Rin walked down the hallway to his dorm room. There were a few people in the common hall playing some sort of board game. It looked fun from the glances he was able to get. It was a game with multiple hexagonal game pieces lined up against each other with what appeared to be little plastic pieces placed on top. Each player had a set of cards that seemed to represent bricks and wheat among a few other things that he couldn't quite see, some people yelled in frustration. Their loud voices faded away as Rin got closer to his room. The sun had already set and it was well into the night. The trip to Claire's apartment had taken a good portion of his afternoon and he could have returned faster but he decided to walk, giving himself time to think before meeting with Sophia and Douge. He was angry with himself. He wanted to change but without realizing it he had fallen back into the same old pattern of trying to use people.

  “ I won't use them. They're my friends and we work together.” Rin mumbled to himself as he pulled the key from his inventory. He could hear laughter inside. So they were already there figures since it took him a while to get back. Stepping inside he found Sophia dressed in. Pajamas? They were fluffy and pink with some animated character on it, hearts sprinkled all about the pants and shirt. Douge wore a dress?

  “ Douge, what are you wearing?” Rin asked as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

  “ It's a night gown.” He said full of pride puffing his chest out. “ It's comfortable. Feel real free, you should try it.” Rin noticed Sophia glance down.

  “ I think I'm good. Have you two eaten?” He already knew the answer. This scattered snack wrappers, empty bottles of soda scattered about the floor. It was a pretty clear indicator.

  “Yes, we've had snacks.” Sophia and Rin said in sync with one another. Sophia frowned then smiled.

  “ snacks is not a proper meal. I'll cook something up for you two.” Rin moved past them to his desk. It was clean with nothing on top. You kept all his belongings in his inventory so his dorm room was sparse save for the sheets on his bed.Rin pulled out a small burner placing a fire crystal in it. A flame came to life and he placed a pot on top dropping some butter into it directly from his inventory. He was grateful to find out that any food stored inside his inventory would keep in both temperature and freshness and so he had taken to sectioning off a portion of his inventory for prepared ingredients. He managed to fit a fridge which only took up six slots and gave him a lot more storage for food inside.

  “ I wanted to apologize to you too.” Rin said as he watched the butter melt. “ It wasn't right for me to isolate myself and avoid you two. I thought it was for the best.” He slowly wiggled the pot spreading the butter.

  “ About time you came to your senses.” Douge said. “ I know you refused to see a therapist and maybe you should have but that's in the past now we can focus on what comes next.”

  “ Don't act like you didn't curse out your own therapist. When was the last time you saw her.” Sophia said.

  “ Uhhh We don't need to talk about that.” Douge said.

  “ You're not the only one. It pissed me off how they treated me like a kid. I tried but I never felt like I got anything I wanted from them. I just kept being told how messed up in the head. I am how I need to distance myself from the people I've made a connection with like I already wasn't being torn away from my friends.” Sophia said her tone was soft but Rin could hear the frustration.

  There was a long silence only interrupted by the sizzling of onions. Rin had cut them in the Julianne style so they would take a little longer to soften up and caramelize.

  “ Fuck them.” Rin said finally. His back still turned as he stirred. “ I think they're scared of me. I can never get a straight answer out of anybody but I think they're scared of my connection.”

  “ I think you can't get a straight answer because they don't know and I think that makes them scared. This isn't like the stories or prophecies I've heard. There's never a sixth.” Sophia said, moving to sit on the bed.

  “ Explain.” Rin pulled out a small oven turning it on by placing another fire crystal into it.. “ Please. My education didn't cover prophecies.”

  Salt and sugar in perfect portions dropped into the pot as the onions softened, placing his stomach against one of the handles to stop the pot from moving. He kept stirring.

  “Sure I can do that.” Sophia said, throwing a pillow at Douge.

  “ The prophecy comes from the planet Trest, as most historians can agree upon. They were the first planet to have magic even before the cataclysm; it was the battlegrounds of the gods. It said that the Humen, Elfs, Dwarfs, Shad,and Smoulders were created individually by each God. Light,wind,earth,water, and fire But one had been left out. The god of darkness He felt anger and jealousy over his exclusion but he did not speak up for his lover. Lumia placated him with words and when it came time to create the animals of the world the goddess of light abstained from creation and allowed the god of darkness to create in her place. The God of wind created creatures that could take to the skies but, jealous of the Goddess of earth and the worship she received from the elf's. The God of wind created the fox. The goddess of Earth, kind and wise she was not angry and created all the animals on the land. Her Pinnacle creations were the bears. The god of Fire angered by this infraction into his own wife's territory. Created the dragons, creatures of immense magical power that could fly despite their large bodies. The God of the water isolated from the petty squabbles created all the fish in the sea large. Their most favored creation was that of the Leviathan, a large sea serpent. The god of darkness created animals of the night He infringed on each and every territory creating things that could fly, things that could burn things that swam. But what was he to do for one could not create life from shadows. He had to steal from them. The god of darkness's proudest creation was that of a wolf that paid honor to the goddess of light.”

  “ This sounds more like a story than a prophecy.” Rin said interrupting. A pillow hit him in the back.

  “ Shut up, I'm giving background. Now where was I. Yes, right. Once all of humanity was created, the god settled onto a singular planet choosing to watch over them. The gods and goddesses watched as humanity began to war. They grew concerned for their creations. The killing and harvesting of animals wasn't an issue for they were created for consumption but the killing of fellow man worried them and so they came up with a plan. Something that would help unite. They came to the god of darkness and pleaded for him to create a new race. One that would antagonize and unite. Lumia urged her lover on and he gave in because for her he would do anything and so the god of darkness created. He formed monsters from the shadows. He created one that was superior in intelligence: a race that could lead the rest. Demons. For a time this solution prevented wars uniting the five races. However, over time as the demons and monsters worship the god of darkness, he felt the power. It granted him. For each prayer was renewed strength. He grew isolated and angry, eventually choosing a champion as his vessel. In-Flash made manifest the god of darkness swept across the land, destroying all that lived; a dark miasma transformed the creations of the other gods into horrid twisted creatures. The other gods tried to intervene but the god of darkness had grown too strong and so a plan was created they would choose their champions. Forging a brand that can move from hosts to host in case of failure. Each God implanted a spark of divinity giving it to their individual respective races. Besides the goddess of light, she abstained, hopeful that her lover would see what he was doing was wrong. As time passed it became clear that no race could handle the power bestowed upon them, their bodies dissolving within a year of being granted their power. The gods needed something more permanent. They looked too abstract solutions but none worked. Eventually Lumia broke her faith in the god of darkness gone she created the mark of the wolf. Granting it to a man named Pisteuō. She warned the man who was a humble farmer that he would have one year at most to quell the evil. Pisteuō did not succeed in his first year, only managing to free his homeland. But the power did not kill him, The other gods took notice and granted humans their power. For some reason humans were the only race that could hold on to the Divinity granted them. The humans united every race and they pushed back the demonic forces eventually killing the god of darkness's champion. Fearing the return of the god of darkness as one could not truly kill a god. They allowed the humans to maintain their Divinity turning it into a hereditary trait.”

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  Once the onions had fully caramelized Rin dropped in some garlic. Cooking it until fragrant he then poured in some red wine making sure to scrape the brown bits mixing it in. He added in beef and chicken broth Worcestershire sauce thyme and a bay leaf or two. He brought the mixer up to a simmer and stepped away joining Sophia on the bed. Douge had joined her his back resting against the head board.

  “ So what I'm getting is I am to be his champion. But I already knew that I was kind of hoping for a bit of a better explanation.” Rin said.

  “ That's because she's not done. I can finish it up for you if you're tired of talking.” Douge said.

  “ No, I'm okay, just thirsty.” Sophia said, looking for her bottle of water that was sitting on the floor. Rin stood and grabbed it for her sitting back on the bed.

  “ Eventually the gods were proven right and the God of darkness returned. The heroes now separated by generations were brought back together by the one who wore the mark of the serpent and those who would bear that mark became known as the guide. Those who bore the mark of the wolf were leaders, kings and queens renowned swordsmen, those who bore the mark of the dragon were scholars and excellent sorcerers. Those who bore the mark of the fox were thieves and assassins swift as the fox they wore, and those who bore the mark of the bear were childhood friends.” Sophia held up a hand to forestall Rin's comments. “ The god of darkness after his first defeat was split into four entities each one representing a counterpart to the heroes. And before you ask, most people who study this seem to think that there were only four because anyone who bore the mark of the serpent would die upon the uniting of the other four heroes. Now you may talk.”

  “ When I hear prophecy, that's not what I was thinking. I was expecting something more like the four old men, guiding the hands of the new generation towards power. Those with fiery hair are known for their ferocity in battle. Something like that.” Rin said.

  “ That's because she gave you the scholarly version, not the weird old version. I think if I remember it right it was something along the lines of. The first mark shall guide as a serpent glides, the second shall lead, the third shall read, the fourth shall bleed, and the fifth shall breath. Or something like that. See no six mark so you're clearly of the devil.” Douge said with a grin.

  “ I thought a bit of History might help his understanding since he probably has no basis in it.” Sophia said.

  “ Nah Rin's a smart guy, he could have figured it out.”

  “ I'm not sure about that, Douge. As long winded of a story that was , it did give me some context. Perhaps they think I'm the chosen champion like in the beginning and if there's no division of power then the god of darkness must have grown stronger. Maybe that means with such a large universe. He was able to gather enough strength and worship to wipe out humanity. And I'm the symbol of that.” Rin said.

  “ Or and hear me out. They're old and scared of anything that doesn't fit their view of the universe.” Douge said. He had his eyes closed and was using one hand to emphasize his words. “ Sophia, Kenji, Travis, and me. We all fit the mold, Sophia is a natural born leader.” Sophia shied away at the mention of her leading grabbing her left arm and rubbing her hand up and down it. “ Kenji is fast and very plain good for hiding, Travis believe it or not is actually a childhood friend of Sophia's, and me well I'm The most scholarly of scholars.” Douge said with a grin.

  “ Travis what's he like, how does he fight?” Rin asked.

  “ He's a pugilist.” Sophia said. “ He also uses familiars to assist him in combat, but for the most part he's trained with hand-to-hand combat. I believe most of his familiars are melee oriented as well.”

  “hmmm.” Rin stood and went back to his pot to check on the soup. “ How does magic even work? I had grown up assuming you could only use one kind of magic and that holds for people of one to two elemental affinity’s but knowing what I know now it feels like everyone should be able to cast the same spell. If that's the case, why doesn't everybody just use the same overpowered spell.” The soup seemed good so Rin fished out the herbs and added some balsamic vinegar and salt, giving it a taste before adding a little more salt.

  “ That's a loaded question.” Douge said with a groan “ did this get explained to you before.”

  “ Humor me. It's been a crazy year.” Rin said he prepared the oven, having already turned it on. To preheat using the broiler function. He placed bread that he coated in olive oil inside.

  “ I'll explain it to you like an idiot then. Mana reserves of all different sizes, each elemental affinity grants additional mana reserves, some people have proficiency with specific elements as mana reserve is larger, some people have aversion to certain elements cuz mana reserve is smaller. Each spell requires a certain string of words from the language of the word of the command. Most spells can only be invoke by three out of the four elements at once. I don't think there's been somebody who's figured out how to use all four elements. And that excludes light Sophia is just special and I don't understand how it works for her. For some their affinity doesn't align with elements but other aspects of magic like physical enhancement or summoning. The aura is a big factor in that let's take my aura for example, its primary use is to enrage enemies and protect my friends even with the right sequence of words, I've struggled to produce some of the more powerful attack spell combinations but if I flip the script and cast a complex defensive spell, it comes naturally and the sequence of words I use doesn't seem to matter as much.”

  Rin flipped the bread to make sure it toasted evenly.

  “ So the aura seems to influence what kind of magic you can proficiently use.” Rin said.

  “ Yeah. Some scientists and scholars believe that your aura is a manifestation of your soul. It's being constantly explored and studied.” Sophia said.

  Well the last portion of bread toasted Rin divided the soup into three portions each inside a ceramic bowl He pulled the bread out placing it on top before covering it all in a combination of Swiss, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese putting the bowls back into the oven.

  “ I think I understand thank you. I want to make a promise to you two.” Rin said as he watched the cheese melt. He flicked his hand sending a notification to Douge and Sophia.

  “ What's this?” Sophia asked.

  “ Administration permission.”

  “ What?” Douge said confused.

  “ Not exactly sure how it works, but if you accept, I think my ability imprints something onto your soul or aura? Whatever. Giving you access to my interface ability you'll have to explore.” Rin cut off two new notifications appearing in his vision.

  [Sophia Hunst has accepted administration responsibilities.]

  [Dougelee Vlounderparts has accepted administration responsibilities.]

  Rin smiled. I guess I didn't need to practice my speech huh. He thought to himself pulling out The French onion soup. He handed a bowl to each of them with a genuine smile. Yes it was genuine.

  Hours later after talking and playing a couple board games that Douge somehow won every time they all decided to go to bed no one wanted to leave so without words they all agreed to stay in Rin's room. Douge and Rin decided for Sophia to have the bed, he pulled out two sleeping bags from his inventory, handing one over to Douge. It was a wonderful skill to have, dimensional storage was expensive but he didn't have to pay anything. Sophia thought as she laid down looking at the ceiling. She was having a hard time falling asleep and she was clearly the only one who was having a hard time as she heard Douge snoring. The sound was like a leaf blower.

  “ No!” Someone shouted startling her. That voice was Rin. Maybe he was having a hard time sleeping. Shifting around to look over at him she found him fast asleep, his right arm clutching the stump of his left, his face contorted in pain.

  “ No.” He said again, “ I will not listen to you.”

  Rin was talking in his sleep, his voice filled with anger.

  “ I should wake him up “ Sophia said softly but she hesitated.

  “ No, I am changing, I must. I feel more!” Rin's voice grew louder. How had Douge not woken up? His snoring did nearly drown out Rin's voice.

  “ Rin.” Sophia said softly nudging him but he didn't move. She tried again, louder and harder. “Rin.” This time she got a reaction. His eyes shot open and his hand reached out around Sophia's necks. She yelped, startled and fell off the bed. Rin's eyes were wild darting from one spot to another scanning her face.

  “ Calm.” Sophia said. “ It was only a nightmare” her body was tangled with his and she could feel his frantic breathing.

  “ God's why am I calm now. When my heart was leaping out of my chest earlier.” She thought. Rin's grip didn't loosen and she could feel the light headedness from the lack of oxygen.

  “ Rin, please you're hurting me.” Her voice was strained but she didn't plead. Only locked eyes with him. A faint purple streak across his pupils. He let go immediately.

  “ God's. I'm” Rin started. Sophia shook her head and simply laid it against his chest.

  “ It's okay.” She whispered. Her eyelids began to feel heavy and she drifted to sleep.