Liliana guided James around the factory floor and away from the sounds of what had devolved into a heated argument. He could still hear Sarah's voice despite Liliana's best efforts to move them along. Her face was a picture of awkward remorse as she tried to give him a placating smile. "Yeah, this really wasn't my idea, trust me!" She craned her neck to look over the host of rigs in front of them as though looking for one in particular. James, on the other hand, was both confused and conflicted by everything that had happened until now. He understood why Khance had been curious about Liliana being an engineer, but that was the only thing that was making sense to him now. He had a million questions running through his head, and Liliana could easily sense his frustration. "I'll explain everything in a sec. Just follow me. You're going to want to see this."

Sighing to himself, James followed her as he shook his head. "I feel like a prop right now. What the hell happened back there? Why is everyone giving Khance shit?" He turned his head to look back in a vain attempt to catch what was going on, but Liliana dragged him deeper into the factory. "Okay, okay... I'll explain. What do you know about Artifice?" Her tone was playful and he couldn't help but get the impression that she was excited about something. James floundered for a moment as he gestured at his clothes. "It's a crafting themed game where people make clothes and stuff. It uses a system that's like Abidden, and Spectre is the creator of it?"

Liliana finally stopped when they were very much out of earshot of the others. "Okay, so you're not completely clueless. That's good." In front of them was a huge panel of frosted glass, obscuring whatever was contained within. Liliana swiped her wrist against a panel at the side of the container, causing the glass to slide to one side... revealing a sleek black rig that looked like it was plucked straight out of a science-fiction movie. It was shaped like an obsidian shard, pulsating with a lazy silver light that skewered across the rig like a creeping virus. To say it looked menacing was an understatement. The interior was filled with luxurious padding, all embossed with an unfamiliar silver logo. Liliana watched James' reaction closely with a wide grin on her face. "This is Scourge. Your Chessmaster is modelled after it. Hell, all the top performing rigs we've made in the last five years are modelled after this bad boy."

James was almost in a trance as he approached the rig. When his hand touched the obsidian surface, the lights darted to his hand and started swarming around his touch. Moving his finger in a circle, he was surprised to see that the surface drew his sketch with remarkable accuracy. A moment later, the shape he had created flashed red before disappearing. James withdrew his hand and looked at Liliana, worried that he might have done something wrong, but she showed no signs of being annoyed. Rather, she looked pleased at his discovery. "Can you remember the rune that you made at the bottom of the ship?" Instead of answering, James just looked back at the black panel in front of him and just breathed his answer. "You're joking..."

Without further prompting, James traced the symbol he had used for teleporting the Dread Faction to the Tempest the previous night. It was crude, but he was so worried about screwing it up that he had firmly memorised it. A few seconds later, after the last pieces of the diagram were complete, he removed his hand from the sketch. Unlike last time, there was no red flash... but a pulsing green glow. The rough edges of his drawing refined until it became a perfect recreation of what he had originally memorised. Lines burst out of the drawing, all connecting to various points of the rig. James stepped back in wonder as he looked at it again, as though seeing it for the first time. "What just happened?"

Liliana took a step closer and gestured at the now-perfect diagram that decorated the Scourge. "You've just pre-loaded a rune into the rig. You'd be able to fast-cast this now without having to draw it out within Abidden. It allows the user to experiment and pre-load their abilities before they log in. It's a functionality that hasn't been required in Abidden for quite some time, but we're hoping that'll change today." Her excitement was practically infectious as she looked at the rig like a proud parent.

James wanted to ask if his Chessmaster could do the same sort of stuff, but Liliana started explaining something that he was much more interested in hearing. "Artifice was created by Chris Spectre. You got that part right. What you might not know was that he launched the Artifice programme back at Gigatech. Nexus Rigs was an early investor in the project, and we supplied Spectre with everything he'd need to see his research through. Mom did the intro between Spectre and Quentin Bell, which is how the Artifice system was integrated into Abidden." Liliana waved her hand in a circular motion as though the topic was boring. "Anyway, blah blah blah, Artifice was a pretty cool project... but nobody liked blueprints. Spectre had created an inventor's dream, with infinite possibilities... and he introduced it to a group of teenagers that wanted to fight to the death in Battle Royale! You can probably guess the adoption rate in Gigatech. Went to shit pretty much overnight."

Liliana's face brightened at that part as she raised her hands as though to set the scene. "But then, our reluctant hero arrives. A kid that has the entire weight of his family preventing him from using any of his talents, lest he overshadow his prominent eSports siblings. He's not allowed to fight! So he's stuck taking support modules or his scholarship is cut!" Liliana's voice had changed as she explained the story, but eventually she broke down into laughter, giving James a teary apology. "Sorry, I've heard this story a million fucking times, and I can't do my Mom's voice justice. You're going to hear it at dinner, anyway." When Liliana saw James' horrified expression, she straightened her back, and all amusement left her face. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Are you... talking about Khance?" James finally managed out. He could only stare at Liliana lamely, wishing she'd tell him that this was some kind of joke. Had Khance really been cornered by his family? How did he play Abidden if he wasn't allowed to compete? There were too many questions and not enough answers. Liliana, upon seeing James' reaction, suddenly felt horrible for how she had delivered the news to him.

"Well now, isn't this a blast from the past?!" Chris Spectre's voice found them as he appeared from behind them. If he could sense the awkward atmosphere, he paid it no heed as he walked past them with a smile. His eyes locked on Scourge. "Does it still have his old profile?" He asked Liliana without glancing back. James shook his head and was about to speak when the Scourge suddenly reacted to Spectre's touch. "Ah, there it is... beautiful, isn't it?"

James' words died in his throat as the obsidian black melted away to reveal thousands of interconnected etchings, weaved in a perfect mesh. Countless white pulses of light darted between the connections like a circuit board, bouncing between runes and practically vibrating with promise. There wasn't a spare piece of black to be seen on the hulking structure. The entire surface area was covered with an intricate drawing of Khance's creation. Spectre turned around to James with a wistful smile as he gestured at the rig. "Alex's Labyrinth. He created this blueprint to unlock practically every magic system you could imagine. I don't understand half of these, and I created the damn system."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Instead of bitterness, Spectre's voice was filled with regret. As quickly as the mood had deteriorated, he picked it right back up again. "Ah, yes! Dinner is indeed ready, we're going to be having it down here though... while Dayna lays on the charm. We should hurry back." James and Liliana shared a confused look, but Spectre wasn't paying attention to them this time. His eyes were fixated on Scourge. "Liliana, before we go, could you lock this back up? I want it to be in perfect condition for when he's back."

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The tension when they got back could have been cut with a knife. James had no idea where to even look, because at the table that had been taken down by some of the Nexus Rigs staff, Dayna was sitting directly opposite a very defiant looking Khance. Liliana only hesitated for the briefest of moments before sliding into a chair beside her mother. Despite there being a seat beside her, James sat beside Khance, wanting him to know that he wasn't alone in feeling ambushed. In all the time that he had known Khance, or at least a decade ago, he had never seen this side of him. Spectre took the seat on the other side of Khance while Sarah was nowhere to be seen.

Dayna gave Liliana a tight smile as she gestured for the servers to bring the food. "I'd have hoped this would be a more civil affair, Alex... but you're not leaving me with many options here." Dayna spoke candidly, much of the warmth having left her tone since James saw her last. "Sarah chose her words poorly, but that's still no cause for lashing out at her like that."

Spectre placed both his elbows on the table and cupped his face in his hands with a groan. "I leave you for two minutes to get these two, and you've somehow pissed off everyone else. What happened?" His voice was strained, but James had no idea if Spectre was genuine in the slightest, as he seemed closer to an emotional chameleon than anything else. Liliana shot James a look of concern before her own eyes landed on Khance, waiting for his answer. Much to everyone's surprise, Khance just raised his arms above his head in exasperation and laughed humourlessly. "I give up! What the fuck is the point of all of this? Why the hell did you have to drag James into all of this, don't you know the shit he's already gone through?"

Dayna's expression didn't waver in the slightest. "The point of all of this, Alex, is that we have Scourge sitting in lock up for the last five years while we've patiently been waiting for you to grow up." There was a moment where it looked like she was about to back down and apologise, but a flash of anger crossed her face and she doubled down. Her voice was calm, but her tone was both exhausted and frustrated. "We've given every resource, listened to every excuse, offered every opportunity under the sun... and you've flat-out refused to meet us halfway. Scourge is a game-changer, and it was made specifically for you and that incredible mind of yours. And... and you're just throwing it away."

Liliana placed her hand on top of her mother's and gave her a meaningful look, but Dayna ignored it and pulled her hand away. "I'm finished with this farce, Alex. We have a business to run, and you have, without a doubt, been one of the biggest drains on our bottom line for the last number of years. Our prior relationship and your extraordinary ability is what kept us sweet, but you're throwing both of those away. Either you commit, right now, that you'll stop taking those damned softeners. Or we'll give the rig to someone that can and will use it. Scourge can't work with you when you're only running at twenty percent."

Khance gritted his teeth and clutched at his temples, which didn't escape Dayna's notice. "See? They're stopping you from even snapping at me right now. Is this the life you want? All emotions dulled to practically nothing. It's not living, Alex, it's existing. You're back in Abidden... you're not being relegated into a support role again, and you're not being threatened by your family lawyers! You can finally be free and showcase your capability. We want to support you in doing that!"

The servers at Nexus Rigs awkwardly placed a series of platters in front of the guests, each of them terrified of making eye contact with anyone at the table. James could only stare at the beautifully prepared food, wondering if he was in some sort of fucked up dream. He didn't like the direction this was going, and he didn't like that he had been brought here to ambush his friend. Everything they were saying was incredibly concerning, especially if Khance had been self-medicating with softeners. It was one of the most common addictions out in the slums, but the price of it was a major factor in keeping the E-Classers in severe debt. It literally eradicated misery, but took practically every other emotion with it.

Placing his palms on the table, Khance finally stopped gritting his teeth and tried to relax. His hands shook, but he calmed them through sheer force of will. To everyone at the table, it looked like he was trying to contain his rage at the situation, but when he spoke, it was in a pained and broken voice. "I've stopped drinking, and I've reduced the dosage. I'm getting closer than ever before... I promise." James felt his heart plummet when he heard the fear and vulnerability in his friend's voice.

Dayna clenched her fists and exhaled slowly. "Alex, we've had this exact conversation before. I appreciate that back then you weren't ecstatic about using Scourge in other games, and you were jaded from being cut from Abidden. There were a lot of reasons for you to be unhappy back then, and we were accommodating. Right now, Quentin Bell has given you equity in Abidden and you're back in a new role. You have a sponsor that sees your talent, and you have James Sylvester back in your life. All that guilt and shame from before, all those reasons to dull the pain. They're all gone. Reducing your dosage isn't good enough, Alex."

"Mom, wait-" Liliana started with a panicked expression on her face, but Dayna simply raised a hand to silence her. "Alex, we're sponsoring a team of Heroes for Abidden, and we want to give them the best chance possible. For that reason, we're going to be giving Scourge to our newest signing."

Spectre practically jumped out of his seat at those words. "That wasn't the deal, Dayna! He practically built that masterpiece as much as you did!"

Dayna, touching none of the food in front of her, got to her feet. "I'm doing this for your own good. You've become complacent over the last few years and you have a life that millions would kill for. Seeing you in Scourge was the highlight of my entire career, but seeing you now just breaks my heart. I wish you all the best in the future, Alexander. Enjoy your meal."

With that said, Dayna left them. Liliana burst into a series of apologies and promises that she'd talk to her mother, while Spectre fumed audibly as he ran his hands through his hair. Khance stared off into space for a few moments before he turned to James with a defeated smile. "It's a bit of a relief..." Tears rolled down the Paragon's face. "One less person to disappoint."