Piper Wright. Reporter. Publisher. Friend. What brings me to her bedroom? Just a usual night out on the lash. I simply drank too much and woke up here in bed the next morning. Nothing went down until the next hour. She had a nasty idea, and after I explained my predicament, we sealed the deal.

For her caring nature and hospitality, I owed her my life or at least a great deal of it. She didn't want money, bless her, she wanted an interview. I gave her answers to five and only five questions about me or the N.C.R., and I swore on my son's life that I would tell the truth no matter what.

She made a good bargain with that, and the sex was just icing on the cake. That was just something she is known to do; I thought it was just a rumour at her expense. I was excited it wasn't. Guess she was willing to do anything for an interview...

I got wasted the night before and accidentally flirted with my daughter-in-law Cass, and she just gave me a right hook across the face. I didn't realise it was her until Piper fixed me back up. I haven't been single for a long time; I guess my womanising ways are a bit rusty.

That darn Cass; she came all this way for me. I suppose I missed her quite a bit. I was about four years ago I put my reflection into my office to carry on my duties while I went on my crusade to kill War and Conquest. That was all in the past now.

I suppose it was my fault when I told my reflection to stay away from the family and keep to N.C.R. business. That's another story, but long story short, I honourably discharged myself. Bless her, and the family for being so patient waiting for my sorry ass for all this time...

The next morning, Piper told me that Cass Courier Six needed to talk to me; apparently, it was urgent. Kept it simple. I have been slagging off my responsibilities, including my apprentice Lyannah. Piper never mentioned anything about a woman in black with Six; strange Lyannah isn't with him. They're usually inseparable.

Now that I'm back to perfect health, I was ready to accept visitors. There was a knock on the door downstairs, and I was anxious. What would I say? It was years since I've seen them, in person, at least. Piper came to me and said another woman was asking for me and asked to come inside. I had no idea who this stranger could be. Her name? Nuwa...

Sarkis had a friendly relationship with Nuwa ever since the first time we first met in 2000. It all started with getting my true name engraved on my heart, so that I would, thereby, own it. We stayed in touch as she did us a favour. Even went to a ball or two in those younger days, and boy, we danced the night away.

I personally met her when I was having marginal problems at home sometime in 2021. Sure, we exchanged a few words, but I stayed loyal to Claire, and she respected that since Sarkis was a part of me. We remained friends, despite knowing she was crushing on Sarkis at the time.

We've been aware of each other for a while, but after the Great War, I forced Sarkis into exile. I failed miserably that day and could never live it down, so doing that, we broke contact. Now she's here, and I'm honestly a bit anxious. Probably due to the fact her place in this universe was to educate, protect and shape humanity and I just royally fucked it up. Like, totally set humanity back a hundred years.

For two hundred-thousand years odd, the Mystics taught humanity things to help them evolve. How to do this, how to create that, etcetera. With my horrible choices during the Nexus Incident and the events before the Great War, she could simply be here to take me away to serve a more fitting punishment.

She, like all Mystics, are respected as Gods, while having their own agenda and politics. Since the Great War was partly my fault, I feel like I'm long overdue some form of retribution. Revenge isn't outside the Mystic way and could be a possibility. She could have easily gone to the Elder Gods to find my location to make me answer for my failures and questionable activities.

I don't really know any more than that. All I could do is sit in Piper's bed, terrified for what to come. The Three Sovereigns are some of the most highly regarded and fiercest Mystics I have ever heard of, and the scariest one of the three was downstairs.

Then the woman of the hour opens Piper's bedroom door and catches me in my weakest moment. There was no anger or joy from her, so it was hard to try to fathom what her motives were. I got out of bed, still in my boxers and moved away from her.

Then I saw something. I saw the way she sat on the bottom of the double bed. Single. Alone. Crying for help. The way I sat on that bridge in Dublin after Claire and I were temporarily separated. There was no moonlight or river to cement this solemn moment.

She needed someone to talk to like I did that time. If it was as bad as finding out the love of your life cheated on you, had an illegitimate child with a misunderstood killer of your closest friend and generally didn't tell you any of that until that said child you raised was dying… It must be a big one… I had to sit down and listen to her.

"Hello, Zachariah," she said quietly, "it's been too long."

"Yeah, over two hundred years. Now that's a long time not to see a friend." I couldn't look at her. I stared down her crossed legs; they were so beautiful. "Nuwa… I didn't think I would hear from you ever again since I last saw you. How are you doing?"

"I've got problems at work."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I wish I could help you, just not sure if I can."

"We'll get around to that in time, Zachariah. Right now, I just want to talk."

"What are you doing here?"

"We hadn't talked in a long time. I've meant to tell you that I understand what happened that day in 2077 with War."

War was gone. I couldn't care about her anymore. "What can I say? You can't win every time…"

"Sarkis wasn't there, was he?"

"The Nexus Incident made it impossible for Sarkis to fight… I was forced to fight on his behalf."

"Tragic..."

"How did you find me?"

"Your whereabouts slipped off the Elder Gods' tongue when I requested to see them. I've been in this pitiful country for days, and your aura was at its strongest point in this Wasteland."

"Why did you go to the Elder Gods for? It wasn't just to find me was it?"

"Not at first. I honestly didn't know you were alive until Jesus accidentally mentioned you, let's leave it at that. I came here to talk to Sarkis, but he did say he had to..." Nuwa sighed. "He's gone, isn't he?"

I nodded. "He's in Limbo right now. Jesus doesn't know what to do with him."

"Let's be happy we're still here in good health…" From the corner of my eye, I noticed she was looking at me. "How did you move on?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Since that day..."

"It was an emotional matter. I tried to be positive and..." I looked at her soft eyes. "I tried to just… make up for my misdeeds. Had to fight the crippling depression somehow, and I figured I still had a job to do."

"We all lost contact with you after War..."

"Glad I was convincing. It wasn't fun; it hurt a lot."

She nodded. "Going into exile was a bold move. Even I presumed you died."

"I did everything I could to make Sarkis and Zachariah appear to be dead on the same day the nukes went off."

"I cried myself to sleep that night I heard about you… You know I don't have many friends because of my stern attitude."

"Someone has to be, at least you're easy to talk to, can't say that about the other Mystics. Especially your brother."

"I thought we had something special. I would never have told anyone you were still alive. I could have helped you-"

"I wanted nothing holding me back while we lived in exile. It was my all my fault because I failed, and when I saw how low the world has sunk, I couldn't let it slide. I had to do something, and the N.C.R. was the only ones who could help me bring humanity back to its glory."

"It's not for the faint of heart, is it, Zachariah? Education. Learning. Shaping."

I smiled. "If I had to do that as long as you did, Nuwa, I'd sooner kill myself. There's only so many centuries of that shit a man my height and size could tolerate."

"Years of experience. You get around a few corners if you know what to do. Shame you don't learn that until the ten or twenty-thousand-year mark."

I nodded, looking around Piper's room. Plain walls. Desk and mirror. Nothing but silence, until I gingerly patted my thighs, thinking hard about what to say now.

"After all," she continued, "you had a family, always have. It's hard to juggle a family and have such a huge responsibility."

"I tried my best to make time."

"Even your own humanity vexed you…"

"What little of it I had. Two years..." I shook my head. "Hated it. I prefer it this way. It's who I am, virus 'n' all."

"Two more than I ever had."

For old time's sake, I put my hand on her shoulder. I gave her my kindest smile and glance I could. "Hey, come now, don't be like that. You've been around for thousands of years; you can't be all like that. It's not all that… Being human and…" I couldn't make any compelling arguments. "You know.." I lost my convincing smile.

"Go on."

"You've been around humans since their first day, Nuwa. You've seen them grow, thrive and create marvels. Where's the doubt coming from?"

"The empty feeling in myself. Despite everything I did, I'm never happy at the end of it. I am honour-bound to educate humanity, but after a while without any rewards, it's hard to find joy. When I look at the likes of you… I just have so much envy."

"You shouldn't… I'm not as wholesome as I used to be."

"You're not?"

"Nuwa, people change. I've done terrible things to stay alive, just to pay for the damage I done. I've failed so many times to defeat War. I handicapped humanity by killing House - to which I regret. I need yearly therapy. I'm a danger to the ones I love. I've been dishonest to the mother of my children, sure we're not together, but I'm setting a bad example. I've become a selfish, bitter man like my own father. The freedom I have right now is not worth the regrets I have to carry."

"I see… You're not the man I shared that moonlight with, but it's the fact you still try to take responsibility for your actions. That makes you the man you are today."

"Never knew I was held at that much esteem..."

"It's not even who or what you think you are. It's the little things like your family." She looked away down my legs. "Your children. I see your genuine love for them and… The inspiration I see in your affection fuels my own, only I feel it's not enough. I have more needs."

"Take it from me; it's you who should be the one inspiring people. You gave humanity their knowledge to be a dominant species that knows no limits."

"I don't see them the way you do..."

"Where's all this coming from?"

Nuwa perked herself up and looked me dead in the eye. Nuwa was a bit of a widow or a predator with that glare, but she wasn't pleased. "The Mystics found a world of war and suffering in the hands of a tyrant and the people there… I feel they don't trust me or my intentions." She paused, but I had nothing to say, so I let her go on. "I have their best interests at heart, and no one sees that because I'm too distant and sometimes too serious for them to handle. There's only one ambitious man I can relate to, and he's not the most righteous."

"You shouldn't let what others think about you get you down. You're a strong independent woman, sure you can be stern but who isn't? It's your livelihood. You live to serve and..." I don't know where I'm going with this.

"Shennong is busy undermining his potential, and Fu Xi is simply in love with himself. I feel like my shortcomings threaten my Sovereign status only because I let them. I feel like no one truly listens to me. I'm no one..."

"Y… You have an inferiority complex?"

I finally got a smile out of her. "Hadn't thought about that." Her hand waved low; then her smile was lost. "I worry Taigong Wang might surpass me, so I guess I do have one. My way of life is at risk because of these complicated feelings."

"You need some self-love. Don't stress yourself out-"

"They don't trust me." I wasn't sure if she was talking about her allies, she's one of the most prestigious and influential Mystics. "The humans are sceptical about me, and I don't know what more I can do."

"I've seen this before."

"You have?"

I nodded. "It's perfectly natural in a young person's life for them to feel inadequate and jealous of their friends and colleagues."

"How would you know that? Even I don't know that."

"When people waste their time comparing themselves to other people, they lose sight of their strengths, the sort of strengths that make them unique."

"Please explain..."

"It's how I, well, how Sarkis felt when he was still young. When he had to go up against the likes of Auditor or Phobos."

"You both were so young..."

I smiled. "We try not to set our peers too high. That's what I'm getting at. Going against powerful Gods isn't decided on who has the most strength, but it depends on the unexpected end of all battles. Never too late to learn that little lesson. Other than that, what's going on right now with you? Not like you to be like this."

She looked away from me. "I can't tell you that much, Zachariah," she said with a jagged tone. Her voice was breaking. "Sarkis, but not you..."

I put my hand on the side of her head and brought her closer to me. I kissed the side of her forehead. "You can tell me anything," I whispered in her ear, "Sarkis may not be here, but I am. He came from me."

"It's embarrassing."

"What's wrong? Don't you trust me?"

"I do," she whispered in return, "but my pride won't let me."

"Pride is your weakness, have you ever thought about just not being so… pompous?"

"You don't understand-"

"No, I don't. I'm only three hundred and nine, but I've been around humans long enough to understand the term humble."

"Maybe I could let myself down a bit; the damage to my pride can't be that bad. Guess I needed someone else other than my brother to say that."

"If it makes you feel better, I could tell you one of my secrets."

"I'm listening..."

"The secret I keep is… I… might be suicidal. On the one hand, I'm having the best time of my life sleeping with anyone I want whenever I want. The booze, freedom and drugs can be very fun to a single man; the fun I deserve after my servitude. But on the other hand, I'm so sick of it all. Rather die than live out my mundane life of settling for substance abuse. I know I promised I'd do what I can to restore the planet, but, as each day passes, I'm losing the confidence."

"Let it happen naturally-"

"The state I'm right now, though, I'm losing the enthusiasm to get out of bed. I'm losing the will to keep going... I don't know what I should do. Continue my bachelor life or just end it all. It's not enough to live; I want to rest in peace."

"That's… deep..."

"I'm more miserable now than I've ever been before... If I weren't fucked up banging a fit bird every night, I would blow my brains out right now." I scratched my chest; I shaved it recently, and it was irritating." On pen and paper, I have everything a man my age could want, but I've seen everything there is to see in life, and I just want it to be over. I cut myself to bleed out my sins sometimes, did you know that? It doesn't make me feel any better, nor does living. Once my looks begin to fade, I won't have anything left to enjoy…"

"Oh my goodness, that's just dark, Zachariah."

"We all have problems." I rubbed my head on hers and hummed. Her hair smelled great; it was lilac. "I've kept it all to myself, even my therapist. We just talk about my regrets in life and my emotions."

"What keeps you going?"

I smiled. Her naive quality was cute. "What doesn't keep a person going? Booze, drugs and women. Anything to feel alive and pass the time. That's why I've been screwing an awful lot recently. People worry that I'm just depressed because of recent events, but it's more of a scar that runs deep. I'm no different than a human, with simple needs. I just want to clock in, out and be left alone. Only enough to buy time with my work and hobbies."

"Humans and their alcohol."

"Do you trust me now?"