The room had thinned out.
Most students had already claimed their weapons. Gold Marks clustered near the best displays, arguing over who saw what first. Near the front, someone had picked a pair of revolvers—sleek, silver metal, cylinders that glowed faintly orange like they were always halfway through a reload. The weapons floated on either side of him, spinning slowly, already bonding to his Core.
Show-off.
Alex was still standing where Genevieve had left them, rooted, staring at rows of floating weapons like they might attack if he moved wrong.
Veronica was next to him, then footsteps approached.
Alex turned.
Scarlett appeared at his elbow. Auburn braid. Hazel eyes. The same grin she'd worn while holding a blade to his throat.
"You again."
Scarlett's grin widened. "Miss me?"
"Like a headache."
She smirked. "Aw, you do care."
Veronica's gaze shifted from the display—slow, unhurried—to Alex, then to Scarlett, then back to the display.
[Boredom: 70% → 72% ↑]
Then she walked; not away from them, toward the displays, weaving through the remaining students like they weren't there.
Alex watched her go. He looked at Scarlett, then at Veronica's back, then at Scarlett again.
"I should—" He pointed vaguely. "She's—we have to—"
"Yeah, yeah, go." Scarlett waved him off. "I'll find you later. Don't pick anything ugly."
Alex blinked. Then moved, following Veronica through the maze of glass and floating steel.
He caught up easily—she wasn't walking fast, just... walking through, the crowd parting without anyone seeming to notice they were doing it.
She stopped near the back corner, arms folded behind her back, red eyes scanning the displays like she was reading a menu she'd already memorized.
Alex stood next to her. She didn't ask about Scarlett. Didn't comment. Didn't even glance at him.
[Curiosity: 38% → 38% —]
[Boredom: 72% → 72% —]
[Amusement: 30% → 30% —]
He scratched the back of his head.
"I... actually don't know what to pick."
Nothing.
"I haven't really..." He trailed off, then tried again. "Never had the chance to choose one before. They were always just... assigned. For training. Based on what they thought I could handle."
Still nothing. Just those red eyes, moving from display to display. Then she raised one arm—slowly, unhurried—and pointed.
Alex's eyes followed her finger.
A scythe.
It hung in its display like it was waiting. Not the traditional kind—not wood and worn metal, not something a farmer would recognize. This was something else entirely.
The blade was matte-black. The shaft was wrapped in dark textured grip. At the throat, where the blade met the haft, sat a complex mechanical housing—circuitry dark, vents closed, dormant. At the base, a dark orb served as counterweight.
No glows. No pulsing energy. It looked normal. Just another weapon in a room full of them.
He looked at Veronica. She was already scanning another display, expression unchanged.
[Curiosity: 38% → 38% —]
[Boredom: 72% → 72% —]
[Amusement: 30% → 30% —]
Alex looked back at the scythe.
"...That one?"
Nothing.
"Okay. That one."
He walked to the display, pressed his palm to the release, and lifted the scythe. It was lighter than it looked. Balanced. Like it had been waiting for someone to pick it up.
He carried it back to Veronica. Just then, Scarlett appeared at his elbow, crossbow in hand.
It wasn't a normal crossbow. It was a heavy matte-grey chassis that looked like a tactical rifle. The limbs swept forward in a predatory curve, the string were replaced by dual beams of fierce orange light. Orange capacitors pulsed along the rails and stock, glowing like the weapon had just woken up. A scope sat on top, linked to something Alex couldn't see.
It looked expensive. It looked lethal. It looked like it had already decided it was better than everything else in the room.
Scarlett grinned. "Nice scythe."
Alex looked at his weapon. Then at Scarlett's. Then at Veronica.
"So. What are you picking?"
Veronica's eyes scanned the remaining displays. Briefly. Then she walked to a case near the wall, pressed her palm to it, and picked up a dagger.
It was a dagger. That looked like a dagger.
Short blade. Basic grip. The kind of thing you'd expect to see on a belt somewhere, not in a room full of Artifice.
She walked back, held it loosely, and looked at Alex.
He stared at the dagger, then at her.
"That's... a dagger."
"Hm."
[Boredom: 72% → 74% ↑]
Alex opened his mouth. Closed it. Looked at his scythe, looked at her dagger, then at Scarlett's crossbow.
"Right," he said. "Okay. Great. We're a team."
‡"‡
‡„‡
The class ended earlier than usual.
Genevieve had given them the rest of the morning to "start bonding" with their new weapons—her exact words, delivered with the same flat tone she used for everything—and then dismissed them without waiting for questions.
Now they were in the Quiet Room.
Scarlett looked around at the flickering sensors, the outdated equipment, the general air of neglect.
"Why here? I thought the other training halls were better equipped."
Alex set his scythe on the floor. "They are."
"Then why—"
"I like the quiet."
Scarlett blinked, then smirked. "Right. Sure. Quiet. So fun."
Veronica had already claimed her bench, tablet out, scrolling, the dagger sitting next to her, unimpressive and unbothered.
Alex sat on the floor, laid out his four crystals, and stared at the scythe.
Now what?
Scarlett walked past him, deeper into the room. She tossed her crystals up—casually, like it was nothing—and they caught mid-air, hovering in a loose ring in front of her.
Her crossbow floated up to meet them, positioning itself at the center of the ring.
Alex blinked. "Aren't you gonna bind your weapon to your Core before upgrading it?"
Scarlett didn't turn. "Already did."
Alex stared at the floating crystals. The floating crossbow. The girl who'd had her weapon for maybe an hour. In class. With barely enough time to actually bond with it, let alone make it hover like she'd been doing this for years.
"Of course."
One of the crystals pulsed as blue light bled from it, and streamed into the crossbow. The weapon hummed, glowed faintly, then settled. The crystal went dark. Scarlett caught it as it fell, before tossing it aside.
The crossbow floated down into her waiting hand.
Alex cleared his throat. "What is it now?"
"R-23." She grinned. "Not bad for five minutes."
He frowned. "Why didn't you just do all of them at once? You clearly can."
"Because then it'd be R-something I can't handle yet." She gestured with the bow. "You have to learn it at each level. Feel the difference. Adjust." A pause. "Otherwise it's just a bigger number you don't know how to use."
Alex looked at his scythe. His four crystals. His complete lack of knowledge about any of this.
Great.
Scarlett tilted her head toward the bench. "What about your... friend? Isn't she going to upgrade her thing?"
Alex glanced at Veronica who was still on the bench with her tablet out. Her dagger sat next to her like forgotten change.
"Trust me," he said. "She doesn't even need an Artifice."
Scarlett squinted at Veronica, then at the dagger, then back at Alex. "...Huh."
[Curiosity: 45% → 42% ↓]
[Boredom: 74% → 78% ↑]
Veronica didn't look up, but the numbers moved.
Scarlett shrugged. "Okay. Your funeral. I'm gonna go spar in the other halls, test out the new upgrade. Try not to miss me too much."
Alex opened his mouth, but she was already walking out.
The door slid shut behind her, then silence.
Alex was still on the floor, scythe across his lap, four crystals in a neat row. Veronica was still seated on the bench, tablet in hand, dagger untouched beside her.
He looked at her. She didn't look back.
He looked at the scythe. The crystals. The nothing he'd accomplished in the past hour.
An hour. She's been sitting there for an hour. Scarlet figured out her weapon in five minutes and left. And she's just... sitting.
Something snapped.
He grabbed the scythe, stood, wound up—like a throw, like he actually meant it—and hurled it at her.
The scythe flew, then stopped. Three inches from her face. Hanging in the air like it weighed nothing.
She hadn't even looked up.
Now she did. Slow. Unhurried. Red eyes finding him through the suspended blade.
[Curiosity: 42% → 51% ↑]
[Annoyance: 1% → 10% ↑]
Alex's heart hammered.
She won't kill me. Clause One. She might hurt me. A lot. But that's still better than being ignored.
"That was dumb." Her voice was cold. Flat.
"Teach me."
She tilted her head.
[Curiosity: 51% → 53% ↑]
[Boredom: 78% → 68% ↓]
Alex swallowed. He was trying his best to look like his heart wasn't trying to escape through his ribs.
She looked at him, really looked. Not through him, not past him—at him. Red eyes holding steady, reading something he couldn't see.
[Curiosity: 53% → 60% ↑]
[Cognitive Engagement: 15% → 30% ↑]
[Boredom: 68% → 62% ↓]
Five seconds. Ten seconds of just... staring. Then she stood, grabbed the scythe, walked to him, and held it out.
He took a step back without thinking.
[Annoyance: 10% → 8% ↓]
[Curiosity: 60% → 63% ↑]
She didn't move. She just stood there, scythe extended, waiting.
He took it. His hands were shaking.
Then she leaned in. Just slightly. Just enough.
"Try again."
[Annoyance: 8% → 4% ↓]
[Boredom: 68% → 65% ↓]
[Cognitive Engagement: 30% → 40% ↑]
He blinked.
"...What?"
"Bond with it. Go on, I'll watch."
Alex stared at the scythe. Then at her. Then at the scythe again.
And in that moment, only one thought crossed his mind:
What the hell just happened.
‡«»‡