The Harbinger's Children (Guardians Of The Arcane Chronicles Vol. 2)

Chapter 13: The Last Straw

Fun Fact: The Meta Tier System was developed by the early magis as a means of categorising their threat level by measuring the amount of arcani in their body.

Tier One metas are the least dangerous, while Tier Five metas were constantly being watched and culled at the slightest provocation. Although such barbaric practices have long been outlawed, there are still many people who consider Tier Five metas freaks of nature.

Average global population distribution of metas sorted by Tiers:

Tier 2 ~ 50%

Tier 3 ~ 30%

Tier 1 ~ 15%

Tier 4 ~ 4.99%

Tier 5 ~ 0.01%

~ ~ ~

Turns out, the best room the Meta Liberty Fighters could offer was nothing more than a slightly luxurious gaol cell. Felix sat in the corner of the room in silence, while Aglaia explored their quarters restlessly.

"Get some rest, Aglaia," Felix groaned, clearly tired of listening to her incessant pacing. "We won't be getting out of here anytime soon."

The footsteps stopped, and the girl plopped onto the floor.

"I don't get it," she asked. "None of these metas are Tier Five; even I can sense it. So why don't you just overpower them with brute force?"

Felix sat up. "I suppose now's as good a time as any to teach you about the rules of engagement."

"Listen, this is the most important rule when dealing with threats as a Guardian," he said. "Do not use more force than necessary to subdue your target. As Tier Fives, we have to exercise even more caution to not accidentally kill our..."

The boy's voice drifted for a while, his eyes glazing over as he recalled the criminal he telepathically murdered in a fit of rage.

"...Our opponents," he finished with a firm nod, pushing the unpleasant memories away.

"But... but what if we did?" Aglaia asked softly. "Even if we didn't mean to. What if we accidentally took the life of someone?"

"There will be consequences," Felix warned sharply. "Don't even think about doing anything like that, Aglaia. Don't make that mistake. The world considers us dangerous beings. Monsters, even. Do not give them the chance to prove themselves right. It may feel good for that moment, but you will never come back from that."

The girl fell silent for a brief moment, looking at the empty hallway through the open door.

"Have you done that before?" She turned to him again.

"I thought you promised not to read my mind."

"I didn't. But the way you said it... I can tell," Aglaia said. "Because..."

She took a deep breath.

"Because so have I."

Felix furrowed his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.

"There was this boy... A bully, rather. He enjoyed taking my lunch, and beating me after school with his friends," Aglaia spoke, her voice trembling. "He was a talented magi, and I was still powerless. My parents weren't well to do, while his parents were influential business people. So my school didn't do anything about it."

The boy closed his eyes painfully. He knew where this was going.

"I remember it was the first day of the week, and my parents weren't paid for the month. My lunch... It wasn't much this time, but he still threw it away and kicked me away before I could scrape it off the ground."