David didn't remember leaving the chamber.
One moment he was standing at the obelisk with his hand still pressed to the stone, the world exploding around him in a chaos of shouting and flashing lights and bodies pressing close. The next moment he was in a small white room somewhere in the building's interior, sitting on an uncomfortable metal chair, staring at a wall that hummed softly with mana-conducting circuits.
Lucas was beside him, which helped. Lucas was always beside him, a solid warm presence that made everything slightly less terrible. He wasn't talking for once, just sitting there with his big hands clasped together, shooting David worried glances every few seconds.
Becca sat across from them, her expression as unreadable as ever, though David caught her watching him with that same intense focus she'd shown at the obelisk. Erica leaned against the wall near the door, arms crossed, eyes moving constantly between David and the hallway outside where muffled voices argued about something.
No one had spoken for maybe ten minutes.
David's mind was still reeling, still trying to process what had happened, what was still happening inside his head where that second presence waited patiently for his attention.
Two S-ranks.
No one in history had ever awakened two S-ranks. The system didn't work that way, everyone knew that, everyone accepted that. You got one primary affinity, maybe a secondary if you were lucky, and the secondary was always lower rank. Always.
Except David's secondary was also S-rank.
Except David's everything was apparently broken.
"Okay," Lucas said finally, his voice rough from uncharacteristic silence. "Okay, so, we need to talk about this, right, like we really need to talk about this because I'm sitting here trying to process and my brain keeps short-circuiting. Two S-ranks. Two. That's not a thing that happens. That's not a thing that's ever happened. And it happened to you, my best friend, the guy who once ate an entire pizza by himself and then complained about being hungry."
David blinked at him. "That was one time."
"It was three times, I counted, but that's not the point!" Lucas threw his hands up. "The point is you're apparently some kind of monster, a beautiful fire-earth monster, and I don't know how to feel about that."
Becca spoke for the first time. "How do you feel about it, David?"
The question was simple but the way she asked it, the way her silver eyes bored into his, made it feel like so much more. She wasn't asking about the rank, not really. She was asking about what he'd felt at the obelisk, what he'd seen, what he'd become.
David considered lying. He was good at lying, had spent years perfecting the art of saying nothing while appearing to say something. But something about this room, these people, this moment made lying feel wrong.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "It doesn't feel real yet. It feels like I'm going to wake up and this will all have been a dream and I'll be back in my apartment with the cracked ceiling and nothing will have changed."
Lucas reached over and pinched David's arm hard.
"Ow, what the—"
"Not a dream," Lucas said cheerfully. "Definitely real. You're welcome."
David rubbed his arm and glared, but the glare didn't have much heat behind it. If anything, he felt grateful. Lucas was treating him the same, still joking, still being ridiculous, still being Lucas. That mattered more than David could express.
The door opened and everyone tensed.
A woman walked in, tall and severe, wearing the crisp uniform of a government liaison. She had grey hair pulled back in a tight bun and eyes that had seen too much to be impressed by anything. Behind her, two armed guards took positions on either side of the door.
"David Ashborn," she said, not a question. "I'm Director Chen, head of the Neo-London Awakening Commission. We need to talk."
David straightened in his chair. "About what?"
Director Chen's lips twitched slightly, almost a smile. "About the fact that you just became the most valuable person on this planet. About the fact that every major clan, every government, every organization with any power is already demanding access to you. About the fact that your life just became very complicated."
Lucas leaned forward. "He's not going anywhere with anyone without us."
Chen raised an eyebrow. "Us?"
"I'm his best friend, she's his..." Lucas gestured vaguely at Becca. "I don't know what she is but she's involved, and Erica's involved too, we're a team, we stick together."
Becca said nothing but her expression made it clear she agreed.
Chen studied them for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Loyalty? good, you'll need it." She pulled another chair from against the wall and sat down facing them, her posture relaxed but her eyes sharp. "Here's the situation, David. You have two S-rank abilities. That's unprecedented. That's historic. It also makes you a target."
"Target for what?" David asked.
"For everyone who wants to control you, use you, study you, or eliminate you before you become a threat." Chen's voice was calm, clinical, like she was discussing stock prices. "The clans will want to recruit you, marry you into their families, bind you with contracts and obligations. The government will want to study you, understand how this happened, replicate it if possible. Other countries will want to steal you or kill you to prevent you from strengthening ours. And that's just the human threats."
Becca leaned forward. "What else is there?"
Chen looked at her, recognition flickering in her eyes. "Rebecca Moon. Your family will have their own plans for you, I'm sure. But to answer your question, there are things in the Expanse that notice when something unusual happens. Beasts, and worse. The system doesn't just track human rankings. It tracks everything."
David thought about the second voice in his head, the presence that was still waiting for him to acknowledge it. Was that part of what Chen was talking about? No. No one knew about that. No one could know.
"What do you want from me?" he asked directly.
Chen smiled properly for the first time, and it wasn't a comforting expression. "Right now? I want to keep you alive long enough to figure out what you are. The government is offering protection, resources, training facilities, access to information. In exchange, we ask that you cooperate with our researchers, allow us to study your abilities, and consider representing Neo-London in future inter-city and international competitions."
"Representing," David repeated flatly. "You mean being a symbol."
"I mean being an asset. Symbols are useful. Assets are essential." Chen stood. "You don't have to decide now. You have twenty-four hours before the offers start flooding in and believe me, they will flood. For now, you're free to go. We've arranged transport for you and your friends back to your residences. Use the time to think."
She moved toward the door, then paused and looked back. "One more thing, David. There are people who will try to contact you, people who claim to have information about your past, your family, your name. Be careful, not everyone who offers answers is telling the truth."
The door closed behind her and the room fell silent again.
Lucas let out a long breath. "Well that was terrifying. She's terrifying. I hope I never have to deal with her alone."
"She's right though," Erica said quietly, speaking for the first time. "About the offers, about the threats. Things just got very real."
Becca stood, her movements smooth and controlled. "My family will want to meet you, David. They'll send an invitation within the day. I'm telling you now so you're prepared."
David looked at her. "What do you want me to do?"
For just a moment, something flickered in those silver eyes. Uncertainty, maybe. Or hope. "I want you to make your own choice. Not because of me, not because of my family, not because of anyone else. Your choice."
Lucas nudged David. "Dude, that's like really mature of her. I'm impressed."
Becca ignored him. "Can we leave now? I need real coffee and possibly a nap."
---
The transport they'd been promised turned out to be a sleek black hover-car with tinted windows and a driver who didn't speak. Lucas spent the whole ride pressed against the glass making airplane noises while Erica pretended not to know him. Becca sat in silence, sipping coffee from a thermos she'd produced from somewhere, and David watched the city blur past and tried to think.
Twenty-four hours.
Twenty-four hours before the world came knocking with offers and demands and questions he couldn't answer.
Twenty-four hours before he had to decide what kind of person he wanted to be.
The car dropped Lucas and Erica first, then Becca, then finally David at his apartment building. He stood on the sidewalk watching the hover-car disappear into traffic, then climbed the stairs slowly, each step heavier than the last.
His apartment was exactly as he'd left it. Couch, coffee table, cracked ceiling, everything familiar and unchanged. But he felt different walking into it, like he'd outgrown the space overnight.
He sat on the couch and closed his eyes.
**[Welcome Bonus still available. Spin the Wheel of Fate?]**
The voice was calm, patient, waiting.
David opened his eyes and for the first time really looked at the interface. It floated at the edge of his vision, sleek and silver, completely different from the blue system everyone else had. He could see options, categories, a store icon that promised weapons and potions and skills, a missions tab, a status page.
He focused on the wheel.
**[Spin the Wheel of Fate]**
**[Prizes include: Skill Upgrade Tokens, Rare Equipment, Stat Boosts, Talent Enhancement Cards, and more.]**
**[Spin now? Y/N]**
David took a deep breath.
"Spin."
The wheel appeared in his mind, massive and cosmic, covered in symbols he didn't recognize but somehow understood. It spun, faster and faster, colors blurring into light, and he felt something building in his chest, anticipation or fear or both.
It slowed.
Clicked past one prize, then another, then another.
Stopped.
**[Congratulations!]**
**[Reward: 3x Talent Upgrade Card]**
**[Use to increase the rank of any three abilities by one tier.]**
David stared at the notification.
Three ability upgrades.
He had two abilities, Fire and Earth, both currently S-rank.
If he used both cards on them, they would become...
**[Abilities upgraded: Fire Elemental (SSS-Rank), Earth Elemental (SSS-Rank)]**
**[Masking protocol available. Would you like to display these abilities as lower rank to external observers?]**
SSS-rank.
David didn't know that was possible. Didn't know the system went that high. Didn't know anyone had ever reached it.
**[Masking activated. Abilities will display as A-rank to all external observers.]**
**[You may adjust this setting at any time.]**
He sat there in his tiny apartment, staring at nothing, feeling the power thrumming through his veins. He was stronger now than anyone on Earth, stronger than anyone had ever been, and no one knew.
No one could know.
His phone buzzed and he glanced at it automatically. Lucas, of course.
*you okay bro?*
*that was insane today*
*like actually insane*
*but also kinda cool*
*you're kinda cool*
*don't let it go to your head*
David smiled, actually smiled, and typed back.
*I'm okay. Thanks for being there.*
The response came instantly.
*always bro*
*always*
He put the phone down and looked at the necklace, warm against his chest.