Boiled down to its simplest objective, Tommy's plan is to circumvent fate. The Ender Prince lays out a very specific trajectory for his life that involves ruined relationships and death. Tommy must learn from Theseus' mistakes, making better choices that will allow him not only to live, but to live happily. There are people he must save, connections he must make, and factors beyond his control that he must wrestle with every step of the way. The guillotine blade gleams dangerously in the future, and Tommy is doing his best to fight against the strong wind trying to push him to the hanging metal. Tommy believes he has been doing this rather efficiently. He won't really know the results of his actions until he reaches the point when the novel began, but Tommy is more than certain that he's done his absolute best the past four years he's been living in the palace of the Antarctic Empire.

He has not been doing a good enough job. Tommy clenches his fists at his sides, biting the inside of his cheek. He glares at the ground, watching the servants rush around with bags and supplies in his peripheral. He hears the whinnying of horses as they are attached to the carriage. The stablemen linger around the horses, keeping them calm as they whisper about what is going on. A unit of guards are being briefed on their mission on the other side of the staircase by Jordan. Tommy does not have to listen to any of the whispers to know what is going on. It is obvious. He has known this moment was coming for a few weeks now. People do not tend to hide their emotions around a child they believe is incapable of recognizing those emotions.

Philza and Techno, accompanied by the contracted elemental kings, will begin an expedition today. In the Ender Prince, this expedition was explained to be an attempt to find a permanent cure to Techno's bloodlust. Tommy thought that since he helped Techno regain sanity, this expedition would be cut from the timeline. Instead, the purpose of the journey has changed. Philza will be seeing to Techno's training, showing him how to best utilize the powers of an elemental king. Techno will be gaining invaluable experience that will help him realize his potential as the future General of the Imperial Army and Guard. The expedition will take a few years, at least, and while Philza and Techno will return home often enough, there will be wrong stretches of time when they are absent.

This is the beginning of the bad timeline. With Philza and Techno gone, the capital will slowly fall into ruin and corruption as Kristin takes control over the politics. She is a great leader, but the rebel group against her will stir up doubt and corruption in the minds of the nobles. They will find ways to poke holes into the security of the capital, choosing the perfect moment to move against her. Their plans come into fruition when Wilbur leaves for the academy for higher education. Without the tsesarevich, the religious group finds a way to infiltrate the palace with their trump card: their saint, a person capable of powerful light magic. Taken off-guard, Kristin succumbs to the wounds inflicted on her by the saint. She dies, leaving Theseus alone in an empty palace. For a few weeks, Theseus is thrust into a position of power while he is in the midst of mourning. By the time the rest of the family arrives, the damage has been done. Kristin is dead, and Theseus has lost all faith in his family and the nation he lives in.

Tommy really thought that he could keep Philza and Techno at the palace. They would find a way to defeat the religious order. Kristin wouldn't need to die. If by some miracle she did, at least Tommy wouldn't be alone. If Philza and Techno would stay, Tommy could be certain that it is possible to topple fate. He will have proved that he can change history. Instead, the same events are taking place, just with new causes. Tommy questions what is avoidable. What if nothing is? What if he does everything right, acts with the utmost kindness and respect, and still dies?

No one will listen to him. If he begs for Philza and Techno to stay, he will be seen as a child throwing a tantrum and missing his family before they leave. If he explains what will happen in the future, he will be treated as insane. No one will believe he can see the future. Time magic like that doesn't exist, and even if it did, any mages who check Tommy would find that he simply doesn't have that type of magic. He will be treated as insane or scrambling for any sort of excuse. Tommy has nothing to prove his words other than a mounting anxiety over the situation.

"Theseus, we will be back before you know it," Philza promises, wrapping Tommy up in a hug. The blonde blinks, leaving his arms at his sides. He does not return his father's hug, nor does he meet the tsar's eyes when Philza moves back to look at Tommy. Philza puts a hand on Tommy's cheek. He chooses not to pull away or to lean into it. He allows his father to find whatever comfort he can in his son. Philza sighs when he stands up, moving to his wife and the other son he will be leaving behind.

"Hey, little prince, everything will be alright. I'll protect your father and brother. I'll make sure they come home soon," Sneeg mentions. The Air Elemental King places the toes of his boots down on the ground in front of Tommy. Sneeg squats with his knees pointed forward, keeping his heels off the ground. The fact he is willing to even touch the ground means a lot. The Air Elemental King is in direct opposition to the Earth Elemental King. As such, the king rarely touches the ground- the earth. Part of Tommy marvels at this fact, but Sneeg cannot get a rise out of him today. Tommy is far more concerned with the implications this expedition has on the future. The fear of death has been shot into Tommy's heart once again, and unfortunately, he decided to start caring about his family. Does it matter how much he loves them? Will they end up killing him, anyway? "Little prince? Are you okay? You seem a little..."

Tommy does not speak up. He cannot find the right words. He is not okay, but how can he explain any of his worries to Sneeg? Even if Sneeg is a little more human than the other kings, he would never be able to understand.

"Look here, little prince," Sneeg continues, lifting his gloved hands up. The wind pools in his hands, swirling around in a ball so thick that Tommy can see the wind. At least, he can see the outlined distortions of the wind that make it appear visible. Tommy eventually sees a feather pop into existence. More feathers appear, forming together into a small mass the color of Sneeg's outfit. The bird looks up at Tommy, but there is nothing alive in its eyes. Sneeg runs his fingers along the bird's head. "This is my present to you. It isn't an elemental so much as a... familiar, I guess? It will give you a direct line of communication to me. If something happens, this bird will come find me, no matter where I am in the world."

Sneeg places the small bird on Tommy's shoulder. The bird's dark blue talons dig into his clothing, almost piercing his skin with how tight it holds on. Tommy glances at the bird, unnerved by those dark, fathomless eyes. Tommy already knows it isn't an elemental. It does not hold the same weight as an elemental.

"Theseus," A voice calls. Sneeg lifts back into the air, floating away as someone else takes his place. Techno leans down in front of Tommy. He is wearing a short red cloak, a childish precursor to the flowing cape he will wear later in his life. His pink hair is not long enough to be braided right now, but it will soon be possible. He does not wear as much gold as his future version does, but Tommy no longer knows what details will persist when the novel begins. Is Tommy capable of changing such a minute detail? Could he convince Techno not to wear gold? If he could do that, why could he not convince Techno not to kill him?

"Theseus?" Techno questions, waiting for a reaction. Tommy does not give him one. Techno reaches for Tommy's hands, holding both of them together. He squeezes gently. At least Tommy can say that Techno is in the right state of mind. That is something he was able to change... except, it wasn't. All Tommy has done is make the inevitable come faster. Tommy wonders if it would be possible to make his death come faster. Would it be easier to get it over with?

No, absolutely not. Tommy refuses to die. He might not be able to change anything about the Ender Prince, but he will prevent his death. Tommy is going to live.

"I will be gone for some time, but this will not be forever. I will visit often, and I will remain here once I learn what there is to be known about protecting this nation. Please, do not be angry with me," Techno explains. Tommy is not angry at Techno. He is not angry at Philza, either. He is slightly peeved with Steve and the Blood God. He definitely hates the religious group festering in the distance and future. Tommy has hated fate for longer than this life alone, and he's cultivating a hatred- or at least, heavy suspicion- of the author of this damned book.

"I love you," Techno says. Ever since the day Tommy helped Techno regain his mental fortitude, Techno has taken to saying 'I love you' to Tommy, similarly to Wilbur. Just like that situation, Tommy does not say it back, not since that first day. It is more of a conscious decision these days. Since Tommy cannot change fate, he must change himself. He thought it would be fine to care about this family, but he is learning that it will lead to a heartbreak he will never recover from.

Techno will usually accept Tommy's silence, moving on with his day without another glance. Today, he lingers. He waits. Tommy can even see hope in his eyes. Unfortunately, Tommy has drawn a line in the sand, and 'I love you, too' is on the other side.

"Goodbye, Theseus," Techno whispers. For a person who usually speaks in apathetic tones, the palpable disappointment in his tone makes Tommy's heart fiercely ache. Tommy does not look up at Techno as the prince joins his father. The two of them enter into the carriage. Techno hesitates at the doorway of the carriage. He looks up the stairs, meeting Tommy's dull eyes. Tommy thinks about nearly a year ago, shortly after his third birthday, when he ran down these very steps to hug his brother before he left. Now, Tommy remains stationary, his voice hiding meekly in the back of his throat. Techno's expression does not change as he realizes that he will not be getting treated the same way. Techno steps into the carriage, closing the door behind him.

—

"Stay safe," Techno says quietly, finally meeting Ranboo's eyes. Ranboo sucks in a breath. Now that he finally has Techno's eyes, he wants to look away. He will never get used to the strangely intense way Techno looks at everything in the world. In fact, his eyes seem a little more intense today, perhaps an effect of their parting.

"I promise," Ranboo mutters, trying very hard to keep eye contact. Ranboo feels a strange headache blooming in his head. His smile morphs into a grimace. Techno notices as he raises an eyebrow in confusion. Ranboo finally forces his eyes to stare at Techno's chest instead of directly into his eyes. The pain eases away, so Ranboo knows that it really did come from the eye contact. Ranboo doesn't know if this is a byproduct of Theseus' treatment of him or something that came from his homeland... The End, Ranboo corrects himself. He really needs to get into the habit of calling it that now that he remembers the appropriate name.

"Will you ever return?" Techno asks. Ranboo winces. He expected this question to be asked, but he never thought Techno would be the one to ask. He should have realized. He really thinks he is the closest person to Techno.

"I don't know," Ranboo admits softly. He isn't sure. If his journey proves fruitful, he'll return to the End, not the empire. If he finds no way home, he might as well come back here. But what if he finds a better place to live in one of the other nations? While the empire has a lot to offer and certainly feels familiar, it does not feel like home. Ranboo can get used to the cold temperature of the outdoors, but he will never be able to reconcile with the cold nature of the people.

"I see," Techno replies. Ranboo shakes his head. He cannot let his will get shaken.

Ranboo opens his arms, pulling Techno into a quick hug. He knows Techno hates physical affection, but he refuses to leave without this small token. Techno can deal with the brief discomfort.

"Goodbye, Techno," Ranboo smiles. He turns around, grabbing his bag from off the ground. He makes it to the door before hesitation forces him to stop. He looks over his shoulder. He narrows his eyes slightly, trying to meet Techno's eyes and failing miserably. "I-I love you."

Techno does not move, jerking with surprise or sighing with disappointment. He keeps his gaze even, staring at Ranboo's back. Ranboo looks away, trying to keep the tears out of his eyes. That was stupid. He should not have said anything. Some things are best left unsaid, and more importantly, not understood. Why-

"I love you, too," Techno says. Ranboo huffs a breath with an amused grin, walking out of the room.

—

There is a special relationship that exists between the twins. It is similar to two halves to a whole, except the two halves are whole in and of themselves. There is an understanding shared between the twins that the rest of the world may only envy. They find amusement in each other. They find comfort in each other. They search for each other's hands in the dark, and they will always find it because they always know where to reach even when they cannot see.

Without Techno, Wilbur could have fallen into the clutches of loneliness. He is predisposed for it considering what will happen in the future. Instead, though, Wilbur finds people to bear the weight of loneliness with him. He latches onto these people, showing the obsessiveness that should not appear this early in the novel.

One person he latches onto is Tommy. Even though the blonde tries to put barriers between him and his family, Wilbur recklessly smashes through each one. He will seek Tommy out after his lessons no matter what Tommy may be doing. Tommy can only be grateful that Tubbo seems to enjoy Wilbur's company since all of these playdates are for Tubbo's happiness. Wilbur comes by Tommy's bedroom every night to read him bedtime stories, sing lullabies, or recite some facts that he will need to remember for his test. Tommy could put in more effort to push Wilbur away, but he fears he will unlock a new level of tenacity in the destined tsar.

There is one other person Wilbur latches onto. Shelby Grace of the west has fully come into the position of Wilbur's closest friend. She frequents the palace, almost as much as Tubbo does. She is considered to be Wilbur's playmate even though he is too old for that. Shelby does not seem to mind. She does not push Wilbur away, instead welcoming his attention and responding positively to his affection. She fills Techno's spot much better than Tommy could ever hope to even though Wilbur continues to smother Tommy in a sickening amount of love.

As the victims of the prince, Shelby and Tommy have developed a civil relationship with one another. They sometimes spend time together in the shared company of Wilbur. Shelby is just as sweet to Tommy as she is to Wilbur. Tommy can not refuse her kindness even though he tries. She has this way of knowing when he is feeling upset despite the fact that he can hide it from nearly everyone else. She says nothing to belittle his feelings in these cases. She will sit with him in silence or she will hold him as closely as Kristin would if she were not so busy running the empire. Shelby never seems upset to be playing with someone almost half her age. She never considers this to be beneath her, and while it could be because Tommy is still a prince, he finds it difficult to believe her considerate nature could be faked.

Today, Tommy and Shelby sit in Wilbur's personal drawing room. They are waiting for the prince in question. The maids brought tea earlier. While Tommy would have followed proper etiquette to wait for Wilbur, the tea was growing cold. Shelby agreed with him that they could breach this one rule if they promise not to touch the snacks until Wilbur arrives. Wilbur will surely understand the position they were in, and if he cannot, he will simply have to deal with it. Tommy frowns, wondering what is taking Wilbur so long.

Shelby lifts her hand up, her fingers twisting in a circle. A sugar cube lifts up from the tray. It plops down in her tea, sinking beneath the dark waves. Shelby places her hand above the cup, and the spoon stands to attention. Shelby makes a rotating motion with her fingers, and the spoon starts to stir the tea inside the cup. Shelby lowers her hand. The spoon continues moving. Shelby stares at it in concentration, a furrow appearing in her brow. Tommy stares, too, completely enraptured by the blatant display of magic. Eventually, the spoon falls to the side of the teacup. Shelby swiftly removes it with more magic. She lifts her teacup up, taking a slow sip of her sweetened tea. As she does, she makes eye contact with Tommy. A sheepish smile appears on her face as she places the teacup back on the saucer. "Apologies, your highness. I was merely practicing."

"Magic, yes?" Tommy prompts. He stares at the spoon. He wonders how it was done. An earth elemental would have been able to spin the spoon around because it is metal. An air elemental would use the wind to push the spoon along the rim of the cup. A water elemental would move the tea around. Tommy knows how an elemental could do that. He does not know how magic could. The Ender Prince spoke about magic, but it did not truly explain. It was something that existed that some characters used and others did not.

"It is more commonly called magecraft, your highness," Shelby corrects. Tommy sort of knew that. He does not remember every detail about the Ender Prince, and some aspects of the book stand out in his mind more than others. The portions about magic weren't interesting, mainly because Tommy lacks imagination. Magic in real life is completely different. It is something tangible, observable, and Tommy is completely fascinated now that he can see it up close. "Would you like to know more, your highness? I am not a qualified teacher, but I might be able to provide insight."

"Yes, please," Tommy says, sliding to the edge of his seat. He hopes Wilbur takes as much time as he needs; Tommy does not wish to be interrupted. Shelby will one day be one of the greatest mages in the entire continent. If he could pick anyone to teach him, it would be her.

"Very well. The main component of magecraft is something known as EXP. Everything in the world has a measure of EXP inside of it, as intangible as the soul is. In fact, EXP is often considered to be the excess energy of the soul. Mages will use their own EXP to cast spells. In other words, they transmutate part of their soul into a change in reality. It is very complex if you think about it too hard," Shelby laughs. She lifts her hand up, and the trays of snacks on the table lift up into the air. Tommy's eyes widen as he watches the trays bob at different rates. Shelby sets the trays back on the table. "While the amount of EXP someone possesses is not fixed, it takes a long time to regain EXP. Because of this, mages have taken to extracting EXP from other sources. There are a few ways to do this, but the most common is to slay Mobs. Even those lifeless creatures have EXP, and we can harvest their EXP for our own gain. You do not need to kill to take EXP, though. In fact, I have taken to gardening to collect residual energy from my plants. I plan to one day have a large greenhouse that will power my spells."

Tommy knows the greenhouse. It will become the largest in the empire, even larger than the imperial family's. It will house all manner of plants from every nation. Some are poisonous, but they are mostly harmless. Shelby is powerful without her greenhouse, but it does help her cultivate her skills. As far as Ranboo was aware, it was destroyed after Shelby was killed, a way for her family to disown her and the empire to forget her existence. Tommy knows he cannot save the greenhouse. Not unless he saves Shelby, and Tommy doubts he could do that with the way fate seems to be closing in around him from all sides.

"Once a mage has EXP, they can do all manner of things. Casting spells is just one path. There are mages who take the EXP into themselves, enhancing their physicality to inhuman standards. Alchemists use EXP and existing materials to create potions or artifacts," Shelby tells Tommy. "The imperial family has a grand tower with something called an enchanting table. A member of the imperial family can use EXP and the ancient knowledge stored in the surrounding books to imbue special properties to their equipment like weapons and armor. I have personally never done it or seen it, but I am certain that you could get permission if you would like to, your highness."

"Perhaps I will. I would like to learn magecraft," Tommy murmurs. Although magecraft is just inherently awesome, Tommy is hoping to learn healing magic. He wonders if he could find a way to teleport. It would be good for him to disappear if he feels that his path is too narrow.

"That is wonderful, your highness! We could learn magecraft together!" Shelby exclaims with a bright smile rising to her face.

Tommy hesitates. It would do him little good to be associated with Shelby when they reach adulthood since he knows how the empire feels about her after her crimes... but learning with one of the greatest mages ever? "We should."

"Oh," Shelby simmers down, her eyes still glowing but her smile becoming sheepish. She rubs a hand against her neck. "Unfortunately, I don't really have a teacher. I've been practicing on my own for when I'm old enough to get into Kinoko Scholar's Academy."

Kinoko Scholar's Academy is a school famous all across the continent for being the academic home of geniuses all over. Most rulers and nobles, if they wish to be considered wise, attend the academy. The school is famous, however, because it allows anyone to enter as long as they score appropriately on the entrance exam. There is no discrimination in the acceptance rates, though Tommy doubts all the students like to mingle together. Even during times of war, the academy refuses to cancel classes. This causes problems in the Ender Prince since factions of students start to form together, their conflict spilling out into the streets of Kinoko Kingdom. It is the main threat Ranboo and his crew deal with in that section of the book.

"Perhaps the Imperial Mage would be willing to teach you," Tommy considers out loud. The most powerful mage in the Antarctic Empire is employed by the imperial family, given a ranking almost on par with duke. The current Imperial Mage is Gemini Tay. She is another person who was considered on the same level as Shelby in the book. While her magic was technically inferior to Shelby, Gemini Tay was able to contract with an ancient gemstone earth elemental almost as old as the Earth Elemental King. She was also able to contract with a creature from the End. Because of her powerful familiars, she was given a lot more credit. She is the Imperial Mage in the Ender Prince, too. She does not take a side for or against Theseus even when the Imperial Physician was killed.

"I am not worthy of such schooling, your highness. I am self-taught, and I have little talent for this," Shelby fretfully admits, her eyes falling downcast as her deprecating thoughts.

"You will be!" Tommy cheerfully says, half because he factually knows she will and half because he does not like seeing her upset.

"Maybe so, but what have I done to earn your favor, your highness?" Shelby asks, looking up to meet Tommy's eyes. He startles at such direct eye contact. She looks incredibly young when she's looking at him like this. She can't be much older than Wilbur, but she speaks with such certainty and carries an air of maturity around her that Tommy sometimes forgets. He often forgets to act his own age, too, though Shelby has not said anything about that particular subject. He is grateful for her discretion, and that just makes him want to help her out even more.

"You are important to Wilbur, and my brother is important to me," Tommy softly says, only saying that much because Wilbur is not in the room to misconstrue Tommy's intentions. "And you're my friend."

"Ah- you are my friend, too, your highness," Shelby says, accepting the friendship with a bright and happy smile on her face. Tommy wonders what it would take to protect that smile.

"Then, it is settled. You will take the test to become the Imperial Mage's apprentice," Tommy says, looking down as an embarrassed blush paints his face scarlet.

"Yes, thank you for the opportunity, Prince Theseus!"

—

"Huh," Shelby finally says. "I did not think you would survive."

Ranboo grabs onto his forearm, feeling the blood warm his fingertips. He winces. This mission is hard enough without the crazed mage showing up to make everything so much more difficult.

"If I have to kill you myself, so be it," Shelby says, and Ranboo curses beneath his breath. He rises to his feet, almost tripping down as he tries to take cover in the forest. Before he can pass the first few trees, a bolt of lightning flashes in front of him without any thunder accompanying it. Ranboo falls back, landing on the ground. The lightning disappears, but it continues to glow in the back of Ranboo's eyelids as he blinks. This is not helped by the fact that the underbrush is sparking with flames. They are small now, but Ranboo knows that they will only grow to consume the forest. He could hope that Shelby causes it to rain, but when he looks up at her, he knows by the sick grin on her face that she wants the fire to spread. It will keep Ranboo contained, after all.

Shelby raises her hand above her head. Glyphs glow all around her form, spinning as slowly as the minute hand around a clock. The vague outline of tinted clear crystals appear in the center of the glyphs. Ranboo barely has time to call upon Enderpearl's power before Shelby launches the icicles. They fling to the ground, shattering on impact like glass shards. Ranboo watches them from behind Shelby, the purple particles of his teleportation continuing to linger around him.

Shelby looks over her shoulder. She does not speak as another glyph appears against her back. It is a darker blue than her icicle glyphs, and Ranboo discovers that it shoots out a spout of water when he teleports away. Shelby flicks her hand, and Ranboo is thrown across the ground by a strong gust of wind. He lands on the ground, teleporting haphazardly to get away from the situation. As he lands somewhere else, he feels the heavy weight of hail pounding against him and the ground. Ranboo attempts to find Shelby through the hailstorm, but a fine mist rolls across the grass. Ranboo jumps to his feet, looking around for the next attack even though he cannot see the spell caster.

Ranboo feels the buzz in the air. He whirls around in time to see another bolt of lightning. He has no time to be grateful that it barely missed him before he's being tackled to the ground. Shelby wraps her hands around his throat. She does not squeeze, but it feels like something is rattling against his skin. It grows louder and harsher, and the sounds it is beginning to make reminds him of thunder. Shelby smiles at him, her eyes glowing inside the mask of dark teal moss that is covering almost all of her face. "Did you think you were the only one who could teleport?"