"O-oh. Hello then, sir." Gabriel stuttered.

"Relax, boy, you and I both are in situations we didn't expect. The only difference between us is that I have more experience at it." The old man said dismissively. "I may not look it, but I am quite qualified to teach you anything you may want to learn. And several things you most definitely don't."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Ahh, well, I was here on a quest to visit old friends, namely Jacob. He tried to get me to teach one of your siblings like he does every time I drop by. Then you go and get Called, and in a very interesting way, at a very interesting time. So here we are." He gestured widely to their surroundings. "Talk to me, kid. What questions do you have rattling around in that head of yours?"

"Are you alright?" Gabriel blurted out.

Bazelphios just stared at him.

"I-I mean, are you physically ok? You look sick." Gabriel cringed. That still didn't sound right.

The old man laughed. "I'm as fine as can be. C'mon then, I'm sure you have more questions."

"I mean, I have a million questions. I'm not sure where to start."

Bazelphios sighed, "Yeah, that's fair. Why don't you pull up that Portfolio, and we'll walk through it step by step?"

"Yeah, sure-, wait, how did you know that I could use Display Portfolio?" Gabriel asked confusedly.

"Ahh, You received a Calling modifier from Atay, correct?"

Gabriel nodded.

Bazelphios clapped his wizened hands together. "That's how I knew. Ye'see, I've been around a while. Through some circumstances I don't feel like getting into, the good old World Spirit made a few quests up for me, and I got familiar with the way they work, for the most part. Everyone who gets a Calling modifier from Atay can use Display Portfolio."

"Universally?"

"Yup. The gods generally don't appreciate the World Spirit muscling in on their territory, so going to a Priest to get your Portfolio checked is a bit of a risk. So, you get the skill to do it yourself. Now, pull it up."

"Right, yes," Gabriel wasn't sure how to do that until he thought about it, and it just popped up.

Gabriel Godson

Calling: Celestial Hero

Abilities

Low Strength 50

Low Speed 50

Low Dexterity 50

Low Constitution 50

Middle Mana Capacity 75

Middle Cognition 25

Least Perseverance 1. Transcendent Celestial Affinity 100. Middle Death Resistance 1.

Skills

Advanced Cooking 4. Summon Celestial Familiar. Neophyte Elemental Light Magic 1.

Called Skills

Angel's Awakening (Sealed). Heaven's Fall. Display Portfolio.

"Good, now will it to be visible. I can't see it right now."

"How do you know I did it then?" It wasn't like he didn't believe the mysterious old man, but he was curious.

"Come now; you know most people have at least some perception of mana. I've been alive long enough to have a very refined sense of the stuff. A useful skill to cultivate, maybe I'll teach you at some point."

Gabriel nodded. While he did have a vague sense of mana, like most people, it was only enough to feel larger manifestations. He had been able to feel the large force bolt Qeta had thrown at him earlier, but he could only tell he had opened his Portfolio because he could see it. With a thought, he made it completely visible.

Bazelphios stared, stroking his overly long, dirty beard. "Hmm. Interesting, interesting. Well, I see why you've got both Balthazar and Atay interested in you."

"What is it?!" Gabriel nearly shouted. Standing here watching the mysterious stranger who apparently made deals with the World Spirit stare at his Portfolio for several minutes was driving him crazy with anticipation.

The old man smiled. "This right here." He pointed to the Transcendent Celestial Affinity. "That is a maxed-out Affinity, right after you were Called. That, plus the lack of any other preexisting skills or abilities besides… Cooking?"

Gabriel shrugged awkwardly. 'I help out in the kitchen sometimes. Apparently, I'm pretty good."

Bazelphios snorted. "Yeah, I'll say. Advanced at seven years old is practically a miracle in itself. Especially such a broad discipline as the entirety of cooking. Maybe if it was just baking or mincing, but all of cooking? That's madness. Anyway, the lack of other powers and a strong affinity for a racial affinity can only mean one thing-"

"Wait, racial affinity?" Gabriel cut in. He had never heard of that.

"Yeah, racial affinity. You know about affinities, right?" Bazelphios looked slightly annoyed.

"Well, yeah. It's just something you're inherently good at, right? Like my dad with talking to people. Or me with cooking, I guess." Gabriel had never heard of his Cooking skill being exceptional from anyone but the other cooks, and he figured they were just being nice.

"Yes and no. You are good at cooking, but that's different from what I am referring to as affinity. Your father does have an affinity for Speech. What I mean by that is, his very soul was created with the skill for Speech within it. Most people go their whole lives without learning their affinities, and that's fine. After all, your affinities don't necessarily line up with your interests. Just because you can do something well, doesn't mean it's something you want to do, right?"

Gabriel nodded. He was following along for the most part.

"Yeah, well anyone can have an affinity for anything, be it an action or an object. This obviously also includes races."

"Ok, so that's what Celestial means? It's a race?" Gabriel asked. "I thought there were a lot of different kinds of Celestials, though?"

"Ahh," Bazelphios snapped his bony fingers, "I understand your confusion. Celestial's are from the Heavens. It's an entirely separate Plane. The rules there are wholly different than they are here on our Plane. The way the Heavens define races is different. All being who live in Heaven are Celestials. For them having completely different bodies is like having different colored hair for humans. After all, Aquarians are extremely morphologically different as well, but they are all classified as the same race."

"Ok, so what does that have to do with me? I thought I had this affinity because of my Calling modifier. It makes me better at summoning Celestials, right?"

"Well, yes, but there is more to it. It absolutely amplifies any Celestial-based summoning you develop, and you would have definitely gained that affinity from choosing the modifier you did, but I would guess that it was already on your Portfolio the second you were Called."

"Ok, how?"

"Your Portfolio is an extension of your soul, and a medium through which your soul interfaces with your mind and body. It isn't your soul itself. It's why affinities don't normally show on one's Portfolio. They are a natural part of your soul, and they must be awakened to show their full potential. It's normally an involved process of self-discovery unique to the individual. You essentially cheated."

"What? How did I cheat? I didn't do anything!"

"Ah, no, not your fault, kid, it's more of an accident. You see, all gods are connected to the Heavens and the Hells. It's part of what makes them gods. So, when Balthazar inserted part of his divine essence into you to Call you, you were briefly connected to both planes. I believe that your soul itself has an intense, overwhelming affinity for Celestial mana and the Celestial race. Your Calling, and the contact with the Heavens that ensued, awakened a portion of that affinity."

Gabriel wasn't sure he understood exactly how this all had occurred, but he did have one outstanding question. "Will this help me become a better hero? Is it good?"

Bazelphios laughed. "Yeah, kid. It's going to require some workarounds, and if you hadn't been called, you would have had a very miserable life, but it's good."

"Workarounds? Wait, miserable how?" This was all becoming overwhelming.

"I'll show you what I mean; as for the miserable bit, you are a human with a soul that honestly should be human. If you were born a Celestial, you would have been the strongest one seen in eons. Normal affinities don't limit people very often. The most you'll get is someone with an affinity for a particular magic having terrible luck with its opposite, like a fire affinity trying to learn water magic. Racial affinities, though… You aren't Celestial, so your soul refuses to accept any actions you take. You can't learn any skills."

"I'm not sure I follow. You're saying my own soul is why I can't learn swordsmanship?"

"Yeah, basically, here," the confusing old man waved a skeletal hand, and a sword appeared within his grasp. He tossed it over. "Use that."

Gabriel caught the sword and stared at the violet eyes of his teacher. They held only amusement, so he was pretty sure this was supposed to help him somehow. "What do I do with it?"

"Swing it around, I guess. I don't know, I'm not a swordsman>" Bazelphios shrugged apathetically.

"What's that supposed to do?"

"Kid, just humor me, yeah? Promise it's worth it."

"Ok, but can you tell me how you made it appear?" Gabriel started swinging, as his mother had drilled into him, time after time.

"Oh, that? I'm a Space mage. Archmage, really."

Gabriel nearly dropped the sword. "What!?"

"No one mentioned?"

Gabriel mutely shook his head. A real Space mage! They were all so famous. After all, they could move people and supplies between cities without having to worry about Mana Beasts. Every last one of them was fabulously wealthy and treated like holy men.

"Don't just stare at me. Keep swinging."

Gabriel jumped to get back to the familiar exercise. His teacher was a space mage! Could he learn that? Probably not. He was surprised Jacob knew a space mage. Then again, Jacob was also ancient. Like, tens of thousands of years old. He'd served several generations of Light's Aegis's main family as they fought and died for the Theocracy.

Then As he kept swinging away, wondering how he had gotten this mystery man as a teacher, Gabriel felt something. It was as if the sword felt more natural in his hand. He could feel its weight and judge its length just a little bit better. His swings felt just a tiny bit smoother. He paused, staring at the sword, wondering what had changed.

"You feel it now, ehh? Only took, what, ten minutes?"

Gabriel once again stared uncomprehendingly at his teacher. "What?"

"Open Your Portfolio." He had an enigmatic smile under that big beard.

"Ok?" What would be different there?

Gabriel Godson

Calling: Celestial Hero

Abilities

Low Strength 50

Low Speed 50

Low Dexterity 50

Low Constitution 50

Middle Mana Capacity 75

Middle Cognition 25

Least Perseverance 1. Transcendent Celestial Affinity 100. Middle Death Resistance 1.

Skills

Neophyte Sword 1. Advanced Cooking 4. Summon Celestial Familiar. Neophyte Elemental Light Magic 1.

Called Skills

Angel's Awakening (Sealed). Heaven's Fall. Display Portfolio.

There, right under his skills, front and center. Gabriel's brain shut down. How…? After years and years of working day after day. Hearing from all his siblings and some of his cousins about what a failure he was. It was here. He had given up any hope of ever seeing it. But, there it was. Neophyte Sword 1.

"Are you alright, kid?" Bazelphios sounded concerned.

Gabriel Realized tears were running down his face. "O-oh. I'm sorry. I…" The boy was at a loss for words.

"Take a minute."

Gabriel breathed in, trying to control his emotions. Skylar flew up and hugged his shoulder. He patted the fairy on their head in appreciation of the support. "I've been waiting for this for so long. How?" He finally managed.

"That sword has traces of Celestial energy."

Gabriel stared into space. Something so simple? "That's it?"

"That's it. So long as your equipment contains some trace of Celestial energy, you can learn the skills like anyone else. Honestly, your skill growth might even be faster than normal."

"Amazing. Thank you," Gabriel said, focusing back on the space mage. "This changes everything. I can actually learn."

"Slow down there. This still has to remain a secret. Trust me; you do not want the gods figuring out you have a World Spirit modifier before you are a lot stronger. We'll get you there. But you have years of training in between then and now."

Gabriel nodded. He was more than ready to start.

{}

Mahun sat in his study, filling out paperwork. As Archpriest of the capital of the Theocracy, he had many responsibilities. He was dealing with the distribution and transfer notices of other priests to the other cities. The warfront with the Warborn Lands in the south had reopened as spring rolled into summer. It required shifting and additional mobilization of several orders of priests. He had been working on this for several days now, managing internal politics and the egos of the various order Archpriests.

As he was finishing up another dispatch order, he felt a manifestation behind him. Immediately, he slipped out of his chair and to a knee. Balthazar would not manifest lightly, especially since they had talked so recently. Indeed, he could feel anger and discomfort radiating out as the small pillar of golden white took shape. The colors shifted aggressively, with sharp, rapid movements.

"My god," Mahun said calmly.

“Archpriest Mahun Rahip. Begin mobilization of no less than ten orders of Priests at once. This very day." The divine voice boomed, a physical force emanating with it.

Mahun could feel a major quest settling onto him through his Calling. "Yes, my god."

"Your wife is being notified to move twenty orders of Paladins within the same timeframe, as well as a branch of Light's Aegis. Gun has reopened the front early. A surprise attack was leveled against our forces a matter of hours ago." With the major quest relayed, Balthazar's presence calmed some, and his voice lowered and smoothed to its normal, controlled cadence.

"What is the condition of the front?" Mahun was unphased. Gun did this every few decades.

"Unfortunate. He attacked the northern outpost."

"North? The last several centuries-"

"Yes, yes. We were sure after he had established that beachfront, he was after Ogachica in the west. I do not know his intent. Speaking of which," Anger returned to Balthazar's voice, "Immediately after the battle, Gun somehow managed to botch a Calling so bad it invited one of the Unforgotten to interfere. We are in dangerous territory."

"Which one?" Mahun grew concerned. The Unforgotten were old, old things from beyond reality. They did not reach into this universe often or lightly. The last time had been shortly after the War of Loss.

"The Overseer, thank fate. The Sword and The Fulcrum haven't been observed or sensed. I conferred with my brethren, and we will discipline Gun for this, but what's done is done. We cannot take overt action without inviting repercussions we cannot bear. Allow your eldest's plan for the new Hero to unfold. He may be more necessary than I had foreseen."

"Then perhaps some caution is warranted?" Mahun did not like this tact. It smelled of desperation.

"No, if he cannot survive something so small, he will be of no use. My decision is final."

With that, Mahun felt a lesser quest settle on him as the pillar dissipated into nothing. He rose to his feet with a sigh.

He had a lot more paperwork to do now.

{}

Quil sat up with a start. He looked around his dark bedroom in the back of Dark Weld's base. Why had he woken? He spotted a slip of paper on his bedside stand. Swiftly, he grabbed it up. There was only one person who could have had the city send this. It was a short message. Your widow is in one week. That was followed by a floor designation and a more specific timeframe. "Shit."

He leapt up and kicked open the door, heading to the next building over through a hole cut in the wall. "Bruce." He kicked a figure sleeping on the floor, covered in a raggedy blanket.

"Wuh, Boss? It's the fucking middle of the day, isn't it? The fuck?"

"We got our location for the big job."

"Well fuck me."