Thad made it back to his room, falling onto the bed. His whole body was covered in sweat, having not stopped moving since he’d left the two men in the alley. He pulled out a spirit coin from the files and shoved it in his mouth, feeling the acidic tingling spread across his tongue.

  This sucked.

  He knew that the two times Jason had been attacked in the book series were reactionary measures from Thadwick, but he hadn’t expected the man to already have such a long-term project in place.

  I couldn’t have just shown up before he’d started this escapade?

  No, that would have been too easy!

  Thad glanced at the little warning triangle in the corner of his vision, telling him he was offline from his assistant.

  He massaged the bridge of his nose, not wanting to bring the familiar back online, but he knew he could only hold onto the concentration required to do so for so long.

  Thad took a long and deep centering breath.

  -Personal Assistant has reconnected-

  - User, you’re an idiot. –

  “Well, hello to you, too.”

  -This is no time for greetings. -

  “I still don’t get why you’re so mad.”

  -Well, you’ve completely disregarded canon events, and… -

  “I’ve been changing ‘canon’ events all week, and the world hasn’t collapsed so far.”

  -And… you could’ve used those connections and resources. But no, you just threw them away and painted a huge target on your back. –

  “Why would there be a target on my back?”

  -I don’t know, maybe because you just terminated all those people's primary mode of income. Ever thought of that? -

  “I think what you meant to say is, saved 12 people’s lives. Cause we know what Jason did to them? I would rather have those people angry at me, but still breathing, or wait, maybe not breathing, I don’t know what rank they are… It doesn’t matter; my point still stands.”

  -You could’ve not sent them after Asano. -

  “I… ok, that’s a fair point. But I’m not planning on being some crime boss.”

  -You're never going to get your father to respect you like this. -

  “First of all, I was never going to get my dad’s respect. Second, that man’s not my dad. Not nearly religious enough for that, and thirdly, why would I care what Beaufort Mercer thinks of me?”

  -Beaufort Mercer is the key to gaining the Mercer business holdings. Without this project, Thadwick has accomplished nothing.-

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  -You should care what the Mercers think of you because they are your family. -

  -Family is Legacy.-

  - Legacy is power, and you need power to survive in this world. -

  -As your guide, it’s crucial that I remind you of that. -

  “Family can abandon you the moment you don’t fall in line. The moment you don’t play the part they assigned to you. So, why would I care about power that isn't based on my hard work and dedication?! Legacy is borrowed power!”

  -Do I need to remind you of your limitations? -

  “You don’t, I’m well aware. And let’s say I did restart the project; Jason would still find out and being as I’m already on Asano’s shit list, I don’t need any more help with that.”

  -I mean, you know how he found out; you could erase the evidence. -

  “That would ruin someone's entire livelihood. I thought the Reaper wanted Thadwick to be redeemed, but now you’re acting like I should just be a smarter version of him.”

  -Thadwick Mercer wasn’t an idiot! -

  “Well, he’s definitely written like one. A selfish, prideful idiot who got his soul ripped out by the Builder because he was stupid enough to not only sell himself out, but also his family, which you seem oddly obsessed with.”

  -Personal Assistant has disconnected-

  Thadwick pushed over the desk with a crash, the screens shattering into little shards that skittered across the ground as he kicked out at his chair, which spun away from him and smacked into the side of the wall.

  "I'm not an idiot! I'm not..."

  Thadwick felt his voice break as a sob threatened to escape. He looked at the destroyed screens and kicked fragments away from himself as he sat down, pulling his knees towards his chest.

  This was stupid... He was stupid; he should never have agreed to this.

  Tears streaked down his face, and he felt his throat constrict.

  "I'm such an idiot." He whispered to himself as he ran his hands through his hair, his thumb resting along his scar, the User’s words cycling through his mind.

  “A selfish, prideful idiot who got his soul ripped out by the builder because he was stupid enough to not only sell himself out, but also his family, which you seem oddly obsessed with.”

  “I don't even remember doing all of those things, I could have..."

  What?

  Would he have done anything differently?

  He obviously hadn't, each iteration of the cycle following the last.

  His decisions just a string of poor choices, one leading into the other, till he was trapped in a web of his own creation.

  And if it had only been Asano's point of view, Thadwick would’ve thought it a false narrative, but there he'd been pushing the plot towards its inevitable conclusion.

  He’d gotten those men killed, from the people who attacked Jason, to the guards who were looking out for him.

  And now he was asking the User to do the same. To follow the same path.

  He was such an idiot that even when he had the answers to the test, he was still marking the same things wrong.

  He didn't deserve redemption.

  He should’ve just been lost to the void.

  The reaper had been stupid to offer him a contract.

  “I love how you decorated the place."

  Thadwick’s head shot up, his eyes puffy and red, as he saw Mara Tia standing in front of him.

  A goddess amid a storm's wreckage.

  "I shouldn't be redeemed. The Reaper made a mistake."

  "I'll let them know you think that." Mara Tia said and snapped her fingers, which returned the room to pristine condition before she walked towards Thadwick, who hid his tear-stained face in his knees.

  "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

  "Of all the questions you could’ve asked someone my age, you want to know what I think of you?” Mara Tia said with a small laugh, her hand coming to rest on Thadwick's shoulder.

  “I think you’re young. I think you’ve let your pride and hurt lead you down a path that didn't serve you well. Some would call that idiotic, and they would be right. However, the true trial that you will need to face is how you choose to break free of that cycle.”

  Mara Tia ruffled Thadwick’s hair, causing him to look up at her.

  “Why are you being nice to me?”

  “Someone was nice to me once, when I was lost in my own wreckage. When I thought the reaper had made a mistake, and they imparted wisdom to me that I shall now impart to you.”

  “What was that?”

  “No one’s going to redeem you.”

  “What?... I thought—”

  “You thought it would be easy? It’s you that needs to do the work, you that needs to seek redemption. The Reaper is merely providing you with time. So don’t waste it.”

  If you can't tell from my love of the Villainess genre, I love seeing how you can redeem someone but not condone their actions. Thadwick has been an interesting character to do this with. While I will not defend what he did in the books, its fun to work through why he may have been the way he is... people are complicated.