(14,814) Steps 10-12

A/N: Whoops! Forgot to put one up yesterday.

When I rise from my slumber, I'm not on a beach anymore. In fact, I'm on a solid-stone floor. The why for my situation is answered straight away.

[Quest Complete!]

A mind needs rest. Constant, relentless effort shows determination, but one must know to take breaks.

+1 to all Matrices.

+1 Level.

Skill: [Meditation]

[Transporting User: Xan Kim to The Tenth Step.]

Name: Xan Kim

Title: [Successor of 14,814 Steps (10)] (Upgradeable)

Level: 8 (/10)

Class: N/A

Might: 10 +

Mobility: 10 +

Mind: 10 +

Magic: 10 +

Matrix Points: 8

Traits: [Inheritance], [Succession], [Silent]

Powers: [Unkillable] Level 6, [Self-Healing] Level 3, [Power Strike] Level 1

Skills: [Improvised Fighting] Level 6, [Glaive Mastery] Level 3, [Tracking] Level 1, [Meditation] Level 1, [Vigilance] Level 1

[The Tenth Step: Defeat the Retired Master]

I sit up quickly, expecting to be attacked at any moment.

Instead, the first thing I see is a rather elderly man sitting across a table from me. Then I see what's on that table.

Chess.

…Frick. I suck at chess.

Hesitantly, I take the seat across from him, claiming the black pieces.

He makes the first move, pushing his E-pawn to the center of the board. Not knowing what else to do, I copy his movements.

A couple moves later, I attack his queen with my pawn, he moves out of the way, saving his queen while simultaneously checkmating me.

He shakes my hand and we reset the board. I'm white this time, and I mimic his earlier opening, pushing the E-pawn.

I last until the mid-game this time, but still ultimately lose to a stupid blunder, removing the defense for the pawn in front of my king while his queen and bishop were aiming for it.

It takes a few more matches for me to last to an endgame, and it's pretty bad. I only have my rook, king, and two pawns, while he's got both bishops and four pawns.

In the end, he promotes a pawn and uses it to push my king into a corner, checking me left and right without even allowing me to move my rook.

After that, I take a moment to [Meditate]. My head is starting to ache from all the strain it's under, and I just need a second to not think.

A few minutes later, I return to the table where the elderly man is patiently waiting for me to return to the table.

We go a few more rounds and I can tell straight away that I'm doing much better than before. Eventually, a few dozen games and a handful of [Meditation] sessions later, he makes a blunder, and I start giving checks. Over and over, he's forced to move his king or sacrifice pieces to delay his fate.

Eventually, I can't figure out how to give another check, but then realize that I've maneuvered him into the center of the board, and move a pawn that had been lazing about the whole game two squares forward.

A few moves later and he's in checkmate.

His face cracks into a wide smile, and he stands to offer me a handshake. I follow suit, gently shaking his frail, wrinkled hand for an instant.

Then he turns to shuffle away from the table, and his image turns into a smudge, then a blue, and then he's gone.

[Quest Complete!]

Wisdom is a trait cultivated through experience. Practice, practice, practice.

Please choose a reward:

1. Trait: [Danger Sense]
2. Power: [Visualization]
3. Skill: [Strategy]

[Danger Sense]: Are you paranoid or something? I assure you, this Trait will not help with that. Gain a minor predictive sense for the movement of matter. The intensity and punctuality of the sensation scale with the Mind Matrix.

[Visualization]: Yeah, because you totally didn't already have trouble seeing things that aren't actually there. Spend a small but continuous quantity of Magic to link your vision with your imagination, allowing you to realistically picture and manipulate objects from your imagination.

[Strategy]: Nerd. Teaches you how to switch gears in your mind to think more tactically. Also teaches you to take advantage of terrain, what resources to prioritize for any given task, and the numerology required for calculations pertaining to warfare and economics.

I feel like the answer is pretty obvious here. Spidey sense is OP.

Name: Xan Kim

Title: [Successor of 14,814 Steps (11)] (Upgradeable)

Level: 8 (/11)

Class: N/A

Might: 10 +

Mobility: 10 +

Mind: 10 +

Magic: 10 +

Matrix Points: 8

Traits: [Inheritance], [Succession], [Silent], [Danger Sense]

Powers: [Unkillable] Level 6, [Self-Healing] Level 3, [Power Strike] Level 1

Skills: [Improvised Fighting] Level 6, [Glaive Mastery] Level 3, [Meditation] Level 3, [Vigilance] Level 2, [Tracking] Level 1

While in transit, I take a second to evenly distribute my Matrix Points again, raising all of my Matrices to 12, though their effectiveness stops at 11 due to the Step cap.

[The Eleventh Step: Execute the Despot]

Huh?

I look out and find myself standing before a crowd of people. Their faces are smeared with dirt and grime, and most are wearing clothing of poor quality, mostly brown with rips and stains visible even to my distant gaze.

At my feet, there was a man. His clothes were even more shredded than those of the commoners, though it's clear that they were once exceedingly fine, white, red, and people, with silver trims. His head is wrapped in a bag, and his arms and legs are bound.

The crowd screams and jeers at me, and though I can't tell what they're saying with all the jumble, one thing is clear: they want his blood.

I reach for Nadir, then think better of it. Kelsh told me to treat her well, and I'd rather not dirty her with this. Killing an unarmed man, one who's incapable of fighting back… it feels too much like murder for my tastes.

Still, it must be done.

Many members of the crowd are holding up weapons, and I reach for one that looks like it would suit my purposes. A rusty scythe enters my hands, and I look back at the place I'd grabbed it to make sure there's no trouble. The man I'd taken it from looks honored, his eyes meeting my own with adoration

Weird, but okay.

I raise the blade and press it against the condemned man 's neck, taking a few practice swings. With each one, the ex-ruler flinches, and a few in the crowd laugh. I just grimace.

Pulling it back one final time, I activate [Power Strike]. Might floods through my body, and the chips of rust on the scythe burn away as it glows with Magic.

I swing, and the farming implement punches straight through his neck, not wide enough to fully decapitate but sufficient to give him a second mouth and spray blood into the crowd.

They cheer as I kill the bound man.

They cheer.

That dreadful number in the back of my head hits seven.

[Quest Complete!]

Sometimes those who need to die are those most difficult to kill.

Please choose a reward:

1. Trait: [Freedom]
2. Power: [Execute]
3. Skill: [Incite]

[Freedom]: This one, right? This or death? Your culture is strange. Your resistance to Mobility-reducing and Mind-altering effects is increased massively.

[Execute]: Because I just know how much you love doing it. Drain a small amount of Magic into your weapon to channel death energy into your blade, giving you a small chance to inflict necrosis in a large area. This chance and it's damage scales with how much blood the target has lost, and is massively increased against immobile enemies.

[Incite]: Seriously, why are some of these even options? When would you use this? This is barely even useful fo warfare! You've learned to transmute the emotions of a crowd into anger towards a specific person or group of people. This Skill will direct you to do it better, faster, and more consistently. It will also reduce the likelihood that the crowd gets angry at you instead.

Well, it’s either [Freedom] or [Execute]. Critical hits sound fun, but being captured or mind controlled really doesn’t appeal to me, so I mentally prod at [Freedom] instead.

Name: Xan Kim

Title: [Successor of 14,814 Steps (12)] (Upgradeable)

Level: 8 (/12)

Class: N/A

Might: 12

Mobility: 12

Mind: 12

Magic: 12

Traits: [Inheritance], [Succession], [Silent], [Danger Sense], [Freedom]

Powers: [Unkillable] Level 6, [Self-Healing] Level 3, [Power Strike] Level 1

Skills: [Improvised Fighting] Level 6, [Glaive Mastery] Level 3, [Meditation] Level 3, [Vigilance] Level 1, [Tracking] Level 1

The world starts to warp, and gravity shifts. My back is caught by a soft, comfortable surface, my head cradled by a pillow.

It was a bed.

[The Twelth Step: Finish the Story]

The same quest as the sixth step, huh?

I wiggle for a second, struggling with my thick armor but eventually managing to climb off the bed.

The room is bright and opalescent. I can hear birds twittering and playing just outside the window.

Did I just get transported into a Disney movie? I hope not. I doubt that they'd allow me on set with all the bloodstains on my brigandine.

There's a knock at the door. “Are you alright in there, young master? Do you require assistance readying yourself?”

…Frick. I'm a prince, aren't I?

“Uhh, no. I'll be alright for now, I think.”

“If you insist,” the voice replies. I can make out the sound of footsteps retreating, and a breath that I didn't know I'd been holding escapes my lungs.

I quickly start examining the room. There's an extra-large closet, an extra-large bed, and a door leading to an extra-large bathroom. The only thing stopping me from thinking that this world is full of giants is the regularly sized doors.

There are also a bunch of trinkets and paintings attached to the walls, another sign of these people being crazy rich.

I quickly move to the bathroom, stripping off my armor and clothing as I try to figure out how it works. Yes, figure it out. There aren't any obvious knobs for me to turn the water on.

Eventually, I get tired of waiting and just shove my hand onto the metal plate that looks like it's where the showerhead should be, trying to push Magic into it the same way I would with [Power Strike].

Hot water pours down from the ceiling, and it keeps up even when I take my hand off.

Relieved, I step into the shower. Luckily, the soaps are all just how I'd expect on Earth, so I take some time cleaning up my hair and skin. I'm not as in need of it as I would have been before the Ninth Step, but there was still some grime and blood I hadn't been able to wash out in the ocean.

By the time I step out of the shower, I'm feeling refreshed and clean. I dry off with a towel and step into the huge closet.

The clothes in here are all pretty similar, extremely fancy and covered in crests and symbols. There are a couple simpler outfits though, probably for exercising.

I try to figure out the finer clothing, but eventually just shake my head. “Why would anyone ever wear this? How, even? What is this strap supposed to do?”

How does it make sense for clothing to be harder to put on than my armor?

I slip on one of the more normal outfits, hoping that nobody minds. My gear gets stuffed into the back of the closet in case somebody comes digging around.

I look at Nadir for a long moment, then strap her on. It might be strange, but better safe than sorry.

I take a single step out the door and immediately get stopped by a maid. “Sir, what are you wearing?” She hisses quietly, “The delegation from Exandris is coming today! Here, let's get you dressed properly…”

She enters the closet and quickly grabs a few items, then returns and starts taking off my clothing.

My embarrassment is immense, but she doesn't seem to notice my discomfort and instead just continues her work.

Eventually, she completely redresses me, then gives Nadir a long look. “An ornamental weapon, sir? An interesting choice. It looks good. Would you like me to get you a better attachment for it?”

I look at the glaive and the strap. It does look rather out of place with how beautiful Nadir is, so I give her a short nod. She rushes off, presumably to get that attachment.

I'm left sitting on my bed awkwardly for a few minutes, but she does eventually come back. She brings with her a silvery shoulder strap. It seems to have some slight magnetic properties as well, as Nadir holds to it better than she did with the previous leather strap.

I thank the maid and she gives me a strange look. Oops. Was whoever I supposedly replaced not a very nice guy? Or maybe her expectations for nobility were on the lower end.

“Your mother has been wondering where you are all morning, young master, and you've missed breakfast. I'll bring you straight to her.”

I acquiesce with a nod of my head and she starts marching out the door. I follow her into a wide hallway. One side of the hall is adorned with dozens of paintings, while the other is almost more stained glass than wall.

The maid walks me straight down the hallway and into a large chamber, where a red-haired woman stands. Her foot taps impatiently, and her expression lifts when she sees me.

“Lars, there you are!”

Eh? Who's Lars?

“Listen, the Exandris delegation is coming within the hour, and they're bringing their mistress. She's your age, rich, and her family has the ear of the royal family. This is the perfect opportunity to betrothe you to someone of worthy station.”

Wat.

“I'm even told that she's quite beautiful,” the woman gives me a sly grin.

…Is this a romance novel??

“Uh, r-really? You don't say?” My collar seems to constrict around my throat.

“Just imagine! The Cevan and Exandris families uniting under one flag! With our powers combined…” She cuts off her leading statement with a cackle. “And your babies will be so cute! Please, Lars, I've waited seventeen years for my son to get married, don't make me wait another ten!”

I… What? “Y-yeah, mom?”

She gives me a weird look, but shakes it off, instead looking at Nadir with a smile. “I'm surprised. You've never shown interest in learning to fight. Have you changed your mind about the tutors?”

I think for a second, then nod vigorously, making up a story on the spot. “I had a dream about fighting in the battlefield, welding a weapon just like this one. It felt good, and I'd like to learn.”

Her smile widened. “Oh, that's just perfect! A bit late to participate in the tournament at the end of the week, but knowing more about what's going on might impress the Exandris.” She clapped her hands, excitement filling her voice. “Oh, this is perfect!”

She practically skips off, and I look at the maid in confusion. I'm about to ask her what I'm supposed to do now when a shout echoes down the hallway my “mother” went.

“LAARRRSS!!” The voice calls out, accompanied by a sound that I can only describe as that of a stampede, all produced by a single, massive man. He grins at me maniacally as he barrels towards me.

I spin on my heels and run for it, but the storm behind me only grows closer.

Suddenly, my movement halts, my feet no longer in contact with the ground.

Pressure around my chest cuts off my breath. Suffocating, I wait for [Unkillable] to activate… but it doesn't. Apparently it doesn't work while the source of damage is still present. Also, it looks like it doesn't make up for lack of oxygen.

That's good to know.

The pressure lets up and I drop to the ground, gasping. Something tugs in my back, and I look behind myself to see the man inspecting Nadir with teary eyes. Tears begin to adorn his cheeks as his eyes lock with mine.

“Lars… my only son… you want to learn to fight?” He looks so hopeful that I can't help but nod, not able to verbally express my answer in my current breathless state.

He falls to his knees, hugging Nadir to his chest for a long moment.

Then, faster than I can blink, we're both on our feet again and Nadir is back in my hands. The manic grin is back on the madman's face. “Courtyard. Now.” He vanishes without a trace.

I stare at the maid again. Her eyes are wide, though she doesn't seem nearly as surprised as I feel.

I cough into my fist. “Mind escorting me there?”

She nods and starts walking again.

It didn't take long for us to reach an open, perfectly-manicured field. At the center, my “dad” sits in a lotus position, meditating.

I approach slowly, and his eyes snap open when I'm a few yards away from him.

“Have you used a soul gem on your blade yet?” His first question catches me off guard, and I shake my head.

His form flickers momentarily, and when it resolves he's holding a blue crystal in his right hand.

Did he just teleport?

“You should know how to do this, but I know you’ve never cared much about this stuff in the past so I’ll walk you through it,” the man– Mr. Cevan?– states, holding the gem out for me to take.

I accept it, and look it over.

[Soul Gem | High Quality]

Pretty lucky! Just so you know, your weapon will get a temporary growth bonus based on the quality of the gem. Some specialized gems can also add extra Modifiers! Don’t worry, though, you can apply more later, they’ll just be a bit less effective.

Wow, an actually helpful interjection from System dude? That’s a first.

“Hold the gem just over the flat of your weapon's blade and push just a little bit of Magic into it, then squeeze.” I do as he directs, maneuvering Nadir into position. The gem accepts my Magic easily, and shatters to dust in my hand as I apply pressure.

As the glittering dust touches Nadir, it disappears, and Nadir gains a blue gleam for a moment.

[Living Weapon Claimed!]

Yeah, this is why I was upset. Make sure you're careful with what you do here, kid. I can already tell that this little girl's gonna be sassy when she wakes up. Also, don't tell that guy that she's a Living Weapon.

As Living Glaive “Nadir Verlandsson” is currently unawakened and incapable of accessing System functions, you have been given Power of Attorney over its growth.

Name: “Nadir Verlandsson”

Grade: D (Living Weapon)

Boost: 75

Modifier: Unforged

I lock eyes with the nobleman.

“I have questions.”

“Hah! I can imagine! Hold them for just a minute, though. You see where it says ‘Unforged?’ Focus on that for a moment.”

I follow his instructions, and more blue text pops up.

[Celestial]: All Magic directed through this Weapon is converted to the Celestial alignment. -From material: Celestial Steel.

[Fractal]: Sharpness is set to the maximum of this Weapon's Grade. -From Trait: [Crafter of Eternal Iron].

[Masterwork]: Boost is increased by 100. -From Skill: [Bladesmithing] Level 1023.

[Wayforged]: This Weapon is indestructible and cannot be wielded by any other than its Intended. Furthermore, its wielder gains the Trait: [Slayer of Sin]. Intended: Xan Kim. -From lineage: Verlandsson.

My eyes skim the options, and then I look at him again.

“I have more questions.”

He smirks, then his posture straightens and he appears to focus. “I’d love to talk over your options, but usually the only person who should know about your Magic Weapon’s Modifiers is yourself, even if it's only D-Grade. Instead, I'll talk over the basics of Magic Weapons.

“The possible grades are pretty simple. Nonmagical weapons are called ‘Mortal’ Weapons, which means that they're regular and haven't had a chance to gain a soul. That's what the soul gem was for, by the way. Mixing your magic with it binds the soul to you, which has dozens of benefits, even ignoring potential Ability and Modifier interactions.”

He takes a deep breath, then continues explaining, “D-Grade is called ‘Decent,’ and it's pretty much what it sounds like. Most Magic Weapons start and end here. Your Weapon, for example, will forever be locked there unless you spend enough money to bankrupt a dragon on it.”

He catches my sad look at Nadir and waves his hands back and forth. “Don't worry, though! The Heavens sometimes offer quests to skip that step, or you can request relevant items in exchange for service to the Kingdom, or we can just get you a better Weapon when you outgrow this one.

“C-Grade is called Capable, B-Grade is Brilliant, A is Ascendant, and last is S, which is called ‘Supreme.’ These follow the same pattern as Classes do, with Decent being the equivalent of levels 1 through 9, Capable equating to levels 10 through 99, and so on up to Supreme at 10,000. If a weapon somehow surpasses that and reaches level 100,000, another S is added to its title.”

A thought crosses the titanic Noble's mind, and he raises a finger. ”There are also Living Weapons, though I've only ever seen a handful before. Living Weapons can pass through the Grade barriers. They're rare, though, and even if you do find one, the royal family is likely to requisition it. They'll pay you a massive sum, of course, but they like to ensure that every member of their family has a Living Weapon for life.

“Boost is pretty simple. Magic Weapons take a portion of the achievement, or ‘experience,’ that you acquire from slaying your enemies. Boost acts as a multiplier to that. You get some Boost just from applying a Soul Gem. It’s temporary, but you can always apply another once it's run out. It'll just be less effective.

“A Weapon should take one in every ten portions of achievement from you, but 100 Boost will mean that the weapon grows at double the standard pace. It makes the trade more worthwhile and lets you use them for longer before they become irrelevant, as the achievement is used to make the weapon tougher, sharper, and heavier.”

He grimaces. “I hear that Living Weapons take two in five portions. Can you believe that? What warrior would willingly sacrifice almost half their growth for a Weapon that they could just replace later instead?” Thankfully, he stops talking, instead looking at me expectantly.

My brain takes a long, long moment to process.

So, D-Grade was a minimum of level 1, and every grade after that multiplied it by ten. Nadir would take 40% of my experience, but Boost would multiply her growth. Now…

“Okay, I guess I only have two questions then. First, what grade is your weapon?”

My “dad” grins at me with his perfect white teeth. “I was rewarded with a powerful B-Grade Magic Weapon for my achievements on the battlefield a few decades back. I haven't had many opportunities to increase in strength since then, so I'm not worried about outgrowing it.”

B-Grade… so he’s probably somewhere between levels 100 and 1,000? …Wow.

I look at him with a new sense of admiration. He must be crazy strong. No wonder it had felt like being chased by a thunderstorm when he was running at me before.

“Your dad's pretty strong, huh?” His smirk grows, and he turns to flex. He's so large I can actually see the muscles rippling through his clothes.

Part of me wants that to happen to me once my Might gets high enough, but the rest is praying that it won't.

“Ahem,” I interrupt his flexing, “what about Modifiers? Like, what's considered

He looks back at me, seeming confused for a second. Then he smiles again. Seriously, why are his teeth so bright? They're gonna blind someone!

“Modifiers are effects that can be granted to a Weapon in a bunch of different ways. Some improve Magic channeling, give the wielder Skills, make the weapon sharper, and so on. The ones you see are the best available to the Weapon. Those with effects that are completely outperformed by other Modifiers are hidden.”

He raised a finger of warning at me, explaining, “I need to remind you that you shouldn't share a Weapon's Modifiers with anyone. The way it's viewed in the martial community is that they're not your Modifiers, they're the Weapon's, so it's like giving people a full list of a fellow warrior’s abilities. If anyone ever asks for details on your blade you are well within your rights to demand a duel to the death.”

Well that's grim.

“One more thing and then I'll leave you to figure out what Modifiers to use. At D-Grade, a Weapon can have up to 3 Modifiers, but they must be worked into something like a title. For example, someone might make a ‘Decent Steel Sword.’ You can always slot in the type of Weapon in for free, as well as any conjugation you need. You can even break up certain words if you need to.”

He looks off into the distance, proclaiming, “That's all. No more questions? Great! Bye!” Then his form flickers again and he's gone.

…He's even weirder than Lars’ mom.

I pull the Modifiers back up to look over them in greater detail.

[Celestial Light]: All magic directed through this Weapon gains the [Radiant] property, shedding an intense light that dispels Magical darkness and sets damaged creatures and objects on fire. -From weapon material: Celestial Steel.

[Fractal]: Sharpness is set to the maximum of this Weapon’s Grade. -From crafter Trait: [Crafter of Eternal Iron].

[Masterwork]: Boost is increased by 100. -From crafter Skill: [Bladesmithing] Level 1023.

[Wayforged]: This Weapon is indestructible and cannot be wielded by any other than its Intended. Furthermore, its wielder gains the Trait: [Slayer of Sin]. Intended: Xan Kim. -From crafter lineage: Verlandsson.

“I wonder how many of these are only showing up because Nadir is a Living Weapon,” I mutter quietly. “Also, who the heck is Verlandsson? Or maybe I should be asking who Verland is. Is that Kelsh’s last name?”

I pull up the [Slayer of Sin] Trait on [Wayforged].

[Slayer of Sin]: As a warrior of the light, you have power against the creatures of darkness. Your Magic gains the [Holy] property, burning away [Sin], [Disease], [Death], and [Demonic] Magic, as well as associated creatures, objects, and effects.

Honestly, that's just the icing on the cake of that Modifier.

Whelp, [Wayforged] is obviously going to end up as part of the final product, so I slot it in with the word glaive, making the words [Wayforged Glaive] appear in my vision. [Masterwork] will help Nadir catch up with my level, so she momentarily becomes a [Wayforged Masterwork Glaive].

Deciding between the last two takes a moment, but in truth, [Slayer of Sin] makes part of the [Radiant] property completely redundant. Really, I was just thinking that setting stuff on fire would be cool, but that's not a good enough reason to pass up having Nadir act like a level 10 glaive at level 1.

I take a minute to work on the full name of Nadir's Modifier, eventually confirming my decision. Nadir's blade shimmers with golden light for an instant, and then her screen reappears before me.

Name: “Nadir Verlandsson”

Grade: D (Living Weapon)

Boost: 175

Modifier: [Wayforged Masterwork Glaive of Fractals]

I know, I know, it's not that clever or creative, but I think it's still pretty cool.

Inspecting Nadir once again, I notice that she's undergone a slight transformation. She's still got the same general format, with the point stretching from her flat end and the curvature of her edge all remaining the same, but now her pattern– a series of triangles that made up other triangles, which made up even smaller triangles, repeating and shrinking inwards over and over again until the distance between the incredibly fine lines was impossible to see with the naked eye– was shaded with the same color of gold that had emanated from her just moments ago.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results of all this.

A heavy hand clamps down on my shoulder.

“Now, I would want to fight you,” Lars’ father whispers into my ear, sending a shiver down my spine, “but your mother would probably kill me if I got you dirty right before you meet the girl she wants you to marry. We wouldn't want that, now would we?”

Swallowing my saliva, I nod vigorously.

“The maids are setting up the table now, and mom's gonna be looking for you. You should probably get to the banquet hall right away, don't wanna keep her waiting,” he chuckles. “There's a reason they called her the Cevan Blood Berserker back in the war. The only woman to ever best me in a fight…” the nobleman lets out a dreamy sigh.

…Seriously, I can't tell which one of them is the least sane. Also, hold up, she can beat him?? He's over level 100 though! And it was sorta implied that he might be closer to 1,000. What level is she?

I start walking back to the chamber I'd originally met my “mother,” talking a moment to examine Nadir, just out of curiosity.

I've found that I can get numbers and names for just about any Magic thing or creature I look at, but most other things don't come up.

Since Nadir is a Living Weapon now, though…

[Glaive | D-Grade]

Good to know. That should be what others see when they look at her, and it doesn't reveal much at all.

I quickly strap Nadir back into her spot and refocus on putting one foot in front of another. Soon, I find myself pushing through the door to the hall just in time to lock eyes with an unfamiliar man entering through the opposite entrance.

A/N: Step 12 is pretty long, and will cover the next two chapters. I actually haven't finished it quite yet, but y'know, I'm getting there.