"He hailed from the world above Edit, and it's widely agreed that the First Titan had… some hand in his creation, even if a link has never been found; it is simply too strong of a coincidence.

"Born of a despot king and an unnamed noble, Toki lived a unique life. While the details are lost to time, it's agreed that he was in a political fight for his life since the age of five, caught in machinations above his own mind. The "How" is obscure but a few key events included how he cured his own natural genetic disorder through extensive and agonizing experimentation on himself at a mere seven years old; when he was nine, his father pulled him into a battle of authority over his name using fae magics in an attempt to steal his soul, which Toki narrowly won; at eleven, he sought out and signed a slave contract with an opposing kingdom exclusively to escape his family's grasp for a time.

"Every year was a battle for survival wherein he was the weakest party, a child among ancients, yet he always managed to pit them against one another, escaping by the skin of his teeth. It was not through clever scheming, calm insights, or trustworthy friends, no; he succeeded out of sheer desperation and the lengths he was willing to go to.

"He did eventually reach adulthood, becoming a skittish, terrified, and cautious man. He never relaxed, always preparing for the next attempt on his life, and there always was one, so he was never wrong in his thinking.

"Until he was.

"He became a powerful mage, usurped his fathers throne, and lived well for a time, but he never relaxed, always becoming stronger. Almost fifty years after his birth, he succeeded in achieving Godhood, and was welcomed into the arms of his planet's pantheon as the God of Desperation, yet he still believed he would soon be killed, now by his fellow Gods.

"He plotted and planned, built followers, and killed all other Gods on his planet, then launched a massively successful conquest for only one reason: to eliminate all threats to himself.

"Some weaker Gods rallied behind him, but most sought to crush him- a foolish endeavor. They cornered him. The opposing pantheons cornered the God of Desperation, and he eviscerated them.

"Still, he never touched the mortal worlds or attempted to genocide the people, so the Champions never stepped in to end him. When his war was won, he felt a touch upon his soul. Something more. Something further, and he realized Godhood was not the final stage. If he'd done research as others might have with his resources, he would have seen this sooner… but he was never a smart man, merely a desperate one. He knew everything needed to take just one more step forward, without ever raising his eyes to plan the one after.

"Rather than be relieved that he'd hit the final wall, he knew terror once more. He told his allies he needed to go further that very moment, because there were surely those who'd surpassed him around the multiverse as well. He… did not understand what an Ascender was, and he never asked, not trusting the words of anyone else. All he knew was that his next step was to be his most desperate of all.

"Truthfully, this should have been where his journey ended. He was the strongest a God could become, and any who could corner him would be fought off by his Desperation. He never would have been truly desperate again, never would have understood what it means to be his domain, but he lived up to the power. When he found the next part would not be easy, he returned home for the first time in two decades- as that is how long the war took. An unfathomably short time for such an event.

"Around seventy by this point, he did something we still do not understand to this day…"

"He cracked the coffin," Dei finished.

"Indeed," The Champion spoke with grim resolution. "Believed to be an impossibility, he somehow managed to achieve what was thought could not be done; it was not much, just the barest of fractures upon its surface, but that was enough. The First Titan reached out, giving him exactly what he needed.

"May I ask, how much do you know of the First Titan?"

"Of course, and honestly? Not much. I know his name, and his…" Dei's brain automatically ended the thought, scrambling the sentence "Family's name, Lox, and potentially who Okrin originated from." Instead, he skipped right over it. "...Nothing. I know simply that he is the first Titan, but I don't really know how."

The Champion clearly assessed him for a second, but made no comment on what he doubtlessly felt happen through their mental bond. "The First Titan rose in what some might call a horrific way- draining the life out of the Primordial by integrating his flesh into its own, turning himself into something more. This is how Titans were created, and why they hold every affinity, because they each carry a piece of the First Titan's flesh, who carries a piece of the Primordial.

"His presence births chaos, and Edit filters this into a form usable to most life- True Mana, that which holds all affinities as well. It could be said that True Mana is a Titan all on its own, as it is born of the First Titan's presence and is filtered of chaos, a Titan by definition. The only reason it isn't called such is because it is too diffused with the environment and mindless."

"I see…" Dei replied quietly, "And this is what Toki did as well? He followed the First Titans example, but instead of integrating with the Primordial's flesh, he integrated with something else- another half-step being. The only other half-step being he knew, The System."

"Yes. Systems exist in a state half between Ascension and reality, much like Toki himself, except their positioning is fixed in place by the Ascender energy pouring down into them from above. Toki used the exact same ritual as the First Titan, pouring himself into The System and beginning the process of draining the energy sustaining it. It was… was…"

Dei felt grief pierce the bond in The Champion's silence.

"It was not fast. Nor was it painless. All System-touched heard it the moment he began- screams. Screams emanating from our Statuses, our notifications, our souls. Immediately, every Champion mobilized. Thousands fell upon his location, clawing at his body halfway outside of reality, but a battle of desperation was his entire existence. In his pseudo-intangible state, he grew only more powerful. I spoke harshly of the pantheons cornering Desperation, but ultimately, we erred all the same. What else could be done? We simply believed it would be different because we were Champions.

"For eighty long years, every Champion harried him, doing everything they could to wipe that stain away, to erase his very soul. Despite our power, he was skilled not in winning, but surviving. He ran, evaded, and hid when possible. It was believed he would succeed until one day it just… stopped.

"It would've taken a hundred and fifty to complete the process, so those of us not directly near him were hopeful he'd perished for barely a moment- then the System went away, and we knew fear."

The Champion shivered, brought back to a dark time in his life. Dei stayed silent, as it felt disrespectful to do anything else.

"Everything cracked, forces snapped into their natural positionings, and ninety percent of this section of the multiverse was simply erased. Thousands of universes, gone in less than a blink. It was worse than the worst-case scenario anyone had ever imagined, as the abrupt interruption of all balancing processes broke everything. It was believed that The System would ease the multiverse into its absence, but we did not have the courtesy. Hundreds of trillions of Sapients, gone. Quadrillions upon quadrillions of souls, snuffed out."

'This is the other side…' Dei realized. 'The System, the one I happened into? It caused this. THIS is why System X0 did not want to be saved, because so many would perish for the barest chance for it to live. Despite the cost though… the System of the quarantine still took that deal. An unreasonable, irreparably damaging deal, but one that it clearly does not regret.

'I didn't understand until now why System X0 would rather die painfully than be saved, but when put like this? It's the morally right choice.

'Yet still… I would've made the same decision in the quarantine System's position. I wouldn't want my best friend, potentially lover, to die slowly and horrifically in front of me… I wouldn't be able to handle it. I'd go insane.'

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

It was selfish and sad, but a number couldn't be placed on the person you love the most; its mortal emotions must've completely overwhelmed its robotic sensibilities.

Pushed to the limit, even a System would lash out.

"Despite what we first imagined, though, Toki did not succeed. Something happened, something nobody has ever figured out, and the System was removed before he finished the process. We were hopeful that an Ascender had perhaps managed to reach in and save it but… no. It never came back. It truly is dead. Now without his source of power, Toki was set upon with double the fury of every Champion, the bringer of the worst genocide ever recorded. Most Champions were now without even a world to go back to, and in their grieving rage, they burned their souls for the chance to kill him… after all, there was nothing waiting for them anymore. They had no purpose any l-lo-longe-"

The Champion choked up and went quiet again as minutes passed.

"They failed and Toki Ascended," he said with such finality that Dei knew he would say no more on the topic. He'd drawn it out as long as he could stand it, but the grief of both losing his fellow selves and the lives of their planets was too much to relive for long.

The Champion left the bond open, and Dei said nothing in words, simply sending feelings of understanding and comfort to him. Even Perumah interceded into their connection, no doubt listening to it all through Dei, specifically to bring her sympathies as well.

* * *

"Ask the next Champion what a Parasitic Ascender is," The Champion finally broke the silence. "It will finish the story and tell you the effects of Toki's action."

"There are different kinds of Ascenders?" Dei asked.

"Yes."

Dei didn't push anymore, as this Champion didn't want to speak any longer. "Thank you," he said, grateful The Champion gave him a way to get the ending of the story.

He really was a respectable and considerate Dragon, even for things Dei didn't necessarily have a right to know.

"I thank you for sitting with me, but you must continue your journey now."

"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly. He always felt so awkward leaving someone behind to stew in their sadness. It felt like he was abandoning them when they needed help.

The Champion laughed quietly, "Yes, thank you. I would prefer time to think alone anyway."

"Okay… if that's what you want. I will do everything I can to seal the First Titan once more to take that weight off your mind."

"Do not worry about me little one, I am far from the epicenter, but thank you. Even if I will not personally suffer, I would feel at ease knowing the people near that monster are given safety."

With a bit more assurance that he'd be okay if they left, Dei reluctantly stepped through the portal to head to the next universe.

* * *

Feeling as Dei left his range, The Champion sighed. "I really am getting old if mortals have to worry about me now."

Looking through the white gateway he guarded, he saw the ceiling of it all, and shook his head.

His other half paused its studious meditation briefly to laugh at him, and he smiled.

"The more it changes, the more it stays the same."

* * *

Dei briefly introduced himself to the new version of The Champion, told it of his original purpose then clarified that his goals had changed from donations to sealing away the First Titan again, and asked the question he needed to know.

"The last Champion and I talked for a while about the First Titan and how this all started, but he, uh, asked me to get you to finish the story, so is there any way I could convince you to tell me what exactly a Parasitic Ascender is?"

"Mm, yes, I can see how that story might put one in a ponderous mood. A Parasitic Ascender is any that has matured its domain through trickery or wrong methods, as these tend to be… well… parasitic. The only way to do this is to usurp the path up of another, and the result is… lackluster compared to what should be. How much do you know of Ascenders?"

"That they leave their domains behind to create affinities?" He posed his theory.

"Is that a question or answer?"

"A highly educated guess, I suppose."

"I see. Well, it is not entirely inaccurate. Speaking in this as a term, it should be noted that almost all affinities are connected, they exist on a "Tree" of sorts, linking to those that overlap with their domain. The issue with Parasitic Ascenders is that their domains are… incomplete. Without the true effort needed to raise themselves up, they become something lesser. They create a parasitic affinity, which are far less threatening than they sound. They function normally if earned, but do not fit properly against the other affinities. You are aware that there are Parent and Derivative affinities? Parasitic affinities do not have either, they are completely standalone; because of this, they are significantly harder to earn. On top of this, regular affinities tend to take anyone who would earn a parasitic affinity, because they have more support and power to offer.

Let us take the Desperation affinity which we speak of now. Tell me, if a Sapient were to enter the direest of straits, an utterly hopeless situation with no solution. Tell me, which affinity might their soul naturally reach out to?"

He knew he would be wrong, but he couldn't help saying "Desperation?"

"No, Sacrifice. This is because Sacrifice is on their natural chart of abilities and closely related to their situation, as those in moments of terror are oftentimes willing to give anything to reach their goal, be it victory or survival. And when they aren't? If someone is absolutely unwilling to give up anything, but still wants victory? Well, at that point they are delusional, so they instead reach for the Madness affinity. This means Desperation is at an absolute disadvantage when spreading its message, limiting its influence. Even those not directly related to Madness or Sacrifice will still have an easier time reaching for those two, as they are actually on the chart for natural affinities. On top of all of this? Systems do not accept dealings of parasitic affinities: they reject all contracts from them and prevent all within their space from contacting parasitic affinities without breaking their bounds."

Dei nodded thoughtfully, seeing how this would doom any affinity, which made him ask another question: "Does limiting the influence of an affinity weaken it? Like, will it become more scarce even in places it's allowed simply because it doesn't have the power to latch on to many people?"

"That would be telling, which is generally frowned upon in the divine world. It is a good question, but I will leave this for you to discover."

"Gotcha. Well, thank you for telling me the story, but I should head out as I want this to be over and done with soon."

"Very well then, I will not hold you. Please be safe in your travels, as I do not wish for that monster to escape… no matter how brief his freedom might be, it will be disastrous."

They stepped out and went to the next universe, where Dei immediately tried to trick The Champion as he finished his introduction, almost word for word as the last one.

"The last Champion and I talked for a while about the First Titan and how this all started, but he asked me to get you to finish the story, so is there any way I could convince you to tell me if parasitic affinities can actually spread around easily, or if they struggle to get users far more than they normally would. Like, I know it's harder for them to form a connection with people because they aren't on the affinity tree, but is it also harder because they have less power to work with?"

The idea was simple: the last one believed him at his word, so this one probably would too. To ensure nothing went awry and no part of his body could be read to root out his falsehood, Dei also extracted that lie from his head, sectioning it off into a mini-intelligence that kept track of what the truth was. The majority of himself, around 99.9%, believed it to be the truth, including every portion communicating with The Champion and his body, but there was just a kernel within him that knew it wasn't real.

It worked.

"Mm, yes, I can see how that story might put one in a ponderous mood. Without many hosts within reality, parasitic affinities do struggle to earn any more. While it's impossible to completely cut off an affinity from reality, there are ways to make them harder to earn or suppress them."

"Such as The Dream and the Dream affinity? I…" he almost said "Removed The Dream from a world" then realized The Mother of this planet would go berserk if she heard that, so he thought better of it. "...know The Dream is some construct that could theoretically be destroyed. If that happened, would the Dream affinity cease to exist without structure?"

"Not quite. Even if The Dream were to be destroyed, the idea of dreams would still exist, as it's impossible to completely remove a concept. Instead, it would change utility to match its environment. Rather than linking up to some massive network, a Dream affinity lacking The Dream would focus instead on personal improvement, becoming a training chamber for its user of the utmost utility, such as providing extremely accelerated time. Without The Dream to help regulate a Dream affinity user's power, they would gain unlimited control over their resting mind, potentially living centuries in a personal paradise every night… so long as it is within their biological bounds and their connection to the Dream affinity is strong enough."

"That… sounds incredible! What is…" 'The easiest way to earn the Dream affinity without actually having a Dream. Dammit, I can't say that! It's so incriminating! Ah, well, this shouldn't be a question for a Champion anyway, as I feel like I could just learn this through reading about the Dream affinity in quarantine. Okay, time to go.'

"Nevermind, I think I should keep moving. I probably won't see you again, so bye."

The Champion seemed confused at the abrupt ending to their conversation but shrugged, "Very well. Goodbye."

Through the portal he went again, and into the next universe he quickly moved.

It was here, three worlds away from the one that originally warned him, where Dei found his first version of The Champion that felt threatened.

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