The fire crackled, a small point of defiant warmth in the oppressive cold of the cave. We ate the bland, salted rations in a heavy silence, the only sounds the scrape of utensils and the distant roar of the sea. The shared trauma was a fourth person at our meager meal, a ghost that sat between us, chilling the air more than the wind ever could.

  Once the meal was over, I knew I could no longer delay the conversation. Bob and Patricia were my retainers, but Kaelus was my brother. He deserved the whole truth. I beckoned him to a more secluded corner of the cave, away from the flickering firelight.

  Explain, brother, Kaelus projected, his mental voice a low, insistent rumble. Explain the lady in your mind.

  So I did. I opened the floodgates, letting the story of my past life pour into our shared consciousness. I told him of Earth, a world of metal and science without a drop of mana. I told him of the orphanage, of the soul-crushing grind of college, of a life spent utterly alone, fighting for every scrap. I explained the World System’s error, the deal I was offered, and the choice that led my soul to be implanted into a newborn baby, my memories a secret cargo I carried into this new world.

  “The baby born to Seraphine and Kaelen Wight… that was me,” I whispered aloud, the admission feeling strangely freeing. “The only difference is, I remember everything that came before.”

  Kaelus was silent for a long moment, processing the impossible truth. He then nudged his starlit, draconic head against my neck, a gesture of profound and simple acceptance.

  Brother is brother, he projected, his tone unwavering. Past or present, it does not matter.

  A wave of warmth, the first I’d felt since the news broke, spread through my chest. I gently petted his head, my hand stroking his impossibly smooth scales.

  Tes, I thought, bringing her into the conversation, from now on, you will cooperate fully with Kaelus. If he needs information or assistance, you will provide it.

  [Acknowledged, Master,] Tes replied. [May I make a proposal? With my direct oversight and access to his draconic physiology, I can optimize Lord Kaelus's physical growth and mana development. There is a 93.2% probability he will mature into the most powerful Dragon King in recorded history.]

  Kaelus, now a silent listener in my mind, didn’t hesitate. Yes! he projected with the unrestrained eagerness of a child offered the world’s greatest toy.

  I reiterated the absolute need for secrecy to them both. Kaelus promised, but some of his subsequent questions to Tes were… unsettling. They were too insightful, too specific, as if he possessed some outside context.

  Show me the currency of my brother’s old world, he demanded of Tes.

  An image of a crisp hundred-dollar bill appeared in our shared mind-space. Kaelus let out a draconic snort of pure disdain. Paper? What a joke. No wonder they never realized my brother’s greatness. Their entire system of value was a flimsy illusion.

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

  I sighed. I missed the quiet calm of having only one other consciousness in my head. I tried to tune out their absurd, budding partnership and focused on the work at hand.

  I walked to the back of the cave, drew my Plasma Katana, and activated the blade with its signature VWOOM. The azure light filled the cavern as I carved a perfectly flat, doorway-sized section into the rough stone wall.

  We set up the folded frame. I placed my hand on it, and the portal shimmered into existence. Bob and Patricia watched, their expressions a mixture of exhaustion and awe, as the first automaton stepped through.

  The Mark III, my engineering unit, walked out with a low hum of servos, its metallic feet clanking on the stone floor. It was followed by the sleek Mark VI and the heavily-armored Mark II. They moved not like this world’s clumsy, lumbering golems, but with a fluid, purpose-driven grace that was both beautiful and terrifying.

  “It’s one thing to see you summon them, Master,” Bob breathed. “It’s another to see them move on their own.”

  “They aren’t golems,” I said, my voice hard. “Golems are puppets of stone and crude magic. These are… Automata. My automata are not in the same category.”

  I turned to Bob. “Mark II is for you.” I gestured to the hulking suit. “But first, take off your armor. The crest of House Wight is too recognizable. It belongs to a life that is now over.”

  Bob froze, his hand instinctively going to the dragon insignia on his breastplate. For a moment, he hesitated. That steel was his identity, his oath made manifest. With a heavy sigh, he began unlatching the buckles. Piece by piece, the polished plate mail of the Dragon Knights of Wight clattered onto the cavern floor, a monument to a fallen house. Stripped down to his simple under-padding, he stood vulnerable before the towering machine.

  “It’s a manual interface,” I said, my tone softer. “Get in.”

  He climbed inside, and the automaton’s armor sealed around him with a series of heavy, satisfying clunks.

  “Patricia, the Mark VI is yours.” The sleek, agile suit opened for her. “We need to hide our identities. New aliases, until we reach the Obsidian Dominion. I will be ‘Leo.’ You two can choose your own names.”

  Once they were sealed inside their new shells, the Mark III, controlled remotely by Tes, walked over. A slot opened in its chest, and a tightly rolled scroll of treated, dark leather emerged. It handed the scroll to me. As I unrolled it on a flat rock, glowing azure lines burned themselves onto the surface, forming a complex and detailed blueprint. Let them think Tes was merely an advanced control system, I thought. Her true nature as a world-system AI was my ultimate trump card, a secret known only to me... and now, to Kaelus. To everyone else, these are just incredibly advanced machines.

  “This is a blueprint for a submersible vessel,” I explained, my voice betraying none of my inner thoughts. “It requires a dungeon core for a power source, which we will acquire. But first, we need materials and information.”

  I opened a small, reinforced pouch from my belt. Inside, fifty royal gold coins gleamed in the firelight my entire emergency fund. Tes ran the cost analysis for initial material acquisition and intel network setup. After a moment of calculation, I handed thirty coins to Bob and twenty to Patricia.

  “Bob, you will purchase the materials. I need iron, copper, and any refined alloys you can acquire without raising suspicion. Your new suit has enhanced strength; carry the materials yourself. It will be faster.”

  I looked at both of them, their armored forms now completely concealing their identities. “If anyone asks about the armor, you were both caught in an attack by a magical fire beast. Your bodies were burned beyond recognition. This enchanted armor is the only thing keeping you alive. It is your life support.”

  The lie was grim, but believable. A story of tragedy that would garner pity, not suspicion.

  “Patricia,” I continued, my voice leaving no room for argument. “Take this gold and hire people. Mercenaries, informants, merchants down on their luck. I don't care who, as long as they are discreet. I want an information network established on this coast before we leave. I trust your judgment. You can feel the truth in the shadows, the rot of a lie. Use your skills to find those who can be bought, and those who can be trusted. Your eyes and ears will be more reliable than any machine I could build for this task.”

  I turned and walked back into the glowing portal of my workshop, picking up the spare parts I’d need. “I’m going to build more engineers.”