He was running. Through mountain tops, covered in blood and guts, holding a broken sword that wasn’t his own.
It flickered intermittently with the crazy girls power, but it was useless in his hands. And with every step it grew weaker, along with the runes that strengthened him, and the potency of his soul, his power fading when he needed it most.
And the monster, large enough to destroy mountains, chased after him - along with an avalanche of blood and bodies, of snow and stone.
He’d done this. He’d killed all those men, spilled their blood and left them to lie dead in the ground. All to stop a monster that had come anyway. He’d allowed this to happen, and now he was paying the price.
No. No that wasn't true.
Someone was trying to get in his head. Trying to twist his thoughts, maim his mind.
He wouldn’t let them. Couldn’t. Otherwise, they would win. But who was they?
He didn’t know. All he knew is he had to be somewhere, to tell someone something before the tumour in his side killed him, and the evil woman stole his mind.
But wasn’t he already too late?
The thought scared him more than anything in the world. At least until the great monster roared.
Caleb woke with a sudden start, breathing heavily as he desperately clutched at his side. His arm throbbed dully as his body glowed, his left hand brightest of all. He took a moment to steady himself, then looked to the material of his bed frame, crushed in hand.
Slowly the glow faded, lingering slightly in his chest before he was bathed in darkness once again, only the flickering lights of the stars from the window visible. His breaths slowed as the panicked warmth left him, his skin cooling from the layer of sweat that covered his skin. He wiped it quickly with his hands, before pressing his back to the bedframe trying to calm himself further.
But the sweat was somewhat warm against his hands, slick and wet. In the darkness he could imagine with an added weight, an extra viscosity. It felt just like-
“Blood” he whispered.
It felt like blood.
Images of battle flashed through his mind. Of screams and chaos. Of fire and blood.
“Shit” he muttered, wiping his hands desperately against his bed. “Shit, shit, shit”
But even as he wiped the sweat, even as his hands dried, even as he tore the sheets with his inhumanly strong hands and threw them across the room, as he dug his nails into his skin and pressed his fists to the sides of his head, he couldn’t forget the feeling of blood staining his hands.
Before he could stop it, he was crying again.
Tears flowing hard as a river down his face. He wiped at them desperately, but the tears continued. As his face grew wet, he could only imagine it as blood once again.
So, he stopped and slowly pulled his knees close to his chest. He cried for a while, feeling more painfully alone then he ever had before.
He wanted to get up, to run away from his thoughts and feelings, to get away from all the eyes beyond the castle, from the murals on the walls which made out all the bloodshed as part of some great deed. He just wanted to get away. He felt like if he wished it hard enough, the universe would swallow him and take him there. To this great haven.
But he couldn't think of anywhere to go.
-
Caleb awoke slowly to the soft sound of tweeting birds in a forest, undercut by the slow yet rhythmic lapping of waves against a beach. He frowned, the mixture of sounds strange, but comforting. They soothed him for a moment, then he sat up slowly, yawning as he stretched out looking around the room.
The right wall still served as a strange kind of windowless window, but the left had become a regular door now.
He frowned, finding himself wrapped in new sheets, the mess of fabric he'd made gone, and breakfast at a new table beside his bed. There was something else too. At the foot of his bed was a strange white floating box. One that emitted a steady - weirdly constrained - stream of mana.
He glanced to the plate of eggs, chicken, and tomatoes at his bedside, then looked back to the floating white box. As he watched it, the mana’s flow seemed to change again, almost bending in tandem as it noticed his mana sense.
What in the world? he thought, quickly jumping out of the bed. Slowly he stepped over to it, his gaze wandering across the strange machine, noting it’s surface. He reached out to touch it but pulled back hesitantly, before placing his ear near it's hood. It was completely silent.
He walked around the thing again, looking over it before finding the strange language he could understand without understanding written on scrawl on the side.
To Caleb, A Gift From Daen
“Daen” he mumbled.
That was the guy who owned this whole place. Why was he giving him this?
Well, he did build a castle for you, his thoughts replied.
He frowned again, moving closer as he looked over the flat white surface. The entire surface was covered in tiny and intricate runes. But there wasn’t any mana in them. They were purely for artistic effect.
“Strange” Caleb muttered. He reached out again, feeling the magic of the box condense around his hand.
It wants to scan me? he thought. His brow furrowed again.
“How do I know that?” I whispered. He sensed the mana of the strange box further. It didn’t feel intrusive or threatening. He knew he’d be able to tell.
How do I know that too?
Was it mana sense - his trait? So he could sense mana and how dangerous it was to him?
That seemed weirdly… arbitrary.
What constituted as danger? Was it what he thought or knew was dangerous, or what was actually dangerous? Then, it was like Spider-Man’s spider sense? But how did his sense know what mana was dangerous? Was it drawing from some kind of database in his record or was it just going off vibes?
He shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself. It probably wasn’t something he needed to put much thought into. He’d been doing far too much overthinking recently.
He accepted the mana’s request, and the mana congealed around his hand began to spread out, encompassing his entire body. Then just as soon as it did, it pulled back into the machine. He looked over himself. Nothing was different.
Suddenly the machine warped shape, growing larger and Caleb cried out, falling back into the table. He crashed to the floor, his breakfast spilling across the tiles. He cursed, quickly cleaning it up, and placing the mess back atop the table before looking behind him.
The box loomed over him now, wardrobe shaped as its shape solidified. Then a square appeared in the centre of the artifact. Caleb stood slowly, looking inside the opening. A set of clothes rested inside, emanating a soft hue of mana.
He took them out, frowning as he looked over them.
“Oh” he realised, placing the top against himself. It was just some kind of wardrobe. It’d been scanning him to check his size. He looked over the clothes again, the same material as the one’s he already wore, but a different style. These were long sleeve, baggier, embroidered with patterns.
Wait, he thought, looking at them closer. These are the runes Avanessa gave me?
He looked over it again. Up close the patterns of the fabric strangely seemed to mimic the runes he’d had. And some of the scars too. The fabric of his left sleeve was far coarser than the rest, with lines running in tandem with his actual scars.
And even without all the added detail, the mana emitted from the items alone told him it was high quality. From afar it just looked like somewhat formal but normal baggy clothes, well the normal for this world. Whatever you’d call a strange mix between a gambeson and some kind of military uniform. Regardless it was nice.
He pulled the clothes on, swapping them out for his old, before looking back to the wardrobe. New openings had appeared. A set of shoes lay at the bottom, and a simple band of steel like a crown.
He didn’t know what to do with it.
Then a knock came from his door. Caleb looked to it, somewhat uncertain before a voice echoed through.
[Can I come in?]
“Uh…”
The door creaked open before he could answer and a tall man, around his mid-twenties, peered his head through into the room. He had well combed red hair, a short beard and wore an identical metal band to the one the magic wardrobe had given him around his head.
His eyes brightened as he looked over Caleb, then offered a small wave.
[Finally, we meet…] he trailed off, glancing to the mashed up food on the bedside table. [Uh… did you not like it?]
“Oh no I- I got scared by the box… accidentally knocked it on the floor”
The man stared at him blankly for a second then burst out laughing as he stepped the rest of the way inside. He wore similar clothes to Caleb, with a few extra pieces.
Most notable was the cape, the rings around his fingers and porcelain white sword on his hip.
[Sorry about yesterday. I wasn’t here to take you on a tour and my wife’s still attending to our newborn so she didn’t leave our castle all day]
“I-it’s ok” Caleb said awkwardly. “Aliyah showed me around”
[Yes, yes. I’m told right after waking you went to see your battlefelled friends]
Caleb froze for a moment then nodded.
[Wow. Very honourable. I knew you’d do something of the sort. Man. You’re just… perfect, just amazing] the man said grinning.
“I… don’t understand” Caleb muttered.
[Don’t worry, I’m just getting all caught up on stuff that doesn’t matter] the man said, clapping his hands. [So, you feeling alright?]
“Yeah” Caleb said. “Uh… I should thank Daen for these clothes, and the room. The castle too. It’s all very nice”
The man stared blankly at him before bursting into laughter again.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
[Right, right I forget] he said. [Too familiar with everyone recognising me. I’m En Daen.]
The man said offering his hand. Caleb shook it.
Of course. Caleb thought. He’s wearing a crown you idiot. And who else would show you around the palace?
[Handshakes] the man muttered grinning as he shook his head. [What a strange greeting. Anyway, this is good. You ok for a busy day? There’s lots of stuff to do]
“I…uh…”
[If you’re not that’s fine. We can leave it till another time. Well… we can sort something out. Don’t worry. I’ll leave you here. If you need anything, Maera’s your attendant, she’s just outside and can get you stuff, and if you need to speak to me, I’m always free]
“Oh, ok” Caleb. He wasn’t sure what to make of the man. For one thing he was far more casual than he’d expected for the owner of a place like this.
[Alright, then Caleb Earthson. It was great meeting you. I guess I will see you later] the man said, grinning before turning around. Caleb watched the man go, somewhat nervous, before stepping forward.
“W-wait”
[Hm?]
“Uh… the others?” Caleb asked. “I saw… um… Aliyah, her name was, but I can… can I see the others?”
Daen’s face brightened again.
[Of course.]
-
The palace was far more beautiful than he’d first thought.
Aliyah had taken him through a semi-formal religious meeting place near the palace centre, where there had been less people. But Daen had taken him through one of the walkways that connected his castle to the rest of the building.
The corridors were a lot larger here. A lot more lavish, with walls made of pristine marble, and strange mellow overhead lights paired with the daylight that streamed cleanly through the occasional floor to ceiling windowless window.
And there were a lot of people.
It was weird in a way. Seeing so many people in strange alien clothes, sensing so much magic around from random items and general appliances. Even weirder were the bows. Lots of people were bowing.
He’d been so preoccupied with the others yesterday he hadn’t stopped to think about just how strange this all was. There was an element of strangeness to everything he looked at. An element of uniqueness he hadn’t quite gotten on the other worlds he’d been to. This felt more alien than anything he'd seen off Earth yet. Well, apart from the monsters.
Maybe, it’s cause this place was comparatively futuristic. The others had just felt like he’d been on a different place on Earth, entrenched in a unique culture, but still not too far off something he’d find back home, ignoring all the magic. Maybe that’d been the point of the tutorial and first phase.
He sighed. He was glad to finally be done with it all. To be safe. He wanted to forget all about it and go home. But forgetting would feel like a disservice to Ryan, Kana and all the others that’d died. And he doubted that he’d ever be able to forget, even if he did get rid of the guilt.
[You alright?] Daen said glancing back to him.
“Y-yeah” Caleb mumbled, adjusting his crown slightly. It felt awkward to wear, but he hadn’t wanted to insult Daen by refusing.
They turned a corner and Caleb found himself in front of another one of the fancy doors. Across their front read.
Halls of the Chosen
Daen opened the doors and they stepped inside, to a simpler corridor. This place was structured like airport duty free, but with rooms filled with books, talking spaces, or leisure spaces. There was even a strange kind of pool further along, half hidden behind a screen.
As they walked through, others passed them. These people didn’t bow, instead acknowledging Daen and him with nods of their heads, before continuing onwards. Caleb could sense it; they were different to the others. They had the same weight that his friends in the trial had had.
Records.
He slowed slightly, caught off guard by the realisation. He watched them all closely, taking in the twists and flows, the currents of power that defined the essences around him. It was just as beautiful to just watch as it had been the first time.
He frowned, noticing a familiar presence, a mixture of mana.
He stopped, looking into one of the open areas where a girl read a book alone. Nothing about her was particularly special, but he could still sense it clear as day. She had Protective Energy. Kana’s skill.
The girl looked up at him, her eyes widening as they flitted between Daen and himself before she offered a small wave and quickly walked off.
[Don’t stare so hard] Daen chuckled, [You’ll end up scaring them all back to their quarters.]
“S-sorry. I didn’t mean to stare at her. I just… recognised her skill”
[Really?] Daen said, raising an eyebrow. [Wow. You really are good]
Caleb glanced up at the man, frowning, but continued on.
As they made their way up a flight of stairs at the end of the corridor, Caleb kept his eyes fixed to the ground, his expression flat.
It was there again. That weird simultaneous sense of emotions, a voracious whirlwind and absolute emptiness. He forced it down, trying to keep the negativity out of his head for now.
Together they turned and reached a set of doors, the sound of chatter and laughter coming from inside.
Like a cafeteria.
Daen entered through the doors and Caleb followed behind. The room was large, and a cross between a cafeteria and auditorium. A buffet area and a kitchen sat in a middle and all around, where stands about five in total, all lined with circular tables.
More people, chosen, sat amongst the tables, gathered in small and middling sized groups throughout. Some noticed Daen as he entered, many giving waves before returning to their meals.
Caleb looked around before following Daen as he entered a side door, into a smaller but more lavish room.
His eyes widened as he entered, spotting the others as they sat at a table eating. The others glance back at him and Daen, their eyes all widening and instantly Sierra zipped across the room, pulling him into a tight hug.
"You're awake" she whispered. "You're really awake"
"Yeah" he mumbled.
"I- are you here to stay?" she asked, finally pulling away.
"Y-yeah?" he mumbled. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I don't know- you're all important now"
"I-"
He paused, then glanced back at Daen. The man understood his worry without a word.
[It's ok, Earthson. Go, have fun with your friends]
“T-thank you” Caleb said.
[It’s no problem. And if you need anything from me, just send a pulse through your crown] Daen said, tapping it. [And if it’s not too serious Maera will be just outside.]
Caleb nodded, somewhat confused, then watched before turning back to the others.
There were only four of them, Layla and Sierra the only ones he knew. But still, he recognised the other two, one – a brown-haired boy - one of the people who’d tried to heal Ryan and Kana, and the other – a dark haired girl with tan skin, of mediterranean descent.
“Hi” he said awkwardly. The boy stepped forward and offered his hand, grinning ear to ear.
“It’s great to finally meet you” the boy said, his accent strikingly British. “I’m Harrison”
[Ria] the girl said, nodding awkwardly.
“Oh come on Ria, try to be more enthusiastic” Harrison said.
“Harry, leave her alone” Sierra said, rolling her eyes.
“Alright, sorry, sorry. Just… he’s awake!” he said, still grinning.
Caleb frowned, glancing between them.
I guess technically she’s known him longer than me, he thought. Weird. Really weird.
He took a seat at the table as they led him forward, before frowning.
“Where’s Aliyah?”
“She spends all her time in the healing school" Sierra said. "She’s getting really good at it.”
He nodded before glancing to Harrison who still stared at him, his grin wide.
“Wow, you got the white clothes and everything”
“Is that bad?”
“No way” Harrison said. “Only Daen and important guests can wear them in the palace. And the crown’s only for Highers”
“Highers?”
“Think like... feudal lords” Sierra said.
“L-lords?”
“It’s similar but different. You have to earn it in a way. But it’s still not… I don't know, it’s difficult to explain. What did Esaeni say again?” she continued.
“Uh… it’s like what was the word? Layla mumbled.
“Meritocracy?” Harrison replied.
“I think so”
“Alright, like that, but basically, the crown doesn’t give you any actual power” Sierra said. “I think”
“Right. It’s more like a status symbol” Layla added.
“But why do I have it?” Caleb
“Cause you killed the great Arithorson”
“What?"
"The big monster" Layla said, frowning.
"The flying armadillo?”
Harrison instantly burst out into a fit of laughter.
“Flying armadillo?!” he laughed. “You didn’t say he was funny Sierra”
“I don’t think he’s trying to be” said, offering Caleb a half-embarrassed smile.
“I-I’m not” Caleb said. “I know it was strong. I don’t even know how I beat it, but how does me beating it get me a… higher crown?”
“It’s a bit complicated” Sierra said. “We don’t know for sure but think the thing’s dad, the original Arithor, killed Daen’s dad”
“Because you killed it, he’s kind of adopted you” Layla said.
“Adopted?” Harrison frowned. “That’s a bit of a strong word”
“Well, what would you call it?”
“I don’t know. He’s more like… a temporary guardian. I don’t think it’s permanent or anything”
“He built him a castle in the middle of his palace. He kept calling him and he kept calling him Caleb Earthchild, or Martinson”
“Oh. I didn’t think of it like that. Maybe he did adopt him?” Harrison said, bringing a hand to his chin.
[No.] Ria said. [Daen’s a sponsor. As the chair of House En, Daen’s a sponsorship holds a lot of weight. It’s like applying for US citizenship with the president as your sponsor. He got him citizenship, the governor of Alareon granted him higher status, and Daen built him an honorary house. And that doesn’t come with the crown. Higher status is just a title, reflected in the clothes you wear. The crown implies chair status. Since Caleb was given an honorary house, and he’s the only member, he gets chair status]
“What? How do you know all that?” Harrison said turning to face her.
[I listen] Ria mumbled. [And read]
“Well why didn’t you say earlier?”
[Busy. Reading]
“Oh. Alright” Harrison said.
Caleb frowned, looking over to Ria as she sat silently staring off into space strands of mana writhing strangely around her. Layla caught his confused expression.
“Clones. She’s practicing mindshare by reading” she said. “You’ll get used to it”
He nodded, glancing to Ria, and then looked back to the others.
“So… I got citizenship and a crown for killing this Arithor thing?”
“Arithorson”
“So I got citizenship and a crown for killing Arithorson? Because it killed Daen’s dad and it was strong?”
“Pretty much” Layla said.
“Crazy part is, it wasn’t supposed to be there. The whole objective was to stop the cultists from putting the crystal in the thing to stop them from causing an explosion that would set off a world ending volcano. Arithor was already dead I think? But … what’s the Hilaric system called again?”
[Everaan]
“Everaan, he played a trick on our system and hid a copy of Arithor in the mountain to be released instead of the explosion. I- how did Esaeni describe it?”
“It was one of their weird words. I think it translated to infant, or like an embryo something. No clue how it works”
“Wait, slow down? Everaan? Esaeni? Who’re they?”
"Esaeni's Daen's wife" Layla said. “Everaan, he’s like… the system for the evil green guys. The Hilaric. The evil blue ones are the Moshaic. That’s Gildarch”
“I- alright” Caleb mumbled, accepting that he couldn't follow along.
“Right so… where was I?” Harrison muttered.
“Infant, embryo thing” Layla said.
“Right. What made it so dangerous was that it was a quasi-named monster. Arithor, but less… Arithor”
“Quasi-named?”
“Named monsters are the powerful ones" Layla replied. "The one you fought was an underdeveloped one so, quasi-named”
“Underdeveloped” Sierra said, shaking her head as her eyes grew distant. “If that monster was underdeveloped… I don’t want to think about that actually”
“If it was weak, then why’s it such a big honour? Or is Daen just being… nice?” Caleb said frowning. He couldn’t imagine someone built you a castle just to be nice. Unless a castle meant nothing to them.
“Because of when you killed it” Harrison said. “It’s weak compared to the strong monsters out there, but it was still strong. A quasi-named monster for a trial? It’s unheard of. People are still trying to figure out how the Guides let it happen. They’d usually send someone from one of the Guardian orders to deal with it.”
“They did” Sierra said. “Daen’s younger sister. Rhylla. But she was like ten minutes too late. And you’d beaten it by then”
Guides? Guardian Orders? he thought. What in the world?
“You, ok?” Sierra said.
“I… you’re going to have to explain everything to me, right from the start”
“We don’t know exactly how it works, Daen hasn’t been around to explain things, but when Esaeni’s free she’s nice about it and Earth’s governors came-”
“You saw people from Earth?!” Caleb said wide-eyed.
“Only three people. They were like our age. It wasn't that big a deal"
[Wasn't a big deal. They're like the most important people in the universe right now] Ria scoffed. [Besides Caleb and Pedro]
"Well... yeah"
"I- what?"
"Don't worry. They came to visit" Sierra said. "It was this whole thing. I think they’re probably more famous than you. And you’re pretty famous”
“I- I am?” Caleb muttered.
“Yeah. There have been tons of important people visiting here" Harrison said. "To see Caleb Souza, slayer of Arithorson despite only being a trialee, and you're a descendant of the Ikiron”
“W-what? What’s with all the titles? And how do they even know my name?”
“Your record. There’s like a whole database of everyone who has and has had one.”
“Wait, how many chosen are there?”
[They call them selected, and currently there’s a few million, with about eighty thousand pending]
“Pending?”
“People from Earth still in the trial” Sierra said. “You should see it. Some of the worlds people got sent too… Jesus. Makes me feel sick”
“Well a lot have it easier than we did and they’re seriously taking their time” Layla said.
“Yeah. Like that guy who's living it up with a princess. He got her pregnant you know? That’s gonna be a serious nightmare for him when the trials over. Ha! I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he realises he can’t just go back and forth for the rest of his life. That’s what you gets for living it up in a damn castle for nine weeks!” Harrison said.
Layla and Sierra rolled their eyes.
“Wait” Caleb mumbled, “you guys can see what everyone’s doing?”
“Well… we’re not supposed too, but Esaeni used a favour, so we’ve got access to the main database. We can see everything. The whole thing’s recorded and streamed by the guides. It’s supposed to be for proper analysis for the orders and stuff, but since it’s a rare occasion, some of the big fights get streamed illegally because everyone wants to see them. I don’t think the systems care all that much”
Caleb stared at them blankly.
“My fight was livestreamed?”
“Not exactly. The main feed cuts out when you finish the trial. There was a weird bug, so the feed cut out and then came back just in time to catch the explosion. All they have is the stuff before, then about six seconds before you punch Arithorson and the aftermath”
“Yeah, it’s why so many people visited. They wanted to see if you were ok”
"That's... ok" he mumbled.
“Crazy right? You have the second most watched video from this trial” Harrison said.
“I- second?”
“Yeah. It was first until Pedro’s. It’s only got more views cause the whole thing got recorded. He fought a dragon. You should watch the whole thing, it’s cool. There’s tons of debates online about which one of you would win and where you’re going to go”
“Debates? Debates by who?”
“Everyone”
“… who’s everyone?”
“Everyone in the Akashic Federation. The main four planets at least” Harrison said. “Caleb, your video has over twenty-two billion views”
“What? H-how many people are in the Federation?”
“It’s weird. There’s technically over fifty planets, but only fifteen have selected, and only three have passed phase two to claim war rights. Etimos isn’t a war right planet, but it’s got such good technology they gave them an honorary seat on the council anyway”
“So… how many on the main four planets?”
[About thirty three billion]
“And… this is all organised by the system?”
“And her guides.”
Caleb stared blankly at the others in front of him.
“You ok?” Sierra asked again.
“Can I- can I see the database?”
“We were gonna head right over after we’d eaten” she said. "If you’ve got any questions I’m sure Esaeni won’t hesitate to answer them”