“Is that all you know how to do, Noah? Run? Stop dodging my blade and fight back!” Cynric Stinnar spat, drawing stifled jeers and chuckles from the audience of students.

As much as Noah wanted to respond with an insult about the boy’s height, rather, his lack of it, or even insult him based on his… scent, he decided not to. Using insults in training is against the rules, and unlike Cynric, Noah didn’t have parents on the Upper Echelon he could complain to to get whatever he wanted. He was a dirt-poor orphan boy from the east side of town who barely even made it into the Haven School for the Strong. Noah wiped the red hair from his eyes and continued dodging the short boy’s wild slashes.

“I’m…done…playing…games!”

Cynric sheathed his sword and clasped his fists together. The woody scent that permeated the sunlit arena was slowly getting replaced by the scent of fresh air.

Wind… he’s gathering aura! Now’s my chance!

In a blur, Noah dashed toward Cynric with a hand on the hilt of his sword.

The short boy let out a wild grin as he awaited Noah’s approach, dispersing the aura he’d been planning to use.

“Finally!” Cynric shouted.

As Noah approached, Cynric widened his posture as if to dare Noah to strike him.

Just as I suspected

Noah ran directly towards Cynric, his hand still firm on his sword’s hilt. In one swift motion, Noah ducked under the boy's outstretched arms and kicked him to the floor before he could react.

“Wha–”

As the boy struggled, Noah pinned Cynric with his knee and held his blade mere inches from the boy’s nape.

Easy!

Noah stood and turned to his side, facing his instructor and classmates.

“Noah Hearts. Swift victory. Prepare for your next battle.”

Noah couldn’t help but notice the annoyance in his instructor’s voice. When he stood to bow at her, the hairless woman gave him an intense scowl as she looked down on him from her elevated seat beside the arena. Similar looks were painted across the faces of their peers, who were made up solely of Cynric’s group of kiss-ups.

How do they not get tired carrying him on that pedestal they put him on…

“This isn’t fair!” Cynric shouted from beside him. “Noah didn’t even use aura! There’s no reason this should be allowed to–”

“You lost, Stinnar.” Noah interrupted, turning to the boy and doing his best to hide the annoyance from his face. He’d been quiet during the fight, but now the fight is over. He doesn’t have to worry about disqualification now.

“What if I were a demon? Are you telling me you’d get killed by a Class A? Just because someone or something can’t use aura doesn’t mean that–”

“You watch your mouth, Hearts!”

Noah’s annoyance turned to amusement as he watched the short boy turn red.

Mizune was right… he does look like a tomato when he's mad.

“I know I speak for everyone when I say the Wolves of Haven don’t need some fool that can’t even use aura. Regardless of whether or not I lost here, it doesn’t change the fact that you have no place–”

“Among their ranks.” Noah sighed, putting a dismissive hand up. “You’ve said it a million times, and a million times more you’ll get the same answer, Stinnar. Just because someone or something can’t use aura doesn’t mean that it isn’t a threat. Take us for example. You’re able to use aura, I’m not.”

Noah walked closer to Cynric, not taking his eyes off the short boy. The two were mere inches from one another at this point.

“Despite that fact, I’m still a better fighter than you.”

“You son of a–”

“Enough!” the instructor thundered. “Cynric Stinnar the Second, you have lost. You have finished your scheduled battles for the day. Gather your things from the students’ chambers and leave. Noah Hearts, you have one more battle for the day. Stand in the center and wait for your opponent. I want you to engage in meditation until they arrive, am I clear?”

“Yes, instructor.” the two said in unison, not taking their eyes off one another until the instructor acknowledged their acceptance.

As Noah walked toward the center of the arena, he could see Cynric’s posse following him toward the students’ chambers. Each of them, including Cynric, scowled at him as they left. He sighed in annoyance and stared up at the glass roof of the arena.

It’s so brown in here. It smells like wood. Probably because everything in here is wooden. Duh. Everyone left so it’s just me and instructor whatshername. She’s so bald. I don’t want to look at her since it’s just us in here. The sun is hurting my eyes. I wonder if it’s reflecting off of her scalp. Is this how you meditate? Can I use aura yet? I don’t feel like I can use aura yet.

Noah stifled a yawn as he reflected on the battle. He pointed out many minor things he could’ve done better. Keeping a hand on his sword hilt to feint a sword slash was an idea he'd gotten training with Mizune considering the girl's chaotic fighting style, but he couldn’t help but wince as he recalled his slight hesitation upon realizing Cynric prepared to use aura.

I’ll learn how to use aura one of these days.

*****

“This city is beautiful! Mother wasn’t exaggerating at all!” Grace said to no one in particular.

The golden, palm-sized angel danced through the air, taking in the sights of Haven, wind aura undulating about her small figure. Despite the wind aura's movements, her golden dress and hair ignored the laws of physics and stuck to her body as though she were a doll. As much as she wanted to fix that minor issue, Grace was too focused on the city around her.

Haven’s architecture was nothing like she’d seen in the Court. While the massive wall surrounding the city was a bit of an eyesore, the central castle within those walls was beautiful. The stained glass windows told the story of what appeared to be man’s evolution through history. The flying buttresses and countless spires gave off the impression that the castle was a place of worship. Sure, it was the size of what would be considered a shed on the Court, but it was still amazing to witness such foreign architecture. That isn’t even to mention the city itself! While the buildings closest to the walls were a bit unimpressive, the buildings closer to the castle were so fascinating! The buildings were all decorated with flora and wooden planks, with some even having terraces facing the wide streets. In the busier part of the city, horse-drawn carriages seemed to move at a neverending pace as tent shops were displayed in what could only be described as a…jingle. Dongle? Jungle.

Grace clapped her cheeks with considerable force. “I can’t get distracted. I need to find that boy!”

Locating him wouldn’t be hard. She’d just have to find his unique SOUL signature and follow it.

As she did so, she couldn’t help but notice her nerves. This has to happen. It has to. Not only is Mother counting on her, but all of her aunts and uncles are counting on her as well. Mother… no… Genova needs there to be an Incarnation of Souls. Unmei decided that Noah Hearts would fit that role, and Grace Morningstar would be the one who…

“I… I’ll… I have to… but…”

Haven was such a beautiful city. Everything looked so… unique. As she was sent in, she was able to see how vast this planet, Manufis, really was. She had to see it. She had to.

Grace dragged herself to Noah’s location. She hovered above a rectangular building on the outskirts of town close to the surrounding wall. As she looked into the glass roof of the wooden building below her, she noticed three figures — a bald, hairless woman in orange robes sat on an elevated chair on the side of what appeared to be an arena, a red-haired boy in white robes in the center of said arena, and a blue-haired girl standing across from him in black robes. They both smiled at each other with familiarity, but the tension in the air was palpable, even to her.

“That red-haired boy. That’s… Noah.”

Grace took a deep breath and lowered herself into the arena.

The first thing she noticed was how brown everything was. It was so… off-putting. How can the central parts of Haven look so good but the outskirts look almost nothing like it? It’s like an entirely different country. Not to mention the clothing. While the people in central Haven wore nice dresses, spiffy trousers, and suits, everyone here is wearing ancient robes! It’s so—

“Mizune Genesis. Noah Hearts. To your corners. Battle begins in one minute.”

“Yes, instructor.”

The two exchanged bows and walked to the furthest ends of the arena.

Grace snapped herself out of her stupor and followed Noah. As much as she wanted to introduce herself to the boy, she couldn’t help but question her mother and auntie Unmei’s judgment… again.

Why does it have to be Noah? What’s so impressive about him that he has to be the Incarnation of Souls?

She watched Noah take a deep, nervous breath. The bald woman did mention battle. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to learn what they see in him?

I’ll see what he can do and make my judgments. I’ll let his fighting speak for him. If he isn’t strong, perhaps I’ll go back to the Court and complain!

And so, she decided to wait…

…and wait…

…and wait…

…until she couldn’t fight her curiosity any longer.

There was a reason they picked him, and she had to know.

Grace took a deep breath and fixed her gaze on Noah Hearts before calling:

A light blue screen popped up before her displaying a statistical approximation of Noah’s strength. As she read Noah’s stats, she did all she could not to hold her head in annoyance.

HEALTH: 10

AURA: 0

STAMINA: 10

STRENGTH: 10

MANIPULATION: 10

INTELLIGENCE: 10

SOUL: -BOUNDLESS-

CONTROL: 0

“Sure, it makes sense that his SOUL stat is boundless since he’s the Incarnation of Souls and all, but everything else is just… pitiful!”

This couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be it. She wasn’t sent away from the only home she’d ever known to give her life to someone this pathetic, right? Anger began to boil in Grace’s belly as she thought about that. She floated down toward the boy and stood herself on his shoulder.

“I’m going to do a POTENTIAL scan. You’d better not disappoint me, Noah, or…I’ll find a way to kill you!”

As Grace looked over this sheet, she thanked the Overseer that no one could see her reaction. If they could, they’d likely laugh their asses off watching her cartoonishly astonished face.

HEALTH: -BOUNDLESS-

AURA: -BOUNDLESS-

STAMINA: -BOUNDLESS-

STRENGTH: -BOUNDLESS-

MANIPULATION: -BOUNDLESS-

INTELLIGENCE: -BOUNDLESS-

SOUL: -BOUNDLESS-

CONTROL: -BOUNDLESS-

“...Boundless? Across the board?! The only person in history to have stats like that is Uncle Justice!”

And the Demiurge, she thought, but Grace decided not to think about that…thing.

As she considered everything she’d seen, she began to reevaluate Noah’s current situation. Sure, his stats were abysmal – his inability to use aura would obviously extend into an inability to use World Manipulation. It’s not like he could meditate to advance like everyone else could. The Incarnation of Souls could only advance through the manipulation of Souls, and since Grace wasn't around it was no wonder his stats were so low. She supposed it was a testament to his will that he managed to make his way into what seemed to be a school for aura manipulators without the ability to use aura.

“You know what Noah, you’re not half bad!” she said, playfully punching his cheek. “Show me what you’ve got!”

Grace sat on his shoulder, planting herself with a bit of aura to ensure she doesn’t fall off.

As Noah stretched, she decided to observe his opponent, Mizune Genesis.

She couldn’t help but cover her mouth in genuine fear as she observed the blue-haired girl. Her azure eyes seemed to bore directly into hers. She didn’t stretch or prepare as Noah had been doing, she simply kept a hand on her sword and stared at Grace. Hostile wasn’t the word to describe that look. Murderous was all Grace could come up with.

“Mizune Genesis. Noah Hearts. Are you ready for battle?”

“Yes!” both fighters shouted.

They bowed to one another and walked toward the center of the arena.

As Mizune approached the center, Grace noticed that the girl tried to focus on Noah, but would occasionally sneak glances down at Grace.

Humans shouldn’t be able to see me! Did I use too much aura on the analyses? If that’s the case, shouldn’t the bald woman be able to see me too? This is bad!

Grace rose once more from Noah’s shoulder and decided to fly toward the instructor. She’d watch the battle from a distance, and if Mizune was watching her, she’d get distracted in battle.

That’d be the best indicator that she’s looking at me and not Noah’s sword or…something. I mean, the air was a bit tense when I first came in, so… maybe she’s just nervous and showing it in her own way?

As Grace floated beside the bald instructor, she noticed the two smiled at one another.

“Mizune Genesis. Noah Hearts. Your battle begins…now!”

In an instant, the two dropped their smiles and leaped backward, both placing a hand on their swords.

While she didn’t care much for Noah when she met him, Grace couldn’t help but find him interesting. Especially against this scary Mizune girl. Grace floated atop the instructor’s head and yelled as loud as she could,

“Good luck, Noah!”