My shoes pressed fresh leaves into imprints in the sand as we made our way towards the centre of the town. Houses towered above us, splashes of red and yellow bringing cheer to the jungle atmosphere.

Beside me I heard a leaf crunch and noticed a second set of footprints next to me. Gerial’s invisibility didn’t erase his physical presence from the world, only from my eyes.

“I’d just assumed you’d go to my school.” My announcement had brought silence. “Do you want to go and work for somebody straight away?”

His pained tone painted me a picture of his misunderstanding.

“It’s not that.” I tried to look where his eyes might be. “It’s that if I do go, I want to be safe. William has his father, a gold mask, and you have yours, the director of a school. My dad is amazing, but he’s not capable of defending me from kidnappers. Or worse.”

My teachers and parents had withheld information on what people would do with a mana charged child. I think leaving it to my imagination made it worse.

“William is having his birthday party on a secluded island, and I don’t think it’s just to be fancy.”

“School is safe.” Gerial voice rose.

“And my parents?” I countered. “I wouldn’t be able to cope if someone tried to get to me through them.”

My heart thrummed steadily. Each point Gerial brought up was one I had brought up myself to my parents, and to Jackson, Marv, and Indra. I didn’t want to leave my parents so soon after arriving in this world, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

If I had to leave I would do it on my own terms and do the best job I could. We’d taken our time in fleshing out the plan.

There was no need to be rash.

Master Wilhelm was a gold mask, and a sponsor of our Zodiac compound. We’re members of its scriber division. It would be a severe insult to harm us here.

It would also give me the leverage needed to talk to the guests.

“You’ve got a scary face Andross.” Gerial’s tone shifted. “I can see your point. I suppose I can’t argue too much. The church usually has protection stationed nearby at all times. I don’t see them, but it doesn’t mean they’re not there.”

“The church?” The trees and leaves rustled around me.

Were we being watched right now?

“You don’t think they’d let a Marked one walk around without protection, do you? There are some of us that have been used as batteries before. I don’t want to go through that.” I heard him shiver beside me. “This event will be safe. William and two Marked ones in the same location? Security is going to be coming out of our a-”

His voice cut off as I grabbed his arm. Or his head. “You told them about me?”

I felt something squirm under my hand. It was an ear. “Oops.” I let go of it.

“I didn’t. Trust me, you don’t want to open that can of worms.” Gerial poked my shoulder in return. “Another Marked one is coming… Alyssa? Yeah, I think her name is Alyssa.”

“You don’t know her name? Have you met her before?” I couldn’t hold back my curiosity.

A person that shared the same fate as us, but because of a different divine. She could be an ally. Or she could have accepted her fate and given up.

His footsteps fell silent. “I met her predecessor. She was nice.”

“Oh.” I looked back towards where I’d heard him.

Then I felt a hand smack into my back.

“We can’t keep being this glum.”

“Especially since we’re going to survive.” I agreed.

We drifted off into conversation as the main mansion slowly came into sight. A grand palace of shimmering gold assaulted my eyes. I’d forgotten what kind of man Master Wilhelm was. His tastes were as garish as they were glamorous.

The sky warped to bring the rays of the sun’s light towards the roof of the mansion, a cyclone of reflected lights extending across the island.

“Who needs a lighthouse when you have this?” I shook off the last of the sand as we finally hit a stone path.

“Why thank you, young Silver.” A voice spoke out from beside me. “May I say, I am most fond of the name you have chosen for yourself. Silver does shine with such splendour, does it not?”

My body jerked back as a man appeared beside me. A royal red cape flowed down onto the ground, and plates of gold stuck to the man’s chest and shoulders. He wasn’t wearing his gold robe or gold mask from Zodiac.

“Master Wilhelm.” I bowed low. “You are dressed most finely today.”

Time to win points for my dad.

“Why so formal?” Master Wilhelm grinned. “This is my casual wear. I wouldn’t want to outshine my son on his birthday, isn’t that right?”

A subtle wave of pressure brushed against me. My back broke out into a sweat, and I heard a squeak from beside me. Locks of golden hair cascaded across his eyes, but I could feel his stare on me.

“Absolutely.” I nodded.

“Great. Jackson told me he’d like you to be introduced to some of my friends.” He clapped his hands together. “He’s sneaking around here somewhere, no doubt avoiding me. I decided to meet you first. Eyes can confirm things that a recommendation cannot.”

I stayed silent. I didn’t want to annoy him with a misplaced word.

“Excellent choice.” Master Wilhelm raised his arm in the air. “Yo! Teral!”

My dad and Frederick had rushed ahead of us the moment the mansion came into sight. I held back a laugh as my dad came to a screeching halt. He turned around and his eyes widened.

“Master Wilhel-” He stopped mid-greeting and turned back to Frederick. “Thank you so much for your help. And the interesting talk.”

Frederick looked from my dad to Master Wilhelm. He was stuck between manners and a boss being ignored. He gave my dad a curt nod and then continued walking into the mansion.

“Manners make the man.” Master Wilhelm winked at me as my dad rushed towards us. “We shall continue our discussion later in the evening. After the crab cakes.”

He turned towards my dad with open arms. “Tell me, tell me, have you figured out-”

I felt someone tugging at my arm and looked to my side. Gerial was pulling me towards the mansion.

“Okay, okay.” We made our way towards the building. “I’ve met him before, but Master Wilhelm really is… Easygoing.”

“Then he’s doing a better job of disguising himself than William is.” Gerial spoke. “To his enemies the man’s as vicious as they come.”

“Really?” I peeled back at the man studded in regal attire.

I’d felt something in that small display he’d sent my way and it scared me. His power was the real deal. Then he slapped my dad on the back and my opinion of his ruthlessness disappeared.

“Why do you think he wears all that gold?” Gerial asked. “Always makes for an interesting show when someone tries to challenge him for it. He’s one of those people that loves the thrill of the fight.”

That was a funny picture, but the implication was worrying. I’d have to get on his good side at this party. There was another thing I’d notice during our brief encounter.

He hadn’t commented on my growth.

Frederick was waiting for me at the door, opening it for me with a smile. I thought he’d left.

“My job is to guide the guests inside.” He looked over to my dad. “At least now I’ll get to rest for a while.”

“Thank you.” I took a step inside.

Then I stopped.

There was something in front of me that shone a brilliant turquoise onto my suit. I stared at the contraption and curiosity welled up inside me. It was a box. With four legs. And arms…

Wait, is that a robot? It looked like a spider with a torso on it.

There was a sword strapped to its back.

There was a face in the middle of it. A pudgy cheeked child looked down at me and I raised my head to meet his eyes.

“Dirt face.”

“Sword baby.”

William’s robot hand flew out towards me, and I shook it gently. There was a chill in the air around it, and the material was cool to the touch. It didn’t look like metal. It’s lustre and feel reminded me of a gemstone.

I activated my mana sense, hoping to see how it worked, and I saw nothing. The gemstone machine wasn’t magical.

It was an onze.

I tapped the construct’s arms and moved behind it, placing my fingers on the outer shell. It was freezing. My fingers pulled away and I saw their tips starting to frost over.

“What are you doing?” William’s voice called from the front.

“Checking out your awesome robot.”

My dad had shown me something similar to this once. A piece of knight armour that had the symbols carved on the inside instead of the outside. They were designed that way so that a hit from a weapon couldn’t damage the symbols.

“It is awesome.” William agreed.

He looked over at me, his onze creaking as it turned. His presence was a lot more intimidating when he was speaking from atop a giant robot.

“Where is everyone?” I looked around. “I thought this was a party.”

William sniffed. “You think they’re here for me? They’re in the main hall. I’ll be the centre of attention during my demonstration, but until then they’re more interested in each other. A group of preening puffers.”

I heard a choked laugh coming from beside me, and William’s onze twisted towards it. His eyes narrowed and the four legs of his machine skittered around me in a circle.

“I know you’re there, Marked one.” William’s arms poked the air cautiously. “Your dad introduced himself on your behalf, quite the insult if I hadn’t heard tales of your legendary shyness beforehand.”

I felt a hand grab at my shoulder and dig into it.

“Okay, okay. Don’t damage the suit.” I raised my hands. “Time for me to distract you.”

William turned towards me.

“Why aren’t you weirded out that I’m grown up now?” I jabbed my finger against my own chest. “I look like I’m five. I expected a bigger reaction.”

William’s construct tilted. “I don’t get the question… of course you grew up.”

What? I stared at him.

A rush of cool air took me out of my stupor, and I raised my hands to block it. William’s construct unfolded before my eyes, splitting into separate parts and then scrunching into a single rectangle.

In its place was a toddler, looking six or seven years old. I forced my surprise down when I saw William’s smug expression.

“You are joking.” I spoke.

“It was the first thing my father and I did in order to get me into school faster.” William chuckled. “Cost a pretty penny for the concoctions and regents. Don’t worry, by the time I pass my third birthday we intend to grow me to a proper warrior’s height. It’s the wise thing to do.”

Money? I pressed my hands against my suit.

It was the most expensive gift I’d ever gotten.

He thought everyone had access to the resources he did. Dang rich people.

What he was describing sounded like magical cosmetic surgery. Age and growth really were strange concepts in a world where the two didn’t always line up perfectly. I’d found that people placed less importance on age in this world.

“I see you’re going to reveal yourself.” William scanned me from top to bottom. “Good. I was worried you’d take the longer path. Then again, that wouldn’t be the decision I’d make.”

Oh, right.

This guy thought I had [wisdom] just like he did.

I shook my head. “Looks like we’re all making plans for protection. Your dad wants you to go to school?”

“Not just any school.” He nodded towards the empty air beside me. “Koshima academy. The headmaster has generously allowed us to provide a demonstration to show him my capabilities. If I pass, I will be allowed to join the academy next year.”

I leaned towards him. “What’s the test?”

“Originally, I was supposed to fight against the Marked one. His prowess in battle is well known, and the prestige of defeating a Marked one is overwhelming, to say the least. However,”

He smiled, and I shivered.

“I’d prefer to fight you.”