Arius Mephisto's strategy was working.

Sure, things hadn't gone exactly to plan up until now. Since Tylmerande, his original bald headed vessel had succombed to illness, and in order to preserve his existence Arius had been jumping from body to body relentlessly since then. Each one had varying levels of longetivity, but the ethereal being theorised that most mortal bodies were unable to handle his spirit and were decaying at a concerning rate. The constant body-switching was frustrating but it had worked to his advantage, keeping the Brotherhood on the back foot and allowing him to get in close to his enemies.

Canen's body was no different than the others, and had been a waste of time as far as its suitability was concerned, but the distraction of his death had created enough of a window of opportunity to dive into a guard and escape before his pursuers could notice. During his time in the complex, it had not escaped his notice that the yound redheaded girl accompanying Shinsou and Storm had a summoned a wildcard; some sort of Althanian deity, or a close approximation of one.

One with a physical body.

The possessed, armour clad militiaman his spirit now occupied cast his gaze over the bastion of the Brotherhood from atop the church's spire. A dark sky loomed over Whitevale now, with rain falling in sheets. It spattered atop the massive bell tower of the abandoned that stood in in the town's centre, running in rivers down its carved troughs.

Arius sat, perched on the bell tower's ledge westernmost ledge, reflecting on how best to now execute his plan. This new body smelled of shit and stale sweat, but was simply a stop-gap. By his own admission, Shinsou had been his first choice, though there were more powerful bodies he could have taken. Storm Veritas, for example, had shown exceptional power and athleticism, but his age and condition ruled him out as a long term option. Philomel van der Aart had been another candidate, but her unusual biology and the complexity of her connection to the spirit fox she called Veridian would have made the possession impossible to maintain. The one called Felicity Rhyolite would be too incompatible. She was unstable, both in terms of psychology and the nature of her magic.

Shinsou, however, ticked a lot of boxes. His time with the Telgradian meant he had studied him thoroughly, learning his abilities and his weaknesses. Osiris was still young at thirty four, had an ideal physiology and commanded powers that were similar to his own. Furthermore, he had put himself in a position of power at the head of Corone's most notorious paramilitary organisation, and had resources to spare.

Well, the ones Arius hadn't syphoned off.

But that was all before the appearance of this Thayne, the perfect choice.

Gweneal.

A door at the end of the bell tower creaked open in the wind as the madman in Whitevale uniform got himself to his feet. Time was not on his side, so it was vital that he got his prey exactly where he wanted them.

The powerful wizard closed his eyes and concentrated. The telepathic thought he had prepared would carry far enough to reach Osiris, and he knew that the Telgradian had no wards in place to prevent this communication, nor work out the source of it. Two years was a long enough time to find these nuances out.

I've been waiting for this day, Shinsou. I've watched you work, come to understand your motivations, but beneath your mask of logic I sense a fragility. Even with all of your power, all of your resources, you've been unable to overcome me. Yet, I can't kill you. You and I are bound together on a journey that will twist the very fabric of nature. If you want to find me, widen your gaze to the that which makes time stand still for all of Whitevale. Only when you have done this will I reveal myself to you.

***

Shinsou hesitated as Felicity collapsed in a PTSD fuelled episode, almost unresponsive, as he had hammered out his plan. He had seen her have bad turns before, but she had never done it in front of Storm before and the Telgradian cringed as his eyes caught the electromancer's furious gaze.

There was no time, though, to make comment or to assist her. With a distant look of worry in his eyes, Shinsou could suddenly hear the words of his tormentor. There was no choice but to let Arius speak with him. Unlacing his folded arms and calming his rage, Storm picked up on his friend's sudden unease.

"What?" The electromancer asked.

"It's him. He's talking to me. I can't stop him from doing it." Shinsou stepped out into the hall from the cramped cell, holding his head. "He said if we want to find him, we need to widen our gaze to that which makes time stand still for all of Whitevale. He'll show himself once we've done that."

The Telgradian kneeled down next to Felicity, trying to get the dead weight to her feet, as Storm planned his retort.

"Great, more fucking riddles. Is he talking about a place? Where does time stand still here?" Storm predictably smarted, "He could be talking about anywhere, or he could be just trying to fuck with us while he makes his escape. We've got nothing."

"Not where, but who." Shinsou replied, attempting to shoulder the redhead. "I think he's noticed Gweneal, which means he's watching us from wherever he is. The riddle implies that he knows that Gweneal is the Thayne of Time..."

Storm turned to look at Shinsou. As the rain hammered the roof of the detention block, Shinsou's eyes swivelled to the fourth entity in the room.

"...and the Thayne of Time would be my top pick for a new body."