"Can people have multiple abilities?" I ask instead trying to change the subject.
"Yes" She responded quickly. "Its been recorded that people who have awakened can have more than one ability. On that same note, it's also possible to Awaken more than once as well."
"Wait, so does that mean that you can get two abilities in one Awakening? And that you can also Awaken again afterwards? Does your body get stronger again? If it does then wouldn't that mean that you're stronger and have like 4 abilities?" This seems unreal almost, unfair, unbalanced? Overpowered?
"Yes to all of those questions. But-" There was a heavy emphasis on 'but'. "-those people are exceedingly rare. The most Awakenings we know of one person having has been 7, and he is the reason the world is as it is today. The most abilities we know of one person having is 10, and she is the reason the hero association exists. She is also the person with the most abilities we've known of a person to get in a single Awakening, which is 3. Anything is possible through Awakening." There seemed to be some reverence in her voice as she was describing the two.
"What do you mean 'the world is at it is today'?" Honestly it sounds ominous.
"For as long as you've been here it still seems like you know nothing." she says.. I can only shrug helplessly in response. 'It's not like I know why I'm here either' I think. Seemingly understanding, she begins "The world that we live on, Supernus, is a large planet. There are 8 continents that make up the world we know. Sainttic, the continent and country that we're on now, in the center of the world going reaching north." She pauses "Do you know the directions?" I look up from my book and give her a nod off affirmation. "Good, to the southwest, there is the group of islands called the Naslands. In the southeast, a continent with smaller surrounding islands called Toree. To the east and almost directly above Toree, is the Ifri. Above them, in the northeast, is Caisbury, while in the northwest is Boveaa, we're in between them. Then of course at the top and bottom are the North Ice and South Ice." She gives me a minute to finish writing and starts again when I look back up at her.
"However, that is JUST the world we know. Because it's only half of our world." I stare at her waiting for her to continue. Instead, she just stares back.
"What do you mean half?" I ask
"6002 years ago, we had access to the entire world. 6001 years ago, a wall of black light appeared over the world, separating it in half. The man who caused this, was called Seven, because of how many times he awakened. Now, before I say more, you have to understand that 6000 years ago, we were still using hammers and staves, so not many people knew how to read, and even less could write. So records of the event are all jumbled, and no one can agree on what was happening at the time. The only consistency, is that they all record Seven saying 'War was not the answer'. So the world we know now is only half of the whole thing."
'So he's definitely this world's Jesus' I think. At least they all agree on it then. Still, it seems weird.
"How do you know he awakened seven times?" If records are poor it seems like a strange thing to agree on.
"Well, I don't I suppose, but that's just what we know, and there's not much else that could explain the wall."
"What's stopping people from breaking through it? Or digging under it? Or going over it?"
"The wall is not something you can touch, if you touch it, you disappear. We don't know if it kills you, where you go, but if you touch it, you vanish. Objects disapear too, anything that wasn't already touching it when it appeared will disappear when it does animals and insects included. You can't dig under it as it goes through the ground too. The result is the same trying to go over it, it seems no matter how high you go it never ends."
'Does that mean they haven't thought about going to space?' The technology here seems way too advanced for them not to have gone to space.
"And what about going over?" I ask
"That's only a waste of time, people, and equipment, anything that goes 'over' the wall, ceases to work. The people still disappear, and if the equipment comes back nothing is salvageable."
"Can you take me to see the wall?" Something so mystical must surely be a sight to see. Especially since it effects the way the world operates somehow.
"I can't, but when you're older I can find someone to take you. There isn't much time for sightseeing when we have to defend the city often."
"Why do I have to be older?" I don't see why my age would be an issue to go travel.
"Because even though you've been here for a year, there aren't any records of you. You're just now learning to speak, and you can't even write yet. Just because we're the association doesn't mean we can just give you a whole identity on the spot, it takes time."
"Why do I need an identity to travel?"
She looked at me with a smidgen of attitude "You think other countries just let people in without knowing who they are? Unless you think you can survive on one of the Ices you're just gonna have to wait."
Even though I didn't actually travel anywhere, I forgot how essential being able to prove a person exists ran society. Birth certificates, social security cards, licenses, passports, almost all of them were necessary to partake in society. It would make sense for it to be similar here.
"That's fair" was all I could respond with.
"Any other questions?" She either enjoys talking or has a lot of time today.
As long as she indulges I'll keep asking. "What are the strongest abilities? The strongest people?"
"Well you can't just label things as the strongest, because everything depends on the person and the situation. There can't really be a label of 'Number One' or 'Strongest' that's not how it works."
Although what she says makes sense, it felt the same as when your parents turned a joke into a lecture. I was still left with no satisfying answer.
"Well who wins the most fights?" I want to ask who's the most combat capable, but I think that would bring more questions towards me that she somehow isn't already asking yet. A kid wondering who's strong is normal as long as he asks like a kid.
"Mmm, It would have to be either Guard, or Blade."
"Who are they?"
"You've actually met them both already."