The Commons doors creaked as they pushed them open, and the familiar

  cafeteria space warped into something uncanny. Tables were

  overturned, trays scattered across the floor, abandoned half-eaten

  meals now cold and gray under the scarlet light. The overhead lights

  flickered once, then steadied, though none of them looked at the

  ceiling too closely—it seemed lower than it should, the angles off,

  the shadows stretching wrong.

  James whistled low. “Well. It’s not exactly

  five-star dining, but at least it looks intact.”

  {“Debatable. Half the food here has probably

  been claimed by the ‘Five-Second Rule: Apocalypse Edition.’ Eat

  at your own risk.”}

  Alyx pressed her lips together to keep from

  laughing, shaking her head. “Helpful as always, Willow.”

  “Willow?” Mariana asked, hugging herself

  tightly. “Who’s Willow?”

  Alyx blinked. Damn. She hadn’t meant to say that

  out loud. “Uh… my UI.”

  Breyanna tilted her head. “What now?”

  {“Excuse you. I’m not a ‘what,’ I’m a

  who. A very charming, luminous, and hard-working part of the system

  that you’re welcome, by the way, is keeping you alive. And

  informed. And occasionally sane.”}

  Alyx cleared her throat. “Right. Willow’s

  like… my interface to the system. Not everyone seems to have one.”

  Mariana stared. “So you’re hearing voices?”

  James grinned. “She’s always been hearing

  voices. Just new ones now, that she has named.”

  Alyx shot him a look. “Funny.”

  Still, the banter eased the tension for a

  heartbeat. Then reality pressed in again. They weren’t here for

  comfort—they were here to survive.

  They spent the next fifteen minutes combing

  through the cupboards, dry storage, refrigerators, and freezers. When

  they’d gathered everything they could reasonably carry, they piled

  the spoils on a long table. Bottled water, boxes of cereal, jerky,

  instant noodles, granola bars, coffee tins, and a surprising number

  of French presses sat in precarious stacks.

  The group took a moment to breathe. Alyx leaned on

  the table, scanning the others.

  “Okay, guys, here’s the thing. We have to

  assume, from the lack of people here, that either they found

  somewhere else to hole up or they just haven’t made it back... yet.” Alex said, he added in her head. Alyx let her gaze sweep across them. “Now, as far as I can

  figure, everyone went through that blue-screen hell, right?”

  Alyx saw them all nod.

  “After rereading the notifications, it

  looks like we’re no longer in the same world as before. Sure, it

  looks the same, sort of, but things have changed—and on a massive

  scale. Has anyone seen the sky... or the floating islands? Seriously,

  we are not on the planet we knew.”

  {‘Technically, you are. It's just that it has

  become shattered, and if you want to survive its destruction, then you'd better find a way to make it whole again.”} Willow

  summarized.

  Alyx knew the wisp was just pulling from the

  available data that they all had. James quoted “ ‘Some say the

  world will end in fire, some say ice. From what I’ve tasted of

  desire, I hold with those who favor fire. Bif it had to perish twice,

  I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ic is also

  great and would suffice.’ Robert Frost knew his stuff, don’t you

  think?”

  Silence followed. Alyx was about to comment, but Brent asked, “What about aid? The government? Campus security?

  Somebody’s gotta be coming.”

  Alyx shook her head. “There would’ve already

  been sirens. Emergency broadcasts. Something. But we haven’t seen

  or heard a thing. We have to assume we’re on our own for now…

  agreed?”

  Alyx saw only nods again. Some reluctant, some grim.

  “And about 'authorities',” Alyx continued, “we

  should be careful about anyone claiming it. History shows people

  seize power when there’s a void. With no type of ‘authority’

  or government in sight, the strongest will try to take control,

  fair or not. Someone will eventually show up claiming to be a

  representative of ‘this or that’ and talking about 'fair

  share', tribute, or some type of "tithing". Con-artists... the lot of them.”

  Alyx cut herself off before she really got started and was met with even more uneasy nods.

  Alyx exhaled a deep breath and shifted the focus.

  “Alright. Let’s talk about the Hero Creation we went through. What

  did you all experience?”

  Stolen story; please report.

  They went around the group, each sharing in turn.

  Breyanna leaned forward, tapping the table. “Mine was basically

  like yours. Freaky at first, but once I started customizing things,

  it felt easier. But I also got a notification saying my default was

  set by you, Alyx. Care to elaborate?”

  Alyx rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah…

  that’s me. I have a Title called ‘Forerunner,’ and my experience

  was different from all of yours. I didn’t have a default

  race—I got a selection. Elves, dwarves, orcs. The usual fantasy

  lineup. But I chose to stay human; just tweaked a few things.”

  James muttered under his breath, “Yeah, tweaked.

  Those weren’t as perky yesterday. And your ass—” Jordyn elbowed her brother, more than jostling him.

  Alyx coughed sharply, cheeks heating. “Anyway!”

  She shot him a withering side-eye glare.

  “What, darling? If looks could kill… I’m

  wounded, truly,” James said in an exaggerated aristocratic voice.

  Jordan hauled off and back-handed her brother on the shoulder. Breyanna snorted, trying not to laugh.

  Alyx pressed on. “The rest of you were able to

  pick different races, right?”

  Mariana shook her head. “I just tried to close

  everything as fast as I could. I mean, did I mess something up? Am I

  going to be like this forever?”

  “I don’t think so,” Alyx reassured her.

  “We’ll talk later and see if we can work it out, okay?”

  Brent and Phillip both admitted they hadn’t

  noticed any options involving races. Alyx frowned. “Well, crap.

  That could explain why there are so few of us left. Those who chose a different race may have spawned somewhere else.”

  “Or,” Jordyn said, “it was the end of finals

  week. Half the campus was already gone.”

  Alyx blinked, then sighed. “Right. That… makes sense.” Alyx said, gaining a bit of optimism. The discussion continued, Breyanna prodding James

  about his unread notifications, James whining theatrically about

  Jordyn’s nagging and insistent questioning. Jordyn scoffed and

  pointed out that was the one answer to most of his questions.

  “It’s a twin thing,” Alyx explained

  pragmatically as the rest of the group looked lost when they started

  bickering. Then James asked the question: “What is Madras?”

  “Energy,” Alyx said automatically. Breyanna

  went further, almost like she was reciting notes. “Elemental

  Essence is the energy of the planet, according to Gaia. We draw it in

  and convert it into willpower. That’s the base form. Cultivators

  can refine it into Madras, and Madras becomes mana. Everything

  living—and some things not—can use it.”

  Willow bobbed up and down, brightening and dimming,

  like the little ‘know-it-all’ in class with their hand up, impatient to be called on. Alyx acknowledged Willow with a nod and said, “Hold on, Willow has to tell me something. Alyx held up a finger.

  {“Well… I guess now is as good a time as any;

  technically, you are right, but all so far off i feel the need to step

  in. They are all the same energy; just live at different stages

  of discipline.} Willow explained that Elemental Essence is flavored power. Fire burns.

  Water flows. Air cuts. The element essence takes on the characteristics of the element that it comes from. It is useful, but biased. By

  gathering the elemental essence through the corresponding chakra will filter it, but cultivating too much elemental essence will start pulling you, changing and corrupting you. You will need to purge the residue of the element essence from your body. If you don't, it will corrupt you, possibly close off the maridians, or even taint the core.

  Madras is raw world-breath. G.A.I.A. exhales it

  into everything. Plants drink it. Beasts warp from it. It has no

  manners and no loyalty. It is powerful, but unstable. If you take it

  in and don’t cultivate, it will change you, warp you, or end up

  killing you.

  Mana is the pure form of any Madras, and the elemental essence that you have

  cultivated. You cycle it, filter it, teach it restraint, through your

  meridians and into your dantian to wait and serve your will.

  What comes out is clean power that listens to you. It is neutral or

  sometimes called ‘pure’ by default, but you can tint it with

  elements when you shape a spell or technique.

  In short.

  Essence is flavored power.

  Madras

  is wild and everywhere.

  Mana is trained power.

  One will pull you off balance.

  One will mutate

  you if you are careless.

  One will obey you, and Gaia will collect

  it from you when you use it, to restore and use it in the way that

  planets do.

  Choose what you put inside yourself carefully.”} Alyx finished explaining.

  James’s eyes widened. “And… How were we to

  know how to do that? Hot damn, I want one of those information bits.’

  “Did you take Cultivator as a trait?” Alyx

  asked.

  “I… I think so?” James obfuscated.

  “Oh, honey,” Alyx sighed. “Did you even look

  at your Status page?”

  James fluttered a hand dramatically. “Hardly,

  darling. You know I get distracted doing things myself.”

  Breyanna dropped into an aristocratic mockery that

  made James freeze. “Dreadfully hard work, wasn’t it?”

  Alyx pinched the bridge of her nose. “We’ll

  figure it out later. Right now, we need shelter.”

  Brent raised a hand. “Why not just stay here?”

  “Too open,” Alyx answered immediately. “We’ve

  already looted it, and others will come to do the same thing. No

  beds, and the power won’t last forever. We need somewhere

  defensible. Somewhere we can make a base.”

  Alyx saw heads nodding again.

  She rattled off a list: cups, plates, utensils,

  pots, pans, matches, fire-starters, and even Bunsen burners. The group

  fanned out again and came back with more supplies, including an

  emergency kit and a stash of over-the-counter meds.

  When they regrouped, Alyx checked the wall clock.

  Just after noon. (All this… and it’s not even lunchtime yet.) and a thought about how long the power was going too stay on flitted across her mind.

  She looked at the others. “Next stop is Pioneer

  Hall. That’s me, Brie, and James’s dorm. We’ll use it as a

  staging ground, then grab supplies from Mountain View and off-campus

  housing. After that, we think bigger; we need shelter,

  defense, and to start thinking long-term.”

  Mariana and Brent immediately committed to

  sticking with them. Phillip admitted his car already held most of his

  life. The choice was made. Bolstered by the commitment, Alyx forged

  ahead. “Okay. Let’s move. And after we drop this off, we head to the

  gym to get our weapons, gear, and whatever we can get.”

  “Fencing kit too,” Alyx reminded James. Both

  of them froze, realization dawning.

  “Yeah,” Alyx said with a grim little smile.

  “We’ll need every advantage.”