From the moment they’re born the people of this world are taught that Marked ones are divine. There are seven divines and seven Marked ones. When one of the seven dies, a new person is marked at random. They could be from any background, status, or part of the world, but there were always seven.

I was the exception.

This wasn’t information given lightly. If the secret got out there would be an uproar. Thousands would flock to me and try to use me for their own ends.

I’d wanted to find friends that would accept me for everything I was and knew me personally. They would know I was Marked, and they would continue being my friend.

William and Gerial were in that group of people.

William had known I was hiding something from the moment he met me, and then he had a year to digest the revelation after finding out.

Amanda only had a week.

I breathed in.

“Yes. I’m a Marked one.”

The silence stretched out. Amanda digested the information slowly and reached out towards the food she’d brought.

I saw her hand tremble as it touched the plate.

A shadow fell over her fingers as Agni’s wing fell onto them. The phoenix comforted Amanda with a pat of her feathers and chirped.

Agni looked up at me curiously. The bird was taking in the situation calmly.

What the phoenix knew was a mystery to me.

“Okay.” Amanda spoke.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. That was the first sign that she was nervous.

The second was when her hair burst into flames. Light cascaded across the room, and she twirled a strand of flames around her finger.

“I thought I’d have more questions to ask.” She struggled to get the words out. “This is different from what I’d imagined. You admitted it so quickly.”

“It’s… A bit of a strange situation.” I admitted.

“That’s the biggest understatement I’ve ever heard in my life.” Amanda’s voice rose.

Her expression shifted from shock to caution, and she leant back into the sofa cushions. She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes, but she didn’t look directly at me.

“Did you ever laugh at me?” Her lips tightened. “It must have been funny being next to me the whole time I was gushing over fables.”

I shook my head immediately.

“Never.”

“Really?” I saw doubt in her eyes.

“Amanda,” I looked at her. “I respect you. As a friend and as a person. So, no, I never thought it was funny that I knew something you didn’t, and I wasn’t laughing at you behind your back. I never have.”

Amanda gazed into my eyes, and I stared back.

She sighed in relief.

“Good.” She pulled back. “Laugh with me, not at me. That’s what I always say.”

“You do have some pretty good jokes.” My lips parted into a smile.

“Heck yeah I do.” Amanda nodded. Then she groaned. “Oh Fue, I even told you which books were more accurate about Marked ones.”

Her flames turned crimson with embarrassment.

I reached into my inventory and brought out the book she was talking about.

‘I Am Marked.’

“It’s a good read.” I placed it on my lap.

Amanda watched it with eagle eyes, a red blush crossing over her cheeks. She reached out hesitantly towards it and then pulled her hand back.

“How much did the book get right?”

I thought about her question. I had read a little bit more of the book during my off time, but it wasn’t accurate.

Gerial had spoken and texted me about his love for the book. For him the comedy happened because of how hilarious its portrayal of us was.

“We’re called Marked ones.” I gave the book a gentle pat. “That’s about it.”

Amanda’s expression fell.

I could see the cogs in her head churning, but no more questions came.

Two different emotions fought across her face. Curiosity, and caution. She wanted to know things, but she was worried about making me angry.

“You’re not curious about my specific skills? Or which Marked one I am?” I leaned forward. “I’ll answer if you want me to.”

I saw her body shift towards me, curiosity flashing in her eyes. I was giving her permission to ask whatever she wanted to ask.

Then she shook her head.

“Are you still you?” She asked.

“Am I me?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Of course I’m me.”

She brought her eyes up and looked at me for a moment. Then her posture relaxed.

“I’m also still your friend. The same one I’ve been since we met.” I added.

Amanda raised her legs onto the sofa and rested her chin on her knees, looking down at the ground.

Agni shuffled up against her side and their flames glowed brightly together.

“I’m acting pretty weird around you, aren’t I?” Her voice was soft. “Honestly, I want to keep what we have. It was hard for me to make a friend.”

Amanda smiled lightly.

“I’m going to make the effort to be less… whatever I am right now.” She stroked Agni’s feathers as she spoke. “Give it time, and then I’ll grow used to it. I already have, a bit.”

A weight fell off my shoulders at her words and I let out the breath I’d been holding. That was a massive burden off my mind.

Then her head perked up and she raised her hand towards me.

“Am I allowed to ask a silly question?” She looked at me.

“Those are the ones I like best.” I gave her a thumbs up.

She glanced towards the books scattered around the room.

“Can you dish out divine judgement with a single thought?” Her eyes sparkled.

“I can close my eyes and try really hard if you want me to.”

She stared at me and then nodded slowly.

I put my fingers to the sides of my temple, closing my eyes and concentrating really hard on the plate of crackers.

Amanda, Agni, and Gold looked at it expectantly, and the birds shuffled their bodies away from it.

Nothing happened.

I opened my eyes to see Amanda’s disappointed expression

“You’re a destroyer of dreams.” Amanda poked her tongue out. “Couldn’t you blow up the house just a little bit?”

“That’s not divine judgement, that’s a fireball.” I put my hands down.

I heard a giggle escape her lips and I smiled.

The atmosphere was lightening, and I could see she’d asked everything she wanted to. For now. I was sure she would have more questions, but all she’d really wanted to know was if I was still the same person I’d always been.

“Can I ask another silly question?” Amanda spoke.

There was a glint in her eye, and I straightened my back. She raised her head, a hint of hope shining through her eyes.

“Can you… heal people?”

The look on my face told her everything she needed to know.

She exhaled, her shoulders dropping. She hugged her knees tighter to her chest and my heart twisted. It didn’t feel good to not be able to do anything.

“I’ve been with them all week.” She smiled weakly. “This was my first day off.”

Then she tilted her head and smiled.

“Look at me being all gloomy with a guest in the house.” She spoke. “Let me get into the right headspace.”

She brought her hands up to her cheeks and slapped them, the sound reverberating through the room. Then she straightened her back, stepping off the sofa and spinning lightly to face me.

“I’d offer you food, but my wide selection has narrowed down lately, I have cheese, and I have crackers.” She gestured at the plate. “Unfortunately, my chefs are out, and I forgot to go to the store. Not that it would help. I mean, I can use my flames to cook but…”

Amanda’s words sunk in and I looked around.

“Have you been living on these?” I eyed the plate.

“Maybe.” She glanced at me. “Why?”

I stood up and felt Gold hopping into my shoulder as I did so.

My hand rose in front of me, my inventory box in my palm, and I looked through its contents.

I had the experience of living alone in an apartment on earth and cooking with my parents in this world. Eating good food made my life infinitely easier, so I’d taken my time learning how to make a decent meal.

“Where’s your kitchen?” I looked around. “I can solve your food problems.”

There were doors on every wall leading to different sections of the safehouse.

Amanda followed my gaze and smiled.

“Those are all fake doors.” Amanda waved her hand dismissively. “Here.”

She gestured for me to follow her and walked towards the corner of the room. I stepped behind her and saw nothing but a corner.

No. There was something there.

It looked like a mouse hole.

Agni chirped as we got closer, and the mouse hole widened and grew. In a flash it was the height of my knee. A few steps later it was a full-sized door.

Then I walked through it and looked back.

The door had disappeared, and I could see a small light coming from a hole that only a small animal could fit through.

The door had grown and shrunk back down as we walked through it. I’d experienced something like this before at a scriber shop in my home city.

I turned to see the room around me and found myself in a huge kitchen, bigger than the room we’d just left.

“This place really is a mansion.” I stared at it.

If there were more hidden areas here, this entire building could be humongous.

It hadn’t looked that big from outside, but I hadn’t gotten a thorough look.

“Did you doubt me?” Amanda smiled. “So, what’s this about solving my cooking problem? I’m starting to get sick of crackers.”

I brought my hands together and looked through my inventory. I’d been held captive not once, but twice in my life. The second time hadn’t been for long, but it could have been. That had made me re-evaluate some priorities.

The first priority was establishing more ways to communicate with my guards, even if my arms and legs were restrained.

Also, I was now keeping a lot more meals in my inventory, and some raw food supplies for cooking things fresh.

I found what I was looking for and smiled.

“Today I’m going to make a meal that’ll blow your mind.”

Amanda turned to me, and her lips parted in a smile.

“I thought that was called a fireball.”

The afternoon quickly turned into evening, and by the time I went home I had a smile on my face and Gold rested comfortably on my shoulder.

I’d stayed there longer than I thought I would, but it was worth it.

Amanda had asked quite a few more questions and she was excited about the situation, but not intimidated anymore. More importantly I’d felt like we’d returned back to normal.

The cooking helped.

A full and satisfied stomach makes people happier and conversations easier. It was a scientific fact.

After a restful sleep I found myself walking into Koshima academy for the new day. The three towers looked over me, and students milled about in the corridors as I made my way towards my homeroom.

I was the first one inside.

I breathed in the morning air and activated my mana sense, the classroom lighting up before my eyes, then I set up my things at my table and propped my elbow up, resting my chin on my palm.

I had my first class-option meeting with Mr Black today. My heart fluttered with excitement at the thought.

He’d needed an extra week after the incident, the accomplishment of helping to defeat a monster adding a lot to my class resume.

A shadow fell over me.

“Dang it, I thought I was going to be the earliest.” A voice floated into my ears.

I tilted my head towards the person.

It was Amanda.

“Hey.” I shuffled over to make room for her. “Good to see you back.”

“Thanks.” She flashed me a grin. “It turns out my awkwardness was holding me back.”

She sat down beside me, our table fitting the two of us. Agni chirped from her hair and Gold greeted the two happily.

“I’m glad it’s gone.” I patted my pocket and smiled.

I’d forgotten to tell her about the Gesti Sky tickets yesterday, but that was an easily solved problem.

“Hey, do yo-”

My words were interrupted by a loud bang. A book slammed onto my table, a hand pushing it down. There was a person in front of Amanda, gazing down at her. He had come into the room right after she had.

I looked up and I saw…

A complete stranger.

He was wearing our uniform, but he wasn’t from our class. He had a lean figure and was clearly older than the average first year.

I narrowed my eyes as he stared at Amanda.

No. He did look a bit familiar. His jawline and muscles overlapped with someone else from my memories.

He looked like an older version of Hutton, the boy that had hung out in a trio with Alexis and Cresp.

The one currently in hospital.

My heart sank.

“You followed me from the corridor.” Amanda spoke firmly. “I saw you looking at me.”

“I was hoping you’d show your face.” His tone was calm, but his body towered over us. “Alexis put my brother in the hospital.”

Amanda’s hair flared at the mention of her brother, but the boy in front of her didn’t flinch.

“Alexis isn’t here.” She spoke.

“No, but you are, and that’s good enough for me.”

He crossed his arms and his eyes flashed with anger.

“You and I are going to have a talk.”