Stairs and houses and cracked, leaning walls blurred past him.

Nar clutched the sword to his chest, like a precious newborn, and walked so fast he almost ran, risking falling and breaking his neck.

It was like walking in a dream.

He couldn’t believe that it was actually happening.

He couldn’t believe that he was actually leaving.

Workers stared at him as he went by with his little crystalight and sword.

They stared. They sneered. They spat at his feet.

Nar never stopped. He was used to it.

They had hated him all his life for being an Unclean, and now, as a Climber, they hated him even more as a traitor.

He was abandoning his ancestors in the Waiting Dark. He was leaving the weight of their atonement to those who stayed behind to toil away for the rest of their lives, having to make up for the lost work of those that left.

But he didn’t care.

They had wanted him dead as a kid of five years old, blamed for something he had never even done, and punishing him ever more harshly for something he had never accepted as his fault.

They could stay and die in that hole for all he cared.

He was getting out, and he was only coming back for his dad.

Besides, he had already worked far more than most of them ever would with his double shifts. He had contributed more than enough to the arrival of the Final Shift…

The moment he stepped onto Unclean territory was jarring.

The conversations coming out of gaping doors and windows simply disappeared. Children’s laughter fell far behind him. It was utterly dark there, as no one dared to pass the big X’s carved onto the houses that delineated the border between Clean and Unclean. And there were no children there either.

Here and there he saw a few people out on the dark streets, and faces looking out of windows and doors. Teens and adults. People he knew. People he owed his life to.

He stopped and spoke a few words with each and every one of them. He said his farewells, with tears and hugs, and promises of doing all in his power to make it to the end and to forget those who stayed behind…

He only swore to do the first half of their requests, and it was a while before he finally made it home, dwindled as their numbers currently were.

“You did it!” his dad shouted, standing up from the table.

He stomped towards Nar and crushed his son into a fierce hug.

“Thank the Crystal, you made it!”

Nar laughed and returned the hug just as tightly. “I almost didn’t! The Crystal asked me to change my mind!”

His dad shook him, his face suddenly contorted into anger.

“I told you not to do it! I…”

“It wasn’t that! It was my hybrid class!” Nar half-lied, half-omitted.

His dad blinked at him, his mouth held ajar. “Oh… I didn’t expect that.”

Nar shook his head in agreement, and left it at that.

His dad sighed and passed a hand over his face.

“I told you not to do that either.”

Nar showed him the sword. “Too late now.”

“Hmmm… Come on, then. Let’s have a look at it.”

Nar followed him to the table. His dad gently pushed aside the crackers and jell-o packs that everyone had contributed for Nar’s Climb, as well as Nar’s only two other sets of clothes, and Nar lay the sword on the table, gently, as though it might break.

The two of them pulled on their crystalights, dangling from their belts, and shone their lights above the weapon.

The blade gleamed with a dull shine under the light of their two crystalights.

“No shield?” his dad asked.

Nar made a face and shook his head.

“Crystal have mercy…” his dad muttered.

He bent lower to examine the sword.

The pommel of the weapon was simple, and so was its dark gray lined grip and the gray guard above it. The blade was equally featureless, save for the fact that it was made of a lighter gray material, and that it was slightly shinier.

By the way he was frowning, his earlier anger slowly building, Nar could tell what his dad was thinking. It was the exact same thing he had, and still was.

Longer than a single-handed sword, but shorter, and missing the massive bulk and weight of a two-handed weapon, the sword was... Well, a bit lacking.

The grip had enough space for two hands, so Nar guessed that he could use it both ways at least… And he would probably have to, with no shield and potentially lackluster damage.

His dad sighed and straightened back up.

“I know what it looks like,” Nar said.

“Oh? And what does it look like?”

“Like I made a mistake…”

“No, like you should’ve listened. Either tank or damage would have been fine. Crystal! I told you to forget about me. You don’t owe me anything and it’s not the way things go! I made my choice! Just leave!”

It was Nar’s turn to try and bite down his rising anger.

“I owe you everything, dad,” he breathed through his clenched teeth. “Everything! And like I swore on the Crystal, I will come back for you! And I don’t care what you say, or what is or is not! I’ve made my choice!”

His dad exhaled loudly, and dropped down on one of the only two stools in the room. With the table, that was all they had, other than their ageless, crooked beds.

Nar took a deep breath and paced around the room.

“This is happening, dad,” Nar said, stopping to stare at his dad. “And I’m not backing out of it.”

His dad opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it.

His shoulders sagged and he stared at the sword instead.

“We don’t know much about what’s past that door,” he said.

“Dad…”

His dad raised a hand and Nar closed his mouth.

“We know the guardians are there, whatever they are. We know you need a party, working together, to make it past them and whatever else the Crystal will throw at you,” he said. “We know that everyone needs to do their part, and fulfill their role. The tanks keep everyone safe-ish. The leader leads and boosts the party, and the damage deal damage. What does this tell you?”

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Nar looked away. “That people need to be good at what they do.”

“Yes. Specialization,” his dad said. “But it’s not just that. I told you, again and again, but you refused to listen. To make this path work, you’ll need to do two roles at the same time. You need to take damage and deal damage. Like a tank and like a damage dealer. And can you imagine how hard that’s going to be? There’s a reason you’re told to not go hybrid! There’s a reason to stick to the three roles! And now here you are, stuck with a sword that is barely going to be okay at both and good at neither. And not even a shield!”

His dad covered his face and sighed.

Nar looked away.

His dad wasn’t angry. Not really.

It was far worse.

He was scared.

Scared that Nar was headed into certain death.

As if the Climb wasn’t impossible enough, he had just pushed his chances of success into the infinitesimal.

But he didn’t care.

Climbing wasn’t about getting out.

It was about coming back.

“I’ll make it work,” Nar whispered.

“You better!” his dad snarled at him. “We force you kids out so that you can have a better life, not so that you can just die out there!”

Nar pressed his lips and looked down.

“But it’s too late now… The choice is made. Nar? Nar! Look at me!”

Nar lifted his eyes to the angry, scared face of his dad.

“Promise me you will do everything you can to survive, and that at the first chance you have, you change your class!”

Nar shook his head, unable to look his dad in the eye. “I can’t. If the Crystal Itself couldn’t change my mind, neither will you.”

“Nar…”

“I will come back for you!” Nar shouted. “I’m not letting you die alone in this hole!”

His dad hid his left hand, unconsciously, like he had started doing over the past few months.

He didn’t want Nar, or anyone else for that matter, to see the bright, shiny blue dot that was even now growing at the tip of his index finger.

The Wasting had come for him. At best, he had another three or four years to live. Five was Nar’s hope, given how stubborn his old man was. His dad had a strong command over the cursed aura they used to power the machines in the factory, but in the end, the Wasting claimed everyone.

“I’m coming back, and I’m taking you with me,” Nar said, in a hushed tone. “I will take and deal damage, just as good as any tank and damage dealer. You don’t have to worry about that. I know what I have to do. You just focus on staying alive till I come back.”

His dad breathed and melted against the chair.

“You’re just like your mother,” his dad said. “How am I supposed to face her if you die like this?”

“She’ll tell you you’ve done enough. And that it was my choice to make,” Nar said, coming around the table to rest a hand over his dad’s shoulder.

His dad shook his head, but Nar knew the matter was resolved.

“That’s all we have,” his dad said, waving at the food on the table. “Ten crackers and twenty jell-os. You’re going to need to ration them.”

Nar glanced down at the table.

“That’s more than I’ve ever seen,” he whispered.

His dad nodded.

“There’s less and less of us to contribute, but there’s also less and less of you kids,” he whispered. “It will have to do, until you reach a dispenser.”

Nar picked up a cracker and lifted it to his eyes.

The dry, hard square was about the size of his palm, and even thicker. A quarter of it was enough to last him days. Sometimes well over a week, when they weren’t given enough food.

“The other Climbers will have a lot more than you, though,” his dad said, his tone imploring. “I’m sure they’ll share if you ask.”

Nar thought of the spearman that had spoken the Crystal’s blessing to him, but shook his head.

“We don’t know how they’ll react if they realize I’m an Unclean.”

“You’re not an Unclean. Not anymore,” his dad said, nodding towards his arm.

“Still… I don’t want to get kicked out. I’ll hold on until we get to a dispenser. Don’t worry about it.”

His dad nodded with another drained sigh.

“I wish there were more of you to Climb together,” he said. “At least, you could have formed a party. With only three of you, it’s best to separate you. It will draw less attention and questions. And maybe you’re right in keeping it a secret. I don’t know…”

“Yeah…”

Nar had been five when it had happened, and had been forced straight into the factory for it. No one was supposed to do aura work until they were at least ten years old. The oldest of the kids had managed to survive in greater numbers, but as the years went by, less and less of the younger kids made it to nineteen. This year there would only be three Climbers. The previous year there had been six, and they had all Climbed together.

The faces of the teens from earlier flashed by his mind. And there were still the many who were at work, pouring their auras into their receptors even now.

He hardly ever prayed. None of them did, really. But still, he prayed that the following years would fare better. Maybe the Crystal would have some mercy, and allow a good number of them to survive long enough to leave.

Doubt it though, Nar thought, bitterly.

If the Crystal had a shred of a care for them, they wouldn’t have become Unclean in the first place, or suffered as they had.

“Come on, the others will be here soon,” his dad said. “Let’s get this all packed.”

The pack was a bundle of his and his dads most ruined clothes. Joined together, his dad had managed to just about make a container of sorts for his provisions and extra clothes, which then Nar could carry over his shoulders.

In the crystalight, as he adjusted the sleeves around his neck and shoulders, he noticed that his dad’s eyes were shining.

“It will be alright,” Nar said. “I’ll come back.”

His dad snorted. “I’m not worried about that! I just want you to be happy! Just go. Climb! Forget about me. Forget about everyone. Live your life up there! Why can’t you just do that like all the other kids?”

“Alone? In the light and color?” Nar asked, smiling. Those had always been his favorite stories.

His dad wiped his eyes, a smile forcing itself onto his lips. “Yes, in the light and in all the colors of the Infinite Nexus.”

Nar grabbed his dad’s shoulders. “Promise me that you’ll wait.”

“Nar…”

“Swear it! Swear it on the Crystal! Or I’m not going anywhere!”

His dad closed his eyes with a sigh.

“I, Bey, swear it on the Crystal Almighty and All Benevolent, to do all I can to wait for my son, Nar, to come back for me. There, you happy?”

Nar felt a tear run down his chin. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

Bey wiped his son’s face.

“Idiot… Where am I even going to go, uh?”

Nar looked away.

Growing up, he had caught enough whispers amongst the adults to know what most of them planned on doing, once the last child left them. He just wanted to make sure that his dad wasn’t one of those…

“Five years,” Nar whispered. “I’ll come back in five years.”

His dad tutted. “Don’t risk your life, you idiot. You don’t even know if healers can save me! So just-just get up there first, okay? Figure yourself out. After that, you can see. Alright?”

“Yeah...”

“Don’t rush, don’t take stupid risks, don’t be proud, and above all else, don’t think you can do it all by yourself. Do you hear me?”

Nar looked away. His dad had been driving that particular point home many a time over the past months.

“They’re not Clean anymore, Nar. They’re just Climbers! They just want to get up there, just like you! And they’ll be your party,” Bey said. “You’ll only make it if you work together. Listen to me, damn it! This is important!”

“I am listening! I know that! I know!”

“No, you don’t! If you treat them like spent aetherium they’ll do the same to you! And if none of you is willing to risk their lives for the others, you will all fail! The guardians will tear you apart! And you know what else is out there! Is that how you want to die? Is that how you want it to end?”

“No…” Nar whispered.

“Then be there for them, damn it! Learn to like them. Care for them. Think of them as if they were your own damned family. Crystal knows, they are about to be!”

As if… Nar thought, looking away.

“Only then, will you be able to trust each other. Just like we do, in the factory. Without trust, it all falls apart.”

“Yes, Team Lead!”

Bey whacked him across the head. “I’m being serious here!”

“Bey?”

A human woman poked her head through the door, shining her crystalight into their empty home.

“Oh, hi Mer,” Bey said. “Are you guys ready?”

Mer nodded.

“Hab and Der are also here.”

“Got it. We’ll be out in a moment.”

“Take your time.”

Her light receded back to the street and father and son looked back at each other.

“Just do your best to work with them, Nar,” Bey said. “Please. I beg you. If you want me to wait, swear you will at least do this much.”

Nar shook his head, dropping his shoulders.

“I, Nar, swear by the Crystal, I will work with my party… As long as they work with me, and just as much.”

Bey sighed. “Good enough, I guess.”

Nar nodded and looked around as his dad finished packing.

A dark room, a broken, leaning table, and two stools. In the dark corridor beyond, hid two bedrooms and two creaking, broken beds. The rest, they had given away through the years, to those who had needed it more.

His throat tightened as he glanced down at the pronounced scratch on the table.

She had done that, and had try to blame it on him.

He scoffed.

She had always been a jerk. But he owed both of their lives to her.

I wonder if she made it, he thought, not for the first time, passing his fingers over the scratch.

She had left two years earlier… A shame, as they had both wished to leave together.

Good and bad. A lot of bad, the memories being what they were, but now that he thought back to it, there had been a surprising amount of good too.

Even in the bleakness of their existence, the Unclean had come together to support one another, finding solace in their company. Even laughter and love and new families…

He pursed his lips, keeping the tears at bay.

There had been so many more people there, once. Almost three thousand.

There were less than two hundred of them now.

Soon, they would all be gone.

Nar turned around. He didn’t want to miss the place, and it nearly shattered his heart to think of his dad being left behind there, with less and less Unclean, for the dark years yet to come. Until he was all alone, with nothing but silence, darkness and memories of what had once been to keep him company. And that was if the Wasting did not claim him sooner. A lot sooner…

He shook his head, forcing the thoughts out of his mind.

That won’t happen! He swore to himself. One day we’ll be together again. Above, where the light and colors are real. Forgiven and healthy. And free to finally be happy…

Whatever it took, whatever sacrifice was demanded off him, Nar would gladly pay it.

And Climbers or not, whatever party he found himself in, he would never forget what they had done. And they would never be as important as his dad.

He only had one person left in the Nexus. And that was not going to change.