The Heavens Shall Fall

To Siu's surprise, no challenges came his way after appearing on the Paragon List, even as the weeks turned into months. What he got was some looks from people who recognized him outside, but... Nothing else. What happened was that, as he was leaving one of his meditation sessions and walking back home to the Gemstone Terrace, a familiar face was waiting for him just before the first red gate of their bridge.

"Senior," Siu said, quickly cupping his hands, greeting Kyrae. "I'm a bit surprised to see you here.

"I can find it with a bit of effort," She chuckled. "After all, my Master is a Grand Elder. But I wouldn't be able to enter without an invitation, and of course, I wouldn't try."

"Please, let's go in then."

"No, that's fine, I'm here to talk to you only." She said, shaking her head, "I wanted to congratulate you on entering the List. That was... fast. You surprised me."

"I..." Siu muttered, suddenly feeling himself blush, "Thank you."

"I'm also here to tell you to keep it up; I'm curious what you may do. I hope you can keep up with the pace, too, because I would hate to graduate right before the waves. I'm expecting to ride them."

"Senior, you are putting a bit of pressure on me if you say things like that."

"I know, that's why I'm saying them!" She chuckled, walking past him, patting his shoulders. "Some Core Disciples took a look at what you are doing, mostly because of Seloryn. I was one of them, and now I'm curious what she is trying to do... But you need to be ready." She added, lowering her voice a lot, "Seloryn's grudge runs deep... If you don't take it seriously, she may drag you all into something that can ruin her and everyone else around her."

"..." Siu's body flinched, and he had had a guess like that in the back of his mind for a while now, but always chased it away. However... After a warning like that, from the number one person on the Paragon List, he could no longer do so.

...

....

......

Despite Kyrae's surprise visit and Siu's initial alertness, it faded to nothing as the hot summer passed, giving way to a rainy autumn that was finally turning into winter, when the rain finally became snowfall one morning. Besides the challenges, another thing failed to come their way: the recruitment of new members. Apparently, Inner Disciples were already too ingrained in the 'normal' way associations should work and were not at all interested in the 'Wardens of Greed.' It was a bit of a surprise, but he didn't mind it that much, unlike Seloryn. Her irritation was clear, mostly because she found the other disciples idiotic for not even trying to understand; thus, her anger was always directed entirely outward, periodically reminding Siu of Kyrae's warning.

When Siu once brought up that he liked how things had turned out and that there were worse outcomes than people leaving them alone, she did snap at him, too, and in their next sparring session, there was a world of pain waiting for him, because she held nothing back. After that, Siu made sure not to mention recruitment before her... ever again.

There was another person who was getting a bit annoyed, namely Quillian. His annoyance came from the fact that Siu's progress had crawled to a snail's pace by now. Soon, he also realized it was because Siu was so familiar with the others' affinities, including Vael's, who became his latest sparring target, that Siu's improvements pretty much stopped being noticeable. So, it was spellcrafting that he made Siu focus on when that happened, yet it also became clear that Siu was best at it in battle, acting on instinct rather than imagining something up from a book. Planning out how to guide his essence, how to manifest it and give shape to it... It was one of his weaknesses. It was also the only time that Siu almost acted like Arya and began complaining. Which left Quillian with one conclusion: Siu needed new people to fight. Aaaand that would be best if they came from challenges, but then, those weren't coming either. Anyone already on the Paragon List couldn't challenge downward, and unranked people were somehow avoiding him now.

Someone would eventually come; everyone knew that, but when? And if Siu stops improving, he may even lose his spot... There were too many Inner Disciples for Rank One Hundred to remain uncontested forever. While everyone else was improving day by day, Siu didn't have the luxury of staying put, and even he knew it.

Still, Siu wasn't that worried yet, spending most of his time on his own, trying to hold onto the copied affinities for as long as possible, to start meditating with them still active, trying to catch a feeling that would help him understand how to create his own spells. A very different method from all the books in Quillian's possession. The most helpful partner in it was Arya, who could summon her powers while he went into meditation, allowing him to latch onto her and start working on it.

By the time the end of autumn arrived, he had a clear picture in his head, comparing his regular essence flow through his blood and how it was when an affinity affected it, changing the properties of his own body to a level that was night and day... just like Arya's two forms. He felt that there was something else there too, something he couldn't see yet, but sometimes he did sense it... But what was it? It for sure wasn't tangible, but... an idea. Some... concept. And just thinking about it gave him many thoughts, and the best way to sift through them was usually to take a walk.

He was just returning from such a walk, his head looking up at the clouded sky, watching the first snowfall, stepping onto their hidden space, when a shout reached his ears, and Arya's head crash-landed into his sternum.

“MASTER!” She yelled, knocking the wind out of him.

“What happened this time around?” He moaned, staying on his feet, looking down, but instead of being annoyed or hurt, she looked especially excited and happy. Which explained why he didn't feel any panic through their bond.

“We have one!”

“One what?” He asked while peeling her off.

“A person! A real one!”

“That explains everything.” He nodded. "I understand now. People live in this place! What a discovery! So... Will you tell me properly, or do I need to use our connection to get into your empty head?"

“A recruit!” She finally blurted it out, but then flinched. "Oi... My head is not empty, it's filled with thoughts of Master's mea—"

"Someone signed up?" Siu stopped her before finishing.

“Exactly!" But then, out of nowhere, her ears flattened, and she now looked like a kid who got to taste a lemon for the first time. “We got one...”

“You say it like that it's Merra.”

“Much worse.” She shrugged, and for a moment that was concerning, but knowing her, Siu's worries disappeared quickly.

“I'll see that for myself. How serious are they? Did they already pay or something?”

“Apparently!” She nodded, smiling again. "Seloryn said that the contract was also signed, so... they are already on that Outer Warden thingy, doing their three-month probation. Master, I say, we keep this one on it for longer! He deserves it!"

"You say it like this one deserves something worse, too," Siu started smiling, but Arya put her hands on her hips, nodding her head vigorously.

"He does!"

“Who is it?” He asked again, now feeling a bit confused.

"A bastard!"

"Okay, if you are not going to be a help, I'm going to ask Seloryn." With that, he already walked around her, heading towards the building, making Arya hurry after him.

"He is a stoneheaded bully!"

"Stone..." He muttered, his steps slowing a little, raising a brow. "Really?"

"Yes..."

"Oh..." Blinking his eyes, he suddenly began strolling even faster.

Finding Seloryn, she was waiting in the meeting room with all the others except Quillian, who was probably buried in the Archives.

"Ah," Seloryn looked up as Siu entered. “There he is. I hoped she would get you the moment you returned. I didn't want to interrupt your cultivation.”

"You can, if it's something like this," he said in a hurry, walking up to the table, “Arya says someone applied, and I guess it wasn't a prank.”

“It wasn't." Seloryn nodded, beginning to explain, "We received the formal request, already signed, right this morning, and after Toban told me the details about him—”

"You should have said no!" Arya cut in, making Seloryn stare daggers at her.

"We are not in a position to do that."

"So it is him!" Siu took the empty chair, chuckling. "I don't mind; I would have said yes anyway."

Seloryn let out a soft breath, clearly a bit apprehensive about how Siu would react, but seeing him now, she knew she had been right in accepting the applicant's request to join. With a much more relaxed smile, she pushed the contract over, making him look down and see the name he had in mind.

Bren Tarr.

"I did not expect to meet him like this," Siu finally said as he picked up the paper, smiling to himself. "Good thing we smoothed things out at the last moment."

"So, what Toban told us," Ruben asked, stuck in a perpetual smile, "Is all true? This is such a juicy topic, I didn't want to believe it! I'm a bit shocked you are fine with it all."

“I told you," Siu shrugged, "We worked things out before he became an Inner Disciple.”

"Master..." Arya tugged at his sleeve, “HE IS FOLLOWING US! Probably here to do some big revenge thing, and ruin it all!”

"I don't believe that." Siu looked at her with a flat look. "And he can't be following us; he came up ahead of us! Plus, we were enemies then, but not anymore. Stop holding a grudge that has no benefit."

“The more surprising part is that he agreed to the terms.” Ruben added again, "But, I guess, he is someone who saw it play out, so he gets it."

“He tried to hurt the Wardens!” Arya still tried, “He is an asshole!”

“You were so happy that someone finally paid up,” Joren said jokingly, making Arya flinch and pout, looking away.

“Yeah, and? Now I'm not! I am remembering him more and more, and I changed my mind because of it!”

"Let her be; she just needs time to let her head air out," Siu leaned back in his chair while Arya glared daggers at him, too, mimicking Seloryn. "Did he say anything as his reason for joining?”

“I thought you'd ask.” Seloryn said with a smile, "He just said he wants a do-over and that you would understand that desire."

"I do..." Siu muttered, turning the page in his hand, checking if there was anything on the backside, but there wasn't. "Sounds good."

"I kinda like this." Vael said suddenly, "I have seen enemies become friends, and it sometimes... made the best kind of relations."

"Hmph..." Arya scoffed at that, crossing her arms. "He will become Master's subordinate at best... Hmph, hmph!"

"And he knows that," Vael nodded. "Just by joining us. Which means he is fine with it, and it shows us enough. Toban also left us a note, saying that Bren had kept a low profile since coming up here. He mostly kept to himself and had very few connections. Better than accepting someone who may be coming at us with nefarious reasons."

"I agree." Joren nodded before anyone else. "Still, a personal meeting should be in order."

"Oh yeah," Ruben chuckled, "I want to see this guy, too!"

"We can set it up in the Reed," Seloryn agreed. "Should be a good place. Honestly... I'm also curious after receiving his application, already signed and everything accepted."

“I'll arrange it.” Joren nodded, without complaint. "Lunch sounds good?"

"Yes."

"No!" Arya answered differently from the others. "Dinner! Let him see my true form!"

"Lunch it is then." Joren hummed, making Arya hiss at him like a cat.

"You are the true traitor! A bully!"

Ignoring Arya, they began discussing what information they wanted from Bren in that meeting when Siu felt it. His silver sash warmed up for a moment, forcing him to stop speaking.

“What?” Seloryn asked, while Siu touched it, curious.

“A message..." A moment later, a familiar essence touched his awareness, as Toban's voice flowed into his mind. "Oh... Rinmei passed." Siu repeated out loud, his brows rising in surprise. In Toban's report, he was to the point, stating that her final assessment was completed this afternoon and that she was to enter through the same passage as Siu by tomorrow morning.

“Who?” Ruben asked, looking at Siu, who was still concentrating on the message.

“Rinmei.” He repeated, glancing at the others. "We have our first recruit, and tomorrow, we are having our first promoted Outer Disciple. Believe me, she will be a great addition, because she is used to the whole structure. I left her in charge, because she was pretty much running it under me."

"Under you...?" Joren asked, already afflicted by Arya's usual antics, making her giggle.

"Nah," She chimed in. "She is into girls; we saw her with the twins, so I think she will be more interested in Seloryn!"

"Oh?" Seloryn giggled to everyone's surprise. "Is that true?"

"Khm!" Siu cut in, clearing his throat. "As I was saying!"

"Wait!" Ruben raised a hand at him, staring at Arya. "Twins? What twins?" He asked, snapping his head and now glaring at Siu as he had just found out some super-secret scoop he was hiding from them.

"They were totally over Master's virginity," Arya blurted it out without thinking. "And they sucked him dry when they awakened their Void affinity! But then some moonfucker took them away... I liked the twins a lot. I miss them..."

"WHAT?!" Everyone asked at the same time, now looking at Siu and Arya, snapping their heads back and forth.

"..." By then, Siu was resting his face in his palms before quickly rubbing it to stay calm. "Let me start from the beginning... There is a lot to tell..."