It had been a few years since finding out my life was a lie. I kept pretty low, and hid from the law. I even had gone to the extent of isolating myself further from others.

  In school I only talked to Jerek and Mariel. Professors when required, and barely ever Veran.

  My agreement with Cecilia had come to a standstill. I explained to her the last section still remained unchanged, although I could recite every word from the book—sort of—that didn’t please Cecilia.

  I kept excelling in school, so Veran kept shooting his dagger-like eyes at me.

  Sometimes I felt it’d be easier if he just left town, paid an escort to be his mistress, or even moved to a different city entirely.

  Or worse.

  Occasionally Torian would ask if he could monitor or even assist my training, it had only happened a handful of times but that was still meaningful.

  Additionally, there’s multiple final ceremonies and events they have a student do before they graduate at twenty.

  Regardless of grades or skills when someone turns twenty they’re an adult therefore they’ll get certain certifications based on what they’re able to do.

  So if you fuck around all the time you’ll not get anything and be left on your ass.

  However if you’re like me you’ll get targeted by Grand Marshalls for being more than what expectations foresaw.

  No winning with this. Just losing.

  Anyway, I was handed an assignment now that I’m eighteen. It’s a task where the academy has people take on more and more classmates to prepare for if one day they’re a soldier or adventurer needing to fight multiple things at once.

  Naturally Veran forced me into this to make me eventually fall on my ass.

  The schedule was posted on a wall ahead of time.

  My first fight was against Jerek and Mariel.

  Great.

  The concept was simple, but the way it was normally done meant it was randomized.

  There shouldn’t have been a pre-posted schedule.

  My fight was tomorrow and still no luck was granted from Nythris. It felt like she wasn’t exactly abandoning me, but like something was at play larger than I could wrap my head around at this moment.

  I didn’t need her specifically for this. Her teachings sure, but not her directly.

  My parents didn’t have much to do for me, nor to say to me since a few years back. They knew how annoyed I was at them. It was a constant lingering thought that I was an atrocity with every breath of air I took.

  Even with Jerek and Mariel knowing all of this about me they still loved me. They truly knew me. They knew I wanted to do good.

  With Jerek we spent every day in the gym and running together without fail. Mariel and I spent so much time together it felt we were living together. After all, we had been intimate a few times.

  I slept better than I thought I would’ve that night. It felt like all the pressure building against me would make me angst, but it was masked easily because I was able to still detect intent in someone. So I could tell when there was real danger.

  It was difficult because my eyes sometimes dragged a little behind the intent tracking. However my raw instinct would make up for it.

  Per usual I made my way to school with Jerek and Mariel, they knew I was feeling down, I had been for a while. They did a good job of cheering me up though. Even though today they knew they’d be trying to hit me. Not kill me, just spar.

  We made our way through classes until it was time.

  Torian and Cecilia sat next to each other in the audience, as if they’ve been to these in the past. Like they were long time best friends.

  Everyone knows the Grand Marshall’s don’t all get along, I’d say Cecilia and Torian’s relationship is as close to a friendship as possible.

  It changed nothing though. I told Jerek and Mariel before the event I was going to go all out, and they should do the same.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Veran wasted no time and forced my fight first.

  It was an event so I wore my dress coat here. As well as the gloves, and this time I had Gravewake holstered to my back. Of course it was dormant, and just a blade, no killing would be done today.

  I briefly closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  Jerek and Mariel stood across from me when I opened my eyes.

  Jerek had his helmet open. “Good luck my friend.”

  I nodded. “You as well brother. Same to you Mariel.”

  She smiled. “Yes, we will all give this our best.”

  Veran flailed his hand down. “BEGIN!”

  Jerek and I ran towards each other first. Mariel walked slowly towards us.

  In the blink of an eye my momentum from running shifted to an offensive attack.

  My blade thudded against Jerek’s shield and he pushed my blade off.

  Although he just had a shield, he still could punch me, or even throw a spell my way. It was wise to not act like he was without offense.

  I traded blows with Jerek but it wasn’t doing much, even after throwing in magic attacks it wasn’t doing much.

  Then Mariel’s walk stopped as she lunged in and parried one of my attacks.

  She landed behind me with my front facing Jerek.

  The fight truly began now.

  My plan was simple: bounce my blade between the two of them conserving momentum and wait for an opening.

  But they were damn good, there wasn’t much of an opening I could see.

  So I needed to look beyond my eyes.

  I still had my eyes open but they were slowing me down. I was focusing my intent on reading theirs.

  This helped a lot.

  I was faster than both of them. But it felt like borrowed time.

  After trading attacks and defense I had to think outside the box on this one.

  When my blade struck Mariel’s I used her parry to give me momentum. That combined with kicking off of her allowed me to jump above Jerek where I grabbed his shield’s top.

  He was stronger than me but this made him fall backwards where I delivered an axe kick to his helmet, partially denting it.

  Then I shifted my momentum back to Mariel. I knew she wouldn’t stay down for long so I came back at her. Only this time mid air I completely let go of my sword halfway through my strike.

  Its momentum confused her and my full hand grabbed her face and that forward momentum of hers knocked her own sword out of her hand as Gravewake collided with it on its way down.

  Gravewake was heavy.

  I made sure she didn’t hit the ground so I simply threw her into my other arm and leaned her head down to the ground and back up.

  The win was mine.

  Veran was pissed.

  He stormed the field and walked up to me and slapped me.

  “Boy, I don’t know what trickery you have. But this shit ends here.”

  He signaled for more people to storm the field. Suddenly I had to fight seven people at once.

  I used similar techniques, I dodged, blocked, parried, and even read their intent. Eventually I outmaneuvered them.

  Veran’s anger grew beyond rageful.

  “Twenty? Can you fight off twenty you wretched child?”

  Students began to fill the courtyard when a heavy mace landed in the middle of the field, followed by an intense lightning bolt acting like a lightning rod.

  I felt a shift in the air. In an instant someone was to my left and behind me.

  When I turned I felt the presence of someone almost mirroring the presence of Nythris.

  Eyes glowing of a deep blue. Lightning spiraling out from his eyes, and it was the same color as the lightning coming from the mace.

  This was Torian, and his relic Thunderheart.

  He picked up the mace. “Your trial of Cade ends here Aldric. I will duel the boy, if he holds his own he passes. Alright?”

  It looked like Veran was about to burst an artery.

  Veran had no choice but to accept, Torian outranked him.

  And so my duel with Torian was about to commence.

  The whole world cleared out of our way.

  Torian dropped his relic to the floor and removed his coat. The coat that covered possibly the strongest looking man I had ever seen. He tossed it to the side.

  He picked his relic back up. “Look, Cade—I have no intent of killing you, and neither did your friends before. However, if you are not trying your best you’ll get injured.”

  I nodded and with one hand plunged my sword into the ground. “I understand Mr. Gale. I will fight with all of my very being.”

  My gloves were tight on my hand, but I removed both of them and alongside my coat I tossed the two off to the side.

  I wasn’t anywhere as huge as Torian, but our physiques, our auras, our relics even if the crowd didn’t know I had a relic, all were making the air feel more dense than I had ever felt before.

  But I wasn’t afraid. I was happy to find someone who I didn’t have to hold back against.

  He looked at me with the same eyes.

  “Veran.” Torian started, eyes not shifting from mine. “Count us down, why don’t you?”

  I didn’t move my eyes either, but I knew Veran was still pissed.

  “Three.” He began.

  The crowd around us took a step back.

  “Two.” He continued.

  Krail itself held its breath.

  “One–” He finished.

  My blade collided with the shaft of his mace before Veran even finished speaking.

  The relics, stature, and unique power of both of us all had individual fights with one another while simultaneously our auras mapped it all out in reality.

  My relic even without having its unique powers still had its personality. The concept of continuously growing in power via hunt. His relic portrayed the very nature around us, the thunder, the lightning, the storm.

  Our physiques were testament to our discipline. It was easy to go to the gym every day, but to train hard and properly was a different story.

  My intent based powers rivaled his existent based powers. I read what happened, he writes what happens.

  All while our hands, our minds, and auras connected the dots.

  And all of that was told in just one blow.

  We let things linger for just a moment before settling back away from the point of impact.

  I stood tall grasping my blade, and he stood just as tall holding his mace.

  The world was quiet, but Torian and I were having an entire conversation without moving.

  He then turned away from me and walked towards Veran.

  Torian ignited his mace with lightning. “This ends here. The exam is satisfied.”

  Torian picked his jacket up and put it back on, slinging the mace around to his back.

  He walked to Cecilia and sat back down next to her.

  I was alone in the field. It felt like even though something good just happened it didn’t matter.

  I walked over to my gear and put it back on. Then I went to sit with Mariel and Jerek.

  The exam went well for the rest of the students. Veran remained angry the entire time, shooting me looks. The looks were met back with Torian’s gaze.

  Cecilia looked as unbothered as ever. I’m surprised she’s even still here.

  When the exam was over I was expecting Torian to want to talk with me but he was nowhere in sight.

  Nothing I thought I knew about Krail, or even my existence itself was true.

  What was I? More importantly, what was I becoming?