The Simulacrum

The conclusion of our final battle, and by proxy, scenario, had a profound effect on my rather huge circle of friends and acquaintances. For the ones directly involved with the battle in the crater of the late Castle Shamash, pretty much everyone experienced a deep sense of enervation. It wasn't surprising; all that travelling, fighting, and narrowly avoiding the literal end of the world (in more ways than one) clearly drained everyone, and now that the tension was gone, they all deflated all at once.

In contrast, the people left out until the very last second were in a veritable frenzy, as if trying to catch up to the rest of us in effort and make up the difference by giving their one hundred and ten percent. Because of that, the hotel where we were staying got transformed into a temporary headquarters, with the whole floor serving as the heart of the entire Abyss occupation apparatus. I still wasn't too happy about that one, but I was also part of the first group, and too tired to get up in arms about it. I had to pick my battles, and there were lots of other things to argue about. Such as…

"No," I stated firmly as I glared at the holographic face hovering over the crystal ball sitting on the table in the middle of the hotel room. "We aren't burying secret nukes under the castles 'just in case'."

"But Lord Archon…"

I interjected with a soft, "Mensah?" making the ex-Director on the other end fall silent. "I had a rough day, and I don't have patience for this. Don't make me go over there in person."

"I… understand, Lord Archon." That seemed to be the end of it, but then just as I was about to move on, he readjusted his glasses and asked, "What about seismic charges? We could make the damage localized to infrastructure, and—"

"Sumboulos Dolion Mensah." He flinched when a new voice joined our call as Judy leaned over so that the communicator would show her face. "I recommend you don't test the Chief's patience today, or he might just throw you into the Sun."

"… Metaphorically, or…?"

"Literally," she stressed. "Very literally."

"I…" he hesitated for a second, but eventually inclined his head and backed down with a quiet, "Understood. I shall follow the Lord Archon's wishes."

One more nod later, he finally cut the connection and his semi-transparent, scan-lined head disappeared.

I turned to my girlfriend and said, "Thanks, Dormouse," followed by a considerably more annoyed, "He's going to try to plant some bombs anyway, won't he?"

She agreed with a deadpan, "Guaranteed," making me groan.

"It's like herding cats with these guys."

Elly let out a cute giggle on my other side, while I leaned back and exhaled a long sigh. The three of us were sitting on the generously padded green couch next to the aforementioned table. In fact, there were over half a dozen Celestial communication orbs lined up in front of us, one for each 'theater of war', as the ex-Directors put it. Things were proceeding relatively smoothly so far, but as the de-facto head of Elysium and the Ordo Draconis, they would occasionally contact me to ask for my advice and/or permission.

"Maybe I should be happy that he even had the sense to ask, instead of just booby-trapping the Abyss and only telling me about it later," I quietly mused at first, then turned to Elly. "What were we talking about before we got interrupted?"

I had already brought the girls up to speed with the latest development, though trying to explain the business with the Emergents, my origins, and the multiple layers of me-s I had wasn't easy. I had a feeling it would take weeks of repeated discussions before we were all firmly on the same page.

As for my princess, instead of replying to the question directly, she abruptly caught me in a bear hug and squeezed hard enough to knock the breath out of me.

"I can't believe you got eaten! It must've been so scary!"

"It's lucky you got better, or I would've been really mad," Judy spoke next while poking my shoulder with her forefinger, but then she turned to my other girlfriend and continued in an imperceptibly more contemplative tone. "But speaking of scary, at one point you got literally beheaded."

"That's not that scary," my princess responded with a careless shrug that tugged on me, courtesy of still being trapped in her hug. "Before Leo, we've been fighting the Brotherhood for centuries. Being cut with swords is… what's the idiom? Occupational hazard?"

"Close enough," I said, but my attention was still focused on Judy.

Elly taking things in stride was nothing new, and while she was shocked by it in the moment, since she didn't actually suffer any injuries, I could see how she could shrug it off. It wasn't like all the other battles she fought were safe, so she was already used to imminent danger of death, and this one wasn't even 'real', so to speak. The only reason she was even aware of her 'would be beheading' and the narrative tug-of-war between Benjamin and me was my ring anchoring her and letting her perceive continuity-altering shenanigans.

However, she wasn't the only one; Judy had a ring too, and Benjamin targeted her more than he did Elly, so I was more worried about her.

"What about you, Dormouse?"

"Right!" The princess finally let me go and leaned around me to look Judy in the eye. "You did get fireballed once, and then there was that time the ground exploded, and… I think there was one more? I couldn't see it well."

"It was more startling than anything. And it didn't really happen, so it's fine," Judy insisted, but then after a several seconds long beat, she softly added. "At least it's not bothering me right now, because we're busy, but… can I ask you to sleep with me tonight? Just in case."

Before I could respond, Elly practically climbed over me and caught my dear assistant in another (though this time slightly more delicate) bear hug.

"Awww! Don't worry! I'll make sure to hold your hand all night and punch all the bad dreams away!"

"How would you even…?" Judy started, but seeing her enthusiasm, she soon gave up and turned back to me. "I didn't have it the worst. At least I didn't keep exploding."

"Right." Elly let her go and sat down between the two of us, as true to her word, she was already holding Judy's hand. "There was this part where Josh kept bursting into flames. What was that about?"

"Just Benjamin being a dick," I answered with a slight shrug. "At least he doesn't remember any of it."

"Right. Because no rings," my princess concluded, and now that she said it out loud, it made me realise something for the first time.

"What about the class rep?"

"What about her?" Elly blurted out, but then her eyes opened wide. "Right! You gave her a ring too!"

"The Chief had Michael give her a ring, yes," Judy insisted. "Unfortunately, it seems Noir took it from her when she was captured."

"Riiight…" I crossed my arms with a shallow sigh. "I really should've just added the enchantment to her Magiformer, and… No, wait. Crowy took that too, didn't he?"

Judy responded with a deadpan, "He sure did."

"Figures. I guess I'll have to make a replacement. And a replacement ring, too." I threw my head back, and this time, I let out an outright groan. "Worries for later."

Judy agreed with a soft hum, while the princess just kept hugging her in silence. I let the moment linger for a while, and just when I was about to move the conversation along, someone knocked on our door.

"Polemos? May we come in?"

That was Savir, but who was the other person in that 'we'? I could've checked with Far Sight, but what was the point when a simple, "Sure, come in," did the trick just as well?

The only entrance to the hotel room opened at once, and in walked the ex-Director, this time without her silly power armour ensemble. She still had the toga, though. She nodded to me as soon as our eyes met, but then, when she noticed Judy by my side, she nodded again, this time so hard it became more of a shallow bow. Was she still traumatised by what happened during our impromptu Elysian beach episode, I wondered. Good.

Moving on, I was more curious about the one accompanying her. The Matron, clad in a fresh black dress in place of the one that got singed, torn, and otherwise damaged during the battle, was even more sour-faced than usual. As soon as someone closed the door behind her (again, I never bothered to check, but I was two hundred percent sure it was one of the newbie praetorian guards), she levelled a flat stare at me.

"Peacemaker."

"Address the Archon and his wives properly."

Judy interjected with a deadpan, "Fiancées, but go on," and Savir did a semi-bow again.

"Do you have something to report?" I asked, and as soon as she straightened her back, the ex-Director made a sweeping gesture towards the older woman.

"As a matter of fact, I most certainly do!" she declared with a smug smirk. "Do you happen to remember what I told you in private during our meeting back in Elysium?"

"… You have to be a bit more specific than that."

"The matter of Her Grace Deus's biological parentage," she exclaimed, the smug smirk never leaving her face. "Allow me to refresh your memory."

"A moment," Judy cut in as she hastily untwined her fingers from Elly's, and she took out her notebook, more than two-thirds filled by this point. She tapped her stubby pencil against it, then uttered a plain, "Proceed."

Savir dutifully waited for her, then started as soon as she gave her the green light.

"We discussed how Her Grace's mother died due to an unfortunate accident not long after childbirth." The Matron flinched when she heard that, but Savir didn't notice. "I also mentioned that her only known, living relative is her grandmother, who was unavailable for questioning at the time, and…"

"Stop, say no more, I got the gist of it," I interrupted with my palm showing, followed by a brief facepalm. "Goddamit, Fulgor."

"Pardon?" Savir whispered in mild confusion, but I quickly dismissed her.

"Never mind, I'm just lamenting our worldbuilding." I turned to the old woman next. "Matron? Am I to take from this that you're Angeline's grandma?"

She flinched again and let out a decidedly displeased harrumph.

"I scarcely think this situation warrants such a flippant description, but I'm led to believe that it is indeed the case."

Ugh. There was no way in hell I was going to deal with two people doing the whole extra-emphasis-on-words thing, so I addressed Savir again.

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Since it's a personal topic, I'd like to discuss it with the Matron in private, so you're dismissed."

"Wait!" Savir blurted out in a hurry. "That's not why I brought her here!"

"It's not?" Elly asked with her head tilted. "Then why?"

"Because she's, by Elysian Law, a deserter and traitor! Yet, since she claimed diplomatic immunity, I brought her in front of you for your deliberation."

In other words, she wasn't sure what to do with her after I declared her an ally back in the crater, and now she was passing the ball back into my court. Typical.

"Yes, very thoughtful of you, Savir. A bit misguided, but I love the initiative. I'll take it from here, and as for you…" I pondered for a while, but then shrugged. "Eh, let's go with the carrot and the stick approach. Dormouse?"

"Yes, Chief?"

"As our unofficial collector of politically and personally embarrassing secrets, do you think this warrants the erasure of one or two?"

"Hm. Maybe one," my dear assistant noted with her pencil tapping against the notepad once again. "I believe I can justify removing the evidence of her magical nose-job from the files."

"Splendid. Please, do so as soon as we're back home."

"Excuse me?" the Matron spoke up with a brow raised high. "Evidence of what?"

"Never mind, never mind," I said with a dismissive wave of my hand and then turned back to Savir again. "Please return to your duties. Dismissed."

She obviously had something on the tip of her tongue, but after glancing between Judy and me, she swallowed it and took a step back.

"As you command, O Archon."

Then she turned on her heels and left the room with a rather dignified, if also a bit mechanical, gait. As soon as the door closed behind her, I exhaled hard and muttered an exasperated, "Finally," and then pointed at the Matron. "Please, take a seat. We really do need to discuss this."

"Ah? Should I ask for some snacks?" the princess chimed in with a question, but the Matron quickly declined before she could gather any steam.

"That will not be necessary. I'm not in the mood for such trivialities right now."

"Fair," I noted, then quickly tented my fingers and assumed my classic mastermind position. "So? What's your story?"

"Blunt, as always." The Matron shifted in her seat and looked me in the eye. "I was born in Migdál Iodes into a military family with a long service record in the Elysian Kruptós, and because of my upbringing, I…"

Oh, crap. When I asked about her story, I didn't expect her to actually tell her whole life story! Especially not from the beginning. But interrupting her at this point would've been just rude, so…

"Hey? Leo?" My immediate rescue came in the form of a knock and a voice coming from the other side of the door. "Do you have a minute?"

"Yes, come in!" I called out in a hurry, much to the Matron's annoyance.

A moment later, Josh waltzed into the room, much to the Matron's even much-er annoyance. He was in his new getup, with the mixture of white, red, and black, and while his wings weren't out right now, I was pretty sure they would've still been a vibrant crimson instead of the usual angelic gold. He stopped as soon as he came into the living room and noticed the old woman on the sofa.

"Oh. I didn't expect her to…" He pointed a thumb behind his back over his shoulder. "I ran into the annoying lady in the toga on the way here, so I didn't think you had other guests. Should I come back later?"

"No, no. Your timing is perfect," I placated him as I quickly rose to my feet. "Let's go and talk on the balcony. Girls? Can I leave this to you?"

Elly was a bit whiplashed by the development, while Judy only nodded and shifted a bit on the couch so she would be facing the Matron. "Sure. You mentioned something about your upbringing?"

"Yes, I…" the old woman hesitated while I hurriedly sidled over to Josh and guided him towards the back of the room, where the glass door opened to the small balcony.

As soon as I was outside, I let out a relieved breath and told him, "Your timing is impeccable. You just saved me from an info-dump."

"You're… welcome, I guess?" He eyed me with a critical look, then glanced over his shoulder at the girls and the Matron still inside. "Was the old hag bothering you with so—?"

"Wait, hold on, time out!" I blurted out with my hands in a T-position. I also glanced inside, but she was already engaged in discussion with Judy, so she probably couldn't hear him. I let out a pent-up breath and put my hands on the handrails. "Listen, pal. Take this as a friendly advice: you really need to be careful about your image with the Matron."

"Why?"

"Because otherwise it's going to bite you in the ass, big time." He still wasn't convinced, so I let the cat out of the bag. "It seems like she's related to Angie."

"… Oh. That's a…"

"Yeah. Family relations getting dramatically revealed at the last second is really weird and disconcerting. Ask me how I know."

"Would you mind if I didn't?"

"Not at all!" I declared with a smile, then adopted a slightly more serious look. "So? What's bothering you?"

"First of all, this." He pointed at himself, or rather, his new transformed state and the outfit that came with it.

"Looks stylish enough," I joked, but he wasn't very receptive. "What's the problem with it?"

"It's not going away." He flexed his hand, causing a flash of red light to coalesce around his forearm, only to dissipate just as quickly. "The capsule should've worn off by now, but I'm stuck in this…" He paused and wiggled his fingers a few more times, causing more subtle magical flashes. "Abyssal? I think it's Abyssal."

"Obviously."

"Yeah, but…" He pulled his hand back, but only so he could fold his arms. "I was too busy trying to survive and stop the world from ending and stuff, so I didn't have the time to pay much attention to this, but… Why the hell am I an Abyssal now?"

"Oh, that's simple. You ate Sebastian's blood pill. He's a full dragon, and then you got a big dose of Deus, who's a full Celestial. Add those two together, and you get an Abyssal. It's like supernatural genetics, or something."

"Dude, how did you know that I…?" He stopped and then shook his head. "Never mind. Let's say that I accept that, but why am I still an Abyssal even now?"

"Oh, that's probably because of the whole prophecy thing," I answered off-handedly. "You know? The part about the Herald absorbing the power of the Abyss?"

"But I'm not doing that!"

"Of course you do. Sillu?" There was no response, so I called out again, "Hey, Sillu? I know you can hear me."

Or… could he? The omniscient narration from back then didn't quite say that, but Grimmy could hear me when I called out to her in the presence of the class rep, so he should also—

"What do you require, descendant of Polemos?"

Without any fanfare, the pale red hologram of a man casually appeared on the other side of the balcony's handrails and floated over the busy street below. He looked just like my homunculus version did during the retcon, just with a fancy toga and a rather dry disposition.

"Ah, here you are." I didn't bother with niceties and just pointed at Josh. "He's still connected to the Mana Well Network, right?"

The hologram-spirit-whatever narrowed his eyes at me in displeasure, yet dutifully answered all the same.

"Yes, the Nagiru is still connected to the Nine Altars."

"Thank you, that's all we needed to know." I turned back to Josh and made a casual gesture with my hand. "There. That's the long and short of it."

My friend continued to eye me suspiciously, and he even sent a sideways glance at Sillu before his attention finally settled on me again.

"And that's the other thing. Since when did you know about Sillu and the real meaning of this whole Herald thing? Was everything really going according to some scheme of yours?"

I couldn't really blame him for being so suspicious, so if it made him feel a bit better, I decided to come clean with him for once.

"Honestly, not at all. My original plans were completely dashed, and I had my hands full with my own situation that made Crowy and his stuff small potatoes in comparison."

"… Dude. If we didn't stop him, he was gonna destroy the Abyss! And cause an extinction event… I think?" He scratched the back of his head and muttered, "I was kinda out of it at the time, but I swear Judy said something about a kaboom as big as the ones that killed off the dinos."

"Precisely," I said as I nodded along. "And what I was dealing with was even bigger. Imagine that." As soon as I said that, I shook my head. "Actually, no. Don't imagine it. Just… Just know that I couldn't have dealt with things on my end if you didn't beat Crowy on yours, so it was a good hustle. You really bailed me out with that."

"Erm… Thanks, I guess?" He remained silent for a beat, then hesitantly asked, "So, is this it? Is the world officially saved now?"

"Yeah. We did it."

"We did, huh? That's kinda cool, actually."

This would've been a nice bonding moment if it hadn't been immediately interrupted by Sillu, still hovering outside with a sour look on his face.

"Nagiru. If you're done talking with the descendant of Polemos, I urge you to return to the Emperor's side. The vile betrayer is attempting to indoctrinate him even as we speak."

"The vile what?" I blurted out, while Josh's brows immediately descended into a scowl and snapped at the hologram man.

"Hey! I told you to stop calling Deus that. She's my girlfriend, and…" His mounting momentum came to a screeching halt as soon as the word 'girlfriend' left his mouth, and he turned to me again. "Right. That was the other thing I wanted to talk to you about."

I had a bad feeling about this, but I wiggled my fingers to have him continue.

"You see…" He started, but faltered again, and gulped hard. "So, the thing is, I need advice. You see, the whole thing with Deus has been weird for a while. I mean, you know? It hasn't even been that long since Angie stopped calling her 'grandpa', and then stuff happened in that Coepi Urbs place, and… erm…"

"And?" I prompted him again, against my better judgment.

"We kinda ended up kissing during the battle. I mean, it was under pressure, but it was still, like, a proper kiss, with both of us consenting and stuff, and… How do I put this? Since then, Deus has been way more… clingy than usual."

"It hasn't even been that long," I pointed out with a small frown settling on my brows. "Just a couple of hours."

"Yeah, that's my point. She's waaay clingy already. I mean, I think she thinks we're dating now."

"… Are you?"

"I dunno, man!"

I waited for a beat, but when he didn't continue, I asked, "What does Angie think about it?"

"That's the even weirder part! She seems to be really into it, saying how she feels much better now that we're all together and both she and Deus are in sync and they feel the same way and all kinds of sappy stuff!"

"... Okay. Noted. Where do I come into the picture?"

Josh looked at me like I was dumb, and he spelt out, "Dude? You're the one with the two girlfriends! If anyone can give me advice, it's you!"

I wanted to snap right away, but I held it in, took a deep breath, and responded in a more diplomatic, "Listen, pal. I'm not doing relationship advice stuff anymore."

"Oh, come on, man!"

"Nono, I'm serious," I told him with a palm showing. "I think you've already got things mostly figured out; I don't want to meddle."

"But I haven't got it 'mostly figured out'! That's why I'm asking for help!"

He sounded unusually frantic, but I was firm in my resolve not to meddle. In fact, I swore that I wouldn't touch Josh's odd body-sharing triang-relationship drama with a ten-foot pole, and I wasn't planning on walking back on that now. It was all about the principle. That said, he leaving a friend in trouble also didn't sit well with me, so after some rumination, I decided to throw him a bone. Reaching out, I patted him on the shoulder and spoke in a calm, level voice.

"Chill out, pal. It's all new and weird right now, but consider that you've just been through a cataclysmic battle of epic proportions. You're both high-strung and tired, and maybe there's even some suspension-bridge-effect is in play as well."

"Suspension-what?"

"I'll explain that later." I patted his shoulder even harder. "For now, just relax, sleep on it, and work it out with a clearer head and fresh eyes tomorrow."

"That's… Actually, that's probably not a bad idea," he admitted, and then slouched his shoulders. "I was hoping for something more concrete, but I'll take it."

Then, as soon as he said that, he suddenly manifested his crimson wings, making me reflexively pull back my arm.

"What's that about?" I asked, and he made a vague gesture towards the building.

"We're staying on the upper floor. I slipped away, saying I was going to the loo. I can get back to our room quicker this way."

"You had to slip away?"

"I told you. She's reeeally clingy today."

I couldn't say anything to that, so I just wished him the best of luck with an encouraging smile, and then he flapped his wings and disappeared from the balcony, along with his red hologram, and… Oh. I just realised something. If Sillu worked the same way as Grimmy, it meant he was present twenty-four-seven, and watching. Which meant…

"Yeah, it's just a question of time before Josh comes back to complain about the lack of privacy…" I grumbled as I returned to the living room and got immediately flagged down by Judy.

"Great timing. Chief, come over here, please."

"Coming, coming."

As soon as I reached the couch, Judy showed me her notes (not that I could read them from this distance) and told me, "We made a significant discovery."

"Very significant!" Elly chimed in, looking oddly excited.

"… I'm listening?"

My dear assistant pulled her hand back and looked at her notes before stating, "Once we're home, I have to redo the whole relationship chart."

"You have a relationship chart?" I asked in the spur of the moment, and she gave me a look that said I was silly for even asking. "Never mind. So? What did you find?"

"To summarize, the esteemed Matron Tsarah Calypso had two daughters. The older daughter followed in her footsteps and joined the Celestial Intelligence Division's spy program. She was sent on a honey-trap mission that led her to the Abyss, so Matron Calypso followed her to provide support while leaving her younger daughter, who was still a minor at this time, in the care of an old friend."

That… sounded suspiciously like an info-dump, but for the time being, I maintained a professional attitude and nodded along.

"But then, but then!" Elly cut in, eager to share the story, "Her daughter met someone in the Abyss, and they fell in love!"

"More importantly," Judy said, grabbing the reins of the conversation again, "When Matron Calypso decided to support her daughter's decision to stay with her lover instead of following the mission, they were declared traitors and couldn't leave the Abyss."

"Also," the princess chimed in again, as if competing with my other girlfriend, "Because of that, her other daughter had to leave Elysium, she started traveling the world, and then she also had a baby! But then she died, and the baby was put up for adoption by the Celestials, and she ended up on Critias!"

"And that one's Angie," I guessed.

"Yes, but the other daughter's fate is more interesting," Judy noted with just a hint of anticipation in her otherwise deadpan voice that made me involuntarily raise my guard. "The man she fell in love with was the third heir in line of House Inanna. Thanks to the Matron's expertise at clandestine operations and backroom deals, they not only successfully married, but he became the Lord of House Inanna. Of course, the daughter had to be disguised as a normal human to avoid a scandal, meaning she also had to distance herself from the Matron. Because of this, almost nobody today knows that they're related."

"A moment. Which generation was this?"

"They were Noir's and Neige's parents," the until-now silent old woman spoke in a low voice, and I couldn't help but be stumped for a moment.

"But that would mean that Snowy and Angie are… cousins?"

Judy raised a finger.

"Yes, but consider this. You adopted Neige, meaning she's your sister now. The Matron is her grandmother, meaning…"

"She's your grandma, too!" Elly exclaimed, unable to hold it in any longer, and she even threw her arms into the air as if this was something worth celebrating.

As for me, I was completely stumped and bamboozled by this development. Not just because now I suddenly got yet another family relation out of the blue, however tenuous, but due to the fact that this was way too on the nose. I mean, it could've been a later development, one of those 'filling in the blank spots in the scenario' kind of deals, but drawing a connection between Snowy (or more like, Crowy, considering he was a major antagonist in the scenario) and Angie was way too deliberate.

It had to be a conscious world-building decision, which meant my family tree got even more complicated because…

"Goddamit, Fulgor. Again."