The singular word was the verbal equivalent of dropping a pen in a silent room.
Liam paused in shock. "No?" He added, "What do you mean no?"
Kiki rolled her eyes. An exasperated sigh came before she replied, "I'll explain mine after the parties are decided."
"That's awfully convenient for you, ain't it?" Liam pressed, his voice a little sharper than usual.
It differed heavily from Kiki's deadpanned reply, "It is."
Michael's expression wavered slightly. "You expect people to join you without knowing what you can do?"
"They know I have useful information."
"That is barely anything to go off of."
Michael's brows drew together slightly.
"It's all they need to know for now."
Tobi watched the exchange carefully.
Kiki had begrudgingly revealed Recovery when Liam drained his Vessel, but that did not mean she was going to explain a thing. This meant she had at least one more ability. She hadn't even explained Recovery. It was probably what gave her all this information. After all, Tobi's own ability did something similar.
Despite this, she was asking for trust without offering anything in return. It was exactly the problem Tobi had considered before.
"I'll reveal it before we leave Windhollow," she said.
The promise seemed directed toward Michael more than anyone else.
Michael nodded.
"That's something."
"Oh, how generous of you." Liam scoffed, looking away from Kiki.
Kwame shifted in his seat when Liam and others looked his way. Quite a while ago, he had stopped snoring, though Tobi was unsure when.
Glancing up, he asked in a careless tone, "What?"
"Your abilities?" Michael said.
Kwame stretched and yawned a reply.
"Everyone already knows."
It was true, long before they reached Windhollow. When the group was still in the forest, Kwame had openly discussed his abilities: Adaptive Reflex, Adaptive Defense, and Adaptive Offense.
Three situational abilities that had no obvious limits. Kwame appeared to be the only person uninterested in these limits.
"Same three," he said, resting his head on his hand, his eyes shut.
"Did you expect them to change?" Vita replied.
Michael shrugged. "It could've."
Continuing around the room, Michael looked toward Yousef. His eyes narrowed. Yousef hadn't displayed even a fragment of his ability yet.
"And you?"
Yousef's expression did not change, but his gaze dropped slightly.
Tobi saw genuine hesitation in the way Yousef's pupils had constricted.
With a solemn and steady voice, he spoke. "Authority of Space."
That immediately struck something familiar in Tobi's mind. No one else had claimed an ability that began with the word authority. If it was anything like his own, Tobi might finally have a clue what rank Authority of Exception would fall under once it was confirmed.
"SSS Rank."
The silence of the room felt like it was echoing. Even Kiki, who always seemed to know everything, stared with her jaw slightly open. If it weren't attached, she likely would have lost it.
"What does it do?" Michael asked.
Yousef considered the question.
"I can influence nearby space."
"Influence how?"
"So far I can pull and push."
"Can you teleport?" Michael asked.
"Not yet."
Tobi listened closely. Those words were chosen with care. It sounded honest. Something had been left out, though. It felt the same as when he described Transparent Quests to others.
It wasn't like Tobi could blame him for being cautious. Of course, everyone would soon think the same of him.
As if acknowledging the thought, Michael looked toward Tobi, the only one who hadn't spoken yet.
The attention of the group followed. He knew it would. It had happened with everyone else, after all.
"My ability gives me information," Tobi said with a sigh.
Liam shook his head. "You already said that."
"It gives me more detail about quests." That was already more than he had admitted before.
Kiki's expression changed drastically, and she made no effort to hide it.
Tobi continued.
"It shows anything that might affect the outcome. Sometimes it gives me context for why the quest was issued."
"Does it tell you what to do?" Michael asked.
"No."
That answer came quickly. "I still have to find out what it means."
Liam looked unimpressed compared with his reaction to Yousef's reveal. "So you're a quest guide."
"I guess so." Tobi held back his indignation at being called a quest guide, but for now, what else could he do?
Now that almost everyone had shared, it felt like the disclosures had accomplished nothing. If anything, they created more distance. It was like knowing what weapon someone had but not the person carrying it.
Except these weren't ordinary weapons. They were people who controlled force, fire, heat, shields, life, and energy. Hell, even space was on that list, even if Yousef was just beginning to learn how to do so.
At best, it was easier to imagine party combinations.
The Old Man stood abruptly, slightly shifting the mood of the room.
"Well, you've all shown all your cards."
"Some cards," Kiki corrected.
He smiled faintly.
"Enough to act like family." He adjusted his suit and began walking toward the library doors.
Liam turned in his chair. "Where are you going?"
"To London."
"We haven't picked parties yet." Liam scratched his head.
The Old Man opened the door. The late afternoon wind slipped into the library around him.
"I already picked mine."
He stepped outside alone. The door closed softly behind him.
Tobi looked once more at those who said they were leaving.
The groups had already begun forming without any invitations.
Kian stood beside Kiki as he always did.
Liam kept looking toward her, despite arguing with nearly everything she said. Kwame had returned to resting with his eyes closed, though so far he tended to trust whoever seemed most certain. Between Michael and Kiki, he didn't seem to favor either one.
Across the room, Yousef stood beside Michael.
Tobi remained still, uncertain. It would be easy to join Kiki's party, who had access to so much information. Was it worth it, though? She was the only one in a room of fourteen who refused to offer even a small piece of new information about herself.
Even if he was in her party, could he bring himself to follow someone who didn't even look like an adult yet? On the other hand, Michael lacked this access to knowledge but was at least around Tobi's own age. He never seemed to place himself above anyone else.
The biggest issue in joining Michael's party was, oddly enough, secrecy. Michael kept himself closely guarded. The only thing anyone knew about him was what he couldn't hide.
Still, he could feel the shape of the decision approaching.