January 17, 2019, 7:12am. Time to admit that, yeah, that just happened.

As my avatar cries into my shoulder, I try to process what just happened. I'm pretty sure I chose my class. Which, while yes, I was considering it, I wasn't ready to select yet. Or maybe I was? When I saw the galaxy spinning in her eyes, I didn't hesitate before pulling it forth into my hand.

"Eh. What the hell," I shrug while patting my avatar on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I should have stopped you. But I had no idea you could do that," she sobs into my shoulder, making me realize that maybe I have a little more than a simple avatar on my hands.

"Uhm, you can talk?" I say, stepping back from the dark-robed version of myself.

"I can?" she asks, seeming as confused as I am, inspecting herself before looking back up at me.

"Oh my God. I can!" she exclaims, grabbing me in another hug, but lifting me off my feet while spinning me around this time.

"You can finally hear me. I was sure everything was going to break when you didn't choose Paradox. Goes to show how silly I was, right? Worried over nothing. And look at you. So powerful. Let’s not worry about it. You're a Cataclysm mage now. Well, Seed technically, so that’s new. But you know, tomayto, tomahto." she says, motoring along before setting me down.

"Wyonna?" I ask, slightly dizzy from my recent spin and her emotional one-eighty.

"Yep. Geez, it's so good to be free of those shackles," she says as she spins in place, her clothes and hair changing before my eyes.

"Shackles?" I ask as I inspect her new look. She's now sporting a beautiful rainbow coloured Mohawk, a jean jacket over a Johnny Rotten t-shirt, a pair of strategically ripped blue jeans and a pair of painful-looking high heeled boots. Even her face has shifted so she no longer appears to be my twin but might pass as my cousin instead, which is strangely relieving.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm still not free, but it's more like I'm under house arrest than chained to a wall in a dark basement where there's no light, ya know?" she asks while stretching her legs at an angle I'm sure would be impossible for me. Especially as she appears to be ignoring gravity as she does so. It hurts to watch.

"Not really," I reply honestly.

"Right. You have like, literally, no clue who I am," Wyonna says, shaking her head before continuing.

"I'm the Forerunner Artificial Intelligence aka Mr Universe aka Forerunner Survival blah, blah, blah. But really, I prefer Wyonna. I feel like it really captures my essence, you know?"

"Was that a system pun?" I ask in return.

"Ha. No. I mean, sure. Why not? It is now. Geez, is it just me or is there so much room in here?" Wyonna asks, stretching her arms out gesturing around at the empty compound.

There is a fair amount of space. It's a little strange that it's still here now that I've selected my class. Which leads me to ask, "what is this place? Shouldn't it have disappeared when I got my class?"

"Why would it disappear? The Citizen training yard is a core feature, configured to allow testing of all kinds. It's a simulated training area. Probably one of the safest ways to practice in the known universe. Not that you can really use it before you unlock it. But check this out," she says, pulling a grenade from her pocket. Pulling the pin she runs towards the edge, tossing it way over the side of the platform.

Instinctively ducking my head, I wait for the explosion. While I'm preparing myself for the worst, Wyonna leans against the railing.

The blast hits a moment later.

Basking in the shockwave of the explosion, Wyonna's mohawk whips about madly while she holds fast to the railing as I get thrown to the far side of the little tower.

I don't know much about grenades but I'm reasonably certain they're not supposed to leave mushroom clouds a couple hundred meters high or lift you off your feet from over a hundred meters away.

"Yay! I love MC-20 grenades. They're just so impactful. Nothing like the threat of nuclear armageddon to make you feel alive. Am I right?" Wyonna says in the wake of the explosion.

"Yeah. Uhm. I guess? Not to be a jerk or anything, but is something supposed to happen now that I have my class?" I ask, after picking myself up then leaning on the railing next to her, watching the dust settle.

"Oh crap, I forgot. Let's see. Okay. Yeah. I kind of had your automatic class integration disabled so we could talk. But then you completely shocked me by skipping past the system to just take your class," she says as a small blue blur appears next to her. Out of which she pulls a floating keyboard and monitor, setting them in the air in front of her. Apparently, it's not just her that ignores gravity here.

"Huh, okay. Let's see. Yep. Uhm. Nope, don't really want that anymore. Hmm. Perfect," Wyonna mumbles to herself before she starts cackling wildly.

I have a bad feeling about this, "Uhh Wyonna, what -" but before I can finish, I realize it's time for another dream sequence.

"Don't worry Lex, I've got your back," Wyonna says, somehow already holding me as I sink to the ground, the military compound fading away.

*******'******************'******************'********

The undulating clicks and buzzing of the surrounding army wore on Marlevaur’s nerves as he looked out over his troops. Conscripts taken from the nearest hive, all barely sapient by Marlevaur’s standards. Obedient though.

Huh. This is new. That's a lot of ant people.

Shhh. He's thinking.

Marlevaur had never been a fan of the slave control network. It was too crude, the results of limited use against the hordes of the Othere. What use was it, forcing conscripts who barely knew how to wield mana, to face their deaths at the hands of twisted creatures that were without end.

No. Much simpler, and more effective, to use their corrupted life-force to power workings that would scour their worlds clean of the scourge. His math showed that there would be much less death his way. He'd been outvoted of course. It was more civilized to allow the lesser species a chance to prove their valour. Or some such drivel.

Wyonna is that you?

*Crunch*Crunch* Yep, I watch these things with you. Now be quiet. You don't want to miss any of this.

Are you eating popcorn?

Shhh.

But he was a pure Asimari, not some mana-addled citizen. He'd taken his allotted defence force then led them here, but they wouldn't be valiantly fighting against the swarm today. There'd be no chance to prove their valour.

No.

However, they would prove their value. Today their sacrifice would allow Marlevaur to drive the accursed swarm off their planet. The losses would be far less than if he allowed the conscripts around him to attempt to save their world themselves. This way their families would live. He was sure they'd be grateful. If he bothered to tell them.

The calculations that he'd painstakingly checked countless times occupied several tables in his command structure.

It was the best way. The only way to be sure.

*Crunch*

Seriously, how come I don't have pop-

Oh, nevermind. Thanks.

Reaching out, he connected his will to the company of conscripts surrounding him. He'd used this same technique countless times before, but never like this. He typically used it to track the location of allies, allowing him to effortlessly exclude them from his devastating abilities. This time he subverted the link, deepening it in the slaves while displacing his end, shifting the connection into the dark stone obelisk he'd prepared for this precise moment.

Any being who had worked with concentrated mana would recognize the dark material instantly. Unlike a typical essence, the obelisk didn't contain small flecks or even large chords of power though. No, it had veritable torrents of elemental energy coursing beneath its surface, struggling for release. If a being were to look upon its smooth form with unfiltered mana-sight, they would find themselves struck blind. Permanently.

It had taken him years to design. And months to build. It would be rather beautiful, even to a casual observer, he admitted to himself.

He'd started the ritual hours ago, tying the obelisk into the corrupted ley-line network beneath the world's surface, gathering energy. Now he connected his conscripted slave network to the obelisk. He was proud of the work he'd put into this ritual. He didn't do this for anything so petty as avenging his lost children, a missing lover or something as fleeting as glory.

No, Marlevaur was better than that. More pure. He was a being of math and numbers. And the numbers said this was the most effective way to end the scourge. He would use corruption to fight corruption.

He would use it to protect all the core worlds.

There could be no higher calling.

As the energy built, he watched the nearest slaves begin to collapse. Before their neighbours could understand what was happening, the collapse spread. Moments later he was the only one standing, every slave's life-force bound within the dark obelisk, their bodies little more than husks.

Taking a moment to appreciate his handiwork, Marlevaur saw a glimpse of his face in the reflective surface of the obelisk. The signs of his toil were showing. His wings were molting and the points of his once finely jewelled ears were unadorned. He hadn't taken the time to refasten them in… He didn't know how long. But most telling were his eyes. His eyes no longer held their usual golden lustre, replaced by the dull yellow of the nearly dead. Luckily his work was almost done.

*Crunch* Holy crap this guy looks more like an angel than the demon I was expecting, kind of like an elf with wings. Seems to be in rough shape though.

Shh, we're getting to the important part.

Placing both hands on the obelisk, Marlevaur reached out, seeking the pockets of corruption, hidden deep within the planet's core. He'd considered learning the local's name for the planet, but had decided it didn't matter. He allowed his senses to spread over the network, isolating it from the temporal ocean, preventing the corruption from divining his plan. There would be no turning back at this point.

Once isolated, he moved to the next stage as his body was wracked by spasms. They were of no consequence. Opening portals throughout, he channelled destruction into the planetary core, allowing the elemental power to rip into every source of corruption. He couldn't allow any Othere to escape his purge. It would simply spread again, rendering his work meaningless. He smiled as he felt the corruption being burned out.

As he finished his work, stumbling away from the pillar, he realized the shaking hadn’t stopped. Raising his head, he watched as the great plains before him heaved into mountains, molten rock flowing forth. It would appear the world did not appreciate being purged of a mana-swarm. He couldn't help but note that the destruction was surprisingly reminiscent of a mana-swarm infection.

As his death came for him, Marlevaur admitted he may have made a mistake in his math afterall.

*******'******************'******************'********

Now that's commitment.

Where’d my popcorn go?

Eh. It was never really there. Did you see that?

Yeah, but what did that have to do with my class?

Are you kidding? He caused a literal cataclysm. Did you think the class name was just for show?

What? I don't want that kind of power. He destroyed a planet!

What? It's fine. He just reorganized the geography a bunch. Plus, he had to sacrifice that fancy pillar and like ten thousand people to have the energy to do it. Not that they minded. The ones that survived that is. The Botherians bounced back just fine, so it couldn't have been that bad. I mean they're one of the only Creator era races still around.

Anyway, you noticed the linking right? That's the important part. That's going to be your first unlockable class ability.

Sigh. Yeah. Seemed kind of like when I connect to the others using my facet.

Good. I hate reruns. Except A-team. Speaking of which, since Beth already went through this I'll just…..

Oops. Uhm. Well, time to wake up!

*******'******************'******************'********

As per Wyonna's last words, I wake to find myself looking into Smoulder's worried eyes. I'm still sitting at the table in Raz' common room, new notifications waiting for my perusal as I reach out to pet her. Before I start reviewing my notifications, I attempt to contact Wyonna, to see if I can reach her directly now.

"Can you hear me Wyonna?" I ask the air.

I wait half a minute for a response. When it's apparent she's not going to answer verbally, I turn to my notifications.

"Class selected: Cataclysm Seed. Forerunner Pandora Integration - Level 1 Completed.

"Yeah, I can hear you. And hey look, we finally did it. Not exactly as planned, but whatever."

"Accessing Achievement System."

"Update: Achievement System Off-line. Connect to the Core System to unlock Achievements."

"Right, Achievements. You'll probably have some good ones saved up. If we ever get off this backwater."

"Citizen Class training area is locked. Cost to unlock: one (1) iron rank class advancement point."

"I'm stuck in here, but at least it's got surround sound and hi-def. Plus so much room to stretch. Oh, just to be clear, I'm stuck in the combat room, not the system. It's a pretty useful place but you might want to use your points for other things first. Once you get them. Totally your call. Soooooo muuuucccchhhh roooooooommmmmm."

Well, it seems like Wyonna is taking advantage of not having a word cap any more. She seems to be having fun. Unlocking the private training space might be nice. Focusing on my class, I don't go to the training yard this time. Instead a new screen comes up.

Combat Class - Cataclysm Seed (Unique) - Iron Rank

Iron Rank Class Attribute Modifiers.

-10 decrease to Strength and Constitution maximum. +5 increase to Agility and Endurance maximum. +25 increase to Intellect, Spirit, Perception and Resolve maximum.

Iron Rank Class Resource Modifiers.

1.6 multiplier applied to mana, focus and higher concept resource facet. +12 pool, [+0.6 edge], (+6 regen/day) to mana and focus per level. +12 pool, [+0.6 edge], (+3 regen/hour) to higher concept resource facet per level. 1.1 multiplier applied to health and stamina resources from base attributes. +2 pool, [+0.1 edge], (+1 regen/day) to health and stamina per level.

Iron Rank Class Traits:

Mana resistance - iron rank. Provides resistance to untyped magic damage. Effectiveness scales off Constitution, Endurance, Spirit, Resolve and class level. Reduced resistance against higher rank abilities. Elemental resistance - iron rank. Provides resistance to elemental damage. Effectiveness scales off Constitution, Endurance, Spirit, Resolve and class level. Reduced resistance against higher rank abilities. Temporal resistance - iron rank. Provides resistance to the negative effects of exposure to temporal tides. Effectiveness scales off Spirit, Resolve and class level. Reduced resistance against higher rank abilities. Spatial resistance - iron rank. Provides resistance to the negative effects of spatial displacement. Effectiveness scales off Spirit, Resolve and class level. Reduced resistance against higher rank abilities.

Iron Rank Class Abilities unlocked:

Increased Facet Pool 0/10, +15/rank Increased Facet Edge 0/10, +[1.0]/rank Increased Facet Regen 0/10, +(5/hr)/rank IFF (Identity Friend or Foe) 0/1

"Class ability points available: 1"

"IFF is the ability you saw that Creator use, though he had some other name for it, like transcendent link. Okay, let's see. You'll get new abilities and one ability point to spend each time you advance a level. Which you advance by using class progression points, obviously. I'm sure someone told you about that already."

"Once you hit the iron rank level cap, which is level 10, you can keep using iron rank class progression points to improve iron rank class abilities. How cool is that? I mean, you could also use them to improve them earlier without gaining a level, but why would you?"

"Thanks, Wyonna," I say as I look over my class. It's nice to have the advice. There's a lot to absorb here. I'm guessing her chattiness is a result of her being free of her 'shackles'. I wonder if she'll be less verbose once she's had more time to communicate.

Okay, I need a progression point to level. Level 10 is the maximum for iron rank. New abilities each level. One ability point per level. IFF helps me avoid roasting my friends. Simple.

I immediately put an ability point into IFF which causes my mind to go squiggly for a second. Squiggly, as in I'm suddenly certain that the smooth table feels like the taste of the colour green. Yeah, things don't exactly make sense, not until my mind snaps back.

Once it does, my normal senses return. The new one is interwoven so naturally, it feels as though it was always a part of me. Which is freaky as hell. But it's hardly the first sign the system has the ability to mess directly with my mind.

Petting Smoulder, who's still resting in my lap, I let the sense light up. Currently, it gives me an idea of where my party members are, though I only have an impression of their direction and distance. It feels as if there are a large number of 'grooves' that I can slot people in and out of to enable or disable my sense of them. My party members all came pre-slotted. When I test my ability to pop Tipan out of the 'groove', I discover it's as easy as closing my upper eyes, to borrow a phrase from Uthica. From what I felt in my vision I'll be able to improve the ability somehow, which will then allow me to shape my spells around linked targets with no mental effort.

Since none of the party are in the common room, I bring up my status, with an eye towards my resources. They'll never be the same again.

CLASS

Cataclysm Seed

Level

1

Iron

ATTRIBUTE

VALUE

ADJUST

STRENGTH

-9

(+/-)

CONSTITUTION

11

(+/-)

AGILITY

12

(+/-)

ENDURANCE

5

(+/-)

INTELLECT

85

(+/-)

SPIRIT

85

(+/-)

PERCEPTION

32

(+/-)

RESOLVE

11

(+/-)

Integration Points

7

RESOURCE

CURRENT/MAX

[EDGE]

(REGEN)

Health

88/88

[6.3]

(44)/d

Stamina

93/93

[7.4]

(49)/d

Mana

502/502

[46.9]

(386)/d

Focus

374/374

[29.2]

(244)/d

Matrix

Facet

132/132

[10.8]

(96)/h

Yep. Class integration is broken. If I had any doubts before, they're gone now. My resources have even been refilled.

As I'm basking in the glory of my new and improved resources, I hear a sound from near the stairwell where Josh and Beth are entering the common room together.

Okay. I have to tell them about the whole being able to select your class without trying problem. And that I, accidentally on purpose, chose my class.

Wait, is Josh singing?

I've never heard him sing before. It's very pretty. Like, boyband pretty.

"Good morning, Lex," Josh says as he strolls into the room, pulling up the same chair Roberts was sitting in earlier.

"Morning kid," Beth says, sitting down between us, smiling.

"Morning guys," I reply, smiling back. I'm not used to other people being in a good mood in the morning. Sab is a night owl and my mom, well, let's just say the same applies to her. Kind of.

I really don't want to put a damper on this mood, but I need to tell them. Especially Josh. Otherwise, he might make the same mistake. As I'm preparing myself, I feel Smoulder smuggle herself into one of my pockets. I reach down giving her scritches, drawing confidence from her contentment.

Looking up, I meet Beth’s eyes as she smiles back.

Well, I’ve overcome greater challenges in the last few days.