"Prestige, huh?" The entire concept was new to Riven. The only way he knew how to prestige was by leveling up — but even that didn't fix the glaring hole.
"There's no way for you to prestige, at least not now. Maybe if I coax my dad into training, that might work."
"No, it won't be fast enough. But there is a way we could do it tonight."
Riven was confused by Luka's words. "The key — remember? It was a dungeon that could definitely help me prestige."
"Yeah, but—"
"No, Riven," a small voice commanded.
"Jordy?"
"Riven, the key… it's definitely not something you guys can take on. The level requirement is at least level 100."
"100+?" Riven yelled, catching Luka off guard.
"What's going on?" the green-haired boy asked as Riven added Luka to the party, turning the system on for him so he could see and hear the pixelated boy.
"Level 100?" Luka had the same reaction as Riven. "Why would you give them this so early then?"
"It wasn't me, it was the system!" Jordy defended himself.
"Sorry, you're right… but no. I'll still take it on."
"Luka, you can't. We don't know what might happen. Maybe if one of us goes in, it'll drag us all in — and the one thing that will most definitely happen is you'll die."
"Then when, Riven?" Luka shot up, jumping down the stairs. "When we're all at 100? That might take months or even a year! Riven, that whole talk with my father was him saying I need to take chances."
"Even if those chances could kill all of us? You need to think about someone other than yourself," Riven said, standing up. He didn't want to yell, didn't want to wake the neighbors or attract attention from everyone in the house, so he told Luka they'd finish this in the hall — to the boy's chagrin — but Luka still entered anyway.
"Now, like I said, you need to think about more than just you. I get your dedication to getting stronger, but—"
"Do you?" Luka cut him off. "Riven, when have you ever wanted something? You got both your parents, your father's rich, and you have the best ability known to mankind — yet you waste it. You have no motivation. You have everything."
"Everything? Everything?" Riven was getting louder. "I lost my older sister, you ass! I was powerless and scared and didn't know what to do!"
"So you bottled it up instead of using it as motivation. All you did was sit on your ass!"
"Because there's no way — even with power — I can't get her back! I can't go up against a family!"
"Then build branches," Luka said, calming himself. "Riven, you need people by your side — friends, family. Even with your great ability, you'll still need help. You'll need people who you can trust and whose goals align with yours. So I'll ask you this, Riven… what is your goal?"
Riven clenched his fist, then let his hand dangle after a while.
"I want to put my family back together. I will put my family back together — even if that means going against the four great families themselves. My family will be one again. So now I'll ask you this — how does your goal align with mine?"
"I wanna get my family out of the walls. Nothing more, nothing less." But Riven could see there was more.
"There's more. Tell me what it is."
Luka closed his eyes, clenching his fist.
"I wanna remove it. Not just the walls — this whole system. The fact that some kids need to get jobs just to support their family and help their parents pay taxes, and even then, some parents leave their kids to fend for themselves, forcing them to sell themselves to the army because they have no other choice in life… It's cruel and wrong. It doesn't need to change — it needs to be torn down."
"That's what I like to hear," Riven said, then put out his hand for a handshake. Luka met his hand.
"So does this mean we're doing the dungeon?"
"Well, first of all, it's a raid, not a dungeon — at least I'm pretty sure — but yes. We will. But we're gonna need some help."
"The others?" Luka questioned. "But you said this was a risk to them. I don't know if they'd want to take it, plus my sister's in the crowd. I don't want her hurt or, God forbid, killed. What's the point of fighting if you're losing the things you're fighting for?"
"You're right — this is above all of us. So we need a person who's above us. And your words inspired me, Luka. We need to share my power with others we trust — and I trust three people the most in this: my mother, Jordan, and—"
"Your dad," Luka realized.
"Exactly."
"But he's not an evolver. Are you sure he can enter?"
"I don't know. He did make it seem like resonance is basically what people can gain instead of an ability — so maybe resonance can count as one."
"Hey, you might be right."
Back in the house, everyone was having a grand time sharing stories and laughing.
"Wait, so you're telling me this entire thing started because you ratted on him for not having a job?" Leo said, laughing.
"Pretty much," Jordan chuckled.
But all the talking stopped as they heard the back door open and saw two boys coming through.
"Riven, Luka — there you guys are," Leo called out, but the two didn't answer or even wave. They just walked toward the two adults in the room.
"Mom, Dad," Riven called for his parents' attention — which he received. "I need to tell you guys something. Something that I should've told you before."
"Oh, Riven, we already knew," Candice said as she gave her son a hug. "You're gay."
"Gravity isn't my true ability."
They said in unison, both confused.
"What?"
"Mom, you thought I was gay?"
"Well, you used to be a loner, and now you go out and come back with a boy, so I thought—"
"Mom, I'm not gay! And you guys, shut up!" Riven snapped at the group of teens who were snickering and laughing at his mother's assumption.
"Riven," Kaden walked up, "what did you mean by gravity isn't your true ability?"
Riven then started to explain everything — how he first got the system and how it worked. He explained the key, the werewolf, and the fact that he had no choice but to make Leo one to save lives from a beast. But he still lied — saying nothing about the Storm Guild or the different worlds, only claiming all the beasts they ran into came from the attack on the dorm at Sigil Gate Academy.
"That's a lot, son," Kaden said, now understanding. "I'm glad you shared this with me and your mother. But I can also see why you kept it a secret. If word gets out about this ability, you could become a lab rat — with people wanting to know how your ability works, how they can use it, or they might straight-up try to kill you, Riven." Kaden squeezed his son's shoulder. "Your ability is more than enough to rival the great families at it's fullest potential. But you don't give off the vibe of someone who wants to be treated like a king, nor do you have the leadership. So why do you want to grow?"
"I want to bring my family back together."
Kaden knew exactly what he meant.
"With this power, you said it yourself — I have the ability to surpass all of the families. But truthfully, that's too much work, especially since I need to get those I trust — otherwise, they might just rat on me. So all I want is the Zale family… and my sister."
"But Riven, you do know if you try to get her, it might cause the others in the Black Halo to strike as well. You need to keep these thoughts in mind — especially since you're most likely going to meet her again at the capital. Make sure emotions don't get the best of you."
Riven didn't care — but he knew if he was outmatched, he'd have to hold off on getting her back. Still, he wanted to see her again.
"But that's why I need to grow. The system promised great gains for this. Right now, none of us can fight — but you can, Dad. I know you can," Riven said.
"I'm in," Kaden replied without hesitation.
"Whoa, I know your father is strong, but you could fight things like beasts — and your father isn't an evolver," Candice said, not understanding why Riven wanted his father to go with them.
"Are you going to tell her, or should I?" Riven asked, looking at his father.
Kaden sighed. "Since we're letting out secrets…" He then started to explain what happened to him when he left for two months — giving a rough explanation of what resonance was.
"And how long have you kept this a secret?"
"Years."
Kaden looked down in shame — and then felt himself get swept off his feet and land on his butt as water formed into a ball in front of him. Candice opened her palm, pouring the water onto him.
"We will talk about this later," she said firmly, not wanting to make a bigger scene in front of everyone.
"Understandable. But we found that evolvers can learn resonance and—"
"No, that's wrong," Riven cut off his father. "It was the system that allowed us to learn resonance. Well, more like it was Jordy."
"Jordy?" Kaden asked, standing up and shaking his hair.
"Yeah. This was the person who was going to be the most awkward and difficult to explain. First, let's see if we can actually add you to the system."
Riven then pulled up the system and added his mother first — the easiest since she was an evolver. When he looked at his father, he saw the invite button. Once he clicked it, a notification popped up:
[System: A pure resonator has been added to your party. These resonators have limited access to the system. They can't gain another ability since they never had one, but they do have access to things personal to them.]
Even though he didn't have full access, Riven could allow his father to see the system interface — though he couldn't interact with it. He could also see a little pixelated boy laying on a bed, sleeping.
"Meet Jordy," Riven smiled, then explained how Jordy came to be.
"My poor baby," their mother said as she held the system like it was a child.
"He's resting now, so you should probably wait until he wakes up," Riven said with an annoyed smile. When did this ass have time to go to sleep? he thought. Wait a minute…
"So when do we leave?" Harkel questioned, fully on board.
"Now. We leave now," Luka said, stepping outside.
"Is he okay?" Kira asked, unsure what was going through her brother's mind.
"Yeah, he'll be alright. So, Dad — you done?"
"Yeah, let's go." Kaden felt ashamed for not telling his wife the truth but knew that if he wanted his son's goal completed, he needed to do this.
Everyone walked out the door, even though a lot of them voiced their concerns.
"This is crazy. Yes, I can admit, Riven — your father is strong. But are you sure we can do this, even with him?" Wren said. She didn't like that her life could be in danger if their guess was wrong.
"Then stay," Luka replied. "We're not making any of you go. Stay here if you're scared or if you just don't want to risk your lives. It's okay. Wren, Nico, Harkel, Tessa, Leo — all of your parents are either adventurers or don't need to work because they hold high positions in the world. We don't get to have that luxury."
"Hey, Luka," Jordan tried to stop him but was stopped by his father.
"No. Let this happen. If you want a perfect group, you need to let cracks form and fix themselves."
"My parents have to work their asses off just to make it by. I feel so ashamed of myself for making them work this hard for me. If I want them to be better, I need to get stronger. So, those who don't want or need strength — you can just stay back." Luka then walked away.
Riven tossed the green-haired boy a red key as he entered the hall, closing the door behind him.
"He's okay, you said," Kira said, looking at Riven.
Riven closed the door, standing in front of it.
"Like Luka said — we won't force you to go. You can stay here and go back to the house with my mother. But those who go through this door — make your choice."
Riven then walked through the door, with Jordan and Kaden quickly following after him. Harkel stood up and went as well, but stopped and looked at the others hesitating.
"Look, I know you guys might be scared. We don't know what we might be up against, but they do have a point — if you want something in this world, you need to get stronger. Some of you might not know what you're getting stronger for, but nothing hurts to try. All I know is I have my purpose — now think and ask what is yours." Harkel then walked into the hall.
Jude, Leo, Skye, and Joey followed. Joey was the last one, so he decided to do the same thing Harkel did — give a speech.
"Wren and Nico — you guys may not like it, but you can't ignore the fact that Riven and the system are one of the only reasons we're still alive. At least put some trust in him and his decision-making." Joey then walked through, and the two girls soon followed.
"I'm surprised you actually came," Riven said with a smirk as the two girls were shocked by the bright red portal behind everyone.
Wren started rubbing her neck. "Look, Luka, I didn't mean to offend you or your family, if I did." She held out her hand, and Luka shook it.
"No, you didn't. I just lost it — and I needed someone to get my frustration out on. Sorry," Luka said.
"Well, now all we're missing is one," Kaden said, looking at Luka.
"Yeah, I'll talk to her," Luka replied, walking out.
Kira stood there alone. Her fists were balled up, but as she was going to go up the stairs, her brother's hands clasped on her shoulders.
"It's okay. I know you're scared — you've always been fragile like that. I don't blame you. I'm scared as well."
"But why are you still doing it?" Kira's eyes started to water.
"Because I have to — for you and for them. You don't have to risk your life for this. Who knows, you might level up even without being there. Don't force yourself, okay?"
"Okay," she replied as she started to walk toward the house, then waved at her brother.
"Okay, let's go," Luka said with excitement and anticipation.
Back in the house, Kira sat cursing herself. "You coward. You can obviously see your brother trying to fight for you and your family — so why can't you do the same?" Kira cried, but soon stopped as she heard the sound of retching. She knew she wasn't alone in the house. "Ms. Harlow, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good," Candice replied, leaning over a toilet.
"It's just — all of this is pretty stressful. My son could become a big target, but he's doing it for the right reasons. But then there's Kaden, who lied to me. He betrayed my trust, but I can see why he didn't want me to know. That man loves suffering in silence."
"Tell me about it," Kira said, unable to disagree.
"And now, knowing we're practically rich but still living in a place like this — it just puts a lot of stress on us."
"Wait, us?" Kira asked, confused — until she saw Candice holding her stomach. Putting two and two together, her eyes widened. "You're pregnant!" she yelled.
"Dang, let everyone in the wall know," Candice chuckled.
"For how long?"
"About five months."
"Five months? But I barely see anything different."
"Me and you both," Candice said — then suddenly started to hurl, though she held it back.
"I'm surprised Riven or Jordan never mentioned this."
"Probably because they don't know — neither does Kaden."
"What? You never told them? Why?"
Candice couldn't hold it anymore and puked into the toilet. Kira had seen plenty of colors — green, yellow, orange, even black — all with some remnants of food inside. But when Candice threw up, it was nothing but pure white. And something else — there was no smell. Normally, vomit made others gag, but this had no odor. On the contrary, Kira felt a wave of energy from it. After Candice was done, she started coughing.
"That's why."
"What was that, Ms. Harlow?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. It's from the baby — I know it is. I've never thrown up like this, not even when I had Riven and Jordan. But I'm scared to tell him. Scared to go to the doctors too. Who knows what they might do to my baby. But the fact that I'm scared to tell my husband — I'm a coward."
Kira's eyes widened.
She walked up to the kneeling woman. "We're both cowards. How about we keep each other company, hm?"
"Yeah," Candice smiled softly. "I'd like that.