I woke up to the sound of chains being fastened. My head spun like it had been slammed into a washing machine. Nausea clenched my stomach and my vision blurred of half-darkness. I tried to lift my hands to rub my eyes, but the sensation of cold metal biting into my wrists stole my attention.
A sharp slap on my cheek hit me trying to force me awake. Pain burned across my skin, and a flashlight flickered in front of me, blinding me with a bright beam. I squinted, only for a couple of seconds and I fainted once again.
***
The next time I woke up, I was lying on a bed. I tried to sit up. My legs didn't move. Panic hit me in waves as I realized the chains anchoring me to the bedframe. My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten since leaving home.
Home?
The word triggered a storm in my mind. Roy was dead. The museum, the monstrous thing. Amy… what had happened to her? My brain scanned through memories — the museum guards, the carnage, Roy's final moments and the black-winged man.
Why did that man save me? What was that thing that attacked us? Was it alone, or were there more? And why… why was I alive?
The door opened abruptly. The brimmed-hat man strolled in like he owned the place. He leaned lazily against the wall, unbothered by the chains or my presence. A cigar appeared between his fingers, he lit it, the smoke curling past my nose annoyingly. I had a momentary urge to complain.
But as if on cue, another figure waltzed in. He looked completely different — casual, nonchalant, and very relaxed. He wore white polo shirt, khaki shorts, flip-flops. He pulled a chair across the room and plopped down in front of me. The contrast between him and the brimmed-hat man was so stark it made my head spin.
'You,' I croaked, trying to summon courage, 'Who are you exactly? What do you want from me?'
The man leaned back in his chair, hands in his pockets. 'I'm the eldest son of the Dragos,' he said, 'but everyone calls me Chrome. Which, ironically, is also my first name.' He paused, letting it settle in. 'Sorry to stop you in your tracks, but I'm the one asking the questions here. Which faction are you from?'
I didn't know what he was talking about. Faction? 'I don't know what you mean. I'm a New Yorker. I lived with my cousin Amy in our apartment. I've never left the house. I can't see… I was homeschooled. I don't… I don't know anything else. I don't know why all these things are happening to me.'
Chrome tilted his head, then he leaned forward, eyes glinting. 'So, you choose to play dumb, huh? You claim to know nothing, yet I can feel the power of the Holy Grail within you, though it's faint. You say you live with Amy… the rogue Shade known as the Chaos Princess. And here's the kicker — a squad of highly trained mercenaries, commissioned by the U.S. government, was sent to your apartment. They're dead. Vaporized by a lightning strike, their bodies partially recovered. Amy? Missing. Not a trace of her.'
'What's your point?' I said trying to process his words.
The man with the brimmed hat exhaled a long smoke ring, sharp as a whip. 'This is dumb. Let's just kill him,' he muttered, irritation thick in his tone.
'Easy, Mustang,' Chrome said with a calm authority, though the glint in his eyes made it clear he wasn't joking. He turned back to me. 'You say you can't see… but you can, can't you?'
I swallowed. 'H-how do you know that?'
'Kid,' He said, 'No soul, secret, lie, knowledge, or mystery slips past my ability.'
'Who are you people? What do you want? Who… who am I?'
Chrome grinned widely, like he'd been waiting for that exact question his entire life. He leaned forward, 'You, my good sir are a Shade.'
I blinked. 'What?'
'A Shade,' he repeated. 'One who can draw power from a divine force — Miasma.'
I looked at the chain-smoker who didn't bat an eyelid at his associate's remark. Rather, he looked at me and replied glumly, 'What?'
'Nothing,' I said. I turned back to Chrome. 'What do you mean, Shade? Is that some cult or a secret organization?' I gave a nervous laugh.
Chrome shook his head slowly. 'Far from it, kid. You're nowhere near the mark. I guess I'll have to explain the origins.'
'His name was Konstantin, A Scottish-Italian, born in 1754. The first thirty years of his life? Not important. But everything changed in 1785. He was working on his farm when he came across something buried beneath the soil — an ancient relic, hidden for centuries. The Holy Grail. It unleashed a force upon the earth — a force later known as Miasma. Only Shades can harness it, and the blessing varies from Shade to Shade. Konstantin was overcome. Ungodly power flowed through him, power no human had ever known. The Grail fused with him, making him godlike.
Thankfully, For decades, he used that power for good — helping humanity, agriculture, reconstruction, feeding the hungry. But where there is good… there is also evil. Lucifero, possessed by the Devil's Seal, sought Konstantin's power. He manipulated humans, turning them into vessels for his wrath, all to corrupt the Grail and absorb it. Should he succeed, he would ascend to a being above any god.
Konstantin chose three of his closest allies, giving each of them a blessing of the Grail. Together, the four of them fought Lucifero and his demon army. Humans under Lucifero's control weren't killed; Konstantin purified them. The battle raged for years, until it culminated in a dimension called Tepes. Fighting on Earth would have destroyed its very topography, rendered it unrecognizable.
When Konstantin returned to Earth, he created domains where Shades could live safely. Each ally received a special artifact: John received a tiny fortress, Alexander a small metal whale, Ophilia a tiny empire. These artifacts were sealed, and only after a specific spell could they manifest. John's fortress rose into the sky with fifty converted Shades. Alexander took to the seas. Ophilia's empire flourished on a deserted land. Civilizations for Shades began. Rules were strict: no interaction with humans unless in extreme necessity.
Eventually, Konstantin passed away, but before he did, he told his friends to pass on their power of maintaining their domains to their children, as it is only their blood that can maintain or destroy the domain. Finally, he told them that at his death a new sage would be chosen. He added that a contest should be held if the Grail does not personally elect a new Sage after a period of time.'
When he finished, he looked at me with expectancy like he expected me to clap or something.
'So… what does this mean for me?' I asked.
'It means,' Chrome said, leaning closer, 'that you may have the power of the Grail inside you. And you, my boy, have a lot of explaining to do. Right now.'
'I… I don't know anything. I have no parents. I don't have a Grail. I'm nothing!' My voice cracked, desperation pouring into it.
Chrome looked unconvinced, it looked like his eyes started glowing. Then he said, 'Divine Ability: Omniscient Sleuth.'
The room shook violently, a sudden gale rattled the walls and threw papers across the floor. Dust swirled in the air, caught in the light of the single bulb overhead. Chrome approached and pressed his palm against my forehead, unnerving me to the core.
And just as I thought his eyes were alternating colours. Red. Blue. Violet. Every color imaginable, spinning in rapid succession. I blinked frantically, trying to look away, but couldn't.
Seconds later, his hand lifted. His eyes returned to a calm, light brown, almost too normal after the chaos they had just displayed.
Mustang, leaning lazily against the wall, sighed. 'What did you see, Chrome?'
Chrome turned to him, a curious tilt to his head. 'Well… that was unexpected.'
I opened my mouth, trembling. 'W- what did you do to me?'
'I saw the truth. Everything,' Chrome said his voice low.
He walked over to Mustang, whispering something in his ear. Mustang's eyes widened, disbelief appearing across his face. Then, without warning, Mustang charged at me.
Pain exploded at the back of my neck, and everything went dark.
*******
I opened my eyes.
I stood on a white floor that stretched into infinity. There was no sky, no horizon — just an endless blankness above and below, as if someone had erased the world and left me suspended in the absence. Every direction looked exactly the same.
I walked east — or what I assumed was east — because it felt like the only possible direction. My footsteps made no sound. After what felt like several minutes, I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled:
'Come out! I know you're here!'
My voice echoed unnaturally, stretching far too long, bouncing through nothingness.
Suddenly, a thick mist swirled into existence in front of me out of nowhere. The fog twisted, folded, and then split, revealing a lone figure stepping forward.
The figure smiled, an ageless smile that was both gentle and terrifying.
'I don't remember inviting you to the White Room.'
My heart pounded. 'Who are you?'
'I am the Holy Grail.'
'Why are you with me? No—what do you want from me?'
The Grail tilted her head thoughtfully.
'Unfortunately, I am what you humans would call a symbiote. Which means I cannot exist independently.'
'So because you're inside me… I'm going to die?' My voice rose.
'Certainly, however, if you grow strong enough, that outcome can change entirely.'
'So what am I supposed to do now? Huh?'
The Grail gave me a soft smile.
'It is about time you wake up. Follow your destiny, Z. I expect great things from you.'
I woke with a start.
My breath came in shaky bursts. I tried to focus on something, anything, but the dimness made the world blur and sway. My head ached. My throat was dry too. I was about to shout for help when a loud CLANG! rang through the emptiness.
A lone floodlight hanging impossibly high above snapped on, bathing a portion of the room in harsh white light. Dust drifted through the beam like snow.
In front of me, a massive podium took form. It was wide, towering, carved from stone or metal or something between. Its shape was like an inverted U, curved gently like a colossal altar.
Then a man emerged on the podium from the left walking towards the center.
He moved with an authoritative calm, placing himself dead center on the podium. His face was shadowed, intentionally concealed by the poor lighting. Moments later, four others emerged as well, two lining each side of the central figure. Their presence made the air heavy.
'Um… good day,' I managed.
I attempted to stand only to be slammed to my knees by a crushing invisible force. Pain shot through my legs. I knew who did it. My eyes darted to the right.
A thin man in a formal suit adjusted the small rectangular glasses on his nose. 'What do you think you're doing? You are in the presence of the Ministry,' he hissed.
'Enough, Creel,' the central man said, raising a hand.
The pressure loosened a little, though it didn't vanish.
'Z,' the man continued, 'you shall call me Mr. J.'
'So what? What am I doing here? How do you even know my name? Where even am I?' My voice cracked, frustration spilling through.
Creel took one threatening step toward me, but Mr. J lifted his hand again, halting him mid-stride. Creel's jaw tightened in irritation.
He ignored my questions. 'It has been confirmed that the power of the Holy Grail resides within you. Our informant tells us the Grail itself chose you to be the next Sage — unlike previous eras where a Sage was only created after winning the contest.'
'Chose?'
'If the other sects discover this, they will be very displeased. They will interpret it as… shall we say… the Alpha Faction attempting to hog divine authority.'
The group began arguing in hushed voices, speaking so quickly I couldn't decipher a single word. The tension in the room was suffocating.
Abruptly, Mr. J raised his hand again. Silence fell instantly.
'As we have reached an impasse, I must deliver the most reasonable verdict.'
Silence passed
'Z,' he said, 'you will enroll as a Shade combatant. You will master miasma control. You will participate in the Sage-Selecting Event, win and ultimately defeat Grey — the Lucifero Incarnate.'
Several Ministry members exchanged dark looks. One clenched his fists. Another sighed heavily. One simply stared ahead, unbothered.
'Wait, what? Shade combatant? Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means.'
Mr. J ignored me once again. 'Creel. You will show him around the domain.'
Creel tried to hide his irritation. 'Of course my Lord,' he said.
Mr. J stood. 'Our work is done. Boy, keep your head down. Do not draw unnecessary attention. And above all, the presence of the Grail inside you must remain secret. Any reckless action will jeopardize us all.'
One by one, the members of the Ministry rose and vanished, dissolving into the air.
The force binding me vanished, and I collapsed to the floor, gasping.
Creel adjusted his glasses with a slow slide up his nose. 'I don't know what your involvement will bring about, but I doubt it will be anything good.' He exhaled irritably. 'Come along.'
After a long, exhausting two-hour walk, I learned where I was.
The floating Fortress: Vatican.
The domain was nothing like I imagined — not a fortress, not a castle, but a sprawling city floating high above the world. Streets intertwined like veins. Buildings of white stone and dark steel mixed with glowing sigils. Markets buzzed with life. Shade civilians walked, bartered, and worked as though it were a normal metropolis — except it hovered thousands of meters above the ground.
Shades used a currency called Sheks or Shekels the stuff from the Bible. They came in bronze, silver, and gold coins. Bronze could barely buy a nice sandwich. Silver bought a decent meal. Gold… well, gold was clearly the high life. Food was grown in enormous floating fields — crops nourished by Shade abilities, with miasma-infused vitality.
The entire domain felt alive, held aloft by the magic of generations, humming like a gigantic engine of ancient power.
I was shown the Parish— the stupidly massive structure where, not too long ago, I'd been interrogated like some kind of criminal. Seeing it from the outside didn't make it any less intimidating. The place towered over the city like a cathedral built by giants, all sharp spires and obsidian-black stone, humming faintly with Miasma. Even the air around it felt heavy, like it was pressing down on my lungs.
Directly beside it was a gigantic gate-like mechanism. The sort of thing you'd expect to guard a nuclear reactor or a portal to hell itself. It was packed with unfriendly-looking Shades, towering and heavily armed to the teeth. Their uniforms weren't for show. These were the kind of people who'd break your bones and tell you sorry later because you "looked suspicious."
And it was the entrance to the Vatican Shade Training Campus.
Apparently, it was a three-section campus built specifically to nurture, weaponize, or… civilize Shades. A Shade growing up here could become a Soldier, or what they called a "Dream Shade"—some kind of elite super-combatant. For those less interested in breaking bones for a living, there was a Business sect that trained Shades in commerce and economics. And finally, the Intelligence Division, the shadowy investigative branch of the domain. It was from here, Creel said, that Chrome had graduated. A perfect place for creeps like him.
We approached the entrance of the Combat or "Alpha" sect and I started getting all nervous. And my palms? Don't even get me started on the sweat.
'Do I really have to do this?" I asked. 'I mean, don't I get to call a lawyer? You guys have got to have liability issues, right?'
Creel snapped.
'Shut up! Just shut up, you goddamned ingrate!' he barked. 'You think you're funny? Your ass should be dead. You don't even understand the kind of privileges you get simply by being the Sage. Do you know how many Shades dream of presenting themselves before the Ministry?'
'For the record, I didn't appreciate being treated like a dog. With the chains and all,' I shot back. 'I didn't ask for any of this. I was perfectly fine with my life before all of you came and ruined it. I don't have anything. I never did. And now? Now it's only a matter of time before I wind up dead.'
Creel scoffed. 'With your looks, you could have girls chasing you all day,' he muttered bitterly.
'Huh?'
'It's nothing.' He straightened his coat. 'Classes have already begun today. You'll start tomorrow.'
He began to walk away. 'Oh, and Z?'
'What now?'
'You better keep up. Or you will die.'
That night I couldn't get any sleep.
I lay on the thin mattress of the inn room, staring at the wooden ceiling like it had answers. Guess what?
It didn't.
For one, I was supposed to attend a mixed school full of superpowered aliens with actual combat experience. Me? I was armed with knowledge from anime, memes, and a few hilarious YouTube tutorials on "How to Fight Like a Pro."
Two, there was my deal with Mr. J —who apparently wanted me to win a Sage-selecting event and defeat Grey. Grey, whose cold dead eyes still haunted my thoughts like a stubborn wallpaper.
My life as a Shade had started and the only armaments I had were an avalanche of slice of life experiences I had gotten from movies and the internet. I hoped I would dream of the Grail so I could ask for some help.
Eventually, I drifted to sleep.
*******
I did in fact not see her.
When it matters most the stupid entity decides not to show herself. How awfully convenient.
The sun was up by the time I dragged myself off the bed. My room in the inn overlooked a narrow alley between a clubhouse and a bakery. At night, the clubhouse had sounded like a poultry house and someone was slaughtering some chickens. Those "chickens" were actually grown men and women… pleasuring themselves.
Shades had weird priorities.
The walk from the inn to the Campus took twenty minutes. Classes started at eight-thirty. It was seven-forty-one.
Perfect. Just enough time for a mini-crashout.
After washing up, I headed out. Creel was already waiting near the Campus gate, leaning against the wall, looking irritated as usual.
'Your instructions from the Ministry have arrived,' he said.
'Yay.'
'One: Do not engage in any activity or conversation that would draw attention to yourself. Two: Stay on campus grounds unless given permission by the Ministry or a Dream Shade. Three: Do not use the Grail's power. In any manner. At all. Understood?
I nodded. Not like I could do much with the Grail's power anyway.
'That's it for now, other instructions may come at a later time depending on how things go.'
We walked through the campus for what felt like an eternity. Creel gave me a rundown of the other Shades, their types, personalities, hierarchies. There was one he especially emphasized: the strongest Shade of our set.
A girl.
Quiet. Snobbish. Terrifying presence. The Ministry expected her to become the next Sage… until I showed up.
Eventually, we reached a three-way fork: Intelligence Division to the left, Combat sect in the middle, Business sect to the right.
Additionally, Shades didn't really trust humans, so the had to plant agents amidst them to keep an eye on the "Pesky" beings. The center path led to the Combat sect where we were meant to go. The last path led to the Business sect where Shades were trained to make it big in the world. They would however, lose their unique biological composition and their abilities via a drug.
We followed the middle path.
We passed rows of carefully trimmed plants, fountains shaped like ancient relics, and various training buildings whose purposes I couldn't yet guess. Finally we stood before the Combat sect building.
The building was not what I expected, considering I expected a classic high school building with yellow painted walls and a lively atmosphere. Instead, it was a simple single-storey structure with maybe four rooms. Next to it was a longer building that looked like a renovated motel.
'This is it. Move,' Creel ordered.
'Sure thing, Mom.'
Inside, the reception was painfully bland. A lady sat behind a large oak desk, looking like she'd been bored for forty years straight. Creel whispered something to her. I wandered around the room, pretending to admire the décor.
On the wall hung a portrait of a Scottish man in his forties. His eyes didn't just look powerful, they radiated it. It felt like he was staring straight through me.
Creel tapped my shoulder. 'Let's go, classes are about starting.'
We took the elevator two flights up, which was strange because the building didn't have any floors looking from the outside.
A bell chimed softly, and the metallic doors of the elevator slid open with a smooth hiss. The hallway we stepped into was a bit narrow and echoey, the air was cool and sterile, almost like a hospital corridor. Creel strode ahead without waiting for me, his black leather shoes loudly clicking against the floor. We walked only a short distance before he stopped in front of a pair of sliding, soundproof, Japanese-style doors—white paper framed in dark wood.
'Wait here,' Creel ordered.
He slid the doors open, slipped inside, and they closed with a muted thump, shutting me out.
Let me say this.
I'd seen nervous-new-kid school scenes from tv shows a lot. I'd laughed at them, cringed at them, even mimicked them in front of a mirror once or twice. But never did I think I would be in this situation
I wondered if there was an audience watching me somehow laughing at my predicament.
I took a deep breath.
Okay. First impression. Don't get intimidated. Don't get flustered. You can do this. Just—
'Hey.'
Creel emerged again, already walking toward the elevator like he had other important things to do.
'You're up. Remember your mission, Z.'
The heck, I figured. It's just a classroom with a bunch of Shades with superiority complexes. And last I checked, I was the Sage.
For starters, I expected to see a roughed warrior as an instructor or a scarred veteran with no sense of humor. Instead it was Chrome.
There he stood, bright and cheerful behind the instructor's desk, a huge grin stretched across his entire face.
'Alright,' he announced, 'This is a new recruit, Z, and he will be joining us for training. I expect you all to cooperate with him, as he knows little to nothing about Miasma control.'
A few scoffs came from the back of the class.
I scanned the room.
A burly boy sat with two other guys, all three of them crammed around a desk eating crisps like cavemen watching a fight. Their crunching was obnoxious.
A girl sat alone in the front row, closest to the window. Messy purple, untamed, punk style. She rested her cheek in her palm, staring outside as though the sky was far more interesting than life.
And then there was the petite girl with short silver hair. She looked visibly disturbed. Her silver eyes flicked nervously around the room, like she was constantly checking for threats. There was something fragile about her. Like one wrong breath from the universe would shatter her.
'Z, if would introduce yourself to the class.' Chrome said while grinning from ear to ear like this was some kind of amusing game.
Of course. Now or never.
'My name's Z,' I said quickly.
Silence.
'I should be seventeen. I don't have any parents. I lived in New Yor—"
I was cut off by the burly Shade who had been looking at me, sizing me up. 'Whoa. Instructor, we weren't told he was an Outer.'
'Leave him be, Conner.' Chrome said.
'Should we also ignore the fact that he can't see? Or is this how desperate our elders have become? Sending blind kids to fight? The runt will be dead before he can blink. Oh, wait—'
His friends burst into laughter, slapping the table like idiots.
'Well, Conner,' I said calmly, 'if I were you, I wouldn't worry about me. I'd be more concerned about starting a low-fat diet.'
The class burst into laughter. I watched Conner's face turn light pink. It was hilarious.
A low chuckle came from the back of the class. I knew it came from a girl and apparently, Conner noticed too. It was the silver-haired girl.
He sprang from his seat so fast his chair toppled over. 'How many times must I tell you not to make a sound in here? Much less laugh at me? HOW DARE YOU!'
Before anyone could react, he punched her ruthlessly across the face.
The other Shades sighed and turned away, like they were used to seeing this harassment. The girl fell to the floor and Conner got on top of her and repeatedly gave her heavy punches anywhere and everywhere on her body.
Blood trickled from her nose and lip.
I stepped forward—but Chrome's arm shot out, blocking me. 'There's a reason no one has interrupted. All we can do is wait for him to calm down. Remember your mission.'
After about a few dozen fists to her temples, Conner stood up and arranged his hair and straightened his clothes. He smiled sheepishly and spat on the girl like she was a piece of trash.
I tried using my brain for once, to try and guess what she could have done to deserve this kind of treatment, but I drew a blank, partially because the anger was clouding my thinking.
I don't know why but I could see part of me in that girl. She reminded me of the cold, lonely nights when I sat alone by that dumpster starving and sick with malaria. It was something no one should ever experience.
My anger began to grow. I couldn't think straight, my mission? To hell with that. I was trying to count to ten or whatever you do when you're angry.
Until she started crying.
A wave roared in my ears. I didn't know what I was doing anymore. It was as if another being had taken over my body.
In a blink of an eye, I had moved across the room with deadly speed ready to pulverize Conner. I was shocked at myself too, but I didn't have time to congratulate myself yet. I clenched my fist so hard my palm began to bulge.
I swung my fist at his face, ready to knock him out.
I hit something but it wasn't a face. It was a hand. A girl's hand. I looked. It was the girl with the purple hair.
A powerful gale shook the class. A blast of wind exploded outward—my speed and force releasing a violent pressure wave. Papers scattered, chairs rattled and yet this girl topped it so easily. The Shades were more fearful than I thought.
Conner fell to the floor on his bottom, stunned. Shade or not, the blow would have hurt like hell.
I glared at the girl who still held my fist. Her eyes were cold, really cold. I tried to wriggle my hand free, but her iron grip was unyielding.
'Who the hell are you?' I asked.
'Eve.'
'Let go of me.'
She released my fist.
'Why did you stop me? How can you let this kind of absurdity go on?'
'Classes are about to start. Take your seat Z.'
Then she walked away, sat down, and resumed staring out the window, like nothing had happened.
Chrome exhaled deeply.
'Alright, everyone. Let's go. We have combat training this morning.'