“You? You’re an Ancient?” Hitha holds her hand over her mouth as she stifles a laugh.

  “Lucias.” Godrick whips his head towards Lucias, who just nods.

  “Hitha, if you would please.” Lucias says, though his scolding doesn’t quite sound like a scolding. She simply shrugs and turns the other way.

  “Rather than stand in the street, if you all would join me inside.” Gem motions for the door as he invites everyone in.

  The scene simply fades from one location to another, skipping over the boring parts of everyone walking inside.

  “That was strange.” Prisha stumbles as the world transforms around us, leaving us standing in a sitting room.

  “I suppose you get used to it.” I say as I sit down on a table that is situated against the wall opposite the rest of the group.

  Everyone is now sitting around a coffee table where tea, coffee, and pastries are being served and as they appear, they are mid conversation.

  “So, you are an Ancient, that is correct? This discovery throws my entire understanding of theology into question.” Lucias says as he scratches his temple attempting to make sense of what he has learned.

  “An Ancient? You seem underwhelming for an Ancient.” Herc huffs from the arm chair he is occupying.

  “Lucias,” Godrick lets out a sigh of exasperation, “can you please keep your servant in line.”

  “It’s quite alright.” Gem says. “How is this for underwhelming?”

  His voice appears from behind the group. They all quickly turn around to see several other versions of Gem standing behind them.

  “Fascinating.” Hitha says as she leans closer to the copies, trying to get a read on them.

  “They are simply drones, not exact copies. Though I am able to implant my consciousness into them.” Gem smiles as the copies vanish into a mist and then disappear. This man is much more charming than the one I met yesterday during the tournament.

  It’s not to say he’s exactly outgoing or charismatic, but the man I met yesterday was much stiffer.

  “If…” Herc tries to choke out a response, “If you’re an Ancient, what are the Diviners?”

  “What do you think they are?” Gem asks.

  “Narcissists.” Herc says through gritted teeth, Gem chuckles immediately. Godrick shakes his head from the other side of the room as he lets out a huff.

  “He needs to get over himself.” Prisha says as she watches Godrick. “Is he really so obsessed with station that he can’t even fathom a servant talking to an Ancient?”

  “I think you already know the answer to that.” I respond without looking at Prisha, keeping my eyes locked on the group.

  “Though I am genuinely confused as to why we are seeing this memory. Everyone present is someone we are acquainted with.” Prisha says as she furrows her brow while continuing to watch the conversation unfold. I simply shrug.

  “I suppose believing they are narcissists isn’t entirely incorrect.” Gem responds to Herc’s answer.

  “Honestly sir, I feel that humoring him will only exacerbate his ill informed opinion.” Godrick interjects, Gem crosses his legs to the other side as he turns towards Godrick.

  “He has a right to his opinion, but as I said, it’s not entirely incorrect.” Gem verbally smacks Godrick down who immediately tucks his tail between his legs. “The Diviners started as individuals who were either subordinates of the Ancients or individuals who simply wanted to be close to them.”

  “Fascinating.” Prisha says as she stares on.

  “And what exactly are you then?” Herc asks.

  “I’m human, just as you are.”

  “Then what makes you so special that people would choose to worship you?” Herc questions, his voice holding a tone of accusation.

  “Nothing. It is the naivety of man that leads them to worship a mere human. They are so desperate for answers and direction that they will craft a god in a place where none exists.”

  “And yet you are…” Hitha says, pausing as she appears to be contemplating something.

  “Extraordinarily powerful, yes. I have far surpassed the realm of a traditional human many years ago, so much so that those naive enough to believe it so have classified me as a god.” Gem stares Hitha down as she contemplates his response. She leans back in her chair, cross her legs, and continues to think on it.

  “So, do the Diviners carry out your will?” Lucias inquires.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “For me, they do not. In general, their belief system is a complete fabrication. Who is the founder of that fabrication, I can’t say. There are those who use the Diviner for their own purposes, but the majority of us do not.”

  Godrick stares at the wall, something seems to have snapped in him. He is entirely unblinking as he breathes heavily.

  “What’s his deal?” I ask, motioning towards Godrick. Prisha shifts her gaze away from Gem and towards Godrick.

  “I don’t know, but he definitely looks more like the man we know today.” Prisha stands up and walks over until she is standing in front of him. She kneels down to get a better view of his face. “I can’t quite read his expression. I spent some time with him in my most recent life, but he had a different face. I’m not quite familiar with this one yet.”

  The rooms dips to black like a movie moving on to the next scene. The sun has went down, candles were lit all over the room, and the only ones who remain are Gem and Herc.

  Herc is curled up on the couch, he looks entirely lost. Gem sits opposite of him, waiting patiently for Herc to say something. I’m not sure what they were talking about, but Herc looks extremely upset.

  “So he was terrible for no reason.” Herc finally says, breaking the silence.

  “Is he worthy of forgiving?”

  “No.” Herc snaps. He shifts towards the window, turning his gaze to the world outside.

  “Then don’t.” Gem responds softly. “Not everyone deserves forgiveness, and they usually don’t deserve the energy we give them either.”

  Herc continues staring out the window as he starts to silently weep.

  “Why? Why did he do it?” Herc mumbles.

  “I can’t answer that, I’m sorry. I can say that people will often find a reason to believe that their actions are just or moral. They will convince themselves so thoroughly they even start to believe the lie. The foundation for this religion is entirely fabricated, yet countless individuals have to come believe it as gospel. I would guess that your father was very much the same, so devout in his beliefs that he was convinced he was allowed to commit such actions.”

  “Is that all it takes for someone to commit atrocities, permission?” Herc pulls his knees up into his chest, clearly not happy with his own conclusion.

  “Unfortunately, yes.” Gem frowns, “Though I can’t say that it’s innate, but rather a taught trait. I have no proof for such conjecture, but I personally must believe it’s true because I can’t imagine a world where people are born that way.”

  Silence falls on the conversation. Herc continues to sob silently as he stares out the window, and Gem just continues to watch Herc.

  “He seems…. nice.” I say, but I didn’t want to. Honestly I could have choked on the word. Prisha looks at me, confused.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “He’s lived this long, so you know he has something to do with the tournament.”

  “We don’t know that that’s true.” Prisha says, still looking at me confused.

  “He has to. You think he has been here the entire time and said nothing one way or the other?”

  “Well,” Prisha begins, “He’s not the current head of the Gemini family. Perhaps during all these years, he hasn’t been the head of the family, but opted to exist on the outside.”“Pfft.” I can’t believe that. He is sitting here talking about people seeking permission to commit atrocities while in my time he sits back and watches them occur and does nothing to stop them.

  “Do you believe that watching something happen and doing nothing to stop it is a form of complicity?” I ask, turning towards Prisha. I’m not sure why she is trying so hard to defend him. He’s a member of the Zodiac, he is partially to blame for the tournament.

  “Inaction can be a form of complicity, yes. But, we also cannot jump to conclusions about him. Before we sentence him, we must be sure of his crimes.” Prisha turns and walks to the other side of the room, clearly ending the conversation. I let out a deep sigh.

  I don’t know what she is thinking.

  “Where does the name Ancient come from?” Herc finally speaks, breaking the silence between the two of them and opting to change the subject.

  “I’m old.” Gem chuckles and Herc smiles softly. Probably the first time I’ve seen him do that, apart from his future self. “Seriously though, it was a title that bestowed upon us after we had all lived quite a long time. Long enough to be classified as Ancient.”

  “If your power is replication, how exactly did you become immortal.”

  “Am I immortal?” Gem wonders for a brief moment before continuing. “How I reached this point, I refuse to answer at this time. To live a long life is both a blessing and a curse. I will simply say, I am who I am because I perfected my magics. I’ve done so in a such a way that I surpassed what is typical of a human a long time ago. That is all I will say on the subject of immortality.”

  “I killed him.” Herc says, eyes wide. “I killed my father.” The moment the words pass his lips, he completely breaks down. For the first time Gem moves towards him, reaches for him, and pulls Herc into himself.

  Herc doesn’t fight it, instead he leans into Gem’s chest as he sobs uncontrollably.

  I didn’t want to, but I could see the humanity in Gem. Perhaps something from this moment until my own changed him. It’s impossible to know because a countless number of years have passed since then.

  As Herc’s sobs crew louder and more uncontrolled, I can’t help but start crying myself.

  I can only guess what happened to him, I just know it was some form of abuse. One thing I do know for certain is that he has been holding onto this for a very long time. I could see that clearly the first time I laid eyes upon him. There is something he has been carrying on his back for a really long time, and I think this may be the first time he has ever put it down.

  “No.” I whisper as I suddenly realize. “Not him.”

  I jump off the table and immediately stand up.

  “What is it?” Prisha turns towards me, a look of worry forming on her face.

  “Him.” I can’t help but feel a sense of disgust as the words fall out of my mouth. “He’s the one who gave Herc that pep in his step.” I turn sharply towards Prisha.

  “When we saw him, in his future. He was lighter, even happier. It’s him. It’s Gem. He’s the one.”

  I shake my head. No. I refuse to believe the same man I sat next to and watched the fights yesterday is the same man who brings Herc so much joy. So much joy that he eventually learns to smile, to see the beauty in the world. The same man who is a member of the Zodiac, who hosts this demonic tournament.

  “It can’t be.” I mumble.

  “We don’t know that.” Prisha responds as she reaches out for me. I quickly pull away from her.

  “I need out of here.” I stumble backwards, trying everything in my power to force the spell to end. I pull as much energy into myself as I muster and with a blink Prisha and I are standing back in the Geminon.

  Gem is still standing off to the side, silently staring at me. The face on the man before is the one I remember. The one who doesn’t have a single ounce of sympathy for those he makes suffer. But he is gorgeous, and powerful, I can see how Herc would be drawn in by that. I, on the other hand, refuse to buy into it.

  “What did you learn?” Gem says in his normal monotone.

  That the Zodiac all deserve to be wiped off the face of this Earth for what they’ve done to their people.

  I stop.

  My heart starts pounding.

  My breath becomes shallow.

  It’s then, in that moment, with that thought, that I finally understand Trevor.