Jaded Series (Books 1-2)

Basima felt nervous as the sheet of pearlescent light separated her from the others. She hadn't felt this way when Jin had been the one in her place. She remembered how these things normally went from past recordings of previous Seasons, but only recently had she realized how… redacted those recordings had been.

While she had been shocked the week after her eighth birthday when her parents had finally taken her aside to show the actual events of the previous Season's first day and learned the Day of Death moniker it had, experiencing it for herself made her understand that even that hadn't been an accurate portrayal. It didn't show every moment of tense fear nor those odd quiet moments in between fights and puzzles.

Most of the last week they had spent in the Servant's base wouldn't probably be shown on the Illusion Network unless someone specifically requested it. It had been quiet and almost… homey. Learning to sign more, helping in the garden, cleaning the place up a bit more, training in the yard with Jin. It had been comfortable in the safety of their wards with the handful of friends who had survived.

The fact that she was standing here now, about to gain her second Aspect, made her remember how she got this far and why she would be the second person to overcome this trial; because Jin chose her.

It felt silly, especially when she couldn't be certain about the strange woman's intentions, but Jin had a way of making her feel… special.

Basima shook her head, refocusing on following the new instructions of her bracelet and grabbing the Aspect out of the little box like she had seen hundreds of Champion do before her in past Seasons. She had no idea what it might be at first until getting the next set of instructions.

Congratulations on obtaining the Hunt Aspect! Please step into the awaiting ritual diagram to absorb your latest prize then press your bracelet to the pillar once more to go back the way you came.

She was familiar with the routine, and appreciated that it hadn't changed at all this Season, but she was even more grateful that the Aspect would be likely useful for hunting monsters.

Nervously bouncing on the pads of her feet, she activated the ritual and could barely contain the anticipation as she whispered a quiet prayer, "Please, Rabbit. Let it help us survive."

Basima grinned at the new abilities knowing these would definitely be useful.

Hadia patiently waited her turn to cross the bridge to gain her next Aspect, noting the brief flashes of annoyance from a few of the other Workers after Darya insisted Liraz go after Basima and then went next herself. With double the amount of Workers to get through, they had agreed to let two of them go in between each Servant.

Jin had mentioned the odd undercurrent of danger aimed toward the small blue girl, but observing how the Workers were split on the matter would help Hadia know who to target first should a fight break out. She wouldn't let their only connection to the rebellion get murdered by a disgruntled teammate.

Hadia had tried to find a way to learn more about the rebellion that had been talked about in hushed rumors. It was difficult to reach out though when she had no idea who was part of it. Saying the wrong thing to the wrong person on an assumption would get her fed to the tower faster than spitting on Salman's sneering face.

She wanted to help change things. Not only to get back at the system and the cruel people thriving from it, but to make sure nobody else had gone through what she had… what Jay had; killed for a lie.

The scars on her face were a daily reminder of the price for not falling into the natural order of things here… it was the price she willingly paid for freedom from the fate she was born into. It was a price she didn't want anyone else to pay. That was the only future she would fight for.

"You okay, Dia?" Jin quietly asked from beside her.

"Bad look," she awkwardly tried to sign back. She had been practicing hard, actually enjoying this type of communication far better than passing notes that she would struggle to read.

Jin looked slightly confused for a moment before glancing over at the others, nodding, and then gestured for them to walk further away from the group to speak privately. "You seeing what I was talking about before with the group dynamics?"

"Yeah, they either don't like what's going on or seem indifferent to it."

"I'm pretty sure that Carter guy was on team murder-the-little-girl, but I don't know if the others would go that far. Alim doesn't trust him at all either."

Hadia glanced back to see Alim nodding or shaking his head at Karam's even more awkward mix of one-handed signing and slow speaking for lip reading. Alim kept glancing over at the group or Workers too which made Karam keep pausing or softly repeating things.

"Think he's going to try jumping us at the entrance when we leave?"

Jin shrugged. "Maybe. He might wait until we get him through for his own Aspect, though. He'll need our damage to get through that first room."

"Fair point, but I'm not sure he was intelligent enough to think that far ahead."

Jin snorted a laugh at the insult, and Hadia couldn't help but grin in return. Not many people appreciated her sense of humor, and it was a nice change to not get scolded for it.

The bridge reappearing and the shimmering veil vanishing drew their attention back to the platform across the open chasm. Looks like it was her turn to cross now and she quickly wasted no time to move across. She gave a wave over her shoulder as Jin called after her, "Good luck!"

As Hadia reached the other side, she paused for only a moment to reach a hand out to stop Darya and quietly say, "I haven't mentioned it to Jin yet, but if you think Liraz is truly in danger and don't want her death on your hands, I suggest you trade her to a team that can keep her safe."

The Worker leader scoffed at first, then seemed to think about it a moment longer. Glancing back at the group where Liraz stood nearer to the Servants than the other Workers, Darya muttered, "I'll keep it in mind, but we've already poured some expensive resources into her. It'll be hard to justify a trade."

Hadia simply nodded in understanding and released the older woman's arm to let her finish crossing back over. Once she was clear, Hadia placed her own bracelet to the pedestal and went through the motions she had grown up watching.

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She blinked at the sight of a miniature sheep's skull with large curling horns waiting for her in the box. Exactly what did the ritual think her soul needed a dead sheep for?

Congratulations on obtaining the Ram Aspect!

She thoughtfully hummed to herself and wondered if it was more of an esoteric interpretation of the word "Ram" rather than an actual sheep skill. It wasn't like she had much choice at the moment though. Beggars couldn't be choosers and being a Half-Caster in this death trap definitely made her a beggar at the moment.

Hadia grimaced at the name of her Passive ability and muttered, "Well, that's just rude." She was pretty pleased with the abilities, though. One of the problems she had already discovered with her being a melee combatant was closing the distance before Basima just shot the little monsters to death.

She couldn't help but quirk a brow at the last part of her Cultivating ability, wondering if her desire to tear down the city was already beginning to manifest itself. If so, that was wonderful.

Karam was getting frustrated with trying to sign one-handed to Alim as they waited for their turn. He didn't particularly have much to say but wanted to try taking the time to chat with his friend more. Every time they had needed to fight since entering this tower, had been led up with the need to communicate silently and they all realized the importance of learning the Whisper signs.

He idly wondered if the recordings that would get shown to the public would actually censor their lessons, otherwise he couldn't believe how nobody had learned the secret language of the assassins before now. It wasn't a secret that would get somebody killed for knowing, but it also wasn't something they liked advertising to other Sects. There was no way they'd allow it to be freely learned through the Illusion Network.

Karam didn't mind that Alim seemed distracted at the moment. If anything, it just made him feel less pressured to get the awkward signs out since they were both only half-interested in the silent conversation. At least he could help make it less obvious that Alim kept shifting his focus, his body looking unnaturally tense.

"You alright?" he managed to sign.

"What?" Alim signed that word one-handed too as he refocused on Karam.

"Are you alright?"

Alim nodded, glancing over at the group, before slowly adding more with both hands this time.

"That taller girl with the black hair is giving me a bad feeling."

"Bad?"

"Like she's plotting, but maybe I'm just being—"

Karam furrowed his brow at the last sign, not familiar with that one, and asked, "What was the last word?"

Alim frowned, then with a single hand slowly spelled out the word, not wanting to risk his floating letters being read by the others. "Paranoid."

"Ah," Karam said aloud before signing again. "What do you think you'll get?"

"What?" Alim asked again, still distracted by the woman who was glaring between Liraz and Darya.

"Your Aspect. What do you think it will give you?"

He tilted his head in thought for a moment before shrugging. "I just hope it helps protect everyone."

Karam nodded, fully understanding that sentiment. He was already acting as the group healer which had actually been a wonderful path he didn't think he'd ever get to walk. With a missing arm and absolutely zero Natural Talents that did anything without Aspects, the Servants had been the only place for him. He frowned, realizing that him being here now meant that even the Servants hadn't really been a place for him either.

Before he could sign another question, Alim tapped his arm and pointed back to the newly created bridge and signed, "You go ahead. I'll go last."

Not even attempting to argue, Karam gave a simple bow of his head in obedience and slowly made his way across. He felt almost too big for the bridge, and while his balance was normally fine, he did feel at a slight disadvantage without the other arm to counterbalance his body. It wasn't like he had practiced walking across beams or on ledges to prepare for surviving the Tower. He regretted not doing so. He regretted a lot of choices he had made, though, now that he was here.

As the other Worker crossed back over and the veil of light lifted, he found himself staring at the pedestal for a long moment. He could feel the sweat trickling down his back, and realized he was worried about what it might give him. What if it wasn't any good? What if it showed the others exactly how much weaker he felt compared to them?

He was grateful for his healing ability because he understood how useful it was, but would he get lucky a second time? Or would he get something that focused more on compensating for his missing arm instead of helping the others survive here? Did he even want his missing arm? He didn't think so.

Despite the grief others gave him over it his entire life, despite the struggles of trying to make accommodations for himself in a world that didn't care about his unique circumstances… it was still a part of who he was. He was quietly proud of being able to do almost anything everyone else could. Sure he had to work harder for it, but that just made his little victories even more rewarding.

While it would definitely make a lot of things easier for him, he didn't think it would be a good enough ability to actually help them survive. He needed more healing for when the monsters inevitably got harder. That first room slaughtering them all on their first attempt made that truth painfully clear.

With a deep breath, he placed his bracelet upon the pillar and then moved slightly to bend down and place his hand in the area. He frowned at it for a long moment, noticing the symbol specifically showing a right hand that he didn't have. Silently praying that it wouldn't make a difference, he placed his left hand upon the symbol instead.

A breath of relief escaped him when the drawer clicked open for him and he reached inside to find a… cocoon? That was an odd one. Dread crept up his spine as he forced himself to look away from the strange Aspect and was quickly replaced with relief when his bracelet informed him that it was the Rejuvenation Aspect.

He didn't hesitate after that, quickly making his way over to the ritual circle and letting himself hope for some good healing abilities. He wasn't disappointed this time either.

A moment after he felt the Aspect bind to his Fortitude Attribute, he began glowing with the same gray light as before and felt one of his Natural Talents cultivate again into something actually useful.

"Thank the go—" He stopped himself from muttering the phrase, realizing that Jin had been right when Basima had expressed the same common phrase. It wasn't the gods he should thank for this. From his own studies and discussions with Alim, he knew the magic behind this was based on his own soul, rather than some divine gift from the gods. They could have blessed him at the entrance like they had the others, but none of them had… They either thought he was useless too like Salman did, or wanted him to die in here.

"Thank the Aether," he corrected himself with a small smile, wondering if this moment would also be one of the ones censored from the Illusion Network for daring to slight the gods and give the small praise to the forces beyond their reality that brought Jin to him.