“It’s always been with me, for as long as I can remember. The pain. My dad says it started when I gained the ability to channel; that it was a result of my proximity to Odessa’s gate and the unique frequency of my personal energy signature. He says it attracted the ‘mana’ and this initial infusion perpetuated the cycle. Whatever the reason, the odd energy leaking out of the gate took a particular liking to me, synchronising with the absorbed zeta to amplify my abilities. It made me powerful, more powerful than most my age and strong enough to gain me entry into the most elite channeling program on the planet. But this infusion came at a cost: constant, unrelenting pain. Even as a channeler, my body was never equipped to handle such power and its natural defences attempt to reject this invasion at every turn. It’s been a constant battle, as though my body is trying to fight off an infection that wants to take hold of me. Unfortunately, today is my twenty-first birthday and that battle is no closer to being won than the first time this strange affliction manifested itself.

My dad says this battle started when I was three, he says that’s when my abilities first manifested themselves. I don’t remember the specifics myself but I do know that father has a bad habit of lying. I suspect he does it to protect me. He sees that as his job I suppose. But I know better. This ‘gift’ – my affliction – manifested itself long before I was three… long before my abilities could have manifested themselves in any tangible way. I’m certain that it was what killed my mother. She died giving birth to me and took with her the last remnants of my father’s soul. I’ve been told that he was a kind, caring man before she died but I’ve only known the automaton – working tirelessly to fix his greatest mistake – his ultimate transgression: my curse.

“Rei? Kanrei? Kanrei!” A persistent voice drew Kanrei’s thoughts away from his latest journal entry and towards the locked door to his bedroom.

“Uh, yeah?” He replied with a somewhat puzzled tone to source of this voice; his step sister Lilith Angelus.

“Are you awake?” She inquired, much to the young man’s amusement.

“I’m going to assume that’s a rhetorical question Lil.” He replied, before turning his body towards the door and making eye contact with the small sensor at its centre.

As he did this, the passive sensor embedded in the large polymer structure went into its active mode, monitoring his body’s movement to await any incoming commands. This shift in its operating mode was signalled by a small light over the sensor, which quickly changed from a slowly flashing red to a steady green. Noting this, Kanrei raised his right hand and made four distinct gestures with his fingers, a performance that constituted his unique kinematic password to disengage the door’s lock. This resulted in a quiet beep, signalling that the password had been accepted and allowing the door to become de-energised as the locking mechanism shut off.

Just seconds later the door was sliding open, allowing the pale-skinned, white-haired young woman with whom Kanrei shared a house to enter his private quarters. As she did so, Kanrei’s gaze immediately focused on the annoyed look on the young woman’s face before it eventually drifted downwards towards the rest of her body. His face immediately dawned a look of incredulity.

“Lilly, what are you wearing?” This was all he could inquire as he set his gaze on the young woman’s attire; what little of it there was.

Though not related by blood, Kanrei very much considered Lilith to be his younger sister, and saw it as his job to look out for the young combat prodigy, who had only just turned twenty a few months prior. For this reason, it was more than just mildly disconcerting to see her in pants that barely covered the bottom of her expansion suit, a mid-rift exposing tank-top and what barely constituted a crop-jacket.

“Really Rei, you’re going to question my fashion sense?” She scoffed dismissively, rolling her eyes in the process. “This bloody island is a sauna; it’s almost December and even the nights are still incredibly hot – if you think you’re going to get me to put on anymore clothes, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“But that’s why we have environmental regulators luv.” Kanrei countered. “Contact-cooling; the more you cover up the better it works.”

“Yeah but then I have to deal with that annoying ‘buzzing’ those stupid things give off.” She rolled her eyes as she drew reference to the unique frequency of the zeta signature given off by environmental regulators of their expansion suits, one which she perceived as an almost audible buzzing. Kanrei just shook his head with mild amusement.

“Well personally, I’d prefer you put up with the ‘buzzing’ that walk around looking like a— well—looking like that, luv.” He pressed but his suggestions simply fell on deaf ears.

“Rei, you are a prude. I’ve seen the locals in less.” Lilith countered with a wave of the hands, walking towards his mirror to look at herself.

“Yeah, but the locals aren’t my baby sister…” Kanrei sighed heavily as he shut down the small terminal in front of him and turned his full attention to Lilith.

“You’re adorable Rei—” Lilith smiled. “—but you’re not going to get me to put on anymore clothing.” She replied, causing Kanrei to pout slightly. “Speaking of clothing dear brother, why aren’t you dressed?”

Her query however just drew the most puzzled of looks from Rei as he checked his data comm for the time.

“But school doesn’t start for another hour… and we live five minutes away.” He shrugged. “Why would I already be dressed?”

Lilith’s gaze narrowed at her forgetful older brother.

“Because we’re supposed to be going in early so you can run through this ‘DHA’ thing with me before class.” Kanrei just stared at her blankly. “Like we discussed last night over dinner…” She expounded, but Kanrei’s blank expression would not change. “Geez Rei, the thing we learned just last week.”

“Oh right: Dynamic Hash Activation.” He giggled lightly. “Ayanna’s also supposed to be meeting up with us to go through it as well right?” He inquired, causing Lilith to nod. “That completely slipped my mind…”

“I swear Rei, for a supposed genius your brain seems awfully addled.” Lilith retorted, but Kanrei just giggled once more.

“I usually have a lot on my mind I guess.” He shrugged. “I’ll go get ready and you can meet me at the lift in ten.”

It would actually take Rei closer to twenty minutes to get ready, but given their close proximity to Titan Academy, the two still managed to make it to the school in time to brush up on Lilith’s trouble area before class started. As they approached the small gazebo that they tended to hang around prior to class, the two found the usually surly young woman, Ayanna Myria, awaiting their arrival.

“You two are late.” Was her first greeting to the duo of manipulators as they approached.

“Sorry luv, I lost track of time.” Kanrei replied dismissively, causing Ayanna’s gaze to narrow into an aggressive glare.

“What’d I tell you about calling me ‘luv’?” Ayanna menaced, but as usual her posturing had little effect on Kanrei’s disposition, leaving the young man with a simple smile as he dismissed the statement.

“You two ready to get started?” He inquired.

Lilith just smiled at Kanrei’s response while Ayanna growled under her breath, before they both nodded in the affirmative to the query.

“Alright then.” Kanrei dawned a smile of his own before going right into the lesson. “So Xell gave us the technical rundown on what DHA’s do, but not really how to get them to work. He was right when he said that they’re a way to diversify our abilities but that whole ‘rearranging the order in which code is executed’ doesn’t mean much to the average channeler. I mean, to all of us but Tyler, zeta ‘code’ is more of a concept than a tangible thing we can manipulate, so I’ll try to explain it in a slightly different way.”

To facilitate his explanation, the blue-haired young man took off his black cotton jacket and rested it on the decorative rail that ran the perimeter of the gazebo, before powering up into his braver form. A slight grimace accompanied the surge of zeta and the corresponding ‘mana’ into his body, combining to create his uniquely fluid horus energy-type.

“Okay, so as you know I’m a manipulator – my abilities tend towards energy projection, so naturally all of my ‘hashes’ are activated with that application in mind. But occasionally, when I’m forced into combat, the same abilities that I’d usually project over longer distances can come in handy at close range. That’s when dynamic hash activation becomes necessary.”

As he explained this to the two young women, his body went about the natural process of leaking his horus into the environment around him. Soon the noxious union of zeta and magic permeated the air, making the atmosphere feel thick and soupy to those who could sense his unique aura. Once this was achieved, he performed a demonstration attack, allowing the latent energies to become active and coalesce into a liquid-like form. Soon a jet of his horus was impacting the earth just in front of Lilith and Ayanna.

“That’s my hand of corruption.” He explained. “Being an ability that I bothered to name, you can guess that it comes quite naturally to me – I don’t have to think about the individual modifications that I make to my horus to give it that specific effect. I think of the attack and the environment responds to my will… simple as that.”

“And the attack does what exactly? For clarity.” Ayanna pressed.

“It scrambles any energy-based structure or ability, essentially turning its ‘code’ into junk data.” He explained. “But let’s say I got hit by an attack that set me on fire. Most attacks like that are ‘coded’ to consume your form and convert the consumed mass and zeta into ‘flames’. In a situation like this, I won’t want to blast myself with my hand of corruption – that’d only make matters worse for goodness sake – but if I could imbue my defensive energies with the ability to scramble the attack’s code… I’d effectively be able to cancel the attack and put myself out.”

“And you can do this without having to re-code your hand of corruption in barrier-mode on the spot?” Lilith inquired with scepticism. Kanrei just nodded.

“Because I’ve already coded the ability – the mechanism is known to me. So it’s simply a matter of changing the expression and the application of that mechanism. There really is no need to do the same work twice or store a second ‘hash’ for the same technique.” He tried to explain.

“Okay, but in real-world terms – when it comes to what you do mentally to DHA – what’s the trick?” Ayanna finally pressed.

“The ‘trick’ happens before you try to DHA. It comes from separating the expression of your abilities, from their core functions.” He explained. “My hand of corruption is the ability to scramble code, nothing more. It’s not a blast that scrambles code, or a shield that scrambles code… not even an energy type that scrambles code. I think of it purely as a function, not the effect that it manifests as.”

“Okay… I think I follow—” Lilith started. “—but that doesn’t work for everything now does it? Take my fusion cannon for instance; it turns the environment against my opponent, allowing me to hit them with much more energy than I can generate.” She explained, causing Ayanna’s eyes to widen slightly.

“That’s a terrifying ability, considering just how much energy you do manage to generate.” She chimed in, much to Lilith’s amusement.

“Yeah, it’s pretty handy.” Lilith smiled in return. “I can see how I would apply something like that to a punch – it’s the same attack but close range – but how is that useful outside of combat?”

“There’s your problem Lilly.” Kanrei just smiled. “You’re not separating what fusion cannon does from what it actually is.”

“What do you mean?” She just looked puzzled.

“I guess it’s a bit easier for me to see, since identifying energetic patterns is one of my natural abilities, but your fusion cannon is actually a localised zeta-activation effect.” He explained, leaving both women baffled by his terminology. The young man just smiled. “Your fusion cannon excites latent, inert zeta as it passes, causing that energy to become reactive.”

“Uh… English Rei?” Lilith pressed.

“Your ability causes the harmless free floating zeta that permeates just about everything to become ‘active’ and actually interact with other constructs – but it does this without giving it any instructions – without ‘coding’ it so to speak.” Kanrei explained. “This ‘wild-type’ zeta is essentially a force of nature, and anything that gets into its way experiences that force.”

“So in theory, I can use it to reinforce a shield then?” She pressed.

“Without much effort I’d imagine.” Kanrei nodded. “But to go further you could even use it to enhance your speed on the ground or propel you through the air.” He explained. “Because the function is so fundamental, what you can do with it is limited only by the fundamental properties of wild-zeta.”

“Now that’s pretty cool.” Lilith smiled.

“So what you’re saying is that Dynamic Hash Activation is really about changing your mindset towards your abilities, rather than some technical coding exercise?” Ayanna tried to make sure that she was still following what Kanrei was explaining.

“Precisely—that’s what ‘coding’ is really all about.” Kanrei nodded. “Because our abilities are so innate, ‘coding’ zeta is really just a matter of envisioning an effect and projecting your will to create it. But because that comes so naturally to us, it’s easy for us to ignore how these effects are created.”

“Guilty. Once I can use it to blast an opponent and make them stop moving, I’m not too interested in how my fusion cannon does what it does.” Lilith chimed in, causing Rei to chuckle lightly.

“And that’s generally how most of us think.” He nodded. “Once our abilities do what we want, the how isn’t as important – but understanding that how can allow us to do a whole lot more with just one ability.”

“Alright, I’ll admit it.” Lilith finally stated as she began to get a grasp of what Kanrei had been trying to explain all along.

“Admit what Lil?” He inquired, rather curious as to what she was getting at.

“That big brain of yours is good for something.” She smiled. “That ‘genius’ title might not be entirely undeserved.”

“Genuis?” A familiar voice sounded behind the three channelers, with a forth approaching the small gazebo as time for their class drew nigh. “You guys talking about me behind my back?”

Kanrei watched as Lilith’s and Ayanna’s gazes drifted over his shoulder, causing the young man to spin and set his gaze on the wild-haired Xavier Stryke.

“Sorry X, here at Titan ‘genius’ is a title you’ll have to share.” Kanrei smirked, drawing a mildly amused scoff from Xavier.

“Only if the criteria’s dropped since the last time I was here.” He replied arrogantly, much to Kanrei’s own amusement.

“Don’t you ever get tired blowing your own horn?” Ayanna inquired with visible annoyance, which only served to amuse Xavier even further, but ultimately did not prompt a response.

“You’re here unusually early, X—” Kanrei asserted. “—we’ve still got another twenty or so minutes before class starts; what brings your around?”

“I must be a diligent student.” Xavier replied casually, making his way into the gazebo and taking up a seat on the rail that ran along its perimeter. “Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf.”

“Yeah, that must be it.” Kanrei giggled with audible sarcasm, scanning his surroundings briefly for the second member of the Lehomik delegation to Titan’s Academy. “Where’s your partner in crime? You two aren’t usually far apart.”

“Kiara’s doing her own thing.” Xavier shrugged. “I ain’t her baby-sitter after all.”

“She is your subordinate though; you are responsible for her are you not?” Ayanna questioned, but Xavier just scoffed and rolled her eyes at the inquiry.

“She a grown woman; just here to get certified and graduate… same as me. As long as she does that, she ain’t gotta answer to anybody, especially not me.” Xavier dismissed.

“That’s fair I suppose.” Kanrei nodded. “You know X, you’re not as bad a guy as people make you out to be.”

“Watch it kid, you’re going to ruin my reputation with wild accusations like that.” Xavier retorted.

“Don’t worry Xavier, no one who knows you is actually going to believe that tripe.” Tyler stated as she too approached the gazebo to wait for Xell’s eventual arrival.

“Your boyfriend might not, but who knows—” Xavier scoffed. “—ain’t a lot of people out there as smart as the Itami.”

Tyler rolled her eyes as the remark, before turning her attention to the others and greeting them. Ayanna, Kanrei and Lilith returned her pleasantries before returning to their training as the other members of the Special Placements class began to trickle in. As had been the case for the past two months, the small group of elite channelers had a long day ahead of them as the prepared to become the next generation of heroics and legends.