"Fourth floor, please," I had told the guard. He pressed the button and the elevator began to descend. Suddenly, I was nervous. I was inviting myself over to Kyra's suite without any permission from her directly, just so I could reassure my worries about the views of the Upper Four.
The elevator then came to a stop, and the doors slid open to the suite. I was immediately hit with the scent of strong floral perfume, the exact opposite of Enzo's cologne-overloaded floor. I walked in but waited at the front. I knew I couldn't just waltz in like I did with Enzo.
"Kyra?" I called out. At first, there was no response. "Hello? Kyra?"
"What?!" She'd responded back, yelling from another room. "Who's there!?"
"It's Klyson! Sorry for intruding!"
"Klyson!?" The sound of slippers flapping quickly led into the room I was in. She frantically greeted me with a smile on her face. "Klyson! Sorry about that, I was watering my flowers. What are you doing here?"
"So sorry to show up uninvited." I began to feel awkward, noticing how unreasonable my presence was. "I just wanted to talk to you"
"You came all the way here just to talk to me?"
I scratched my head. "I was with Enzo. But I'm done with him. Impulsively, I decided to come see you."
She let out a slight giggle. "What's the occasion? Anything on your mind?"
I hesitated to respond at first. She noticed this. "Here, come inside. You want coffee or tea?"
"Coffee…"
I followed her into her kitchen where she led me to sit at the table. As she brewed-up a coffee pod, she continued her curiosity. "So, what's bugging you, Klyson?"
I let out a sigh. "It's gonna sound stupid."
"Nothing's stupid. Tell me anything."
I couldn't believe I was about to rant to Second. "What's your view on strong and weak people?"
"Strong and weak people…? What do you mean?"
"Excuse me. What's your view on the difference between strong and weak people?"
"Oh!" Kyra's face suddenly lit-up. "There is no difference."
Her answer was so simple and sudden, it surprised me. "No difference?"
"I don't see a difference between 'strong' and 'weak' people. Those are just labels. To me, they don't define who a person is."
"But you're in the Upper Four. You're Second. Doesn't that define who you are? Doesn't that define how powerful you are? Don't you see the difference between yourself and others below you?"
Kyra looked at me with worry, as if she noticed how flawed my views were. "Klyson… Who made you think that way?"
I wasn't planning to spill about my argument with Enzo. I was just planning to get my own, separate reassurance from Kyra. But after hearing the genuine concern in her voice, I couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Enzo."
"I knew it." She sighed. "That guy's the worst role model. He's the one responsible for making you think this way?"
I gave a little nod. "He always talks to me about the large gap between strong people like him, and weaker people down below. Just earlier, he was speaking bad on Sixth and Ninth's names, calling them weak just because they died…"
Kyra expressed disgust. "No way…"
"Yeah… I snapped."
"Understandably." She placed a mug of coffee before me. "Drink up. Then you can at least head home feeling sober."
I took a sip. "I'm not drunk."
"But I can tell that you've been drinking."
My face flushed red. "Do I smell like it?"
She nodded. "Whiskey, right?"
I laughed. "Sorry about that… Enzo always pours me one every Friday night."
"Sounds like you two have had a pretty close relationship up until now."
"Well… I'd like to say I'm done with him at this point. Insulting my fallen comrades was the last straw for me, especially since he did it just so he could make a point out of his beliefs."
"I don't blame you. He's always been like that, looking down on others. You wouldn't expect it, especially since he's Fractless." Kyra looked at me with intent. "This is why you intrigue me, Klyson."
"Huh…?"
"Just like him, you're Fractless. But you're humble. It's a breath of fresh air after dealing with arrogance like his for so long."
"Well, I'd say I'm humble because I'm Fractless. I don't have any Fractal, so I don't feel like I have the right to be arrogant about anything."
"But look at Enzo, he's Fractless, but he's got the most pride of all," Kyra pointed it out. "This is why I don't believe in differing images of 'strong' and 'weak.' You can have a strong Fractal, or you could have no Fractal at all, and you can still act the same either way. What counts the most to me is how somebody is on the inside. You and Enzo are like two sides of the same coin: you're both Fractless, but one side's an arrogant asshole, while the other's a humble gentleman. Who would I rather befriend? You, of course!"
A small smile began to grow on my face. "Even if I'm weaker?"
"That doesn't matter to me! That's not even a fair comparison to make. Enzo's had more experience in the field. That's why he's so full of himself! Don't listen to him."
"It's hard not to take his words to heart, though. He's the one I'm able to relate to the most, considering we're both Fractless."
She sat down at the table with me. "Klyson, don't distinguish yourself from the rest of us just because you're Fractless. You deserve to choose the people around you instead of sticking to someone just because they're similar. You shouldn't be forcing yourself to put-up with Enzo just because you're alike."
"But it's hard." I looked down at my hands. "I feel like I can't level myself with others when they have Fractals and I don't. When people talk about their Fractals, it makes me feel like I've missed out on a childhood memory everyone's experienced but me."
"Klyson…" Kyra's face dampened with pity. "You're looking at Fractals with too high regard. Life isn't all about them. You can do so much even without it. I wouldn't even count Fractals to be a necessity!"
"But having a strong one can get you places, can't they?"
Kyra sighed. "I hate to use him as an example, but look at Enzo. No Fractal, but he's at the top. And me, well, I have a Fractal that I wouldn't consider that strong, but I'm Second!"
"Panorama? But that is a strong Fractal."
She shook her head. "In its simplest form, it's really nothing special at all. I only make it look stronger, because I studied ways to make it more effective. But again, the Fractal itself isn't strong at all. Especially if you're comparing it with Fractals like Sav's and Celeste's. Gateway and Trajectory are some of the strongest and most high potential Fractals I've ever seen. Yet, somehow, I'm a higher ranking than them. See what I mean? Even if my Fractal is 'weaker,' I'm still placed among the hard-hitters. And even if Enzo is Fractless, he's still up here with us. That's why I don't see a difference between the 'strong' and 'weak,' or Fractals and Fractless, because they can all stand together at the top anyways! If there's a similar goal and similar interests, those people will be grouped together no matter their differences. That's what the Upper Four is, it's a diversity!"
My eyes widened at what she'd helped me realize. All this time, I'd only been able to look at our Fractal-filled society through Enzo's perspective. He looked down on it from up above, while Kyra looked at it with level eyes. Enzo focused on the difference between everyone, while Kyra focused on the similarities. Enzo distinguished himself to place himself in power, while Kyra worked her way up alongside others. First and Second were like night and day. The two of them had provided me two completely different ways of looking at life as a Fractless.
Enzo wanted me to use the exclusive position as a Fractless to my advantage. He looked at the world as a means of manipulating to one's own way.
Kyra wanted me to see my position as a Fractless as indifferent to everyone else. She looked at the world as a gathering of all kinds of people.
"There's no such thing as a weak person, Klyson. Everyone is strong in their own way. Sixth and Ninth were very strong in their own ways."
I thought back on the moments before their deaths, during a time when I wasn't even able to realize they'd died. For both Sixth and Ninth, they'd fought their hearts out in their final moments, eliminating multitudes of Invidian soldiers. My mind began to oppose what Enzo believed. It wasn't the idea that they died that defined their strength. From my own perspective, with the help of Kyra's ideals, I could see that it was what they did in their final moments that truly defined their strength. Up until the very end, Sixth and Ninth had put in 100% of their efforts, using up all the capabilities they could provide, just so we could win. They were strong because they did everything that they could, and even after going out, they'd made an impact to the battle.
"Yeah… Sixth and Ninth were really strong…" My eyes began to leak. "I wish I could have done more to support them…"
Kyra came forwards and hugged me. "It's okay, Klyson. You did enough. Don't dwell on it anymore."
Then the tears began to pour. I hadn't felt my emotion overload like this in a while. It wasn't up until now that the shock over my teammates' deaths became realized, and so, the sorrow for it ensued.
"I'm sorry, Sixth and Ninth… I didn't even get to know your real names…"
Kyra hugged me tighter. "It's okay, Klyson. It's okay…"
I cried into the night.