A group of orphans walked out the front gates of the scrapyard. While their bodies may have been fine, their mood certainly wasn't.

Icarus grumbled internally. He couldn't forget the feeling of a crushed shoulder.

'She's a monster, an absolute tyrant!'

The children didn't fare much better. They all complained about how Thalia had broken each of their fingers in hopes of getting them to sense the Sever. It took multiple fingers for some of the children, which they were clearly not happy about.

Thalia looked at her younger brothers and sisters as they glared at her with contempt. She shrugged her shoulders.

"You guys are too soft! When I was learning I had it worse than Rus, and I didn't have a teacher either! Well... I wouldn't call them that at least."

Icarus responded to her plea of innocence with contempt.

"Yea okay, like we're gonna believe that. Just you wait, one day you're gonna be the one healing some broken bones."

She chuckled.

"For your sake, I hope so."

They continued their walk through multiple streets and alleys until they came across a familiar stone road. Thalia raised a hand, preventing her siblings from stepping out of the alley. Icarus looked out at the street from beside her.

"Why'd we stop at the gate road? There's no one there. Plus The Wall has been sealed too. I know the attack was here, so its best we don't linger."

She pointed towards the tunnel door hundreds of feet away. It creaked loudly as it opened slowly.

"You sure about that? Take a look, just don't step out to far into the road."

Icarus and the others watched curiously as the gargantuan tunnel doors opened fully, revealing a large patch of darkness. From within the abyss, tiny dots of light appeared. They grew bigger until their source became visible.

The steel behemoths that emerged from the tunnel refused to slow down as their four wheels powered through the torn up terrain of the street. They churned through beast corpses and building debris with ease, refusing to stop. Icarus had seen the trucks before in the scrapyard, but it was his first time seeing one in working condition.

Atop the thick steel carapaces of the trucks, small groups of humans stood vigilantly. They wore no armor like the Sentinels but the aura they gave off told Icarus they meant business.

He looked to his older sister, confused.

"Are those... city residents?"

His stern sister looked at the approaching group of vehicles with a complicated expression. She sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly frustrated.

"....Yes."

He pushed further, not clearly understanding why they had left the main city. It was the first time in his life he had ever seen someone from inside The Wall, aside from the Sentinels and workers at the exposure facility.

"Where are they going? They've never come out to the slums."

She shook her head.

"You're mistaken, they're just passing through. The Interlopers said we would be rewarded for successful expeditions so they are going to try their luck in The Wilds."

Icarus began to see red, having a hard time believing what he was hearing.

"WHAT?! You're telling me these selfish bastards sat back in their concrete thrones while the rest of us got torn to pieces! And now they only want want to come out so they can reap the rewards!? Are you kidding me!? These cowards are the reason... the reason Ace is dead! I won't stand for this!"

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During his outburst, the vehicles had drawn even closer to the alley, now only a few seconds away. Icarus crouched down behind Thalia and willed the Sever to fill his legs. It was responding strongly to his anger. He didn't care about the consequences, he just wanted to feel his fist connect with the face of one of the inner city residents.

Soon enough, the vehicles began to pass in front of the alley. Icarus would not miss this chance. In an instant, he took to the air, sailing high into the alley and towards the street.

'This is for you Ace!'

His jump was cut violently short as Thalia suddenly blocked his view in midair.

'Thalia? But ho-'

Icarus wasn't even given time to process how she instantly appeared in front of him before he lost consciousness from a sharp blow to the neck.

Unbeknownst to Thalia, Zeke had thrown a large rock at the last truck in the entourage while she was in the air dealing with Icarus. It struck the steel, wedging itself into the hard surface. The crew of the truck continued forward on their journey, unaware of Zeke's mischief.

Thalia landed seconds later with an unconscious Icarus slung over her shoulder.

She turned towards the other orphans with her voice now deadly serious.

"Under no circumstances will any of you ever attack a Sentinel or city dweller, I won't be able to save you from death. With that said, lets go home..."

*** Hours later ***

Icarus rose from his bed with a start.

"What happened?!"

He looked around his room, jumping again when he saw Thalia sitting on Lefty's bed staring at him.

"Hey! You could at least say something next time!"

Thalia face remained unchanging. It was clear to Icarus she wasn't amused.

"I have no time for jokes right now Rus. Just never do that again."

He shrugged his shoulders and spoke in a voice chalk full of sarcasm.

"Whatever do you mean elder sister? I just remember jumping in the air before you cut me off. All I wanted was a better look at their rides!"

Her eyes narrowed. Icarus took the hint.

"Okay... It doesn't change the fact that deserve it though."

Sighing deeply, she rose to her feet and walked towards the door, seemingly satisfied. Icarus couldn't help but ask a question.

"But Thalia, why? You definitely could have done something if you wanted to! So why? Why are you so insistent on playing nice... when they don't."

She stopped in the doorway.

"Because... I have no right."

She then disappeared into the hallway, leaving Icarus to consider her words.

He sat on his bed, puzzled.

'Because she has no right? What does that mean?'

He scratched his head, hoping to come up with an answer.

Unable to piece together anything meaningful, he grew increasingly frustrated with her cryptic choice of words.

'Whatever... I still have to talk to the floating guy anyway. He called out to me before I was knocked out. Warden!'

He heard a whirring sound in his head.

[Icarus. You have received a reward for your ******* impossible performance. You have earned a title and 2000 Merits. You can check both in your stats page.]

Now curious, Icarus inquired for more information.

'What do I use merits for?'

[They are for the Atomic Auction House. While on this planet you can purchase items from other members of your installation through a digital interface.]

'That's great and all, but why would we use these? Here in the slums, rations and water are our currency. What's so special about Merits? It's not like I can eat them... right?'

[...I am unauthorized to give you that information]

Icarus fumed. It seemed that everyone had secrets they wanted to keep.

'Hah, fine whatever. Stats please.'

He focused his eyes on the green screen and on a specific line.

---

Titles and Privileges:

- Resplendent Shepard: You regenerate Sever Energy faster than usual. (Trait)

---

His eyes widened.

'Hey now! That's pretty good! I don't really know how to use it yet... but I can definitely change that! '

Icarus hopped out of his bed and took a knee on the floor. He placed one hand flat on the ground while he reached inside of his overalls and grabbed a rock that he had found at the scrapyard. He then raised the palm sized stone high in the air and brought it down on one of his fingers.

Suppressing a yelp, he waited for his awkwardly bent finger to snap back into place. It didn't take long.

As he focused his attention on his finger bones, he could feel them mending cracks and bending straight again. He looked for the cold and hot energy that he felt last time with his shoulder.

Amongst the pain of regeneration, he felt it.

Before he could concentrate on it however, the feeling was gone, like dust in the wind. He opened his eyes only to see that his finger had already healed. Unlike earlier in the alley when he bursting with anger, the Sever refused to obey his will.

He sighed disappointedly.

'This is going to take longer than I thought. Maybe I should just call it a night. But first.... trial please.'

A blue screen appeared in front of him.

---

[Current Trial - Combat Testing]

[Trial Length - 360 Days]

[Time Remaining - 351 Days]

[GQC-1 Parameters for Success - Slay a Grade 3 Sever Beast]

[Waves Completed - 1/13]

[Next Wave Start - 21 Days]

---

Looking at the last line, his heart fell.

"Three more weeks left?! I'll need to hurry!"

He picked up the rock and stared at his other hand.

"This is gonna be a long night."