Abel wondered if he had made a mistake by entering and subsequently winning the arena tournament.

Heading towards the arena, Sarah and Abel had followed a group to stay safe, but heading back alone towards whichever apartment had housed them, there was much more uncertainty. Shady figures stood against buildings, watching them pass, a number of them mouthing syllables that were eerily similar to his name. Sarah had a better memory and was eventually able to get them away from the trains and back to the familiar apartment.

Lyssa had walked into their new home for the first time, without anyone batting an eye. That was mostly because the focus of attention was on Abel, or as they mockingly called him, Champ. There had been a small celebratory feast on the night they returned, and the good spirited feelings had lasted for several days.

Daryl, the man who had invited them into the building to begin with, and who had led them to and from the arena, had pulled Lyssa aside when he first saw her at the mass grave nearby. Abel had watched carefully as the two talked at length, then they had broken apart and Lyssa had returned.

“What did he say?” Abel had asked.

She had shrugged. “An apology, I guess.”

He hadn’t wanted to press any further.

Daryl had pulled him aside as well, to address the obvious attention he was getting. “It’s good to be known, but not in a place like this, where it’s best to lay low and go unnoticed. Within a large group of Kara users, like you are here, there is no issue, but on the streets, it will cause you trouble.”

His words had reflected Abel’s thoughts precisely. Yet, by the same token, he hoped that it would work in his favor. Perhaps knowing his prowess with a sword would deter any attempts at assault. That was, of course, only if he had a sword.

For the hundredth time since receiving the Command, he used it. Champion of the Arena.

The gold weapon rent through the air before him, its dull glow invisible in the sunlight streaming through the window of their room. He had shown it to everyone who had requested, hoping to explain its worth in such a way that someone could help him utilize it. Sarah and Lyssa were off to visit Annie’s grave once again. They had spent plenty of time there the past several days and so he often found himself peacefully alone in their room.

Lyssa had recanted exactly what she had witnessed of Bernard, and whenever Abel thought of him, whether his smiles or his anger, a shiver went down his spine. The man had lived so close and had harbored such hatred. Yet he’d had no Karma at all.

He swung the sword, trying to focus his mind on the blade, trying to somehow unlock its potential as he had seen the young girl do several days before. It had morphed between shapes as though molten, and then easily cut through a building. He had tried cutting through a tree the day prior and it had gotten stuck half an inch through.

Clearly he needed some practice. He had been asked numerous times by those living in the apartment complex if he would teach them to use a weapon, but as much as he would have enjoyed doing so, there was unsurprisingly a shortage of blades. Throughout the entire building, there wasn’t a single sword to be found, and he wasn’t prepared to head down the street asking strangers for a kind donation. He didn’t end up giving any lessons.

Abel closed his eyes, trying to feel something, anything from the weapon in his hands. Some resonance, some tingling, anything that could help him use whatever ability was stored within it. But nothing felt unusual, only its lightness separated it from other weapons he had wielded in the past.

As usual, he dropped it with some frustration, letting it disappear and turned to head down the stairs to grab lunch.

Food was becoming an issue.

The buffet which had originally greeted him within the lobby was now a short line where meager portions were rationed out. He’d overheard plans for an actual ration system being implemented, with punch cards and signatures. The city was closed off, with no way to import food. It had been self-sustainable in the past, but it seemed those systems were fragile, falling apart once the new residents showed up. He wondered how long it would be before their apartment complex had run dry, and what they do once all the food was gone. Would they walk the streets, searching for food to steal? It seemed it would be odd behavior for a group of high level Kara users.

As he was about to ascend the staircase, the apartment’s front doors opened and Lyssa and Sarah both walked in, waving and following him up as soon as they had grabbed their own meager food. Before they could reach the second floor, sounds of commotion came from the lobby. The three paused and Abel turned, beginning to walk past the girls back down to see what the cause was, but Lyssa grabbed his arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked in a sharp whisper. “Don’t let the Champion thing get to your head.”

Abel shrugged her grip away and continued down the stairs. He didn’t plan on intervening, he wasn’t going to risk his neck to try and assuage the parties which were, even now, growing louder. He hadn’t heard an argument in the apartment since arriving, so he was curious what could cause one now. Being the Champion had nothing to do with it.

At the bottom of the stairs, he could see a group of men past the food counter, halfway down a staircase which led to the building’s basement. It was where they kept all of the food. He lingered a moment, then took a step forward.

And then the sound came. So familiar and the farthest thing from comforting.

Abel fell to his knees, grabbing at his head, but then it was over. Maybe two seconds, but an eternity to his senses which exploded with stimuli.

He crawled to the staircase and saw Lyssa and Sarah had both safely made it to the next landing before the sound rang out.

As the ringing in his ears began to fade, another familiar sound came. This time it was a voice.

“Greetings! There are a great many things I’d like to discuss, but the first thing to get out of the way is a congratulations to all involved in the arena event. Sixty three percent of the city’s residents took part in the festivities, whether testing their mettle in combat or joining in the games held between bouts. Friendships were created and rivalries ended over the course of the event, with rewards spread aplenty.

“The next matter to address is the situation of longevity. As you can imagine, with a number of people attempting to destroy the city’s autonomous life support systems, which bring water into the city and create food for everyone, the situation was dire. As fixing them and protecting them was deemed outside of the realm of possibility, I have taken the liberty of refreshing the city’s food-stores to how they were over a week ago. This means that, assuming the same rate of consumption, there is once again enough food spread throughout the city for the days to come.

“With those matters out of the way, we can address the most important topic. Several days have passed since the arena rose and fell within the city. It allowed for relationships to be fostered and conversations to start, but unfortunately many chose not to involve themselves. Tomorrow, at six in the morning, the next event will start, and everyone will be involved! I now present to you, the Heroic Hunt!”

Before his eyes, Abel’s HUD appeared and the words were splashed across his eyes.

“Now that many of you are more comfortable within the city, it’s time you learned more about it. Throughout the city, a number of spheres will be hand-placed and it will be your job to find as many as possible.”

An image of a sphere appeared before him, spinning within on its axis. It looked to be the size of his palm, see-through like glass but crenelated and faceted like a diamond. It glowed faintly, just as his sword did, but the sphere shifted between colors, turning from red, to blue, to indigo.

“Grabbing a sphere will add points to your score. For the duration of this event, a new Command - Leaderboard - will be added, allowing you to see the top scores, as well as your own. Those with the highest scores will be given Karma of their choosing, and the first place winner will also receive a Special Command.

“Unfortunately, those with the lowest scores will also fitting compensation. They will be punished.”

Silence filled the lobby around him. Abel swallowed hard.

“But don’t worry, it’s not hard to raise your score. There will be many spheres hidden through the city, from the interiors and exteriors of the tall metropolis to the south, to the gardens and dresser drawers of the northern hamlet. Once you grab the sphere, it will be added to your score. Depending on the location and the difficulty of retrieval, certain spheres will be worth many points, while others will only be worth a few.

“Lastly, simply finding the spheres won’t be enough! You must protect them to retain your score, as they can easily be stolen. Once they’re grabbed, they will vanish, but it won’t take much to knock them out of you! A good slap on the back and your five point sphere is flying through the air!”

Laughter shook the walls of the apartment building.

“With so many involved, it will surely be an exciting day. The Heroic Hunt will last twelve hours, so be sure to sleep well. I wish the best of luck to all involved and I hope you all continue to enjoy the wonderful city of Agona!”