Wolf

The first thing I see when I enter the Executive Stream with Sapphire is the sight of both Diane and Talroth glaring at each other. There isn’t anyone else in the room. No other Administrators, nor any Moderators.

I frown at the sight before glancing at Sapphire who is now standing next to me. Only to turn my attention back to the two Administrators as they turn theirs to me, their scowls disappearing at the same time.

Interesting.

“Wolf!” Diane shouts, a smile showing on her face, and for some reason I can’t help but get the feeling that she wants to go hug me and Sapphire but is stopping herself. “We saw your trip through the haunted house! Nice job!”

I nod my head at her praise, slightly confused as to why she thinks that’s much of an accomplishment that she should be complimented.

Talroth for some odd reason bows to me, making my eyes go wide in surprise. The bow isn’t too deep, but it’s certainly there. But what surprises me even more is the words he speaks along with the bow.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, your highness.”

I turn to look at Diane, hoping to find an explanation for his words, only to find her surprised as well before I turn back to the devourer.

“We were just discussing the progenitors,” Talroth continues, sending a brief yet very noticeable glare towards my adoptive mother.

Diane returns the glare as she explains, “Yes, and he wouldn’t agree to share the details of the progenitors with anyone but you.”

Oh. That would explain why she wanted me to come as soon as possible.

Wait, does that mean they’ve been sitting here since?

I glance at Talroth to see if he’s annoyed by having to wait for me or not, but there doesn’t seem to be any irritation there. At least, none directed towards me. If anything, he actually seems to respect me.

For what reason that is, there could be many. The Reaper being my ancestor being one of them, and my journey through the Administrator Dungeon another.

“There is no reason for me to tell any of you about my master and others like him,” Talroth explains his reasoning before focusing solely on me, as if Diane weren’t in the room, “his highness on the other hand is related to the esteemed one and should know of his own origins.”

That makes sense. Even if he is being rude to the other Administrators.

Then again, if I remember correctly, wasn’t he one of the most powerful Administrators, with the only one who could compare being Tiamat? Well, and Titania. But how the hell she became an Administrator in the first place is beyond me when she and The Reaper are both progenitors and at odds.

Maybe I can ask Talroth that after he explains progenitors?

That aside, I’m pretty sure Diane doesn’t like him calling me ‘his highness’. Assuming the twitching of her eye every time he says it is anything to go off of.

Which makes some sense, considering that I’m technically the crown prince of the Grand Werewolf Empire that I’ve never even seen.

Who would want their crown prince to also be considered a prince of another group?

“To start things off,” Talroth says, still focusing solely on me with an emotionless tone of voice and expression that honestly sends a shiver down my spine, “explain to me what you know of the progenitors.”

I frown at that before answering, “I don’t know much about them. Just that the term progenitor itself means the origin of something. At least, it does in English, which is the language spoken on Earth. So if I had to guess, then each progenitor is the origin of an element? And The Reaper is the origin of the void?”

My rather lacking answer surprisingly doesn’t seem to bother the devourer in the least. In fact, he actually seems pleased as he glances at Diane with a slightly approving expression.

“Good to see that you haven’t gone about telling everyone, but you shouldn’t have worried about telling your own adopted son about what I’ve already explained,” he says with a nod as if looking down on Diane. And Diane clearly doesn’t like it considering the constant twitching of her eyebrows.

Not that the devourer seems to care, considering that he immediately turns to me again and starts talking without even giving her a chance to say anything, “To start off, progenitors are born at the dawn of creation. At the dawn of time itself. They are meant as a sort of physical embodiment and guide for their elements. Beyond that, however, no one actually knows the true purpose of why they were born. Just that they’re nearly immortal, with their bodies being split between their own realms and their physical form.”

My eyebrows rise at that.

“Your adoptive mother can explain more on that front,” he says, not even bothering to hid the spite he puts in the term ‘adoptive’, showing just how he feels about me having been adopted by her. “For years the progenitors ruled over the mortal plane. Years spent politicking amongst themselves, using the mortals as pawns. But that all came crashing down during the Progenitor Wars, started by the Progenitor of Radiance.”

Wait, Titania?

Talroth seems to read my mind and gives me a nod, “Yes. Titania – that damned insect – started a war against his excellency due to her drive.”

My brows furrow in confusion at that statement, and out of the corner of my eye I can tell Diane doesn’t understand his meaning any better than I do.

“A progenitor’s life will never come to an end unless both they and their realm are destroyed, meaning that they are the closest things in existence to immortals. But that life is incredibly long, and over the years, will get boring,” Talroth explains, noticing my confusion. “So most of the progenitors clung on to an ideal. A way of life. One that they could drive themselves towards.”

“An… ideal?” I ask for the first time in the lecture that he’s giving me.

“Yes, an ideal,” Talroth nods, “which in his excellency’s case, is his drive towards chaos and entertainment.”

I blink in surprise at that.

Okay. That would certainly explain the System.

“And in the pathetic insect’s case?” Talroth continues, once again showing his blunt attitude that I’ve seen so far towards things other than void creatures. “Her drive is law and order. The complete opposite of his excellency.”

Oh.