Percy was overstimulated.
The room was loud. Chaotic. People were talking over each other, laughing, arguing, and one guy was trying to balance a drink on his head like it was a crown. To Percy, this wasn't a sovereign base — it was a circus with better outfits.
"Stop calling me short-stuff!" the girl snapped.
"Okay, okay," Lane said, hands raised like he was surrendering to a toddler with a taser.
"Now then, you three — introduce yourselves to short-stuff No. 2 here."
Percy blinked.
"It's Rain!" He snarled.
'Short-stuff No. 2? I'm not even the original?'
The azure-eyed woman leaned back like she was auditioning for a fantasy soap opera.
"Yo. Name's Zero. Spiritual trademarks: Ice and Quickdraw."
"You have two?" Percy asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah. Trials don't hand those out easy. I earned mine."
Next up, a guy who looked like he practiced dramatic poses in the mirror.
"Name's Kiyo! Spiritual trademark: Firebolt. I shoot fire shaped like thunderbolts!" He punched the air like it owed him rent.
Percy nodded slowly.
'Okay... protagonist energy. Got it.'
Then came the short girl — the one who'd stolen his name.
"I'm Rain. My spiritual trademark is that I can't be lied to. Also I have another one, I summon ancient entities from the past. Randomly."
Percy's eyes widened.
"Wait — you can't be lied to?"
"I've never seen an ability like that!"
She blushed.
"Uh… yeah."
"Test me!" Percy said, standing up like he was volunteering for a game show.
"Uh… okay."
"Ask me anything!"
She tilted her head.
"What's your spiritual trademark?"
And then it happened.
Something inside Percy shifted.
His mouth opened — not by choice.
Words spilled out like a confession he didn't authorize.
"My spiritual trademark is Monarch of Darkness. It's Nightmare-Rank. My control over it is limi—"
He slapped a hand over his mouth.
The short girl stood up, casually grabbing a drink.
"See?"
'She was about to make me spill every detail of my trial!'
Lane's eyes lit up.
"Monarch of Darkness? What else did you gain in the Soulless route?"
Heads turned.
"Soulless?"
"Him?"
"Seriously?"
Charlie, ever the hype man, chimed in:
"It's true! This kid returned from the Soulless route after two months!"
The room exploded.
People swarmed Percy like moths to a trauma flame.
"What was it like?"
"Who did you see?"
"Did you eat monster crap to survive?"
Percy raised both hands.
"Whoa! Shut up. Okay?"
Some glared for a bit.
Silence.
He cleared his throat.
"Ahem. The Soulless route is hell. You fall from the sky — no warning. You think you're dead, but the water cushions you. The sea is black. The corpses reach toward a sun that looks like an eclipse. The sky is grey — like stained ash. At night, it goes pitch black. The corpses hunch over. The water freezes. The breeze can kill you."
He went on.
He told them about the Bird. The Entities. The fights. He left out the part about being possessed by the Iridescent Memory — because, you know, privacy — but he did summon the Odachi.
The blade shimmered.
Ancient. Heavy. Nightmare-class.
Everyone stared.
Lane touched the tip.
It sliced his finger.
"Wow. A tiny touch like that… this blade's no joke."
"Yeah, but it's hard to use. I don't think I'll be swinging it anytime soon."
They examined the runes. Whispered. Awed.
Then Lane — because of course — asked:
"So what else did you gain?"
'Damn. He just had to keep going.'
"I don't think I wanna—"
"Tell us," Rain interrupted.
Percy's mouth betrayed him again.
"I gained a spiritual aspect name: Born From Darkness."
"I gained two titles: The Soulless and Posse—"
He slapped his hand over his mouth.
"What the hell," he mumbled through his fingers.
Lane stammered.
"Y-You gained an aspect name in your rebirth trial?"
Ruko muttered.
Everyone froze.
"That's incredible!" Most of them said
"Maybe you aren't that far behind after all..." Lane muttered
Percy shrugged.
"Well… I can't harness any avatars or abilities from it. My powers are limited. I can only use one skill."
The crew blinked.
Then turned away.
"What a letdown," Ruko muttered.
"Meet Potential Man," The short girl said, walking off.
Percy gritted his teeth.
'Arrogant weather fools!'
"Hey, what kind of sovereign name is Weather Reporters anyway?"
Lane looked at him like he'd asked if clouds were wet.
"You really didn't catch on?"
"No?"
"All of us have weather-based abilities. Pretty obvious, ain't it?"
Percy blinked.
'Okay… yeah. That tracks.'
Zero: Ice.
Kiyo: Firebolt.
Luna: Thunder
Ruko: Water
Lane: Probably something dramatic.
'And there's me and Rain, whose ability has nothing to do with weather.'
Percy glanced at the short girl.
"Hey, I'm not going to call you Rain. That's my name."
She said
Percy scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Whatever."
She smirked.
"Fine. I'll call you Rainy."
he didn't respond just glared.
Which meant to her she won.
Lane stood up, opening his Wisp bracelet menu.
"Alright, you bunch of fools. Tomorrow we enter the first Nightmare Realm for some common hunting. Nothing too big for the newbies."
He pulled out a contract from his spiritual inventory.
"Percy, come here."
Percy walked over.
Stared at it.
"You're two months behind your session. The others from your session are already at the academy. So you'll be playing catch-up. You'll intern with us for one month."
Lane smirked.
Percy swallowed hard, staring at the contract.
He knew what he needed: experience. Real combat. Real teamwork. Weakest sovereign or not — this was the path forward.
He signed and grabbed the pen.
[You are now part of the Weather Reporters Sovereign.]
"Hey, how come she's still interning here, too? I thought I was behind?" Percy asked, pointing at the girl.
"She's a chosen Star-Crossed. Her internship ends in a week or two. She was branded shortly after your group."
She scoffed at Percy since now she was technically his senior in the field.
She turned away when their eyes met, though.
Percy sighed.
One month of chaos and frankly, he was already tired.