“Not going to let me drown?” Alex asked, keeping Terry above the water. After packing the Core, he’d climbed back into the [Crysal Tub] with Snu at her suggestion.

  “Course not. These things can be random, so it might take five minutes, or it might be an hour. But the salesman did say this is supposed to help with cultivation. It’s crazy that you got a Title that you need to unlock. Those are like…super rare. Don’t worry, I got you.” Snu nodded seriously at him.

  “Alright, here we go,” Alex breathed out, clearing his lungs and squinting seriously at the green dragon bong. “Terry, be serious now. Little accountability here, OK Terry? We have to set the tone with this one. It’s important, I can tell.”

  The green plastic bong in the shape of a bloated dragon didn’t answer, of course, it was just a bong, and a cheap one at that. Though on occasion Alex could have sworn he spotted the glancing eyes of the lazy, injection mold lizard from his periphery.

  Rolling red Essence contained within the [Heroic Hawk Core] smoldered and crackled under the fire of his lighter. Slowly drawing, as that was how his now deceased street rat buddy Nate Paddy had taught him, thick crimson smoke built in the belly of Terry. Alex closed his eyes, pulling harder, and heard the Core split apart, not seeing the swivel of tiny bits of green plastic glance his way. With a final pull the Core collapsed and pulled through, sizzling in the murky, never-cleaned water of the dragon’s belly. Alex pulled the bowl and sucked the harsh smoke, filling his lungs to the brim and barely resisting coughing.

  Immediately, he felt lightheaded. He opened his eyes as the world drifted away. The last thing he saw was Snu’s hand reaching for his back to keep him upright and her questioning look on Terry.

  Alex went on to experience the life of the one known as the Heroic Hawk.

  Something hard cracked and light flooded in as he was born. The ancient pine swayed beneath the nest as the wind tore above, and two excited hawks, blurry in his new vision, leaned in close to stare in wonder at what hatched between them. Cold followed as a gale swept into the nest, making him squeak in despair, until a broad wing wrapped around him and steadied the world. His skin felt raw, and he felt hungry.

  He looked up, instinctively opening his little beak for his first meal, and didn’t notice his mother pause when she saw the bright red splotch on her son’s head. A red mark painted his featherless skull. Her instincts won out as she fed her son regurgitated food, yet out of the corner of his newly born eye, the hawk saw his father staring at something on his head.

  A flash sprang the cultivation vision forward.

  He stood at the edge of the nest, high above the land. Their grounds, as his parents called them, stretched far and crystal clear under him, farther than he should have seen, as his parents had said. The sight filled the young hawk with pride. Vast and frightening, the land below was full of things he did not yet know how to face. But he could see it all. His father regarded him sharply, then at the red plume of feathers on his son’s head. With a calling cry, his father leapt from the nest. The young hawk swallowed his fear, spread his unsteady wings, and followed, red-crowned and unafraid to fall into his first flight.

  Another flash leapt ahead.

  They hunted together, three hawks, one still young, beneath a wide, open sky, and followed the scattering pack of rabbits. His mother signaled him toward the smallest, the easy meal meant to teach, but the hawk wanted the fat one. Father watched the land for the shadow monsters. Those ones too big to hunt, too fast to dodge, so other that every animal, even the bears, avoided their shifting ways.

  The young hawk could see better. The shadow monsters always lurked and waited. He wasn’t afraid of them, because he could see them.

  Wind screamed as he dove, his [Flight Control] rising as he swept and sliced with talon and Skill together, shattering the fat one’s kneecaps and sending it tumbling. Heavy, and he was barely able to lift his catch into the sky, but he made sure to scream at the shadow monsters that lurked close.

  His parents were quite angry with him for that. The kill was secured but the lesson was broken. The red-headed hawk didn’t understand. If he could see better than them, shouldn’t he have to be less careful? They could not hunt the shadow monsters that killed without restraint, yes. But they had taught him to be brave.

  Yet another flash pulled the vision forward.

  The shadow monsters were bad this year. Hunting had grown thin, the prey fewer and cleverer. With his parents aging, the young hawk had learned caution at last. He hunted longer and safer, not for pride, but for them, and he did it gladly. When the sky allowed, he climbed high and searched for a mate in hope that one might fancy his red.

  He returned to the shared nest as dusk settled, dropping a headless snake between his parents. They fed together and agreed to hunt together at first light. Safety was in numbers now that the land had grown cruel. Afterward, the hawk launched once more, circling the ancient pine, his sharp eyes sweeping outward across darkening grounds. He watched the brush and the rocks, focusing on the places where the shifting monsters liked to gather.

  He trusted his sight, and in doing so, made his mistake. He looked around the tree and beyond it, but never into it. As he leapt away in search of a mate, he did not think the monsters

  would dare climb so high. He believed the shadows came from below, not from the ancient tree itself.

  The phase of the memory ended with the hawk satisfied that he had searched the perimeter and left his parents fed. It was time to catch the eye of a lady hawk.

  This time there was no flash. The memory Alex experienced flowed straight into the earliest vestiges of the next morning.

  Dawn found him returning tired but not dispirited. He had not secured a mate, but the night had gone well enough, and he was certain the large lady hawk had liked him. He liked her, too. There would be time to speak of it with his mother. For now, there was the hunt, and the comfort of family beneath a rising sun.

  His focus sharpened as the ancient pine came into view. The nest resolved first. Or where the nest should have been.

  Despair rolled through him. Rage followed just as fast, drowning out caution and fear alike. The hawk screamed across the sky and flew with everything he had toward the crown of the ancient pine and what remained of his destroyed home.

  Another light flashed, shooting him forward years.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The hawk stretched his aching wings and shook out stiff talons as he surveyed the lands. Shadow monsters still lurked along the distant outskirts, but their hunting ground perimeter was mostly secure for now. He looked back to his mate, twice his size and magnificent, and watched her feed their brood, the young hawks still clumsy from their first flights only a week past. He loved them deeply. Had worked tirelessly for years to keep them safe. Had carved out peace with vigilance and blood. Yet it felt like it wouldn’t ever be enough.

  As he readied himself for another hunt, despair stirred in his chest. He swept it away like he did every time, pressed his beak gently to his mate in farewell, and launched from the nest once more to turn his wings and his talons towards the shadows he could never stop hunting.

  He’d gotten good at killing them over the years. At first, it was vengeful, rage fueled obsession, and he hadn’t been strong enough. But he’d started small, breaking and tearing the smallest shadow monster he could find apart. And once he killed the morphing shadow fiend, he’d eaten their Core to make himself stronger.

  Now he’d killed hundreds and returned their grounds to a semblance of balance. Prey returned, which made him oddly happy in a strange way. He had a family and was the most powerful hawk in all of Ontario, even if he didn’t know it.

  He was tired and aging, and the shadow monsters that turned from animal to man to shadow at will pressed endlessly on all sides, looking to tear apart his nest atop the ancient pine. He’d vowed never to allow that to happen again, but he knew that he could not hunt forever. One day, maybe soon, these skies may miss his red feathers.

  As he searched for shifting shadow and food to kill, his eyes spotted the oddest thing at the edge of his grounds. A fat grey cat and a miniature human stared calmly back at a wall of shadow monsters, neither fleeing nor hiding. Stranger still, as the monsters surged forward, the cat looked up into the sky and met his distant gaze.

  Strangely, he felt the distinct urge to go and help them fight. It was as if the land itself was guiding him.

  Yet another flash blinked Alex ahead in the life of the hawk.

  “Hawk, eh? He’s not just a hawk, your Girthdom,” the strange little man, who was a great warrior, all but yelled. “We’ve been watching him, and I know you have been too,”

  The short man, who the hawk learned was a fierce fighter, turned to the cat. Over the pile of a hundred shadow monsters, bird and cat sized each other up. They had been momentary allies in the fight, and while the hawk had killed a score and the loud tiny man had killed double that, the cat had been truly terrifying. More terrifying than the wall of monsters.

  “More like a Heroic Hawk, if I say so myself, Lord,” the man continued to speak, crossing his arms and nodding seriously. “Injured too. Old. How old? Not sure, but been keeping these lands around Thumb Rock safe since before we expanded here, that’s for sure,”

  The hawk was so tired. With the fight, the grounds would be safer for longer, but the shadow monsters always came back. From the depths of the ancient wood they crawled out. Never mind how much he killed and tore, the darkness ceaselessly clawed inward. And now he had a new monster in the area, one who he was sure hated birds. More despair rolled through him.

  “Couple Gnomes seen their ilk flying about. But this one is always killing [Skin Walkers] with no support. Impressive. Probably does it to protect his family. Aye, Heroic Hawk? There’s honor in protecting your family.”

  The cat turned quickly towards the human at the mention of family, blinked, and then turned back to the hawk. He was so tired that he wasn’t sure if he would be able to make it home that night, let alone face this feline monster. Apparently, it wasn’t time for him to die, as the cat turned back toward the hawk with relaxed, non-murderous green eyes.

  And another strained wing, too. Lands, that one hurt. The hawk could feel it now that he had a moment to rest. It would be even harder to fly and fight.

  “Meow. Meow meow mreoooooow.” The cat meowed in quick succession toward the little man.

  “Oooooohohoho,” the gnome chuckled, shaking his head. “Honorable, my lord. And I like the way you think. That would be truly the task, wouldn’t it? Yes, I think the Gnomes could manage to handle the [Skin Walker]s that lurk about easy enough. Going to have to, anyways. Let me ask our avian friend and see if you can’t come to terms,”

  The little man turned to the hawk. “Heroic Hawk, Sun and Shade would like to offer you a deal. He sees that you are old. He recognizes your power, however, and even if you are a bird, he does not discriminate against you. Only the pigeons and only the French does he hate. Respect is what he feels for you. Still, these fertile lands will be ours and the sky his as we seek the One Who Makes and secure his seat of power in this region. Yet he knows of your relentless pursuit in safeguarding this region of forest. Commendable. Brave acts are always rewarded appropriately. Now…he asks one thing. What would you give to ensure the permanent protection of your nest and these lands from the [Skin Walker]s?”

  The hawk, who preened at the thought of being called Heroic Hawk, squawked immediately. Petal Gravewhistle, with his knack for understanding, translated.

  “Anything, eh?” The Gnome nodded seriously, turning back to the cat. “Your Girthdom, it would be our honor to carry out the protective services of this land and ensure the forthright grounds for Heroic Hawk’s family.”

  “Meow.” The cat said again.

  “Of course, my Lord,” the gnome nodded sharply, and turned back to the hawk. “Heroic Hawk, we will protect these lands now and forever after. Your family will come to no harm under our watch, free to hunt and mate and frolic alongside our Lord in the sky. He swears that he will lay no claw nor lightning upon their feather. He asks but one thing in return,”

  The hawk, who felt the blood leaking from a gash from the monsters, squawked in question. Life continued to flow out of him.

  “Ah. He anticipates you have a powerful Core, and with permission, though he needs none, he asks to deliver the final blow and collect your Core. It is your life he asks for in payment.”

  Heroic Hawk squawked once more, agreeing. To secure his family’s protection forever, he would gladly lay down his faltering life early.

  He just needed to trust this cat. Something rustling up from the depths of the land that sounded like birdsong let him know that this cat could be trusted, even if he was a cat, and that it was ok to be tired. The Heroic Hawk had done enough.

  Alex startled back to himself and immediately went underwater. He sucked in a lungful, flailing, as the weight of wings and years tore away all at once.

  Strong, slender arms hooked under his featherless, meaty wings and ripped him upwards. He broke the surface choking as his vision swam from the final death blow from Emilio’s mighty claw fading from his mind.

  A familiar chime of a System notification pinged in his skull as he realized he was still in the tub with his naked girlfriend.

  [Title: Chosen One]

  [Four Links Given. Chosen by a Demigod, selected by a Lich, marked by a Boss, and rooted to Another. Not special, yet it is you that sits at the center of the weaving paths. Perhaps, with the right decisions and unrelenting will, the System may choose you too.]

  [You have been found close to being chosen. Complete the following tasks and embrace the ideals of the Heroic Hawk to unlock a truly unique rewarded Skill based on your current talents and secure your own path.]

  [1. Aid the Other in his want

  2. Help to secure the power of the one to whom you are Companion

  3. Become family with the Lich

  4. Deliver that which fills the Taking of the Boss]

  Alex’s Core was zapped of all Essence, and he shook his head to get his bearings around the notification. Sitting in the center of his stomach though, he could feel the Core settling, waiting for something to fill it. It was all quite overwhelming, especially after living out a life as the Heroic Hawk.

  “You OK?” Snu stared into his pale face, slightly shocked that the whole ordeal had taken all of a single minute. “That was fast! Didn’t even need to really hold you. I just put your bong, which by the way I think we need to talk about, on the counter, and just hopped back in and you were awake and flopping! What happened?”

  He blinked away the memories of the Heroic Hawk along with the water on his face, shaking his head. Inside, he was confused, anxious, and excited all at once as he wondered how in the world he was supposed to get all those requirements.

  A unique Skill!? Oh my good googly moooooooogly! Secure my path? WITH A UNIQUE SKILL FOR LITTLE OLD ME?

  Since before the job at Nino’s and up until now, he’d felt like he’d been treading water. It’d been like that his whole life. The task of the day was to find food and a place that wouldn’t kill him or worse while sleeping. Once he had enough money to get his own place, it was how does he make rent to not be thrown back into the frigid, unwelcoming grasp of homelessness. With the delivery job, he’d gotten his feet under him and Skills to boot. He had some funds, some friends, a cat, some Skills, and a smoking hot girlfriend now…

  All that is great…but what do I really want? What do I want for me? No scrambling, no putting on a happy face to get through the day…What do I want?

  “Alex? You Ok? You’re a little locked in there. You’re not like…a bird or something now, are you? I know you're not the smartest guy, but I don't know if I can date a bird. What happened!?” Snu asked, concerned.

  For the first time since he could remember, this wasn’t a decision that could be made of whimsy or survival. Whimsy had delivered to him a girl he was falling head over heels for, and survival had gotten him to where he was now. But what was next?

  I want that Skill. I want to secure that path.

  “Hey Snu,” Alex focused in on the Boss. “You want us to order some food? I’m starving.” He mumbled to himself mostly.

  I’m going to GET that Skill!

  “Uhhh, yeah. Are you sure you’re OK? You seem different. I can order some---,”

  “Oh, and Snu?” he interrupted her. “What’s the Taking? Is that like a tax for Dungeon Bosses or something?”

  Pale as she was, Alex saw the color drain further from her face at his question.

  Best to just have the awkward conversations in a relationship, right?