My mind was still a mess, but my feet were steady as I marched up to the Hunter’s Association Building. This time I didn’t go around the side, but walked right up to the front door and pushed it open.

It was quiet as a museum inside. The interior was gorgeous. The floor and ceiling were made of white and gray marble. Banners with the symbols of the major Guilds hung from soft, muted gray walls. Ferns and small trees were placed artisitcally throughout the entrance. I reached an high ceiling room. In the middle of it was a large circle of uniform marble pillars which supported a tall dome that rose in awing glory. Light beamed down from artistically arched windows on the spire and illuminated a man-sized energy crystal at the center of the pillars. Blue opalescent rainbows refracted off, casting a dazzling display all over the room.

This was hands down the most gorgeous building I’d ever been in, but a cold, suppressing feeling marred the room. As if there was a weight crushing my chest, making it hard to breath. All I wanted to do was leave — and most of it had to do with the energy crystal in the middle of the room. That thing was dangerous, not only to Hunters, but to all inhabitants of Earth. Yet here it was, boastingly on display.

A woman cleared her throat, drawing my attention to the side. A C Ranked Hunter sat behind a large dark wood desk. Her blonde hair was pinned back just as smooth and smart as the gray suit she wore. A bronze plaque on the table read: Secretary Mae. The barest hint of a smile graced her lips. “Can I help you?” Her words were barely more than a whisper, but even that sounded too loud for this room.

Now that I wasn’t so distracted by the energy crystal, I finally noticed the A Ranked Hunters that flanked the door I stood in front of. Another A Rank stood next to the secretary. All of them wore black pantsuits, the two men’s hair were cut short while the woman’s hair was pulled into a ponytail. Their cold eyes bore into my body before slightly shifting away. Apparently, I was deemed ‘Nonthreatening.’

I glanced at them, then walked to Secretary Mae. It was my second time talking to one today. I just prayed that this went better than the last time. But I didn’t even really know where to start.

I stopped in front of her desk and took a deep breath. “I’d like to see the Hunter’s Council President, please.” My words were polite, but my tone was strong. If I wanted to get my point across, I couldn’t show any weakness. In a place like this, it was just asking to be eaten alive.

The woman’s eyes swept over my figure. Suddenly I was aware of how rumpled I still looked, since I hadn’t taken any time to clean up after going into the Gate. I had dried blood all over me and scabs showing through several tears in my clothing. I was sure my hair was just as knotted looking. Then her eyes flicked up to the title over my head.

“Do you have an appointment?” Secretary Mae asked in a cool, professional tone.

“No.” I swallowed. “But this is urgent. There’s a huge threat to everyone, Hunters, humans, the whole Earth. The Council needs to know.”

Just like that, I had the attention of all the Hunter’s standing around me. The man standing next to the desk released his pressure. It washed over me like a tidal wave, sucking the air out of my lungs.

I gritted my teeth and refused to bow to his power.

“What do you mean?” The secretary demanded.

I focused on her, as if the man at her side didn’t exist. “Energy crystals are dangerous. We need to get rid of all them.” Obviously there was more to it than that, but I wanted to tell that directly to the Council. The pressure immediately let up and I finally took a full breath. God, did he have to do that? Did he think I was going to lie, or something?

Secretary Mae stared at me incredulously, just like the Hunter at her side. I was sure the man and woman behind me were using the same expression.

“Every single country on Earth,” the receptionist said slowly, “uses energy crystals as a power source. They literally enable us to live. And you’re saying that they are dangerous?”

Just like that, any thoughts of succeeding withered and died. Even so, I wasn’t going to give up just yet. “Yes. I need to see the Council and tell them about it.”

Secretary Mae hummed low. “Electricity is dangerous. So is coal and nuclear energy, yet they’ve been used. And still used today in some cases. Since there is power in energy crystals, it’s obvious that they would be dangerous if not properly handled. But that isn’t a reason to stop using them. Unlike coal and nuclear energy, the energy crystals don’t damage the environment.”

“No, they are worse. They’re dangerous to people and the world.” I started to step forward but stopped when the A Ranked Hunter at her side narrowed his eyes in warning. I wasn’t going to do anything to her, I just felt like I was yelling in this quiet place so I wanted to get closer so I could speak lower. “Like, really, really dangerous. I need to tell the Council. We need to stop collecting energy crystals and put all the ones that we have back inside the Gates.”

The female Hunter behind me coughed, holding back a laugh from the sound of it.

Secretary Mae frowned at me and tilted her head to the side. “Your job, as a Hunter, is to kill the monsters that threaten the lives of everyone on Earth. Your other job is to collect energy crystals from the Gate and bring them out for the betterment of our society. Hunters that refuse to abide this task, without special permission to make other contributions to society, are sent to a safe location to make sure they aren’t a danger to the global population.”

God, she actually was able to make Hunter prison, the Holding Place, sound pleasant. This ‘safe place’ was a holding facility where traitorous and dangerous Hunters were kept, separated from everyone and everything, doing menial chores for the rest of their days. Behind unbreakable bars and the under the watch of unforgiving guards.

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you saying that you want to stop being a Hunter, stop collecting crystals, and be willing to take on this punishment?”

My eyes widened. “No, no that’s not what I meant.” Dying would be better than being sent to the Holding Place. My family would suffer without me no matter what, but at least they wouldn’t be shamed, having a defector in their family tree. But neither of those options were something I could do.

I sighed and tugged at my ponytail. “I know it sounds crazy, but the energy crystals can turn people into monsters.” Now the woman behind me flat out laughed. What was the use of talking to these people? “I just need to see the Council President.”

The secretary tapped on her computer screen. “The soonest appointment available is in four and a half months.” She glanced at me. “Do you want me to put your name down?”

Four months? My stomach sank like a rock in a black pit. So many things could happen by then. Even so, I gave her my information and left, ignoring the ridicule on the faces of the guards.

I knew that what I said sounded crazy. I didn’t even want to admit it, but I also couldn’t deny that I watched a man turn into a monster either. Between that and the System’s communication, I knew that Kesstel’s words were true. And there had to be more to it than that.

At the top of the stairs, I heard a peel of laughter and looked over. Speak of the devil, I thought. Kesstel and the glamorous Bethany Wilks walked around the corner of the Hunter’s Council Building. She looked up at him, her red lips in a bright smile. So she’s what he had to run off to.

I stared at him and the red title bar over his head. I kind of understood now why it was red. If Kesstel wasn’t from Earth, then my System must have assumed he was a monster. I imagined that if I met other people who were from other worlds, their titles would be red too. But if that was something that could happen easily, wouldn’t the population know about it? I couldn’t help but glance around at the city from atop on the steps. How many people were like Kesstel?

I felt a pressure settle on me and knew that he was staring at me. I couldn’t resist looking down at him. When we were talking, his posture was relaxed and there was even a bit of emotion on his face. But how he was a timeless robot, his face nothing but a blank slate as he stared up at me.

There was nothing about him that revealed that he wasn’t from Earth. From his looks, to his mannerisms, to the way he dressed. There was nothing that said that he was different.

Just like m— I forcibly cut off that train of thought.

Why didn’t he try harder to convince them? He was an S. Though I didn’t know which one he was, the words of someone like him was taken a hell of a lot more seriously than an ‘E’ like me. I bet if he walked up to Secretary Mae, she’d bend over backwards to help him see the Council immediately. I couldn’t help but scowl at the thought.

Kesstel’s steps slowed down until he was behind Bethany. He still hadn’t taken his eyes off me. His brows pulled together and he frowned in response to my glare.

The mage next to him stopped and turned back to Kesstel. She followed his gaze to me. For a second, she froze, obviously recognizing me from the other day. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at me, shifting a little in front of Kesstel. She turned around and grabbed his arm.

I rolled my eyes and turned the opposite direction. It was nearly dinner time and there was loot I needed to sell. Plus I still had to figure out what to do with the pastries in my Items Bag. I couldn’t just throw them away … but it also pained me to give them to someone else. I knew how good they were and I wanted them. Could I really bring myself to eat something from the ‘enemy?’

I moaned and scrubbed my hands through my hair, making my ponytail even worse. Ah, I really should try and make myself look a little better if I was going to walk around Eden. I pulled the elastic out of my hair and used my hands to straighten my hair as much as I could without a mirror.

“Oh my god! Jyn!”

I turned towards the sound, the elastic hanging from my mouth and my hands in my hair.

A second later, a young woman glomped on me. Her arms locked around me while we staggered back, effectively imprisoning me. “Jyn! Jyn! They said you were dead!” Then she promptly burst into tears.

What just happened? I wiggled around until I finally got a glimpse of her face. “Ah, Emma?” I mumbled around the elastic in my mouth and the long brown hair in my face.

She stepped back and shoved at the tears streaming down her cheeks as she continued to sob. “Blake said that the Orcs killed you before you could get through. He … lied! Why would he lie? But you’re alive!” Her words were broken up between sobs and gasping for air. “I’m so glad that you’re alive.” She flung her arms around me again.

This time I was ready to catch her. I gave up on my hair and looped one arm around her while I took the elastic out of my mouth. “I’m glad I’m not dead too.” I pushed all thoughts about dangerous crystals to the back of my mind and patted her back gently as she slowly stopped crying.

“The portal collapsed as soon as Blake stepped out.” Emma let go for reals this time and took a couple steps away. “How did you get back?”

I sighed. “Ah, I don’t really know. I blackout and woke up in the hospital.”

Emma’s dark eyes widened. “A miracle.”

She’d changed a lot since the last time I saw her. My last picture of her was a timid girl in misshaped armor. It was a far cry from now — outside of the tears that clung to her lashes. Her light armor was fitter to her, the pattern weld on the reddish pink metal was shaped like obscure triangles, or maybe arrowheads pressed together. Her once long brown hair had been trimmed and was now tied back in a high ponytail. But the biggest difference was the battle-ready and confident way that she carried herself.

I smiled at her, remembering the way this girl had literally carried me on her back to try and save my life. “Something like that.” I glanced over her shoulder at the B Ranked young man in navy blue heavy armor standing there. Since he hadn’t moved away yet, I could only assume he was with her.

“Oh, right.” Emma blinked and motioned to him. “Jyn, this is Mason. He’s part of the team that I’m on. Mason, this is Jyn. I’ve told you about her, remember?”

That was the second time she’d introduced me like that. Did I really make that much of an impression on her? I nodded a greeting to him. I couldn’t say I was the best at names and faces, but I knew for sure that he wasn’t part of Blake’s group when we went into the portal. If Mason and his group were responsible for the healthy glow of this girl, they couldn’t be bad people.

Mason nodded back politely, the sun shining almost blond on his light brown hair. “Nice to meet you.”

“You, too.” I turned back to Emma. “Are you still with the Stone Mace Guild?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’m contracted with them for another four years. But I did drop out of Blake’s team.” She paused and shook her head. “Goodness sakes, Jyn, your hair is a mess.” She stepped forward and took the elastic from my hand.

I blinked at her.

A comb appeared in Emma’s hand and she started to work the knots out of my hair. “But, yeah, I quit Blake’s team. You could say our time in the portal, and watching how he handled things was educating. A lot of people said that I was stupid. Apparently it’s hard to get in with him, but I didn’t want to partner up with a group of people I couldn’t trust.” She twisted the elastic in my hair and stepped back. “Done!” She returned to Mason and beamed up at him. “But then I met Mason and he invited me to join his group. It’s been great since.”

He smiled down at her. “We’re glad to have you.”

I looked back and forth between them. I could practically see the little hearts floating in the air around them. Oohh. It must be nice to be young. I was so happy to see that she had a happy ending. “I’m glad you found someone you could trust.”

“Hey, Jyn,” Emma turned her grin to me. “How about you join us for a couple days? I know that you are a lower rank and not in the Guild, but you’re trustworthy. I’m sure my group wouldn’t mind, right?” She looked up and nearly killed Mason with her hopeful smile.

He stiffened. Panic set in his cute brown eyes as he obviously tried to think of a way to handle this. He glanced just over my head, obviously noting my rank again. “Um, sure. A couple days won’t hurt.” He looked like he swallowed a fly. Painfully.

Okay, she still had some learning to do. Poor guy. Lucky for him, I was the one Emma invited. “Ah, thanks, but I’ll pass.” There were just too many things that I had to hide to ever want to work with a partner. Besides, I appreciated Emma, but I wasn’t going to let my life rest in the hands of another person ever again.

Mason looked down, trying to hide his relief.

Emma frowned, obviously hurt. She wore all her thoughts on her sleeve still, didn’t she? “I could take a couple days off from my group and spend them with you. It could be just the two of us and we don’t have to do anything dangerous. I just wanna hang out. For the longest time I thought that if I ran a little faster, held on a little tighter so that we didn’t separate, that you wouldn’t have died. And I … ” Her voice died out.

I frowned, as guilt weighed on my heart. I didn’t know that she would beat herself up like this. Isn’t it supposed to be easy to forget about a little E like me? I glanced away then sighed. “I don’t partner up.” Then I gave her a small smile. “But we could exchange contact info and you can message me whenever you want. We could hang out after the workday is over.”

I almost couldn't believe that these words were coming out of my mouth. I’d never asked for someone else’s number. Or thought there would be someone’s number that I wouldn’t mind seeing in my contact list.

Emma’s face shone like the sun and she quickly pulled out her guide like she was scared I would change my mind if she wasn’t fast enough.

I swallowed a laugh and opened my own System window to accept her information. Moments later, my contact list had its first friend contact.

“Are you done hunting for the day?” Emma asked and glanced at my rumpled appearance.

I nodded. “Just headed home.” After the crappy day that I had, all I wanted to do was take a hot bath and lay in bed. But first I had to sell my stuff. And I didn’t want Emma following me. I’d told the armourer, Maverick, that I was in charge of selling the loot for my group, and that was why I was bringing in better and better Drop Items. But I couldn’t get away with that excuse if Emma and Mason were there. “What about you?”

“Kind of.” Emma smiled up at Mason. “The Stone Mace Guild is going to be in charge of a large operation in Feng Jungle in a couple days. And we need to pick up some supplies for it.”

So I was crashing their date.

Mason hummed low and tapped on the back of her head softly with his knuckle. “Hey.”

She gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh, right.” Then she laughed and dropped her hands. “But I trust Jyn a hundred percent.”

What a weighty sentence. I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry as the pressure set in. It looked like I wasn’t just crashing their date, but I was also learning about things that I shouldn’t. Sometimes there were missions that Guilds took on inside the Gate. Big ones that usually involved a lot of money where that Guild had exclusive access to a certain location in Gate Vale. Missions like that were usually kept hush-hush.

It was time to go before Emma got us both into trouble. I quickly bid them goodbye and promised to respond whenever Emma contacted me.

So many shocking things had happened today, I was grateful for the distraction. I was emotionally exhausted, but I couldn’t help the small smile that curled my lips as I walked away.