Chapter Four: You Are Alone

The King sat upon his throne, looking rather eager and anxious, his face determined and unmoving as he watched the heroes enter, creating a semicircle around the steps to his throne. Satisfied, he cleared his throat, and spoke. “Heroes! Congratulations on the formation of your magical cores. I hope it went smoothly and without difficulty.” He paused, trying not to mix his words as he spoke.

“Now, we must discuss the problem at hand.” He could see the eyes of several heroes widen, others burrowing in confusion, curious about the situation. “There is a traitor among you heroes, an evil individual tasked with the destruction of what we value, given the powers of the demons. Does anyone here have this power?”

Gasps erupted throughout the crowd, the previously curious expressions of the hero turning into a mixture of surprise and fear. No one spoke, however, including Michael, who currently had a small band of sweat running down the back of his neck. He knew what happens to people like him, he knew what fate would befall him if he turned himself in, and he desperately wanted to avoid that outcome.

“We will not hurt you, and we will not punish you if you speak up. You will be separated from the rest of the group and be individually trained, away from the heroes and important figures. If you do not speak up, when you are discovered, you will be tried for treason and hanged!”

That shook Michael. The tree was right, he would die if they learned his secret. His head was filled with the horrifying scene of his hanging body, or his head on a pike, or whatever medieval horror came into the realm of imagination. He internally shuddered, slowly stabilizing his emotions as he continued to listen, along with the other, very scared heroes.

“W-what are they planning to do to us?” One of the heroes spoke up, their words stuttering in fear of being accused as they spoke. The king only shook his head, a large sigh erupting from his mouth. “They received a quest to eliminate the other heroes. Simply put, their goal is to kill you all.”

Michael clenched his fist, feeling his body shake. I can’t let that happen. I will not hurt anyone! But… he relaxed, his movements unseen to the rest of the group. I must not let myself be captured or discovered. I need to fit in perfectly with the other heroes.

“Well, since the Traitor will not come forward, you are all dismissed to your rooms. Feel free to mingle about, and talk amongst one another, but you must be back in time for the evening meal. My leading scientist Alrune will collect information on your core, quest, and class later. Until then heroes, I would suggest ignoring the existence of a traitor. Continue on with your daily lives, and study hard. You will all become saviors of the realm one day!” He waved off the heroes, who began to walk back to their rooms, each of their minds spinning with the new threat.

“A traitor?! I can’t believe it!” Michael heard the excited whispers of two of his classmates. “Well I hope we can find them before they try to kill us!” The other replied. “Yea, I hope they’re just found quickly. I’d rather have them get hanged over us getting hurt.” The first one said back, each word striking Michael like a rock. “Wait, what if It’s you?! What if you’re trying to manipulate me to murder me?!” The other one exclaimed. “Yea right, as if I would hurt my best friend in the whole wide world! I’m hurt just at the thought of it!”

Michael sauntered out of earshot, managing to find his room. He opened the door, his frown stuck on his face, when he saw Ken sitting in a chair. Shit! What is he here for?! He almost faltered. Almost. “Hey man! What’s up?” Ken spoke casually and calmly to Michael, seemingly unthreatening and unsuspicious. He didn’t look like he knew anything. I must be cautious about this. As long as I don’t give him any ideas, I’ll be safe.

“I don’t know man. I’m just… a tad bit overwhelmed. Too many things going on at once, you know?” Michael didn’t skip a beat, placing his hand on his forehead. “It’s… it’s a fantasy, you know? It just doesn’t feel like it does in stories. We’re here, we can’t go back, and we don’t even fully know what we’re supposed to do! What’s our goal? We’re supposed to follow the king, but we don’t even know what he wants from us! There’s just too much uncertainty.” He shook his head, staring off into the distance as he spoke.

“I understand what you’re saying. We’re just stuck here, and we’re being forced to work for this king… but I feel like it’s probably one of the best options we have. He’s willing to help us, to train us, and give us powers. I feel like that warrants our help, kind of in return for helping us!” Ken put his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “One day, when we’re a bunch of badasses taking down the bad guys, we’re going to be thankful. You’ll see.” He chuckled at the thought.

“Well if anyone here’s gonna be a badass, it’s gonna be you, Mister Solar Core. I’m stuck over here with a Fire Core! You’re gonna get tutored and taught everything you need! I’ll probably just be left in the dust…” Michael let out his annoyances all at once. He wasn’t mad per se at Ken, just at the predicament he was in.

“Puh-lease, everybody’s gonna be a badass! We’re heroes! We’re the hope of the Kingdom! The people believe in us, even if we don’t, and one day, I bet you we’re going to go down in the history books. We just have to get past the first part.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “I guess it’s just important to remember that there are 30 of us, all in the same situation. We’re all struggling together, and we’ll all get through this together. You’ve just got to remember that you’re not alone.” With that, he walked off, leaving Michael to himself.

You’re so wrong… Michael thought, his fists clenching.