Prologue

Stumbling onto Eclipse's dead body, Ariella was stunned. The “Seed” was dead? She couldn’t believe that Eclipse was dead. No… Murdered. Assassinated. Eclipse never let his guard down, and he was easily this world’s strongest Herald. Who could have done this? Ariella had some guesses, but she would come back to that later. She needed to focus her attention on surviving the night herself.

Ariella thought she glimpsed some movement in the woods. She quickly darted through the trees, becoming one with the forest. She shifted into and out of each tree, building momentum to catch up to whoever was running away. She was closing in, using the roots of the trees to monitor their movements, sensing the tremors of each and every step they took.

Just as her target was about to exit the woods, Ariella tackled them, shoving their face into the dirt with one arm while her knee was on their right shoulder blade. She held their right arm taut, close to its breaking point, in her other hand.

“Please don’t hurt me,” Joel’s muffled voice sobbed into the dirt.

Ariella quickly assessed the situation. This kid could never have killed Eclipse. Well… probably. “Who are you?” She demanded. Her voice was filled with a sternness that she saved just for battle. Clear and concise.

“My name is Joel,” Joel quickly answered, his sobs growing deeper. Clearly, he knew he was in deep shit.

“Why are you out here?” Ariella snapped.

“I just like to take walks out here at night sometimes. There’s nothing else to do in this town. It clears my head. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to walk into Herald business. The whole area is usually empty.” His voice turned into panic. Then, all of a sudden, Joel began to glow brightly, as if Eclipse himself had been reborn, emulating the intensity of the full moon in the night sky.

At that moment, Ariella realized that this kid would likely become a large part of her ongoing pursuits and a key asset in her goal to root out the forces behind Eclipse’s death.

***

One Month Later..

“Metas of America, it is time to unite! For the first time in history, we are giving you all a peek behind the curtain. This weekend, The Council of Heralds will be kicking off the competition event of the century! As you are all surely aware, our greatest hero, and my best friend, Eclipse, has died. To assure you all that your voices have been heard, unlike in the past where his council seat would be passed down to an heir, we are hosting a year-long competition where one lucky meta will win the honor of succeeding Eclipse in inhabiting the great seat of The Seed! So, listen closely. Here is what you need to apply…”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

-“The Show” on OnyxSocial | One Week after Eclipse’s death

***

Joel lay in his childhood bed staring up at the glowing stars on his ceiling. His back was yelling at him for sleeping on a fifteen-year-old mattress. He was simultaneously overwhelmed and apathetic. There were so many things to do, but it was too hard to care about any of them. In the end, he’d probably fail anyway. He wouldn’t be able to dig himself out of the hole he created, so why bother trying in the first place? Most people would call this depression. Joel called it Tuesday.

He slowly got up and hobbled to the bathroom, where he idly stared at his reflection in the mirror. What he saw was unimpressive. Examining his body as if it were foreign to him, he eventually turned on the shower and turned off the light. Some might find it strange to shower in pitch darkness, but Joel found it comforting. The comfort of the hot steam and the darkness of the enclosed space allowed Joel to lose himself in thought. This was, sadly, to be the highlight of his day.

After some semblance of getting ready for the day, he walked downstairs. His house wasn’t anything special, but better than nothing. As with most houses in Eden, it was an aspiring farmhouse. Joel often used this house as a metaphor for his town, trying to be bigger than what it was. Of course, that was when he was chasing his dreams in film school. That was just four months ago, yet it seemed a lifetime away.

As he rummaged through the fridge, not hungry, just bored and looking for something to do, he noticed two notes next to each other. One was from his dad, and the other was from his mom. His dad had a heart appointment. His mom just couldn’t deal with his dad, so she went for a walk. This was one of the many reminders Joel got each day since moving back in with his parents that his life was turning out how he feared, not how he had hoped.

Once he had gotten some space away from his family through a ton of therapy, he understood why dating was so hard for him. Parents exhibit a model of behavior that sets the example for the child to replicate. With parents who understand what love is, a child gets to see that love, in its many forms, is mostly about letting go of your baggage. Well…that and trying to understand what your partner is going through and communicating. Instead, Joel’s parents used everything as a weapon, going tit for tat with each other on the most minor things, casting Joel as the referee in their ongoing game of emotional battleship. Today’s weapons of choice were passive-aggressive notes.

Joel learned at a young age that his role included taking their weapons away, so he crumpled up the notes and threw them in the trash. Joel knew that, at best, all this would do was delay the inevitable. But, he also knew that despite his best efforts, he had no control over other people…fucking free will and all that.

But today, Joel had tools in his belt that he never had before. Something had changed that only one other person in the world knew about. Joel grew up without powers. He had given up on the dream of flying or breathing underwater...of healing his family's wounds. From the dawn of the era of metas, it was known that powers could not be transferred. It was genetic. Powers were passed down and inherited. So this had to be some sort of terrible nightmare. That he had watched Eclipse die and somehow ended up with his powers was just too much for him to handle.

A knock sounded on his front door. He knew it was coming. He was dreading it. After The Show’s livestream, he just knew she’d show up. Of all places, why did he pick Joel’s hometown?

Joel sighed as he shuffled to the door. Opening it revealed a woman he did not want to make angry. She had blood-red hair, a mostly friendly vibe, and a genuine smile. “Come on, Joel,” she said, “It’s Showtime.”