The Guardian. Hope knew him as Caius Ballad, the immortal man whose goal had been the end of the world: the only way he could save the Seeress. There was a displeased turn in his chest, a twinge that might have signified more than displeasure.

It was bad enough, the feeling in his head said, to bring the form of one so similar to Etro to this domain. He would not allow for the carrier of her heart to enter as well. None of Hope's wishes to resolve this peacefully, to find a solution to the Chaos without ending the current world, would be able to change His mind.

The teenage boy looked on calmly, completely still. "His decision should not be yours. What I offer is a power beyond what you have experienced -- simply for the solution to a problem that is plaguing humanity. Do you not want to see them prosper? Do you not want a future for them?"