Taeshi regarded Shane and Alabaster with a grunt as she approached. Alabaster looked her up and down and scoffed at how she walked like she had done all the work putting the hybrid pair down. She had a no-nonsense, determined look that somehow added to her charm.

A new notification popped up within his field of view. Likely the combat rewards, I'll open them later along with the emergency quest from earlier, he thought to himself.

Shane could see beads of sweat trickle down Alabaster's temple in the chill of the early-morning light. He's not fooling anybody, Shane thought while stifling a smile. He didn't want to appear rude or ungrateful to the being in front of them that could wipe out his friends and put him in a week-long respawn or worse.

"I'm impressed you did so well against Recker, Shane," she side-eyed Alabaster. "You too, Vampire."

Alabaster's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly before he quickly deployed an expressive bow of gratitude and humility. Since she knew Shane, he would stay silent for now and let his otherworldly friend handle it.

"Thanks for the help; you kill good," Shane responded hastily.

His cheeks immediately went red with embarrassment from such sloppy speech. It didn't help that his anxiety was beginning to flare from meeting someone like her either. "You kill good," really, dude? That's the best you could come up with. He thought as he averted his gaze from hers.

She gave a brief smile revealing rows of sharp white teeth. That's not intimidating at all.

"I do, don't I," she admitted matter-of-factly. "Did you enjoy your time in Krooth?"

Even from a meter away, she towered over him—another attractive quality he was admitting to himself. Shane responded before letting his mind wander too far off point.

"Not especially, no. I didn't like the separation of individuals based on class and district. I find the application of hybrid overseers to be distasteful," he had less tasteful words in mind but figured a bit of tact wouldn't hurt.

"Then we have a lot in common."

Her straightforward, almost casual admission of this new fact threw him for a loop. Shane's eyes narrowed as he tried to mentally rally behind this new interpersonal development.

Taeshi must have seen the look on his face because she was quick to continue.

"Before anything else, let me explain what I mean by that," she said in a tired, raspy voice while placing a hand on her armored waist.

Shane politely interrupted her before she continued her explanation.

"If we could, I'd like us to take this conversation to the relative safety and comfort of my dwelling behind me," Shane said while jacking a thumb behind his shoulder. Alabaster gave him a supportive thumbs up, and Taeshi nodded in agreement.

"This is a nice little home, better than most humans have in Krooth," remarked Taeshi once she had settled into the biggest wooden chair he owned with a metallic thud.

The comment made Shane visibly uncomfortable. To him, his home was quite basic but certainly livable. To be human and have less than this on average was saddening and disappointing.

Taeshi explained the higher status position she received from being the daughter of the Scaleback faction leader. Hybrids rightfully bore grudges against the humans that treated all of her kind so poorly not too long ago. That said, she did admit that not all of them were worth the hybrid's ire. She also didn't believe simply swapping places with the humans was the proper way to handle the exchange of power.

Taeshi described how the cycle of privilege and discrimination would only continue at this rate—maybe even causing another uprising down the road, ultimately making everyone's lives worse.

She told Shane and Alabaster why she aimed to restore at least partial power and control to the humans. The current dynamic was too skewed, with the hybrid factions wielding too much wealth and control. Overseer's too were not much better at treating their once oppressors.

Alabaster stayed silent with a contemplative look like a stone. At the same time, Shane gazed off into the distance beyond the window of his dwelling—stroking his chin stubble.

"While you, Shane, aren't useful to me yet. There is a way," she teased the info to him like a fisherman would tease a lure to hungry trout.

She reached into a small opening under her armor's breastplate and pulled out a folded piece of thick parchment paper with red, patterned edges. Shane took it and unfolded it. His eyes went wide upon seeing a hand-drawn portrait of himself. Except it wasn't him, not exactly.

His wavy white hair hung down past his bare shoulders and bony chest. The man's face was emaciated, with sunken, bloodshot eyes. Shane was looking at another corrupted Shane—a Cain. Except this one was far less changed than he encountered last. Below the portrait of his other self, read big, bold letters.

-Wanted Dead or Alive-

Long White-Haired Human

Thin. Naked. Dangerous.

Reward: 100 Gold Coins

Sighted East of Krooth Near A Dungeon

If Found, Contact Scaleback Authorities.

"Now, I know that's not you, so why does he look like you?" Taeshi asked.

"Forgive me, but I'd like to answer that question with a question first," Shane responded.

Taeshi made a movement that signified he could proceed.

"How do you know my name, and how long have you been watching me, err, us?"

Taeshi shared that she had been watching him since Recker first slit his throat all those days ago. First, it was out of curiosity, as his survival from the ambush was astonishing. She regretted being forced to be a part of it. Still, her position in the Scaleback faction couldn't be lost—not if she eventually wanted to make changes.

Then, it was a fascination for the rapid speed of his ability's growth. Once she had witnessed Shane encounter the malformed version of himself, she knew he could help. She informed Shane that claiming and completing the bounty in his hands would give weight to his words in front of the hybrid faction leaders.

He absorbed everything she told him and mulled it over as Liz made her quite impactful introduction to Taeshi. The reptilian hybrid hadn't seen something so mechanical before, especially something that could float and talk with such personality.

Shane struggled with what to tell her. He could be truthful about his origins again like he had been with Alabaster. Still, someone with her authority could have disastrous effects on the world if it spread. Not everyone needs to know about this. Suppose Taeshi was to betray our trust and spread the truth of things far enough. In that instance, the system director could and would initiate a reset protocol, Shane thought with dread.

The protocol was something Shane came up with early in design, a failsafe, so to speak. Where the director reset the world, NPCs, and events back to a much earlier time before it was likely for them to garner such damning knowledge. When Shane had tested this knowledge against the bandits weeks ago, he confirmed that protocol was still in effect. Granting this knowledge to NPCs during the early phases of development showed the same temporary frozen reaction as the director primed itself for a potential wipe should the information continue to spread.

Shane telling Alabaster was risky enough, but the vampire was a recluse that sought to learn and not necessarily speak. Telling Taeshi, who could potentially spread it among the highest faction leaders, would create a trickle-down effect amongst the public. Riots and discord would ensue as everyone's purposes for being were questioned.

The director would surely notice, and the wipe would begin. Likely rewinding the world back before even the first me arrived here, he acknowledged silently. Players of the game in real life could enable that same protocol in the settings, should they want a rollback.

The thought made Shane's skin crawl. Made worse by the slight chance the director would create him again even after all that. For now, deciding to keep his history a secret seemed like the best course of action.

"Sure, they may look like me to some degree, but who has siblings that don't look similar?" Shane lied but didn't stop there. "My family is one of insanity and depravity. Somehow, I turned out sane and normal amongst my many older brothers. This caused our parents to favor me over them, creating intense jealousy and many like the brother you saw me and Alabaster fight. Creating someone like him," he said while holding up and pointing to the wanted poster.

"I see. It seems you've lived quite the hard life with a family like that," responded Taeshi, looking at him, concerned.

"Their jealousy and madness give them otherworldly strength. Luckily, I, too, was gifted with learning new skills and magic. So please, leave it to me to take my brothers down if they get in the way. Sacrificing my blood and kin for Krooth would give me favor toward the faction's leaders, no? He asked, secretly reveling in the story he was weaving.

The lie and story made talking to a stranger that much easier—it was like acting. A trick he sometimes used when faced with unavoidable social interactions. It wasn't a habit he enjoyed partaking in, but it was that or let his anxiety take the conversational reigns.

"Yes, your actions may go quite a long way towards restoring a more reasonable balance and enacting positive changes for the rest of your kind," She nodded as she spoke.

Taeshi stood up and offered a large hand to Shane. He felt heat in his cheeks as he grasped it, trying to give a mighty squeeze as they shook hands. The towering warrior seemed pleased as she squeezed back. Shane had to bite his tongue to stop his face from showing the pain his hand

was experiencing. Taeshi then walked toward the front door of his dwelling.

"I will return to Krooth and keep the deaths of those worthless hybrids that attacked your home under wraps. I look forward to seeing that bounty completed, and I'll do what I can on my end to make your future visits more welcoming."

She regarded them both with a warm smile and a surprisingly polite bow. Shane wasn't quite sure if she winked at him or not, but he blushed regardless. Taeshi shut the door, and Liz bounced to the window to watch her leave.

"She's the strongest and biggest Scaleback I've ever met!" Liz was eager to admit it.

"I, too, found her rather impressive. Though, I suspect not quite as much as Shane here," Alabaster said with a smug smile and grinning eyes.

"I don't like her at all," said Sharlot from Shane's shoulder.

"She could be an important ally, and that's all I feel comfortable saying at this time," Shane said while walking toward his enticing bed.

Playful groans escaped everyone else's throats in the room, which Shane ignored with a smile of his own. What a turbulent morning. He thought with relief now that he was in bed and relaxing his stressed body and nerves. Liz joined him at the edge of his bed, with Sharlot finding a cool and cozy spot underneath his pillow. This is nice, but I can't rest for too long. I still have much to do.

Before losing consciousness, he made a mental note to check the combat rewards and emergency quest rewards he ignored earlier upon waking. What he would obtain from both would surely be helpful for his adventuring later in the day.

Little did he know he would significantly need the new levels and loot—and then some.