Inheritors II / Children of Aeresi

The man seemed taken aback by my immediate acceptance of the situation, but he recomposed himself after a few seconds.

“That is… good, I suppose. It expedites things, if nothing else.” He scratched at his beard as he pondered what to do next. “Are you in any condition to walk yet, Everett?” he finally asked.

I shifted my legs around in the bed and determined the dull pain I still felt wasn’t enough to immobilize me. I nodded at the man, affirming my status.

“Please follow me, then. The others should already be together.” He offered me a hand, but I opted to lift myself up without the assistance. My feet were unsteady for a moment when I first placed weight on them, but I managed to maintain my balance and stabilize.

Motioning for me to follow, the man exited through the same door the girl did, and I traced his steps wordlessly through the dark hallway beyond it. The only thing illuminating our path was a splash of sunlight flooding in from the window positioned at the end of the hall, giving the building a foreboding atmosphere. Turning left after reaching it, we continued past several doorways until the man stopped at one. Waving an arm, he gestured for me to enter.

The room looked something like a personal office, or at least what I imagined a personal office might look like in the 1700s. A man with graying hair rested behind a large desk to my left, and four other individuals sat on chairs or stools scattered across the room.

As I entered, everyone’s eyes turned toward me, with the exception of a single pair. I recognized their owner as the girl I had met earlier. Using her elbow as a fulcrum, she was propping up her head with a fist while gazing out of the room’s one window, holding a pose that exuded an aura of frigidity.

While the others at least looked my way, none of their expressions felt particularly inviting either. Saving me from having to weave through the odd tension in the room, the man who led me here—Professor Seris, according to his introduction—slipped past me and addressed the group.

“Everyone, this is Everett. I’m sure Mara has already let you know, but he finally awoke. You should all introduce yourselves so we can begin explaining things to these two.”

Two?

Upon his request, the first to speak was a bespectacled young man maybe a year or two older than me. “My name is Kerne Fross. Inheritor. Third year. I specialize in leadership and strategy. Though we do not meet in the brightest of circumstances, I thank you for your cooperation, and I pray our alliance will result in victory.”

Awkward, mechanical, and to-the-point. I wasn’t sure how to deal with guys like this. But then again, I have no idea how to deal with any type of person.

Professor Seris let out a soft sigh at his introduction, then turned toward the far corner of the room and nodded at a pale girl who had tucked herself deep into the crevice, almost as if she were trying to hide. The girl was a little short, but she otherwise looked to be around my age. Her sleek black hair was tied back into a pair of long tails descending from each side of her head, which swayed frantically as her gaze bounced back and forth between the professor and me.

Maybe because I was the same way, it was easy to tell that she wanted Professor Seris to do the introduction for her, but he refused to budge. Finally giving in, the girl muttered, “Sh-Shina, eldest daughter of the Oryn mage family. N-nice to meet you…”

Contented by any kind of response, the professor continued counterclockwise to the next figure in the room: the girl gazing out the window. “Mara,” he said, “it’s your turn.” As before, she ignored everything and continued to stare aimlessly outside.

For whatever reason, Professor Seris chose not to force her like he had with Shina. “Everett, this is Mara. You will be working with her too, so I hope you can manage to get along when the time comes.”

His gaze shifted to the final pair of individuals who sat around the desk. The older man spoke first. “My name is Amund, headmaster of Fordin Academy. Professor Seris and I shall be your guides as you grow accustomed to this world.”

On the opposite side of the desk, another boy around my age was the last to speak. “I’m… Akio. To be honest, I’m still not entirely sure what’s going on. It sounds like the two of us are in a similar position.”

I wasn’t sure if Professor Seris had intended for me to introduce myself as well, but given he had already shared my name, I took that as an excuse to stay silent.

“Come, Everett. Sit down next to Akio. The professor and I have much to explain,” Amund, the man introducing himself as a headmaster, said. I obliged, taking my seat across from him and next to the boy named Akio, while Professor Seris shifted to the opposite side to face us.

“Let me explain from the beginning, Everett, Akio. I know we have not given you much choice in the matter, but you have the right to know everything.” With that, the professor began to recite a grand tale that, to a normal person, should sound downright unbelievable. Yet, in the position I was in now, I felt inclined to take every word at face value.

“Every few centuries, Aeresi, our world, faces a grave threat, one with the potential to end reality as we know it. For reasons we still do not understand, they appear. Eight monstrosities of colossal proportions and even greater power: the Anomaly Beasts. These creatures are far more than a simple threat. They are virtually immune to damage from ordinary weapons and magic, and a single one could ravage an entire city in a night. Were humanity entirely alone against them, we would have perished thousands of years ago. Thankfully, humanity was—and is—not alone in this fight.”

The details were still fuzzy, but with everything I had learned so far, I could guess where this was going. Everything sounded too impossible to be real, yet I was also certain this wasn’t a dream. I was far too conscious, far too aware, for this not to be reality. It might have been a reality different from my own, but it was a reality nonetheless.

“When a specimen faces the threat of death, it is only natural for it to defend itself. Aeresi is no different. The appearance of the Anomaly Beasts always coincides with the awakening of eight individuals to incredible power beyond mortal means. These young men and women are blessed by the world to be its champions and defenders, and it is only via this transcendental power that the Anomaly Beasts’ invulnerability can be overcome. Without these eight individuals, the world is doomed to face cataclysm. Akio, Everett, though I am sure you have realized by now, the five of you sitting in this room right now are among those chosen heroes. You are the Inheritors of Aeresi’s power.”

I didn’t struggle to follow the story; it might have sounded like an outlandish fantasy novel come to life, but disbelief wasn’t what was tugging at the back of my mind right then. One detail in particular just didn’t make sense. But then why am—

“I don’t get it. Why are we here then?” Akio, on the same train of thought as I was, blurted out. He turned to the trio behind us. “I get that they were chosen or whatever. But I’m not even from this world! How the hell did I get dragged into this!?”

Although he was shouting, his tone was painted more with anxiety than anger. Even if I didn’t feel the same way, I could at least understand why someone would be upset to have their entire life ripped away from them for the sake of a place they’d never even heard of.

Professor Seris appeared to understand as well, as his expression darkened before continuing. “You must understand, Akio. The Inheritors are essential for the survival of humanity. They are powerful, but they are not invincible. They can die. They do die. And for each one that falls, the world inches closer to destruction. So after facing this threat many times throughout history, humanity has developed a… countermeasure. A complex magical ritual to ensure the powers of an Inheritor do not disappear, even in death. Magic can mend wounds, even on a lifeless corpse. But it cannot bring souls back from the dead.”

“Ah,” Akio interrupted. “I get it now. This body… it’s mine. I know that for sure. But it’s also not my real body from my world. This Akio, this me, is dead, right? You just took out the old, fried CPU and swapped in a new one of the same model to keep the rig identical.”

It was an odd analogy (and one I didn’t expect anyone else in the room to understand), but the idea behind it was clear. This world used to contain parallel versions of Akio and me, hence my uncanny reflection. They became these “Inheritors” and died at some point, but in order to keep making use of the blessing in their bodies, they needed new pilots.

Headmaster Amund finally spoke, sealing the deal. “Your assumption is correct. A body can only house a matching soul, meaning there is no one else in this world who can fulfill the role. So we looked elsewhere, to other worlds where you may still exist. There are no words we can use to make this right; I am well aware. Even so…”

He stood, bowing as far as he physically could.

“… please, help us, heroes. Millions of lives are at stake. We need you.”

A desperate plea. A genuine plea.

I don’t think I’m a particularly good person, but…

“I don’t know how much I can really contribute to this fight, b-but I’m willing to try.”

… if it means I can be of help to someone, who am I to refuse?