A excerpt from 'A Treatise on Genesis' by Unknown Author

I've always been perplexed by the existence of the different Routines. The Over-Routine's especially. They display remarkable self-awareness, even developing unique personalities. If they are all part of some larger entity, how do they maintain seperation?

I remember as the room collapsed, as the dark nothingness flowed into the room and overwhelmed me. Then … then there is nothing.

Am I awake? Am I conscious? Is this what it feels like to slip in and out of awareness? Moments stretch into infinity. My thoughts become muddied, heavy things that move at glacial speeds.

And then, light. It flickers in the distance, growing stronger by the second. It comes towards me, filling me with a slight sense of hope. I do not know if I have been trapped here for days, years, or decades. All I know is that the light represents a change; a trapped man will grasp at anything that is given.

The light grows closer, pushing against the darkness. Then, it fills me with a forgotten sensation; heat. A warmth spreads through me and down into something deeper. My body! The heat brings awareness. Awareness of the blood that pumps through me, of the slow rise and fall of my chest, of the power within my limbs. Of my Mana Well. The rich blue energy pulses within me and I remember what I have become capable of. Of all that I have accomplished.

And I open my eyes.

The heat that brought me back is a beam of light that comes in from an open window across from me, which look out onto the city. I can see the glistening waters of the lake and the scaffolding over multiple buildings. The sound of children laughing fills the air, only to be interrupted by a heavy gong that reverberates throughout the city. It rings five times before coming to a halt.

It takes me a moment to find the source, a large bell tower that rises up only a short distance away. The building is an amalgamation of different browns, as if the builders never settled on a color for the brick. They probably just used bricks from the wrecked buildings within the town, making do with whatever they had on hand.

It is beautiful for that reason. It perfectly represents human resolve, our ability to get knocked down and still get back up.

Lifting my head up, trying to ignore my incredibly sore muscles, I look around the room. It’s obvious that I’m in the manor as no other room would be as nice as this. The windows are surprisingly actual glass rather than simple holes while the walls and floors appear to be some rich wood, a rich brown that speaks of solidity.

I’m lying on a bed covered in a heavy blanket. Its rough texture itches like nothing I’ve ever felt and I throw it off to the side, turning my sore body so that my legs hang off the edge. It’s only then that I hear a multitude of pings, each one going off at the same time.

An avalanche of notifications follow, too many for me to Will them away.

You have discovered the Skill True Lightning Strike (R-5) Lvl 1! You understand that there is more to a lightning bolt than just electricity. By achieving mastery over all its components you have discovered the most fundamental and powerful version of this Skill. Increased skill level increases the maximum capacity of a single strike.

Issue [5923SD] has been resolved.

Warning! Your Class Parameters have been changed. Previous Parameters: [ERROR]. New Parameters [Hidden]. Elevate to Over-Routine [W-11] if issues arise.

Warning! Your Class has been altered! ‘Remnant of a Lost Universe’ has been changed. Extra Class Benefit [Hidden] has been added. Effect of Class Benefits have been increased.

Who was that man and what did he change about my Class? The increase to my Class Benefits, my ability to learn physics based Higher Energy’s quicker, is helpful but the addition of another seems … suspicious. And the fact that it is hidden makes it even more so.

Why go out of your way to change the substance of someone’s Class without some sort of benefit for yourself? Either the robed man is the most altruistic person I’ve ever met or he has some sort of ulterior motive, with the latter being far far more likely.

The more interesting question however is how he altered my Class. Are there abilities that give someone the ability to alter things within the fabric of Genesis? The potential for a Skill like that is … unfathomable. From what I’ve seen, Classes serve as the most important method of growth. Skills and Ways may offer some benefits but Classes decide how many Attribute Points are assigned each level along with coming with unique and powerful bonuses. If someone were able to manipulate that information and increase the amount of Attribute Points assigned … they’d be capable of creating truly powerful individuals.

I’m distracted from any further thought by a strangely familiar laugh that seems to come from downstairs. It is filled with happiness and amusement, a softness that is strangely innocent given the circumstances.

Throwing my weight onto my weary legs, I hobble over to the door, each step onto the wooden floor causing creaking below me. The soreness is frustrating but I can tell that it is only temporary, each step becoming slightly easier than the last. It is as if my body has lacked the System benefits while I was unconscious and they’re now slowly returning to me.

I descend down the stairs and towards the source of the laugh, finding myself drawn towards it. Ignoring the papers strewn about the living room table, I push into the kitchen to find Lily and an unknown young woman painting on an easel, looking out a window onto the city below. The young woman holds Lily’s hand and confidently directs it around the canvas.

Together they paint a image of Everwall while somehow capturing all the little emotions and details; dozens of construction sites, worry on the face of a mother, angst in the teenager’s eyes, and resolve in the guard’s stature. They paint with a depth that takes my breath away.

“Cael! You’re awake!” I hear as something impacts my hip. It’s Lily who, in my absent-minded focus on the art, threw herself onto me in a giant hug. Her arms circle around me as much as they can and she tightly squeezes in an innocent way.

Gently tussling her hair, I return the hug with one arm while the other holds onto a table for balance. A slight cough makes me look up and I spot the young woman looking at me with widened eyes.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Cael”, I say as I offer her my hand, trying not to get knocked over by the precarious child that has so expertly trapped me.

Her face flushes slightly and she nods her head. “I’m Flora, it’s nice to meet you.”

Lily pulls away from me for a few second and looks up at the young woman with a beaming face. “Mommy, this is the man who let us come and play here!”

She responds with the typical patience of a parent. “Yes I know that darling. Why don’t you go outside and play on the tree?”

Lily nods her head excitedly and then runs past us, out the door and onto the happiness that only children can find that easily.

I barely notice this as I’m completely in shock at the identity of Lily’s mother. She had mentioned the difficulties her mother had been dealing with after the shift, her husband’s disappearance being the most obvious one, but she hadn’t mentioned how young her mother was. I’m not the best judge of age but Flora seems like she’s in her mid-twenties, which means that she would have had Lily at a young age.

She shakes her head playfully at the sight in the window, her daughter climbing up and down the tree with a youthful exuberance. “She really is a handful”, she says distractedly, before turning to me and meeting my eyes. “Thank you for everything you did for her. I had been planning on thanking you before your … accident, but I never got the chance.”

Her hesitant mention of my unconsciousness is a jarring reminder. I had let myself become distracted at Lily’s appearance. She’s the one person who always makes me smile, no matter what is going on.

“You mentioned my ‘accident’. How long have I been out?”

She looks reluctant to respond to me and tries to look past me, towards the door. “Why don’t you sit down? Your mom said she would be back soon.”

I will not be swayed that easily. “Flora, how long have I been unconscious?”

Wilting under my stern questioning, she looks around for some sort of escape for a few moments before slowly replying, “Two and a half months.”

Two and a half months. My legs shake and I place my hand on the table to balance myself. Will I still be able to complete the requirement for the Third Trial? Obviously the Council will have been following the same plan while I was gone but will it still work without me to help shepherd some of the groups? The sudden weight of possible failure presses down upon me. I frantically look at the only person who can provide me any information.

My voice full of apprehension, I ask, “Do … do you know how many people within the city have Classes? Are we on track?”

It’s obvious that she still doesn’t feel fully comfortable around me but the question seems to set her slightly more at ease. Her hands, that had been unconsciously gripping one of the brushes, seem to relax and she sets down her brush into a cup. If I had more time, I’d want to know why that question made her relaxed, but other things take priority.

“I think that’s actually going better than the Council initially planned? There’s a whole bunch of people like me who got Classes somewhat recently.”

I freeze. Like … her? Lily’s mom is a combatant?!

“You reached Level 25?” I ask incredulously.

“Well, no actually. I got Forging Artist when I was – ”

A door slams from behind, causing me to jump and Flora’s eyes to widen. In them I see respect, admiration, and … a hint of fear. I spin and see my mother standing there, staring at me as though she’s seen a ghost. It reminds me of the moment, only a few months ago, where the two of us were in almost the exact same situation.

“Hi Mom.”

She runs across the living room and wraps me in an enormous hug, resting her head against my chest. It shocks me at first but I wrap my arms around her and we stand there silently for a few moments, each of us too focused on the presence of each other to worry about anything else. I can’t imagine what this experience has been like for her. She spent the first two weeks after Genesis arrived wondering whether or not her son was alive, only to then have her son fall unconscious for over two months soon after. It must’ve been hell for her..

We pull away from each other after a decent amount of time and smile at each other, sharing a few soft words of love. Our little way of recognizing the emotional bond that we share without having to get to get too uncomfortable. Emotion isn’t necessarily a bad thing but our family has always thrived on action and logic.

She nods and I know that it is back to business. I turn back to ask Flora to clarify how she got her Class but find that she’s gone, obviously having escaped during our reunion. It still doesn’t make sense to me. There’s no way someone like her, without any discernible combat experience, would be able to receive a Class.

Unless she had discovered it, that is. I hadn’t been able to figure out how people just randomly discovered their Classes before they reached Level 25 but perhaps Julian had managed to break the formula while I’d been out.

The question that I know I need to ask weighs down on my soul. The terrifying realization is that her answer has the potential to change the course of human history. There may be someone like me still in the Primus Trials but the odds aren’t very high. More likely it is the exact type of person who shouldn’t hold this level of responsibility and power.

“How many people have Classes?”

She smiles at me and a hope blooms within me. Is it possible that we are still on track? Was the training group that I started working with enough to keep Julian’s formula afloat?

“The city is on track to have 10% of its citizens possess a Class within two weeks. We’ll beat this Trial and do it with ample time to spare.”

Two weeks? But that would mean … my brain can barely process all the implications. I stumble around the question I want to ask before finally saying, “How?”

She chuckles as she responds. “You can’t always assume you know everything about Genesis, Cael. Julian discovered that non-combatant citizens were able to receive a Class based around a Skill if they were able to raise it above Level 45. It’s hard for a novice to get something that high but a few citizens have been able to carry over their expertise in order to increase their Skill growth.”

“All in all, it looks like you’ll have three months to help out and prepare for the next Trial.”