“Can you tell me how to evolve?" Ace turned sharply toward Magenta. It scanned him, not hopeful but not afraid of the chance. He could see it wanted something too. None of this had only been for the sake of his curiosity; it wanted to believe a possibility was there. It wanted this meeting to be more than happenstance.

“Will you trust me?” It asked. Ace tightened his jaw and nodded. If there was a point, he was going to find it. Magenta clapped its hands together, pulling them apart with a spike between. As it stretched its arms, it became thinner, turning it into a long pike. It looked at the tip, and then at Ace again. "I'll have to kill you." It said, and his jaw tightened harder.

“You have to kill me?”

“It's the only way I know. It is when a soul leaves the body that it is the most aware of light. That light can speak to it, and guide it to take shape."

“How does that help me?”

“Well, you are different. When you become a soul you will be a dark thing with a light trapped within you. That light can never leave, and will be a reminder of who you were. You can then weave your soul into a new body, better fit for making that power your own.”

“I can do that?”

“It is the nature of a Dark God.”

“I keep hearing that phrase, but nothing anyone says about it makes sense. I can do all sorts of things with the light, but I don’t understand how.”

“That is why your flesh holds you back. Right now, light is nothing more than what your eyes see and your skin feels. Can you imagine if the light had sound, or taste? Can you imagine it being anything more, like something you can mold.”

“Or something that can show me a way forward…”

“It sounds like you know what I’m talking about.”

“They call it Refraction. It’s all about how you interact with Luster.”

“Then Luster must be the light of us gods.” It held that thought for a moment. “Yes, this Refraction you speak of sounds right. Death will let you move closer to it.”

“What is the most important thing I need to know?”

“Remember what makes you strong. Remember your reason to fight. Souls are like clay, memories can be etched into them. However, like clay they can be broken. The light cannot, and with your memories within it, you'll never be forgotten. They will remind you of where you started and where you want to be. They’ll show you the best you can become.”

The severity of those words unearthed a memory. They’ll show you the best you can become… It took Ace back to the Enclave, back to when they first learned what it meant to be a Number. It was after weeks and weeks of exercises. He was ten at the time, one of the youngest people there. It was the third year in a row that there was someone that young among the group, but the proctor didn't let age hold him back.

“Take a look at your ID badge.”

Ace did and noticed something different. Normally a string of letters and numbers filled it. It was his ID after all, with the first three letters and last two numbers serving as a shorthand for his name. He had gotten used to it, but now a four-digit number sat on the badge. 7855. What did it mean?

"I want you all to think of this as a ranking system. Previously, you all were Serials, people with nothing more than a static number. It is the very thing that stopped you from being true citizens and having true names. However, you lucky few have been chosen to go from Serials to Numbers. You will climb the ranks through assignments and exercises, and to indicate where you stand, your badge will change. This change will be based on analysis of your score, and the higher up you go, the more chances you have of being selected.”

Score? As if the question was loud on everyone's mind, the proctor pressed a remote turning on a screen. It showed a hypothetical person, no more than a silhouette. A list of skills was lined up beside them. Each was numbered differently and somehow it gave them a rank of 1146. He focused on the list, taking note of each one. Combat, Leadership, Technical, Agility, Endurance, Mental.

“Some of these scores will be easy for you to monitor, like Combat, Agility, and Endurance. The others, Leadership, Technical, and Mental will only be something your examiners can assess. Now, if you check under your chairs you'll find badge readers." Ace found a device with a slot in the back. "When you put your badge into it, it'll show you your scores. Do not covet the score of another person. Even if you want a high Combat score, consider if your best combat could ever surpass your current Mental. Throwing away one skill in favor of another will be your undoing, stopping you from ever climbing out of the rank of Numbers. When your Number rises over 100, you’ll be eligible for a lottery. That lottery will test you, possibly allowing you to graduate.”

Even back then, Ace’s highest was Agility.

“Focus on your scores, and yours alone. Collectively, they make your Number, but there’s no math to this that you’ll ever imagine. Maybe you'll find out the meaning when you graduate, but until then, keep this in mind. They’ll make you the best thing you can become.”

“Remember what makes me strong, right?” He looked at Magenta. It nodded.

“The most worthless way to evolve is to become something you are not meant to be. As Gods depend on worship and hope for their evolution, Dark Gods depend on something else, maybe you have felt it?” Fear, strong like the scent of food. “It feeds you potential, which evolution consumes. Why waste it becoming something you’re not meant to be?”

“What about my reason to fight?"

“When I stood above mankind, I stood with three siblings. One was the Harvest, protecting the people from famine. One was the Home, protecting the place where people lay their heads. I was the Hunt, showing man how to hunt like beast. It was our purpose, and how we grew. It was how we gained worship, and in dire times it was how we earned hope. Your reason to fight will be the source of your strength, it will set you down a path, opening the way to your next evolution.”

Ace wondered, what was his reason? Fang wanted to take this city back, and while he was on her side he felt like it was closer to a coincidence. He wanted to graduate when he came out into the city. He wanted to be more than just a thing without a name. He wanted to be whatever Assassin saw when he picked him for a team. He wanted to be free, but lately, something else took up every inch of his mind. It started with Raven in that once lavish room. It grew with Abigail, Knight, and Hunter, and exploded with Assassin. It was there in Cerulean, partially in the back of his mind but fed by what he knew about the city. It was in the way his fist clenched and jaw tightened when he thought about Corrosion. Sharp eyes took sight of Magenta.

“I’m ready.”

It wasted no time plunging the pike through his chest. At once he felt the wound through his heart like fire and ice, blood suddenly erupting, pouring and leaving him cold. His body went numb as the pierced organ fought; trying to pump those last few drops. Icy veins showed him how quickly his body died, and then his mind went dark. It didn’t get the chance to wonder if this was a good idea. Everything was blank until he found an orange ball of light burning big enough to swallow a building. It rolled and rippled, trying to ignite the webs that kept it contained. He walked up and touched it, briefly feeling the rage of a wild caged beast. Memories of advancement pushed that back, reminding him of every smile when his Agility score went up. It reminded him of celebrations when his Number changed, and all the times he got excited with the others. When the rage was pushed far enough back, he found room in the light for something else. The dark webs attached to his hand, and he felt their readiness to write something within it. It was like a question.

Who are you? He thought of the God Eternal and Corrosion. The answer had come to him before he died, however.

“I am Ace. The Dark Orange God of Revenge.” The webs tightened, compressing the light down to something he could hold. He used them to pull it into his body, and heard his heart like one thunderous beat of a drum.

The light shined out from his wound, burning Magenta's pike away. As the last pieces of it crumbled a hand reached out, leveraging itself against Ace's chest as another joined it. His body bent back as a new one pulled itself free, emerging from him like a butterfly from a cocoon. The person he used to be dropped, and he stared at his old body, wondering how he had ever thought it'd be enough. The new was one of power. Light felt like flesh and bone, sturdy, unflinchingly solid. It was not completely light, however. Shadows made up the majority—slender black limbs leading to a dark abdomen that only turned at the wound in his chest. From there light threaded like cloth around his shoulders, rising to make a hood around his head. The webs that once covered his irises now stretched back from the corner of his eyes. With them gone, he could truly see clearly. This wasn’t the light of the God Eternal anymore. The darkness cut it off; it was now his, dedicated to his one purpose in life.

“How do you feel?” Magenta asked.

Ace glanced to the mountainside below. “Like I have something to do.” He dropped.

The moment he left the inner edge of darkness he knew that the Trident Knight could feel him. Something like the wind rolled, pushing against him as if he was a mountain himself. It was at him that this feeling stopped. He felt like thousands of eyes had fallen upon him, expectant, hopeful, afraid. Yellow lazily floated over, touching down several feet away. Its metal face made a rigid mask. There would be no room for the wrong answers here, and Ace could see there were plenty to choose from.

“Gaehi! Don son no remeer, iimach.” As the word’s entered Ace’s ears, so did their history. He saw the migration of people from a cold island to the mountainside where things were warm. He heard them forget old pronunciations in favor of the new and felt the meaning of words transform.

“Gaehi.” Intruder. But was there ever a place he belonged? Don son no remeer, iimach. That wasn’t as easy to translate, there were parts he couldn’t replicate with English. Still, the meaning was simple enough. Who gave you the right to come here. Tell me now. “Time.” He answered. “Yours is up. You thought you had forever but you’ve been running away.”

Yellow threw its head back with a laugh. “Sadawk, sadawt, gaehi. Sadawk pair son…? Egun.” A smirk shifted its metal face.

Time is day and night, intruder. Your time, however…? The sands have stopped. It spun its trident as it saw comprehension. He looked at the souls, unable to witness what was coming next. It was a shame, but it didn't change his plans. Avenging them was the first thing he'd do.

The trident spun into a saw, shredding the wind as it came at him. He charged the weapon, vaulting off it, falling toward the knight with blades growing from his arms. As he slashed its cape fluttered around, trying to bind him in a cocoon anew. He slipped down before the cloth could tighten, springing toward his frowning foe. The trident came back and he jumped, letting it fly under him. Rather than be impaled the Knight stopped it, swinging for Ace’s head as his feet touched the ground.

It was the perfect position for a killing blow. A normal man would need his footing; would never be able to block the attack. It would be death or a severe wound. It was all Ace could see. Except that he was no normal man. Balance came in the shine of his foot, and as it glowed the other kicked up, sending the trident spinning toward the sky. He twisted, slashing for the knight, opening a wound as it stepped back too slow. Hawk swift fists flew in pursuit, tearing more pieces away. The knight roared as its trident spun back, slicing for Ace's head as he came for its face. He sank and it missed by a mile. Throwing an uppercut, he took one of Yellow's arms. It hissed as it rocketed back, the bleeding light turning into tridents between them. The sneer on its face twisted into a smirk, and it swept its arm, swarming the Number.

As they came Ace let his gem do the work. He could feel how Yellow moved them, unseen rails already deciding their path. It would be close and was full of deceit. Any trident that lagged was meant to give him hope—meant to make him think he could avoid the next. But he could see the path, and as they drew closer he coated his blades with Umbra. They fell upon him and he charged, aiming not for them but the lines that made them move. He curled and coiled, filling the small spaces, taking split seconds away. He leaped off some and twirled around others, savoring their clatter to the ground. All the while desperation grew on Yellow's face, its eyes betraying confusion and newfound fear. Fear——potential—and it was feeding Ace. He dove toward Yellow as a trident filled its hand. It stabbed and he pushed off of its tip, coming for the knight's throat. It roared, and Ace spun, ripping his blades through it.

“Why? Why? Why? Why?" It mouthed over and over as it hit the ground.

“Because you disgust me. You could save those souls but you let them suffer instead. You watched them grow knowing you'd kill them, and didn't take a moment to hesitate. You aren't a god, you're a jailer trapping them in eternal damnation.” Except, not anymore.

Magenta dropped to Ace’s side. “Become the darkness around it.” It said. “You are a Dark God—an executioner and prison for undeserving light.”

A prison? Ace considered that as darkness fell like webs from his hand. He whipped it over Yellow—head, and body—compressing them down as he did with the orange light before. He was about to pull it into his body when he found his eyes drawn to the scattered souls.

“Is it possible to make it serve them?”

Magenta looked as well. “The darkness is a part of you and it is forevermore trapped. It has no choice but to obey.”

“Then listen.” He spoke to the yellow ball in his hand. “You will show these people out of the darkness. You will take them to where real light shines. This is the only thing I’ll allow you to do.” The ball pulsed with the web. It grew then, forming a glowing yellow body with shackles around its neck and wrist. It looked at them, and then at him with a face that looked too much like his own. Sorrow filled its eyes...No, repentance, and it rose above the mountainside, holding its hands out. Some of the souls glowed bright to match it, but that only made Ace sneer, certain this was another trick.

“Do not fret.” Magenta smiled. “It has started the genesis of this world. Soon, the first few souls shall be reborn, and when they meet and mate they’ll create vessels for those who cannot. In a few thousand years, their population will grow exponentially, and with your order, it will make sure they do not destroy each other. It may be hard fought, but you have given these souls a new future.”

Ace let the fire in his heart die down. He turned to Magenta next, searching its glowing eyes as if he could find the reason for their meeting. They told him nothing but that it was truly impressed, making him exhale with relief, almost certain there was no trap. But its desire still lay in wait. If anything, it was antsy now, finally one step from being sated.

"What do you want from this?" He asked bluntly, not afraid to give what he could.

Magenta looked at the abyss above. “The Home and the Harvest are long gone. When the darkness swallowed us, they thought that they could find their way out if they went far enough. I do not remember how long it has been, but I still remember when I could no longer feel their light. Maybe they were eaten. Maybe they went too far for my memory to reach them. Regardless, they are gone, and I have lived hoping to plant their seed anew. I cannot live forever in darkness though. As I said when you found me, I was close to fading.” It looked at its hands. They were dim, not able to match even Ace’s muted glow. “Even if you carry my memory, I will fade. Unless I can find souls to worship me.”

"And you want me to help you find them?"

It shook its head. “I want to find them myself. I do not want to be like the demons who trick those lost in the darkness. I want to rule as I once did before, but I cannot do so here.” It gestured toward the prison. “However, I know that Dark God’s can move and never fade. The shadows are no threat to you, and I hoped that maybe you could wield yours to protect me.”

Ace could see a cocoon with that thought, or maybe even a rocket. He knew that it was completely within his power, but he couldn't promise Magenta anything good. He couldn't guess how long it had been down here, watching worlds start and end ad infinitum, but he knew it was ignorant of the world above. Maybe it could find souls for worship, but would it want to be worshiped in New York?

“I can help.” He said, nevertheless. “But things aren’t as good as you’re hoping.”

“That’s all right!” Magenta perked up. “I will make an effort to make them good.”

Ace couldn’t help but smile at that. Had this been the first real one since their mission started? He supposed that didn't matter considering how much there was left to do, but he liked this peace. He liked the idea that he could smile again. His gift to Magenta started with him bringing his hands together, feeding a thought to the Umbra. He decided against a rocket, wrapping it in a bubble with strong fins instead. It swam in a circle around him; Magenta inside overflowing with joy. Its sentence was finally over, and he waved it off as its ride rose to the sky. He returned to his old body after that, taking the chest piece and the band. He didn't know what he could do with them but didn't want them going to waste. King might have ideas, after all, and if he still needed more fragments of the God Eternal, he'd want every advantage he could get…