After the ceremony, they were all asked to get familiar with the island. They started with the dorms. It was structured like a three-storeyed stone cylinder. The walls were all worn out but kept extremely clean. The first floor was just a common room with couches and a small library. The second floor entirely belonged to the first-year boys. There was only one room but it was spacious enough for a dozen students. There were four beds lined up, two on one side and two on the other. They decided to quickly unpack their belongings and save time for their exploration of the island.

“Where’s the fourth guy?” Yuri asked as he checked out the empty bed. “I’m sure I saw him at the ceremony.” Stu answered. “The tall guy. I don’t remember his name. I think I saw him last during breakfast. Let's leave a note for him.” Stu took out a notepad and started to scribble down something. He left it at his table before they exited the dorm.

“You know the place the most, 048. Where do you think we should go first?” Yuri queried. 048 took a moment to think before he gave his answer.

“The island is not very large. Apart from the lighthouse at the edge of the island and the huts on the eastern and western side, there isn’t much.”

“You haven’t visited your clan since you arrived.” Stu pointed out. He was waving at Tatsu and Ada, who were coming out of their dorm to meet them.

“Things must be heated right now. Maybe I should visit after a week. Although, this will only cause more trouble between the clans. I’m not sure.” He replied.

“Why not just rip the band aid off? You have to show them you’re capable of this, don’t you?” Yuri asked as he straightened his messy hair.

048 stayed silent. He stared at the sky and appeared to be adrift in his own thoughts.

Yuri decided to check out the small gardens in front of the campus building. He moved in further to examine one of the plants that were beaming with color.

“Coleus.” He heard someone say. He turned around to find Ada walking towards him. “What?” he asked. “The plant is called Coleus.” She said, smiling.

“You know your plants.” he told her. “And you don’t?” she replied.

“No, I just like looking at things that are pretty.” He stood up straight and faced her.

Ada’s face screamed bewilderment. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

He sighed. “It’s nothing,”

From the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Axel entering the building with Cora and some of the elders. They were arguing throughout the way.

“So, where are we going?” Ada brought back his attention.

“I don’t know.” Yuri replied. “Where do you wanna go?”

“The huts, definitely.” She replied. “And why is that?” Yuri asked, trying his best not to look away from her face.

“From what I read, the Sizaxians have a unique culture. They build houses and huts that are completely beyond the human realm of architecture. I want to see what I saw in those pictures. I know it’ll be twice as beautiful.” She answered.

She’s smart, he thought.

“It is beautiful.” 048 remarked, surprising them from their backs. “You’ll see soon enough.”

“You sure?” Yuri asked 048. “Well I can’t just hide, Can I?” 048 said with a smile, well, he deduced that he was smiling from 048’s voice.

The five of them, Yuri, Stu, 048, Tatsu, and Ada started to cross the small and thin layer of forest that separated the Valor mansion from the rest of the island. The air was fresh and the sun was bright. The bamboo trees that were on the steep side of a large descend made great guides to the team. The leaves caressed his face as he followed 048 down the path. He was fully enjoying the experience.

Soon the five of them reached the end of the descent. All that was in front of them was a wall made of boulders, which looked like it could collapse from the touch of a butterfly. But at the center of the bottom boulder was a metal bridge that seemed to lead to the other side, only it was also blocked by the steady flowing of a waterfall. It was assumed that they were supposed to cross them because 048 continued to proceed without any hesitation.

“We are going to be wet.” Tatsu made the observation. She sounded enthusiastic rather than concerned. Not long after she made the comment, Tatsu sprinted past all of them, like a little girl bursting with energy.

“Wait a minute.” 048 grabbed her by the hoodie, moments before her entry to the other side. He pulled her back and headed inside without looking back. “Why does he get to go first? He’s been there before already,” Tatsu complained. Yuri continued to observe the waterfall.

048’s just checking, he was sure. His expectations were affirmed when the metal arm suddenly stuck out of the waterfall, signaling them to head inside. One by one, they followed.

It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the new environment. Even after it did, he couldn’t fully comprehend it. A vast land, filled with types of huts that he had never seen before, with workshops that looked more than majestic, with sculptures that put every other sculpture he had ever seen to shame. Somehow, the sunlight was brighter but not as hot. The place appeared busy from the sounds of the workshops, and with the many Sizaxians walking around with their friends.

“It’s so…” Ada stuttered. Her eyes were stunned out of the world. “Beautiful.” Yuri finished her sentence. It took him a few seconds to realize that they were all dripping from head to toe. They didn’t seem to mind. After crossing the rest of the bridge, they followed 048’s direction. He could sense all the eyes, well helmets, staring into their souls. Later he realized that it was not theirs, but 048’s particularly. He was clearly unwelcome here. The muttering among the crowd made him uncomfortable.

“The workshop never seemed this far away.” 048 said awkwardly, forcing a small chuckle. “Stay strong forty. Just ignore them.” Stu supported him with a confident pat on his metal shoulder.

The stares from the crowd and the mood of the situation didn’t seem to stomp down Ada’s burst of excitement. She was pointing out things to Yuri and briefly explaining them.

She stopped at one of the shops and bent down to examine something that was sitting on the counter.

“That’s a Polenian tracker’s compass! Never thought I would see one.” She told Yuri, her face flashing with buzz. “Well, what does that do?” He asked.

“It’s a compass with two pieces. The compass itself, and a rare Sizaxian needle. If the needle is attached to something, then we can use the compass to locate it.” She explained.

“So it’s a tracking device?”

“To put it simply, yes. It is one of the greatest contributions from the Sizaxians to the world.” Ada replied without any loss of excitement.

“That’s great. I’ll take one. The Polimersian tracker, right?” He said to the chunky Sizaxian at the counter and dropped a few coins. “Polenian.” The Sizaxian corrected him and collected the money. He handed the compass to her after the purchase.

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“No. no. You don’t have to…” She hesitated.

“Looks real shiny. I’ll take it.” Tatsu interrupted them and tried to reach for the compass. Ada swiftly grabbed it from Yuri’s hand and held it in the air. “It’s mine.” she declared. Yuri couldn’t help but smile.

It wasn’t long before they reached 048’s workshop. He opened one of the twelve locked shutters and invited them in. Back in Pelgus, when they were talking about the clans and workshops, Yuri always pictured a grimy oil smelling dark room. Much to his surprise, It was a modest but clean looking room that had a set of weapons beautifully hung on the wall. The workshop was nothing like Yuri’s. It was cramped but brilliantly organized. Every screw and nut had a designated spot in the workshop. He further examined a spear that was laying on the workpad. It was blindingly polished.

“That’s the spear I told you about.” 048 said. “Pretty neat right?”

“Neat? This is magnificent. I never expected you to have such mastery over forging. This is incredible.” Yuri caressed the smooth handle of the spear.

“You must obviously be the best forger in your clan, right?” Yuri asked.

There was a knock on the side of the entrance wall, but it was more of a sound that was produced by a metal banging on a surface. They turned around and found the source of the clanking sound. It was the Sizaxian chief that they met at the initiation ceremony. “048’s talented, but I wouldn’t call him the best forger. You should see our other forgers, if you want to make sure.” he said.

“Chief Buldum.” 048 moved closer to him.

“48, I will admit that it is both smart and bold of you to visit early under such circumstances. The whole town, even a few of our own clan, is pissed at my decision.” Buldum said. “However. You need not worry. Things will take care of themselves. Just do your best.”

“I warned you about it, chief. You really should have consulted the other clan chiefs before making such decisions.” 048 said, Buldum didn’t reply to the comment, instead he changed the topic by diverging his interest to the rest of them.

“Taking a tour, I presume?” he asked the kids.

“Yeah.” Tatsu said. “Sizaxian are huge.”

Ada slapped the back of Tatsu’s head at the comment. She mustered up her spirit to speak up. “The town is fascinating, Chief Buldum. It was beyond my wildest expectations. I wish I could live here forever!” Ada said, her face red from realizing what she just said.

“Haha. I am afraid that it is a violation of our rules.” Buldum replied. “But it is always good to see kids who are interested in our culture. I see that you bought yourself a Polenian compass.” he noticed the silver compass attached to a chain in her hands. “It brings back a lot of memories.”

“Memories?” Ada asked. “You were involved with its creation?” she asked excitedly.

“Not exactly, my master built it. I was, but eight years old when he took me under his wing. I can say that I was lucky enough to witness the making of his masterpiece.” Buldum sounded nostalgic.

“No way! The great Safazar was your master? Incredible.”

“Safazar? Wasn’t he the last Sizaxian valor from forty years ago?” Stu asked, trying to join in on the conversation. “You would be right. Master Safazar was the third Sizaxian valor in our entire history, The legacy he left behind is inexplicable.” Buldum said.

048 was dripping wet, but maybe from the sweat this time around. Buldum immediately noticed it.

“Why me chief? Why? I think you owe me an explanation at least.” 048 finally said. Buldum tried to control himself but he looked like he lost it.

“Because it’s time. It’s time for us to have another Valor. Look, you may not be the best forger or the strongest fighter in the town, but you’re sure as hell the smartest among us. You were born to push forward his legacy.” Buldum said. “Don’t act like you didn’t already know this! I know what you saw in the fire this morning. I am very sorry, but you have to suck it up and step up to the situation, 48. I am hoping that you do.” With that, Chief Buldum left the room and silence occupied the workshop.

What did he see in the fire? Yuri wanted to ask but he restricted himself. Thinking about it made him recollect his confusing but terrible future. He wasn’t sure how much of it would be accurate. Maybe it’s just a warning so we can better prepare to change the outcome, he thought. Or maybe it showed exactly what the future had in hold.

“What did you see?” Tatsu whispered to Yuri.

“It's nothing of importance. What did you see?” he asked back.

“I’m not sure. My sight was blurry and I was looking very tired. But I had a strange look on my face.” Tatsu replied.

“What do you mean by strange?”

“I looked determined. It was as if the pain didn’t matter to me.”

His suspicions were confirmed. Everyone had a bad vision. Stu and Ada didn’t say it but Yuri could tell from their faces. An uneasy feeling developed in his stomach.

“We should pick up the pace if we have to explore the whole island before evening.” 048 broke the silence and calmly walked out. They followed him into a different part of the town, where there were more huts and buildings. He could feel the stares dying down, but there were still a few who were unhappy with his presence. He chose to ignore it.

Ada didn’t seem to lose interest in anything. She was rambling about everything she saw to Yuri, he gladly listened.

“These types of huts came into existence only a decade ago.” She pointed to a group of huts that had large slabs for bases and a wooden figure attached to the roof that looked like an inverted umbrella.

“Looks cool but weird.” Tatsu noted, aggressively digging into a chip packet that he bought from a store.

“It's also efficient.” 048 said. “We get a lot of rain here. So most of it is collected and used to grow the garden around the huts. It's an automated system. Chief Buldum came up with it.”

“Oh man, Chief Buldum is way smarter than I thought. No wonder he is so popular around here.” Ada said.

“But not smart enough to make good decisions!” A foreign Sizaxian voice exclaimed from behind. 048 immediately panicked and tried to ease the situation. “Igor. I can explai-.”

“You have some nerve to show your face around here!” Igor cut him off. Igor was exceedingly different from 048. He was almost twice as tall and huge as him, his armor had a thin red layer to it. His eyes were burning with fury. He was itching for a fight.

“How dare you take away the warrior clan's chance? Have you no shame to agree to Buldum’s stupid decision. Or was it your idea?” Igor roared. “Boy! Do you think you’re better than me?” He closed the distance between them and faced him head-on.

“Who’s this jerk?” Tatsu asked, still holding on to her bag of chips.

“This is Igor. The son of the warrior clan’s chief.” 048 said. “”I am his second in command! How dare you disrespect me? All the times that I treated you like a brother and this is what you show me! I have had it!” Igor pushed him to the ground. 048 landed with a huge bang. From his eyes, Yuri could say that 048 was also equally pissed.

“It wasn’t my choice!” He yelled.

“Hey, watch it man.” Yuri stood up to Igor, looking confidently in the eyes and avoided all thoughts of being crushed like a paper under a rock.

“Or?” Igor asked menacingly.

Before Yuri could reply, Tatsu was flying through the hair, screaming as he kicked Igor’s face. The Sizaxian shrugged it off like it was nothing and muttered

“You’re dead.”

Yuri tried pushing him off before he could reach Tatsu, but all he pushed away was himself from the ground. He was about to be picked apart by Igor before Stu came to his assistance. Together, they were at least able to hold him off. Ada punched her hands straight into his armor without any hesitation, she instantly regretted it. “Holy fuck! That is hard.” she groaned.

Tatsu jumped over Ada and pinned her to the ground before she was hit by one of Igor’s arm blows. 048 got up from the ground and pushed Igor back. “Keep this between us!” he yelled.

“They started it!” Igor yelled back.

“Shut up!” Yuri and Stu yelled together.

From his peripheral vision, Yuri saw a lot of Sizaxians starting to huddle around them. They were cheering after a few seconds. Just when Igor managed to get rid of Yuri and Stu, he was hit by a thick metal stick. The two Sizaxians, Igor and 048, went flying through the air, before they landed a few feet away.

“Insolence.” Chief Buldum said, as he thumped his metal stick to the ground.

“All of you, Get out!” he instructed. “But chief…” 048 grumbled from the ground, his sound indicated pain. “Don’t make me repeat myself.” Buldum said, sounding more strict.

048 stood up, unable to say anything. They all quietly followed him as he started to leave. Tatsu turned back one last time and stuck out both of her middle fingers.

“That brat!” Igor yelled, but it did not have his previous intensity. Yuri pulled Tatsu back to the group before she could make things worse.

“I’m sorry guys, I didn’t mean to cause trouble.” 048 said as soon as they were out of the town’s earshot. “It’s not your fault forty! It was brave of you to step up and hold him back. That blockhead deserved it.” Stu consoled him.

“Not a word about this to anyone at Aori.” Yuri ordered before they crossed the waterfall back to the forest. They all nodded their heads in agreement before they were wet again.