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"You think we haven't tried that?" said someone on Caster's right. That one's name was Deacon. Not as much of a veteran of this little club as Caster but definitely an experienced fellow in his own right. "We work for the most brilliant mind who has ever walked this planet. You think no one has ever brought this to him? Of course they have."

Paulie didn't respond, but his face spoke of stubborn refusal to accept what he was hearing.

Deacon wasn't done. "I know it's difficult to accept. Believe me, I do. But isn't that why we're all here in the first place? Because we need help with exactly that problem? Acceptance? We are what we are, gentleman. No amount of wishful thinking is going to change that. The important thing is to focus on what we can change. To hone our other skills."

"That's right," said a man named Olaf on Caster's left. "If even the Mad Demon himself can't find a path, then that path simply doesn't exist. Listen to us, Paulie. It'll save you years of agony. Years that you could be spending on more productive things."

"It's true," said yet another man. This one was Tim, and he was sitting next to Paulie. "Face it, my boy. There's a reason why there's never been an emperor who used destruction. We've got a hard limit on our abilities. That's just the way it is. Ain't nothin' to be ashamed of."

Unsurprisingly, Paulie still didn't look convinced. "I don't believe that. There were plenty of emperors or emperor-equivalent servants in the ancient past who've been lost to history, right? One of them could've had destruction. We can't know for sure that they didn't."

A low chorus of disagreement and general grumbling ran across the men.

"Just look at Caster!" said Paulie, pointing. "Strongest we've ever had! Respected by everyone! He's an example of what we could all become! And he's still growing!"

Oh, god.