Then.

Michael was… not frightened. Yes, he was looking at First Shadow. Who was the faction leader of the mystery faction. Which had an active, if currently subdued, interest in him. And who’s second best mage was plotting alongside Kelunad to tamper with a possibly Gnosis-ending artifact.

But he wasn’t frightened.

The old man looked kindly and he was smiling. He didn’t provoke fear, but mostly a faint sense of wellbei-

Wait.

“You’re using a Spell on me.” Michael accused him. “Something to keep me calm.”

“I am.” The man smiled unrepentantly. “You’ve learned too much of my faction to not be alarmed otherwise.”

They were sitting in the same hallway where the old man approached Michael. Just a regular hallway. But something felt wrong. Michael tried to tap into Gnosis and it felt… sluggish. He cast a look around, to see if there were any onlookers.

“We will have our privacy, Mage Michael. The closest person is a centaur student, three corners away. At the rate they’re going, they’ll catch up to us in… oh, around two hours.”

“You’ve cast wards.”

“No.” he laughed. “Wards are noticeable. I cast a… subtler type of magic. But we have our privacy, I can assure you of that.”

“That’s not really what worries me.”

“Young man, if I wanted you harmed, you’d have already been. Trust that I only came to talk. And I have everyone’s best interest at heart.”

“You do?”

“Well, mostly. My faction does have its own agenda. But I do not approve of what is going on inside of Gnosis right now.”

“You mean…”

“Exactly what you think.”

Michael looked at him and noticed that he seemed calm. Even amused.

But that could just be an illusion. Or even just a controlled demeanor.

“Alright.”

“Don’t you mean ‘ok’?”

He froze.

“My apologies, I’m only jesting. You have a very unusual speech pattern, Mage Michael. And many other unusual qualities beyond that. Yet you are not my concern at the moment, not just yet.”

“Alright. I mean, ok. Look, if you don’t mind me saying, I’ve had a rough few days. Maybe you want to tell me why you’ve approached me?”

“To the point then. Very well. Tell me, Michael. Do you know who we are? Me and my faction that is.”

He almost wanted to say ‘hoarders’, but he refrained.

“You’re information seekers. And sometimes brokers, from what I gather.”

“Not exactly, but a common description. Perhaps another question is better fitted. Do you know the name of my faction?”

“Uhm… no.” Michael said, since he couldn’t really call it the ‘mystery faction’ to his face. “We refer to you by other descriptions.”

“I gathered as much.” He laughed. “Not many do. Therefore, as a sign of trust, I will tell it to you. Our faction is called the Gatekeepers.”

“Gatekeepers.”

“Is it not apt?”

He’s messing with me.

“…no?”

“Ah, but that only means our activities and focus are not what you think they are. Which is not an issue. Again, not many do. Even among my own faction, sadly. What we are, Mage Michael, is guardians of knowledge. We acquire it, preserve it and guard it from those who would wish to rewrite history or reality both. But that is only half of our purpose. Because, you see, during the dawn of our faction, we realized that some secrets must remain secret. That there is knowledge that would only harm and information that must only be known by those who could treat it with the respect it requires. We protect Gnosis and its mages from what would harm them. That is why we are named as we are.”

“Right. No offense, but from what little I’ve seen, you don’t really act like it.”

“Also true.” He said and his smile faltered a little. “My own faction has fallen into our own specific type of depravity. Lusting for knowledge and secrets for their own sake instead of to preserve them. Enjoying the power and influence brokering secrets imparts on us. Making the shadows a scope, instead of a tool.”

“Yeah. That.”

“I will admit some of us have fallen. This is why I understand Mage Kelunad, in part, even though I would stop him.”

“Uh-huh. About that, do you know that your second has been conspiring with him for some time now?”

“Narana? Of course, I know. She is another symptom of the ill affecting my faction. Powerful, gifted, yes. But her wishes blind her. That is why I have approached you.”

“Couldn’t you have stopped her yourself?”

“My boy, if I expel her from my faction, she will simply claim another identity. And that’s if I do it publicly. If I fight a shadow war with her, unseen from the eyes of others, I would have to kill her to ensure she does not take revenge by spilling what secrets she knows. And I do not wish to do that.”

“So, what? How are you going to deal with her?”

“I have several methods in mind.” He said, smiling again. “But the one I choose depends on the outcome of the problem we find ourselves in.”

“Right. Uhm… look. You seem reasonable, but I can’t just tell you what I know, without first confirming you’re already aware of the details.”

The old man looked at him for a second, before launching in a tirade.

“There is a recently discovered gnomish artifact six floor up. Classification deems it capable of warping reality. It is thought that if not tampered with, it will activate sometime by the end of the school year. Well, previous school year. But that does not matter because Mage Kelunad wishes to activate it first. To make that happen he engineered the entire debacle with you and Mage Regitris and also steered Mage Sinestra’s recent Class transformation. And for the last part or the entirety of it, Mage Narana had helped him. Of this last detail I am unsure, but I know she played her role. Does that sum it up?”

All my troubles in a single breath. Well, most of them.

“Yeah. That’s about it.”

“Excellent.”

“Ok. Let’s say I believe you. What do you propose?”

“Well, first I wish to say that Kelunad will make his move on the day of the exams. Right after they start.”

That was an issue. It meant Michael had to choose between doing something and trying to stop him. Given what was at stake… he had to choose Gnosis. He could only hope that Regitris still had enough pull left to ensure he could take his exams at a later date. Though given the three-faction coalition now ruled Gnosis… damn.

The old man seemed to know what he was thinking.

“I will ensure you reach Kelunad in time, Mage Michael. As well as have the chance to take your exams. As one of my faction, I care about education greatly.”

“How? They’re literally at the same time.”

“Magic.” The old man shrugged.

Fine, keep your secrets.

“And what will you do?”

“I will plot and step in the shadows. These are two things we are quite proficient at.”

Michael just stared at him.

“I understand your reluctance to believe me, but please know I cannot simply tell you. As you well know, such things as oracular Spells exist. I can stop you from remembering what I said, but I cannot make it not said at all.”

“You think Narana might learn of this?”

“Is she thought to ask… perhaps. But that is not a chance I care to take.”

“Fine. I guess I understand. So this entire thing must be bad if it made you, uhm, become apparent.”

“Yes. Quite. Mage Kelunad does not know how to handle such an artifact and I do not agree with his wishes, even if he could make them reality without mistake. But when you add the possibility of error on top of that… yes. I can no longer afford to be subtle.” He said, before he frowned. “And what they did to Sinestra… does it altogether just as worrying.”

“Really? What did they do?” Michael asked. “I noticed earlier that you said her Class transformed, but the current theory is that her Class was lost. She said as much.”

The old man fixed Michael with a steady look.

“You are too perceptive for your own good, Mage Michael.” He said, before he sighed. “Yes, you would have done well in my faction.”

“I get that a lot.” Michael honestly confessed.

The man laughed, surprised.

“I believe you. It’s part of the reason why you have drawn our attention. But to speak of matters at hand, what happened to Sinestra is a grave secret. One of the first we as a faction swore to protect. I will not speak of it. That Narana helped to bring it along… That is almost as worrying as the artifact. Perhaps just as much. And it is ne of the reasons why I have to deal with her.”

“Oh. Oh! Wait, does that mean that-“

“Your mentor is fine. The… transformation will not harm her. The danger is somewhere else. I’m sorry for being so obtuse, but I fear I must.”

Michael nodded. He could understand there being things too problematic to know. He held a few secrets of his own.

“Alright. Then, when the time comes, you’ll help me go after Kelunad. With help, I hope?”

“With information. I’m afraid I cannot offer you any other assistance.”

“Yeah, I figured. It would go against your whole ‘cloak and dagger’ approach.” Michael said, making the man laugh again. “Then I’ll start organizing my own team. Get the Ascentionalists on it. I’ll keep quiet about meeting you. I figure that’s what you want, right?”

“Indeed. But I’m afraid I can’t let you ask for help. You must do it alone. Or, at least, you must be alone on the start of your quest.”

“…why?”

“Would you believe me if I said ‘fate’?”

“No.”

The old man laughed one more time.

“Well, unfortunately that is the answer. Or not. We are good liars, after all.”

“I’m aware. Uhm… look, I know I’m not supposed to tell you this, but it’s only logical and so far you seemed able to predict my course of thoughts. You understand that I can’t place the future of Gnosis on ‘fate’, right? I need to ask for help.”

“You cannot. Thus, I cannot let you.”

“If to try and stop me, you’re endangering your own plan.” Michael cautioned.

“I do not think so, Mage Michael. Indeed, I do believe you’ll not even think to ask for help.”

“And why is that?”

“Because |Memory Block|.”

***

Now.

The old man was standing in front of him again.

And he remembered getting here and the weird impulse that led him to do so. Which he know realized wasnlt his own impulse at all.

He remembered his discussion with the old man. His wish. And his last words.

“You-“

“I understand that you are angry, Mage Michael. But you must save that for later. We have no time to waste. Mage Kelunad has already retrieved the amulet and is now standing in front of the artifact.”

“What? Hw do you know?”

“Can’t you feel it?”

Now that he mentioned it, Michael did feel something. He felt like… he was half-asleep. No, it felt like the moments before he fell asleep. Only he was awake and clear-headed. He couldn’t explain it.

The man seemed to sense his lack of understanding and spoke.

“Look.” He pointed at the end of the hallway.

Michael did and saw… himself. He waved and the other Michael did too.

What the fuck?!

“An illusion?”

“A magical one, yes. Or perhaps dimensional magic. Or something else.”

“You don’t know?”

“Reality is breaking down, Mage Michael. That is not cast magic. Indeed, I am not even sure it is magic, unless magic is all things. But this is not the time for theory.”

“Then… that means-“

“That Mage Kelunad just now activated the artifact. Yes.”

Michael wanted to scream.

“But you told me you’d help me stop him!”

“I did. And I will. Or… did? No, perhaps not yet. The proper terms escape even me. Nevertheless, I conducted a ritual which I will activate in a moment.”

“What ritual?”

“Time magic.”

“Time…”

Michael remembered reading that time magic was theoretically possible, but that is was never proven. There weren’t even warnings about attempting it, because it was basically a fool’s errand. Yet now, knowing what they did, Michael had a suspicion.

“Yes.” The old one smiled. “I see you’ve understood.”

“One more secret you’ve decided to gatekeep?”

“And it isn’t even that long ago that we removed it from public knowledge. Just a few hundred years. Or was it millennia. I forget.”

“Uh-huh.”

“In any case, I will send you back, Mage Michael. Only a few hours, but that will have to be enough. I had hoped to send you back further, but… I was prevented from doing that.”

“By who?”

“By what.” the old man clarified. “And to answer, a series of misfortunes. They could be magic. I choose to believe it was fate.”

Michael saw the distant part of the hallway start to sprout eyes and decided to hurry this along.

“Ok, I think this is it. Whatever you’re about to do, do it. I’ll figure it out.”

“Very well. I do not know what alternative-future me will do. If we never meet again, know that it had been interesting.”

“Yup. Interesting. Not fun. Terrifying. But Interesting.”

“An apt summation of my faction. Good, luck Mage Michael!” the old man said.

And Michael felt magic gather around him suddenly, filling up the air, about to burst.

“Thank you, Mage- uh…”

“Hamil.” The too knowledgeable man with the amusingly normal name said.

“Thank you, Mage Hamil!” he said, finding that he meant it.

And he was gone.