Vin and Claire glanced in the direction of the voice, and saw a sword, flying toward Vin at great speed. Claire hastily ran towards Vin, however, the speed of the sword was too fast, and she was too far away. Vin stood there, not knowing what to do, he instinctively reached out his trembling hands and closed his eyes.

Darkness plagued him, he could feel his heart beat faster and faster, his body both numb and sensitive, and he couldn't hear anything other than his heartbeat. He stood there not knowing what to do. He lowered his hands as he slowly opened his eyes, the sunlight penetrated his eyes like a flashbang, blurring his vision, and bit by bit, his vision started to return to its clarity. He looked around confused, Chroma and the woman had a shocked expression.

“Claire, what happened?” asked Vin,

However his question was left unanswered, he glanced at Claire whose eyes were fixated on behind his body, she also was frozen in shock, Vin turned around and traced along her sight, and saw that she was looking at the sword, its blade buried on the ground, its hilt inches away from his body, Vin felt a surge of relief, however, his confusion grew, he looked back at Claire, he sees her lips moving, she was saying something, but her voice was distorted.

A sharp ringing noise pierced Vin’s ear, making him squirm in discomfort, the sensations from his body rapidly fading, as the noise became stronger, a voice cut through the noise, making it disappear completely.

“Vin, are you ok?” asked the voice,

Vin turned towards the direction of the voice and saw Claire looking at him, shock and confusion was written throughout her face yet she tried her best to hide it.

“Yeah, I’m fine thanks… but what happened?” Vin asked

“You don’t know?” asked Claire

Vin shakes his head, he was still confused about what happened, he glanced at Clay who was making her way towards her sword, she grabbed its hilt and pulled it, however she wasn't able to. Her brows furrowed as she clicked her tongue, in frustration.

“Um… guys, why don’t we sit down first, and talk,” said Chroma, “Vin’s legs are trembling, there’s a nearby gazebo, let’s talk there,”

Everyone agreed, Claire grabbed Vin’s arm and draped it over her shoulder, supporting Vin, the four of them walked towards the gazebo, where they eventually sat down, after a moment of silence, Vin talks,

“So… can you guys tell me what happened?” he asked

“But wait… why was a sword flying towards Vin in the first place?” asked Claire

“Ah, sorry about that, me and Clay were sparring, she threw her sword at me, I deflected it and went towards Vin’s direction… sorry,” answered Chroma, “And as for you Vin… I don’t know, it's hard to explain it,”

“What do you mean?” asked Vin, his confusion growing stronger,

“It’s like you’re glitching Vin,” said Claire

Vin tilts his head, however, he sees the three of them unanimously nodding their heads fills him with dread.

“By glitch, do you mean like in games?” he asked

Claire responded with a nod, “Yeah, it's pretty much like that,” she answered, “To be honest, it was so surreal, it was horrifying and amazing at the same time,”

“Not only that, but it looks like your 'glitch' can also affect things around you, considering you broke my Artifact,” said Clay

“Wait what? Your Artifact broke?” asked Chroma, with a surprised tone

Clay nods, “Yeah, I can't retract my Artifact, I couldn't deactivate it either, heck I couldn't even lift it… so I just left it there,” she replied as she pointed at the sword embedded into the ground

“I-I'm sorry about that,” said Vin

“It's alright… I guess, I can still feel the Artifact's abilities, so it's probably not completely broken,” explained Clay

The conversation came to a stop, everyone was silent, not knowing what to say or ask next, it was a very awkward atmosphere, until one spoke up.

“Anyway…Vin, do you want to find out more about your Artifact? And what abilities can it have?” asked Chroma

“Sure… but how?” asked Vin, “I thought it’s more on self-learning?”

“It is, we won’t be teaching you, but you’ll find out yourself through sparring,” answered Clay

“I see… but w-”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Hold on!” said Claire interrupting Vin, “Why sparring out of all things?” she asked

“Why not sparring?” asked Clay, “I mean, most of us found out about our Artifacts when we were facing life and death, he’s lucky that he’ll be able to know his Artifact before he got a near-death experience,”

“Huh?” Claire scoffs, “Didn’t that happen a while ago when your sword almost hit him?”

“Are you deaf or were you not listening?” asked Clay, her tone increasing, “It was an accident, an accident,”

“Calm down, the both of you, we're not here to fight, we're here to talk, alright?” said Chroma

Clair and Clay sighed, they crossed their arms, they looked off into the distance, clearly irritated by each other's presence.

“So… who will I be sparring with?

Chroma smiles and points at herself.

“Now hold on just a moment,” said Claire glancing at Chroma, “Why would you fight him, wouldn’t it make more sense if I fought with him?”

“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t,” said Chroma, “You’re strong, but can you control it? Even if you can, could you show your hostility to your partner? Can you show him what it's like to fight an enemy Curator?”

Claire sat there quietly, not saying a thing as she looked away.

Chroma smiled, and glanced at Vin, “Follow me,”

Vin follows Chroma, as the two of them went out, Claire and Clay looked at them, their expressions stoic, opposite to what they're actually feeling. Claire felt a sense of dread, still thinking about her from the previous confrontation with Ark, and at the same time, she was worried for Vin. Clay, on the other hand, was different, her eyes hinted hostility, followed by curiosity. The both of them watched as Vin and Chroma exited the gazebo.

Chroma led Vin to a nearby clearing, the place where Clay and her previously sparred, it was just right beside the gazebo, Claire and Clay were able to view the sparring from there.

“Are you ready?” asked Chroma

“I don't know…I'm not even sure that I can activate my Artifact like last time,” answered Vin

Chroma smiles, and she pulls out a small spring notebook, she then flips through the pages, each one full of different drawings, she then stops in the middle.

“Don't worry, you'll be fine,” Chroma reassured Vin, however, her tone was anything but reassuring

Vin nods, he takes a deep breath, his lips parted, wanting to say something, however, it was cut off when an arrow pierced through his shoulder, causing him to shout in pain, blood seeped through his shirt, staining it in red.

Vin grabbed his shoulder, gripping it tightly as it continued to bleed, he looked in front of him, his eyes widening in terror. Chroma stood in front of him, with a battalion of arrows floating behind her, each and every single one of the arrows had imperfections, some differed in size and shape, the only thing similar to them was their black color and the smell of graphite.

Claire stood up and tried to run toward Vin, however she was stopped by Clay, who was holding her wrist tightly.

Claire flinched, as she tried to wriggle her wrist out of Claire's grasp, “What are you doing? Let go!”

Claire remained silent, with a grin on her face, her grip tightened, she then points at the floor of the gazebo. Claire glanced in the direction of Clay's finger as she looked at the floor when she saw black streaks that traced throughout the floor, emitting a dim glow.

“What the hell is this?” asked Claire, her tone visibly irritated,

“It’s a trap set up by Chroma,” replied Clay, seemingly amused by the situation.

Claire grits her teeth, she stops struggling, and glanced at Clay, “What? why?”

Clay chuckles, as she releases her wrist from her grip, “She’s a cunning person, even though she doesn’t look like one… plus she’d know that you’d try to interfere once you see what’ll happen,”

Claire activates her Artifact, and punches Clay in the stomach, propelling her towards the fencing of the gazebo, she dashes towards her, ready to land another blow, Clay dodges causing her to hit the floor, Claire stops in her tracks, as she looks at her trembling hands.

“Shit, why is the floor so damn hard? it’s just wood,” she thought to herself

As the smoke cleared out, she saw Clay in the corner of her eyes, with a smirk on her face, “The floor’s hard isn’t it? As long as Chroma doesn’t erase her drawing, we’re both trapped in here,” said Clay, as she pats the dirt off her clothes, “Plus, if it makes you feel any better, I just realized her trap not too long ago, so technically, we’re both trapped without even knowing it beforehand,”

Clay chuckles, she walks back to her seat which was toppled down, she picked it back up and sat on it as she continues to watch Vin and Chroma spar. Claire on the other hand was still on guard, her hand still trembling from punching the floor, she sighed and walked towards the entrance of the gazebo, in front of her was the view of the garden.

The plants bathed in the rays of the sun, the leaves fluttered and spun around as they were being carried by the wind, there was nothing blocking her from stepping outside, at least on the outside that’s what it looked like. Despite the sunny view and the windy environment, there was no sunlight, or breeze coming through the gazebo. Claire deactivated her Artifact and reached her hand out, she felt pressure on her palm as if something was there, she retracts her hand and knocks at the space, and sure enough, there was something there, preventing her exit.

Claire sighed, she walks to the other side of the gazebo, she crossed her arms, and watched the spar, upon setting her eyes on Vin and Chroma, her eyes widened, Vin was riddled with arrows, bleeding profusely

“Don’t worry too much, Chroma won’t kill innocents, we also have someone who can heal him if anything goes wrong,” said Clay, her eyes not leaving the spar.

Claire gritted her teeth, her hand clenches, still trembling, from what happened earlier, she bit her lower lip trying to hold herself back, she wants to look away, but she was unable to, her eyes locked onto her bleeding friend, she felt helpless unable to help her friend. As she stood there watching, she felt something trickle down her face, and into her mouth, she curled her lips inwards and spat it out, the taste was metallic, it was a familiar taste, she squinted in confusion, as she wipes it off with her thumb, and looks at it, her eyes widened once again, a crimson stain, colored her thumb.

Claire felt a sharp ringing sound through her ear, threatening to burst her eardrums, this sound also was familiar, she grunts in pain, however, she was not the only one, she glanced at Clay, who was also in the same predicament as her, the sound quickly disappeared, leaving the two of them, on their knees, their ears bleeding. Claire hurriedly stood up and looked through the horizon where she sees Vin and Chroma sparring, however, something was different, their standing became equal.

Claire felt a chill run down her spine, as she watched the fight, it wasn't Vin who was fighting, it was something different, she glanced at Clay, her expression unreadable, the both of them continued to watch the fight waiting for things to unfold.