“I congratulate all of you for finishing your first semester in Welldark,” Derilea addressed the student body. The Queen of the Headmaster stood atop the same stone platform that she had held the speech on at the start of the semester. The damage Aclysia, Esther, and I had caused it had been completely fixed. It was all flat, light grey, almost white rock.

Taurus stood behind his Queen, looking every bit the bull he always was. For the moment, standing there, arms crossed, was all he did, while Derilea in her maid uniform continued her speech.

“For many of you, attending this school must have been a cultural change of immense proportions. The Dimensional Truth recommends to us a lifestyle that is often difficult to accept. I hope that your first semester has shown you that the Anomalia may be different from the monogamous lifestyle you have been surrounded by, but it does not need to be loveless. Matter of fact, it cannot be loveless.

“To love is the greatest hurdle of all. To fall in love is often easy, perhaps even unwanted, and so to continue loving can be a struggle that cannot be described. To learn is similar. Some lessons come swiftly and easily, some even unwanted. I can be content knowing that there’s another wave of students in Welldark that has learned the first thing about the truths and the power the cosmos has cursed and gifted them with. May you be shaped by your experiences here, into better people, and into families of the multiplied love.”

I had not expected such a speech out of Derilea. The maid was always so straight-laced that I had thought all she would say was a factual recounting of what was expected from us next semester.

“Next semester, the following things are expected from you…”

Perhaps I should have halted my thoughts for three seconds next time I dared to be surprised by anyone.

“…You are to continue taking the mandatory courses, although it remains up to you which semesters exactly you visit them all at. As you leave the first year, the law that prevents upperclassmen from approaching you is lifted. Expect interest in you to rise accordingly. You will want to assemble your Anomalia by the end of next semester, as your ranking tournaments will be held shortly thereafter. As for the semester break, I wish to make you aware of the extracurricular activities provided by the university. You may sign in for them via AppDark. Otherwise, I hope you all use the break productively.” She turned her head, voice turning tender and loving when she beheld her King. “The Head-Master will now address you.”

Taurus tensed up in a way that, to most, must have seemed like he was flexing his impressive stature. After having spent a lot of time with the man, I realized that he was simply uncomfortable with giving public speeches. It was interesting what weaknesses even the most powerful of men had. His discomfort did not stop his voice from booming through the room though. His towering figure stared at us all through the large screens under the ceiling of the massive room.

“Ambition,” the word washed over the freshmen in the room. Row upon row of students, a few having to stand or sit in the corridors. About a quarter, by my estimations, of the freshmen had not bothered attending the end of semester speech. “All of you have ambition. Some of you have too much… a woeful many of you too little.

“The infinity of the cosmos makes many actions appear useless. Nihilistic reason may lead you to believe that nothing you do ultimately matters. Chuckle at such notions. Everything you do matters. Everything you do matters absolutely. You are part of the cognition of the universe. You are creation gazing in on itself and rearranging it to be more pleasing. You are cosmos into yourself. Every action matters, because it shapes you. Every inaction matters, because the lack of motions defines you just as much. An unworked block of clay may be defined as formless, but its potential dries up into a clump if not shaped.”

Taurus’ eyes travelled over the crowd. He stopped at me. Despite the roughly hundred metres between us, he looked me dead in the eye.

“You must push yourself in order to attain what you want. Nothing about ambition is worthless. Recognize what you cannot do. Strive towards reaching what you can do. Your life may end, your name fade, the marks you made on the world erased, but no ripple ever stops echoing into infinity. All actions are a reaction to the first action. You are a link in the chain that stretches into the Dimensional Truth. Act like it. Show me that you are capable.”

“I guess that’s my cue,” I whispered to Esther.

“Your cue?” Willt asked, realizing quickly what I was getting at. “Seriously? Again?”

“As someone I regard as wise recently told me: I do my best work with an audience,” I responded and departed with one more kiss from both my Queen and my maid-to-be. I made my way to the corridor, then down to the arena.

I was noticed swiftly. Being the focus of the Headmaster let everyone notice when I moved. In a world of turning heads, I was the only pair of moving feet. At the foot of the stairs, I stopped. My eyes closed for longer than a standard blink. Standing atop the platform, I put my hands casually in my pockets. With certain steps, I moved towards the speaker. My own voice was carried by the magic.

“Headmaster, I wish to face the challenge to be worthy of your daughter’s attention once more,” I said. “You speak of ambition and this is mine. I have come short. I have embarrassed myself in not being as serious about this as I could be. I have righted that wrong.” I stopped, only two strides between us. I took my hands out of my pockets, straightened up, and braced for impact. “Test me.”

There was murmuring all around. The news of my test had spread to most, but not to all. Those out of the loop were quickly caught up, while Taurus stared at me. The 2,20 metres tall goliath towered over me. When he took a step, I could feel the vibration of his sole hitting the floor. Broad, he positioned himself in front of me.

“Five times I have witnessed your improvements. Five times I was disappointed,” he said to me, as if no one else existed. “Let’s see if your ambitions are beyond or a match of your current abilities, Karitas.”

I smiled and let my eyes wander over the crowd behind Taurus. All eyes laid on me. Who out there knew me? Who was hoping that I would get crushed? Who was at the edge of the seat, praying for my success? Who was growing more interested in me for having tried and who would fall for me having succeeded? What ripples would this action make?

I loved to consider it all and began to hum my own little song.

In an instant, it got stuck in my throat. I hunched over, as if the air atop me was compressed into pure metal. Clenching my teeth, I straightened back up. Behind Taurus’ stern face, I saw the students pressing into their seats. Even those so far away felt a wave of the Headmaster’s pressure.

‘You’re being… too… kind…’ I thought, barely keeping myself from saying it loud. Very few in the room would understand the true meaning of those words. To most, it must have sounded like I thought he was going light on me. This was the full extent of his aura, everything that I was used to and having experienced it several times, I knew that Arustius Taurus was not one whose aura carelessly affected all around him.

He was giving everyone a taste of what I endured.

I raised one leg and slammed it back down, standing broad. The muscles in my neck tensed. Sweat formed between my brows and pearled to my nose. I felt like I was at the end of one of my sprints, my body heaving. My lungs refused to expand all the way, felt ironclad, as if I had been holding my breath underwater for several minutes. I was sinking deeper. The pressure mounted.

The Headmaster’s figure loomed over me. Taller and taller, he seemed. His dark eyes stared down at me, as if I was a mere ant. His features blended into a shadow that appeared out of nowhere, until only the white of his eyes remained. The horned darkness swallowed everything, until he was larger than life.

Just as my thoughts turned into crushed ice and my knees began to quiver, I realized in Taurus the view from my singular position. He was larger than life, but only than this life. I stood in a place impossible to stand, the heart of an endless plane of hexagons and traced a line upwards. I traced myself upwards and I alone remained.

The intensity of the aura changed. I grew numb, as if hypothermia was setting in. What had been terribly heavy became absurdly light and I straightened up completely again. Vaguely, I was aware of the pressure. My fists remained clenched. My skin felt hot and cold, switching back and forth in rapid, unpleasant intervals. My lids were heavy. My soul was tired. Yet, despite all of this, I could stand without issue. I had passed the point of struggle. I was a runner in motion, capable of continuing until I stopped myself or dropped dead.

Then, the pressure was suddenly gone.

Subconsciously, I had been stemming against it. Once it was gone, I was a divider without elements to keep separate. I folded, the energy that had kept me upright leaving me. A paw-like hand caught me by the chest. For a few seconds, the Headmaster had to support me, then I stood on my own feet again. “Good work, son,” he said and patted my shoulder. “1 minute and 23 seconds.”

“Thank you, sir,” I responded, and bowed my head in deep respect.

In the distance, I heard the shout of a very excited succubus, and then the entire room broke out into applause. I grinned, ear to ear, and bowed in a way that I knew made me look overly dramatic and like a show-off. I didn’t care. I was overly dramatic and I was a show-off. I tried to find that succubus somewhere in the crowd.

I did not manage to, not before both Esther and Aclysia reached me in a storm of hugs and kisses. In front of the majority of freshmen, I grabbed them both by their round butts and pulled them tightly against me. What were kisses on my cheeks, I nudged towards my lips.

My first true kiss with Aclysia was not one I enjoyed alone. Although perhaps awkward in angle and not as deep as a union of two could be, it was all I wanted it to be. Aclysia, Esther, and me, our lips brushed together, our heads held close, the warmth of our bodies melded into one for one wonderful moment. Esther pulled away from the three-way kiss to whisper. “Now.”

I wasn’t going to argue with the lady of my love in front of the entire school and hungrily devoured Aclysia’s lips on my lonesome. The pretty pink, soft pillow was all mine and I eagerly made that a reality. My Astral Capacity washed through our kiss.

At first, it felt cold, like holding my hand under a stream of water, except I was the stream of water and the hand. I could feel a tiny part of me spread through her. The last resistance, the respect for her parent’s wishes, dissolved with their wishes fulfilled. Then, once I had filled her, she responded.

Diligent and orderly, her energy went into me. It felt like an intimate touch was washing through the fibres of my taxed muscles, making me feel secure and awake to the core. A truly calming feeling, as if I was laying myself to rest after a long day and knew I would drift off the second I closed my eyes.

Our powers intertwined, lingered in each other, left a mark that would last permanently unless removed by a force only we could muster. I could simultaneously feel my energy coalesce in her body as I felt hers in mine. Ours, all of ours, as a pool of energy beyond us two was nourished. The true heart of an Anomalia, growing by one member.

It was hot, almost unpleasantly so, as the Astral Capacity renewed the visible mark on the ringfinger of my right hand. For her, it was the left. We continued to kiss, ignored what of the world existed beyond us two and only stopped once the ritual was completed. Curiosity overcame the greed we had for each other’s body.

I looked at my hand first. It was pretty unspectacular. The Anomalia mark of a leader had the shape of a black circle that ran around the first segment of the finger. Three lines now crossed it. Two for the number ‘cards’ in use and one for Esther’s Queen position. Both Jack and Ace were assigned positions and would not be claimed automatically.

I looked at her raised, left hand, which she inspected past dreamy, half-closed lids. Eight lines crossed it, demarking her at roughly 80% of my (and by extension Esther’s) strength.

“Ambition,” Taurus turned back to the crowd. “Not just for infinity, but for the now. Do not be bogged down by the uncertainty of a grim future. Live for the next step. Find for yourself what you can. Be the centrepiece of your story.” A long pause. “Now, enjoy your break.”

It would have been a laughed-at end to the speech, had he not radiated such power.