The darkness breathed around him, pressing close. Sol lost all sense of direction. He was drifting in the void. Harsh, angry voices echoed into the emptiness—voices he sensed he should recognize them, but he couldn't place when, where, or even who was speaking. The memories did not exist, but the fear and pain their words triggered inside of him felt real.

Active the sigil, or Renden will pay for your disobedience.

I have no need for him to reopen the nexus—he is the nexus.

Yes, Connect. Connect, little Novae, and feed us. For we. Are. Hungry.

Do whatever it takes to save us, Ris. Do it now.

That voice. That last one was Ion's. Sol might not remember this brother of his, but it was the same tenor of inflection that came out of the replica of Ion that haunted him in Talward's prison. But why was Ion calling him Ris? Wasn't that what Xi called him that when they had first met?

Focusing on Ion's voice brought him to life. His brother's heavy hands pressed into Sol's shoulders. Ion bent down from his taller height to look Sol in the eyes. Intensity poured out of him as he said, "You are more than Sol. You are also Ris. A Really Important System."

Confidence. Expectation. Pride. So many emotions swelled in Sol's heart. It was hard to breathe around it all.

Ion pressed hard upon Sol's smaller frame. His strong fingers dug into his Sol's tender flesh as command poured out of Ion. "Connect with the Unseen Web."

That word again: Unseen Web. Sol didn't understand if this was memory or reality or delusion, but he asked anyway. "What's the Unseen Web?"

Ion evaporated like mist breaking apart when the sun rises, heating the cold ground. But another presence stepped into the void to replace him. It was the Greyman.

"This is the Unseen Web in its blank mode," he said. "I'm not sure if it's a place or a reality—probably something beyond our grasp to understand, but for those who can find their way here, to allows a person to erect constructs, create systems, and interact with entities without the normal restrictions and limitations that distance and time puts upon us. It is not something one can explain, only experience."

The Greyman stretched out his hand and unclenched his fist to release a dark ball. It hovered several inches above his upraised palm, spinning in a lopsided orbit. "I am honored to be chosen as part of your system, but," a sly grin tugged on his lips as he cocked an eyebrow, "you are aware Pluto isn't a recognized planet, right?"

Systems? Planets? Sol stepped closer to the Greyman, thoughts swirling faster than the object between them. He plucked the ball out of the air. It was heavy for such a tiny thing, pitted and icy cold. "I don't understand."

The Greyman chuckled. He stepped around Sol and whispered in his ear. "Pluto. A dwarf planet, briefly part of Earth's Solar System until they kicked it. A daring little guy who teases fate by breaking through the other planet's orbits, yet never colliding with them as it draws as close as it can to the Sun before shooting off into the cold abyss."

Sol released the planet, and it spun off. Light appeared below his feet, spreading out and illuminating the darkness. Other planets materialized, moving around him yet locked in their orbits—always staying the same distance away except for the rebellious Pluto with its extreme eccentricity.

"This isn't Terra's Solar System," Sol said.

"Your brother had a twisted humor. He taught you Earth's system to confuse you, but, like many things in Ion's life, it backfired. The knowledge became your strength instead of your weakness."

A toddler appeared next to Sol. He sitting on the ground and hunched over a large piece of paper, drawing and humming to himself. "Soolllaaarrr," he said, coloring the big circle in the center a bright yellow. Other circles had been drawn and colored already, spread across the page. Slowly, he sounded out more letters as he wrote his name on the top. "R. I. S. Ris. Solaris. I am Solar and Ris. Ris means a really important system. The Solar System!" A huge grin beamed out from him as he looked at the childish masterpiece.

"Come," the Greyman said, tugging on Sol's arm. "We should go."

Sol focused on the alien as he remembered what started all of this. "Wait. The penalty."

"You've averted it." A smile flickered on the man's face before disappearing. "But I'm not sure if this alternate path you've set me on won't cost me more in the long run."

Before Sol could comment on that, the Greyman pulled hard, tilting Sol off balance.

Sol blinked. He was back on the roof as a wave of dizziness swept over him. He swayed to the side, catching himself. A wet sensation trickled down, touching his upper lip.

"Here." The Greyman offered Sol a square cloth.

He almost didn't take it, as its gray shade of coloring was something he had been taught to avoid. Then a splattered drop of red hit the ground. Sol touched the bottom of his nostrils. More bright red droplets stained the tips of his fingers. He gingerly accepted the Greyman's gift, wiping at the blood and then pressing the fabric against his nose.

The Greyman fastened his shirt and rose to his feet, brushing the dirt off of him. "This has been a profitable venture. Even if it took a tragedy to get my attention. My condolences, Speaker Justin, on the death of your son."

Justin moved fast, slamming the Greyman against one of the jutting peaks beside them. Sol scrambled up, his nosebleed forgotten. Common sense told him not to intervene as adrenaline shot through his body. He wasn't sure if he should run to get help or come to the alien's defense.

Justin's knuckles turned white from where his hand gripped the Greyman's shirt. "I have no surname, no family, and absolutely no son."

"You may deny your past, finding comfort in the rigid structure of your laws, but that does not alter reality. Your choices gave birth to Davyd, just as your choices sealed his death."

"Abnormal deviant." Justin slammed the Greyman's unresisting body into the wall again before releasing him.

"I prefer the term nonconformist."

Justin balled his fists, looking as if he would hit the alien next. "No wonder two children could trick you into an illegal contract. You disgrace your kind."

"So you were eavesdropping." The Greyman chuckled. "It's true, I'm the sort of man only his mother could love, but you're wrong if you think my function brings disgrace to my family."

Justin straightened his clothing and threw back his shoulders. "Your business here is concluded. Leave, or I'll take it as a violation of our treaty."

Sol took in a breath, shaky from the unexpected explosion of emotions from his mentor. He stayed still, not wanting Justin to lash out his frustrations at him next.

"Closed-minded Speaker. I'm not your enemy." The Greyman exhaled sharply out. "Fine." He bowed his head to Justin. "Adieu, Speaker of the Law."

He turned to face Sol. The frigid stare, the stiff posture—Sol had seen this before.

What? You already know what Ris means? Well, then I guess I'll tell you my title. I've never had a reason compelling enough to share it with a human before. Will that suffice instead?

"Adieu, Ris. Until your thirtieth year."

Though, for us, our titles become our names. I am Shinigami. I form contracts with those a breath away from death, which has caused a rumor to circulate that I'm an Eater of Souls, my family knows I serve to restore—not consume.

Sol offered a regal bow of his own. "Adieu, Shinigami. Try not to be late next time."

The Greyman paused. A half smile twisted his lips. "I will do my best." He stepped over the railing and then took another step into thin air, plummeting off the side of the building.

Sol wanted to rush to the edge to see if the man would be a smear on the ground, but he sensed Justin was waiting for him to do just that. To give him an opening to degrade Sol and his ignorance. Instead, Sol headed for the exit, blotting at his nose.

"Why did you call him that—Shinigami?"

Sol paused halfway over the threshold, a hand braced on the doorway. "It's his name. The Academy taught us to be courteous to a Greyman. Even if we find ourselves needing to slice their throat, we should do so with the utmost respect."

Justin laughed. "That sounded like Cornelius. He had such an odd sense of humor."

Sol let out a sigh, relieved that the tension had dissipated. It would be an easier walk back if his teacher's temper wasn't on a tight trigger. But, truth be told, even though this encounter had churned up more information on what had happened that horrid day, it only gave him more questions.

This wasn't the first time someone had mentioned Ris as his title. He didn't know if he should be concerned that he heard it first from an alien king and now a Greyman. Nor if he should trust the half-memory of Ion explaining what it meant. So much of his childhood had become forgotten. Just what had Ion done to him?

And did he even want to find out?