Eithan had been thinking.

There weren't many problems that made the eighth Judge of the Abidan scratch his head so frequently – metaphorically speaking of course, his hair would stay perfect – but this particular problem had him wondering if he should once again throw his beloved protégé headfirst into danger, or go a different route.

The past couple of years had been hectic, amidst all the fighting with the Vroshir and the reclaiming of lost Abidan sectors and the restoration of abandoned worlds, there was another crisis. It was formally brought to the Judges' attention that a new breed of chaos fiends was discovered during the time Eithan left his post vacated. In one of the most distant sectors, one iteration in particular had been plagued by these fiends for a few decades at the minimum.

This iteration and its variants were at the extreme outer edge of the Abidan influence in the Way. When Eithan was hiding away from his Judge duties, the Vroshir and the Mad King incursion caused the Abidan troops to abandon countless sectors in order to focus on the protection of core worlds. This sector was one of those. As a result, the chaos fiend - or fiends, it was impossible to confirm now without interfering – would undoubtedly have festered unchecked since then.

These beings were not classified as Class 1 chaos fiends because according to the Hounds they could and would die. If they could be killed they did not exist at the same level as the "Great Elders" of chaos.

However, killing them would mean catastrophic, or more accurately, irreparable collateral damage which was precisely what he wanted to avoid. If he could save the iteration while eliminating the fiends, that would be best.

After all, what was the point of the new and improved Reaper program if not to save iterations fated to die from one cause or another.

When he thought he was about to reach a decision, he asked his Presence to locate where Suriel was. As it happened, the new unofficial leader of the Abidan was in her office at the Phoenix Division's Headquarters just outside of Sanctum's home planet.

Before he went to meet her however, he decided to check up on his new subordinates who had been staying on Sanctum for the past few months, acclimatizing and training, definitely training.

Eithan flexed his will on the Way causing the veils between worlds to part before his sight. Lindon, Yerin and Mercy –the three Monarchs – were in one of the training chambers that simulated specific environments from different iterations. They were practicing to imbue inanimate objects with their living will, essentially animating them to varying degrees. The key prerequisite for it was to possess the ability to read and interpret an object's history, along with the varied intentions and motivations behind the use of any such tool, weapon, machine or treasure.

He had suggested this training and this power because of its shared principles with higher level Soulsmithing; Lindon's experience with that made him a favorite to grasp it quickly. He fondly recalled explaining such concepts to Lindon the very first time deep in the Sacred Valley branch of the Labyrinth. This new learning curve was merely an extension of their sacred arts.

While they each showed interest in a wide variety of Abidan artifacts at their disposal, it was no surprise that Lindon was primarily working the more intricate items available to him in this training; those with a complex and rich past. Equally unsurprising was Yerin's focus on sharper weapons and Mercy's enthusiasm for the ranged weapons and their histories.

He shifted his attention to the non-Monarch ascendants of the group who were in other chambers. Ziel, Orthos and Little Blue were trying to catch up to their friends; building their power, and learning to call more reliably on their aspects of the Way, or 'Icons' as they were known back on Cradle.

This trio had wielded the Dreadgod weapons Lindon had made during the final battles against the Beasts and equally unruly Monarchs, bringing them to an equal footing with their more advanced teammates during the conflict, but they needed to advance on their own further still.

Deeming his juniors' progress satisfactory, Eithan stepped through the Way and arrived outside the Phoenix Headquarters' premises. Immediately a Phoenix guard approached him. "This way please," the woman said, beckoning him towards a side entrance.

Eithan followed, smiling inwardly. Suriel had been prepared for his coming. Good, that meant she was very interested in his conundrum. After all, Lindon was her chosen first.

The Phoenix division HQ always felt comparable to the Way itself. Safety, calm, peace; all who came here experienced those feelings.

He was reminded of his very first visit here as a freshly ascended Abidan member. Smartest and the most prodigious even among the best of the recruits, he had shown immense talent in every test in all disciplines.

Until he had come here.

While his Soulsmithing had already garnered a reputation bordering on legendary, he was proven to be utterly inept at Healing and Restoration; there was no chance of him ever assuming the Mantle of Phoenix.

He had known his limitations of course, as had his instructors, but he could be very insistent, so they had sent him here.

Here, where the Phoenix's effect had only served to assuage his doubts, or rather to light a trickle of hope deep inside him. To this day he maintained suspicions of foul play in that, the Phoenix's special attention making the hotshot newbie more confident than he had any right to be, only to plummet back to reality. He had shared those totally-non-serious suspicions with the next Suriel a few times but his friend always rubbished the accusations on her predecessor.

The short-lived blow to his pride in the aftermath of the Phoenix evaluation, therefore, was harder to swallow than it would have been.

All the same, his pride had other avenues to express itself.

Initially, he had come to terms with the reality; his entire existence was at odds with the Concept of Healing and Restoration and he could do nothing about it. But over the ensuing centuries and millennia, his heartache on the matter had only grown more palpable.

All those thoughts and more passed in less than a blink of an eye for him before he was teleported to his real destination. He regrouped his thoughts and prepared to meet Suriel who received him with her customary calm.

"Ozriel, welcome. Please make yourself comfortable." She gestured to the seating area where the hors d'oeuvres were arranged on a teapoy.

He nodded his thanks, sat on the sofa and poured himself a cup of the tea while Suriel did the same. He looked around; the office was pristine, as it had been for ages, perfectly maintained and spotless.

Tea was great. He poured some more and sipped it in silence.

"Well?" Suriel prompted after letting him finish the tea.

"I have not exactly decided what I am going to do if that is what you are asking." He said, gazing deep inside his teacup.

"What bothers you?" She asked him. When he didn't reply she continued, "It cannot be concern for their wellbeing, you know better than I they can take care of themselves, and the mission."

In fact, she was right. Lindon and Yerin had always punched above their weight and helped others around them do the same. That was not the issue.

What unsettled him was something that had plagued him for centuries. For so long he had thought there must be a better way of doing his job, he had been convinced Abidan could be better, could do more.

He had advocated for a different solution, had taken drastic action that eventually endangered countless lives, had gambled and lost.

And now, when he finally had the chance to do things his way, fate had made the decision as difficult as possible.

"The Hound says the Iteration may correct itself and get rid of the fiend itself." He finger-drummed on the armrest for a few moments." There is a miniscule possibility in the threads of fate that he can see, where someone from within could be a catalyst. I have also seen as much." He informed her.

"And yet, with the chaos fiend so entrenched in the Iteration that a three-star Fox cannot open the Way into it, who knows if what we see is going to come to pass? There could even be more than one fiend; that is more than a possibility, almost a probability. More importantly, even if the people in the world save themselves, it is likely to be a Pyrrhic victory, with apocalyptic losses, that is not much better." The Iteration would start to lose its connection to the Way and its fated death would only be delayed for a short while. Suriel knew that too.

"All of which makes me wonder if I should just go myself. Eliminate the problem entirely. Yes, we lose a world, but we also kill a chaos fiend or two who would never get to prey upon another world." He was now looking at her intently.

"You could always do that if Lindon fails." Suriel reminded him.

"I could, but why give them a chance to fail? Especially when we have so little intelligence about the mission. The others are still not convinced by this scheme." Razael and Gadrael were the most vocal critics of this idea and the new Makiel was waiting for a failure to make his disagreement known as well, every Judge knew that.

"Besides, why waste their time? They could go to another iteration, try and save that. No shortage of dying worlds is there?" He put the question to her.

"Do you wish me to tell you what you should do?" Suriel said with no change in her expression.

"Will you?"

"No."

A few moments passed in silence.

Suriel leaned back in her seat and said, "It would be reckless to send them only if you think them incapable."

"True, they are resourceful." He said, then thought for a few moments. "I am only trying to evaluate how much my hubris affects this decision and which way does it make me lean."

Suriel stayed quiet, listening.

Eithan continued, "I was absolutely sure I was doing the right thing the last time I made a big decision like this and it almost cost us everything." He felt somber.

Even on his return to Cradle, he had failed the first time, and would have done so again if not for his friends continuing and completing his mission. He had perfect recollection of the horror at seeing his House in tatters at the hands of the Lion Monarch and the Weeping Dragon.

The lost echoes of the Joy icon he so wanted to manifest in his second foray through the sacred arts also laughed at him; maybe another couple of years and it could have been a reality. Another objective he had failed at achieving, his failures had piled up in all honesty.

His rage at initially realizing Daruman's presence in Cradle would have revealed itself as tangible. Had it not been for the unexpected torrent of grief dousing him – literally - before he released his power, he may have done far more damage to his home world than Daruman had already done at that point in time.

At least he ended up successful in cultivating a few genuine friendships…

More time passed in silence.

"I am sending them in." He slowly said, coming to a decision.

The world in the clutches of fiends needed a chance and all the help they could get. He would trust his students; to find a way to work with the native forces of resistance, whoever they were, in saving the Iteration. He would trust their judgment.

Eithan would also keep the team small; only Yerin and Mercy would accompany Lindon on this mission, and of course Dross and the other two Presences.

Too many of the crew who hadn't ascended as Monarchs still needed to complete their training. More didn't mean better in this case anyway. The larger the party, the bigger the chance they attract attention too early. That could defeat the whole purpose of the expedition.

Lindon would need time anyway to assess the situation, the danger, the resistance, and the probable timeframe before complete collapse of the Iteration. Finally, if possible, his Reapers would have to fix the problem.

He would keep Razael or himself as the last resort.

His team would also need to restrict their power; Monarch level beings were too much for a planet as big as Cradle, on a planet as small as the one they would be visiting, who knew what unforeseen repercussions it could lead to. He would avoid unfortunate accidents as much as possible. Archlord should be doable, anything higher would risk threatening the fate of the World even more.

But he wouldn't handicap them completely, if the three new Reapers learned to seal their own power themselves, they could break the seals when they absolutely had to. Although what that would mean for the mission, he could not say. Possibly something undesirable like having to cut short the mission to not jeopardize the stability of the world, or it could have no impact at all. Trust their intuition on this, he thought to himself.

Piece by piece, the plan had come together in his mind, like an elaborate puzzle.

[Well, how about that] His Presence broke its silence by being sarcastic, knowing Eithan's internal conflict to be over.

He looked up at Suriel who had a smile on her face now. Before he could thank her for… well, for being a good friend, she shrugged and said, "You are welcome."

A surprised laugh escaped the Reaper. His habits were rubbing off on his friend and that lightened his heart very much.