The flow of time streamed by, ethereal and traceless.

  Without the Torch’s light shining above Aiden’s head, a measure of the day was determined by how long he endured Myra’s grueling training rather than the shifting hue of the remnant’s flickering flame.

  Weeks of etiquette and basic hand-to-hand combat lessons, nothing more than the red-haired Sovran beating Aiden and Finn half-dead, and he started noticing his progress. He could now hold his own against the fellow recruit during a short sparring session.

  Sometimes.

  Aiden knocked at the metal door once. No reply. The man inside must have been busy. The few times he had seen Helvan during the training lessons had all ended in the postponement of his promise for answers. But Aiden thanked him for it. His avoidance provided plenty of time to dwell on the questions he needed answers to.

  There were so many.

  “Come in, Aiden.” Helvan’s raspy voice came from inside.

  Someone replaced the broken chair, a victim of Aiden’s impatient grip, erasing all memory of their previous encounter. Helvan sat behind the desk, his focus on the many papers strewn across the polished wood.

  “I hope you forgive me for not seeing you earlier, but there were other matters that needed my attention.” He motioned to the chair. “Try not to break it this time.”

  “No promises,” Aiden said with mild embarrassment. “Still getting used to my body.”

  “Myra tells me you’re making significant progress,” Helvan said, flipping through a stack of papers and picking one up. His eyes darted from line to line as he read, “Demonstrates high levels of pain tolerance, stamina, and a will to improve. Next steps of his training will begin tomorrow. Myra isn’t the kind to praise without cause, just so you know.”

  “Never mind that.” Aiden waved away the discussion. He was here for answers, not idle talk. “How did you know my father?”

  Helvan flinched at the question, raising his head from the documents before saying, “Now that is a long, long story, one which I don’t have time to share. But suffice to say, your father was one of us.”

  “You can’t mean…”

  “A member of the Witnesses of the Beyond, yes.” Helvan sighed. “A smuggler who knew far too much for his own good. Korvax could get into places no one else could—not even me—and steal things no one dared to attempt.”

  The revelation stunned Aiden into silence.

  His father had never struck him as that sort of man. He was a hardworking miner, confined to the Gloom Caves for the better part of his days to provide food for their pot. A smuggler? If there had ever been a hint of that part of him, Aiden had been too young to notice.

  “I’ve never seen Dad do anything like that.” Aiden suppressed the doubt in his tone. “And what would he even smuggle from the mines to Elysium…”

  Helvan chuckled as he watched the moment Aiden pieced the puzzle together. “That’s right, boy. Your father didn’t take things from the mines to Elysium—quite the contrary.”

  “But he was a miner!” Aiden protested. “You can’t go there unless you ascend.”

  “Are you sure?” Helvan raised his eyebrow, looking Aiden up and down. “You claim to be a miner yourself, but you’re taller than me. Those hands of yours could break a chair with no effort… almost like a Sovran.”

  “If we can make a Sovran look like a miner, perhaps making a Sovran into a miner is not impossible.” Helvan’s words echoed in the small room like a pickaxe striking stone.

  A Sovran into a miner? Aiden’s vision blurred. Dad was a Sovran… all along?

  “Korvax, or Will, was the successor to the Astrais House and a Dreamer without equal.” With each word Helvan uttered, Aiden’s world crumbled further. “That ring you’ve got? It was one of his cargos—what got him killed.”

  That makes me… no! Refuse the reality as he might, there was no outrunning the truth. The blood of Sovrans ran through his veins. I’m half-sovran.

  “The reason I didn’t get selected at the Ascension… But what about Dan?” Aiden grabbed at the contradiction like it was his lifeline. “He was chosen, and he’s my brother.”

  “Sovran blood ran thin in his veins, unlike yours.” Helvan sighed, considering what to tell him. “The Torch’s light shines only on those whose affinity to hexion is poor. You are the exception. That is all there is to it.”

  Aiden wanted to flee the room, but the same curiosity that had prevented him from turning tail and running when the Gate opened now urged him to stay.

  “Hexion?”

  “The breath of the arcane. The fuel that ignites the magic wielded by Sovrans.” Helvan paused, throwing a deliberate look at Aiden. It is the same energy that powers the runic remnants.

  “Like that black ring?” Aiden remembered the old man referring to his Providence the day he was rescued. “What in the Abyss is that thing?”

  “It’s an Az’Tenri Circlet, a soulbound item forged in the Age of Fallen Gods with the sole purpose of enhancing the power of an Empyrean—Sovrans heightened by the arcane.” The tone of his words became puzzled. “You’re not supposed to have unlocked a Providence without undergoing Heightening.”

  The ring had activated the moment it entered his finger, without so much as expressed permission, but the Providence only emerged after his unfortunate capture at the hands of Travor and Corvanis.

  “Can you teach me—”

  “No, I won’t teach you how to use your Providence. It can cause more harm than good. You haven’t even tried to learn by yourself, Aiden. Know that some answers are only retained through experience.”

  He’s right. Aiden had been reluctant to use the Providence during his training with Finn and Myra, since they were not truly his foes. But that did not excuse him from never trying to figure out the workings of his power. Deep down, Aiden was afraid of it.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  He wanted answers, but feared their repercussions would change him.

  “Leave now,” Helvan said. “Myra is expecting you.”

  ***

  The training room was not silent.

  Three new people, all dressed in plain gray robes, stood in the corner, their conversation tightly kept within their private circle. They were tall, Sovrans at a glance—possibly half-breed impersonators, Aiden thought.

  Heavy was the burden of knowledge.

  Doubt. Hesitation. Anger. Aiden just wanted to punch something. Someone. He yearned for the simplicity of training the flesh, where one either won or ended up bloody on the floor. Simple sounded good after all he had learned.

  “Aiden, good to see you’re not late.” Finn approached with a grin. He still had a bruised eye, and a split lip showed Myra had just lectured him. “Any idea what’s going on with them?”

  “I was hoping you did.” Aiden shrugged.

  “Your guess is as good as mine, man. Probably some crazy idea of training from that madwoman.” Finn glanced at the door with apprehension.

  Aiden examined his frame, eyes, demeanor—anything that might give him a clue to Finn's real nature. Nothing about him resembled a miner, yet Aiden knew he had been one. He did not act like a Sovran, his behaviour was crass and unbothered.

  “Did they also… put you in a cell after making you look like one of them?” Aiden nodded to the four Sovrans at the back. “A Sovran, I mean.”

  Finn stood silent for a moment, his face showing no indication he understood the question. “Say, do you fancy apples, Aiden?”

  “Never had one.” Aiden understood the other boy’s meaning at once. “Not much of that going around where I came from. Just potatoes… and coal.”

  “Abyss take me, you’re a miner?” Finn’s eyes bulged out of their sockets. “Myra said I was the only one that survived.”

  “Same as you, but from a different district.”

  “This is fucked up.” Finn pulled Aiden to the farthest corner. “Myra isn’t right in the head, I’ll tell you that. She might also be one of us; I can recognize the scars when I see them,” he spoke in a hushed tone. “But what do you mean by cell—”

  The door opened behind them.

  Myra entered the training room, hands behind her back and an unusually serious expression on her face. The four strangers went silent at her presence.

  “I taught you the basics—how not to embarrass yourselves too much during a fight—but there’s only so much you can learn with hugs and lectures.” The excited grin returned to her face, sending a shiver coursing through Aiden’s skin. “Knowledge can’t hold a breath to the real thing.”

  “Isn’t that what we’re doing when you beat us up all day?” Finn scoffed and slapped Aiden’s shoulder. “Right, Aiden?”

  You idiot! Aiden tried to move away from the short-haired man, drops of sweat trickling down the back of his neck. You don’t provoke that woman.

  Myra grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, come on! You know I won’t hurt you too much, right? I need to fix that.” She beckoned to the distant Sovrans. “You four! The old man promised you what? A thousand low-grade hexion cubes for assisting in their training?”

  “That’s right.” The largest one of them stepped forward.

  “How about this, then? I’ll pay you ten cubes for each of their bones you guys manage to break.” Myra nodded to herself, proud of her idea.

  Silence fell in the room like a deadly sword.

  “Ten cubes!” The big man shouted.

  The one with a rotund belly counted on his fingers, excitement growing as he grasped the true value of Myra’s offer.

  The smaller, thin man chuckled. “What’s the catch, Weaver?”

  “Simple! If any of them remain standing after one hour, you won’t get paid at all.” Myra crossed her arms and beamed.

  “Are you trying to scam—”

  The fat Sovran shut up as the tallest of them waved a hand.

  “Against kids?” He inspected Aiden and Finn. “I’m not saying no if you want to pay us more, but what happens if we… snap their necks by accident? You understand, stuff like this happens.”

  “I’ll be watching.” Myra narrowed her eyes.

  The man swallowed and looked away. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  “See?” Finn elbowed Aiden in the side. “Forget about not being right in the head—she’s downright insane.”

  “You provoked her!” Aiden wanted to strangle Finn.

  “No, I didn’t—”

  “Good luck, boys.” Myra walked to the side of the room. “What are you guys waiting for?”

  “Fellas, stay away from the neck and head.” The tall Sovran, their leader, spoke to the others. “The money is tempting, but we need to keep it safe so the cubes keep flowing every day. Got it?”

  His back faced Aiden.

  The Sovran spoke as if he were discussing what manner of fancy clothes to buy—not at all the tone one should have before committing acts of violence. Rather than horrify Aiden, his casual cruelty made him happy.

  That is a Sovran. Aiden brought the awareness to the forefront of his mind. I don’t need to feel bad about this.

  Whatever blood flowed in his veins, Sovran or miner, it did not determine the kind of person he was. An inheritance paled to the familial bonds and companionship he had developed with his family and the people in the mines.

  Never again. Aiden was done letting this kind of person trample over him.

  Nudging Finn with a hand, he ran at the men in a soundless sprint. Finn tackled the speaker to the ground, his fist crashing into the man’s face until his blood joined the dried spots on the stone. Aiden jumped mid-sprint, sending a flying kick straight into the chest of the thin Sovran, who fell to the ground wheezing for breath.

  The fat one turned in alarm, ready to rush to his companion’s aid. Aiden met him with a fist to the gut, planting his knee on the man’s face as he doubled over.

  “Two down—”

  Something crashed against his ribs. A boot smacked him in the face.

  “You fucker!” A flurry of kicks to his ribs followed an angry shout.

  “Get up, Aiden—” A pained growl cut Finn’s voice short.

  Aiden witnessed the thin man getting to his feet and tackling Finn to the ground. The tall one recovered moments later, joining his companion in beating up the stunned kid. They forgot all their talk about avoiding the neck and skull in the howls of rage that echoed amidst the bloody stone.

  Enough!

  He caught the pudgy man by the leg, bringing him down with a punch to the groin. The Sovran’s howl drew the attention of his friends, who abandoned Finn’s unconscious body. Aiden had no time to be concerned.

  A punch broke his nose. Another one burst the air out of his lungs.

  If he did not finish his fight now, there would be no chance of escaping. He called upon the power that hibernated in his mind, commanding it to unleash its reserves on the man on top of him.

  Dyad Vessel obliged.

  Its capacity was drained in an instant. The pudgy man collapsed to the ground with a soul-piercing roar. The smell of piss filled Aiden’s nostrils as his attacker shook uncontrollably on the ground, foam bubbling from his mouth, hand scratching at his chest.

  He went still with a last whimper.

  The Providence resumed absorbing the pain that rained down on Aiden. The multiple cuts, broken bones, and bruises that had once drowned him in agony dwindled to a muffled noise in the background.

  Aiden stood up with a bloodstained grin on his face.

  The two remaining Sovran hesitated for a long moment after observing what happened to their companion. Good, as long as they fear... The men roared and charged at him in unison. Chaos ensued in the training room.

  Two men piled on top of Aiden. He felt his arm snap under a powerful grip. Someone kicked him in the crotch. A flurry of punches hit his face. Shit! Aiden urged Dyad Vessel to act once more. Nothing. The Providence was dormant, recovering after its previous activation.

  I’m gonna die.

  Darkness encroached on his vision. Muted pain laced his body. A vengeful grip strangled the breath out of him. The call of the abyss was strong, and Aiden was too weak to avoid it.