Eithan sat at his desk, in his office, in the Arelius headquarters. He was surrounded by a thousand requests, big and small, that all needed his attention. He had developed a bad habit of procrastinating things, but to be honest the work of a Patriarch was boring. It was times like these where he wondered why in the Way had he made that deal with Cassias. He needed a break. Even though he took one an hour ago. Lucky for him the perfect distraction was coming up the stairs right now.

"Come in Cassias," Eithan said, before Cassias even had the chance to knock. The second ranked Highgold entered the room sighing.

"Shoulda expected you'd know I was coming," he shrugged.

"After all this time you still haven't learned that I know everything," Eithan joked.

"Hmph, you most certainly do not know everything," Cassias responded

"Are you sure about that?" Eithan asked.

"You're provoking me again," Cassias said.

"Maybe I am," Eithan said smiling, "But maybe I'm not."

"You and your annoying smile are most certainly provoking me on purpose," Cassias said, dead serious.

"Fine, I am," Eithan admitted, "But I'm so bored. Annoying people is the only thing that brings joy to me these days." He flopped back in the chair dramatically.

"If you're expecting sympathy, I'm not in the mood to give it," Cassias said, "Especially to you."

"You're so mean," Eithan whined.

"And you're acting like a child," Cassias retorted, "You're the Patriarch for heaven's sake!"

"Trust me, the job isn't all it's cracked up to be," Eithan said.

"Is it, or are you just trying to convince me the deal was a good idea," Cassias inquired.

"No, no it's actually horrible," Eithan said, raising his hands, "Right now I have to deal with Orthos' latest murder spree, the hostility of the Jai clan, assisting the ascension of the Arelius family to a clan, cleaning up after the Dreadgod, the Emperor's personal requests, missing crews, a certain upcoming event, pleasing the elders, my own plans, plus a thousand other little things that keep the family running."

"Well," Cassias said after a moment, "That sounds like a lot. Do you even have time for your own advancement?"

"I am constantly working on my own advancement, you just can't see it," Eithan said cheerfully, "But I'll let you in on a little secret, I am very close to Overlord."

"Close to Overlord? Then what are you doing here?" Cassias said, in shock, "You should be pushing for that! Do you have any clue what kinds of benefits that could bring us?"

"I am fully aware of the benefits," Eithan said, "But I'm also aware of the consequences."

"Consequences?" Cassias echoed.

"Think for a moment, what Huan's reaction would be if there was another Overlord in the Empire," Eithan said, serious for once, "Now imagine that Overlord is very young, very talented, extremely good-looking, has an impeccable-"

Cassias cut him off, "Eithan, stop complimenting yourself and cut to the point."

Eithan sighed overdramatically, "And also happens to annoy him on a daily basis. Do you think he'd like that?"

"No," Cassias admitted.

"Besides, there's a certain event coming up that only takes Underlords," Eithan added.

"You think you have a chance to get into the Tournament," Cassias said, looking at him incredulously, "The Empire has never had a chance of getting representation in it!"

"This year is... different," Eithan said, "You're aware of how the Phoenix awakened recently, something that even the greatest seers of the Akura clan were not able to predict. The other Dreadgods are stirring, decades before they should have shown any signs of rising. Fate has changed course, the future is uncertain. Now more than ever the Monarchs need to show their power. So the Akura's will come to their vassal states, looking for talent to show off in the Tournament. And I will be available."

"That actually makes sense," Cassias said.

"See, I do know everything," Eithan said, "You should trust me more often."

"That's hard to do when you're always so cryptically vague," Cassias said.

"Fair point," Eithan said, "But isn't 'cryptically vague' redundant?"

"That's not the point," Cassias grumbled.

"Then what is the point?" Eithan asked.

"You're provoking me again," Cassias said, not taking the bait.

"Fine, you caught me," Eithan admitted.

"I forgot what I even came up here to do anyways, so I'm leaving," Cassias said, turning towards the door.

"Nooo don't go," Eithan cried, with another overly dramatic lunge, "Don't leave me here with all my work."

"Goodbye Eithan," Cassias said, and walked out.

Eithan slumped back in his chair and sighed. He'd been doing a lot of sighing recently. He would need to break that habit soon. To be honest, his plan was never to compete in the Uncrowned King Tournament. That was a change he'd made later on. No, his plan was to raise three disciples of his own and have them compete. He was planning to go all the way, and the Tournament was a very convenient treasure trove to help with his hypothetical group's advancement. Unfortunately the group was still hypothetical. He'd yet to find a suitable candidate, all the promising students he'd tried to train just hadn't cut it. He really hoped someone would come along soon.

In reality Eithan had many, many years until he was forced to leave Iteration One-One-Zero, but he had no idea how long the Abidan would last without him. Surely the Mad King would be preparing an all-out assault the moment he found out the Reaper was MIA. Which made finding the right people and elevating them even more time-restricted. Which put another weight onto the pile he was already carrying. No. He needed to stay optimistic. Maybe he'd find some promising students/allies at the Tournament. Yes, he'd find people there. Way knows he needed to.

In another timeline, another life, he was Eithan Areluis, Uncrowned Archlord. He had fought Sages and Monarchs and came out alive. He had turned down an easy advancement to Sage, desiring to find the Icon of his choice.

He was also Ozimanthus Tiberian Mereithan Arelius, an ancient Monarch who became master over death, created his own path of pure destruction, was one of the greatest Soulsmiths of all time, and founded the Arelius family.

He was also Orizel, the Reaper, who was capable of wiping entire Iterations from existence. The eighth Abidan on the Court of Seven, and the only one who dared to defy the Eledari Pact. The one who left, returned to the Cradle, changing the flow of Fate. And the one who gave up his goals and peace to save those he had come to cherish.

But here? In this world? He was an overworked Underlord, special by the standards of the Blackflame Empire. His plans were failing, and of the disciples who should have been, one was dead, one would never make it to him, and the final one had a chance of meeting him. The friends he should have made, the ones he would have given up his freedom for, were scattered. He would end up alone, the one thing he'd tried so hard to prevent.