Noah fixed himself with a confident stance, refusing to give Cynric the satisfaction of seeing his nerves.

“What the hell are you doing in my house, Stinnar?’

I have no sword. There are five of them. They don’t have swords, which is good. I’ve never seen the others fight, but I can only assume they can use aura. If I can separate them, I can probably take them out in a hand-to-hand fight.

Cynric Stinnar sat on Noah’s bed, a cheap slab of wood topped with a thick mattress. The short boy winced as he lowered himself onto its edge. It was quite painful if you weren’t used to it.

“Listen, Hearts. I’m not here to start problems.”

“Is that why you all vandalized my room?”

As Cynric lifted a dismissive hand, his posse stopped rummaging through Noah’s things. The boy stood with some effort before pacing about Noah’s room.

His room was nothing to sneeze at. He had a dresser, a standing mirror, a bed, a two-person table, and a small window that didn’t open all the way. Everything except the mirror was brown, wooden, and smelled as old as it looked. It wasn’t much, but it was all Noah could afford with the few silver pieces he made doing odd jobs between training.

“This place sucks, Noah. Sure, you piss me off, but I hate to see you living like this.”

Cynric extended a hand toward one of his clique, a girl a bit taller than he was. She revealed a bag from a pouch in her robe and gave it to Cynric. After a brief inspection, he grinned and tossed it to Noah. Upon inspection, he did his best to contain his shock.

It was filled with gold coins. Enough to live comfortably in central Haven for the next few years.

“What is this, Stinnar?”

“An advance,” he responded, the grin never leaving his face.

“Listen, my father owns a few Adventurer’s Guilds. Both specializing in carpentry. Both competing. Competition equals money, right?” Cynric’s pacing slowed as he inched closer to Noah.

“Join it, Noah. You can have all the money you want. Live anywhere in Haven… hell… anywhere in Kissen you want. Eat all the best shit the world has to offer. You can spend your mornings partying with some rich assholes and end your nights with whatever pretty bitch catches your eye.”

The short boy’s smug grin faded as he stood before Noah.

“All you have to do is quit the academy, and stop that sorry excuse of a relationship you have with Mizune.”

I knew it. This has nothing to do with school. He’s just jealous I’m close with Mizune.

It wasn’t uncommon for people to be jealous of him. She was quite popular within Haven given her family’s status. Even so, she was hailed as one of the best Aura Manipulators in Kissen despite only being nineteen. It was for that reason that the Upper Echelon hated Noah – they all wanted their sons to marry Mizune and gain a boost in status. It was common for families to offer their children to the Genesis family’s daughter, however, Mizune’s parents always gave the girl the final say, and she’d always turn them down. There were plenty of times when Noah wondered whether he’d be killed due to the wrench he throws into the plans of those Upper Echelon bigwigs, but when Mizune’s parents personally guaranteed his protection, he stopped worrying about that kind of thing.

“If you’re jealous of mine and Mizune’s relationship, that’s all you had to say.” Noah retorted, giving Cynric his own smug grin. “Let me guess, your father tried to get you with her and she rejected you? Don’t think I haven’t noticed how much you’ve been avoiding he–”

BANG!

A swift punch to the side of his head came from the same woman that gave Cynric the pouch of gold coins. It hurt like hell, and Noah couldn’t help but hold his head in agony.

“Listen, Noah Hearts. I care not for master Cynric’s reasons for disliking you.”

Noah strained to look at the girl. She was a fair-skinned woman with thick eyebrows, puffy lips, and a pierced lower lip.

“The truth is that you do not belong in the Haven School for the Strong! I agreed to this plan for no other reason than to ensure you do not come back!”

“Who…the hell… do you think—”

SLAM!

A massive foot bore into his back, pinning him to the floor. He couldn’t turn to see who’d done it, but, given the circumstances, he could only assume it was another of Cynric’s posse.

An unfamiliar, masculine voice began from behind him, proving his hypothesis.

“You don’t belong here, Noah! You haven’t been outside the walls. You’ve never seen a demon. You’ve never watched it eat someone you care about and stare at you like you were prey. The Wolves are already filled with weaklings, and if you somehow join their ranks, you’ll just get people killed due to your complete ineptitude!”

“Sounds… like… you’re… projecting—”

BAM!

A sharp pain came from Noah’s knee. He couldn’t help himself now. Noah screamed in pain as the attacks came more and more frequent.

He’d been jumped before. It was a semi-annual occurrence at this point. They’d never been this aggressive, though. When they stopped hitting him in the back, they grabbed him by the hair and began attacking him from the front.

“Enough!”

Cynric’s voice stopped his posse from knocking Noah into unconsciousness, and he couldn’t help but curse himself as he felt a bit of gratitude that he stopped the beating.

The boy produced a mirror from his robe and held it to Noah’s face.

He was a mess. Blood began matting his hair together, his lips were busted and bleeding, his left eye was bloodshot and his right was barely visible through swelling, knots formed on his forehead, and his nose looked a bit crooked. As he looked upon his form, he couldn’t help but feel emotion stir within him.

What the hell did I do to deserve this? What even is this life? All this because I can’t use aura?

Noah hated himself for even considering the possibility, but he couldn’t help but wonder whether his friendship with Mizune led to the events of the afternoon.

“Had some guys tail you and Mizune on the way home.”

His woe was replaced with worry as he considered Cyrnic’s words.

“King of Kissen, huh? That’s cute.”

Cynric laughed the words, prompting a round of laughter from his assailants. Rather than feel embarrassed, he was outraged. The one dream he’d managed to hold onto his entire life… now at risk by this short bastard.

“Cynric…” Noah growled.

“Mizune had the right idea. I’m on the Upper Echelon for no reason other than the fact that I was born there. You were right, too. My father was forced to marry some bitch he never cared for, fucked her after some drunken party, and made me. Everything I’ve ever wanted has been handed to me. Money, land, property, food, whores, anything you can think of. I’m an asshole. The scum of the earth. One day, when I mess up and have a shitstain of a son, I’ll be the first one telling him to screw off when he talks to me about his school day, just like my father and his father before him.”

Cynric crouched down and grabbed Noah by the tufts of his red hair before whispering a cold truth to Noah.

“And yet, I’m more likely to become ‘King’ than you are… whatever the fuck that even means.”

The short boy produced another bag of coins from his robe and threw it at Noah’s knees.

“You start work tomorrow morning. Clean up and wait for the guys at that shithole you call a shower downstairs.”

As he made for the door, Noah did his best to stand, but couldn’t. Not only did he have no energy, but, frankly, he had no spirit. Cynric was right. How could someone as weak as himself rise beyond the Upper Echelon. There currently was no King. How would he establish a monarchy and expect the Upper Echelon and the Wolves of Haven to just… bend the knee? It was a useless quest.

…but it was the only reason he even fought. If he was honest with himself, he did have feelings for Mizune, but he knew that’d never work out. As soon as the Upper Echelon was tired of him, they’d kill him. No one would cry over him except Mizune, but she’s too valuable to leave unhappy, so they’ll just find someone better than him. There’s no way he’ll become something. He’ll just, die forgotten in a place like this.

Before stepping out of Noah’s house, Cynric’s words were hideous enough to force Noah into action.

“One more thing. Give up on Mizune. She doesn’t need to be fucking some peasant from Old Haven. You’ll dirty the water. I’ll find some whore to keep you company. Besides, she needs someone like me that can treat her right if you catch my drift.”

Noah didn’t think. He ignored his seething pain and threw himself at Cynric.

With all of his might, he punched the short boy to the floor.

“You watch your damn mouth, Stinnar!” Noah roared.

As the two wrestled on the ground, his posse rushed toward them and forced Noah off of Cynric. The short boy’s expression went manic as he breathed heavily.

“You son of a bitch!”

The girl with the pierced lip held Noah in a chokehold as he fought to grab Cynric. His efforts were cut short when a sharp, stabbing pain stuck him in his side.

“You shouldn’t have moved, Noah Hearts.” the girl whispered. “Attacking the Upper Echelon is punishable by death.

Several more stab wounds punctured various points on Noah’s body. He screamed in agony, but no one came to his rescue. Not that he expected anyone to.

The stabs weren’t deep enough that he’d be dying immediately, but they were plentiful enough that he’d be bleeding to death if they weren’t treated or given a few hours to recover.

“Alright, Hearts!” Cynric shouted, his expression wild. “Let’s go for a trip!”

As Cynric spoke the last word, Noah’s vision went black, the last thing he saw being the short boy’s fist.

*****

Noah was awoken by a splash of frigid water. Rather than attempt to fight back, he took in his surroundings.

The only light was from a lantern that lay a few feet ahead of him. His periphery was filled with the towering figures of Cyrnic’s posse. There were more trees here than he’d seen his entire life. A strong scent of pine filled his nose as the sounds of rustling leaves and chirping insects filled his ears.

A forest on Kissen Fields I gue–

His assessment was cut short by a loud, stinging slap from Cynric.

“Do you know how hated you are, Noah?”

“Wh–”

Noah was cut off by a kick to the chest by Cynric. Before he could get up, the short boy planted his foot on the boy’s stomach.

“Speak when spoken to, peasant! Perhaps you could die with more dignity than you showed while alive!”

Die? Is that what this is?

As Noah struggled, Cynric sunk his foot deeper into Noah’s stomach, aggravating the stab wounds on his back. He yelled, prompting Cynric to stomp more on Noah’s stomach.

“When I kill you, I’ll be a fucking hero! Do you know how many Assassin’s Guilds have been called into the Upper Echelon to kill you? The Genesis family was always there to stop them. But now that they’re away preparing for the Wolves’ Den Exam. All bets are off.”

Noah wondered why Mizune had escorts earlier. Sure, they did pop up from time to time, but rarely did they escort her home.

“So I decided, if I protect that son of a bitch Noah, I’ll get good with the Genesis family and get closer with Mizune!”

Another round of stomps to Noah’s stomach. He did his best to stay conscious, because Noah guessed that if he went unconscious again, he likely wouldn’t be waking up.

“But after hearing your fucking mouth, you gave me a better idea – if I kill you before the Assassins do, I’ll get just as much clout with the rest of the Upper Echelon! Why the hell would I work hard over one whore?!”

“Shut…your damn…”

“No, you shut your damn mouth, Noah! I gave you an opportunity, and you didn’t take it! I tried to be kind, but you blew it!”

Cynric took his foot off of Noah’s chest and handed his limp body to the same woman that stabbed him. She hoisted him from under his arms and sat him up so that he could look up at Cynric.

He…really does… look like a tomato.”

Noah laughed.

It’d been years since he laughed this hard. He didn’t even remember what he laughed about at the time, but it wasn’t nearly as funny as this. As Cynric’s rage at being laughed at grew, so did Noah’s amusement.

Eventually, though, Cynric joined Noah in laughter. As Cynric laughed he made for the lantern, motioning for his posse to follow him.

“I suppose I owe it to you, Hearts. They really did want you dead. Getting you out of the city was a cakewalk. A quick bribe to the Wall Guard and some word that we were doing some “tree cutting” in Kissen Fields and they looked the other way. No one in the city batted an eye as Cynric Stinnar the Second carried a bloody peasant through the streets and out of Haven in a carriage. Some King you would’ve been!”

“Yeah… you’re right!” Noah responded, his laughter never stopping.

“I hope reincarnation exists. If you’re reborn as my shithead son, I’ll be sure to say ‘I love you’ before I tell you to fuck off”.

“Yeah… I’d rather die again than be born as your son.”

“I’d probably agree if I were in your position”

As Cynric walked into the distance, he whistled loudly. The whinny of a horse sounded from behind Noah as a carriage dashed past him, the carriage itself just barely missing Noah.

So this is it, huh?

Cynric turned to Noah and grinned before tossing him a sword from the carriage. Before Noah could respond, a loud growl sounded in the distance. It wasn’t natural. It sounded distorted and strained to be from any type of animal.

That was a demon, huh?

Noah’s laughter began again, matched by Cyric’s.

“You said it yourself, you’re a better swordfighter than me. If that’s the case, I’m sure you can protect yourself from a demon!”

As Cynric grabbed the horse’s lead, he called out “Good luck!” before riding off into the distance.

The demon from earlier growled again. This time, it was a bit closer. If he ran, he might be able to get away from it, but there wasn’t much of a point. It was like he had thought earlier, he’d die forgotten in some shithole.

A fitting end for the king of Kissen I suppose.

******

“Those assholes! Sons of whores! You motherfuckers! Oooh, I wish Uncle Justice was here, he’d take care of you bastards!”

Grace couldn’t contain her rage watching Noah’s sorry state. She’d followed him home to see if he and Mizune would talk about her, but, to her surprise, they didn’t. That Mizune girl looked directly at her multiple times and even waved at her when she went home. Hell, when she made an off-handed joke about Noah being a terrible father, Mizune stole her joke and laughed at it! There were no doubts, Mizune could see and hear her, and yet, she made the choice not to say anything. Grace decided that she’d introduce herself to Noah once he was home, but after… everything… it would’ve been far too dangerous to do so during a fight. The last thing she’d want to do is willingly cause a Deviation by having Noah unintentionally kill those assholes… even if they did deserve it.

Okay. No more fear. I’m not the first Grace and I won’t be the last. Noah needs me!

Gathering aura into her right hand, she clenched her fist and punched Noah in the forehead. Immediately, the boy shot up in surprise.

“What… the hell?!” he yelled, looking around frantically.

Okay… like Uncle Virtues says… it’s showtime…!

Grace gathered the wind and grass aura around her and used it to materialize as a woman the same height as Noah. The boy shrunk back in fear, which, to be fair, was expected. Anyone would get nervous if a yellow woman with no pupils showed up in front of them unannounced.

“Hello… Noah… my name…”

“Yellow…orb!” he managed to blurt out between nervous pants. “You’re what Mizune…was talking…about!”

“She talked about me?”

She’d been wondering what they talked about when Mizune kicked him to the wall.

But now was not the time. She coughed and continued.

“Listen, Noah. I am Grace Morningstar, daughter of Genova Morningstar. I come on behalf of the Court of Angels to grant you your Fated place among the Court as the Incarnation of Souls, the living proxy of the Progenitor of Souls, my mother, Genova Morningstar.”

…Now for the hard part…

“...if you agree, I will permanently bond myself with your soul and—”

Grace’s trained speech was cut off when a roar sounded behind her. The boy turned and used what little energy he appeared to have to stand. It hurt her to see him like that. As much as she wanted to help, she couldn’t, even now. While mortals in this Reality had hearty bodies that could shrug off things like stab wounds and, when technology advanced enough, gunshots, she recognized that his wounds went much deeper than the body. Rather than dwell on what she couldn’t do, she did what she could…

…rather, she tried. Before she could do anything, Noah grabbed her hand and led her deeper into the dark forest.

“We… need to go… Listen… Grace? I don’t know who you are, but you can’t…be…o..u..”

Noah fell to the ground, his energy leaving him. A quick analysis showed that he wasn’t dead, but the lack of blood and energy did a number on him.

I don’t have any more time to think about this. I need him able to move. The rest of the speech can kiss my ass… I’m doing this… I’m doing this! Noah, I’m here for you, as is my duty!

Grace carried Noah deeper into the forest and morphed some wind aura into fire, commanding it to trail her from above and illuminate their path. When she turned and saw they’d made a fair distance from the source of the demon, she place her hands above Noah’s chest.

Directly about his soul.

“I, Grace Morningstar, bind myself to the soul of Noah Hearts. Genova Morningstar, Progenitor of Souls, hear my words: I am the aide to the Incarnation of Souls, your living proxy in the FOURTH QUADRANT! I will share with him a sliver of your awesome power in hopes that he uses it to find his PROGENITOR AWAKENING. Should he do so, I will bond with his soul and grant him his right to fight the scourge of the Overseer, Chaos!”

Please, mother… please accept this… I just need time and I promise I'll make him strong.

A soft, feminine voice sounded from all around Grace, and when she heard its words she couldn’t help but shed a tear of joy.

“I accept.”

*****

Noah awoke from his slumber. Before him was that woman that appeared out of nowhere with a strained look on her face. Grace? Mizune told him about the types of strange people that live in the Kissen Fields. Incarnation of Souls? Living proxy? What the hell was she talking about? She didn’t carry any weapon, so Noah didn’t fear he’d be killed or anything, but the last thing he’d want was to be sacrificed to some cult.

If that’s the case, I’d rather get killed by some—

“I accept.”

The words seemed to come from all around him. Noah looked around frantically to find its source, half expecting another golden woman to appear.

“What the hell is—”

Noah was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a blue screen, its words voiced by a monotone, feminine voice.

Name: Noah Hearts

Level: 1

Species: Human

Title: Incarnation of Souls

Health: 10

Aura: 0

Stamina: 10

Strength: 10

Manipulation: 10

Intelligence: 10

Soul: -BOUNDLESS-

Control: 0

Initializing…

Initialized.

Welcome to the PROGENITOR SYSTEM, Noah Hearts.

As Noah looked over the blue screen, he couldn’t help but feel… dumbfounded. All of the attributes that he’d worked so hard to improve were laid in front of him like some tabletop wargame he’d played with Mizune.

“What the hell is this…?”

“It’s like I said, Noah! You’re the Incarnation of Souls! You'll learn that you should listen to me more!”

As Noah turned to Grace, the golden woman wiped tears from her eyes as she fixed a wide, toothy grin.