The last day of the Grand Camp came and passed in the blink of an eye. I tried to make Mirage work, which… honestly, was far more complex than I’d expected. Still, I managed to use the racial ability on Volca’s mark, concealing it.

  It wasn’t perfect, but using a new ability was always strenuous, especially when the bond was still as weak as ours. Once the bond reached the 1st Stage and I’d gotten a few dozen hours of practice with Mirage, I’d improve the concealing. But, for now, it would do.

  If someone asked about the mark, I could always say I found a way to hide it. Maybe someone would find that weird, but they’d quickly realize that it was best to hide the mark, ensuring my enemies wouldn’t know about the Baptism and thus the sacred flame. Keeping my powers secret was one piece of information my foes wouldn’t know – and wouldn’t be able to prepare for.

  Neither the researchers nor powers like the Ruler of Fire could say anything against that logic.

  “Are you done?” Scott’s voice rang out from the hallway as he pulled on his clothes. “The graduation ceremony is about to begin. Hurry, hurry!”

  “Calm down a little.” Daniel waved dismissively before returning to the clothes sprawled all over his bed.

  Glimpsing in his direction, I found several sets of business casual clothes focused on a more modern style. Then there were combat clothes, a set of suits, and some casual clothes to lounge around in bed. Or to feel comfy.

  “Seriously now?” Scott grunted, his eyes turning milky white. “DANIEL! Don’t even think about wasting another half an hour deciding what to wear if you’re not going to change in the first place. You have one more minute before Adam is going to turn your bed into a cozy campfire!”

  “I am?” I raised an eyebrow as I fixed the final button on my shirt.

  Casual was the most comfortable, but today wasn’t supposed to be comfy at all. As hot and unbearable as the graduation ceremony promised to be, I was curious – and a little proud. Proud of my achievements, my growth, and… my appearance.

  I wore one of the combat suits I’d ordered from a cadet months ago. It was a little edgy, but it suited the event – a mixture of combat, formality, and business.

  The shirt was custom-made, a button-down design in deep charcoal-black. The collar was reinforced with a faintly visible crimson thread that traced the edges like a hidden warning. Over it, I wore a light blazer cut with subtle military influence: structured shoulders and a high inner lining that fit just a little too well to ignore. Crimson stitching ran along the shoulder seams and down the outer length of the sleeves, almost like ceremonial markings. The blazer’s inner lining was maroon, only visible when I adjusted the fabric.

  Why did I wear that? Well, for one, it looked amazing on me. Second, it was fire resistant, couldn’t be cut easily, and Spencer made sure to engrave its insides with ether circuits. The circuits weren’t anything special, but they could store and redistribute heat, repair small cuts, and create a paper-thin layer of fire-attuned ether to protect the wearer. There were a few things about the suit I loved, but the most important was how it looked on me. I just liked how I looked in it. Was that really that bad?

  Even my trousers matched the blazer in tone and finish. They were black with a clean, straight-leg cut. Along the outer seams, the faint red thread returned, catching and absorbing the sunlight with each step.

  Ruler Kazriel’s onyx ring, the black sheath, and the dark sword I’d attached to my belt for ceremonial purpose rather than necessity worked well with the rest of my appearance, shaping me into the cadet I was. As detached as the Grand Camp and life as a cadet had been, dressed like that, I felt great.

  Scott glared at me, and I cleared my throat with a sharp nod. “Yeah, I’ll burn down everything. Maybe I’ll slip a little and burn your hair a little.”

  “You dare do that again?!” Daniel spun around, electricity flashing through his eyes.

  “Last time was a mistake,” I grumbled, pulling my hair – or what was left of it – forward. “Or do you think I wanted to burn my own hair?”

  “I don’t know. Could’ve been a kink you developed with the Caldera,” Scott chimed in. “Not that you looked bad after losing your hair. But… well, let’s just say we were all happy when Daniel concocted a hair-growth serum for you.”

  “Fuck you too,” I grumbled. “Anyway, Daniel, put on something neat. I don’t want to be the only one overdressed. In the worst case, we’ll just play it off – show off our looks and embarrass ourselves a little. It’s not like we – well, at least I – won’t see them again.”

  Since Daniel belonged to the Zerog household, he might have to see some of them again. I was different. I had no obligations of that sort. Embarrassing myself in front of the cadets was not high on my priority list, but I truly felt like wearing something nice after all I’d achieved in the Grand Camp.

  I joined as an Adept–merely days after actually becoming one–and I left as an Expert with four Soulkins, two of which were sacred beasts. Adding a glutton and a bloodthirsty mantis, I felt like I couldn’t complain. Not really, especially not with a Ruler’s inheritance at my disposal.

  I’d been borderline poor when I joined the Grand Camp. My debt to the Zerog household weighed heavily on me in the first few months, but now? No more debts plagued my mind. Daniel acquired his Species Expansion Aspect and infused it, although he was a little secretive about it, and I’d obtained a World Aspect as well. Or should I say ‘Runic Heart’?

  Anyway, I was nothing like I used to be. The last year changed me a lot. It taught me the value of true power and what some people would do to acquire it. Not all experiences were good, but I learned a lot. Even if the friends I made over the last year were to forget me, I wouldn’t forget them–none of them, no matter how fleeting our friendship had been.

  I wanted to honor them all, because I owed it to them.

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  Hence, I wore the best and most expensive clothes my frail heart could justify paying for to honor the Grand Camp. After all, without the Grand Camp, I would have never made it this far.

  “Get ready, or we will actually be too late.” I snickered when Daniel still wasn’t done ten minutes later.

  Scott cursed, which only prompted me to laugh even more.

  God, how much I loved these idiots.

  “Perfectly on time.” Daniel smirked, ignoring Scott’s curses.

  If our destination had been our district’s central hub, we would have made it on time, but we had to rush to the Grand Camp. Our ranking was high enough to afford a few perks, one of which was the invitation to the main district’s graduation ceremony.

  Hence, we were actually too late. Or, in Daniel’s world, we were right on time.

  A dozen drones hovered over the main district’s central hub, recording the cadets who made it into the Top 250 in the Grand Camp rankings. The drones recorded everyone in great detail, with the lenses zooming in from several angles. Some focused on us for a few seconds, but they shifted back to an intricate marble balcony connected to the main tower standing tall opposite the central hub.

  I’d never been in the main tower, nor had I ever seen anyone entering or leaving it. That changed as an old man stepped onto the balcony, looking down at us from high above with a fatherly smile.

  He was short, probably not even reaching up to my shoulders. His body was covered in a long robe, though it didn’t hide his sunken cheeks. The old man was skinny, his head covered in white bush-like hair that appeared alive. He looked…odd. Really odd–and it only got worse the longer I looked at him. He was old, yet there was something youthful about him. It was almost like he was younger than I was.

  A spring of youthfulness.

  And that power. Looking at him, I didn’t doubt for a moment that his presence could be felt across the districts. I didn’t doubt that his projection in the districts radiated the same overwhelming force if it was already this intense from the central hub. The radiance of power made my hair stand up, and his presence demanded loyalty and obedience.

  “Cadets,” his voice hollered through the central hub, reaching every corner with ease.

  “Today, you stand in the Grand Camp as heirs to the legacy of the warriors whose sacrifice shaped our history. You have endured trials few can imagine. You conquered hunger, exhaustion, and the quiet doubts that tried to break you. Yet here you stand unbroken.

  This is what it means to be forged in the Grand Camp.

  Each of you has surpassed the cadets of every generation before you. As the first to withstand the full trials of this new era, you graduate bearing the highest honor our order can bestow–the right to lead, to protect humanity, to strengthen the Bastions, and to carry forward the warrior spirit of old.

  But do not be deceived by the cheers waiting beyond these walls. The world does not celebrate your strength; it requires it. Shadows gather in places you have yet to tread. Enemies sharpen their blades even now. And ahead lies a moment–unique to each of you–that will shape the course of your life.

  When that moment arrives, remember what was forged here. Remember the comrades who bled beside you, the fire you discovered within yourself, and the purpose that brought you to this place.

  Carry that fire forward. Let it become the torch that guides others through the darkness.

  Walk from these grounds with pride. You shattered your own limits. You rose beyond who you once were.

  You are the Pillars of mankind–the defenders of the Bastions–warriors who will not bend when the inevitable storm comes.

  You are ready. Not because the Grand Camp declares it, but because you proved it.”

  As the old man’s speech continued, I realized something: I had no idea what the “trials” of my friends had looked like. Didn’t we all just attend the classes and lectures to get the credits needed to graduate? If so, all that talk about hunger and exhaustion didn’t really make much sense.

  Then again, I did not like the way the old man used the speech to manipulate the graduates. The more he spoke, the more apparent his view on the “dangers” outside the Bastions became. The Outsiders–although not explicitly named–were dangerous and had to be fought. Defeated, preferably killed, to protect the Bastions. We were no longer cadets but had become the Pillars of mankind.

  It was almost like graduating from the Grand Camp was our coming-of-age, and that we’d now be seen as real adults. As Blessed with the sacred mission to protect the Bastions no matter what it took. Even if it killed us.

  Honestly, I thought the same before–that it would be fine to die as long as my death helped mankind survive a little longer. Now…well, now I’d still give my life if that was what it took to protect my family and friends. However, I could no longer listen blindly to the propaganda of the old powers. Their words fueled the future Pillars’ fire. It did the same with me, but in a different direction than intended.

  The old man’s speech fanned the fire of rebellion in my heart. The desire to change something. Remove the root of the problem to protect mankind.

  Putting that aside, I was curious what kind of challenges other cadets had to go through to graduate. Most of my credits came from winning the Katrak. Honestly, the victory pushed me far ahead of everyone else at that time–so much so that even my half-assed attempts at earning the last few credits had been enough to graduate. In fact, the Katrak and my rapid growth through the Ranks were probably the sole reasons I made it into the Top 250 of the Grand Camp’s ranking.

  Rank 99, to be precise.

  Starting as a Novice no more than eighteen months ago, I really made it far. With Aureus’ evolution from a Wild Soilback to an Awakened Earthheart, I managed to advance to the Adept Rank when I needed it the most. Acquiring Nox a few days later only spurred my growth further, allowing me to advance quickly to a Journeyman. So, in a way, joining the Grand Camp was already enough to earn something great.

  But the Journeyman Rank hadn’t been enough for me. Neither was being an Evolved beast enough for Nox. We pushed further, becoming an Expert and an Unblemished beast in less than a year. Our growth was insane, so were the opportunities at hand, yet–

  Yet it was just the beginning. The journey was just getting started, and I was torn between utter excitement and the fear of the unknown–or the known.

  The old man’s speech ended and he walked away, another Blessed replaced him. As odd as that was, nobody seemed to care. In fact, the young man was cheered at like a super celebrity as he leaped off the balcony, flying through the air before descending to one of the cadets in the front rows. He hovered before the first-ranked cadet, a young, inconspicuous woman, only her eyes betraying how lethal she was.

  “Stella Morgen, you have been appointed the 1st Pillar of humanity’s younger generation. Your achievements in the Poisonmaster’s class of poisonous Beasts and concoctions not only demonstrated success, but surpassed the knowledge of the instructor himself. Your wisdom and experience have been formally recorded, earning you this highest honor.”

  The man said a little bit more, rattling down the 1st Pillar’s achievements. It was interesting to listen to, yet it also promised to turn the rest of the graduation into an incredibly long and boring ceremony.

  “Please don’t tell me that he’s going to do that for all of us…” Daniel groaned, and even Scott couldn’t hide his scowl this time.

  “Look at the bright side,” I said, but my friends stared straight back at me.

  Daniel cursed, “Which is?”

  “No idea,” I shrugged as the ground beneath us started to tremble.