Aiden did not know what he was running for.
It could have been because he just wanted to run.
Or maybe he wanted to affirm the one thing he could do better than the others.
Either way, he ran.
"It was bound to happen eventually," Thrive said, crossing his arms within the mind space. "At least he got it over with."
"Yeah," Will said with an exasperated sigh, "but he also just yelled at Jax. That's gonna be kind of awkward when he gets back."
"Would you have preferred he kept it bottled up until it got someone hurt during a mission?"
"No, but an outburst wasn't the right way to go about it."
Aiden pushed their voices down.
They could bicker if they wanted.
He needed a vent that was not his best friend.
He pressed on, faster, weaving through trees and letting his body run where it felt right until he found himself sliding into a clearing.
The feeling was hard to describe.
Like there was a necessity to being where he was.
But also a wrongness coming from the woods before him.
Aiden did not even realize he had grabbed his spear until he was holding it out in a ready stance.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then there was a blur of movement that came to an impossibly instant stop.
Wind rushed past it, as if only now catching up and going too far.
The creature was confusing and horrid to look at.
It stood the size of an average horse, but seemed to be constructed entirely out of hands. Its hooves were clenched fists. Its snout was made of dozens of hands woven and laced together to form a roughly equine shape.
Yet ignoring all of that, the worst part was that it spoke.
"Chosen of Indigo," the creature said, "have you been sent to intercept my mission on behalf of your mistress?"
Aiden stood there, unsure for a moment.
Something told him not to lower his spear.
"No," Aiden said. "We just happened to cross paths. But something tells me you're not here for a simple chat."
"That is correct," the creature said. "I have been sent because Selene Drakemire, Liora Aeris, and Thalia Platinumhair have learned knowledge deemed forbidden and, as such, are the subjects of a knowledge hunt."
The fingers across its body rippled.
"Considering Selene Drakemire is another Chosen of Indigo, she is exempt due to the immunity clause. Are you here to invoke your immunity clause for another?"
"Immunity clause?" Aiden asked. "I don't get what you are asking."
"Lady Indigo is the bride of Master Red," the creature said, "and therefore her chosen are exempt from the familiars of Red through the immunity clause. Lady Selene's will be used to protect herself. However, you can choose someone in the hunt to spare, and which to leave at my mercy."
Aiden's body froze.
A familiar coldness swept through him.
He felt so weak that he could collapse, yet his body did not dare move.
The creature seemed to see this.
A cruel, mocking expression spread across its face, the fingers along its body rippling as if it found humor in Aiden's terror.
"Ah," the creature said. "So you are unaware who I stand as the representative of."
It began walking toward him.
Then past him.
"It seems you have met my master before. His presence alone seems ingrained into you quite well."
Aiden's body was too paralyzed by old fear to move.
He could barely even turn his eyes enough to see the look of superiority on the creature's face.
"I shall kill one of them and leave the other," it said. "Consider this pity."
Aiden strained against the fear.
He tried to turn.
Tried to make his mouth move.
But even as his jaw quivered from the effort and his muscles hurt from the strain, instinct rooted him in place.
Within him, even Will and Thrive were pushing.
But it was like something was helping his body suppress any attempt to move.
Tears built in Aiden's eyes as his entire body shook with effort.
Why?
Why can't I take on people twice my level like Selene?
Why can't I have the power Jax has?
I have tried.
I tried so hard.
I woke up and trained.
Worked.
Struggled.
Fought.
But I couldn't keep up.
It's not fair.
I want power.
I can't be a burden.
Even as those thoughts ran through Aiden's head, the creature continued past him.
His spear was raised.
He was ready to fight.
But a single word had shut him down like an off switch.
I hate it.
Aiden had just wanted to go on an adventure.
Meet friends.
Explore dungeons.
He had known it would not always be pretty.
Or nice.
But he had wanted to at least try.
Instead, he had been welcomed into a world of vengeful beings beyond the pay grade of even the highest-level adventurer.
And with them came destruction.
Pain.
Death.
What had Aiden ever done to get caught up in Ymer's hatred other than tell him no?
What had he ever done to receive Misery's ire other than strike back when Misery struck at him?
It was cruel.
Vindictive.
Wrong.
Aiden's muscles strained against his own body holding him hostage.
Pain shot through him.
A cruel ripping sound registered faintly as his hand grabbed the ripcord.
Then he pulled.
Flames shot from the Revolution Core.
Pain and aether pumped through his veins, forcing away whatever had been trapping him.
His mind returned to reality.
There was no sudden surge of power.
No grand display.
This was no story where the good guys could win through sheer effort.
This was reality.
And reality was most cruel.
The creature had already left the clearing, heading toward the ruins they had visited earlier.
Whatever held Aiden released.
He dropped to his hands and knees, tears dripping onto the shaft of his spear.
"I-I'm so fucking pathetic."
He gasped the words between ragged breaths, his entire body shaking from tears that came in a heavy stream.
Will and Thrive did not speak.
Both stood silently, as if unsure what to say.
So Aiden remained there, wracked by shaking gasps and cries drowned out by the silence of the forest.
Even if he rushed after the creature and tried to help, one word would just shut him down and make him useless.
A liability.
That was what he was developing into these days.
"Are you sure about this, Clay?" a voice asked. "You know how your dads going to react if you do this."
The voice came from ahead of him.
Aiden looked up and saw the blurry visages of a pair standing there.
One was taller, with bright orange hair and a nasty scar running along his face.
The other was shorter, with a more nervous energy about her.
The taller figure walked toward Aiden.
When he spoke, Aiden was surprised by just how gravelly his voice was.
Like his vocal cords had been damaged somehow.
"Are you going to give up?"
The question was simple.
And strangely sharp.
Aiden staggered to his feet, tears streaking his face.
"What can I even do?" he asked. "I'm useless to them. And even if I was somehow useful, I get shut down by a single word. How can I do anything here?"
"But are you going to give up?"
"What else can I possibly do?"
"Try."
"Try?" Aiden's voice cracked. "Try?! I have tried, and I couldn't even move."
"So what?"
"So what?" Aiden snapped. "What do you expect me to do here?"
"Try anyway."
Aiden gave the figure a look of confusion.
Now that he could see the man's face more clearly, it was charred and scarred, with a window through one cheek that showed his teeth.
The figure's hand swung out and struck Aiden across the face.
Aiden fell back.
"Aiden Hallowcreek," the man said, "it does not matter if you have tried and failed. It does not matter if you feel useless."
His voice sharpened.
"What matters is that your friends are in danger, and you do not sit there and do nothing."
Fear and doubt continued to simmer inside Aiden's chest.
He staggered back to his feet and looked the man in the face.
"Are you going to give up?"
"...No."
"I can't understand mumbles," the man said. "Are you going to give up?"
"I said no."
"Speak up so I can actually hear you."
"Damn it, I said no!"
The man's hand shot forward, slamming something into Aiden's chest.
A strange feeling shivered through him, like it was sinking into his skin.
Aiden looked up in bewilderment.
Before he could ask what the man had done, a system message appeared.
Your Revolution Core V2 (D) has absorbed the necessary components.
Your Revolution Core V2 (D) has begun to grow and develop.
Your Revolution Core V2 (D) has evolved into Revolution Core V4 (C).
"Then get moving."