“This part is simple,” said Daniel, drawing a two-meter circle in the dirt. “We will test you. Stay in the circle. Stay upright. Understand?”

Bii climbed out to ping worriedly, when Felix set his backpack on the ground and entered Daniel’s circle. His body lightened as Felix manifested both relics. “Yup yup. Me stand. You shove.”

Daniel chuckled. “Good one. Keep it up. That’s a the attitude.”

“Wait a moment,” said Saga. “Felix. For our own safety, please explain your relic and its capabilities.”

“Isn’t that… kinda unfair?” Felix raised a brow.

Saga pursed her lips and shook her head. “Everyone has to. And don’t worry. If one of us has relics that counter yours, we’ll hold back enough to give you a chance to show your skills. It’s simply a precaution to minimize serious injuries to any of us.”

Felix glanced at Daniel, and let out a hesitant shigh, before giving in. “Okay. I’ve got two relics…” He explained Intent Bank and Out of Mind in as much detail as he could. A pen scratched against a notebook, as Saga copied the details word for word.

“Um,” the green-eyed girl raised a cautious hand. She was a little shorter than Saga, with a field of freckles scattered over her nervous expression. “S-so intent theft gives you a glimpse of the victims memories?”

“Oh, no. No memories. Just the current intent.”

“Phew…” the girl put a hand to her chest, relieved. Her brows remained in an expression of worry, though Felix figured that must’ve been her resting face. White fluffy feathers peeked through her brown hair.

“Interesting. Interesting,” Daniel nodded with an impressed face. “Alright! Let’s see what you got.”

Felix faced Daniel, mimicking Hannes’ defensive stance with his legs spread and arms up. “Do we do a count down or...”

“Go!” Daniel flipped his visor down, and lunged forward.

Felix stepped back instinctively, holding his hand out to absorb the intent of Hannes’ attack. Before his hand touched Daniel, the man’s body made a sudden stop. Daniel held out his hand to touch Felix’s and turned to run. His intent rushed to Felix, slotting an urge to leave the circle into his Intent Bank. Puzzled, Felix just stared at Hannes who made no follow-up to his strange maneuver.

“Hohoho… Apologies. I had to try it. Saga, Elina, your turn.”

Quick steps punched dirt. Felix spun around. Elina, the nervous knight, had closed her visor. A huge robe-like mantle of feathers and down surrounded her small armored body. Soft fluffiness formed an oversized claw around her gauntlet, as she took a swipe.

Felix released an intent to defend. A mistake, he realized too late. The feather claw poofed around him like a pillow, threatening to envelop him. Felix released tapped into the intent stored in his right arm. A destructive urge filled his fists, guiding him through a burst of violence. Feathers continued to fluff around him as if he’d done nothing. Punching them had as much effect as punching sand.

A twinge of panic ran through Felix at the thought of elimination. He reached out through the feathers, latching onto the first hard thing he felt, and sucked on any intent he could get. Caution, doubt, and a faint desire to keep the enemy at bay surged through Felix.

“Eep!” Elina’s cloak of down collapsed around her, and she retreated holding her armored arm.

Saga stepped in. Her visor had twisted into a white faceless mask with empty black eyes and two flute-shaped horns. Armor on her back had shifted to resemble a beetle’s shell. Her flutes whistled an eerie tune as she approached, unhurried.

With no idea what she was about to do, Felix launched an attack powered by a surge of violent intent. Dodging and parrying Felix’s punches, Saga moved with swiftness and confidence of a warrior facing a woefully outmatched foe. Felix tried to latch onto her to absorb her intent. She pulled her limbs away, and kicked him backwards, nearly shoving Felix out of the circle.

“A little mercy?” Felix pleaded, catching his breath.

“This is your test, Felix,” Saga said coolly, punching her gauntlets together and assuming a stance. “Your chance to show the Knights of the End your worth.”

“Haha, right. Almost forgot.”

How was he supposed to show anything? She had superior relics, superior skills, and three years of conditioning through delves and whatever grueling training Knights put her through. How was he…

Focus on survival.

Right, thanks Hannes.

Felix squared his shoulders, and held his position. “Come on closer Saga, and I’ll dance for you.”

She scoffed, and launched at him, her pipes whistling. Felix released intent to defend, but even so his dreamwater infused body struggled to keep up with the sheer intensity of Saga’s assault. Punches, kicks, shoves, and tackles came at him in an unpredictable barrage. Felix’s breaths grew harder.

Seconds dragged on. Drizzle intensified to a cold rain. Felix’s focus narrowed on Saga, her steps, her arms, her punches, and kicks. She grabbed his shirt, he leaned back. Her fist closed on his arm, and he knew already to prepare for a roll to stop himself from being thrown out of the circle.

Their tumble felt like minutes. Then Felix the last ‘defend’ dwindled from Felix’s limbs and he realized it couldn’t have been more than twenty seconds. Despite dreamwater’s flowing lightness, the weight of exhaustion began to settle in his limbs. Saga didn’t give him an inch of mercy. Punches began to connect.

To keep himself moving, Felix began throwing any and all intent at her. ‘Go fast’ gave him a brief advantage on their dance. Attacking back earned him a moment free of her attack. But in the end, both only worked to dwindle his endurance.

“Saga. Step back. My turn,” said Daniel.

Felix had time to draw one gasping breath, before the mountain of armor filled his view. His visor and armor had transformed to resemble Saga’s, except instead of flutes, his helmet sported regular pointy horns.

A slow loglike fist whirled at Felix. He leapt at the chance to absorb intent, and received a kick in the thigh. The force sent him rolling across the dirt and knocked him on his back.

“Out!” Saga announced.

Felix stayed still on the hard dirt. Gray sky swirled above, washing off sweat off with fresh rain. Air burned in his lungs. His head throbbed. Heartbeat drummed in his ears. Bruises began to hurt. Damn. Taken out by the first feint.

Saga appeared above him, and flipped up her visor. Sweat ran down her brow. She drew long breaths through her mouth. “Hey. Are you okay?”

“All good. My pride has a few new bruises, but that’s nothing new.” Felix stayed on the ground.

Elina and Daniel appeared in view, with Daniel laughing boisterously. “That’s the attitude. Keep that up. Here, come on up.”

He offered Felix a hand, and pulled him upright. Actually, as much as Felix hated to admit it, the guy was alright. There was nothing malicious in his laughter, and his encouragement was genuine.

“So, how’d I do?” Felix asked, dreading to hear the answer.

“It was a fine showing,” Daniel replied.

Saga cut him off. “We can’t say for certain yet. Judges make the final assessment, and compare our notes with those of the other interview assistants.”

“Okay. That’s fine.” Felix nodded. “Do you have spots where we can chew our nails and writhe in nervous anticipation?”

Daniel laughed heartily and took Felix under his arm. “Good one. Good one. I can see what Saga liked in you.”

Felix and Saga winced uncomfortably.

“Eh… Thanks?” Felix managed.

Saga hooked Daniel’s arm to pull him away. “Dan, why don’t you come help me finish the report. I probably missed what happened during my turn.”

“Oh, of course. Well then, Felix Anderson.” Daniel saluted with a fist against his heart. “Best of luck.”

“Thanks.”

The rain was starting to turn into a real downpour. Felix looked around, but the courtyard offered no shelter. Majority of the interviewees stood against the walls of the courtyard. The black and silver girl stood under an umbrella. Only a few more tests were still ongoing.

Elina looked around anxiously, pulling on her fingers.

“Hey, you don’t have to stay to keep me company,” Felix said, retrieving his backpack. “I’ve got a denizen as a friend.”

Bii peeked his head into the rain, pinged, and retreated back inside.

“Oh. Alright…” Elina scuttled off to join a group of knights.

Felix took out the thermos and poured himself some coffee. Though it had no real beans, a hot drink in the rain was pure bliss. He sighed, relishing each sip, and wondered what life might be like if he got the torch. Awkwardness was guaranteed for any future interactions with Daniel and Saga, but maybe mom was right. Maybe he could find a way to be friends with her again.

Erik flicked through Felix’s mind, darkening the taste of his next sip. It would’ve been so nice if all three of them could have stayed friends forever.

Radio speakers screeched. Felix dropped his cup to shield his ears.

“...New Swedstad collapsed…” Another screech slowly softened into static. “...heading to Half-Valley.”

“What the…” Felix picked up his cup.

Every interviewee shared his confusion. Most of the knights did too. The judges’ panel, however, exchanged serious looks and words that distance and rain muffled.

Flashes of gold-silver light pulsed across the clouds, breaking them apart. Sunlight filtered through, but held second place to the beauty dancing across the heavens. Gold-silver curtains of light weaved overhead like the northern lights of winter, only far more intense, and wide reaching.

“It’s Sofie the Immortal!” shouted a knight at the wall.

Felix joined the herd of interviewees and knights, rushed upstairs and climbed the walls. Gust blew through him, and the view nearly took his breath away.

Golden auroras spread from one horizon to the other, wrapping around the entirety of Half-Valley. Next to the Sun floated the source of gold-silver light. Though hundreds of meters away, Felix could make out the shape of a human. A tall woman twinkling with silver and gold, with a long mane of golden hair fluttering with a dull gray cloak. A bright star of silverlight shone at her hip, bleeding kilometer long tendrils of light across the sky.

Beneath her flew on angelic wings eleven men of luminant gold. Aside from bracers, loincloths, and helmets of antiquity, they were bare. In their hands the men clutched golden spears and round shields. Felix grinned as he recognized them. Every kid in the Scandies could’ve told you who they were.

“The Imaginary Legion!” someone shouted in cheer.

“They must’ve come here for a Reclamation Day display,” said someone else.

Felix’s heart fluttered. He would’ve given his relics for a spyglass to have a closer look at the Abyssal Lord of Scandies, the undefeatable immortal who kept her country safe from dangers of the Abyss. She was a being of legend. A living myth. Byss bless you Sofie, Felix prayed in quiet reverence. Bii’s panicked pinging passed through his ears as background noise.

The star of silverlight twinkled.

A tremor passed through reality, and the pillars atop the Fortress Monastery’s towers blared into a deafening hum. Silver glyphs flashed across their surface, and a web of silverlight sparked off violent lightning against Sofie’s auroras, driving them away from the northernmost region of Half-Valley. At that same moment, the mountains, the town, the valleys, and waterfalls—the entire rest of Half-Valley broke off from the northern tip. An earthquake shook the Surface, as Half-Valley began to fall.

Wide-eyed, Felix stared in silence, unable to comprehend what was happening.

“Protect them,” bellowed Rodmar’s parrot. The night torch leapt up atop the wall. Silverlight bloomed, bleeding out of his torch, enveloping his legs. The man bolted towards Sofie like a bullet of silverlight.

Air distorted around Rodmar. A jungle in its entirety exploded around him. A vibrant chaos of wildlife, flowers, trees, and rivers ballooned into a gigantic size, mimicking the rough shape of the gruff night-torch. He reared a fist of trees, vines, crocodiles, and snakes towards Sofie.

Air vibrated. A pair of sunlike eyes fell upon Rodmar and the fortress monastery. A deep, deep part of Felix trembled as he felt the attention of an otherworldly presence brush over him.

Spears of eight golden warriors pierced Rodmar’s limbs, pinning the jungle giant in mid-air. Rodmar opened his mouth, releasing a thick cloud of insects. The spinning spear of a single warrior cut them all down. Rodmar’s mass began to shift, his shape to transform. Before he did anything, all eleven warriors drew gladiuses and descended upon him. His jungle was chopped like a bundle of parsley. Pieces of plants and animals rained down into the Abyss. The man within was revealed, and shredded by a blender of eleven blades.

Felix’s heart thumped, dread crept up his spine.

Sofie’s golden gaze turned away from the fortress monastery once more. Felix followed it to Half-Valley, where, on the slopes, he noticed the Jul tree atop the Anderson residence.

Surrounded by her warriors, Sofie began to descend. Enveloped by golden light, his home-town sank into the Abyss.