Michael Blackwood

I was starting to sweat profusely, exhausted from the meditation. The stress of trying to awaken my thread had left me starving after meditating most of the day.

“The attendants will be bringing our dinner here,” Princess Nymeria started to say. “So there’s no need to worry about not eating. We will take a small break, eat, and dive right back into the meditation.”

“Yes ma’am,” I replied. Then I asked, “Has everyone else finished with their meditation?”

“Yes, everyone has fully awakened their threads. It’s said that the summoned heroes will always have an easier time connecting to their threads, because legend states that the five heroes are always chosen by the gods themselves. In your case, it may take a little longer because your summoning was an accident.”

I looked down at my hands, feeling disappointment in hearing those words.

“Just because you were summoned by mistake doesn’t make you a mistake,” she said, and I could tell that she was trying to ease my nerves. “Even if you don’t awaken your thread, I’ll personally make sure that you are always involved in the missions your friends go on. Even if you can’t go with them.”

“Thank you princess,” I said with a small smile. “I want nothing more than to be helpful to them. I’d hate to be a burden.”

The princess looked at me with what seemed to be sympathy. 

“Trust me when I say, they will never think of you as a burden. I can see it in the way they look at you. They want to help you just as much as you want to help them.”

Before I could reply, I could hear attendants arriving with dinner, and my nose was assaulted with the scent of spices and cooked meat.

God my mouth is already watering. Hopefully I’ll be able to eat more than I did last night.

When the attendants sat the trays down, I was able to get a good look at what I was about to eat. Similar to last night's dinner, it was some sort of meat, different from the spotless cow, as well as more seared vegetables, which looked similar to a combination of broccoli, green beans and corn.

This looks amazing.

“Tonight for dinner,” one of the attendants said, “We are serving you black feathered goat, with a side of seared vegetables.”

The princess gave  the attendant a smile and I realized just how beautiful she was.

“Thank you. I’m sure Michael and I will enjoy this lovely meal,” she said.

“My pleasure, your majesty.”

After they finished serving our food, the attendants left the testing chamber to allow me and the princess to eat in peace.

I took a piece of the goat meat, and put it into my mouth.

This is extremely tender. And the seasoning tastes amazing.

“I see you like the goat,” Princess Nymeria chuckled.

“Yes, I do. It tastes amazing,” I replied.

As we continued eating, I remembered something that the princess had mentioned not too long ago.

“May I ask you a question?” I asked, my mouth half full of goat meat.

“You just used a question to ask for a question,” she laughed. “Yes, please ask away.”

I thought carefully about how I wanted to ask the question, then I said, “You mentioned something earlier about how the chosen five heroes are always chosen by the gods? Gods exist in this world?”

“Yes, five gods to be exact,” she replied with enthusiasm. “They are known by the same names of the domain that they control — Genesis, Entropy, Energy, Continuum, and Psyche. That’s why it’s always five summoned heroes. One hero chosen by each of the gods. Why do you ask? Do gods not exist in your world?”

I gave her a thoughtful look.

“Well there are many religions where I come from. Some with multiple gods, some with only one,” I explained. “Nobody has ever been able to prove the existence of such beings, but that’s where faith comes in. People simply believe and worship whichever they believe exists.”

“How interesting. What about you? Are there any particular gods you believe to exist in your world?” She asked me in reply to what I had just said.

“Personally, no. I do believe that there’s some kind of higher power, but I’ve never really chosen a specific belief to follow.”

I stopped for a second, thinking about what else I wanted to ask.

“So five gods? Is it just belief here in this world, or has their existence been proven?”

“They were proven to be real a very long time ago. Although I will say that they don’t involve themselves in mortal affairs at all anymore, except for the summoning of heroes. The last time that they did was over a thousand years ago.”

“Why has it been over a thousand years?”

The princess gave me a serious look.

“The last time heroes were summoned, they were brought here to fight off an ancient race of demons. Because of that, they inadvertently caused a tragedy. Not only did they seal away the demon race, but they also wiped out the entirety of another race as well.”

My mouth opened in shock at her words.

“A whole race… wiped out?” I asked.

“Yes. And because of this, the gods decided not to involve themselves unless absolutely necessary. The reason your five friends were chosen is because there are people in this world who are trying to break the seal. Your friends were chosen to make sure that this doesn’t happen. If the seal breaks, the demons would cause worldwide destruction. Much worse then the genocide the previous heroes caused.”

“And what if…” I began hesitantly. “What if my friends fail? What happens then?”

“Then this world will most likely be destroyed. And the demons will find a way to spread their destruction to other worlds as well. Including your own.”

When I heard this, I went silent.

This just means that I need to have a thread. That I need to awaken it. I cannot allow my friends to die.

——————

Skylar Caldwell

After what seemed to take almost all day, I had been the first one to finish. After I had finished, I had been instructed to sit in a lounging room just outside the test chambers.

“Your thread is known as ‘Vitality’,” the attendant had told me. “This thread falls under the domain of Genesis. You have the power to heal yourself and others. Most notably, wounds, poisons, and diseases. Use this power well.”

So I have the power to help them no matter what happens. I wonder if this power is enough to bring someone back from the dead…

As I started walking towards the exit of the room, I looked over to where Michael was, and saw him in the center of the lake, sitting on the rock with the princess sitting across from him.

I guess she took enough interest in him to help him herself. Hopefully Becca doesn’t get too jealous when she sees this.

When I got to the lounge, I found a small couch to sit on, and began to nod off. After a little while, I woke to the sound of the door opening. When I opened my eyes, I saw Calvin walk in.

“So,” I started to say, “What thread did you get?”

Calvin gave me a sly grin.

“They said my thread is telekinesis. So I can move stuff around with my mind.”

“Oh wow. That actually sounds cool. The one I got is called ‘Vitality’. Makes me wonder even more what the others are going to get.”

After about thirty minutes, I heard the door open again, and when I looked, Levi was the next to enter.

“I got one called ‘Charge’,” he said with a smirk, before we could even ask him what he got. “It allows me to store up energy in my body and release it in devastating blows. I’ll basically be on the frontlines.”

The next person who walked through the door was Rebecca. When she saw me, she rushed over and pulled me into a corner of the room and began to whisper quite violently.

“Did you see?” she asked me, with a hint of bitterness in her voice. “The princess is helping Michael. Why did it have to be her? First, she asks him to sit next to her for dinner last night, and now she’s personally guiding him through his meditation?”

I gave a small laugh at Rebecca’s behavior.

“You worry too much. She’s probably just being overly nice because she knows that Michael feels he doesn’t belong right now,” I said.

“You’re right, but still. I can’t help but feel she has an ulterior motive.”

Rebecca had a look of jealousy written across her face, and she wasn’t doing a good job of hiding it. It made me realize just how much she liked Michael.

“Jealous are we?” I asked in a joking tone.

Rebecca opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, the doors opened and Dylan walked in.

“Well,” Levi began to say. “What did you get?”

“Turns out I can control lava. I guess that’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah that’s pretty fucking awesome,” Calvin said, then shot a look towards Rebecca. “What about you Becca? You rushed over to Skylar and took her into a corner before we could ask.”

A look of embarrassment spread across her face for just a second, before she smoothed her features and turned to face Calvin.

“They said mine is called ‘Warp’,” she said. “I can teleport short distances.”

“Ok, that might actually be the coolest one,” Levi replied. “Other than mine of course.”

Everyone continued to talk and argue about who’s thread was cooler, but I didn’t have much to say because I knew healing injuries among other things wasn’t as cool as being able to teleport or control lava. Still, my power was a strong one and would be very useful.

After a few more hours had gone by, Michael still hadn’t walked into the room to tell us his results. At this point, I was growing more worried by the second. I didn’t think it should have taken him this long.

“Do you guys think he’s ok?” Rebecca said with a worried look on her face.

“Maybe his is like, super OP, and it’s taking a longer time for him to connect with it?” Levi replied.

“No Becca is right,” I started to say. “I don’t think it should be taking him this long.”

Just as I finished speaking, the door opened. I turned to see who it was, hoping to see Michael. It wasn’t him, but an attendant instead.

“Is everything ok? Is Michael ok?” I proceeded to ask, after a few seconds of silence.

“Everything is quite fine. I’ve been ordered to lead you five to the dinner hall. Michael and the princess will not be joining, as she is still currently helping Michael with his meditation. Instead, food will be delivered directly to them. Now, please follow me.”

As we all got up to follow the attendant, I shared a worried look with Rebecca.

He better be ok. I don’t ever want to see him with the look he used to have when we were kids.

Two hours after we finished eating dinner, me and the others had been told to return to our quarters to rest. Rebecca was currently relaxing in my room, and we were talking.

“Michael still isn’t done with his awakening,” Rebecca was saying. “How am I supposed to tell him how I feel if he doesn’t awaken? Won’t he just think I’m taking pity on him?”

 I gave Rebecca a small smile.

“Just take it slow. I know you’ve had feelings for him for a while now, but don’t try and rush things. Like today for example,” I said. “You gave him a small hug and told him that he could rely on you. Maybe you were moving a little fast, but I see it as you breaking out of that shell and actually trying to get closer to him. Just keep up that energy, and I’m sure he’ll fall for you in no time.”

“You really think that will work?” She asked, and her face brightened at hearing my words.

“I do. I know him better than anyone else. I know how his brain works.”

“Well then, I’m going to keep trying,” Rebecca responded with a hopeful look on her face. “I just hope I can get throu…”

She stopped speaking all of a sudden, and gave me a look I couldn’t quite read.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

“Is that Michael? Is he finally finished?”

I looked at her questionly, but then she got up and slowly walked up to the door, and hesitated. When she finally opened the door, she peered out for a second, then looked back towards me.

“Sky, he’s back. Should we try and talk to him?” She asked me.

“I mean we can. He’s probably exhausted though. He was in the testing chambers for the entire day.”

We both exited my room and walked up to Michael’s door. We looked at each other, and then I knocked on the door. But when I did, there wasn’t a reply.

“Michael, are you in there? Are you ok?” I asked in a worried tone.

I didn't hear anything so I turned back to Rebecca.

“Becca, are you sure you saw him?”

“Yes I’m pretty sure. I mean, you heard the hallway doors open and close too, right?”

“No, but you were talking so maybe your voice covered up the sound. We should get to bed though. It’s late and we need to sleep.” I said, but hesitated to go back to my room.

“Yeah, sure,” Rebecca said while giving me a sad look. “Guess I’ll head to my own room now. Goodnight Sky.”

“Goodnight. I’m sure we’ll see Michael in the morning.”

After a few more seconds, I walked back to my room. I headed to the bed, laid down, and got under the covers.

If he really did come back, why wasn’t he answering us? Did something bad happen? Or maybe he’s just exhausted?

As I started to fall asleep, I couldn’t help but continually worry about Michael.

I need him to be ok.

Then, I felt the weight of sleep falling over me.

When I opened my eyes, I could hear a commotion from outside my door. I looked over to the window and saw sunlight coming through. When I walked over to my door and opened it, I saw Dylan, Levi, and Calvin all standing outside Michael’s door, knocking on it like wild animals.

“Guys can you calm down please? Why are all of you knocking on his door?” I asked in an irritated tone.

“We heard a bunch of loud noises from inside his room. Like the sound of breaking glass and heavy stuff falling over. We got worried and we haven’t gotten a reply from him yet.” Levi shouted.

When I had registered his words, I felt an immense amount of worry rush into me.

I swear to god, you better be ok when I open this damn door.

I rushed over and opened the door as fast as I could. When I looked around, the room was a mess. The mirror above the washbasin was shattered, glass all over the floor, the wardrobe had been knocked over and the bed had been flipped. When I finally saw Michael, I saw that he was sitting on the floor, visibly upset. I ran over to him and wrapped my arms around him.

“Michael what’s wrong?” I asked quickly. “Talk to me please.”

I could feel Michael look at me, and when I met his gaze, he had a dejected look on his face.

“I wasn’t able to harmonize to my thread yesterday…”

“Won’t you be able to try again?” I asked.

Michael looked even more defeated after my question.

“I… I can’t,” he whispered. “I don’t even have one.”