The Aspirants formed a line before the massive Wheel, and Dick found himself at the very back. He still didn't understand what Particles were, only that the Wheel would grant him some sort of power.
The others seemed deeply invested in which one they'd receive.
Dick didn't care in the slightest.
"I hope I get a healing affinity!" a girl squealed.
Summer caught the girl's flailing arms and grinned. "That would be so cool! I'm hoping for a light affinity!"
Their excitement drew murmurs and chatter throughout the line. The more the others discussed the Wheel, the more Dick found himself… curious.
So the Wheel grants magical powers… though it seems you can only gain one affinity.
But his thoughts darkened a moment later.
Please give me something useless. Something this body won't be able to use.
A sudden gust of wind whipped his black hair. Evalyn's voice rang out across the platform. She stood beside the Wheel, her hand gripping one of its massive golden pegs.
"Okay, step forward!" she called.
Summer approached, trembling with excitement. The Wheel loomed over her like a monument to fate, easily over a hundred feet tall.
"You know what to do," Evalyn said.
Summer nodded, grasped one of the lower pegs, then paused, closing her eyes in concentration.
Dick tilted his head. How the hell is she going to spin that thing?
Then the air stirred. Wind gathered at her feet, swirling faster until her cloak and blonde hair whipped around like banners in a storm. The gale died down just as suddenly, and the center of the Wheel began to glow with radiant gold.
A boom shook the platform as the Wheel shifted and began to spin on its own.
It turned slowly at first, then faster, until colors blurred into a dizzying whirl. The Aspirants held their breath. Summer's legs trembled, her fists clenched tight.
Tick… tick… tick.
The Wheel came to a stop on a pure white segment. The symbols etched there flared brilliantly, then faded.
"Light Affinity! Congratulations!"
The Aspirants broke into applause. Even Dick clapped once or twice.
Summer threw her fists into the air and screamed with delight before stepping aside.
One by one, the Aspirants approached the Wheel. Dick watched twelve more receive their powers—fire, water, earth, even time. Most cheered. Some wept with relief.
Then it was his turn.
"Your turn, foreigner," Evalyn said sweetly.
Dick hesitated, then stepped forward until the enormous Wheel towered over him. Its surface pulsed faintly, alive with shifting colors.
"How exactly does this work?" he asked.
Evalyn tapped her lips. "Ah, right! This Wheel was forged from the remains of a living Island. When you touch it, the Island's Particles will pour into you. You'll let them settle inside, then return them to the Wheel, and it will choose your perfect match!"
Dick recalled how the others had done it: that pause, the brief stillness before the Wheel began to turn.
Evalyn's expression suddenly dimmed. "But there's one small difference…" Her voice dropped to a near whisper. "Unlike the others, whose Particles lay dormant inside them, you… have none."
Dick's face didn't change. "So, I can't get an affinity then?"
Evalyn smiled sadly. "Oh, you can. But it will hurt like nothing you've ever felt before."
He gave a dry laugh. "That's fine."
Then, without another word, he gripped one of the Wheel's pegs.
I deserve it anyway.
At first, nothing happened.
Then tiny orbs of light began to form out of thin air, shimmering like molten dust motes. They hovered, then swarmed toward him, circling his feet in a glowing spiral.
This isn't so bad…
Then they touched him.
The scream tore itself from his throat before he could stop it. Thousands of Particles forced their way into his flesh like molten needles. His veins lit up from within, white-hot fire racing through his body.
His bones groaned, cracking, reforging. His muscles burned away, then rebuilt themselves from light. Every cell felt as if it were being stripped apart and reborn.
It wasn't pain. It was obliteration.
Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped.
The light dimmed. The orbs vanished. The air stilled.
Dick stood trembling, smoke curling from his skin, his chest heaving. He raised his shaking hand, watching faint streams of golden energy pulse just beneath his skin.
And then—
Tick… tick… tick…
The Wheel of Fate began to turn.
Dick's eyes widened as the Wheel slowed… and clicked to a stop.
Blue.
The section glowed like a piece of sky torn from the heavens. Strange symbols flared briefly across it, twisting into shapes he couldn't begin to read. Then they faded.
"Congratulations!" Evalyn's voice rang out. "Water Affinity!"
Muffled, fake cheers erupted from the line of Aspirants. Dick stood motionless amid the noise.
Water.
He stared down at his hands.
"Damn," he muttered under his breath. "That's kind of lame."
He barely had time to finish the thought before the sky itself answered.
A sound like a splitting mountain rolled overhead. Heads snapped upward in unison as the clouds above the arena tore apart, peeled back as if by invisible hands.
Through the widening gap, two ribbons of light spiraled downward. One burned black as pitch, edges fraying like smoke. The other glimmered green, vibrant and pulsing like a heartbeat.
They coiled around each other as they fell, streaking straight toward the platform.
A blinding radiance flooded the arena. The Aspirants threw up their arms against the glare, but Dick didn't move.
He just stared.
Why are they coming right for me?
Before the thought had even finished forming, the lights struck.
They hit him with immense force, swallowing him whole. The world went white. For an instant, every sound vanished. Then the ribbons pierced through his chest and disappeared inside him, merging not with flesh, but something deeper.
His soul.
And yet… he felt nothing.
When the light faded, smoke curled from the stone beneath his feet. The others stared at him in stunned silence. Evalyn stepped forward slowly, all trace of her playful composure gone.
"It seems," she breathed, "we have two blessings this year."
She raised her hand high.
"The God of Death and the Goddess of Nature have chosen to bless this outerworlder!"
The remaining Aspirants gasped. Even Summer stared, mouth slightly open.
Dick, meanwhile, scratched at his cheek, more puzzled than awed. After a moment, he raised his hand like a bored student.
Evalyn's gaze flicked to him. "Yes?"
He blinked. "What does that even mean?"
Her sigh cut through the noise. "A blessing is an ability granted by a god or goddess to a Deviant. This year's Ceremony was held under the eyes of the God of Death and the Goddess of Nature…" A smirk touched her lips. "It seems they've both taken a liking to you."
"I see." Dick's gaze dropped to the stone beneath his feet. "And what abilities, exactly, have I gained?"
Evalyn's smirk widened—manic now, a glint of something feral behind her eyes. "Unlike other Deviants who can only absorb Particles from Monsters, Nature's blessing allows you to absorb nature particles. Right now, you're a D rank just like everyone else who just passed the Ceremony. But you'll grow faster than the others."
Dick cocked an eyebrow. "And the Death God's blessing?"
The goddess's following words cut through the air like a blade.
"You cannot die," she said softly, "until you want to live."
The arena went silent. Even the sea seemed to still.
Dick's head tilted slightly as if the words hadn't registered. Then his gaze drifted upward, past the parted clouds to the endless sky above, to where he imagined heaven might be.
What a sick joke.
A hollow laugh almost bubbled up, but it died in his throat.
I can kiss drowning myself goodbye.