Loki sat on the bench in the dining hall, Tars beside him. Across the table, Lisa ate with quiet, measured bites, while Joycelyn had stripped off her grey top and sat in a thin singlet, shoveling rice into her mouth with the enthusiasm of someone who had learned never to waste food.
Her busty frame shook with each enthusiastic scoop. When she caught Loki staring, she crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue.
At the next table, Ray sat with Pan and Mary, eating in silence. Lucas, Ken, and Jon had already finished; Lucas was teaching Ken a card game while Jon watched, occasionally pointing out mistakes.
When the meal ended, Ray called the newcomers outside. The sky had darkened to deep purple, the first stars appearing like pinpricks in a vast canvas. A fire pit had been built near the house, logs arranged in a circle around it.
Ray stood beside the flames, tossing sticks into the crackling light.
"Sit," he said, lowering himself onto one of the logs.
Loki sat. Tars sat beside him. Pan, Mary, and Ken took the remaining spots. The fire warmed their faces as Ray stared up at the stars, his white hair catching the light.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he said.
No one answered. The sky was beautiful more stars than Loki had ever seen, the camp's light pollution nothing compared to the open dark of this place. But beauty felt like a distant thing, something that belonged to people who hadn't watched their friends burn.
"I know you have questions," Ray said, still watching the stars. "Listen to this tale. Maybe your questions will be answered."
Loki felt Tars's hand slip into his. He held it.
"There was a place called Erenstone," Ray began. "Humans lived there in peace. There were no monsters."
He paused, letting the words settle.
"Then the peace was broken. Erenstone was attacked by creatures animals, regular animals, but with elemental attributes. Fire. Lightning. Water. Earth. Things humans had never seen before."
He looked at the group, his blue eyes catching the firelight.
"Humanity lost nearly thirty percent of its population in the first attack."
Loki's skin prickled.
"Across the empire, all sides were attacked. The north by lightning beasts. The east by fire. The south by earth. The west by water." Ray stood and walked to the edge of the firelight, staring out at the dark. "The elites prepared for the worst. In their desperation, the evolver injection was invented."
He turned back.
"Guess who it was tested on first."
The fire crackled. No one spoke.
"The elites. The rich. The nobility." Ray's voice was flat. "They created camps in the name of human survival. And seventy percent of the remaining human population the lowborn, the poor, the unwanted were subjected to the injections."
He let the silence stretch.
"Only twenty-five percent survived."
Mary made a sound like a wounded animal.
Pan sat perfectly still, his face unreadable.
"But humanity was saved. When the next monster attack came, the evolvers fought back. Casualties were reduced. Humans won battles. Reclaimed land. Discovered soul crystals. Advanced their technology." Ray's voice hardened.
"And the nobility looked at the evolvers and saw a threat." He walked back to the fire and sat.
"They claimed to be pure humans. Said evolvers were abominations. Tried to wipe them out." He shrugged, a small, bitter movement.
"The evolvers had other plans. They won the war. They were only forty percent of the population, but they won." Ray picked up a stick and traced circles in the dirt.
"They could have killed the rest. Every man, woman, child who had called them monsters. But instead " He drew a line through the circles, scattering them.
"Instead, they put them in camps. Subjected them to the same pain. The same injections. The same tests."
He looked up.
"Which brings us to where we stand now."
Loki shot to his feet. "What bullshit. You expect us to believe a word that comes out of your mouth?"
Ray didn't flinch. "You saw the room. The equipment. The people in white masks. That was Erenstone. The current Erenstone. The place you were taken for your awakening."
Loki's mind raced. The red door. The corridor.
Waking up in a white room. It made sense more sense than he wanted it to.
"Are you telling us it was all for nothing?" Ken's voice was tight. "This makes no sense."
"I didn't believe it either." Ray spread his hands. "But that's all we know. I'm no older than you. I came from a camp just like yours."
"It's true." Joycelyn's voice came from the darkness. She walked into the firelight, her arms crossed. "We were told this when we became second stage evolvers. We voted. We decided you should know now, not later."
"So our friends died for nothing?" Tars's voice cracked. "Are those tombstones even real? Are they buried there?"
Ray met her eyes.
"They died for no reason at all. And no—they aren't buried there. The tombstones are in their honor. Nothing more."
Mary let out a sob, her hands covering her face.
"That's a lie. You bastards. What kind of people tell this to children?"
"You were Priest Light." Loki's voice was barely a whisper. "You promised us a future."
He thought of Mends. The brown door. The cycle.
"What happens to those with an affinity less than ten percent?"
Lisa stepped forward. "They continue the cycle. They believe they're mining for you. They live in the camps. They breed. Their children are taken to children's camps. The cycle continues."
Loki sank to his knees. He grabbed handfuls of grass, pulled….
"What madness is this?" His voice broke.
"We're sorry." Lisa's voice was gentle now. "We know this is too much. But we can't let you live believing in fairy tales." She sat down across from him, pulling her knees to her chest. "We were told this truth when we became second stage. And we believe if we had known earlier, some of us might still be alive."
Tars knelt beside Loki, her hand on his back. "Is there anything else we should know?"
Lisa hesitated. "Becoming an evolver changes you. It raises your emotional intelligence. Makes you... adaptable." She looked at Loki, then at Tars. "You've felt it already, haven't you? After the graveyard. You were sad truly sad and then you ate, and you laughed, and for a moment you forgot."
Loki opened his mouth to deny it. Closed it.
"You feel happy you survived," Lisa continued. "You've already accepted your loss. Your minds are already looking toward the future." She stood. "That's not weakness. That's what evolution does. It helps you survive."
She walked toward the stone building. Joycelyn followed.
Loki stayed on his knees, grass in his fists, staring at the fire.
She's right, he thought. I was sad. And then I wasn't. I ate. I almost laughed. I held Tars's hand and felt warm.
He remembered Mari's body burning in his arms. He remembered the ash on his skin. He remembered the sound of his own screaming.
And yet here he was. Breathing. Eating. Holding someone's hand.
What kind of monster does that make me?
Ray stood at the edge of the firelight, watching the stars. After a long silence, he spoke without turning around.
"Go inside when you're ready. There are beds. Sleep." He paused. "Tomorrow, will be long day."
He walked toward the house, leaving the fire to burn down on its own.
Mary, Ken, Pan, Loki and Tars stayed where they were, watching the flames consume what was left.