She sat uhe opy of Creation, looking out at all the different worlds, and waited. She was very good at waiting. So many worlds had e and gone since She st performed Her duties that it was getting a bit ridiculous, but She atient.

  The old fogies picked on Her all the time for being zy, but it wasn’t Her fault that mortals were so inpetent, She wao work too!

  But She timistic. Of the tless sounds of knog that came rumbling from all the infinite worlds, one of them could succeed at any time aheir visit. She just had to be vigint and keep waiting.

  Not for the first time, She wondered if there was anyway to raise the success rates a bit. Those stinky fools and their ‘prestigious schools’ and so called ‘powerful sects’ had reaped no tangible results in who knew how many eons, ahey had the o tease Her?

  She was grumbling as She sometimes did when bored, when a strange hum, softer than the softest feather, went nearly unnoticed even by Her. It differed from the usual reverberations mortals made challenging the tributions; more like a small ripple on a still pool, so weak yet undeniably transformative. It was a strange phenomenon She couldn’t expi, and it wasn’t the first time she felt it.

  In the ret few cycles, more and more of such tiny ripples tickled her curiosity. She didn’t know what it meant, but Her intuition screamed that something important was going to happen. Something different.

  She looked up at Mother and her fruits, so many times fewer than in her youth, a winkle in her eye.

  And she didn’t think she’d have to wait for too long.

  —

  It's always the start that's the hardest. That initial step feels like fag a colossal mountain, a daunting ast into the unknown. It's as if standing at the threshold, fag the gatekeeper to greatness, a formidable guardian of artistic destiny. All doubts reside in the first step. The only thing more challenging than sying the dragon is summoning the ce to embark on the jouro face it, right?

  This was the turmoil in the mind of the self-procimed genius sculptor, preparing to bare his soul to the world. Jittering before aed 4-foot-tall bloarble stood Jun Hopper, a lean muscled, five foot nine, 22-year-old aspiring sculptor in a world that had long forsaken the profession. Dressed in dirty jeans, a worn shirt that had once been white and a leather apron with pockets filled with the tools of his trade, Jun’s salms tightly gripped well worn tools, attempting tain posure. If he could just gather himself, everything would be fine. Oarted, everything would flow, he reassured himself.

  To be fair, Jun wasn't usually the nervous type when it came to his work. Obsessed with the arts since a young age and never ceasing to better his skills, he was fident in his craft. The issue was that others were him. Sculpting had been such a deeply personal thing to him that having onlookers now felt more exposing than being naked, even after so many sessions. It was discerting.

  'No, just tu the drone cams. Focus on the piece. It’s just me and her now. She’s more than ready to be free, so what am I waiting for?' He took a deep breath.

  Though his face was hidden by a scuffed and wray breathing mask and pstic safety goggles, Jun's observers could still make out his expressive bck eyes, so it was instantly clear to all when the shift took pce. Gone was the nervous young man trying to get fortable in front of the h drone cams, repced by a master artisan beholding his work through his critical eyes.

  Nothing else existed for him now.

  His followers were familiar with the 'Switch,' as they had admiringly dubbed the phenomenon. It sighe beginning of a process few believed was even real. Many dismissed it as an impressive AI-geed hoax posing as reality. Despite the skeptics, there were those with broader vision and experiences who saw the beauty in his movements, reizing a master of his craft at work.

  Jun had been very excited about this session.

  When he first got the mass of marble, he had gone wild with excitement. Secretly leaving the city limits, he ventured into the ruined remains of an old city for inspiration and materials. Initially, he thought it was a broken half of a stone n, but feeling the textured surface along its side, Jun had a suspi firmed by a s with his wrist .

  This was the epitaph of someone who had once lived iy.

  Luckily, the main surface reserved enough to be mostly legible. It read:

  In loving memory of Marcia Wellby. Brilliant of mind, generous of heart and kind beyond measure, the best Mother a son could be blessed.

  2124 - 2196

  Jun did not know Marcia Wellby. He could not even imagine what kind of life someone from before The Fall could have lived, but he knew she was loved. Someone had cherished Marcia enough to leave a memento that had survived beyond civilization to reach him. It had moved Jun deeply.

  It also made him remember his own mother. She roud and strong mom, and she loved him fiercely. He missed her.

  For days, Jun pondered how to transform the stohat held such memories aions. It was a tribute that had survived the end of the world and into the new. How could he preserve the love for someone he had never met?

  He spent hours feeling the different sides of the stone and its weathered etgs, w what images were deemed worthy of representing Marcia Wellby upon its crumbling surfaces and what final form y beh the yers of stone.

  Had she been a great warrior? No, there were no Hunters back then, right? She lendid mother, that was for sure. She was brilliant, so obviously intelligent and aplished, probably very kind and patient. Perhaps she was also strict, like his own mom. She obviously did a great job raising her kid. He could afford a giant stoaph, so he must have done well for himself, and how a son’s success be uo the loving nurturing of a mother’s love?

  Jun had, of course, held back a few tears during his process of finding the image ione, but it was close.

  The more he pondered Marcia Wellby and the story he was strug, the clearer the image became until the moment he k erfect.

  Now it was time.

  With hammer and chisel, Jun knocked and chipped. Stone fragments flew in all dires, but his foever wavered. A stant rhythm of taps sang a song that could capture the heart and suddenly a singur bloarble was transf.

  Hours felt like minutes as a rough block of storansformed into somethiiful and refined.

  To the casual viewer, the rough ahered stone was simply shedding its excess to release the trapped figure within. His movements were so effortlessly refihat it felt like the sculpture had always been there and was only just being released.

  A woman sitting upright on a rough stoh her worn and aplished hands resting on her p.

  Her long, flowing hair fell freely over her right shoulder, elegantly draped in a dress of soft fabrics that hugged her fortably. She had a beauty that could only e with the passing of time, with eyes that had seen the world ge. Her face was oval and happy, and her figure was fortable and strong, her posture rexed and in harmony with the world.

  It would be wrong to say that she eerless beauty, but she had a charm that drew the eye and raise a natural curiosity about the stories she could tell.

  The small stone upon which she sat read the ig scaled to fit the new surface.

  Jun didn’t know Marcia. Jun didn’t know Marcia’s son. But Jun knew a mother’s love, and he knew what it was to love and adore his mother, and in that moment, he knew Marcia Wellby, and he loved her. He hoped that this nameless son would at appreciate the tribute.

  What would have taken weeks of a Master Sculptor’s time and dedication of endless refi in the pre-Gate era only took Jun, a body refi practitioner, a few hours. The speed and grace of the process were visually remarkable, captivating the casual viewers of the live stream who found it impossible to stop watg. It wasn’t until Jun stepped away and allowed the drone cam to hover around the finished work that many viewers realized they had not moved in hours.

  The hundreds of viewers withien Gate Cities the final work of art all had the same thought.

  The marble had e alive.

  How could anyone say that this dignified dy was of stone?

  Obviously, she is the proudest mother in the world. Oh, there are tears in my eyes? Liar! You’re g, not me! Wanna go?!

  Jun didn’t know what kinds of emotional responses his work was geing. He roud of what he had created, and that was enough.

  OK, no, it wasn’t, but it was for him.

  OK, no, it wasn’t, but people liked it, so it was fine.

  OK, no, most people didn’t like it, but some did, so that was great.

  And yes, yes, it actually was.

  This whole streaming business was stressing Jun out like crazy. He absolutely hated it. Well, ‘hate’ was a strong word. Perhaps ‘overly fatigued?’ There were a feects he liked, especially at the beginning whearted streaming his sculpting sessions a year before because of Danny.

  Danny, his best bud, had made the astoundingly astute observation that Jun wasn’t doing shit tress his dreams of reintrodug the fis to society. A society that only cared about cold effid killing Gate monsters. Danny argued that now was the perfect time to press his agenda.

  After 200 years of fighting and development, society had finally progressed to where humanity was no longer in stant danger of extin. The greatest indicator of that was the reemergence of global unication for the masses through the newly established Global Rune Informatiowork and the ever sprouting and developiertai industries that followed which hadn’t been seen since before The Fall.

  People finally had the leeway to care about other things besides survival and were essentially starving for some cultural nourishment. If Jun wao reintroduce the arts to this world, now was the time to do it.

  Hehe live streaming.

  Multiple live streaming ptforms, well doted as a popur ptform before The Fall, had formed almost immediately after GRIN . Talents buried without a ce to shine were given opportuo showcase what they could do. Most, of course, did not go beyond the initial presentations of their skills, but some shot straight to stardom and financial success, whily bolstered others to try their fortunes.

  Jun had actually ehe first few months of his streaming career.

  No one had sculpted anything with their hands since fabricatioook its final steps toward plete automation by the end of the Last War, so his whole streaming cept was unique only to him.

  Well, when 80% of all streamers was focused on Gate-reted tent, it wasn’t hard to be unique.

  He also didn’t struggle in being iing, which was saying much, especially since he hadn’t been saying anything at all. Jun was an introverted guy who would rather work on his sculpture while hanging out with his girlfriehan go to a party, for insta didn’t mean he couldn’t speak in front of crowds, he just reaaally loathed it. He just didn't like being the attention of a crowd and the thought of talking to so many hundreds of strahrough a drone cam was a nightmare and a half.

  So yeah, nope. He just didn't talk. Mystery cept, right?

  Bh.

  It was fun reading the ents and infinitely fttering when moary gifts started ing in.

  At the time, the question about its authenticity was a fun versation that he and Desi loved to giggle about.

  Then it got mean.

  One day, Jun's live stream became flooded with haters, the chats filled with cruel mockery. It was founding, making him wonder what he’d doo upset so many people. He’d was hurt and demoralized, seriously sidering quitting altogether until Desi and Lily bed through and found many loud voices of support buried in the muck.

  That and the ever-increasing donations gave Jun the ce to tinue.

  Hell, with the current rate of gifts, it ossible to really pursue his dreams, so he was thankful. Just don't look at the ents and all was well in the world.

  The gifters were retively few, but faithful and generous. Generous to the point that Jun was feeling guilty. Well, he had a rough pn for that.

  He let the drone cam do its thing for a bit more as he walked out of his Streaming er and towards a familiar figure lounging on his couch, watg something from his wrist proje.

  Although the Streaming er was well anized for the audiehe rest of his studio was a clutter of projects at different stages of pletion.

  Jun carefully passed around a four-foot-long gss piece that just needed rune engraving and the fittings to hang from the ceiling. Right behind it was a-foot metal monstrosity that never made it past ceptual. Jun wasn't sure if it deserved a revisit or scrapping.

  Passed the w space was what most would sider a gallery of madness rather than a home. Finished works of art hung elegantly and strategically from almost everywhere; ceilings, floors and walls filling the open two-story space with Jun’s many creations. Although overwhelming at a gnce, as one passed through the spaces, they would find the order to the madness. Jun positioned everything to ence natural movement and lit the space to create different experiences. Small intimate pockets existed throughout the space for resting while appreciating the works from different perspectives.

  It was all a great blessing, and none of it would have been possible without the support of his best friend Danny who enced Jun to follow his dreams and never hesitated to help at every step.

  Having no funds to buy property, Jun was stuck with rental and no property owner was fortable with Jun's 'hazardous' hobbies. To them, anyone wanting to make anything without a fabricator was a lunatid the worst tenants.

  So it came to be that Jun's short dash towards his dreams had e to a dead end before he could eve start.

  Theered Danny.

  With utmost nonce, he came by one day and handed Jun a rental agreement form. Apparently, an old warehouse in the East District had gone up for sale on the cheap because of a aintenand he snatched it with a small k of his iance.

  What could he say? His bro was the best.

  Danny Guard, at the same age as Jun, was a tall guy at over six and a half feet and, after years of focused training, had developed an impressive warrior's body. Dark-skinned and cssically handsome with his promi nose and cheekbohe son of a bitch even had glorious silken brown hair that did whatever its owner wanted, as opposed to Jun's unruly bck mop that even Desi had given up on.

  Still dressed in his bright red workout gear, Danny lounged on a fy chair, rexing with his feet on the coffee table. Thankfully, Desi wasn't here to see that cause she would have gos. By the Nexus, had she not been by once sihe argument?

  Nearing closer, he saw a live stream of a Hueam on an active hunt. These were hugely popur and birthed many local Hunter heroes and sponsorships. This team looked to be in a bit of a bind, though.

  “Whose team is this? I don't reize the arm.”

  A deep and zy voice responded. “It's a eam. And I mean brand spankihese idiots are apparently the top of some graduating Hunter css from Lions Gate City. The team leader made a big deal about how their jouro the top was starting today. Ha!”

  “Man, I 't even ugh. They're getting sughtered. Did they seriously go that deep without at least one guardian mech? Why isn't anyone helping- OH SHIT!”

  On s, two of the forward attackers were desperately fending off a giant, bck-shelled i like monster with ferocious scythe-like arms when a hreat exploded from the earth at their feet. Two deadly gleams sshed the blinding clouds of earth and brutally bisected them from the crotch up.

  The blonde-haired defender gave a shout of retreat as he activated his rune. A glowing brown symbol maed on his right arm, gathering power. The defender gave a mighty shout and stomped his right leg with a boom. A rock wall 10 feet tall shot up with a bright fsh to cover the retreat. Only if it was thiough.

  Although the light show was impressive, it ainfully obvious that it was ie.

  Two giant nightmares smmed through the barrier like it aper befrappling in petition with what was but a moment ago, the body of a talented but foolish Hunter. Simir fates quickly befell the rest of the party.

  “Damn.” Danny mumbled. “K. Didn't o see that.”

  The s fizzled out of existence as Danny sat upright.

  “Sorry bro,” Danny apologized, looking sheepish.

  “Yeah, that wasn't helpful.” Jun colpsed into another fy chair, having lost all the good feelings from the session. The Gate was a dangerous pce. It was rare to see such talented young hunters disregard that danger in arroganow they paid the price.

  “So, I guess you've talked to Desi?” Jun asked, realizing the meaning of Danny's sheepishness.

  “Just a quick chat between csses. I didn't get the ce to eve a word out holy. She just gave me the short, but not the whys. She's pretty pissed.”

  “Yeah, I know. She hasn't spoken with me since,” Jun said, feeling ridiculous about the whole thing holy. “And as for why she's letting go of her dreams of being the world's greatest Film Prompt Master, that she's worked so hard for and bee a Hunter which she’s had no aspirations for, is, get this, Sandy Dandy.”

  Seeing the bnk look on Danny's face, Jun eborated. “Sandy Dandy is some new Film Prompter from Blue Sea Gate City. He's been very active this year. He popped out a new Huhemed project basically every week. Personally, I feel like his work is crazy overrated, but he's beeing some steady tra. Especially the female teen demographics.”

  Danny was getting impatient.

  “Aaaaaaanyways, Desi became obsessed with his new series, 'The Reborn Hunter Saves the World.' Bh. It's just epic fight ses and y one-liners, but it's a serious lorification and romanticized view of the Hunter lifestyle. I'm sure this dude has never actually gone beyond the Gate.” Danny scoffed at the thought.

  No one really respected the Film Prompters that made Huhemed tent without having at least braved stepping past the Gate. These were cowards that worshiped and idolized the Huhe most, and their glorification of what they were too scared to even fad clearly didn’t uand, cked the realism for those who knew better.

  Because Hunters were not heroes.

  “No matter how much I've pointed out how ridiculous it all is, Desi's been charmed by this crap so much she 't seem to hear me or anyone else,” Jun reted with growing frustration before he ughed.

  “Her mom was soooo mad. She chewed her out for even suggesting switg career paths right before finals and graduation and after she found out she regnant, but I'd bet my left nut Desi didn't hear a word of it."

  “Haha yeah whes li - What?!” Danny stood up so fast he almost khe coffee table over. “You knocked up my sister?!”

  “Yup! Hahahahaha! Yo- your face!” Jun was clutg his chest in ughter at the rea of his best friend.

  The three had been childhood friends ever sihey were twelve, but Danny and Desi were cradle buddies and as close as any siblings.

  The three had bonded easily, sihey all shared a simir history of loss. Shortly before Jun's arrival, a great sdal had shaken both families. Danny's mother and Desi's father were discovered having an affair.

  The divorce was fast, brutal, and final. her wahe children. They both went off together to who knows where.

  When Jun showed up, he found two broken families in need of healing. The five children, including Lily, Desi's younger sister and lil Davie, Danny's younger brother, learo lean on each other for support and formed a close bond.

  Right now, he was enjoying watg Danny, his best friend and soul brother, freak the fuck out. He had never ceased teasing Jun and Desi sihey started dating five years ago, at fifteen. Ialiation, Jun loved to steal a smooch with Desi when Danny was around to watch him gag.

  This defiopped that.

  After Danny calmed down, he went around to give Jun a brotherly power pun the chest.

  “Well, grats Daddy. Way to break the news, bro. Wait. Desi's prego and wants to be a Hunter, now? She hasn’t practiearly enough for her First sing, right?”

  “Yup. My cute zy butt never had time for practice.” Jun ughed before being lifeless again.

  “I've always enced her to practice more, but it's only now she's been motivated. Not that she is practig now, don't worry. She's gonna have to wait for after the baby. That means we've got a little over nine months to vince her out of this. I mean, I've never seen a clumsier person in basibat practice. Just the thought of her on a hunt gives me nightmares.”

  Fshes of the poor idiot getting bisected came a unannounced and unweled. He felt like puking a little.

  Desi had never shown any talent in any of the on's introdus or bat csses and no matter how much Jun helped her study ruech, the fuals for rune onry, it just looked like squiggly lio her. It was a miracle to get her to pass Basietech Mainte year, her own graduation havihreatened.

  Naturally fickle in character, the only thing Desi had shown a sistent and unwavering passion for was Film Prompting and Jun.

  With the AI tech readily avaible to the masses, it ossible to create simple films with just a few prompt words. Those that could push this craft to the level were only referred to as Film Prompters.

  Desi Khis had been produg various carefully crafted films with guidance from both her mom, Mary Khis, a reputable Film Prompter herself, and Danny's father, Juan Guard, who ur Set Prompter of great demand. For years, Desi had been steadily improving in her produs and had developed her own gathering of faithful fans. Jun imagiheir reas to her retirement pns.

  She, like many others, had been driveively by the occasional excavated cultural artifacts from before The Fall. Many civilian databases from military bunkers survived the flicts. tained were vast libraries of movies, musid media that were popur at the time. It offered a rare glimpse of what the world and their culture was like in the age of prosperity, but too many it was much more thahat. It inspired a wave of creativity that saw the start of many Film Prompter careers and the birth of a few revered Film Prompt Masters with social standings and influence rivaling the powerful Hunter Families.

  But for every success story lied ten thousand failures at their feet. It was an over-saturated market that saw a stant influx of new blood. So for Desi, a junior in the industry, to achieve what she had at su age was moal for her career.

  Jun suspected a bination of stress from being newly pregnant and her ret burnout from over produ had her emotionally worn out and made her in need of a imuli. Only if it weren’t so life threatening. Go-carts were fun, right?

  He couldn't watch her throw away everything she built and endanger her own life on su unstable whim.

  “I'm not crazy for not supp her on this, right? I mean, I always want to support her ihing, but this is crossing some lines she's gon, right?” Jun asked weakly, waiting for someoo make him feel less like an asshole for not bag her.

  “No way dude,” Danny said resolutely. “This came so out of nowhere, man. She 't be this upset with you for this when we all see it’s insanity. I'm gonna talk tain and find out what's going on in that crazy brain of hers. I mean, if she wants to be a Hunter now, why didn't she e talk to me? An actual Hunter Cadet?”

  “Yeah, that was another 'issue' she's having. She wants me to be a Huoo.” Jun said, looking even less like a human being as he melted into his fy seat.

  “...your puny ass a Hunter? Is everything all right with you guys? Is this a double suicide attempt or something?” Danny asked, looking genuinely ed.

  “Hey! I'm not as good as you, but I still had my First sing by twenty-ohat still puts me iop 40 pert.... Bitch....” the blob that was slowly finishing its assimition with the chair, weakly protested.

  “Is that supposed to be a brag when you're ra the bottom of that forty pert you're so proud of? And then there's Si, someone ranked so far down that it would be easier to t from the bottom to find her, wants to py Hunters?” he asked before looking sorrowful.

  “As the big brother, I feel like I've succeeded in proteg her physically but ed her intellectual development. Sigh~.”

  “Yeah, you suck.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Not now. I'm still sore from getting railed by Desi.”

  They ughed. It felt good to ugh.

  “What's she doing now, anyway?”

  “Now?” Jun looked down at his wrist to check the time. “I think she should still be out shopping. Lily told me she went out with Nicole and some of the irls to buy baby stuff. The girl's night out is baby themed tonight.”

  “Damn, am I the st to find out or something?”

  “Haha nah. The list was relegated betweewo of us. She tells everyone and I tell you. I just fot to mention it to you earlier. My bad.”

  Danny knew what Jun's mind was like before a sculpting session, so he could only give up.

  “I'll call her ter than. Look, the guys and I are pnning on hitting up a club tonight. You should e with me and unwind, man. You gotta rex some, bro.”

  Jun just shook his head. “Nah, tired tonight. Aill have finals this week, you know. What are you all doing out partying?”

  Danny ughed. “Its fine bro, rex. You k year was my st difficult exams. Physics bro, why.” His eyes lost their life for a moment befaining crity with a shiver. “Thankfully, I'll never have to do that again.”

  “Then what do you have left?” Jun asked with a chuckle.

  “Some physical exams and then the Five Team Hunter Battle Simutions the rest of the week. Just showing off the routitle drills. It's gonime for my big reveal. Peak of First Rank of Body Refi befraduation! Guild Scouts eth! I wele thee!”

  Danny stood, striking some poses that defined his impressive physique.

  “Yeah, shake that ass,” Jun ughed, though inwardly he couldn't help but sigh.

  If Danny had access to his birthright as a reized desdant of the Vaults Family, then he could have soared to much greater heights.

  Danny's mother was from a small branch family to the prestigious Vaults Family. As one of the few S-Rank Hunter families that lorded over the city, an opportunity to bee reized as a child of the Family would have been huge.

  Unfortunately, Danny's mother had resded any cim on her children when she disappeared with Desi’s dad, cutting any e he should have had with the Vaults Family.

  Even for the esteemed ss of the various S-Rank Families, few could cim to have reached Danny's curres at his age. If he had their methods and resources, Jun was sure his brother would have bsted past through Sed sing long ago.

  Most average hard workers would rejoice if they could reach the peak of the 1st rank ihirties while the moderately talented could get there ie twehen there was his brother, with the most primitive tools, building a fortress by twenty-two, only oep away from his sed sing and joining the ranks of the strong.

  Ju sujustice for Danny, which always followed with guilt. Danny had done so much for him and here he was, his so-called brother, holding out on him. He knew Danny wasn't patible with his art and even if he was, it would only endanger him and his family by just being aware of it, but the mere act of hiding his practice from someohat had been so sistently geowards him made Jun feel despicable.

  He didn't know the first thing about rental spaces, or setting up financial ats for his live streaming. Danny had taken care of all that because he wanted Jun to focus on his craft. There were few good men like Danny in the world. Danny had shown him so much support over the years and what had Jun done for him?

  “I'mma get pumped for them scouts tonight. There's a girl I've had my eye on and I'm thinking tonight's the night, bro.”

  “Who you been talking to? Wendy?”

  “What? Wendy? No man, 'on ew!” Danny spat.

  “What's wrong with Wendy? She's super cute and way too smart and iing for your dumb ass, but for some reason only the Nexus knows, she's into you and you say ew?!” Screw this guy! Wendy was great. She was a close friend of Desi's from her prompter circles that was very smart and had a wonderful creative process that Jun admired. This bastard should be groveling to the Nexus Gods in thanks for her looking his way and he goes ew?!

  "Hey hey hey, calm down! Wendy is awesome! She's a real nice girl, but that’s the thing, bro. She's a nice girl. When did you see me mess around with nice girls? Hell, man, you're her friend! You should warn her about me, bro, not try to hook us up.” Seeing Jun lose steam, Danny pressed on.

  “Anyways man, I'll let you know how things go tonight and if things work out, you'll be the first to know.” And with that, he was gone.

  Jun chuckled to himself. His good brother needed a good girl to keep him see straight like he had Desi. He had so much potential but cked motivation and focus, only ever taking Body Refi seriously.

  The guilt came back.

  He was sure he had made the correct choice. It was to protect his family. Aunt Mary, Uncle Juan, lil Davie, Lily, Danny, and the love of his life, Desi. He couldn't risk their safety by exposing them to some ugly truths.

  Later, when he was stronger. It wouldn't be too te then.

  He was sure.