“Get out.” A police officer shoved Sel out of the car, causing him to stumble onto the pavement just outside his house. “Don’t try anything funny.”

“Hey, wasn’t I released without charge?” Sel shot back at the obvious disdain. “I’m in the clear.”

“Sure, you fucking spoilt brat. Probably got your dad or mum to pull you out of there. If our inspector was here you’ve been in the mines now.” The police officer gritted his teeth. “Next time you get in trouble, daddy won’t be there to save you anymore.”

Sel wanted to explain, but before he could even utter anything, the police car drove off, leaving Sel alone on the street, neighbours woken up by the distraction and staring at him behind the edge of curtains.

Fucking… Sel took a deep breath, looking at his house, feeling like he had not been back here in a long time. Somehow it looked completely different from what he remembered, as though the departure of Felicia and his mom had changed its physical appearance. Especially with the copious amounts of luggage outside.

Wait, luggage?

As he walked up, he noticed a familiar figure strapping a backpack on, hoisting a duffel bag and leaving the house. Sel hurriedly ran up, trying to stop the person from shifting the luggages. “Wait, wait, wait, where are you going?”

“Where am I going? I don’t know. Where do YOU want me to go?”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?”

“Pfft. You of all people should know. Do you even know what the fuck has happened in the last twenty hours?!”

“Gideon, I…”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Gideon slammed his duffel bag on the ground. “Do you have any idea how it felt to get your house raided, to have your own mother dragged out and arrested without even a chance? Our entire house was searched down to its bones! I was left fucking naked for hours!”

Shit, Tiberius! “Look, we both know that it is for your own mother’s good, and –“

“I DON’T CARE! I DON’T CARE IF SHE’S A MONSTER, OR IF SHE’S THE WORST CRIMINAL IN HISTORY. SHE’S MY MOTHER, AND YOU- YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF ALL OF THIS!”

“Don’t do this, Gideon! I didn’t do anything wrong to your mother, it’s her own actions that got her into this mess in the first place! And you made your own choice to gamble on me, you can’t pin it on me.”

“And why would I have gambled on the fights in the first place if it were not for your involvement with Mason and the others?!”

“You really think so? You could have walked away from all of this when I told you everything outside the gym the other night.”

“Then what?” Gideon shot back. “Then I be a dumbfuck just waiting at the sidelines? Whether or not I gambled had nothing to do with anything that was happening here – your actions were going to get my mother imprisoned either way.”

“I didn’t have a choice!” Sel pleaded. “You and I both knew we were in the gutter – that we had no money left. I had to grab anyway I could out, for us. Even for you!”

“Is this what you mean, every time you say ‘I’ll handle it’? If I didn’t know you, I would have thought you were doing this on purpose, to rip my aunt away.”

“You hate your mother!”

“And she is STILL MY MOTHER! You don’t get to just throw her away like it was nothing! Not like this.”

“Then what, you want me, Felicia and my mom to be in debt to her for the rest of our lives? Living under her as one ‘happy’ household? GROW UP, GIDEON!” Sel grabbed Gideon’s shoulders, shaking them vigorously.

Yet Gideon held a blank stare, unforgiving. “I am growing up, Sel. But not of my own choice.”

It was at this point that Sel realized what was happening from Gideon’s point of view, conflicted between his aunt and Gideon’s wellbeing. Right now, there was a sixteen-year-old boy who just had his last parental figure snatched away from him, reduced to an orphan even before he was of age.

“I lost my family too!” Sel tried to get Gideon on his side. “My sister and mother were taken away from me.”

“And you don’t seem the least bit concerned about it. I don’t see you crying and wailing about them.”

“I….”

“I’m going, Sel. And know this, no matter what you say to me : you did something wrong. I may not have the strength to fix this now, but mark my words, I will.” With that said, Gideon hoisted up his belongings, trudging away down the pavement, lugging his bags with him.

Sel stared at him, watching the last of his childhood walk out of the house. Instead of letting Gideon go, he decided to try harder, running after Gideon and grabbing him. “Where the hell can you go? You don’t know anyone out there! Look, you can still stay here with me, I’m not going to evict you or get rent from you in anyway. You still got your school.”

“Anywhere is better than here. I’m done, Sel. You think I can still show my face in school after my cousin shot up the temple, and my mom being jailed?”

“I know, but family has to stick togeth-“

“That thought did not seem to run through your mind when you were fighting in the arena.”

“There’s no chance in hell I’m letting you go out on your own. You’re not even eighteen and –“

“AND WHAT? I CAN’T MAKE GOOD DECISIONS? WHO WAS THE ONE WHO EVEN DRAGGED ME INTO ALL OF THIS BULLSHIT? If you seriously believe that I can’t make my own decisions, then it is entirely your fault that I was gambling on you! YOU CAUSED ALL OF THIS!”

Sel had nothing left in the tank. As much as he felt that Gideon too had a part to play in all of this, what Gideon said was right. He was the adult here, and he did not act as a proper role model.

“Look, at least before you go, take some food and water. Stay right here” Sel ran into the kitchen, grabbing a few pre-packed lunches meant for Felicia and Gideon’s schooldays, along with a big bottle of mineral water. “Don’t want you getting hungry.”

“Thanks.” Gideon mellowed out after receiving the food, though he was still clearly incensed internally.

Sel knew he couldn’t hold Gideon back any longer, having tried everything in his arsenal. “Any ideas where you’re going to go?”

“Maybe to Oromura, where my brother is.”

“Right. If you ever need help, give me a call. Or you could call Felicia. She’s in the capital too.”

“What..?” Gideon stared at Sel confusedly. “What the hell is she doing there?”

Sel wasn’t sure how much he could say. Tiberius was quite clear about the Unit being a secret thing. “I…. I cut a deal.”

“A deal? What deal?” Gideon’s eyes squinted.

“Nothing sinister. Felicia is studying in the capital now, she got a scholarship from the Administration.”

“Is this why you’re not behind bars now?”

“…” Sel couldn’t deny it, Gideon frowning even harder.

“Whatever. I’m not getting involved in this fucking mess anymore. Whatever shit you and your family found yourself in, leave me and my brother out of it.”

“Look, I’m sorry, Gideon. I didn’t expect any of this to happen.” Sel nodded. He didn’t want to harm his cousin either, he never did.

Gideon didn’t reply, instead grabbing the remaining luggage, tugging them off into the distance. Not once did he look back at Sel, leaving Sel alone in the house.

Sel sighed, entering the now empty house. It was an absolute mess inside, a result of the police raid on the home. Signs of struggling and resistance could be see all over the furniture and broken bottles. What have I done?

The empty façade of the living room finally struck home the fallout of his actions. His greed and lust for power had resulted in the total destruction of his family home. Sure, it was a pain to live under his aunt, but at least he was still with family.

Now? He was alone. He had finally gotten the house, but not of his own virtue, and certainly not without cost.

He trudged through the broken glass and pieces of shattered wood, plopping down onto a dust coated sofa, in a state of a shock. The Shaman’s death, the firefight, the recruitment, the family being separated, it all came in fragments, Sel unable to properly process all of it.

What now…? Sel wiped a tear from his eyes, his head still traumatized from everything that he had just lost. Maybe I’ll just take a rest first, and figure out all of this shit later…

He glanced around the messed-up living room, memories of his childhood rushing back. Sel could not even contemplate what his father would do if he saw all of this happen. Everything seemed to go downhill after his father’s death.

How did it all come to this… Sel tried to rationalize, to find someone to blame. He couldn’t think of a reason why he even accepted Mason’s offer at a job. How did he even have so much confidence at that time?

There was only one thing he could blame – his Deity Interface. If he never had the system in the first place, how could he have done everything so far?

“It’s because of this stupid fucking app that I’m in this shit NOW!” Sel fumed internally, channeling his rage at anything remotely responsible for the pit he found himself in.

Just as he was about to take out his phone and smash it, there was a sudden knock on his door. Sel quickly sprung to his feet, thinking that it was Gideon. “Gideon! You’re back … who the hell are you?”

“I’m your adviser. Now can you please let me in, I’m really tired from travelling so far.”

“Adviser? You…” Sel glanced at the lady’s outfit, which seemed to be a simple t-shirt and jeans, along with some flipflops. Her only form of luggage was a simple backpack, making her look like a desolate homeless woman, one that would scrounge the trash heaps for food.

 “Cut the judgemental look and show me to my room. You have a room for me, right?” Her eyes looked past Sel, trying to see the condition of the house.

“I uhh…” Sel looked behind him, the mess of the house obvious.

“Whatever. I’ll make do. I’ve lived in worse.”

I bet you did. But Sel did not let her in yet, blocking the door with his arm.

“What now?”

“How do I know you’re really the adviser? I can’t let you in without some proof.”

“Look, both you and I had a long day, and the day might get longer if you stall.”

“Everyone today has been pushing me around like I’m some sort of ragdoll, fuck if I’m going to let some random teenager walk in claiming she’s an adviser.”

“Seriously, kid? I’m like twice your age.”

“What?! You look like you’re in your twenties.”

“Exactly – you’re acting like a ten year old kid now. Fucking Tiberius, what did he throw me into now…”

Seems like she knows about Tiberius. “Name-dropping isn’t going to help. You got to have something to prove that you’re the adviser-“

Instead of answering, a sudden domineering aura surged forth across the house, invisible yet completely tangible to Sel’s senses, his muscles and skin tightening like a noose as his heartbeat accelerated. Yet unlike the aura of Red Rascal, the arena’s owner, this aura was more acrid, like a burning smell, a lingering taste at the back of the mouth that one could not get rid off.

“Had enough proof? Oh right, and I also have this.” The lady flashed an emblem similar to that of Tiberius and made it glow.

“How do I know if you’re really part of the Unit? Maybe you’re just impersonating them.” Sel wasn’t that trusting. Not after everything that had happened.

“Hahaha, great stuff. I like you already. And here I thought I was talking to someone naïve.” She clapped slowly, but each clap seemed to reverberate in Sel’s heart, tightening it even more. “But if I really was… what can you do about it?”

Aura of Perseverance!

The pressure relaxed significantly, Sel immediately standing up straight and getting into the fighting posture.

“Oh…? Alright, then. Let’s see what you’re made of.” A grin spread on the lady’s face, alarm bells beginning to ring in Sel’s brain as he felt impending death approaching from behind.

Sel quickly ducked, a fist made of smoke spiralling past him and grazing his skin. Before he could recover, another conjured fist of smoke smacked him right in stomach, sending him crashing through the debris of the house.

Despite the obvious force of the punch, Sel got up fast, not suffering any real damage, and quickly charging back at the lady. Before he could close the gap, a wave of thick fog erupted from her feet, enveloping the entire floor.

Figures of smoke rose up from nothingness, all attacking Sel from every angles. Sel’s battle instincts went into overdrive, using his fist and legs to dissipate the figures. They broke apart easily from each hit, but they seemed to be never ending. She’s the source!

Sel ducked and weaved through the smoke, lunging at the lady until he suddenly lurched forward, his ankles caught immediately by the smoke that suddenly solidified like foam, reducing his movement speed instantly.

Before he could do anything about it, the now hardened foam floor suddenly enveloping his entire body and strangling him in a tight bubble. He struggled to break free from the restraints, finding it harder to breath as the foam tightened even more.

“Had enough?”

Sel gritted his teeth, refusing to succumb. The pent up depression from the loss of his family and the Shaman began to rise to the surface, converting into anger as he attempted to wriggle his way free. No chance in hell I’m letting someone step all over me again!

With a roar, Sel summoned all his strength and attempted to pull his hands together, slowly crushing apart the foam that restrainted him. The lady’s eyes widened as she watched the foam bubble cracked apart at the seams before exploding outward, Sel already rolling out towards.

Each figure summoned from the hardened foam did not faze Sel, with him barrelling down towards the lady before coming close, ready to throw a punch at her face. The punch connected, but for some reason, Sel felt like he was hitting foam, the figure of the lady dissolving like soap bubbles in the shower.

“Well done.”

Sel spun around to throw a kick at the voice behind him, only for his leg to be stopped in place by a tentacle of smoke, which immediately hoisted him up, leaving him dangling from the air as he saw his house from a new perspective.

“You have potential. If we were of the same rank, you might have won. What Aspect are you?”

“Why do I have to tell you?”

“Good. Never tell anyone what Aspect you are. Not even me.” The tentacle lowered Sel to the ground, dropping him unceremoniously. “Hmm, this house looks a bit rough. You live like this?”

“Half of this mess is caused by you.” Sel pointed at a few lingering bubbles of foam on the ground.

“Well, time for some cleaning up then.” The lady snapped her fingers, summoning multiple smoke figures to begin clearing up the debris. Sel studied the figures very carefully, noticing that only their hands were solidified at certain moments when carrying things.

“What are you still doing here? Hasn’t it been twenty-four hours?”

“Twenty-four hours?”

“You can’t be serious…” The lady buried her face in her hands. “And here I was thinking you were smart. Well, I’ll prepare a nice little meal and lots of water for you when you come back. Maybe even a reed stick diffuser in your room. Which one is your room again?”

“Come back from where? I’m not leaving my house!” Sel shot back, indignant. “Even if you’re the adviser, you can’t just waltz in here and –“

[Daily Quest #1 (F): Run 0/10km. 00:00:01 till deadline. Failure: -1 Faith and Special Event. Success: +1 Faith]

[Warning: Daily Quest #1 Failed! Failure Condition Triggered!]

Before Sel could react, a portal opened below his feet, plummeting him down in freefall with a trailing scream.

The lady peeked over the closing portal, shouting down. “Don’t worry, I’ll have the house cleaned up when you’re back! If you come back, of course.”