit up, his stone form falling away as he grinned. "You're right!" he exclaimed aloud. "We can tear them apart from the inside!"

Scowler's pike stabbed into Zu's stomach, taking full advantage of his momentary vulnerability. Zu scowled back at him, grabbed the pike away, and slammed it into Growler's face as the second assistant came over to assist his friend. Then he drew Smoke of Progression, the godsword lighting up as Zu raised it above his head...

Then Zu sighed and shook his head. "It's not worth it." He tossed Smoke of Progression to the ground. "I'll try again another time," he assured his blade, then whispered the spell of death. In a moment flames ignited him body and soul, and he smirked at the look of shock on Scowler's face as Zu's self-immolation lit up the room.

He hoped Luja Ni waited until the whole shop burned down before she restarted the loop.

But for Zu it was mere moments. He stood in the shop, fire suffusing and permeating him, then he once again stumbled through the portal in line with the other captives. For a moment his heart lurched, expecting to be grabbed and dragged off and thrown into a box with a stone slab hurled at his head, but Master Elvanis did not appear.

This time he stayed quiet and subservient, though he could have broken the chains and escaped. He'd burned through his flood of excess emotion throughout the long mental discussion with Smoke of Progression, and was ready to advance to the next stage of his plan.

He once again ingratiated himself to Nira, but this time he did not show her his full abilities. He wasn't here for a teacher this time.

He waited until they were alone, Nira already feeling kindly toward him from their many, many iterations of working together, before asked his first question.

"What can you tell me about the Disciples of Tirala?"

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