I don't even blink this time, and I'm back in the white room. It’s like I was never on that exotic world, floating through the sky. Or I was never here…

  I glance back down the hallway, curious. Oh, yup. In the distance, there's a smear of red just visible, an impression of black sleeve. And looking down… shit. My shoulder is absolutely ruined. I don’t feel it right now, but it looks like my dad’s last attempt at making meatloaf for family game night. I hurriedly lift my gaze.

  Congratulations, Competitor Foreman! You are one of 843,464 human Competitors who survived the first Proving!

  Wait, what? Weren't there supposed to be a million of us? Does that mean a hundred and fifty thousand people didn't survive?

  Reward: Choose one of three Boons to apply before the second Proving! Due to your Achievements, your choices have been upgraded!

  (A Boon is a permanent, positive benefit that you will carry with you throughout the Tournament)

  The same three blue circles as before appear in front of me, over which hover three strange shapes, finely detailed yet crudely rendered. One looks something like a pair of crossed Wolverine claws, while another looks like a woman about to jump on some weird-looking legs, and the last is the outline of a figure with fire in its chest. My eyes linger on the claws. Are they trying to say—

  Identification: Claws of the Stone Lion (Rare Boon, Species Evolution)

  Evolve your physiology to incorporate the claws of one of the Twelve's greatest natural predators. Also includes a moderate boost to Strength and Agility. Evolve to gain additional benefits.

  I blink, and the notification disappears, though it feels like a minimized window on a taskbar. With a mental nudge, the words reappear before my eyes. Neat, I guess. Legendary Identification is pretty handy. Something tells me my invisible nemesis isn’t happy I still have it. Serves you right, Dickhead. I turn my focus to the image of the woman about to jump.

  Identification: Legs of the Stone Lion (Rare Boon, Species Evolution)

  Evolve your physiology to gain the leaping ability of one of the Twelve's greatest natural predators. Also includes a moderate boost to Strength and Agility. Evolve to gain additional benefits.

  A timer appears in the corner of my vision while I’m reading the second description, ticking down from five minutes. Of course. Not like I’m doing anything important that might determine whether I live or die. I blink away the notification and turn my attention to the last.

  Identification: Ravenous Soul (Legendary Boon, Soul Evolution)

  Adapts your soul to integrate and incorporate soul energy at a vastly superior rate.

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  Okay. The clock is under four minutes, and something tells me that I should pick something this time. The first option is immediately out. Not only does the idea of claws sticking out of my hands not appeal to me, the thought of slicing through something living, something with feelings and dreams, then seeing its blood spill onto my hands… yeah, no.

  The jumping ability seems useful. After seeing that lion launch itself through the air like the universe's most terrifying gazelle, it's hard not to think moving like that would be awesome. I could run away pretty effectively, I think. Kora hasn't said anything since pronouncing that she isn't going to help me anymore, but I can feel her scoff at the thought of picking a Boon just to run.

  I don't really care what she thinks. I just want to survive.

  I like that both of the Rare Boons grow over time, and there's no sign of that in the Legendary description. It has to be rarer than the other two, but what even is soul energy? The other two might be better if I can survive, but that feels like starting a retirement fund days after your cancer diagnosis. Besides, the images hanging over both circles are deeply disturbing. Claws? Cat legs? Both of the lion Boons say ‘Species Evolution.’ I'm supposed to be fighting for humanity, not leaving my humanity behind, right? Wouldn't choosing either be… wrong, somehow?

  “Kora, any input?” I mutter aloud, though it certainly seems like she can hear my thoughts. I can tell she's paying attention, but she remains petulantly silent. “Great, thanks. Some Mentor. Aren't you supposed to help me stay alive?”

  I let the question linger. I have no idea how I know, since I can't see her at all, but I can tell she's wavering. My timer ticks below three minutes while I wait.

  “What did the descriptions of the Boons say?” she asks finally, with all the enthusiasm of a criminal walking to her execution. I give her a quick summary of each.

  “I would have told you to pick the claws, so that you can actually face your foes,” she says finally. “But that argument was lost before it began. So run away like a coward, I guess.”

  “What about the last one? Isn't it higher rarity?”

  “Yes, but it will do nothing for your next Proving, and you've managed to piss off the god deciding your fate. Additionally, I'm beginning to realize that, not only are you not a Valedictus nor a follower of the Empty Hand, but you don't have any combat abilities whatsoever. Your body is weaker than most human children, and I had to spend what little strength you did have to save you against the stone lion. I'll not get the chance to do so again.”

  “Wait, I have to go into the next fight like this? How is that…”

  I almost say ‘fair.’ It makes me think of my father. He'd been dealt a pretty shit hand in life, by fate and by my bitch of a mother, but he never blinked. He never questioned. No, he'd always rolled his eyes and made some quip if I said something wasn't fair.

  Who said you were promised fair?

  It's suddenly hard to breathe around the lump in my throat. If this is real, which feels more and more like a possibility, and a human doesn't win, then he's… gone? Nolan, barely eight years old, doesn't get to grow up? He wants to be a firefighter, but unlike every other little boy, I think he means it.

  Somehow, through some fucked up twist of fate, I have the chance to save them both.

  “Doubtful. Especially if you keep monologuing instead of choosing,” Kora says flatly. “Fifteen seconds.”

  It's all just too much. The fate of the world? I don't even know who I am. Who I was rests six feet in the earth in the yard of a church that still believes in myths. Myths which, after what I've been through, I've unfortunately had to upgrade from impossible to unlikely.

  Ten seconds. I force my back to straighten, ignoring how weird my arm feels hanging from my shattered shoulder. Isn't this just another mask to wear? ‘Savior of the World’ is a bit grander than ‘Academic Tryhard’ or ‘Straight Best Friend,’ sure. But it's still just a mask.

  “Five seconds.”

  It doesn't make any logical sense, but my heart tells me to stay myself. If I'm fighting for humanity, I better damn well be human. Moving with a confidence I don't feel in the slightest, I step into the blue circle of the Ravenous Soul just before the clock hits zero.