Gift

Banners displaying the Eye’s crest stared back at him.

A wide chamber with a vaulted ceiling and mosaics depicting mythical scenes — battles between celestials and men — unfolded before him between columns of black marble. At its center rested a sturdy mahogany desk, behind which sat a high-backed chair shaped like a solar aura, all placed atop a tiger-striped carpet.

On the walls, ceremonial armor and weapons were interspersed with niches stuffed with scrolls. And, as throughout the building, the air smelled of incense and amber.

“Master Grace…” greeted a man of androgynous beauty, bare-chested — undoubtedly the prince.

His athletic figure displayed a near-supernatural symmetry, as if his muscles had been carved from stone by divine hands. His ivory-toned skin was almost entirely exposed, with only a loosely tied white mantle around his waist to preserve modesty.

Daniel resisted the urge to make a bad face. Unsure how exactly to address royalty, he knelt.

What a ridiculous scene! No one should be allowed to look like that.

“Your Majesty” Grace said in a neutral tone, mimicking the phrasing he’d read countless times in his fantasy novels. “It is an honor to finally meet you. Lord Juncuso spoke of your greatness and said it was your wish to speak with me.”

“I see that despite your young age, you are a well-mannered man, Master Grace” his voice was like a hymn, each word flowing with a soft note of authority. “My name is Vibius Finusian Sicario, symbolic head of the Grand House, the Imperial Purple of Ordinem Finis, and leader of the Convergence Council. From now on, you must call me Princeps, for I am the First Citizen of the Empire. Understood?”

“Understood, Princeps” Daniel replied.

“Excellent. I imagine you have some questions.”

The young man nodded.

“Sallustia, bring some cushions so I may sit with Daniel, please.”

Grace flinched as he heard the sound of two large cushions being carefully arranged near a window. It was the first time he noticed someone else was in the room besides him and the prince.

The woman, with long black hair and a hardened physique, wore the same unadorned dress from the previous night. Her arms bore pale scars from chains and shackles.

But this time, she also wore a metallic mask resembling a ritual tiara — silver, covering the entire eye region. The mask was affixed to the sides of her head, blending into her hairstyle. Its symmetrical finish resembled a leaf pattern, and at the center was a teardrop-shaped crystal.

“She… was there last night, when I arrived… here” Daniel recalled, eyes locked on her. And after a few seconds, he remembered the proper title. “Princeps!''

Fortunately, Sicario only laughed.

“You’ll get used to it” he said to Daniel as he rose and walked to the cushions.

His noble face and wavy blond hair shimmered in the sunlight as he sat. Grace averted his eyes as the prince adjusted himself, the thin cloth at his waist rising more than it should — but he didn’t seem to mind.

The casual display was also a sign of authority. An uncontested command of the body.

“You, and Juncuso, and those men… are you sorcerers?” Daniel asked, looking at the woman to avoid the prince’s indecent appearance — and the resulting nightmares.

The woman didn’t answer.

“She is a slave paladin, Daniel. She only speaks if I allow it.”

“Oh…”

Slavery again. Will I ever get used to this?

“You’re not used to this on Earth, I imagine. But let’s set that aside for now. I’m sure you have more pressing questions.”

Did Juncuso tell him what I said earlier? But I don’t remember mentioning Earth…

Grace shrugged.

“With all due respect, Princeps, but why am I here?”

“The most direct answer, Daniel, is that you came because you chose to. We opened the portal, yes — but we didn’t force you to step through it.”

“I suppose that’s true, Princeps.”

“Then perhaps the question you truly want to ask is: ‘why did we need to summon someone from another world?’”

Grace shrugged again, hoping it wouldn’t be seen as disrespectful.

“I believe that’s the right question, Princeps. And if I may, I imagine your organization wouldn’t take such a risk unless no one from this world could handle the problem.”

“You’ve read the situation correctly” Sicario replied with a smile. “Transcended ones have always been agents of change in Ordinem Finis. It is believed the great hero Ys Vattlaml, who lived at the end of the Mythic Era and ended the Thousand-Year War, had Transcended blood. Without him, the Grand Continent might never have reached the right conditions for imperial expansion.

“Later, my ancestor, Imperator Vibius Finiusin, also a Transcended, overthrew the dynasty that ruled Ordinem Finis under the corrupting influence of religion.”

“Transcended are people from other worlds? And you’re descended from one, Princeps?”

“Correct. My ancestors abdicated the title of Imperator after Vibius Finiusin’s death, passing most of the power to the Imperial Senate, which elects two consuls to govern Ordinem Finis alongside the First Citizen in a triumvirate. A system that endures to this day.”

“I see. But how exactly does this relate to me, Princeps?” Daniel asked.

“The Empire is on the brink of collapse” the prince sighed and exchanged a sideways glance with Sallustia. “For centuries, the triumvirate has kept control over the Grand Continent through economic dominance, made possible by key cultural advancements. But there are those who wish to break this harmony, to impose their edicts through imperial legions — unaware of the true stagnation of our forces. To prevent this and avoid too rapid a technological evolution, the Imperial Purple and a few carefully chosen allies founded the Convergence.”

“So you discreetly influence society’s course through economics. This may sound like a naive question, Princeps, but… why? Why insist on a nation you don’t even have full power to govern?”

Sicario gazed at him with amused eyes.

“This is the only world we have, Daniel. It’s our duty to preserve it at any cost. Before the Empire came the Thousand-Year War — a millennium of barbarity and bloodshed. Until the rise of the Great Hero. Chaos, contrasted with the order we have now. Imperfect? Yes, but it protects us from ourselves… and worse things. Then the rulers of the previous lineage allied with religion to try and destroy that order, creating a theocracy. If not for Vibius Finiusin, a far worse regime would have replaced the Empire. Am I wrong, Sallustia?”

The prince and Grace looked at the slave paladin, who cleared her throat uncomfortably before speaking.

“You are correct, Princeps. My family’s records make that clear. We now live to serve the Convergence and atone for the mistakes of the past.”

“Slave paladins are descendants of the old imperial family” Sicario explained. “Some died during the conquest of Gran-Devana, but too many alliances — by blood and marriage — linked the Great Houses to wipe the lineage out entirely.”

“So you invaded this world, destroyed the ruling caste, and forced them to serve you?!” Grace let the question slip with a tone of indignation.

Sallustia’s hand snapped toward him, but before Daniel could react, the prince caught it — then gently took it in his own.

“Call him Princeps, boy! Show more respect!” the woman scolded, glaring at him.

“You don’t understand, Daniel. The slave paladins descend from an ancient warrior lineage of the old Purple. When they discovered their relatives’ plans, they willingly offered themselves into slavery — to atone for the evil that nearly destroyed us all. They are the core of the Convergence’s forces and have served as my family’s bodyguards for generations.”

“So there’s a sort of… symbiosis in this?” the boy asked, glancing at Sallustia, who still looked irritated. “Princeps.”

“I don’t expect you to understand, my young friend. But the fact is, if we want to survive, we need you.”

“Forgive me, but I don’t have resources or soldiers. I’m exactly what I told Lord Juncuso yesterday: a student. So how, Princeps, could I help you?”

“With something far more valuable than that, Daniel. Transcended always receive an innate ability when arriving in this world. Something natives are incapable of. The power to reshape the world and capriciously defy fate. Where a mundane is bound by the ordinary, a Transcended breaks the chains of causality. That’s why they’re considered agents of change. We call this power a Gift.”

A surprising development — but not unexpected. In fact, it was the reason I came.

“It’s risky, Princeps” Sallustia said, recoiling slightly as Sicario glared at her in surprise. “Trusting our survival to a stranger.”

“Do we need to have this conversation again, Sallustia?” the prince asked in a sour tone. “You know very well Allania wouldn’t fall so easily. My suspicions are confirmed — so we must fight the enemy on equal terms.”

What does he mean by that? And who is Allania?

But Daniel didn’t dare ask. There was too much bitterness laced in Sicario’s words — the kind that easily flared into rage. So the boy concluded the matter was somehow personal.

“Forgive me, Princeps” Daniel intervened, changing the subject. “If I’m to act under your command, shouldn’t I receive some training?”

“Yes, of course!” The storm on the prince’s face vanished quickly. “Are you willing to help us? I assure you, your role will be crucial in this endeavor.”

“As you said, Princeps” even without knowing the real objective, Grace was determined to make the most of the journey. “This is your only world. And for now… it’s mine too.”

At least for now…

“Splendid!” Sicario clapped his hands in delight. “I’ll assign you a group of useful allies: a poisoner, an entertainer, and a bodyguard. But first, let’s discover your Gift’s attribute.”

“And how do I do that, Princeps?” Daniel asked, a note of excitement in his voice.

The mission, my destiny as a Transcended, and even this world’s survival depend on this!

“Focus and try to call your Gift. According to my family journals, once a Transcended becomes aware of their power, it tends to reveal itself naturally.”

Grace controlled his breathing, closed his eyes for a moment, and directed his thoughts toward discovering the nature of his Gift. A few seconds later, a message appeared — white letters on a rectangular background only he could see.

Cliché? Yes. But I have to admit I liked it.

“So?” Sicario raised an eyebrow.

“Princeps, what exactly is the mission?”

“Ah, yes. I nearly forgot to tell you. Your role will be to interfere in the election for consul, ensuring the Coin Party defeats the Swords.”

Daniel smiled, reading the two words that appeared before him:

“Then I guess I have a more than useful attribute…”

[Master Thief]