…

“Hello, and you are?” A lady at the front desk asks.

“Ah, we're new. Here for training.” Samantha says, taking charge.

Serah smiles and Nickie continues to look around.

“Oh. Then you must be looking for Athena. Follow me.” The lady says as she stands up.

The three girls went on to follow the lady, further into the building, and into a hallway. There, the lady knocked on the door. “Miss? There are three ladies out here to see you.” She calls out.

“Send them in.” A voice calls back.

The trio walked into the office and behind a large desk was a lady waiting for them. She had a suit on, which Serah found unfamiliar considering she’s been seeing robes and more primitive clothing lately.

“Sit down.” The lady says.

The three ladies take a seat across from the desk.

“So you’re here for training? Awesome. But first let’s go over a few things. First things first, you are no longer in the world you knew. This, my friends, is your introduction to the multiverse.” The lady says with a smile.

Serah’s eyes widen. “Are we no longer in Ironwall?” She asks.

The lady continues to smile. “No. You are in the Shadow Order’s headquarters. It is an isolated world in the multiverse. From here, our agents are able to... for various other worlds… exert our influence?” She says with a smile.

“So what are you? Are you not just a hidden power on our world? How big is your organization?” Samantha asks.

“Ah, I’m not sure. The multiverse is a big place. There are various powers, all working to conquer what they can. We are the same. As for you three, as new recruits you have been deemed worthy to act on our behalf. Our only requirement for that is that you act according to your will. If your will is valid, you will have a long career ahead of you in the Shadow Order, if not, the weight of your position will crush you.” The lady says before waving her hand.

“Anyways, just ignore all that for the moment. But you should be aware, whatever knowledge you gained from skill points in your previous world is now worthless to you, unless your soul retained that information. The worlds outside don’t all operate the same, and the administrators of your world will not be able to assist you outside of it. Your training here will be of a different kind. We will be testing your decision making skills.” Athena says with a smile.

“Our decision-making skills? What good is that? Wouldn’t it be better to teach us some super magic or something?” Nickie asks with a tilted head.

The lady lets out a laugh. “What good would that be? Essentially, when we send you out there, you’ll be the same as all the little turds in the multiverse. There will always be someone better, someone more powerful, or someone more successful. We don’t care where you fall on that scale; we simply care if you’ll be able to act according to the situation. So for us to send you out there with a modicum of peace, we need to be sure of who you identify as, what your intentions are, and the choices that you’re willing to make. As for the rest…” The lady says with a smile. “You’ll naturally pick up a trick or two on your journey. So you can worry about that later.” The lady says before standing up. “For now, follow me. I’ll show you to your rooms.” She says with another wave.