"AND THE WINNER OF THIS YEAR'S BEGINNER PHYSICAL WARFARE TOURNAMENT, LORD CALEB JOHNSON!!!" The announcer cheered, the arena melting and resettling as a sand pit.

--- Day 134 AD, 22:00 ---

I stood in my lab, breathing the familiar scents, and nodded. "Home sweet home." I said quietly.

"I watched your fights. You did well, Caleb. Very well." The emperor walked into the room calmly, despite the fact that he just walked into one of the most secret places in the College.

I slowly turned. "Thank you... My emperor... How did you get in here?" I asked.

"Simatis granted me passage." He said simply, and looked at Drake. "Why is your opponent here?" He asked.

"He is my slave, now. I planned on telling you in front of the Mage council, at the time of my... Ascension." I said slowly.

"I see... I will then have no reaction when it happens. Continue." He said.

"Yes, My Emperor. He is an assassin, sent by the Lord of Kuramar to kill you and Teresa, on the orders of Lord Armen and his son, Lord Michaelis. They intend a Coupe. I planned on building a stronger case, and also gift wrapping the assassins for you, exterminating them and showing the council my... Efficiency." I said softly.

He nodded slowly, his eyes calculating the situation. "My spies reported the same thing, but I disbelieved them. Now, from two sources, and one the very assassin? Hmm... This is troubling. May I ask you to solve this, as you solved my other problems?" He asked.

"I cannot. Lord Michaelis is a mighty Mage, and I know nothing of his father. I do not believe I could solve this silently... But I could assassinate them if you brought them in the open, in a public place." I said, thinking fast.

"How would this help?" He asked, allowing me to think as I would.

"I could use my technology, sir, and solve this. You would have to react as if you were under attack, of course, and I would aid the police in their search for the 'shooter', who would in fact be tracking Drake, here." I pointed to drake with a knuckle.

He nodded. "But that would curry favor to them."

"Not if I leaked to information networks before that they were traitors, and that there was evidence. This would stir the people up, and if told that a loyalist shot them, they'd likely flock to the Man, who would appear a Hero." I smirked.

"And when that hero turned out to be the Street Rat Turned Lord, Caleb Johnson, your favor Would skyrocket in the city, and even beyond. That meant when you ascended to the council, they would know you as a good man, and trust you... You have extremely detailed long-term plans, don't you?" He finished my sentence slowly, almost reverently.

I smiled and bowed my head. "I do. Which is why being Emperor is a bad Idea. One of the reasons, at least. Also, an immortal Emperor isn't wise. Favor drops over time, and Emperor's need to do things to curry favor. Obscure members of a 'Council', whom are never named, do not need to do so, though the council's minions do need to help every once in a while, to remind people of the 'Big Brother', that is Government." I said distastefully.

He sighed. "True. You seem to hate it as much as I do."

"And yet it is necessary. I didn't know that, when I was young... My emperor, I haven't been completely honest with you about my homeland." I said.

He nodded. "I know. A mountain? Slums? A dojo?"

"I lived on the streets of a city called 'London', on a planet that is not of this solar system. My genetic make-up is identical to that of yours, objectively, but we are the same, mostly." I said simply.

He blinked slowly. "Dimensional Travel."

I raised an eyebrow. "Very good. Yes. My dimension, my world is... Diseased. Corruption rules, the world is poisoned, dying. And then I fell through a rift of Space-Time, and ended up here..." I waved a hand vaguely.

He nodded. "I understand, mostly. And I also know when someone is lying to me, so don't worry. I left you your lies, because they didn't worry me. But if it's important, tell me."

"I was left on the streets of London as a baby, as I said. Then, when I was seven, I had an old lady that I later learned was my grandmother adopt me." I sighed.

I sat down, and offered the emperor a seat across from me. He sat down easily. "Thank you. Go on."

"On my tenth birthday, I used my skills, and I destroyed the world's economy, completely decimated the global corrupt government system, though a few countries were spared." I said simply.

He blinked slowly. "Ahhh... I see where this is going. Where did you live after that economic apocalypse?" He asked curiously.

"I lived in that country for the rest of my life, training in the ways of Martial Arts with my Adopted Mother, and advising that country's government on how to survive the crisis, and to remove corruption." I said.

He nodded. "I see... Yes, that makes sense. You are already used to helping to run a country from the shadows. But to step into the light would ruin your plans."

"Correct. Make no mistake, Emperor. I plan on conquering the trading Industry of your empire, and beyond. The whole solar system, if I can. Then, after I have control of it, I will 'die'. And when I 'die', I will give it to someone, along with all the knowledge I have ever obtained, with the 'Eye Of Solomon'." I pointed at a symbol on my hand, if an eye. I then poured myself a cup of wine, and offered him the bottle.

"... Who?" He asked slowly, accepting the bottle.

"Who knows. But you should know this. When I am gone, the world will be better than I left it. That's my one, true goal." I said simply, sipping the 200 year old sweet desert wine.

He nodded, drinking as well. "I see. You are, beneath your character you play, a good man."

"No. I simply want to fuck my destiny up its arse when I die happy, with a loving family around my bed, something my destiny always forbid me." I laughed loudly, and leaned back.

He smirked. "A good dream, that. Alright. Well, you'll be appointed to the Mage council soon, I believe. The results of the tournament will be posted in a few days... Oh, and that man you were fighting, the last one? He wanted to see you, but Simatis almost turned him away. I thought you'd like to see him, so I had him wait." He nodded.

"Ah, yes. I want to dissect him, to learn a possible cure for Stonemason's Disease." I nodded.

He blinked slowly. "I will hear about it when you manage, I suppose."

"You will." I bowed deeply.

He stood, nodding. "Alright. I'll call off your engagement to Teresa... On one condition."

"That I cure your eldest son's inability to have children?" I asked.

He blinked again. "That wasn't what I was going to say, though I'd enjoy that solution to one of my problems. No, my condition is that you kill Armen Only, and then fight Michaelis in the Arena, Publicly. When you win, and he's dead, I'll proclaim you as the man who killed the Traitor, Armen, and now, the man who killed Michaelis, as well." He smiled.

"I see... Yes. A public execution instead of an assassination. People do not trust assassins. But gladiators... Good. I agree, though I don't think I'm good enough to defeat him in a battle of magic. He is far superior to me in magical knowledge." I said.

"Then take his knowledge, like you did him." He pointed a thumb at Drake. "His father is a good Mage, yes. But his son knows more about magic than he could ever dream of. That natural talent for all things mental has given him a superiority complex. I truly wouldn't be surprised if he the mastermind of this coupe, not his father."

I nodded slowly. "I see... My plans have changed... Then Drake is no longer necessary. He'll be useful for my experiments, however." I shrugged.

He nodded. "Do as you wish. He doesn't exist, anyway. I'll send in Jacob, hmm?"

"Yes, thank you." I smiled.

--- Day 135 AD, 07:00 ---

I hummed, reading the results of the impromptu CatScan.

"Your brain is extraordinary, Jacob... You seem to have some genetic resistance to the disease, which has prompted you to survive longer, but... If I can completely isolate that gene, I can create a gene therapy that cures the condition..." I smiled.

"What will that take?" He asked.

"Exorbitant amounts of your Stem Cells, and DNA." I said blandly.

"Meaning?" He asked slowly.

"Meaning, you're going to die. And it's going to be slow, and painful, oh so painful, but in the end your sacrifice will end the Stonemason's Disease forever. Now bite the belt if you don't want to scream." I said coldly.

--- Day 137 AD, 06:30 ---

I injected the synthesized genetic enzyme into the girls arm, and watched in wonder as the calcification of her skin ceased visibly, and then began healing, as the Vitamin C was absorbed into her system correctly.

I nodded to her mother. "She's better, for now. But understand, if she starts to get sick again, come to me." I said sternly, and avoided her hug, pushing her daughter into her arms. "Next!" I called out.

--- Day 139 AD, 13:00 ---

"So. You cured Stonemason's Disease in less than a week. Quite an achievement, Sir." The Emperor said suddenly.

"You enjoy sneaking up on the Cat, don't you?" I responded calmly.

He tsk'ed. "Damn, I love scaring you."

"I realized. Now, if you don't mind, I'm working on Gene Therapy. What needs doing?" I asked, looking up from my microscope.

He nodded. "My audience with Armen to congratulate him on his son's victory is tomorrow, at 09:00. I will tell him I know of his plans, and he will react violently. You must be flawless." He said.

"When am I anything but?" I smirked, and looked back into the microscope.

--- Day 140 AD, 09:00 ---

I breathed out slowly, and pulled the trigger, watching with my enhanced vision as the bullet traveled the 2000 meters, between six buildings, and straight through Lord Armen's brain, just as his hands ignited with magical fire, to kill the emperor.

He collapsed onto the wooden stage, and I disappeared, disassembling my rifle and storing it in my bag. I melted into the crowd, listening to my criers shout about Lord Armen of the Council being killed as he tried to kill the emperor, and calling for his sons blood.

I smirked, and melted into the shadows.

--- Day 147, 10:00 ---

I stood behind lord Michaelis, and spoke softly. "A shrewd man, your father." I said simply.

He turned his eyes only. "Who are you?" He asked softly, barely audible, even in the deathly silent funeral procession.

"The Lord of Kuramar sends condolences. This was not planned for." I said equally as quiet, placing a hand on his bare knuckles, and absorbing his knowledge with a whispered spell. "And also, a message. The lord Caleb knows of your plans. He has called for a public death match, which he will lose, if you kill him. If he wins, your world will be shredded. Next Jyardan, be at the Arena in the City. Kill him, and protect your family name. Good bye, boy."

He stiffened, and turned his head slightly. "Who-"

I was already gone.

---

I collapsed in an alley nearby, clutching my skull as information filled me to the breaking point, stretching my mind passed its limits, and then reforming my psyche to contain it all, transforming from a small lounge, to an auspicious library, on par with the library of the college.

The man knew almost as much about magic as the entire library combined, things they never even dreamed of. I immediately drafted a set of encyclopedia's with his knowledge of wildlife, another for plants, and a vast compendium for his knowledge of using his small amount of mana to do amazing things. All the tricks he ever knew.

It began writing itself as I relaxed.

One homeless child chuckled at me. "Headaches, huh?" He said, grinning.

I chuckled. "Yeah." I flipped the boy a Fein and walked out of the alley, finding my way home.