Author's Preface
Eve stepped into the private training room and pulled the door shut behind her. Inside, a woman stood with her back turned, arms crossed, staring at the far wall. She didn't move when Eve entered.
"You're late."
Eve glanced at the clock. She wasn't. The woman turned. "You don't seem that special either."
Eve looked down at Nomi, then back up. "Do you know me? What's with the hostility?"
"Who doesn't know the genius of Thalorin?" There was no warmth in her voice. "The only person in a thousand years to contract three spirits and carry a legendary companion." She gestured around her. "I'm S-rank. I went to Thalorin ready to become the best spirit user on Earth. And when I got there, all anyone could talk about was some A-rank from the boonies. Every victory I earned, every failure I suffered, somehow it always came back to you."
"I didn't go around promoting some image of myself," Eve said. "So what do you want from me?"
"Nothing." The woman rolled her shoulders. "I have two spirits and a companion. Not myth-ranked like yours, but I'm still S-rank for a reason. I left Japan and transferred to this guild for one purpose. To test you. So, either you live up to what Faelorn won't stop talking about, or I'll make sure you don't participate in the Ranker Tournament. Pretty simple."
Eve opened her mouth to respond. She didn't get the chance. Two spirits materialized at once, one earth and one fire, surging forward immediately. Behind Yuki, a giant owl unfolded its wings as wind gathered around it. They attacked together. No warning. No signal. Eve moved on instinct. Her vines erupted from the ground, weaving themselves into a barrier just thick enough to hold the first wave. Just barely.
Eve dropped the barrier. "What the hell? This is supposed to be training."
"You can't help run a guild if you're this weak." Yuki smiled. "Maybe I'll step in as Blue's right hand instead."
"If you're trying to push my buttons," Eve said, "you've succeeded."
She summoned all three spirits at once. They felt it immediately, the emotion running through her, and responded without needing direction. Each unleashed their strongest attack simultaneously. Yuki threw up a wall of water and earth. It held most of it. She tried to redirect her owl, but it wasn't responding. Yuki looked back. Nomi had the owl pinned to the ground, teeth wrapped around its neck, watching Yuki with calm golden eyes. When Yuki turned back toward Eve, she went still. Cindyr and Virelen had merged. A mass of molten rock hung in the air above Eve, burning, enormous, and slowly taking shape. Yuki merged her two spirits as well. Earth and water collapsed together into a dense wall of mud. Spears formed across its surface and launched toward Eve. Eve's vines caught them. Rhyla's water dissolved the rest.
"You still have a long way to go," Eve said, "before you can try and take my spot next to Blue." She released the meteor. Yuki braced.
Red swords materialized in the doorway, each wrapped in a dark aura. They tore through Eve's attack and Yuki's barrier simultaneously, scattering both into nothing. Aaron stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. "I know you want to leave the Buckeye Guild with Blue." He looked around at the state of the room. "But can you not destroy the place before you go?"
Yuki bowed to Aaron, then straightened. She walked toward the door, slowing as she passed Eve. "You're strong. Your command over spirits is exactly as described." She paused beside her. "But there's more than one way to win over a man."
She winked at Eve and kept walking. Aaron stepped aside as she passed. The door closed behind her.
Eve turned toward him. "Did you bring her in to try and get Blue to change his mind? Blue isn't shallow. Just because she's pretty doesn't mean it'll help your cause."
"Whoa." Aaron raised a hand. "She requested this herself. She's been watching you all for weeks. If she's interested in Blue, that's on her, not me."
He stepped farther into the room. "Besides that, Eve, after the tournament you should get reevaluated." He looked at her directly. "You've stepped into S-rank territory." He turned to leave, then stopped at the door and looked back. "I'll be sad to see you go. But I'll be cheering you on."
Over the next three weeks, Eve trained with Yuki every day. The hostility faded gradually, not all at once, but enough. Yuki pushed hard and Eve pushed back harder. Somewhere in that back and forth, something shifted. Not friendship exactly. But respect. The interest in Blue, however, didn't fade at all. If anything, it got worse.
The training room next to Eve and Yuki's was considerably quieter. Cynthia sat in the lotus position, eyes closed, concentrating. A pile of scrap metal sat on the floor in front of her.
Terrance stood behind her, watching. "Your will is only limited by your own imagination," he said. "Concentrate. Turn that rubble into something that walks."
Cynthia's eyes snapped open. She shook her head. "This is maddening. Ever since that gate, it's all I can picture anymore."
Terrance moved around and sat beside her. "Explain what you mean. What do you keep picturing?"
"It's hard to explain." She stared at the metal in front of her. "I was pulled out of my body by that boss. Into a white space. But inside that space, my will was free. Whatever I thought about appeared instantly. I won because his power was borrowed. But ever since I came back, I can't stop thinking about it."
Terrance went still. "Wait. Your consciousness was pulled into a separate space? Outside your body?"
"Yes. Exactly."
He was quiet for a moment. "I've only ever heard stories about that on Veltrax." He looked at her differently now. "What you're describing, the machines call it the Will Realm. When someone trains their will to an extreme, they can open a space where strength no longer matters. Only will." He paused. "You must have gotten pulled into that boss's Will Realm. But his power was borrowed and yours was mastered. That's why you won."
Cynthia's eyes widened slightly. "So I can learn to do that?"
"Not exactly." Terrance shook his head. "The machines told me it's impossible for humans. Our lifespan is too short. It takes centuries to perfect a will strong enough to manifest a realm like that."
Cynthia's shoulders dropped slightly. "Then what's the point?"
"The point is that will matters." Terrance gestured toward the scrap metal. "You already proved that. You defeated something far stronger than you because you understood your own power better than it understood the power it borrowed. You never know what you'll face out there."
Cynthia looked down at the floor. "So I was only useful to the team by coincidence?"
"That's not what I said. I've watched all of you fight. Among flux users, outside of myself, you and a handful of others stand apart. Most flux users spend their lives building infrastructure. They never see the front lines. Be proud of where you are." Terrance stood and gestured toward the pile of metal. "Now, if you can get out of your own head, we're going to make sure you have a few surprises ready before the tournament starts."
Down the hall, in a much larger room, Samantha stood against the wall of the training area, arms crossed, staring at the clock.
"If this old man doesn't hurry up, I'm going to go train with Marco." Samantha muttered to herself.
A gust of wind lifted her off the ground without warning. It carried her across the room and set her down directly in front of Arthur, who stood in the doorway like he'd been there the entire time.
"Who's Marco?"
"My masseuse." Samantha brushed herself off, clearly unamused. "I'll introduce you."
Arthur's eyes lit up. "Oh. This ought to be fun."
"Your family's definition of fun is clearly broken." She crossed her arms again. "This is torture at best."
"I think we may need to work on your attitude before we touch the magic." Arthur laughed and raised his staff.
"What's wrong with my attit..."
A vortex of wind swallowed her instantly. She went spinning through the air in wide circles around the room, arms flailing, before Arthur brought her back down. She landed on all fours in front of him.
"What the he..."
Up she went again. Arthur laughed as he watched her spin.
In Aaron's office, the training room feeds played across his monitors. He watched Samantha cycling through the air for the second time and grimaced.
"I don't miss that." He glanced up at the ceiling. "He won't actually kill her, right?"
Aaron shook his head and went back to his paperwork.
Samantha landed at Arthur's feet again. She stayed there for a moment, cheek pressed against the floor.
Arthur crouched down to her level. "So. Are we settled in now?"
She lifted her head slowly and looked at him. "...Yes, sir."
"Good." He straightened and raised his staff again. "Let's get started."
For the third time, Samantha left the ground. Only the muffled sound of curse words could be heard throughout the room.