The car turned into a large parking lot and came to a stop some distance away from the large building that had changed considerably since Arden was last here.

  Previously, it was a brutalist structure made gaudy by a marble shell. Now, it looked much more inviting. Windows and other aesthetically pleasing sights were added since Arden’s last visit.

  It had once been flanked on either side by monotonous buildings that had no use besides shelter, but in the wake of the cascade, they had been combined into a single large annex.

  “It's hard to believe this is the same municipal building,” Arden said, stepping out of the car. “Another point for civic redevelopment.”

  He looked around for the alley that used to be his main path, only to find that it had been a casualty of redevelopment. With more buildings popping up and more codes kept to, Arden’s favorite alley was gone, as was the graffiti’d phone number for Big Hank.

  Everyone else also got out of the car to look at the municipal building in its new glory. There were a lot of people going in and out, as was to be expected of what was essentially a government building, and only a few of them exuded the familiar feel of stellar essence. Meaning that only a few were Starborn, or more realistically, there were a lot more, but they were trained in the art of aura.

  Laurent handed each of the three a card with their face and name on it.

  “We’ve transferred your money from your old ID’s to these new ones. I took the liberty of converting half of the star coins to credits so you can actually spend it easily. You shouldn’t have any problem paying for anything.”

  He turned to Vera.

  “Chorzo knows that you had an issue with getting an ID before, so he was able to pull a few strings. Luckily, Vera is a fairly common name, so we were able to do everything above bar. Fully legal. No fake name.”

  Next, he turned to Sya.

  “Yours was a bit more interesting to get our hands on. Your old ID was revoked for being a Blight Walker, so we took a few liberties with this new one. You’re no longer a Blight Walker; you are a victim of the slums who awakened during the cascade.”

  Sya looked at the picture of herself and focused on her silver hair.

  “The best lies have a sprinkling of truth,” she muttered.

  Laurent nodded then turned to Arden.

  “Yours was still perfectly fine, for the most part. All we had to do was get it updated. I heard from Savish that the Association was looking into you, but we let it be. We flagged you as a contractor for Miasma. If anyone does try to find out about you, they’ll have to go to Miasma first, and I doubt Chorzo would be very willing to tell them about you.”

  “Will being marked as a contractor prevent me from doing anything later down the line?”

  “No, it's just a formality. It basically means that we’re looking after you, but you’re not aligned with us. You’ll be as free as before, it’ll just make people trying to find out who you are want to pull out their hair.”

  Arden chuckled and inspected his ID, delighted to see a rather large number of credits under his name. Poetically, his total credits equated how much his bounty was worth.

  Laurent pulled both a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his inventory and lit one. He gestured to the front of the building.

  “Go register. It’s about time for your appointment. I’ll wait here.”

  *****

  Arden felt a pang of sadness when he entered the front doors and saw that someone other than Cirai was acting as the receptionist.

  “Where are they all going?” he muttered to himself.

  The three of them stood in the short line and chatted with each other until they were at the front.

  “Good morning sir,” the receptionist said. “How can I help you today?”

  “Good morning,” Arden responded. “The three of us have an appointment scheduled for this time.”

  The receptionist typed on her computer for several seconds before she asked another question.

  “Is this related to the mundane or Starborn?”

  “Definitely the latter.”

  After another few seconds of working the computer, she found the information she was looking for on her spreadsheet.

  “Mr Arden, Ms Sya, and Ms Vera?”

  “That's us,” Arden nodded.

  The receptionist nodded.

  “It says you are here for registration. Is that correct?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Arden didn’t miss the way she furrowed her brow momentarily after he called her ma’am.

  The receptionist pointed down the hallway to her left.

  “At the end of the hallway there's an open door on the left. Wait there, and your registrar will be with you shortly. By the time you leave, you three will be officially licensed Starborn.”

  “Thank you,” Arden said with a nod.

  The three walked down the hallway that the receptionist told them too. Arden felt a strange disconnect between the municipal building of old and the new one. The old one was furnished nicely as well, but this one was nice. The lighting was nice, the carpet on the floor was clean and the air had no taste, which was definitely an improvement over the past.

  “I think she was into you,” Sya said.

  “What?” Arden asked, not really paying attention.

  “The receptionist.”

  “That makes one of us,” he replied, stealthily sending Vera a quick glance

  Vera knew that Sya was just screwing with Arden, but his reaction made her heart flutter a bit. Knowing that he only had eyes for her was as pleasing as it was comforting. She didn’t have to worry about him hooking up with anyone else. Last night and this morning proved how much he wanted only her.

  ‘That works for me. I want only him as well.’

  A minute later, they entered the room with a plaque that read ‘registration’ next to the door. As soon as they entered, they had to quickly move out of the way of the door as a tall, burly staff member with tattoos shoved a teenager out of the waiting room with an irate face.

  The staff member yelled as the teenager hurried down the hall and presumably out of the building.

  “We’re not as stupid as you people think we are!” he yelled. “We know when someone isn’t really a Starborn, kid! Go home and do some studying! If you want to get close to Starborn, become a guild staffer!”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The staffer slammed the door shut and huffed as he walked past Arden’s group.

  “Sorry about that,” the gangster-looking staff member said to them. “You wouldn’t believe how many kids try to fake their way to a license thinking that it’ll get them out of looking for a job.”

  The man scanned the trio.

  “I can tell that the two women are Staborn with their appearances alone, but you’re a bit of a question mark. Are you here to register?”

  Arden sighed.

  “Do I really look that unattractive for a Starborn? Yeah, we’re here for registration.”

  “If that’s the case, then follow me. We have to do a small screening process and a quick questionnaire. Just to make sure that you’re legit.”

  The man brought the group through the empty waiting room, and then into another room where two other people were waiting, sitting at a table with space for a third. A man with the lean geniality and great hair of a star athlete who had a clipboard in his hand, and a woman who filled out Arden’s bingo card on Starborn women, meaning she was blonde, and attractive.

  Arden was getting kind of tired of being the least attractive Starborn in every room, but he swallowed his annoyance.

  “Did you kick the kid out?” the athlete asked.

  “Did you not hear it?” the gangster replied. “I was pretty loud. He’s gone. We’ll probably have another one in a few hours.”

  “Hopefully after our shift ends,” the blonde said, receiving nods from the others. “I take it these are our next interviewees?”

  Arden felt the two new sets of eyes focus on him for a prolonged, uncomfortable period of time.

  “You might have to kick this one out, too,” the woman said.

  Arden was already trying to figure out a way to screw with them, but his mind went blank when he heard his sister snicker behind him.

  ‘Ignore it, ignore it.’

  “Don’t be hasty,” the athlete said. “Their paperwork checks out. Arden, Vera, and Sya, correct?”

  “That's us,” Vera answered. “I’m Vera, the one trying not to laugh is Sya, and the one figuring out how to annoy you is Arden.”

  “I wasn't going to do that,” Arden denied.

  The athlete spoke again.

  “We'll make this as fast as possible for you. We have your files already. We just need you to prove that you are Starborn and tell us your protostar ability. A display would help as well. After that, you can decide which type of Starborn license you want.”

  “Proof of our powers may be a little difficult to provide,” Arden said. “Not impossible, but for the purpose of this, it could be challenging.”

  He glanced at his sister.

  “At least for us two.”

  “I'll go first then,” Vera said, stepping forward.

  Arden and Sya moved over to the wall to watch Vera's demonstration, and the gangster took his seat at the table between the two other officials.

  “State your power,” the blonde said.

  “I can increase the cutting power of whatever I infuse with essence.”

  “Interesting,” the athlete said, jotting down what Vera said. “Does it work with Satellites as well, or just mundane objects?”

  “I haven't tested it on a Satellite, on account of not having one, but I'd assume it works on them as well.”

  She eyed a pen sticking out of the athlete's shirt pocket.

  “Can I borrow your pen?”

  He handed Vera the pen and pulled a concrete cinderblock out of his inventory. When he set it on the table, it strained to hold up the heavy object.

  “The Association doesn't even provide their workers with sturdy furniture?” Arden noted.

  "I have a better question,” Sya said. “Why does he keep bricks in his inventory?”

  The athlete looked away and coughed, embarrassed.

  “Weight training,” he muttered.

  “And to answer your earlier question,” the blonde cut in. “No, we don't have nice furniture. We are allowed to bring our own in our inventories or soul clusters. I myself have a Satellite chair. Very comfortable.”

  “Satellite furniture is underrated,” Arden said.

  “I agree. Your face might not be great, but your brain is pretty good.”

  The siblings each smiled. Arden’s was dangerous, while Sya’s was mirthful.

  “Can we get this show on the road?” The gangster asked impatiently. “We still have the other two to test.”

  “Right,” the athlete said. “Go ahead, Vera.”

  As soon as he said the words, Vera slashed through the concrete brick with the pen. Arden and Sya both gave golf claps, while the interviewers inspected the brick.

  “That's a clean cut,” the gangster said, running his finger through the cinderblock. “You're a Starborn alright.”

  Vera took her spot on the wall after giving Sya a fist bump and winking at Arden. Sya stepped forward.

  “And what's your power?” The woman asked.

  “Poisonous blood,” Sya said. “I don't suppose you have a rat problem that I could help with?”

  Arden leaned over to Vera.

  “Is that sort of thing going to fly here?”

  “It's not the worst thing she could have said.”

  “That doesn't fill me with confidence.”

  “Hey, Vera,” Sya said from in front of the table. “Can you cut me real quick? I can't prove that it's poisonous, but I want to see if it's acidic.”

  “That's uhh, that's not necessary,” the athlete said. “Can you control your aura? That will work for proof of Starborn.”

  She shrugged.

  “I can try, but I can't promise anything.”

  “No worries. Most red-tiers don't have good aura control, or any at all actually. But if you can do it, that would work as proof.”

  Sya cracked her neck and closed her eyes.

  “I just learned this a few hours ago, so bear with me for a sec.”

  “Take your time.”

  Sya held her hands out in front of her while taking in steady breaths for close to a minute. It looked like she failed at whatever she was trying to do, until they all felt her aura for only a fraction of a second.

  It was unsteady and wavering, but everyone present could see that she managed to reveal her aura. It wasn’t good enough to be either an example of release or restraint, but it didn’t need to be. It was closer to causing a tingle in the back of everyone's mind.

  Arden smiled at his sister, but he couldn’t tell if it was pride or rivalry that spawned it.

  “Nicely done,” the gangster said. “Keep practicing and you'll be able to do that much faster to much greater effect.”

  “That's the plan,” Sya said with a beaming smile.

  “You may return to the wall.”

  Arden stepped up just as Sya stepped back.

  Honestly, he didn't think he'd be able to show off his aura like Sya had. She was the perceptive one and the quick learner. Arden was still figuring out how to recognize it as one of his senses.

  There was one thing he could do though.

  He still had a bit of biomass from when he devoured the foot of the possessed Sya.

  “Alright, Arden,” the athlete nodded his head. “Show us what you got.”

  Arden nodded.

  “My power is life steal. It comes with a bit of a bank, so I can consume some now and heal up later.”

  The athlete nodded and wrote something down. The woman giggled while the gangster leaned forward in his chair, unimpressed.

  “If you show us your ‘healing ability’ by healing a small scratch, you're out the door. We’d know it's just the Status healing you.”

  “I’m aware of that. I'm also a fan of the dramatic, so doing that would bore me.”

  “Are you going to show us your aura too?”

  “I wish,” Arden said with a low chuckle. “That’d make things easier for sure. Unfortunately, I'm not quite at that level yet. I figure I'll make a lasting impression instead.”

  Red sparks came together to form sharp bone claws on his hands.

  Interest colored the faces of the three interviewers for the first time since he stepped up. Vera knew what was coming, so she put a hand to her face and sighed.

  “Lady and gentleman,” Arden said. “I present to you, my first act.”

  As soon as he said those words, Arden slashed himself across his chest with both claws. He didn't scream, or make any noise beyond a groan. This was nothing compared to everything else.

  Arden grinned impishly at the three stunned interviewers. The claws cut through his shirt like paper and left ten claw marks several centimeters deep in the shape of an x on his chest.

  “I probably should have taken off my shirt first.”

  A worrying amount of blood flowed down his torso and down to the floor, staining his clothes along the way. Arden dismissed his Bone Talons and held a pausing hand out to the interviewers before they could attempt to restrain him.

  “I assure you, this is under control.”

  Everyone watched as tendrils extended from each side of a clawmark the other, creating a web of macabre stitches to patch Arden back up. In a minute, Arden was standing good as new.

  He patted himself down on the chest to wipe some of the remaining blood away. As a result, the Association members were able to see that he had fully healed.

  “So,” Arden said with playful eyes. “Did I pass?”