Ash did it. After years of growing up in a backwater village, he had done something no one else in his village had managed. He became an Arcane Knight.
"Suck it, Jermy." Ash muttered. He glanced down at his hands, balling them into a fist. Despite being an official Arcane Knight now, he honestly didn't feel different.He didn't gain some new power-up, spell, or magic item. He was just given a cloak, one with the symbol of Pantheon's guild on it. Despite that, though, he had a new look in his eyes. A massive confidence boost had been gained within him, though. "So what happens now?"
Most of the crowd was shocked that a random commoner had been the first to join the guilds. There were only so many positions that could be filled, and so each time someone became a Knight, it took away a spot. With the number of nobles that were present, none of whom had gone yet, some of them would have had to lose out on a chance this year, which already made many of them annoyed, but for a spot to be filled by a total nobody… That rubbed salt in the wound—a fact Ash noticed, as he had the smuggest smile on his face.
Pretty Face sat upon the gateway, her legs dangling over the side, and she softly hummed. "Well, now that you've passed the test of soul, you're officially a squire for the Pantheon guild." The woman explains. "Your fate is now in your captain's hands. When these exams are all over, a member from his guild will come to fetch you, and you'll be taken to the base. From there, who knows what'll happen? Until then, though, please refrain from leaving this room. Several other people have a chance to be placed into the same guild as you, so it'll be good for you to meet your official teammates."
Ash gave a nod, and he slowly wandered back over to his group. All eyes were on him still, and he fist-bumped Bruno, who was laughing. "Way to go, bro!"
"Obviously, I did it." Ash snorted. "No doubt in my mind."
"You were nervous a few seconds ago," Olivia said flatly, doing her best to copy Davi's usual way of speaking.
Bruno's smile just grew, and he clapped Ash on the back. "I'll be joining you in a moment. Maybe I'll even be placed in the same guild as you, bro!"
"Good luck." Ash gave a nod, and he glanced back at the gate. "The test was… It wasn't what I expected."
"What do you mean?" Ken frowned at his vague remark. "Spill it. What happened?"
Ash softly shook his head, seeming out of it for a moment. "It just talked."
"What?"
"That was it." Ash sighed. "It talked with me. Over and over and over. I don't know how long I was in there, but it asked question after question and quizzed me so much that I thought I was going to snap." He glanced down at his hand, which was shaking. "This test has a fitting name. It forces its way deep into your soul and makes you question things about yourself. In the end, though, I guess I did it. I reached my goal. I'm an Arcane Knight now."
Bruno nodded and patted Ash on the back. "That's right. You did it. I'm proud of you."
Olivia also smiled and nodded. "Way to go, Ash."
Ash's face flushed a bit, and he stared at the ground, unable to meet either of their gazes. "Whatever. You two just hurry up and pass."
"You two?" Olivia gave a cheeky smirk. "So you think I'm going to become a Knight as well now?"
Ash growled, but before he could say anything else, Pretty Face began to go down her list of names once more. All of the nobles were somewhere in the middle. The first branch family was the Helios clan, which obviously started with 'H', and the Knight just now got to the 'B' group, so it was still going to take a bit of time before any nobles stepped up for their turn.
Now that new people were entering the gateway, attention had finally shifted off of Ash, and everyone focused on the doorway. Again and again, new people entered only to leave defeated and depressed, with no guild. Five went, then ten, then fifteen, and finally, on the twenty-second name, someone else finally entered and exited with a symbol.
It was a young woman with long black hair and green eyes. She was rather pretty, even for a commoner, and when she entered the gateway, she looked confident. As she exited, though, that look was totally shattered.
The others had stepped out looking depressed or defeated, but as she came out of the gate, she looked like she was full of terror. It wasn't shocking either, for she had on a small black cloak that had golden threading imbued into it, showing off the symbol of a bird made of fire.
A squire for Phoenix Flight had been selected.
Instantly, the girl was screaming and crying, which caught everyone else off guard before they noticed the cloak around her neck.
Pretty Face winced slightly. "Oh, Phoenix Flight, huh? Well, you can either stay or—"
The girl was already ripping the cloak off her and threw it to the ground. She was still crying and screaming as she ran out of the stadium, leaving an ominous silence behind.
Pretty Face awkwardly sat there watching the girl leave. "As a reminder, if you end up in a guild you don't like, you are allowed to quit instantly."
That didn't help the mutterings that spread through the crowd.
"This is bullshit. Without votes, we all have a chance to end up in that cursed guild."
"That girl took another spot as well! There are only so many positions! Phoenix Flight shouldn't even be allowed to be picked!"
"We're all dead if we end up in it!"
"What do we do?"
"You quit, obviously!"
Olivia folded her arms and shook her head. "Talk about unlucky. It's got to be bad enough watching the other commoners all fail, but to be the second one to pass only to end up in the cursed guild. That poor girl."
"She was screaming a lot." Bruno gave a nervous laugh. "I know Phoenix Flight isn't ideal, but is it worth that reaction?"
Ken snorted. "That girl was pathetic. If she can't handle a little bad luck or superstition, then she simply isn't deserving of being in a guild."
Irene frowned at Ken's words but decided not to say anything to the crazy, strong lady with a short temper. "Hopefully, more people will begin to pass. I'm getting nervous hearing so many failures."
"I hope Davi shows up soon as well." Olivia sighed. "He's running out of time. What the hell could he be doing that's more important than this?"
More names came after that as Pretty Face moved up the alphabet. Again, none were nobles, and all but one failed. The one that passed was another commoner. A boy Olivia recognized. He was dressed in long robes and a sort of boxy head and had black hair. It was the metal mage she had stabbed during the first exam. When he exited the gateway, he was draped in a green and pink cloak that had the outline of a tree on it.
"Looks like we got a member of the Oak Watchers!" Pretty Face whistled as the man looked down at his hands, which were still shaking a bit. "Congratulations."
"Looks like two commoners made it." Ash hummed and gave a nod of approval. Olivia, meanwhile, did her best to hide behind Ken, hoping the man wouldn't look her way.
Some people, mostly the commoners, clapped for the metal-mage, while the nobles scowled that yet another spot was taken. There were a few more names called after that, and once again, another person stepped out with the cloak of Phoenix Flight. Like the last girl, this person tossed it on the ground and ran away, screaming and crying.
Finally, though, Pretty Face reached the letter 'H'. "Davi Hawker."
Rowan suddenly paid attention, as did his two maids. Over with Olivia and her group, they all also grew tense. The commoners who had cheered him on in the fight with Rowan, and the nobles who had also watched the battle, grew tense. Cain placed a hand on his sword almost out of instinct, and Ruby bit her thumb. Everyone waited, but nothing happened.
Pretty Face raised an eyebrow. "I said, Davi Hawker?" Again, nothing. No one approached. "Davi? Hawker? Davi Hawker? Anyone there? It's your turn?"
Ash face-palmed. "Oh my Haru, he's about to miss it."
"Ken, anything from your spirit?" Olivia asked hesitantly.
"We're close, but we're not physically bonded." Ken chuckled. "If Yujin found him, I'd have no idea until Yujin showed up."
"Anyone got his phone number?" Bruno laughed awkwardly.
Up with Pretty Face, she frowned as no one approached. "Davi Hawker." She tried one last time before grunting. "Alright then. I guess he decided to forfeit. We'll move on to the next—"
Loud, blaring music suddenly pierced the air. It was booming and caused everyone's head to jerk up. That was when they saw him. Davi was standing on the ledge of one of the open floors that went up along the stadium. He had his arms casually in his pockets, and around his neck was a pair of headphones that were connected to a cassette player he had hanging off his belt. The music was on full blast, allowing everyone below him to hear the heavy-metal rock song he had playing. Fire also danced around him, as Yujin had now taken on the form of a long serpent and wrapped around Davi's neck, looking as if he had a scarf made of fire. Shadows danced along his hands and arms, his gauntlet and boots already formed from his armor as he stepped off the ledge.
Davi rammed into the ground, the bits of his armor he had on absorbing and negating the impact, and he fully stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm here."
Olivia and the others all blinked, taken aback by the sudden interest. Ken was the first one to speak up. "Did he wait till the last moment on purpose so he could make an entrance?"
"It's Davi," Olivia sighed. "There's no point to wondering what goes through his head." She smiled softly and giggled. "I'm just glad he made it on time."
Davi's armor faded, and he began to walk forward as the snake around him unwrapped and flew back to Ken. All eyes were locked onto him now, and more mutters were going through the crowd. None of them were good. Pretty Face looked amused as he finally stood in front of the gate.
"So, I was busy doing someone. What exactly did I miss?" Davi called up.
"You mean doing something?"
"No."
"Oh? Oh!" Pretty Face shook her head, processing what she had just heard. "Long story short, step through this gate. You either end up in a guild or you don't."
"That's it?" Davi frowned.
"That's it. What? Don't believe me?" The woman asked innocently.
"Not even for a second." Davi reached out and hesitantly touched the gate. His hand went through the light and vanished on the other side. It was strangely warm. Not hot, warm. It felt soothing and familiar as well. "Here goes nothing." Davi took a deep breath and stepped forward.
He was greeted by a familiar sight. The gateway pulled him in, light wrapping around him, and the warmth grew, rising up and becoming slightly hot now. His eyes burned as everything was bathed in white, and tendrils of holy fire twisted around his arms and legs just as the shadowy hands would do in his vault.
He was in a blank void now, and it was like the total opposite of his shadow vault, being pure white instead of pitch black. Within the void of nothingness, a wellspring of colors suddenly began to appear all around. They were tiny and took on the form of orbs, no bigger than a golf ball, and each one shone with its own intensity and color. The orbs connected and fused, stacking on top of one another and becoming what looked like a massive strand of DNA.
More DNA strands appeared, all jutting outward from something in the center as if they were arms. It was a core, one that blazed with a never-ending wave of energy, that created this vast, infinite void so it could connect and view all that came within its grasp.
It was the same sight he had seen when he first used the grimoire. This was the core of the king. Just as when he first used the app, the strands of DNA tightly embraced him, and he was dragged over to the core. This time, there was a deep rumble, and the void itself seemed to shake.
"Davi Hawker, son of Orion Hawker, son of Titania Midsummer, child of the Abyss, welcome back." The voice, unlike last time, was a lot more gentle and soothing. In fact, this time his body really didn't hurt at all, and he wasn't burning up like the first time he had been here.
Davi remained suspended in the void, the DNA still binding him in place. He waited for the core to speak or do something, but it didn't. It just left him standing there. "So," Davi trailed off awkwardly. "Am I supposed to fight you?"
"You could." The voice was slow, as if a teacher were trying to explain a concept to a child. "Of course, you would die in an instant."
"That's fair." Davi hummed. "Then what is this test?"
"It is the test of the soul."
"And what does that mean?"
"What do you think it means?" The core asked.
"I don't know." Davi shrugged. "I don't usually think things through unless it comes to a plan. Can you just tell me what I need to do?"
"Who are you?"
Davi frowned at the question. "You said my name; you know who I am. You know of my parents as well. Clearly, you know me."
"Yes, I know the you that I am looking at, but not the you of tomorrow or the day after." The core mused. "I have seen all that you have and all that you are, and I wonder, does Davi Hawker know who Davi Hawker is?"
"Davi Hawker is getting pissed with all these questions," Davi responded in his usual flat tone.
Two strands of DNA lifted up and brought themselves before his eyes. One began to mold and break apart, black and gold shimmering around it, as it suddenly turned into what looked almost like a card. On the surface of the card was the golden outline of a young boy who was sitting next to an older man, the two of them fishing. Words appeared at the bottom of it saying, 'The Child Who Loved To Fish'.
A second card formed out of the other strand of DNA. This card only had a single figure on it. A suit of rusty armor, kneeling, totally defeated, clutching a shattered sword, yet it still tried to stand up. Writing twisted down at the bottom. 'The Warrior Of Spite'.
Davi's eyes traced both cards in confusion, and the core spoke up once more. "This test exists to judge you. To see who you are and what it is you can do and will do. It is my job to see if you are worthy of becoming an Arcane Knight and if the Paths that you can walk are ones destined for greatness. How will your story turn out? Who is Davi Hawker? Who will he become tomorrow? Who do you consider yourself to be now? Who were you in the past?"
Davi looked between the two cards, and his look changed slightly, almost bitter or full of pity. "So one card is my past and the other is my present?"
"If that is how you view it." The core hummed softly. "At one point, there was a boy. One who was born out of wedlock. His father used to be a great general and a master swordsman but let greed and misfortune destroy his life. His mother was unlucky. Cursed by what she found and forever altered and twisted. She took up the forbidden blade in an effort to make those who made her suffer pay. This child was born with a sword in their hand, trained by both father and mother, who only craved a weapon that they could use to get revenge with one day. Despite this, though, the child did not like holding a sword. They despised violence and hated the thought of having to draw blood. When left alone, they would fish. They would find joy in that, and it was something they learned from their father. Something they liked far more than swordplay. The father would see the light and discover his son was unfit for the blade, but his mother, who was bitter and full of anger, would refuse, and so he was still forced to train and fight. The child put up with it because it meant they got to spend time with their father, and unknown to the mother, the father would take his son out to the lake over and over, and they'd spend all day fishing."
"Are you trying to sum up my life story?" Davi demanded bitterly. He had been listening in silence, but now he was getting mad.
The golden card of the child and the man fishing ignited. White flames ate away at it, reducing it to dust, and the core went on, moving to the second card. "In this moment, there is a man. One who is full of hatred for himself and for the thing that hurt him. One who has become like his mother and allowed the bitterness to rot away at his soul. One who walks forward, not because he himself can do anything, but because he has nothing else to do. This man has run out of reasons to give up. He is a machine. One who obeys the final orders instilled into him by his parents. He hunts the thing that hurt him, and he saves people because he can't save himself. He looks like a Knight, but there is no honor to be had. He is a warrior, one of spite who will bring about an end. Rather, that is an end to himself or to the monster he chases; that remains to be seen."
The second card lit up and burned away into ash just as the first one did. Davi gritted his teeth, and he flared his mana out, trying to break free of the strands that were around him. There were no shadows within this hell, as everything was so bright it destroyed any chance his magic had. He still possessed his raw power, though.
"Can you just hurry up and get to the point on why we're here?" Davi demanded.
The core flared a bit, almost in annoyance, and more DNA strands lifted up, some wrapping around Davi to hold him in place. "Why do you want to be an Arcane Knight?" It didn't ask, and instead, this time it demanded.
"You've seen who I am and everything I've done; you know the answer to that." Davi's eyes narrowed as he stared into the ball of light. "I have no desire to be a Knight. This is a path forced on me."
"Why do you want to be an Arcane Knight?" The orb ordered again.
"I don't!" Davi hissed out. "Sieg always wanted to be one, but I never cared for this group. He was the one always talking about them so that he could get back at Dad. There's only one thing I care about, and it's killing the dragon. I'm only taking this test because I'm forced to. I was stupid and arrogant, and I allowed myself to be caught by Gray, and he beat me. If I don't become a Knight, I'll be thrown away in prison, but to be honest, I don't care about that." Davi shook his head. "I know I can escape, and I'll get right back to doing what I'm meant to do. I'll kill that dragon no matter what."
"Why do you want to be an Arcane Knight?"
"You're not listening to me at all, are you?" Davi sighed.
One of the strands of DNA came up and suddenly pressed into his chest as if the orb were poking him. "It is you who is not listening, Mr. Hawker." It said gently. "Indeed, your goal to kill the dragon has not wavered, and you still hold a deep desire for that, and yet you haven't run away. You remained here, taking these tests and giving it your all."
"That's because Gray said I wouldn't be able to be on the run again."
"Since when did you trust the word of Gray?" The core pondered. "Moments ago, you said if you were thrown in the prison, you would find a way to escape. Wouldn't that mean you're on the run again?"
"Well—"
"Why do you assume you could escape Nightshade, the mage's prison, but not escape Rose City? If you wanted to run, you could have, yet you didn't. You stayed put. You, who claims he only wants to hunt the dragon, nothing more, nothing less, did more and did less. You showed skill, you showed knowledge, and you showed courage. You, who says he doesn't care to join the Knights, set up plans to have the attention focused on you. You gave it your all and even went beyond. So, I will ask once more, why? Why would you do all of that? Why would you go through all of that pain? Why do you want to join the Arcane Knights?"
Davi's shoulders sagged a bit. He went to say something but stopped and closed his mouth. He floated there in the void, trying to think, and finally he let out a tired sigh. "I still don't want to join the Knights. That said, there's someone I know who does." Davi looked back up at the orb. "I want to see her reach her goal."
The core let out another loud hum, and its colors all shimmered and flickered again as if it seemed to agree with this answer. "Do you think you would make a good Knight?"
"Absolutely not." Davi let out a snort. "You know it as well as I do. You've seen my memories. I might be a warrior, but I'm not a Knight."
"A warrior who wears armor, who saves people without thinking, who strives to do better, who keeps pushing forward—that sounds like a Knight to me."
"Knights are full of chivalry." Davi shook his head. "I'm not."
"Are you a good person?"
"Again, you've seen my memories. You tell me."
"Do you view yourself more as a person or a sword?"
"Whatever kills the dragon. I can be the person who swings the sword or the sword itself; it doesn't matter to me."
"I see. And what about being a shield?"
"Yeah, I guess if I were a shield, I could be bashed into the dragon hard enough to kill it."
"What do you think of Estiria?" The orb asked.
"I don't like it," Davi admitted in a bland tone. He made a face and shrugged. "To be honest, the nobles are dicks, the Knights have beaten me up and looked at me funnily, I haven't found any cool loot in the dungeons of this kingdom, it has so many issues that keep popping up in all the towns and villages, and everyone seems entitled until they get their asses kicked, and even the commoners are mean bastards."
"Would you ever try to fight the Estiria kingdom?"
"If they tried to fight me or got in my way, yeah."
"Would you ever support the Estiria kingdom?"
"Again, I would if they helped me or backed me, yeah. I'd do anything to get close to the dragon." Davi grunted.
"You claim you don't like it or its people, yet you constantly save as many of its citizens as you can?"
"They needed my help. It doesn't matter what I think of them; if they need aid and I can offer it, shouldn't I?" Davi questioned. "It has nothing to do with where they're from. I'd do the same no matter what land I'm in. That's just the way my father taught me."
"Would you offer this help to a kingdom itself? If Estiria was in need and you could do something to save its people, would you?"
"If I saw it happening in front of my eyes, and my body had the ability to do something, but I chose to do nothing, I'd hate myself more than I already do."
More flashing lights came from the orb, and it jiggled and twitched slightly. "So you claim you're not a good person, yet you would offer help simply because you can? Just as how you refused to admit to wanting to become a Knight, could it not also be true that you would make a good Knight and are, in fact, a good person?"
Davi frowned softly and pondered the words. "I don't think so. Yeah, you view my actions as good, but does that make them good? A good person can do bad, and a bad person can do good. If a person saves someone's life, does that make them inherently a good person? What about someone who accidentally kills someone else? I save people because it's what I was taught to do. I don't do it to be good or to actually help them. I get frustrated and annoyed, in fact. I only do it because my father told me to. A child who takes the trash out on time because his dad told him to isn't suddenly more responsible or well-behaved. The child who does it without having to be told is the real good kid."
"Lessons are meant to be instilled and followed." The core raised its DNA arms up, and they began to shift into more cards. "You still walk this path even without your father telling you to. What I'm really curious about, though, is which path you will end up on. We've seen your past, we've seen your present, now let's look at the future. One that is ever-changing."
Unlike the previous moment, where two cards were made, dozens formed, and more kept coming. Each was gold with some sort of symbol on it and words carved at the bottom.
The first one showed an armored Knight standing on the corpse of a dragon. 'Dragon Slayer' was carved in the bottom. The second showed two men, two brothers, fishing at a lake. "A Man Who Loves To Fish'. A third had the armored figure again, but his body was sliced to bits, and he was dead. 'The Corpse'. After that was a card of the Knight's body twisted and malformed, their entire body compressing down into a weapon. 'The sword'. Another one showed the Knight standing atop a city, with his sword raised high and people cheering him on. 'The hero'. The next one was the same scene, but the people were dead, and the Knight held a severed head up, jagged horns jutting from his head. 'The demon'.
More kept coming, flashing faster and faster. The Knight standing all alone, the Knight without his armor, wearing flowing robes and holding a staff, the Knight as an old man dying peacefully in his sleep, the Knight's body twisted and mutated into a horrible monster, the Knight slitting his own throat, the Knight drowning himself in alcohol, the Knight—
Over and over and over, the cards kept coming, future after future after future. Paths upon paths. It was a never-ending sea.
"So." The core spoke. "Which do you think will be your—"
"This one." Davi grabbed the card that had him killing the dragon. "I'm going to be a Dragon Slayer, no matter what."
The core seemed to let out a sigh, and its colors faded slightly. "I see. Besides that, though? Do any of these cards resonate with you? There will come a time when you come back here. A moment in your life when you'll see a road with all these paths, and yet only one can be walked. Which do you think you'll pick in your final moments? What gift do you think you'll be given?"
Davi looked at the many cards, and most of them blended together. He held the Dragon Slayer card close to his chest, but eventually his other hand reached out and he grabbed another card. "This one." He said. "I'd like to pick this one."
Unlike the others, it didn't show a Knight. Instead, it had the outline of a bird. A hawk whose wings were spread wide as it flew through the sky. 'The One Who Is Free'.
"Ah, of course. That one." The DNA strands began to wrap around him once again, and Davi was pulled closer to the core. "I should have known. Yes… I can work with this. Very well. Davi Hawker, son of Orion Hawker, son of Titania Midsummer, child of the Abyss, I embrace you. Welcome, my Knight."
Davi winced as he was forced entirely into the core, and he drowned in a sea of white. Then, suddenly, he saw something. A flicker of blue, as a box appeared before his face.
'Congratulations! You have passed the test of the soul! You are now a squire. Your guild is being selected… After reviewing the results of your four tests, the king has decided which guild is best suited for you.'
Davi blinked as color faded back in, and he stepped out of the gateway. He heard the gasps all around him, and everyone was staring at him before some began to laugh. Wrapped around his neck was a cloth. It was black and had the outline of a bird on it.
'Davi Hawker, you have been selected as the newest member of the Phoenix Flight guild.'