Tommy rises from sleep into wakefulness at the coaxing of a strange noise. Tommy blinks his eyes as they open, adjusting to the darkness all around him. His mattress is comfortable enough to tug him in the direction of sleep, and he feels a sense of safety because of the way he's refashioned his bed into a nest-like cocoon. His instincts are unusually calm despite him using Origin magic to hide his wings, a testament to his nest-making skills. Everything is perfect for him to return to his dreams— which were thankfully absent of detail— except for that noise that continues to pester him. His annoyance builds until it crosses a certain threshold that enables him to realize how much that noise doesn't belong.

As Tommy leaps to his feet, he prepares a spear made from EXP. Its golden light floods the room, allowing Tommy to carefully observe everything around him. He is searching for a detail out of place or an intruder with lackluster deception skills. Tommy's attention is inevitably drawn to the window. Instead of a regular intruder, a teenage girl is peeking over the balcony's railing. Her youthful face is broken up by a large friendly smile while her eyes slightly cringe. Tommy huffs a breath to himself. He waves his spear away and steps off his bed. He walks over to his balcony and opens it up. A gust of cold wind enters the room at the same time Drista swings her legs over the railing, stepping off of her green platforms. "I'm sorry for dropping in like this."

Drista steps onto the balcony. Tommy steps aside to grant her entrance. As soon as Drista is in his chambers, he closes the doors behind her to keep the cold wind from eavesdropping on their conversation. Tommy turns around, watching Drista openly stare at the room. As her expression contorts, Tommy realizes that she's comparing his room to Theseus' room. Tommy rolls his eyes with a half-smile, honestly happy to be in the presence of someone who knows about The Ender Prince. "I would offer you tea, but you would have come through the front door if you wanted that shit."

Drista crosses her arms over her chest, giving him her full attention. "I'm technically not supposed to be here. I only came because my master learned a woman named Martha was her. Waglington rarely talks about his past, so I don't know who Martha is. I want to learn, though, and I need to keep my master in check."

"When I arrived in Alfheim, I made a deal with an elf named Scar. Through some trickery, he got our group to Rivendell. Martha, and two other people including the boy she came with named Andor and Helgrind, were recently released from the timeless prison that held Fenrir, the ancient wolf from that damned prophecy Sophia gave us. It was made by Angrec of Light, the newly freed Archon of the Aether, because she got her bitchass stuck in Niflheim, too," Tommy explains in loose terms. Since they are meeting unofficially as Tommy and Drista, rather than Prince Theseus and Princess Drista the Sibylline, Tommy feels fine dropping honorifics and his refusal to swear. It feels so freeing to say whatever he wants, probably why he enjoyed spending time with Sam and Tubbo so much when he was younger. Now, Tommy is only allowed to be free around Deo and False, though he will add Drista to that list.

Drista snorts. "I've missed a lot, I see."

"You really have. Why don't you sit down?" Tommy says, offering a corner of his room where he entertained his personal guests including his closest friends and family. For a prince, it's a rather minimalistic setup, but Tommy prefers it because it means the people he loves are so close to him. Drista plops down in one of the chairs, kicking her feet up on the nearby chair with no care for propriety. Tommy drops down onto the couch, stretching out with a relaxed sigh. He's still a little sleepy, but he attempts to keep himself awake.

"Hey, what was your favorite drink in the old world?" Drista asks, her voice breaking through Tommy's half-conscious state.

"Coke," Tommy replies. Since his parents were negligent, Tommy was the one to do all of the shopping. They thankfully didn't leave him penniless, and the extra money they left behind was used for Tommy to get sugary treats for himself. His parents never touched his items whenever they were home, as infrequently as that was. Tommy has fond memories, then, of those special treats. "The soft drink, not the drug. Though, I was a cool kid who did a lot of drugs. More drugs than the average man could do, but that's why they called me the above-average man."

"Here," Drista says, ignoring his comment as she leans forward. She taps her hand on the small table between the two of them. The empty air condenses into two bright red cans with the silver sprawl of 'Coca-Cola' across their surface. The condensation glistens in the moonlight. Drista picks up one can, and when she opens it, Tommy can hear the satisfying popping noise. Drista raises the can to Tommy as if she's toasting him.

Tommy takes the can into his hands. He feels the coldness of the can against his fingertips, the condensation running across his skin. He stares at Drista with wide eyes. She giggles to herself, shaking her head. "Don't worry, it isn't real. It's made from glamour. You shouldn't expect illusions to quench your thirst or hunger. The flavor might also be off, so there's that."

Tommy opens the can. He clinks cans with Drista. When he takes a sip, he's suddenly brought back to Libertas. He is almost certain that he's lying on his couch with a Coke in one hand and his phone in the other, reading the newest update of The Ender Prince. When Tommy opens his eyes, he sees Drista staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Tommy smiles at her. "It tastes just fine to me. Fuck, Drista, you're too good."

Tommy twists, sitting up on the couch. Even if the Coke isn't real, his mind thinks it is, and it starts waking him up. Tommy runs a hand along the side of his face. "Okay, so, after I left for Alfheim, I immediately spoke with Hetta and Tiberius about some stuff. I got Scott, that witch elf, to make me a potion that sent me to the fucking spirit realm, if you can believe that shit's real. I met the real Theseus there, but he's just a blank slate. Decent guy, that one is. In Chromia, the people gave us an ultimatum about fixing the treaty. We had to go beat Leviathan, this big fuck-off dragon thing in Acherusia. We planned and we fought it. Jack went a little batshit because of a sword but he got better... I think. Niki found a sword at the bottom of Acherusia and became a hybrid. She kept Leviathan at bay, but then, Shrub, an ancient gnome who was tricked into killing her kind, got infected with the Taint. We fought her for a while but we beat her ass so hard that Acherusia became clear again. I met the eidolon of the goddess of agriculture, Santa Perla. I also met the Aeon of the Underworld, Misstrixten, also known as the Sustainer of Destruction, which is a badass name. She took Leviathan with her. Hetta and Tiberius disappeared. We went to Rivendell. I met Martha, Andor, Helgrind, and Angrec. I met Fenrir, too, but I first met him in Chromia. Fucking forgot to say that. I did some research in Alfheim, but King Xornoth found me. He was infected with the Taint. I was infected with the Taint. I think Zero might have been a bad person. False blew this case wide open about aeons, archons, and gods because of the shit I said and something Niki mentioned when she was going crazy for half a second. Deo can know about taboo knowledge by the way if he sucks up some of our EXP. The Taint made the illusion of Zero which attacked me. Martha defeated it, and because she's a Pathfinder of Ianite, I figured out that the Taint was Ianite. Martha says it's Ianite's leftover feelings after she was killed by the Aeon of the End. Ianite and her siblings are the archons, other than Angrec. Zero was Kikoku Akemi's apprentice, Ianite's human mother because she has a human and divine mother. Two of them. Shit, I couldn't even get one in my old life, but whatever, fucking have two moms and a dad, I guess. I think Zero might have known Ianite and her husband, Spark. XD appeared to me as a doll and asked me questions. I'm probably missing something, but that's because so much shit happened, Drista. You wouldn't believe it."

"What the Nether?" Drista murmurs, staring at Tommy as if he's lost his mind. Tommy gives her a sheepish smile. He should have waited for False to explain all of this to Drista or even kept a diary or something manlier of all the events that transpired. He should have made Deo write it as a punishment for some of the stunts he pulled. Alas, Tommy wasn't possessed by the spirit of forethought. He supposes False will have to explain all of this to Drista again.

"Long story short, each of the realms has an aeon and an archon. The Overworld is divided into the continent and the ocean. I've met four of the aeons, but I only know two by name. I've met one of the archons. The Taint is the residue of Ianite. Oh, and we looked at a scrying glass, you're the person in the prophecy that will help the three heroes: Jordan Sparklez, Tom Syndicate, and Karl Handforth," Tommy summarizes, wondering if anything else that happened is important enough to mention right now.

Drista nods slowly to herself. She puts her hand on her chin. "Okay, okay... I can work with this. I actually met an archon in your absence, too. I met the Archon of the Underworld, the World Historian. He didn't say much, but I got the impression that there was something important he wanted to tell me. In the end, he told me to live well. I guess it doesn't matter what he told me. We now know almost all of the archons. The only one we don't know is the one for the ocean. The Keystone Faith only has three gods, after all, so Ianite of the End, Dianite of the Nether, and Miantie of the Overworld. I'm guessing that's also what the heroes are for since Jordan was a believer. I'll have to gather them. Thankfully, I know where Jordan is, so it's only a matter of finding Tom and Karl... I don't remember them being characters, though."

"I don't, either," Tommy remarks. If they're so important, why weren't they in The Ender Prince? What could the Transcendents have done that made them important? Tommy knows he's never met them, and Drista and False don't show signs of recognizing who they are, either. If their paths have never crossed, their lives must have been changed by the tornado caused by the butterfly's wings. "Do you think we could go over The Ender Prince's plot since the book is about to begin?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, we can. So, we start with the first arc, right? Shackles For Frozen Tears," Drista recalls. As soon as she says the name of the arc, Tommy's mind fills with memories of him reading various chapters. Drista continues, her voice somehow merging with his internal narration of the book. "The prologue was a little confusing since it was random scenes cobbled together that retroactively make sense. The first chapter involves Theseus accepting Ranboo as his servant. From there, the arc is subdivided once more. Ranboo grows closer to the imperial family. He participates in the Summer Hunt. He helps Prince Wilbur take down the Pit, and he assists Prince Techno and Tsar Philza in dealing with the Syndicate. He starts looking into a series of murders, eventually getting roped into said murders by Theseus. Ranboo and his companions find proof to convict Theseus, resulting in his execution. Ranboo earns his freedom, and he and Tubbo head southward to spend time with Tubbo's father. They leave, heading to Alfheim, and—"

"You've lost me. They don't go to Alfheim," Tommy shakes his head, opening his eyes to look at Drista's determined expression as she tries recalling her former life.

Drista glances over at him. "What are you talking about? Of course, they go to Alfheim. They meet Scott, and he takes them."

"I think I would have remembered a witch elf who brings the dead to life," Tommy snorts. After meeting Scott, he thinks the elf is more of a dork than a badass, but he knows that the him of Libertas would have been fascinated by Scott.

"Obviously, so that's why he brought Ranboo, Tubbo, and—" Drista suddenly grits her teeth. She sets the Coke down on the table as she grabs onto her forehead with both hands. As she starts massaging the flesh, Tommy thinks she resembles Niki when the knight was steadily losing her mind over gods being familiars. When she pulls her hands away, Drista shakes her head. "No, you're right. It didn't happen in the first arc. It must have... It must have happened in the sixth arc, the one I couldn't remember before. I don't know why I mistook it for the first arc, but I can't... Nevermind. Let's keep going in order."

Drista shakes her hands. She sits up, putting on her determined face. "The second arc. Viridian Light Among the Trickery. Ranboo and Tubbo head into Essempei. They are lost until Beau finds them. She brings them to the palace at the behest of Dream. The prince tests Ranboo and Tubbo for fun, but things get out of hand when Beau has a fulmination in the middle of a party. Foolish would have sentenced her to death if Dream had not interfered. Foolish gives Dream custody over the prisoner, and Dream continues to play his games with the trio and Beau's childhood friend, Freddie. This game of cat and mouse will only end when one of them dies, but they keep surviving. This pushes Dream's buttons. He tries killing them himself, but they escape with their lives. In their stead, Dream must die."

Tommy stills as he watches Drista's face contort. She takes a deep breath, hands sliding over her stomach as if to protect herself. "Don't worry, I've dealt with this. I can guarantee that it isn't going to happen this time around. I refuse to let it."

Tommy recognizes her expression. He was just as determined to keep Kristin alive. It cost him Wilbur but only for a short while. If Tommy can achieve his goals, he knows that Drista will be able to, as well. In fact, he might have more confidence in her than he does himself.

"The third arc. Illusory Garden of the Mind. Ranboo, Tubbo, Beau, and Freddie continue their journey to Kinoko. They are held in high regard because Ranboo is an Enderian and because he survived both the Antarctic Empire and Essempei. Ranboo can meet with many of the lords and ladies. He even meets with some of the sages, including Olive. By talking with Olive, Ranboo realizes how dangerous the gilded Kinoko is. This fact is proven when George, a nobleman from Essempei and a friend of Dream's, starts plotting their demise. George frames the group for the murder of Lady Katharine, and they are sent into the simulation known as the Mind Prison. Olive goes into the simulation to help them. They face several challenges, inevitably discovering Olive is the compass rose of the whole simulation, the truth behind Eidolons, and proof against George. He is locked up in the Mind Prison in their place."

"Ranboo met another Enderian in the simulation, didn't he?" Tommy interrupts, straining to recall important details that Drista is failing to mention.

"Yes, I believe he did. He was with Olive at the time because they started displaying signs of being the compass rose. I just can't remember if the Enderian had more significance than that," Drista agrees with a shrug.

"We might have to investigate the simulation for ourselves," Tommy notes wryly. He hasn't decided yet how much he's going to carry out the plot of The Ender Prince himself. He and Drista have already done away with the first two arcs, and maybe part of the sixth, but there are still problems in Kinoko, Las Nevadas, and the Badlands. If nothing else, Tommy needs to help the Badlands. Although he doesn't know her well, Hannah is his spear-sister. She helped him out, so he should return the favor. And he doesn't want Sam to be sad.

"We could," Drista snorts. "The fourth arc. Moonrise From the Sinful Divide. Ranboo, Tubbo, Beau, Freddie, and Olive go to Las Nevadas. They are immediately welcomed by Duque Quackity. After cashing in some favors, he shows them the dying Aurantius Sylva. He wants the crew to find out who is hurting the tree. While they are investigating, they are thrust into the war between the ruling elite and the Federation. The party tries to stay out of the war, but the heart of their problem lies in this war. In the end, they must pick a side, and they choose to help the ruling elite. They meet a mercenary from the Badlands, Eryn, and another from Alfheim, Purpled, this way. They assisted in the weakening of the Federation, leading to a ceasefire. As the peace is being negotiated, the group learns that the Federation is poisoning the Aurantius Sylva. Although they are not told why, Olive suspects that the Federation was either trying to replace the sylva with their own or they were trying to prove that the sylva was unnecessary. They only considered the latter option because the Syndicate, while it was operational, provided for the Federation. When the Syndicate was brought down, a lot of its members joined the Federation."

"Both sides were shit," Tommy declares. While the Federation wasn't a benevolent group, they were far kinder to their people than the ruling elite were. Tommy doesn't know which side he would choose if he were in Ranboo's position, however.

"Such is the way of politics," Drista shrugs her shoulders, but her eyes dance with the same question in Tommy's mind. Someone is going to have to deal a decisive blow in the civil war. Tommy and Drista have the power to greatly change the outcome of the battles, and they might have a responsibility to. But they must decide for themselves who they are going to help. It isn't possible to defeat both groups and expect Las Nevadas to recuperate in a timely fashion.

"We'll deal with that when the time comes. The fifth arc. Crimson Drops Across the Golden Sea. After fighting together in the war, Eryn convinces the group to help him save his homeland. In the Badlands, an uprising has swept the nation. The Overlord has gone missing, leaving a power vacuum that the Red King fills. Atop his throne, the Red King calls for the complete annihilation of all jinn. Later in the story, Ranboo and the others learn that he participated in a ritual that gave him incredible strength at the cost of his sanity. He was granted this power by an entity known as the Provoker. The Red King, Lord Ren, used this ritual on more people. Those who did conform were put to death. Additionally, he recruited the Tainted Hannah and Earth Elemental King. Hannah put Shelby through the Taint and the ritual, making her loyal to the Red King and the Taint. They fight valiantly, but in the end, it takes the sacrifice of Reaper to grant Ranboo enough power to thwart his enemies. Unfortunately, Hannah, Shelby, and Eryn are killed in the conflict."

"And after that, the sixth arc. I fucking died before I was able to read it," Tommy admits softly.

"I can't remember, either. I keep getting this headache when I try. I guess they went to Alfheim, but I can't remember why they did that," Drista replies. She sighs. "All I can remember is what the arc was called. The Heavens Shake, the Abyss Rises. I'm sorry that's all I have."

"It's fine. We're going to figure this out with or without insider knowledge," Tommy notes, taking a long swig of his coke. If Drista hadn't told Tommy this was made from glamour, he would have figured it out from the can's bottomless nature. Not that he's complaining.

"We're just waiting for Ranboo at this point," Drista sighs with a tired half-smile appearing on her face.

"Yup. Ranboo is the crux of this world. There must be a reason why he was the focal point of your visions," Tommy adds, drawing out the 'p' sound in 'yup' in place of committing to a sigh.

"I only have to wonder who sent me those visions," Drista murmurs to herself, looking up at the roof as she takes a long sip of her coke.

"I thought Sophia sent them," Tommy notes. A machine designed to read fate seems like the most likely option as to who could have sent visions of the future through the barrier between Fatum and Libertas.

Drista shakes her head, her eyes almost glowing in the darkness as she glances over at him. "The Entity delivered the visions directly into my head, but they don't know where the visions came from. All they knew was that it was part of a plan devised by the fate machine before Sophia, but the visions weren't from Theia herself. I think they came from the same person who emailed me the covers of the book and other illustrations for The Ender Prince. Although I didn't think much of it at the time, I tried emailing them back. I never got a response. Did you ever get a response from [email protected] ?"

"Nope, but it would be nice if we could email in this world. I would bombard this lady with so many fucking emails that she'll be too annoyed to remember that she's supposed to be mysterious," Tommy laughs, making light of the situation when it's actually pissing him off. He's so tired of people being mysterious. He wants clear-cut answers.

"We could convince False to make the internet, computers, Google, and then Gmail?" Drista offers, twisting her can around in her hand as she genuinely debates her options.

Tommy's laughter grows louder, and he puts a hand over his mouth to muffle the noise in case his guard hears him. He shakes his head at Drista. "I would rather not have that shit. She's already made the fucking Notes app."

Drista's giggling accompanies Tommy's muffled laughter. She shakes her head, swinging her legs to the ground. She stands. She toasts with Tommy, and the both of them drink to their little joke. Drista makes the cans disappear, dispelling the illusion. She stretches her limbs, noting, "I should probably go find Waglington. If you find anything that looks strange tomorrow, I'll personally undo whatever spells he cast."

Tommy smiles, nodding. He stands up, ready to open the balcony doors for her. He stalls when she notices her eyes pinned on something. She's staring at the table with the water familiar, air familiar, and the doll of XD. Tommy is about to call out to her to further explain the doll when she steps up to the gilded cage. Drista opens the cage. Tommy raises an eyebrow as she grabs the air familiar. Her fist wraps around its throat, and the two of them wear equally blank expressions as they stare at each other. Tommy is about to speak when he hears an odd snapping noise. Tommy's eyes widen as he watches Drista fully crack open the bird's neck. Tommy rushes over in a panic, not because he cares about the damned bird but because it was a gift from the Air Elemental King. He stops when he notices Drista digging around in the bird's body. She pulls out a mineral from the feathery corpse. As Drista holds the obsidian shard up into the light, the air familiar dissipates into elemental energy. Drista's voice is peculiarly calm as she asks, "Where did you get this familiar from?"

"It came from the Air Elemental King," Tommy hisses, looking around. He is not in a position to be upsetting the elemental kings right now, especially not Sneeg. After learning Hetta went rogue, Tommy has been avoiding the king. Sneeg has respected Tommy's boundaries, so Tommy doesn't want to tell the king that one of his friends broke the familiar's neck.

"How is your relationship with the Air Elemental King?" Drista asks, glancing over at Tommy. The mineral in her hands seems to absorb the light that splashes onto it instead of reflecting it. Drista's face darkens because of this, but nothing can stop her eyes from glowing as brightly as they are right now.

"I mean, it's fine. He was my babysitter as a kid. We've been pretty close. I mean, we're arguing right now, I think. I don't really know," Tommy tries to explain. He has a complicated relationship with Sneeg, and he doesn't like putting it into words. For one thing, it's difficult, and for another, it's embarrassing. If this wasn't for Drista, Tommy probably would have left it at them having a fine relationship.

"It must be because of Zero, then," Drista shrugs. From the open air, a strange creature appears. It has four legs and shiny white fur. The animal is about as small as a puppy or a kitten. Its eyes are a sable black color more in the shape of a chipmunk, but its ears are more fox-like. The creature has a short tail. It is wagging like a puppy's tail while being in the shape of a fox kit's tail, but it seems to have as much control over the tail as a feline. Drista seems intimate with the creature as it climbs across her shoulders. Drista throws the mineral up, and the creature leaps up to catch the shard in its mouth. The creature eats the shard, landing in Drista's awaiting palm. "Tommy, this is my familiar, Bruno. He's made of Mystery instead of EXP since I'm a magician, not a mage, but he isn't that different from a familiar. Bruno is capable of processing magic stones. The mineral you just saw was a magic stone filled up with negative emotions."

Drista pets Bruno's head. Bruno shakes under her treatment, wrapping his tail around her wrist. Drista smiles at Bruno, kissing his back. When she pulls back, she meets Tommy's eyes. "The emotion was resentment."

"I don't know why Sneeg would resent Zero, but I think I understand. I didn't think Sneeg would know I used to be Zero, but he must be old. He could have known Zero in life," Tommy says, rubbing a hand against the side of his forehead at the headache this is becoming.

"You should feel better now without the stone poisoning you," Drista mentions.

"I noticed that the bird made me angry, but I didn't think it was because of something in the bird," Tommy murmurs to himself, looking at the empty cage. As he's wondering if he should confront Sneeg about it, he feels something on his head. He tenses, looking at Drista. She's petting his head, and Bruno is standing precariously on the back of her hand. Tommy allows it for a second because of his confusion, but he gains enough awareness to swat her hand away. Drista rolls her eyes at him, but she takes her hand away.

Drista and Bruno walk over to the balcony. Drista opens the doors for herself. She steps onto the railing. She turns around to face Tommy. She dramatically bows to him. She holds the position, looking up at Tommy. She winks at him as she takes a step back. Drista falls to the ground. As Tommy walks over to close the doors, he doesn't notice her splattered form so he assumes that she's safe. Tommy breathes in deeply, closing his eyes. He feels better, sure, but mainly, he feels anticipation coursing through his body.

—

"Do you finally understand your purpose?" They ask a question far simpler than anything going on around the two of them, simpler than the relationship between them.

"I do," Ranboo whispers, wishing that he didn't. Or maybe he wishes that he knew long before.