It was cold—too cold to sleep. Even still, Vincent wanted to remain in the realm of unconsciousness. There was something so simple and peaceful about the nothingness that was around him. He had never experienced a dream in his life, so he was used to experiencing a timeless void when he slept. In fact, he grew to enjoy it a lot. For most of his life, it was his only escape, because he knew that if he could dream, he would just relive the horrors of what he was facing during the day. To him, dreams were something only the lucky ones had. Even if he didn't consciously know it, he would always beg to be asleep for just a minute longer.

But time is a cruel mistress.

Slowly, Vincent’s eyes creaked awake and found themselves staring at the lightless room around him. It took him a minute, but he realized that he was back in his room at the Libra headquarters. Achingly, he then began to sit up. After all, there was no point in laying in bed if he wasn’t going to fall back asleep.

It’s a little chilly in here, huh? he thought to himself, rubbing his goosebumped arms.

The temperature he was feeling reminded him of a cold, Maryland morning. One where your breath wouldn’t be visible in the crisp air, but if it got any colder, you would see it. He thought back to the feeling of an ocean breeze blowing through him, cooling down whatever anger made his head get hot, eventually calming him down to a semi-rational state. He remembered what it was like to sit at the edge of his favorite pier and just look out into the empty, yet beautiful expanse of the sea.

Man, how many times did I sit out there? he wondered. Probably more times than Zander could…

He stopped that thought. Before the inevitable sadness that came with that thought entered his body, he felt his hollowed mind drown at that emotion, leaving him to feel just the bare residuals of what once was.

Getting up out of his bed, only dressed in underwear, he wandered over to the light switch, which was next to the standing mirror. Flipping it on, he saw his own reflection looking back at him. There were cuts and bruises all over that body, and when he poked and prodded them, they hurt a lot less than he was expecting. Finally, after inspecting his physical body, he looked up into his own eyes. For a moment, he didn’t even recognize himself. He had to do a double take before he understood that those deadened eyes were his own.

“Must just be a groggy morning,” he told himself.

He then walked over next to his bed and reached down for his pile of clothes. As he did, he noticed that his hands seemed to move through what he could only describe are nearly-invisible water. He watched as the movements of his hand caused barely perceptible ripples in that water. In fact, the more he focused in on those ripples, he realized that some of them were not caused by him. As he looked around the room, every single thing seems to ever so faintly pulse with a unique set of waves.

“Woah,” Vincent said, blinking a few times, “this shit is trippy. Oh well.”

He dressed himself and began to make his way out of his room. Not knowing what else to do, he slowly walked up the stairs and towards Archard’s office. As he did, he noticed two things. The first was that those tiny ripples in the air never fully went away—even when he wasn’t looking for them, they were always in his vision. It was a bit annoying for him, but he quickly ignored it. Second, he was now able to see out some windows, and the way that the sun was cresting just beyond the horizon signaled to him that it was morning.

Once he got to the office door, he simply opened it. He was still slightly asleep, so the thought of knocking didn't even occur to him. As the door swung open, he saw the only figure in the room quickly glance up at him. Archard was sitting behind his desk, backlit by the rising sun, causing his shadow to be even more pronounced and imposing. He was reading what looked to be a blue notebook, but he quickly closed it when Vincent entered the room. There was a hardness and borderline anger in his eyes, but once they met Vincent’s, they immediately softened.

“Ah, Vincent, my boy,” Archard said with a warm smile, “what brings you to my office so early in the morning? I figured you would still be resting and recovering.”

“Nah,” Vincent replied, stretching his arms and neck, “I feel good enough to go. My body don’t even hurt that bad.”

“I see.” Archard slowly lowered the notebook down into one of the drawers on the desk. “I’ll tell you what, consider me mighty impressed by what you’ve managed to do.”

“Like what?” Vincent asked, genuinely confused by the praise.

“The fact that you’ve managed to take out the second in command of Aries. My boy, that is not an easy feat!” Archard waggled his mechanical finger, and as he did, Vincent noticed that a couple more waves emanate from Archard. “Honestly, I didn’t think I’d live to see the day when Iro would be taken out, especially by a new member, nonetheless. To think, you have so much more room to grow, too!”

Vincent started to blush. “I-I don't know about that.”

“Boy!” Archard exclaimed in a half-joking manner. “Take my praise with stride—I don’t just hand it out like it’s nothing. I mean every word that comes out of my mouth with the utmost honesty and sincerity.”

“I don’t know about that,” Vincent responded, slightly cracking a smile. “I’m nothing special.”

“Oh, I beg to differ. You’re quite special.”

Achard then stood up out of his chair and began to walk around the table. “You know, just recently the obelisk in Maryland was translated, and its messages have spread all over the world. It talks of prophecy, world-ending threats, and a supposed chosen person. Now,” he said throwing his hands up in a defensive manner, “normally I’m not someone who would believe in such nonsense—after all, I’m a believer in hard work and reality. However, Fang, who I dearly trust, has informed me that you are indeed this “Chosen” as it were. If their word wasn't enough, I certainly saw the immense promise that you have…and I’m not going to lie to you, I’m convinced. I’m convinced of your importance and the importance you’ll play in the future of this world.”

Vincent’s face was fully red and his smile was wider than it had ever been. He had always been someone who wore his emotions on his sleeves, but this was the first time he had felt adoration like this ever in his life. To be genuinely seen and appreciated was a new experience.

“And so,” Archard continued, “I believe in your growth, as well.”

“Growth?” Vincent asked, still smiling.

Archard then made his way around his desk and ended up in front of Vincent, towering over him by a few inches. He placed a hand on Vincent’s shoulder in a caring way and replied, “Yes, growth. You see, we at Libra have discovered a power hidden just below the surface of Resonators. In our desperate attempts to find a way to combat the terrible Terragong, we discovered how to resonate. While it’s still not a complete science, we have figured out the basics of how to navigate the world of mental waves.”

Vincent then looked at his hand as he brought it up. He watched the small ripples in the air change as he moved his hand around. “You mean these things?”

“Precisely!” Archard announced, removing his hand from Vincent’s shoulder and pointing it up in the air. “This secret, which is only shared throughout the upper circles of Libra, has given us a tremendous advantage over Aries. It’s what allows us to have a fighting chance against those demons.”

“I see,” Vincent said, still staring at his hands. Then a sudden thought donned on him, one that recalled his fight against Iro. “If it’s a secret, then why did an Aries person know how to use them?”

Archer’s face grew a bit grim and mournful. “There was a traitor amongst us once. It’s nothing new to the business, but it still hurt to have a family member turn on you like that.” He paused for a second. “But that’s a story for another day.” His face brightened back up. “Let’s talk about you and your future now. What is your dream?”

Dream… Vincent thought to himself. What is my dream?

It was a question that he answered half-assed many times in his life, giving answers like “sailor” or “mechanic” or anything else that he knew other people wanted to hear. Saying those things got them off of his back. However, this was the first time he felt as though someone was genuinely asking him, and for the first time, he didn’t have an answer. And so, he thought about it. He thought about his journey and the purpose for it; he thought about his own ambitions and goals, which were far and few between; he thought about his friends and the one he had lost; and finally, he thought about the Maryland obelisk and how it finally gave him a direction in life.

“I want to save the world,” Vincent finally answered. “I want to find all the obelisks and figure out the truth of the world.”

Archard began to applaud. “If that’s your answer,” he said, “then you’ll have my full support.”

“Wait, really?”

“Of course! You're a member of our family, and family supports each other.”

Vincent began to tear up slightly, although his joy was slightly subdued within his mind for some reason. “I-I-I don’t,” he stammered. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Well,” Archard laughed, “don’t thank me too much yet. Unfortunately, I still can’t take you to the obelisk in London because of Aries.”

“What?” Vincent asked. “Oh yeah, didn’t you say it was on their side or something?”

“That's right, Vincent. Very astute of you.” Archard then took a deep breath. “We know that the obelisk exists, but it’s deep within the center of the east side of the city—far passed East Power. If anyone went in that far, it would be no different than knocking on Aries’ front door. You’d end up facing the full wrath of them.”

“Oh…”

“Don't worry, once Libra and I take care of them, I’ll be more than happy to escort you to the obelisk. I won’t ask anymore from you, seeing as you've already done so much for us—I wouldn’t want to place that burden on you. You can just relax within our protection while we—”

“I want to fight,” Vincent interjected.

“Excuse me?”

“I want to fight,” Vincent repeated. “I can’t bear to see the terrible things that Aries does. I can’t sit by and do nothing. How can I call myself the Chosen if I do nothing when people need help?”

“You have an excellent point!” Archard laughed. “How could you hope to save the world if you can’t save a single city?”

“Exactly. So please, let me help you with defeating Aries.”

A wide smile crawled across Archard’s face. “Well then, I suppose it’s about time we start training your powers.”