Gene froze and a chill ran down his spine as he started to understand her icy demeanor towards him.

  She raised a hand apologetically before continuing, “Obviously, that didn’t go as planned and my goddess called me back before this mission to relieve me of my burdens. I thought I was going to be stripped of my power and labeled an Apostate but instead, Aliyah gave me a new mission. She told me to light your path, to be a guiding torch. After meeting Amara, I think I understand. Somehow, they knew something like this would happen but for some reason they wanted to prevent it.”

  Gene raised his hand sheepishly and said, “I can guess why. If I’d failed to escape the Dark Lord’s control, I could’ve been captured – we all could have been, and no one wants to know what would happen if I was turned into a Forsaken. They must know what the Forsaken truly are.”

  His focus fell to the ground and he thought about being trapped in that creature’s mind, of what Amara went through, and how for the first time since he’d been resurrected, Gene felt the preternatural fear of death creeping on him in that mind space.

  “If I didn’t have to save Amara, I don’t know if I would’ve escaped,” said Gene as he sighed heavily.

  “I’m thankful you did. Not just for Amara or for your power. I’m thankful you made it back.”

  Gene looked up to see Kyra’s smiling face and the tension in his chest began to ease.

  “I know how much you mean to Kyrie so I need to say this.” Kyra took a deep breath to steady herself before saying, “I would do anything to keep him happy, even if that means toppling the heavens themselves. Promise me that you won’t hurt him or make me take such a blasphemous action.”

  Gene breathed deep in response. Her will was resolute and he knew he couldn’t reply too quickly and flippantly. He let her words sink in and gave her a deep bow before saying, “You have my word.”

  He looked up to see Kyra raise her staff and smile, saying, “You better. Now, let’s get this food. Divine Harvest!”

  Light flashed from her staff as she completed her spell with a quick incantation. Between them, a spread of food lay on a roughly woven cloth, suddenly appearing out of thin air.

  Gene balked at the sight and looked from the food to Kyra before asking, “Oh so you’re a scam artist, huh? Everytime you went foraging, you were just going to talk shit about me.”

  Kyra snorted and said, “Not every time. Now, keep your lips sealed and grab the food. Only Kyrie knows I have this blessing.”

  She winked and covered her mouth with a finger. Gene responded by pantomiming locking his lips and throwing away the key before he picked up the hefty bundle and followed her back to the camp.

  Their walk back was much more relaxed. Gene began to feel like Kyra was seeing him for the first time. Of all the members of Silvayn, he coveted her approval the most, possibly even more than Kyrie. In her, he saw a shining symbol of the hierarchy of New Venturis and her adamant will made her an unshakable ally. He hoped that would extend to Amara. He hesitated to speak, words caught on his lips, before he pushed them to escape.

  “Hey, Kyra, I needed to say something.”

  Kyra stopped in place and Gene’s mouth went dry.

  “I think Amara’s in a lot of trouble. When she was reborn, my system spoke to me and said something concerning. Apparently I pushed beyond the boundaries of my power level into something unknown and I received a Complication. We’ve been intrinsically linked and as a result, her life will be put into peril.”

  Kyra raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked, “What’s different from our normal life of peril?”

  Gene shook his head and said, “No, I think you’re not understanding the gravity of what I’m saying. It’s a Complication with a capital C. The last time I received one was during Derek’s siege. It told me one enemy would gain information about me and that night, Verdant and Verity appeared in my room.”

  Both of Kyra’s eyebrows raised in recognition and she said, “Oh…I think I understand now.”

  She lowered her staff and lost herself in a thought for a moment.

  Gene’s shoulders slumped in defeat and he said, “I know it’s a lot to think about and it’s a lot to ask, but if I’m not there to protect her…”

  Gene felt a spike in power flowing out of Kyra and she whipped her staff through the air, felling a tree with one strike. She looked up at Gene with glowing eyes, startling him.

  “If anyone dares to touch a hair on her head, they will have to answer to every member of Silvayn. She will live the life she deserves and if she truly becomes a queen, she will have us as her first knights.”

  Kyra hummed with power as she spoke her vow and Gene smiled softly.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  “Thank you, Kyra,” he said before bowing. “I should’ve known my fears were unfounded.”

  They returned to the camp to find an absurd sight. Kyrie was perched 6 feet high in the air on a near invisible plank of force, conjured by Amara. He posed like a superhero with an arm stretched out, flying through the air on her direction of the energy construct.

  “And so he shoots fireballs from his eyes, like pow! Blowing up the bad guys around him,” said Kyrie as he finished the rambling tale he had begun to Amara.

  The girl laughed in amazement and Gene laughed at the absurdity. Kyrie looked up at them both and gave an exaggerated wave. Amara did the same, accidentally dissolving her force construct. Kyrie did a flip in the air to land on his feet and bowed before Amara clapped in awe.

  “He’s a buffoon but that makes him a perfect babysitter,” said Kyra as she leaned closer to Gene.

  He snorted and then said, “At least he’s my buffoon.”

  Kyra looked at him suddenly and said, “You are sick, sick people.”

  He laughed heartily. They walked back to rejoin the others as Winnie and Eonis met them, carrying multiple mugs. Winnie handed a sparkling beverage to Amara and let Gene know it was simply juice from a paupau fruit.

  The members of Silvayn gathered around the fire and Kyrie raised his glass in a toast.

  “Tomorrow we become myths but tonight, we dine as heroes! Revel in this moment, soak in the admiration. We’ve earned it and we’ll soon earn even more. We travel to Balora and into an uncertain future but we travel together. Friends, family, today has been a victory for Silvayn!”

  They all cheered when he concluded. Gene picked up Amara so she could reach her glass to them and they clinked them in celebration.

  ?

  Gene was up all night, thinking about what had happened and what was to come. He no longer needed sleep but he stayed in the bedroll next to Kyrie nonetheless. He mused over spending the power points he’d acquired from the raid but something in him made him hesitate to step into the margins.

  The Hero System had warned him against being reckless with his powers and what could be more reckless than creating a life? He had been rewarded in the moment of her rebirth and offered a pending reward but he still hadn’t determined if Hero had a choice in the matter about rewarding his actions. When dawn came, he finally worked up the courage to step into the margins.

  “Welcome, Hero: Gene Grey,” said the Hero System as Gene materialized.

  His tone was even, unreadable as the personification of power stood before him. Gene hung his head low in shame and raised his hands, pleading for absolution.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quickly before the system had a chance to castigate him. “I understand if you’re mad at me but I had to save her. I couldn’t leave her trapped in that mental prison.”

  “Raise your head, Gene Grey,” said the Hero System with a heavy sigh. “Worry not. As I stated before, I am not the arbiter of morality. You made your choices and will now live with the consequences, both good and bad. I believe you are now beginning to learn your limits.”

  Gene stood up and let out a loud sigh of relief.

  “Oh thank god. You have no clue how I was agonizing over seeing you again,” said Gene before flopping back into a seat that formed as he fell.

  The Hero System chuckled and came to join him, saying, “I have a clue. Not many would halt their power progression without good reason.”

  Gene thought of Eonis when he said this. Liris’s scathing remark about him holding himself back rang true in Gene’s mind. He had done the same before the mission and frighteningly enough, that could have been disastrous. He decided he wouldn’t let that happen again.

  “I think it’s time. I need to spend it all. If I’m going to stand against this world to save it then I’m going to need all the power I can get.”

  Gene could sense the Hero System smiling in acknowledgement before it said, “Well then, let us get to work.”

  Gene’s mind fractured in a way he hadn’t experienced before. He felt his mind, his body, and his soul being reforged into a greater psionic weapon. When the process concluded, he accessed his updated profile to marvel at his new power.

  Character Profile. Name: Gene Grey, Codename: GreyMatter. Archetype: Psychic. Power Level: 9. Abilities: Might: 2, Toughness: 4, Agility: 3, Awareness: 6, Presence: 5.

  Powers:

  Array: Mental Communication 2 - Project your thoughts and hear the thoughts of willing targets within 1 mile.

  Array: Astral Projection 7 - Project your mind into an astral form within half a mile.

  Thought Sense 10: Sense the presence of minds and surface thoughts within 10 miles with diminishing clarity the further targets are away from self.

  Sleepless 1: Your are immune to sleep and effects that cause sleep.

  Language Absorption 1: Temporarily learn the language of any being you’ve been in active mental communication with.

  Array: Memory Editing 9 - Subtly edit the memories of targets within a shapeable area.

  Array: Psy Bolt 9 - Subtly unleash an explosive bolt of psionic energy to damage the mind of your foe.

  Array: Psy Storm 5 - Unleash an explosive storm of psionic energy to damage the minds of your foes in a shapeable area.

  Array: Illusion Casting 9 - Subtly control the senses of targets in an area to create illusions by concentrating.

  Array: Mind Control 9 - Subtly control the minds of others, imposing the Dazed, Compelled, and Controlled conditions on a target with cumulative attacks.

  Unallocated Power Points available: 1.

  When he was satisfied, Gene gave a thumbs up to the Hero System and the system returned the gesture by closing his hand.

  “With that done, I can bestow upon you your reward for your actions.”

  Light began to stream from the Hero System’s closed hand. He stepped towards Gene and thrust his hand into his chest. Gene gasped in shock but there was no pain.

  Heated filled his chest, spreading through his body, and infusing his core with a strange power.

  He touched his chest in confusion before the Hero system said, “You have earned a Hero Point for your heroic actions. In time, this power will reveal itself to you when you are in a most dire situation. Use it only when no other option exists.”

  Gene was flabbergasted. He wondered just how many more secrets the Hero System held but before he had a chance to ask for an explanation, the system said, “Now go. For your great works are only beginning.”

  Gene was drawn out of the margins suddenly as dawn broke. He touched his chest in confusion, feeling the strange new power suffusing his body and it filled him with worry. What could be coming that he needed this new power? Only time would tell.