A Serious Discussion

John swallowed. “Well, okay then.”

As requested, he started from the very beginning when he woke up. At least as best as he could remember, John tried to include every little detail of what his powers had appeared as when they manifested. Every time he paused, Lord Brighton simply motioned for him to continue.

In the end, it took him what felt like five or so minutes to get through it all. His heart still raced inside his chest as even talking it out hadn't helped with his nerves. If anything, the fact that the other man had only sat and listened in silence had made him feel even more nervous over time.

“Hmm. That is an interesting story, John.” The older man leaned back slightly in his seat. “As a young man who has just turned eighteen, life can often already be confusing enough as it is. Yet in your case, I can only imagine that you’re now feeling especially out of your depth, is that right?”

John nodded. “Yeah… you can definitely say something like that. So if I can ask, what happens now? Does this prove that I’m just a… I think Moira used the term Latebloomer?”

“That would appear to be the case. Although, it wouldn’t be the first time that a rogue mage tried to take advantage of our principles and pretended to merely be a naive innocent. But from what I can tell, you would have either to be the best actor amongst their kind that I’ve ever met, or have had your mind affected with a truly impressive spell that our defenses couldn’t detect. However, I believe we can at least conclude it’s not the former, no?”

“No- I mean, yes?” John’s words stumbled over the double negative. “I meant that yes, I’m not that, sir.”

John hated how much he felt the sweat forming under his shirt. It was like walking by a cop that looked your way, and you had to wonder if looking away too fast would be taken as a sign of guilt. For some reason, even if he literally had nothing to hide, that worry still reflexively appeared in the same way that it was appearing with full force now.

Lord Brighton gave him a reassuring smile. “You can take it easy, John. Don’t worry, that was just an old man’s bad attempt at a joke. If I was serious about being paranoid enough to assume the worst without any evidence, I would deserve nothing less than being forcibly ousted from my position. But to answer your question...”

He knocked three times on the surface of his desk. A second later, the door swung open as Reginald the butler stuck his head in.

“Reginald, would you be so kind as to grab me the standard documents for a Latebloomer? Both versions, please,” Lord Brighton requested. With a sharp nod, the butler ducked his head back out and closed the door behind him. After that, the older man cleared his throat as he looked back at John.

“We unfortunately don’t have all day to go over everything, so while we wait for him to come back, I’ll go over the basic points. You may have noticed that there is a world of magic that exists under the surface of the mundane world you’re used to. This is what we call the Abyss, and anyone who’s a part of it is known as an Abyssal, which now includes yourself. We’re the Order of the Golden Rose, or more often just the Order, an organization of Abyssals.”

John raised a finger, and Lord Brighton gestured for him to speak. “When you say an organization, I’m guessing that means there are more? And they’re all filled with Abyssals as people who can use magic?”

“Not all of them are people, but essentially yes. But there are many Abyssals who aren’t a part of the large organizations, or rogue mages as we call them. Sometimes they are loners, sometimes they’re a part of smaller groups. Now tell me, John. Imagine you are a rogue mage with access to forms of magic that normal people would imagine as fantasy, and potentially that which they cannot even imagine. How easy do you think it would be to abuse those powers?” he asked.

John considered the question. His own question hadn’t really been answered yet, but he could assume that he was being led there in just a roundabout way. But he knew better than to call that out aloud. Instead, John decided that it was probably better to simply go along with it for now, starting with thinking about the prompted hypothetical.

He obviously didn’t know much yet about what was out there. But based on what he had seen and experienced so far, he could at least make a guess. For one thing, his head went to the fact that he’d gotten his own Skill to create a Barrier, and was now inside someone else’s. So it was safe to at least assume that it was something that others could do as well.

Maybe it was even a necessity, if one wanted to create their own bases that were separate from the regular world. Especially if it allowed one to customize that separated space, as the people here had seemingly done to make the manor definitely larger on the inside. So that begged the question: was it possible for a normal person to also enter one of these Barriers, or did they always get filtered out?

“Is it possible for someone who’s not an Abyssal to enter a Barrier?” John asked for clarification.

“That’s a little tricky,” Lord Brighton began. But just then, there was a set of rapid knocks at the door. “One Moment. Come in!”

With a brisk pace, Reginald entered the office with a few sheets of paper in hand. Yet John noticed that unlike typical paper used in the modern day, these ones looked thicker and had a slightly tan tint to their color. The butler handed them to Lord Brighton, then after a small bow, quickly made his exit from the room once again.

Lord Brighton set the papers to the side. On such a large desk, they were far enough that John struggled to see what was written just from the corner of his eye. If he wanted to take a look at their contents, he’d have to do so in a way that would be plainly obvious. But to immediately distract him from that curiosity, the leader of the Order continued to speak.

“As I was saying, that’s a bit tricky. The general rule is no, non-Abyssals cannot perceive or enter Barriers. But there are exceptions. Rarely, someone who is otherwise mundane might be able to accidentally enter a Barrier for no known reason. However, the main exception is that Abyssals can bring mundane people into Barriers. Sometimes they can do so as part of the Barrier’s creation, but the skill to do so varies. More often than not, the most reliable way to do so is to enter a Barrier while in contact with the mundane, having the intent that they enter with you.”

“Right. So now that I know that for sure… it would probably be impossible for the police to find someone who goes missing that way. If an Abyssal can create a Barrier and bring in a person they kidnapped, it’d be impossible to find them. That feels like something that couldn’t be more perfect for a serial killer,” John concluded.

“Exactly so,” Lord Brighton agreed with a nod. “Within the Abyss, there are a hundred ways to get away with murder, torture, trafficking, or worse. If one plays their cards right by travelling around, any local authorities will remain none the wiser and assume that all the victims are simply an unrelated spread of missing person cases.”

John’s brows furrowed as a thought came to mind. “Just to ask, what’s stopping someone from taking advantage of that in other ways? Like if I used a Barrier to walk into a jewelry store, everything within the Barrier gets replicated, right? So why not grab all the copies?”

“Ah, no, that’s not how that works, John. What gets created by a Barrier is, for all intents and purposes, an illusion. Yes, those pieces of jewelry would be copied over and would even feel real if you grabbed one. But the moment you exited the Barrier, they would disappear. However, you are on the right train of thought.

“While the Abyssal human population is only a fraction of the mundane one, why isn’t it that you often see impossible feats in the news? To take your example, what an Abyssal could easily do is use Barriers to enter a store while bypassing its security, rob it, and then leave the same way. From the perspective of a security camera, it would seem as though they teleported in and out. Perhaps once or twice could be dismissed as an unexplainable fluke, but all it would take is a handful of instances for it to become a major international news story.”

“But you don’t see that… wait. When you say there are other big Abyssal organizations, is there one that covers it all up or something?” John asked, wondering now if all the conspiracy theorists about a major shadow government might have actually been right all along.

“No, at least not on that level.” Lord Brightion paused to check his watch. “Ah, I let the time get away from me. We’ll need to shelve that topic for now, or perhaps it would be better if someone else explained it all in further detail later. For now, let’s skip ahead to the most important thing to address.”

He reached over and slid the papers until they were placed right between himself and John. Then, in a quick motion, he divided them into two stacks, each one appearing to be made of two or three sheets.

“As you heard when you met Moira, John, Ashcroft Academy and all of Springfield are under the Order’s protection. When it comes to this area, at least, we do what we can to ensure that those invisible crimes are prevented. Or failing that, to bring justice to the victims by making certain that the perpetrators never harm another innocent again. As a Latebloomer, I unfortunately have to say that you would be of particular interest to Abyssal cults, gangs, or lone rogue mages.”

John raised a brow. “If I had to make an assumption, it’s because you don’t see Latebloomers every day?”

“Indeed. But more importantly, every Latebloomer awakens a power that is unique to them. For example, what you just described to me would be of major interest to anyone, admittedly myself included. The ability to gain Barrier creation for free as simply the result of a Quest appearing on its own. Then, for simply using it, you gained yet another reward? I can guarantee that there would be many parties who would be interested in putting you on an operating table to see what kind of experiments could be performed to force your powers to develop in a specific direction.”

The Gamer swallowed. In his mind’s eye, he could already picture it. A white van suddenly pulling up while he was outside for any reason, and masked men tossing him inside. Then, next thing he knew, he could be literally anywhere in the world, and it’d make no difference if the actual destination was inside a Barrier where nobody would ever find him.

If there was one thing he’d learned in his time spent avoiding Frank and Vanessa, it was that standing out was never a good thing. And now it sounded like that as far as the Abyss was concerned, he would stand out to people potentially way worse than bullies.

“As far as I see it, John, I can offer you three paths. Path number one: you don’t want anything to do with the Order and would rather watch out for yourself. While I would heavily advise against it, that would be your right. I just want to get that out of the way, so you don’t feel like I am forcing you into what I say next,” Lord Brighton stated as he tapped on the paper stack to his left.

“Path number two: You become an affiliated contractor with the Order. Not a direct member, but you would be able to continue to practice your abilities and grow as a Latebloomer while under our supervision. We would have the right to contact you for aid if your powers allow you to do specialized work that our members cannot do, but as a contractor, you would be duly compensated for services rendered. In your case as a Latebloomer, I would even be able to assure certain protections for you and your immediate family for at least a year.”

John nodded along as the older man spoke. He tried to keep his expression cool, but just out of sight, his hands were nervously fidgeting against his lap. Meanwhile, Lord Brighton tapped on the other stack to his right.

“Finally, path number three. To be upfront with my bias as I sell it, this is the one I personally hope you would give the most consideration. Rather than a contractor, I’d be willing to give you a chance to join the Order proper as a full member. Yes, that would mean stricter adherence to our rules and more actively require you to work with us as needed. But it would also mean that we would be fully willing to offer you and your family full, indefinite protection. Yet perhaps even more importantly, access to our resources so that you can all the sooner be able to confidently protect yourself and those important to you.”

John leaned forward to reach for the papers, and the other man nudged them forward to let him take them. Now that he was getting a good look at them, he was immediately a bit overwhelmed by the amount of text. Not that a few pieces of paper were a lot, but it was already reading like a very important contract where he had to be incredibly careful to not misunderstand anything. Perhaps seeing this spike in nervousness, Lord Brighton drummed his fingers against the desk.

“How about this: go ahead and take those home with you. Don’t show them to any non-Abyssals, in case it needs to be said. But feel free to take your time to read them, sleep on it, and then talk to Moira tomorrow. You don’t even need to have made a decision by then, but you can let her know about your thoughts or any concerns you have, that we can then see about addressing as possible.

With a sigh of relief, John nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan, thank you.”

“No need to thank me, John. You’re a young man with his life ahead of you, no matter how changed that life path has now become. Giving you the space to breathe and think about what it is you really want to do is truly the absolute least that someone in my position could do. Now, let’s see about getting you safely back home.”

Before he knew it, John was taken outside the Barrier and mansion alike. Yet rather than going back with Moira on her motorcycle, Reginald led him to a black sedan and acted as his driver. John was a little embarrassed as he entered the backseat, as it felt like a lot for a butler who probably had a hundred better things to do. But as he leaned into the seat and finally allowed himself to start decompressing, he noticed something.

In his nervousness about visiting the Order, he had genuinely somehow managed to not see it this whole time. Though it was rather small, and had been sitting in the corner of his vision while partially see-through. Had it just automatically been suppressed while he had been mentally concentrating on something else? Yet that was already changing to expand and become more visible, now that he was focusing on it.

A pop-up was awaiting his attention.