The room was quiet, calm in a way that only a place untouched by urgency could be. Its walls were washed in t shades of grey and cream, it gave off a warm and soft feeling.
No clutter disturbed the place, just an interactive board on one end, turning on softly, and Dario standing before it.
Corbin and Ruben sat on the polished wood floor with the stillness of students who hadn't quite figured out if they were in trouble or getting away with doing something wrong.
Dario's eyes swept over them before he began.
"Let's talk about Promises," he said.
His voice didn't rise. The board lit up behind him in soft white arcs and branching diagrams that reacted to his touch.
"Promises," he continued, "are like conditional contracts made by Ego-users. They are self imposed. You craft a rule you bind yourself to in exchange for something greater. The harsher the restriction the more powerful the return. Like pulling the bowstring before letting off the arrow."
The analogy made it easy for the two boys to connect the dots, not that they were struggling with the concept.
"They're permanent. You break one and you pay."
He paused to let the weight of that settle, arms unfolding as he approached the board and tapped a rune with the back of his knuckles.
"There are two kinds. Personal, which you make alone. And then there are shared ones, they are forged between other ego-users with full awareness and consent."
The boys listened with great interest, it was like they were in a trance.
Ruben kneeled forward with his elbows on his knees, while Corbin sat back. Dario watched before adding more.
"I've never told anyone this, and honestly no one needs to know of the conditions you place on yourself or your ego but I will tell you both mine." He seems a little giddy and excited to get it out.
"It's quite simple. And because of how simple it is it allows for me to detect anyone with any bad intent within a certain radius of me and tag them with a special rune. Once tagged, I can detonate them. I can walk into a room filled with people who want me dead and walk out before anyone has even made their move."
"How fast do the runes move?" Ruben asked.
"They don't travel." Was his response.
Corbin's jaw tightened. Ruben nodded slowly, eyes flicking to his friend. A thin sheen of sweat had broken across Corbin's brow.
The gap only seemed to get wider.
"Sounds small doesn't it?" Dario mused. "Just a small tag. But it's the detonations that matter. I can adjust the yield." His eyes were colder now, but touched by a past memory.
"I want that." Corbin said. "I want that level of power."
Dario smiled lightly. "You don't need a promise, Corbin. Your Ego's already shackled to its own rules."
Corbin looked confused a little. Or maybe it was a look of defiance, as if testing Dario.
Dario gave reasoning though. "Promises are for people who need a lever. You're already a bartering ram."
He turned to Ruben with a softer voice. "You though. You should think on it more and decide which direction you want to move in."
Ruben swallowed, it felt like some big expectation to make him really Proud. He just hopes he can make the right choice.
He the. Looks to Dario again and asks him… "what about your explosions? The ones too close to you. Doesn't it hurt you too?"
Dario's grin returned. "I'm blast proof."
The boys both blinked. Corbin leaned forward as he asked Dario if that is a second Ego.
"No," Dario said tapping his chest. "It's my Edge."
Ella had explained it to them all in that big room already. But from their understanding, and Edge is a percentage that explains the refinement of their Ego as well as their physical data.
"Many people don't make it past the mid fifties when it comes to that." Dario said. "But something tangible can form from an Edge. It's like a trait that matches your Ego. For those that have it, their Edge is usually above 65 percent."
Corbin's fists curled slightly. "How long does that take?"
Dario picked his ear as he thought. It was disgusting to see, and hear. The scraping of it sounded nasty too.
"That's not easy to tell." He still got around to answering. "There's no set time limit. Just know that a lot of usage comes with it as well as just overall fighting experience."
He walked to the edge of the chair again, then paused, scratching his head with a groan. "Damn, I feel like I'm forgetting something.."
Ruben and Corbin glanced at each other. The was surprisingly human. They enjoyed it, being away from the mysticism and godhood Dario's name carried, even though they were right in front of him.
"You're the strongest guy on the planet," Corbin deadpanned. "Shouldn't you be prepared?"
Dario pointed at him. "I was winging it." Then his eyes lit up. "Ah… Ego tools."
He returned to the board and pulled up a new diagram.
"Not really separate from Egos. They are awakened in the same way, but it's more like wielding the effect you have been granted then projecting it."
He drew a picture of a scythe, then a key.
"The first confirmed Ego tool appeared almost two centuries after the first documented Ego. And currently the warlord in the southern nation of Albion is the only warlord to ever be one with a tool. He continues to break records."
Ruben documented that for later as he had something else to ask Dario instead.
"What about runes? Like from the trials?"
Dario tilted his head. "Ah, runes." He scratched his beard. "A whole other sector of knowledge that is versatile. But we don't have much time to break that down today. But I will say that they are the most feasible way in breaking out of Game Egos."
There was a silence that followed but Ruben felt that something so important should be learned by both him and Corbin because even though Game egos are supposedly rare, they have been caught in two already.
But taking another look at Dario's face they could both see him in a completely different light.
Like he was older. And he was old already but he seemed to wither, if that made any sense. He was burdened.
"I can't tell you guys everything," he said quietly. "Things are… accelerating. And there's too much I haven't prepared you for. But I can tell you this…" He paused, eyes dropping for a moment before rising again. "I'm sorry."
Both boys blinked. Ruben's lips parted slightly. Corbin's expression stiffened.
"I'm sorry," Dario said again, softer. "For dragging you into this. For giving you something to believe in and then forcing you into a war that started long before you were even born. Your lives are only going to get harder. And that's my fault."
The feeling the two boys were feeling was akin to being a child and seeing your parents look distressed and fearful for the first time. Your tummy starts to ache, you feel jitters all over your body and you just can't tell what's coming next.
"It doesn't matter," Corbin said flatly. "You took us in even when you didn't have to."
Ruben nodded. "You gave us food. Shelter. You watched over us even when you didn't know who we were."
The two were grateful. And they always would be.
Dario's face twitched. He drew a long breath, held it, then let it go.
"No matter what happens," he said, voice like iron beneath cloth. "You stick together. You protect each other. That's the only role that matters."
Both boys nodded without hesitation. Without words.
Then Corbin's tone turned sharp again. "But why are you so worried? You're still the number one guy. You're strong, respected and have so much influence."
Dario held up a hand.
"Some people have been planning my fall since before you were born," he said. "They're only putting they're finally phase of attack into action now because they think they can win."
And then came his smile. Not the usually arrogant one. This one was all teeth.
"In the end I'll still come out on top." He said.
There was a second of silence before he continued by saying,
"But there are crimes that you can never run from."