Luckborn

When Otter finished reading, he turned to the others and was met with a variety of expressions. Milo and Sage looked thoughtful. Jasper and Liora stared at him blankly.

"Okay, I'll read it again." He did. Twice more.

Jasper threw up his hands. "Yeah, I still have no idea what that meant. Can anybody dumb it down for the big dumb fighters?"

Milo sighed. "Gale helped found the Academy after the Kaos Wars, but he didn't agree with the decision to restrict certain Classes. He thought those Classes might be needed someday if the Kaosborn ever rose again."

"And that crystal is the failsafe," said Levi. "Break in case of apocalypse."

"Okay, so what are we waiting for?"

"Listen, I know I pretty much told Marcus to shove it, and that we were doing what we wanted, but this is a huge decision. One that could affect the entire world, possibly change everything. It should not be made lightly, and it should definitely not be made by a single person. No one should have that much power."

Milo glanced around the group, uncertainty marking his features. "We've come this far, but are we really the right people to make this call?"

"That's a fair question," Otter replied. "Let's take a moment to think about it. Is this even our decision to make?"

Liora waved her hand in the air around her. "Do you see anyone else here? It would seem we're the first people since the Academy was founded to discover this particular secret. And we are the ones who undertook this quest. You sacrificed something to get here. Something pretty important, I'd wager. In my book, that says, yeah. This is our decision to make."

"But we don't have to," Milo said. "We can go back and get advice from Overseer Blackwood."

Levi shook his head. "Do you see a way out of here? I don't."

"There's a way out," Otter said. "Gale's journal said so. But that's not the point. When we leave, I don't think we can come back here. Ever. The decision has to be made now."

Milo shivered. "Okay. Fair enough. I just don't feel like we have enough information. Do we even know what's locked behind that thing? What kind of chaos it might unleash?"

Sage crossed her arms. "I don't think it's about unleashing anything. It's about restoration. We're not summoning evil here. We'd just be bringing back what was taken."

"Maybe," Milo replied. "Or maybe Marcus was right. There's no evidence the old Classes are safe. What if they are the reason the Koasborn became so powerful in the first place?"

"I don't buy it," said Levi, "There's no denying that Kaosborn activity is on the rise. You've heard the rumors. Entire towns are being wiped out. If there's the slightest chance that this can give us any kind of advantage, I say we take it. What about you Otter?"

"I'm inclined to agree. We don't know the true extent of the uprising, but it feels like big events are happening out there. Things that were predicted by Emrys Gale. I still can't wrap my head around how or why the compass responded to me after being silent for so long, but I think it sensed the time had come. Somehow."

Jasper raised his hand. Everyone stared at him blankly. "Oh, right." He lowered his hand. "I'm not saying I don't trust Gale's intentions. But just because he meant well doesn't mean this is a good idea. The System gives us structure, right? A baseline for survival. If we mess with that... what happens to everything else? What if these forbidden Classes weren't just dangerous in the wrong hands—but dangerous period? What if they bring out the worst in people, or unbalance things so badly that we make things worse than the Kaosborn ever could?"

Milo pointed at him. "Exactly."

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"Not to mention that warning about Caelum," said Otter. "One of his followers has already been sent to stop us, so he clearly knows what we might do. Pissing off a god doesn't sound very smart to me."

"Caelum isn't the only god," Sage said. "I think we might find allies with the churches of Elarion and Altheris."

"Isn't the ruling council of Aurelia closely tied to the church of Caelum?" Milo asked.

Levi stepped up. "Some are. But not all. And I don't think they would try to kill us or put us in prison, anyway. We wouldn't actually be breaking any laws. So what could they actually do?"

Liora frowned at him. "Do you really think that's how politics work?"

"Yes?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "You poor thing. Politics and intrigue take many forms. Such people are quite imaginative and influential when seeking retribution."

They all fell silent at that.

After a few moments, Otter looked at Erin. "You've been quiet. What do you think? You're always the voice of reason for my crazy ideas."

She looked back at him with a dazed expression. "I… I don't know. This is all so much. And Otter, I had no idea this is what we'd be getting into. I thought this whole quest was about getting you a Class. Not saving the world, or starting a war, or whatever."

Levi looked over, frowning. "Oh yeah. This could be your chance, Otter. If those sealed Classes come back, who's to say one of them wasn't meant for you all along?"

Otter smiled faintly. "Maybe. Or maybe I was never meant to have a Class. There's no promise in that crystal for me. Just possibility." He looked up, meeting each of their eyes in turn. "If we're going to do this, it has to be because we all believe it's the right thing for the world—not because it might benefit me."

Another silence fell. This one stretched for more than just a moment as everyone considered the situation.

Otter knew what he wanted. While he claimed he wanted what was best for the world, he knew in his heart that the chance to get a Class was the deciding factor for him. If there were overwhelming evidence that it would have catastrophic repercussions, then he wouldn't take that chance, but as things stood, it felt like the only real path forward—for all of them, but especially for him. He had spent his life on the margins, watching others define themselves through power the System had never offered him. But the desire had a different motivation now. He had let go of the need for belonging. In its place was a fledgling hunger for power. He wasn't sure what that meant, but it was there. And now, at last, there was a chance. Not a guarantee, but a possibility. And he couldn't walk away from it. At least, not by himself. If his team—his friends—decided it was too risky, he would stand by their decision.

Finally, Liora folded her arms. "It's not the first time I've walked into danger without knowing what would happen. But this time, we might actually change something."

"I believe Elarion sent me here for this moment," Sage added. "But she didn't tell me to act blindly. She gave me the chance to choose. That matters."

"I still think there are too many unknowns," Milo muttered. "But this isn't a lab. We don't have the same luxuries. And honestly, walking away might be the riskier option. If the rest of you think it's for the best, I'll agree."

Otter looked at Jasper, the only other one to have argued against.

"Oh, I'm in. I was just playing devil's advocate."

Erin looked at Otter. "I wish I knew what the right answer was. I really do. But I'm torn. I guess I'll just have to trust you."

Otter nodded once. "Then it's decided." He stepped toward the crystal on the pedestal. "Let's see if we can figure out how to work this thing."

It turned out that operating the crystal was ridiculously simple. There were no cryptic glyphs to decipher. No ritualized gesture or ancient incantation. Just a single step.

Otter approached the pedestal, heart thudding like a war drum. The softly glowing crystal sat cradled in a brass ring, faintly pulsing in rhythm with its own internal light. As he extended a hand toward it, his wrisplay buzzed and a translucent screen flickered into view before him, hovering in the air just above the crystal like a conjured illusion.

**Would you like to activate the Patch Reversal Crystal? **Warning: This action cannot be undone.

[Yes] [No]

That was new. He'd never seen a System message projected from his wrisplay like that. Or maybe it was a projection from the crystal. That made more sense. Otter hesitated—not because he doubted their choice, but because of the surreal weight of it. After everything they'd done, everything they'd risked to get here… it came down to a button.

He turned to glance back at his friends. None of them spoke. None of them needed to. They stood at the edge of history, watching him—not as followers, but as companions who had chosen to stand beside him.

He turned back to the prompt and lifted a hand.

The moment his finger passed through the glowing [Yes], the crystal flared.

A silent pulse of light burst outward from it in a perfect sphere, rippling through the room and beyond. A silent explosion—not of force, but of information—as the System rewrote itself.

And then, stillness. No alarms. No divine thunder. No radiant choir or angry sky god appearing in judgment.

Just… stillness.

Otter let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

Then his wrisplay buzzed again. This time, a new message appeared in bold, glowing letters:

New Class Available. Choose Your Class.