The cloud collapsed on itself and became a white ray of light. The power of the world lie in that bolt. In that moment, I couldn’t imagine anything that could possibly stop it. Anything in its path would receive a death sentence. It hurled down and landed near my old house in the Blue Fire Sect.

I ripped Alison’s hand off my tattered robes and ran to where the ray had struck. I used Identify on my old garden as soon as I got close enough.

I let out a shaky laugh. The two girls were safe. Hui Ming was underground, protected by my plants. Jing was with the captured Mark.

I ran into the room Jing had made and grabbed her by the shoulders. She gasped, “F-father.”

This time, I was the one to pull her into a hug. I squeezed her as hard as I could. She froze, before eagerly wrapping her arms around me.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come earlier.”

“Who cares! Everybody’s safe!” she said into my ear.

I let go of her, but she continued to cling onto me. “Jing?”

“What?”

I softly pinched the back of her neck and dragged her off, like mother cat would to do her kittens.  

The room detached from the rest of the plants and dove underground. The vines carved through the bedrock with little to no effort. We picked up Hui Ming on the way down.

We went underground because more powerful people might come to investigate the chaos. I didn’t think I could fend off another top sect while keeping Mark from escaping.

Once we were far enough underground, I planted a Glowing Pineapple and turned it on. I found Hui Ming and pat her head. She shrunk and squealed, “I’m sorry!” She acted like it were a type of punishment.

Jing scolded her, “Headpats are the highest form of affection.” Hui Ming relaxed for a bit, before leaning into it.

“We’re going to be down here for a while,” I said, “Jing, can you turn up the oxygen production on your skin?”

“I already did.”

I turned to Mark and the smile slid off my face, “We have plenty of time to talk.”

“Sure, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” he smiled. “You should know that my title is ‘The Watchman’. It’s my duty to watch out for you guys and tell you what I know.” His body was bound so that I could only see his head, but his speech was mild and easygoing.

“Did everybody else also received a title and ability?”

“It seems to be the case. I’ve seen four other people from our class and they all have some type of power,” he said.

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“What’s your power?” I asked.

“I can see through walls, and I can see things that are very far away,” he replied.

“That’s it?” I asked.

“That’s it. Although it also seems I learn magic faster than the people here,” he said.

Jing sent me a message through a vine. It wrote a message on my leg, I don’t think he’s lying, but don’t underestimate his ability. It can be extremely powerful if used right.

The conversation was too normal. It didn’t feel like I was talking to a killer. It didn’t feel like I was talking to somebody who had been trying to kill Hui Ming.

“Then I’ll get to the point. Why did you try to kill my servant?” I gestured at Hui Ming. “Was it to get me?”

“I wasn’t.”

“What?”

“I wasn’t trying to kill her. I’d rather have her be alive. I’m not as sure about you, but I think I’d rather have you be alive as well,” he said. “The one I was trying to kill was that other girl. The one that was interrogating me earlier.”

Jing frowned. This isn’t what he said earlier.

“You wanted to kill Jing? You attacked Hui Ming, not Jing.”

“Attacking Hui Ming was so I could lure Jing away. I sent the Crimson Fire Sect after you so you had to split up. If Jing was loyal to you, she wouldn’t let you risk getting off your garden while being attacked. So you would’ve stayed on the garden while Jing came to save Hui Ming, which is what happened. Although it was also possible that she wouldn’t think it though that much, so it was a bit of a gamble.”

“Again, why? Is it just because of that squabble you had a few days ago?”

He shook his head, or as much as he could with his head bound in vines. “I can be petty, but not that petty.” He sighed, “You don’t realize the risk I’m taking by saying what I’m about to say. But here I am, barely able to move. This is all I can do now,” he chuckled, “do you remember Sophia?”

“Yes.” When there were group projects, Sophia was the one that always partnered with Alison. I remembered her being one of the bookwormy types.

“Her title is ‘The Oracle’. Like mine, it gathers information. It’s weaker than my ability if you ask me, but whatever. The point is she can see into the future.”

“How do you know her title name?”

Mark burst out in laughter, “She wrote all of her predictions in a notebook! Can you believe my luck? All I needed to do was look into her notebook to find everything she knew! Do me a favor and don’t tell her about this.”

“You’re not in the position to be asking me for favors,” I said stiffly.

“I’m already telling you everything I know. I’m not your enemy. Anyway, Sophia’s ability is odd. I can’t see patterns in how it works from what she wrote in her notebook. I don’t think she knows how it works either. ” He stopped grinning, losing his jolly mood. “One part of her notebook is titled ‘Calamities’.”

He used a strand of Qi to levitate some dirt and dust from the ground. It came together to form a stick about as long as my index finger. “You can call it the prophecy of the apocalypse, but it’s only a list of names. Every name on that list is somebody that will bring some kind of disaster to the world.”

He spun the stick in the air, playing with what he could do with it. “Nearly our entire class is somewhere on that list, including mine and yours.”

I knit my eyebrows. I’m going to bring disaster to the world?

“But it’s no surprise,” he said, “We’ve been in this world for three months and we’re already powerful enough to destroy sects. We’re hatchlings compared what we’ll be in the coming century.”

“There is one name on the Calamity List that isn’t from our class.” The stick of dirt turned to point at Jing. “And it’s her’s. She’s at the very top of the list, and not by a small margin. That girl will cause more destruction than every other person on that list combined, multiplied by a hundred. Any number of Demons Kings can’t compare to the destruction she’ll cause.”

“Do realize what I’m betting on? I know you’ll never let me go, so you’re the last person I’ll be able to speak to. I’m using my words to make a final bet on that tiny chance you’ll see sense. I’m the Watchman. It’s my role to sound the alarm for incoming danger. The biggest danger is the girl standing next to you. I don’t know what she’ll do, but you must stop her.”

“I trust Jing,” I said flatly. “I’ve heard enough. You’ll die if you try to escape.”

The walls contorted to form another wall between Mark and my family. I sealed him off from the rest of us and set Programs that would kill Mark if his prison were harmed.

I looked at Jing. “I think he was telling the truth,” she whispered.

“Are you evil? Are you going to try to destroy the world?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Then it’s fine. Jing, anybody that meets you would know you’re a good person,” I said. Hui Ming burst into a smile and bobbed her head in agreement.

“But…," Jing started.

"No buts. Don’t let what he said bother you.” I lifted a tuft of her hair and rubbed it between my thumb and index finger, “You’re my responsibility, so I won’t let you become a calamity. The idea that you'll do anything bad is ridiculous. You're a flower, and I’ll cultivate you to be the greatest flower the world will ever see.”