Twenty Feet Ahead of Us. Standing (with) A group Of Students Who Were Commoners by the Registration Tables; Their Clothing Was Clean But Cheap Looking; The Sword They Had on Them Was Too Heavy For Their Small Frame And It Was Strapping Across Their Backs.
This Boy Has Brown Hair And Green Eyes. His Jaw Was Set With A Type Of Determined Stubbornness That Is Usually Associated With Someone About To Take A Great Risk, And Take Action To Do Something Great And Dangerous In The Future.
Welcome Aiden Crest!
Hero Of Route One, Commoner With Legendary Bloodline Hidden. Boy Who Killed Cedric Valdrake More Times Than Anyone Else In The Game!
He Has His Eyes Fixed Right On Me.
He Is Not Scared. He Is Not Impressed. He Is Not Trying To Analyze Me Politically. And, He Sure Has No Intention To Give Me Any Signs Of Respect For Being In The Company Of His May Be Considered a Lesser Noble.
He Has My Attention, And I Have His Attention. He Looks At Me Like A Dog Looking At A Cat Who Is Wandering Into His Yard. His Gaze Is Simple, Honest, And Completely Lacking Any Insights or sophistication; It Says, "I Do Not Like Who Or What You Are, And I Am Not Going To Pretend Otherwise!"
Our Eyes Are Meeting, And I Would Like To Think That In The Game This Is A Cut Scene, Where Two Character Portraits Together And A Musical Note Was Played, At That Point Cedric Was Going To Call Me A Commoner And Tell Me To Know My Place. In The Fan Wiki, This Moment Is Written With A Description Of How/When Cedric First Met His Arch-Nemesis.
The Reality Is That At This Moment It Is Quiet. The Scene Is Smaller Than The Cut Scene Version.On a crowded platform, two teenaged boys stood across from each other watching one another closely. The first boy was dressed in silk, the second in cotton. The first boy has a dynasty behind his eyes while the other is burdened with a destiny he hasn't discovered yet.
Aiden has an Aether signature that is quite interesting. At first glance, his signature is like that of an acolyte: solid, competent but unremarkable. Upon closer inspection, however, there is something else sleeping beneath the surface of his signature. It exists deep within Aiden, but only someone with my meridian-path sensitivity would have seen it. It is a secondary signature that lies dormant beneath Aiden's first signature, similar to how a coal can be found beneath ashes. The secondary signature is not in use, nor is it aware it exists at all. However, when it eventually awakens, it has the potential to exceed Aiden's current output by a significant margin.
Aiden is believed to have the legacy of Starfire. The legacy is dormant for now, but one day will awaken at some point in the future according to a script setup.
I was staring at the weapon that will eventually kill me.
Aiden surprised me by not breaking our eye contact. I held my gaze on him for four seconds — which may seem like a long time for locking eyes with another person. After four seconds, I did something that would have been approved by Cedric. It was something that did not cost me anything to do and gained me exactly the type of reaction I was hoping for.
I stared through him.
I did not stare at him; I stared through him — as if he were made of glass. I made direct eye contact with his face then looked beyond him into the distance. That is the most significant insult an aristocrat can give a commoner. There is no anger, no hostility — not even contempt. Simply nothing. I am not paying attention to you.You don't have enough importance to be disliked.
Anger coursed through Aiden's Aether signature like a bright spike displayed briefly before he lost control of the impulse due to an inability to be able to exercise his willful control over his emotions developed throughout years of Formal Training. The tension in the air became potent enough that the commoners sitting around him noticed a negative energy but were oblivious to the reason behind the negative energy.
As I walked past him, I did not even slow my steps down.
---
[ Villain Points Earned: +5 ]
Reason: Dismissed Protagonist #1 with canonical contempt. Behavior consistent with expected villain parameters.
Narrative Deviation Index: 0.4% (unchanged)
Assessment: Acceptable. The system's records indicate that the subject is performing the intended function as per script guidelines. The system has expressed concern about this compliance as the system does not establish trust based upon cooperative behavior of any form due to experiences of pain in the past.
---
I dismissed the notice and continued on my way.
I could feel Aiden's anger backend sparking like a small, tenacious ember. In the game, this was the fateful event: the first point of interaction that would give rise to the main character's hatred for the antagonist — the same hatred that would persist through the subsequent chapters and eventually involve a duel to the death between Aiden and the antagonist.
I had given Aiden precisely what the script demanded: a hashed-out justification for his hatred of me. A clean, simple, uncomplicated explanation for his motivation without being overly reckless.
The real reason I needed Aiden to stay alive was because the Antagonist Class known as the Abyssal Sovereign would arrive at some time in the future and when this time arrives, all of the worlds' heroes will be needed to defeat this ancient evil.The individual who was meant to murder me also arrived at the academy.
The registration area is ahead and just beyond the registration tables are the main gates of the academy, which are two fifty-foot tall, transparent doors constructed from Aether crystals, which are glowing with contained Aetheric Energy. From the Main Gates, I could see into the Main Hall, where the enrollment ceremony would occur.
Also from the Main Gates, I sensed the radiant presence or "signature" of Seraphina's energies within the Academy, which felt warm and steady to me.
At the same time, I felt cold aura or "signature" of my nemesis Draven at the opposite end of the registration platform, examining me with a warrior's appraisal of me from behind.
There was something else present as well — a force, or energy, which was not really a distinct thing to sense but rather a shadow of the Aether that seemed to be fading in and out of the corners of my Void Sense.
It was Nyx Silvaine lurking, and even when I could not sense her, she was already observing me and noting things that she could exploit about me in the future. She had already placed me on her family's target list for the next "kill".
Once again, I arrived at the table where enrollment was processed, and when I presented my paperwork to the official assigned to check enrollment paperwork, I knew that the functionary was middle-aged and of Acolyte rank, also extremely nervous because he had an unfamiliar Valdrake Lord standing before him, and his hands began to tremble.
"Welcome to Astral Zenith Academy, Lord Valdrake," the functionary said to me. "Your quarters have been assigned to the Gold Wing, Room —"
"Iron."
The functionary blinked, unable to process my answer; he paused for a moment and said, "My Lord?"
"Give me an assignment in the Iron Wing," I replied.
The functionary looked completely confused. A room in the Gold Wing would have housed the most noble of students, the Zenith-tier Candidate, or someone searching for the highest positions available. The Iron Wing is for mid-level students looking to compete against the other mid-level students.The Valdrake noble class, and the talented among the commoners, are as far apart as billionaires riding in coach.
However, I had my reasons for selecting the Iron Wing.
Everything I'd do at the Gold Wing would be scrutinized. Others were watching everything I do — students, faculty, political operatives — everything I'd do or say would have an audience. The Iron Wing would provide me with more opportunities to train without anyone watching me. Further, this was where I would train with Aiden Crest, and Liora Ashveil. All of the heroes from commoner backgrounds and their hidden talents would also be there.
I needed to train with them to watch them be themselves rather than a representation of themselves from the game. I needed to learn the people the Script had determined were heroes.
Moreover, I needed to see who might be a potential threat that the game did not show to me.
"Iron Wing," I repeated, this time without an invitation to discuss the issue.
The functionary gulped, gave an affirmative nod, and began making records with the excited anticipation of telling the story for at least ten years at his family's dinner table.
Once I received my assignment (Room 7, Iron Wing, 3rd Floor), I exited the gates and walked to my new home.
Behind me, the crowd continued murmuring. Everyone would be asking themselves: The Valdrake heir has come, finds one of the most promising commoners to be unimpressive, and voluntarily took a "lower" level assignment. Why?
This is the sort of wonder and confusion I wanted. It can be almost as valuable as fear; the former is much cheaper.
As I approached the gates, I could still hear the hum of the gate; the aether crystal vibrated against my void sense — it was part welcome, part a warning to me, part registering my presence to the institution's systems. The security system recorded my presence; therefore, every time I moved, every time I expended energy or engaged in combat, the institution would know.
And this would further lock me into a" cage." It was a cage, but one with better decorations than the previous one I was in.
When I stepped into the Great Hall, I was met by 3,000 other students. I recognized forty of them, and had forty-seven death flags associated with them.
Another story was emerging in the mystifying, state-of-the-art, floating school, and that story would follow the Script, unless I broke it.
Just over three weeks ago, I was no longer alive.
Now, I am the "Villain" of my own story.