2930 The Path Ahead (Part 2)

"Back then, you were just a newborn and I can't blame you for your lack of judgment. On top of that, you and your children did little aside from espionage. You Doppelgängers haven't led troops in battle nor slaughtered the Kingdom's soldiers. Your role in the War of the Griffon was minimal."

"Then why?" Protheus repeated.

"Because Jormun considered you like a son and I'm going to honor his wishes. I'm not going to put you into danger." The Guardian replied. "If the Council discovers that you survived, the research about the Harmonizers will fade into the background.

"The only thing everyone will care about is replicating your powers and if it turns out to be impossible, the Council will demand to kill you for the greater good.

"The existence of a being that can replicate, even partly, all kinds of bloodline abilities is too dangerous. Especially if your future offspring retains the mutation caused by the exposure to the Ambrosia.

"Until you have mastered your skills and understood your limits, revealing your presence isn't going to give you a chance at redemption, Protheus, only death."

For a moment, Faluel dreamed about combining Dragon Eyes and Life Maelstrom in battle, using the former to spot the weakness in the enemy's spells and the latter to exploit that knowledge for a deadly counter.

Then, she realized that if everyone thought the same, the Doppelganger would be no different from Solus' tower. A secret that had to be kept at all costs to keep Mogar from being ravaged by wars.

"I understand but I still find it unfair." Protheus nodded. "There must be something I can do to earn my freedom. I wish to be reunited with my brother before he forgets about me."

"I understand your frustration but that's none of my business." Leegaain sighed. "You and your offspring are a menace for all living beings. Very few people know how to deal with your species, you reproduce easily, and you've been indoctrinated since birth.

"Every single Doppelganger is akin to a child wielding a set of powerful artifacts. You are all barely one and a half year old and have had a sheltered life. First inside the Golden Griffon and now in my lair.

"Anything that sets a Doppelganger off can turn a populated area into a charnel house and this is a risk I'm not going to take. As for you, Protheus, you are even worse. You are an angry kid wearing a Royal Fortress armor.

"There's no telling the destruction and mayhem you can cause if provoked or angered by people talking about your 'mother'." At those words, Protheus slouched his shoulders in disappointment.

Not only because the idea of being trapped while the rest of his siblings took the first step to regain their freedom hurt, but also because he recognized the truth in them. Alas, the Guardian was far from over.

"To make matters worse, due to Thrud's meddling, even I have no idea about how your species is supposed to act. Are Doppelgangers supposed to be meek or aggressive? Is your reproductive cycle quick or slow?

"How long does it take for each of you to reach maturity and what is the parent Doppelganger supposed to teach their newborn before leaving them on their own?"

Protheus and the rest of the Doppelgangers raised one finger or opened their mouths but not a single word came out. It was the first time in their life that they formulated such questions and the realization that none of them had ever thought about such crucial matters before was beyond shocking.

Due to Thrud's training, Doppelgangers were meek to their family and duplicitous against everyone else, but that only because they had followed Thrud's agenda.

They had no interest in fooling people or taking their place now that the War of the Griffons was over. On top of that, what about natural enemies? Doppelgangers were the fruit of a forced natural evolution that had likely taken place centuries if not millennia ahead of time.

Their forebearers, the slimes, were still mindless creatures that acted only on instinct and incapable of rational thought. If not for Thrud enslaving them with the Unwavering Loyalty array and forcing them to execute a breathing technique, Protheus would have never been born.

He had generated many children not because he wanted to, only because Thrud needed more evolved slimes to experiment on them and learn about the abilities of the race she had created.

Then, the rest of the Doppelgangers had been born to help in the war efforts of the Mad Queen.

Once again, it was something forced, done out of what was perceived as a necessity and out of loyalty. Over a year had passed since Protheus and his children had moved inside Leegaain's lair, none of them had felt the need to reproduce.

They didn't seem to grow or age over time. The only thing that changed was their mass and that depended solely on the amount of food they ate.

As for how to cater to their newborns, the Doppelgangers had no clue about that either. The youngest among them was born inside the Golden Griffon and it had always been the Mad Queen to take care of their education.

The Doppelgangers had spent their time inside Leegaain's lair grieving the death of their mother and her dream first and then getting accustomed to their new home. Leegaain was a fair warden, leaving them free to learn a trade, study, or practice magic based on the individual preferences of his prisoners.

Protheus and his children had been too busy developing their mana cores and exploring the continent-wide space of the biomes to ask themselves such questions.

Leegaain gave them the time to realize the abyss of their ignorance before resuming his speech.

"Despite my objections, I see the value in your arguments. There is only so much that you and your people can learn in a controlled environment. On top of that, it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the Doppelgangers to let Protheus go out and explore with Faluel while they are holed up here.

"So, I have come up with a solution that should make everyone happy. I'm going to let you go out for a while, but only under a few strict conditions. First, you will all stay within the Gorgon Empire and in the region of the capital.

"While so close to my lair, I won't need any focus to follow you around and make sure you don't mess up. Second, I'm going to split you into three groups, one for each race and have you experience living on your own among them."

A Doppelganger could replicate the features and physical abilities of plants, humans, and beasts whereas undead were off the table. Undeath wasn't something that could be imitated and the powers of a blood core had nothing to do with the corpse it inhabited.

"You are forbidden to help each other. You are forbidden to fight, even for self-defence. Killing you is nigh-impossible so if something goes wrong you have my permission to shapeshift into whatever form you see fit and escape.

"You can only resort to violence to defend someone else."