Situated on an island in the middle of the wide Ghenehaim River, between East and West Parter, was Valor Academy. 

There were four bridges by which to access. Two of them branched directly from the mainlands, solely for vehicles such as the ValorA buses, and the other two forked from the north and south bridges that connected the Parters, meant for walking or micromobiles like bicycles and scooters. Although the surrounding city didn’t circle the institution, the bridges made the land known as the Parter City Ring.

Forti did not have to traverse any of them to commute. She resided at the campus dormitories without a roommate because of her unusual time of admittance. 

When the letter of her acceptance to ValorA arrived, something ancient and dormant stirred within. When she saw the mountain-sized citadel in the distance, possessing otherworldly beauty for its crossbred designs of modernism and classicism, the feeling grew louder. When she stood before the famed entrance to the university, upon large, grand stone steps in front of giant, legendary doors said to never open again because of aged joints and mammoth weight, it filled her veins with a rush that could’ve ripped the ingress off its antiquated hinges. 

She remembered a rumor that the person to open the doorway again after centuries of staying shut would immediately be awarded on the spot the title of Exce. Many bodybuilders, wrestlers, fighters, and weightlifters tried, but none succeeded. Forti danced her fingers on the doors of wood and metal, expertly combined by a fabled blacksmith and chemist, while her mother called her name to take a picture. 

Exce. 

It had been a long time since that word graced Forti’s mind.

ValorA granted the best of the best individuals in all dimensions the coveted title of Exce. There was no set definition. It could be the most influential leader, persuasive speaker, or masterful fighter, and attending the school was not necessary to be awarded. To be bestowed the title of Exce was to have the world know your name.

Vasi was fanatical about achieving it. Wyver acted like he was uninterested, but believed someday in the future, he would earn it. Forti was once determined to attain it, but only a ruined fragment of that ambition remained. Previously gargantuan, it had been torn ruthlessly asunder, yet the little remnant of a colossus was now prodding Forti again. Maybe even exciting her.

Stop it. I just want to pass and graduate and figure out how to wake Vasi. Don’t get distracted.

And after the first, long, arduous month of the semester, the glory of ValorA had already waned. It was not that it was less than expected. The campus was beautiful, the people charming, and the education enlightening. The academy had great professors and no mandatory homework, preferring practicals and self-studying, each conducting their classes to their own tune. The knowledge Forti was amassing was like having a bucket brigade continuously dumping information onto an all-consuming, fiery passion that only blazed larger rather than die down with every pour. She thought she settled well, but when she found her understanding had trickled through her fingers and pooled up to her knees, suddenly she could not follow along in class. She realized she was lying to herself. Her fire had been reduced to an ember.

Then frustration welled like stones in a pitcher, raising the water levels higher, and Forti wondered what had happened, how she ended up here, as she waded in misery with her head barely afloat.

The visits to Vasi decreased, and by the second month, Forti stopped texting Wyver when she’d be arriving, saying she was too busy, and it only compounded her rage as she stared abhorrently in the mirror, seething at the person she saw. She was so pathetic. She couldn’t even go to her comatose sister because she was incapable of comprehending certain subjects when other people could.

If other people can do it, then I can do it too.

That was the dogma that had driven Forti all her life since she first said it without much thought at a young and naive age, in childish and unyielding assertiveness.

Being unable to prove it was deteriorating her psyche more than she thought as she fell into a cycle of outbursts between her anger motivating her to press on and satiation that ushered in a pitiful state of laziness, to which she would get infuriated by again. 

When did she feel comfortable enough to let herself falter?

When did I become my worst enemy?

Forti blamed only herself and wanted her head to split into a million pieces.

She had a loving family who was financially stable and wanted her to be healthy and happy. She had friends like Riel, and now Wakachiri and Mevver, who were intelligent, kind, and wonderfully quirky. She had supportive and smart teachers, though she could name one who was more pretentious than anything. Her sister was alive. Forti knew she was lucky and was thankful for it everyday, so what was her problem?

That’s right. She didn’t have any. At that epiphany, Forti rationalized that her problem was that she didn’t have any problems so she was subconsciously making her own. She was her own downfall, her own despair.

In the third month, though the leaves had changed, Forti did not. And when the day was done, she’d lie in bed, and the devil would come over and sit on her chest. He’d wear her face and talk through the night about all her mistakes with a sneer and a finger pointed between her eyes. 

Call an exorcist and baptize me in bath water.

She was drowning, and she thought that even dead bodies at least float.

Forti sometimes sat on the floor in the middle of the night, castigating herself for losing her discipline. She couldn’t look at herself in the mirror anymore unless it was to check if she was presentable and clean. It was laughable that she thought for a second at the start of the school year of reaching for the Exce status.

But why can’t I- Stop it. 

What drove the stake over and over again in her heart, however, was that she was still loved, and she was letting everyone down. 

Hate me, hurt me. That’s what I deserve.

But she didn’t tell anyone, not Riel or her brother or her parents, of any of this. On the occasion that Riel sensed something off and attempted to press, Forti deflected him. She believed she could handle it. She would get over it. She would endure and survive.

The school grounds were covered in leaves that not a single plot of grass could be seen, but the trees were still bountiful, painting the island in autumnal colors. Forti knew there was color all around her, but it was like a film of gray was coated over her eyes. Everything looked monotonous. It was a peculiar experience, worse than the time Wyver went nearly mute, but awareness of what was causing such a dreary sight pulled her back from falling deeper into the abyss. 

There was a little over a month of the remaining semester left. Still time to get better. It was a random, normal day as Forti planned on what to eat for lunch after her math class when someone came up to her.

His thin, hunching figure made him look much smaller than he was. He jutted his neck out, too, and Forti gauged he reached just under her chin, but with proper posture, he could actually be her height. He looked very familiar, and then the flash of his green backpack jostled her memory of the funeral, her mother weeping, and this boy holding out Vasi’s jacket.

“Hello,” he said timidly.

“Hi, I remember you. You’re Aethur, right? I heard about you from my mom.” He nodded. Forti’s mother said he asked if he could visit Vasi, and so every two weeks he would come to the hospital after school. Vasi helped him during the ValorA Entrance Exam and they became friends during it. Classic Vasi. Forti wondered if Aethur was still visiting.

“Mmm- Umm- Um- I- Uhh…” Aethur looked down at the ground, unable to match Forti’s eyes.  

“Do- Do you know if Vasi passed?” He asked quickly.

“Oh, did my mom not tell you?” He shook his head no. “Yeah, she made it.” 

Aethur finally glanced up, the glee shining in his eyes. They were as green as his backpack.

As he said nothing more, Forti gave a small smile and was about to part ways.

“It was nice to see you Aethur. I need to go eat now. Good luck with your studies-”

“Wait!” he panicked a little, unable to leave the sister of his savior like this. Forti stood still.

“It’s- It’s- because of Vasi that I got in. She… helped me… get in…” He spoke more slowly. “So I- I…” Words were failing him and he was about to spiral into another mini episode. Vasi saved him so what can he do? Just thank her sister? There had to be something else he could do.

“If… there’s anything I can do…”

Forti grinned solemnly. 

Vasi, you loved to help others with no regard for your safety, thinking the world was a fairytale. You shouldn’t have to do that, not everyone will thank you, not everyone will appreciate you. They may even hurt you for it. But because of it, you are loved. 

I should’ve taught you to be more selfish, smarter… Then you wouldn’t be lying in a hospital bed.

But you know what? I liked seeing you run headfirst into things because I thought I could always protect you. Why should you fear anything if I’m here? I’m a failure of a big sister, but maybe you didn’t fail for being so selfless. I just wish you were more careful and wise about it.

“Just keep visiting her when you can,” Forti said. “I hope I’m not asking for too much.” Aethur shook his head vigorously. “I really have to go eat now. Bye Aethur.”

He waved farewell, and watched Forti retreat down the hall, contemplating if Vasi got her confidence from her older sister.