“I wasn’t expecting you today,” Esther said when Lukas entered her clinic. She froze mid-procedure. A strange cat-like creature lay unconscious on the table in front of her. Eyes scanned him. “You ascended a pillar.”

“Your arcane senses are terrifying,” Lukas commented.

“Not quite. It's the shard. I’ve spent enough time around you to know when it's the real you and when something has changed. What did you go for?”

Lukas put on the standard demonstration. He summoned the mantle, created a shadow sphere, and threw it at a nearby surface. His control had somewhat improved. Lukas hoped dispelling and resummoning the practicing clones would give him a decent progress jump. “It feels great for sneaking around, disguising, and I think with enough training, it can become decent in a fight, too.”

“Impressive,” she said, nodding. “I expected you to branch into something similar but didn’t think it would involve magic. Good choice.” Esther watched him expectantly. “So? Did you want something, or are you here to show off?”

“I’m not sure.” Lukas sighed, inviting himself into her work area. He stayed away from the magical circle around the treatment table and leaned against a nearby pillar. “I need the counsel of someone who knows the city better than me.”

“Did one of your web of lies unravel?”

“Not quite.”

“Well, if you want advice from me about the city and how to function, you need to be honest with me.” Esther’s attention returned to her patient. She checked its eyes. “I don’t just mean about your shard abilities but also about who you are.”

“Why do I get the feeling that you already have an inkling of the latter?”

Esther didn’t answer.

“It’s as you already guessed. My Soul ability allows me to make copies of myself—”

“I know that bit. What I’m confused about is why are they called Elvis?”

Lukas smiled. “That wasn’t my decision. I call them El-One, El-Two, and so on. El for Lukas. And then a number to signify the order of their summoning and creation. The clones have an annoying sense of humor—”

“You mean you have an annoying sense of humor.”

“Perhaps. But I know when it’s stupid and annoying and to hold back. It seems whatever makes the clones willing to sacrifice themselves for me, take on terrifying injuries and threats, and do their job also removes whatever inhibitions that would otherwise filter idiocy. Elvis was a popular singer and artist. El-One, when separated from me, needed a name and thought on his feet.”

“That explains Elvis. Now, we need to make sense of your competency. Most people with a new shard ability flounder and spend forever figuring things out. But it feels like you’ve had this ability for ages. You behave, think, and do things as someone much too old and wise for how you look.” Esther stepped away from her work table and washed her hands before finally focusing her full attention on Lukas. “I’d rather you not lie to me further, Lukas Zaun. Assuming that is my real name. Reincarnator? Time looper? Came back from the future? Which is it?”

Lukas chuckled. “That’s one thing I personally never lie about. Lukas Zaun is my name, and it has been so for eight decades, give or take a few years.” He hesitated for a moment but then shook his head, gathered his resolve, and finally spoke the truth. “Perhaps reincarnator is closest to the truth. I’m an otherworlder. I wandered through a spatial anomaly into the Realm of Greater Beings, working for the Great Silver Dragon, Minarv of the Court of Owls, and similar other entities. I was a spy and a thief.” He skipped assassin but was sure Esther would guess as much. The word carried too much weight. “I completed my contract for many, but most kept leading me on. Maybe I was too good. They didn’t want me to leave.”

“This reward was to move to a different world with that clone ability?”

Lukas nodded.

“Why did you choose Fracture of all places? This place is terrible.”

“It seemed like the only place where I, too, could someday become a Greater Being and manage it without ending up tethered to any entity like my former masters. They spoke of Fracture endlessly. They think it's valuable, but whatever magic is created in this patchwork world limits their reach and influence.”

“Hence their cults, champions, chosen ones, and agents running around taking care of things for them.” Esther paused, eyes widening. “You’re one of them, aren’t you?”

Lukas nodded, shoulders falling. He had resolved to be honest but had hoped to skip the part. Minarv was his old confidant, but now, with their tie broken, he needed someone who wasn’t a clone to talk to, decompress, and get counsel. Lukas was old and inexperienced—at least his soul and consciousness were—but he was not so vain to think that he was perfect, incapable of making mistakes and lacking any blind spots.

“I don’t serve anyone anymore. At least, I’m not obligated to. However, the Great Silver Dragon, who finally gave me what I was promised, tied me to a soulbound relic. It comes with certain advantages that mean I don’t need to rely on scryers and diviners. And it will grow if I take care of her interests. I’m not too keen on it, but I’m also greedy, impatient, and want to be able to protect myself as soon as possible.”

“So you intend to eventually detach this relic from your soul?” Esther asked.

“That or sever whatever connection and loyalty it has to Lady Silverspine,” Lukas answered.

“And what is your agenda? Just to grow stronger and become a godling, warlord, or the like?”

“Nothing so grand.” Lukas shrugged. “Power is a means to freedom. I don’t want to be under anyone’s thumb or have to answer to someone just because they’re more powerful than me. I’ve had to do some horrible things in my old life, and they haunt me. I want to move past all of that. Get strong. Be free. Be safe. Find out what makes me happy. And then find the means to protect it.”

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“Ambitious and heavy. I get why you prefer dishonesty.” Esther sighed. “It’s a lot to take in.” She walked past him toward the far corner of the workshop, patting his shoulder on the way. “I wouldn’t have guessed you’re an otherworlder. I’ve only ever met one of your kind before. She wandered here through a spatial anomaly. Poor girl was terrified.”

“What happened to her?” “

She failed to acclimate and adapt. Developed unwarranted notions of grandeur.” The vet shook her head. “I tried to guide her and protect her. Hell, I blew all of my fortune on that fool. Then, she blew off more than she could chew for a damn shard and got herself killed.” Her words carried hints of anger and sorrow. “It looks like you’re well on your way to doing the same.”

“I was trying to be smart about it and ensure I don’t end up dead, but things didn’t quite go the way I intended,” Lukas said.

“Oh? Eighty years of experience and wisdom failed you.”

“I didn’t think the Grey Rats would’ve infiltrated the research center and even Penelope’s little horde of assistants.”

“Blighted Grey Rats.” Esther’s eyes narrowed. “Elaborate.”

“It’s to do with the soulbound journal. Lady Silverspine dropped in the middle of the Wyrmkin raid when sending me to Fracture. I had no choice but to serve her interests or get caught and killed.”

“What a bitch.”

“The journal doesn’t respond well when I say that,” Lukas said. “Anyway. It gave the journal a little upgrade called Inspector’s Compendium. So, besides letting me track the Pillars of Self, their stages, and what different shards or upgrades might give me, it also works as an incredible identification tool.”

“Really?” Esther raised an eyebrow. She nodded at her patient. “What can you tell me about this little cutie.”

Lukas summoned the journal and read out loud. “Common Depth Cat. Their bat-like ears grant them excellent hearing and the ability to navigate dark spaces by sound. Unlike other depth dwellers, their eyesight is also excellent. Because of the features and similar coloration, many mistake it for the considerably rare Echo Serval.”

“Wow. That’s accurate. My client, this girl’s owner, made the same mistake. Continue.”

“Anyway. Penelope got suspicious during our undercity trip. We took down the Phaser much too smoothly, even with the defensive magic circle. My first mistake was to dispel Elvis after he broke a few limbs and summoned a clone. Since the story is that he can recover from anything overnight, I should’ve kept him around, but I worried the roars and chaos would attract more threats before Penelope and her familiar returned.

“I wouldn’t call that a mistake,” Esther injected. “It was smart and pragmatic.”

“Since she pays well and has connections, I didn’t want to lose her,” Lukas continued. “So, I told her about Inspector’s Compendium, claiming it's my Soul ability. It worked out great. She bumped my pay and had me helping around the research center. But then I got greedy. The clones had suggested I start an appraising business to raise money for future shards and essences. So, I let the information regarding my identification abilities leak, using it around her research assistants. I hoped other scholars would want my services, and before long, I’d have a big enough name for a little business. It would act as my base of operations from where I could coordinate the clone’s activities while remaining relatively safe.”

“Sound plan. I’m assuming you misjudged the research center’s security, and one of the Grey Rats informants found out?”

Lukas nodded. “Stefan picked me up and took me to meet Mister Grey. He proposed a job with incredible pay, and I couldn’t say no. Not just because I am incredibly greedy, which I accept I am, but also because it didn’t feel like rejection would turn out well for me.”

“It wouldn’t. If Mistery Grey told you about the job and he can’t afford to let the information get out, one of his people probably would’ve taken you out before Penelope could offer protection and disappear without a trace.”

“I thought as much.” Lukas sighed. “Now, I can’t very well let the information regarding Inspector’s Compendium spread further. If it does, the job will be in jeopardy, and so will I because—”

“Identifiers and appraisers aren’t allowed?”

Lukas nodded again.

“That bastard is going to try to game the auction. Please tell me the rewards are good.”

“Essence of Steel. Essence of Lightning. Lightning-related shard, failing that one with chances of metamagic. And I also requested an extra shard for Elvis.”

“That’s a sweet payout. I’d be salivating and saying yes, too. So, now you need to go back to keeping the information regarding Inspector’s Compendium a secret and ensure it doesn’t leak further. The possibility of ever setting up a related business in Iskander must also, of course, be thrown out of the window.”

“Do you even need this business if the job is successful and you get the full payout?”

“I’ll get everything except the shard for Elvis regardless of success. I’m getting the essences as a signing bonus. Mister Grey’s assistant already delivered one. I’ll get the other shard for showing up and identifying things, regardless of whether I find whatever he is looking for. Its something—”

Esther threw up a hand. “It’s best if I don’t know.” She kept her hand up, staring off into the distance thoughtfully for a moment. “It goes without saying that you need to stop using Inspector’s Compendium when the research assistants are around. Besides that, you need to speak to Snake. One of the Shadow Seekers’ greatest boon is their information network. He won’t care about the job either since he hates City Hall and the other guilds. His people can keep their ears open and help you snuff out any other information spreaders. It won’t be the Grey Rats if you’re working for them, but the most likely leaks will be Penelope’s colleagues.”

“I assumed as much,” Lukas said. “I’m mostly here for counsel. I need to talk to someone who’s not one of my own clones and figure out what to do next.”

“Well, you seem to have developed your working relationship with Penelope significantly well. Make her need you and count on you beyond her work in Iskander.”

“Then, when she leaves, she’ll want to take me along.”

“Your ambitions are too great for this shit hole,” Esther said. “Since your target is magehood and sorcery, you need to explore the world, hone your abilities, and push your magical growth in more stressful situations. It's the best path of growth for non-wizard arcane practitioners. There are academy cities, floating mage havens, and more for people like you. That’s where you need to end up.”

“Penelope might also be my in with the conclave.”

“That would be a push, but yes. Stick with her long enough and gain her trust, and you’ll have her in with the conclave. Keeping the clones a secret will get considerably harder, though. That’s unless you manage to get it to tier-three somehow and claim it's an upgrade. Or claim it from your Heart shard.”

“The latter is a good idea. We can always claim that the products of any lightning shard are the result of magic I’ve picked up.”

“Sounds like your head is starting to clear up.” Esther smiled. “Was I helpful?”

Lukas nodded. “Thank you. I feel a lot lighter sharing this with someone besides the clones, too.”

In his previous life, he had only been honest with Lady Silverspine for the first decade or so. Lukas had no other choice. He wasn’t good or experienced. Despite the clones, survival was a constant challenge. Now, after the recent encounter with Minarv, he remembered that befriending her had come with a significant change. She had peered the truth while helping him purge the trauma of viewing the Endless Void from his mind. Lukas had no choice but to be honest with her, and that had turned into a boon. Perhaps befriending trustworthy people like Esther and sharing some of his reality with them wasn’t the worst of ideas.