This time, Arden was the only one in his party to remain on his feet when traveling through the Stargate. He stumbled, but managed to catch himself thanks to his memory, his state-of-the-art armor, and his newly healed body. The same could not be said for Sya and Vera who, while not to the spectacularly miserable degree of Arden’s previous fall, still fell to their hands and knees.

  “You two alright?” Arden asked, lending them each a hand to stand up.

  “More or less,” Vera said, dusting herself off.

  Sya looked around the room, if one could call it that. Only a few days passed since they stargate cascade began, but it could've been a few hundred years for how little anything remained.

  “Holy hell,” Sya said. “Vera, your house is gone.”

  “Meh,” Vera responded with a shrug. “Wasn't my house anyway.”

  It was true. None of the walls reached their previous peak. Now the tallest wall was maybe as tall as Arden. The ceiling was the new floor, having fallen in on itself. From looking, it was hard to tell if the ceiling collapsed because of the damage to the walls or if the walls collapsed because of the damage to the ceiling.

  Sya could see the corner of one of their cinder blocks sticking out from beneath the pile of rubble that used to be the small house. She bent over to try to pick it up, but realized it was only a fragment. She clicked her tongue and dropped it to the ground.

  “Rest in pieces, table,” she said.

  Arden looked around the remains of his third home with remorse.

  “This better not happen to everyplace I stay. I want my homes to last longer than the time between pride month ending and all of the pride merchandise getting taken down.”

  Vera gave him a weird look.

  “What?” He asked.

  “You know about pride month and the business practices surrounding it, but you don't know about Starborn and stargates?”

  “I feel like everyone knows about those company practices,” he said defensively.

  “More than Starborn stuff? I doubt it. That kind of stuff would only be known to people in Ring 4 or higher.”

  “Stranger things have happened. We just went through a stargate with a party consisting of two mundanes and a Blight Walker, remember?”

  “He’s got you there,” Sya said, coming to her brother’s defense.

  Cirai turned around to look at them with a face of confusion.

  “What are you guys talking about?”

  “This is what we do,” Arden said. “We train, we fight monsters, we bicker, then we wake up and do it all again. I’m still waiting to be showered with accolades for our selfless good deed of raiding a stargate.”

  “You know,” Podren said, throwing his head back with a smirk. “Entering a stargate without appropriate registration is a crime.”

  “I’m sure you can overlook it,” Arden said unphased. “Besides, the stargate was trespassing first. Technically, what we did was Castle Doctrine.”

  Vera groaned.

  “Again. How do you know about Castle Doctrine when you didn’t know about Starborn?”

  “It’s the slums, Vera,” Arden said. “You know how many times I had to defend me and Sya’s place?”

  “Yes, I do, actually. Once. You tried to defend your home once. No one ever went close to you out of fear of retribution from Sya.”

  “And I’m not sure why,” Sya said. “I'm not the one who wanted to bomb a guild.”

  The three Starborn looked pointedly at Sya, who evasively shifted her eyes to Arden. Soon, the agents of the Association stared at him instead.

  “Thanks for that, Sya. You’re really helping me out here.”

  “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

  “You tried to bomb a guild?” Podren asked.

  “Nope,” Arden said.

  Now all eyes were on Cirai. She used her powers and looked at Arden. After a deep sigh, she spoke.

  “He’s not lying. He didn’t try to bomb a guild.”

  Cirai looked at the trio of non-Starborn with as much interest as disbelief. It boggled the mind that these three scatterbrained mundanes were able to clear a stargate, even if it was only red-tier.

  “How the hell did you guys manage to clear a stargate anyway? Weren’t you guys scared?”

  The three looked at each other. After a few seconds of talking with their eyes, Arden came forward as the representative of the group.

  “Not really. Honestly, we were more excited than anything. Sya in particular was very gungho about it.”

  “After a few years of sitting around doing nothing,” Sya said. “Doing anything to stretch the legs is good. Even more so if we rake in enough loot to buy our way out of this hellhole.”

  Cirai looked at the brother-sister duo like they were crazy. She wondered if insanity was hereditary. She looked to Vera next, hoping that the family's rampant insanity was just a them thing, and not a plague that infected all three of them.

  “What about you?”

  Vera shrugged.

  “I’ve fought red-tiers before. I was more worried about these two than myself.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Did we live up to your hopes?” Arden asked.

  “You two would have lived up to my expectations if you merely survived. You way exceeded my expectations. How many did each of you kill?”

  “Around 20 for each of us I think.”

  “Then each of you exceeded my expectations by several times. I’m proud of you.”

  Arden turned away from Vera, trying to hide his blush. Compliments were rare for him to receive, especially one so heartfelt.

  “Can we get a move on?” Sya asked. “I’m tired.”

  Cirai gave them one last look that conveyed numerous emotions. Among them was pride, relief, and awe. She swallowed some of the ones she didn’t want to show and began to lead the refugees through the hellscape that used to be the slums.

  Knowing that it was unwise to proceed through Celestial infested areas unarmed, Vera produced three more swords from the Mausoleum to arm herself, Arden, and Sya. She was rather thankful that the room with the Great Grave Archwood produced so many skeletons with swords. They had a surplus now, which could be used for training, fighting, and hiding their Satellites.

  It didn’t always happen, but Vera knew that there were times when the Association collected Satellites from mundanes. They claimed it was for their safety, but Vera knew that it was just a way to control people.

  Arden, Sya, and Vera followed behind the other three when a translucent veil appeared around the three Starborn. It appeared to distort the appearances of the three Starborn, as well as their words as they talked to each other. It was like they were being censored. Arden found that he started to get a headache from staring at it too much.

  “It's a sensory veil,” Vera explained. “It prevents the people on the outside from sensing what goes on inside. Sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch, all of them are blocked to us. It's kind of a universal item among Starborn.”

  “I bet you two would like one of those,” Sya teased.

  “Again with that?” Arden asked, rolling his eyes. “You’re worse than a thirteen year old girl discovering fanfiction for the first time.”

  “Arden already has one,” Vera said. “Comes with every set of multipurpose Starborn armor, like the one you're wearing.”

  “Really? How do I turn it on?”

  “You can’t. Not without stellar essence.”

  “Damn it.”

  “Just become a Starborn if you want essence so much.”

  Arden gave Vera a flat look that caused her to start laughing.

  “What do you think they’re talking about?” Arden asked.

  “Probably what to do with us,” Vera answered, still smiling from Arden’s reaction.

  Just as she said those words, the sensory veil surrounding the Starborn came down.

  Arden was personally not a fan of the expressions worn by the superpowered people. Cirai looked regretful and bitter, with a fair bit of disgust. Podren was scowling.

  Only the walking fridge of a man seemed to be showing a positive emotion. Arden could see the danger in the man's eyes and furrowed his brows. He was looking at Arden like he was a delicious feast.

  “This is a mistake,” Cirai said.

  “Frozhe,” Podren said. “Listen to the truth-seeker on this one. She knows them. They're not criminals.”

  “Oh come on,” Arden said exasperated. “We’re doing this again?”

  “Silence, suspect,” Frozhe said. “Your cover story is good. A group of mundanes raiding a stargate out of necessity. It looks good on paper. Especially when you know people on the inside.”

  He gave Cirai a withering glare. She glared back at him, trembling with rage.

  “But we all know that it's impossible,” he said with a smirk.

  “Are you doubting my integrity?” Cirai asked.

  “Sounds like he's also doubting our abilities,” Arden said with venom in his words.

  “What I am doubting is your story, rogue. It's possible for a mundane to kill a few Celestials, given that either the Celestials are weak or the mundanes are strong. But 60 among two mundanes and a Blight Walker? That strains credibility.”

  “So what? So does everything in this world. You have nothing but a hypothesis. No evidence.”

  “Frozhe, this is bullshit,” Cirai said. “You know it as well as we do. If they were Starborn, I would have known about it for a while. None of them have aura. I've known Arden for almost five years. He's as mundane as a rock.”

  Arden couldn't help but feel offended at that hurtful, yet truthful appraisal. He thought he would've been preferred to be called “not special” instead.

  “He's been lying to you!” Frozhe urged. “Think about it. You say that he's been living with a Blight Walker for almost five years. How does it make sense for him to not become Blighted after that long? It doesn't. It doesn't make sense for a mundane to be uninjured after a stargate raid either!”

  “I'm telling you, his words are the truth!” Cirai yelled. “Are you seriously believing your own suspicions over the words of a truth-seeker?”

  “Your credibility is compromised. I don't know why, but when it comes to this person, logic flies out of the window with you.”

  “Both of you, enough!” Podren yelled. “You are both acting like children! Frozhe, the kid is right: you only have suspicions, nothing concrete. To arrest them under only that stains the reputation of the Association.”

  Frozhe looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue.

  ‘What the hell is with this hierarchy?’ Arden wondered.

  Back in the Mausoleum it seemed that Cirai was the leader. A few minutes ago it seemed that Frozhe was instead, as he was taking the initiative to apprehend Arden. Now, it seemed that Podren was the one in control.

  Podren sighed then turned to Cirai.

  “But it is also undeniable that your friends are suspicious. Frozhe's suspicions are warranted. Everything he said makes sense. But!” He said, sticking a finger into the air. “There is a simple way to clear this up.”

  He looked at Arden with an expectant look.

  Arden knew what he was going to say, and he didn't like it. It would only cause him to dig an even deeper grave if he refused. But refusing was the only thing he would be able to do.

  “Arden,” Podren said. “Show us your Status. That is the one thing that will resolve this. The Status can't be manipulated, so if you show it to us we can clear our suspicions immediately. However, if you refuse, we will have no choice but to place you under arrest for suspicions of being a rogue.”

  That was not going to happen. Currently, Arden had two mysterious messages forever emblazoned on his Status, both of which were cans of worms he didn't want anyone but those already in the know to open. Sya and Vera glanced at Arden, sharing similar thoughts to his. They knew that he wasn't going to reveal his hand yet, maybe not ever. There were too many unknowns.

  Arden sighed.

  “I can't do that. I won't show my Status, but I maintain my innocence. I’m mundane.”

  Cirai looked at him with worried confusion. Her protostar ability granted her the power to tell if someone was lying, so she could tell that he wasn't. Arden truly was mundane.

  ‘Why won't you show us your Status?’

  “Are you sure?” Podren asked.

  Arden nodded.

  “In that case, we’re changing our destination to our squad’s branch of the Association. We’ll have to keep you there until we’re able to clear this up.”

  “All of us?”

  “Yes. But only you and your friend will be detained. Your sister is not suspicious on account of being a Blight Walker, so she won't be detained, though it would be for the best to bring her with us regardless. She'd be safer there than anywhere else during the cascade. And there won't be anyone to get infected.”

  “Why am I being placed under arrest?” Vera asked.

  “Are you going to show us your Status?”

  “Probably not,” she admitted. “There wouldn't be any point in trying to avoid the clink. I'd just follow Arden and continue to train with him. He's my precious disciple, after all.”

  Sya cleared her throat.

  Vera looked at her.

  “Same goes for you,” Vera said.

  “Uh-huh.”