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He stood in a massive cave, far beneath the surface of the earth. The smell of salt and stale water mixed with blood in the air. Plips filled the room as liquid dripped from the stalactites on the ceiling and fell like a gentle rain around the man.

Blood joined the quiet song as it rolled down the blade of the massive scythe at the man\'s side, beading and falling from its tip in a steady rhythm. Golden letters shimmered above his head, the only light in the darkness.

Absolution - Midnight Herald (Initiate 1)

A footfall broke through the darkness, through the gentle lullaby of dripping water.

Absolution turned. The hole in his chest seemed to bother him no more than the towering corpse looming above him, easily ten times his height.

"You should not be here," Absolution said.

A tall man stepped from the darkness. His face was covered by a white cloth mask that pressed so close to his skin that the shape of his features were almost visible through it. Two vertical yellow lines were drawn across each of his eyes.

"Neither should you," the newcomer replied. "And yet, here we are."

"Who sent you?" Absolution flicked the blood from his scythe. It was a flowing, smooth motion, like a step in a well-practiced dance. His eyes lifted up to the air above the newcomer\'s head. "Whoever it was, they should have invested in better items, Stargazer. I can see your name."

"I hope that wasn\'t meant to intimidate me," Stargazer said. The cloth mask on his face twitched as a smile pulled his lips up behind it. "And you sent me. That\'s what happens when you break the Rules, Absolution. You don\'t belong on this world. Not yet. The second Initialization Event has yet to happen, much less the third. You\'ve arrived here early."

"You know of the Rules." Absolution tilted his head to the side, surprise showing on his plain features. A clear note rang through the cave as Absolution drove the butt of his scythe into the ground at his feet. "Then you should know System grants power to those who are strong enough to take it. And if you have arrived in this place, then you cannot claim that you act on your own power. You are no better than I."

"We\'re both Anomalies. I never claimed to be better than you," Stargazer replied in an even tone. "But infiltrating a new world with an advantage as massive as yours tips the scales of balance. The System is fair. It is always fair. You couldn\'t have expected that robbing the cradle would be easy, could you?"

Absolution shifted his stance. Stargazer stepped to the side, and a blurred rift of black energy split through the air where he\'d been standing an instant before without a second of warning. It was accompanied by a loud buzz, like the scream of a thousand bees concentrated into a single note.

"Who sent you?" Absolution asked again. "If you are aware of the Initialization Events, then you must be another Outworlder. Seeking me out was unwise. I will not abide by any treaties established off this planet."

"I\'m not," Stargazer said, the smile beneath his mask growing wider. "And nobody sent me. I was just coming to get a look at you. Another Incarnation showing up in the world this early on… things are getting a bit crowded. I wanted to see the competition."

Absolution\'s features sharpened. He flicked a finger, and the space between him and Stargazer crumpled. Where there had once been feet, there was now nothing. It was as if someone had taken the room and crushed it, compressing everything between Absolution and Stargazer.

Within a flicker of an instant, Absolution stood mere inches away from the other man. Stargazer didn\'t so much as flinch. The two of them stood in silence for a second.

"I sacrificed a great amount for this opportunity," Absolution said, his voice a deadly whisper. "I have lost more than you can ever imagine. I will take the power this fresh world has to offer. I do not care what world or family you come from. Depart from my path, or I will be forced to end you."

"You can\'t really expect me to actually abide by that request, can you?" Stargazer asked, tilting his head to the side. "All those who seek power walk the same path. There are those who walk side-by-side with you — and you don\'t have the power to remove all of them. Cheating by getting a head start will only get you so far."

"Using information is not cheating. You possess as much knowledge as I do," Absolution said. He swiped a hand, and it passed right through Stargazer\'s head as if nothing were there. "You come here as an apparition rather than in flesh. Those who fear challenge will get nowhere. If you were a true warrior, you would have been present to challenge me for the rewards of this dungeon."

"Oh, I\'m not a warrior," Stargazer said. "As a matter of a fact, I\'m a coward. I hate challenge. I hate putting effort into just about everything, actually. This is a huge bother — but it had to be done. I wanted to see just how far you\'ve managed to progress with all the information you\'ve gotten. Honestly, I\'m not impressed. You\'re playing things safe."

Emotion passed over Absolution\'s face for the first time. It only lasted a mere fraction of a second, but a flicker of irritation passed through his eyes.

"I do not have to take great risks when victory is already guaranteed. Just how much do you know?"

"Enough to know that no threat in Subsector 735, even the hidden dungeons you\'ve been clearing, is going to be anywhere near as effective as what you could have found in the Mirrorlands."

"The Mirrorlands? How would I even get there?" Absolution\'s lips curled in a hint of amusement. "And if I could, why would I? The scent of my true power would call the attention of every Riftwarped monster in the area within instants. I will take the rewards that the Mirrorlands has to offer in this location in due time. There is a difference between Challenge and suicide."

"Have you considered being stronger?"

Absolution ignored Stargazer. "You know enough to realize this is far from the first world I have entered, Stargazer. This is far from the first world I have survived. Far from the first Subsector I will conquer. There is no need to throw myself to the wolves. But I could use someone like you. Victory is already in my grasp. Reveal your identity, and perhaps I could find use of someone of your talents."

Stargazer laughed and shook his head. "That\'s a little naïve, don\'t you think? Victory is never assured. Not until it\'s already yours. Planet 274-50 is not the same as the others you have cheated your way through, neither is Subsector 735."

"And why is that?" Absolution asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Because Earth is batshit insane," Stargazer replied. His body rippled like a heat haze, then started to turn translucent. "And while you cower from the Mirrorlands, there are already those who march through it."

"No Outworlder would risk that much over a newly initiated planet, much less in a Subsector like 735. Only a fool would attempt such a thing."

Stargazer\'s smile stretched so wide that it threatened to burst free from behind his mask.

"Oh, I am more than aware."

Then he was gone, swirls of mist that dissipated into the cave. Absolution\'s gaze bore into the spot where the other man had been a moment before. Then he turned back to the dead dragon.

This dungeon was not yet complete. There was too much at stake for him to get distracted now. Perhaps Stargazer had just done him a favor.

This Subsector of the planet was his. His family had paid far too dearly for his entrance for him to allow someone to snatch power out from under his nose. If Stargazer wasn\'t lying and if there was someone that was actually insane enough to use the Mirrorlands to grow in strength…

Competition with the other Outworlders was already immense. Absolution had calculated for that, but a native able to train in the Mirrorlands without restrictions could not be permitted to exist.

The potential such an insane risk posed was immense, but potential was only that. Potential. It was nothing in the face of absolute power — and yet, it could not be allowed to flower.

He would find them.

And, when he did, they would be granted absolution.