The next day, Kenji decided to go to the facility to meet Erhardt. Although he wasn't meant to gain another ability, he had inadvertently gone and done just that. As per his orders, he had to report to him as soon as he got it. Erhardt was the only person he could really rely on to give a proper assessment, much to Kenji's ever-present chagrin.
Part of him was curious. The others should've manifested their own Psychic Abilities at this point. The curious voidborn wondered what their systems looked like, what titles they had, what abilities they were granted.
Kenji wasn't even sure what his new system granted him, but he supposed he'd learn through experience.
'Hopefully it's something useful, though Subjective Law was already useful on its own.' Kenji thought to himself.
With that thought in mind, Kenji stepped into the facility. He tried to enter Erhardt's lab, only for the door to refuse to open. With furrowed brows, he knocked, only for a drone to fly out from a panel nearby. The little white robot projected a holographic image of Erhardt Schmidt.
"If you're looking for me, because of course you are, I am currently in the training grounds testing the new recruits' psychic gifts! Come hither! If you dare..."
Erhardt let out a sharp villainous laugh, one that was more ridiculous than threatening.
Kenji deadpanned, sighed, then rushed to the training grounds.
Wherever that was.
Kenji assumed it was the large spacious room where the two combatants dueled. He at least knew where that was, but not how to properly get there. He rushed to the familiar balcony overlooking the grounds, and just as he thought, the new recruits were lined up with Erhardt, Shō, and another unfamiliar figure assessing the recruits.
Kenji needed to get down there, and while he could run around trying to figure out how to get down, Kenji opted for a more 'direct' route. Stepping a few paces back, he stretched his arms and legs and let out a deep breath.
"Alright, Kenji. Let's do this."
With a starting run, Kenji leapt upwards and over the balcony railing. He began a short free fall, he wanted to test and see if he could control his subjective law ability.
His left eye shifted orange, and the system popped up. Bright, orange, like divine light imprinting into his mind. If this fails, he'd assume that the Choir had the means to heal him.
...
'Hopefully...'
With narrowed eyes, he willed his mind to obey.
————————
[Subjective Law: Kenji is unable to take fall damage.]
[Applying...]
[Error: Ontological Anchors Resisting Subjective Law]
[Calibrating... Understanding Intent... Adjusting Parameters...]
[Subjective Law: Kenji's gravitational pull redirected towards the wall. Applied.]
————————
Kenji began to shift, pressing his back against the sloped wall for just a moment.
His hands reached out, arms pressing against the slopes to try and apply as much friction as possible to slow his descent.
With a loud thud, Kenji's feet met the steel flooring, bending it under his feet. He felt the steel frame reverberate against bone, shaking him before a sore pain echoed.
'Fuck... That was a horrible idea...' He hissed.
He stumbled forward for a moment, getting used to the sensation before he walked the pain away. The loud crash of his sneakers meeting metal caught the attention of everyone in the room. Erhardt turned to him with a raised brow, Shō blinked, and the newest figure simply stared.
Looking closer, the figure was familiar. The iron-masked swordsman is wielding a black blade. He stared blankly at Kenji, regarding him with little interest, if at all. Kenji felt uneasy under the man's hollow gaze.
"Well, Kenta!" Ever the energetic soul, Erhardt called out first. "Glad to see you here. Came to watch the new recruit's psychic abilities, did you?"
Truth be told, that was partly the reason. But more than curiosity, Kenji came to question Erhardt about the two systems that had taken root in his soul. Still, with both the Iron Mask and his brother present, blurting out "Hey, I've got two patron gods in my head" felt like a one-way ticket to a dissection table.
So instead, he rubbed the back of his neck with an uneasy chuckle. "Y–Yeah, I wanted to see what everyone's powers were like."
Erhardt eyed him for a moment, then grinned.
"Perfect timing, then. You're joining in."
"Joining what? I just got here."
"The assessment, of course," Erhardt said, already turning toward the center of the chamber. "The Choir needs data on what abilities you've gained."
Kenji froze.
'Just the abilities?'
Did that mean they didn't have patrons? He couldn't see their systems, so he couldn't tell what they saw—but if the Choir, meticulous as they were, only cared about abilities, then maybe his systems were more unique than he'd thought. The realization filled him with a strange mix of pride and dread.
Still, he might've been assuming too much.
"So, are we just testing powers? What exactly do they see in their systems, anyway?" Kenji asked.
"Hmm…" Erhardt tapped his chin. "From what I recall, they see their [Name], [Title], [Affinity], and a list of their [Gifts] — both passive and active. Why?"
He turned back to Kenji, one brow raised and a sly grin tugging at his lips. "Is yours different?"
Kenji felt his heart race. If he showed any sign of nervousness, Erhardt either didn't catch it or was choosing not to comment. Kenji gulped, thinking about it for a moment.
He had a [Name], and [Title], but the [Affinity] was non-existent. He hadn't even checked his [Gifts], meaning he wasn't even sure what they were. Come to think of it, the [Gifts] section on the [Black Cat] system was blank. As for the [Nameless] System...
He hadn't actually checked. With a sigh, he willed the list of gifts he had been granted.
————————
[Psychic Gifts from Patron]
[Subjective Law] — The ability to impose one's will upon realspace, forcing all within reach to obey. Bend the world to your will; make reality comply with your law.
[Endless Chains] — Those who resist your world's Law can be bound by endless chains. Any who touch the immaterial metal are compelled to yield.
[Anchored Existence] — Your being is fixed. No alteration to your past, or any alternate version of you, can touch your current self. The future cannot bind you; fate has no hold on you.
[Mental Resistance] — Visions and sights beyond human comprehension no longer have a hold on you. Gaze upon the abyss, and it will quiver at your indifference.
————————
'That's…
Broken. That was overpowered. The word barely even formed in his mind. Did this mean he could turn anything into reality through [Subjective Law]? There had to be limits — there were those who could resist — but even so, it was absurdly powerful. A dangerous thrill crept through his chest at the thought.
'I still have to be careful.'
He'd already tried using [Subjective Law] once, and the world itself had pushed back, forcing him to adapt. He figured that was the work of the Ontological Anchors — the hidden framework the Choir used to keep reality from unraveling.
Realizing he still hadn't answered Erhardt's question, Kenji quickly forced a smile.
"No, it's similar. I just wanted to make sure it was the same for everyone else."
Erhardt studied him for a moment, then shrugged and continued ahead. Shō and the masked man followed close behind.
Ahead, a familiar group stood lined up. They wore combat vests and sleek, padded armor — somewhere between SWAT and high fashion, dark and precise.
Among them, Kenji spotted Aiden and Yeon — and, surprisingly, Octavia standing beside them. Yeon waved first, Aiden followed with a grin, and even Octavia offered a curt nod.
Kenji raised a hand in return before moving to join the line, his nerves finally catching up with the weight of the moment.
The iron-masked man stepped onto the platform, turning to face the assembled group. His presence alone seemed to still the air.
"You will undergo a series of tests and assessments," he began, his voice rasping like sand dragged across metal. "Our purpose is to record and understand the nature of your newly granted abilities. At this stage, your [Gifts] remain nascent — unrefined and unstable."
Kenji blinked, needing a moment to adjust to the rough tone. The man's words carried a certain weight, each syllable deliberate, precise — spoken by someone long used to commanding others through pain.
He's lived with that throat for years, Kenji realized.
The swordsman drove his sheathed black blade point-first into the ground before him, the motion sharp and practiced.
"I am Anselm Grimmel of Avis Ferrea—the Iron Talons of the Choir," he announced. "Captain of the Eighteenth Company stationed here at this facility. Some of you may know me by my callsign—Echo One."
Kenji's brows shot up. 'Echo One?'
So this was the legendary captain. A member of the vaunted Avis Ferrea — the Choir's elite. Even without seeing his face, Kenji could feel the man's presence. It wasn't just his strength; it was the quiet certainty in the way he stood, the unshakable calm of someone who'd already faced every horror imaginable and still came out standing.
"And you all shall address me as sir. Understood?"
The hall fell silent, thick with hesitation.
"Am I speaking to mutes," Anselm's gravelly tone sharpened, "or are you all deaf? Am I understood?"
"Yes, Sir!"
The shout echoed through the chamber, unified and crisp.
Erhardt and Shō stood at the back — arms crossed, calm in the storm —as Anselm gave a curt nod of approval. Then, with that same soldier's precision, he turned to Erhardt.
Erhardt stepped forward, his hand flicking lazily to one side. A small drone hummed to life, drifting to his shoulder, its red light blinking expectantly.
"Testing, testing," Erhardt said, tapping his throat mic. The device responded with a soft ping.
Satisfied, he faced the recruits.
"As Herr Hansel said—"
If the captain of the Eighteenth Company had any objection to the name, his iron mask betrayed nothing.
"—We'll be assessing your abilities through a set of criteria," Erhardt continued, tone measured but casual, his confidence cutting through the tension like a knife. "No need to fret. This isn't a leaderboard, nor a competition. We're simply identifying how your abilities function in practice. The Choir needs to know what combinations work best when you're deployed."
He pointed toward his companions in turn.
"I'll handle the technical analysis. Shō and Anselm will oversee battlefield capability."
With everything set, the assessment began. The recruits were allowed to disperse — some taking seats at the edges of the hall, others lingering near the testing platforms to observe. The air hummed with static anticipation, the faint buzz of Erhardt's surveillance drones filling every quiet space.
The first to be called was Yeon Su–Mi. Her casual stance and violet-tinted hair stood out against the severity of the hall. Even as Anselm and Shō regarded her with the same clinical sharpness they gave everyone, she seemed wholly at ease — almost bored.
"Recruit," Anselm said, voice clipped and formal. "State your name."
"Yeon," she replied. "Yeon Su–Mi."
"And what gifts have you been bestowed?" Shō asked. His tone was measured, curious. The drones swarmed around her like silver hornets, scanning her body — bone density, vitals, neural response, even an X-ray feed flickering across Erhardt's holographic console.
Yeon paused, tapping a finger to her chin. "Mmm… I could explain," she said lightly, "but it's easier to show you."
She turned and pointed toward the balcony above. "Look up there for a second."
The group obeyed. Even the other recruits — Kenji included — craned their necks.
A flicker of violet light rippled across the upper balcony, bending the air itself like heat haze. Then —
————————
[Error! System Malfunction]
[Recalibrating...]
————————
The room stuttered. Reality seemed to blink.
For a single, breathless instant, everyone's vision fragmented — the world shifting a few degrees off-center before snapping back into place.
When the distortion cleared, Yeon was gone from the floor.
A voice called from above.
"Up here!"
Yeon leaned casually against the balcony railing, one hand raised in a lazy wave.
The recruits murmured among themselves — shock, awe, confusion. Kenji blinked, his mind racing to process what he just saw. Even his system seemed to hiccup in response to whatever she'd done.
But Anselm and Shō showed no surprise. They simply exchanged a knowing glance and turned toward Erhardt.
Erhardt's drone hovered close to Yeon, running a dozen scans in under a second. He let out a sharp laugh — the kind that bordered between admiration and mania.
"Oh, this is brilliant!" Erhardt exclaimed. "She didn't teleport at all!"
He turned to the others, waving a finger excitedly. "Yeon here didn't move herself. She moved everything else!"
The recruits blinked.
Erhardt gestured animatedly, eyes gleaming.
"Think of it like this — she stays perfectly still, but the world shifts around her! Like shaking a bowl of gelatin until the marble on top rolls to the other side!"
Kenji's mind reeled. 'That's… terrifying.'
If her ability could alter local spacetime without physically relocating herself, that meant she was manipulating reference frames — something beyond ordinary telekinesis or warping.
No wonder the systems glitched.
Shō crossed his arms, his analytical gaze on Yeon. "Localized spatial inversion, then. Dangerous, but highly efficient. How far can you move it?"
Yeon grinned from above. "Far enough."
Anselm's mask tilted slightly upward. "You'll be under observation, Recruit Su–Mi. That power borders on domain-level manipulation."
"Noted, sir," she said breezily, leaping down from the balcony — and as she did, gravity seemed to forget her for half a second before she landed silently on her feet.
Kenji couldn't help but mutter under his breath. "Guess I'm not the only one breaking the rules of reality."
"Recruit Hakurou!"
Kenji froze.
'What?'
He was second? Who decided the damned order?
A few heads turned his way, and Kenji felt his stomach twist. He looked toward Erhardt — who was smiling far too smugly — and swore he saw the man wink.
Of course.
'I'm going to kill that smug son of a bitch.'
With a long, resigned sigh, Kenji pushed himself to his feet. His sneakers squeaked faintly against the metal flooring as he walked toward the stage, feeling every eye in the hall on him.