Names, Homes

"I'm sorry to say that those names are taken already," Vangloria explained after hearing the names that the Advanced had bestowed on the group. "And I can assure you that they would not take kindly to someone else using their names.

"Besides, it confuses our records. You'll have to pick something else. Except you." she pointed at Fate. "No one is using your choice right now." She leaned back in her chair, giving them silence to contemplate the matter of their Divine Titles.

Divine Titles weren't that different from pen names. They were the name the larger world recognized you by; a name used by professionals and peers. They also represented a shedding of your past connections, as Embodiments – that is, people with Manifestations – were considered too dangerous to be around mortals. Even a mere Prodigy could often kill a mortal with but a thought and this power disparity only grew more as one progressed.

Autumn spoke up first; she rarely needed long to decide on things she deemed inconsequential. "I'd like to be called Lupos."

Vangloria opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a small tablet, proceeding to type. "That name is free," she said after a few seconds. "Are you sure you want that name? You can't change it afterward."

Autumn nodded; she was sure.

Vangloria typed on her tablet some more, then asked Fate "and you, are you choosing 'Null?'"

"Yes."

"Alright." Some more typing.

After that, Tom spoke up, choosing Atomus, which Nikolas mumbled was "very on-the-nose."

Then Nikolas, who chose Pineos; Maya, who decided on Ozys; and finally, Cait, who mumbled her name so quietly that Vangloria had to ask her to speak up.

"Ledine," Cait said, louder this time.

"And you are all completely sure of these choices? Again, you won't be able to change them."

They all voiced their agreement. They were sure.

Vangloria typed on her tablet once more. When she was done, she opened her drawer, placed the tablet in, and handed each of them a small, thick metal disc.

"I'll be sending you back to your home to gather your things. When you wish to visit Karsire, simply send your divine energy into this disc and it will teleport you here." Divine energy was what powered telekinesis. It was the energy that allowed one to exert one's will on the world.

Another nausea-inducing lurch later, and the six were back in the Styx hideout. Fate turned to Cait. "I realized while we were there that we never asked your name. 'Cait.' It's a pretty name. Fitting, I think." Cait looked away. Fate thought he saw her cheeks turn a smidge darker.

"That was strange," Tom said. "The meeting, I mean. That was a lot of information they dumped on our heads. It all seemed ludicrous, and yet somehow it makes sense. I always wondered why Prodigies could do special things other psychics can't. Turns out, it's some 'fragment of creation.'"

"I don't know why, but reading that pamphlet… I could *feel* that it was true. My instincts were screaming that we can advance even farther." Autumn scratched the back of her head. "These 'Levels' have weird names though."

"Exemplar, Avatar, Personification, Incarnation, Realized." Nikolas rolled the words around in his mouth.

"I don't know, they sound… right somehow. Maybe we should get checked; these EPF people may have drugged us or used some kind of psychic suggestion." Nikolas suddenly realized Maya and Fate were looking at the floor in front of the door.

He followed their gazes to a small package, wrapped in blinding white glow fabric. The little bow on top had one of those generic gift bag tags, and on it was written: "To Styx." Underneath that was a capital A with a circle around each point.

"Shit."

The package exploded.

Fate realized he had closed his eyes on reflex. Forcing them open, he saw that the entire training hall and half of their living room had been destroyed. The roof had collapsed, leaving chunks of steel stacked haphazardly on the ground. Their dining table and chairs were a pile of splinters. Everything was on fire.

Looking behind him, he found the rest of the hideout untouched. Then he noticed that Autumn and Nikolas had their arms outstretched and pointed toward the carnage. They had looks of concentration on their face, but no strain. Fate inwardly cursed himself; he should've thrown up a barrier to help. It seemed his instincts required more honing.

Autumn and Nikolas dropped their arms. The six of them stood in silence for a bit. Everyone had looks of grim realization on their faces, except for Cait. Cait was visibly afraid.

'Looks like she hasn't gotten over them yet.' Fate studied the destruction wrought by the bomb. 'Our ships, our guns, our books, they even took out our fucking laundry. This place isn't habitable anymore.'

"How are they still kicking?" Maya asked her friends. "Did they spread to other planets, other galaxies?"

Fate sighed. "It doesn't matter. All it means is we still have a job to do. Let's scavenge what we can and head to Karsire. We'll try to get some jobs there and get new ships and a new place."

They got to work digging through the piles of steel. Out of the corner of his eye, Fate spied Cait. She took a few deep breaths, then nodded to herself. Her face steeled with determination.

It was slightly disheartening, sifting through years' worth of memories and accumulated items, all destroyed in one act of spite. They found a few pairs of clothes from each person intact, along with a handful of Dragoon railguns and various knives. The Raven bikes were as destroyed as the ships, nothing but crumpled metal.

'Looks like Autumn and Nik improved a lot with that breakthrough,' Fate thought. That was the only way they could have held back that explosion.

The last scraps of their previous life packed in some suitcases they managed to find, the members of Styx cast their divine energy into the metal discs, leaving behind Narro, and the Solynus galaxy, once and for all.