Although Jaxen Flaux looked curious, he was playing a high-stakes game of observation. He was truly in the midst of his travels, having just left Ironside Academy.
His reputation for strategic brilliance was confined to academic circles—though his reputation for draining wine cellars was legendary.
"Would you believe me if I told you I already know your future?" Julian asked, a strange, knowing smile playing on his lips.
"My future?" Jaxen paused, his first instinct being that Julian was a high-tier fraud.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible. But looking at Julian's absolute confidence and the way he had summoned a grown man out of thin air, Jaxen felt a prickle of unease.
"Jaxen Flaux," Julian began, his voice dropping an octave. "Your life is a spark—brilliant, exciting, but tragically short. In the original tapestry of time, you would have died young, just as your greatest rival was beginning to rise."
Julian shook his head slightly, a look of genuine pity on his face.
"Well..." Jaxen felt like he was listening to a street-side fortune teller. First, they scare you with death, then they offer the cure for a price. It was a classic trap.
Seeing the skepticism in Jaxen's eyes, Julian continued, "That was your original fate. But now that you've met me, the stars have shifted. Don't you want to know who could have possibly stood as your equal?"
Jaxen leaned in, his curiosity getting the better of his logic. As a strategist, he lived for the challenge.
"In your world's original timeline," Julian said, "there was supposed to be a massive uprising. A rebellion that would tear empires apart."
Jaxen's eyes sharpened. "The Order of Mecha?"
Julian nodded. "Exactly. You've already noticed their movements, haven't you?"
Jaxen didn't answer, but his silence was a confirmation. As the 'Ghost Talent' of Ironside Academy, he had seen the patterns of the Order's radicalization of the working class and their hoarding of forbidden tech.
"But the Order doesn't matter anymore," Julian stated, dropping a bombshell. "This entire world is about to shatter."
"Shatter?" Jaxen stood up, his mind connecting the dots with terrifying speed.
"The bone-wraiths... visitors from the stars... the cracks in the sky. You're saying our world is a dying cell in a larger body?"
"You have the answer in your heart," Julian smiled.
"Then what are you?" Jaxen asked bluntly. "A savior? Or just another scavenger from the stars?"
"I'm no savior," Julian's aura shifted. The casual traveler vanished, replaced by a cold, majestic ambition that filled the room. "I am a Lord. And I need men of genius who are loyal only to me."
Jaxen felt the weight of that ambition. He looked into Julian's eyes and saw not just a man, but a realm.
"Tell me of the world beyond," Jaxen requested softly.
"Dragons and snakes rise from the land, while immortals and gods descend to the world!" Julian recited the old Academy proverb.
Jaxen repeated the words, his eyes lighting up with a fire that hadn't been there before. He stood, straightened his robes, and cupped his hands in a formal salute.
"Greetings, my Lord."
Julian let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Excellent. With you by my side, we shall be unstoppable!"
"My Lord," Jaxen asked, his wit returning, "was that bit about me dying young actually true?"
"If I hadn't appeared, yes. You're too fond of wine and late nights at the pleasure houses," Julian warned.
Jaxen winced, pulling his neck back. "I see. My Lord is... disturbingly well-informed. I suppose I shall have to limit my visits to five times a week."
Julian laughed and signaled for Garrett to bring Ben forward.
"Garrett," Julian instructed, "when we return to the Hallowed Realm, you are in charge of Jaxen's physical conditioning."
"Don't worry, my Lord," Garrett said, slamming a fist against his steam-plated chest. "I'll make a man of him."
Jaxen looked at Garrett's massive, piston-driven arms and shivered. "My Lord, I am a man of the mind. Surely this isn't necessary?"
"It is," Julian said. "I'm not talking about mere exercise. I'm talking about Cultivation."
Julian gestured for Garrett to demonstrate. Garrett, now at the Mortal Level 1 after mastering the Way of the Pure Mind, gave a short shout and stomped his foot.
The stone floor beneath his boot shattered into a spiderweb of cracks, and a shockwave rattled the windows of the manor.
"While you may never be a front-line bruiser," Julian said, looking at the stunned Jaxen, "cultivation will refine your body and extend your life. Perhaps even to immortality."
Immortality. The ultimate temptation. Jaxen looked at the cracked stone and then at Julian. The deal was struck.
Julian then turned his gaze to the elder brother. "Ben? What are your plans for Brass Horizon City?"