The four boys might as well have been a parade of ritual lambs as they strode up to Nix. They had all the confidence in the world, and yet she knew they had nothing to back it up. Considering the names they had, lambs had more use.

Of course, she didn’t actually care if their names were good or not, but by walking around as if everything was beneath them — when she knew very well they’d been crying yesterday — it didn’t leave a great impression.

Kal — the boy who snapped at her during the naming ceremony — led the pack. They were here to cause trouble. It was as obvious as the accretion disk in the sky. Maybe her unimpressed thoughts leaked onto her face, as the boy snarled.

“What’s got you in such a good mood, huh?” he snapped. “Finally given up hope now that you have no future?”

He didn’t realise his own words inflicted a momentary grimace on the boys behind him. On all except one, that grimace twisted into anger aimed at Nix, Dan and Ari, but it was clear what they each felt about their names.

Confrontations like this was something these boys loved to do, considering how often they instigated them. The old Nix would have curled up and hidden away, either in her room or wherever they couldn’t find her. She would never do the same. These were nothing but childish bullies that were doomed to receive the same treatment when they finally entered a cult.

Nix glanced to the two besides her. Their expressions already showed they wanted to be anywhere else. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say this group didn’t get along with many outside of themselves.

“That’s an odd thing for you to say,” she replied, keeping her voice even. “Kal-sar. One who extracts water from air.” She recounted his name’s description to his face. “What kind of job can you get with that? A bath attendant?” Nix hummed. “No, we already have machines that do that. I don’t see you having any more of a future than myself.”

The most likely place he would end up was down in the Biovault, but he would need to reach an evolution before then. Not an easy thing to do for one with only one additive. Assuming he wanted to try to expand on that name, and not spend months trying for another.

For a name like that, it had absolutely no use out here in the void of space.

Her uncowed expression and instant rebuttal stunned Kal more than she expected. He and his group, along with the two she’d been speaking to all stared at her.

Damn, they really didn’t think highly of me back here, did they?

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” as soon as the shock wore off, it was replaced by fury. His fists clenched, and Nix braced herself to be hit. She wouldn’t back down, and she would remember every blow he gave. She may have killed an amalgamation, but her body was still weak. She couldn’t take four physically stronger boys unless she found a knife and went for killing blows. She couldn’t retaliate immediately, but she would certainly remember.

But the punch didn’t come.

Kal shook his hand, as if the effort to unclench his fist was a challenge of itself. “Enjoy being K’tan’s pet, then. Hopefully your curses don’t kill you too soon.” And with that, he walked off.

Two of the other boys turned to follow, but one, Tru — who she now noticed had a skitter-spawn resting on his shoulder — opened his mouth. “I know you aren’t happy with your name, but you really shouldn’t antagonise others.”

Nix couldn’t believe her ears. She gaped as he continued.

“Shattering relations with those who could one day decide your fate isn’t wise,” Tru said and spun on his heel to chase after his group.

Kal was a slight annoyance, but his words didn’t have this sheer arrogance about them. Tru-tus’s name allowed him to bind a creature to his soul, but it was the weakest version of it. Most who got it didn’t even bother. The single skitter-spawn was almost no different to the rats they formed from. What use did it have? “What sort of inflated ego…?”

“He wasn’t talking about himself, or the rest of his group,” Dan said. “At least I don’t think so. It’s Grif. He probably thinks that he’s close enough to him that when he becomes a big name in the cults, he’ll have some influence through association.”

Grif had become a rather strong Harbinger, so the gamble would pay off. But… “what makes him so sure that he’ll remain friends? I didn’t think their bonds were that tight.”

“I don’t know,” Dan shrugged. “Tru’s probably intending to make himself useful somehow. If he could have, he’d be right by Grif’s side, benefiting from whatever crumbs fell from the cultists as they try to entice the brute.”

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Nix had seen many like that in her time with the cults, but they never seemed to reach the creeds they desired. By starting out by picking up crumbs, that’s the method they would return. They didn’t build their foundation. And without that, how could they expect to expand upon it?

Eventually, they became nothing more than servants. Their creed was whatever the one the latched could give, but never held the actual capabilities of the rank. Eternally managing menial tasks… until their backer died or disappeared just a bit too long and one of the lower creed saw an opportunity.

“Forgetting that,” Dan said. “Are you sure you’re not Mad?”

“No!” Nix scowled.

His arms raised in a defensive gesture immediately. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just that you’ve always ever been so… closed off. With the, uh… ceremony yesterday, most of us thought you would have slunk into yourself further, or…” he trailed off, not wanting to say whatever had been on his mind. “It’s like you’re a different person.”

She knew her differing personality was obvious to all, but hearing someone say it was surprisingly relieving. It was confirmation that she was distinguishing herself. That girl had been a coward who failed to fight for her own life. She was not the same.

“I have changed.”

“Yes, well, uh… we’re out here already. I was gonna get Ari a new canvas. Want to hit the shops with us?” Dan offered.

Ari shot a glare his way, but didn’t verbally oppose.

Rejection was her first instinct. She almost shut them down then and there. But a part of her resisted. This is a part of what she wanted when she’d returned, wasn’t it? To enjoy life? Never did Nix expect her life to be anything but isolated, what with the cults themselves being her enemies, but now that the opportunity had presented itself…

“Sure,” Nix said, and followed after them.

She was never going to trust them with knowledge of her mutations. But it didn’t hurt to spend a day with some people who didn’t mean her harm. It would be a… unique experience.

A few hours later, Nix slid into a dark little booth of an equally dark restaurant Dan had led them to. The place was in a hidden nook between buildings at the edge of the safe zone. The extensive array of warding runes were a questionable choice of decoration, considering there wouldn’t be nearly enough corruption in the area to warrant them, but she didn’t question it.

She did question their choice of meal, though. And apparently, so did Ari.

“Fish?” She exclaimed at Nix's side. “This is your idea of a good place to eat?”

Nix poked at the bowl the restaurant owner had placed before them almost as soon as they sat down. Fish, and any other type of seafood, was prohibitively expensive. So much so, that it should be impossible to find anywhere near the safe zone.

Casting a subtle gaze around the shop, she found it far too shabby to be some secretive luxury spot. Why would you leave a mop and bucket out by the back wall if you could afford to have summoners or contracted creatures to come clean the building in your stead. They were far more effective.

Especially when it didn’t actually look like the mop had been used in months.

“Come on, you have to try it,” Dan said. “We need something to raise our spirits after yesterday.” And with that he swallowed a mouthful.

“The menu doesn’t even call it fish. Do you really want us to eat something the owner themselves calls ‘mystery meat’?”

“Well, sure, it might be a little unnaturally sourced.” He took another bite. “But as long as we don’t eat it too often, we’ll be fine.”

Nix glanced down at her own bowl. She never had tried fish. Deciding to screw it and live, she scooped a mouthful for herself.

“Not you too!” Ari cried.

Dan just laughed. “That’s the way.”

She almost gagged when it first touched her tongue. There was something undeniably similar to the sludge she used to eat. But upon letting it sit for more than a second, she realised that it lacked the slimy texture and the aftertaste that burnt the back of her throat. It was good.

There were no bodies of water on Coral for fish to grow. At least none anywhere near the safe zone. Any seas or lakes hidden in the depths would be corrupted beyond hope. You couldn’t grow fish there; their populations would be overwhelmed by monsters.

Only a few businesses operated in the production, and they had to guard their aquarium tanks like they were the vaults of the pinnacle cults. Both from corruptive influence… and thieves. They were that valuable.

“So, Nix.” Dan’s voice dragged her from her food. He’d somehow already emptied his bowl. “When we were walking around earlier, I had an idea.” He picked something up from besides the table and placed it on the table. A book. A tome on household rituals, to be specific. “I figure that if you get so good at rituals the cults have no choice but to demand you join, then it won’t matter how bad your name is.”

She picked up the book, questioning whether fate was trying to tell her something. It was the same edition of the same book she’d ended up buying for herself. Though, it had taken her a month before she finally got over her wallowing to actually think about her future; she’d come to the same conclusion.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” And she did, even if she had long since memorised every ritual in the book.

None of them were all that impressive. They weren’t cult secret tomes. But they were small rituals that everyone should know. Things like the basic naming ritual she’d used last night, a parasite and poison cleanser, and even a simple cultivation ritual. Though, if that last one worked, it was impossibly slow. She’d seen no benefit from it before she’d lost all rights to enact rituals.

“By the way,” Nix began, diverting her mind from the past. “When are you going to put them on?” she gestured for the everseeing assists laying on the table that he’d been lugging around all day.

“Ah,” he said. “I will, eventually. I just never expected to go into the Cult of the Everseeing Eye. The idea of eventually having to slice off my eyelids isn’t something I’m looking forward to.”

“You could always just not rise. Sit still once you reach second creed and don’t dedicate yourself further,” Ari suggested.

Dan hummed. “Maybe.”

Stagnating at the lower creeds was… an option, but anyone who did such quickly found that they lost all support by those interested in helping them rise. The chances they might have once had would be lost if they later tried to progress. They would become one of the masses, and their quality of living would decay quicker than their rank.

“I’ll figure it out,” he suddenly chimed. “I’m in a better situation than most, after all.” The rest of his sentence he left unsaid.