Chapter Nine

Zigzagging through the halls, we avoid the block entirely and head in the opposite direction. With no idea of what is happening, my breathing is too labored to ask questions.

After running for a few minutes, we pass under a set of bars hanging down a foot from the ceiling. From that point onward, there is a clear distinction between the environment we just left and this new one. This part of the prison is bright and welcoming, starkly contrasting the dreary appearance of where I’ve been acclimating.

After a couple more minutes of running, Ayden looks over his shoulder and says, “We’re alone now Joe!”

Beginning to decelerate, I notice that the three of us are alone in an empty, long hallway, with only a guard standing against the wall ahead of us. Able to actually take in my surroundings, I feel like I am inside a nicer building from the Midlands.

Catching my breath, I ask, “Where are we now?”

Not as fatigued, Joey replies, “Soulbell is split into two halves. So far, you’ve probably only been inside the left half. For example, places like the block, mess hall, and the yard.”

Ayden takes over, “Right now, though, we’re in the right half. The right half also used to be part of the prison, but it was shut down a few years ago because of faulty pipework. Made it unsuitable to live in, which is why we all have to share a cell nowadays.”

“Since getting shut down, this half of the prison has been renovated to be a psychiatric hospital and a rehab center. Supposedly, the renovation was complete and ready to be reopened, but Sorel’s arrival delayed that. Instead, he’s revamped it, and we inmates have access to the right half to train our iris. The warden and Sorel allow it, so we might as well take advantage.”

Opening a door, Ayden peeks inside before closing it, “There are hundreds of rooms in the right to train in. So far, it’s only been me and Joe, so we’ll have to find a larger room for the three of us.”

Joey checks a room a few seconds later and tells us, “This one should work.”

The room has a high ceiling and is slightly larger than a classroom.

Ayden ruffles my sweaty hair as he walks past me, “Good on ya for keeping up.”

“Just how far did we run?” I ask as Ayden hands me an extra water bottle he brought with him.

“We’re pretty deep into the right. To be safe, we always run until we’re sure nobody has followed us.”

“I see. I didn’t spot many guards on the way here. Couldn’t people try to escape?”

Ayden laughs, “Escape from here is impossible. First off, we all have trackers in our necks. They know exactly where we are at all times.”

Recalling Josh and Anja and the shot they gave me, I shake my head.

I should’ve known.

“Second,” continues Ayden, pointing to a corner of the room where a tiny camera has been planted. “As if trackers weren’t enough, cameras and guards are everywhere. The guards we passed are only a handful of the guards monitoring the right during these hours. Try to escape, and you’ll be swarmed in seconds.”

“Has anyone tried before?”

“A few, and they learned their lesson,” answers Ayden. “I’m sure you realized this, but the railway is the only way to and from the Groundlands. It’d have to be a hell of an escape plan to succeed.”

Taking a sip of water, I saunter around the room, “How are we supposed to train? We’re still wearing our armor.”

Popping the door open, Joey gestures something with his hands as he shouts, “Amy!”

The guard we passed earlier enters the room a few seconds later, and Joey locks the door behind him.

While looking at the guard, Ayden says, “We’re still allowed to take our armor off if a guard permits it.”

The guard nods, and Joey adds, “As long as we don’t hurt or kill anybody, we aren’t breaking any rules. See that door under the camera? There’s always a bathroom connecting two rooms together in the right. Go remove your armor. Nobody is near us, so don’t worry about being ambushed.”

With our bodysuits off, a fuzzy tingle simmers on my forehead. Meeting Ayden at the center of the room, the guard positions herself near the only exit.

“Amy, are you carrying a scanner?” Joey asks, and the guard nods before handing him one.

“Thanks,” he says, walking over toward us. “Mateo, you said at lunch that you only know what Sorel told you, but you should already have a subconscious idea about how your powers work. It comes naturally after you awaken, at least the basics.”

“Sorel said something similar, that it’s like breathing.”

“Exactly. When you're thrown into a fight or flight circumstance, your body now naturally knows how to react with iris. It’s part of who we are now. However, relying on your instincts alone is dangerous.”

I nod, and Joey shows me the iris scanner, “You already know what this is?”

"Yeah.”

“Good, saves us time. Now show me your tattoo.”

As I pull back my hair, something unsettles me. Before I reveal my tattoo, Joey has already moved the device to where my tattoo is located. Even with my slip-up at lunch, there’s no way Joey could have known the tattoo’s exact location along my hairline.

“How did you know it was there?” I ask as the light turns green.

Joey’s eyes glisten as he backs up, “A technique called orasi. There’s a lot you need to learn about iris.”

Like Sorel, it takes a few seconds before numerous holographic panels are projected.

Ayden excitedly clicks his tongue, “Well, I’ll be damned. Joe, have we ever seen this much data come from a scan?”

“No, we haven’t,” replies an astounded Joey as he studies the panels. “Mateo, did you read the description for heavenly flames?”

“I did.”

Joey turns to me, “Then you understand the dangers if you misuse this power.”

I nod, and Joey returns to studying the panels.

Moving some panels around with his finger, Ayden says, “There’s nothing here about him being a legacy.”

“A legacy? What does that mean?”

“There is a… rumor that some people inherited abilities from the past. The battle of Halos and Kadillan is the last known event in which humans possessed iris abilities. Some believe that the abilities from the warriors then may have been recycled back into our time, but there’s no proof,” replies Joey.

“There is proof!” states Ayden. “The president of Maracise wields the ancient hammer! And what about the guy with the brass knuckles in–”

“Enough!” Joey shakes his head. “There’s no concrete proof, and we don’t have time to waste. Let’s focus on teaching Mateo what we do know!”

“The hells got you so worked up man?”

“Oh, I don’t know! We only have a few hours to whip ‘im into fighting shape, and you’re too busy–” Joey stops himself and takes a long breath. “You’re right. Where should we start?”

“He’s the first Los wielder we’ve met. How ‘bout we start with the three classes.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Good idea. Mateo, do you know anything about that?”

I shake my head.

“As you know, when a person awakens their iris, they inherit a unique ability. Each ability allows the wielder to manipulate iris in some capacity.”

I silently nod.

“And every ability falls under a class, and from there, a category. Your ability is heavenly flames. It falls under the ‘Mythic Class’, and it’s an ability that branches into the category of light, 'Los'. For this explanation, you’re not the best example to start with, so Ayden, do you mind?”

Ayden huffs in agreement, and he closes his eyes. A moment later, when he reopens them, they flash purple, and an alluring gem design of similar color materializes from the back of his hands to his forearms.

While Ayden closes and opens his hands, Joey broadens a specific panel showcasing three columns of information, “Every ability belongs to one of these three classes. Internal. Wielders with an internal class ability can use iris to manipulate the mind or body. External. Wielders with an external ability can manipulate their iris to influence the reality around them. And mythic, the rarest class. These abilities don’t follow the rules of the internal or external classes, and every mythic ability varies significantly in how it operates compared to the next. So–”

“Hold on,” I put up a hand. “You said my ability is from the category of light… how does that play into this?”

“Getting there. First, I want to make sure you got this stuff down,” replies Joey, giving a curt nod to Ayden.

Pounding his two fists together, a wave of energy emanates from Ayden as the ground below him cracks. Turning to face the wall, Ayden throws his fist forward, and the purple coating around his hand shoots off in the shape of a fist. It travels through the air before suddenly slowing to a halt just inches before the wall, only to be rebounded back toward Ayden. His bare hand balled into a fist. Ayden held his arm straight out, and the purple gem coating wrapped back around his hand, reattaching itself.

Mesmerized by what I just witnessed, Ayden swivels around, “My ability is called ‘Gem Grip’. What class do you think it’s in?”

Thinking about the three classes and his demonstration, I ponder.

The gem coating materialized around his hand, which might be an Internal ability. However, his ability didn’t change his actual hand. It only created a layer of gems around it like a glove. Not only that, Ayden made some type of gem that wasn’t previously part of our environment. Ahhh.

“External?”

“Correct,” answers Joey. “He manipulated his iris to coat Amethyst material around his hands, and when he hurled the coated fist forward, he could control its trajectory. Now, as for myself…”

Joey’s eyes spark red, and a crozier manifests in his left hand. His eyes fizz gold, his crozier brightens, and the ground beneath me transforms. A rocky terrain takes shape as I’m elevated slightly higher into the air.

Joey says, “My ability is ‘Hazard Shift’. Which class is it?”

I grin, “This one is easier. It’s an external ability because you changed the terrain.”

Joey nods, and the terrain returns to normal, leveling back out.

“How did you do that?” I ask.

“We’ll get to that soon. First, do you have any questions about the three classes?”

“Well… yeah. Ayden, does your gem grip also affect your gemcore?"

Ayden shakes his head, "It's an external class ability, so I can't actually change the shape or design of my gemcore."

I nod, "Okay, now... I would love to know about the mythic class, but if there's so little known about it... what about the categories?”

"That's the next thing I wanted to cover," says Joey. “The seven categories.”

Joey holds up two fingers, “Internal abilities are split into two categories. Soma, the manipulation of the body, and Myalo, the manipulation of the mind. Soma abilities change your anatomy in some regard, while Myalo abilities are more complicated. The mind is powerful, and the limits of its capabilities can’t be easily described. But power concepts like telekinesis, super intelligence, and brainwashing would all be Myalo abilities.”

Joey raises his eyebrows, and I say, “Soma, body. Myalo, mind. What’s next?”

“The external class is split into three categories. Tochi, the variation of elements. Ano, the adaptation of particles. And Resu, the control over a realm. Starting with Tochi, Mateo, when you think of elements, what do you think of?”

“Urgh, isn’t oxygen an element?”

“Oxygen is an element of life, but Tochi abilities are elements of nature. Think fire, water, earth, lightning, even air. By manipulating iris, Tochi wielders can generate and control an elemental power. Still with me?”

I nod.

“Ano abilities vary quite differently. They can use iris to break down and reconstruct the atomic design of matter. You’ve probably already put together that Ayden’s ‘Gem Grip’ is an Ano ability, as he can transmute iris into Amethyst material.”

“Wait, I thought iris was a form of energy. Aren’t energy and matter different?”

“Yes, they are two distinct entities that can’t be interchanged. But look at the ground beneath Ayden.”

Looking again at the cracks, I say, “So he used matter from the earth to create those gems?”

“Correct,” says Joey, showing the iris scanner. “An Ano wielder might be able to transform this scanner’s shape into a sword or a mug, but they must have a substance of matter to adapt.”

“So, you have a Resu ability,” I say.

“I do. Resu abilities almost always involve manipulating the environment to give the wielder an advantage in combat. When I activate hazard shift, my crozier changes the terrain inside my realm to something different. That’s how I created the terrain of a rocky mountain earlier, and it looked, sounded, even smelled real.”

“Sorry, but so far this category seems pretty weak. What good would changing the environment do when somebody could just produce their own element? You don’t even have control over what terrain it becomes.”

Ayden stifles a chuckle, and Joey calmly replies, “That’s because I’ve only told you half of how my ability works. While inside my realm, I can control anything inside my terrain with my crozier. So if I changed this room into a forest, I could control the trees and plants. If I create an ice storm, I can fabricate glaciers out of thin air. There are many kinds of realms, but a Resu ability always gives the wielder a significant advantage inside their realm.”

“I take it back,” I say, and Joey bobbles his head. “Okay, Tochi means elemental, Ano means particle, and Resu means realm. Got it.”

“Lastly, mythic abilities also have two categories. Los, the manipulation of light, and Kadil, the manipulation of darkness. If the name didn’t already give it away, not much is known about this class, much less the categories. However, it’s believed that Los abilities almost always have something to do with healing, which remains true with your heavenly flames. As for Kadil, it’s the opposite. They involve an essence of destruction or decay. Some even believe Los has to do with matter, while Kadil ventures into the unknowns of dark matter, but there’s no evidence.”

Iris Power System [https://i.postimg.cc/zGrymr8D/Iris-power-system.png]

“Damn, is that all there is about the mythic class?”

“Afraid so. The Los ability you wield is undoubtedly the reason why Sorel approved Russ’s request to duel you. Seeing a wielder of the mythic class in action will be a new sight for all of us. In fact,” Joey looks over at the camera. “I bet he’s watching us right now.”

We all stare at the camera until Joey says, “We’ve talked enough. How ‘bout we give him something? Mateo, activate your ability.”

Giving myself some space, I close my eyes and take deep breaths.

Remember, it comes naturally. Try to relax.

After a few seconds, Joey says with orasi activated, “Mateo, I want you to focus on the gemcore inside you.”

“My gemcore?”

“Yes, the gemcore stores the signature of your ability and is like the heart of your iris. Feel the iris flowing through it, leaving down your neck and branching into your arms, chest, stomach, legs, and feet. Then feel the flow of iris travel back up toward your forehead and recycle through your gemcore to start again.”

As I focus on these things, a warmth encompasses my forehead.

Little did I know that my tattoo had begun glowing so brightly that Joey and Ayden had to shield their eyes for a moment.

“Now Mateo, I want you to focus on channeling iris into certain areas of your body. You are no longer feeling the flow but controlling where it's going. From your forehead, direct the flow of iris into your right foot. Good, now circulate it to your left foot. Into your big toe, and now your pinkie toe. Now try spreading the iris evenly among your five toes.”

Staggered by my ability to follow his instructions easily, Joey watches with amazement.

Ayden leans over and whispers to Joey, “You’ve found a monster.”

“I know…” whispers Joey, gulping.

"Now direct your iris into your upper body and channel it into both arms.”

As I guide my iris into both arms, my arms suddenly burst into blue and white flames. Feeling a sharp increase of heat tickling my face, I slowly open my eyes.

As I examine my hands and arms, Joey asks, “Do you… feel anything? Any pain?”

I shake my head, slowly rotating my hands, the whiskers of flames dancing off my skin.

“These flames… I feel like they’re a part of me.”

Circulating my iris into certain parts of my forearms, hands, and even fingers, I feel variances in heat as I do so.

“Can you create flames with your legs?” asks Ayden.

Without even thinking, I shake my head.

“Only my arms, shoulders, chest, and upper back can,” I reply, circulating iris into those regions and lighting them ablaze.

Swiping through the panels, Joey stops on a certain one for a few seconds before mumbling, “Checks out.”

Still staring at my arms, I ask, “I get that I have healing traits, but my ability revolves around fire. Shouldn’t it be a Tochi ability?”

“There are similarities due to elemental use, but a Tochi ability wouldn’t be able to grant flight or healing. I suspect there’s a lot more to your ability than your description lets on.”

“Let’s see for ourselves,” states Ayden, separating from Joey. “Shoot some flames my way.”

“What? Are you sure?” I ask.

Ayden’s eyes glint a violet hue, “I can handle it. Hit me.”

With Joey’s nod of approval, I bend my right arm back, coalescing iris into my right palm. Thrusting my arm forward, I blast an inferno of white and blue at Ayden.

Stepping forward and taking a defensive stance, Ayden coats his arms with a tougher coat as he patiently waits. Then, just as the flames make contact with his arms, Ayden pushes his arms in opposite directions. Nullifying the attack with that calculated, intense movement, the flames vanish, and Ayden rises unscathed.

“Not bad, but it’s obvious you held back. That said, it’s a good sign you already know how to gauge the strength of your attacks,” says Ayden.

“We have just under three hours before we have to be back in the left. We’ll spend the first hour letting you acquire a greater feel for your iris. After that, we’ll try more advanced stuff through combat,” declares Joey.

End of Part I