ã€ŠGateã€‹


 The Next Generation

    As far as story beginnings go, starting with some characters boarding a train is usually a surefire way to bore the reader. Trains aren¡¯t interesting. Neither is standing on one whilst gently jostling against the strangers around you. The reader, completely lacking context for why the train is necessary, might rapidly come to the conclusion that the train is a rather ham-fisted metaphor for the story itself, both in the telling of character¡¯s travel through a portion of their life, and the relative level of ¡®entertainment'' to be expected as the story progresses.

    Nevertheless, Nathaniel Lione boarded the train surely expecting the start to one such tale of mundanity. He was, after all, boarding with his parents who were essentially dropping him off to begin college. His entire life up to this point could have been summarized by such mundane stories. After all, the world only ends once. After that, it¡¯s mostly back to work, interrupted by an occasional grocery shopping errand in one of the few holdouts for humanity left on earth.

    As the train lurched on the tracks yet again, jostling Nathaniel into sweaty stranger number 6, he inwardly sighed. The windows on the train, when he caught glimpses of them through the throngs of people, showed devastated terrain. Black ash still fell from the sky as if God one day decided to just color invert snow on a whim. In the rare holes not covered by gray and black clouds, a crimson sky peeked through, casting a blood-red light on the landscape.

    Nate¡¯s lavender eyes glanced upward toward a half-torn poster on the train, just high enough to see above the crowd. Bastion¡¯s heroic countenance adorned the poster, or at least what was left of it. Bold letters under the half-profile read ¡®When the world is (the tear cut off the rest before going to the next line) Be (again, the tear in the poster cut out the rest of the phrase)¡¯. Not that Nate needed to read the whole phrase to be familiar enough to fill in the blanks. Bastion stood as one of humanity¡¯s brightest beacons of hope. The Hero that never quits. An unassailable walking fortress of a man who has single-handedly cleared more Gates than the bottom half of all the Guilds put together. And his favorite catch-phrase: ¡®When the world is darkest, be ever brighter¡¯.

    Sweaty stranger number 3 caught Nate¡¯s gaze up to the Hero¡¯s poster and made a show of pointing at it to reference. ¡°The NGA thinks we might have a good chance to finally claim some land back. Mostly thanks to him. You off to Gate U?¡±

    Nate never broke his gaze from the tattered piece of paper, simply nodding in assent. ¡°First year.¡±

    The stranger grunted. ¡°Couple more Heroes of the next generation turn out like him, we might even get to rebuild a city. I¡¯m hoping for New York.¡±

    ¡°Manhattan¡¯s overrun,¡± Nate shook his head. ¡°Three Tier V Gate breaks. Stepping foot onto that island would be suicide. Even for Bastion.¡±

    The man shrugged. ¡°If he had all of Lighthouse backing him up, he could do it.¡±

    Nate heard his father laugh aloud behind him at that. ¡°Right. And what happens to the rest of us while the number one Hero and his Guild leave the frontlines to take back a tiny island? We become demon chow. That¡¯s what happens.¡±

    The train lurched over the tracks again, this time sending Nate stumbling backward into his father. Like Peter Lione, Nathaniel had inherited his wide frame, tanned skin, and just-over-six-foot height. Unlike Peter, Nathaniel had inherited none of his father¡¯s Traits that would put his size to good use. His dad was a Vanguard II. The man could toss a train wheel like a frisbee. Nathaniel, on the other hand, inherited both his eye color and Trait from his mother, Nancy. Where Peter was a large and bulky brute, Nancy was a slender and feminine Reader III. Not of the useful mind variety, of course. Though her Trait combined with her keen insight often kept Nate wondering if she could in fact read minds. Officially though, she Reads objects. Histories, uses, significance. Great for solving crimes, less so for killing hordes of demons.

    Nancy gave her husband a look. ¡°You don¡¯t need to try and scare every stranger you come across, you know.¡±

    Peter flashed a grin. ¡°What¡¯s the point of all this muscle if I can¡¯t bully the occasional stranger every now and then?¡±

    Nancy rolled her lilac eyes and tried not to chuckle at her husband¡¯s sense of humor. ¡°You know the Bureau originally assigned you as my partner to stop fights from breaking out around me, right?¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter playfully tapped his chin. ¡°The way I see it, violence is better prevented than responded to.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, you weren¡¯t picking all those fights, you were just stopping them from ever happening,¡± she teased.

    Nate did his best to turn his attention away from his parents and their flirting when another lurch of the train sent him yet again stumbling backwards. Normally, he would have been caught by his dad. Peter, however, had turned his very wide and muscular frame to face his wife, causing Nate to stumble backwards into empty air instead of solid father. As he picked himself up off the floor, Peter gave an apologetic look. ¡°You could just grab the overhead rail like everyone else,¡± he offered.

    ¡°Ew,¡± both he and his mother immediately cringed at the thought of what kind of history their Reader Traits might make known.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad,¡± Peter chuckled.

    Nancy forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s public transport, dear. If I told you half of what that poor handrail has seen, you wouldn¡¯t want to wash that hand off- you¡¯d want to burn it off.¡±

    Peter gave the handrail a tentative second glance, unsure if he should continue touching the questionable surface. Finally, he decided to spit in his hand before grabbing the rail firmly again. ¡°There,¡± he nodded in apparent approval of his own actions.

    ¡°That¡¯s disgusting,¡± Nancy gawked.

    ¡°Yes, but now it¡¯s my disgusting,¡± Peter countered. ¡°I can deal with that.¡±

    ¡°That makes one of us.¡±

    ¡°Anyway. Nate,¡± his dad beamed brightly at Nathaniel, ¡°Gate University. Off to learn to be a Hero.¡±

    ¡°Not that I had a choice,¡± Nate shrugged.

    ¡°Humanity doesn¡¯t have the luxury of sitting on our laurels,¡± his mother chimed in. ¡°If you can be of help-¡±

    ¡°-then it¡¯s our duty to help,¡± Nate finished with a nod. ¡°I know. I understand, too. It¡¯s a good opportunity for me, even if I fail out of the Hero program like you guys did.¡±

    ¡°Technically, it¡¯s not failing out,¡± his mother corrected. ¡°So don¡¯t think of it that way. They¡¯re looking for the best of the best to continue through those Hero courses. Gates are deadly affairs, even before they break open. If you can¡¯t survive a Gate, then you¡¯re just better suited to a different career path.¡±

    Nate looked to his dad, who chuckled. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look at me, I¡¯m a Vanguard. I legitimately failed out of the coursework. Not that I regret it for a single moment,¡± he added, smiling wanly at Nancy.

    ¡°Yes, and the world is a happier place because of it,¡± she tried and immediately failed to stop herself from grinning. ¡°My point is: do your best and make your time there something you can be proud of no matter what the future holds for you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ a lot of pressure,¡± Nate sighed. ¡°And even as a Support class, Reading isn¡¯t all that useful for Gate delving.¡±

    ¡°You have a good shot at scouting,¡± his mom smiled up at him. ¡°I think if I tried that pathway instead of item appraisal, I might have gone further as a Hero.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of item appraisal branch-off jobs civilian side though. If I try to make it as a scout and still fail¡­ what then? Will I be shoed into some sort of city patrol job for the rest of my life?¡±

    Peter laid a hand on Nate¡¯s shoulder (thankfully not the one he had just spat into). ¡°If you see your future leading you down a bad path, just build a new road forward. You¡¯re a smart guy. Go for what you want to go for, and I¡¯m sure you can make it work out. Somehow.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t exactly the direct guidance he¡¯d been hoping for from his parents, but upon reflection, Nate inwardly admitted that had his parents told him exactly what to do, he¡¯d probably label them as too controlling and disregard their advice anyway. Being on the blooming cusp of adulthood kind of sucked in a lot of ways. He took in a deep breath, and let it go. Build a new road. How do you even do that?

    ¡°You, uhh, dropped this,¡± a man held Nate¡¯s wallet out as if he were returning a used snot rag, wearing a matching facial expression. His eyes darted back to Peter several times, his face deepening with disgust after every glance.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Nate frowned, taking his wallet back much to the stranger¡¯s apparent relief. Nate gave his distracted father a questioning look before turning back to the man. ¡°Did you two know each other or something?¡±

    ¡°Him? You¡¯re his son, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Nate shrugged. ¡°What of it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you also spit on things to claim them as yours?¡± the stranger grimaced.

    ¡°Wha- oh. Uh, no. I guess I take more after my mom,¡± Nathaniel forced a laugh, hoping to ease the stranger¡¯s nerves. It didn¡¯t work. Maybe small talk would better alleviate the awkwardness. ¡°So¡­ bank teller?¡±

    The stranger narrowed his eyes in suspicion, and while markedly better than utter repulsion, being on the receiving end of either look gave Nate the impression he should end the conversation sooner rather than later. ¡°Should I¡­ know you?¡±

    ¡°Not¡­ particularly? I¡¯m a Reader. You touched my wallet, so I got some impressions of someone who frequently handles money, but is more bored than overjoyed. Then came the secondary layers of someone with fiscal knowledge and who holds themselves with a small amount of authority.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a Reader?¡± the man stared blankly at Nate before looking him up and down. ¡°You¡¯re built like a brick.¡±

    ¡°Dad¡¯s a Vanguard,¡± Nate forced a quick polite smile, directing the stranger¡¯s attention to Peter once more.

    ¡°Oh, is this who all this fuss has been about?¡± a woman pushed her way through the crowd and into the conversation, dragging along a young woman who must have been her daughter. While the mother was all pleasantry and smiles, her daughter was looking at Nate as if she were a deer about to be run over.

    ¡°No sort of fuss here, Skye. The young man dropped his wallet when he fell. I was simply returning it,¡± the stranger answered his wife completely nonplussed. ¡°I surmise he¡¯s a first-year Reader. Likely not to complete the Hero program.¡±

    Skye swatted her husband¡¯s arm with a scolding exclamation of, ¡°Harold! Be nice.¡±

    ¡°I am being nice, Skye,¡± Harold spoke matter-of-factly as he adjusted the thin pair of glasses on his nose. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong or shameful with dropping out of the Hero program. This young man should be forearmed with an alternative plan.¡±

    Their daughter continued to stare silently at Nate as if he were slowly approaching her with a brandished knife in a dark back alley.

    Skye sighed and gave Nate a long-suffering smile. ¡°Don¡¯t pay my Harold any mind. He means well. Our Jenna here,¡± she pointed to their daughter, still unblinkingly staring at Nate, though the fear-sweat beginning to bead on her forehead was new, ¡°is the first in our family with an actual Trait. It¡¯s probably not going to cut it for the Hero program at Gate U, so Harold has been drilling her with viable alternative options and how to pursue a career path.¡±

    ¡°Oh, and who is this?¡± Nate¡¯s mom cut off from Peter and came over. ¡°I¡¯m Nancy Lione, pleasure to meet you.¡± She shook both of the parents¡¯ hands with a smile. ¡°Oh, a bank teller and hotel manager. Sorry, I¡¯m a Reader. Bad habit. Anyway, you seem to have already met my son Nathaniel, so that leaves-¡±

    ¡°The expectorator,¡± Harold answered flatly.

    Nancy¡¯s smile flattened in an instant. ¡°My husband, Peter. He has¡­ an odd sense of humor. Not everybody gets him.¡±

    ¡°I have a hunch that sometimes you get him even less than everyone else,¡± Skye smiled teasingly.

    ¡°Yes, well, comes with the territory of spending so much time around someone,¡± Nancy smiled back. ¡°So who¡¯s your daughter?¡±

    Skye finally turned her attention to the girl staring at Nate as if he were about to pluck out her eyeballs one at a time so he could make her watch as he squeezed the juices into his mouth and grabbed her daughter¡¯s attention with an elbow jab to the arm. ¡°Jenna, say hello at least.¡±

    Apparently, it was somehow possible for Jenna¡¯s eyes to widen even further, as they did so. She let out a squeak and took a step backward.

    Nate rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of something, anything, that might make the situation less horrifyingly awkward. Just then, the train once again lurched on the tracks. Nate stumbled forward, this time crashing into someone much softer and far less sturdy than his father. They went down in a tangle of limbs, Nate trying to turn to take the brunt of the fall and Jenna fighting to disentangle herself the whole way down. In the end the small girl completely knocked the wind out of him by landing on his diaphragm- elbow first. Nate wheezed in pain, desperately trying with every ounce of will he could muster to keep the groan and reflexive tears from escaping.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Jenna rolled off and sprung to her feet like a cat before bolting away. Or, she would have bolted away had she not been on a fairly crowded train. Instead, she bolted into the back of sweaty stranger number 3, who Nate had classified as the most unpleasant of all 6 sweaty strangers to jostle into as number 3 had a particularly pungent odor accompanying his sweat, before she careened downward to the ground again. While most others would find this situation more comedic had Jenna once more landed on Nate who was still laid out on the ground, Nate found himself unendingly grateful that she managed to fall elsewhere this time around.

    ¡°Well,¡± Skye blinked in disbelief at the situation that played out before her, ¡°how¡¯s that for an introduction?¡±

    Jenna shot her mother a withering glare as she stood up from apparently having fallen on her tailbone. Reflexive tears welled in her eyes as she tried to keep her hand away from rubbing the aforementioned area of injury.

    ¡°Would you just hold onto the damn rails already,¡± Peter shook his head at his son in dismay. ¡°You¡¯re embarrassing yourself at this point.¡±

    ¡°Thanks Dad,¡± Nate managed to wheeze out, sticking a thumbs up in the air. His lungs wanted to cough, but there wasn¡¯t a breath of air left in them.

    Nancy chuckled and shook her head. ¡°Well if you two happen to bump into each other again at college, try to make it somewhat less dramatic?¡±

    Little gasps of air slowly began to fill Nate¡¯s lungs again as his body started remembering how to breathe.

    ¡°Typical Lione. Falling all over himself for a girl he just met,¡± Peter gave Nancy a wink and sly grin.

    Nancy returned an appalled look, her eyebrows arched higher than Nate had thought possible. ¡°Hopefully a habit that has since ceased to exist.¡±

    ¡°That goes without saying,¡± Peter chuckled easily. ¡°Though-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it,¡± Nancy cut across him. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare-.¡±

    ¡°Lions do have their Pride,¡± Peter waggled his eyebrows at his wife.

    She answered by laughing and playfully beating her fists against his arms and chest with exclamations of ¡®ew¡¯ and ¡®you¡¯re disgusting¡¯.

    ¡°You¡¯re both being gross,¡± came Nate¡¯s voice weakly from the floor.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Harold adjusted his glasses once again. ¡°Well it was¡­ certainly something meeting you lot. Perhaps we should take our leave before more catastrophe strikes.¡± He gathered his family and herded them away.

    ¡°Too much?¡± Nancy gave her husband a guilty grin.

    ¡°Catastrophe,¡± Peter mimed pushing glasses up his nose as he threw his voice to mock Harold¡¯s, ¡°or far worse: public displays of affection.¡±

    Nancy clicked her tongue and swatted at her husband. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m fine,¡± Nate finally managed to cough air back into his lungs. His chest ached.

    ¡°Our son doesn¡¯t make the best first impressions with women, does he?¡± Peter turned to his wife.

    ¡°He¡¯ll never get a girlfriend if he keeps this up,¡± his mother answered quickly.

    ¡°I¡¯d swear sometimes he acts as if he¡¯s never even seen another girl, let alone talked to one.¡±

    ¡°And all those ballroom dance lessons we put him through haven''t appeared to help his coordination in the slightest,¡± Nancy nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯m right here,¡± Nate hacked and coughed. ¡°Could you not talk about me like I¡¯m a complete embarrassment?¡±

    ¡°Well do you want us to worry over you or not?¡± his mother cracked across him sharply, a teasing grin fitting easily across her features.

    Nate frowned at his parents as he thought of a reply. ¡°I can¡¯t win here, can I?¡±

    ¡°No points for grace and decorum today, so¡­ no. I really don¡¯t think you can,¡± Peter chuckled at his son.

    ¡°I¡¯m just grateful that as bad as I was, you guys were even more embarrassing. Hopefully we¡¯ll just forget each other¡¯s faces and move on. Lots of people attend Gate U. Pretty good odds of not seeing her any time soon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s sad,¡± his mother mused airily. ¡°She was kinda cute. And to think you put all that effort into your introduction just to waste it like this.¡±

    Nate gave a long-suffering sigh. ¡°I think I¡¯ll excuse myself too.¡± Slowly, he stood himself upright again, fully trusting neither his core muscles for support nor the train to stay steady. After he got his feet under himself once again, he slowly pushed his way toward a new train compartment. Hopefully, Jenna and her family had fled toward the other end of the train. He pushed through the doors separating compartments and kept moving. He needed space to sort out what just happened. Normally being in the midst of a packed crowd didn¡¯t exactly help with the whole ¡®alone¡¯ concept, but Nate frequently found himself feeling isolated in large groups of people. He could make due with being away from anyone he knew.

    His mind attacked his memories head-on, confronting him with the utter shame of embarrassment. He took a breath. I messed up, but it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m a failure. Air escaped his mouth with a barely audible whisper. I don¡¯t know them, they don¡¯t know me. I¡¯m only human. Mistakes are okay. The knot in his chest loosened slightly as he confronted his emotions. His hand reflexively rubbed at his still-sore diaphragm. My past can only hurt me as much as I let it. He grimaced as his fingers pressed into the soreness. And bruises. Bruises hurt too. Again, he broke out into reflexive coughing causing the people around him to take a tentative step away from him.

    ¡°Listen, we¡¯re here to help you,¡± a male voice came from somewhere back further in the new train car. His voice projected over the relative silence of the crowd, easily overheard by anyone nearby. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you can pay me 500 credits for a stairwell pass now, or get to Gate U and pay the full 1000. Last year, I didn¡¯t believe the Gate U Sophomore¡¯s either. Had to pay the full price out of pocket. I truly wish I had paid the guys on the train.¡±

    ¡°You can take your stair pass and shove it,¡± a resolute voice responded.

    ¡°Ha,¡± came the first voice jovially. ¡°Do you see this yellow armband? Do you know what that means? No, of course not. How could you? You haven¡¯t even spent a full day at University yet. I¡¯ll let you in on a little secret. These yellow armbands mean I¡¯m what¡¯s called ¡®elite¡¯ in status. My potential for my Traits are tier IV or higher. That means a lot to Gate U. They¡¯re training me to be a leader. And a powerhouse. I¡¯m nearly guaranteed to make it through the full Hero course. So how about you just hand over 500 credits and I¡¯ll forget your little insult, yeah?¡±

    Nate¡¯s feet took him toward where the voices were coming from. A ring of toughs circled a short young man with bright green eyes and light brown hair. The other speaker was also easy to identify as the previously mentioned yellow armband adorned only one sleeve. This guy was a monster of a human, taller than even Nate and looked like he could thrash Peter in an arm-wrestling competition.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn who you are or what you mean to the University. Piss off,¡± the short man waved a dismissive hand, not breaking eye contact.

    That¡¯s when one of the goons connected his fist to the back of the short man¡¯s head. His green eyes glassed and rolled upward right before he collapsed helplessly to the ground. The gang moved like a pack of hyenas going in for the kill as they rushed forward to get their kicks in while they could. Nate began rushing forward, but didn¡¯t get more than a few steps before someone else made it to the scene. A dark hand yanked a goon out of the body pile, throwing him like a ragdoll into the wall before seeking its next target.

    The newcomer stood maybe an inch shorter than Nate, his dark brown skin standing out against the dull cream of the train¡¯s interior. ¡°Back away. Now,¡± he warned before throwing yet another goon clear across the train like a discarded napkin.

    ¡°Ohh, someone thinks they¡¯re tough stuff,¡± Yellow Armband goaded the dark skinned newcomer. ¡°Tell you what, why don¡¯t you pay 500 credits for yourself, another 500 for him and another 500 for¡­ damages,¡± he glanced over at his unconscious goons. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll let you off after that. If I¡¯m feeling generous.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± came the quick reply.

    Yellow armband scoffed a theatrical laugh. ¡°Do my ears deceive me? Did you say ¡®no¡¯?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the dark skinned man repeated, taking deliberate steps toward the offender.

    ¡°I¡¯m not big on giving out second chances, but I think you ought to get one. Last chance. You surely know what the ¡®elite¡¯ status at Gate U means. I¡¯m it. Hand over the credits. Now.¡±

    As much as Yellow Armband proclaimed not to be about giving second chances, the newcomer seemed to live by that idea. His hand hurtled through the air at tremendous speed, slapping Yellow Armband across the face. Yellow went down hard. Metal groaned and bent as the young man crashed face first into the floor. Silence filled the train for a heartbeat. Two. The goons hesitated collapsing on the newcomer given how easily he had dispatched their leader.

    ¡°Leave. Now,¡± the newcomer commanded. The goons obeyed, shuffling away with their metaphorical tails tucked between their legs. Or actual tail tucked between his legs, Nate idly noted of a retreating Shifter.

    The newcomer looked down at the short man on the ground, just beginning to stir back into consciousness. ¡°If you¡¯re going to have a strong will, you¡¯re going to need to learn how to fight to keep it.¡±

    ¡°Losing hasn¡¯t stopped me yet,¡± the short guy muttered. ¡°Thanks for the help nonetheless. I¡¯m Huck.¡±

    The newcomer turned his gaze toward Nate. ¡°And you cannot expect to be a hero by standing around and watching others get hurt.¡±

    Nate frowned at the accusation before reigning in his thoughts. I don¡¯t even want to be a hero. No need to take offense. ¡°Yeah, you seemed to have the situation pretty well handled,¡± Nate shrugged.

    ¡°This time I was around. Next time I might not be,¡± the dark skinned newcomer warned in his thick accent. Without another word, he left.

    Huck pursed his lips after standing up, looking put off that the guy had blatantly ignored his introduction. With a disappointed cluck of his tongue, he turned to Nate. ¡°I¡¯m Huck,¡± he tried again, extending his hand.

    Nate shook it out of habit. ¡°Nathaniel,¡± he introduced himself automatically.

    ¡°Damn, was that so hard?¡± Huck shook his head. ¡°Pretending like I didn¡¯t say anything to him,¡± Huck scoffed.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re a first-year at Gate U too?¡± Nate offered.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Huck brushed off his shoulder. ¡°I have a minor healing trait. Don¡¯t know what Tier yet, but damage doesn¡¯t seem to stick around near me. You?¡±

    ¡°Reader. From my mom. Probably mid Tier,¡± Nate answered, trying not to sound braggadocious. ¡°Where are you from?¡±

    ¡°Philly,¡± Huck grinned. ¡°As East as Humanity goes. You?¡±

    ¡°Columbus,¡± Nate nodded.

    Huck let out a low whistle. ¡°Heard the city¡¯s doing pretty well now with the new low tier Gates that popped up.¡±

    Nate nodded. ¡°Hopefully it¡¯s a stable one. Either way, the mayor¡¯s expecting a pretty big industrial boom. What¡¯s Philadelphia like?¡±

    ¡°Ah, not much different from the stories you¡¯ve probably heard. It¡¯s right on the edge of desolation. The Delaware is blood red in some spots. Just on the other side, the ground goes on for miles, flat and barren. We can actually see herds of demons wandering around and when they approach. Every once in a while a Tier V from one of the Manhattan breaks makes its way across and tries its luck against our shields. Takes a day and a night for a raid to kill one. High-grade materials if you have the ability to refine them, though. Keeps us afloat financially and the shield generator running. The great Heroes strike it rich. The good Heroes die. Life¡¯s tough out there, but we¡¯re made of tougher stuff.¡± Huck paused. ¡°You know anything about Chicago?¡±

    Nate frowned for a moment as his memory tried to feed him any sort of new knowledge. After a minute, he shrugged. ¡°Just what everyone else does. Five stable Tier I Gates. One intermittent Tier II. Three Tier IIIs in flux. Bastion¡¯s hometown, which is pretty much the sole reason it¡¯s the ¡®City That Can¡¯t Be Beat¡¯ instead of another St. Louis. Hear it gets pretty windy at times. And of course Gate U¡¯s there.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s pretty much what I¡¯ve heard, too.¡±

    ¡°Attention passengers: We¡¯ll be arriving in Chicago¡¯s Great Hall at the Western Union Station in approximately 10 minutes. Please make your way back to your party members to depart. Thank you,¡± an automated female voice rang out over the intercoms.

    ¡°Better get back to my parents,¡± Nate gave a polite smile.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see each other again soon,¡± Huck nodded confidently. ¡°Thanks for¡­ well¡­ not exactly helping, but¡­ whatever.¡±

    ¡°Anytime,¡± Nate chuckled, ¡°I think.¡± And with that done, he turned away to head back to his proper train car. He had to fight movement from passengers all trying to get to their groups, but eventually made it back to his mom and dad.

    ¡°There you are,¡± Nancy smiled warmly at her son. ¡°Harold actually came back and wanted to apologize for treating you the way he did. Apparently his daughter wouldn¡¯t let the issue drop.¡±

    ¡°You can stop trying to set me up on a date at any point in time,¡± Nate gave a forced grin. ¡°Really. It was old 6 years ago.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll stop trying to set you up with a girl when you settle down with one,¡± Nancy answered matter-of-factly. ¡°Though I wouldn¡¯t complain if you settled down with two or three either.¡±

    ¡°Nancy,¡± Peter shot. ¡°I¡¯m trying to raise a responsible young man who respects women, and look at you- being a bad influence.¡±

    ¡°What happened to that Lion¡¯s Pride?¡± she teased right back.

    ¡°Pride as in honor. You know it¡¯s talking about honor,¡± Peter rolled his eyes.

    ¡°I really shouldn¡¯t have come back,¡± Nate sighed.

    The train pulled into the more grandiose station than Nathaniel could ever hope to dream up. White marble and domed skylights acted together to give the entire hall an other-worldly feel. He couldn¡¯t help but brush his fingertips against a column as he passed. History. A world without Gates or Demons. Men rushed past, dressed in elaborate old-fashioned suits. Always coming and going, never staying. Always moving. Progress. Work. Flow. Ingress and egress. The lifeblood of the city. From mob bosses to the common man to the President of the United States of America. This building was about moving people efficiently and on time. Images flashed by of crowds of people moving through the ages. Reconstructions and restorations and additions and daily commutes. It¡¯s a building that had seen the worst of the Great Depression and the best of the Post World Wars boom. It had withstood the Worldwide Break and kept this city alive.

    Nate slowly exhaled from the sheer intensity of his Read, his mind swimming with more information than he knew what to do with. And it all came with such intensity. He could spend weeks sitting here and Reading this Hall, trying to parse through just the basics.

    ¡°Watch out,¡± his mother warned him with a knowing smirk, ¡°this place has history.¡±

    ¡°You could have warned me,¡± Nate swallowed hard, just now feeling how quickly his heart had been pounding in his chest.

    His mother gave him the side-eye, ¡°Like that would have stopped you.¡±

    Nate let the argument drop, acknowledging his mother¡¯s point. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you did the same exact thing when you first arrived?¡±

    His mother laughed, her lilac-colored eyes lighting up, ¡°Absolutely. Nearly fell flat on my ass in front of a huge crowd just like this.¡±

    Just then, Nate¡¯s father came up to their group, pointing to an overhanging sign. ¡°Look, their Guild Hall is actually attached to the West Wing of this train station.¡±

    ¡°We know,¡± both Nate and Nancy answered with a small smile, reminding the Vanguard that Readers couldn¡¯t ever truly get turned around or lost inside any structure utilized by intelligent beings.

    ¡°Right,¡± Peter scoffed a laugh to himself. ¡°Well, I thought it was neat. Having the Guild Halls here-¡±

    ¡°Helps with battling Gates across the nation,¡± Nate finished. ¡°Yeah, we got that, too. Lighthouse has its own train. Actually, most of the top Guilds do. They basically serve as a mobile headquarters whenever they get called across the country to defend against a Gate break.¡±

    Nancy gave her husband an apologetic smile.

    ¡°Must be nice to have all the answers at your fingertips,¡± Peter shook his head with a grin.

    ¡°A little overwhelming at times, honestly,¡± Nancy conceded. ¡°The sign says follow the corridor ahead of us. We have three alternate routes available to skip the foot traffic and get out ahead of the crowds. Let¡¯s get moving.¡±

 Gate-U

    The university was enormous. Acres of campus littered with green fields and half-skyscrapers. Glass and stone cathedral-like buildings demonstrated variety and architectural genius in equal measure. The family followed the signs and pathways devoid of fellow pilgrims to the main hall auditorium, where they could have their choice of seating and wait for the other families to arrive. Having successfully skipped ahead of the literal hordes of people exiting from trains across the nation, they found themselves a full hour ahead of when the orientation welcome speech would actually begin. They spent that time meandering around the campus, Nancy and Peter pointing out specific buildings or landmarks with anecdotal memories.

    ¡°And that¡¯s the tree you were conceived under,¡± father took his mother¡¯s hand and grinned broadly as they stood in front of a large Willow tree by a riverbank.

    Nancy playfully slapped her husband¡¯s chest. ¡°We never even met at University.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but when I came through, that tree was called Maidenhead because of all¡­ well. Point is, don¡¯t get any ideas about coming here at night in Spring with a special someone or you¡¯ll start to think about your parents getting it on.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Dad.¡±

    ¡°It really is quite beautiful at night,¡± a hint of a smile played on his mother¡¯s lips.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever touch the tree.¡±

    ¡°Best if you don¡¯t,¡± the smile completely faded from Nancy¡¯s face in less than the blink of an eye, immediately replaced by a haunted look. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people who gather here for¡­ romantic entanglements. And I do mean ¡®entanglement¡¯.¡±

    Peter put a hand to his chin, ¡°Well on that note, I think our tour is all¡­ tied up. We should probably head back to the auditorium.¡±

    Nancy again tried to suppress her laughter and failed as puffs of air snorted through her nose from every convulsion of her chest.

    ¡°Do you think we can get some food first?¡± Nate asked. ¡°The train ride was a bit long.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± his dad answered with a questionably malicious grin plastered to his face. For a moment, Nate feared where his father¡¯s devious mind had taken him, but his questions were answered with his father¡¯s second-half of a response. ¡°We¡¯re bound to find someplace that sells food soon.¡±

    Nancy¡¯s shoulders shook up and down violently as she continued her attempt at laughter suppression and continued failing. Her mouth twitched chaotically as she put forth the entirety of her willpower into mastering herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s really not that funny,¡± Nate shook his head.

    His dad gave him a hurt look. ¡°You¡¯re giving me a bad wrap.¡±

    A moment of silence passed before anyone caught his third rope pun. Nate slapped his palm into his forehead, while Nancy rubbed something wet from the corner of her eye.

    ¡°Just¡­ I am so grateful there¡¯s no one around right now,¡± Nathaniel sighed aloud. ¡°You guys are the worst,¡± he chuckled, shaking his head.

    On their way back to the auditorium, they did end up passing by a small street taco food vendor, grabbing a quick bite to eat as they made their way back. The food was good, cheap, and conveniently accessible as every other family seemed to have been waiting around inside the building where they were supposed to be instead of wandering around aimlessly like the Liones had. A warm breeze blew by as the family teased each other, the last vestiges of summer still hanging heavily in the blue sky. Looking up at the peaceful white clouds, Nathaniel could almost trick himself into believing life was all so normal- that the world wasn¡¯t broken and invaded. Like he could walk about and just attend a college where his biggest fear was having embarrassing parents. Despite the world ending, today was¡­ peaceful. It was a feeling he never had back in Columbus. There had always been that sliver of fear in the whole city¡¯s mind that today might be the day Columbus falls. Today might be the day where a Tier V gate fluxes in and countless people die. Even looking up, Columbus had a blue sky too, but there was always a thick finger of red just on the horizon. But here, Chicago? The hometown of Bastion himself? No hint of the sky shattering.

    The difference one Hero could make. If we can be of help, then it¡¯s our duty to help. Or as Bastion coined: When the world is darkest, be ever brighter. Not exactly the same idea, but the sentiments were certainly holding hands and skipping down the sidewalk together, Nate mentally shrugged to himself. He gathered himself, standing straighter with the idea of helping humanity however he could, and walked forward purposefully.

    Murmurs of ambient conversations flooded the auditorium, buzzing loud enough that absolutely no words could be understood outside of a three foot radius. The Liones pushed their way through the crowds of people who had no seats to claim and finally made their way to the back to the front rows.

    ¡°Glad we got here early,¡± Nancy gave a triumphant grin. ¡°Probably half of these people will have to stand through the long, boring introductions.¡±

    Sitting down, Nathaniel took a look behind him to realize the truth in his mother¡¯s words. This auditorium was packed. Every seat was taken, every aisle as filled as the ushers would allow, every square inch of space that could cram in another body was occupied.

    ¡°Huh,¡± came his dad¡¯s voice from his left. Nathaniel looked at his father, who continued to speak, ¡°Looks like there is such a thing as second chances.¡±

    Nathaniel followed his father¡¯s gaze to the occupant of the chair to his immediate right. A familiar girl sat staring straight forward, her curly brown hair acting well as a curtain for the expression on her face.

    Well ignoring her now would just be awkward. ¡°Uh, hi, I¡¯m Nathaniel. You throw a pretty good elbow.¡± He extended a hand toward Jenna, whose whole body tensed. Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned her face to meet Nathaniel¡¯s, her deep pink eyes wide with¡­ not exactly fear? Trepidation? Anxiety?

    He watched her throat gulp down dread just before her mouth opened. ¡°Hi,¡± her voice was rendered completely inaudible by the drone of thousands of bodies in animated conversation, but Nathaniel could read lips well enough to know the steps to the basic dance of greetings. ¡°Jenna,¡± she said, gaining just a hair of conviction. ¡°Sorry about-¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± a voice boomed over the auditorium as a man suddenly stood upon the central stage with a microphone. ¡°Everybody here? Raise your hand if you¡¯re not.¡± He paused, then chuckled to himself before continuing, ¡°Great. Glad to see you¡¯re all safe. Parents: good job. Now scram.¡± Again, he paused, waiting for a response. ¡°Seriously. Go. Get out of here. I¡¯m the Dean of the Heroics Program for Gate Delving, your children are in good hands, and as you¡¯ve no doubt noticed, there isn¡¯t exactly room to spare in here.¡± Again, he waited for movement. Slowly, hesitantly, parents stood up one by one and left the building again. ¡°Yes, yes, good, good. Keep on moving, yes.¡± After about ten minutes of the dean encouraging exodus, he addressed the room once more. ¡°Okay, that should hopefully free up enough seats that no one is left standing. Everyone who is already seated, move forward. No empty chairs, come on now. If there¡¯s an empty chair in front of you, you¡¯re already failing my program. Let¡¯s get a move on. Yes, good. Good.¡±

    Nathaniel and Jenna did not move, being already in the front row. Much to Nathan¡¯s surprise, another familiar face plopped into the vacant seat his father had just left- Huck. He grinned to himself and shook his head, giving Huck¡¯s shoulder a friendly push to grab his attention. Huck recognized the face and nodded back.

    ¡°Excellent, excellent. There¡¯s a chair for every admittance this year, so if you find yourself still standing in the back, you obviously don¡¯t belong here. Please leave now. Yes, seriously, go. Okay. Finally,¡± the dean huffed a sigh of contentment. ¡°Only half an hour of our time wasted. You might come to rue the slow and confused procession of people. Let this be your first lesson: time wasted from not heeding orders is time lost. Anyway, welcome to Gate University. And for most of you, welcome to the City that Can¡¯t be Beat: Chicago. I¡¯m Dean Anderson of the Heroic Program for Gate Delving, and as the incoming Freshman class, you will all start off in that major. As you are deemed unworthy throughout the coming years, you may drop out of university entirely, or choose a new field of study as you see fit. But until humanity has gained a foothold back into this world instead of a handful of holdouts, we must take drastic action. Due to recent political changes, our main program has no limits on class size. If your class graduates with 1,000 new Heroes, then a thousand new Heroes enter the world. The same goes for if only ten of you are deemed worthy.¡± He let the weight of those words land on the audience as he prolonged his dramatic pause.

    ¡°I sincerely hope to produce more Heroes than fewer, but that will be more up to you than me. Each year has a threshold for success and failure- a standard. Fail to surpass the standard, and you are no longer in the Heroic program. End of story. No more cutting numbers down to size, no more class restrictions, and no more curving grades. I know many of you see your enrollment here as a sort of draft, but let me assure you- you aren¡¯t wrong. Humanity is at war. It¡¯s a war we¡¯re losing; a war we¡¯ve been losing since it started. Gates open and humans die. We have no way to strike back, or shift the battlefield. We have no way of knowing where the demons come from, and no way to negotiate. All we can hope to do is keep human deaths to a minimum and hope we have enough numbers to survive and make it to the next generation. My greatest aspiration is that in a few decades, one of you will be able to stand where I am standing, speaking what I have spoken to a new generation- a new hope for humanity, just as you all are the hope of my generation.¡± Dean Anderson paused dramatically once again, letting his words settle on the ears of his audience.

    ¡°Behind me are rows of testing pods,¡± the Dean looked out over the auditorium again. ¡°You might be wondering why there are so many of you and so few pods. The answer is: they¡¯re really expensive. Today is going to be a long, but necessary day for you all. These testing pods will measure your Trait Potential. It¡¯s not a measure of who you are today, but of who you might become. I¡¯m sure many of you have questions pertaining to how, but the answer is rather complicated. For the truly curious, pay attention in your upcoming classes. You might glean enough information to put the pieces of the puzzle together well enough to get the theory behind how these instruments work. We¡¯re going to go around the auditorium by sections, and then rows. Yes, I realize this is going to take a long time, and yes, while your section is not active, you may leave the auditorium to go and eat and meet up with your parents. If you leave, you will need to sign out, and when you sign out, there is a mandatory check-in every two hours. Miss that, and your grades will plummet. Fail out now and¡­ well, good luck finding a job anywhere. Due to the vast quantities of you all, you will be assigned temporary dormitories, again by section, row, and seat. You¡¯ll be dismissed to your dormitories by 9 PM tonight, and testing will resume at 6 AM tomorrow. From 9 PM to 6 AM, you will not need to check in every two hours. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t include that statement as I thought it was rather obvious, but last year¡¯s jokers proved me wrong on that front. They somehow got ahold of my personal number and convinced their class to continue checking in every two hours. The next day, I made sure they felt every bit as miserable as I did. You don¡¯t want to follow in their footsteps. Oh, and just to be blue-sky clear: once you¡¯ve been tested, you also won¡¯t be subject to the two-hour check-in anymore. We¡¯ll start with section A row 1 and go around from there. Row 1, come on up and step into a pod.¡± Dean Anderson put his microphone back in its stand and guided the students upward to the stage, and then into their pods.

    ¡°Nate, you know what section we¡¯re in?¡± Huck leaned over to ask his question, not daring to take his eyes off of the mysterious pods that now housed students. Something like steam puffed upward at the base as they activated and the entire auditorium gasped as one.

    ¡°D,¡± Jenna answered from Nate¡¯s other side.

    So she can speak.

    ¡°They¡¯ll be in there for about five minutes,¡± Dean Anderson addressed the crowd once again, grabbing the microphone in its stand. ¡°And despite all appearances otherwise, I promise you, I¡¯m not pressure-cooking anyone. They, and by extension you, will be perfectly fine throughout this ordeal. Stay and watch if you must, but I would suggest getting lunch with your parents. They should all remember how long this part takes, and are free to travel back home at their own convenience. No, we do not have housing for them. Thank you for your attention.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ five minutes per row with about¡­ 30 rows per section,¡± Nate quickly counted and multiplied. ¡°150 minutes per section if everyone moves really efficiently. Probably closer to 3 hours per section.¡± His eyes widened as realization struck. ¡°We won¡¯t even get tested today.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Huck asked doubtfully. ¡°That seems wrong.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about noon now. Noon to three is the end of the first section. Section B will be three to six, and section C will be six to nine.¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯re section D,¡± Huck nodded to Jenna. ¡°So what, just wander around for the rest of the day?¡±

    Nathaniel shrugged. ¡°I already got something to eat with my parents. Pretty good street tacos not too far from here. While everyone¡¯s still enthralled with what¡¯s going on, we should be able to beat the crowds.¡±

    Jenna turned to face the two other boys, her face serious. ¡°Just remember, our temporary dorms are also our seat numbers.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Huck snapped his fingers before checking his seat number. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m eight, so you guys would be seven and six.¡±

    ¡°So the row would probably be which floor you¡¯re staying at in building D,¡± Nate nodded.

    Jenna nodded her head once in affirmation. ¡°We should eat, check back in, then head out to look at our rooms.¡±

    The first to stand up in the entire auditorium, they signed out and left to hunt down a decent lunch. Nathaniel¡¯s parents were outside, waiting in the throngs of people and waved him down. ¡°Nathaniel! Oh wow, we didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be out for another couple hours at least. Oh, and Jenna, was it?¡± Nancy greeted.

    ¡°Glad to see you two bumping into each other again so soon,¡± Peter couldn¡¯t hide the sly grin from his face.

    Nate took in a deep breath. ¡°Yes, ha ha. I¡¯m taking these guys to that taco stand for lunch. We can all go, if they decide to flag down their parents too.¡±

    ¡°Mine left,¡± Jenna shrugged. ¡°I told them we¡¯d not even be tested today and we already said our goodbyes.¡±

    Nate frowned as something about what she had just said tickled the back of his mind.

    ¡°My parents couldn¡¯t make it,¡± Huck folded his arms. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well in that case,¡± Nancy smiled to the group, ¡°lunch is on us. So long as the young man here introduces himself?¡±

    Huck actually blushed at his social misstep. ¡°Ah. Sorry. I¡¯m Huxley. Everyone calls me Huck.¡±

    ¡°Huck. It¡¯s wonderful to meet you,¡± Nancy smiled. ¡°And we¡¯d be happy to play the part of your surrogate parents for now,¡± she chuckled.

    Nate rose an eyebrow at his mother.

    ¡°But of course we won¡¯t be sticking around,¡± she quickly amended. ¡°Not long after lunch.¡±

    So it was that the five of them enjoyed a pleasant walk around the beautiful campus as the white clouds peacefully drifted up above them.

    ¡°So do any of you know your Traits yet, or are you waiting on the testing pods?¡± Peter asked the group between bites of another taco.

    ¡°Some level of healing,¡± Huck shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°Hopefully good enough to get me into a Delving team.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯ve noticed your Trait already, you¡¯ll probably do just that,¡± Peter nodded. ¡°Trait potential is everything at this place. It¡¯s the limit to how far you can grow, and that¡¯s what really matters while you¡¯re training and learning.¡±

    ¡°What about you guys?¡± Huck turned to Nate and Jenna. ¡°Well, I¡¯m guessing Vanguard with you,¡± he waved dismissively to Nate.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m a Reader,¡± Nate corrected.

    Huck¡¯s face dropped.

    ¡°And I¡¯d rather wait until I¡¯m confirmed,¡± Jenna grimaced. ¡°First manifested Trait in my family. Maybe.¡±

    Huck¡¯s face dropped further. ¡°So¡­ neither of you will be staying on the Delving track?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Jenna frowned, fishing for the right words to say, ¡°a lot could happen, and too much of the future is unknown right now. A lot of it depends on if my Trait has the correct potential.¡± She grit her teeth as a flash of anxiety passed over her face and vanished.

    ¡°Wow. You¡¯re really nervous about this pod testing thing, aren¡¯t you?¡± Huck inquired.

    ¡°Like I said, there¡¯s a lot that depends on these results,¡± she tried to chuckle, but her nerves made the laugh too strained.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Peter commented. ¡°Well, the only thing to do is put your best foot forward.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Mr. Lione,¡± Jenna sighed, still fidgeting with her hands.

    Nathaniel¡¯s father smiled and nodded as if he had just imparted ancient wisdom and fixed everything by doing so. Nancy smiled at her husband and shook her head before speaking gently with Jenna. ¡°What my husband probably means to say is we like to worry so much about the future that we forget about where we are now. Even if things don¡¯t go the way you¡¯re thinking or hoping, you can¡¯t stop moving forward.¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Jenna¡¯s gaze went beyond Nathaniel¡¯s parents into vacant nothingness. ¡°I¡¯m just a little nervous. It¡¯s just that a lot of my life is based on a hunch right now and early tomorrow will put that hunch to the test so it¡¯s sort of like validating or invalidating everything I believe and hope to be true about myself. So yeah. Kinda nervous.¡±

    ¡°Well, for what it¡¯s worth, I hope you stay in the Delving program here,¡± Huck offered. ¡°All of us, I mean. Being alone sucks.¡±

    Nate took in a long breath and let it out slowly. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough moping. Huck, even if I don¡¯t make it through the program, I¡¯ll still stick around, okay? Same goes for you, Jenna. Even if things don¡¯t pan out for you having a Trait or whatever it isn''t what you¡¯re actually worried about,¡± he gave her a nasty side-eye, letting her know that he knew that she wasn¡¯t giving the whole story, ¡°that¡¯s not a reason to get so bummed out on hour 1 of day 1 of university. Whatever the future holds for us. We can still choose to face it together.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Huck spoke without admitting Nate¡¯s words beyond his ears.

    ¡°If you say so,¡± Jenna shrugged, doing much the same. ¡°You¡¯re right about not moping around, though. We should start heading back for check-ins.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been that long already?¡± Nate whistled.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Not yet, thankfully,¡± Jenna answered swiftly. ¡°But by the time we get back? I¡¯d rather not be made an example of.¡±

    Slowly, Nathaniel stood up and turned to face his parents. This is goodbye. Time seemed to linger on each second as he took in their faces. He knew he¡¯d see them again, and more likely sooner than later, but something in his heart hit a wall of realization he¡¯d be gone from home for longer than he¡¯d ever been before. They smiled back at him, and under that blue sky with the sound of actual birds chirping, he somehow could tell that they knew exactly what he was currently going through. And it would all be okay, in the end. His father placed a meaty hand roughly on his shoulder, holding his gaze that said a million well-practiced speeches all thrown out the window for a simple, improvised gesture of connection and love. His mother¡¯s face flickered through a roulette of emotions before eventually landing on ¡®pained goodbye¡¯. His heart felt nearly as jumbled. Time turned surreal for Nathaniel with a realization that the past, the present, and the future were all bound up in this single moment- in this final goodbye. In these next words, this next action, he¡¯d no longer be theirs- not that he¡¯d stop being their son, but he¡¯d no longer be a child. In this moment, much like when he was only a year old, his parents would once again watch him take his first steps- this time, as his own man.

    ¡°Mom, Dad,¡± Nathaniel had to pause, swallowing a hard lump in his throat, ¡°...¡± He tried to formulate words, his mouth opening to speak before his brain could think of the right thing to say.

    Peter drew his son into a hug, barely squeezing but still putting out enough force to make Nathaniel wonder if his ribs would crack. ¡°Goodbye, Nate. You¡¯ll always be welcomed back.¡±

    ¡°Especially if you come back with a beautiful young woman on your arm,¡± his mother whispered. ¡°No pressure. Just saying.¡± She moved into the family hug.

    ¡°Bye,¡± the word felt ephemeral and all too heavy at once. ¡°I love you both. Stay out of trouble.¡±

    Nancy leaned back and rose an eyebrow with a smirk. ¡°I think that¡¯s our line.¡±

    ¡°It is. And I will,¡± Nate smirked back.

    ¡°He¡¯ll try, at least,¡± Jenna offered casually, causing a few heads to turn inquisitively to the diminutive woman. She had the grace to blush and look away, adding, ¡°Check-in. We should get going now. Or we¡¯ll all get in trouble.¡±

    Nancy gazed levelly at Jenna, leaning close to impart a barely audible whisper in Nate¡¯s ear, ¡°I have a funny feeling about her. Try and stick around for as long as you can tolerate her.¡±

    Nate chuckled as he broke out of the hug, not daring to entirely dismiss his mother¡¯s words even as he shook his head and scoffed softly. He turned to head back to the main auditorium, his heart growing heavier with each trudging step until, like a rubber band snapping, the weight vanished. His heart still held a chasm of love for his parents, but it seemed more a soft ache than a heaviness that would drag him down. A shift of his shoulders straightened his back, and his stride elongated.

    ¡°Hold on, Mr. Long Legs,¡± Jenna called out as Nate broke ahead of them. ¡°Not all of us are gifted with height.¡±

    Nate looked down at his two companions. Friends? Something more than acquaintances. Jenna stood nearly a full foot shorter than him, with Huck not faring more than a few inches better than her. He strode with his hands in his pockets, his eyebrows knit together in thought as his gaze never broke from the ground in front of his feet. They caught up with Nathaniel in only a few seconds. Jenna stopped to smile, but Huck blew by the two of them.

    ¡°Well, thank you for waiting at least,¡± she grinned, already moving past Nate to catch up with Huck. ¡°We probably should be moving a bit faster, though. Try to keep up, slowpoke.¡±

    He rolled his eyes and followed after.

    By the time they reached the auditorium again, Jenna¡¯s watch read 1350. The check-in form had no line. The three of them signed in without any issue and looked at each other for a clue of what to do now.

    ¡°Um. Let¡¯s see how far along section A has gotten?¡± Jenna offered.

    ¡°Really?¡± Huck challenged. ¡°Back inside? Can¡¯t we do something else for a few hours?¡±

    Honestly, Nate couldn¡¯t disagree with Huck¡¯s point. ¡°We checked in already, and we did the math. It won¡¯t even be remotely close to our turn until tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Just this first one,¡± Jenna shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°I wanna see what the auditorium¡¯s like now real quick. Please?¡±

    With crossed arms, Nate rolled his fingers on his bicep and turned his head to check on Huck. ¡°You have anything specific you¡¯d like to do instead?¡±

    ¡°Not really,¡± Huck shrugged. ¡°Hard to know what to do if you don¡¯t know the area too well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll just be a minute. Ten, tops,¡± Jenna insisted.

    Turning, Nate opened and held open the door for his short folk to pass through. ¡°After you.¡±

    Jenna¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Thank you, kind sir.¡±

    Huck passed through without a word, still glowering at the floor.

    Nate fought to beat back the raw flood of anxiety the doors held pent up within them. Thousands of students every year, testing themselves and putting their entire future on the line to go out and try to save humanity. Sacrifices on the altars of idealism. This place chewed people up and spat them out again. Some came out again as true warriors. Some came out as fodder. Some got vomited up as wholly unworthy. Disgust and disdain from faculty for year after year of watching a hopeless death march. Hope from faculty for another promising student. Reckless abandon and youthful naivety that they would be the next Bastion. That they¡¯d be the next Hero that makes a difference. Lambs for the slaughter. Mighty, unstoppable lions. My future depends on this day, hundreds of thousands of voices all rang out in perfect unison throughout the decades, touching this exact door. The future of humanity depends on this day, a million more voices joined in the chorus. Nate swallowed down the raw bolus of emotion and followed Huck and Jenna into the building, letting out a slow breath as the anxiety washed away from his conscious mind.

    He found Jenna walking down the aisle to the front row, closely followed by Huck. The second thing he found was the auditorium had been nearly completely abandoned. Most of Section A had already been tested, and it seemed no one stuck around. Dean Anderson had taken a seat at the edge of the stage as the pods behind him steamed with essence and hummed.

    ¡°Check-ins aren¡¯t in person. There¡¯s a form out front,¡± he addressed the trio with a questioning look plain across his face.

    ¡°Yes, we already signed that,¡± Jenna smiled courteously, gazing around the abandoned building with feigned interest.

    ¡°So why are you here?¡± Dean Anderson continued.

    ¡°Just wanted to see the auditorium without so many people.¡±

    ¡°And how¡¯s it look?¡±

    ¡°Empty,¡± Jenna replied, a heaviness to her answer that Nate wouldn¡¯t have expected from her. For him, it was emotional whiplash going from Reading the chorus of voices at the door only to walk into a mostly abandoned room- a room designed to hold all of those voices at one point in time or another. She interrupted his thoughts with her next words, ¡°Almost feels haunted.¡±

    ¡°Like the eyes of a million ghosts watching and waiting to see who will join them,¡± Dean Anderson nodded somberly. ¡°More than a few deans have quit after only their first day of university. What do you think, Reader?¡±

    Nate pointed questioningly to himself.

    ¡°Ah, ¡®how does he know?¡¯¡± Dean Anderson nodded appreciatively. ¡°Could be I¡¯m a Telepath. Could be a Reader that sees abilities in people. Could be that while your friend here walked in suspecting this place to be haunted, you walked in with a look that said you knew it was. Could be that this morning I was handed a folder of incoming freshmen and memorized every face and ability that showed potential. Which scenario would you prefer?¡±

    ¡°If I got to decide on a scenario, it would be one where demons never invaded us at all,¡± Nate folded his arms, but didn¡¯t quite make eye contact with the dean.

    Jenna beamed a smile at him as Dean Anderson chortled. ¡°Can¡¯t fault you for that one.¡± Dean Anderson rolled his fingers along the stage floor for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s funny, you know. Your timing. See that pillar right there?¡± he pointed behind them.

    Nate turned to see a large pillar intersecting section A to support the overhang balcony of section¡­ whatever section was above that one. It seemed the pillar ate into the row of chairs.

    ¡°That¡¯s the one,¡± Dean Anderson nodded. ¡°Shortens the row by precisely three chairs. Makes it so the next group has three empty pods. If I take three from the next row, then my order gets wonky, and students tend not to fare too well with wonk.¡± Again, his fingers drummed along the stage floor as he visibly thought about carefully choosing his next words. ¡°I¡¯ve found that best practice is to ignore the gaps entirely. If I let the students know about opportunities like this, well¡­ things have gotten very violent very quickly in the past. However, the next group will have three empty pods. That¡¯s a scenario I would not prefer. And here are you three.¡±

    ¡°Here we are,¡± Jenna shrugged with an innocent smile.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Dean Anderson contemplated. ¡°Quite fortuitous. Almost suspiciously so. It¡¯s occurred to me that I don¡¯t know who you are.¡±

    ¡°Jenna Harris. Unconfirmed Trait. First in my family,¡± she gave a nervous smile.

    ¡°Unconfirmed, but not unknown,¡± Dean Anderson rose an eyebrow, casting a playful suspicion at the young woman. ¡°Jenna Harris. Seems like another name I may end up having to memorize.¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± she gave another innocent shrug and smile. ¡°We¡¯d be happy to fill those three empty pods.¡±

    At that moment the pods hissed, essence steam flooding the air as the doors cracked open. Students slowly emerged from the pods, some hacking and coughing, others falling to their knees and gasping for air, while yet others simply strode out. All of them managed to work their way to the other side of the pod where a tiny metal plate poked outward. Their Trait card. Etched into a thin sheet of polished metal, each student gazed to see for the first time with their own eyes their official Trait potential. Nate noted the ones who casually strode out of the pods seemed satisfied with their Trait potential reading, while the ones with worse reactions to the pod seemed more dejected.

    ¡°Next group,¡± Dean Anderson¡¯s voice boomed loudly. ¡°Hurry up. I don¡¯t have all day to spend waiting for you to wake up. Get your heads out of whatever dark crevice you¡¯ve been keeping it in and get a move on. Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go.¡± His gaze turned toward Nathaniel, Jenna, and Huck with a questioning look.

    Without further prompting, Nathaniel and Huck surged forward. It took Nathaniel until that exact moment to realize Jenna hadn¡¯t been standing with the two of them. Apparently, she¡¯d been more proactive in getting to the stage. Nate opened his stride to catch up, tapping her shoulder once he had made it behind her. She looked back at him with a playful grin and gave him an excited look before turning her attention back to the pods and the rapidly dwindling line.

    ¡°Good luck,¡± Nate offered to both Huck and Jenna.

    ¡°Don¡¯t want luck,¡± Huck muttered. ¡°Never done anything for me anyway.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe in luck,¡± Jenna answered simultaneously. ¡°But thanks anyway.¡±

    Kinda weird how the ¡®anyway¡¯s lined up. He brushed off the strange coincidence and took the stairs onto the stage. The second to last pod stood open for him, its cushioned interior practically an invitation to step inside and relax. The white eggshell-smooth exterior contrasted against the dark gray padding in the harsh stage light, both looking brand new much to Nate¡¯s relief. The last thing he wanted was to be trapped for hours in some centuries-old tech reading the potential of every student who walked into the building. He shuddered as the thought reminded him of touching the door to enter this auditorium. Hesitantly, he stepped into the pod and sat back, careful to keep his Reading unresponsive. Even dulling his senses, the raw emotion of the previous students sieged his mental walls, fighting to become his own emotions.

    Darkness swallowed him as the pod closed. This isn¡¯t so bad. About ten seconds passed with nothing noticeable occurring. Is my pod broken?

    ¡°Hello?¡± Nate called out, reaching forward to bang on the door, but his hand only met empty air.

    He focused his eyes to see the empty auditorium again. He wasn¡¯t in a pod, but sitting in section D chair seven. Dean Anderson was nowhere to be seen, the stage in front of him completely empty. He blinked in confusion at the deafening silence. Am I¡­ hallucinating?

    Looking around the abandoned building, Nate tried not letting his nerves get the best of him. He could feel the anxiety building up around his head as he simply sat in his chair and waited for something.

    Ghostly images of people started to fill the auditorium, standing, sitting, walking. He saw them loop through a few actions before he let out a breath of frustration. Great. Stuck in a Reading until the pod finishes with¡­ doing nothing? He tapped his finger on the seat as anxiety built up in his chest. Stupid pod. Stupid chair. Stupid historically significant building.

    Nathaniel watched the scene in front of him loop several times before the ceiling exploded above him in a shower of glass and rubble. The shockwave pressed him into his chair as he watched shards of glass and stone disintegrate above him. The air swarmed with small bat-like creatures, pouring through the ruined maw of the ceiling. Fear filled Nate as the demon swarm flooded into the building, attacking the unresponsive ghostly figures. Part of his mind wondered how the creatures could see the images he was Reading, but the errant thought was shoved into the back of his mind by his fight or flight response. RUN! He willed his legs to move, battling against the paralyzing fear that glued him to his chair. Move. Now. He grunted with effort as his veritable death rained from above. This is not how Readings are supposed to go! Finally, he managed to fight off the fear that had caged him and stood upright. A demon latched onto his face as he stood, dragging its dagger-like claws across his face three times before Nate had the presence of mind to grab the foot-and-a-half tall creature himself. He pulled, but the creature didn¡¯t want to let go, digging its hands and feet into his face. Nate yanked and endured the pain, throwing the creature to the ground and stomping on it. Its distended belly ruptured like a squashed bug.

    Pandemonium filled the air around him as the swarm flittered from one looping ghostly image to the next, popping them like soap bubbles. What is even happening right now? Am I still in the pod? Nate ran toward an exit as more demons harried him. Pain arced across his back and legs as demons flew by, slashing and biting at whatever they could reach before flying away too quickly to retaliate. By the time he finally made it to the door, he could feel blood dripping in a slow trickle down his legs and back. The door was locked. He fought the panic that smothered his chest. His hands shook uncontrollably as he turned to face the swarm again. The only other door was straight across the auditorium. I¡¯ll have to sprint. More building collapsed around him with a loud crash as rock and metal rained down on him again. Standing here is suicide. But so is going through that swarm. Caught between a frying pan and the fire, Nate scanned the room around him for anything that might help before his eyes landed on the metallic shine of something by his feet. A¡­ short length of piping? Better than nothing.

    Picking it up felt different. It was hard to explain the sensation, especially to anyone unfamiliar with Reading, but suffice it to say, it felt different- something akin to holding putty. He gave the rod a curious squeeze, only to be met by the hard metallic resistance one would expect from holding what amounted to a cylinder of metal, but even with that physical sensation, something in his senses still told him he held unformed mush instead of solid piping. Is this related to my Reading Trait? The thought flickered through his head, but felt wrong somehow. Close, but not exactly right. This wasn¡¯t an object that wanted to tell a story, it felt a lot more like¡­ it wanted to hear a story?

    Not wanting to waste more time, Nate shook his head and began his charge across the room. The flying creatures assaulted him relentlessly, darting in and out of range before Nate could land a strike against them. His clothes tore into rents as the creatures¡¯ claws ceaselessly cut into him. He could feel his lifeblood slipping away by the second as the attacks never relented. You¡¯re meant to protect me, the thought came to Nate out of desperation and he shunted the emotions into his pipe. To Nate¡¯s dismay, he felt the metal in his hand react. It broadened and stretched itself into a shield, thwarting the attack of the next demon. The metal dented with the impact as the sound of a gong crashed into his ears.

    You aren¡¯t meant to break. You¡¯re meant to be unstoppable- impenetrable. Strong. Impervious to damage. He shoved these thoughts into the pipe-turned shield and watched as the dent formed back into the shield. The next creature that crashed into him hit the shield with a small pop of tiny bones breaking. It slid against the metal, dropping to the ground dead. Nate couldn¡¯t stop himself from laughing as the idea of living through this attack took root in his soul. Another attack against his back brought him back to the present and he charged forward, leading his sprint with the strange piece of metal. He made it across the auditorium again. Frantically, he grabbed at the door handle only to realize this door had also been locked. The swarm of demons poured through the room around him, popping the last of the ghost-like figures they shouldn¡¯t have been able to see before turning their attention to the only human left in the room.

    You are an impenetrable defense. No attack gets through you. You have never allowed harm to your wielder, and you never will. He could feel something from his core pouring into the shield, flooding it with¡­ Intent. His mind clicked with the revelation and his core shifted. He could feel his essence rearranging itself, forging new pathways and reinforcing old ones. Reading isn¡¯t only about history. No, that¡¯s not quite right. The answer felt like it was on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn¡¯t think of the right phrase. And he¡¯d run out of time. Demons surged forward in a tidal wave of wings and claws and teeth as Nate doubled down on pouring Intent into his shield.

    His arm moved on its own, led by the shield as the demons closed in- faster than his brain could properly track. A backwards lunge forced him to release the shield else risk his shoulder dislocating from the wild motion. He could taste his own death as he let go of the shield, but pain never came to him. Instead, the shield seemed to float on its own, flying through the air at incredible speed to defend against every attack from every angle, not letting any demon close in with him. Little by little, it bludgeoned the flapping creatures to death as they surrounded him. Nate watched in shock as his creation worked at speeds nearly too fast to track. Pops and cracks of bone filled his ears along with the crashes of metal as he stood in the center of a cyclone of safety.

    Is this my potential? Is this what I might be capable of? Reading and telling? No, that¡¯s not right either. Reading isn¡¯t about listening to a story being told. Significance. Nate wanted to facepalm. Reading is about significance- history- purpose- Intent. He furrowed his eyebrows as more thoughts buzzed through his mind connecting and disconnecting with other thoughts like a giant bowl of spaghetti. I can Read the Intent of significant objects. I can view their purpose and past. And I can Imbue Intent into objects to give them purpose and past. I can take an old dull knife and reinforce it with its past and significance to make it cut better than a brand new knife. I can take an old broom and sweep all the dust out of a room with just a few swipes. I could turn a pillow into a sleeping potion.

    But how had I turned an old pipe into a shield? The thought disrupted his stream of consciousness to the point where he noticed the swarm had backed away. Instead, the small flying demons seemed to coalesce on the stage of the auditorium into a humanoid shape. That description wasn¡¯t exactly fair- the small creatures were already somewhat humanoid, just 18 inches tall with bat-like wings and faces. But the creature they coalesced into was human-sized as well as shaped. It folded its wings behind its back and crossed its arms as it glared at Nathaniel, as if daring him to make the next move.

    Before Nathaniel could wrap his head around what had just happened, the demon moved. Nate blinked, and the demon¡¯s fist was an inch from his nose, his shield completely deformed around it, but holding the attack at bay. Impervious, impervious! Nate poured his intent into the metal scrap, which pushed back against the powerful creature millimeter by millimeter, slowly but surely winning the game of reverse tug-of-war. Strength unmatched. Nothing gets through you. Unbending, unyielding, unbreaking. Your defense is unmatched. You were made to be strong. Forged to be strong. Proven to be unmatched. You will not fail. You will not falter. He poured everything he had into the shield, realizing his life was on the line. That demon could move faster than Nate could blink.

    Another reverberating crash rang out through the room as the demon¡¯s fist once again collided with the hovering shield, this time bending the metal instead of warping it like putty. The creature stared in shock as its second attack was thwarted- as if hardly any creature could even withstand one hit, let alone two. Faster and faster the attacks came in, each one met with metal which only grew more stubborn the more punishment it took. Even as attacks came in simultaneously from differing directions, the shield stretched and morphed to intercept and halt them. The fight was a stalemate. Nate desperately looked around for something that might tip the fight in his direction. His eyes landed on a bloody shard of stone.

    Cradling the sliver of rock in his hand, he could feel something within it. Much like the pipe, the rock felt different. Potential. An empty space where significance should be. The blood felt slimy in his hands, reeking of rot. Demon blood. An idea flitted through his mind and he ran with it. Demon slayer. Your creation was bathed in demon blood. You rip and tear and cut and pierce. No hide is thick enough to stop you, no demon can weather your ire. You were born in destruction and forged in their blood. You are unstoppable. Your purpose is to kill demons. You must be strong and unerring. You must be tough and unflinching. You are their bane. Your purpose is destruction and wrath. Nate flinched as the small movements of the stone began to cut shallow grooves into his skin, breaking his concentration. He steadied his breathing and poured more Intent into the small object. You were once whole and are now broken. You were a part of structure and stability and are now a part of destruction and blood. Through destruction and blood, you will bring stability and structure. Through breaking, you will create wholeness. Your past will work to bring your purpose through new means.

    Nate winced again as his palms began openly bleeding as sharpness somehow literally radiated from the edges of the stone. Without thinking, he threw the rock towards the demon.

    It died. Without fanfare or warning, the demon slumped to the ground, a hole drilled through its head. Fatigue washed over Nate as he panted for breath. The auditorium was covered in gore and ruin. Adrenaline faded, bringing waves of exhaustion to the forefront of his being. Nate collapsed on the floor, his breath ragged. He stared at his battered body, beaten and bloody.

    Then the pod opened and Nate collapsed to the floor, gasping for air as misty essence evaporated like steam around him.

 Sandwiched

    ¡°Mr. Lione,¡± Dean Anderson¡¯s voice calmly called out to him, ¡°not quite the reaction I was expecting from you.¡±

    Nate¡¯s mind rushed back to minutes before, at the young men and women who simply strode out of the pods with a smile on their face. How? How could you face something like that and just walk away? What kind of monsters were they?

    Huck collapsed on the floor next to Nate and violently emptied his stomach. Twice. By far, that was the worst reaction to the pod anyone had seen, judging from their screams of disgust and horror. Nate could see the fear lingering in Huck¡¯s eyes, the tremble in his hands and legs. Huck vomited once more.

    ¡°I see,¡± Dean Anderson spoke with a frown.

    ¡°Thank you for letting us-¡± Jenna¡¯s voice rang out before she noticed her friends on the floor surrounded by piles of vomit. ¡°Are they okay?¡± alarm filled her voice as she ran over to Dean Anderson. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine,¡± he waved her concern off. ¡°Some people have a poor reaction to essence.¡±

    Essence? Essence? A poor reaction to essence? Nate couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. Slowly, he stood, his legs still shaking from fighting for his life before he snatched away his Trait card from the pod.

    [Nathaniel Lione Trait Potential

    Imbuer: 5

    Reader: 4

    Crafter: 1

    Transmuter: 1]

    He had to do a double take at the numbers on his card. Reader IV? How? And on top of that, Imbuer V? What¡­ how?

    ¡°Alright, I think this is a good time to take a break,¡± Dean Anderson announced. ¡°I¡¯ll call maintenance to clean up this mess. The rest of you¡­ I don¡¯t know. Take a bathroom break or something.¡±

    Jenna walked over to Huck, helping him stand up and grabbing his card for him before grabbing Nate¡¯s hand to drag him off stage too. ¡°Are you guys alright? Huck, I can feel you shaking.¡±

    ¡°How¡­¡± Nate still couldn¡¯t believe what his card was telling him. Nor could he believe Jenna¡¯s nonchalance. ¡°How are you okay?¡± he finally stammered. Huck didn¡¯t say anything, still too shell-shocked to do anything but take the next step forward with Jenna¡¯s help. Nate moved around to support him from the other side.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get to the dorms,¡± Jenna offered, a small smile tugging on her lips as Nate relieved her of Huck¡¯s weight. ¡°We can talk more there.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Do you¡­¡± Nate had to shake his head to clear his thoughts from dwelling on that fight- the swarm- tiny claws tearing into his flesh- he shook his head again. ¡°Do you know where they are?¡±

    ¡°Umm. Sort of?¡± she offered.

    The trio made it out of the building and began their trek through campus. Huck wasn¡¯t much of a conversationalist normally, and this state wasn¡¯t doing him any favors. Paired with Nate¡¯s distractedness, they sort of trudged in uneasy silence until they came across a stairway up a hill.

    ¡°Look at this, boys. More freshies. A thousand credits for each of you to pass,¡± a somewhat familiar voice called out to the trio from the top of the stairs. His face seemed to ring a bell in the back of Nate¡¯s mind as he squinted at the guy, before placing his face as the dickwad trying to rough Huck up on the train into Gate U.

    ¡°You look familiar,¡± Nate commented. ¡°Like, your face is ringing a bell or something.¡±

    The boy stiffened at that comment.

    ¡°Give me a moment. I know the answer¡¯s going to slap me across the face soon enough,¡± Nate¡¯s eyebrows furrowed.

    The boy did not like that comment, his hand reflexively moving up to his cheek.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve lost the train of thought,¡± Nate frowned.

    ¡°Listen here, you little shit. Two thousand credits from you and you get to keep your teeth inside your head,¡± the boy took a step forward.

    Jenna cleared her throat and leaned over to whisper, ¡°Do you know each other or something?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ think we met briefly. Must have been a flyby encounter. You know, it¡¯s weird, his face must have made some sort of lasting impression- a real dent in my mind. But I just can¡¯t place him. Was he selling something?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± the second-year spat on the ground, his fists clenched with palpable rage.

    Huck slipped from Nate¡¯s arm and met the older boy at the base of the stairs. Huck didn¡¯t say a word, he just leveled his thousand-yard stare up at the situation¡¯s antagonist. The boy tried to push Huck, but Huck reacted too quickly. As soon as his hands made contact, Huck twisted and threw the boy over his shoulder. Huck didn¡¯t let go of the arm, tucking it into his shoulder and bending the boy¡¯s wrist backward until it audibly popped. He slowly brought his unblinking gaze up the stairs to the rest of the waiting thugs.

    They jumped down the stairs two at a time and rushed Huck even as Huck rushed up to meet them. Nate began to shoot forward, but Jenna¡¯s arm lashed out to stop him.

    ¡°He¡¯ll be okay. If either of us join, we won¡¯t be.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Nate asked in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s five on one and I¡¯m pretty sure those are second years. He¡¯s gonna get the shit kicked out of him,¡± he protested.

    Jenna just shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m an Oracle 5. Please, trust me on this. We don¡¯t want to get involved in this fight. Huck will be okay.¡±

    Huck was not okay. The gang rushed him, landing kicks and punches before someone managed to grab hold of Huck and hold him in place.

    ¡°No one messes with our captain without suffering our wrath!¡± one of the gang shouted. Nate winced at the cliche phrase.

    Punches and kicks flew through the air, connecting with Huck¡¯s limp body. Blood sprayed from his mouth as they pummeled his face. A punch to the gut doubled him over. Then Huck threw his body backwards, landing on the guy who had been holding him and riding it down the stone steps like a luge. Nate had to look away, flinching at every pop and crack as the second-year¡¯s skull bounced off the naked stone steps.

    Huck stood up and popped his shoulder back into place, once again leveling that empty stare at the four gang members left. His face was swelling, blood trickling down the corners of his lips, but he showed no emotion whatsoever. No fear, no triumph, no gloating, no pain. Nothing but emptiness.

    The four members looked at each other in hesitation before charging down the steps again. Once again, Huck¡¯s body crumpled to the punishment the gang doled out on his body, spitting up blood and teeth as elbows and knees struck at him relentlessly.

    ¡°We have to help him,¡± Nate pleaded, but Jenna just shook her head. ¡°Please, they¡¯re going to kill him!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be okay,¡± she whispered, though her eyes were wide. ¡°I saw¡­ I saw it. He¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    The gang had taken to picking Huck up and throwing his limp body to the ground again and again. Huck thrashed suddenly and violently, knocking one of the gang boys off balance. He stumbled backward and tripped at the base step. A loud crack sounded through the area as his head smashed against stone. Blood pooled and began to drip down the staircase. Huck stood up and wiped his mouth, revealing clean, unbroken skin beneath.

    ¡°You¡­ you killed him,¡± one of the gang boys stammered at Huck, his eyes not leaving the most recently fallen. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±

    Huck didn¡¯t answer, leveling his gaze at the remaining gang members.

    ¡°We gotta get help!¡± one boy ran off.

    ¡°Did Huck really just kill a guy?¡± Nate turned to Jenna. ¡°This is getting out of hand. We have to do something.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Jenna couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. ¡°No one died in my visions. Huck¡¯s fine. Everyone¡¯s fine. They¡¯ll be- they¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    Disregarding Jenna entirely, Nate rushed toward Huck. Reinforcements must have shattered the remaining morale. The two thugs ran off without a word, but Huck wasn¡¯t paying attention. He knelt by the unmoving body at the base of the stairs, his hand on the boy¡¯s chest. Slowly, Nate could see the boy¡¯s chest rising and falling. Not dead. Thank the blue skies above. Green light surrounded Huck¡¯s hand, causing Nate to recall Huck saying he was some sort of healer. Nate¡¯s frantic pace slowed to a walk as he approached his beaten friend.

    ¡°You okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Huck answered finally. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Them too," he nodded toward the two downed assailants.

    Nate let out a breath he didn¡¯t know he¡¯d been holding, staring at Jenna as she approached. ¡°I saw you lose teeth, man. Don¡¯t say you¡¯re fine.¡±

    Huck turned his head up toward Nate bearing his teeth. Not a single one was missing. ¡°I¡¯ve lost more teeth than I can count before I was five.¡±

    Exasperated, Nate didn¡¯t know what to do but gesticulate over to Jenna to say something. She stared wide-eyed at the scene around her. ¡°It was fine. We were all fine. Just sitting in my room. What ha-¡­ I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°What in the bloody blazes of the deepest abyss are you talking about?¡± Nate practically shouted at her. ¡°Why¡¯d you stop me from helping? What do you mean we were all fine? We were not fine, least of all Huck!¡±

    ¡°My visions. I saw us all sitting in my dorm. No one was hurt.¡±

    Nate held his hand up to stop her. ¡°Hold on-¡±

    ¡°We should go,¡± Huck spoke up.

    Jenna¡¯s eyes turned from deep pink to milky white before returning to her normal color. ¡°Huck¡¯s right. Faculty is on their way and we do not want to be caught in the middle of this.¡±

    ¡°So flee the crime scene?¡± Nate couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±

    ¡°We aren¡¯t fleeing because there was no crime,¡± Huck spoke smoothly as he stood. ¡°On our part, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the guy who ran off told a faculty member we were trying to extort them for a stairway pass,¡± Jenna confirmed. ¡°Quick walk, let¡¯s move.¡± She grabbed Nate¡¯s hand and led him away.

    A few minutes later, they all sat in Jenna¡¯s temporary dorm room, staring at each other in silence. The room itself seemed pretty bare bones, nothing more than a bed and desk with hardly enough room to get between them.

    Nate decided to break the silence. ¡°Oracle?¡± He turned toward Jenna. ¡°As in you see the future.¡±

    She grimaced.

    ¡°And you couldn¡¯t see Huck getting the teeth knocked out of his head?¡± Nate pushed.

    ¡°I¡­¡± but the sentence faded from her mouth as she shrunk back.

    ¡°And you,¡± Nate turned to Huck. ¡°What the hell was that? You were like a zombie or something. They must have beaten you half to death a dozen times. You should have died six times over.¡±

    Huck didn¡¯t comment, but also didn¡¯t meet Nate¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Nate took in a breath, trying to calm himself. ¡°Clearly I¡¯m the only one freaking out here. Let¡¯s start at the beginning. Jenna, how much did you know about today?¡±

    She chewed on her lower lip as she pondered her answer. ¡°Well¡­ a lot. And nothing. Most of it? It¡¯s hard to-¡± she fumbled around with her words for a bit more before taking in a breath to steady her thoughts. ¡°I suspected a lot. Like I told Dean Anderson, my being an Oracle wasn¡¯t ever confirmed before today. I had a lot of hunches that turned out to be true. And some that didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°And now¡­ you can see into the future?¡± Nate pressed.

    ¡°That¡¯s really not how any of this works,¡± Jenna answered with a sigh. ¡°There is no such thing as ¡®the future¡¯. There are possibilities and probabilities and inevitabilities and impossibilities, but no ¡®the future¡¯. Mostly just hunches and sometimes vivid dreams before today. But what happened in that pod, I don¡¯t know. I suddenly understood more about my Trait? Or maybe my Trait fully activated and I learned how to better wield it. I don¡¯t know, but now I know I can see futures. Like roads. They lead down specific paths, but you don¡¯t have to go down a particular road if you don¡¯t want to, because there are a ton of other roads too. But yeah. So, I had a pretty strong hunch that we¡¯d be able to make it to Trait testing if we hurried back to the auditorium after lunch, which is why I was in such a rush. I didn¡¯t want to get you guys too excited, so I didn¡¯t say anything. Could be wrong, after all. Sometimes¡­ well, sometimes my hunches were more just wishful thinking.¡± Her cheeks colored at that statement.

    Nate turned to Huck again. ¡°You¡¯re sure you¡¯re okay?¡±

    ¡°No complaints here. You would have been turned into paste if you tried to step in.¡±

    Nate just shook his head in disbelief before turning his attention back to Jenna. ¡°And you sent your parents home on another hunch, right?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ yes. I did tell them we wouldn¡¯t be tested today.¡±

    ¡°But we were,¡± Nate countered. ¡°Also like you predicted.¡±

    ¡°The future isn¡¯t a solid thing,¡± Jenna shrugged. ¡°I took another road when I saw the exit for it.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯ve said,¡± Nate furrowed his eyebrows in thought. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not talking down to you, I¡¯m just trying to wrap my head around some things. Today has been¡­ hectic for me. Speaking of which, how the hell did you come out of that pod like the whole thing was a stroll through sunshine and rainbows?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure what you mean?¡± Jenna arched an eyebrow at Nate.

    ¡°The pod. It was traumatic. The ceiling literally collapsed around your head? The swarm of demons that tried to kill you with a thousand cuts before it coalesced into some sort of super demon who moved like a speedster?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jenna scrunched her face in confusion. ¡°What are you talking about? The pod wasn¡¯t like that at all.¡±

    ¡°Yes it was,¡± Huck spoke gravely, his eyes distancing themselves into that thousand yard stare again. ¡°Hordes. Endless hordes. Tearing my body apart. Breaking bones, eating my organs. All as I healed up every injury just to suffer it again and again.¡±

    Nate and Jenna stared at Huck wide-eyed.

    ¡°I watched myself die hundreds of times. Held helpless as demons tore away my limbs to fight over who got to eat it.¡± Huck huffed a breath and shook himself. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m gonna go to bed now. Don¡¯t wake me up tomorrow.¡± He stood and walked out the room.

    ¡°What the fu-¡±

    ¡°And you went through something similar?!¡± Jenna practically shouted at Nate.

    ¡°Not like that, no. Just a swarm of demons trying to cut me to ribbons. I learned a ton about my Traits though. And lived. What about you?¡±

    Jenna shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. ¡°I sat in a pod that filled with essence and meditated on my Trait. Then something clicked in my core and I started seeing visions of the future. I learned how to control what I was looking at and got all sorts of insight into my Trait and how it worked. Then the pod opened up.¡±

    Nate blinked at her. ¡°I feel offended on Huck¡¯s behalf.¡±

    Jenna scrunched her face in guilt. ¡°Me too. But before, you said Traits? As in plural?¡±

    ¡°Ah, right. Apparently I¡¯m a Reader IV, which is even higher than my mother. And on top of that, Imbuer V.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jenna popped up to her feet. ¡°A tier 9? That¡¯s just under Bastion at 10! Nate, you could turn into a legend!¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Nate searched for the right way to phrase the rest of his thoughts. ¡°I also got Crafter I and Transmuter I, so technically-¡±

    ¡°Tier 11?¡± Jenna gasped breathily. ¡°Nate¡­that¡¯s unheard of. You could change the world as we know it.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves now,¡± Nate chuckled nervously. ¡°That¡¯s just my potential. There are oceans of distance between potential and actualization.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, promise me that whenever there are partners or whatever, we¡¯re on the same team,¡± Jenna insisted.

    ¡°We don¡¯t even know what that would entail-¡±

    ¡°Promise me!¡±

    Nate relented with a short laugh, ¡°Okay, okay. I promise we¡¯ll be on the same team as much as possible. Huck too.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± she nodded curtly, then smiled. ¡°We should rest for a bit and then orient ourselves to the campus some more.¡±

    ¡°Was that a hunch?¡± Nate teased.

    ¡°Mmm, something like that,¡± Jenna smiled warmly. ¡°I like to think this one¡¯s more intuition.¡±

    The sun was setting so peacefully in the blue-and-now-orange sky, it was almost enough to make Nate forget the association between red skies and demon-infested Scourgelands. Almost. He couldn¡¯t suppress the shiver that ran down his body, even as the last of the late-evening birdsong happily chirruped goodnight to each other. The contrast between here and the rest of the world¡­ it was unnerving, to say the least.

    ¡°Deep in thought?¡± Jenna looked up, taking another lick of her ice cream cone. Strawberry, for some reason. Out of all the flavors they had, she had to go with that one.

    He looked down to his double deluxe fudgey chocolate cone and frowned for a second. Or did I get something too complex? ¡°You have a hunch?¡± he answered curtly.

    Jenna didn¡¯t respond immediately, taking the time to ponder her next words carefully. Nate let the silence hang in the air. ¡°You¡¯re mad at me. And I saw into the future enough times to know why. To your credit, you don¡¯t want to be mad at me, but you are. Nine times out of ten, you try to bottle it up and hope it goes away.¡±

    ¡°That seems invasive,¡± Nate answered concisely.

    ¡°Look, we can play this game where I end up asking why we¡¯re even hanging out if you¡¯re going to be like this and you get super defensive, but I don¡¯t like the direction that road heads. Let¡¯s just jump on the issue. You don¡¯t like that we stood by and watched Huck get beat up.¡±

    Now it was Nate¡¯s turn to pause. ¡°I don¡¯t. You guys were supposed to be my friends. Friends don¡¯t just stand back and watch each other get strung out like that.¡±

    Jenna pursed her lips in distaste. ¡°I don¡¯t like it either, but like it or not, we¡¯d have ended up in the hospital if we tried. Even Huck agreed. Those were second-years in the Hero program, Nate. A whole year of crazy training ahead of us.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Nate grouched, conceding the point. ¡°Whatever we go through, we go through together. I¡¯m not leaving him out to hang again. Or you. Whatever comes up next.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re afraid I¡¯d have held Huck back too if you took his place?¡± Jenna¡¯s face scrunched up at the thought.

    ¡°¡®Huck, it¡¯s just one person getting hurt. If you get involved, it¡¯ll be all of us,¡¯¡± Nate made a poor facsimile of Jenna¡¯s voice. ¡°Sounds like something you would say.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that,¡± Jenna scoffed.

    Nate shrugged. ¡°You can¡¯t know that.¡±

    Jenna blew a raspberry at him before pointing to herself. ¡°Oracle? I actually can know that.¡±

    ¡°I thought there was no such thing as ¡®the future¡¯. It¡¯s all just roads taking you down paths.¡±

    She sighed, taking another bite of her ice cream and savoring the flavor before answering, ¡°You can be a little ridiculous sometimes, you know that?¡± She paused, taking another bite. ¡°Feeling any better?¡±

    Nate sighed in defeat. ¡°Yeah, a little.¡±

    ¡°And next time Huck is getting his face pulverized, I promise I won¡¯t stop you from jumping next in line. Okay?¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Nate smiled softly at her sense of humor.

    ¡°Eh. What are friends for, if not encouraging each other to throw themselves into certain danger and horrendous injury?¡±

    That actually got Nate to chuckle a little. ¡°Okay, okay, I get it. Huck and I¡­ might need to hear a voice of reason now and again.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± she smiled brightly, her lips glistening with melted strawberry ice cream. Nate stared at her glistening lips and wondered for a moment what strawberry ice cream actually tasted like before taking another bite of his own. Jenna continued, ¡°So, we¡¯ve wandered around campus enough that I don¡¯t think I¡¯d get lost anymore. What about you? Feeling comfortable?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a big campus, but not a maze. And we still have, what, six days left before classes actually start? You have any plans?¡±

    Jenna¡¯s next step faltered as her face reddened for some reason. ¡°N-nope,¡± she gave him a nervous smile with just a twinge of¡­ hope? ¡°I¡¯m completely free,¡± she offered as she tucked back a curly lock of brown hair behind her ear.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°Probably going to be boring for you, then,¡± Nathaniel shrugged. ¡°I just learned I¡¯m an Imbuer. And apparently better at it than Reading. I gotta practice as much as I can if I have any hope of staying in the hero program.¡±

    ¡°Ah, right,¡± she laughed nervously, yet somehow seeming¡­ let down? Nate narrowed his eyes at her in confusion. Did she want me to fail out or something?

    Nate tried at easing her discomfort, ¡°You can come by, if you like. As long as you don¡¯t break my concentration too much and are okay with long periods of awkward silence while nothing happens.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± she threw him an unreadable look. ¡°You¡¯re right, though. We both should be practicing with our new abilities.¡±

    ¡°Come on. I¡¯ll walk you back to your dorm,¡± Nate grinned.

    Jenna genuinely laughed at that. ¡°I couldn¡¯t ask that of you. It¡¯s too far out of your way!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Nate chuckled, playing along. ¡°The weather tonight is fair and I don¡¯t mind a brisk walk. Don¡¯t lean too heavily on my generosity, though. I hate feeling taken advantage of.¡±

    She snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes. Eating the last of her ice cream cone, she took his hand in hers and shook her head with a sigh and a wry smile. ¡°Let¡¯s get going, then.¡± They took the last ten steps to get back to their building and walked inside. Nate bid her goodnight before heading to the next room over to head to bed himself.

    Popping out of bed the next morning, Nate immediately went to work. ¡°Imbuing¡­. Imbuing, Imbuing, Imbuing,¡± he hummed to himself with a yawn. ¡°Well, one thing¡¯s for sure- I¡¯m not spending the next however many years sleeping terribly,¡± he shot his pillow a disdainful look. In a word, it was lumpy. In several more words, it didn¡¯t keep cool, was too thin and flimsy, smelled of cheap motel rooms, and was scratchy. I could just buy a new pillow, but¡­ The thing looked old. It looked like it had seen better decades, which might be a good place to start with Imbuing practice.

    Nate sat cross-legged on the floor, placing the pillow on his lap and began to concentrate. You are for sleeping, he kept thinking it like a mantra as he meditated. Something felt off, very different from what Imbuing was like in the pod. There, he felt a sort of connection to the metal pipe, like it was hungry to be molded. This pillow just felt moldy. You are for sleeping, he thought harder, pressing his will into the idea. Opening his eyes again, the pillow seemed no different. Nate frowned.

    I¡¯m supposedly a tier V Imbuer. Well, that¡¯s my potential at Imbuing at least. But shouldn¡¯t that mean I pick up on Imbuing easily? His frown deepened as he looked at the pillow on his lap. Then again, how would I know if that did work? He contemplated the pillow again, feeling the clumps of cotton between his fingers. What even is Imbuing? I feel like I knew so much back in the pod, but now everything¡¯s like a dream I¡¯ve hardly remembered having.

    You are for sleeping, Nathaniel thought over and over again. The pillow never changed. Am I thinking the wrong phrase? Telling a pillow that it¡¯s for sleeping wouldn¡¯t exactly change anything, would it? He rolled his fingers across his knee as he thought. Be comfortable. Relaxing. Peaceful. Restful. Nate lost track of time as he focused on these aspects of what a good pillow would be. When he opened his eyes, the pillow hadn¡¯t changed. Something¡¯s still missing. Being more honest with himself, Nate would have admitted that a lot was missing. He felt no connection with the pillow, like he did with an object he was Reading. Maybe that¡¯s the key?

    Slowly, Nate focused his attention on connecting with the object, like he did with Reading any mundane object. Just with that small thought alone, his Reading Trait kicked in, causing him to recoil and toss the pillow across the room. The majority of what that pillow had seen in its lifetime was sleeping, but only by a slim margin. Nate grimaced, trying to let the images wash out of his memory before they stuck as he sat on the floor recovering his will to press onward. After a few minutes of mustering himself, he was able to grab the pillow again, albeit by one corner and held it far away from his body this time.

    You are for resting- he jolted himself out of his trance at the strange feeling in his core. Connection. He looked down at the pillow and noted nothing physically different, but his core definitely felt attached to it. Be comfortable. Relaxing. Peaceful- again, he had to stop himself from continuing. Each thought was like a feather tickling deep in his ears making his throat itch. The sheer giddiness of actually Imbuing would have been enough to break his concentration on its own, though. Nate chuckled to himself as he held up the pillow to find no changes whatsoever.

    What am I even doing? Am I doing it correctly or incorrectly? Pushing the intrusive thoughts aside, he continued practicing. Be comfortable. Relaxing. Peaceful. Restful. You are for sleeping. Nate pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth where an itch had begun to develop even as he continued gathering his thoughts. His core hummed contentedly as it seemed to resonate ever so slightly with the pillow in his lap. Once his thoughts had been sufficiently gathered, he willed them into the pillow. He may as well have tried passing a brick through the fabric. His gathered will shoved and shoved against the pillow, but got nowhere.

    Frustrated with hitting yet another wall after having so recently surpassed his first, he tossed the pillow aside and buried his face in his hands with a groan. The digital clock on the nightstand next to his bed told him the entire ordeal had taken three and a half hours. That was three and a half hours of metaphorically bashing his head against a wall. Massaging the pain out of his temples from the rapidly forming headache, he came to the conclusion that now might be a good time to take a break.

    Exiting his dorm, he first looked to Huck¡¯s door, thinking back to his friend. ¡®Don¡¯t wake me up tomorrow.¡¯ Poor guy. He took in a breath of early afternoon hallway air, deciding some time outside might not be a bad idea. As he turned to leave, Jenna popped out of her room, fully dressed and looking ready to go somewhere.

    ¡°Oh. Hey, Jenna. Going somewhere?¡± he casually greeted.

    Jenna gave him a polite smile. ¡°Well, it¡¯s 11:26, and I wanted to see if I made any progress with utilizing my Trait.¡±

    Nate frowned at the comment, his brain missing a piece of the puzzle that was the odd comment his friend just made. ¡°Um. Okay. Did¡­ you make any progress?¡±

    She gave a half shrug and gestured at him, ¡°Well, you¡¯re standing here, so¡­¡±

    Nate blinked. ¡°You used your Trait to see when I¡¯d leave my dorm today?¡±

    She grimaced. ¡°It sounds invasive now, but at the time it seemed like something easily verifiable and wholly outside of my control. Sorry?¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s cool,¡± Nate waved her off without taking too much time to think about it. ¡°Honestly, you stalking me is kind of like a compliment, you know?¡±

    ¡°Stalking?¡± Jenna gawked, her cheeks flushing. ¡°I wasn¡¯t stalking-¡±

    ¡°You were,¡± he continued to tease her. ¡°And through time, too. That¡¯s another level.¡±

    ¡°Oh, like you weren¡¯t about to knock on my door and ask me to go for a walk,¡± she narrowed her eyes in mock indignation. ¡°Like I should just be waiting around for your every beck and call.¡±

    Nate frowned at that comment. The idea hadn¡¯t actually fully formed in his head yet, but began forming when he saw Huck¡¯s closed door. ¡°How did you- wait, you kept watching the future to see what happened after, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Jenna folded her arms across her chest, holding her head up high. Well, high for her rather diminutive size. ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t just show up in my pajamas, I had to dress appropriately for whatever it was you wanted to do, knocking on my door in the middle of the afternoon.¡±

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t knock on your door,¡± Nate countered playfully.

    ¡°Yet,¡± Jenna riposted.

    ¡°Exactly how far ahead did you read?¡±

    She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. ¡°Far enough to know you¡¯re frustrated with your Imbuing Trait.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯ve already gone on that walk with me. Why¡­?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to see if-¡± she took in a deep breath and let it out. ¡°I was curious about something and needed to know-¡±

    ¡°Curious about what?¡± Nate cut across her.

    Jenna blinked several times. ¡°The¡­ weather. Might have rained.¡±

    ¡°The weather,¡± Nate questioned her disbelievingly.

    ¡°Yup. Turns out it¡¯s a pretty nice day.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Nate narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to bore you, so I guess I¡¯ll just think things through on my own.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Jenna took a step back in shock.

    ¡°You¡¯ve clearly already gone on a walk with me,¡± Nate shrugged. ¡°It¡¯d be boring for you to do it all again and have to listen to my problems all over again.¡± He stepped past her, heading toward the door. She was right about the weather- today was a beautiful day.

    Jenna¡¯s shoulders slumped along with her dropping jaw as Nate stepped past her. Gathering herself, she jogged to catch up with Nate, her eyebrows furrowed in consternation.

    ¡°Betcha didn¡¯t see that one coming,¡± Nate grinned, giving his friend the side-eye.

    ¡°Blue skies above, is this going to be a thing with you?¡±

    ¡°Is what going to be a thing with me?¡± Nate chuckled.

    ¡°Where you go out of your way to break my visions of the future where you¡¯re involved, then say some stupid gotcha line?¡±

    Nate¡¯s chuckle grew into a chortle, then a laugh. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me, O mighty Oracle?¡±

    Jenna facepalmed, but couldn¡¯t keep herself from chuckling.

    ¡°See? Already better than a depressing walk talking about my feelings,¡± Nate gave her a playful elbow to her shoulder. ¡°Did I at least make any headway in that conversation?¡±

    Jenna rolled her deep pink eyes and sighed. ¡°Not really, but you did at least vent some frustration instead of acting like nobody wants to listen to you and diverting the topic.¡±

    Nate pursed his lips, then glanced down at his short friend. Finally relenting, he began to let loose. ¡°I just don¡¯t get it. I¡¯m supposed to be an Imbuer V. I should have a better grasp of Imbuing than Reading, but Reading comes so easily- like most of the time I have to actively not try to Read an object. But no matter how hard I try, I get nothing with Imbuing.¡±

    Jenna nodded her head- to her credit, paying attention even though she¡¯d likely heard him say these exact words before. ¡°And you¡¯re jealous that I¡¯ve been pretty successful with my Oracle Trait. Part of you wanted to believe that having a Trait at Tier V meant it would be somehow harder to utilize or activate, but I seem to have thoroughly debunked that theory.¡±

    With a sigh, Nate released the breath he hadn¡¯t realized he was holding in. ¡°Kind of like that, yeah.¡±

    ¡°Exactly like that, but go on,¡± Jenna shrugged non-judgmentally.

    ¡°And I¡¯m worried. I have four Traits to work on, and I can¡¯t even get a handle on my strongest one. How am I supposed to keep up with it all?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± Jenna looked up at him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ well, long story short, while I was looking into the future today, I noticed that in our walk, I looked into the future. Yours. Because you wanted to know which road would be most successful for you to follow. And after a few minutes of a lot of possibilities, your best bet is to spend this year only focusing on Imbuing. Having that skill at Tier V alone is enough to keep you in the Elite class. Reading is pretty much just the cherry on top.¡±

    ¡°The Elite class?¡± Nate asked, trying to wrap his mind around what Jenna just casually dropped. ¡°Wait, so you looked into the future while looking into the future?¡±

    ¡°Umm. Yes. And yes. We¡¯re going to be considered Elites in the Heroic Program for Gate Delving. You me and Huck. Anyone with a total Trait potential over 4. It¡¯s basically the regular HPGD, except about a hundred times more intense. They expect us to be leaders- Guild Officers, or even Guild Masters. Our training will be everything in the normal HPGD at a much higher standard for success, plus additional courses on leadership.¡±

    That news hit Nate like a truck, nearly bowling him over. ¡°Jenna, I¡¯m not sure I even want to be in that program. That sounds way too intense. I don¡¯t even know if I want to be a Hero in the first place.¡±

    ¡°You do,¡± she smiled warmly.

    ¡°I do?¡±

    ¡°You do,¡± she repeated.

    ¡°How far into the future did you have to look to find that answer?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­¡±

    She stopped walking forward, instead pivoting to face him. ¡°I looked the other direction.¡±

    Nate gave her a questioning look. Does she always talk in weird riddles?

    ¡°I know, for instance, you aren¡¯t one to sit idly by when you see someone needs help, even if you don¡¯t stand a chance of actually helping.¡± She arched an eyebrow at him before turning around to continue walking. ¡°And you, knowing now that your Trait potential is even higher than Bastion¡¯s¡­¡± she shrugged her shoulders without looking back.

    ¡°Be ever brighter,¡± Nate said more to himself than Jenna, his head now realizing what his heart had been telling him. His next step forward felt just a bit lighter. ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡±

    That did cause Jenna to look back, a smirk on her face. ¡°We didn¡¯t even get to your Imbuing problem yet.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well,¡± Nate shrugged, ¡°I guess my problems come in layers.¡±

    ¡°Layered is how I prefer my problems. Easy to address. Distinct from one another. Trust me, you don¡¯t want the alternative.¡±

    ¡°The alternative being¡­ no problems at all?¡±

    Jenna scoffed a laugh at that. ¡°No, no. The alternative being a complex web of inter-tangled knots- where every move you make to address one problem will make some other problem worse.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s what your problems look like?¡±

    ¡°Good guess,¡± she spoke with a tight smile.

    ¡°Like what?¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s¡­ a problem I would very much like to address with someone. But if I do address it, I end up with the worst possible outcome.¡±

    ¡°I thought there was no such thing as ¡®the future¡¯. So how could you be so sure that you absolutely will end up with the worst outcome, whatever that is?¡±

    ¡°Remember what I said before about there being possibilities, probabilities, inevitabilities, and impossibilities? That road inevitably leads to the worst outcome.¡±

    Nate thought for a bit, but nothing really came to him aside from one of his dad¡¯s favorite sayings. If you don¡¯t like where a path leads, build a new road forward. ¡°So build a new road,¡± he said, having given up with trying to find a vague solution to her extraordinarily vague problem.

    ¡°That¡¯s not how this works,¡± she sighed. ¡°It¡¯s an either-or situation. Either I say the thing, or I keep it hidden, and the longer it stays hidden, the more likely it is to cause problems.¡±

    ¡°But saying it will cause bigger problems?¡±

    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Jenna sighed heavily, leaning her head on Nate¡¯s arm for a moment before realizing. With a start, she took a step away, muttering apologies.

    Nate ignored the whole thing, taking her problem into consideration. ¡°So¡­ maybe wait on saying it until holding back causes bigger problems than saying it? Or¡­ I guess maybe there are other threads that need to be pulled before you start untangling this big knot.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, maybe,¡± Jenna muttered.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Nate snapped his fingers. ¡°When you were looking into the future at our walk, did we talk about your problems at all?¡±

    ¡°...No.¡±

    ¡°Ha,¡± Nate strode forward with an arrogant smile. ¡°Beat your future-vision again.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not how-¡± she sighed in defeat. ¡°Yeah, okay, you got me there.¡±

    ¡°Are you getting hungry? I¡¯m starting to get hungry,¡± Nate frowned, looking around. ¡°We should probably get lunch.¡±

    The sandwich shop down the street was quaint in a way that only Chicago could bear to manage. From the coral pink and seafoam green striped awning overhanging the entrance to the relatively tiny interior, no other city could support the existence of such a place- land being too precious a commodity to allow for a shop that could only service a few people at a time. This mom-and-pop shop stood as a testament to the security felt by the people living here. Moreover, it served as Bastion¡¯s private trophy- a precious gem in his crown of accomplishments- a small step towards what civilization used to look like before the sky shattered.

    Nathaniel tried his best to swallow the heavy emotions and memories of the building as he sat at a table that had been servicing people in this shop for more years than he¡¯d been alive, doing his best to disguise the uncomfortable flood of intrusive understanding as swallowing a bite of his sandwich. Jenna had picked his sandwich for him, using her Trait to look down every possibility for what he could order and judging which got the best reaction out of him. Admittedly, her method worked. Rather well. Too well, almost. He closed his eyes and gave another guttural noise of approval as the flavor lingered in his mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯m never getting food without you again,¡± Nate admittedly.

    Jenna shot him a coy grin. ¡°This time was special. It takes a lot of work for me to do that for you, especially when I could be doing it for me instead. You¡¯re going to have to earn it in the future.¡±

    Nate sighed in defeat, looking at his delicious masterpiece of a sandwich. ¡°The first hit¡¯s always free.¡±

    ¡°Give ¡®em a hint of what they could have, then make ¡®em pay through the nose to get what they want,¡± she grinned wolfishly before taking a bite of her own sandwich. After swallowing, she considered for a moment, ¡°Admittedly, this place does most of that for me.¡±

    ¡°We are very proud of our products,¡± a new voice chimed in, pulling a chair from another table and sitting backwards in it to face the two of them. ¡°You both look a little out of place here and I thought you might be attending the University here with me.¡± She was caramel skinned with black hair and brown eyes, her wiry frame hinting at a life of constantly moving around. ¡°I¡¯m Fiona,¡± she smiled warmly at the two of them. ¡°Sorry for interrupting your date.¡±

    ¡°Nathaniel Lione,¡± Nate responded automatically, moving to shake her hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a date,¡± Jenna answered simultaneously, her cheeks reddening.

    They both looked at each other.

    ¡°Oh. Yeah, we¡¯re not like that,¡± Nate corrected himself, sitting back down.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m Jenna Harris,¡± she answered simultaneously again, standing to shake Fiona¡¯s hand.

    Fiona looked between the two of them, narrowing her eyes as if searching for the joke. ¡°Right,¡± she let the word draw out, not moving to shake Jenna¡¯s hand.

    ¡°So did you get tested yet?¡± Nate dragged the conversation forward.

    ¡°Ah. Yes, I was fortunate enough to be in section A when the testing began. Fiona Tigris, Rifter at your service. For the right price,¡± she tacked on with a wink.

    ¡°Really?¡± Nate inquired. ¡°What¡¯s a- Ah!¡± Nate looked up to realize he was now staring out the glass window of the shop instead of looking at the shop¡¯s counter. He swiveled his head around, trying to get his bearings for a moment before realizing he was now sitting where Jenna had sat. Likewise, she was now seated where he had been, looking equally confused.

    After a breath, Fiona let out a short giggle. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that,¡± she tried to take a serious tone, but the mirth of her prank prevented it as she stared at Nathaniel and Jenna¡¯s dumbfounded and disoriented expressions. ¡°I figured it would be better to show you. I can move things- objects if they aren¡¯t too big or heavy, and people if they don¡¯t fight against me.¡±

    Nathaniel blinked at Jenna who stared right back at him wearing her own expression of perplexion. ¡°Seems like a pretty useful Trait,¡± Nate noted, reaching across the small, circular table to switch plates with Jenna, smiling to himself as he reunited with the amazing work of edible art.

    ¡°It certainly has its uses,¡± Fiona grinned, her brown eyes flitting briefly between Nate¡¯s expression and the object of his desire. ¡°And I¡¯m glad you hold our family recipes in such high regards.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Nate¡¯s eyes widened in awe, ¡°this is your place?¡±

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Fiona laughed. ¡°My parents are the owners and operators. I just help around.¡±

    ¡°Jenna, do Fiona and I become best friends, or do I just marry her?¡±

    Jenna gave him a flat look. ¡°Ha ha, very funny.¡±

    Fiona tittered a laugh and stood up. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt. I wish you the best of luck in your testing. Hopefully we¡¯ll meet again.¡±

    ¡°Every day. Specifically at lunch,¡± Nate promised.

    Fiona turned pitying eyes toward Nate. ¡°I don¡¯t think you could afford me, Mr. Lione.¡±

    ¡°Lunch here every day would get expensive¡­¡± he tapped his finger on the table, his mind chugging through scenarios that might work. ¡°I could pull a job or two.¡±

    ¡°Not every cost is financial,¡± Fiona rolled her eyes, spending a moment to lock eyes with Jenna. Fiona shook her head and shrugged before leaving.

    ¡°She¡¯s cute,¡± Jenna finally started the conversation again after about a minute of silence. Her words were a little clipped, but her face was utterly unreadable.

    Nate looked at Jenna for a long moment. Definitely irritated. And a little embarrassed. ¡®She¡¯s cute.¡¯ What¡¯s that supposed to mean? His mind whirred as he prepared for another game of ¡®this woman seems to be upset with me and I¡¯m not quite sure why¡¯. ¡°That was pretty dumb of me,¡± he began. Solid opener. Immediately take the blame while not tipping my hand that I have no idea for what I¡¯m to blame.

    Jenna arched an eyebrow at him. ¡°How so?¡± she feigned confusion, not tipping her own hand in any fashion.

    Nate thought quickly. ¡®She¡¯s cute.¡¯ ¡°Fiona,¡± he grasped desperately at an answer.

    She broke eye contact, looking down at her sandwich briefly before looking to the side while taking in a slow breath and releasing it with a huff. Settling back against her chair.

    She took the bait. Yank the hook and reel her in.

    ¡°Not sure what I was thinking. We¡¯d be terrible together. I¡¯d just spend my whole day asking her to go make me a sandwich. Not exactly a good look.¡±

    Jenna fought herself as corners of her lips curled upward ever so slightly before she snorted a laugh, the whole action sounding more like a poorly concealed sneeze than anything else.

    Her move. Nate let the silence linger, simply shaking his head in regret.

    Her lips twisted as she considered her next words. Her eyes flickered up toward his for a moment. ¡°I could check, if you want.¡±

    Nate gave her a quizzical look. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    She closed her eyes and focused for a moment. ¡°Well, out of¡­. Four hundred and ninety three attempts to ask her out, she only says yes to five of them. Looks like¡­ one involves hiring a farmer with a herd of cows to spell out her name with the cows. Ooo,¡± she grimaced, ¡°and turns out she only says yes out of pity because you slip and fall face-first into a cowpie.¡±

    This time, Nate snorted a laugh. ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± he folded his arms, leaning back in his chair. ¡°I¡¯ll judge the success of each relationship path by the number of sandwiches she makes me. How many do I get from that one?¡±

    Jenna laughed genuinely and opened her eyes to give Nate a bewildered look. ¡°You¡¯d eat cow crap just for a sandwich?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous,¡± Nate scoffed, ¡°this isn¡¯t ¡®just a sandwich¡¯. This is sacred masterwork art in food form. Men have fought wars over less blasphemous statements than yours, I¡¯ll have you know.¡±

    She quirked a smile, her head tilting to the side. ¡°It is a pretty good sandwich.¡±

    ¡°Pretty good? Pretty good?¡± Nate mocked outrage and indignation. ¡°Yeah, and the Tier V Gates around New York City are a bit of an inconvenience.¡±

    ¡°Okaaay,¡± she relented with a chuckle, ¡°the sandwiches here are definitely praiseworthy. Blue skies above, Nate.¡±

    ¡°Do you mind if I quote some of those comments?¡± Fiona shouted from the shop¡¯s backroom. ¡°We¡¯re putting out a new ad in the paper.¡±

    ¡°One free sandwich per quote,¡± Nate offered.

    ¡°Ha! As if. I was being polite by asking. I was actually going to take your comments and publish them anyway, just listing you both as anonymous customers if you didn¡¯t let me quote you specifically.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you can quote us,¡± Jenna rolled her eyes.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Fiona snapped back teasingly, ¡°but when my fianc¨¦ and I are having an argument, kindly stay out of it.¡± She emphasized the teasing bit by sticking her tongue out at Jenna. ¡°Looking forward to that cowpie to the face, sweetie,¡± she winked playfully at Nate.

    Jenna rolled her eyes and laughed. ¡°She¡¯s not joking. That¡¯s now the only way she¡¯ll say yes to any of your proposals.¡±

    Fiona laughed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t even have to be farm related. Bring in a big pile on the first day of class and see if I say yes.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm. How many sandwiches is that route?¡± Nate turned to Jenna.

    ¡°Are you kidding me right now? You¡¯d seriously-¡± she cut herself off with a facepalm. ¡°And I¡¯m not your cheat guide for a dating sim.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d get one sandwich,¡± Fiona answered smugly. ¡°And I don¡¯t have to say yes to your proposal.¡±

    ¡°All it would cost is my dignity?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Fiona waffled her head back and forth a few times, visibly weighing her options, ¡°let¡¯s say your dignity and the remaining half of the price. Plus taxes.¡±

    ¡°You drive a hard bargain¡­¡± Nate narrowed his eyes at her.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± Jenna groaned, grabbing his arm and pulling. ¡°Preferably before she takes you for everything you own.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ sandwiches,¡± Nate frowned theatrically.

    ¡°Now,¡± Jenna pulled harder, trying to subdue her smile.

    The sky was more peaceful than either one of them had experienced before this week. White wisps of cloud drifted slowly across that ocean of light blue as birds chirped happily from trees planted along the sidewalks. They took a minute to enjoy this serenity, this moment of peace with each other, reflecting on their lives ahead of them.

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t spoken about your Imbuing problem,¡± Jenna absently noted, as if reading Nate like an open book.

    ¡°I think you hit all the points already. I¡¯m frustrated and, yes, a little jealous that you¡¯ve got your Trait working for you so well. And I¡¯m supposed to focus on Imbuing this year. What else is there to say?¡±

    Jenna took a long moment to answer. ¡°The things you want to say instead of someone else¡¯s summarization?¡±

    Now it was Nate¡¯s turn to walk in silence for a time. ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± he finally uttered. ¡°Because I have no clue what shape the future holds for me. What¡¯s an Imbuer even do in a dungeon? Or out of a dungeon if I fail out of the HPGD? And that¡¯s assuming I can even manage to Imbue anything at all.¡±

    Frowning, Jenna tapped her chin. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. What actually is Imbuing?¡±

    Nate opened his mouth to answer, but not a single word came to mind. Perplexed, he closed his mouth again and thought over her question. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure.¡±

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why you¡¯re struggling to Imbue?¡± Jenna offered.

    ¡°But it was so easy in the pod.¡±

    ¡°What did it look like in the pod then?¡± she inquired.

    ¡°I just¡­ willed things to be a certain way and they were. But I¡¯ve tried that already and nothing happened.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm. Do the materials you Imbue have to have certain conditions?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t¡­ know,¡± Nate dragged out each word. ¡°I¡¯ve only tried Imbuing my pillow.¡±

    ¡°Maybe your pillow¡¯s just stubborn.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pillow. It can¡¯t be stubborn,¡± Nate scoffed.

    ¡°How¡¯s it resisting your will to Imbue it then?¡±

    Again, Nate opened his mouth to speak, and again, no words came. ¡°You¡¯ve given me a lot to think about.¡±

    Jenna let out a long sigh, ¡°And now your mind won¡¯t focus on anything but the new ideas popping into your head leaving you jittery with excitement. Yeah, go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Really? You don¡¯t mind?¡±

    She twisted her lips and looked at Nate for a moment before answering. ¡°I mind a little. But I know this is really important for you, so yes, go. Just promise you won¡¯t stay locked up in your room the whole time? And I expect at least one text a day, if nothing else then at least let me know you haven¡¯t starved yourself to death.¡±

    ¡°You beautiful person,¡± Nate giddily hugged his friend and sprinted off to the dorm.

    Jenna lightly touched her arms where Nate had hugged her as she watched him run off. ¡°You could¡¯ve walked me home,¡± she muttered to herself. ¡°I¡¯m going back too, you know.¡±