Arson was being watched. He could sense that he was being watched, but whenever he looked in the direction he thought the gaze came from, nothing was there.

Had this sensation been a factor that he’d felt during one trial that vanished after he stepped into the next, he’d have disregarded the feeling as nothing. Only the feeling had grown stronger, the further into the trials that he’d gone, the more he felt the presence. As if someone stood next to him.

He crouched on a rooftop, reading the details for the trial he’d just entered, eating an odd apple he’d found in the last trial he was in that left his mind vibrating with power.

*Trial 4321: Welcome to Origin. Within this realm you must learn as many secrets as you can. The secrets within the next 246 trials are unrivaled, as many of them are linked to the creation of time, the system, and the very structure of the realms beneath the heavens. Be careful young godling, Origin is a living realm that obscures all who try to learn its actions. As those who reach for Endless are as dangerous as the gods who try to keep mortals pathless. Even the dreams of the impure are important to know the truth of both creation and destruction..*

“What in the bloody demons is that supposed to mean?”

Arson looked down to Anastasia and felt her shrug at him.

“You should know by now that everything in these trials is cryptic as gods and demons, I mean even that sparking notification says it, the gods want you pathless.”

Arson shook his head slowly in annoyance.

“So what am I supposed to do, work to learn secrets that even the gods don’t want me to know? I’m starting to think the Ikarians are a bunch of geniuses that expect the impossible because of how advanced they were, either that or I’m just not built for this sludge…”

Arson stood ignoring Anastasia’s chuckle. He tried to push her next comments to the back of his mind and focus on the environment he’d been dropped into, but as the statements grew more ridiculous, his watch eventually ran out of pointless responses and from what Arson could tell accidentally landed on a reasonable decision.

“What did you say?”

“Go pet that cool looking dog over there.”

“Not that, after that…”

“Oh, why don’t you do what you want for a while, I mean yeah, complete the trials of course, neither one of us wants to be stuck here any longer, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get more of what you want from these trials beyond the runes you are already on the hunt for.”

The thought struck Arson as absolutely admirable. He’d not once stopped to try to appreciate what he may be able to gain from the trials, looking at each and every one of them as nothing but tribulations to overcome, rather than the potentially unequaled opportunity to learn new skills in times outside of his own; in environments normally outside of his reach.

“What have I missed by not exploring more?”

He asked himself the question, and the voice that answered sent chills down his spine.

“Much…”

Arson turned to face where he’d thought he’d heard the voice come from, but no one stood there. The empty rooftop all that greeted his eyes as he looked over his shoulder.

“Did you hear that?”

“Arson looked down to his watch and the AI shook her head.

“Hear what?”

Arson closed his eyes and sighed.

“Nothing, just hearing things I guess, but I think I’m going to follow your advice, not like this trial isn’t incredibly ambiguous anyway.”

“What, really, are you sick or something, you know I was just rambling, right?”

“Don’t get scared now Ana, it's your big mouth that gave me the idea now, you're going to have to deal with the repercussions.”

“Son of a bloody demon, you have lost it, haven’t you?”

Arson laughed and pulled up a list of tasks that he’d long ignored, reading the first thing on his list aloud.

“List of skills to master : #27: The bow.”

“But aren’t you already good with a bloody bow, you could do so many other much more enjoyable tasks on that list!”

Arson chuckled, looking out at the foreign city, and smiled.

“#31 literally says rob a bank, let's start there, can we please start there?”

“Nope… don’t you remember, we’re taking a break from the wants of others, it's my turn to take the driver seat in my own life, and while I hunt for the next rune, I’m going to master Archery and BowCraft.”

“By the demons… I’ve made a monster out of an orphan.”

…

“This might be bad…”

Promethia paced watching Arson. Her worst fears were coming to the forefront and rapidly.

“Not another one…”

Promethia had taken on many talents throughout the eons, and knew that the ones with the predilection to accomplish goals by any means, even using crime craft or religious manipulations, were the hardest to deal with.

Luckily the boy wasn’t a zealot, but how some of the most influential people, responsible for molding young minds, were swayed by his smile was uncanny. Promethia had witnessed the same guard she’d seen turn down countless powerful youths, be talked into letting the young Cultivator into a city that had been closed to visitors for centuries, and now the penniless young Cultivator was planning to use that same city as a playground for his own desires, rather than the priceless environment of knowledge and tutelage it was meant for.

Yes, he did need money situationally throughout the trials, and yes even the mighty need an outlet for their frustrations, but considering bank robbery wasn’t what Promethia intended for any of her potential disciples.

Arson had said to his AI companion that he wasn’t going to commit to a heist. Yet, as they entered and exited one of many shops they’d visited that day, Promethia started to notice the pattern in Arson’s movements.

The boy was casing a small bank. His glances to anyone else would seem to be that of a childish awe, but for Promethia she saw each and every look for what they were. Which was nothing but a pure breakdown, an urge to break a system of security down to its smallest and unrefined bits. Only to rebuild the dismantled parts in his own mind for his own personal uses.

Normally those who entered the trials within Endless with a love for crime showed a eagerness or lack of patience. Arson however seemed to have none of the traits that lead to criminals being caught.

He thought not in the way that the wealthy positioned themselves to skirt the rules, or how the powerfully connected even created new or situational rules to ensure their success. Arson thought both inside and outside the normal confines of an individual perception, and as Promethia herself thought this way, she knew how dangerous this young Cultivator truly was, as she’d grown into her mind, while, Arson seemed to have been born with the natural talent of a mastermind.

So as Arson walked up to the doorman for the prominent bank within the city of Origin, she knew. One thought blooming in her mind as he smiled at the stern-faced greeter flanked by guards.

“This may be bad…”

…

“Hello, sir,” said Arson. The well dressed man he approached from what Arson had noticed thus far only exited the building when prominent guests to the bank were there to visit. Though Arson’s plain clothing was simple, it was clean, and he felt he would have been ignored completely by the man after he looked Arson over from head to toe, his watch caught the greeter’s eye and seemed to be enough to make him respond.

“Hello, youngling, what is it that I may help you with,” said the man glancing at Arson’s watch a second time as he responded.

“Well I’m unsure if you are even knowledgable enough to help me, I was told by a woman that owns the nearby restaurant that the best person to ask for the information I needed worked for this bank,” said Arson and the gentleman’s eyebrow rose at the words, prompting Arson to continue.

“I work for the newest workforce agency, and was sent to find a prominent archery trainer for my supposed talent, the agency I work for said that I need to be tested before I can join the guards here, but the map I was given was lifted from my pocket on my way and now the locations I was supposed to stop before coming here are completely lost to me, this is the only address I memorized unfortunately.”

“You work for UnionForce?”

Arson nodded slowly, extending his hand. They shook in greeting and Arson smiled.

“I know a man of your standing has no need to help me, but I would love to achieve the job I was offered, but have a suspicion that if I return to UnionForce and tell them what happened I will lose the prominent opportunity I was given, regardless of how good with a bow I may be.”

The man snickered slightly, smiling before he glanced at the two guards behind him. Both gave him a nod and the greeter leaned in to whisper toward Arson.

“Luckily for you, young man, we need talented guards, and this city is filled with sneak thieves and conmen alike. A boy with the want for an honest job is rare, so helping you is without question something I’m willing to do, and Master Acu is the fiercest bowmen our humble city has ever seen,” said the doorman pointing down the busy street.

“His training quarters are at the edge of this shopping district, you can’t miss it, but be careful, many of our own have failed to meet his standards, yet still are skilled enough to protect these walls, are you sure you don’t want to test yourself here first, you may prove yourself worthy of our security leader?”

Arson shook his head. He knew the man was spinning a trap, and would have to tread lightly, all while showing his value.

“No sir, I’m under contract with UnionForce and if I skip steps I have a feeling I’ll be passed up on, but I appreciate your kindness, I know you didn’t have to help me,” said Arson with a bow. The man smiled again and Arson knew he’d made the right choice to show precaution.

“Hopefully I’ll be seeing you soon sir, until we speak again, growth and grace.”

“Growth and grace, youngling.”

Arson turned and smiled to himself now knowing where he needed to go, and what he needed to do.

“So let me guess, UnionForce first, and then Master Acu or whatever his name is?”

Arson lifted his watch, giving Anastasia a smile and a nod.

“Maybe we will be able to cross off two things off my list all at the same time…”

…

It took Arson a while to traverse the city, first on his list of short term tasks was to find UnionForce. He entered a nearby tavern and asked around, learning the location of the work agency rather easily.

He made sure to take the long way to arrive at his destination, as the directions he was given would have sent him directly past the bank he was trying to infiltrate.

As someone who wanted to raid enemy corporations in their future, Arson knew that the skills he would need in espionage wouldn’t come without practice and refinement. He decided to push what he could learn within the towers of Endless to their limits.

The city of Origin seemed to be the perfect place to achieve his goals from what Arson could tell. A mix of old architecture with modern styles and culture was alluring to Arson. Anastasia’s scans showed that the buildings were made from ground sea shells, which made Arson feel as if he was walking within an empire constructed full of advanced sand castles, much like his home.

He loved the design, as many of the buildings were of various heights, which made him want to climb and perch on rooftops to gain a vantage point for pictures he could take to share with Troy and the rest of his friends.

Arson felt odd recently when he thought of Troy. The young female Cultivator filled his mind more and more with every day he spent away from home, and Arson almost felt as if he’d separated her from the same category as the rest of his friends, putting her in a special place in his mind that even he was unsure about. Finally reaching the UnionForce building, he was forced to push his thoughts aside, knowing that for his plans to work, his next moves would need his full attention.

He walked up the steps of the multicolored building without walls on the first floor that was held up by pillars alone, and made his way toward one of the few desks with attendants at work. Only a few of the desks without a line were left open to approach easily and Arson chose a young woman that seemed welcoming. The woman wearing a nervous smile as Arson stepped closer.

He found it hard not to look around. The inside of the building filled with flying statues of all shapes and sizes. The art made for prominent figures that received jobs in the past only to become valued parts of the city of Origin.

"Wow,” muttered Arson to himself, looking at the numerous figures. Guards, lawmen, chefs and even sanitation workers floated perpetually memorialized above. Arson only able to pull his attention away after a voice drew his attention away.

“Please don’t be a crazy, please don’t be a crazy…,” mumbled the attendant underneath her breath, Arson’s brow furrowing at the words as he tried to hold back a laugh.

"I don’t think I’m crazy, but who knows, even having aspirations is considered a little bent these days, right?”

The woman’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed a subtle red before she coughed.

“What, I mean hello, my name is Beatriz, how may I help you?”

“I was sent here by my Master, he said that there were jobs here for archers at one of the local banks and that if I worked with a contractual agency that you all would be able to get me higher wages,” said Arson in a breathless ramble in an attempt to show anxiety. He could sense that his own nervous energy would help the woman relax, as most people with an apprehension to interact often did when they could tell that the person they were speaking to were even more unbalanced than themselves situationally.

“Can you read and write?”

“Only in my native language. Why? Is there paperwork?”

The woman nodded before responding as she pulled out a stack of paper and a magical quill; runes running the length of the writing instrument.

“Are you okay to answer questions now, or do you maybe need to schedule an appointment later?”

“No, I’m fine to do this now.”

The questions were intricate in a way that made Arson feel as if he was taking a personality test, like that of the one he took to get into the very same school that kicked him out.

If only I’d known then what my life would be like, I’d have slowed down and come into my powers out side of the classroom, maybe then I would have ended up being a regular college student…?

“And finally what is the position number for Master Acu’s training for the first bank of Origin?”

“Where would I have that, is that something my master was supposed to give me?”

The woman gave a nod that Arson had become familiar with while asking questions of his own during the interview process.

“Sparks, I’m sure that he never gave me anything like that.”

The woman cleared her throat and looked toward her manager hard at work at a nearby desk.

“Watch your language and keep it down, I’ll fill in that number for you young man, just give me a high rating when you do my review later when you get the job,” Beatriz said in a whisper.

“I’m not even all that confident that I will make the cut, but thank you, and I will,” said Arson in a returned whisper of his own. The woman stood and extended a hand, Arson quickly rising to do the same.

“Thank you for this opportunity.”

“Not a problem at all, young man, and you should have more confidence, from your interview just now you seem like you will do well, so believe in that.”

Arson just smiled and nodded, not wanting to bring attention to the woman’s voice that cracked nervously at her attempt to provoke an inspirational charisma.

“Thanks again.”

“Seriously, do your best and you may become one of them,” said the woman with an upward point before she waved Arson off. He looked up once more, and sighed with a huge smile on his face.

“With what I have planned, I doubt it…”