Die. Respawn. Repeat.

I try to ignore the text about the Inspiration, and focus first on the choice I have to make. I have no idea what an Inspiration is, but it sounds important. A part of me is excited but that doesn't mean I want to rush my choice.

The problem is the names are so vague.

It helps that I know that they're associated, in some way, with everything I've been through. The names make it obvious, even. Color Drain is clearly associated in some way with the strange, color-leeching effect of the Hotspot; I'm not sure what it means in terms of a Firmament skill, though. If I assume it's in any way similar to what was happening in the Hotspot, then maybe it's something that drains the color out of things, allowing me to imbue it with Firmament and turn it into a monster that will fight my enemies for me.

Or, if I take the name very literally, it might just let me pull the color out of things. I can't imagine that'll be the sole use of the skill, though. It's become increasingly clear that the skills tend to be a little more than they seem.

Resonant Pulse might be something similar to what the obelisk did in the middle of the Hotspot. It might also be the skill Naru used when I set him on fire, the one that cratered the ground and snuffed out my Firmament. Either way, it's probably an area-of-effect combat skill that's focused on me at the center, which makes it a great midrange option that fills out my kit for when I have to fight groups of enemies.

The last one, Weaker Dispel, is clearly based on the Dispel ability that Naru used against me. It's a useful card to have, but the drawbacks are very clear in Naru's case, he became over reliant on it in a sort of catch-all reaction to anything he thinks might hurt him.

Weaker Dispel is... a weak option for me, I think. Not because it's not useful, but because it's not useful to me, especially while I'm in this Trial. Its ability to dissipate Firmament use is marred by the fact that this version of it is labeled as weaker, and the Trial forcing me to loop through time when I die allows me to prepare myself against any surprises. I can, with some rare exceptions, just take the death and allow it to inform the next loop.

I might also be able to replicate the effects with Firmament Manipulation, with a few more ranks in it. I've seen how Naru's skill works. Dispel fundamentally works on things reliant on Firmament, so if I can reproduce it with Firmament Manipulation...

That leaves Color Drain and Resonant Pulse.

Color Drain is a gamble. Resonant Pulse will almost certainly be useful; Color Drain might be useful, if I'm right about what it does. I don't doubt that any Rank C skill will be useful in some way, shape or form, but I don't want to risk it when Tarin's life is technically still on the line.

I'm about to make my choice when I remember I'm not alone. I hesitate for a moment, then call out Ahkelios, bright blue flashing to life on my shoulder. Mari glances up at the sight, but just cocks her head at me.

"I have to choose a skill, first," I say. "I have three choices. Color Drain, Resonant Pulse, and Weaker Dispel. Do either of you know anything? Any suggestions? I'm leaning towards Resonant Pulse, but..."

"I not know what Interface call skills," Mari says. "But Resonant Pulse familiar. Naru use skill, I think."

That answers that question.

"I think I know Color Drain," Ahkelios says thoughtfully. "It's kind of a skill that weakens things. Lowers the strength of Firmament, weakens the structural integrity of things, that kind of thing. I think the specific color you drain changes the properties of the drain, too?"

...It's a good thing I thought to ask.

With that information, I change my mind. Color Drain seems like a more versatile skill overall.

[ Color Drain (Rank C) obtained! ]

[ Inspiration commencing. ]

The world warps. I stagger forward, and it's only the fact that Mari doesn't react that tells me whatever's happening to me isn't real not in a literal sense, anyway.

Color washes out of the world, not unlike how it had looked within the Hotspot. For a moment, everything feels empty, dead. I reach within myself to touch on my bond with Ahkelios, hoping to draw something from that but even that bond is somehow muted.

I am alone.

The world is frozen around me. Mari doesn't move, and neither do any of the other crows in the village. Every leaf is still, and every cloud in the sky has ceased to move. Even the relentless heat of the sun feels like nothing more than a dull warmth on my skin, and that sensation, too, is quickly fading.

What is this? It doesn't feel like a reward.

But I stay calm. The Interface has been fair about its rewards, so far. There's no reason for me to expect that to change. Either this is a test in which case all I need to do is figure out what it wants from me to pass or there's something obvious that I'm missing.

"Interface," I try. "What am I supposed to do?"

Silence. The Interface hasn't been particularly useful about responses lately, but I suppose I don't really expect any different. I figure this must be some kind of puzzle that I'm meant to solve, but with no idea of what the pieces are

"Ah, there you are! My deepest apologies for being late."

I jump, startled, and reach for Triplestep to put some distance between me and whoever had spoken but the skill fails. Whatever this liminal space is, my skills don't work correctly here.

I spin around anyway, and take a few steps back from the figure standing behind me. He's smiling pleasantly. I can't express how strange it is, to find a figure just smiling at me in the midst of everything else being frozen.

It's hard to describe him, exactly. I can barely tell whether he's organic or synthetic his body is a stonelike deep blue, his bare arms decorated in golden filigree. Glowing pearls decorate his flesh like jewelry.

His head is strange, too; the top of it is almost disc-shaped. He wears bright, expressive eyes, though, and a pleasant smile adorns his lips. He's dressed in a single long vest decorated in the same golden filigree that runs along his arms, and it merges into white, ceramic-looking armor.

It might come as no surprise that I don't trust him.

The stranger doesn't notice. "Temporal bands, you see," he says, his voice cheerful. "Quite difficult to navigate, especially if you're on the outside. But the Interface demands what the Interface demands, and what it demands now is that you gain an Inspiration! Isn't that exciting?"

"I don't know what an Inspiration is," I say. I keep my eyes fixed on him. I don't actually sense any Firmament from him but everything about where I am is strange, and my connection to my own skills is muted. I'm not sure I'd sense anything even if he were filled to the brim with Firmament.

"Right, right, you haven't had the explanation." The stranger waves a hand cheerfully, then sticks it out, though a little bit awkwardly. "One thing at a time. Where are my manners! My name is Gheraa. I am the Integrator in charge of your Trial, and I am delighted to meet you."

The delight in his tone is uncomfortable. It's like he's putting on a show. But then of course he is.

The Integrators are always watching.

"You don't have to introduce yourself, of course," the Integrator says when I don't reach out to shake his hand. Gheraa. Whatever. "Ethan Hill, two thousand, nine hundred and fifty-first candidate... Among the last to be chosen. I'm quite pleased with my selection. You've been a remarkable participant so far."

There's something in his tone that gives me pause, but it's his words that catch my attention. "The Interface said the selection was random."

"It was!" Gheraa smiles brightly at me. "We randomly picked out candidates and then selected the best of the best."

"So you lied."

"That's rather hurtful, but if that's what you want to call it..." Gheraa shrugs. He doesn't seem put off by my distrust or hostility; if anything, he seems to revel in it. "But we mustn't waste time! These Inspirations take quite a lot of Interface energy, you know."

There's something about the way he says that that catches my attention. The way his words linger on the idea of Interface energy. I narrow my eyes slightly. I don't know if he's telling the truth, but that's something worth noting that the Interface's energy might be limited.

"So now you make your choice!" Gheraa gestures in a dramatic flourish, the stone of his arm briefly splitting apart to reveal a crackle of yellow energy. "For the Inspirations you have earned..."

There is a crack. An echo. Something resonating through the air, so powerful and deep I can feel it in my chest; for a moment, I feel as though I cannot breathe.

And then, in front of Gheraa, I see two options.

One looks like a flower. It is, technically, wearing the shape of a rose but every petal is a different color and pattern. One is silver with lines of gold, another purple with swirls of orange. At one-second intervals, a petal falls, only to be replaced by a new, unique set of colors.

[ A Flower for the Broken ], it says.

"For your efforts in gaining an Assistant so soon," Gheraa explains, making a grandiose gesture towards the rose. He sweeps forward in a mocking bow, presenting the rose to me. "For you, my good sir."

I stare at him, then turn to look at the second option.

It's a single feather. There's an iridescent sheen to it, and it flickers with a strange blue-green every time my gaze shifts.

[ The Feather That Trusts ]. I suppose that's as accurate a description for the crows as any; they had been rather exceptionally trusting...

"For passing your very first Raid," Gheraa explains, unnecessarily. "Impressive work. You're the fifth Trial participant to succeed."

Among three thousand participants, that doesn't sound so bad. I wonder who the other four are.

I stare at my options, then glance at Gheraa, ignoring his commentary. "Are you going to tell me what they do?"

"I think it'd be far more interesting if you found out on your own, don't you?" Gheraa says. I raise an eyebrow, disagreeing, and he sighs.

"Very well," he says, affecting disappointment or at least, he tries. By the excitement in his voice, I suspect he's been waiting to do this all along. "Inspirations are modifiers, my dear friend. They allow you to alter the effects of your skills, sometimes to drastic degrees. Isn't that exciting! You keep the base effect, but you add on something new. For example, your friend Naru has a Strength Inspiration known as [ The Trembling Meteor ]. It increases the range of his abilities and gives him more control over fire. He used it to modify his Shockwave skill and nullify your Firestep. Isn't that just neat?"

I narrow my eyes. I don't know if he's telling me the truth, but if he is, that's a load of information he's just... given me freely. Gheraa stares at me with a happy smile, his eyes perfectly innocent; it's like he's putting on a show.

The question is who that show is for.

I stare at my options while Gheraa waits patiently, and think about what he'd said. These are the Inspirations you've earned.

"Are these the only Inspirations I can choose from?" I ask suddenly, and Gheraa grins at me knowingly, as though he's been waiting for this the whole time.

"I thought you'd never ask."