Last Day

Stella stepped onto the bus absentmindedly, her thoughts still swirling from the night before. The vehicle hissed as the doors closed behind her, sealing her in the morning hush. She moved down the narrow aisle, the rhythmic rumble beneath her feet grounding her steps, and made her way to her usual seat beside Rachel.

Their eyes met. Rachel crossed her arms and turned toward the window, lips pressed in a tight line. Even so, Stella sat down beside her without hesitation.

"Today is my last day," she said, the words abrupt—like a pebble thrown into still water.

Rachel's gaze snapped toward her, surprised.

"Before you say anything," Stella added quickly, "can we just pause the drama… just for today?"

Rachel sighed and shook her head. "My parents want to pull me out of school. They say it's time I focus on my training. Something's coming."

"What is it?" Rachel asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "How bad is it?"

"I don't know," Stella replied, shaking her head. "They only said that there are beings out there strong enough to kill them with a single thought. And they say… I might draw their attention."

Rachel blinked, stunned. "What's training supposed to do against something like that? You think one year will make a difference?"

"I don't think I'll be fighting those beings," Stella murmured, fingers tightening in her lap. "They made it sound more like I'll be… competing. Against others my age."

"Then it's not so bad."

"No," Stella said, her brow furrowing. "It is. These kids have been training since they were five. Some even since three. That's over a decade of experience more than me. What can I possibly do against that?"

Rachel leaned back, eyes narrowed in thought. "Training… trained… trained—wait." She straightened suddenly, her voice sharp with realization. "Who else do we know that always says that about their childhood?"

"Theo," they said at the same time. Rachel snapped her fingers. "Of course! I should just ask him."

"But how do we know for sure he's part of this world?" Stella asked, her thumbs fiddling anxiously. "That he can even help?"

"Well," she admitted, "we've… kind of been talking about it already."

Rachel turned to her, outraged. "What?! And you didn't think to tell me? Do you know how much faster my investigation would've gone? Wait—was that why you stopped backing me? Is that why you started questioning me? What did he tell you to make you doubt me?"

"I wasn't doubting you," Stella said firmly. "I was trying to protect you. It wasn't just him—it was what my parents said too. The world is veiled, Rachel. Veiled by beings who can't be caught unless they want to be—and even worse, they're governed by something stronger. If one of those beings was ordered to eliminate someone… there'd be nothing they could do."

Rachel paled, sweat beading along her hairline and trickling down her back.

"Are you okay?" Stella asked, her voice softening. "I didn't mean to scare you that much."

"No, it's just—" Rachel cut off, then slowly reached into her bag and pulled out a sleek black card. "Amelia gave this to me."

"What is it?" Stella asked, leaning forward. Her fingers brushed the card.

It pulsed with a sudden golden glow, and text appeared on its surface.

[Royal Blood Detected – Displaying Information][Low-Tier Recommendation][Distributor: Brain, Amelia Harper]

"What the fu—"

"Language," they both scolded each other in unison, just as the bus driver coughed loudly from the front.

Stella turned to Rachel, her expression serious. "It seems you're already part of this world."

Rachel stared at the card. "Looks like it."

"Well… how do you use it?"

"She said I just need to go to the address listed."

Stella nodded slowly. "Then we don't really have a choice. If we wait any longer, we'll fall even further behind."

Her eyes lit up with sudden inspiration. "Come with me to lunch today. We'll ask Theo everything we can before I have to leave."

Rachel gave a small smile and nodded. "Alright."

The bus rumbled along its route, morning sun painting streaks of gold through the windows. Eventually, they reached school. The girls parted at the door, slipping off to their first classes.

Stella slid into her seat in English class, heart still heavy with thoughts. Theo sat beside her, flipping through a small notebook. She leaned toward him and whispered, "We need to talk."

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Oh really? Did you bring the tome I asked for?"

"No. But I have something better. Information."

At that, Theo arched a brow and snapped his fingers. A soft hum pulsed around them, and a faint shimmer veiled the space, cutting them off from the rest of the room. Outside their bubble, class carried on as if nothing unusual had happened.

"What is this?" Stella asked, looking around in awe. "Wait—is this an invisible barrier?"

"Does that count as a question?" Theo asked, smirking.

Stella huffed. "Fine. Listen, I have information about the future. Of this planet—or plane—whatever it's called."

"Depending on your intel," Theo said coolly, "I'll answer that question."

Stella nodded. "My parents said there are beings who could destroy them with a thought. And that my appearance… is tolerated because of some ancient contract that's about to expire."

Theo blinked, the smugness draining from his face. "That's it? You want to tell me fragments of a story through a veil I created? You're not giving me anything concrete. How am I supposed to benefit from this?"

Still, something in her words caught in his mind—pieces falling into place where books had once left gaps.

"I'm giving you what I know," Stella replied. "They also said I might be fighting others my age."

Theo's eyes narrowed. "Pause. Are you sure that's what they said?"

"Yeah. My dad mentioned that some of them have trained since they were three."

"Fuck. Fuck."

Stella stiffened. "Is that bad?"

"At lunch today, you can ask me three questions," Theo said. "And I'll tell you a story."

Stella's eyes widened. "Really? I'm going to bring my friend Rachel, if that's okay."

"Yeah, whatever. You still only get three questions."

He snapped his fingers again. The barrier dissolved silently around them, and the world flowed back in.

They didn't speak for the rest of the class. Stella sat with a flicker of excitement in her chest, while Theo stared at his notebook, brows drawn in deep thought.

When the bell rang, Theo left the room quickly, his steps brisk. As he walked through the hall, he muttered into thin air, "Did you know about this?"

A voice—calm, detached—answered from nowhere. "Yes, young master."

Theo clenched his fists. "Why? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"What did your father say when he sent you here?"

Theo slowed, a realization creeping over him like a shadow.

"He said… 'One last year of being an ordinary kid.'"

"Correct," the voice said. "And you've been training for this your whole life. Your focus shouldn't be on yourself. It should be on protecting the girl. After all… she is still your mission."

The voice faded into silence.

Theo continued on, the light in his eyes darkening with every step.

Fifth period rolled around, and Stella and Rachel slipped away to the bathroom, their minds racing. The echo of a closing stall door punctuated their hurried whispers.

"Well? What did he say?" Rachel asked, voice sharp with anticipation.

Stella leaned against the tiled wall. "He agreed. We get three questions and one story. All I had to do was trade him a piece of information."

Rachel narrowed her eyes. "What kind of information?"

"Nothing major," Stella shrugged. "I just told him that kids our age have been training since they were young. It didn't seem like a big deal, but he took it seriously and sealed the deal."

Rachel crossed her arms. "What if there's more to that than you realize? Think about it—he is one of those kids. What if… he didn't know he'd be fighting them? Or worse, he does know them and doesn't want to fight. What does that mean for us?"

Stella's expression turned thoughtful. "Then maybe one of our questions should be about who we're really fighting. Or even better—what we're fighting for."

"No," Rachel said firmly. "We should ask him things your parents won't tell you. Or things only he would know."

"That's harder than it sounds," Stella admitted. "We don't know much about him or his family—or even how he fits into all this. Wait… I do know his father is the head of the organization that regulates cultivators. That might be why I could access that black card. You probably have to be part of one of the royal families—they probably hold a lot of influence within the organization."

Rachel's eyes lit up. "That's good. A starting point. Let's think of more questions when we get back—we've been in here long enough."

The girls returned to class, nerves buzzing beneath the surface. Eventually, the bell rang, signaling lunch, and they made their way to the cafeteria. Their eyes scanned the room and quickly found Theo sitting at his usual table, already halfway through his food.

They didn't bother grabbing lunch. Instead, they went straight for him.

Theo glanced up, his gaze flickering between them—but lingered on Rachel a beat longer.

"I didn't expect them to start handing out recommendations already," he said, his tone unreadable.

Rachel's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

With a lazy flick of his wrist, her black card vanished from her pocket and appeared in his hand. He turned it over in his fingers, studying it.

"Huh… a Brain," he muttered. "What more did I expect?"

Wisps of black smoke began to curl from his palm and seeped into the card. Its surface darkened, and the glowing text deepened into a rich red hue.

Rachel snatched it back. "What did you do?"

"I upgraded the recommendation," Theo said with a sigh. "It's the best I can offer right now. I don't know how far you'll go, and raising it any higher would become a burden, not a gift."

He set down the card and his voice dropped a note.

"Let's get this over with. It's my last day at school."

Stella blinked. "Wait—what do you mean? You're barely here anyway."

Theo exhaled as if explaining something to a child. "With what you've told me, I can't waste time on something as trivial as human schooling—not when I'm this close to a breakthrough in my cultivation."

Rachel seized the moment. "How strong are you?"

"Does that count as one of your questions?" Theo asked coolly.

"No!" Stella interjected, waving her hands in front of him. She turned to Rachel, whispering urgently, "Be careful with your wording—he decides what counts. We're lucky he let that slide."

Rachel frowned. "Still, understanding the power system is important. At least then we'll know how far behind we are."

Stella nodded and turned back to Theo. "Then here's our first question: What is the power system?"

Theo took another bite of his food, chewing slowly before answering.

"There are two main systems people follow: Body Refinement and Cultivation. As far as I know, there are ten Tiers within the Mortal Realms, and some beyond that—but those are... murky. You won't need to worry about those yet. If your opponents are your age, they're likely in Tier 3 at most. Each Tier becomes exponentially harder, especially if you complete them thoroughly."

He paused, letting the weight of that sink in.

"As for me," he added, "I'm at the peak of Tier 2."

Silence settled over the table as Stella and Rachel processed what that meant.

Stella's voice was quiet when she spoke again. "If he's been training since he was three… and he's only at Tier 2… then what hope do I have?"

Rachel was speechless. Before she could respond, Theo cut in.

"I suggest you choose your last two questions wisely," he said. "You already wasted one on something you could've found in any book."

The girls sat in tense silence, minds turning. Finally, Stella spoke.

"Where do humans place in the planes?"

Theo smiled faintly. "Humans once ranked among the top five races across the planes. Now? They're not even in the top fifty. Even subspecies rank higher now—which is, frankly, embarrassing. You're improving, but still missing the core of what you need. Think deeper."

Stella stared down at the table, her mother's warnings echoing in her mind. A story… something about High Humans. Her heart pounded as she turned to Rachel.

"Trust me."

Rachel nodded.

Stella faced Theo. "Who are the High Humans?"

Theo's smile stretched wider, the glint in his eyes sharpening.

"Much better."

He set down his fork.

"High Humans were the original form of your kind—the primordial race. As one of the origin races, they were granted rapid reproduction but suffered from shortened lifespans. It should've been an overwhelming advantage, but the universe maintains balance. They went extinct after making a deal with the Plane Will—one that cursed this world and turned it into the wasteland it is now."

He leaned forward slightly, voice lowering.

"Or so we thought. That was the story—until you showed up, Stella. The first naturally born High Human in over ten million years. Quite the feat, if you think about it."

The table fell into a heavy silence.

Their minds spun, reeling from the revelation—but Theo wasn't finished.

"That was your third question. Now, you get a story. But you must choose."

He listed them off on his fingers. "There's The Three Gifts, Creation, and The Wise, the Strong, and the Cunning. Two are connected, one is... exactly what it sounds like."

Rachel and Stella exchanged a glance. Rachel spoke first.

"We should pick Creation, right? It's like Genesis. Knowing the beginning helps us understand everything else."

"I get it," Stella said, "but I think it might be a trap. My mom wouldn't tell me about High Humans—she said knowing too much would hurt me. And Theo proved it today with that card upgrade. What if the story of Creation gives us something we can't unlearn? Something that becomes a weight or puts us in danger simply by knowing it?"

Rachel blinked. "Wow. You've really thought this through."

"I have to."

"Alright. Not Creation. Then which one?"

Stella turned to Theo. "Which story happened first?"

Theo didn't hesitate. "The Three Gifts."

The girls nodded in unison.

"The Three Gifts," they said.

Theo lowered his fork and leaned back in his seat.

"Well… the story begins like this—"